Abnormal {Book 1: Completed, Book 2: Ongoing}

Chapter 37

I giggle as Adrius kisses the tip of my nose. "And as I was saying," he continues, "I was never a particularly obedient child. So you can probably guess what happened when..."

A knock sounds at the door, and I quickly untangle myself from Adrius, hurrying over to the couch and grabbing a random magazine off the coffee table.

"Come in!" Adrius calls. The door opens with a small creak, and a pale faced boy hurries into the room. He's about our age, but he looks quite frail, and his body flickers in and out of sight. I frown. I wonder what his power is. 

"Adrius, the Commander has a message for you." Adrius nods, and waits patiently for the boy to continue.

But he hesitates, and glances in my direction. "The Commander specified...that the message be for your ears only...and the other generals, of course."

"Axel..." Adrius sighs impatiently. "I don't care what he specified, just tell me the message."

Axel swallows nervously, then nods. I notice that the frequency of his flickering has increased. "The prisoner...the prisoner has escaped."

"What did you say?" Adrius explodes. "A prisoner has never escaped before! I want the names of the guards at the time of the escape. And the security footage. And whoever has had contact with her for the past 12 hours."

"Wait...what prisoner? Who are you guys talking about?" I ask, confused. 

"The spy," Adrius replies impatiently. "Raven."

My blood runs cold at the mention of her, and the world seems to spin around me. 

Raven...managed to escape?

"...we already went through the security footage," Axel continues, "and we saw that she used her powers on all the people that stood in her way, including the guards. Basically she commanded them to stop moving while she ran away. Then she forced some of the guards to disable all of the alarms."

"That's...that's impossible. How was nobody able to stop her? I mean, even if her powers..." Adrius shakes his head, clearly frustrated. 

"The mission takes place tomorrow," Axel says. "The Commander is still organizing the troops. The list comes out tonight, and the plan will be sent to your watch."

Both Adrius and I are silent as Axel leaves the room. Adrius sits down on the bed heavily, covering his face with his hands. I walk over to him, climbing onto the bed and wrapping my arms around his middle. "It's okay," I say in a quiet voice. "We'll find her."

"It's my fault," he replies, shaking his head. "I assigned the guards. I should have picked someone more capable. Someone that could match her abilities."

"Hey, it's not your fault," I tell him, running my hand through his hair. "Stop blaming yourself for everything."

He lifts his face from his hands and leans back into the pillow, bringing me down with him. "Adrius?" I ask tentatively.

"Hmm?"

"Can I...can I go on the mission?"

His body tenses immediately, and he sits up on the bed. "No." He stares down at me. "Absolutely not."

I sit up, too, my brow furrowed. "Why not? She was spying on me. I deserve to be a part of this."

"It's way too dangerous, Lyanna. You can't go. I won't be able to protect you."

My eyes narrow as his gaze moves to the window. "Wait...is it because I failed the last mission? Is it because I wasn't good enough?" My voice rises an octave, and he turns back towards me.

"No!" He looks stricken. "Why would you say that?"

"I already told you! Because I failed in the last mission! And remember what happened to us afterwards? Remember what..."

"Stop." His voice is dangerously calm, and his eyes flash with warning. I close my mouth immediately, wishing I could take back my words. 

He takes a deep breath, and speaks again. "The last mission took place in one of the soldier compounds, meant to act as a temporary camp for prisoners so they can be transported later. The mission involving Raven will be at the government's headquarters. Where President Gray will be."

"And so what?" I ask defiantly. "It doesn't matter whether he's there or not." 

"Yes it does! You have no idea what you're talking about! President Gray isn't someone that you want to meet. Ever."

"It's not like I haven't seen him on television."

He struggles to hold in his temper as he replies. "Lyanna, trust me on this. My father served the President for over 15 years. I know what he's like." He shakes his head in disgust. "He's not human."

"Well, I don't care whether he's human, either." I slide off Adrius's bed and move to the wall to put on my shoes. Then I walk back to the joined door in the wall that separates our rooms. I place my hand on the doorknob, then turn back to face Adrius. He's staring at me, a stony expression on his face.

"I'll find her, no matter what," I tell him. "It doesn't matter if you don't let me go. I have my own ways."

But even as I step into my suite and shut the door behind me, I realize that I have no idea what ways I was talking about.