CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Keon," I whisper to Caden beside me. His mouth hangs partly open in shock at the news. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"He's the guy I told you about awhile back. He taught taught me how to control my Asterokinesis. I never knew who he was."

"Well it seems like everyone else does."

"Yeah," he says, and his expression turns sour. He looks out at the rest of the people seated around us, the muscles in his jaw clenching. "They seem to know a lot of things that we don't."

A thought comes to me, unbidden: they like to keep secrets. And as I stare out at the ashen faces, each holding a memory we were never privy to, I know it's true.

"Alright," comes Ethel's voice from the centre of the room, and I turn my attention towards her. Scott has returned to his seat and she appears eager to keep up morale. "I can understand that having a person like Keon as our enemy can be a little discouraging, but rest assured that we can still do this. I have already spoken with various counsels across New South Wales who will help us with this new development. And if the Endgame the Anarkks speak of is actually the Prophecy, we will have much more help than just Australian counsels. The Avexyr Commanders in each country will ensure we have all the resources and people we require. One man is no match against the entire Avexyr population."

"But he has the–" Ethel raises a hand, silencing the person before they can finish. It's a man with thin-framed glasses, wearing a frown like it's a favourite shirt – that is to say, constantly.

"The Prophecy says we can do this, and we will. Our first plan of attack has to be to intercept the Replicator and destroy it before it can reach the 700 Anarkk recruits awaiting mass-produced powers. If it reaches them, the force against us will grow by an insurmountable amount. We're not just talking about a couple mind-control abilities tossed out to a few kids – I can guarantee the first abilities they replicate will be the most powerful ones. That's the almighty powers – elemental manipulations, omni abilities, absolute abilities. And there's no limit to how many they can hand out. If they have it, they'll use it."

"Where would they get these abilities? Most of them are contained to Avexyr bloodlines. What Avexyr would willingly hand up their powers?" Another person asks this time, obscured from my sight by the people in front of me.

"No one would. Anarkks don't wait around for permission – they take it straight out. For example, a member of our counsel had two of their powers stolen just last month. We're lucky they didn't get all of them."

Immediately, the crowd swells in shock. "Who?" they ask.

Ethel, thankfully, evades the question. "We are wasting time. The Replicator leaves at o-eight-hundred Saturday morning and we need to be ready for it. Scott and I have already outlined the plan, what I ask of you now is to help us. If you are willing to be there for the intercept, and above the age of eighteen"– she shoots a stern look at Caden, Sarah and I –"then stay back after this meeting. We'll be going through the Anarkk schematics and our plan in detail. The more people that come, the better."

Everyone starts shuffling, sensing that the meeting is coming to an end. But Ethel puts up a hand and continues. "We have one last thing to discuss today before counsel adjourns. One of our members has had a vision. Of a death."

There is no outburst or shock. The seated council listens silently – uneasily, sure, but almost dulled to the reality of what Ethel's saying. I suppose there's only so much bad news you can take before it all becomes meaningless. She continues: "While we do not know whose death they have predicated, nor when it will happen or by whose hand, I suggest each of you take particular caution in the upcoming trials. Death may be something that happens, but right now, it does not need to happen to us." She pauses, eyes sweeping across the council like searchlights, like she's trying to find some glimmer of hope in the dull people before her. She releases a breath. "That is all. Meeting adjourned."

I'm on my feet immediately, striding towards Ethel as the council disperses. "You have to let us help," I say.

She shakes her head. "Melissa, you're fifteen. Caden, Sarah – they're only sixteen. You're too young to be getting involved in this."

"Well that's too bad because we're already involved in this. In case you haven't noticed, I'm part of the Prophecy – and a pretty central part as well."

"That's the Prophecy. Nothing says you have to be around for the intercept."

"But I want to be."

"I won't allow it. I don't think you quite understand what we're up against. Patrick Terrell will be there."

"So what? I've been up against him before."

"Yes, and we all nearly died. You would have died if not for your regenerative abilities. Rand–" She stops, her voice getting lost in her throat. "It'll be worse this time. Patrick created a Power Replicator. You can bet he'll have tested it on himself a few times."

"We have powers."

"It's not about that. You're just kids. And if that doesn't persuade you, try this: you're too important. We can't risk sending you on an assignment when we need you alive for the Prophecy."

I laugh. "I'm too important? I wasn't important for the decade I spent in my best friend's body. I wasn't even important enough to know about Avexyrs and Anarkks until last week! Which reminds me – what else haven't my friends and I been told?"

"Melissa, you're getting worked up over something that doesn't matter. I am not your enemy right now. You see that, don't you?"

I breathe deeply, calming myself. "You can't keep us away from this forever."

"No, but I can try." She studies me for a moment. "Go home, Melissa. Take a rest. This isn't solely your fight – it's everyone's. You don't have to bear the weight of this alone." She leaves me standing there, joining the group of eager volunteers by the side of the room.

"Well?" Turning around, I see that Caden and Sarah have approached me. Caden continues. "What did she say?"

"She's not budging. She doesn't want us there. We're too young." I air-quote.

Sarah puts her hands on her hips. "Really? Are they really using that as a reason to keep us away?" I shrug. "Can't we just follow them? Caden, you can drive. We'll just tail them. Once we're there, they won't exactly be able to send us away."

Caden shakes his head. "Not a bright move, considering we won't know the plan. We'll be liabilities. I say we just sit this one out. We have plenty of others things to deal with anyway."

"Like?" Sarah asks.

"Like Kalea, for starters. I doubt she's done causing problems for us."

