“Emma . . .” I murmur.
“It was quite the swing. You’ve probably got a concussion. I can have one of my doctors look at you if you feel dizzy or off.”
“Where is she?”
“She stayed behind. Apparently one of the men was her brother. She called for help. I came in as soon as I heard there was trouble and took you. Didn’t want you getting hurt more or arrested or anything like that.”
I nod my head a little, but that just makes it hurt more. The pain makes it difficult to piece together everything that’s just happened. A hundred different places on my body hurt. My white T-shirt is stained with drops of blood. My Loric Chest . . . there’s a thump in my heart when I think of it. I look around the car. My dirty duffel bag sits at my feet on the floorboard. I reach for it, frantically ripping back the cover. The Chest is still there. I exhale.
Ethan continues. “So, you have a few tricks up your sleeve you hadn’t bothered to tell me about. No wonder the two of you were so good at the jobs I gave you.”
“She didn’t know,” I say.
I regret the words immediately. They’re an accidental admission of truth—that I do have powers. That I’m different.
But he knows that already. He saw what I did just as clearly as Emma did.
“Ah, that explains her reaction.”
A monster, she called me. I thought she was my friend.
I stare out the window, unsure of where we’re going. Maybe I should just roll down the window and fly out into the night. Find some other place to go. Start over again.
Maybe it’s time I finally do go back to Canada.
A question forms in my sore head: Is this what my life is going to be like now? Moving from place to place, with no idea of what I’m supposed to be doing? No way to find the other Garde. No way the Garde are going to find me. If they’re even looking for me. I could cause a scene or show off my powers, but the Mogs would probably have me killed before the Garde ever came out of hiding.
I wish there was another way.
“What were you to her? Partners? Friends? More than that?”
I roll this question around in my head for a moment, trying to see what he’s getting at.
“Friends,” I say. “I mean, I think we were.”
“A friend wouldn’t have reacted as she did, Cody,” he says, leaning back into his seat. “A friend wouldn’t have turned her back on you. I hate to say this, but I think it’s possible that Emma has been riding on your coattails, trying to get anything out of you that she could. Using you.”
I start to protest, but he raises a hand, stopping me from speaking.
“Do you know what you are to me?”
I shake my head slowly. “An employee?” I ask.
“Potential,” Ethan says. “Raw power. I am not a fool. I know talent when I see it, and I respect it. I’ve been all around the world. I’ve seen some pretty crazy, unexplainable stuff in my day. Stuff you wouldn’t believe even if I swore an oath on everything I hold dear and holy. I’ve seen men in Indonesia who can tell you your darkest secrets. Women in the Caribbean who can resurrect animals. Nothing surprises me. You don’t have to tell me about yourself or your history. But you don’t have to hide anything either. I’ll never look at you like you’re a freak. Whatever power or gifts you have, it means you’re stronger than most people, right? It means you’re someone who is going to endure. To survive. And that’s why you’re here now.” He gestures back and forth between us. “We have a lot to offer each other. If we worked together, we’d be unstoppable.”
“What about Emma?” I murmur.
“Emma has a family. Her foolish brother, yes, but parents and a home as well. You, on the other hand, are alone, aren’t you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Cody, I run a very tight ship when it comes to my business. I do thorough background checks on everyone I work with. You, my boy, have been something of an anomaly.”
It occurs to me that he hasn’t seemed shocked at all by anything that’s happened. My powers, or Emma’s leaving.
“You’ve been following me.”
“You need to work on your stealth.” Ethan pushes his dark hair back behind his ears. “That’s something I can teach you. And from the looks of it, you could use quite a bit of hand-to-hand combat training as well. But most important is that ability you seem to have. You can move things around just by waving your hands.”
“Telekinesis,” I say.
What am I doing? I should go, should jump out of the car and disappear into the darkness.
But Ethan already knows. And I suddenly realize he’s the only friend I have now. The way Emma looked at me—I know there’s no going back to her now. I’d be surprised if she ever talked to me again. Besides, all this talk of training—maybe this is actually a really good thing. Ethan is obviously a powerful man. If he can train me to be like him, I can use that later. I mean, I can always leave, right?
“People like you and me are different, Cody,” Ethan says. “You’re special. I knew it the moment I met you on the beach. I could tell that you were the talented one of your little duo. You’re powerful, but I can help you become someone that people truly admire and respect. Would you like that?”
“Yes,” I say. I don’t even really have to think about it.
“Good,” he says with a smile. “We have a bright future ahead of us.”