Authors: T.M. Franklin
Tiernan scowled as he trailed behind the group toward a cluster of large, metal buildings, constantly scanning the area for potential threats. Well, potential threats in addition to the blasted Guardians and Gideon Campbell.
He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he’d thought the man was dead. Neither Caleb nor Madeleine ever spoke of the man—in fact, among the Race, his name was only uttered in hushed tones, if at all. Everyone knew that it was Gideon who broke away from the Council to protest its treatment of Half-Breeds—Gideon who
created
the Guardians along with a handful of other rebels. But as for what happened to him after the fateful day he finally left New Elysia for good, left Madeleine Foster and her young son, no one knew for sure. He’d all but disappeared off the Council’s radar, showing up now and then through the years only to evaporate back into the ether. It had been decades since the last sighting, and many—like Tiernan—had assumed he’d been killed, perhaps by a Protector who didn’t know who he was or his value to the Council if he were captured rather than eliminated. After all, encounters with Guardians were more of a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ kind of thing.
But no, Gideon Campbell was alive and well, and evidently still very much in command of the Guardians. Tiernan couldn’t help but wonder if Madeleine Foster was aware of that fact. He half believed she was—and Tiernan wasn’t quite sure if the thought made him angry or perhaps sparked a bit of grudging respect for the Council leader who may not be a typical politician after all.
They entered a large building on the far side of the compound, Gideon pressing his thumb to an electronic lock and entering a code before the thick metal door swung open. A few of Gideon’s entourage followed them inside, but most took up posts outside the building, casting warning glances toward Tiernan before shouldering their weapons. The blonde, he noticed, stuck close to him, apparently still not sure he could be trusted.
Smart woman.
They walked down a dim hallway lined by crates, filing cabinets, and surprisingly well-organized shelving units, and came to a large room with a conference table in the center and several computer screens, including a large monitor all but covering one of the walls. It was clearly a command center of some kind.
Tiernan noticed all of the screens were blank, and the blonde quickly gathered up a scattering of papers and maps on the table and stashed them in a large drawer.
He made a note of that for later. Just because he promised Ava he wouldn’t betray the location of the Colony didn’t mean he couldn’t do some recon of his own for future use.
Gideon stood at the head of the table, waving his hand in invitation for the rest of them to sit. The blonde took the seat to his right, Ava to his left. Emma sat next to Ava, the dampener on her other side, and Tiernan stood back, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’ll stand, if you don’t mind,” he said, his tone clear; it didn’t matter if Gideon minded or not. Tiernan still didn’t trust these people, and he wanted both the exit and his charges in his direct line of sight in case they had to make a run for it.
Gideon shrugged and sat down, turning his attention to Ava.
“Now, before we get started, you should know that Adam”—he glanced at the dampener—“will keep your gifts at bay as long as I feel you may be a threat. And Tyra”—he tilted his head toward the blonde— “is the best shot we have, which says a lot.”
She hefted her gun a bit before laying it on the table in front of her, tilting her head with a smirk.
Gideon braced his forearms on the table and leaned toward Ava, gaze intent. “As for me, you should know that I have a talent for seeing the truth. More than the average Race, not to toot my own horn. So I’d advise you not to lie to me.”
“I have no intention of lying,” Ava said, looking Gideon square in the eye.
“Good.” He sat back and folded his hands on his stomach. “Now, why are you here?”
Tiernan fought back an irritated growl and apparently didn’t do a good job of it because Gideon cast him an annoyed glance.
“We told you,” he said. “We’re looking for Foster. We have reason to believe he’s coming here. And he could put all of you in danger.”
To Tiernan’s surprise, Gideon jerked his head in a curt nod. “And why do you think this?”
Emma cleared her throat. “Because of me,” she said in a shaky voice.
“It’s not her fault.” Ava said, shifting a little to draw Gideon’s suspicious stare. “She was held prisoner by some Rogues. They forced her to use her gift to alter his mind.”
“Alter his mind?” Gideon tensed, his eyes darting to the dampener, who nodded as if to reassure him he had the situation under control.
“Look, we don’t have time for all of this,” Ava said, slapping the table with an exasperated huff. “To put it simply, the Rogues had Emma mess with Caleb’s mind to make him sympathetic to their cause. They needed him to work with them for some reason.”
“To help Elias Borré escape Council custody, for one thing,” Tiernan said.
“Elias Borré?” Gideon’s brows shot up and his body tensed. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”
Tiernan nodded. “We don’t know what else they have planned, but Caleb is headed in this direction, and he’s not alone. We can only assume he plans to expose the Colony.”
“But why?” Gideon asked. “What purpose would that serve? Rogues have never had a problem with us. If anything, they like that we help divert Council attention away from them.”
“We don’t know,” Ava said with a resigned sigh. “But we need to find Caleb so Emma can undo what she did.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took a long look at each of them—Ava, Emma, and finally, Tiernan. He could feel the man probing him but resisted the instinct to try and fight him off. With a distracted grunt, Gideon blinked twice and got to his feet.
“Double the perimeter patrol,” he told Tyra. “Take Adam and have Lydia strengthen the cloak. We don’t want to keep him out, but I want to know when anyone gets within five miles of us.” Tyra nodded and turned for the door, but Gideon grabbed her arm. “No one is to harm Caleb,” he said gravely. “Incapacitate him if you must, but I don’t want him hurt.”
He issued no such warning about the Rogues, and Tiernan knew the Guardians wouldn’t hesitate to take them out if necessary. “We need to question the Rogues,” Tiernan said. “Find out what they’re planning.”
