Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,34
Academy right away.
“Where’s my jacket? I need my phone.” I look around, finding it draped over a chair nearby.
Mom walks over and retrieves the device from its pocket. Instead of bringing it to me, she swipes her finger across the screen.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I ask.
She doesn’t answer, but Toby does it for her. “She’s reading your messages.”
“That’s an invasion of privacy!” I lift my arm and try to use telekinesis to zap the phone out of her hand, but the attempt is too weak. Curse lightning-glass poisoning.
“Just give him the phone, Jodie,” Ellen pipes up, but my mother ignores the nurse.
Suddenly, the phone does fly out of her hands into mine, surprising Mom and me. I know I didn’t make that happen. I’m completely tapped out.
Mom shoots the nurse a murderous glare. “You’d better stay out of my business, Ellen.”
“It wasn’t me,” she declares.
I glance at Toby. “You have telekinesis too?”
“I didn’t do that either.” He turns to Renata, who is looking guilty as hell.
My eyebrows arch. “You did that?”
“Yeah. My telekinesis is on the weaker side, so I rarely use it.”
Shit. This girl is turning out to be quite the box of surprises. Maybe her biggest sin was being too weak to stand up against Drusilla.
Mom turns her ire on her. “How dare you use your powers against me? I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior. I’m the top dog here. You either follow my lead or you’re out.”
I snort. “That will go over well with your new recruits. Respect has to be earned. Snooping on someone’s phone is not the way to do it.”
“I have to be on top of everything!” she snaps. “Too much is at stake, and not everyone has the drive to see it through until the end no matter the cost.”
I don’t know what strikes me the most, the manic glint in her eyes or her statement. She sounds unhinged, nothing like the cold and collected woman I used to know. What’s going on here?
“Everyone needs to chill, okay?” Ellen gets in between us. “Losing our heads won’t accomplish anything.”
I’m still annoyed when I glance down to see what message Mom was looking at. It’s from Rufio, saying that Morpheus just got to the safe house. Nothing from Daisy yet. I can’t believe she didn’t call. That’s not like her.
“I need to get out of here,” I say.
“If you’re too weak to work, you’re too weak to go out. You’re staying put,” Mom retorts.
“Am I your fucking prisoner now?” I stand on shaky legs, but at least I don’t fall back down.
“Of course not. But we’re right in the middle of enemy territory. It’s not safe to head out in your weakened state.”
“How long are we supposed to stay here?” Renata asks.
“We’ll know more as soon as I hear back from Gunther.” Mom glances at her phone. “He should have called by now. I don’t like this.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s busy trying to fix the mess we left behind in Hawk City,” I say. “I’m interested in knowing where my father and his associates are. They have to pay for what they did to Rufio and Daisy.”
“What did your father do to Rufio?” Renata glances at me with interest.
Ah hell, please don’t tell me she was also a member of Rufio’s fan club.
“What he did is not important right now,” Mom dismisses the girl in her blunt way. “It would be helpful if you knew the location of the Neo Gods’ secret hideout.”
“Your husband was careful, but I’m sure it’s on higher ground. Possibly inside of a mountain.”
“Damn it. That could be anywhere.” Mom pinches her chin. “We need more men on the street. I have to make some calls.” She veers for the door.
“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Toby asks her. “And how long can we stay down here? How about food, water, medical supplies?”
“You can practice your gift on the Fringes. I want to know if they can be trusted. I’m not turning anyone who doesn’t want to fight for our cause into an Idol. As for supplies, we have enough to last a week. I don’t plan to stay here that long. This place wasn’t meant to run an entire operation or accommodate more than a handful of people. Gunther was supposed to assist with a better location.”
“I can’t stay here until you figure stuff out, Jodie,” Ellen pipes up. “I have a life outside of the academy that I need to get back to.”