The MORE Trilogy (97 page)

“Ava?” Sarah Michaels gaped for a moment before pulling her into a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”

Her mother didn’t seem to notice as Emma leaned forward to whisper in Ava’s ear, “They don’t remember anything about the murder or the police. As far as they’re concerned, you’re at school and everything’s normal.”

“Ava?” Her mom pulled back, holding her shoulders as she looked into her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah . . . yeah, sure, Mom,” she said. She inhaled her mother’s familiar scent, relaxing but suddenly on the verge of tears. “I was on a break and thought I’d surprise you.”

“Break?” Sarah pulled back, her eyes glassy and confused for a moment. “Spring break?” She turned around to head into the kitchen and ran a finger down the calendar stuck to the door.

“No, spring break’s over,” Ava replied. “Just a . . . long weekend. Grading period, you know?”

Sarah’s face cleared. “Oh, sure.” She nodded, smiling widely. “Well, come on in. Are you hungry? I was about to make some tea.”

She went about filling a kettle, and Ava glanced back at Emma and Borré before she closed the door behind her and took a moment to examine her surroundings. It really was a remarkable facsimile of her childhood home, right down to the dishtowels and the dented teakettle her mom never wanted to replace. The kitchen table was a little off, missing the scratch she’d put in it building a catapult for science class in junior high. Through the arched doorway she saw the living room, complete with the collection of photographs on the mantle, and the crocheted afghan on the couch.

Her dad walked in, a folded newspaper under his arm.

“I thought I heard your voice,” he said, bending to kiss the top of her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Just visiting.”

“From Missouri? That’s a long way for a weekend,” Sarah said.

“I got a deal on a plane ticket.”

“Oh yeah? What kind of deal?” her dad asked, taking a seat at the table.

Ava couldn’t believe the conversation they were having and tried to rein in her impatience. “You know, a student discount. No biggie.” She leaned across the table and touched her dad’s hand. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Sure, I’m fine.”

“No one has . . . I mean, you’re sure?” The tears were back, and Ava swallowed to keep them at bay.

“Ava?” Her mom hurried across the room. “What’s wrong?”

Ava swiped at her eyes. “Nothing. I guess I’m just really glad to see you guys.”

Her mom sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug while her dad held her hand across the table. For a few minutes, Ava forgot that it wasn’t real. She forgot about everything but the comfort of her mom and dad holding her in the kitchen of the house where she grew up.

As promised, Borré released her parents, and after a brief session with Emma, they got into a car driven by a Rogue lackey, destined for the airport in Kalispell. They waved gleefully at Ava as the car pulled away. She wasn’t exactly sure what they saw—what Emma led them to
believe
they saw—but she was glad they were out of the fake home. It gave her the creeps.

As the car disappeared down the dirt road, she turned to Borré. “No blindfold?”

“For you or them?”

“Either.” She shrugged. “Both.”

“They won’t need it. They won’t remember where they’ve been once they get home,” he replied turning back to the entry. “And there’s no need to hide anything from you anymore.” He smiled and pushed aside the brush covering the heavy doors to the bunker.

Ava took one more look down the road as the dust settled before following him down the tunnel and into the elevator. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“The DNA time bomb you engineered in us. Is there a cure?”

Borré frowned, and the glance he shot at her seemed more than a little irritated. “It’s not a time bomb. It’s more of a homing beacon,” he said, putting a key in the elevator and turning it before it began to descend. “Something to bring you back to me.”

“Or kill us.”

Her father slid a palm over her hair. Instantly, her anxiety dissipated, and the low thrum of her gift settled. “See? It’s easily remedied,” he said.

“But not permanently.”

“No, unfortunately not,” he said. “But as long as you receive regular treatments the symptoms will be virtually nonexistent.”

“Treatment from you.”

“Yes.”

The elevator doors opened, and Ava realized they were on a different floor than before. Where the hall leading to her parents’ quarters had been sparse and industrial, this looked more like a hotel with gleaming wood floors and warmly painted walls. A series of dark wooden doors lined the hall interspersed with bronze sconces casting the ceiling in a golden glow.

Ava gaped openly, following slowly behind her father. Her gift pulsed more intensely than before.

“These are our personal quarters,” he explained. “I must be excused for indulging my family a bit. It’s a father’s prerogative, I think.” He smiled at Ava and ducked his head.

They made their way to the end of the hall and a set of double doors.

Ava’s gift reached out for the door—
through
the door.

“You feel them, don’t you?” he murmured.

Ava nodded, unable to speak.

“I’ve asked the others to meet us here,” he said. “It’s not everybody—not yet, but soon.” He swung the doors open to a lavish sitting room, resplendent with thick oriental rugs and three plush sofas set around a central fireplace on the far wall. Instead of windows, large paintings of outdoor scenes hung on the walls—a snowy forest, a spring meadow, and one that looked surprisingly familiar.

“New Elysia,” she murmured.

“Our home, yes. Or it will be soon.”

“So you—
we
—are going to take New Elysia?”

Borré laughed lightly. “First the Council, then the Race, then the world, as they say.”

She pulled her eyes away from the painting, drawn into the room by her gift’s demands.

“It’s intense, isn’t it?” Borré asked, his eyes fluttering closed. “So many in the same room.” He inhaled deeply, as if enjoying the scent surrounding him, and let it out slowly.

