Page 2

Chapter two

Kellan

There were days, not long ago, where I would have given anything to feel the swift rush of adrenaline through my veins.

To feel the firm, if eager, beat of my heart at the prospect of something out of my control.

To feel alive .

Back then, nothing and no one could hurt me.

Not even myself.

But now I realize that my fear doesn’t come from myself.

It comes from the others; from her.

From the fear of losing the people precious to me.

This time, the thrill of danger doesn’t make my pulse race with anticipation.

It makes my muscles tighten and temper sharpen in preparation for a fight.

“The door to the quarantine area opened on its own. Is that something? Or maybe we have a ghost?”

There’s no reason for Harvey to be on that floor.

Even though he’d been on the island team to rescue the people who are staying in quarantine, he doesn’t have clearance to enter that area on his own.

For him to open the door unaccompanied—and while invisible—it can only mean he’s up to no good.

Raegan’s worried gaze seeks mine as the elevator doors close between us.

Every fiber of my being screams at me to go to her, to wrap her in my arms and act as her shield and armor.

But if there’s even an ounce of truth in what Gordon said to Aiden and Jack at the butcher shop, if Harvey is somehow involved with GE, then it’s my responsibility to protect the Guild.

And to keep Dane and Raegan as far away from them as possible.

The smile plastered on my face is stiff from the effort of it, but I keep it in place until the elevator doors shut.

Raegan has enough on her mind with Gordon’s possible death and keeping Dane safe.

If there’s anyone she should feel the least amount of worry over, it’s me.

My gift should put her at ease, and yet, she was watching me like she was preparing to dive out of the elevator to get to me.

I throw open the stairwell door and leap down the flights of stairs, bursting through the door once I’ve reached the quarantine floor.

The double doors, which are locked by a security code only a handful of members have, are wide open.

A hand is visible behind one of the doors on the floor, its palm upward and unmoving.

The need for violence coils in my chest.

Harvey.

What did you do?

Running, I yank the door open the rest of the way to reveal Claudia’s still form on the ground.

I drop to my knees and curse at the mess of blood on her neck.

I carefully draw her eyes to a close.

She’d been the one to help the rescues through their trauma, to reverse any brainwashing and ease them back to some sort of normalcy.

Claudia had no gift.

Just the desire to help people like us with her medical training.

She didn’t deserve to die like this.

She didn’t deserve to die at all.

I grind my teeth, fisting my hands and gazing furiously at the carnage of the room beyond her: overturned and broken tables.

Chairs scattered around the room on their sides and backs.

Whatever happened here, there’d been a fight.

But now, there’s not a single soul in sight after Claudia.

There’s no way they could have fought and disappeared in the time it took me to come downstairs after Harvey arrived.

After getting the call from security, he’d just arrived at the entrance, and I’d come down as soon as Raegan and Dane left in the elevator.

That was a few minutes at most…

hardly enough time to cause this level of damage.

How much earlier did it begin?

And by who?

A sniffing noise brings my attention to Claudia’s desk.

Standing, I stalk around it and find Harvey quivering in a ball and covered in blood.

I snap, grabbing him roughly by the shirt and hauling him into the air to slam him into the wall.

“What did you do?!” I snarl viciously.

“Where is everyone?”

His face is a mess of tears and snot.

Rather than looking at me, his pale blue eyes swing over my shoulder and go round with fear.

Sharp pain stabs between my shoulders in a breath-wrenching surprise attack.

Fluid rushes up my throat, and I hack the blood from my lungs.

Every instinct in me screams to remove the blade from my back as soon as possible.

Pushing through the pain, I throw my elbow back between coughs, dropping Harvey in the hope of striking the spineless attacker behind me.

The knife yanks free before I can land a hit, but that’s all I need.

I lean on my knees to finish coughing the fluid out, then gasp for air.

The deep wound tingles, then buzzes stronger as my flesh reunites and hardens to scales.

“Fascinating,” a voice muses, sounding pleased.

Shifting to face my attacker while keeping Harvey in my peripheral view, I rise, then freeze when I see who it is.

Charles Whitmore.

Raegan’s father.

The older man smiles, then licks my blood off his knife like a goddamn psycho.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demand, my voice still rough.

“Are you behind all this?”

Charles wipes the rest of the blood from the blade on his pants.