Gideon considered that and acquiesced with a grim nod. “But we only need one or two of them for that,” he said. “Any extras are fair game.”
Tiernan almost smiled. He thought he could very well learn to like Gideon Campbell.
Chapter 10
Ava’s instincts were buzzing. She knew Gideon was holding something back. Even with her gift muted by the dampener, she could sense his hesitation—his deception. But the man offered them a hot meal, the first one in quite a while not prepared in a convenience store microwave, so she tabled her suspicions and followed him into another room that apparently served as a kind of common area for the Colony.
Mismatched tables and chairs were arranged around the room—rather industrial with white walls and scuffed gray tile, but a floor-to-ceiling fireplace flanked by large windows looking out onto the wild forest beyond kept it from being too cold and sterile. A handful of colonists were gathered around a big-screen television on the other side of the room, taking turns playing some kind of video game as they lounged on a worn leather sofa and a couple of comfortable recliners. They looked up with suspicion, the room falling silent as Ava, Tiernan, and Emma walked in, but with a nod from Gideon they turned back to their game, although at a much lower volume.
Gideon left them with an older woman named Molly who fed them bowls of soup thick with beef and vegetables and slabs of crusty bread. They ate in silence, all more hungry than they’d realized, not to mention a bit exhausted from their nonstop traveling.
After a while, Ava felt the block of the dampener fade until it vanished altogether. “You feel that?” she asked Emma.
The girl nodded.
Ava could feel her flex her power, testing its limits now that it had been released. “Guess we’ve been deemed trustworthy, at least somewhat.” Ava yawned, breaking apart her last bit of bread into a crumbling pile. “You know Gideon’s keeping something from us,” she said.
Tiernan snorted. “You’re surprised at that?”
“Not really. I mean, he has no reason to trust us. I’m just saying.”
He took another bite and peered at her sideways. “What do you think it is?”
“You think he’s heard from Caleb?” Emma asked.
Ava shrugged. “I don’t think that’s it. He seems as concerned about Caleb as I—as
we
are. He just wasn’t that surprised when I mentioned Rogues.”
Tiernan grunted.
“You think he knows what they’re up to?” Emma dipped bread in her soup, watching Ava with wide eyes.
“I don’t know. I think he knows
something
.”
“You want me to try and get it out of him?” Emma asked, and Ava shivered a little at the anticipation in her tone.
Even Tiernan eyed her with surprise.
“No, I think we can be a bit more subtle,” Ava replied. “He’s finally called off that dampener. I don’t want him to change his mind.”
Emma nodded and stirred her soup slowly, looking as if she was working through her own thoughts.
“You should talk to him,” Tiernan told Ava.
She barked out a laugh. “Me? It should be you. You two have that whole soldiers-in-arms thing going with the grunting and the looming.”
“I don’t loom.”
“You totally loom. But that’s beside the point.”
“The point,” Tiernan said, pointing at her with his spoon, “is that I’m a Protector. I’m the closest the Council has ever gotten to this place. I’m lucky he didn’t throw me in chains on sight.”
Ava frowned. She couldn’t really argue with that.
They stared at their empty bowls for a while, lulled by the muted sounds of the video game and the quiet rhythm of low voices.
Ava wondered how many of the Guardians playing were listening in on their conversation but found she didn’t really care. She was tired of all the secrets. Tired of running. Tired of the lies. And she had a sneaking suspicion that her own doubts about Gideon’s candor wouldn’t come as a surprise to the man.
“He cares about Caleb,” Tiernan said after a while, continuing the conversation as though they’d never paused. “That much is obvious. And I think he believes that you two have at least that in common. He’ll be more open with you than me.”
Emma cleared her throat. “I think we’re about to find out,” she said, glancing pointedly toward the door where the Guardian leader in question had entered the room.
He crossed to them, pulling up an empty chair and straddling it backward.
Ava almost smiled at the movement; it was so reminiscent of Caleb. Now that she knew they were related, the resemblance was obvious.
“Everything secure?” Tiernan asked in a gruff voice.
Ava shot him a look that said
grunting and looming, I told you so
, before turning toward Gideon expectantly.
“We’re ready,” he said. “If they get close, we’ll know it.”
Ava opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the slam of a door and a familiar voice. “Where is she? I can’t believe you people. Treating a nice girl like—” And with that, Audrey Collins appeared in the doorway to the common room, all fiery red hair and green eyes, her Irish accent thick with annoyance. She spotted Ava and let out a little squeal.
“There you are!” she said, rushing across the room and pulling Ava up into a tight hug. “Are you all right? Where’s Caleb?” She pulled back, gripping Ava’s shoulders and barely breathing between words. “What are you doing here?”
Ava felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She hadn’t seen Audrey since the attack on the safe house, and although she’d known the woman had survived, seeing her in the flesh helped relieve the ongoing guilt she’d felt at being the cause of the raid.
“I’m so glad to see you,” Ava said, her voice cracking with a quick surge of emotion.
“And I, you.” Audrey smiled and leaned in with a conspiratorial wink. “Have you been practicing?”
Ava couldn’t keep from rolling her eyes. “Constantly.”
Audrey laughed. “And?”
“It’s helped.” For the first time since the whole mess with Caleb started, she felt the stirrings of excitement. “I have better control over my senses, and the telekinesis, too. Caleb says—”
“So I take it you know this girl?” Gideon asked, although his tone suggested he hadn’t really doubted it.
“Of course I do, you great lout!” Audrey said with a hint of scorn. “She’s a friend of Caleb’s. Speaking of . . . where
is
Caleb?” Audrey glanced back toward the door. “What’s going on? He didn’t come with you?”