Authors: T.M. Franklin
“Simmons. Yes, that’s it exactly.” Borré laid a palm on Emma’s head—almost like a benediction—and she got to her feet and approached Bartok.
Her pupils dilated, the green swallowed up by darkness, and she stood facing the red-haired man with her head tipped slightly to one side.
“What’s going on?” Bartok asked, his words beginning to slur.
“What
is
going on?” Ava asked, her gift flaring again with her anger, causing the window to rattle. Ava knew what he was feeling. She was very familiar with Emma’s influence. “Stop playing games. What is he doing here, and what is this all about?”
Borré’s lips quirked. “I’m proposing an exchange.”
“What kind of exchange?” Ava glanced at Bartok, who was now staring into Emma’s eyes, his mouth hanging open slightly.
“You stand accused of a crime—”
“Which I didn’t commit,” Ava said, scowling.
“No, of course not,” Borré said with a condescending smile. “Anyone could look at you and see you’re no murderer. Sadly, though, the evidence says otherwise.” When Ava opened her mouth to respond, he held up a finger. “True. It was manipulated. My bad, as the kids say these days. However, what’s done is done and all that.”
“Do you intend to
ever
get to the point?”
Borré’s eyes sharpened, his tone grew icy, and for the first time, Ava saw the killer behind the calm façade. “The
point
, my dear, is that I have something you want, and you have something I want. I believe I have a solution that will prove mutually beneficial.”
She fought to keep her voice steady. “What solution?”
“Him,” he replied, with a glance toward Bartok.
“He’s fighting me,” Emma said quietly, and Ava noticed the tension in Bartok’s shoulders, the clench of his jaw, and the spray of perspiration on his upper lip.
Borré rose and approached the pair to lay a gentle hand on Emma’s shoulder.
Immediately, Bartok relaxed, his mouth falling open once again.
“As I was saying.” Borré turned back to Ava but kept his touch on Emma. “I have the true killer of Officer Simmons, as well as the murder weapon. With the aid of your sister, Mr. Bartok here will surrender to the proper authorities and confess to the crime, effectively clearing your name.”
“What makes you think I need your help?”
“You’re trapped, for lack of a better word,” he replied. “You can’t go out into the human world while you’re a wanted fugitive. Human law enforcement may be inept, but it’s not
that
inept. How long do you think it will take for someone to spot your picture on TV and call in a tip to one of those horrible police reality shows? Then where will you be?
“I’m offering you freedom,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as if it was as simple as that. “Freedom to come and go as you please. Have a life again. Finish school, if that’s what you want. Get a job. Though the appeal of
that
is lost on me.” His mouth curled in distaste.
Ava sensed the twinge of Emma’s gift, but it wasn’t targeting her. She wasn’t being influenced. Bartok stood stock-still, however, clearly under her spell. A string of drool hung from the corner of his open mouth, and Ava swallowed, her own mouth dry. “And what do you want in exchange?” she asked, looking away from the spectacle.
“Oh, I think you know the answer to that question.”
“Me.”
“You.”
“The security codes.”
“For a start.” Borré smiled, stroking Emma’s head gently. “But even more, for you to take your rightful place at my side. It’s time we all take our rightful places. The Council has made a mess of things for our people. We’re hiding in dark corners instead of taking on the mantle of leadership.”
“With you at the top, of course.”
Borré laughed. “It’s not about me, Ava. Can’t you see that? It’s about making the world a better place, not only for me and you, but also for all Race.”
“And the humans?”
His jaw twitched, the only hint at his annoyance at the question. “Humans, as a rule, are irrelevant.” Ava stiffened, and he hurried to add, “But they will benefit by this new world order as well. Think about it. If we’re able to share our knowledge without fear, imagine all the good we can do. Diseases will be eradicated. Hunger will be nonexistent.”
“In return, all you ask is for their loyalty.”
Surrender.
He smiled. “A small price to pay.”
Ava could imagine the price. With Borré in charge, humans would become nothing more than slaves. He would start with big promises, but once he gained control, those promises would crumble, and before they even realized what was happening, the humans would be dependent on him for everything.
Dependence. The very opposite of freedom.
But she couldn’t think about that now. Now, she had more immediate concerns—her own freedom, her parents, and Sophie and Isaiah.
“You really think he’ll confess?” she asked.
Borré raised a brow and turned to Bartok. “Who killed Officer Nick Simmons?”
Without hesitation, Bartok replied, “I did.”
“You will go to Allenmore, to the police department, and confess to the crime.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You will describe in detail how you killed Officer Simmons and surrender the knife you used to do it.”
“Yes, sir.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a plastic bag.
It crinkled, and Ava spotted the blade inside. When bits of dried blood broke free of the knife and collected in the bottom of the bag, bile rose in Ava’s throat, but she swallowed it down with determination.
No time for weakness.
“You will tell them you are a hypnotist and used your skills to trick the witnesses into their testimony.”
Ava gave him a skeptical look. “You really think they’re going to buy that?”
Borré rolled his eyes. “Humans believe what they want to believe. Especially when they’ve been given a little push.” He turned back to Bartok. “Do you understand your mission?”
“Yes, sir.” He turned toward the door, and Borré stopped him with a word. He looked at Ava, waiting.
She knew what she had to do. So she took a deep breath and looked her father dead in the eyes. “Done.”
Emma’s face broke into a wide smile, and she bounced on her toes in excitement.
Borré simply turned to Bartok and said, “Go.”
The assassin left the room, and Borré smiled at Ava.
“Welcome to the family,” he said. “Emma will see you back to Kalispell. I assume you can find your way to New Elysia from there.”
Ava nodded.
