Super Natural: The New Super Humans, Book Three Read online

  Chloe closed her eyes again, the vision popping up easily in her memory since she'd been shown the same thing so many times in the past few months.

  “Okay, it starts out with the sun,” she said. “Just the sun in the sky, then I'm standing on the edge of the clearing. On that small cliff, you know?” She opened her eyes and saw the understanding nods around her before she closed them again. “I'm looking down and I can see it on the far side of the clearing. Chaos. It's huge, a pillar of whirling smoke, like a tornado, and it's getting stronger . . . bigger . . . pulling up dirt and branches around it. There are people there. People from around town. Some I recognize and some I don't. And they're standing in front of the pillar, expectant, ready to fight.

  “Then I'm in the midst of the fight and it's dark and cold, and there's lightning and shouting everywhere. I see Beck and Wren . . . Maia in the distance. Now, I recognize Dylan, too. I didn't before because he was so far away.

  “We're fighting. We're fighting all these people and they just keep on coming and the smoke is getting thicker and thicker, like it's almost touching me, pulling at me. It's alive and—” Her eyes flew open, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps.

  “And then . . . and then I see Ethan,” she said quietly, her eyes hot with unshed tears. “And he's in a dark place, consumed by that smoke and then he . . . he . . .” She choked and Ethan was across the room in a flash, taking her into his arms.

  “It's okay,” he murmured. “I'm okay. I'm right here.”

  Someone cleared their throat and Chloe pulled away, brushing at her cheeks. “Sorry,” she muttered.

  Ethan didn't go far. He pulled her down to sit on his lap in the armchair, holding her protectively.

  Beck cleared his throat. “Ethan, maybe you should listen to her.”

  “We're not discussing this.”

  “I think we need to.”

  Chloe felt Ethan stiffen beneath her, his jaw tense as he glared at Beck. He glanced at her and let out a breath.

  “Okay then, fine. If you want me to stay out of it, I will.”

  Chloe's relief was short-lived.

  “. . . as long as Chloe does, too.” He looked at her triumphantly.

  “I think that's a great idea,” Aunt Cara said through the phone.

  “What? No, I can't!” Chloe almost hung up on her.

  “Sure you can.” Ethan patted her leg. “You don't have any powers either. At least none that will be of use in a fight. So, there you go. You stay out of it and I will, too.”

  “But I'm supposed to be there.”

  “How do you know that? Maybe the house is giving you the vision so you can change it.”

  Chloe blinked at him, unsure of what to say.

  “Maybe he's right, Chloe,” Miranda said. Chloe looked at her in surprise, but her friend met her gaze and scratched the side of her nose purposefully. Their secret code from when they were little. And Chloe got it. This was her chance to get Ethan to back down, to stay out of the fight. Miranda knew she'd do just about anything to accomplish that.

  Except stay out of the fight herself.

  “I'll, uh, I'll think about it,” she said quietly.

  She'd even lie. To protect Ethan, she would definitely lie.

  “Okay then,” Dylan said slowly, looking back and forth between the three of them. “Glad that's settled? Kind of?” He stood up. “Maybe that's enough for tonight. Anybody need a ride home?”

  The house emptied rather quickly after that, Aunt Cara hung up, Maia and Miranda retreated to their rooms, and Chloe eventually climbed off Ethan's lap and walked over to stand in front of the picture window. She knew what she had to do, but that didn't mean she liked it. She didn't want to hide anything from Ethan. Wouldn't have to, if he wasn't being so incredibly stubborn.

  She realized her hands were clenched into fists and forced herself to loosen her fingers and breathe normally.

  “You okay?” he asked, slipping an arm around her waist.

  She leaned into him and hummed an affirmation.

  “I only want you to be safe,” he said.

  “Same here.” She turned to him and buried her face in his neck, holding him tight. They stood there in silence for a moment, before she looked up at him. He met her gaze, blue eyes wide and earnest and she reached up to swipe back his thick, golden hair.

  “You need a haircut.”

