Tempest (#1 Destroyers Series) (12 page)

“Looks like we’ll be using a dial-a-ride to
get there,” she whispered to Gary. “I signed up for them to pick us
up at the high school at eight tonight. I don’t think my dad would
let us get picked up here.”

“I can pay for that. You’re taking this all
pretty well.”

“What choice do I have?” Another lump formed
in her throat. She pictured crashing waves and palm trees bending
under a fierce wind. The image was stuck in her head, seemingly
forever. “We leave as soon as he’s on the phone or something. I’ll
leave some music on to make him think I’m still in here. It could
be hours before he notices I’m missing.”

“Wow, you’ve got a clear head now. You sure
didn’t at the beach.”

“I was in shock. And I think I had a good
reason to be.” The lump grew so painful that her teeth started to
hurt. What would happen to her father after this? Her college
plans? The rest of her life?

Orange light crept across her carpet. It felt
like the sun was going down forever.

Her dad called her out to dinner and she
turned off her phone to make sure Leslie wouldn’t call back and
give anything away. He served up homemade macaroni and green beans,
which she wolfed down as he asked her about her classes. It was her
last meal with him.
At least for a while.
She repeated that
to herself again and again, and it kept her from breaking down
right there at the table. He asked her about school, and Janelle
answered his questions as she stared down at her plate. She
couldn’t meet his gaze. What if she saw those hurricane eyes
staring back at her instead of his human ones, like she had with
Gary?

An eternity later, her dad vanished into the
study. Janelle grabbed a new plate and scooped the leftover
macaroni onto it before returning to her room.

“Here. Eat fast. It’s six and it might take
an hour to get to the school.” She opened her closet door and
shoved the plate in as Gary muttered his thanks.

Chewing and scraping sounds followed. “This
is a big change from earlier,” he said. “You were running from me
before, and now you’re feeding me.”

“Well…it’s different now. I didn’t know about
my dad’s plans. Besides, you deserve a decent meal.” Her face
flushed again as she picked up her gym bag, grateful that it
wouldn’t feel heavy at least until she “You think Andrina will know
where to look for us?”

Gary shook his head. “I doubt it. As long as
you’re not paying for everything with a card, she shouldn’t be able
to track us down. But she's smart, believe me.”

He put the plate down. It was time to go.
Just one more thing.

She plucked the picture of her mom from its
frame and slid it into her pocket. It was the last shard of sanity
she had, and the only memento she could carry.

Janelle plucked a random album off her
rotating CD rack and put it into her stereo. She turned the music
up as Gary emerged from her closet. Her dad would hear it if he
walked past the door.

Letting out a breath, she took one last look
at her room and the life she was leaving behind. Dolphins smiled
out at her. Stuffed sea stars grinned to the music coming out of
her stereo. The memories of the life she'd had before the move.

Tears blurred her vision. “Let’s go.”

Bag under her arm and keys gripped tight in
her hand, Janelle crept slowly down the hall. Gary’s breath blew
against her hair. Her heart thudded so hard her dad might hear
it.

A muffled explosion came out from the study.
He was playing video games, his usual nighttime activity, so it was
less likely he'd hear her over it.

That stupid board creaked underfoot.

Janelle froze, holding her breath. A loud
burst of artillery came out of the computer. But there was no
creaking of her dad’s computer chair or footsteps behind the door.
That was a relief.

Janelle didn’t dare let out a breath until
she’d gone around the coffee table. She leaned against the coolness
of the door and willed her heart to slow.

Gary stood next to her, blocking out the bay
window. His breath blew against the side of her neck. Another
tingle raced across her skin, and this one had nothing to do with
the ocean. He was standing so close to her…

Janelle turned away and rested her forehead
on the cool wood of the door as her chest constricted. She was
leaving her father, her only family, for good. What would he think
when he got up in the morning and found her gone? He’d figure out
why she left, but he’d sit here and worry so much. Her throat hurt.
She took a step back to return to her room when the hideous image
of a hurricane reared up behind her eyes. No. She had to leave,
because she’d kill people if she didn’t—people like Ed and Serena.
She unlocked the door and turned the knob to pull it open.

