The Ultimate Sacrifice, Talia Jager [novels to read .TXT] 📗

I was exhausted, I couldn’t sleep. I was so used to hearing Mira breathe, whether I was asleep or awake, that it was just too quiet here. In the quiet, the loneliness settled in and I felt completely and utterly alone, even with Vala and Ramsey nearby.

There was no window seat in this room and standing at the window just felt weird. So I stayed in bed, tossing and turning, my heart empty. A few tears fell down my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away. I couldn’t dwell on this. I had to figure out how to do better. I had to save them.

The next morning, I couldn’t do any better. Ramsey silently paced around me, and I could sense his impatience. “Kassia…concentrate on these bugs. Try to see them as enemies. As demon bugs. They are a threat to you, to your friends, to the world.”

I fought back the urge to laugh. Imagery had always been hard for me. That’s why I loved Daxton’s gift. He could take what I wanted to see and show it to me. I took some deep breaths and cleared my mind. I thought about my friends and how I had to save them from this evil looming over us. I opened my eyes and tried again, thinking of the bugs as the enemy. This time almost all of them died. “Whoa,” I breathed.

“Good, Kassia!” Vala cheered.

I smiled, proud of myself.

“Yes, very well done,” Ramsey added. “Take a break and we’ll get started on some martial arts and work on your dagger skills too.”

By the end of the week, I was pretty confident that I could do some serious damage in a battle. I wasn’t perfect yet, but I was on my way. I kept up with all the trainings they threw at me.

One night, I stayed out on the porch steps. Looking up at the night sky, I remembered the date night I had spent with Daxton. It seemed like a lifetime ago. I smiled, reliving Daxton’s soft touch. I remembered the way he had held me against the tree and the sound of the leaves rustling as he kissed me. The way he had made me feel when he challenged the power within me.

The pain in my heart brought tears to my eyes once again. I had a hard time seeing him clearly. I wished I had my phone, which had pictures of him and Mira on it. I had left it in my room at school when we ran.

As the days passed, I still found the nights to be the hardest. Some nights I found myself falling asleep quickly, probably from pure exhaustion. Other nights I lay awake no matter what. When I did fall asleep, I would wake up to a tear-soaked pillow.

I had found an old blank journal and wrote letters to my friends in it. I knew they would never be read, but it felt good to get what I was feeling off my chest. I worried that once we were reunited, they’d be mad and hate me. I wasn’t sure how well I’d accept that. It wasn’t my fault. I suppose I could have told Vala no and found a phone, but I really did fear for all of our lives. I wished I could talk to Mira about it. She’d know what to do. She always knew what to do.

At breakfast the next morning, I asked the question that had been bothering me for a while. “You said you knew my parents.”

Ramsey looked up. “Yes.”

When he didn’t offer any more, I asked, “How did you know them?”

“They came here with you when you were little,” he answered.

“How old was I?”

“Not yet five.”

“What did they want?” I asked, annoyed that he wasn’t being more forthright.

Stealing a glimpse at Vala, he said, “You had already shown signs of your gift. They were scared. You were very young and didn’t understand.”

I let that sink in. “When you say that…do you mean I harmed people?”

He mashed his lips a little. I could tell he was trying to think of how to answer that. You know when a question goes unanswered too long, it can’t be an answer you want to hear. “Because you were so little and didn’t understand, sometimes when you had a temper tantrum, your gift would release.”

“Oh my God! Did I kill people?”

“No. Your parents kept you pretty secluded.”

“I hurt my parents then.”

He hesitated. “Yes, but you didn’t kill them.”

“I caused them pain,” I whispered. My eyes filled with tears. It had been years since I had seen them. I could hardly remember what they looked like. “What did you do here?”

“I tried working with you, but you were so young, it didn’t really help. So we kept you here for a while. While I’m not immune to your gift, I can handle it longer than the average person.”

“Why don’t I remember being here?”

“I used a spell.”

“What?!” I raised my voice, feeling violated.

“I knew what was coming, Kassia. I couldn’t afford for things to happen earlier than they were supposed to. I couldn’t have you knowing.”

“So you erased my memory?”

“No, I didn’t erase your memory. I just blocked part of it. Do you want to hear the rest?”

I nodded eagerly. “Yes.”

“After a few years and some training, we got you into the institute a little early. But I had to find someone immune to your gift. I started a search—”

He didn’t get to finish. “You found Mira.”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I found her. I was able to talk to the school and get her assigned as your roommate.”

“So our friendship was…arranged?” I said quietly.

Vala patted my hand. It was one of the only ways she showed affection. “In a way, yes. But the two of you grew into the best of friends all on your own. Nobody put a spell on you to become friends; that part happened all by itself.”

I nodded, trying to believe what I was hearing. “Was anybody else a plant?”

“Not really.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I believe Mr. Eaton told you that Noe and Auralee were put in the room next to yours for a reason. Again, the friendship took a life of its own. We didn’t mess with anyone’s mind.”

My eyes got wide. “Daxton.”

“We did have a hand in getting him transferred to your school. You have to realize that we kept hearing that you still couldn’t control your gift and that kids were afraid of you because you could hurt them. We all knew you didn’t mean to do this. Mira was immune and effective, but not always around. We needed someone else and we could only hope that Daxton would be able to stop your anger by using his gift,” Ramsey explained.

“But we didn’t ask him to fall in love with you. He knew nothing about you. He didn’t even know why he had been transferred,” Vala added.

“So you knew I’d be back?”

“Yes. We didn’t know the exact circumstances, but we knew at some point, it would be our job to train you. We promised your parents we would.”

“Do you know where my parents are?” I asked.

They exchanged glances again. “We haven’t heard from them in years. Their gifts are essential in the battle to save the world. We think, and please keep in mind that neither of us knows for sure, that they were captured.”

“Captured? You think?” I tried to process that. “Kern?”

“We don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know?” I wasn’t trying to be rude, but these two seemed to know an awful lot. Why didn’t they know this?

“There is something blocking us from seeing them.”

My face fell, and I became silent while I thought about everything they had told me. Many things made more sense to me now than they ever had, but at the same time, brought more questions to my mind. I was frustrated and upset. My parents were being held prisoner somewhere. And here I thought they didn’t care about me. I was so wrong about them…they did love me. They had tried to help and protect me. They had done everything they could for me. “Did they know that I’d be so…special?”

“Yes.”

So they knew they had to keep me safe at any expense. Even if it cost them their freedom. Maybe even their lives. I realized at that moment that everybody was counting on me, relying on me, and trusting me to be the best I could to save them. That was one hell of a burden. But it was one I was willing to commit to.

I looked at Vala and Ramsey. “Let’s go. I want you to train me to be the best mind-blower I can be.”