Page 2 of Resolve
“Who was that?” Reid questions, though his tone is indifferent.
“The enemy.”
Something flies past the tip of the headland.
A person?
Could be from Kellan, but he should be at the base of the cliff and not up here. I focus more on the body and freeze when I notice the suit.
“Is that…” Reid trails off.
Aiden.
Realization hits me like a brick.
I won’t make it in time.
I lift my hands as if I’m holding an invisible ball and start pulling in and gathering air between them. This isn’t anything I’ve tried before, but I’m acting on instinct now to do whatever it takes to give us time. I seal it, then shoot it out at Aiden to cover his face.
It could pop when he hits the water. It might not stick to him at all.
It reaches him just before he disappears in the water.
He doesn’t come up.
There’s no time to think about whether that worked or not. I balance on the edge of the cliff, building the air needed to launch myself skyward, when a scream pierces the air and echoes in my bones. The sound of her voice—drenched in pain and fury—seizes my soul in an iron fist, and I nearly fall.
At the same time, the smell of burned wire, a sharp metallic taste that clings to the back of my throat, warns me what’s coming next.
Reid grabs my arm. “She’s with Charles. I’ll bring us there.”
“No.” Breaking his grip, I run along the cliff and stop when I see Kellan and Dane still fighting off agents. “Get them to the Guild. Then bring Cassandra to the zombie caves.”
Raegan’s gift bursts out of her as a shockwave of power. Reid stumbles back but manages to keep his balance while my gift holds me to my perch. The headland collapses to rubble, and she and Charles descend through the destruction. Red lightning arcs and ripples around her, further decimating the broken rocks to dust until they’re surrounded by a cloud of dirt and powder.
Reid vanishes, reappearing on the beach in a split second to reach the others, and then the three of them are gone.
Charles hits the ocean first, and it disperses outward and upwardlike a stone dropped in water until his back impacts with rocky and saturated sand. The sea rushes against an invisible barrier surrounding them, steam hissing and rising where it makes contact.
I sprint to the beach house and kick the already-broken door off its hinges, sending it down the rockslide where the remaining GE agent won’t spot it. The agents up here are all dead, Aiden’s slashes clearly marked in red on every body. A single bush clings to the cliff above Raegan and Charles, halfway over the edge from the headland collapse with its roots struggling to hold on. I duck behind it and crouch on the precipice to reassess.
Even though my body vibrates with the need to go to her, I keep still, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
If any one of us is going to defeat Charles, it’s her.
It’s the only win I can see for us. The only gift that can break through all his imitated powers. She’s underestimated her gift at every turn, and I think she’s finally starting to realize how powerful she is. How strong she can be, if she uses it right.
The sweltering heat radiating from them at the base of the cliff reaches me even up here, making me sweat in my hoodie. We’re losing daylight, losing time. My chances for rescuing Aiden are narrowing with every breath. I know I need to find him, but I can’t leave her with Charles. Aiden would understand.
Charles’s voice carries on the wind.
“Is this all you have?”
I fist my hand, accepting the time to beat him isn’t today.
Not yet. But soon.
He continues, “I’m going to take Dane now and kill the rest of your friends. You should thank me for a poetic ending. I’ll let you die in the same watery grave as your lover.”
