Page 4

4. Those F-Fers Again!

Gemma

I pulled a box of markers out of my backpack and plunked them on the library table.

“I don’t think we need anything fancy, do you?” Gigi asked as she added a package of mini poster board to our supplies. “I mean, there were LED light strings and stickers and stuff, but I think it’s best to keep it simple.”

“Simple like you, Basketball Boobs?”

The meanest girl at school, Shayla Briggs, leaned her hip against the other side of our table. Her friend, Queen Johnson, stood next to her. No one could tell me why they were this way, but I’d learned quickly that they took great delight in tormenting other girls.

“You can leave if you’re going to be catty.” I waved one hand in a shooing gesture.

“No one asked you, Carrots,” Shayla sneered.

“Oh, my feelings. They’re so hurt.”

I put on my best bored face. I wasn’t as good at it as Kerry, but then again, he wasn’t acting when he did it.

“You better watch that sass, or I’ll knock it right out of your mouth.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” I shrugged. “Here or in the dojo?”

I wasn’t arrogant, but I knew what I could do. She wouldn’t be a challenge in a physical fight nor in a power one. She knew it, too, because she let Queen grab her elbow and pull her away.

“Come on, Shay. Carrots and Boobs aren’t worth our time.”

Tossing their heads, they strode off to the other side of the library and claimed their own table.

“Don’t let them get you down.” I patted Gigi’s shoulder.

“Oh, I don’t. I’ve had to deal with that sort of thing nearly all my life.” She tilted her head as she met my eyes. “Do you know that you’re my first female friend since I was a little kid?”

“What?” I blinked.

“Yep. Jax was ecstatic when I started hanging out with you and, through you, Tara and Maddy. Now that we have Chessie in our circle, I have more girl friends than I’ve had since elementary school.”

I didn’t want to ask, but that didn’t make sense to me. I mean, she was beyond gorgeous with her flawless skin, dark blue eyes and mass of blue-black hair that naturally spiraled into long curls. Popularity usually went with that sort of rare beauty, especially since she didn’t rub it in your face. She wasn’t vain or snobby, had a sweet personality, and was easygoing. How could she not have had friends before me?

“I know you’re curious, but are too polite and nice to ask. It’s not that hard to figure out. I’ve always had a pretty face,but then I developed early.” She gestured toward her girls. “I’ve had these since seventh grade. They’re not the blessing you might think they are. They attract all the wrong kinds of attention.”

She grabbed the markers and pulled out a red one. Taking her cue, I opened the package of mini poster board and took one out for each of us.

“Boys either ogle me or get touchy-feely. It’s like they can’t help themselves. ‘Ooo! Boobs! Must touch.’ ” She made a leering face and grabby motions with her hands, and I snorted. “Most of the ones who asked me out thought I’d sleep with them in exchange for dinner and a movie because, you know, if you’re pretty, you sleep with anyone. Or else they just wanted to be able to say they dated the most beautiful girl in school, like I was a trophy or arm candy. They didn’t care about me .”

She passed me the markers, and I rooted around for a black one.

“Girls are worse, in a way. Girls see me as a threat or a rival, even if I have a boyfriend or make it clear I’m not interested in theirs. Most won’t even talk to me. They think I’m arrogant, I guess. I can’t tell you how many girls in middle school called me Perfect Princess. It wasn’t meant as a compliment, either.”

“Girls may be slower to get into physical fights, but we sure know how to savage each other verbally, don’t we?”

“Well, not you or me.” She smiled at me.

“No. Not you or me.” I smiled back.

“Unfortunately, there are more Shaylas and Queens in the world than there are Gemmas and Gigis.” She tapped her marker in a staccato rhythm on the table.

“One light in the darkness is better than none.” I grabbed my backpack and searched for a pencil with a good eraser. “Who was it that said, ‘We rise by lifting others’?”

“I don’t know, but that’s a good one.”

“Hello, ladies.”

I raised my eyes to the guy with a French accent who’d shuffled over to our table. I didn’t know him, and I hadn’t seen him around before.

