Lost Energy (21 page)

"So…why haven't they tried to
take it over before?"

"Teenesee's energy is what
makes the land so powerful. That'd be my only theory." He slouched against
the edge of a small sofa after pulling a picture off the end table sitting next
to it.

"Then why would they attack
her now?"

He handed me the picture, a frown
marring his handsome face. "I guess they're willing to risk taking the
strong energy from her people and ship it back to Exemplar. Those Guides you
felt? They were in energy form, collecting the dead from inside the bullets."

Shock swirled inside my head. I
glanced down at the picture of the woman still pregnant standing beside a man
who had an arm securing her waist and a hand on her swollen stomach. Both wore
matching bands on their left ring fingers, the same band the woman wore still.
Exemplar was willing to risk it because I broke the rules. This…massacre was my
fault. I swallowed. "What do you think happened to him?"

He closed his eyes. "She said
he's under the blanket out front. Tried to find some food. They shot as soon as
the door closed behind him."

My fingers tightened on the
picture, the pressure reopening my wound. Tremors attacked my limbs. That hate
in my gut churning like hot tar. "I'm gonna kill them all."

Farren shook his head, his eyes
still closed, as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Isn't that what you
decided to hate about the old you? Black and white, kid, isn't the best way of
seeing things."

I wanted to argue, punch him in the
head. Cry and sob. Damn. He was right–I wasn't any different from the woman I
accused Tarek of…of…double damn.

A lot to make up for–if I lived
long enough.

I set the picture on the couch and
moved to curl up beside Farren. "I'll fix things."

His big chest heaved with a sigh. "You're
not the only one who fucked up, Lena. He needs to explain some shit, too."

That helped the guilt.

It didn't cure the desire to kill
each and every one of those murdering bastards, though. Chalk that up on the something-to-work-on
list. "I need to talk to Wilma."

"Soon, kid."

Man, I missed her at that moment, missed
her with every breath in my body. Tough love always made me feel ten times
better. Who knew being called a dumbass would have such positive results? I
waved a hand at the mother and child. "We have to take them with us."

He stayed silent.

"Farren?"

He squeezed my shoulder. "I
know. We'll give her a day or two to gain some more strength, and then find a
way to get to Teenesee."

I closed my eyes, exhaustion
promising sweet oblivion. "Farren?"

"What now?"

"You think we have a shot? I
mean, do you really think we can take the dimension back?"

"Absolutely." There wasn't
any hesitation.

His confidence was liquid gold,
melting away all my fear and hardening my courage. "Me too." I
glanced over his chest to find our new wards sleeping peacefully, though still covered
in the sticky blood. "We need to clean them up."

"Later. Sleep now."

"But–"

"Later."

"No, not later. Now." I
shrugged from his arm, and went to find some towels in the back bedroom.
Without disturbing the duo, I sopped up the blood with the thick towels and
went to fill the carafes with more water. The result wasn't exactly sanitary,
but better. Taking some blankets from the couch, I covered them, tucking the
edges around the woman's thin body.

After snuggling up to Farren again,
I pulled another blanket over us. He smiled, his eyes closed. "You're all
right, kid."

I dug my chin into his chest a
little. "Thanks for the help."

His chest rumbled as he swatted my
chin off him. "Welcome. Now, sleep."

No problem.

CASUALTIES

T
hey know you're here.

Wilma's warning boomed inside my
brain, pulling me out of a deep sleep. I jumped up, and fell, my legs not as
awake as everything else. I elbowed Farren who snapped to attention and made it
to his feet in under five seconds.

"What? What is it?"

He didn't wait for an answer and stomped
to the window, touching the bottom right corner. The glass turned black, but
didn't obstruct our view of what went on outside, which was nada. Definitely a
good thing. He scanned the street anyway, craning his neck and pressing on the
sill to get a better look farther down. "Well? You planning on answering
me?"

I used the couch to help drag
myself up and plopped on the bright orange cushions. Everything, from the
furniture to the dishes in the kitchen sink screamed with vibrant reds,
oranges, and yellows. Happy colors. Now, their lives were destroyed. I had to
clear my throat a few times. "Um, Wilma. In my head. Said they know we're
here."

"Shit." Farren left the
window and bent to the sleeping woman whose little girl found her own way to
breakfast. Farren whispered in the woman's ear, his tone gentle. She awoke
confused at first, eyes wide. Then total devastation made her dark eyes endless,
a sob escaping her lips. Farren whispered some more, my name coming up, while rubbing
her shoulder. How he remained calm even though I knew he was wrapped tighter
than a metal coil amazed me. After he finished, he gestured my way. "Lena,
meet Cara."

I waved, and she gave a quiet smile.

Farren said a few more things, all
the while continuing to rub her shoulder. Cara nodded, tears still lingering in
her lashes, and wrapped one arm around his neck. He lifted them both and headed
toward the back of the house. Without looking behind, he said, "We need to
get away from the windows."

I followed. "But, didn't you
push that button? They can't see in now, right?"

He pushed the bedroom door open
with the tip of his boot and set the woman on the bed, which floated like the
town. "Sure, but Guides can come right through the fucking walls in energy
form. And I guarantee there's a recon mission ordered to find us. That's why
the streets are so quiet." He tucked a blanket around the woman and smiled
for her benefit as he continued. "They're trying to give us false
confidence, make us believe it's safe to leave our hiding spot. Make it easier
for those glowing balls of shit to feel static. Ah, no offense."

"None taken. I'm not a glowing
ball of shit in this life."

He grinned. "Once a ball of
shit…." His grin faltered and he bowed his head. "We need to leave.
Staying here makes us easy targets. Trapped, you know?"

