The Forbidden Trilogy (105 page)

7.
Lucy used the sphere to
calm herself down and ultimately it became a crutch that disallowed her from
facing her own problems. Is it better to avoid problems or face them head on?
What are some ways other characters in this series avoided their own problems?
Was it affective for them to do this? What were some consequences of their
behavior in this regard?

8.
Steele has been set up
throughout the series as the big bad guy behind Rent-A-Kid. What did you
imagine his motivation would be before reading the final book? Were you
surprised by the truth of his past and why he made the choices he did?

9.
Many character in this
series are seduced by the lure of power. Steele began this whole enterprise so
he wouldn’t feel weak and bullied. Simmons betrayed her people and her mission
for the chance to get the para-powers she'd always wanted. Drake made a deal
with the devil and used untested drugs to reclaim his own power. Why do you
think people are so motivated by power? What is the lure? What does this power
gain them? What do they lose by pursuing power at all costs?

10.
There are some young kids
in this book who are given a heavy burden. Toby is a young boy who was thrust
into the streets at an early age and forced to survive. Tommy lost his parents
and had his innocence stolen from him. Serena also lost her parents and had to
face real life monsters. All three kids fought Rent-A-Kid in their own way.
Were they too young to be involved in this war? Was there a way they could have
avoided it? What does it say about society that at such a young age children
are used, abused and abandoned so regularly?

11.
When Drake lost his
ability to use his para-powers he felt useless and incomplete as a human being.
What makes a human valuable and worthy? Is it what they can do or who they are?
Is who we are determined by how 'useful' we are?

12.
Drake transforms quite a
bit in this book as he faces himself without powers and comes to grips with
never having them again. When he meets his real father, Beleth, at the end of
the book, Beleth gives Drake new powers. What kind of person do you think Drake
will be with his new powers? How might these very different, and more passive
powers, shape who he is and who he becomes?

13.
Steele believes he won't
be respected or found valuable without his powers. He and Drake have a similar
arch, but they handle it much differently. How do you feel about the choices
Steele made? If he'd succeeded in getting the level of power he wanted, do you
think he would have finally been truly happy? Why or why not?

14
. Sam changes as she faces
the loss of her daughter. She must become the kind of person who isn't afraid
to make hard choices and do what must be done to save Ana. Do you see these
changes in her as positive or negative? Are there times when it's justified and
morally acceptable to break the rules? How are her choices different from the
choices Simmons or Steele made?

15.
Mr. K was presumed dead
until Lucy, Luke and Hunter found him in Hawaii. Had he not perished in the
fire, he would have spent his life trapped as a tree. Was his death a blessing
for him? Would you have wanted to live as a tree?

16.
Everyone in this trilogy
was at one point or another forced to break the rules to do what they thought
needed to be done. Some of these choices we'd consider 'right' and others 'wrong.'
When was it right for a character to break the rules? When was it wrong? How do
you determine when it's right or wrong? Does that make morality subjective? If
so, how can society function if so much is left to individual discernment?

SAM SMITH

Real Name
Sam (no last name)

Aliases
Sam Smith

Height
5'6"

Weight
120

Eyes
blue

Hair
brown

Age
18

Threat Level
Least Concern

Para-Level (1-10)

7-
A strong, powerful para-power with influence over
others. (Ex. Mind reading, memory shaping)

Classified: Forbidden Mind:

8-
A very strong, very powerful para-power or
ability. (Ex. Mind control.)

Para-power(s)
Mind reading, mind control

Occupation
Rent-A-Kid spy/artist

Place of Birth
test-tube experiment manufactured in
Rent-A-Kid lab

Relationship Status
Married to Drake Davis

Known Relatives
The Seeker, Mr. Steele

Group Affiliations
Rent-A-Kid

Base of Operation
Hawaii/Washington

History
Reads minds. Was raised in a secret schools
for paranormals and rented out as a spy. Artist of note.

First Appearance:
Forbidden Mind
(Forbidden Trilogy, #1)

Resources on this paranormal:
Learn more about Sam
and the Rent-A-Kid organization with
Forbidden Mind
,
Forbidden
Fire
and
Forbidden Life
, by Agent
Kimberly
Kinrade
. Pathways, Christmas Lites II

OTHER RESEARCH AND FILES:

From Sam:

This is what my official profile at IPI (International
Paranormal Investigations at
http://IPIAcademy.com
) says. Like that's
all that matters about me, how powerful I am, what's my threat level, what can
I do.