“Hey, Remi.” Gigi gave him a short nod. “This is my friend, Gemma. Gemma, Remi’s from Quebec. He arrived at the Sanctuary last Monday and is in my power focus class.”

“ Enchanté .” He smiled at me, then swiveled his eyes back to Gigi. “Would you join me for dinner tonight?”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh! Um, thanks for the interest, Remi, but I have a boyfriend.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t.” He winked.

What? Is this guy for real?

“I don’t cheat.” Gigi’s body stiffened. “I never have and I never will.”

“I can make you change your mind.” He laid his palms flat on the table and leaned down with what he probably thought was an irresistible grin.

I was shocked to see Gigi’s hands begin to tremble. Cutting my eyes to her face, I saw her mouth tighten into a white seam.

I don’t understand what’s going on here, but I’m going to intervene if he doesn’t disappear soon.

“Please leave.” Her voice quavered a bit. “I’m not playing this game.”

“But I don’t want to leave, ma trésor .”

Remi reached out, snagged one of her curls, and tried to use it to tug her face closer to his. She didn’t move, even though he was pulling hard enough that it probably hurt to stay still.

“Okay, that’s it.” I jumped to my feet, grabbed his wrist, and used a move Kerry had taught me to make him let go.

He did, but then he laughed and pulled out the chair like he was going to sit down. Shock made me speechless. He seemed to think that I’d issued an invitation to stay!

“Remi, I gave you my gratitude, my reasons, and my request.” Gigi laid her phone on the table and brought up her contacts. “Now I’m giving you to my boyfriend, Jax.”

“Jax?” That got his attention. “Jax as in Jax Kosta ?”

“That’s him.” Her finger poised over her phone, she glared up at him.

“ Non! Don’t call him!” He pushed in the chair, then raised both hands. “I intended no disrespect. Désolé. ”

She lowered her hand, but left her phone where it was.

Remi’s confidence was still high, though, and he turned to me.

“What about you, ma petit ? Do you have plans for tonight?”

“You’re not too picky, are you?” I sat back down and folded my arms. “Any girl will do?”

“What can I say? I enjoy spending time with lovely ladies.” He wore that cocky grin again.

“I’m in a committed relationship, too.” I held up my index finger when he opened his mouth. “And if you’re afraid of Jax Kosta, you’ll be terrified of Kerry Harker.”

That knocked the swagger out of him.

“The demon taint? You’re his lady?” Backing away, he stumbled over his own feet. “ Je suis navré !”

Then he whirled and ran.

“How about that, Gigi? Just our boys’ names act as a shield of protection around us.” Grinning, I glanced over at her.

Her hands shook harder. She lowered them to her lap and clasped them together so tightly, the tips of her fingernails turned to white crescents against red skin.

“Hold it together for a minute more,” I murmured. “Queen and Shayla are looking this way.”

She gave me a jerky nod.

“What can I do? You want me to call Jax?”

“No. Talk to me. Distract me.”

I took her at her word and jabbered on about our project.

“I like your idea of keeping it simple. We’re not dealing with elevated minds here. We could use the slogan, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ I know it’s cliche, but it says everything we want it to.”

I sketched the words out onto a piece of scrap paper as I talked, trying to decide between cursive or print lettering.

“The others should be here soon. Tara had trouble coming up with a plan that wouldn’t make John suspicious. Kerry was easy. I told him we were studying at the library and presto! He disappeared. Good thing he asked Jax to work out with him and Matt Farley. That solved your problem, too. Plus, with Jax there, I don’t have to worry about anything happening to Matt.”

I stopped rambling to frown for a second.

“My conscience is bothering me about hiding this from the boys, but you know what they’d be like, Kerry especially.”

It wasn’t so much that we were worried they’d prevent us from going. We had our own minds and could make our own decisions about what we did and where we went. It would have made them unhappy, though, and they’d have whined until we gave up the idea - Jax - or come along - Kerry and John - which would have made everything that much more tense. Kerry alone would ramp up the drama with his mere presence, and he wasn’t the type to stay calm or silent.

