Relentless (The Hero Agenda, #2) by Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs
Authors: Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs
Ads: Link
before. I’m not sure I can be.
Draven takes my hand. “You can do this.”
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
“Don’t screw up,” V advises. She certainly knows how to coddle a girl.
Shoving the fear of everything that could go wrong out of my mind, I close my eyes and try to focus, using some of the techniques the others have been teaching me since I learned about my power. But they’ve had whole lifetimes to learn control. I’ve only had a couple weeks.
That doesn’t matter, I tell myself. I’ve totally got this. And if I don’t, well… No, I’ve totally got this. It all comes down to visualization.
I picture the car in a bubble. A big, shiny sphere of protection, like Glinda’s in The Wizard of Oz . It’s a shield nothing can get through.
Then I start to manipulate the energy, to pull the electricity from the air. Within seconds, sparks tingle around the bubble, crackling at the surface. Pushing at it a little, trying to find a way in.
I push them back and build up the bubble a little more. Make it a little stronger. Then, when I feel like the sphere is as secure as I can make it, I take a deep breath and release the energy.
With my eyes closed, I can’t see it. But the bright sparks of electricity, the flash of streetlights blowing out, the sizzling streams of lightning cutting through the air, glow through my eyelids.
And—on another positive note—the car keeps moving.
“You’re doing it,” Draven whispers.
Jeremy whoops at my success.
“Are we good?” V asks.
“Oh yeah,” Jeremy answers. “We are so good. It’ll be a long time before they ever track anyone again.”
I smile, but keep my eyes closed. I don’t want to lose control now.
After what feels like an eternity of sharp turns, fishtails, and the distant echo of sirens, the tension in the car finally releases.
“You can stop,” Jeremy tells me. “We’re in the canyon.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive,” Draven says.
With a huge sigh of relief, I relax my power. Release the bubble. Open my eyes.
We’re back on the narrow canyon road, city and government surveillance disappearing behind us.
“Stellar driving, V,” Draven says, patting her on the shoulder.
“I’ve driven the getaway car tons of times. No one ever tells me ‘good job,’” Jeremy complains. “I could have done that.”
“Sure you could have,” Draven agrees with a laugh.
I want to laugh too, but I am suddenly so exhausted I can’t keep my eyes open. Using my power so intensely for that long has really drained me, and for a moment I can’t help wondering if this is how Draven feels. Wondering how much hell Rex must have put him through—and for how long—for his powers to still be so exhausted that he can barely use them.
It’s too awful to think about.
I’m so tired I can’t keep my brain focused. Instead, soothed by the gentle swirl of the car on the winding canyon road, I let my head fall against Draven’s shoulder. I let myself forget, just for a little while, that nothing is ever going to be the same again.
Chapter 9
“What the hell happened here?”
V stops walking so abruptly that Jeremy crashes into her back—although I can’t be entirely certain he wouldn’t have done that no matter how slowly she stopped. He was a little too preoccupied with looking at her butt to pay attention to anything else.
Not so the rest of us. We’re staring, openmouthed, at the mess that the cabin has become in our absence.
Nitro, Dante, and Riley all speak at once.
“Nothing!”
“What are you talking about? Everything’s fine.”
“Rebel got loose.”
V steps into the cabin, and I get my first full look at the disaster area.
“Whoa,” Jeremy says, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Nothing in the cabin’s main room has remained untouched. The couch is upside down against the wall, with the dining table crushed beneath it. Half of the windows are broken. The kitchen chairs have been smashed into
Draven takes my hand. “You can do this.”
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
“Don’t screw up,” V advises. She certainly knows how to coddle a girl.
Shoving the fear of everything that could go wrong out of my mind, I close my eyes and try to focus, using some of the techniques the others have been teaching me since I learned about my power. But they’ve had whole lifetimes to learn control. I’ve only had a couple weeks.
That doesn’t matter, I tell myself. I’ve totally got this. And if I don’t, well… No, I’ve totally got this. It all comes down to visualization.
I picture the car in a bubble. A big, shiny sphere of protection, like Glinda’s in The Wizard of Oz . It’s a shield nothing can get through.
Then I start to manipulate the energy, to pull the electricity from the air. Within seconds, sparks tingle around the bubble, crackling at the surface. Pushing at it a little, trying to find a way in.
I push them back and build up the bubble a little more. Make it a little stronger. Then, when I feel like the sphere is as secure as I can make it, I take a deep breath and release the energy.
With my eyes closed, I can’t see it. But the bright sparks of electricity, the flash of streetlights blowing out, the sizzling streams of lightning cutting through the air, glow through my eyelids.
And—on another positive note—the car keeps moving.
“You’re doing it,” Draven whispers.
Jeremy whoops at my success.
“Are we good?” V asks.
“Oh yeah,” Jeremy answers. “We are so good. It’ll be a long time before they ever track anyone again.”
I smile, but keep my eyes closed. I don’t want to lose control now.
After what feels like an eternity of sharp turns, fishtails, and the distant echo of sirens, the tension in the car finally releases.
“You can stop,” Jeremy tells me. “We’re in the canyon.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive,” Draven says.
With a huge sigh of relief, I relax my power. Release the bubble. Open my eyes.
We’re back on the narrow canyon road, city and government surveillance disappearing behind us.
“Stellar driving, V,” Draven says, patting her on the shoulder.
“I’ve driven the getaway car tons of times. No one ever tells me ‘good job,’” Jeremy complains. “I could have done that.”
“Sure you could have,” Draven agrees with a laugh.
I want to laugh too, but I am suddenly so exhausted I can’t keep my eyes open. Using my power so intensely for that long has really drained me, and for a moment I can’t help wondering if this is how Draven feels. Wondering how much hell Rex must have put him through—and for how long—for his powers to still be so exhausted that he can barely use them.
It’s too awful to think about.
I’m so tired I can’t keep my brain focused. Instead, soothed by the gentle swirl of the car on the winding canyon road, I let my head fall against Draven’s shoulder. I let myself forget, just for a little while, that nothing is ever going to be the same again.
Chapter 9
“What the hell happened here?”
V stops walking so abruptly that Jeremy crashes into her back—although I can’t be entirely certain he wouldn’t have done that no matter how slowly she stopped. He was a little too preoccupied with looking at her butt to pay attention to anything else.
Not so the rest of us. We’re staring, openmouthed, at the mess that the cabin has become in our absence.
Nitro, Dante, and Riley all speak at once.
“Nothing!”
“What are you talking about? Everything’s fine.”
“Rebel got loose.”
V steps into the cabin, and I get my first full look at the disaster area.
“Whoa,” Jeremy says, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Nothing in the cabin’s main room has remained untouched. The couch is upside down against the wall, with the dining table crushed beneath it. Half of the windows are broken. The kitchen chairs have been smashed into
Similar Books
