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“How did you get out?” Valerie asks.
“I…” He’s quiet as he looks down, and I fear he did something horribly wrong like hurt someone or something. But he takes a deep breath before looking up to hold her eyes. “I used my power to coerce them into letting me out.”
She hesitates before looking at me, and I’m sure I appear just as shocked.
“Hold on… I thought Marauder and the snow globe was what gave you the power to influence people,” I say.
“I… thought so too, but I noticed a couple of months ago that… I still had remnants of it. I can’t coerce people to the extent I could with Marauder’s assistance, but I can still… simply suggest things that people will do.”
Valerie stares at him. “So this whole time… you could have asked to leave.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t, why?” she asks.
“Because I don’t want to cause more issues. I want to do my time, I want… I understand what I did was wrong, and someday, I want to be free of this… and free of this power that makes even a simple thing like being in crowded areas unbearable… and maybe, if I go along with everything they’re trying, maybe someday, someone can help me. And if I ran… I wouldn’t be able to see Landon again, and I just can’t deal with that.”
Valerie’s quiet for a moment before turning to August and me. “I… am horribly devastated by the actions the people from my very own team have caused. These men and woman are thoroughly vetted, background checked, and tested before they join our team… but to have two of my own put you through this… it is inexcusable. Because of this, I will personally see to it that your brother receives no repercussions for his actions. But this will be the only time. This will not ever happen again. Do you understand?”
“I do,” Nolan says, and I nod in agreement.
“Okay. These two will escort you back. I hope to see that you will take this seriously.”
“I will,” Nolan says as he turns to me. He loops his bound arms over my head and hugs me. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry. All that shit is in the past,” I say as I squeeze him. “What I do want to know now is… what’s with all of the staring at Lex?”
Nolan looks surprised as if there was some way Icouldn’thave noticed it. “Oh… It’s weird as hell. His mind is so damn quiet and calm. Like calmer than yours.”
“Really?” I ask in shock. “Lex? You sure you’re not mistaking our demon worshiper or something? I could see his brain being weirdly calm. Lex is always so caught up in his mind, fixating on how he can’t control his power, that I assume his mind would be pure chaos.”
“And maybe it is, but I can’t really hear it. It’s so strange. He doesn’t have any mind powers like Marauder?”
“He does not,” Valerie says. “Only fire.”
“Huh… that’s… fascinating,” he says before hugging me again. “Your mind is soothing too, so maybe just some people have quieter minds.”
“I’ll visit you tomorrow,” I promise. “Make sure they’re not treating you differently or I will destroy them.”
“Landon, those kinds of jokes will get you in trouble,” Valerie growls.
“Sure, sure,” I say before finally letting him go. I hate seeing him pulled away and placed into the back of a vehicle, but I’m glad he didn’t suffer the same fate as the other villains who’d followed Marauder. I guess there’s one upside to this whole hero nonsense.
August wraps an arm around me and pulls me in close as we head into the building together. I’m ready to wash the blood and debris off my body, crawl into bed, and sleep the rest of the day away.
“How’s your head feel now?” August asks.
“Like someone ran it through a grater then tried smashing it back together but wasn’t positive how it went. How’s your head?”
He nods slowly. “Like it went through a blender and was then pushed out through my eyeballs.”
“That’s a pretty legit assessment. How about we sleep at least a day of our life away?”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
AUGUST
