Awaking (The Naturals, #1) (22 page)

Something solid collided with Morgan’s shoulder and she felt herself being propelled across the room. She slammed into the window to her left so hard that she heard it splinter, felt the rough cracks against her shoulder, her back. Her feet were inches from the ground. When she looked for her assailant, she saw Kellen standing before her, his arm outstretched toward her, his hand out as if holding her in place. He hadn’t touched her; he had Moved her across the room.

There was tumult in the room beyond Kellen, but Morgan couldn’t see it. All she could see was Kellen, and all she could feel was how pliable the glass behind her felt as her body was pressed into it.

“Kellen…” she managed to say. “Don’t.”

“I have to protect him, Morgan,” Kellen said, his voice strained. “You attacked him.”

“Did you see what he was making me do? Did you hear his lies? He’s not a good man, Kellen.” Morgan gasped as her body pressed ever more steadily into the glass behind her—glass that now felt more like plastic, conforming to the shape of her back.

“How can you say that? Everything he’s done has been for you.”

Morgan opened her mouth to say something, but fear stilled her tongue. Instead, she thrust her emotions forward—her fear, her rage, and the feeling of betrayal she felt toward Kellen himself. And for an instant, she swore she saw a relenting in his eyes.

And then she was falling.

A split second later, she landed, crumpled, on the office floor, and there was a person at her side, tugging on her arm. “Morgan, get up. We have to go.”

Morgan heard the urgency in the female voice—and something else, something almost familiar. Her face was obscured behind the ski mask, so she couldn’t identify the speaker. But the familiarity was enough for her. Morgan struggled to her feet and allowed the woman at her side to lead her over to the elevator. As she went, she caught sight of Orrick, Tesin, and Kellen pinned up against an interior wall seemingly by an invisible hand. Before them stood the second ski mask-wearing person, one arm outstretched toward them the way Kellen’s had been toward her moments earlier, the other arm clutching Wen by the shoulder.

The woman leading Morgan hit the elevator button and the doors slid soundlessly open. She whistled as she ushered Morgan into the elevator, and they were quickly joined by Wen and the other person. The doors slid closed behind them and Wen jabbed at a button. The elevator began its descent.

Morgan turned to Wen. “What the hell just happened?”

“No time for that now,” Wen said as the elevator gave a slight jolt and the doors slid open again. “We still have to escape.”

The woman who had spoken to Morgan earlier pressed a hand to the small of Morgan’s back and guided her out of the elevator. Standing in the empty corridor before them was Corbin, looking both wild-eyed and bewildered.

When Corbin saw Morgan, his face relaxed. “Morgan, I was so worried—”

“Let’s get moving,” said the second ski-masked individual, a male. Morgan was convinced there was something familiar about his voice as well, but she had no time to think about it before the group was moving down the hallway toward the stairwell. But instead of descending when they arrived at the stairs, the masked man led them upward.

Morgan looked at Wen. “I thought we were escaping?”

Wen didn’t answer. The man in the lead reached a door at the very top of the steps labeled Roof Access. Wen pushed to the front of the group and slid a pass card through the reader. The lights flashed green and Wen led the way out onto the roof.

Corbin looked around. “What, are we waiting on a helicopter or something?”

The masked man shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. “No. Now we jump.”

“Jump?” Morgan demanded. “Are you insane?”

The masked woman touched Morgan’s shoulder. “We’re not jumping out to the street, we’re jumping to the roof of the next building.” She pointed at the rooftop to their right.

Morgan and Corbin inched toward the side of the roof to get a better look at the next building over. It was several stories shorter than the one they were on, and it was dozens—perhaps hundreds—of feet away. Morgan knew without a doubt that she could not make the jump.

Corbin seemed to be having the same thoughts. “We can’t jump that far.”

“And you won’t have to,” said the man with the familiar voice. “Together, we can focus our abilities and use them to get us across to that rooftop.”

“Is that even possible?” Corbin asked.

“They’re going to be here soon,” the woman said suddenly. “We’ve got to go now, or they’ll catch us.”

The man turned his attention toward Morgan. As he did so, he removed his ski mask. And of all the things that had happened so far that night, this one shocked Morgan the most: the man behind the mask was her teacher Mr. Kment.