  He smiled softly. “Kind of had other things on my mind, lately.”

  “That's no excuse for letting yourself go,” she said with a half-grin.

  Ethan laughed. “Yeah. I'll take it under advisement.” He brushed his fingers over her cheeks. “It'll all be okay, you know? We'll get through this.”

  She couldn't speak. The words caught in her throat, so she forced a shaky smile and nodded.

  “I'll graduate, then you. We'll get out of here and all of this will be a bad memory.”

  A chill ran down Chloe's spine and she turned to lay her cheek against Ethan's chest just as the image in the picture window shifted. Once again she saw Ethan, surrounded by shadows . . . consumed by darkness. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the vision persisted.

  Ethan was still talking, unaware. “We'll get through this and we'll have an amazing life, you'll see.”

  Chloe nodded against his chest and held him closer. When she finally grew brave enough to open her eyes, the vision had faded, and all she saw through the window was the front yard and Ethan's frat house across the street. She wasn't even certain it had actually been a vision and not just her own memories and fears playing tricks on her.

  She spared a moment to calm her pounding heart then looked up at Ethan and smiled, hoping it looked more sincere than it felt. “It'll be fine,” she agreed. “We'll get through it all.”

  They stood there for a long time, locked in an embrace, and Chloe wondered if either of them really believed it.

  Across town, Gavin James made a phone call.

  “Yes?”

  “We have a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  Gavin looked out his office window. The view wasn't real, but a projection. After all, the real view would hardly be as attractive as the sunny skies over a park-like landscape that he'd chosen for this particular window.

  Illusion. His life was based on illusion.

  “Chloe Blake had a vision about me,” he said.

  “What does she know?”

  “Nothing. Not really,” Gavin replied. “But she's suspicious. And I'm not certain I was able to allay those suspicions.”

  “Will we need to alter our timeline?”

  Gavin thought about that for a moment. A projected rabbit dashed across the lawn displayed on his window.

  “I don't think so,” he said finally. “Not yet, at least.”

  The line was silent, and Gavin held his breath, waiting for a response.

  “Will they be able to handle this?”

  Gavin exhaled. “I believe so.”

  “I hope you're right,” the voice said. “Keep me posted.”

  The line went dead and Gavin slid the phone into his pocket. He gazed unseeingly out the window, plots and plans whirling through his mind. After a long while, he turned and left the office, flipping off the lights on his way out. The park projection vanished, leaving only a black screen behind, but Gavin didn't spare it another glance.

  He had much more important things to worry about. And time was running short.

  The following morning, Chloe woke with the dawn, despite her exhaustion, and was surprised to find Miranda already up and dressed as well.

  “Couldn't sleep either?” she asked.

  Miranda shrugged. “Weird dreams.”

  Chloe didn't ask any more questions. Instead, the two girls headed to the coffee shop, both needing a little normalcy in their lives. The shop was busy, with a long line of customers, but most took their orders and headed off to work or class. Chloe and Miranda bought their usuals, as well as a couple of bagels and sat down at a c
orner table to catch up on some homework and try not to think about all that faced them in the days ahead.

  “Is it working for you?” Miranda asked after about twenty minutes.

  “Hmm?” Chloe looked up from her book. “Is what working?”

  She waved at Chloe's work spread out before her. “Is it distracting you?”

  Chloe huffed and shook her head. “Not really.”

  “Me neither.” Miranda looked away and waved. Chloe followed the motion and spotted Dylan behind the counter, tying his apron. He said something to the other barista and hurried over.

  “I'm glad you guys are here,” he said. “I really need to talk to you.”

  “What's up?” Chloe asked.

  The bell over the front door rang and a large group of students filed in. Dylan groaned. “No time right now. Are you going to be here for a bit?” he asked.

  Chloe checked the time on her phone. “I don't have class for an hour and a half,” she said.

  “Me, too,” Miranda added.

  “Great,” he said, already heading back to the coffee machine. “Stay right there. I'll be back.” He winked at Miranda and she blushed.

