23. Raegan
Chapter twenty-three
Raegan
Cibrina’s gift dissipates before her. “Good luck, everyone. Claudia and her staff, as well as Cassandra, will be ready and waiting on the quarantine floor for your arrival. Be safe, and don’t cause Aiden too much trouble.”
Aiden steps forward. “Evie, if you would.”
The dark-haired woman picks up a small clear tub from the floor and walks it to the center of the deformed circle we’ve made. She sets it back down and then taps it with a finger. One second, it’s the size of a shoe box. The next, it’s a translucent wall blocking my view of the people on the other side of the circle.
I reach out, knocking my hand against the firm plastic. Aiden had mentioned Evie’s gift in the plan, and seeing it in action did not disappoint.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dane snaps. Kellan lifts him up at the knees so he’s higher than the edge of the massive tub.
“Climb in, Rapunzel. How else were you going to get inside?”
“A fucking ladder!”
The others are already inside the tub or climbing their way in. The wall is at least ten feet high. How…?
There’s a low chuckle beside me. “I’ve got you, little one.” And then I’m airborne, shooting almost to the ceiling before gliding down to the tub in a controlled descent.
I wrap one arm around Jackson while watching the scene below. Kellan finishes dumping Dane over the side and offers his hands to Aiden so he can step on. The betting guy, Silas, is being placed in the tub by a set of vines coming out of something on the floor. The rest, aside from Evie and Reid, are already inside.
I remove my arm from Jack once we’ve landed, but I keep close. How do you prepare for something you know is going to happen but have no reference for?
Kellan and Dane move to stand with us. Kell rubs the back of his head while his other hand rests on his hip. “Don’t worry about the shrinking. She’s done that to me a few times. You won’t even notice it. It’s the teleportation that sucks.”
Great.
The tub jolts beneath us, and I stumble. Jackson tucks me against him as everything moves back and forth, up and down, like we’re on a ship on the rough seas. Dane and Kellan are falling this way and that, catching themselves before they wind up on their hands and knees, but nowhere near stable like Jack’s been keeping me.
I look up, and Evie’s face fills my view as she peers down at us like a giant with her box of toys. What’s most disconcerting is the fact that she’s keeping us relatively stable, but the slightest movement she makes has a massive impact on us in the tub.
“Ready?” Reid’s stoic voice booms.
Silas is lying down like a starfish. I can’t tell if that’s in preparation for the teleport or to avoid falling from the tub’s movement. Harvey looks like a newborn foal on his shaking hands and knees, while the guy that’s still eating is sitting in one of the corners with his legs crossed. Aiden’s leaning a hand against one wall, looking like he’s got the hang of balance, and Tinsley—with her gift of speed—is making a mockery of everyone else with her quick adjustments.
“Ready,” Evie replies, her voice just as loud.
My stomach drops as the world tilts, but then I blink and the training room has disappeared. Seagulls screech piercingly overhead. The smell of salt is thick, coating my tongue and clogging my lungs.
“That wasn’t so bad at this size,” Kellan remarks almost excitedly.
Dane coughs, covering his nose and grumbling, “Traveling in the tub probably helped, too. But being small makes everything else suck.”
I grit my teeth, slapping my hand over my mouth as my stomach roils from the overwhelming smell and motion sickness combined. That, and the nauseating reminders of where I’d been not long ago.
The beach.
Another island.
Panic jolts through my muscles like electricity, seizing my body with fear.
Fuck. Keep it together. If I mess this up now, Aiden won’t let me come again.
Jackson pulls my face into him, his arms wrapping around me tight. I can’t see anything but the black of his hoodie. The smell of dead leaves and crisp air battles for space in my lungs. My hands cling to the fabric. I take another breath of him. And another. Each one pushing the ocean air out and letting him in.
Then it’s gone completely, and I sigh in relief.
“You alright, beautiful?”
“Rae! Was it the teleporting?”
Jack releases me, and I turn to face Kellan and Dane while keeping one arm linked to him like a lifeline. “I’m fine.” I realize my senses are no longer being overwhelmed, and when I scan the tub, we’re the only ones still in it. Well, us and Aiden who’s walking over.
“What happened?” he asks.
“Nothing. Just a bit woozy from the trip,” I lie, not wanting to ruin the plan.
Aiden’s eyes narrow.
Please don’t call me out on it, for once.
“We need to hurry out of here and start the mission before we’re seen. I can have Evie shrink you back down, and you can ride in my pocket if you’re not up for this.” Aiden holds his hand out to me, and I stare at it.
