Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (52 page)

Miles whistled. “Now that would be
something. UNITED hasn’t had a documented case of teleportation in
over thirty years.” He shrugged, seeming to warm up to the
possibility the more he thought about it. “It would explain a lot,
though—the lack of footprints leading inside the pub, the boots and
coats. But where would Talia have found a Teleporter? When would
Talia have found a Teleporter?”

These were all good questions. But I wasn’t
interested in sitting around theorizing. Inventing reasons for any
of the number of bizarre occurrences that had taken place lately
was not going to help find Talia.

“
Look, guys. None of that
matters right now. Once we find Talia you all can ask her for the
answers. I’m sure she’d be happy to introduce you to her teleporter
friend.” I focused on Frederick. “How does Victoria suggest we look
for Talia without physically going to find her? I assume you’ve
told her my fuse is blown?”

Frederick nodded guiltily.

“
Pretty boy over here is
supposed to keep trying to view her,” Miles chimed in.

Frederick looked offended by the
nickname.

“
Just means he likes you,”
I told my friend.

“
And,” Miles continued,
“the big boss lady believes Talia might try to contact you or the
girlie tonight. In fact, she’s done everything possible to make
sure that does happen. Though I don’t mind telling you, she’s
taking a huge risk, kid. UNITED put out an official press release,
stating that you are here already in preparation for the final
rally, including where you’re staying.”

Smart. No, wait, not smart.

“
That sounds like a trap,”
I stated.

“
Exactly. UNITED already
has agents swarming these fancy digs, so now Victoria looks like
she’s playing along. She doesn’t think Talia will come in person.”
Miles gave me a pointed stare.

No. Of course not. Crane and Victoria were
banking on Talia’s inability to resist contacting me knowing that
we were in the same city. I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of
peace. They were right. Talia would reach out to me. She wouldn’t
be able to stop herself. All I had to do was lie back and wait.

And wait. And wait. And wait.

By two a.m., I was no longer confident that
my girlfriend would take Victoria’s bait. Depending on where she
was hiding, Talia might not have even seen the news. Still, I
didn’t understand why she wasn’t contacting me. Whether she knew I
was in London or not, it wasn’t like Talia to remain radio silent.
And I knew for a fact that the energy field in this region wasn’t
high enough to disrupt our powers.

Is she hurt? Did Nightshade find her? If so,
what did they do with her?

The thought of Talia in the clutches of the
ruthless mercenary organization both infuriated me and terrified
me. I felt so useless. I was supposed to protect her. Even if she
didn’t actually need that protection. Talia had moved heaven,
earth, and Ian Crane’s soldiers to rescue me from Tramblewood. And
I was helpless to so much as locate her, much less go to her.

At three a.m. I got the bright idea to use
alcohol to dull the heartache of uncertainty. Three glasses of the
most expensive bourbon in the minibar did nothing to ease the pain
in my chest. Unfortunately, they did slow my reflexes and my
senses. Otherwise, I would have heard the soft click of the outer
suite door, even three floors up. I would have heard the
pitter-patter of the feet climbing the stairs. I would have heard
the girl who slipped through the narrow crack she made in my
bedroom door. And I most certainly wouldn’t have screamed like a
madman when she whispered my name into the blackness.

“
Oh, please. You’re the
one who tried to kill me, not the other way around,” Kenly Baker
said.

The Privileged

Besançon, France

Two Days Before the Vote

The news that four 2Ps had been caught
sneaking around in the secret passageways beneath the school was
all anyone wanted to discuss at breakfast the next morning. Cressa
was stunned. She’d thought the rest of their group had made it back
before bed checks.

“
I bet there were more
than just the four who got caught,” a 4P named Darcy was saying
between bites of scrambled eggs.

Normally the cadets stayed with their own
phases during mealtimes, but Cressa’s table had been bombarded by
higher-ranking individuals, since all the wandering students were
2Ps. Everyone was desperate for more information about the big
scandal.

After being poked and prodded by a med
tech—Dr. Masterson was too busy to bother with something as routine
as stomach issues—it was determined that Cressa was not suffering
from an adverse reaction to her injection. The med tech diagnosed
her with food poisoning, flagged her file, and insisted she drink a
thick tonic that tasted like grass. Cressa had spent the rest of
the night in med bay, returning to her floor just in time to get
dressed for the day.

“
Probably,” Ritchie
replied, feigning indifference. “I wonder if the people who got
caught will talk.”

“
Oh, they’ll talk,”
another 4P girl insisted with a flip of her white-gold hair. “I
hear they are using psychic interrogation on all of
them.”

Cressa felt Ritchie stiffen beside her.

“
Who was caught?” Daphne
interjected. She was sitting on Cressa’s other side, looking pale
and tired from the previous night’s ordeal.

Cressa had been wondering the same thing.
Everyone kept saying four cadets had been found inside the tunnels.
Excluding Daphne, Ritchie, and Cressa herself, who were all present
at breakfast, that left six, not four, other wanderers. Neither of
the twins was at breakfast, nor had she seen them in the bathroom
after returning from med bay. Unfortunately, it was a safe
assumption that Lyla and Shyla Towers were slated to become
PDs.

“
They haven’t released the
names yet,” an unfamiliar girl spoke up. “Right now, it’s all just
speculation and gossip.”

Cressa discreetly looked around the large,
bustling space. A cursory search of the cafeteria didn’t produce
Kev, Hartley, or the Jacobs.

“
Looking for Kev Leon?”
Darcy asked, smirking.

“
Huh?” Cressa replied
dumbly. She would’ve though the 4P was reading her mind, but cadets
didn’t receive that ability until the seventh phase.