Travis is probably the only boy I know who could protest with us in the civilized way we’re hoping for.

“You know, I’m concerned about Maddy and Travis. They don’t seem to be getting along lately. Have you noticed?”

“Yes.” Gigi started to relax. “I’m not close enough to either to ask, though. I’m sure Tara’s noticed.”

“Hmm. I don’t want to poke my nose in, but it makes me sad to see them fighting. Maddy’s a very young sixteen, if you know what I mean. Maybe she doesn’t realize how much Travis is dealing with. His enthrallment taint hasn’t even finished fading yet.”

“I know.” She gave me a small smile. “Sorry I freaked out. I don’t handle aggressive guys well. Most back off, either flustered or disappointed, when I say I have a boyfriend. Only a handful keep pushing. At least he didn’t get angry.”

A shiver shook her whole body. No longer caring if Shayla and Queen were watching, I reached over and hugged her.

“I went to an all-girls school starting in sixth grade, and I commuted from home,” I told her, “so I’m really lacking in experience with co-ed campus life. I worked with human boys at my uncle’s dojo, and some of them were lippy or arrogant, but I don’t remember being harassed by them. It seems to happen a lot in this world, though. Is it a nephilim-only thing, do you think?”

“Your uncle’s name and presence protected you in your old world, like Kerry does here.” She let out a deep breath. “Did you know U.S. statistics show that one in five women has been assaulted in her lifetime? One-fifth of the population. Considering there’s more than 160 million women in the US, you’re talking 32 million women in a developed, civilized country.”

“You’ve done some research on this.”

“Yes.” A shiver shook her again. “But, to answer your question, it’s a bigger problem among the nephilim because our males are more susceptible to the Fallen part of our lineage.”

“Hold up. What?”

“It’s not like something we can’t hear is whispering in their ear all the time, but male nephs are three times more likely to follow an evil path. Hundreds and hundreds of years’ worth of records prove it.”

I blinked as the information filtered through my brain.

“Huh. I’ve never even considered that we were susceptible to the Fallen influence at all. Well, anyway, thank goodness you can teleport out of a situation if a guy, human or neph, gets too dangerous.”

“And you can kick his balls into his chest cavity.”

“Now this sounds like an interesting conversation.” Tara plopped down in the empty chair across from me. “Who needs his balls kicked? Oh, please tell me it’s a First Firster.”

“Or F-Fer, as Kerry calls them,” said Chessie as she took the chair across from Gigi. “It’s just an abbreviation, but it’s the way he says. Makes it sound like the worst kind of swear word.”

“Those F-Fers again!” Tara tried to imitate Kerry’s bass growl, which was hilarious given that she was a mezzo soprano, and we cracked up. “I’ll kill any of them who touch you, Gemma.”

She copied his angry scowl, completed with narrowed eyes, and we giggled even harder.

“There’s a good slogan for your sign, angel,” she continued her imitation. “Join the F-Fers and get kicked in the balls.”

We broke into outright laughter, and it took a bit before we got to doing any serious work on our signs. We had to hurry to finish in time, but I didn’t mind. The laughter had chased the shadows out of Gigi’s eyes.

#

Kerry

Matt Farley did not know jack about fighting, but he could take some hits.

On Saturday, me and Jax met him in the dojo for our lesson, and John tagged along. I talked them through a few down and dirty moves, including the sleeper I’d used on Fanishell the other day. I shoulda demonstrated first, but there was only one person I was comfortable getting that close to.

Speaking of Gemma, I’d told her where I was going and why, half-expecting her to come along because she loved sparring, but she had her own plans with Gigi. I’d been a little disappointed because I craved spending time with her, but I had learned pretty quick that girl time was non-negotiable with her.

Anyways, it wasn’t long before the guys were hitting the mats, and their moves grew better and faster the longer we worked. I was surprised by their seriousness, which I hadn’t expected. When you get a bunch of dudes together, it usually turns into horsing around, but they were focused on learning. Even Jax had his game face on.

After a couple of hours, they were ready to call it quits. Matt, his shirt soaked with sweat, ran up to me with a big grin.

