Created (Talented Saga) (38 page)
Read Created (Talented Saga) Online
Authors: Sophie Davis
Epilogue
To Erik Kelley t
he flight from northern Virginia to UNITED’s island oasis, The Oceania, seemed longer the second time around. He only had two companions today. The girl sitting next to him on the UNITED hoverplane was nervously chewing her thumbnail with animal ferocity. He gently tugged her hand away from her mouth when he noticed blood on her lower lip.
“He can’t hurt us anymore,” he told her quietly.
She nodded jerkily. “Yeah, I know. I just, I don’t.” She shook her head from side to side, wisps of her orange-red hair skimming his cheek. “We should’ve told Talia.”
Lying to Talia that morning had been one of the hardest things Erik had ever done.
Not just because she was a mind reader, either. He never lied to her. You didn’t lie to people you loved. But that was the only way. If he’d told her about the trip, she’d have wanted to come. Talia wanted the Director dead; Erik knew that from their bond. He also knew she wasn’t prepared to do the deed herself.
Erik had no such qualms. Neither did Penny. Sure, she had some hesitation, but Erik felt her hunger for the Director’s suffering. It was ugly and primal and matched his own.
Victoria, the third member of their group, had agreed to this visit because she, too, felt prison was better than Danbury McDonough deserved. Also, Victoria wanted Erik, Talia, and Penny to join UNITED. This was one of Erik’s conditions for agreeing to do just that, and for convincing the girls to do the same.
Erik smirked.
Victoria thought convincing Talia was hard. Really, Talia had been more on board with the idea than he had. Erik wanted away from UNITED and the politics and all the bullshit that came along with it. He wanted to spend time with his family and Talia and Alex, who were both part of the Kelley clan now, too.
“No cameras.
That was our deal,” Penny reminded Victoria as the trio deplaned. “I don’t want any evidence.”
The first thing Erik had done after striking his deal with Victoria was
comm Penny in California. He’d known she would want to be a part of this. And, no surprise, Penny had jumped at the opportunity.
Now that they were on the Oceania, Penny’s nerves had turned to steel
. She was cool, calm, and collected, and ready for revenge.
Erik’s smile died on his lips. This wasn’t the Penny he knew. Talia’s best friend was sweet, goofy even. The Director had created the bloodthirsty monster that was driving Penny to become a killer. Erik considered offering her the chance to back out.
“He tortured me,”
Penny sent Erik.
“He doesn’t deserve to live.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Positive,”
Penny replied.
Victoria led them to the glass elevator that would take them to AF3. Erik was so focused on what he was about to do that he barely noticed the lack of people. It wasn’t until the three of them actually boarded the elevator that Erik began to wonder where Captain
Klegg and his team were.
Plausible deniability, Erik thought. If there was any backlash, the guards would be able to claim they didn’t know what had happened. There wasn’t likely to be backlash, though. UNITED wanted this matter taken care of quickly and quietly. A public trial
would be an international fiasco, set on a global stage for the world to witness. Crazies would come of the woodwork to defend Director McDonough, UNITED wanted to prevent that. Victoria had told Erik and Penny as much on the flight.
Like the main level of the Oceania, the deepest sublevel of the facility was practically a ghost town. Mashburn, a guard they’d met on their last trip, was the only one waiting for the three of them when they exited the elevator.
“I have not told the prisoner you are coming, just as you asked, Councilwoman,” Mashburn said, addressing Victoria. Then, she turned to Erik and Penny. “We have divers in position. If he manages to escape somehow, he won’t get far.”
Another reason Victoria, and by extension UNITED, had agreed to let Erik and Penny handle the Director was because of Gretchen’s escape. No one understood how she’d managed it. Talia was beside herself with guilt. She blamed herself, even though no one else did. UNITED was trying to track Gretchen, but they didn’t have a Viewer familiar enough with the Director’s wife to find her. She’d kept out of the public eye, kept her role strictly behind the scenes. There had been sightings of Gretchen all over the world. UNITED was drowning in false leads and dead ends. They worried she’d rally the Created and come for her husband – another reason to take him out of the equation.
