The Ultimate Sacrifice
Book One in the Gifted Teens Series
Talia Jager
Copyright © 2011 by Talia Jager
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
ISBN: 978-0-9836164-3-6 (eBook)
Cover design by StreetlightGraphics.com
Formatting by CyberWitch Press
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
As always, I’d like to thank my family for being loving, supportive, and helpful.
I’d also like to thank my friends who supported me throughout the book: Carine and Sheila.
Stay tuned at the end of the book for a sneak peek of Julia Crane’s Coexist: Keegan’s Chronicles.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Kasslyn.
Prologue
Mira
“Mira, you can’t let her kill anyone. Do you understand?” he asked.
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Ever!”
“I’ve got it!”
“She’ll be in grave danger if she does…we all will.”
Chapter One
Kassia
Jana stood in front of me, her hands waving wildly in my face. My gift had taken over, and I could no longer hear her screaming. Jana had never liked me; she tried everything to piss me off. She wasn’t even a student at our school, but she has dated a few of the boys here. Although she was one of the increasing number of normal humans aware of us, she had no idea what my gift was, and that I could drop her to her knees in pain.
I narrowed my eyes and focused on her. She suddenly stopped yelling at me and began to rub her temples. I could feel my temperature rise as the anger continued to build in me.
“Stop!” Mira yelled at me. “She’s insignificant! Don’t let her push your buttons!”
I whirled around. Pity that my best friend was immune to my gift. Nobody knew why this was. It wasn’t her only talent; she was also a compeller. She could tell someone what to do and that person would do it. There had been many times I wished I could have her gift instead of mine. All I had to do was wish someone to be in pain and within a minute or two, they were.
When I saw the concern in Mira’s eyes, I let up. She let out a sigh of relief and turned to Jana. “Go home, Jana. You were never here.”
“Sorry,” I muttered, ashamed that I let my gift get the best of me again.
“You know how annoying this is getting? You need better self control.”
“You sound like my counselor.”
“Maybe I should be.”
I felt like smacking her, but she’d just smack back, and she hit harder than I did.
We got in the car and took the two-lane road back to campus, which was nestled in the mountains in northern California. I glanced out the window at the towering trees on both sides of us. The moon had just peeked over the tops of the trees, lighting the way home.
After twenty minutes, the trees thinned out and before us stood Glendale Institute, one of two gifted schools in the country. Glendale was made up of a cluster of buildings enclosed by lush forests.
We parked in the parking lot and hiked up towards the courtyard. Directly across from the parking lot was a training field. As we entered the courtyard, there were dorms on our left and right, one for girls, one for boys. Straight ahead were the faculty quarters, dining hall, and learning center.
Each L shaped dorm had two wings. The longer side housed the high school aged students, and the shorter side was for the middle school students. When we walked into the room we shared, she told me, “Go to bed.”
“You don’t need to mother me.”
“Well, someone does and since nobody else is stepping up to the plate, I kind of have to.”
“What’s your deal?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I happened to be with someone when you went all mental.”
Oh. That’s what this was about. “You met a guy?”
“Yeah and you had to go and ruin it.”
Guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry, Mira.”
Her face relaxed a little. “I know.”
“I didn’t mean to get so mad. She just…infuriates me.” I got mad just thinking about the little tramp.
“You have to learn how to ignore some things.”
I stuck out my tongue. “Pbbbbbt.”
“Do you know what could happen if you actually hurt someone?” she asked, raising her voice.
I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “I’d feel good?”
“No Kassia. You’d get in trouble. They’d punish you. And then they’d punish me for not stopping you.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll do better.”
“You said that last time.”
“Oh yeah. But, that guy deserved it!”
She guffawed. “Yeah he did.” She broke into a grin and we both collapsed on the floor laughing.
* * *
I watched Mira as she slept, wishing I could sleep like she did. The nightmares usually woke me up. At first, it was only once in a while, but now it was every night. Mira’s long, ash blonde hair was spread all over her pillow. Her thin lips twitched now and then. She was my protector, although I think she spent most of her time protecting other people from me.
Sometimes I felt like I was broken. I had this rare gift, but instead of using it to do good, I used it for the wrong reasons. There have only been ten of us documented in history. Ten mind-blowers. Some were locked up because nobody could control them. Others were killed for the same reason. A few were able to control their gifts. And then there was me. I had Mira.
All of the students here at Glendale Institute had gifts. Some gifts—like mine—were only supposed to be used in emergencies. However, with my short temper, I don’t think the gods planned that one out real well.
How then did Mira get to me so fast? I was betting on Noe. She was a predictor and could see things that haven’t happened yet. She had probably called Mira and tipped her off.
As dawn approached and the sky brightened with yellows and oranges, I snuck back in bed, quietly pulled the covers up over my head, and pretended to sleep. One minute later, the alarm clock went off. I heard Mira groan and hit the nightstand as her hand searched for the off button. Finally, the alarm stopped.
