The MORE Trilogy (88 page)

The Council member gave them to Kwon who tapped the table and a small panel retracted before her.

She withdrew a long needle with a round handle on one end and pierced the cap on one of the vials to withdraw a drop of blood. Kwon held the needle out to Evan.

To Ava’s surprise, the boy didn’t hesitate to take the needle between his thumb and forefinger, smearing the drop of blood between them. He stared blankly at the redness on his skin, and then shuddered as if he’d been startled. “Not far,” he said in a monotone voice, almost as if he was in a trance.

Kwon handed him a computer pad, and he ran his fingers over it quickly.

It took Ava a moment to realize that the others were looking at the central screen instead of at Evan, and she turned to find a series of maps flashing in the middle of the room.

“North,” Evan said in that same almost dead voice. “No . . . west. Northwest. Not sure how far. I can’t get a clear read. But northwest. Definitely.” He shuddered again, and his blue eyes cleared and focused.

Ava wondered which was real and which was a contact lens, because, yes, she knew. Like she’d known about Sophie, she knew.

“Good,” Andreas said, taking the pad from him and setting it down. “Now, Evan, there’s a little test we’d like to administer.”

They explained the process—just a drop of blood to examine his DNA—but Ava barely heard them, because she already knew Evan was Race. He was her brother. He was one of the Twelve.

Five
.

This made five that she knew of. That left seven still to find. And with Evan on their side Ava was beginning to think they might actually have a chance.

Chapter 10

“I’m telling you, we need to go after them,” Caleb said, not for the first time.

The Guardian delegation had withdrawn to his mother’s office after the DNA testing had proven what they’d all suspected. Evan was one of the Twelve. Kwon had quietly put a couple of Protectors on him, and Andreas was sticking close as he tried to narrow down Sophie’s location, but Caleb didn’t really believe the boy was a threat. No, Caleb was focused on getting to Sophie and Isaiah now that they had an idea where they were.

“Gotta say I’m with Caleb on this one,” Tiernan said. “We can’t afford to leave those two in Rogue hands.”

Ava sat up, shoulders stiff, and jutted her chin out. “Sophie won’t help them, not willingly, at least.”

They all knew that didn’t really matter, though. Not with Emma on the side of the Rogues.

“I understand the risks,” Madeleine said. “But we can’t simply send Protectors into a Rogue stronghold. Not until we have a better idea what they’d be walking into.”

“So what? We sit on our hands?” Caleb jumped to his feet, his chair rolling back with the force.

“Of course not!” His mother pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath to collect herself before meeting his gaze again, speaking calmly. “We follow protocol. We send an advance team and try to gather some intel.”

“In the meantime, they could move Sophie and Isaiah, or Emma could manipulate them, lift their blocks, and—”

“No.” Ava’s voice was quiet, but it still drew the attention of everyone in the room. “No, we can’t let that happen.”

Caleb could almost feel her fear, her anger. “The Rogues won’t use them. We won’t let them.”

“It’s not only that,” Ava said, eyeing him with—was it apprehension? “It’s not only Emma’s compulsion I’m worried about. It’s the block.”

“What do you mean?” Madeleine asked.

Ava flitted a glance at his mother but focused back on him when she said, “The problems I’ve been having. The nosebleeds and headaches? They’ve been getting worse.”

A weight settled in Caleb’s stomach.

He’d suspected, of course. He’d wanted to believe her when she said she was fine, but he’d known she really wasn’t.

“How much worse?” he asked.

Ava cleared her throat and looked away at the wall, the floor, anywhere but at Caleb. “A lot. It’s not only when I use my gifts now. And it’s not only headaches.”

Concern turned to fear turned to outright fury as Ava told them about the nightmares, the increased physical symptoms, and how she’d been managing them with the help of the Guardian healer.

“I can’t believe she kept this to herself,” Gideon all but snarled.

“Doctor-patient confidentiality,” Ava said with a twisted smile. “It’s not exclusively for humans, you know?”

“And this Talia,” Madeleine said, waiting for Ava’s nod, “she thinks these symptoms are a result of lifting the block?”

Ava nodded. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what Emma said to me about the nosebleeds. She said our . . .
father
—” She grimaced as she said the word. “She said he would fix things. That when I got to him, it wouldn’t hurt anymore. She said he’d help me ‘like he helped the others.’ ”

Tiernan pushed away from the wall to pace slowly across the room. “A booby trap?”

Ava laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. I think so.”

“I don’t think I’m following,” Madeleine said, leaning forward on her desk and rubbing a hand over her forehead.

“Borré manipulated their DNA,” Caleb said. His voice shook with underlying fury. “Not only to create the perfect Race, but also to tie them to him. The symptoms, I’m guessing, will only get worse until they get the remedy from Borré himself.” He turned angry eyes on Ava. “That’s it, right?”

“I think so.”

“And you kept this from me.”

“I didn’t want you to worry—”

“You lied!” Caleb shouted, his damning words echoing off the walls. He clenched his shaking hands into fists and turned and stalked out of the office, ignoring Ava’s quiet plea for him to come back.

