The Weapon Within: A Paranormal Dystopian Adventure (The Unexplainables Book 1) (23 page)

‘What’s happened now?’ I yelled.

‘
It’s Simeon,’ someone shouted back. ‘He’s done a runner.’

‘
Where’s he going? I told him I’d take care of him.’

‘
Well, apparently he didn’t want to wait.’

Shaking my head in frustration, I jogged over to the
place where Jamie had been just minutes before, but there was no sign of Simeon.

‘
Venus?’ I didn’t need to raise my voice. She cantered towards me and I sprang up on to her back. ‘I need to get to the farm, please.’

She reared up into the air, her front legs kicking wildly. Flinging my arms around her neck I clung on tightly, determined not to fal
l off in front of Connor. Then we set off at a gallop and my thoughts turned to the task ahead of me.

*

Venus veered off from the main road and cut through a lane at the side of some houses, coming out on the moors. We reached the top of a gentle hill. At the bottom stood the farmhouse, and even from this distance I could see sparks flying as people fought in the yard.

‘
Stop,’ I murmured to Venus who did so instantly, throwing me forward along her neck. Sliding sideways in a rather undignified manner, I landed heavily on the ground. Venus snorted loudly which sounded suspiciously like laughter.

‘
Thank you,’ I whispered in her ear. ‘I may need you again but for now please find somewhere safe to go.’ She galloped back the way we had come and out of sight. My fingers burned as the powers built up inside me. A gust of wind rippled over my skin. I pulled it on to the palm of my hand, circled a finger in mid-air and watched as the wind folded in on itself, spinning faster and faster.

‘
Bigger,’ I whispered. The whirlwind surged upwards, reaching for the dark clouds in the sky above. A fork of lightning hit the top and zigzagged down the spiral until it hit my hand at the bottom. My whole body lit up but I felt no pain. In fact, all the aches and pains I had endured that day disappeared completely.

Stooping, I set the whirlwind down on the ground beside me then began to walk down the hill, trailing my fingers into the wind as I went. It felt as though I had put my hand inside a velvet glove. With every step I took I felt stronger.

*

At
the bottom of the hill I met the outer edge of the crowd. One burly guard spotted me and sprinted towards me, his hands balled into fists which glowed with amber light. When he was close enough for me to see his bloodshot eyes, I pulled the whirlwind forward slightly. As he reached to grab me, the wind touched his arm and he was lifted off his feet and sucked into the spiral.

The tube of wind crackled and flashed violet, spinning so fast it blurred. When it slowed, the guard
was gone. Glancing down I saw Noah lying on the floor, a woman guard straddling him. His eyes were scrunched up and his back was arched as she pressed her hands to his bare chest. With a flick of my wrist, the whirlwind sucked the woman backwards into its midst, flashing and spinning as it consumed her.

Noah sat up, panting. I helped him to his feet then, without a word
, moved on to the next guard. When I’d worked my way to the midpoint of the yard, the remaining guards panicked, dropping their victims and racing for cover.

I was nearing the paddock area when Nicholas
’s voice spoke softly in my head.
Such a disappointment, Ava!

Simeon was standing in the doorway of the barn, his head moving backwards and forwards as though he were looking for someone. Surely Naomi wouldn
’t be here?

I
’d have given you everything,
the voice continued,
quite literally the whole world. All you had to do was join me.

‘
I don’t want anything from you!’ I screamed. All around me people stopped moving and stared at me.

That is a shame. After all, the commune was the only place that you fitted in, wasn
’t it?

‘
The commune was a sham.’

It was an example of how things could be if you join me. You liked being special, didn
’t you, Ava? You liked being wanted?

‘
The only thing you wanted was to use me. But I’m not playing that game any more. It’s over.’

No
, it is not over, it has only just begun. You dare to stand there and preach righteousness to me? You who have used your powers against others? You who have relished the power that comes with leadership? Why deny that you enjoyed every minute of it? I will win this battle with or without your help. You can join me right now – the offer is still there, or you can play the martyr. Which will you choose, I wonder?

Several things happened at once. Two groups of guards broke
away from the crowd. One went into the house and the other towards the barn. Oscar followed the second group through the barn door and I was about to set off after him when someone inside the house let out a blood-curdling scream. A child wailed and the sound of a baby’s cry filled the air.

‘
The children!’ Gwen was leaning heavily on Esther’s shoulder nearby, staring with wide eyes at the upstairs window. Leaving the whirlwind where it was, I sprinted into the kitchen.

Guards launched themselves at me from every direction, grabbing hold of any part of me they could reach. My body took their powers in
, mixed them up, then spat them back out, connecting with each and every one of the hands holding me. There was an enormous flash of light and then the kitchen was empty.

Following the sound of Eliana
’s cries, I leapt up the stairs and ran down the hallway to the bedroom at the furthest end of the house. Tommy was being held down by three guards whilst, at the opposite side of the room, Hugo stood in front of the large bay window with Brogan clutching his good leg and Eliana cradled in his arms.

Stalking slowly towards them was Linda, flan
ked by two more guards.

A
s I crashed through the doorway, Linda’s face contorted with rage.

‘
You!’ she shrieked. The guards surrounding her leapt towards me. They fought hard, grabbing hold of anything in reach that could be used to hit me with. They worked together, taking turns to fight me whilst the others ensured I didn’t move far away from the doorway. The constant assault of powers and blows knocked me off balance.

