Redshift by Ashlynn Chantrea (free ebook reader for ipad .txt) 📕

I was able to look into Alec’s eyes, then hear myself as I said, “That is a marvelous gift you have.” Then I turned on the feeling in my body and stood. I didn’t remember falling, but I had ended up on the floor while I was under Alec’s spell.

He surprised me by not becoming angry as his sister had when I first defeated her power.

He smiled, “Your gift is far more impressive.”

His compliment shocked me. I fell back into line, standing close to Laney. She grabbed my hand and squeezed.

I looked over at her, “I’m fine, really.” I mouthed.

Alec moved back to his original position. Jane motioned for me to join the group on the right. I squeezed Laney’s hand once before letting go and moving to the corner of the room.

“And what is your talent?” She asked Laney.

“I can feel when I’m being pursued. Anyone chasing me or even just trying to find me, I can feel them.”

“Not quite so useful for fighting but could be an asset.”

“It doesn’t seem to matter how far away they are.” She said, looking as though she might cry even though I knew she couldn’t shed tears, “My parents are looking for me, but they’re far away. I can feel how far away they are.”

Jane lifted an eyebrow. She assessed this new information for a moment before motioning for her to join my group. I sighed in relief.

Next up was Hector. He could control the actions of those around him which he foolishly demonstrated by having three vampires from the less impressive group attack Jane and the others. Jane inflicted a long bout of pain on Hector while the other three took care of the mindlessly springing vampires. She warned him to behave himself before releasing him and sending him to the right.

Bianca was up next.

“I am an excellent liar.” Bianca replied with a proud smile.

“Hardly a talent.” Jane said softly.

Bianca shrugged, “People just believe me. I can tell the most outrageous story and people believe it. Like this: my power is, I can look like a normal human, completely blend in with them.”

Her skin and eyes darkened to a healthy brown. She looked around the room, showing everyone how she had changed.

“Oh, and I have blue eyes.” She added quickly, smiling, “I always wanted blue eyes.”

Her eyes became a brilliant shade of blue.

I knew it wasn’t real. The logical part of my brain told me she couldn’t actually look like that. But my eyes saw a beautiful, dark skinned, blue eyed girl. I closed my eyes and analyzed the part of my brain that interpreted sight. I could feel the difference in the signal I was receiving. She was projecting the image straight to everyone’s mind. It was in her words, maybe the sound of her voice carried a hidden message that the brain interpreted as reality. She could alter others’ reality.

I opened my eyes and looked at her again. I could see her clearly, just as she was but I could also see what she wanted me to see, like a double exposure on a picture. One image transparent but visible over the other.

“Fascinating.” I couldn’t help but say it aloud although I kept my voice soft.

Bianca met my eyes. Her eyes widened when she realized she couldn’t fool me. I smiled conspiratorially at her. She seemed to relax.

She turned back to Jane, “Just kidding,” She said and her projected image vanished, “Fooled you guys, didn’t I?” She was happy with herself.

Jane motioned for her to move to the right. Evidently she saw the advantage of someone that could convince others of anything she wanted.

She skipped Pim, motioning for him to join the more valuable group. She knew what he could do, that was clear. But why not have him tell the rest of us? Why not put him through the testing the rest of us had just gone through? There was something about him she was trying to keep secret from the rest of us.

The last in line were the triplets. They all stood straight backed, arms folded across their chests, glaring at Jane. They didn’t like her, but none of us did. What made them different was they weren’t afraid to show it. They glared at her with hatred in their eyes.

“The witch sisters.” She said with a smile, “Care to show us what you can do?”

“Certainly,” Rain said and then she was gone. She reappeared directly behind Jane and yanked a small chunk of hair from the back of her head.

Alec and Felix took a step towards them but Meadow turned to them and raised her arms. Felix and Alec lifted off the ground, suspended in midair.

“Look what I can do.” Meadow said in a taunting manner.

Jane turned on Rain, using her talent to make Rain scream in agony.

“Leave her alone!” Zephyr growled at Jane.

Suddenly the sound of screaming was amplified by a thousand. Everyone in the room except Zephyr, her sisters, and the girl who could deflect others powers were crouched down, our hands clamped over our ears. Even with my palms pressed firmly over my ears, it didn’t dampen the sound. It felt like my head would explode if the noise didn’t stop.

I looked at Zephyr. She wasn’t screaming with her mouth. She was screaming with her thoughts. She was a telepath. She projected her thoughts on others.

I quickly found a way to turn down the volume of her screaming so to speak. She was powerful. They all were. And they were defiant. They wouldn’t last long here, especially with this display of insubordination. I saw an opportunity, one I wasn’t sure would work. If it didn’t, it might mean the demise of our entire group and definitely the destruction of the sisters.

I got up and ran to Rain’s side. With everyone distracted, I didn’t think anyone would be listening to me, but to be sure I whispered to her, “Can you teleport more than just yourself?”

She looked at me with a face that said, “Why the heck hadn’t I thought of that?”

