Burning Day

Chapter 25

Goddamnit, I thought, the officers in navy blue uniforms thundering toward us.

"Stand down, hands on your heads!" the officer at the front of the pack shouted, but confusion washed over me when she didn't raise a gun, but her hand.

I caught a smear of black on her palm, but she switched her hands before I could get a closer look. It seemed eerily familiar, like I'd caught a glimpse of it before.

Peering at Gwen, I smirked. When would the universe learn? We couldn't be stopped with stupid fights. We'd practically trained our entire lives for this.

Gwen crossed her arms, her mouth curled into a wry smile as she stared down the officers circling us. They held their arms out, and I saw those black smudges on their palms too. Strange. There wasn't a weapon in any of their grips—only a gun on a few of their belts.

But with their arms stationary, I was able to see they weren't smudges at all.

No, they were tattoos.

On their right palms, a black dot was tattooed in the center of three lines forming a half square shape.

Chills ran down my spine at the sight of the identical markings on their hands. I absently rubbed my own. Is that what it would mean to join them?

Gwen's voice broke me out of my trance. "Uh, no. I don't think we will." She snapped twice before raising a hand to her chin in mock thought. "What do you think, Kiara?"

I shrugged, side-stepping to Gwen's back. As long-time partners in training, Gwen and I had devised a set of hand and cough codes years ago, two snaps being one of them. We called this attack The Double Benders, named after one of our favourite cartoons.

I focused my gaze on the circle of officers around me. "Nah."

Gwen nodded slowly. "Didn't think so."

In perfect sync, Gwen threw her hands out and whirled on her heels as I bolted for a pair of guards with weapons.

The officers blew off their feet, sloshing against the muddy grass while I wrenched two of their guns off their immobilized forms and threw one over to Gwen.

I held my weapon out, ready to strike again.

But it seemed the officers no longer had any interest in fighting us.

One of the dark-haired officers rose to her feet, holding her arms out in front of her like she was trying to tame a rabid animal. "You—you two are Gifted?"

"I am," Gwen growled, firmly gripping her gun. She nodded at me. "She's about to be."

The officer turned to look at me, and her back went rigid. Her lips parted, brows wrinkled with confusion.

I snarled, even as the officer's expression dissolved into some mix of wonder and pain.

"Yeah," I hissed, stepping forward so we were eye to eye. It only strengthened her look of turmoil."Got a problem with that?"

A couple guards around her chuckled, and the officer snapped out of her stupor to smile. When she lifted her left finger and twirled it into a circle, a puddle of water materialized into thin air, enveloping my hand holding the gun.

I watched, hypnotized, as the water slipped the weapon from my hand and floated into the officer's.

Other Gifteds.

My mind swirled so suddenly I was sure I'd faint.

Other Gifteds.

We're not the only ones.