A door opened and footsteps thudded down the
hall. “Janelle? What are you
doing?”

Her heart leapt as she whirled around.

Her father stood at the mouth of the hallway,
adjusting his glasses. The computer kept playing explosions and
gunshots down the hall. So he’d used the same trick as her, making
her think he was busy. He might have been waiting on the other side
of the door the entire time, waiting for her to spring the
trap.

“Uh…” she dropped her duffel bag. No excuse
or charade would work now.

Her dad looked down to the bag, up to her,
and over to Gary, who’d pressed up against the window. He swallowed
and sucked in a breath. “So…you know now. I was afraid of that when
you were so jumpy earlier. Oh honey, I’m so sorry you found out
like this.”

Janelle backed into the door, slamming it
shut by accident. She couldn’t stop the words that tumbled from her
mouth. “I went online and I saw what you did. You killed
people!”

Another explosion from down the hall. A
scream. Then silence.

Her dad’s eyes turned towards the floor as he
unbuttoned his left sleeve and started to roll it up, to expose the
upper arm she'd never seen before.

There was only one reason for that, but she
couldn’t look away.

The familiar gray spiral stood out against
her father’s pale skin, skin that had never seen daylight for that
reason. Keeping his gaze trained on the floor, he spoke three
words, the three worst words he could have said. “Yes. You’re
right.”

Janelle let out a half-scream, half-sob.
“No!”

Her father backed away and raised a palm. His
eyes had gone a watery red, but he blinked it away. “I had to do
what was expected of me. Gary did, too. The deaths weren’t
intentional. Sometimes tragedies happen, especially with a nature
like ours. When you change and try not to kill, it’s like trying to
walk across a field without stepping on any bugs.” He raised his
head and wet his lips. “That’s the unfortunate part of our role as
Tempests.”

“Oh,” Janelle moaned, slapping her hand to
her forehead. The world spun around her. This wasn't her father in
front of her, talking about killing. "You're not saying these
things, Dad. You're not!"

Footsteps approached and her father’s shoes
entered her field of vision. A moment later his arms pulled her
into a hug, and she was too shaky to resist. “I’m so sorry. I
tried, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. It’s never easy,
finding out. It would have been simpler for you not to know
anything before your time. So much emotional upset is spared that
way.”

Janelle trembled as she settled into his
warmth. She squeezed her eyes shut, resting her head on her
father’s chest. The world stopped spinning for a moment. He was
lying. He had to be. He’d tell her in a minute that this was all
some elaborate joke, and that he and Gary had planned it out for
weeks, and that—

“Gary, look at what you’ve done. I told you
not to tell her anything.” A bit of venom had crept into her
father’s words. He released her and stepped back. “Janelle, where
did you find him?”

Gary had backed up into the couch. He
swallowed. “She helped me get away from Andrina last week, Mr.
Duvall. I owed her the truth. If it wasn’t for her, Andrina
could’ve killed me. She hinted that she didn’t want me around
anymore, and, well…you know how she is.”

Her father sucked in a deep breath. “Janelle,
did she see you?”

She nodded, begging her quivering chin to
stop. She was about to lose it completely.

“Did she try to come after you?”

No point in hiding this anymore. “Y…yes. At
the hospital and at school.”

Her father swore and paced across the living
room as if shot out of a cannon. “That’s never good news. I never
should’ve taken you to the hospital.” His voice was filled with
self-loathing, heavy and ready to pull him down to the floor.

Janelle barely heard her own words. “Dad, it
wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know she’d be there. I went back
after you said no. So it’s mine.” Busted, but who cared? She needed
to change the subject before she broke down crying.

No lecture. No break. “She’ll want you to
kill as many people as possible,” her dad said, ashen. “And she has
ways to force you. We leave for the Bahamas tomorrow. I’m booking
the first flight. Gary, you’re coming with us. There’s a few
Tempest families down that way that might be willing to hide you.”
He stepped towards Janelle, eyes very dark and gray. “Now we can’t
risk delaying your transformation another day. I only want you to
do what the law says you have to. But if Andrina finds you—”

“I’m not taking this trip!” The mask fell as
Janelle’s voice screamed in her own ears. So he did care about this
law more than what this was going to do to her, or he wasn't going
to stand up to it. “I’m not going to level a city or drown a bunch
of people. We can just go inland and get away from her. I'm sure
there's lots of places we can go.”

