Hero Reborn (Keepers of Justice, Book 3) (8 page)

Is he
pissed to see us? What if he fries our brains? Other people are around, too, watching us closely. It’s not like we’re going to trash the place. A few smile and hug X. He’s got no expression on his face, but in his eyes, I can tell how happy he is to see his old family.

Hello
, Ray, Kale Zenith, and Andrew Mason,
Scar greets in his freaky, high-pitched tone.
Ray had requested a meeting. What can I help you with?

It’s
my parents
, Kale says. We’re all connected through our minds so no one around can hear what we’re talking about.
We can’t find them. I can’t contact them telepathically, but maybe you can.

Scar doesn’t say anything. I’m
not sure if he’s going to do as Kale asked. After all, our League leaders are not part of his family.

No
, Scar says after a few seconds.
I have not succeeded in communicating with them.

Our shoulders fall. If one of the greatest telepaths can’t locate
Kale’s parents, what are we supposed to do?

But
my mom left an opening for you in my dad’s mental fortification
, Kale continues.
You should be able to contact him
.

I have attempted, but failed. Samson and Cindy’s minds are
unreachable.

Kale runs his hand down his face. His body trembles a bit.

I want to say something, but only a whimper comes out. Scar’s eyes flash to mine.
Yes?

W-what about other League
members? Like—like my parents?

I cannot reach any of your League members.

We exchange looks. Does that mean everyone’s captured? Dead? Were they taken by the Blades?

I cannot answer that
.

Kale
marches around the room.
Okay, you can’t contact my parents or anyone else
. He looks at X for a second.
What about Vlayne
?

Excuse me
?

Kale
’s eyebrows come together like he’s trying to think. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. He looks at X again.

Scar
, X says,
we need you to penetrate Vlayne’s mind and find where the ShadowBlades are hiding.

I cannot. I will not.

But you need to!
Kale yells.
They have Lindsay! They could be torturing her.

X puts his hand on Kale’s shoulder. He turns to Scar.
The ShadowBlades are responsible for the virus, Scar. The virus my mom was afraid of. We need to find and stop them.

It
is only possible to stop the virus with the antidote. Locating the ShadowBlades would accomplish nothing.
Scar’s eyes get serious.
Only death
.

There
is no antidote,
X says in a calm tone
. We don’t know what happened to the formula. We don’t know if the League is synthesizing it.

Unfortunately
, the humans will die.
He says it with no emotion.

Kale
slinks down to the floor and pushes his knees to his chest. He looks at Scar.
You won’t help us?

I will not
.

Kale slams his fist on his knee.

It’s okay, Kale,
I say.

Like hell it is.
He hasn’t taken his eyes off Scar.
I can’t believe you won’t help us
.

Scar doesn’t answer.
It looks like he doesn’t care.

“
Guys,” I say. “Let’s go.”

X and I turn toward the door, but Kale remains on the floor, his
gaze still on Scar. “Dude, c’mon,” I say.

You’re
scared
, Kale says to Scar, getting to his feet.
You don’t want to penetrate Vlayne’s mind because you’re scared.

Oh
, man. Why did he say that? Scar looks like he wants to melt Kale’s brain. His eyes are dark, intense, filled with rage.

I’m sorry,
Kale says.
Was just mad. I didn’t mean it.
His eyes light up.
What if we pool our energies? You’re a strong telepath and I share my mom’s brain waves. Maybe together, we can contact her.

Scar’s quiet as he think
s this over. His eyes flash.
I will not help you, Kale Zenith. This does not concern my family.

Kale throws his hands
up. “God. You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“
Kale,” X says.

Scar
turns to Blaze.
Escort these children out
.

Kale snorts,
crossing his arms over his chest. X pulls his arm. “It’s not worth fighting with them.”

Kale shoves X’s hand off. X pins Kale
against the wall. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“
Get your hands off me, man.”

Blaze and another guy, one with huge biceps, inch
closer to X and Kale. I’m left standing near the doorway, when it hits me. No, we shouldn’t leave. I know Scar only cares about his family, but we need to stand our ground. Kale’s idea about pooling their energies is good. It might work.

“
We’re…” I clear my throat. “We’re not leaving.”

All
heads turn to me. X still has Kale pressed to the wall. He lets go.

Scar moves closer.
What was that, Andrew Mason?

I
swallow. “Y-you have to know what it’s like. To be completely alone in the world. To be scared. To miss your family so much and have no clue where they are. If they’re okay.”

Scar’s eyes soften.
For only a second. I continue, my voice shaking, “Our home was destroyed. We don’t know who’s alive or what’s going to happen to everyone. Every day, we wake up in fear. We’re terrified of everyone and everything. We don’t know who to trust. You know what that’s like, Scar. You wouldn’t want us to go through that.” I swallow again. “Kale’s idea is very smart. You guys…you guys should try it.”

The
room is dead silent. Everyone waits for a reaction from Scar. He moves closer. Circles me, his gaze never leaving mine. After a few seconds he stops.

Very well. I will do as Kale requested.