Doubt clouded her eyes, “I don’t know.” She whispered back.

Bianca ran over to join us, dragging Hector and Pim with her. Bianca dropped the boys’ hands and held Rain’s face between her palms. She stared into her eyes, concentrating hard.

“Yes, you can. You have the power. You can do this.” Bianca said softly but firmly. I ran over and picked up Laney. She was still consumed by the sound of screaming.

Jane had gained her wits, obviously still in pain but able to use her power all the same. She aimed it at Meadow. Meadow lost her concentration, consumed by the burning. She dropped Alec and Felix. They moved towards Meadow, still having trouble because of Zephyr. But they were close and determined to destroy her.

“Meadow!” Rain gasped.

And then our surroundings were different. It was quiet again as Zephyr immediately recognized that we were no longer in danger. We all looked around. I did a head count first thing, immediately worried we had left someone behind. Hector, Pim and Laney were standing now, completely fine. Bianca let go of Rain’s face and looked around in confusion. The triplets moved to each other’s sides, hugging each other around the middle. They looked relieved.

We were in a field, surrounded on all sides by large stone structures. Suddenly I recognized where we were. I was glad we had happened to teleport at night. This would have been problematic in the day time with humans gathered around, watching us.

I looked over at Rain, “Why did you bring us to Stonehenge?” I asked curiously.

“It was the first place that came to mind.” She explained. She sounded drained, her tone lifeless.

“Who cares why?!” Hector said in an exhilarated tone, “We’re free!”

“How did you do it?” Pim asked, astonished.

“I had to, so I did.” Rain replied, looking at Meadow. Rain looked exhausted and her eyes had changed. They were almost black now, only the slightest hint of red left. Meadow and Zephyr’s eyes were only slightly lighter than Rain’s. Their talents drained them physically and it showed in their eyes.

We were right in the center of the circular field surrounded by stones on all sides. It was night, the stars were shining bright above us. I took a moment to examine exactly how clearly I could see the stars now. It was like looking through a high powered telescope at the entire expanse of the sky. It was majestic.

Lucky for us, there weren’t any lights illuminating our sudden appearance. We moved quickly and quietly to the nearest cluster of trees to the west. There, hidden from any unsuspecting humans, we stopped. Rain was running significantly slower than the rest of us. We had to have a plan of action or they would find us. And the next time we might not make it out alive.

“What do we do now?” Hector asked.

“Run, and keep on running.” Bianca said, confident it was the only choice.

“It doesn’t matter if we run. They’ll find us. They have Sergei. He knows exactly where we are. It’s only a matter of time before they catch up with us.” Pim replied.

“They’re already on their way.” Laney said, looking out into the distance like she could see them coming.

The answer was clear. We needed a safe harbor, a place to regroup and ready ourselves for the fight that they would bring to us. There was only one place I could think to go. Only one clan that was strong enough to make them resort to drafting people to join their army, now eight less than it was earlier today. We had to find their enemy, and hope that they would agree to become our allies. We had to at least try to talk to them.

“Pim, do you know where to find the clan the Volturi are at war with?” I asked.

“I think they’re in the U. S. somewhere. You can’t really want to go looking for them.”

“The enemy of my enemy…” I replied.

“But what if they are as bad as the Volturi?” Hector asked.

“We have a little leverage. We can offer them information in exchange for safe harbor or at the very least, to just let us leave with our lives. I’ll bet they’ll be interested to know what the Volturi are up to.”

I formulated a plan while the others took in what I had said. No one was arguing. They all looked worried, but determined. And in a matter of seconds I had a course of action ready.

“I hope no one is opposed to breaking a few laws.” I said.

No one declared their opposition to the idea. We ran to the next town. It was small enough that most everything was silent. Just the sound of wildlife and wind in the air.

I soundlessly broke into an electronics store and stole what I needed; a laptop, a disposable cellphone and the cash in the safe. Then we ran to the next biggest city outside of London. I found a closed clothing store and we all went inside.

“What are we doing here?” Bianca asked. She sounded curious and excited. She went through the clothes on the rack lightning fast, looking for stuff she liked.

“We need to blend in.” I told her as I perused through the men’s selection, “Inconspicuous, plain clothing. Hats and sunglasses are going to be a must. I don’t think people will react well to our red eyes.”

Laney sighed.

I looked over at her, “If you don’t like any of it then just find a black jacket with a hood. But we all have to wear sunglasses. Well, maybe not Rain or Bianca.”

“Actually,” Bianca spoke up, “I might be able to make it so all of us can go without sunglasses.”

“We’ll see if we can make that work later. For now, we just need to find a wi-fi connection. Maybe locate a passport office and make ourselves some passports.”

“Passports?” Hector asked.

“I suppose we could swim across the ocean, but flying would be faster.” I answered.

“Maybe we could steal a boat.” Bianca suggested.

“It would still take too long. They could beat us to the shore.”

“What about Rain?” Pim suggested.

I looked over