“I believe you’ve met Christopher,” Borré said, indicating a lean, shorter man with dark hair.

“We’ve not been formally introduced, but yes.” Ava nodded stiffly as she recognized the fireball thrower she’d encountered before.

Christopher tipped his head and flopped down on one of the sofas.

“Your brother, Jae,” Borré extended a hand toward a larger man with blond hair and almond-shaped green and brown eyes. “He’s a shifter, like your Caleb, but with considerably more skill.”

Jae smirked and shot her a mock salute.

“The lovely redhead by the fireplace is your sister, Mara, and of course you know Emma.” Borré crossed the room to kiss them each on the cheek. “The brooding one in the armchair is Max.” His smile swept the room. “Everyone, this is your sister, Ava.”

Ava ticked off numbers in her head.

Evan and Isaiah were back in New Elysia. Sloan was gone, for now. That left—

“This isn’t everyone.”

Borré’s face darkened. “No. A few of your siblings have had to be contained as they have yet to have their blocks fully lifted. They have not fully committed to the cause, but they’ll come around.”

“Sophie?”

He tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Has been a bit of a problem. I’m sure she’ll come around soon, though.”

“I want—I’d like to see her.” She swallowed, her gaze landing on each of her siblings before coming to settle on Borré. “Please . . . Father.”

That was wrong. Was that wrong?

A delighted smile lit his face, and he strode toward her and took her shoulders in his hands. “Of course, daughter. Perhaps you can convince Sophie of our mission.”

Ava mirrored his smile. “I can try.”

She felt warm, safe. Her gift wrapped with all the others.

Sophie’s will make it almost complete.

Borré led her back down the hall and pressed his palm to a glass panel next to one of the doors. A blast of cold air swept out at them, stealing Ava’s breath.

“Don’t worry, her gift’s been neutralized, at least a bit,” Borré explained. “She can’t harm us beyond giving us some goose bumps.”

“Neutralized?”

“Until she’s proven her loyalty. It’s a temporary measure, I assure you, and she’s perfectly fine.”

Ava nodded and walked into the room, her breath frosting before her. “Sophie?” She looked around the empty room—a small living room with a kitchen off to one side and a doorway opposite.

Sophie appeared in that doorway, eyes wide. “Ava? What are you doing here?”

Blinding pain sliced through Ava’s head, and she doubled over from the impact. Memories flooded her mind, and she fought through them, pushing them aside, one mission breaking through.

“I have to go back.”

“No way, it’s not safe!” Caleb turned away.

“I have to get my parents away from him. We need intel. I need to find Sophie—”

“And how are you going to do that? You said yourself Borré would know if you were lying.”

“Ava? Are you all right?” Borré asked, concern furrowing his brow as he reached for her.

She backed away, hoping it looked more like she was hurrying to Sophie and less like she didn’t want him to touch her.

She knew Caleb wouldn’t love the idea, so she put it to Gideon instead. “What if I wasn’t lying?” She glanced at Isaiah, who was watching with wide eyes.

“No way—”

“Caleb!” She threw up her hands in frustration. “Someone has to figure this out, and I’m the best option.” When he pressed his lips together, gaze dropping to the floor, she turned to Isaiah. “Could you do it, you think? Make me believe I’m on Borré’s side?”

“I don’t know.” He looked scared, nervous. “I’m pretty new to all this. I’m not sure it’ll stick.”

“Even Emma couldn’t get it to stick,” Caleb said. “You fought through it.”

“But if I
wanted
to believe it,” Ava said slowly, her eyes locking with her brother’s. “If we worked together?”

Isaiah plucked at his sleeves, too long and stretched wide from the habit, then he nodded. “Yeah. I think I can do it. I can try.”

“I just . . . could I have a moment with Sophie, sister to sister?” Ava asked, forcing a hopeful look. “Please, Father?”

His featured softened. “Of course. I’ll check on you later.” He stepped out of the room and closed it quietly.

Ava whirled on Sophie. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, but—” She held a finger to her lips, grabbed Ava’s wrist, dragged her through the bedroom and into a small bathroom, and turned on the water. “They monitor every room but this one,” she whispered.

“How do you know this one’s safe?”

“I don’t. Not for sure, but I’ve gone over every inch, opened up the faucets and looked in the toilet. If there’s a mic or a transmitter, I think I would have found it.” Sophie squeezed Ava’s wrist tightly, her voice a quiet hiss. “Is Isaiah all right?”

“He’s fine. He’s safe.”

Sophie let out a relieved breath and let her go. “Thank God.” She leaned against the counter for a moment, her gaze calculating. “So what are you doing here? You and that whack job seemed pretty buddy-buddy.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“I was hoping not.”

“You’ll need a trigger,” Gideon said quietly. “Something to break through the planted thoughts.”

“When she sees her parents,” Caleb suggested.

“No, it has to be Sophie.”

Ava and Isaiah exchanged a small smile.

“It could be days before you see Sophie, Ava,” Caleb said, glancing apologetically at the boy. “You have no idea if you can pull this off for that long.”

“I can do it. I’ll do it,” Ava replied with a firm nod. “It has to be Sophie.”

“I don’t have a lot of time,” Ava said, pulling Sophie closer in case someone
was
listening. “I’m going to get you out of here, but we have to be careful.”