Reckoning Read Online Free Page A

me to the shadows and back. “And the Hawaiians will never tell them.
    “You think they’re dead?” I ask, not really wanting his reply. I know they are; I know what I’ve done.
    David looks at me, a sad smile covering his face. “It wasn’t your fault. You were acting on instinct. But I want you to try to control yourself more, learn to fight that urge.”
    Everything tells me to argue back, to deny what I’ve done. The picture of the gunmen, their weapons turned loose on themselves ends my mental chatter immediately. I look at David and nod. “Okay,” I whisper.
    He pulls his phone from his pocket and turns away. My mind spins. How did they find us? I think of the dreams, the nightmares. Maybe LeMercier tracked me through my thoughts. The hair on my arm stands before the idea is complete. I led him here, I led them all here—me and my traitorous dreams.
    “We have to leave,” I mumble as David finishes his call and returns his phone to his pocket. “This is my fault. I did this. I . . .”
    David takes my hand and squeezes it. “Shh. There’s no time for that now.” He heads for a dirt path that flanks the neighborhood. “Come on. I found us a ride.”
     

 
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
    S even sat on the cot in his room, his mind at odds. He knew there was so much the Creator wasn’t telling him, so much he needed to know in order to make the right choice and stay alive. Seven shook his head, hoping to empty his thoughts. But it was no use, the more he tried to center his mind, the more his fears betrayed him. He needed to get himself under control and quick.
    Seven stood and stretched. There was only one place he could focus. He left his room and walked away from his make-shift home, going deep into the surrounding forest. Pine needles crunched under his feet as he forced his way through the thick pines. The light grew dim as the canopy of trees thickened overhead.
    After several minutes, Seven slowed and took a deep breath. The air was crisp and slightly damp. It cleared his mind, quelled the tempest brewing throughout his body. A few more steps and he was in the glade. Seven had formed this glade himself, clearing away the trees and low-brush with his thoughts. It was the only place he could think, the only place he could find some semblance of peace when he felt this unbalanced. Large boulders poked through the low grass, forming a loose circle. Long wooden staves littered the ground, blending into the moist pine needles. He walked to the center of the circle and took another breath.
    Center your thoughts , he ordered himself. He exhaled and the last of the noise quieted in his mind. He picked up two of the shorter poles and began to swing them in rhythmic patterns punctuated with loud taps on the stones. It looked like a long forgotten tribal dance, swing-swing-tap-tap-tap-swing . The pattern repeated faster and faster as Seven lost himself to the ritual. Each swing cleared away his worries, each tap clarified his goals. After several minutes, he tossed the short sticks aside and picked up a longer one.
    Seven balanced the weight of the pole in both hands and closed his eyes. Within moments, small rocks swirled around him, then darted toward him. He opened his eyes, his gaze pinned to the distant trees in front of him. He swung the large staff, batting away the flying stones. More rocks took flight and his arms moved faster. He contorted his body at odd angles, easily defeating every stone that tried to pummel him. His gaze never left the pines, despite the strange movement of his body and the increasing speed of the rocks.
    The training continued, Seven’s mind focused only on his movements. No thoughts of the Creator and his next assignment. No worries about the Order and what they might demand of him. Nothing but his training.
    Sweat beaded across Seven’s brow as the rocks began to slow and drop to the ground. He tossed aside the heavy pole and collapsed, his body and mind spent.
    “Your