A huge sigh escapes me. I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders. Like I can finally breathe freely.

Scar motions for Kale to join him in the center of the room.
Kale smiles, all hopeful and excited. They face each other. Scar holds out his hands and Kale takes them. Their eyes shut.

I can’t see much
of what’s happening. Their mouths open a bit and their foreheads scrunch up. I wonder what it’s like to be connected to Scar’s mind. No, I’d probably have nightmares for life.

A
few minutes pass. They fly apart, Kale knocking into the wall and Scar flipping over a recliner. Blaze and the bicep guy help him to his feet. X and I help Kale.

“
Did it work?” I ask.

Kale lets out a breath. “
No.”

My
stomach drops.

I have done as you requested
, Scar says.
Please leave my home before you put my family’s life at risk.

Blaze and the bicep guy escort us out. After splashing through the sewers, we climb
up and head to the car.

We’re
quiet as we drive home. Kale’s lips are in a tight line. I can’t stop thinking about my parents. I really hope I get to see them again.

Kale sits up. “X, pull over
.”

X looks confused, but obeys. He turns to Kale. I
make my neck long and stick my head through the narrow space between the two front seats.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Kale hesitates. “I didn’t want to tell you when we were still at Scar’s. Didn’t want him to overhear. When we pooled our energies, I glimpsed into Scar’s mind.” He pauses. “He lied to us. He knows where the Blades are holding their hostages.”

“
What?” X’s hand, that’s resting on the steering wheel, tightens. His knuckles go white.

“
What do you mean?” I ask. “How were you able to enter his mind without him noticing?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he
didn’t tell us because he didn’t want to be held responsible. So he let me see. We don’t have time to figure it out right now. The ShadowBlades are holding Keepers captive in some abandoned building in Staten Island. There are only a few Blades guarding them.”

I pull my head back to my body. “So…what? We go after them?”

“Of course,” Kale says.

“Um…do you remember what happened the last time we did something like that? I was murdered!”

“No,” X says. “We’re not going to attack them. I’ll scout the area to make sure Lindsay or other League mates are there. If they are, we’ll know their exact location and we’ll try to rescue them. If not, we flee. I won’t let either of you die.”

“
And what if we get caught?” I ask. “We don’t have weapons or anything.”

“
We’ll be careful this time,” X says. “Kale has telepathy now.”

“So?”

“So I’ll knock the Blades out,” Kale explains. “They won’t be expecting us like the last time. Remember, Vlayne pretended to be Scar and lured us to that warehouse. But this time, she’s not expecting us. We can go fast, slip in, slip out, since X will see where everyone is. We can hide from detection. And if someone’s onto us, I’ll knock him out.”

“But Vlayne’s protection—”

“Only blocks telepaths from reading their minds. She can’t protect them from a telepathic attack.”

I don’t know about this. I don’t want to die again.

“I’ll scout the area first,” X repeats. “If I see it’s too dangerous, we back out of the plan. Like I said, I’m not going to let either of you die.”

We reach
Queens. The streets are mostly empty, but shouts can be heard in the distance. “Do you hear that?” I ask.

They don’t sound like protesters, but like people getting attacked.

“Stop the car,” I say. “I think people are in trouble.”

X does
, and the three of us get out. The shouts get louder. “This way,” X says.

We
follow him up the block. As we’re running, six people stand in our way. We nearly crash into them.

One of the
guys shoves a pad of paper and a pen in my face. “Sign the petition to free the Keepers.”

I’m about to take the pen,
but X whispers, “No.” He pulls me away by my arm.

I twist in his grasp. “
Dude, why not?”

He drops his clutch. “
Sorry, but we’re supposed to keep a low profile.”

“I was just signing
—”

“
We can’t,” he says. “As much as we want to help, we can’t. You don’t know who those people are. We need to be careful.”

I adjust my sleeve. “
Okay. Sorry.”

We move on.
The screaming gets louder and we run faster, until we reach the humans in trouble. A group of adults flee an area. Looks like an alley or something. Two guys and two girls with huge arms and legs step out. They’re dressed in costume. The question is whether they’re good or bad. Judging by the way those people run, I’m guessing bad. Villains, maybe.

I’m about to
dart away, but X pulls my arm. “Let’s fight them.”

“
What
?”

“
X, we need to keep a low profile,” Kale says. “And we need to go over the plan to save Lindsay and the others.”

The shouting intensifies.
The big guys and girls are stomping down the streets, swinging their humongous arms into people.

“
We need to help,” X says. “We’re the only Keepers remaining.”

Evil lau
ghter. The guys pummel a car. “Help!” people shout. “Help!”

Th
ose villains are after more innocent normies. Most escape, but some get caught in their path.

Kale
turns to go. I grab his arm. “They’ll crush us like ants.”

He points to his head. “
Telepathy, remember?”

“
You go ahead without me,” I say.

“
No way. I’ll take ‘em down. You and X get those people to safety.”

X
seems confident. How the hell is he confident? I back away.

“
You can do this, Stretch,” X says.