Morgan was surprised when Kellen pulled up to Desideration Tower.
“It’s after ten—you really think Orrick’s still at the office?” she asked, getting out of Kellen’s car.
Kellen ignored her and headed toward the front door.
Things were different here at night, Morgan noticed. When they had been here before, a valet had been all too willing to relieve Kellen of his keys; now, Kellen just left his car in the large horseshoe driveway. The lights in the lobby were on, but they were dim.
As they entered the building, Morgan noticed two employees standing behind the front desk. One glanced up and nodded at Kellen, who didn’t pause in his walk toward the elevators.
Kellen pushed the elevator call button and Morgan turned to Corbin. A bit of the fervor was gone from his eyes, but he still looked different somehow—slightly manic. She put a hand on his arm. “How you feeling?”
With some effort, he focused on her. “I feel great, Morgan. You’ve gotta try it.”
She glared at him. “You know what Kellen did, right? He sucked energy out of the poor common girl—”
“It didn’t hurt her though, right?” He glanced at Kellen as if for assurance. “I mean—Ris is fine.”
Morgan couldn’t think of how to respond to this, but she was spared having to by the arrival of Tesin and Wen and the opening of the elevator doors.
The five boarded the elevator and stood in silence as it made its ascent.
Morgan stared at Corbin. She couldn’t believe how he was handling all of this. It was as if he’d be lobotomized.
Perhaps she should have told him about Ris before.
Morgan felt a twinge. Why hadn’t she told him about Ris before? She felt like there was a good reason for keeping the information to herself, but she couldn’t remember what that reason could be.
She rounded on Kellen. “You Pushed me,” she accused. “And you’re Pushing Corbin right now.”
Kellen smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, his tone clearly indicating the opposite.
Morgan’s fist clenched at her side.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Instinctively, Morgan turned, expecting to see Orrick’s office. However, the doors revealed a hallway that was unremarkable but for the fact that two men stood in it. Before Morgan could register anything else, the men lunged inside the elevator, grabbing Corbin and pulling him out into the hallway. Morgan started after him, but Kellen grabbed her from behind. She thrashed in his grip, but it was no use. The elevator doors closed and the car began rising again.
“What the hell is going on?” Morgan demanded, twisting against Kellen’s arms.
No one responded, and the elevator dinged once more, opening its doors to reveal Orrick’s office. Kellen picked Morgan up and deposited her in the room. She turned, thinking she could get back into the elevator to go after Corbin, but Tesin and Wen stood before it like sentinels. Undaunted, she attempted to push through them.
Kellen grabbed her again, and in one fluid motion, he picked her up and positioned her over his shoulder. She kicked and pounded at his back like a toddler, but his steps didn’t falter as he walked toward Orrick’s desk. When he set her on her feet, he held her still with his hands on her shoulders.
Orrick stood behind his desk, silhouetted by the city lights. He smiled at Morgan, as if he were genuinely pleased to see her and not at all off-put by her behavior.
He made a sweeping motion toward the chairs in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”
“Where’s Corbin?”
“Safe.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It most certainly is,” Orrick said, just the slightest edge to his voice. “And it’s the only answer you’ll be getting.” He approached the desk and stood behind his large office chair, placing his hands on its back. He raised his chin at Tesin and Wen, and Morgan heard the elevator doors open and close. “Now, I hear you have some concerns you wish to present to me.”
Morgan straightened under the hands that held her still. “It’s Kellen,” she said. “He’s… he’s stealing energy from people.”
Orrick’s eyebrows hitched up. “From the Veneret?”
Morgan shook her head. “No—well, maybe. I don’t know. But I know for sure he’s taken it from at least two common girls—one was my friend Ris.”
Orrick’s look of concern melted away. “Is that all?”
Morgan gaped at him. “Is that—all? What more does there need to be? He’s stealing the life force from people!”
He sighed. “You say this as though it’s news to me.”
“What? You mean—you—?”
“Morgan, you have to understand—”
“What? What do I have to understand?” Morgan snapped. “How can I understand this? What you do to people?”