As I struggled against them
, I saw Linda bearing down on the children, her whole body lit up with her power.

‘
Ava, help us!’ Hugo screamed as Linda bent towards Brogan. The baby let out a piercing scream and her tiny hands balled into fists. Behind them the window shattered, letting in a blast of cold air. The children fell forwards to the floor. Hugo landed awkwardly, trying to keep a hold on the baby, and let out a yell of pain. He looked as though he were going to try to stand up again.

Don
’t! Stay where you are. Keep your head down and protect the babies. Trust me.

He nodded to let me know he understood and ducked down, covering the two little ones with his body.

I called the whirlwind to me and it responded instantly. It appeared outside the window, bent low and pushed its way through. Linda looked into the whirling tube in horror. Screaming, she tried to move away from it.

Grabbing hold of the guard who was standing behind her, she dragged him around, using him as a shield. The wind took hold of him and sucked him down. The other guards had stopped their assault on me now
, and were trying to push past me to get out of the door. With a flick of my hand they whizzed across the room and fell head first into the mouth of the wind.

I ran at
the guard who was wrestling with Tommy and jumped on his back, pressing my fingers into his skin. Leaping backwards, he tried to prise my arms away before falling to the ground, crushing me underneath him. The wind lifted him off me effortlessly but before I could move, Linda replaced him.

She lunged for my face but I grabbed her arms, struggling against the force of the shocks ripping through my body. Then her expression changed to one of sheer terror as she felt her feet leave the ground and move upwards.

She clung tightly to my arms, her feet waving wildly in mid-air. I tried to loosen her grip but she just held on tighter. Suddenly, her fingers slipped and she shot backwards through the air, into the wind. Confused, I sat up and looked around. Brogan stood at the side of the room, a scowl on his face and his hands on his hips.

‘
Naughty lady fly,’ he told me seriously.

‘
Thank you,’ I whispered. Jumping to my feet, I took a running leap out of the open window and landed softly on the ground below. The whirlwind followed me out of the house and into the barn.

A huge cloud of black smoke greeted me as I reached the door. A line of fire split the barn in two. On the side nearest me were several small groups of people. My heart sank as I recognised many faces amongst the fighters. In the middle of the crowd, with his back to the fire
, was Simeon. The guard fighting Oscar hit him with a stunning blow, which sent him reeling backwards. Simeon looked me straight in the eye, grinned, bent down and took hold of Oscar’s t-shirt, then dragged him backwards through the flames into the far end of the barn. Several people went to run after them but were beaten back by the fire.

Placing my hand inside the wind, I pulled it across me so that I was standing in
its centre. As I reached the line of fire, there was a sudden movement. Lissa was running full tilt towards the fire. I flicked my hand, sending her sliding backwards to safety then walked straight into the flames.

As soon as I
’d crossed over to the other side of the barn, I stepped out of the wind. Something moved next to me and before I could react, a thick blue rope snaked towards me and coiled itself around my body. My knees buckled and I fell sideways to the floor. It tightened painfully, pinning my arms to my sides. Struggling against it I prised my eyes open. Oscar was lying unconscious in front of a huge stack of hay bales. Simeon was standing between us, his eyes glinting malevolently as he leered down at me. And then something strange happened to his face. The skin changed colour and the bones seemed to shift slightly until it was oval shaped and his lips were thin and pale.

‘
You!’ I whispered. ‘You killed my father.’

He let out a bark of a laugh and his face changed again. It took a matter of seconds before it turned into the face of a man who had frightened me many years ago when I
’d been waiting for my mother to finish work at the hotel.

Then
Nicholas was standing in front of me. Letting out a scream of anger, I thrashed against the rope. The whirlwind surged forwards towards Nicholas but, as it reached him, he touched it with one finger. With a flash it exploded and collapsed.

The fire was spreading now, inching around the edges of the barn, towards the hay.

‘How can you have more than one power?’ I breathed.

‘
Ah, well, you see you’re not the only one who is different. One of my
talents
is that I am something of a chameleon. The other is a little more practical.’

‘
But how come you’ve lived around all those people so long? What about Naomi?’

‘
People only see what they want to see. They are naïve and gullible, which is why they need strong leaders to control them. Simeon was a trustable fellow and Naomi is a very good actress. She will be rewarded. It has taken a very long time to put everything in place and it has taken an awful lot of self-control not to show my powers while I’ve been waiting for you.’

His eyes suddenly gleamed, reflecting the flickering movement of the flames behind me.

The ones you are destroying are your true kin, Ava. We do not belong here in this place but we do belong together. You are the most powerful being ever to walk this planet and I have been searching for you for a very long time. Together we would be invincible. Our offspring would be rulers of all worlds. Join me, Ava.

‘
Our
what
?
Ew
!’

I know that your heart lies elsewhere but what is the point, I ask you, in loving someone who you will have to spend an eternity – his lifespan at least, protecting? All of these beings around you will die and be replaced by new ones. Why waste time fighting for their rights when you could be utilising their abilities and living a comfortable eternal existence? We will be gods. People will worship us.

‘Um, no thanks.’

I can tell you where you come
from, Ava. If you join me I will tell you everything.

‘
Ok, let me make this perfectly clear for you.
I DO NOT WANT TO JOIN YOU!
’

Because of him?
He glanced down at Oscar and sneered.
Maybe we should take him out of the equation. Then perhaps you will see sense.

He bent down towards Oscar, his fingers outstretched, his eyes not leaving mine.