Forbidden Fire (Forbidden #2) (18 page)

"Some say in ice.

"From what I've tasted of desire,

"I hold with those who favor fire.

"But if it had to perish twice,

"I think I know enough of hate,

"To say that for destruction ice,

"Is also great,

"And would suffice."

Mr. Black couldn't believe what he was seeing. Were these kids really about to duel to a Robert Frost poem?

Flame and ice clashed between them. The crowd screamed.

Mr. Black and the Headmaster ran from the office into the courtyard.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd chanted at the top of their lungs. They formed such a tight circle that Mr. Black had to pull out his gun to get their attention.

The gun distracted the ice boy just as he deflected a fireball—only the fireball didn't fizz out as planned. Instead, it careened into the crowd and lit a young girl's hair on fire. The chanting ended abruptly and the kids began scattering to their classes or dorm rooms.

The ice boy having already disappeared into the crowd, Mr. Black aimed his gun at the fire boy. "What the hell is going on here?"

Instead of cowering, the boy flared another fire ball in his hand. "You can't do anything to me. I have power you can't even imagine, and I'm sick and tired of this crap you're putting us through."

Mr. Black cocked his gun. "You think you can hurt me before I pull the trigger. Try it."

The boy's fire winked out.

"I'm glad we understand each other. Now, are you going to pull something like this again?"

"No, sir."

"Good." Mr. Black lowered his gun and let the boy turn around and leave.

Damn kids. They never learn. Think they can just do what they want, when they want.

The boy had only taken a few steps when the gun went off. The bullet slammed into the back of his head, splattering blood and brain matter onto the sidewalk.

The few kids who remained screamed and ran away.

Higgins bent behind a bush and vomited.

Mr. Black waved to the guards around him. "Clean up this mess, and take the girl to the clinic for medical attention."

Someone grabbed his arm on his way back to the office.

Higgins's face contorted in horror and rage. "How could you do that? What were you thinking? You just killed that boy in cold blood."

"I meted out justice to someone whose power could destroy others. He could've killed that girl, or don't you care about her? Look, Higgins, I know you have a soft spot for these kids, but you have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn't let them run wild, they wouldn't be rebelling like this. I don't tolerate fools, regardless of their powers. And I can guarantee you one thing: no one else will be dueling on my watch."

A disheveled guard rushed over to them. "Excuse me for interrupting, but Mr. Black, the Seeker would like to speak with you in his chambers."

"In person?" Seeker's powers scared the shit out of Mr. Black, not that he would admit it to anyone. Still, he avoided face-to-face meetings when at all possible.

The guard shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Um, yes sir."

"Very well."

He turned and walked as quickly as he could without actually running.

Tension poured from Higgins as clearly as the sweat dripping from his face.

Mr. Black shoved Higgins out of the way. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lunch date."

***

Footsteps clicked on the tile floor. Mr. Black waited in a room that was entirely dark. His foot tapped the floor in time to the person who walked the hall.

A sliver of light appeared as the Seeker entered and sat in a chair across the room. "I trust you had a nice meeting with our illustrious Headmaster?"

Mr. Black couldn't make out any of his features—that was the point of the darkness, he assumed. Well, one of the points. "It was fine. How's the hunt for Sam and Drake going?"

"We have them in our sights. They should be our guests shortly."

"Care to define what you mean by 'shortly?' I'm trying to keep this school safe and in lockdown, but it would help if I knew what was happening."

He heard the Seeker shift in his chair. "You need not worry about my business. Focus your attentions on your own job. You seem to have a problem keeping order among the children. If any more escape, you are done here."

"I've got it under control. These kids had too much freedom under Higgins, but soon they will not question my commands." The darkness set Mr. Black on edge. He rested a hand on his gun, ready to use it should something unexpected happen.

"And this is your idea of maintaining control? To whip and shoot children? They are young. They do not deserve such treatment."

"You want to put a group of incredibly powerful kids in one place, train them to use their powers, and expect them to stay in line? It's insane. They're dangerous, and they have to know that someone bigger and stronger can stop them. My sources say they're planning something. A group called the Freedom Fighters has formed, led by those twins you just sent on assignment. They're the most dangerous of all. They're experienced, good at what they do.... Mark my words, they're planning a rebellion, and we can't allow it."

"There are many pieces to this puzzle that you are not privy to, Mr. Black. Know your place and keep to it. Soon, we will have Sam with us. Combined with the encrypted data you secured in Russia, we will have the two most dangerous weapons in the world. We will be unstoppable."

That thought frightened Mr. Black. No one should have that much power, especially not genetic mutations who considered themselves the next evolution in mankind. He would destroy them if he could, but he needed them too much. "Do you have family? Kids, siblings?"

The Seeker's laugh filled the dark room. "I have an interesting family tree, one with many divergent branches. Sadly, I do not know my family well—a circumstance I am working to remedy as we speak. I do know that family should be cherished. I was sorry to hear of your wife's accident. We have not spoken of it, but know that I feel your loss."

Loss, misery and shock warred in Mr. Black's heart. The night of his wife's death played through his mind in Technicolor....

***

"Do you want the cheap wine, or the cheap beer?" Laura's smile lit up the run-down convenience store. She held up the choices and posed with each like a magazine model—and her beauty rivaled any model ever to grace those glossy covers.

Mr. Black wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Her lips tasted of mint gum. He kissed her deeply without shame or modesty.