“Mr. K?” she asked incredulously.

“I know you’ve got questions right now, Morgan, and I’ll answer them, but first I have to get you safe.” He put his hands on Morgan’s shoulders and looked directly into her eyes as he spoke. “If you’ve ever trusted me, Morgan, trust me now. We have to jump.”

Slowly, Morgan nodded. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she was certain Mr. K wasn’t lying to her, and she was certain his plan would work. “Okay.”

Mr. K nodded, too, and he took Morgan’s hand in his. “Everybody, join hands, and focus on us landing on that roof.”

“Focus on the roof,” Corbin muttered, sounding completely disbelieving.

“You’re strong right now, Corbin,” said the woman. “Clear your mind and focus on the roof.”

Morgan felt as Corbin’s energy, which had been rather unfocused since the incident at the Daily Grind, centered and redirected.

“Thank you, Ellie,” Mr. K said to the masked woman. Then he led the group so they were standing a few yards from the roof’s edge. “Now, I don’t mean to rush anyone, but we really need to go. So, on the count of three, we’ll run for it and jump. One… two… three—”

Morgan didn’t allow herself to think as she began running. She focused only on the movements of her body, of the roof in front of them. She couldn’t think of the impossibility of the task, only of the possibility that they would actually be able to do it. And as they all jumped, Morgan felt a force like wind pushing them up, propelling them over. She watched as they passed over the headlights on the street below, as the neighboring roof came closer and closer. And then they were there, safe on the other side.

Before Morgan even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, they were on the move again. Mr. K pulled them toward a doorway on the roof. As they approached, the door opened and Morgan’s first thought was that somehow Orrick had already sent someone to catch them.

Mr. K seemed to sense her trepidation, because he called, “It’s okay—he’s with us.”

Morgan just nodded as they approached the door. The group all released each other’s hands and started down the stairs. Mr. K led them through the first doorway they came to and then to the nearest elevator. When they boarded the elevator, Morgan saw the still-masked woman was standing beside her.

“Miss Scotford, I presume.”

Ellie Scotford removed her mask and smiled. “Hey, Morgan.”

Morgan had a thousand questions to ask, but the only one that came out was, “So… where to?”

***

They drove for more than an hour. Miss Scotford and Mr. Kment talked in hushed tones in the front seats of the Ford Explorer they’d acquired in the building’s parking garage. Morgan sat between Corbin and Wen in the second row of seats. The only time Miss Scotford directed a comment to anyone behind her was when she instructed Corbin and Morgan to call home to tell their parents they would be spending the night out. Morgan thought the vagueness of her assertion would make Dylan nervous, but he seemed okay with the idea when she told him. She wondered if his reaction had anything to do with Ellie, as she kept her hand on Morgan’s knee during the entire phone conversation.

When Mr. K finally stopped the car, Morgan could make out that they had parked in the driveway of a moderately sized single story house situated on at least a few acres of land. Neighboring houses were visible, but far enough away as to keep from prying eyes.

They spilled out of the car and Morgan stretched. Mr. K walked up to the front door as if he owned the place, and Morgan wondered if he did. He unlocked the door and motioned for everyone to follow him.

Once inside the house, Wen immediately disappeared down a hallway. Miss Scotford walked toward the kitchen.

“I’ll get us a little something to eat. Corbin, could you help me?”

Corbin immediately glanced at Morgan, as if for permission. Morgan nodded slightly and he followed Miss Scotford into the kitchen.

As soon as they were gone, Mr. K sat down, motioning for Morgan to do the same.

“I’m sure you have a million questions,” Mr. K said, leaning back into the couch cushions. “And, in time, I hope to be able to answer them all. But we’ll start with the basics. You’ve heard of the Veneret, no doubt, and you know you’re the One they’ve been waiting for. They’ve been keeping an eye on you for years, waiting for you to start showing abilities. And I think you already know at least part of Orrick’s plans for the Veneret.