“Kassia, time to get up.” She was shaking me.
I moaned. “Okay.”
“We can get to the bathroom before anyone else if you hurry.”
Slowly, I emerged from under the covers, rubbed my eyes, and yawned. It was some of my best acting yet. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
Mira shot me a look and then smiled. We headed down to the bathroom we shared with the two other girls in the hall. I went straight to one of the showers and turned the water up hot.
A few minutes later, Mira called out for me. “Did you fall asleep in there?”
“No, I fell in the drain.”
“Funny,” she said, her voice droll.
I sighed and turned the shower off. I towel-dried my hair and body and slipped on my t-shirt and shorts again. I brushed my teeth while we were there. The rest I could do in our room.
As we were leaving, Noe and Auralee walked in. “Hey Kassia, did you leave some hot water for the rest of us?” Auralee asked. She always looked beautiful no matter what t
ime of day it was. Her strawberry blonde, pixie-like haircut required no styling at all.
I laughed. “Of course, but Mira didn’t.” Mira scowled at me. “Oh lighten up.” I elbowed her.
“Not before noon,” she mumbled.
Back in our room, I unwrapped my hair and stood in front of the mirror for a long time. Same old dark auburn hair, glaring white skin. At least I didn’t have pimples. They wouldn’t dare show themselves. “Were you expecting something different?” Mira asked, standing next to me. I was about half an inch taller, and a few pounds heavier.
“No.” I couldn’t tell her about my nightmares, about how sometimes I’d change into something awful in them. She’d worry too much. Besides, they were just nightmares.
I fumbled around the dresser for my eye shadow and lipstick—a light purple that brought out my eyes. Mira chose green eye shadow and a light pink lipstick. Her eyes would most likely be categorized as hazel, but when you looked closer, you would see they were a blue-green, with specs of gold and brown floating in them. “Purple again?”
“Violet,” I corrected.
“Whatever.”
“It matches.” I smiled smugly. My eyes were truly a light violet color. Being curious, I once did some research and found that violet eyes were rare to both the gifted and regular humans.
I pulled on my school sweatshirt, which was a little bit long in the arms, just the way I liked it. I always bought my long-sleeved shirts long enough to cover at least half of my hands.
“Ready for breakfast?” Mira asked.
“Yeah.”
Chapter Two
We headed out the door and down to the dining hall. “Incoming,” I whispered.
Mira didn’t look up; she knew exactly what I meant. “Hi Zane. How are you this morning?” She didn’t miss a beat.
Zane turned beet red. “Hi Mira. You look nice today.”
I stifled a giggle.
Mira looked up at him meeting his eyes. “Thanks Zane.”
He ran a hand through his short brown hair. His nose was a little too long and pointy for his face. His dark eyes darted back and forth between Mira and me. “Is she… in a good mood today?” He tried to whisper.
“I’m fine, Zane. You may sit and talk with the lovely Mira. I won’t hurt anyone right now.”
He turned bright red again. “Sorry Kassia.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s fine, Zane, stop apologizing. I’m going to get some food.”
Mira nodded and sat down. Zane sat down across from her. He has had a crush on her since they had gotten here. Mira had told me a few times if he toughened up a little bit, she would be all over him. I contemplated telling him that, but refrained so Mira wouldn’t hate me.
I jumped in at the end of the line and grabbed two of everything for breakfast. “Hey Kassia.” I looked behind me.
“Hey Lux.” She was a late bloomer. Her gift showed up when she hit fifteen instead of about ten like the rest of us.
In the gifted world, parents send their kids to one of the institutes to learn how to manage their gifts and learn their destiny. Most of the gifts manifested around a child’s tenth birthday. Occasionally there was a late bloomer, like Lux, or a gift that showed up early. Since it’s hard to keep our gifts secret, usually two gifted people will marry. Nobody has ever known of two gifted parents not having a child that wasn’t gifted. If one parent is not gifted, the child may or may not be gifted.
“Good morning, Kassia!” Bren yelled and waved from across the cafeteria. I smiled back, not really wanting to chat with her. Being a mind-blower had its downsides. Sometimes it was hard to tell if someone liked me for who I was or just because they were scared I’d hurt them if they weren’t nice to me.
Some kids got especially nervous when Mira wasn’t close by. It was actually quite funny because I knew the school had a fail safe. There were panic buttons placed around the school. If a situation spun out of control and someone couldn’t control themselves, a panic button was pushed. This set off an alarm and a light started flashing alerting everyone where the situation was.
The closest adult would take down the target. Literally. They had a special medication they would inject with a high-pressure jet injector that would knock someone out.
The rules were very clear. Don’t interfere with each other’s gifts unless absolutely necessary. Don’t force people to use their gifts. Don’t use your gifts for malicious purposes. Don’t hurt people — emotionally or physically. Most of the gifts or powers we possessed weren’t hurtful, but every now and then there was someone like me.