“People,” Orrick scoffed. “The common. They don’t deserve to possess the power. It’s wasted on them.”
“How do you know?” Morgan demanded. “How can you say it’s wasted on them—”
“What do they do with it?” Orrick slammed his hands down on the back of his chair and turned from it, starting to pace. “The few that ever manage to wield it never use it well. Death and destruction—that’s all the world is since we faded to the shadows and allowed them to take over. But we’re poised now—poised to put ourselves back in the position we were born to but have abdicated for so long. For generations we’ve worked toward this end, knowing that you were to come, knowing that you would be born soon. This is what you were born for, Morgan, to lead us back to our rightful place in the world.”
“How do you know that? How can you possibly know that?”
“It has been foreseen!” Orrick’s voice rang clearly through the room.
“By who? By you? Forgive me if I don’t believe—”
“By your mother.”
Morgan froze. Orrick’s words hit her like a rushing wind, halting her thoughts, shifting them to an entirely different path. She shook off Kellen’s hands and sank down into the nearest chair. “What do you know about my mother?”
Orrick eyed Morgan, appraising her before responding. “I know quite a bit, actually. More than you, probably. And more than your father.”
“You’re lying,” Morgan accused, but she wasn’t convinced she believed it.
Orrick’s eyebrows hitched upward momentarily, and he smiled knowingly. “I assure you I am not. Would you like to know something you don’t know about your mother?” Without waiting for Morgan to respond, he continued. “She was also a Natural. The first I’d ever met. And powerful, too, with a gift that so few Veneret possess today. Your mother was a Knower. She’s the one who realized you would be the One.”
“That’s not… true,” Morgan said slowly. “It’s not… It can’t…”
“Now, Morgan, you were how old when your mother disappeared? Seven? How well do you really remember her? How much does a seven-year-old really know?”
Morgan bristled, her fists clenching. “But my dad would’ve known. And if my dad knew, he would’ve told me. If she could really see the future, he would’ve told me.”
At this assertion, Orrick actually chuckled softly. “There were a number of things your father never knew about your mother. Her abilities were certainly most prominent among them. That’s why she married him, you know. To escape the life she was born for. She felt like she was losing something, joining the Veneret. Her sister is common so she couldn’t share this world with her. That, I think, was the biggest obstacle to her embracing the life. Had her sister been a Natural, Morgan, then you would have grown up among your people, the way you were supposed to. But she wasn’t, and Chelsea chose her sister over her purpose, her destiny. She turned her back on us and married the first man she met—”
“She loved my dad,” Morgan interrupted. “They loved each other. They were happy together—”
This time Orrick’s laugh wasn’t a polite chuckle, but a loud guffaw. He even halted in his
walking as he laughed. He pulled out a handkerchief as he turned his attention to Morgan after his laughing subsided, dabbing his eyes. “While I’m sure your father is still under that impression, believe me, your mother had no love for the man. He was an escape, that is all.”
Morgan opened her mouth to protest, but Orrick continued talking.
“Have you ever asked about when your parents met? How long it was before they were married? How long after that you were born?”
Morgan could feel her mind fighting to work through what Orrick was telling her, fighting to dredge up the dates and numbers he mentioned. But her mind wasn’t cooperating—instead, she found herself both accepting his premise and trying to argue with it. But the part of her mind that was arguing the point became weaker and weaker as Orrick began speaking again.
“She was pregnant with you when they married. She lied to him in a misguided attempt to keep you safe from us.”
As if through a fog, Morgan asked, “Then… who’s my father?”
Orrick just smiled. “All in good time.” He crossed to where she stood. “You want to see her again, don’t you?” he asked, looking directly into Morgan’s eyes.
She nodded, the movements slow. “More than anything.” Her tongue felt thick in her mouth and she wasn’t sure why.
“What if I told you that you could see her again? Better than that—that you could be with her again? The two of you can be together, Morgan. You want that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to do something for me.”
Morgan found herself nodding.
Orrick smiled. “You have to be strong. To be with your mother, you have to be very strong. Do you think you can do that?”