How the hell were we gonna leave,
especially with Cara and her baby? If the answer would land right into my–

Stay put and wait until dark so you
can see the Guides' lights. You're close. I can feel you. Stick to the
alleyways. I'll meet you two blocks west from your current position. Don't be
stupid!

Thank you, Wilma.

We'd still have to worry about our
new responsibilities, but at least we'd have Wilma's help. I smiled and tapped
my head. "Wilma said to wait until dark. She's gonna meet us."

"Tonight? Twelve hours…okay."
He searched the room, checking the door for locks before tapping the corner of a
tiny window too high for me to see out. He asked Cara something when the black
didn't overtake the clear glass and she shook her head. Farren cursed. He came
back to me, rubbing his forehead. "Here's the deal. Don't. Say. Another.
Word."

I tilted my head and opened my
mouth. No way did he need to talk to me like I was five.

"No, seriously, shut up. They'll
have listened to a recording of your voice, mine too. We stay quiet. Period."

I nodded, finally getting it. Not
liking it, but whatever. Unfortunately, no talking meant thinking, not what I
really wanted to do. Tarek filled every corner of my mind. If he'd talk to me,
find his way inside my mind, tell me how pissed he was. Anything.

I slammed the door on that part of
my mind, which didn't help put a block on my heart. No amount of willpower
could ease the pain brewing in there. Shaking my head, I rubbed my temples before
pointing at Farren, the door…and finally to my mouth.

He shrugged with his hands out and
a dumb grin on his face.

Stomping my foot, I made the motion
of eating and drinking.

He mouthed
oh
and did some
charades of his own.

My turn to hold out hands with a
shrug.

Glancing at Cara, who looked at us
as though we'd checked in from crazy town, Farren squatted, hesitated, and made
what I'd consider an obscene gesture with his hands near his crotch before
pointing back to me, a question raising his brows.

Ah, the bathroom…

I pointed from him to the door, mouthed
you first
, repeated his borderline porno moves, and scooped imaginary
food into my mouth. He grinned again and left the room, thankfully
understanding.

I sat next to Cara, trying to
maintain a smile as I grazed a finger across her daughter's soft cheek. When I
pulled away, Cara grabbed my hand and squeezed. She said nothing, gratitude and
hope clouding her eyes. Responsibility for her safety overwhelmed me. I could
barely take care of myself most of the time.

But…this place…

I straightened, clenching my jaw,
and squeezed her hand in return. We'd give these people back their homes; give
them a reason to fight. I might not be the strongest or the smartest, but
goddammit, I had friends who were.

∞
∞ ∞

Waiting gnawed at my patience. I managed
to help Cara wash up and had the nerve-wracking honor of bathing the baby with
a sponge that smelled like lavender and a carafe of water while Cara napped.
This little person… I was in awe with her innocent face and delicate brown skin
as soft as cotton. Fierce protectiveness flooded all my senses when her little
hand found my finger and squeezed. That Protector, the bitch who pointed her
gun, hopped back into my head, sealing her death. I'd find her. She'd pay.

They all would.

When the baby fussed, I tamped down
the rage building long enough to coo and smile as I carried her toward the bed.
Cara awoke as soon as I placed the baby beside her. Funny how a mother always
knew. She opened her fresh, clean blouse, giving me a smile before feeding her
child.

After making sure they were okay, I
picked the spot on the floor beside Farren, who hadn't taken his eyes off the
door since he sat down three hours ago. Waiting didn't seem to bother him at
all. No fidgeting, pacing, nothing. Now that I didn't have the baby to occupy
my attention, I had to sit on my hands to keep from pulling at the ends of my
hair or tapping on my knees. Leftover dried fish and apricots Farren scavenged
from the kitchen sat between us. Wasn't half-bad, actually. I picked at it to
keep my hands busy.

I also waited for Tarek to invade
my head. Wished for him to, more like.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Somewhere in those long, quiet
eight hours, I fell asleep.

Static woke me up.

White noise pierced my temples
until I screamed, though the static drowned out my agony even inside my head.
Farren didn't have trouble hearing me. He gripped my shoulders as I slapped my
palms over my ears, throat raw.

Farren shook me until I met his
worried gaze, his mouth moving, but nothing coming out. At least, I didn't hear
anything. With every bit of strength I had, I switched my screams to jumbled
words I hoped he understood. "They found us."

He stormed to the window, grabbing
a thick blanket on the way. Farren covered the glass until the room darkened–all
except the twenty shining orbs glinting like stars.

I grit my teeth, their presence
paralyzing me. One would've turned me into a drooling mess. Twenty held me on
the ground like cement weights, the noise, and my attraction to them, more
important than my life.

Farren yelled, though I could only
read his lips.
"Move!"

I tried, I swear, but those orbs…

Desperation colored his face as he
glanced from me to Cara who had her mouth open in a scream. One second. That
was all the time it took for Farren to scoop me up, fling me over his shoulder,
and race from the room, leaving behind Cara and her baby. Orbs followed us
through the house. The ten surrounding me created such a magnetic force I couldn't
help reaching out to them. Farren stumbled under my weight as he tore open the
front door. Ten others floated in separate directions, no doubt to alert their
Protectors.

I struggled in Farren's arms,
reaching for the lights, slowing him down. I needed to touch them, my arms stretching
over his shoulders, and then pummeling his back, kicking him in the chest until
he lost his hold. As soon as my butt hit the cobblestone, the orbs, now
invisible in the bright sun, pulled me up and caressed me. They trapped me
while I smiled, finally able to feel their heat. Static in my head lessoned as
though they hypnotized me into loving the sound, craving it. I followed the lights
in the opposite direction.

Farren jumped in front of me. As
his fist flew toward my chin, and right before unconsciousness took over, I finally
heard his voice. "Sorry, kid."