Laura put the alcohol back on the shelves. "Guess we don't need libations to celebrate, do we? I think this new job of yours will be just what we need to cover Sarah's medical expenses. I can quit my job and stay home with her. Things are finally looking up."

Sadness filled her bloodshot eyes. The dark circles spoke of the many sleepless nights she'd stayed awake with their daughter while he worked graveyard.

The curves of her body, the soft honey-colored hair flowing down her back, her womanly scent—all distracted him from the two teenage boys who entered the store.

He didn't see their guns until they pointed one at the cash register and one at his wife.

He didn't react in time to save her. The gun thundered and his wife fell dead at his feet.

***

...The Seeker's hand on his arm startled him out of his thoughts.

"I am sorry. I had no idea."

"You were in my mind?" The violation rankled Mr. Black, but he forced himself to feign a calmness he didn't feel.

"You projected that memory so forcefully, I had little choice in the matter. I understand better why you reacted the way you did today with the boy, but I do not approve of killing these children. I have plans for them that your puny, normal mind cannot comprehend."

Pain shot through Mr. Black's head. He moaned and fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his face.

"This is only a sample of what I could do to you if I so chose. Get control of these children,
without
death or permanent injury, or you will spend the rest of your life so miserable you will wish you were dead. Are we clear?"

The pressure eased as fast as it had started. Only a low-grade headache remained, but Mr. Black ignored it and got back into his seat.

He seethed internally but kept his voice level and calm. "Yes, we are clear. If I can do this... if I can keep the kids in line, without killing any of them—"

"Or permanently damaging them."

"Right, or that.  Will you help me with something?"

"If I can. What is it you seek?"

A dash of hope. A seed of luck.

The silver sphere glowed brighter each day. Lucy pressed it to her chest as she sang along with the music playing gently through her earphones. She hid the sphere in her pocket when Luke knocked and walked through her locked door.

She sent a pillow flying in his direction. "Dude, privacy."

Normally, Luke enjoyed a good pillow fight, but he let this one fall to his feet. He frowned. "We're being summoned. The guards are here to take us to our 'assignment.' They're in the living room, waiting."

"What? We're supposed to have the rest of the week. They said Sunday, and it's only Wednesday."

"What can I say? They're here now. Time to go." He then used sign language—something they hadn't done since they were kids—to tell her they needed to get away and activate the Freedom Fighters' escape plan.

She nodded and grabbed her jacket and backpack.

Before they left the dorm, Luke and Lucy turned on the two men escorting them.

With a front snap kick, Lucy disarmed one guard and planted her foot into his face with a side kick. He fell to the floor just as Luke finished off the other guard.

They picked up the guns, dragged the bodies to a utility closet and locked them inside.

Their actions synched perfectly after years of training together. Luke smiled and dusted off his hands. "You haven't lost it. Good job, Sis."

Lucy massaged kinks out of her wrists. "We need to get Gary and the gang for the first phase of the plan."

While the mandatory dorm time sucked, it did make it easy to find people. They split up, gathered the team, and regrouped in the meeting room.

Greg closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded and opened them. "We're clear. All systems are looped so that they can't see us." He reached for Gary's hand. "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid."

They hugged, and Lucy thought again about how many people would be hurt or killed, no matter how well their plan went. Her shoulders slumped. The responsibility of leading such a team weighed heavily on her.

Mary cleared her throat. "This is all very touching, but can we please go? I was in the middle of painting my toes and now they're all smudged."

Lucy rolled her eyes and searched the small crowd for Neil—their secret weapon. "Mary, honestly, it's freezing out there. You're wearing boots. No one gives a crap about your toes."

Gary smirked.

A minute later, Lucy, Gary, Mary and Neil headed out to start phase one of their escape. Luke stayed with the rest of the group to initiate the second phase. "Good luck, Sis. See you soon."

"You too. Be safe." Lucy led her team through campus to find Mr. Black.

Though it wasn't yet past curfew, unless they had good reason to be out, this many kids together would alert the guards that something was going down. They stayed in the shadows and avoided direct routes, taking paths through bushes and off the cobbled walkways to avoid detection.

Mr. Black liked to patrol this time of day to catch any stragglers who hadn't made it to their dorms. He'd be around somewhere.

Lucy glanced at her watch. "He might be getting a snack at the guards' break room."

Gary fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. "How will we get there without getting caught? Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

Lucy scowled at him. "
You're
the one who recruited
me
, remember? Luke and I would be leaving right now if not for this plan, so we do it now or it doesn't happen. We just have to be careful."

A cold breeze blew through the four of them huddled behind the Student Center. Lucy shivered and zipped up her jacket. She peeked around the corner to the break room just across the corridor, but they had no other places left to hide. They'd be exposed for at least sixty seconds, assuming Mr. Black was even in there.

"We're just going to have to run for it," she said. "Head straight to the back door of the building. We'll sneak in that way and look for Mr. Black. Most of the guards should be at their posts right now, so we shouldn't run into anyone else." She peeked around one last time. "It's all clear. Ready? One, two, three—run!"

Lucy pumped her legs as fast as they would go. She could hear the breathing of the others beside her as they crossed the corridor and made their way to the back of the building. Her heart slammed against her chest in rapid beats. Her stomach cramped, not from running but from nerves and fear. If they were caught, it would all be over, and it would be her fault for leading them into this.