“Thanks, Harker.”

He raised his hand like he was about to put it on my shoulder, but caught himself and held out a fist instead. With a half-smile, I knocked my knuckles against it.

“I think I could stop someone who’s attacking me or Joss now, so long as they don’t freeze me in time before I can do anything.”

“Confidence is good, but you need to practice or you’ll forget,” I told him. “Working out helps, too. The harder you make your body, the more pain you can take.”

“Is that why Hank drops medicine balls on your stomach while you’re doing sit-ups?” Jax grinned.

“That sounds like torture, not a workout.” Matt winced. “What are you training for? Do you box or something?”

“No,” Jax said before I could open my mouth. “He just trains to keep his rock-hard abs rock hard.”

“Yours could be too if you weren’t such a baby,” I smirked at him.

“I don’t need brutal workouts to look good.” He yanked his t-shirt up to show off his own abs.

“It ain’t about looking good. Yeah, you’re cut, but you’re soft. Gigi could punch you in the gut and you’d go down, but I’d still be on my feet if you punched me in mine.”

“Oh, yeah?” He let his shirt fall as his eyes narrowed. “You willing to put it to the test?”

Feeling pretty chill, I thought about it for a second, but shook my head. Even with John and Matt there to pitch in if I lost it, I didn’t want to risk hurting my best friend.

“Now who’s a baby?” he goaded me.

Guess I hurt his feelings, but it’s the truth.

“Not a good idea.” John looked from him to me and back to him. “You’re gonna make him mad, Jax.”

Jax ignored him.

“Do you even have a pair of balls anymore?” He danced around on his toes, like he was loosening up before a fight. “I know Gemma owns them. She carry them around with her, too?”

My temper kicked up. Yeah, I’d hurt his feelings, although I hadn’t meant to, but I wasn’t gonna let him say anything bad about Gemma.

“All right, jerk-off. Give me your best shot.” I spread my arms wide.

Grinning like a fool, he bunched up his hand and drew back his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes.

“Get your thumb out from behind your fingers, unless you want it broken.”

“I know how to throw a punch, numbnuts!”

His fist slammed into my stomach.

Other than letting out a little puff of air, my only reaction was to raise an eyebrow.

Pain darkened his eyes, and I had to clamp down on a laugh. The next second, he skipped back a few feet and shook out his hand.

“Ow, ow, ow! Owie!”

“I warned you about your thumb, dummy.” I shook my head. “Now stop hopping around so I can punch you back.”

“You said Gigi could punch me, not you.”

“Don’t whine about it now.” John shoved his shoulder.

“I’m not.” Jax shoved him back. “I’m reminding him what he agreed to.”

“Fine.” I shrugged. “I can get Gigi to whale on you easy enough just by telling her you punched me for no reason.”

“What? Wait. That’s not how it happened!”

“Quit trying to weasel out of it.” John caught him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

Matt shook his head at us, but he grinned from ear to ear.

“I know a lot of people who’d want to get in on learning a few hand-to-hand moves,” he said. “We should make our own club. We could get together once a week or something.”

“Yeah, and Kerry can be the teacher.” John released Jax. “We can use this space.”

“Uh, I don’t think so.” I shook my head.

“Not like anyone uses the high school dojo on the weekends.” Matt shrugged.

“Come on.” I held up my hand and took a step back. “Stop it.”

“We’ll be charter members,” John said.

“I’m in!” Jax high-fived them both.

“Wait a minute.” This was getting out of hand. “I don’t want —”

“Too bad. It’s done.” Jax grinned at me. Apparently I was forgiven. “Let’s hit the showers.”

Then they were gone, laughing and shoving each other as they headed toward the locker room.

What just happened?

Shaking my head, I followed them.

#

Matt went his way when we left the gym, and I asked Jax if he knew where our ladies were.

“Hanging out, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Doing what?”

“I don’t know. Gigi wasn’t specific.”

“Gemma wasn’t, either. Makes me wonder.” My eyes narrowed. “John, where’s Tara today?”

“Hanging out with Chessie. And, no, she didn’t tell me her plans.”

