AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She staggered a little and dug her nails into his jacket. She’d been drinking—a lot. “Ohmigod, I told Tommy we should get a video. Chandler thinks she’s the shit all of a sudden, but everybody knows the truth about her—”
Chris shoved her away from him, making her sit down hard on the bleacher seat. “What are they doing, Monica?”
She giggled again. “It was Drew’s idea, but it’s gonna be epic—”
He grabbed her arm. “What are they doing?”
She hiccupped and looked at his hand. “Ow, Chris ...”
God, what did it matter? They could be hurting her right now.
What if they’d gotten her into a car?
He turned on his heel and made for the door. What would Drew have said to get her outside? Why would she trust that ass**le?
Then again, Becca had a core of kindness—no, of empathy—behind all those walls and defenses. Chris was living proof of that.
If that guy hurt her—if he touched her—Chris would kill him.
He felt the humidity in the air, even here in the gym. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as rain or mist, but it was enough to let power flicker beneath his skin.
He and his brothers were already marked for death. What was the worst that could happen?
He wished he could spot the twins. They were out in the crowd somewhere—the humidity told him that much. But it wasn’t enough to send power through the room, to throw up a flag of warning.
He couldn’t waste time looking. There were at least five hundred kids in the gym.
A hand closed on his arm. “I told you to leave her alone.”
Hunter. They were closer to the door; Chris could feel a storm brewing outside. “Yeah, alone isn’t what she needs right now.”
“I think Becca can take care of herself.”
“I bet she’ll thank you for that.” All he needed was someone to open the door. Just one little surge of water in the air. Maybe it was even starting to rain. He gave Hunter a little shove. “Get your goddamn hands off me.”
Hunter held fast. Bastard was strong. “Or what?”
The door opened and some laughing girls poured through. It wasn’t raining, but misting. Chris could see it. Better, he could feel it. He rallied the moisture in the air, calling it to him, training it on Hunter. Maybe it was his fury, maybe it was the tension of the last few weeks, but this power felt good. Strong. Focused. Like millions of tiny ice daggers, too small to see.
With this much clarity, Chris was almost afraid to turn it loose.
Something like shock flickered in Hunter’s expression. “Water,” he said.
Chris almost lost control right there. For all the moisture in the room, he suddenly had to wet his lips to speak. “What?”
Hunter was staring at him, his eyes too wide, his breathing too quick. “You’re Water. But then—there’s not only one.” He didn’t look frightened—he looked stunned. Like life had just yanked the rug out from under him.
Chris understood the feeling. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Chris.” Nick came up beside him—of course, he’d probably felt the power in the air. “What’s going on?”
Hunter glanced up at him, and Chris watched something settle in the other boy’s face. Not anger. More like ... resolve. “Now I get it,” said Hunter. He let go of Chris’s arm and made to move away.
“Wait a minute.” Chris grabbed him.
And wham. All that power hit Chris right in the face, and knocked him back. It was like taking a snowball to the face. A frozen one. Backed by a baseball bat.
He shook his head to clear it, feeling like his brain was rattling around inside his skull. He wiped at his eyes and his fingers came away with ice crystals. He could barely feel his face.
