A bullet grazed my leg, and I collapsed on the floor, the pain tearing into me. I tried to reach the gun on the assumption that Steele wouldn't kill me, since he apparently needed me for something. My finger brushed against the metal, and just as I was about to get a grip on it, a giant foot covered in black, sharp obsidian-like rocks stepped on the gun, crushing it.
I looked up at a man who was more beast than man. Red tissue clung to his body as if his skin had been stripped. His misshapen and building muscles stretched to the point that it looked painful. Down his right arm and shoulder more obsidian covered him, moving up his back and neck and covering his head, like a shell. Red shorts that would have been huge on anyone else, dug into his skin, though he didn't appear to notice.
His eyes, however—those small, beady eyes—looked so familiar. His face, his features.... I knew him. Well, I had seen him in Lucy's mind. "Adam?"
They'd done something to him, but I never forgot a face. Lucy thought he had died saving her. but Steele clearly had gotten to him first.
I slipped into his mind and tried to read his thoughts, but he barely had any. He wasn't blocked or shielded, he was empty. I switched to mind control, and pushed my will onto his to get him to help me.
Nothing happened.
I couldn't even feel the coil of power inside me anymore. I shot mental daggers at Steele. "What did you do to my powers?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Truth or lie? Would Lucy be able to tell? I thought about it... the power I'd never had before, that had only come about while I was pregnant with Ana and connected to Drake.
Ana. Oh God. I hadn't used mind control since Ana was born. I hadn't needed it. Did I lose my power when I gave birth? Was I just borrowing Ana's power—a power she inherited from Drake? That would explain why I'd never presented with this ability before. I knew there was another piece to this puzzle I had to figure out, but I couldn't place it. Hopelessness consumed me. My power was gone and I had no defense against Steele, Adam or Drake.
Steele's cold voice cut into my misery. "Pick her up, Grunt."
Adam—I refused to call him Grunt—picked me up with one hand, like a giant would pick up a child. His hot breath settled on my face.
"Bring her to me," Steele said.
Adam followed the command, not thinking, just obeying. A Grunt indeed.
"What have you done to him?"
"I rescued him from a meaningless existence." Steele walked over to a little table with a coffee pot on it and poured himself a cup. The harsh aroma tickled my nose. His voice lacked any emotion or empathy when he spoke. "After your friends created that debacle in Russia, I had to eliminate that facility, destroy an entire corporation. No one believed that our visit and the death of their lead scientist, not to mention a breech in security, were coincidental. I found Grunt hiding out in the mountains, the perfect specimen for my own experiments. Studying him gave me all the info I needed on human enhancement." He sipped his coffee. "Eventually, I was even able to surpass the Russian scientist's brilliance and make some modifications."
Grunt stopped in front of Steele, still holding me. I felt like a rag doll, and his grip started to cut off blood flow and air to my body.
Steele gestured to a crib. "Would you like to see your baby?"
All discomfort forgotten, I spit in his face. "Why do you want her?" I heard Drake moving around behind me and prayed he didn't make this situation worse than it already was.
Steele took a napkin and dabbed at his mouth as if we were at a freaking tea party. "She's the key. You both are."
I remembered my dream, the Seeker's memory of me being brought home as a baby. Steele had said I was perfect, that I was the key. Apparently, I wasn't perfect enough, if he still needed Ana.
He walked over to the crib, picked up my Ana and cradled her. She fussed and cried, but he ignored it. "With Grunt, I was able to enhance powers, even transfer them successfully, but only the basic ones: strength, speed, physical manipulation, appearance. The powers this baby possesses are beyond that, the next evolution of paranormals."
I wanted to dig out his eyes with my fingers and pull out his trachea. How dare he touch my baby? How dare he use her like this? I struggled against Adam, trying to escape, but he was too strong and my leg bled and hurt. Still, I wouldn't give up, not with Ana just a few feet away, crying for me. I could feel her fear and confusion, her dislike for the man who held her.
"You better hope she is okay, because if you have harmed even a hair on her head, I will make your death long and painful. You're going to die either way, but I can make you wish for death, Steele, and I will." The words may have sounded like empty threats, but I had a mother's conviction on my side. I wasn't bluffing.
Drake joined the fray by running toward Steele, who pointed his gun at Drake. "I've made some alterations. Don't make me make more."
Drake froze. 'What's the use? I can't even hurt him or allow him to be hurt. Useless. It's over. I've failed.'
No, failure was not an option. I wiggled in Adam's hand. "He's hurting me."
Steele looked up, as if he'd forgotten I'd been dangling there. "Of course. Grunt, put her down."