What?!
“If anyone’s going to carry a miniature Raegan around, it should be me,” Kellan argues. “You’re on team offense, Aiden. And same goes for Dane. She’ll be safer with me.”
“What?! No miniature Raegan. I’m not riding in anyone’s pocket!” I shout, turning to Jackson. He tilts his head to the side, and a small smile curls on his lips as he considers that idea as well. “No.” I point my finger at him to make sure he’s just as clear as the others. “Just get us out of this tub before we all get caught because of us .”
Wouldn’t that be dumb? I asked for these missions, Aiden planned them, and then it all falls apart because of us?
Thankfully, the others agree because Jackson takes Aiden and me out while Kellan gets Dane and then himself over the edge.
Evie taps the side of the tub, and it immediately reverts to its smaller size.
We’ve been free from our island for five years.
For five years, GE continued to grow and kidnap and brainwash.
Now, at last, we’re really fighting back.
We’re going to save people like us.
It’s the beginning of the end of GE.
Whether it’s luck or good guessing, the building Aiden directs us to check first holds all the imprisoned gifted. Dane hacks into their system from wherever Aiden’s group is, and all the locked doors spring open at once.
“Evie and Tinsley, get them out and direct them to the lobby. Jack and Raegan, load them in the tub there. Reid, you and I are going to clear the building,” Kellan directs like a born leader. I’m used to him goofing around or breaking rules. Seeing him take charge like this…
He catches me staring and waggles his eyebrows.
Nope. Same old Kell.
I roll my eyes and follow Jackson down the stairs to the lobby. Once we confirm the kids are here, Evie sets up the tub, so all we have to do is wait. Jack stands next to the tub while I position myself at the stairwell.
It isn’t long before a flurry of steps pound down the stairs. The first one to see me as they turn the corner for the last flight falters. She looks to be in her young teens, with a black bob haircut and glasses.
“It’s okay. This way. We’re going to get you guys out of here. You’re safe now.” My voice is calm and soft. Between that and my words, she doesn’t hesitate any longer and barrels through the open doorway. Once she passes through, the rest follow without question. I continue to encourage them down the stairs, pointing to Jackson. “Everyone’s going in that giant container, and it’ll take us home. He’ll help you get in it; just listen to him.”
Jackson uses his gift to send two to three kids in at a time, lifting them by air and setting them down on the other side. I wonder if it feels like lifting weights. Up. And down. Up. And down.
The last of the crowd of kids and teens piles through the door, but one hangs back in the stairwell. I peek inside, trying to get a good look at them. “It’s okay. We’re going to take everyone somewhere safe,” I repeat again, in case they didn’t hear me over the noise of the others before.
The young girl shyly steps forward into the dim lighting. She has medium-length brown hair and dark eyes, and she’s dressed in a frilly princess nightdress. She stares at me with big, round eyes.
“It’s okay,” I try again. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’re safe now.”
Calm, soothing voice. Nice smile. I’m sure I’m doing this right, but there’s something about the way she’s looking at me that sets my teeth on edge. I’ve never met this girl before, so why…?
“Are you taking us home? I’m…I’m not better yet.”
Her voice makes my heart skip a beat.
I know that voice.
Squinting past the poor lighting, I get a better look at her face and see the fear in her eyes. She’s not afraid of us being caught. She’s afraid of me .
“Mallory?”
The girl tenses, squeezing her hands together against her chest and then takes a step backward. “N-no.” She lifts some of her hair in front of her, and then tears erupt from her eyes. Her hair shifts back to blonde the moment she releases a wail that echoes through the stairwell.
I lunge forward in an attempt to cover her mouth. She must take it as an attack because she screams louder and runs away, but she runs into a corner of the stairwell and traps herself instead.
“Mallory! Mallory!” I whisper sharply to get her attention. I creep forward, palms outstretched so she can see them. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please, stop screaming and crying. You’ll wake the bad people.” Hopefully, Kellan and Reid have taken care of everyone else in this building, but the fact that they aren’t here yet says otherwise.
Mallory curls into a ball in the concrete corner. Her tears are streaming down her face as she sniffles and hiccups, biting her lip to keep quiet, but the fear is still there as she looks at me.
Boots thump behind me. Jackson stops next to me, his head cocked to the side as he regards the girl. “Do you know her?”