  “What's up with that?” Chloe asked.

  Miranda put on an innocent look. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

  “Uh huh,” Chloe said, smirking. “Sure you don't.”

  She let it go, though, and they got back to studying. Chloe outlined a paper due the following week and was actually able to concentrate and get some work done. She jumped a little when a chair scraped across the floor and Dylan straddled it at the end of their table.

  “I don't have long,” he said. “But I think I figured something out.”

  Chloe and Miranda shared a look. “What?” Chloe asked.

  He leaned forward on the table and lowered his voice. “I noticed something last night when you were talking about the visions, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Ethan, because, you know.”

  Her stomach flipped at the reminder and she swallowed thickly. “What did you notice?”

  “Okay, so—” He tapped a finger on the table and gestured with his other hand. “You said during the battle that there was lightning and it was dark, right?”

  “Yeah,” Chloe said slowly.

  “Well, the darkness—was that because of the smoke, do you think? Or was it the weather? Was it cloudy? Stormy? Was it at night?”

  “I don't know—”

  “Just . . . think about it for a sec, okay?” he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. “It could be important.”

  Chloe concentrated for a moment. “I think . . . no, it wasn't night. It wasn't fully dark, you know? There was no rain, so I don't think it was a storm, but it was definitely dark. Cloudy maybe. Or dusk, I think.”

  “What about the sky?”

  Chloe chewed on her lip and closed her eyes, picturing it in her mind. She could feel them both watching her. “There's lots of smoke. Debris flying through the air. It’s windy. The pillar is spinning like a tornado, and it's kicking up dirt and stuff, but the sky . . .” She looked up in her mind's eye. “Yeah, it's cloudy. Dark. Lightning. Not raining, but it looks like it could at any minute maybe.” She opened her eyes to see Dylan nodding slowly and Miranda eyeing him with a bit of confusion.

  “What is it?” Miranda asked.

  Dylan glanced at her, then pointed at Chloe. “So what's up with the sun?” He waited, a victorious look on his face.

  “Huh?” she replied.

  “Oh,” Miranda said. She pulled out her notebook and flipped through the pages. “I can't believe I didn't even think of that.”

  “Think of what?” Chloe asked, feeling a little lost and irritated.

  “You said the vision starts off with the sun,” Miranda said. “Just a big, bright shining sun in the sky. If it's stormy and dark during the fight, why is the house showing you the sun?”

  Chloe's mouth dropped open a little. “I . . . I don't know. I hadn't thought about it.”

  “Well, it struck me last night, and I think maybe I know why it's important.” Dylan whipped out his phone and thumbed at it for a moment. “Look.” He held it up, but all Chloe could make out was a picture of the sun.

  “I don't—”

  Dylan waved off her comment. “Sorry. I'll sum it up. Solar flares.”

  “Solar flares.” Chloe stared at him and he rolled his eyes.

  “Okay, back up a second,” he said. “The planet is constantly absorbing power from the sun. At the same time, the Earth has energy of its own—it’s called telluric energy. Telluric currents flow underground, through the water, and they are influenced by both natural causes and human activity.”

  “Okay.” Chloe still didn't quite grasp where he was going.

  “Where these currents cross, you get these vortexes . . . vortices?” Dylan hummed to himself for a moment. “Anyway, these areas of focused power. Some say you can harness that power and use it.”

  “And we all know who loves power,” Miranda muttered.

  Chloe nodded slowly. “So you think the . . . that Chaos . . . wants to access one of these vortices?”

  “Not just that,” Dylan said, waving his phone again. “Solar flares boost the power in the telluric currents by—I don't know—a bunch, I guess. It's not an exact science, you know. A lot of people say it's just bunk—”

  Chloe snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Solar flares?”

  “Right.” He nodded. “And there's a big solar storm coming. Biggest in more than a century.”

  Her stomach sank. “When?”

  “Smaller flares will start in about a week, but the biggie? The tenth of next month.”

