Free Ravens by Kaylie Austen

help us?” Nathan
asked.
    “We were just getting to that when you
arrived. I didn’t get her answer, but I’m sure she will. Julie is her
sister.”
    “Does Julie even remember her?”
    Liam avoided giving a direct answer. “We
don’t talk about our other world lives; it was too painful for her.”
    “I don’t remember anything from my other
world life,” Nathan said.
    “Consider yourself lucky,” Liam
responded curtly.
    “Does Kendra remember?”
    “Oh yeah, she has no amnesia. We figured
it’s worse the younger you are and if you go in face first. Julie went in face
first, she doesn’t remember a thing. You were six, too, and went in headfirst.
You don’t remember much. Kendra remembers everything from what happened ten
years ago, to my transmissions, to that stupid martial arts trainer,” he
growled, not meaning to divulge that last bit of information.
    “I hope this works.” Mark ignored the
conversation. “I don’t know what those humans are doing to Julie, but I’m not
sure if she can last much longer.”
    “Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Liam said
through tight lips. He was prepared to kill every hunter involved in tracking
and capturing Julie.
    The guys went over their routine. Most
holding facilities and labs were about the same. The hunters kept Ravens in the
basement in energy-diffusing cells under the watch of dozens of armed humans on
the premises. It required skill and caution to get by them, and full use of
their powers to kill the hunters and rescue the Ravens. This crew had yet to
enter a raid and not kill a hunter.
    Years ago, they got away with
incapacitating hunters and escaping, but those hunters came back in stronger
force. They sought to capture and kill, and left the Ravens with no choice
except to kill them first. The police and the government wouldn’t do anything
to prevent hunters, so what choice did Ravens have?
    A few hours passed while the guys
conspired and Kendra slept. As she slumbered, her molecular make-up shifted,
altering her DNA. Her senses heightened, her muscles strengthened, and soon,
she would exude energy. If she was like Liam, she would possess extra
abilities, and he couldn’t wait to find out what they were.
    ****
    Kendra made an effort to pull herself
out of Liam’s drug-like, energy-induced sleep. She groaned and moved her head
toward the closed bedroom door. She touched her lips as she gradually recalled
what happened. She licked her lips, the smooth barbell slid against her skin.
    She remembered Liam’s lips against hers.
She smiled, but stopped halfway. Concentrated energy, having assailed her from
Liam’s touch, made her woozy. He touched her after intoxicating her with his
powers. Oh, she remembered all right, and the boy would get it.
    Kendra growled. His energy through his
touch manipulated her thoughts. Yeah, she remembered. She remembered his warmth
near her face, his breath against her skin, and great devil, his lips touched
hers. Twice ! She fumed.
    The energy within her grew, making it
easier to give in to anger. She hated this feeling. She hated the changes her
body underwent, and she hated Liam for dragging her into this mess.
    Kendra lurched up in bed. She planned to
give him a piece of her mind, then rip him a new one. When she jumped to her
feet, dizziness hit and she fell back onto the bed. A tugging annoyance ate
away at the pit of her stomach and coupled with nausea. The growing heat
writhed and pulsated, spreading against her organs and straining to reach the
surface.
    Kendra lingered on the verge of freaking
out. This energy sensation felt like an alien parasite about to rip through her
gut.
    She moaned, sat up, and bent over at the
waist.
    She should get out of here, escape, and
get back home where these things didn’t exist. She’d find safety with her
parents, with Randal, with the world she knew. She glanced over at the jeans on
the bed and the sneakers on the floor. If she needed to run, she might as well
be agile