Her father’s voice shook as he fumbled for
words. “Don’t be afraid, Janelle. When you change, you get a whole
new perspective. It’s an experience you can’t imagine. And--”

“Get away from me.” Stomach heaving, she
backed away and bumped into the kitchen table. His trembling voice
told her that he didn't believe what he was saying. Was he a
puppet, spouting someone else's words? The Elder Council's,
maybe?

The table lurched several inches and the
truck keys jingled on it. Janelle seized them and bolted for the
front door. It would have to be the truck after all.

“Janelle, please listen to me.” Her dad
pressed himself against the door.

“You've lied to me enough!” Her senses
cleared, not leaving her any time to feel the rage and the grief
that was sure to come later. Every sound was amplified in her ears
as she ran for the kitchen window. Her footfalls. A car rolling
past. “Gary, come on!”

Her dad’s mouth dropped open as he ran for
her, but Gary jumped in front of him. They crashed and hit the wall
with a deafening thump.

“Go, Janelle!” Gary shouted. "Get out of
here!"

Janelle slid the window open with a bang.
Muggy air and orange light washed over her as she crawled out. She
landed on cool grass, sprang up, and raced for the silver
truck.

Thumps and bangs echoed in her ears. The
front door flew open and both her father and Gary scrambled out,
pushing each other aside. Gary couldn’t hold him back for long.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” her
father yelled over Gary’s grunts. “Just put the keys down and we’ll
talk about this.”

She wouldn't give him time to drag her down
the ocean and shove her in. Janelle hit the remote.
Click
.
The doors unlocked. Now she’d have to start the truck before her
dad pulled her out. She reached it as Gary jumped into the
passenger seat and slammed his door.

“Come back in the house.” Her dad appeared at
her side and seized her left arm with a grip like iron. “I’m not
mad at you. I understand your reaction.”

Janelle froze in place. He wanted to talk
this out? He’d already made it clear that she wouldn’t have any
choices in this matter. She struggled to wrench her arm from his
grip, not caring if the neighbors overheard. “I’m not going to be a
monster!”

“Janelle—”

“Leave me alone!” She flicked her arm to the
side and his grip broke.

Her father hurtled backwards towards the
house. Time slowed. He hit the shrubs and fell back into them.
Leaves swallowed him up, cracking and bending.

“Oh…” Janelle stared at her father’s legs,
which stuck out of the shrub, thrashing. She'd hurled
him
across the yard now. He might have lied to her, betrayed her, and
once turned into a deadly force of nature, but he was still her
father. The only parent she had left. He'd never actually hurt
her.
Despite the last few days, that she knew for sure.

The driver’s side door came open and Gary
leaned out. “Last chance to go, Janelle!”

“But my dad—”

“Janelle," her father said, breaking away
from the shrub. "Careful. The neighbors--"

Her father was okay. Now she could go.

Janelle leaped into the truck and started the
ignition, ignoring the guilt squeezing at her heart. The truck’s
engine roared to life and the headlights shined on her father.
“Seat belt,” she said to Gary.

He whipped it around himself and nodded to
her.
Go
, it meant.

Janelle felt for the gearshift and pulled it
back with a trembling arm. Drive…which one was drive? No, reverse.
She lifted her foot to mash the accelerator.

Too late. Her father jumped forward and
seized the front bumper.

It was as if the truck had been chained to an
aircraft carrier. Tires squealed against pavement; the truck
lurched back a few inches and stopped. Her father grimaced, showing
his teeth. He was holding the truck there with his
bare
hands.

“What the hell?” Janelle beat the steering
wheel. “Come on, come on, come on!”

The squealing grew louder. A rubbery stench
hit her nostrils. At last the truck broke free and reversed so fast
that Janelle scrambled to find the brake. They came to a stop
inches from Ed’s debris pile, sending her back into the seat.