No one spoke as Mashburn led the way through the transparent hallways to the tube that would take them to the prison pods.
Erik let his mind wander back to the time he spent in Tramblewood. The memories he’d repressed made their way to the surface. Anger and hatred turned to fury and rage as Mashburn performed the necessary security measures to unlock the door to the tubes. Penny took his hand and he felt the same storm brewing inside of her that was in him.
The two of them hadn’t discussed how they were going to dispose of the Director, but Erik felt they were on the same page. Danbury McDonough would suffer before his life ended. He would get to experience the fruits of his poison. He would be like the magician’s assistant, an active participant in the greatest display of power on earth. He would be the puppet of the two strongest talents the world had known.
“Are you ready?” Victoria asked, pulling Erik from his mental tirade. Her hand was on his shoulder. Her smile was cool, detached, but her golden eyes were pure understanding. In that moment Erik liked the councilwoman a little better.
Erik blinked. He’d been so consumed with his hatred that he hadn’t even noticed that they were now standing outside the door to the Director’s prison pod. Only one barrier stood between him and the man who’d stolen so much from him. His mother had died because of the Director’s greed. His brothers and father had lived like prisoners for years, their safety on his shoulders. They’d been the pawns the Director had used to keep Erik in line.
No more, Erik thought. His family was free. After the Director was dead, he would be free, too.
Erik met Penny’s lime-colored eyes. They nodded in unison.
As Mashburn unlocked the last obstacle standing between Erik and revenge, Erik sent Talia a message across the thousands of miles of ocean that separated them.
“Don’t hate me. I’m doing this because I love you. His death isn’t worth your sanity.”
Erik knew that no matter how much Talia wanted the Director, she wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. She would have come with him. She would have helped Penny and Erik make him pay. But she would’ve hated herself afterwards. The guilt would drive her crazy. She’d never taken the life of another when the other was helpless. And the Director was helpless now.
He hadn’t expected Talia to answer him. The mental communication didn’t have such a long reach. So when her voice filled his head, Erik froze.
“Just make sure Mac pays for my parents, too,”
she sent back.
“I’ll always love you.”
Relief washed over him. Erik hadn’t realized how heavy the weight of his guilt over lying to her was until that instant. There was so much more he wanted to say to Talia just then, but the door to the Director’s prison pod was opening. He blocked Talia instead. She might want the Director to suffer, but she didn’t have to witness it.
Penny stepped through the doorway first, Erik only a step behind her.
Former TOXIC Director Danbury “Mac” McDonough was sitting on his twin-sized bed. He looked up as the door closed behind Erik and Penny. Fear sparked in his gray eyes. Erik thought he’d feel satisfaction at seeing the emotion. He didn’t.
Reflexively the Director scooted backwards on the bed.
Erik stepped forward so he was even with Penny.
“Hello,
Mac
,” Penny said, her voice cold enough to freeze boiling water. “Surprised to see us? Don’t worry, we have big plans for you. Now, let’s begin.”
Talia’s journey continues in 2014…
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Acknowledgements
As always, I would like to thank my friends and family for all of their love and support. I would not be able to create Talia’s worl
d without their help. I would also like to thank all of my beta readers, Donna Bossert, June Seto, and Cheryl Davis. Without you guys Created would not be the novel it has become.
Thank you to Hannah. She has been instrumental in creating the
Talented world. She listens to me whine when I am convinced each book sucks, and lets me know if it does. Her honesty only makes the books better. She keeps me going on late nights when I am banging my head against my monitor because a scene doesn’t work. She reminds me to slow down and enjoy life. And most of all, she believes in me.
Thank you to Barb Gordon for all of your support and help. It is so great to have someone I can count on.
Thank you to all of the readers. I have spent the last five years building Talia’s world, and I am so glad that you all have joined me on the journey.
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