The Empowered Series (Book 1): Empowered (Agent) Read online

  My jaw dropped. This was far more than I had hoped for.

  “Your performance exceeded our expectations.”

  Exceeded expectations. He made me sound like a prized horse. I guess that’s what I was to Support. But, so what if they thought that, if it bought Ruth more time.

  “There’s something else I’d like to get out of this,” I said.

  Winterfield raised an eyebrow.

  “Gus Silco. I want a decent burial for him.”

  Winterfield nodded. “We’ll do that.”

  We sat in silence for a while. I finished my coffee. “Okay, what’s next?”

  “We wait for the Scourge to contact you.”

  “How will they do that?” I asked. I hadn’t told him about the medallion.

  He leaned back in the booth and stamped out his cigarette. “It will be interesting to find out.”

  Ashula had said the Amplifier was the key to the mystery of why we Empowered existed. I wanted to ask him about her words, but kept silent.

  Knowledge is power, and it was time I had some.

  I always seemed to be arriving at Ruth’s at twilight. After being debriefed by Winterfield, I had gone back to my new place, the duplex in Southeast Portland. I'd half-expected Alex to be waiting for me, but no one was there when I unlocked the door.

  I crashed at once on the bed. When I woke, it was almost dark. By the time I arrived at the Shadow Wood apartments, the outdoor lights were on and the stairwell was in shadow.

  I stood on that shadowy stair for a long time, looking up at Ruth’s door. I didn’t want to have the door slammed in my face again.

  I had to try, had to give her what I’d fought so hard to give her. And I needed to see them. Now that I knew they were safe from Mutter forever.

  I tapped on the door.

  Ella opened it.

  “Mat!” She hugged me close. “I’m so glad you are okay!” She was so relieved to see me. My eyes watered. Damn it.

  I hugged her back. “I’m fine.

  “I’ve been so worried about you,” she said, still clinging to me. “We’ve all been worried.”

  “How is everything?” I asked her.

  She took my hand, and I followed her inside.

  Ava sat at the kitchen table, face in a math book. She did not look up. Papers were spread out on the table. A second math book lay open next to a pencil and a calculator. The twins had been studying.

  “Ignore her,” Ella whispered. “She’s really glad you are okay.”

  I shrugged. I couldn’t blame Ava.

  “Where’s Ruth?”

  Ella looked at the floor. “In her room. She’s not doing well.” She looked up me. Tears swam in her eyes. “But I think she’d want to see you, no matter what.”

  I swallowed, nodded, rubbed my eyes. Didn't cry.

  Ruth’s door was closed. I knocked lightly, then opened it and went in.

  She was sitting up in bed, a book spread out on her lap.

  Her eyes widened for a moment when she saw me, then her face hardened.

  “Mathilda.”

  “Grandma, I came by to see how you are doing,” I said, closing the door behind me.

  I pulled a chair over to the side of the bed.

  “I’ve been better. I didn’t expect to see you any time soon,” she said. “Do you remember what I said?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry that things worked out the way they have.”

  “So am I, Mat, so am I.”

  An African violet sat on Ruth’s windowsill, in full bloom. I closed my eyes and listened to the flower hum softly as it slept.

  “I did what I had to,” I said quietly.

  Ruth coughed, waved me off when I asked if she wanted water, and coughed again. “If that’s how you see it, then I’ll give you credit for being honest and for seeing your actions in an adult light.”

  Maybe there was hope, just maybe.

  I laid the hypo case on the nightstand, opened it.

  Ruth’s eyes narrowed. “What is this, Mat?”

  “An experimental drug to help with your illness, Grandma.”

  “How did you get it?” Her voice was thick with suspicion.

  “The government gave me this to give to you. For services rendered.”

  She stared at me. “What did you say?”

  “This is for services rendered.”

  “Who told you to say that?” Her expression was still suspicious.

  “I can’t tell you, but that is the truth.”