“You know,” he starts conversationally, “the more I’m out in the field lately, the more I see the failures of those in my employ.” He inspects the knife like he’s checking his reflection on both sides, smiling all the while.

“Gordon, for example. Now, he had great promise. Fantastic control over his gift. He could see the potential in others’ gifts as well. Or so I once believed.”

“Fuck the storytelling bullshit,” I growl.

“Ah, well. You’ll want to hear the rest of this, I think. I know that patience is a learned skill, but this is about you in the end. ”

I could give two shits what this man has to say about me.

The rest of the gifted rescues here are gone.

Claudia is dead. Is the rest of the Guild under attack right now?

Did Raegan and Dane make it to the room and lock it down?

“What did you do to the others? Where are they?”

“Since you all brought me here to your lovely…shelter, I’ve witnessed many amazing gifts. Ones which would greatly benefit GE, if only Gordon hadn’t been so… focused on a lost cause.”

He tosses the knife aside, then reaches behind his back and pulls out a gun.

“Now your gift, I like. I only saw it one time, so I’m still trying to understand the mechanics of it. If you get shot in the head, would that kill you? Or would you just lose your memory? Would you mind testing it for me? It’s for science, you see. Nothing personal.”

This man’s insane.

I can’t let him near Raegan or Dane.

I’m killing the bastard right here and now.

With a loud roar, I launch myself at him, swinging a fist strong enough to break bone.

He dodges my attack faster than any normal human, easily jumping back with that stupid smile still lighting up his face.

The pain hits before I hear the sound of a gunshot.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Four bullets lodge in my chest in seconds.

They should have gone right through, but my gift doesn’t activate.

This fucker shot me with hollow-point rounds.

I hunch over instinctively, grunting as I work to dig my fingers into the first hole.

Charles studies me with a furrowed brow.

“Do you still feel pain? Of course, you must. You look uncomfortable, but any ordinary human wouldn’t take four bullets to the chest without a single scream. And here you are, calmly making your wounds bigger to get to the bullet. Have you always had a high pain tolerance, or is this some aspect of your gift?”

“Are you actually asking, or do you just like to hear yourself talk?” I manage through gritted teeth.

He laughs—fucking laughs —like I’ve just told him a joke.

“You’d have been a much better choice for Gordon. But, no matter. The end result is the same.” Charles bends to retrieve the knife in his free hand, then holds up his other arm and slashes the blade across it.

Crimson flows freely down his arm.

Then the bleeding stops.

And his skin fills in with burnt bronze scales.

I freeze, staring at my gift he’s somehow using.

“See? My questions are sincere. I needed to test this for myself, and I’m very pleased with it. But there are still too many unknowns I’d like answers to.”

Did he steal my gift?

Was it when he drank my blood?

My fingers pinch around the first bullet, nails digging into the groove at the end and then roughly jerking it out.

The effort and type of bullet do a number on me internally, but as soon as it’s free, my gift takes over to fix it.

Charles’s eyebrows rise.

“Ah, so you have to take them out first? ”

Ignoring him, I force my fingers into the next bullet hole.

A gunshot fires, and the bullet hits the back of my hand.

I clench my teeth, straining through the pain to lift my hand again when another bullet hits my arm.

Another shot to my kneecap, and I fall on that side just before the other knee goes down with it.

I crash to the floor, my knees screaming from the wounds and impact all at once.

The amount of pain singing through me is almost enough to make me black out.

My vision darkens.

Raegan and Dane aren’t safe.

The rest of the Guild members are in danger.

I can’t let this man leave this room alive.

It’s those thoughts that keep me awake.

That fight off the sweet promise of falling unconscious that tries to drag me under.

“Alright, now sit still so I can see how this works. I’ll bring you back with me, of course, so that I can monitor the results. Anything that happens to you is what will happen to me now. So, again, this is all in the name of science. A good cause.”

Cold metal presses into my forehead.

I open my eyes, glaring at him.

My heart hammers wildly, blood roaring in my ears so I couldn’t hear him even if he bothered to say anything.

But he doesn’t speak.

He smiles at my boldness, then squeezes the trigger.

It clicks empty.

My heart ricochets, and I close my eyes and draw a breath.

That was too fucking close.

Charles sighs, clearly disappointed, then tosses the gun away.

“ Well, then. Let’s see if you’ll die by not taking out the bullets in time.”

His hand covers my face, and then there’s nothing.