Saved at Sunrise (9 page)

Her grandfather. She was worried about his safety and the possibility of what the
FRU could do to him and the other elders. Was he okay? Did she need to find him in
case he needed … protecting?

“Maybe we should go find the others,” she said, her blood starting the fizzling sensation
she got when she feared someone was in danger.

“No,” her aunt said in a voice that left little doubt that she was the one in charge.
“We wait here. That was the plan and we never stray from a plan.”

Kylie heard something in her aunt’s voice. Edginess, concern. Kylie’s blood grew hotter
in her veins.

“Have the FRU come here before? Do they know we can vanish?” Kylie asked.

“Only if you told them,” Brandon snapped.

Brandon, the teen who didn’t like her. Oh, he had liked her plenty in the beginning,
but when Kylie pretty much told the seventeen-year-old that he was wasting his time
coming on to her, he’d obviously been offended. He’d snubbed her ever since. And anytime
Kylie accomplished something that the teachers taught, shifting their patterns and
such, he seemed personally insulted at her success. This wasn’t a competition. She
just wanted to learn all she could and then … then go back to Shadow Falls.

Go back home.
The thought hung up somewhere inside her, a place very close to her heart.

“I never told them,” Kylie said.

“This is no time for bickering,” her aunt stated.

“She brought this on us,” Brandon spit out. “We’ve never had the FRU break in before.
And God only knows what they will do to us if they find us.”

“Be quiet,” her aunt Francyne ordered.

But in the silence that followed, Kylie heard what wasn’t being said by the others.
They agreed with Brandon. Because of her, the FRU had discovered their compound.

Guilt crowded Kylie’s chest. She had never considered that her coming here could have
put anyone in danger. Yet it had, hadn’t it?

Her blood fizzed faster, thoughts of her grandfather being hurt—of it being her fault—made
her heart race.

Kylie tried to pull her hand free. “No,” her aunt said. “You let go, you’ll become
visible.”

“I need to make sure they’re okay. And … I can become invisible myself.”

“That’s impossible,” Brandon snapped. “You can’t do that until you’re in your twenties.
Everyone knows that.”

Kylie rolled her eyes. She was tired of his petty jealousy.

Footsteps sounded. Numbers were called out. She recognized her grandfather’s voice
as well as the other elders.

“They’ll search in here,” her grandfather said. “Adults, make sure you hold tight
to your child’s hands. Go to the south end of the property.” The sounds of people
making their way out echoed through what, even to Kylie, looked like an empty barn.

Kylie felt her aunt’s hold on her wrist, directing her to walk, but then her grandfather
spoke again. “Everyone but Francyne and Kylie. You two go down by the edge of the
woods in the back.”

Kylie couldn’t help but wonder why she and Aunt Francyne were being singled out.

*   *   *

“Why?” Kylie asked after she heard the last footsteps leave, still finding it so strange
to speak when no one could see her.

“When we are in a state of emergency, one never asks questions.” Her aunt’s voice
rang in the emptiness of the barn. Then, still holding Kylie’s hand, the woman started
moving and in careful steps, she guided Kylie out of the barn.

She moved with her aunt, but she couldn’t remain silent. “What’s going on? Why should
I be taken to a different place than the others?” Kylie asked as she moved through
the barn door. The afternoon light had her pupils adjusting.

“Obviously, it is you they search for,” her grandfather answered, his voice sounding
close, but his form still invisible.

“But I’m a protector,” Kylie insisted. “If someone needs help, I should stay close.”

“I can feel you, damn it! Where are you?” a voice, a familiar voice that wasn’t her
aunt’s or grandfather’s, called out behind Kylie.

Her breath caught and she looked over her shoulder. About fifty feet way, standing
in the tall grass was someone she cared about.

“Derek,” she called out. Then she remembered that no one, other than another unseen
chameleon, could hear her when she was invisible.

“We should go.” Her aunt gave Kylie’s hand a tug, but she didn’t budge. Stiffening,
Kylie soaked up Derek’s image, hungry for anything that was linked to her life at
Shadow Falls.

His light brown hair resting on his brow stirred in the wind, giving him a carefree
look, but his green eyes with flecks of gold held concern. What was he doing here?