  She looked surprised. “After all that time,” she whispered. For a moment, I thought she was going to thank me, I could have sworn that she was going to open up.

  But then her face hardened. “They think this is enough.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  She looked up at me.

  “I don’t approve of what you did,” she told me.

  “Does this mean you won’t take it?” Damn Ruth’s stubbornness anyway. "The twins need you," I said very softly.

  She stared at the case. “I’ll take it, and use it.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. “Thank you.” Thank God.

  “There’ll be more.”

  “Very well.” She picked up the hypo and frowned at it.

  I got up. “Also, a grant for special needs aid will come through shortly. You’ll be moved to a better residence, and the girls will be admitted to a private school.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  I cocked my head. She wasn’t going to prevent this. “It’s going to happen, Grandma. I love you and the twins. No matter what, that will never change.”

  I left her there, holding the hypo.

  Ava ignored me, but Ella followed me to the door.

  “I brought Grandma some new medicine. Please make sure she takes it once a week.”

  Ella hugged me hard. “Thank you,” she whispered in my ear.

  I kissed her cheek and left, closing the door softly behind me.

  The world stretched out before me. The trees and the nearby shrubs sang a soft song. I wondered if plants dreamed? Perhaps I would find out one day.

  THE END

  AFTERWORD

  Thank you for reading Empowered: Agent! Mathilda’s story continues in Empowered: Traitor, which will be released in late March.

  If you enjoyed this novel, please post a review on Amazon! Reviews make a real difference in helping readers decide on which book to buy.

  Subscribe to my newsletter here to stay up-to-date about The Empowered series, and receive a prequel story as a free gift.

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  EMPOWERED: TRAITOR CHAPTER 1

  The damn Colombian rain forest wouldn’t shut up. It was like crowd surfing an ear-shattering rock concert at the world’s biggest stadium. The vines with flowers dangling from nearby trees were especially noisy. My connection with plants had been a total pain in the ass ever since this morning, when we landed in Colombia to help pull off the big-time tech job for the Scourge.

  Someone, a pissed off someone, was calling my name. “Hey Mat. Mat!” It was Keisha. The dark skin of her face shone with sweat. Her eyes narrowed and she waved a hand at me, but the screeching chorus inside my skull was making it hard to focus. “Mathilda!”

  Focus, I told myself. I pulled my sense back inside me so I could think. “Don’t call me Mathilda.”

  Keisha shrugged. “Only way to get your attention.”

  I wiped sweat from my face. My jungle suit was all pitted out. Keisha’s didn’t look any better.

  It wasn’t enough that I led a Scourge cell of fellow Empowereds. I had to lead it into the sticky hot, noisy, emerald green Colombian rain forest. All part of being a secret agent for the good guys, working my way deeper into the world’s number one super-villain group. And the world’s number one super-villain group wan
ted some brand new tech that some company was cranking out down here in the back of beyond, so they sent me and my cell to help the South Americans steal that brand new tech.

  The two other members of my cell, Simon and Coldie, crouched nearby, at the edge of a clearing, looking at a line of metal poles in front of us. There was an electric-sounding hum coming from the barrier.

  Simon caught my look. “Some sort of electro-barrier,” he said, in that English accent of his. Northern, he called it, whatever that meant.

  The field past the electro-barrier was empty except for a clump of trees in the middle, maybe thirty feet away. The barrier ran for a long ways in either direction.

  “We could skirt this,” Simon said.

  I looked at my watch. We were already behind schedule. I looked closer at the clump of trees. They had cylindrical trunks, and tall, cone-shaped crowns. But they were bright emerald green, and almost rippled with movement.

  Something about the way their skins shone, like crystalline scales, made me hesitate. Shit, I was becoming an old woman, and I wasn’t even twenty-two yet. I reached out with my sense. Behind me the rain forest kept sending a shouting, hooting, hissing chaotic jumble of noise into my head.

  Sweat trickled into my eyes. Nothing from the weird trees. I stepped closer, raising my hand and concentrated.