"Kalea? I'm sorry but I don't know this person."

"She's a girl from school," I explain. "A bloedskaah." When her face remains blank, I add, "We'll explain later."

"We also have the issue of your powers." Caden looks at Sarah.

She wraps her arms around her stomach, avoiding eye-contact. "It's not an issue." Her demeanour puts me on edge. Still, even after she's told me the truth about my biological father, still she looks as though she's keeping secrets.

Katherine appears then. "Let's get you kids home."

"Again with the kid thing?" Sarah says, exasperated. "We're not that young."

She's ignored. "Aren't you staying for the meeting about the intercept?" Caden asks Katherine.

She nods. "I'll drop you off and come back. I know most of the plan anyway, so it's okay if I miss a portion of it. Come."

We walk with her to the car, but I notice Sarah trying to signal me with her eyes. We fall a few steps back. "She said she knows the plan," she whispers to me.

I begin shaking my head. "Uh-uh. We are not–"

"I'm just saying," she interrupts, "that if we can get her to tell us, we'll be able to help."

We step outside, taking the path down to the gate. "Why are you so eager to help anyway? You barely have any powers. What happens if you get stuck or cornered or injured? You won't be able to help yourself. The adults are right about one thing: this isn't a road trip. It's going to be dangerous."

She stops walking. I walk a few steps more and turn around to face her. "Melissa, we have to be there."

"Why?"

"Can't you just trust me?"

I raise my eyebrows. "You want me to trust you? You're not exactly what I would deem trustworthy at this point – not with all the secrets you've been keeping."

"Please. I just – I just have a feeling."

I tilt my head slightly to one side. "Good or bad?"

"I don't know yet. But I wouldn't be pestering you about it if I thought it'd be okay for us to stay home Saturday."

I consider everything she's said, weighing it all up in my mind. There's a million explanations for her behaviour and I can't discern which is the real one.

"Melissa," she begs. "Please."

I release a breath and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Okay."

"Okay as in you'll help me find out the plan? Or okay as in you've agreed to come to the intercept?"

"Both."

Now its her turn to exhale. "Thanks. I mean it."

I nod and we continue on our way to the car.

I seriously hope I don't regret this.

-:-:-:-:-

Caden watches from the window as Katherine drives off. As soon as she's gone, he lets the curtain fall shut. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"We're going to the intercept," Sarah says, "and we'll need your help."

He runs a hand through his hair. "Not this again."

"This is serious, Caden," Sarah replies, as he moves away from the window and towards the couch. He takes a seat and we follow. "We have to be there and you're the only one of us who can drive."

"Then maybe you should learn, because I'm not driving us into danger. We don't even know the plan."

"Yeah, but my mum does."

He turns to me. "You're going along with this?"

"She has a feeling about it, Caden. Now I don't know if that's good or bad, but I say we should be there to find out."

"A feeling? As in a supernatural, I-have-a-second-ability-I'm-not-telling-you-about feeling? Or just a gut instinct?"

"Does it matter?" Sarah responds.

"Well, yeah. A bit. If it's an instinct, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. If it's an ability, then we should definitely stay away."

"So what you're saying is, in either case, you're not going to help us," I say.

"I'm going to do more than that. I'm going to stop you from going. There's absolutely no reason for us to be there. We'll just be putting ourselves in unnecessary danger."

"Okay, sure," I say. "But just for a moment, think about what could happen if we don't go."

"For starters, we'll be worried about them all day," Sarah says.

I nod. "And if they don't return? What do we do then? What do we do if they come back saying it was a failure? They're already using our age as an excuse to keep us out of this – don't you think they'll use it to keep secrets from us too? Like, for instance, the events of the intercept. I can guarantee, if they come across anything we won't be told about it.

"And how would they do that? We go to all the council meetings."

"Same way they kept Keon a secret," I say. "I know you were pissed off that they kept that from you. If we don't go to this, we're basically giving them a licence to tell us nothing. It'll be like we aren't even involved."

"Do we really need to be? We've only just gone back to school. We should be focusing on our studies."

"You're mentioning studies? Come on, why do you really want us to stay out of it?"

"I told you. It's too dangerous."

"It's an intercept – it's not exactly the Prophecy."

He's silent for a moment. Then he says, "Sarah, can you give us a moment?"

She looks back and forth between us with a frown. "Uh, sure."

Caden waits until she's out of earshot before he starts speaking. "We can't trust her."

"Are you kidding? That's what this is all about? You don't trust Sarah?" Frustration builds inside me. I'm on the verge of standing up and striding out of the house. 

"Do you?"

"That's beside the point."

"She's an Anarkk, Melissa. It was bad enough that we brought her to the council meeting."

"She doesn't mean to be."

"It's a belief. Of course she means to be."

"You can't help what you believe!"

He waits for me to cool off before continuing. "Can you truly say you trust her? One-hundred percent?"

"No, I can't. But that doesn't mean I think she's a danger to us. She may keep secrets, but she doesn't plot against us."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Are we seriously arguing about this?"

He meets my gaze with a firm stare.

"You know what? I can prove it to you. I can prove we can trust her on this."

"How?" he asks.

"By going to the intercept."

"That defeats the purpose."

"Caden, please." I take a deep breath. "You don't have to trust her in order to help us. You just have to trust me."

He watches me for a minute, his eyes searching mine. I see the moment he changes his mind. His firm disposition softens, the tension in his body dissipating as he leans back into the couch. "Alright," he says with a sigh. "I'll help. I just hope you know what you're getting us into."

"It'll be fine," I say confidently. "What's the worst that can happen?"