“Yes,” Morgan said. “I can do that. I can be strong.” And she believed it. “What do I need to do?”
“I was hoping you’d ask,” Orrick said. As he turned toward the elevator, the doors slid open and Tesin walked out, guiding a young woman in a white button up shirt and black pants. The girl’s face was oddly blank as she was marched to the seat beside the one Morgan sat in. Tesin eased the girl into the seat and then went to stand against the wall.
“Do you feel her?” Orrick asked, his attention riveted on Morgan. “Her energy?”
Morgan found herself automatically reaching her mind out before Orrick had even finished speaking. She was vaguely aware of Orrick’s anticipation, of Kellen’s cool detachment, of Tesin’s nervous excitement. But she focused instead on the dim glow of the girl before her. She could feel the girl’s energy, but it was muted. Because she’s common, Morgan realized.
“I can feel it,” Morgan said.
Orrick nodded eagerly. “Now… take it.”
Morgan looked at him. “Take it?”
“Yes, Morgan. You have to be strong to be with your mother. This is the only way to be stronger. Take her energy. She’s not using it.”
Morgan looked at the girl, who seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. She seemed almost like Ris had the night Kellen had taken energy from her, like the petite brunette from tonight. Morgan wondered if that was the case here or whether she was simply being Pushed, convinced to sit there.
“I can’t,” Morgan said.
“You can,” Orrick insisted.
“No, I can’t.” Morgan turned to him. “It’s just… it’s not right.”
“I thought you wanted to be with your mother,” Orrick said quietly, sadly.
“I do,” Morgan said. “But… how can I trust you? You could just be lying to me—telling me what I want to hear. You probably don’t even know her, do you?”
“I most certainly do.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Of course.”
Morgan stared at him. “Wait—you know? Where is she?”
“Nice try,” Orrick said quietly. “She is safe. Where do you think she’s been all this time? She’s been with us.”
Morgan shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. You said she didn’t want to be with the Veneret. You said she left. Why would she come back? Why would she leave me?”
“Do this, and she’ll be able to tell you herself.”
Morgan just stared at Orrick for a moment. She attempted to discern whether or not he was telling the truth but found she couldn’t break through his exterior feelings. She couldn’t get to the truth beyond. She’d have to take him at his word.
She turned to the girl, who still sat, staring blankly ahead. I can do this, Morgan told herself. She had to. If she wanted to see her mother, she had to. But, if it was true that her mother had been hiding out with the Veneret all these years, then why should Morgan want to see her? If Chelsea left of her own volition, she clearly hadn’t wanted to be with Morgan. So why should Morgan do this now?
“No,” she said quietly.
She felt Orrick start behind his desk. “What?”
Morgan turned to face him. “No. I won’t do it.”
In an instant, Orrick’s face changed. He no longer had an air of pleasantness around his features; instead, something about him seemed to harden. “You have to,” he intoned quietly.
Morgan shook her head. “No, I don’t. I won’t.”
“You will.”
Suddenly, Morgan felt almost as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Blackness tinged her peripheral vision momentarily as she turned back toward the girl seated before her. From a back corner of her mind, she watched as she kneeled down in front of the girl, as she took the girl’s hands in her own.
From the back corner of her mind she found herself in, she knew what was about to happen. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she knew that she would reach forward into the girl’s mind, she would feel the girl’s energy, she would take hold of it, take possession of it. She knew it, but she found she couldn’t accept it. She didn’t want to do it. She felt like she should; nearly every fiber of her being wanted her to, but a small part of her resisted.
She listened to the small part. It felt more true, more like her. And she fought.
She felt anger flare up in Orrick. “Morgan,” he said warningly. “Give in.”
Morgan felt her hands grip the girl’s harder, but she managed to say, “No.”
“Morgan,” Orrick said again, his voice tight. “Do as I say.”
Unbidden, Morgan felt her mind taking hold of the girl’s energy. She knew what would come next and focused her energy on forestalling the inevitable. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she managed to say between clenched teeth. “You’ve got no right to tell me what to do.”
“I have every right,” Orrick said in the same tight, pained voice. “I’m your father.”