  The rain forest’s noise grew fainter behind me. The cluster of strange tree-like things weren’t trees. I couldn’t hear anything from them. But I felt something, like the trembling of a muscle, coiled, ready to spring into action, or water moving in a stream. No emotion, just potential ready to be unleashed.

  I shook myself. “Those are not trees. I‘m not sure what the hell they are.”

  “Are you scared?” That was Coldie. Stuck-up and sure of herself as usual, including insisting on using an Empowered nickname.

  She stood there, hands on hips. Sweat plastered her red hair against her face, her pale skin already burning in the hot sun. Good.

  Nineteen-years old and she thought she knew everything. Like how her being Empowered would keep her from getting sunburned. Idiot.

  Keisha glared at her but Ophelia ignored her.

  “Nope. I just want to know what those tree things are.”

  “Tree things?” Keisha asked. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “What do you think?” I asked Simon.

  “Going around is feasible, but will take time. The other cell has to be getting close to its target.”

  The factory. The Scourge had sent us down here to work the dual heist with the South American cell. They were to go to the factory; we were to go to the warehouse two miles away. There was security, but it was normals, not Empowered. This place belonged to some private company that had worked out a deal with the Colombian government.

  “Okay, we take the direct route and cross this ‘electro-barrier’.” Besides, I wanted a closer look at those tree things. Once we were out in the field, I could reach out with my power, and not be drowned by this freaking forest chorus.

  I walked over to a big leafy tree, the normal kind, unlike whatever those things were out there in that field. I put my hand on its bark. This was going to suck but it was the fastest, safest way into the field. Who knew how strong that electro-barrier was.

  The bark was warm. I leaned close. I wouldn’t have to extend my power far.

  The tree groaned in my mind. Unhappy. I pushed my power deeper. Afraid. The tree’s fear moaned in my mind. The fear made it lean as much as it could away from the field. It was afraid of the things out there, the not-trees. I shuddered, pulled my hand away. I couldn’t fight its fear.

  I went to the next tree. It was also afraid. Its fear howled through me. Again I ripped my hand away.

  “We don’t have all day,” Keisha groused when I pulled back from the third tree.

  “Yeah, I get that.” We had to get past the barrier. We were close. I needed a big score here. Things had stalled. We’d spent the last few months doing various jobs for the Scourge, but I hadn’t met with the Inner Circle yet, just Ashula Singh, and that had been only three times since Seattle.

  My eyes narrowed and I looked at Keisha. “Screw this.”

  “I don’t think that’s wise,” Simon said behind me. He must have guessed what I was planning.

  Keisha grinned. “Now you are talking.” She waved us back. “Don’t know what that electro thingy is gonna do when I break it.

  Simon stroked his chin. “Mat, having her dismantle one of the energy pylons is going to set off alarms and bring a reaction. Our element of surprise will be shot.”

  Coldie finished braiding her red hair, flipped the braid over one shoulder, and lifted her chin. “You’re wasting time, Mathilda. Maybe we should start walking now, especially since you are afraid of those trees in the field.”

  The last thing I needed was lip from her. We were a team, for fuck’s sake. Time to get them to act like one, or I’d never get finished with this assignment.

  “We’re going to build a bridge,” I told them. “Ophelia,” I said to Coldie, using her real name. “You are going to make an ice bridge.” I drew an arch in the air.

  She put her hands on her hips. “In this heat? Over the fence? No way.”

  “Just get ready.” I didn’t have time for her bullshit.

  “Keisha, we need metal rods, two on each side of the barrier.” I pointed at the ground a yard from the barrier, at a place between the metal pylons and then at the far side. Listen to me, I sounded like an engineer. I just had this idea in my head and ran with it.

  Keisha shot me a “you-have-got-to-be-kidding” look but for once didn’t grouse. She gestured at the patch of ground on this side of the barrier. The ground steamed and bits of metal rose up from the earth.

