Echo Into Darkness: Book 2 in The Echo Saga (Teen Paranormal Romance) (32 page)

Intense heat flared down my arms, like I'd dipped them into a too-hot bath. A sound like a roaring wind filled the gym and Keenan's targets shot toward the ceiling.

"Omigod," I said. The soldiers stirred, probably picking up the intense power surge.

"That's my girl," Keenan crooned. I knew the look he'd have on his face: blind greed, thrilled with the dominance he was able to wield through his minions.

Hysteria broke out in the gym. The players, coaches, principal, and Becca all dangled helplessly forty feet in the air, marionettes waiting for a puppeteer to steer them to safety. Some of the boys were crying. Mr. Lauer was fighting tears, yelling for everyone to stay still.

Acid rose to my throat at the part I played in this nightmarish game. If anyone fell from this height, they would be crippled, or even killed.

"They got the message," I said, relieved that this was nearly over.

"Good," Keenan said. "Now drop them."

"
What?
"

"You heard me. Let them fall."

"They'll die!"

"Do it!"

"No!" I said, shaking from the strain of keeping them airborne. The kids quivered overhead. I was about to lose them. I squeezed my eyes tight and scrambled for a powerful memory.

I jumped to the last night Connor and I were together, when we were certain we'd last forever.

Felt his lips on mine.

His hand under my shirt.

The electricity beneath his skin.

His sweet voice.

I want to spend eternity with you.

I love you I love you I love you.

A blast of air rushed through the gym. I opened my eyes. My body began to glow. My aura rolled outward like an ocean wave and the gym exploded with pink light. The school walls shook.

"Get the cuff off her!" Keenan commanded.

Luma made a grab for me. I heaved an elbow that landed in her stomach.

The south wall of the gymnasium collapsed. The soldiers dove for cover. The freshman wing shuddered and one of its brick walls crumbled in a cloud of dust.

The levitated people swayed and fell. I thrust a telekinetic cushion beneath them. Twenty feet above the court, they landed softly and held.

"Drop them!" Keenan screamed into my ear.

I threw my earpiece on the floor. Luma snagged my wrist and tried to peel the cuff off. I twisted out of her grip. My wrist burned with lava-hot intensity, heating the metal so that the cuff seared my skin.

The energy barrier holding the gym spectators quivered. A thunderous
CRACK!
split the air and they fell again. I ran a few yards into the gym and, in one explosive burst, threw down another barrier. They touched down lightly, bounced, and rolled the last few feet to the floor. A couple players grabbed their ankles. Becca fell onto the bleachers, but got to her feet and ran for Lucas.

An eerie wail drew everyone's eyes past the fallen walls. My aura was rolling back in. It crashed toward us in a softer pink wave, rebuilding the walls, brick by brick. Broken glass mended itself. Cracks and fissures melted closed. The school reconstructed in front of our eyes.

Three dozen jaws dropped.

Luma snapped out of it fast. She unclipped my cuff and hauled me out by the neck of my jacket. "You are dead meat," she spat.

The rest of the team hurried out the door, throwing awestruck glances at the restructured building.

"What happened back there?" one of the younger soldiers asked, incredulous.

"She regenerated the scene." A soldier in his twenties shook his head.

The younger one could not tear his eyes away. "I've never seen anything like it."

"You're not supposed to," Luma yelled. "Our job isn't to put things back together."

Next to us, two lone bricks rose off the ground and slid into their rightful spots on the wall, like they'd been called home. Luma stuffed me into the back of Ivan and Jaxon's SUV and stomped to her vehicle. The army sped toward Feller Tower.

"You just pulled the worst move on the planet." Jaxon shook his head, hard.

"I know those people! I would never do what he told me to, not to anybody."

I pulled at the door handle. The childproof lock was in place.

"Let me out of here!" I reached for the door control on the front console and Jaxon elbowed me into my seat.

"You're not going anywhere. We lose you and we take your punishment," he said.

I crushed my face into my hands. Keenan wasn't going to let me go home. Whatever he had planned now was more than I could bear to think about. Ivan's burn mark was a testament to the penalty I faced. Nausea set in.

"She's going to puke," Jaxon warned.

"Get a hold of yourself, Echo. You're going to make things worse if he sees you fall apart," Ivan said. Our SUV slowed down.

"What are you doing?" Jaxon hissed.

"She needs to pull herself together," Ivan answered.

"She needs to get what she deserves."

"Echo, how did you do that? Reconstruct the building?" Ivan asked. His voice was gentle and sincere.

"I don't know." I didn't care, either. There was a strong chance that my life was about to end. I would beg for Keenan's mercy but then what? I'd be right back where I started, preparing for the next mission, forced to cause unthinkable pain to more targets.

I should have jumped off that bridge when I had the chance three weeks ago. My dad and Kimber would have been devastated, but even that would have been an improvement over the events that had unfolded. Connor never would have been captured and tortured. I would be long gone, on my way to my next life.

The unthinkable ahead of me, I filled my thoughts with my soulmate and what we'd had and how I'd do anything to have it again, in this lifetime or the next. This made my wrist burn until it ached to the bone. The skin over the chip blistered and the smoke coming off it smelled like charred meat. My sleeve stuck to the open wound. I didn't care. I found Connor's perfect face in my mind and held it there until my heart beat so hard, I wouldn't have been surprised if Jaxon and Ivan heard it.

As we pulled into the Feller Industry garage, Jaxon wrinkled his nose. "What stinks?"

Ivan fanned the air. "Excuse me."

"It smells like burned steak," Jaxon complained and opened the window to let fresh air in.

"It smelled like that when I ate it, too," Ivan laughed. He snuck me a glance in the rearview mirror. A grinding sound came from under the hood.