“Where are you, Kylie?” he asked and the breeze whisked his words away.

She remembered what her grandfather had said about who was here. This wasn’t the FRU!

“Go to the creek!” her grandfather demanded. “You should not have told them where
you were.”

His accusation and his tone put Kylie on the defensive. While she couldn’t see her
grandfather, she could imagine his expression—stern and uncompromising.

She turned to where she heard his voice. “I didn’t tell them, and no, I will not leave.
You lied. It’s not the FRU.” The feeling of betrayal hit.

“When I told you it was the FRU, I was repeating what I was told by those guarding
the gate. But even still, it is not a lie. They both work for the FRU.”

They? Who else was here?
She heard footsteps coming from the house. Her first thought was it could be Lucas.
Her heart gripped at the possibility of seeing him. The pain of his disloyalty weighed
heavy on her heart and still tasted bitter. Yet as those footsteps grew closer, she
could not turn away any more than she could stop breathing.

Looking back she saw Burnett, Burnett James, one of the camp leaders. Not Lucas. Disappointment
swelled in her chest, but she refused to believe it was due to Lucas not being there.
She didn’t want him to come. Didn’t want to see him, not now and maybe not ever. Even
as the thought whisked through her mind, she felt her heart race with the lie.

But she knew that at least some of the disappointment she felt was about Burnett.
She hadn’t said good-bye because she knew he would have tried to stop her from leaving.
Now she wanted to go to him and embrace him. Apologize for neglecting the courtesy
of a simple good-bye.

“Kylie.” Her aunt spoke again and gave her hand a slight tug. “Your grandfather knows
what is best. Listen to him. We must go.”

Kylie inhaled and tried to not let her emotions control her. But it seemed almost
too late. Her head spun as too many feelings swirled inside her. Loneliness, regret,
and anger at being lied to. “He knows what is best for him, but maybe not so much
for me.”

“You must trust him,” her aunt said, her grip on Kylie’s wrist tightening. “Come,
please. We only want to protect you.”

“I don’t need protecting from Burnett or Derek.” She spoke calmly. “And it appears
he needs to trust me, as well. I didn’t tell anyone where I was. I gave you my word
and I didn’t break it.” She heard the hurt resonate in her voice.

“That’s not important,” her grandfather said, but Kylie disagreed. Before she could
voice her feeling, he continued, “What is important is that they will try to force
you to come back. If we leave now, we will avoid a confrontation.”

“She’s around here somewhere,” Derek called back to Burnett. “I can feel her. Seriously,
she’s here somewhere.”

Kylie focused where she thought her grandfather stood. “No one will force me to do
anything that I do not want to do. Not them … or you,” she added. “My plan all along
was to go back to Shadow Falls. I told you that from the beginning.”

“A plan that I also told
you
I do not agree with.” Her grandfather’s voice rose slightly.

Kylie, lured by the sound of footsteps, looked over her shoulder again. She watched
as Burnett drew closer. Proud, strong, a bit too headstrong. In so many ways, he reminded
her of her grandfather. Inhaling, she glanced back to where she’d heard her grandfather’s
voice earlier. “I came here of my own free will and when I choose to leave, I will.”

“You are too stubborn for your own good.” Her grandfather’s voice boomed from nothing.

“And I fear I might have inherited it from my grandfather,” Kylie snapped. Then she
glanced back at Derek and Burnett.

“Come with me, Kylie,” her aunt pleaded and she held tightly to Kylie’s hand.

“No,” Kylie repeated and watched as Burnett drew closer. He stopped beside Derek,
only fifteen feet away from Kylie. She longed to run to him and throw herself in his
arms.

“The pizza in the main house was still warm,” Burnett said. “Are you sure she’s here?”

“I’m certain,” Derek answered. “And she’s upset about something, too.”

Not seen or heard, but still felt, Kylie thought. How odd was that? Her aunt started
patting Kylie’s hand as if the gentle touch would convince her. But Kylie was beyond
convincing. “Please let me go,” she told her aunt. But her aunt held on.

“Is she in danger?” Burnett growled.

