Forbidden Fire (Forbidden #2) (17 page)

Lucy left them and continued back to her room. Mary's refusal didn't surprise her—she would always look out for herself and no one else—but Darren's response was concerning. How many other students felt they were better off trapped here than out in the world, free?

***

The rest of the week came and went in a blur of para-power practice sessions.

Luke and Lucy stood in the training arena with dozens of other students, each practicing their shadow power. Lucy focused on her brother and compelled him to lie.

"At night I like to wear ladies underwear and dance around singing show tunes." Luke's face turned bright red as the room erupted in laughter.

"Lucy, I'm so going to kick your butt for that." He held up his hands.

Lucy tried to move, but the air around her had thickened and held her prisoner. When she opened her mouth to talk, another draft of air tightened around her jaw, so she could only grunt.

"Now who's laughing, Sis?" Luke released her and she mock-punched him. She was happy they could all laugh and enjoy something, if only for a few days.

In the corner, one kid screamed. Desirai looked up. "I'm sorry. I think I should stop practicing. Giving waking nightmares to people is going to send everyone into therapy."

Okay, she thought, maybe it wasn't
all
enjoyable. "I know some shadow powers are scarier than others, but we all need to strengthen these muscles if we want to defeat the people who are keeping us prisoner."

Each night, after everyone had retired to their rooms, Lucy found herself again mesmerized by the powerful sphere she'd acquired in Russia. A rush of calm flowed through her whenever she focused on the soft light that sometimes emanated from it.

The next day during training, the loudspeaker came to life. "LUKE AND LUCY, REPORT TO THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE RIGHT AWAY."

Everyone stopped practicing and looked to her and Luke. "We'll be fine. Let's call it a day for now and meet up tomorrow. Just go to your rooms and stay out of everyone's way."

Lucy spent a lot of time telling everyone how fine it would all be, and almost no time believing it herself. Her sense of foreboding increased as she and Luke crossed the campus.

The headmaster's office had changed very little compared to the broken man sitting behind the desk. "Thank you both for coming. I'm afraid you are being requested for another assignment, something urgent that can't wait."

Luke's face hardened into granite. "You cannot be serious. Have you seen my sister's face? She still hasn't recovered from the last assignment, thanks to your head goon. He beat her nearly to death, even after she completed her assignment and brought back what was asked for. If it hadn't been for the clinic's miracle drug, she'd still be bedridden right now."

The flesh of Higgins's face sagged off his skull like a man being stripped of his skin. "This is beyond me. I am only relaying the message. It's just an assignment like any other. Do it and be back in no time."

Lucy tried to read him, but something prevented her. She knew her powers were working, so something must have been protecting him.

She needed to assess what was truth and what wasn't. This whole situation felt very off.

Higgins had tells like anyone else, so Lucy focused on his body language and the inflection of his voice. She also tried to read the micro expressions in his face. Luke had been right. After all these years of seeing the difference, she should be able to tell when someone was lying—even without her powers.

Lucy leaned forward. "I can't go on another assignment. I'm still having trouble breathing at times. What happened to your policy of not sending kids out unless they passed the health screening? There's no way I'd pass one now."

Higgins shifted in his chair, looked down at his hands and fidgeted with his tie. His left eye twitched a fraction when he looked up at her. "It's going to be fine. You'll be back before you know it."

He'd lied. She was sure of it.

She recalled her conversation—well, beating—with Mr. Black. He'd said she and Luke would be leaving and not coming back.

This was no assignment. They were being sent off to breed.

***

"We're being sent away, and this time it's for good, I think." Lucy let the news of their impending departure settle on the Freedom Fighters before she continued. "Higgins said the news came from up above. We have no choice. Luke and I think that because we are the oldest and most experienced, they're sending us off to begin the breeding process, and to get us away from you."

Gary, who had become much more confident since his first timid introduction, stood. "Then we bump up our plan. We need to act now, before they take you away. We've all been practicing hard and our para-powers are strong. We can take out many of the guards. We can escape."

The crowd cheered, but Lucy raised her hand. "Believe me, I wish I could get gung-ho about that idea, but I can't. We're not ready. They have weapons and training we can't compete with. They'd destroy us if we tried now. Many of us—maybe all of us—would die. We need a stealthy, clever plan, something that would stand a chance at succeeding."

"There's no time for that, Lucy. If we don't do something before you leave, then we really are screwed."

Lucy leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. Hopelessness settled on her like a dark cloud. "I don't know what we can do. Even when our powers are working properly, something's protecting them. I couldn't tell if Higgins was lying the other day, and when Mr. Black beat the shit out of me, I couldn't make him lie. We have no chance if our powers don't work."

The door at the back of the room opened, and Mary sashayed in with her red dress and designer heels.

Lucy pushed off the wall and faced her. "What are you doing here? This is a private meeting and was supposed to be secret."

"Oh now, you need me, and you know it. I can help with your little Mr. Black problem. I can seduce him into helping us."

"Right. What makes you think your powers will work on him?"

"My powers are chemical, hormonal. Something protecting his mind won't protect him against me."

"And why would you want to help? I thought you wouldn't be caught dead with us freaks."

She walked through the room, running her fingers over the boys' shoulders and leaving a trail of drooling teenagers in her wake.