"Something wrong with the truck?" Jaxon asked.

"Engine trouble," Ivan replied. His eyes were wide in the mirror. "Echo, how're you doing back there? You feeling better?" His voice sounded off, on the high side. He caught my gaze again and slowly led my eyes to the dashboard. The dials spun erratically. The engine light blinked.

I was overriding the chip.

Chapter 38

A thin trail of smoke rose from the wound on my wrist. The smell of scorched chip plastic stung my nostrils.

Jaxon hauled me out of the SUV and into the elevator with the rest of the team. He checked his phone. "My cell's not working. Anybody else got reception?"

"Nope," Luma answered. Other soldiers shook their heads.

"My signal's fine," Ivan said without bothering to check. He dug his fingers into my shoulders. His aura was sending out a mix of alarm and compassion. Mostly alarm.

Keenan was pacing in his living room when we stepped into his penthouse. He pinned me with a black scowl. The full force of his rage slammed into my body.

"Leave us," he said, and everyone scattered. "Luma, stay."

"Goody," she said, not trying to conceal her eagerness.

Keenan turned to me. "We have no tolerance for lack of loyalty. I thought you would have learned that much in the short time you've been here."

His voice was low and dangerous, but my rage frothed to the surface. "You wanted me to kill those people!"

"We had an agreement, one that
you
set in place. What would have happened today if I had refused to let your friend go? Would you have completed the mission then?"

"You can't turn me into a monster," I shot back.

"Nearly every one of my agents has said that at one time or another."

"Not me." Luma's mouth curved into a predatory smile.

"No, Luma, you were born for this work." He jerked his head. "In the back."

She left the room. I scrambled for options. I doubted Keenan would listen to reason. How strong was I without the cuff? If I could disarm him and get his keys, I could make a run for it. I had to guarantee a disabling hit, though, or I would not make it far. He had to get closer.

"I took a chance, negotiating with you yesterday," he continued. "I'm glad, though. Giving in to someone's demands can be very revealing. I see, now, that loyalty is not one of your strong suits."

He closed the distance between us and my insides turned to liquid.

"I-I-I'm sorry," I said. "I-i-it was wrong of me."

"Sorry does not begin to describe it."

Now,
I commanded myself,
do it now.
I angled my palm toward this horrible man. Aimed for his chest.

A low moan stopped me cold. Luma came in dragging Connor behind her. Fresh panic slammed through me.

A chain encircled his neck. His arms were no longer chained, but it didn't matter. They hung limp at his side. The bruises on his head were deep and the gashes on his face had reopened. He hobbled on one leg, his expression vacant.

I lunged toward Keenan. "You said you let him go!"

Keenan twisted his lips into an ugly smile. "I'm sorry," he mocked. "It was wrong of me. Did you actually think we were going to let this boy get any farther than the parking lot? You overestimate your influence here, and it occurs to me that I may have treated you too softly. You have tested boundaries that most recruits do not survive. Failed missions. Attacked your superior. Lied. And
you
," he said to Connor, "I know you are hiding ability."

"He's not. He's barely even psychic." I ran to Connor's side and linked my arm in his.

He shook me off. "She's lying," he rasped. "Get the cuff off me. Test me. Echo's a baby compared to the abilities I've got. Let her go and I'll show you."

Keenan circled us. "We're going to play this game again? You've refused to show us anything."

"Jaxon knows. He's been keeping it from you," Connor retorted.

Red hot needles erupted off Keenan.

"Be quiet, Connor," I pleaded. He was in no condition to fight. Maybe he thought he had some reserves left. I didn't see how. He could barely stand upright.

But if he did, the two of us might be strong enough to overpower Keenan and Luma.

"Connor's right," I said. "Test him."

"Shut up." Connor's words struck me with the force of a punch to the stomach. He jerked away.

"Jaxon's been lying to you the entire time," Connor continued. "About where I'm from. What I can do. Your foster brother's got you on a leash, Keenan," he laughed, "and you are too blind to see it."

"Put a cuff on Connor. He'll show you," I said, praying this plan would work.

"I said shut up. It's your fault we're in this hellhole. This is between me and him." He glared at our captor with crazed eyes. "What else is your little brother hiding from you?"

The possibility sent a spasm through Keenan's shoulders. The tendons in his neck stood out. While he might have believed Connor, he wasn't about to let Jaxon's disloyalty distract him.

Keenan's jaw muscles pulsed. "Every recruit has a breaking point, that place where we finally have the ultimate understanding about their role here. Apparently we haven't reached that understanding with either of you." He formed a V with two fingers, pointing at Connor and I simultaneously.

Keenan gave Luma a tiny nod and she made a slight motion. Connor's arm involuntarily extended straight in front of him. It bent at an impossible angle.

Connor moaned.

"Connor's telling the truth. I'll tell you everything," I pleaded.

"No more negotiating," Keenan said.

Luma twisted Connor's arm behind his back. He coughed in agony. I lunged at her, but a small jerk of her hand sent me sprawling. He saw me set my intention on Luma, saw the singed skin on my wrist, and registered what I was about to do. He nodded weakly.

Go,
he mouthed.

I stopped. He was too weak to run and I had no way to get him to safety after I immobilized the other two. And then they would know that I was able to override the chip.

"Pay attention, Echo, we're learning about your breaking point, too," Keenan said. "Take the boy's hand and transfer the pain to yourself."

"I don't understand." I could barely hear him over the pounding in my ears.

"You're an empath. You can't help but pick up other people's emotions. Now do it on purpose. Draw his pain away and take it as your own. Your friend thinks you are the reason he's imprisoned here. If you agree, take his pain away."