Maverick (Maverick Academy Series) (24 page)

Once
they were back at the water, Lindsey and Whit surveyed their surroundings. The other team was there somewhere, waiting for their chance. Suddenly she heard footsteps and pulled Lindsey behind a nearby crate, peeking around the corner. She stepped forward as soon as she spotted Rory. What she hadn’t been expecting was the boy Rory had with her. She held his wrists behind his back, not causing him pain, but restraining him nonetheless. Whit noticed that Rory was grinning from ear to ear. The other group crept toward Whit and Lindsey, and Ellie stepped forward.

“Don’t look
into his eyes or at his smile, he’s a vampire,” she said. “He’ll mesmerize you, and that’s all it’ll take for one of you guys to release him. If you look at him, focus on his neck and chest.”

The group started walking back toward their safe zone, keeping their prisoner in the center
of the group. It took about ten minutes to get back to the hold, where Rory gently bumped the boy into the hold, shutting the door behind him. She told Whit and Lindsey quietly about the capture, grinning. Ellie had been used as bait to draw him out, and then Rory had overpowered him. They hadn’t expected him to be alone, but no one had tried to help him.

They still didn’t know if anyone else had been around.

They decided that Lindsey and Ellie would guard him, since Lindsey could use ice to restrain him if necessary and Ellie was immune to his powers.

Whit grabbed the net
, realizing that they needed to capture more of the other team. She quickly explained her plan to Rory and Misty, who both smiled and nodded. They headed into the crates, keeping together. The plan was for Whit to use her telekinetic power to hold the net over a specific spot, while acting as the bait herself. Once she dropped the net on whoever came to catch her, Rory would tighten it down, trapping whoever was inside. Misty was leading the hunt and would signal when she heard anyone approaching. That was how they’d know to set the trap.

The girls got into place and waited.
Time slowly ticked away. Whit glanced to the countdown to see 4:01:15. They were ahead for the moment, but they needed to capture more of the other team if they were going to win. She stood out in an open area, trying to look helpless, and worked to keep the net steady overhead.

Finally
, after almost ten minutes, Misty pointed behind her. Someone was coming. Whit tried to remain calm, but her nerves were causing the net to wave around. She felt the telekinesis sapping her energy, and wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to hold it. She kept her back turned, knowing the enemy was sneaking up on her. Rory hung from one of the ropes above them, ready to jump on top of the net. Whit felt goose bumps rise on her arms, and knew they were close. Then she heard them. It took all her willpower to stay exposed and wait them out.

After what see
med like an eternity, Rory whistled and Whit dropped the net. She heard a loud huff and some scrambling behind her, and whirled around. Rory jumped down and pulled the net tight. Whit squinted through the dark at the squirming bundle and couldn’t believe her eyes. They had captured not one, but two people.

The two girls were clearly surprised and angry, but Rory had both
of them subdued. She looked completely at ease holding both girls tightly inside the net. Whit saw one girl raise her hand slightly, trying to mount a defense, and a chunk of ice hit the crate next to Whit. The net started to freeze, and Whit knew that at any moment the girls would break free from it. Before that could happen, Rory picked the net up – with the two girls inside – and slung it over her shoulder. The caster and the other girl crumpled into a ball of arms and legs, completely unable to move. Whit watched in awe as Rory started walking back toward their hold, looking completely at ease.

Whit laughed
quietly to herself and shook her head. It looked absolutely ridiculous. Rory was tiny, but there she was carrying two girls in a huge net. She even started skipping at one point on the way back to the safe zone.

Whit
turned, and once again spotted the doorway that led to the maze of halls. Without thinking, she moved in that direction. As she crossed through the doorway, she glimpsed Rory and Misty moving around a crate and out of sight. She knew she needed to catch up to them, but really wanted to see if her vision would come true. This was where she’d done the mindbending in her vision. Could it actually happen? If she was in here, could she figure it out? Could she actually make other people believe something that wasn’t true by pushing ideas into their heads?

Before she could chicken out,
she walked down the hall and around the first bend. She slowed when she heard footsteps, then stopped and crouched in the hallway, just like she had in the vision. The footsteps grew louder, and now she could also hear whispering. This was the moment. She’d either be able to fool them or get caught.

Concentrating
intensely, Whit started to chant in her head, “I’m invisible,” over and over and over. She kept her eyes shut so she wouldn’t get distracted. Finally she opened her eyes. She felt the breath slam out of her lungs. The guy and girl were less than 2 feet away, looking in her direction. She focused again, closing her eyes. “I’m invisible,” she thought, terrified that she’d be spotted at any second. But the pair continued past without stopping.

Whit exhaled
, and the pair stopped. They must’ve heard her. She tried to focus on bending their minds to keep them from hearing her, but it was too late. They’d already turned and walked back toward her, stopping within inches of her crouched position.

“Did you hear that?” asked the guy.

“Sounded like someone was right behind us,” the girl said, glancing from side to side.

“They had someone wit
h mind power didn’t they?”

The boy slowly raised his
hand and a fireball appeared. He blasted the area around him, causing Whit to jump and run for the doorway. She heard them yelling and knew she had lost her invisibility. Before she could cross the threshold, the doorway caught on fire, trapping her. She thought about jumping through it, but worried that she’d catch on fire. The boy laughed as he and girl slowly walked toward her.

“Not bad
, mindbender. You almost had us fooled,” he said.

Glancing from the boy to the smiling girl, Whit was amazed by her beauty. The girl asked Whit to follow her and
, without thinking, she agreed. Only later in the hold would she understand that the girl was a vampire and had mesmerized her.

