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11
“I don’t remember,” Seth admitted, arm wrapped around Nick’s shoulders. Nick, who had woken up in the park, surrounded by his worried friends. He’d rolled over and vomited on the grass, Jazz’s hand rubbing his back, Gibby holding Owen against the tree. Seth had given Nick a bottle of water to rinse his mouth out once he’d finished. He’d taken the bottle gratefully, swishing water around his mouth before spitting.
He remembered. All if it. Shards of glass just underneath his skin, embedded, working their way out. It felt as if he’d woken from a long sleep, the kind that left him more exhausted then when he’d closed his eyes.
“I don’t remember either,” Jazz said, face pale. She sat at Nick’s feet, hands on his ankles in a loose grip. He didn’t know if it was for him, or if she was trying to ground herself. Either way, he loved her for it. “She’s always been there. Anytime I think about the last four years, she’s always been part of it.”
“That’s how she wants it to be,” Owen said, hugging his knees against his chest, looking impossibly young. “Makes you think things that aren’t real. She’s doing what she’s doing because my father told her to.”
Gibby shook her head. “But why? If Burke wanted to take out Nick and Seth, why not just have her take their powers away? Why string us all along like this?” Then, “Before. After. I can’t get those two words out of my head. What does that mean?”
“You heard it from me,” Nick said roughly, Seth making a wounded noise behind him. “That’s what I called it. Before she died. After she died. A division between the two.” He glancedat Gibby before looking at Owen with narrowed eyes. “But Gibby’s right. If what you’re saying is true, why do it this way? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Because he has a campaign to win,” Owen said. “Why take your powers away when he can just control you to turn public opinion away from the Extraordinaries? And he wants you to suffer.”
Nick rested the back of his head against Seth’s shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for a week. “I told you she was acting weird this morning.” He laughed, though he found nothing even remotely amusing. “I don’t know, man. As much as I hate Owen—and I mean really,reallyhate him—”
“Gee, thanks, Nicky.”
“—it sounds exactly like something Burke would do.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You want it to hurt, you don’t attack head-on. You try and worm your way in and destroy it from the inside out. At least, that’s what I’d do if I was the bad guy.”
“And we’re thankful every day you’re not,” Jazz told him, patting his knee. “You’d make the best villain, Nick. And no, that wasn’t a compliment.”
“You’re welcome, by the way,” Owen said. “Bet you never expected me to be the one to help you. Maybe there’s something to being one of the good guys after all.” He sounded way too pleased with himself.
“If you’re waiting for us to thank you,” Seth muttered, “you’re going to be disappointed.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Owen said. He leaned his head back against the tree trunk. “At least I got through to you. I wasn’t sure if it’d work.” He closed his eyes. “Pretty ridiculous that something likelovecan break through the hold she had over Nick.”
Nick sat up away from Seth, though he stayed between his legs. He motioned for Gibby to step out of the way. She hesitated but did as asked. Owen opened his eyes and watched him warily. “Why the hell would your father want my mother dead?” The lump in his throat thickened, but he forced his way through it. “They were friends once.”
Owen sighed. “My father doesn’t see people like you do. Not what they can do for each other, but what they can do forhim.He wanted her to help him make other Extraordinaries, to figure out how to weaponize them. She refused. He threatened her. Said if she wouldn’t help him, she’d regret it. She still said no. And if she wasn’t going to help him, then she was in his way. So he—”
“Why should we believe you?” Jazz asked. “For all we know, you’re working with your dad.”
“Maybe I am,” Owen said. “Maybe all of this is part of the plan to make you doubt yourselves and each other.” He laughed bitterly. “It’d be whatI’ddo if I wanted to hurt you the most. But you know I’m right. Whether or not you can admit it to yourselves, some part of you knows I’m telling the truth. Isn’t that right, Nicky?”
But before Nick could say anything, Seth said, “Why are you telling us any of this? You just said yourself this is something you’d do. You hate us as much as we hate you. Why not just let your father get away with all of this?”
“It’s so easy for you,” Owen snapped. “Black-and-white. The good guys and the villains. Nothing in between. It’s always been your problem, Seth. You’d think after all you’ve been through with the NCPD, you’d realize it’s vastly more complicated than you’re making it out to be.”
“That’s because wearethe good guys,” Seth said coldly. “And you’re not. It doesn’t get much clearer than that.”
Owen flipped him off, and Nick had to stop himself from reaching out and breaking his finger. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gray. You’re so hyperfocused on doing the right thing that you miss what’s right in front of you. It always comes back to Nick with you. He’s the reason you became Pyro Storm.” He rolled his eyes. “And I would bet my life that the reason you took off your helmet on prom night was because of Nick, too. No one deserves that kind of devotion, because it will blow up in your face when you least expect it.”
“If you’re expecting us to feel sorry for you,” Gibby said, “then you don’t know us as well as you seem to think.”
Owen scowled at her. “Like I give a shit about that. I’m not…” He looked down at his hands. “Whatever Dad did to me, it changed me. Altered my DNA. I wasn’t an Extraordinary before. I wasn’t born with powers. I took those pills and it gave me the ability to control shadows. And once I couldn’t get them anymore, I thought that was it.” He scrunched up his face, and the shadow of the tree on the grass began to tremble. “But it wasn’t. I can still control shadows.” He raised his hand, and Gibby stumbled back when a shadow liftedoff the ground,a slim black tendril that shuddered before it collapsed back into the grass and became the shape of the leaves, the branches above them. “I’m not as strong as I used to be. I can’t stop my father on my own.”
“So you want us to helpyou?” Nick asked incredulously. “Why the hell would we do that?”
Owen leaned forward, a glint in his eyes Nick didn’t like. “You know why, Nicky. Separately, we stand no chance against him. But together, we might just be able to stop him. You know what I’m talking about. How does it go? It’s easier to stand together than it—”
“Yeah,” Jazz said, a plastic fork appearing in her hand as if by magic. “I wouldn’t finish that if I were you. I’ve gotten a taste of your blood, and it’s made me hungry for more.”
“The note,” Nick said suddenly.“See you soon.”
Owen grinned, and for a moment, Nick could see the boy he’d once been, the one who’d sat with them at lunch for reasons they hadn’t quite understood. If only he’d known then what he knew now. “You got that, huh? Wasn’t sure if you did. Thought Patricia might have intercepted it.”