Derek closed his eyes as if internally trying to touch her emotions. When he opened
his eyes, he looked at Burnett. “I don’t think so,” Derek answered. “She’s frustrated
and I sense … loneliness. And … she’s feeling … something … something like being torn
between two loyalties.”

Tears welled up in Kylie’s eyes. Leave it to Derek to always get her emotions right.
She knew her grandfather and aunt cared about her, knew they only wanted what was
best for her, but how could she not make herself visible to Burnett and Derek? Why
did she feel as if doing so would be seen as disloyal to her chameleon family?

She’d tried to play by their rules; she had. But enough was enough.

Burnett looked around and Kylie would swear he looked right at her. “Are there others
here?”

“I’m not sure,” Derek said. “I can only sense Kylie because…” He didn’t finish, but
she knew the answer. He could sense her so well because he loved her.

Burnett stood a little straighter. “Mr. Summers, I need to speak with you. Now!”

“How do you know he’s here?” Derek asked.

“If Kylie’s here, he’s around.” Burnett shifted his vision back and forth. “Show yourself.”

Kylie heard her grandfather move in beside her.

“You belong with us, child. Just let them leave,” her grandfather said.

His invisible shoulder brushed against hers. Even angry at him, his touch, and the
tenor of his voice reminded her of her father’s. The ties binding them to each other
could not be denied. But what about her ties to Shadow Falls? “I can’t,” Kylie said.

“Let them leave and we will talk about this in a rational manner later,” her grandfather
offered, and she could hear in his voice that he tried to temper his mood.

“I am being rational,” she said. Her aunt’s hold on her hand tightened and Kylie had
to fight not to jerk away.

“No, you are not,” he said.

Suddenly, Kylie’s own mood was beyond tempering. Maybe he hadn’t actually lied to
her when he’d claimed it had been the FRU, but no doubt he had planned to get her
away so she wouldn’t know who had arrived. Since when did he feel he could decide
who she could and couldn’t see?

The answer came no sooner than the question whispered across her mind.
Since she had come here.
She hadn’t missed how limited her connection to the outside world had been since
she’d arrived. No phone. No computer. And it wasn’t just her. The chameleon lifestyle
encouraged isolation.

“No.” She touched her aunt’s hand. “Release me.” She spoke slowly but in a tone she
hoped they understood was serious.

“Do as she asks,” her grandfather said and he sounded defeated. Kylie had only blinked
when his image started appearing before her eyes. It wasn’t like a ghost materializing.
It was somehow different. As if the air parted and he was pulled back into the world.

Her aunt released Kylie’s wrist and she felt a slight tingling in her feet and she
looked down and watched as her feet and legs became visible.

“Wow,” Derek said. Lifting her face, she saw him stare at her, and fought the urge
to throw herself into his arms.

Glancing at Burnett, she saw surprise appear in his eyes as well. His gaze met hers
briefly, then he focused his attention on her grandfather who stood protectively at
her side.

“Why have you come here?” her grandfather asked, his tone dark and menacing. Immediately,
she knew his stance was out of protection for her.

“Kylie’s life is in danger, and if I can find you, so can the rogue who’s after her.”

“It is not the rogue who I fear the most,” her grandfather said, leaving little doubt
he considered the FRU, as well as Burnett, the biggest threat.

“You are letting the past blind you from seeing the truth,” Burnett said. “Yes, the
FRU would like to test Kylie, and some of us have decided not to let that happen,
but it is Mario and his team who have already killed trying to get to her.”

“I will protect my own,” her grandfather said, his wide shoulders drawing tighter.

“How? By turning invisible? Do you not know that Kylie has already been taken hostage
by this man, and she’s discovered that Mario is a chameleon just like you and that
means he knows about your trick? And if he knows about it, that makes you all the
more vulnerable to him.”

“I know this,” her grandfather said, sounding defensive.

“Then you should know enough to be scared. Mario has not spent the last fifty years
hiding as you and your friends have been moving from one place to another. He’s been
killing the innocent. He has taken the powers you have and mastered them to slaughter
others. Even his own grandson died at his hands in front of Kylie because the boy
defended her. If Mario will sacrifice his own blood, he will think nothing of killing
his own kind.”

“Wait,” Kylie said, trying to keep up. “How do you know Mario is back?”