The MORE Trilogy (73 page)

The room was cold, ice crystals forming around the windows, and Ava shivered as she watched the girl’s panicked eyes search for an escape.

Eyes like mine
.

“Caleb,” Ava murmured.

“I see it.”

There wasn’t time to contemplate the discovery, however, as another spray of ice shards flew toward them.

Ava stopped them in midair, and they fell to the ground as though they’d hit an invisible shield.

The girl choked out a sob.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ava said in a quiet voice as she stepped around Caleb.

Sophie whimpered, and the temperature dropped a little, but there were no more ice balls.

Thank goodness
.

“I’m going to let you go, but don’t run, okay? We just want to talk. We’re not going to hurt you.”

After a moment, the girl nodded jerkily.

Ava pulled her gift back, and Sophie slumped to the sofa.

“What do you want?” she asked, wiping away tears with the back of her hand. “Who are you?”

Ava smiled and eased down to sit on the other end of the sofa. “I’m afraid that’s kind of a long story.”

Ava closed the bathroom door quietly, leaned back against it, and closed her eyes against the pain in her head. Once Sophie had calmed down, Caleb began to explain about the Race and Half-Breeds, and Ava had been able to excuse herself without much notice.

She left the light off and fumbled in her jacket pocket for the little container of painkillers she’d taken to keeping close at all times. She popped a couple of the pills in her mouth and swallowed them dry, followed by a couple of R-cubes. With a heavy sigh Ava turned to the mirror and winced at her washed-out appearance. She prodded at her nose carefully, glad that she’d at least managed to avoid a nosebleed. There was no way she would have been able to hide that from Caleb.

She’d been hiding a lot lately.

But with the ongoing threat of the Rogues, and the upcoming trip to New Elysia, she knew she was needed. Her gifts were needed. If they were to come under attack, Ava had to be able to fight. If Caleb or the others found out that her headaches were getting worse—that she’d started having them even when she wasn’t using her gifts—they’d leave her behind, and she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let them face the Council, not to mention the Rogues, without her. She couldn’t let Caleb face that kind of threat alone. Not after she’d come so close to losing him.

Ava bent over the sink and splashed some cool water on her face, swiping it over the back of her neck as she sagged against the counter. She’d see Talia again once she got back to the Colony. Hopefully, she’d be able to help, and since she was bound by the same confidentiality as a human doctor—Ava had made sure of that before she had ever approached the healer in the first place—she’d keep her secret.

It was only for a short time, anyway. Once they got to New Elysia, the doctors there would figure out what was causing her problems and she, and everyone else, would be able to focus on figuring out how to stop the Rogues.

“Ava?” Caleb’s muffled voice at the door made her jump. She’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t even felt his approach. “Are you all right?”

She turned off the water and wiped her face quickly with a towel. “Yeah. One sec.” She checked her appearance once more and brushed her fingers through her hair. The headache had eased, thankfully, and her face had regained its color. Ava reached for the door and forced a relaxed smile before opening it.

Caleb searched her face. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Of course,” she said, widening the smile a bit. “Everything okay with Sophie?”

“Yeah. We really should get out of here, though.”

“Well, let’s go, then,” she replied, patting his chest as she squeezed past him in the narrow hallway. He trailed behind as she made her way into the living room, which had warmed to a normal temperature, the ice on the windows melted and dripping onto the carpet.

Sophie emerged from a bedroom on the other side of the living room, carrying a small duffle bag and a backpack.

“You ready to go?” Ava asked.

Sophie took a deep breath. “I think so.” Her lip trembled slightly, and Ava crossed to her.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said, reaching out to gently squeeze the girl’s shoulders. “We’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

Sophie nodded and swiped away a few errant tears.

Ava led her to the front door as Caleb opened it and poked his head out to scan the yard before waving them through. He grabbed Ava’s arm to hold her back.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” he whispered, glancing at Sophie a few steps ahead on the walkway. “No headaches?”

Ava ignored the curl of guilt in her stomach. She hated lying to Caleb, but she didn’t see an alternative. Not if she was going to keep him safe.

“I told you, I’m fine,” she said, popping up to kiss him lightly.

He caught her around the waist and studied her for a moment, focused and intent as he looked into her eyes.

She forced herself to meet his gaze—not to flinch, even as her heart thumped heavily in her chest.

“Okay,” he said finally, sliding his hand down to squeeze hers. “Let’s go.”

Ava let out a slow breath as they took off at a jog toward the road. It was probably nothing anyway. Her powers were new, and her body was still getting used to them. Even the Colony healer couldn’t deny the possibility. Her body and her brain simply needed to adapt to her new abilities and the headaches would stop. She’d be fine.

Ava picked up the pace and turned right toward the gate.

She’d be
fine
.