“I’ll text Gigi and ask,” Jax offered and pulled out his phone. “It’s a bit suspicious that none of them told us what they were going to do today.”

“Look them up on that friend tracker app first,” I told him.

“Spying. Nice.” His grin fell fast enough, though, when he looked at his phone. “Oh, no. Tell me they’re not.”

“What? Where are they?” I demanded.

“At the quad.” He turned his phone screen toward me. “They all are. Gigi, Gemma, Tara, and Chessie.”

“I don’t like that,” John rumbled.

“Why? What’s going on at the quad?”

Jax hesitated, his brown eyes skating away from mine.

“Just tell me!”

“Firsts First is holding a rally there today.”

“The F-Fers again? And they would go to it why ?” I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. “To protest, of course.”

I took off in a fury of blue sparks.

#

Gemma

The rally was a disaster.

Apparently, Council members did not consider it a serious matter. It was obvious that they hadn’t expected anyone to show up on the quad. If they had, they would have sent more than a handful of wardens to monitor fifty screaming First Firsters and the twenty of us who’d come to protest.

My friends and I held up our signs in silence, as we’d all agreed beforehand, and the First Firsters made a beeline to confront us. We didn’t respond as we stood there and faced them, even when the volume of their chanting became deafening.

“Firsts First! Firsts First! Firsts First! Seconds and below need to go, go, go!”

Cole Fanishell came right up to us and screamed in our faces.

He frightened me more than anything I’d encountered so far in this world. His kind of mentality led to genocides and holocausts.

Worse, he had followers .

If Kerry knew I was here, the ugly situation would have deteriorated even faster, especially since Cole seemed to have made me his target.

He came right up to me, raised his hands, and pressed his palms against my sign. Confused, I glared at him and refused to yield so much as an inch, but he kept bearing down on me, fast and aggressive.

Holding my ground, I glanced over and saw Gigi and Chessie were having the same problem with two other First Firsters. Before I could check on Tara and Maddy to my left, Cole gave me an extra hard shove and I lost my footing. I had the sense and experience to keep my head up to avoid being concussed, but I still landed flat on my back and the air went right out of me.

I’d been winded a few times in my life. My brain knew it was temporary, one or two minutes at most, but my body went into survival mode and shut out everything as it tried to restart my diaphragm. I nearly forgot there was another threat standing over me, but Cole was kind enough to remind me by shoving his shoe into my stomach.

I grabbed his foot to push it off, but that compressed my panicking lungs, and I had to drop my elbows back. Gritting my teeth, I kicked up, but there was no strength in it and my foot only glanced off his backside.

“Quit wiggling around, little worm,” he warned me and pushed his heel down harder.

Of course, right then, a deep voice bellowed my name with enough power to make my heart stutter, and one frantic thought branded itself on my brain.

He’ll kill Cole. He will kill him!

Sending a jolt of healing through my body, I swung my foot up again. This time, I hit what I aimed at full force. Cole grabbed his groin and dropped to his knees, then keeled over onto his side with a moan.

Hah! Hope Kerry saw that!

I sat up to look for my boy, wanting to gloat a little, but hard fingers dug into my shoulder and yanked me back down. Before I could blink, murky power wrapped around me and—

#

Kerry

When Gemma kicked Fanishell in the balls and he fell to the ground, I thought, That’s my girl!

When she sat up like it was all over, I thought, And that’s my girl, too.

She didn’t understand fighting. She probably never would.

Don’t get me wrong. Gemma Shepherd was brave and strong and smart, but she had about as much aggression in her as a baby bunny. She never followed through after a takedown. I musta told her a hundred times that just because your enemy was down, it don’t mean he was out. And still, for her, it ended when her opponent was on the mat.

Fanishell rolled over and grabbed her shoulder, and I was still too effing far away. I had to watch as he coated her in black tar and her body went still and stiff.

I’d been pissed from the second I saw her lying there with him standing over her, but now I was enraged .

As he got to his feet, I smashed my fist into the back of his skull. Although my knuckles split on impact, it was worth it: He catapulted three feet forward and landed flat on his face.

