32
Julia
Istep into the light and stare at the monster in front of me. As soon as he spots me, the gun in William’s hand swings toward me. I step forward and smile sweetly.
Without lifting a finger I glare at the flickering light above until it pops and goes out, blanketing us in darkness.
“You’re right,” I say. “I’m not normal. I am not ordinary.” I step quietly to the left. “I’m extraordinary. And I am loved.”
The gun goes off but I’ve moved.
“You are nothing,” I say in the ringing silence after the shot.
Like I did all those times I practiced with Nathaniel in the lab, I aim and send a pulse of hot light at my target, blasting the gun out of William’s hand. I hear the metal skid across the stones.
“Neat trick,” he says. His voice is still irritatingly calm. “But you’re forgetting something.”
I step closer to him, reaching deep, searching for the light within me.
“There’s a reason I brought you here. There’s no light. No sun. No stars to pull from. The walls are lined with lead.”
The light in me stutters to a stop at his words.
“I know how your powers work better than you do,” he spits out. “You never wanted to explore your full capability. You truly could have gone off like a bomb—that wasn’t a lie. You have so much power, but you wasted it all being afraid. And now you’re going to die like you should have a long time ago. I bet you already feel your power draining.”
As he speaks, my worst fears are realized. There is nothing growing in me. The little light I had seems to be gone after I blew away his gun. I am powerless, like a candle snuffed out.
His hand snaps around my throat at my hesitation, squeezing. The pain is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. My throat is like a paper straw under his grip. No matter what, a man can wield his size like a weapon. He shoves me against the mountain wall. My eyes feel like they are bulging out of my head. The air won’t come. I scratch and kick and fight but my strength is nothing compared to his. His free arm is pressed across my breastbone, crushing my chest.
A new fear spreads through me. I cannot stop him. He will win.
No.
This isn’t right. Hecannotwin. Nathaniel and Lincoln will not remain under his thumb. This is a final attempt from a desperate man who knows he’s losing.
I calm myself and think of Nathaniel and the electromagnetic spectrum. Light waves. Energy waves. It’s all connected. It’s always there.
My knee slams up at the same time I bring my hands up to break his grip on me.
“You’re wrong. You don’t know more about my body than I do.” My voice is raspy from the effort to speak. “I can pull from anywhere. Anything.”
Will’s hands are on his knees, wincing with every gasp. I must have hit him where Lincoln already bruised him. He glares up at me.
“For example, did you know a lot of granite has veins of naturally occurring radioactive elements? Your incredible son taught me that.” He watches me warily as I straighten. “This whole mountain is filled with it.” I close my eyes and reach for the energy within the rock. “I feel it all around us right now.”
I visualize Nathaniel. I think of the way he looked at me while holding me. His stolen glances during meetings. I think of his love for the team and his devotion to Lincoln that I now share. I think of the Davies and the love poured into their garden. I think of the love Kate has for her daughter. I think of all the forms of caring. It’s all love. It is everywhere. Love is a type of energy.
I love and I am loved. That’s what makes me strong.
William is nothing more than a weak and scared little man.
Light waves of every size and strength surround me, some the normal eye can’t see. Colors and shapes and dimensions I never let myself embrace because I was too afraid swirl around me. I held back before, but now I lean fully into my powers. I see it all. The energy is everywhere. We are all connected.
I think of all the world could be. All the life I can bring to it. I imagine the love waiting for me.
Deeper still, I collect. I focus on the energy flowing into my body. It feels like I’m stepping into a warm pool, the gentle heat starting at my toes and spreading up my legs.
Light starts to fill the room around us. The confident smirk slides off Will’s face and his eyes go wild with fear. The same fear that all the people he has hurt have felt.
