Flee (The Aurora Lockette Series, Book 1) (12 page)

He must have received some affirmation from
the expression on my face, because he continued.

“Your ability, I suspect, is one of the
strongest we have ever heard of, if the account of your feat is
true.”

He paused while the waitress put down a
burger for me and coffees for him and my mom, then left.

“There are others. Many, many others. All
over the world.” He tore open a sugar packet and emptied it into
his coffee. “We’ve been able to trace some, but not all, back to
specific bloodlines. The bloodlines are from every race and
ethnicity you can imagine.” He paused. “Please, eat your food. I’ll
explain while you eat.”

I numbly took a bite, forcing myself to chew
so he would keep talking.

“Those of us with abilities try and find each
other. We have been watching you and trying to protect you since
you’ve been exposed. It appears our efforts with the media were
successful.” He smiled. “I’m assuming you will both have questions.
Please, ask me anything.”

“You’ve been following me,” I blurted out
through a mouthful of burger.

“We protected you in San Antonio. Yes.”

“What?” My mom looked pissed.

“Why?” I breathed.

“Because they were getting too close,” he
said.

“They?”

“There are dangers for us, but don’t worry.
We won’t let anything get through.”

For the first time since my exposure, a cold
hard, fear blossomed in my chest. “Who? Who would hurt me?”

“Not who, what.” His voice dropped so low we
both leaned forward to hear him. “The dark ones. We call them
Shyama. This is something I cannot explain in full right now. Not
here.”

Whoa. The universe became fuzzy around the
edges of my vision. My mom put her hand on my arm. “Deep breaths,
baby.” She left her cool hand on my arm, but refocused her gaze on
Konstantin. “How can we know if you are telling the truth about all
this?”

“I’m one of the others. I can show you my
abilities. I have no reason to lie.”

“Where are the others?” I whispered.

“All over the place. Some choose to isolate
themselves and live together, in small towns and villages they
create themselves. Others choose to mix in with normal
society.”

“You’re telling me there is a secret society
of flyers?” I said.

“No. A secret society of those with special
abilities. There are many kinds.”

My mom slammed her fist down on the table,
making both me and Konstantin jump. “Enough! How do we even know if
any of this crap is true?”

Konstantin smiled. “It’s time Aurora met the
others. There, she can learn everything.”

“I’d like to meet some people like me.”

“No. This is too dangerous,” my mom said. “We
don’t even know who you are, or what you are.”

“I understand your fear. I have someone here
in town with me. If you are willing to meet in private, we will
show you our abilities, so you know you are like us.” He slipped an
envelope across the table. “There is much, much more to discuss. I
do no want to lead anything to you so we must take precautions.
Please meet me in this hotel room tonight at 8:00. The address and
key are inside.” His eyes slid to my mom. “As I have said before,
we will never harm you, but I understand if you continue to choose
to arm yourself.”

He took my hand. I stiffened, but let him.
“You are very precious to us. You have much to learn about
yourself, and very little time to learn it. Please come
tonight.”

He threw a fifty dollar bill on the table and
left without another word.

My mom watched him leave. She moved so she
was sitting across from me. “I don’t know about all of this. How do
we know if these are the good guys?”

“Something tells me they’re not bad. Why
would someone go through all this trouble to contact me if they
just wanted to hurt me?” I pushed the plate with my half eaten
burger away from me. “What else am I going to do? Sit here? Apply
for jobs day in and day out?”

When we got back to the house, I sat on the
front porch and waited for the dark to come. My brain flitted over
the all the things Konstantin had said. I rolled the ideas over and
over in my head, trying to imagine if they were real. It didn’t
seem possible, but then again what I could do was not possible
either.

After the night fully settled in, I washed my
face, changed my clothes, and got in the car with my mom. “Are you
sure you’re okay?” she asked as we drove toward the hotel.

“Yeah,” I said. “It’s sinking in, I
think.”

“I’m glad it’s sinking in for you.”