This is all that mattered to Rent-A-Kid too, though I didn't
know it at the time. They used me as a spy, rich people spying on other rich
people so they could all get richer. Whatever. You want to know the real me?
Look at my best friends, Luke and Lucy. Look at my art work. Talk to my
boyfriend. They can tell you the important stuff.

Like, I love art more than anything. I love painting and
drawing and going to museums. I'm a total geek about it and could spend days
and days in a studio or museum just absorbing colors and shapes and images. My
favorite movie is X-Men, for obvious reasons. (Come on, you know it's funny!) I
totally
hate
Palm Trees. Seriously, they're the ugliest trees in the
world and I don’t know why people like them.

I'm sometimes shy and often end up on the wrong side of a
bully's attention—mostly Mary, she's such a witch. (Not a real witch, just, you
know, witch with a 'b'.) I'm working on standing up for myself more though.

I'm really loyal to the people I love and would do anything
for them, and I can't wait to go to Sarah Lawrence and study art.

So this is just a little about me, but you'll never really
know me if you don’t spend some time with me.

And sadly, you'll never know me as well as I will know you.
I
can
read minds after all, and I know what you're thinking right now!

~Sam

DRAKE DAVIS

Real Name Drake Davis

Height 6'1"

Weight 200

Eyes blue

Hair blonde

Age 19

Threat Level Moderate Threat

Para-Level (1-10)

8-A very strong, very powerful para-power or ability. (Ex.
Mind control.)

Para-power(s) mind control, super strength

Aliases NA

Occupation surfer/surfing instructor

Place of Birth unknown/Classified

Relationship Status Married to Sam Smith

Known Relatives Beleth, father/Agent Simmons, mother

Group Affiliations

Base of Operation Hawaii/Washington

History The product of an affair between powerful paranormal
and human, put in the child welfare system and raised in foster homes. Abused.

First Appearance: Forbidden Mind

Resources on this paranormal The Forbidden Trilogy

LUCY RIVERA

Real Name Lucy Rivera

Height 5'4"

Weight 110

Eyes brown

Hair brown

Age 19

Threat Level Minimal Threat

Para-Level (1-10)

4-A more highly advance para-power above human power,
useful and active, can sometimes affect others, but in limited ways (lie
detecting, seduction, walking through walls)

Para-power(s) Lie detecting, compulsion to lie

Aliases too many to name

Occupation IPI Agent and student at IPI Academy, former
Rent-A-Kid spy

Place of Birth unknown

Relationship Status dating Agent Hunter Riley

Known Relatives Luke Rivera, twin brother

Group Affiliations Rent-A-Kid, IPI

Base of Operation Washington, D.C.

History born to a doctor at Rent-A-Kid and raised in the
facility whole life. Hacker and martial artist.

First Appearance: Forbidden Mind

Resources on this paranormal: Forbidden Mind, Forbidden
Fire, Forbidden Life, Blood of the Fallen, Tears of the Fallen, Flight of the
Fallen, Pathways, Christmas Lites II

OTHER RESEARCH AND FILES:

From Lucy:

If you lie to me, I’ll know. I always know. Which is why
it’s so shocking to me that I’ve been lied to my whole life and never knew
until now.

My name is Lucy. I was raised in the Rent-A-Kid dorms, a
secret school where kids with special para-powers are rented out to the highest
bidder for spy work. Think X-Men, meets Dark Angel and Alias with a dark twist!

It took my best friend Sam meeting a strange boy who can
control minds for us to start uncovering the truth. Sam reads minds, so I guess
she always knows when people are lying too. Which, by the way, is most of the
time.

Jaded? Me? Well, wouldn’t you be if you were dumped at a
hospital with your twin brother when you were a baby and picked up by this
place?

Yeah. You would.

But still, I have Sam and my twin Luke. We’ve always been
there for each other.

I had serious reservations when Sam started mind linking
with Drake. He had her questioning everything we ever believed. Not a healthy
way to live if you ask me. But I gotta give him some credit. My shy little
friend finally started getting herself a backbone! Score one for Drake.

It kinda sucks though, cuz they have to go through some
serious hell to be together. I mean, literally, they spend the early part of
their relationship in each other’s minds! No thanks! I’d rather have the flesh,
ya know? But whatever. It worked for them. Mostly.

Except for the fact that our eighteenth birthday does not
offer us the freedom we had always believed and been promised.

Oh no. Not even close. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s
disgusting really, what they do to us—to those like us. Human exploitation,
just because we’re different. So what if I make you uncomfortable because you
can’t lie to me as easily as you might some? Stop the damn lying and you’ll be
fine!