Shame burns in my chest with the memory of what I’d done for her. And then in front of her. It wants to put the blame on her. Tell everyone that all the bad things I did for Gordon this time around were her fault. I thought I’d been saving her, but I was the fool being played.
It would be so easy to tell Jackson that version of the story. It might absolve me of the guilt that’s been eating me up inside.
So easy.
No .
I don’t make choices based on whether they’re easy or not. I can’t shift the blame to her. She’s six . A child. I’m the adult. It was my gift. My training with Gordon. My choice.
Jack looks my way, and I realize I haven’t answered him yet.
“Yes.”
“She’s scared of you,” he comments mildly. It’s not a question. He’s not asking if that’s the case because he can see it clearly. The reason she’s crying and trembling in that corner is because of me.
“She is,” I agree anyway.
He nods and squats within reach of her. I tense, afraid that she’ll scream at the scary man, and prepare to intervene to give her some space.
But she doesn’t cry.
She…smiles?
Jackson must be whispering something to her because she nods and wipes snot from her nose with the back of her hand. He holds his hand out, and there’s a piece of candy sitting in the center of his palm.
Where did that come from? Does he carry candy on him all the time, or did he bring it specifically for this mission?
Mallory takes the candy and gives him another short nod. Jackson turns his back to her, still squatting, and she wraps her arms around his neck. Jack’s arms loop around her legs, and then he stands.
What in the actual fuck?
Jackson smirks at me and motions with his head to follow.
I do, only because I want to know what the hell is happening and how he made that terrified girl smile at him.
Fully grown Guild members? Terrified of him.
But children? Apparently, not a problem.
Jack jumps at the tub, and they fly over the edge before he touches inside. He kneels for her to dismount, but I can’t hear anything they’re saying this time because all the other kids are chiming in about that being unfair or cool.
Another batch of kids clamor down the stairs, and I hurry back to my post to guide them to Jack. It’s a smaller group this time. After a dozen or so kids, Tinsley and Evie follow behind them.
“That’s everyone,” Evie announces, stopping with me at the door. Her gaze slides past me to Jackson, then jumps back to me. “Have Reid and Kellan come back yet?”
“I’ll go find him!” Tinsley shouts. My mouth opens to stop her, but she’s gone in a flash with her super speed.
Evie sighs, but her smile returns by the time she faces me again. “Everything go smoothly down here? It looks like they’re all in.”
I follow her stare to the tub. There aren’t any other kids milling about, and Jackson’s leaning against a nearby wall with one foot kicked back and his hands in his hoodie pocket.
“Yeah, we’re good,” I answer.
“—waste…dammit!” Kellan’s voice appears mid-sentence, then pauses and shifts to a curse when he drops to a knee to catch himself. He glares at Reid, who’s standing next to him while Tinsley’s arms are wrapped around his neck. “We weren’t that far away and could have walked.”
“Don’t get mad, big grumpy dragon,” Tinsley teases with a smile. “This was faster.” She turns her face to Reid’s. “Is it time now? Are we going back? If it is, can you put me in that big plastic box?”
Reid nods, completely unfazed by her excitable energy, and teleports them both inside the tub. She squeezes him in a hug and lets go. Reid reappears in front of us.
Kellan growls, “Aiden’s going to kill you if you waste your gift and can’t get us back.”
Reid’s blue eyes slash to Kellan. “I know my limits,” he states indifferently. His stare lands on me next, holding my gaze long enough that I’m positive he’s going to say something, and then breaks away at the last second to Evie. “Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s get them back.” Evie shrinks the tub full of children and Tinsley, lifting them in one arm and holding Reid with the other.
Reid faces me. “We’ll be right back.” Then they disappear.
“The fuck was that all about?” Kellan mutters. “Jack, call Aiden. If they’re all done, they should meet us here before they get back so we can get out of here.”
The lobby doors fly open. I jump and call on my gift, then diffuse it when I see who it is. Silas’s arm is draped over Aiden for support as they come through first. The food guy, who is covered in blood, hobbles inside, then drops to his hands and knees once he’s far enough in. Dane comes in after him, with Harvey on his back, eyes closed.
Kellan rushes over to Aiden. “Is everyone alright? Reid and Evie just left with the kids and should be back soon.”
“They’ll need Cassandra when we get back, but they’ll live. We’ll talk training after we’re back,” Aiden answers. He lifts his head to scan the room, finding only Jack and I after Kellan, before he reassesses his own group. He looks as if he’s about to say something else, but Reid and Evie pop back to the center of the room, and it’s time for the rest of us to get back to the bunker.