The concentration Morgan was holding shattered as Orrick’s words registered. She turned her head toward Orrick, and he took the opportunity to push his will further into her mind. Morgan sensed herself reaching farther into the girl’s mind, tugging at the girl’s energy as if trying to pull it loose. It was unavoidable that it would happen now; Morgan couldn’t muster the will to fight. And suddenly, she didn’t want to. The part of her that was still in control broke and she knew what would come next: she would take that girl’s energy. She wanted it.
Just then a commotion in the room jarred Orrick, jarred Morgan. Morgan felt herself filling her mind again—Orrick’s oppressive presence left her as he turned his attention toward the elevator.
Releasing the girl’s hands, Morgan stood and turned to see what was going on behind her. She saw Wen followed by two people in ski masks running into the room. Morgan’s first thought was that this was an odd place for a robbery, but she did not have much time to reflect because the new arrivals were running toward her. Orrick moved to position himself in front of Morgan, between her and the people headed for her. It was then that the last minute’s happenings became clear to her. Orrick’s assertion.
Anger flared up in Morgan. She grabbed Orrick by his shoulder and spun him around to face her. She barely had time to register the s
hock on his face before she began speaking. “You’re not my father! How dare you say that!”
“Morgan, I wouldn’t lie to you,” Orrick said calmly. “Not about something like this.”
Morgan couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It couldn’t be true. Her father was Dylan Abbey, the man who had raised her mostly on his own, the man who had loved her since she was born. And now this man was trying to claim that title? Morgan felt the rage bubbling hot within her, felt the pounding of her heart, heard the rushing in her ears. She focused the fury at Orrick, at his mind, pushing through the barriers he kept up to keep others out. She knew there was one place he couldn’t lie to her. She would pull the truth from his mind.
Something solid collided with Morgan’s shoulder and she felt herself being propelled across the room. She slammed into the window to her left so hard that she heard it splinter, felt the rough cracks against her shoulder, her back. Her feet were inches from the ground. When she looked for her assailant, she saw Kellen standing before her, his arm outstretched toward her, his hand out as if holding her in place. He hadn’t touched her; he had Moved her across the room.
There was tumult in the room beyond Kellen, but Morgan couldn’t see it. All she could see was Kellen, and all she could feel was how pliable the glass behind her felt as her body was pressed into it.
“Kellen…” she managed to say. “Don’t.”
“I have to protect him, Morgan,” Kellen said, his voice strained. “You attacked him.”
“Did you see what he was making me do? Did you hear his lies? He’s not a good man, Kellen.” Morgan gasped as her body pressed ever more steadily into the glass behind her—glass that now felt more like plastic, conforming to the shape of her back.
“How can you say that? Everything he’s done has been for you.”
Morgan opened her mouth to say something, but fear stilled her tongue. Instead, she thrust her emotions forward—her fear, her rage, and the feeling of betrayal she felt toward Kellen himself. And for a split second, she swore she saw a relenting in his eyes.
And then she was falling.
A split second later, she landed, crumpled, on the office floor, and there was a person at her side, tugging on her arm. “Morgan, get up. We have to go.”
Morgan heard the urgency in the female voice—and something else, something almost familiar. Her face was obscured behind the ski mask, so she couldn’t identify the speaker. But the familiarity was enough for her. Morgan struggled to her feet and allowed the woman at her side to lead her over to the elevator. As she went, she caught sight of Orrick, Tesin, and Kellen pinned up against an interior wall seemingly by an invisible hand. Before them stood the second ski mask-wearing person, one arm outstretched toward them the way Kellen’s had been toward her moments earlier, the other arm clutching Wen by the shoulder.
The woman leading Morgan hit the elevator button and the doors slid soundlessly open. She whistled as she ushered Morgan into the elevator, and they were quickly joined by Wen and the other person. The doors slid closed behind them and Wen jabbed at a button. The elevator began its descent.
Morgan turned to Wen. “What the hell just happened?”
“No time for that now,” Wen said as the elevator gave a slight jolt and the doors slid open again. “We still have to escape.”