  Chloe turned to stare unseeingly at the tabletop, stunned. “So, you think that's the day?” she asked quietly. “That's what it's waiting for?”

  He shrugged. “Seems like too much of a coincidence to me, don't you think?”

  “That's . . . three weeks.” Chloe's breath grew thin, agitated.

  He cleared his throat. “Two and a half, actually.”

  “Two and a half.” Chloe felt like she was in a daze. “We have to be ready in two and a half weeks. That's not much time.”

  “It'll be enough,” Miranda said.

  “You think?”

  “Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “It'll have to be.”

  They sat quietly for a long moment, absorbing the information, and eventually, Chloe drew in a long breath.

  “We’ll be ready,” she said steadily. “Now at least we know what we’re dealing with.”

  “And when,” Miranda added.

  “Right,” Chloe said. “We can do this. We—”

  “Dylan!” the other barista called from behind the counter, and he nodded in response.

  “I've got to get back to work,” he said. “We'll talk more later?”

  Chloe started to answer, but then realized he was talking to Miranda, his cheeks growing pinker by the second. They stared at each other for a moment, then he abruptly cleared his throat and stood up.

  “Okay, so . . . I'll see you!” He gave a little salute and turned to walk quickly back behind the counter.

  Miranda watched him go, a little wistful expression on her face. Chloe snapped her fingers to get her attention.

  “Okay, so are you going to tell me what that was all about?” she asked.

  Miranda wouldn't look at her. “What what was all about?”

  “That!” She waved a hand over her shoulder toward Dylan. “The blushing and foot-shuffling . . . with Dylan Kennedy!” When Miranda didn't seem like she was going to reply, she added, “The same Dylan Kennedy that you've had a crush on f—”

  At that, Miranda slapped a hand over her mouth and shot a glance toward Dylan to make sure he didn't hear. “Don't,” she said. “It's . . . nothing.”

  Chloe arched a disbelieving brow.

  “Okay,” Miranda said with a sigh. “It's not nothing. It's something. But I'm not sure what yet, a
nd it's still new, so don't make a big deal of it, okay?”

  She waited for Chloe to nod slowly before removing her hand.

  “Oh my God!” Chloe lowered her voice when Miranda went to cover her mouth again. “Oh my God,” she said, much quieter. “You and Dylan? When did this happen?”

  Miranda rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed. “Not long. Kind of since that whole thing with his dad happened.”

  Chloe thought for a moment, then smacked her on the arm. “That was weeks ago! And you're just telling me now?”

  “First of all, ow . . .” she said, rubbing her arm. “Second, I wasn't sure what to tell you. It just kind of happened, and then we've been doing all these patrols, so there hasn't been much time for . . . things.” Her cheeks reddened even further.

  “Things?” Chloe tried not to laugh. “What kind of things?”

  Miranda shrugged.

  “Oh my God! Did he kiss you?”

  “Kinda.”

  “Kinda? Kinda yes? Or kinda no?”

  Miranda let out an exasperated breath. “Kinda yes.”

  “Oh my God.”

  “A lot.”

  “Holy—”

  “I know,” Miranda said, finally giving in and grinning.

  “You've had a thing for him forever!”

  “I'm aware.”

  “And now you—and him—” Chloe still couldn’t get her mind around it. “That's fantastic!”

  “Thanks,” Miranda said as she started to pack up her books. “But we need to get to class.”

  They waved goodbye to Dylan and left the coffee shop to walk toward campus.

  “Speaking of boyfriend-like people,” Miranda said, blushing again. “What are you going to do about Ethan?”

  Chloe's shoulders fell, reality crashing in on the whole exciting normalcy of Miranda’s new-found romance, and she frowned. “Whatever I have to do to protect him.”

  “Are you really going to stay out of the fight like you said?”

  Chloe cast her a weighted look.

  Miranda sighed. “I didn't think so.”

  “How can I?” she asked as they crossed the street and started across the quad. “I'm how everyone came together in the first place. I’m in the middle of it. I can't let you guys go without me.”