30
I sank down into my chair. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. To me, of all people.” I laughed. “How ironic. How pathetically ironic. But I suppose that’s karma for you.”
“So what exactly do you see?” Fiona asked.
I told the others about the waves of energy around them.
“I’m red? Hmmm. I always thought I’d be more of a cool, silver color,” Fiona said. “Or maybe blue to match my eyes.”
I shot Chief Newman a look. He shrugged.
“So do you think you can do something?” Fiona asked.
“Like what?”
Fiona threw her arms out. “I don’t know. Something, anything. You can still see the waves. See if you can still use them.”
I stared at Fiona and reached for the waves of red-hot energy. A fiery power poured into my body, and I fluttered my fingers. The candles on the cake flared back to life even though I’d blown them out long ago.
“Bloody hell,” Fiona said. “That’s just like what you did at the factory.”
“Unfortunately,” I muttered. “Why couldn’t it just go away? Do you think it might in a few more days?”
The chief shook his head. “Probably not. If it’s lasted this long, then it’s more than likely permanent.”
I groaned and buried my head in my hands.
“Being an empath is nothing to be worried about or scared of, my dear.” The chief put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I frowned. “An empath? What are you talking about?”
“Your power. You’re an empath. When you first came here, I thought you might have some latent ability. You kept mentioning how you knew certain things would happen right before they did. You called it instinct. It’s really empathy, the ability to tune into the emotions and feelings of others and sense their thoughts and future actions. It’s a rare gift. In your case, you seem to be able not only to sense other people’s feelings but to actually see the psychic energy that surrounds them. In the Triad’s case, you tapped into their powers and used them to your advantage.”
“But I don’t want to be an empath,” I wailed.
The chief chuckled. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
I put my head down into my arms. “Fantastic,” I muttered. “Just fantastic.”
Soon after, I claimed I had a headache and wanted to go to bed. I left the others, including Sam, in the dining room and made my way up to my suite. I shut the door, flopped down onto the bed, and stared at the plush carpet.
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around everything that had happened in the past week or so. I’d gone from getting Sam kidnapped, to finding out Malefica’s real identity, to getting the rest of the Fearless Five captured, to being dumped in a vat of radioactive waste, to somehow saving everyone. Oh yes, and now I had powers.
Superpowers.
I rubbed my aching temples. I didn’t want powers of any kind, much less superpowers. But it seemed as though I was stuck with them. Whether I liked it or not.
The question now was what the hell was I going to do with them?
The next morning, I went out into the garden. I wandered among the flowers and tried not to think about the green energy rippling out of them. Flowers, plants, trees. Even the grass underfoot radiated waves of energy. All the untapped power pulsed and flowed around me, just begging me to reach out and latch on to it. I refused to give in to the temptation. I did my best to pretend like everything was normal, that my vision wasn’t awash in shimmering, colorful waves. If I didn’t specifically look for them, I could almost ignore the energy waves. Almost.
I frowned. My inner voice chirped. Someone was watching me. I stared at a bush up ahead—a bush with sapphire blue waves radiating out of it.
“I know you’re there. Come out, Sam.”
He pushed some branches aside and stepped forward. “How did you know—”
I pointed to my eyes. “I’ve got super-vision now, remember?”
“Yes, well, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” He peered at me, his eyes full of concern. “How are you doing?”
I shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I suppose. After all, it’s not every day you learn you’ve developed superpowers. So far, I’ve only hyperventilated once.”
Sam smiled. “That’s good. Superheroes really shouldn’t hyperventilate. Especially those in the Fearless Five.”
I froze. “What?”
Sam took a breath. “We want you to become the newest member of the Fearless Five.”
My mouth dropped open. “You want me to what?”
“Join the Fearless Five,” Sam repeated.
I shook my head. I felt like I had water in my ears. “I’m sorry. Could you repeat that one more time?”
Sam took my hands. “Join us. Be part of the team. Like you were when you went up against the Triad.”
I flashed back to the factory, Something Malefica said echoed in my mind, and I stared up into his silvery eyes. “Was Malefica right? When she said you cared about me?”
Sam stared deep into my eyes. “Yes, she was. I’ve come to care a great deal about you, Carmen, despite my best intentions to stay away, to let you go back to your old life once the Triad was defeated. The question is, how do you feel about me?”
“I care about you too.”
Suddenly, we were kissing. Sam plundered my mouth with his demanding tongue. I pulled him tighter to me and ran my hands up and down his muscled back. Everything felt just as good as it had before. Better, actually. But my inner voice chattered, and I couldn’t stop the nagging thought running through my head. I pulled back and broke off the passionate kiss.
“What do you really want, Sam? Me or my new powers?”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I have to know. You want me to join the Fearless Five in one breath, and in the next, you’re telling me how much you care about me. What do you really want?”
“I—I want both,” he admitted. “I care about you, Carmen. I do. But I also think you’d make a great addition to the team. We would be the Fearless Five again.”
My heart sank down to my ankles and bled out my shoes. Sam didn’t want me. He didn’t want Carmen Cole— he just wanted the superhero he thought I could be. “I see.”
“So what do you say?” Sam asked. His hands settled on my waist, and his silver eyes glowed with hope and excitement.
It broke my heart.
I closed my eyes, drinking in his musky scent, savoring the feel of his warm hands on my body. For the last time. I stared at him, memorizing every line, every curve of his handsome face. Then, I stepped back.
“I’m sorry, Sam. I just—I can’t,” I said.
I turned and ran away.