Whit
blinked several times to clear her head and glanced around at her surroundings. Where was she? How had she gotten here? She was standing in front of a door in an area that looked exactly like her team’s safe zone and hold. She spotted a boy and girl behind her and immediately began to remember bits and pieces. They’d chased her and then girl had smiled. That’s the last thing she remembered. The boy moved forward and pushed Whit into the hold. She collapsed into a chair as the door closed. What had happened exactly? She didn’t remember the walk but she knew the girl was a vampire, which meant she’d been mesmerized and compelled. Whit felt a bit freaked out by the loss of her memory and understood why vampires were so feared.

Well, at least one fear she wouldn’t have to deal with in the hold was the dark.
Thank goodness there were lights. She didn’t think she could handle sitting in the dark for the three remaining hours. She tried to remember the walk from the hallway to their hold, but it was a blur. Man, that mesmerizing stuff was strong. She couldn’t remember much about the area after they crossed the wall. It was like she’d been blinded.

Maybe she could escape
, she realized suddenly. She knew from the rules that the door couldn’t be locked, but were they guarding her? That she didn’t know. She touched the doorknob and immediately jumped back with a yelp. It had burned her hand. The burn wasn’t bad, but felt tender and ached a bit. They’d heated the metal, then, though she didn’t think there was an actual fire on the other side. Whit needed a plan and maybe some help from her teammates. But what were the chances of them coming for her? She guessed she could try mindbending again. Maybe if she concentrated hard enough, she could get out of here.

She visualized the guy and girl that caught her.
Focusing on them, she tried to push the idea that someone was moving around close by and that they needed to go and check it out. She attempted to push thoughts in their directions for several minutes, but her mind felt sluggish and tired. Hovering the net and being invisible must’ve taken a lot out of her. She was still stunned that she had been successful, and smiled to herself as her eyes closed. She let her mind relax. After a few minutes, the tension in her muscles that had kept her alert out on the game floor eased. Her eyes felt so heavy that she didn’t think she could open them again.

Chapter 28

Glancing around, Whit saw several students shoving suitcases into cars and hugging each other good bye. She heard people talking about holiday plans and getting together during the break. She stood in front of her dorm with Mona, who pointed toward the car and headed in that direction, carrying a suitcase. Whit shivered, noticing how cold the air was, then started walking to Mona’s car. A hand tapped her shoulder before she had taken two steps. Turning around, Whit saw it was Nolan. He was smiling, although his eyes looked sad.

“
I just wanted to tell you bye before you left,” he said, glancing at the ground. “Hope you have a good break.”

“Y
eah, you too. I guess I’ll see you when we get back to school,” Whit said sadly.

She wanted to hug and kiss him, but he
’d said he was done with her. Looking at him, she started to feel herself tearing up. No, she wouldn’t cry in front of him.

“I
’ve got to go, my mom and sister are here. Bye, Whit.” He waved, then walked around the side of the dorm building.

Whit stood there and watched as he disappeared. Tears
slipped down her face and she wanted to run after him with all her heart. So why didn’t she? What was holding her back? She turned and jogged toward Mona, who was leaning against her car.

Whit
jerked awake as the door of the hold opened. The caster shoved Misty into the room, then slammed the door.

“What happened?” Whit asked
, jumping out of her seat.

“
I got caught, that’s what happened!” Misty snarled.

Whit sat back down, not waiting to get into it with her.
Maybe she just needed to cool down. The minutes ticked by in silence. Whit really wanted to ask how much time remained, but Misty still looked angry, so she kept quiet. She wondered how anyone had been able to sneak up and capture a stalker, but didn’t want to ask a stupid question. She also knew that the guy and girl were the only remaining members of the Black Frogs free. How had they captured Misty and guard her at the same time? Had Misty attempted to rescue her?

Whit walked to the door and tapped the doorknob,
but found that it was still flaming hot. Did the caster heat it up and then go hunting with the vampire girl? Whit bet that was it. Either way, they couldn’t stay here if they wanted to win. She started thinking that if they could just wait a few minutes, the caster would leave again.

If only she had tried the door again
earlier, instead of falling asleep and having that useless dream.

“Whit, I’m sorry
,” Misty grumbled with her hands over her face. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I was just pissed that I got caught.”

“It’s fine.
What happened?”

“Rory and I were almost back to the hold when we noticed you
’d disappeared. We took the caster and stalker to the hold, then headed back out to where we lost you. Rory had just walked through the doorway of that hallway maze thing when flames shot up and cut me off from her. I knew it was the caster, I just didn’t know where he was. I focused my senses on finding him, but before I could figure it out, a girl appeared with a huge smile. I should’ve known and looked away. But I didn’t, and then it was too late. I don’t really remember very much after that. Stupid vampire,” she growled. “What about you? How’d they get you?”

“I was in the hallway maze and I heard them coming.
There was nowhere to go, so I tried mindbending. I was actually invisible for about a second before they saw me. Then she got me with that smile. Just like you.” Whit sat down, propping her elbows on her knees. “How much time is left? I’ve lost track of time in here.”

“There
were only two hours left last I saw. I bet by now, it is down to an hour and a half, or maybe less. We need to get out of here.”

Whit nodded.
“The caster heated the doorknob so it’s too hot to touch. But I think they heat it up and then leave to go hunt. I don’t think they’re guarding us. I mean, they’re the last two players on the Black Frogs, right?”

“Yea
h, I bet your right,” Misty said, walking toward the door. She tucked her hand inside her shirt. “Only one way to find out,” she said, reaching out and lightly touching the knob. She quickly jumped back. “Holy shit that’s hot!”she yelled, shaking her hand. “He must have heated that up to boiling point! Any ideas?”