I made my way back to the table where Mira and Zane sat. He was hanging on every word she said. I plopped down in the seat next to Mira. “Here,” I said, handing her the food.
“Thanks.”
A few minutes later, Auralee showed up, dressed in her normal capris and graphic t-shirt. Today, her t-shirt read: ‘It is what it is’. Sitting down across from me, she ran her hand up the bare nape of her neck and rested in on top of her head the way she always did when she was thinking. The short length of her hair showed off her delicate features perfectly. I wished being beautiful came that easy to me.
Noe appeared in her usual bright and colorful long skirt and blouse. She sat down next to Auralee, flipping her long, brown hair behind her, out of the way. While Auralee had a heart shaped face and a pale complexion, Noe had an oval shaped face and was darker.
We chatted about normal stuff until the bell rang. The classes I had the first half of the day were academic classes like math, science, social studies, and English. The second half of the day was about our gifts and talents. One class was about our history, another about how to use our gifts, and the last was a physical education class that included martial arts or yoga.
Mira was in every one of my classes. Between science and social studies, I made her go to the bathroom with me. “I need to reapply my make-up,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes, but took out a brush and smoothed out her long, shimmering hair. “Your make-up is fine.”
I touched up my eye shadow and lipstick. “Now it is.” I kissed the mirror leaving behind a lipstick print and skipped out of the bathroom ahead of her. The hallways were empty. If we didn’t hurry, we’d be late.
I grabbed Mira’s hand and we rushed into our next class, social studies, making it in the door just as the bell rang. Our teacher, Mr. Raymond, gave us an annoyed look. “Glad you girls could make it in time.”
We smiled innocently at him and took our seats in the back of the room. Mr. Raymond had us take out our textbooks and follow along as he taught about some old war. My mind wandered, as did my eyes. I found myself staring out the window thinking of my parents.
They had left me here at the school years ago when my gift had showed up. I had only seen them a couple times since, the last time being over three years ago. I hadn’t even heard from them. I knew it was my fault. They probably hadn’t wanted anything to do with a monster like me, a gifted girl who could cause pain with her mind. I didn’t blame them for not wanting to be around me, but it still hurt.
“Miss Lagos, would you care to answer the question?” Mr. Raymond asked.
Uh-oh. “I’m sorry, Mr. Raymond. I didn’t hear the question.” I looked at him sheepishly, hoping the apology would keep me out of trouble.
He frowned. “Please pay attention, Miss Lagos.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Focusing on schoolwork had always been a problem for me. It bored me. Who cared about Algebra and who did what in some war? I kept my eyes on the teacher, forcing myself to pay attention and not daydream. The only thing I could focus on completely was my gift. When my emotions were high, it was very hard for me to snap out of it.
Social studies was our last academic class of the day. We would go to lunch next and then to our gifted and talented classes. Those weren’t quite as boring as the classes we had the first half of the day. I only had two gifted classes before I had to go
to therapy. My last class of the day wasn’t really a class; it was a one-on-one with a counselor, Dr. Frost. Mira went to the physical class while I was in therapy.
Dr. Frost was a middle-aged lady with greying hair and big brown eyes. Her high forehead would wrinkle when she was concerned. “I hear you had a little slip-up, Kassia.”
Figures that would have gotten around. “I guess.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Not particularly.”
Her brows pulled together. “Kassia, we need to figure out how to help you and to do that, you need to talk about what happened.”
I sighed. “It was Jana.”
“Again.”
“I don’t like that girl.”
“I know. What did she do this time?”
“She was just pushing my buttons. I don’t even know how it started.”
“Something must have made you angry.”
I remembered bits and pieces. “She made some remark about me being a bitch because I wouldn’t give her brother the time of day. Of course, she didn’t stop there. She made some comments about Finn liking her now.”
Finn was my ex-boyfriend. I had dated him for half a year before breaking up with him. The relationship just wasn’t what I wanted. Just because I broke up with him didn’t mean I wasn’t jealous when Jana suggested that he was interested in her. I imagined he might do something like that to get back at me, even though we had parted as friends. I think Finn took a lot of crap for being the one who got dumped.
“So, which pissed you off the most?”
I scoffed. “Both. It’s not always what she says, it’s how she says it. Her holier than thou attitude.”
When she had started dating my friend, Alton, she liked me. Later on, she tried to set me up with her brother and I rejected him, which made her hate me. Finding out from Alton that we all had some sort of power made her irritated. She believed we thought we were better than regular humans. For some reason, she held it against me in particular.
“Do you think she deserves to be in pain because she annoys you?”
I had to think about that. “Sometimes.”
“Really?”
“I suppose not.”
“So, how do we get you to control your emotions better?”
“I have no idea,” I responded honestly.