“Maybe you have a point,” Alik conceded. He looked to Meg with a touch of awe as he sensed a deeper part of her evolution than they had already discovered. She ignored his probing gaze and kept talking.
“We need to devise a plan to fend him off from right here,” she continued. “Williams is going to come to us with guns blazing. I can nearly taste the energy of his wrath, it’s—visceral.”
“Meg, how many soldiers do you think he has with him?” Alik asked.
At her brother’s words, she shook herself planting her feet firmly on the ground, focusing on the furious venom Williams emitted. Everyone stayed quiet to try to help, but their anxieties screamed at the edges of her concentration. With effort, she pushed them aside, took a slow, deep breath and wrapped her thoughts around the vibrations belonging to the enemy.
“Fourteen. He’s bringing fourteen soldiers, and they’re not normal metas.” She forced herself to breathe deeply after noticing the shallow breaths fear was tempting her to take. “Evan, what happens if someone were to take a double dose of the infinite serum?”
Evan was caught off guard. “I don’t know. Without researching it, I would just be hypothesizing. Why?”
Meg tried to keep the panic out of her voice. “I think we’re about to find out. These fourteen soldiers have just taken a second dose of the serum. All I can sense from them is primal rage.” She shook her head, trying to put into words the empath reading she was getting from the passengers on the jet aimed right for them. “Imagine what it would be like to hear the thoughts of a rabid dog.” she said by way of explanation.
“Oh, crap.” Theo blurted.
“That demented monster!”
“Son of a—”
“Fourteen of them?” Alik looked around the room.
Meg received another wave of empath readings and groaned at what she was about to say. Looking into Creed’s eyes, hating the anguish she knew her words would cause, she blurted, “Gavil is on the plane, too. He’s not just one of the rabid dogs, he’s their leader.”
“Sweet Mother Mary and Joseph,” Margo gasped, praying.
“Gavil? The guy with the letter opener?”
“Your brother? From the Retribution Match?”
“He’s like a bad penny; just keeps showing up.”
Everyone spoke at once, but Meg’s eyes never left Creed. She reached out to him with her heart and wrapped it around the torment she felt bubbling, black and infected there. Concentrating all her warmth and acceptance into the volatile bundle her heart now held, she pulled it—gently at first, not even sure what she was doing. Then, as the large ball of anguish shifted at her will, she felt empowered to pull harder, instinctively yanking the pain from his soul and praying for the strength to throw it up into the sky for God to shoulder.
Creed’s whole body shuttered violently, then he stood still. His breathing was instantly slow and steady as he opened his blue eyes and looked at Meg with awe.
“What just happened?” he asked her.
She felt a wave of dizziness and swayed on her feet. Creed caught her as her knees gave out.
“Meg?” His face was inches away from hers. She could feel his finally peace-filled heart vibrate with worry.
“Meggie, are you okay?” Her mom’s cool hands appeared out of nowhere and felt Meg’s face like she used to when she was a little girl.
“I’m okay. Just a little weak all of a sudden,” she whispered, still staring into Creed’s handsome face. Effortlessly, he slipped one arm around her back and the other under her knees, lifting and carrying her to one of the chairs against the lab’s wall.
“What just happened?” he asked again, too intent on Meg’s answer to worry about the others in the room watching the exchange.
“I know Gavil created a lot of pain in your life, and I sensed telling you he was not only alive, but changed—even more evil after being twice exposed to Williams’ serum—would be devastating to you.” Creed, and the rest of the family, waited for her explanation to continue. “So I reached into you with my emotions and took away your pain.” She shrugged, not sure how else to explain what she didn’t even understand.
“You reached into him with your emotions?” Evan asked incredulously. His scientific mind was having a hard time understanding this one.
“How do you feel, Creed?” Theo asked, never doubting a word Meg just said, only trying to understand.
“I felt awful a moment ago. Hearing Gavil’s name and knowing he’s coming to hurt my fam—I mean, to hurt you all. I felt so much hatred for what he has become. Then, I felt her move inside me,” he said, rubbing his chest. “Vibrations right here; they tingled, then I felt pure, white peace.” He sighed deeply, shoulders relaxed.
Meg smiled weakly at Creed’s retelling, understanding that he never talked about his feelings before he met her family. This was all so new to him.
“Meg, how are you feeling?” Paulie asked.