The woman who had spoken to Morgan earlier pressed a hand to the small of Morgan’s back and guided her out of the elevator. Standing in the empty corridor before them was Corbin, looking both wild-eyed and bewildered.
When Corbin saw Morgan, his face relaxed. “Morgan, I was so worried—”
“Let’s get moving,” said the second ski-masked individual, a male. Morgan was convinced there was something familiar about his voice as well, but she had no time to think about it before the group was moving down the hallway toward the stairwell. But instead of descending when they arrived at the stairs, the masked man led them upward.
Morgan looked at Wen. “I thought we were escaping?”
Wen didn’t answer. The man in the lead reached a door at the very top of the steps that read “Roof Access.” Wen pushed to the front of the group and slid a pass card through the reader. The lights flashed green and Wen led the way out onto the roof.
Corbin looked around. “What, are we waiting on a helicopter or something?”
The masked man shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. “No. Now we jump.”
“Jump?” Morgan demanded. “Are you insane?”
The masked woman touched Morgan’s shoulder. “We’re not jumping out to the street, we’re jumping to the roof of the next building.” She pointed at the rooftop to their right.
Morgan and Corbin inched toward the side of the roof to get a better look at the next building over. It was several stories shorter than the one they were on, and it was dozens—perhaps hundreds—of feet away. Morgan knew without a doubt that she could not make the jump.
Corbin seemed to be having the same thoughts. “We can’t jump that far.”
“And you won’t have to,” said the man with the familiar voice. “Together, we can focus our abilities and use them to get us across to that rooftop.”
“Is that even possible?” Corbin asked.
“They’re going to be here soon,” the woman said suddenly. “We’ve got to go now, or they’ll catch us.”
The man turned his attention toward Morgan. As he did so, he removed his ski mask. And of all the things that had happened so far that night, this one shocked Morgan the most: the man behind the mask was Mr. Kment.
“Mr. K?” she asked incredulously.
“I know you’ve got questions right now, Morgan, and I’ll answer them, but first I have to get you safe.” He put his hands on Morgan’s shoulders and looked directly into her eyes as he spoke. “If you’ve ever trusted me, Morgan, trust me now. We have to jump.”
Slowly, Morgan nodded. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she was certain Mr. K wasn’t lying to her, and she was certain his plan would work. “Okay.”
Mr. K nodded, too, and he took Morgan’s hand in his. “Everybody, join hands, and focus on us landing on that roof.”
“Focus on the roof,” Corbin muttered, sounding completely disbelieving.
“You’re strong right now, Corbin,” said the woman. “Clear your mind and focus on the roof.”
Morgan felt as Corbin’s energy, which had been rather unfocused since the incident at the Daily Grind, centered and redirected.
“Thank you, Ellie,” Mr. K said to the masked woman. Then he led the group so they were standing a few yards from the roof’s edge. “Now, I don’t mean to rush anyone, but we really need to go. So, on the count of three, we’ll run for it and jump. One… two… three—”
Morgan didn’t allow herself to think as she began running. She focused only on the movements of her body, of the roof in front of them. She couldn’t think of the impossibility of the task, only of the possibility that they would actually be able to do it. And as they all jumped, Morgan felt a force like wind pushing them up, propelling them over. She watched as they passed over the headlights on the street below, as the neighboring roof came closer and closer. And then they were there, safe on the other side.
Before Morgan even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, they were on the move again. Mr. K pulled them toward a doorway on the roof. As they approached, the door opened and Morgan’s first thought was that somehow Orrick had already sent someone to catch them.
Mr. K seemed to sense her trepidation, because he called, “It’s okay—he’s with us.”
Morgan just nodded as they approached the door. The group all released each other’s hands and started down the stairs. Mr. K led them through the first doorway they came to and then to the nearest elevator. When they boarded the elevator, Morgan saw the still-masked woman was standing beside her.
“Miss Scotford, I presume,” Morgan said.
Ellie Scotford removed her mask and smiled. “Hey, Morgan.”
/> Morgan had a thousand questions to ask, but the only one that came out was, “So… where to?”