“Am I like them? In a way, I guess. But Ellie, Wen, and I don’t believe what they believe. We don’t use our abilities the way the Veneret use them. We’re Watchers—and we’ve been watching you for a long time, too. And, yes, that’s why I’ve been your teacher. It’s why you were put in JY when you didn’t request it. It’s why Ellie started at ABC this year—we knew your abilities were blooming. But we had no idea—no idea—that Orrick would make his move so quickly.”

Morgan nodded, taking in only a portion of the explanation Mr. K was giving her. At the moment, she only had one question on her mind. “Was he telling me the truth? Is Orrick my father?”

Mr. K looked away briefly before speaking. “I’m not sure. I won’t lie and say it hasn’t been rumored, but I honestly don’t know.”

“Does he have my mother?”

Mr. K closed his eyes and wiped his hands over his face, rubbing the stubble along his jaw line. His mouth twitched. “Wherever she is, she’s been well-hidden since her disappearance. Wen’s been working within the Veneret for years and he’s never found definitive evidence one way or the other. If Orrick has her, he might be the only one who knows where she is.”

“And if he doesn’t have her?”

Mr. K shook his head.

Morgan stamped her foot. “What the hell do you actually know then?”

Mr. K made a face at her—the same face he made when a student was not doing what she was supposed to be doing in class. “We know we’re going to keep you safe. Wen is already contacting the network of Watchers so we can keep a better eye on you—and on Corbin. And Lucas and Lia.”

“Why? Why me? Why us?”

Mr. K just looked at her sadly. “Because a war is coming. And you—and your friends—you’re directly in the middle of it.”

“But why?”

“Don’t you get it, Morgan?” Mr. K reached over and put his hand on Morgan’s. “Because you’re the One.”

They passed the next few hours at the house with Mr. K, Miss Scotford, and eventually Wen explaining the safeguards the Watchers would be immediately putting in to place in order to keep everyone protected. Apparently the Watchers were relatively certain that Orrick would not actively come after Morgan—not at the moment. News had swept through the Veneret that Morgan had been able to withstand Orrick’s Pushing, and the Watchers felt confident that Orrick would not attempt to persuade Morgan again until he was stronger.

Morgan didn’t let herself think of what that would entail.

Night faded to early morning and Miss Scotford led Morgan and Corbin each to a guest room to sleep in. Morgan lay awake until sunrise.

After a quick breakfast of cereal, Wen was tasked with taking Morgan and Corbin home. Corbin sat in the passenger’s seat, talking to Wen as he drove. Morgan sat in the second row of seats and stared off at the horizon.

Slowly, their surroundings began looking familiar. Morgan’s house was the first they stopped at. Morgan murmured a thank you to Wen and exited the vehicle.

When she was about halfway up the driveway, she realized she hadn’t said goodbye to Corbin, so she turned around. But when she turned, she saw Corbin standing just a few feet behind her.

“Wow, Corbin—way to sneak up on someone.”

Corbin just smiled, closing the distance between them. When he finally stopped, mere inches from her, his expression turned serious. “I was so worried about you. Even when we were separated, I could still Feel how scared you were. And I could Feel when he was Pushing you. And I was so afraid… I thought something bad was going to happen to you, and…” He stopped, closing his eyes as if the thought was too much for him. When he opened them again, he continued quietly, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you. You mean too much to me.”

Morgan didn’t know how to respond to this, but Corbin didn’t seem to expect her to. Instead, he placed his hands on her cheeks and leaned forward. Before Morgan really knew what was going on, Corbin’s lips covered hers in a gentle, tentative kiss. And before her mind had time to react, she found that her body was already doing so. Placing her hands on the back of his neck, she kissed him back, working her lips against his.

When they separated, Morgan gazed searchingly into his eyes. She couldn’t read his expression, and she was too full of what she was feeling to sense his reaction. He leaned down and feathered one more quick kiss on her lips before removing his hands from her face and taking a step back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Morgan just nodded. She watched as he walked back to the SUV, as he got in. She waited for Wen to pull away, and when he didn’t, she realized he was waiting until she was safe. Turning on her heel, she continued up the driveway.

When she walked into the house, she found Dylan at the table, eating breakfast. When Morgan walked in, he greeted her enthusiastically. Morgan forced a smile and hugged her father. She made small talk with him for a few minutes, inventing creative fictions about the previous night.