Beyond Reach [Book 3 - The Outcast Warrior Chronicles]

“I think you broke him.”

Bits of slimy mud slide down my swelling cheek. And something in my arm is torn and loose from being pulled the wrong way. But it’s the thick stagnant puddle of water I hover over that has my tiny muscles seized. My throat clenches and gags over the rotten putrid water. And they must have punched me too hard last time because I’m seeing things. Two glowing orbs shine bright blue where my eyes are supposed to be. And my rapid blinks aren’t enough to clear my vision.

“Are you crying?” The boy with the black hair and eyes pushes my face closer to the water. “A worthless traitor like you doesn’t deserve to train at this academy. You have no chance of becoming a true warrior, I’ll make sure of that.”

I can’t breathe, the air is not coming fast enough. And the blue orbs below me crackle and glow even brighter taking over my reflection. My body is hot like I’m on fire from the inside out.

Their cackles scream in my eardrums as if they’re inside my head. It’s too much, everything is too much. I have to get away, I have to move.

I push back against his hold with all the strength I have left, but it only makes him laugh. He jerks my limp arm behind my back again. This time with a wet popping sound I’m sure is supposed to hurt. But all I feel is a hot blaze racing through my insides. The puddle is consumed with electric blue light now. And it’s not something in the water, it’s something in my eyes, something inside me.

My blade drops from Fletcher’s throat. It clatters to the hard concrete floor with the memory of my first day at the academy. The memory of seeing electric blue in my eyes for the first time. The same blue radiating from Fletcher’s. I back away from his bed and push whoever is unlucky enough to stand behind me to the floor in a grunt.

“Addy?” The rough cracked voice drains my motor functions and I’m stock still among the racing heartbeats around me.

The underground of my family’s home is an echo chamber to my sensitive ears. Everything is amplified in the concrete walls. That voice sounds like Fletcher, but it can’t be. Addy throws her body over his, covering the glow of his eyes with her hug. He rasps a hiss as she squeezes him. Dr. Quinn is ordering Iva around the medical equipment while pumping injections into the IV lines.

“Easy, Ads.” He groans and coughs.

“I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t leave me. I knew it.” She sounds strong as she straightens up.

“What’s happening?” He tries to sit up but Kane’s beefy hand on his shoulder keeps him down. Fletcher sinks back into the bed, squeezing his eyes shut. “My eyes, it’s too bright.”

He throws his head side to side, slapping his palms against his ears. “What’s happening? It’s so loud.” He writhes in pain and curls on one side tugging the pillow over his head.

“Iva, the sedative.”

Iva slaps a syringe into Dr. Quinn’s outstretched hand. Fletcher’s heartbeat goes through the roof. It’s beating too fast and I’m rushing back to his side. There’s no telling what will happen if he loses control.

“Breathe. Focus on your breathing. Count with me. Inhale - one, two, three, four…” I grip his wrist and latch onto his pulse.

I tap the pads of my fingers against his warm skin in time with my slower, steady beat. He stills and takes a deep breath as I count. The veins in my hand glow blue, in sync with my pulse. And his heart stutters to get in rhythm. Out - one, two, three, four.

“We gave you a sedative to help you calm down.” Dr. Quinn caps the syringe and nods to Iva who starts a timer.

If he’s cursed with my abilities, the sedative will wear off in a few minutes. Kane removes the pillow from Fletcher’s lax grip. And I stare at his glowing eyes, the same power infused shade as mine. I shift my focus and find the rest of the squad’s attention on me. The captain’s unwavering faith beams back. Luce is assessing, glaring between me and Fletcher. Kane glowers, the balls of his jaw muscles tick in warning.

My mouth goes dry and a slick film of guilt slathers my insides. They have no idea what I just learned about the energy surging inside me. The first to receive this power from my ancestor died within weeks. What’ll it do to a warrior born who’s inherited a piece of this energy already?

“Did I miss the shit eating look on the commander’s face after our mission’s success?” Fletcher’s words slur as the sedative wears off.

His eyes dim back to the sparkling crystal blue ocean that matches his twin’s. I release his wrist and move away. Is it really him? Iva brushes past me to check his vitals and my powers spike at the sight of him. I hook my arm over his neck in a choke hold and drag him away from Fletcher. He doesn’t fight. Kane stands in front of the rest of the squad to keep them from intervening. I twist and throw Iva’s body into the furthest concrete wall.

“I can’t punch you. My control is gone and we can’t afford to lose a warrior while we’re on the run.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Iva clutches his stomach trying to regain the breath I knocked out of him.

“Don’t think it isn’t coming. You injected him with my blood?” I just need to hear him admit it.

Iva nods. “His pulse was waning. I couldn’t give him the serum even after Addy told me to. I couldn’t risk him turning like they do. But I couldn’t do nothing either.”

Iva slumps against the wall. The dark purple bags under his eyes and the white halogen lights make his features gaunt. I release my fists.

“You don’t know what you’ve done. This…whatever’s inside me isn’t a cure, it’s a curse. One that has an expiration date.” I want to slam his genius head into the concrete, but his shoulders round and his hands shake at his side.

He’s as strung out as the rest of us. And with everything that’s coming, everything we have to face, there’s no time to be angry. Or energy to waste on what can’t be changed. It’s done. My whole life I’ve lived in the past. Fighting to survive the consequences of others actions.

I throw my head back and take in the stone ceiling. This underground and the things we face were set in motion long before us. We live in the ripples of stones cast into the deep long ago. And our present, our actions today are the only thing that can change the tide.

“What expiration date?” Iva pushes off the wall, alert. My last words sinking in.

“Fletcher, lie back down this instant.” Addy’s shrill demand draws our attention.

Fletcher is standing up jerking the IV lines out of his arms. We rush back to help just as he pushes Kane away. Only instead of Fletcher meeting an immovable wall of muscle, Kane is thrown back. He flies past us, into the wall with cracks and fissures outlining his body.

“Holy shit.” Fletcher gasps with a hand over his mouth. He slowly stretches his arms out in front of him and turns his hands over inspecting them. “I’m super warrior. Hell yeah!”

His face spreads into a wide tooth smile and he gives me a wink. Addy throws herself against her brother, arms wrapping tightly around his middle laughing. It really is him in there.