We pulled up to the chain hotel shortly
before eight. She paused outside the door to the appointed room.
“Hold on.” She placed her hand inside her purse strapped across her
shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“I can shoot through the purse. No need to
even pull it out,” she said. “Let’s go in.”

“Right on, soldier.”

Konstantin answered at the first knock. He
stepped out and threw a glance in each direction before letting us
in.

“Were you followed?” He directed his question
to my armed mother.

“No.”

Inside the room, the dark shades were drawn
closed, but all the lamps were on, casting the furnishings in a
bright light. A redheaded woman, about the same age of Konstantin,
stood near by.

“Aurora, Aubrey, this is Carmen. She’s my
wife.”

Carmen stepped forward to shake my hand. She
was petite and wiry, like Konstantin. She had shocking aqua eyes
and a light smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She
released my hand quickly, but her expression was warm. “Aurora,
it’s so nice to meet you. I’m so glad you came.”

She turned to my mom. “I understand your
caution. I will not be offended if you prefer to keep your hand on
your firearm.”

She withdrew her hand and shook Carmen’s. “I
don’t need to have my hand on it to use it quickly. I’m glad you
understand I have to protect my daughter.”

Konstantin cleared his throat. “I’ll cut to
the chase. I’m here to show you our abilities, so you know you can
trust us, so you know we are the same. These are deep secrets we
carefully guard. I ask you protect them.” He stared at my mom as he
spoke.

Without another word, he drifted gracefully
to the ceiling.

“You are like me!” I dropped my purse on the
floor and let it happen. Soon, I ascended so I was eye level with
Konstantin.

“At some point we will need to spend some
time together so I can assess the extent of your abilities. You
have excellent control,” he said.

We both looked down. My mom was sitting on
the floor, her mouth open.

“Why don’t you two come down?” Carmen said,
gesturing toward my shocked mother.

I sank to the ground. “Mom, are you
okay?”

“Yes. I...I just never thought I would...”
Her voice trailed off again. “It was little shocking to see two
people flying, okay?” She pointed at Carmen. “Can you fly too?

“No. May I take your hand, Aurora? It’s not
necessary, but it does help me.”

“Sure.”

She took my hand, holding it in hers for a
few seconds before she spoke. “You are feeling very happy right
now, but you are riddled with pain. Your heart is broken. You can
see his face in your dreams. It’s haunting you.” She paused. “You
feel your ability is unfair, because you can’t have the one thing
you want. Would you like me to continue?”

“I guess.”

She looked at my wrist. “Your bracelet. It
was made for you. You haven’t told your mother, but it’s from
him.”

I pulled my hand back. “You could have just
said you were a telepath.”

“I’m not a mind reader. I’m very sensitive. I
can sense emotions, see bonds between people,” she said. “I have a
strong sense of premonition. I can identify danger if it is nearby.
I can sense if someone seeks to harm me or the ones around me. I
can see if someone intends to do well.”

“Oh.” I guessed her gift was much more
powerful then she was letting on. My poor mom had gone from shocked
to pale and tired-looking.

“Mom?”

“I’m fine. I’m just a little
overwhelmed.”

Carmen whispered something in Konstantin’s
ear. Konstantin led us to the door. “You must go. You’ve been here
too long. It would be bad to lead them to Aurora, but worse to lead
them to you, Aubrey. We will leave this area as well.”

My mom snapped back into her old self. “Good.
We need some time to think.” She shook hands with Konstantin and
Carmen. “Thank you both for being so open. Your secrets are safe
with me.”

Carmen answered. “Your words are true.”

My mom shot her a wary look as she pulled me
out the door.

When we got home, she brewed two cups of tea.
“You want to talk?”

“No. I want to crawl into a little cave and
sleep until this is all over.”

She sat next to me on the couch. “We both
have a lot to process. Sometimes when you go to bed with a problem,
you wake up with a solution.”