“Retrieve the codes, contact Emma, and we will rendezvous at our headquarters. Once the codes have been verified, your parents will be released. No harm done.”
“How do I know they’ll be safe?” she asked.
“You have my word.”
“Pardon me if that doesn’t hold much weight at the moment.”
To her surprise, Borré laughed. “Oh, you’re a lot like me, you know?” He crossed his arms, his fingers plucking at his lip. “So put yourself in my shoes, Ava. I have no reason to harm your parents as long as you are working with me. It’s very simple, isn’t it?” His smile belied the obvious underlying threat in his words. “Don’t cross me, daughter, and Joe and Sarah Michaels will be fine.”
“How do I know you haven’t already done something to them?” she asked, lifting her chin. “I want to talk to them.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t advise that,” he said, tutting slightly as he waved to Emma.
She retrieved a small laptop from the kitchen counter and brought it to them.
“However, I can show you they are absolutely fine at the moment.” He set the laptop on a low table and clicked a few keys before turning the screen to face her.
Ava blinked in surprise when she recognized the image. “I don’t understand.”
There were her parents, sitting at the table—her father reading the paper as her mother slathered jelly on toast.
“That’s our kitchen at home,” Ava murmured.
“Not exactly,” Borré replied. “It’s a replica. Emma could do the same thing with her mind, of course. Your sister is quite talented.” He glanced at Emma, who blushed and smiled. “But her gifts were needed elsewhere, so constructing a reasonable facsimile of your childhood home was a relatively simple alternative. We only needed a few rooms, actually. Humans are quite simple, and as I said, they believe what they want to believe.”
“So, they think they’re at home? They don’t know about any of this?”
“ ‘Ignorance is bliss,’ as they say.” Borré closed the laptop and tucked it under his arm. “They are in no danger at the moment, and as long as you fulfill your promise, they never will be.”
“Father demands obedience.”
“I understand.”
“I believe you do,” Borré said softly. He turned and left the room.
Ava didn’t hear the front door close, but his gift slipped away like fingers trailing over her skin.
“We should go,” Emma said.
“Will he do what he says?” Ava asked when they finally got back to the car. “Will he let them go?”
“Father doesn’t lie.”
They turned west heading out of the neighborhood and away from the small town Ava could see in the rearview mirror.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What about the rest of us? How many have come back to Borré already?”
Emma shot her a glance and worried at her lip. “A few.”
“You’re not supposed to tell me?”
She shrugged. “Father hasn’t forbidden it. I don’t suppose it matters, really. It’s not like you could tell anyone where they are, and Father will know if you do.”
“How?”
“He always knows.”
Her voice was dead, quiet, and it sent a shiver down Ava’s back. “So?” she asked, clearing her throat as she picked at her jeans. “How many?”
“We’ve all been accounted for.”
Ava slumped on the seat. All but Ava and Evan—possibly Isaiah if he really had managed to get away. Three against nine.
Not great odds.
“Can you tell me about them?” Ava tried to keep the fear from her voice, tried to sound curious about her newfound family.
Emma smiled. “They’re all great,” she said. “Only one other girl, besides you and Sophie. She came to us a couple of weeks ago. Her name’s Mara. She’s kind of quiet. Likes computers more than people, really.”
“What’s her gift?”
“Electrical field manipulation. Everything from shooting lightning bolts to controlling power grids and manipulating technology.”
Ava chuckled a shaky laugh. “More proof Borré doesn’t need the codes at all.”
Emma shrugged. “Maybe there are limits to what she can do. I don’t know. Like I said, she’s kind of quiet.”
The conversation continued in the same vein, and Emma seemed more than eager to answer Ava’s questions. Unfortunately, the more she found out about the Twelve, the more she worried about how they would ever stop Borré.
Jae was a shifter but could also move large objects or even groups of people. Max was, in Emma’s words, virtually invulnerable—able to absorb kinetic energy and use it himself. Lucien’s Veil rendered him invisible, and he could use it to envelop others. Amrit was able to manipulate nature, even affecting the weather or stimulating plant growth. Christopher, the pyrokinetic Ava had encountered on several occasions, was part of the group. Even Sloan Bartok was one of the Twelve and able to control bodily functions—paralysis, stopping a heart midbeat, exploding internal organs. It was no surprise he was an assassin.
“But Borré sacrificed Sloan,” Ava said, unable to imagine the damage he could do. “How could he let him go to Allenmore and turn himself in if he’s one of the Twelve?”
Emma sighed long and hard. “Father is upset with Sloan. He’s been a bit too quick to question Father’s methods lately. He’s simply using this as a disciplinary measure.”
“Confessing to murder? How is he supposed to aid in this grand plan if he’s in prison?”
Emma laughed. “Oh, Sloan won’t go to prison. They can’t hold him if he doesn’t allow it.” She shifted and took an exit off the freeway. “No, Sloan will sit in a jail cell for a few days to prove himself trustworthy, then he’ll walk out and come back to us.”
Ava absorbed that for a moment. “So . . . he let you do what you did to him?”
“Well, technically he couldn’t resist both Father and me, but yes. In this case, he did.” She shrugged. “It isn’t discipline if he knows it’s not real. In time, his memories will come back and he’ll know it’s time to leave.” She glanced at Ava. “And you’ll be cleared of the murder charges. Problem solved.”
“I can’t imagine Borré will ever let me go back to my life, regardless of what he says.”
Emma reached across the seat to pat the back of Ava’s hand, and she could feel the girl’s gift zing through her. “It’ll be fine, Ava. You’ll see. Do what Father asks, and it’ll all be over soon.”
Ava nodded, unsure of how to respond. She knew what she had to do, but there were a lot of lives hanging in the balance. She prayed she was doing the right thing.