The drive back to Red Lake took about eight hours. Caleb could have cut some time off that if he’d been able to shift, but with two passengers, it wasn’t possible. Ava had tried to convince him to shift Sophie and leave the car with her, but he didn’t feel comfortable with Ava out of his sight. She’d rolled her eyes, muttering about the bond, but it wasn’t that.

Well, it’s not
only
that
.

He was worried about her. No matter how many times she insisted that she was fine, that the headaches had tapered off, he couldn’t shake his concern. It was better for them all to stay together anyway, he reasoned. Ava could relate to Sophie in a way he couldn’t. Especially if the suspected Half-Breed was really what they thought she was.

“So let me get this straight,” the girl in question said as they approached the border crossing at International Falls. “You’re saying you can somehow get this guy to let us across, even though I don’t have a passport?”

Ava turned and grinned. “Caleb’s really good at this. Trust me.”

Sophie shrugged, but Caleb spotted her fingers twisting nervously in her lap through the rearview mirror.

“It’ll be fine,” he said as they crawled forward in line. He held his and Ava’s passports and tapped them lightly on the wheel as they pulled up to the checkpoint. Caleb rolled down the window, a bright smile on his face.

“Morning. Where are you headed?” the guard asked as he took the passports.

“Red Lake.” Caleb reached out with his gift to touch the man’s mind.

Just a little push
.

“How long will you be visiting?”

“Oh, couple of weeks, I think. Going to see family.”

The man nodded and ran the passports under a scanner. “Bringing anything into the country?”

Caleb heard Sophie’s sharp intake of breath and cast her a warning glance in the mirror. “No. Nothing.”

“No alcohol, tobacco, or firearms?” The guard sounded as though he’d asked the questions so many times he could probably do it in his sleep.

“Nope. Just us. The two of us.” Caleb willed the man to accept his words. The guard froze for a moment, his gaze drifting slowly to the backseat, and Caleb reached out to touch his forehead. “Only two of us in the car. Just a routine check. Nothing special to see here.”

The guard nodded slowly and turned to face Caleb, his eyes still a bit blank. “Nothing?” he mumbled.

“Are we finished?” Caleb asked, pulling his hand back.

The man started and shook his head as if to clear it. “Sorry, yeah.” he said, handing back the passports. “You two have a nice visit.”

Caleb saluted the man with the passports and drove through the checkpoint, turning off the main highway almost immediately. He preferred the back roads, for obvious reasons.

After a few minutes, Sophie burst out in laughter. “Okay, you
have
to tell me how you did that.”

Caleb smiled at her in the mirror. “Practice. Lots of practice.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” Ava said, turning sideways in the seat to face Sophie. “I’ve been practicing a ton and I can’t do it.”

Caleb reached out to squeeze her knee. “You can do plenty of other stuff.”

Sophie perked up. “Oh yeah?”

They’d talked about the Race in general terms but hadn’t got to specific gifts yet.

“Like what?” she asked.

“I can move stuff around . . . you know, with my mind,” Ava said, waving her hand around as if to illustrate. “And make stuff.”

“Make stuff?”

“They call it
manifesting
. I can manipulate—” She sat up suddenly and grabbed Caleb’s hand. “Do you feel that?”

“What?” He instinctively checked the mirrors, but there was nobody behind them.

“Someone . . .” Ava’s eyes glazed over. “Someone’s coming. Fast.”

Caleb stepped on the gas, searching the horizon. “Who? Anyone familiar?”

“What’s happening?” Sophie asked.

Ava shook her head. “I can’t tell. Not yet anyway. You think it’s Protectors?”

Caleb’s jaw tightened. “Or Rogues.”

“You think they know?” Ava glanced at Sophie.

“
We
don’t know. Not for sure.”

“Would somebody
please
tell me what’s going on?” Sophie shouted from the backseat.

The temperature in the car dipped as frost formed along the edges of the windows.

“You’ve got to calm her down,” Caleb muttered, taking a turn too fast and swerving to correct. “Now.”

Ava didn’t argue, instead scrambling over the seat to take the girl’s hand. “Sophie, listen to me. You need to stay calm, okay? Try to breathe with me.”

“But—”

“I’ll explain everything, but first you need to calm down. You see what’s happening?”

Through the mirror, Caleb saw her glance up at the roof of the car as snowflakes began to drift through the interior.

“I . . . I don’t understand,” Sophie murmured. “What’s—why is it snowing?”

“It’s you,” Ava said quietly. “You’re upset, and your gift is reacting.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening to me.” Sophie choked on a sob, and Caleb felt the telltale prickle of another Race signature along the edges of his consciousness.

“I feel them now,” he said, sitting taller in the seat and leaning forward as if willing the car to go faster.

Ava didn’t respond but remained focused on Sophie.

Caleb felt Ava’s gift and knew she was letting it flow into the girl a little to try and relax her.

“We’ll help you.” Ava voice was soft and soothing. “We’ll help you learn to control it, but for right now, you need to calm down. Breathe with me, okay?”