I was almost glad Gavyn was out of the
picture. Almost. At least he would be safe. I only cried for a few
minutes that night before sinking into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I woke up to lukewarm
coffee in the pot and an empty house. I braced myself for another
day, wondering what new information could possibly be revealed.
Before I could begin to process the events of the past couple days,
I needed caffeine. Lots of it.

I drank reheated coffee and watched the
national news. The world was still full of huge problems, much
bigger than me. The damn phone rang before I was even halfway done
with my cup.

“Aurora, it’s Konstantin.”

“Er, yes?”

“I’m sorry to do this, but you need to start
packing. I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.” His accent was
stronger than I remembered.

“What are you talking about? Packing for
what?” I said.

“As much as you can in the next few minutes.
Actually, it’s not important what you pack. Get your passport and
be ready to go.”

“Are you on crack? Where am I going?”

“I attracted their attention. They’re getting
close. If you stay any longer, they will find you, your mom, and
your sister. We can’t protect them all.”

The familiar panic darted around my mind.
“The Shyama?”

“Yes. We don’t have time. Get ready. We can
call Aubrey on the way out. I’ve called in some people to keep an
eye on her.” He paused. “You have to trust me. If you don’t come
with me, they will find you, and they will find your family, and
they will die. You have fourteen minutes until I get there.” The
line went dead in my hands.

I stared at the phone in my hand, willing for
it to provide me with more information. “Damn it!” I slammed it
down.

I threw some clothes into a duffel bag,
fumbling with my passport and drivers license with shaking hands. I
wrote out a quick, jagged note.

A horn honked outside, and I knew it was for
me. I threw the duffel bag over my shoulder and took one last look
at home, taking in the green furniture and beaded lamps. I didn’t
know if I would ever see it again. Tears clouded my vision as I
walked outside and climbed into the waiting car.

“It’s okay,” Carmen said, twisting to look at
me from the front seat while Konstantin peeled out and took off at
an ungodly speed. “We just need to put some miles in. Your mother
and sister will be fine. I promise.”

“What’s going on?”

“They can track us more easily if we are in a
group and one member is unprotected. Since we showed up, and you
are unprotected, they moved in. We need to leave so they don’t find
you. They will use any means necessary to get to you, including
your family.”

“What? How am I unprotected?” I was crying
again, but I didn’t try to stop it.

“It will all be clear very soon. You’ll be
safe in Alaska. We have special protections in place there to hide
us from them. When you are hidden, your family will be in no
danger.”

“Will I see them again? My family?”

Carmen rotated in her seat again so she was
facing me. “Yes, once you are protected, you can move around more
freely without attracting attention. Don’t worry. You will see them
again.”

“Aren’t you protecting me?”

“It’s complicated. We can talk more when we
are safe. Please try and relax. They are drawn to fear and
anguish.”

“Right, I just chill out here while dark
monsters you won’t talk about chase me.”

“Call your mom.”

I called Erica first.

“Erica, it’s me.”

“Yeah, I know your voice. What number are you
calling from?”

“I have to leave town. I’ll be gone for a
while. I need you to do something for me.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Where
are you going?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Look after
Mom, okay? She’s going to freak out in about five minutes. Go pick
her up from work, like right now.”

“Look here, I don’t know what bullshit drama
you are trying to pull now, but if you think you can just call me
up and—”

“Please, listen to me. I’m serious. Take care
of Mom, okay? Promise me?”

“Are you okay? What the fuck is going
on—”

I broke the connection and made the second,
much more difficult call to my mother.

“I have to leave town with Konstantin and
Carmen.”

“What? No. Absolutely not. We can talk about
this when I get home.”

“I’m already gone. The bad ones are coming
and I have to leave so they don’t find you and Erica. Okay? I’m
going to be safe, and you are going to be safe. Don’t freak out,
and don’t come looking for me. Don’t report me missing. Carry your
gun. I love you. I’m so sorry.” I wiped my nose with my sleeve so I
wouldn’t sniffle on the phone. “I have to hang up now.”

“Don’t. Let’s talk about this. I can protect
you—”