“Rescind that , you prick!” I snarled.

Shaking out my hand, I dropped to one knee next to Gemma. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t seeing anything. I brushed the back of my fingers over her cheek.

“Angel? Can you hear me?”

Nothing. She didn’t blink or even seem to be breathing. Fanishell had frozen her in time like he had Joss Dumar in the caf the other day.

“Gigi!” I hollered.

Lifting my head to look for her, I locked eyes with Noah Farley instead. He stood a few yards in front of me, bouncing a blue-white fireball in his hand. I threw up my shield and moved away from Gemma, wanting this fight far from her while she was so vulnerable.

“You’re dead,” Farley growled.

“Oh, am I glad it’s you.” Grinning, I spiked up. “I owe you a beating.”

He pitched the fireball straight toward my head. My shield didn’t even vibrate under the impact, and I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Weak, Farley.” I let the tiger out, just a little. “Lemme show you how it’s done.”

Flicking my wrist, I tossed a disc of power at him.

Either he hadn’t brought up a shield or it was as garbage as his fireball. My shot slammed into his stomach and lifted him off his feet and made him double over with a groan. The rest of the F-Fers hustled over and formed a half-circle around him. While two or three of them checked on him, the rest either powered up or glared at me with clenched fists.

Am I supposed to be intimidated?

“Get outta here.” I jerked my chin toward Farley. “And take your garbage with you.”

“Give us Cole, too,” one of them called.

“Not a chance. He’s gonna stay and explain to me why my girl’s on the ground. The rest of you need to leave. Now . Before I lose my temper.”

They didn’t move, so I decided to encourage them a bit. My control was worn to a thread, though, and what I intended as a warning flare over their heads roared out like a flamethrower and scorched the brick wall of the nearest dorm.

That made them scatter like the vermin they were.

Good. Now I’m free to finish this.

I went back to Fanishell, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and lifted his face to see if he was awake yet. It wouldn’t be worth torturing him until he was. The spikes on my fingers dug into his scalp and forehead, and the thin trickles of blood made me smile.

Uh-oh. You let the tiger out a little too much.

That tiny voice of warning was easy to ignore.

Hank’s voice, coming from my right, wasn’t.

“Kerry? Wardens are here now. Let them do their job.”

I cut my eyes to where he stood about ten feet away. He held up both hands, palms toward me, and took a step closer, every motion slow and deliberate.

A lot of people move like that around me. Gemma says it’s because they’re trying not to startle me, which doesn’t make sense. I’m not a nervous person or skittish or anything.

“Gemma’s fine. Gigi unfroze her and she’s fine. You can let him go. This is a chance to show your critics you’re not a tiger.”

“But I am, Hank. You know it, too.”

I drew my shield tight around me in case he asked Jax to blast me. Tame was the last thing I wanted to be.

“Then show them that you control the tiger, not the other way around.”

He had a point, but the rage felt so freaking good . It was comfortable. Familiar. Like slipping on my favorite hoodie.

“Up to now, everything you’ve done is justified. No legist would pursue any charge a Council member might try to levy against you. Up to now ,” he repeated. “But if you choose to go any further, you’re seeking vengeance, not protecting or defending.”

“I am protecting the next girl he knocks down and kicks in the stomach,” I said through my teeth.

“You don’t know that he would do that again.”

“How many people does he have to hurt before he’s held accountable?” I demanded. “How many chances do you give a rabid dog before you put it down?”

“As many as he needs. Turn the other cheek, kiddo.”

“I don’t believe in that. I take an eye for an eye.”

“And you have. You’ve exacted an injury for an injury. He’s down and bleeding and no threat to anyone. Let the wardens take him into custody.”

I wasn’t keen on being kicked out of the Sanctuary, which is what the Council would do if I killed someone. Gemma was all right, the adrenaline rush was fading, and Fanishell was done, whether he realized it or not.

So, yeah, I didn’t have to like letting him live, but I could do it.

“Are the wardens at least gonna punish him?” I muttered.

“I guarantee it.”

