Free Out Of The Ashes (The Ending Series, #3) by Lindsey Fairleigh, Lindsey Pogue Page B

off,
you know? You think about it— miss it—all the time, because it’s not
there.” I sighed. And sometimes, when it comes back, it’s broken , I didn’t say.
    Carlos crossed
his arms over his chest and stared out at the horses, who were milling around
in the overgrown grasses. “I guess, yeah, I was scared of losing it again. At
first, I mean. I thought using it might burn it out again, and then I started
thinking…what if something happens and, like, those people take you again—take
any of us—and we have to do it all over again? What if that happened, and I
couldn’t send out an EMP blast?”
    I studied his
profile, thinking I should probably say something comforting or wise or
Grams-like. Nothing. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. I touched my
hand to the silver medallion hanging around my neck; it had belonged to Grams,
and I was hoping to draw on some of her maternal wisdom through it. Nope; no such
luck.
    Carlos shrugged,
still not looking at me. “But then I—” He met my eyes for the briefest moment
and laughed a soft, humorless laugh. “It was like I could hear my sister
yelling at me, telling me I was being stupid, that it was okay to be scared, but
not to let it rule me, you know?”
    It was the first
time he’d ever mentioned a sister, but it wasn’t a surprise that he’d never
mentioned her before. Not many of my companions spent much time talking about
the people they’d lost, myself included. Talking about it made it seem that
much more real, that much fresher; it made us really acknowledge the fact that
we would never see any of them again. Because of Zo and Jason’s mom…
    “So I started
practicing again. Turning stuff on, sending out small EM pulses, and, well…” Carlos
turned his moon-shadowed eyes on me, looking at me fully for the first time
since joining me on the wagon’s bench seat. “If I show you something, will you
keep it a secret? I just—I don’t want everyone to know yet.” He smiled and
shook his head and, for once, looked like the teen boy he was. “I’m not that
good at it… yet .”
    I swallowed,
searching his eyes for some clue of what he was about to share with me.
Finally, I nodded.
    “Hold out your
hand?”
    I frowned, and hurt
filled his eyes.
    “You don’t trust
me?”
    My heart felt
like it dropped into my stomach. “No—I mean, yes, of course I trust you. I’d
trust you with my life,” I said in a rush. I held out my hand, palm up, and
forced a smile that I hoped offered him some reassurance. “Please. Show me.”
    Relief filled
Carlos’s shadowed eyes, and he returned my smile with a tentative one of his
own. “Don’t move, okay?” When I nodded, he extended his hand, holding his palm
directly over mine. “I found a physics textbook and have been reading up on
electromagnetic fields and charges and Faraday’s Law, and how—” He laughed and
shook his head. “You don’t care about that stuff.”
    But he was wrong.
I did care about “that stuff.” I cared that he was actively seeking out
information that might help him explore his Ability. Electromagnetic fields,
charges, and something called “Faraday’s Law” sounded like fairly ambitious
research topics, especially for a sixteen-year-old. He should talk to Gabe…
    “That stuff I
read got me thinking,” Carlos continued. “And I tried some different things,
and…well, I came up with this.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice
was nearly a whisper. “Ready?”
    Again, I nodded.
    He took a deep
breath, and a gentle tingling sensation spread over my palm. It felt odd—a
little itchy, but not unpleasant. Gradually, almost like I was dipping my hand
into hot water slowly enough to allow my skin to grow accustomed to the
temperature, the tingling sensation spread, climbing around to the back of my
hand and up to my wrist and higher. When it reached my shoulder and just
started to extend onto my torso, I drew in a shaky breath. “What—what is