  “This is gonna hurt like a bitch,” she said. But she didn’t stop.

  Keisha used to call herself the Steel Witch. She could control metal, and even conjure it. Steam rose from iron puddled on the ground. Keisha closed her eyes, frowned. “Fuck.” Her arms trembled.

  The rain forest must be a bitch to conjure metal from. She could create metal, iron, copper, even steel from soil, even from air, but this had to be tough, because she grimaced and swore as she gestured. More steam billowed up and hid what she was making.

  “Damn it!” She opened her eyes, lowered her arms. The steam vanished and an iron rod six-feet tall jabbed skyward out of the ground, wobbling.

  “She did it,” Simon said. “Brilliant.”

  “That’s just the one on this side. Keisha’s got another to make.”

  “Hell no,” Keisha said. “I did both at once.”

  Another six foot tall iron rod stood on the far side. No wonder she swore.

  Keisha shook out her arms. “I wanted to get it over with.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Hurt like a bitch.”

  I clapped her shoulder. “And you did. That was awesome.”

  She laughed, looked at me sideways. “Now I know something’s not right if you’re heaping praise.”

  But I meant it. She had conjured metal in two places at once. That had to be tough.

  Something caught my eye out in the field. The weird tree things were closer. They were still in a circle. Spiky fronds fluttered in the breeze. Hadn’t seen the fronds before, but I hadn’t paid enough attention. I needed to pay attention. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about strange plants doing weird stuff.

  I pointed at Coldie. “Time to make your ice bridge. Don’t let it touch the electro-barrier.” The pylons were seven feet tall, so her ice bridge would have to be an arch.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Coldie gestured at the iron rod on this side of the barrier. Frost spread over the metal, and then ice covered it, got larger until it was a column that became an arch. She twisted her wrist and frost covered the far rod, grew up to join the arch at the midpoint, a few feet above the invisible electro-barrier.

  I turned to Simon but he already scrambled up the arch, driving spikes into the ice, tyi
ng lines off. He moved like an acrobat on amphetamines, only no drugs were involved. He wasn’t a speedster, but his power gave him incredible reflexes and flexibility. He scrambled up the arch, laying out the nylon rope, and in seconds he was across the arch, and down the other side.

  My turn. The ice was cold, but it wouldn’t last for long once Coldie stopped feeding it, which is why she’d have to be last. My fingers were blue by the time I’d reached the top of the arch. I swung around and slid down the far side, landing beside Simon.

  The ice was already melting in the heat. Coldie gestured like a dancer. The melting ice froze over.

  “Alright, Keisha, you’re next,” I said.

  She hesitated.

  We had to move. “Come on.”

  Keisha swore, and then climbed the column. She got to the top of the arch. Her eyes went wide.

  “Come on, Keisha, you’re almost there.”

  “Yeah, this is not the time to freeze,” Coldie laughed.

  Keisha pointed past me and Simon. “Mat, those tree things are moving!”

  Simon and I looked over our shoulders. Keisha was right. The bizarre tree things were actually moving, toward us.

  The ground rippled around the weird plants. Spider-like roots, thousands of them, writhed like millipedes’ legs. Their branches uncoiled like whips, and snapped at us with loud cracks. Simon slammed into me, and we went down as a branch literally whipped past.

  Shit.

  Simon and I fell back as the weird trees fanned out into a crescent.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Damn it. I had to stop them.

  There was a low hum and then Simon fired his stunner at the nearest one. Its spindly branches waved frantically, the thousands of tiny legs folded underneath it. For an instant it was still, then the thing started moving again.

  Zap! Simon hit it again.

  Same thing happened.

  And the other trees were coming closer.

  Simon fired again and again, hitting one tree-thing and then another. Each stopped, thudded against the ground. A moment later they stood and began walking on thousands of tiny root-like legs toward us.

  I had to do something.

  I extended my power toward them, dropping the mental wall I’d thrown up back in the rain forest.