The Embers Of My Heart (31 page)

Two of my threads of power pierced his shields and tore through his coat and flesh. He snarled something and sprang backwards. "You've learned."

"I've had better teachers since we last met."

"Your uncle? Don't make me laugh."

I didn't let him sting me, though I had no idea how he had learned that. "Nope. This is from someone else I know and trust." I divided my power into a dozen threads and saw his eyes widen slightly. "How about you give up now and let me finish what I started?"

"How about this?" A trace of energy flashed toward the van and I barely caught and dissipated it in time. He tossed another bolt toward Lisa's car, then followed up with one at Drew's unconscious form. "Go on, Parker. You can't defend all of them at once."

"You can't attack all of them at once."

"But you don't know where I'm going next." He smiled again. "And if you go for me, I can attack anywhere else while I dodge you. Which one will I kill, Parker? The redhead? The nerd? Do you want to pick for me? Go on, Parker. Make it happen."

I feinted at him, then deflected his next attack away from the van. I had to drive him away. Every moment I spent fighting him was one less moment I could use to help Lisa. The only option left was using my second tier powers. That would light up a beacon that the entire Establishment would see. It'd call my judgment into question once again.

"Acceptable prices, Shade," I said as I drove my power through the second tier barrier. "I know you were trying to bait me into this."

He laughed at me as time slowed down. I reached out with silver threads of power to end his life this time around. I'd show him the same amount of mercy as he had shown me.

As soon as my first thread touched his mind, countermeasures sprang into action. I felt the sting as feedback flashed through the thread. A flare of deep green energy built in his mind and started bursting outwards. It was just a mindflare, but it was so unexpected and powerful, it pushed even my second tier powers away, shattering the threads as if they were made of ice.

The flare blinded me for a few crucial moments. As I cleared the effects, I braced for impact, for an attack, for anything. I couldn't let him recover first. When my vision finally cleared, he was gone. A quick search for psionic power didn't find him anywhere nearby.

Telepathy struck my mind. "Kevin! Answer me!"

"Absynthe?"

"You used the second tier without authorization!"

"Yeah, and that mindflare was Shade escaping after trying to attack me and my friends."

"You're in deep shit now." Her tone was troubled. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Preferably in person. Catch Shade. Do anything you can to catch him."

"Why-"

"Just do it!" I severed the telepathic connection and looked around the scene. None of my other friends were injured and none of them seemed aware of what had just gone down in front of them. Small favors. I turned back to Lisa's car and called up what little biokinesis I had.

Before I could do anything more than a rudimentary scan, flashing lights lit up the street. I snarled a curse at Shade as I cut my power. He had cost me the time I needed to do anything. I could only hope that I had driven him off quickly enough for the EMTs to do their thing.

I stepped back as the ambulances and police arrived. An officer drew me away from the scene to the van. The medics gave up on the other driver immediately. His eyes closed forever after only a minute. He stared at me until the very end.

The police were brutally efficient and questioned me while the EMTs did their work. As the driver of the van, I received the brunt of the questions. Where'd we come from. Where were we going. How fast. How many drinks. I told them the truth for the most part, but paused when it came to Drew. "He was in her car," I said. "Got out and staggered around to the other side before he passed out." When the officer looked away, I flicked that particular memory at each of my friends. I'd be able to remove it later.

My friends clustered around me at the front of the van. "This isn't real, is it?" Max asked. "Tell me it's not real. Tell me I'm just having a bad dream."

I couldn't answer him. Andreas looked up from his study of the ground. "It is not a dream. It is a nightmare."

Max muttered something vicious and stalked away. He kicked the van's tire as hard as he could. I turned away from him and watched the EMTs deploy equipment. The driver's side door was impossible to open, and even if they could, it would shred her in the process. They were moving some sort of heavy shears into place between her and door to cut her free. One of the EMTs had climbed into the passenger side of the car and was talking to her. He lifted his head and nodded to the other man with the shears.

Lisa screamed, a long, drawn out shriek of pain, simultaneous with the squealing of metal cutting. My spine crawled. Drew stirred, but one of the officers kept a hand on him to keep him from getting up.

