Panic at the Carnival: an excerpt from A Brush with Betrayal

As they crossed the width of the carnival, the Ferris wheel loomed above them. Yellow lights highlighted every spoke and outlined every car against a starry night sky. Gabe’s heart clogged his throat.

She’s fine. Gabe pushed a hand through his hair. The sooner he settled into his normal patrol routine, the sooner his nerves would calm.

Even with the reminder, Gabe’s stomach flipped. In his mind’s eye, Lila smiled up at him all over again.

Gabe shut the thoughts down before they could begin. The visions didn’t matter. Or they did, but only in terms of Lila being a potential Latent. Nothing more. If anything, it was a warning that he, Marina, and Lex needed to keep a closer eye on her.

Gabe thumbed the phone in his pocket. Should he text Marina about it now?

No, she’d said that Lila wasn’t close to manifesting, not yet. She’d said—

Gabe’s blood thundered in his ears.

Every word from every conversation swirled in his mind.

The scents of stale popcorn, rancid grease, and burnt coffee stung his nostrils.

The strings of bright lights dazzled his eyes.

Horror would have filled him, but that pulsating need to kill swamped all other thoughts.

Except one. Lila was out there. Unguarded. Unsafe.

In slow motion, Gabe turned to the others behind him.

Looks of shock and dread met him.

There was no doubt. They felt the Cull and the Bloodlust too.

Gabe’s heart raced. His mind churned. Those five visions of her played on an endless loop. Lila was out there, out where a member of the Indestructible was running loose.

Gabe’s Bloodlust tugged at him, begging him to cross the entire width of Fall Fest again. Begging him to sprint toward that makeshift parking lot.

But Gabe couldn’t go. He had to find her.

Teddi yanked Gabe behind a line of booths. A temporary fence separated them from the fallow field.

His Bloodlust raged. It was on the opposite side of Fall Fest.

With Sandy and Alex peering over either shoulder, Teddi hissed, “Gabe! Gabe, what’s the plan?”

Gabe couldn’t breathe. His mushy gaze slid down to Teddi.

Everything snapped into focus. Gabe straightened to his full height. He knew what to do. “Teddi, you text Simon, tell him to get to us. We want the whole group together. I’ll take care of Emilia.”

With a gulp, Teddi nodded. She whipped her phone out of her pocket with Sandy and Alex huddled around her.

Gabe tucked himself into a corner a few feet away. Instead of the usual text, he called Emilia.

She answered on the first ring. “You feel it too?”

“Yes. Can you get to us? We’re in the southwest corner—”

“By the Ferris wheel, right?” Emilia supplied.

Gabe squeezed his eyes shut. Her words were like a dagger to his heart. But his voice held no tremor or hesitation. There was no time for that. “Yes, by the Ferris wheel.”

“Okay, we’ll be right there. We’re only a few minutes away. Then you’ll lead—”

Gabe cut her off, “No. You’ll lead them, okay?”

“Sure. You’ll take the back, then?” Emilia’s exhales came out in whooshes. No doubt she sped through the carnival, walking as fast as she could without attracting attention.

“No, Simon will.”

“What about you?” Emilia’s voice echoed in Gabe’s Cull-sensitive ears. She had to be close.

“I…” If only Teddi and Sandy had gotten Lila onto that bus. “I have something else to check on. Don’t worry about the…the victims for now, just get it out of here. If you can, flush it toward the Florence Cell and have them join you to take it down. Otherwise, our standard surround and attack. And be careful. If you end up attacking, make sure it’s a lone wolf.”

“Gabe, what’s goin’ on? You shouldn’t—”

“I have to, Emilia.” Before she could convince him otherwise, Gabe hung up. Over the crowd, Simon’s blond head bobbed toward them. Gabe dashed to Teddi, Sandy, and Alex. “Listen, I gotta go. But Simon’s here and Emilia’s almost here. Wait for them, listen to their orders.”

Teddi’s brow furrowed. She chewed on her lower lip again, but she didn’t question him. Beside her, Sandy and Alex didn’t even show concern. They just nodded and trusted their Cell First as he betrayed them.

No, I’m not betraying them.

Whirling around on one heel, Gabe hurried away. He wasn’t betraying them. He wasn’t. He’d gotten them all set up, exactly like he was supposed to do. Just because he wasn’t joining them didn’t mean he was betraying them. Emilia could lead them as well as—if not better than—he could, and Simon was both a better fighter and a better tracker. In a battle against a single one, nine Warriors instead of ten wouldn’t make a difference.

With his stomach in knots that had nothing to do with the Bloodlust, Gabe pushed through the happy-go-lucky late-night carnival-goers. More than one threw a startled look in his direction when he passed too close.

But Gabe didn’t notice. He was too busy scanning each and every face for his Lila. Twice he thought he found her. Twice he was wrong.

With each step, the boa constrictor coiled around his chest clamped down harder. By the time Gabe reached the main exit, he fought for every breath. It required all his self-control to walk away from Fall Fest like a normal person. Even in the lot stinking of car exhaust and spoiling junk food, he maintained a steady, non-supernatural pace while he searched for that familiar curly head.

Nothing but strangers packed up their cars with prizes and picnic gear.

Gabe balled his hands into fists. That frantic energy tore at his limbs, begging him to shoot through the lot in the opposite direction from Eversfield.

But he couldn’t do it. He had to find her.

Leaving his Bloodlust behind, Gabe charged toward the woods away from Fall Fest. Away from his Cell. Away from it.