“
He was spotted entering
the cafeteria this morning,” Darcy said, speaking slowly as if
repeating something Cressa already knew. Then, she rolled her eyes.
“It’s understandable to want to see him, you don’t have to pretend
otherwise.”

Cressa let out a sigh of relief. Of all her
cohorts, he was the one she worried for the most. The twins,
Hartley, and the Jacobs had bolted at the first sign of trouble, so
those traitors deserved whatever fate befell them.

“
If not for those kids
getting caught in the tunnels, it would be all anyone was talking
about,” another 4P chimed in.

“
Shut it. Gossip is not
tolerated at the Institute,” Suzu Mitsu said loudly, dropping her
tray with a clatter as she joined the other end of the
table.

With Gracia still recovering from her
procedures, the Dame’s morning announcements had indicated that
Suzu would be pulling double duty as captain of both the 4P girls
and 2P girls.

Those farthest from Suzu continued to fuel
the rumor mill with all sorts of theories about what would come of
the cadets who’d been apprehended, mixed in with chatter about
whether Kev Leon was really as good-looking up close. Once they
were safely out of the conversations, Ritchie leaned closer to
Cressa.

“
Only Lyla was caught.
Shyla got away,” she muttered, barely moving her lips.

“
Then why isn’t she here?”
Daphne hissed, leaning across Cressa to take part in the
conversation.

“
They took her to
interrogation,” Ritchie whispered. She shot Suzu a glance to make
sure the older girl wasn’t paying attention to them. “Shyla made it
back to her room before Leslie checked in, but Madame Gillis didn’t
believe she didn’t know her twin had snuck out. She might be in
just as much trouble as Lyla.”

Wracked with guilt, Cressa glanced across
the table at Nydia. She felt horrible about nearly getting her
roommate in trouble. At least Madame Gillis and Leslie had left
Nydia alone, once Cressa turned up in the bathroom.

When she finally made it back to her room
from med bay, Cressa had apologized profusely for involving her.
But Nydia had refused to look at her, let alone speak to her.

“
Do you know who else was
caught?” Cressa whispered.

Ritchie shook her head. “No. I’m guessing
we’ll find out soon, though, since we have lessons with the boys
today. Once we see who isn’t there, we’ll know.” Again, her eyes
flitted to Suzu before she continued. “How did you guys get
away?”

Daphne opened her mouth to answer, but
Cressa quickly cut her off. “We left not long after you did. I
started to feel sick, and Daphne went with me, to make sure I was
okay. We were already back on the floor before the others were
detected.”

Cressa shot the younger girl a pointed look,
silently begging her to go along with the story. Ritchie didn’t
know that Kev was wandering around the tunnels right along with the
rest of them, and she hoped to keep it that way. Not only for his
sake, but for theirs as well. At the moment, Ritchie was acting
more like a coconspirator than a potential tattletale. If she got
word about Kev aiding their escape, jealousy might make her change
her tune.

“
Yeah, guess we dodged a
bullet, huh?” Daphne quickly agreed.

“
Let’s make a pact,”
Ritchie said seriously. “I won’t breathe a word about you guys, if
you don’t say a word about me. Even if we’re found out, we won’t
narc on each other. Deal?”

“
Deal,” Cressa and Daphne
echoed.

It wasn’t a difficult decision; Cressa had
no intention of narcing on anyone.

Suzu stood and cleared her throat,
effectively attracting the attention of the table.

“
4Ps, you all have a
combat training session this morning, followed by refresher courses
on telekinesis and light manipulation. Rollings, Jersey, Zinc, and
Wickersham—after lunch, you all will be taking your next
advancement exams.” She paused and turned her attention to the 2Ps.
“Phase Two cadets, I will be observing your classes today. You also
have a telekinesis refresher this morning. This afternoon, Madame
Brink will be holding one-on-one sessions with each of you,
focusing on invisibility. Beaumont, you are the only 2P taking an
advancement exam today, which is scheduled for late this
afternoon.”

Startled by the news, Daphne dropped her
fork on her plate with clang.

“
I’m guessing you didn’t
know?” Cressa asked. “Something tells me you’ll pass, no
problem.”

She was happy for Daphne. Being so young
while advancing so quickly was truly impressive. But Cressa was
saddened by the thought of losing her new friend. Defying gravity
to circumvent a broken neck and spiriting through secret
passageways with an allegedly dead movie star had a way of bonding
people.

Without Daphne, Cressa didn’t have a lot of
options for friendship among the 2Ps. She was having a hard time
getting a read on Ritchie, and hadn’t yet decided if she could be
trusted. Nydia wasn’t speaking to her. And Shyla Towers probably
hated her for escaping the guards. All in all, it would be a lonely
phase sans the little canary.

“
Don’t worry,” Daphne said
to Cressa with a wink. “I don’t plan on passing. Being a 2P just
got a whole lot more interesting.”

Though she knew she should dissuade Daphne
from failing on purpose, Cressa grinned. “Yeah it did,” she
replied.

The morning lesson with Madame Gillis was a
disaster. The class as a whole was too distracted by the previous
night’s scandal to truly focus; everyone was speculating about
which four were actually part of the nighttime adventure, and who
was being held for questioning. Then there was Kev, whose presence
was another obstacle vying for the instructor’s attention. Hoping
to catch his eye, many of the 2P girls had gone to extraordinary
lengths while primping that morning.

Makeup wasn’t permitted at the Institute, so
girls like Ritchie had improvised in the short time between
breakfast and lessons, creating eye shadows, blush, and lip
coloring from soap, markers, and charcoal pencils. Even Daphne,
Cressa noticed, had taken extra care when doing her hair, using
something that made her typically messy mop of blonde appear sleek
and smooth.