Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

Fog gathered on the ground, twirling around Ryan, encircling his legs like a cat.

“I’ve been hiding my talent all my life. I was ashamed. My father always told me I had to keep it a secret, that it was a bad thing, that I was a freak. But there are other people like me. People with gifts.” He spoke in a reverent tone, his eyes bright with pride.

No kidding, I thought sarcastically. Two of them are in this room with you.

If he wasn’t a psychopath, I’d have felt sympathy for him. I knew exactly how he felt.

“And I will join them,” he continued. “They found me. They told me I needed to break all ties to my former life before I could join them. I had to make sure I got rid of anyone who might be suspicious about me, who might know about my gift.”

That didn’t sound like the FEA. They would never encourage killing. Maybe it was the group of rogue Variants Holly had mentioned in her e-mail. But how to ask him without giving myself away?

“So the victims all knew about your gift?”

He shrugged. “Nobody else knew, but Dr. Hansen was concerned about my blood test results and that stupid janitor had seen me creating fog. I can’t take any risks. Abel’s Army is too important for that.”

“Abel’s Army?” I said. Kate looked like she knew what he was talking about. When she sensed my eyes on her, she lowered her face.

Ryan chuckled. “Enough with the questions, Maddy.” He pushed a finger against my lips. I wanted to bite it but he moved his hand downward. His fingers trailed over the scar on my throat, across my breastbone, stopping to rest on the pendant for a moment before he brushed across the A over my rib cage. “I love that I left my mark on you, Maddy. I’m kind of sad that it’s almost healed.” I shuddered at his closeness.

“I doubt Abel’s Army will give a shit about your gift, loser. They have much freakier talents than you could ever imagine. Why would they want a little boy who can play fog machine?”

Kate—she’d come to my aid. I’d never thought I’d see that happen.

“What the hell do you know about Abel’s Army?” he demanded, his voice low.

Kate pressed her lips together.

He smiled and walked toward the bathtub. Kate tensed when he stood over her but he just reached for the faucet and turned the water on, letting it fill the tub. His silence frightened me more than if he’d shouted and raged. My stomach tightened. He moved to the sink and took the Taser from the shelf.

“You will talk,” he said. “Because I will make you.”

With the Taser in his hand, he knelt in front of Kate. “So you really don’t want to tell me how you know about Abel’s Army?” Before she could answer or even shake her head, he touched the Taser to her side. Blue sparks flew and Kate screamed. I forced my body to go into shift mode again. Despite years of training, the acute panic I felt, hindered my Variation. The ripplings started slowly in my toes again, working their way up.

“Stop it!” I cried.

Electricity crackled again as Kate’s screams filled the room. I struggled against my restraints, my eyes burning. Ignoring me, he tasered her again. Finally my legs shortened and thinned, and so did my arms.

“Leave her alone!” I screamed and this time he did. He staggered to his feet and lumbered toward me. I stopped shifting, hoping he wouldn’t notice anything in the dim light. My face was still Madison’s and my body hadn’t shortened considerably yet, except for my legs. But Ryan was almost feverish from his desire for revenge, and only stared into my eyes with sickening satisfaction.

Miniature lightning bolts crackled between the electrodes of the Taser.

Every breath felt like a jagged flame inside my chest. When he squatted beside me, I shut my eyes, bracing for the pain. Something touched my lips and a scream was on the verge of bursting from my mouth when I realized he’d put tape across my face to shut me up. “I loved you and I killed for you and you didn’t care.”

He smiled for a moment before my body exploded with pain. Fire shot through my side, into my chest and arms. I gasped against the tape, my throat constricting. Bile crowded in my mouth. Maybe I’d choke on my own vomit, a valiant way to die. He tasered me again and the touch was like flames licking across my skin. I screamed without a sound but he kept on going until my world was fire, blue sparks and hot tears.

Eventually, he stopped.

“No talking,” he said before he walked out.

Taking deep breaths through my nose, I struggled against the pain. I needed to finish the shift but the pain was making it difficult. Summers had wanted to cause me pain during training but Alec had always stopped her. Now I wished I hadn’t allowed him to protect me.