Tempest (#1 Destroyers Series) (29 page)

Her dad’s gaze fell on her. “Janelle!” He
thrashed against the Council members, hair wild and eyes wide.
“Fight! Do what you have to do!”

His words rang in her ears. Fight. How, with
two dozen Tempests against her? There was no way.

“This way,” Andrina ordered, striding up the
wooden ramp to the fishing boat. Ivanna tugged Janelle’s arm and
sidestepped up the ramp while Kevin pushed her from behind. The
ocean rippled between the boats. She felt dizzy.

Janelle stumbled over the end of the ramp and
onto the soaked deck of the fishing boat. More feet thudded against
the ramp behind her. There was no escaping now.

A shark cage sat on the other side of a
puddle, waiting for her. Its thick steel bars dripped with moisture
and its door stood wide open. A cable connected it to one of the
yellow pulleys, and a huge bucket of ice sat next to it.

Her father’s voice rang through her mind.
Fight.
She was on her own. If they got her in there, she was
doomed.

Andrina walked across the puddle, sending
little ripples across it with her heels. “Bring our captives over
here,” she barked, pointing to a dry space between the water and
the railing. “I want them to watch my success. Especially Lucas.
Put him near the front.”

Figures paraded up the ramp, Deon and his
three captors the first among them. A wiry man in pajama shorts
nudged him from behind and said, “I didn’t get rudely woken up to
dawdle around here all day.”

Gary came next. He didn’t even look up as his
captors led him along. He’d failed, like her. A pang shot through
her at the sight of him staring down at the deck, bangs hanging in
his face. He was going to see this. Would he even look at her ever
again after the Operation?

Joey dragged his feet and groaned as Alec and
a middle-aged woman pulled him along. Mr. Deville and her father
came up in the rear, guarded by the suited members of the Elder
Council.

Janelle turned away as far as Kevin and
Ivanna would allow her. Their grips tightened on her arms, but she
barely noticed the pain. She couldn’t face her dad now, not when
this was all her fault.

“I was actually hoping that you could join
us, Lucas,” Andrina said in her sugary voice, but underneath it was
hurt, anger, and revenge. “Oh, why the tears?”

Janelle squinted at her father. She couldn’t
help it. Tears streamed down his cheeks. She’d never seen him cry
before. Bile rose in her throat like he might vomit. None of this
would have happened if she’d just gone to the Bahamas with him
instead of running away.

Andrina began pacing past the small crowd in
front of her. “I have one last word before Janelle begins her work.
I would like to thank Gary Plankett for making this wonderful
moment possible.”

Janelle felt her jaw go slack. Gary?
What?

She faced him, expecting to see some
recognition on his face. There was none. His mouth had dropped
open, too.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked, Gary.” Andrina
stopped in front of him. “Time was short and it was necessary to
find my daughter. I knew her time to change was close, and that
Lucas would move her back to the coast before it happened. So I
made a special tape for you to listen to before your transformation
and played it while you were sleeping. You never knew. In it was my
instructions to seek out Janelle and change back right in front of
her.”

“What?” Gary leaned forward against his
captors’ grips with huge eyes. “That isn’t true!”

“Oh, but it is.” Andrina grabbed his chin. “I
knew Janelle would see your birthmark and visit you in the
hospital. It was only a matter of waiting, and she accepted the
bait.” She took a few steps back into the puddle. “You didn’t think
everything falling into place like this was mere coincidence, did
you?”

The Tempest High Leader stared at the crowd.
Scattered applause rose up.

Andrina whirled around and smiled. “You’re
going to make me very proud, Janelle. Here, I’ll get the door.” She
made for the shark cage and held the door open.

Icy terror raced through her veins. Another
tingle started to spread through her limbs. “I…I can break out of
that,” Janelle stammered. She needed to try something to stall.
Anything.

“Sure you can, when the ice we pour on you
wears off.” Andrina waved her closer. “But by then you’ll be
dangling over the ocean. And I’ve had this model specially
reinforced as it was only designed to deal with sharks. Now, I
suggest everyone stand on the other side of the boat as we lower
her into the water.”

Gary’s voice met her ears. “Janelle, I’m
sorry! I never meant for this to happen!”