"I wish I could do something," Jess said in a small voice.

"Jessica," Andreas said quietly, standing behind all of us. His hands dropped onto her shoulders. "Let them do their work.
Hennes liv er i deres hender nå.
Her life is in their hands now." His calm was almost unsettling.

"Pry the door now," called one of the EMTs. "We're ready to take her."

The ambulance backed toward her car. The EMT who had been talking to her was setting up a stretcher while another helped an obviously disoriented Drew to his feet. They pointed him toward the ambulance, but I could see him arguing with them. He pointed at the car and stood his ground. "I'm not leaving without her," he said, loud enough for all of us to hear.

Jess broke. As she lifted her hands to her face and sobbed, Max put his arms around her and pulled her close. Next to me, Andreas put his arm around Kaitlyn, her face streaked with tear tracks and makeup. "Please let her be ok," I heard her whisper.

Another squeal of metal grabbed my attention. Three of the EMTs were pulling the door free. Lisa's screams had stopped and as soon as the door was out of the way, they cut her free of the seatbelt and had her on the stretcher in seconds. Scarlet stained her seat. I couldn't believe such a tiny girl could hold so much blood. One EMT thrust an IV in her wrist as another strapped her down. Drew stood at the doors of the ambulance as they pushed her into place before climbing in the back with them, one hand pressed to his ribs. The doors closed. The sirens turned on. I turned to my friends. "Get in the van, people."

"What?" Max looked at me as if I had gone crazy.

"Get in. We're following them." I pushed him toward the van and ran over to the officer who had questioned me.

"Sir, what hospital are they going to?"

"Samaritan," he said. His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down. "You're driving?"

"Yes, sir."

His gaze softened. "I'll give you an escort. Let's hurry."

Those words sent a chill down my spine. I ran back to the van and threw myself into the driver's seat. Everyone was dead sober now. There was silence as I turned the key. "We're getting an escort," I said to them. "Buckle up. We're going fast."

Next to me, Jess took a sharp breath, but no one said anything. The police cruiser pulled out and lit up his sirens. I followed him. My hands were steady on the wheel. My mind was blank. I could feel psionic energy in the back of my mind, but refused the connection. It could wait. I didn't need more shit thrown my way.

We arrived at the hospital minutes after the ambulance. The officer escorted us into the emergency room, exchanged a few words with the nurse at the desk, and led us into a hallway. Drew sat on a bench in the hallway by himself, his hand still pressed against his ribs. His shirt was off and someone had wrapped a bandage around him. He looked up as we approached. Before I could walk toward him, the police officer put a hand on my shoulder. "Son, I know this is a rough time for you," he said. "But I just want to remind you we're going to be in touch with you since you were the primary witness to the accident."

"I understand," I said.

"Best of luck," he said, nodded, and walked off. His gait was slow and his head down. I felt another chill down my back. I took a deep breath, wiped at my eyes, and joined my friends.

"Broken rib or two, I guess," Drew was saying as I approached. His eyes met mine. "I told them just to give me something for the worst of the pain and I'd get x-rayed or whatever later. She's in emergency surgery."

"Did they say anything else?"

"They said they'd try their best."

"We can only wait," Andreas said.

The hallway was empty and quiet except for the occasional passing nurse. Most of them checked on us over the next few hours. One brought us some blankets and another brought some snacks. Once, a nurse came out of the surgical suite, but she lifted her hands before we could ask her anything. "No news," she said.

Max and Jess took over one part of the hall, a blanket wrapped around them. She buried her head against Max's shoulder and her shoulders heaved now and then. Andreas and Kaitlyn sat together a few feet away. His arm was around her shoulders and her eyes were closed. I was almost jealous she could sleep at a time like this. Drew sat for the most part, but occasionally paced down to the surgical suite and back. I shifted positions and my chair creaked. For a moment, all attention focused on me, then everyone looked away. Drew's gaze was particularly haunted.

