The Forbidden Trilogy(230)

Sam finished, and he collected her trash and stood. "Do want anything more to drink?"

"No, thank you." She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, so he left to find a garbage bin and grab another drink for himself.

He felt eyes on him as he walked down the aisle of the plane. Sam's friends didn't trust him and didn't want him here. Their anger and fear smothered him.

He shook it off, opened the refrigerator, and noticed only seven sandwiches where there should have been eight. Weird. He hadn't seen anyone but he and Sam eat one. He shrugged and went back to his seat, wishing Brad had come. The two of them could have had fun. Maybe I just have to make friends with the people here. Getting Sam's friends to like him might help win her over.

What would he do after they saved Ana? Stay at the mansion and help out at the school? He thought about his surfing and how much he missed the ocean. It would be hard to give all that up. He could do a little surfing in Washington, but nothing competitive—not unless he traveled a lot. But he couldn't keep leaving. He had to be there to raise Ana. Whether Sam wanted him back or not, he would not abandon his daughter. He might be a crappy dad now, but he would learn.

He could take Ana to the beach and to parks. They would go biking and surfing together as she got older. But in his mind, his presence felt superimposed, like a Photoshopped version of his life. Not like the real him, the screwed-up lost cause.

His eyes got heavy as he thought about it all, and he faded into sleep.

***

He's in a burning building. Toby runs from him, and Drake knows it's his fault. Something he did to the boy made him run. He almost catches up when a wooden beam falls on Drake and pins him to the ground.

He reaches for his last vials, but purple stains his pocket. He licks the liquid off his fingers, desperate for even a fraction of his power, enough to push away the wooden beam and save Toby. He's useless without his powers.

Nothing.

The beam crushes Drake's lungs. He pushes against them, but the effort is futile.

Beyond Drake's reach, Toby runs, but flames rise up around him. The boy's screams are terrible as the fire consumes him, while Drake lies there—trapped, useless.

***

The plane's wheels hit the ground and jolted Drake awake. In a panic, he looked around as if he'd lost something: Toby. Toby was fine; he was back at the mansion, but something tickled the back of Drake's mind.

Sam smiled, and though it wasn't a big smile, it made him feel better. Darren still did his best to hold her attention. Not cool, Dude. Norm sat with Robyn again, his arm around her. The others slept or read.

Once the plane came to a complete stop, they all filed out. Sam, Father Patrick and Drake were the last of the passengers to leave. As Father Patrick followed Drake out and closed the door, it jammed and something squeaked.

The tickle in the back of Drake's mind finally made sense. The missing sandwich. "Toby, you better appear right now."

***

The beauty of the Hawaiian beaches would have comforted Drake, if he weren't so mad. He gripped the steering wheel in both hands and counted backwards from ten. Sam sat beside him, with Toby in the back. The travelers had broken up into groups and rented a few cars. Drake wondered if Sam had only come with him because of Toby.

He eyed the boy in the rearview mirror. "I told you to stay at the mansion."

Toby's shoulders slumped. "I remember."

"Then why'd you sneak onto the plane?"

The boy crossed his arms and glared. "I don't have to listen to you."

Another deep breath. "Toby, this is dangerous—getting-killed dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." He remembered his dream, and it made him shiver.

The kid rolled his eyes, like he knew so much at his ripe old age. "I won't. Besides, it's you who needs help. A hero needs his sidekick."

"I'm not a hero."

Sam covered her mouth to suppress a grin.

Well, at least something made her smile.

"Of course you are," Toby said. "You save kids for like a living. You're awesome. You're a hero."

"And yet, my sidekick doesn't listen to me. I must not be a very good hero."

The kid opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, a thoughtful look on his face.

At least that shut him up for the time being.

They drove the rest of the way in silence, leading the caravan. Norm, Robyn, Greg and Gary had one car, and Father Patrick took Darren and Mary. Drake knew enough about Mary to be glad Darren had gotten stuck with her. They were supposed to have a van that would fit everyone, but the rental car agency had screwed up the reservation, which Drake didn't mind one bit.

That night, they would stay at a hotel as close to the Rent-A-Kid base as possible, but beyond that, he didn't know what to expect.