Blowing a heavy breath out of my nose, I opened my hand and let Fanishell’s head flop to the grass.

#

Gemma

“Gems? Can you hear me?”

Words found me in the darkness, but they made no sense.

“We need you, Gems. Heal yourself.”

Heal myself? I’m hurt?

“What do we do, Jax? He’s losing it.”

“She’s the only one who can reach him now.”

Someone grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me gently.

“Kerry needs you. Wake up, Gemma.”

Kerry? Hmm. My Kerry…

My mind woke up in a flash and my eyelids shot up. A ring of concerned faces peered down at me, but his wasn’t among them. Panicked, I flooded my body with healing.

“Oh, no. Where is he?” I held out a hand and Jax hauled me to my feet.

They all moved aside, and I didn’t really need Gigi’s pointing finger to find him. It’s hard to miss a skyscraper lit up with blue spikes. Hank stood near him and tried to talk him back from the edge, and Ms. Weatherbee stood a few yards away, guarding Hank’s back.

Running over, I reached Ms. Weatherbee at the same time as a man with - I kid you not - lavender hair that shivered like downy fluff with the slightest movement. He leaned over and braced his hands on his knees.

“No go, Gina,” he panted. “He has a shield like nothing I’ve ever seen. Can’t get through it, around it, over it, or under it.”

“I figured.” She propped her fists on her hips. “Thanks for trying, Mingo.”

“I would like to meet this kid when he’s calmer.” The lavender-haired man grinned. “How long do you think he can hold out?”

“Indefinitely,” she sighed.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Mingo’s laugh was dry. “His shield alone is taking a huge amount of power. He’ll drain out in a few minutes.”

“No, he won’t,” said Ms. Weatherbee.

“You don’t know my tiger,” I added.

Mingo glanced at me, and I saw his eyes were also lavender. And his eyebrows and the five-o’clock-shadow on his jaw.

Well, that isn’t something you see every day. Backlash, curse, or something worse?

Swallowing my curiosity for now, I made a move toward Kerry.

“Be careful.”

I acknowledged Ms. Weatherbee’s warning with a wave, but kept going. I knew what I was doing. My boy would never, ever hurt me.

And he was calm enough to be talking with his warden, not beating the daylights out of his enemy. That was definitely a good sign.

I walked a little faster and grinned with pride when Kerry released Cole, turned to Hank, and dropped his shield.

Now if only he’ll lose the spikes, we’ll be good to go.

Of course, Cole chose that moment to wake up and continue the fight. He filled the air with the same black scorpion-bats from the other day, and they streaked toward Kerry’s back in a dark flock.

Oh, no, you didn’t, you coward!

Sweeping an arm out, I let loose my own power and hoped it would do something. When my golden sparks met the scorpion-bats, they exploded like glitter bombs - and satisfaction filled me.

I was only a healer, but I was a powerful one, and I wanted to figure out how to use my power offensively. Never again did I want to be helpless or cause someone to be hurt because I was helpless.

Cole and Hank swung around to stare at me, but Kerry went for his enemy. I let him knock the jerk out, then stepped in because, once he started hitting, he wouldn’t stop voluntarily.

“Kerry. It’s over now. I’m asking you to stop. You told me I could ask you for anything, remember?”

His arm still cocked for a second punch, he looked over at me. It took nearly three seconds, though, before he saw me.

“He coulda hurt you. He coulda—”

“Yes, but he didn’t. I’m fine. Not even a bruise.”

“He threw my mercy back in my face.” He lowered his arm, but still stood over Cole.

“Yes. Some people do that,” I said with a nod. “The important thing is that you offered it.”

“I hate being made to feel that delivering justice is wrong.”

“I know you do, sweetheart.” I stretched out one hand. “Let the little boy go and come here.”

He took a deep breath, dropped the spikes, and stepped back from Cole. When he touched his fingers to mine, goosebumps raised on my arms. His eyes held murder in them, yet he cradled my hand in his as if it were a delicate orchid.

“For you, angel. Because you request it.”

And I knew that was the only reason he let me lead him away from his prey.