I couldn't take it. "Bathroom," I muttered as I stood up. After relieving myself, I checked myself in the bathroom mirror. Shadow grew along my jawline. My hair stood up in tufts. Blood spotted the collar of my shirt. I didn't know if it was Lisa's or the other man's. It all added up to rattle my already scattered state of mind.

The guys had all given me looks. They knew. They knew I had powers. Why hadn't I used them? I stared myself in the eyes. What could I tell them? I didn't want to admit that this was my fault. I should have killed Shade when I had the chance. I clenched the edge of the sink. He had aimed that other driver at us. He was trying to hurt me. He wanted me to suffer.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. I tapped into my power, coaxing it to come under my control and obey my commands. Slowly, a trace of energy focused and my eyes started to glow. Not brilliant green as in the past, but green with a slight spark of blue. I blinked and lost it. That was the ultimate sign of my betrayal. That was why Shade was going to kill me. My hands shook and I grabbed the sink again to steady myself.

The bathroom door opened and I looked to the side. Drew closed the door and stared at me. "You lost."

My stomach clenched. "What?"

"That guy." Drew's tone was level but his eyes were empty. "Couldn't you have won? You hesitated and he knocked the shit out of me. You were holding back."

"I wasn't. Not at all."

"Did you even try?" A spark of anger flashed into flames before I could even register what was happening. He grabbed my collar. "You son of a bitch, why didn't you try harder?"

I grabbed his hands and pushed, but even with his injury he was far stronger. "Drew, calm down! I can't do anything! I did the best I could! You're not helping the situation!"

"Not helping?" His grip tightened. "I'm the one not helping? You're the fucking superhero! Act like it! Go walk in there and heal her!"

"I'm no superhero, Drew. I don't have that power!"

"Liar." His tone fell flat again. "You're lying to me. You could help her. But you won't."

"That's not true!"

"Liar!" he bellowed. In one smooth move, he let go of my collar and hit me hard enough that I found myself on the floor, my nose aching. The world spun and blurred, but I could make out his outline as he crouched over me and grabbed the front of my shirt. He lifted me off the floor with one hand, cocking his fist back to punch me again. "You fucking liar!"

I opened my mouth to protest, but the bathroom door burst open before I could get a word out. Max and Andreas took only a second to see the situation. "Drew, what the fuck?" Max grabbed his arm and Andreas pushed the door shut before joining him. I took advantage of the confusion to free myself. After a quick scuffle, I was back on my feet and Drew glared at me past Andreas's head. "What the hell just happened?"

"He's a fucking asshole," Drew snarled.

"Drew. Kevin did not do anything. He is not to blame." Andreas held his hands up between us.

"That's my point! He didn't do anything! You know he could do something! You know what he can do!" Drew pointed a finger past Andreas at me and I flinched back. "He won't!"

Max pulled a wad of paper towels out of the dispenser and handed them to me. "Here. Nose down. Stop the bleeding. Think it's broken?" I shook my head. It hurt like hell, but I knew what a broken nose felt like thanks to Shade. "Good. All right. Drew, you're being an ass. Knock it off. If Kev said he can't do anything, he can't."

The paper towels were soaked red after only a few seconds. I swallowed hard, tasted blood, and tried to speak. It took a moment to find my voice. "I swear, there wasn't anything I could do. I never saw the other car coming. Even if I had, I couldn't have done anything about it. Too much momentum. Not enough time. I don't know enough medical shit to do anything now, and even if I did, I'd risk interfering with the doctors."

Max nodded and turned to Drew. "There. Believe him, man."

Andreas nodded and Drew's gaze fell. "Shit. Fuck me. Kev, man, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I said. It wasn't fine, I didn't deserve that punch, but he was in a bad place. "Just try not to deck me next time, all right?"

"Not as hard, at least," Max added.

Drew almost smiled. Max pushed him toward the bathroom door, leaving me with Andreas. His eyes were calm as he looked me over. "Your nose is broken," he said.

"Is it? I didn't think so."

"It is crooked. You may want to straighten it before it heals."

"I can take care of it later. Once things are better."

He nodded. "Whenever that may be." I winced and he shrugged. "
Alt har en avslutning.
Everything has an ending, Kevin."