Ivanna and Kevin dragged her closer to the
cage. The door stood open like a mouth ready to swallow her. All
the strength went from her legs. She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t
scream. She—

“Andrina!”

Everyone stopped. Janelle jumped in place. It
couldn’t be.

Camellia stood by the ramp, one arm slung
over Leslie’s shoulder for support. She wobbled in place. Balling
her fists, she glared at Andrina with eyes filled with raging
clouds. “Be sure you finish the job next time.”

A growl escaped Andrina’s throat. “Are you
challenging me?"

“No! Get out of there!” Janelle’s voice rang
high in her ears as she thrashed against her captors’ grips. Her
grandmother stood no chance in her condition. And neither did
Leslie, period.

“Don’t look, Janelle.” Camellia advanced,
eyes locked with Andrina’s.

Leslie backed down the ramp. The crowd on the
other side of them cringed. Mr. Deville blanched. Janelle tried to
look away. But she couldn’t.

Her grandmother dashed forward to meet
Andrina, who raised her arms to block the attack. No use. Andrina
came off her feet and flew back into the side of a pulley with a
loud clang. She crumpled to the deck and lay still.

Gasps erupted from the crowd, but nobody came
forward to help the Tempest High Leader up.

Camellia staggered towards her, grimacing
with each step. “As a member of the Elder Council, I call for you
to step down from power. You’ve got no right to harm your own
kind.”

Andrina lifted herself from the deck and
wobbled in place. The gray in her eyes spun around her pupils.
“Camellia, please. Now is not the time for this. Follow me, and
I’ll spare your life.”

No. Camellia wouldn’t back down. She needed
help. Janelle lurched forward against the grips of Ivanna and
Kevin. No use. Her left hand started to go numb as Kevin gripped it
even tighter.

Her grandmother faced her, eyes spinning and
churning. “You’re the strongest of us, Janelle. Act like it.”

And with those words hanging in the air, she
charged at Andrina once more.

But Andrina was ready this time. She reached
up with one hand to catch her. Janelle squeezed her eyes shut as
she took Camellia by the throat and lifted her off the deck. She
couldn’t watch.

A gasp. And then there was a snap and a heavy
thud.

At first, only the sound of Mr. Deville's
sobs filled the air. Then the murmurs started.

“…illegal to kill another Tempest…”

“What was that about?”

“…must have gone nuts, the old woman.”

Janelle opened her eyes on the nightmare
she’d tried to shut out.

God.

Camellia lay on her side with Andrina
grinding her high heel into her shoulder. Her limp hand sat on the
pavement only a few feet from Mr. Deville. Her uncle’s chest heaved
up and down with every sob.

“Would anyone else like to try this?” Andrina
beckoned. She gave Camellia a kick and sent her rolling onto her
stomach. "A sad day, this is. We've started fighting amongst
ourselves now. If we don't stay united, I fear for our
survival."

Janelle’s fists clenched. Her breath came in
ragged gasps. Andrina had just--she’d just--

People bit their lips and glanced at each
other. Her dad wrestled against the Elder Council, teeth clenched.
Gary stared with huge eyes. But no one dared come forward. No one
wanted to be the first.

A faint roar started in the back of Janelle’s
mind and grew louder like an oncoming train.

Never again could she let Andrina take
another life. Any life, human or Tempest. “I would.”

Andrina folded her arms and smiled. “I don’t
think you’re in a position to do anything right now, sweetie.”

The roar grew louder in her mind. The puddle
of water—ocean water—glared at her in the sunlight. The crowd stood
right at its edge…and Gary’s shoes were almost touching it.

Oh, Andrina was about to find out how wrong
she was.

“Gary,” Janelle whispered. “Splash me.”

He glanced at her with big eyes. “Huh?”

“Just do it!”

Gary swung one foot back as if to punt a
football. His captors scrambled to block his foot, but too
late.

“No!” Andrina charged forward, heels clicking
against the dock.

A silver blob of water raced up for Janelle
and washed over her skin.

The train hit. Roaring and tingling filled
Janelle’s body. Her birthmark went on fire. A growl escaped her
throat as she thrashed against her captors’ grips. Ivanna fell to
the side and Kevin backed away. She was free.

Andrina stopped a few feet away. “Don’t play
this game with me. You won't win.” A stiff breeze snapped over the
deck in warning.

