The Pyramid Chronicles: Tyche Point (#1)

Chapter Ten: Under the Surface

From there, it was a scramble to get out of the building and back into Adam's car. He collapsed into his seat and fumbled with the keys while Willow buckled her seat belt and yanked off her bandana, which had solidified under layers of frost.

The engine roared to life. Adam threw frequent glances at the rear-view mirror as he sped out of the parking lot and up the hill. Only when the building was out of sight and there were no signs of pursuers did his heart even begin to slow.

"Pyrokinesis," Willow said.

"Huh?" Adam risked a quick glance at her face. Her expression was as cool as ever. She didn't even seem out of breath.

"Fire powers. Does your brother have those too, or something else?"

Adam's hand tightened around the wheel. Not only did she know his secret, but Eric's as well. "Yeah, he's got the same thing," he said, not seeing any point in denying it. "And you can make ice?"

"I can control it. Cryokinesis." Willow leaned back. "It's easier to freeze liquid water than to pull ice from the air."

"And you think those people are here to find kids with powers," Adam said.

"That was my theory, which is why I wanted to know if Eric had powers."

"And seeing as how there are people after us, I'm sure you can understand why I didn't want to share that information with just anyone."

"Yeah, probably better to keep that a secret," Willow conceded. She held up one of her hands to study her palm. "Well, on the plus side, they won't have any footage of us, even after they fix the looping on their cameras. They might put out a description of what they did see, but only a few agents will even have an idea of what we look like."

"They said they were with the government," Adam said.

"Not surprising that the government has a few secret organizations. They'd want to investigate any rumors of people with superpowers popping up in large numbers." Willow reached into her bag and pulled out a water bottle. "There must be more in Tyche Point. That guy who broke into the lab before us might be one, too."

"What do you think he wanted?" Adam asked.

"I'll go through the footage I downloaded and find out." Willow uncapped the bottle and tipped her head back. She downed the entire thing in under a minute. Adam couldn't help but watch with concern as she wiped her face with her arm.

"What?" she demanded. "I had to take water from somewhere to cover my arm in ice. I can freeze small amounts in the air, but if I'm not careful, I can dehydrate myself pretty quickly." After a moment, she added, "Especially since I haven't practiced much."

"Oh," was all Adam had to offer in response. She sure knew a lot about the science behind her ability, for someone who 'hadn't practiced much.' Adam turned his focus out the front window, to the town that was growing closer. He still had no idea where his brother was.

Annoyed as he was, he had to admit it wasn't Willow's fault they didn't find Eric at the lab. She'd been after information they didn't need, but it was good to know that the government had taken an interest in their powers.

Adam cleared his throat and asked the question that had been at the tip of his tongue since they'd left. "What did you see that upset you so much?"

"What?"

"In their files. You were looking at those sales receipts, and then you freaked out and started freezing the room."

Willow looked out the window and let out a heavy sigh. "It's not that big of a deal. I just—wasn't expecting to see my dad's name. Well, the name of his company."

"His company?"

"West and Novak. It's a tech company. Apparently, they're selling their products to SCI," Willow said. "Remember when you asked me about my family being rich?"

"Uh, right," Adam said. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah. Bit personal. My dad is rich, but I haven't seen him in years."

"Oh." Adam searched for something to say. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't seen mine in years, either."

"He ditch you, too?"

Adam grimaced. "We don't know what happened to him, actually. He just vanished one day without a trace." Maybe that wasn't as good a way to relate to her as he'd initially thought. Her father had clearly made a choice. One his own dad might not have made.

An uncomfortable silence followed. It was finally broken when Adam's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. A message from Mom. He pulled over.

"Did something happen?" Willow asked.

Adam opened the text. Relief washed over him, and he nodded. "Eric's okay."