Timesurfers by Rhonda Sermon Page B

stop, you can raise the dead,
and Mortez has sent Jonah back to take an interest you. Jonah
aborting his mission is all because of you.”
    “Jonah is Zach’s cousin. Maybe you should
talk to Zach? He’s certainly benefiting from this new, altered
history.” Cate felt zero guilt dropping Zach right in it.
    “I don’t know how Zach fits into this.”
Austin paced as he spoke. “The cheerleader lay dead on the ground,
and hey presto, up she jumped—freaking alive. Cate healed her foot
and her friend’s leg. She wasn’t affected by the time stop and
she’s immune to Rafe and my powers. It’s her .”
    Cate resisted the strong urge to put her
fingers in her ears and chant “la, la, la” loudly.
    “About the cheerleader,” Naitanui raised his
voice over the ruckus.
    Austin turned to Rafe. “Why did you drop the cheerleader? You can hold up a ten tonne truck for hours,
and to say your reflexes are quick is an understatement. How the
f—”
    “Language!” Rose interrupted.
    “I dropped her because someone told me to. I
didn’t want to. I just...had to.” Rafe slammed the table and kicked
his chair over.
    Cate shuffled her chair and busied herself
smoothing the pleats on her green school skirt. Cold fear trickled
down her shoulder blades. She was pretty sure she had made Rafe
drop Brittany .
    “I don’t remember Rafe making any attempt to
catch Brittany.” Rose tapped her teeth. “Are you saying someone
compelled you to drop her?”
    Rafe shrugged. “My brain told me I had to
throw her in the air and walk away—so I did.”
    Naitanui steepled his fingers under his chin
and contemplated her. “I believe Cate inadvertently compelled Rafe
to drop Brittany.”
    All eyes turned Cate’s way. She drew a circle
in the dirt with her toe, squirming under everyone’s gaze. Her eyes
fixed on the red flecks of dirt swirling through the air and
settling on her shoe. She had wanted Rafe to drop Brittany. It was
just a stupid thought. She didn’t mean for it to actually
happen.
    Rafe glared at Cate. “But it’s impossible to
compel other Timesurfers.”
    “Mortez has gone to enormous trouble to hide
and protect Cate. It’s no surprise she’s a little different,”
Naitanui said.
    She detested the idea of being different.
Only mothers thought different was a good thing to be. Serial
killers were always referred to as being different when they were children. “Mortez didn’t hide
me. Two covert international agencies collaborated to do that.”
    Naitanui waved his hand. “I’m aware of the
witness protection. It has no impact on my records. Mortez hid you
using powerful magic.”
    Cate plonked her face on the table and rested
her hands on her head. More magic. Please let
this end.
    “Oh, come on! Buy a vowel. It has to be her.
That’s why I brought her here.” The flashing lights highlighted
Austin’s scars as he paced. They were an exact match to the crimson
checks on his shirt.
    “You have all these magical powers. How
damned hard can it be for you to identify me?”
    “The magic Mortez used to cloak you from my
instruments is ancient and powerful. It’s unravelling little by little, but there are
many layers to it.” Naitanui ambled over to stare at one of the
cubes. “Until I confirm exactly who you are, my Timesurfers will
stay with you.”
    What could she have done or become that was
so damned important to everyone? She needed to stay close to the
Timesurfers to find out.
    “Austin, take her back.”
    “But...” Cate and Austin chorused.
    “That’s an order,” Naitanui said quietly.
    Cate shrunk back into her chair. This guy you
clearly didn’t mess with.
    “Fine.” Austin took a brutal hold on Cate’s
arm. “Again, this will be uncomfortable.”

Chapter 9
    Jonah
    C ate closed her eyes as the world spun. Fireworks
pierced her eyelids like a thousand hot needles as she hovered in a
dark void. She tensed, knowing what to expect this time. Smack!
Cold, hard metal smashed into the base of