Tremors racked Janelle’s body and her voice
came out like a screaming wind.
“You killed my
grandmother!”

Andrina put her hands on her hips like it was
nothing. “She attacked me, Janelle. Everyone here saw that.”

It seemed as if a little toothpick holding
her brain up had snapped. She rushed at Andrina. Water splashed
around her feet.

But Andrina reached out and seized her arms,
stopping her in her tracks. Her grip tightened, sending an ache up
Janelle’s arms.

“Don’t make me break these,” she growled,
pulling Janelle off the ground. “Because I will if I have to. I’ve
been waiting years for the Operation and you’re
not
going to
spoil it.”

The roaring in her head started to fade. The
pain in her arms went from an ache to a scream. The effect of the
water was wearing off. She tried to bring it back. Nothing. So she
struggled to yank her arms from Andrina’s monster grip. Still
nothing. If she couldn’t, then—

Andrina dragged her backwards, towards the
cage. “Kevin, by the ice! Ivanna, take the pulley!”

Janelle struggled to yank her arms from her
grip. But no use. Her feet dangled inches above the deck. She had
nothing to push off of. Except—

“No!” She kicked her feet until she found
Andrina’s shins.

The Tempest High Leader wobbled and cried
out. Her monster grip loosened—

And Janelle tumbled to the puddle. Water
seeped in through her pants. The roar filled her being again and
her birthmark came back to life. It was power, and it was all at
her disposal.

She shot up and faced Andrina, who rubbed her
leg with a grimace. Wind snapped across the deck, blowing her hair
into her face. The ocean churned around them. The boat lurched side
to side. People screamed. The crowd fell apart and went for the
railings.

Janelle stiffened to keep her footing. The
roar filled her head.
She
was doing all this.

“Save this for later. You’ll have plenty of
time to show everyone your power,” Andrina shouted, bracing against
the wind. “Though I am impressed. Anyone of my stock would have to
be a natural at this.”

Andrina looked over her shoulder. At
something. At someone.

Janelle spun around.

Alec and the other black-haired man crept
closer in ambush, but stopped as her gaze landed on them.

“Back off!”

Her voice washed over the deck in a roar.
People jumped. A blast of wind whipped around her and shot at Alec,
shoving him back towards her uncle.

Mr. Deville’s eyes widened, but not at Alec.
“Watch out!”

She’d turned her back on Andrina.

A gray-sleeved arm wrapped around her neck,
constricting her throat. “You fell for that too easy,” Andrina
said, pulling her back. “Now be a good girl and help us rise to
power.”

Andrina pulled her closer to the cage. She
had seconds to act, before the roar faded again. “Let go!” She
raised one foot and brought it down on Andrina’s heel with full
force.

Crunch
.

A howl rang in her ears. Andrina’s arm
loosened and Janelle pulled her head through. To safety. To
freedom.

“Hey!” Kevin yelled, rushing towards her.
Sunglasses bounced on his face as he pushed running bodies out of
the way. A woman fell to the deck in his wake, dragging Ivanna with
her.

Janelle took a breath and the wind gathered
around her, spinning and screaming and pushing Andrina out of the
way. People scattered and backed off, even her father, but she had
no time to care what they thought of her. Kevin stopped short as
his mouth fell open. He wasn’t even going to try.

Janelle raised her arms to shoot a blast of
wind at him. But someone rushed in front of her, feet thudding on
the deck. Black hair bounced up and down. Gary.

Gary rushed through the wind and at
Kevin.

Kevin raised his arms, but too late. Two
bodies collided and rushed for the railing. A pair of sunglasses
shot across the deck as a flailing foot hit them. Kevin cried out
as he toppled overboard and hit the water with a splash.

Gary pointed to the cage door. “Now!”

Andrina stood feet from it, grimacing in
agony and grabbing her broken foot. Kevin yelled for someone to
drop him a rope. Everyone else ran around in confusion. It was now
or never.

The roar in Janelle’s head—and the wind
around her—started fading.
Now!
She raised her hands, and
the wind did what she wanted this time. It rushed at Andrina like
water from a fire hose, whipping at her clothes and sending her
tumbling back into the shark cage. She screamed as she landed, but
the wind drowned her out.