"I just got the notice. I'm to go on assignment in a few days, but obviously, in this Hitler-like lockdown, that's just a ruse to get at my stellar genetics. Who
wouldn't
want to breed me, after all? Why they're chasing after Sam and her sub-standard genes I'll never know."

"You are such a bitch." Lucy blocked Mary from taking center stage. "But you're right. They're going to stick a bun in your pretty little oven, so I guess we're all on the same side now."

The girl lay in the hospital bed, her eyes closed to the sun shining in from the bedside window. Her blond hair fanned out around her face like angels' hair.

Mr. Black sat in the chair beside her bed and took her mangled hand, gently massaging the deformed muscles and tendons that caused her so much pain. Her good eye opened and looked at him.

"Daddy! You came." Her voice danced in the air like fairy laughter. She smiled with half her mouth, the other side of her face crushed in on itself and unmoving.

This is what fate or genetics or whatever you wanted to call it had done to his little girl. While those monsters were off flaunting their para-powers, his beautiful child had been fighting for her life since the moment she was born.

A fight she was destined to lose.

"Did you bring me any new books, Daddy? I've read all of the other ones twice already."

"You're a smart girl. The smartest I've ever met. Of course I brought you books. A whole bunch of them."

He pulled out a bag filled with books and put it on the dresser next to her bed. "But I suppose you will finish those by the time I come again tomorrow."

She giggled, then coughed. A goblet of bright red blood dribbled down the front of her gown. "Daddy?" Tears flowed down her face and her body shook.

Mr. Black hit the call button for the nurse, and held his daughter to him as he fumbled for a napkin to wipe her mouth and gown. "It's okay, Sarah. It'll be all right."

Her trusting eyes bore into his heart and squeezed until he couldn't breathe.

"Nurse! Doctor!"

A nurse poked her head in the door. "Is everything okay?"

Anger boiled up in him, but he pushed it down to protect his daughter. "No, everything is
not
okay. She's coughing up blood."

The nurse didn't look surprised. "It happens at this stage. I'll give her some medication to ease her pain, and then get the doctor."

Rage and fear shook his voice. "What do you mean
at this stage
?"

"I think it's better if you speak to the doctor."

She left before he could question her further.

Sarah slumped in his embrace, her little arms wrapped around his neck. "Am I dying, Daddy? Is it time?"

"No, Honey, you'll be fine. I'm not letting you go."

Her grip loosened, and her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm so tired, Daddy. Can I take a nap?"

He lowered her onto her pillow. "Of course, Baby. You sleep. I'll come back tomorrow."

The sobs couldn't be contained any longer. He locked himself in his daughter's private bathroom and splashed cold water on his face.

"Laura, why did you have to leave? Our girl needs you. I need you. I can't do this alone. I never could."

The doctor called for Mr. Black from outside the bathroom.

He dried his face and met the doctor in the hallway. "What's happening to Sarah? Why is she so much worse?"

"Her body is failing. I'm sorry, but we knew this would happen. As she ages, her internal organs are eating themselves in an attempt to survive. She won't make it much longer. All we can do is keep her as comfortable as possible."

Mr. Black balled up his fists. "How long? How long do I have with her?"

"There's no way to know for sure, but I'd say a few weeks at most."

He slammed his fist into the wall. "And is there nothing you can do? No cure or treatment we could try?"

"Sir, please calm down. And no, there's nothing that can be done. Barring a miracle breakthrough in genetic testing, there are no cures for this disease."

A dim hope took root once again in his soul. "A miracle breakthrough?"

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose and grimaced. "Wrong choice of words. There is no miracle forthcoming. You must accept the fact that your daughter is dying. I'm sorry."

Mr. Black stalked out of the room. He would not accept that outcome. He would get his daughter her miracle.

***

"Forgive me for saying so, but your methods seem excessive compared to the threat posed by these kids." The Headmaster sat behind his desk and tried to look authoritative, but Mr. Black knew Higgins lacked the authority to have the bathroom cleaned, let alone to challenge his disciplinary choices.

That didn't stop the bastard from running his mouth, though. "These paranormal children are the heart of our organization. They're the reason we exist at all. They must not be so broken and terrified that we can no longer use them effectively. That boy didn't have to be whipped. You could have found another way."

Dark shadows filled Mr. Black's vision. "These
kids,
as you call them, are freaks of nature. They're self-righteous pricks with superpowers who think they're better than everyone else because of some genetic defect. You've let them get away with murder for too long. They need to be taught some manners and respect, and that's what me and my men are doing."

Mr. Black put the full weight of his own power—the real power that came from combat and weapons training—behind his stare. "My job is to keep this school safe. These kids lack discipline and have dangerous abilities. Accidents are bound to happen, and it would be a shame if one of the faculty members got hurt, don't you think, Mr. Headmaster?"

The color drained from Higgins's face. He looked down in defeat. "I understand."

A hard smile curled Mr. Black's lips upward.
Some people are just too easy to break.

Shouts filtered into the office from the courtyard outside. Mr. Black jumped up and pulled the shades.

Two kids stood face-to-face, as though dueling. One was dressed in all red, and had even dyed his hair red, and held a ball of flames in his hand. The other wore blue and played with a ball of ice.

A tall boy stood just outside the dueling area and raised his voice so that all the kids gathered around could hear.

"Some say the world will end in fire,