He raced down the stairs and out the front door, not even realizing he was running until he found himself in the middle of the forest. He stopped, kicked at a stone, and grimaced in satisfaction when it knocked the bark off a tree. He paced around the small clearing, rage and indignation burning through him. He couldn’t believe Ava had lied to him. Had looked him right in the eye and lied to him, and then tried to defend herself by saying she didn’t want him to worry.

As if he could do anything
but
worry when it came to Ava. As if he didn’t worry about her every minute of every day. He knew the real reason, of course. She didn’t want to be stopped. She was obsessed with bringing down her father, even if it
killed—

“Caleb?”

He whirled around to find Ava standing near a tree at the edge of the clearing. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t even felt her approach.

“I came out here because I want to be alone.” He crossed his arms over his chest, bracing himself against the urge to reach out to her.

“Please, Caleb. I’m sorry.” Tears clogged her words and gleamed in her eyes, but he would not be moved.

“For what? For lying to me? For putting yourself in danger every time—
every single time
— you used your gifts?”

“Caleb—”

“Or maybe for pretending that we had something more than just the bond? That this was some kind of partnership? That we could rely on each other—”

“We can!” Ava took a step toward him, but he held out a hand to stop her.

Pine needles and pebbles around his feet stirred with her emotion, hovering and bouncing on the ground. He felt a tug toward her. A
physical
tug.

“Don’t even think about it,” he snarled.

Ava’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t. Caleb, you know I wouldn’t.”

“Do I? How exactly do I know that, Ava?”

“Will you please just listen to me!” she shouted, the dirt swirling higher around them.

When he clenched his jaw against more angry words, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The debris settled, and he sensed the settling of her gift.

She pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe a small drop of blood from her nose.

Caleb fought not to wince, but his stomach churned again. “Are you all right?” he asked after a long, silent moment.

“Ha.” She swiped at the tears glistening on her cheeks. “Not really, no.”

He wanted to go to her. Everything in him screamed for him to go to her, but he resisted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed and looked out through the trees. “You remember that day at the park, after the Rogue attack. After Emma . . .” Her voice was quiet, distant with memory. “I asked you to promise me that if I was needed, you’d let me fight.”

“I said I’d try.”

She turned the full force of her gaze on him, hot and earnest. “Try isn’t enough, Caleb. Not for this. Can’t you see? We’re not just talking about me here, or you, or the Race. It’s not only about Rogues and Guardians and the Council. This is about everyone. The whole world. If the Rogues
 
succeed—”

“They won’t succeed.”

“They
can’t
succeed,” she said. “We can’t let them, Caleb. No matter the cost. There’s too much at risk.”

Caleb knew she was right.

Borré and the Rogues wanted power, and if they got it, anyone who stood against them would be destroyed. Humanity would become nothing more than slaves to their whims. There would be no one left to fight for them, to defend them.

“I know that,” he said, finally taking a step toward her, then another, until they were close enough to touch, although he still didn’t reach out. “You think I don’t know what’s at stake? I know very well.”

“Then you should understand—”

“No,” he said firmly as he shook his head. “I mean, yes, I understand why you feel you have to do whatever it takes, including putting yourself at risk. God, Ava, don’t you think I feel that way, too? I was raised to help others—to Protect the Race, to aid humanity. It’s instilled in us from birth. I get that. How could you think I wouldn’t? What I don’t understand is why you thought you couldn’t trust me.”

Ava’s face fell, a new round of tears sparkling in her eyes. “I do trust you. Please . . .
please
don’t think that.”

“You know what else I remember from that day at the park?”

“What?” she whispered.

“I remember saying we’d face this together.” His voice caught, and he swallowed down a flood of emotion. “How can we do that if we’re not honest with each other?”

“I—” She reached out, her fingers barely touching his, and her pain twisted with his own. Her sorrow and regret pulsed within his chest. “I’m so sorry, Caleb. I should have told you. I should have trusted you.”

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she sobbed against his chest, mumbling, “I’m sorry,” over and over again.

He hushed her and pressed kisses into her hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

“How?” she asked through her sniffles.

But Caleb didn’t have an answer, so he just held her close until her crying stopped and the light faded around them.

It was fully dark by the time Ava and Caleb emerged from the forest, hand in hand. She knew they hadn’t resolved everything, but at least they’d cleared the air. Ava had truly believed she was doing the right thing, protecting Caleb, but hadn’t fully realized how her actions, her lies, might affect him. When she’d found him in the woods, she felt the pain and betrayal pouring off him in waves.

She hated that she’d been the one to put it there.

Exhausted, they made their way to Caleb’s house. He’d paused briefly to text Tiernan and let him know they were calling it a night. She couldn’t blame him. The Protector was probably the only one who wouldn’t ask endless questions, and neither one of them was up for that at the moment. There was so much to do, but they’d need rest to face what lay ahead. And Ava needed this time with Caleb to try to repair the damage she’d done.

They didn’t even make it to the bedroom, collapsing on Caleb’s sofa and falling into a dead sleep, wrapped up in a blanket and each other.

Ava rose with the dawn and dragged Caleb with her. They cleaned up and headed for the Council Arena, stopping briefly along the way for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Madeleine and Gideon met them in the Protection Bureau’s lab, a place Ava was quite familiar with after her own testing as a suspected Half-Breed. The Council leader and rebel Guardian stood stiffly on opposite sides of an exam table as the Race physician and his assistant bustled about readying their equipment.