No Peace for the Damned

haunted Markus. Instead, their thoughts were like Thirteen’s—intelligent, aggressive, concerned.
    I remembered the way Chang had nearly passed out at the sight of me. And the way Theo had looked at me during our strange moment before I left. Even their lusty reactions to me weren’t as repulsive as my brothers’.
    By the time I finished my drink, locked the front and back doors, and went back into the bedroom, it was almost dark. I pulled on a T-shirt and slipped into the bed. My bed. My room. My house. No one was going to hurt me here. No one was even going to try. I repeated the words over and over until I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, I went for a walk. The morning air was fresh with dew. As I wandered through the woods around the farmhouse I thought of Uncle Mallroy. He loved mornings like this. The stillness, the gray landscape. He’d always gotten so upset if someone dared interrupt his morning commune with nature. For once, I understood the feeling.
    “You know, it’s not polite to follow people,” I called out.
    Thirteen chuckled. He pushed the branches away and walked to the edge of the woods beside me.
    “You’re right,” he said. “And I apologize. I was just anxious to see you. Did you sleep OK?”
    I shrugged. “Well enough.”
    “Are you ready for this evening’s meeting?”
    “Yeah, about that—I’ve been thinking about something you told me a while ago. You said that Network membership is anonymous. But all those people yesterday already knew each other. I thought this special task force was a new thing.”
    “The task force is new, but the agents I’ve chosen are experienced. They’ve worked on previous missions and have crossed paths with one another before. Also, yesterday’s meeting wasn’t the first the task force has had. It was just the first you’ve attended.”
    “I don’t know why you don’t just list out an employee directory anyway. Seems to me it would be easier if everyone knew who everyone was.”
    “Everyone knows who is on their assigned team,” he explained with a hint of annoyance. “That’s all they need to know. The people we track have supernatural abilities, Magnolia, and are extremely dangerous. If the Network or our members became public knowledge…”
    “Covers blown, danger to agents’ families, blah, blah, blah—I remember the conversation.”
    He shook his head at me and sighed. “You really surprised them yesterday. Your powers, your aura—they’ve never seen anything like you.” He hesitated. “I think every single one of them called me last night, bombarding me with questions about you.” He cleared his throat. “I filled them in as best I could, but some things you’ll have to answer yourself. If you’re comfortable doing so.”
    I ground my teeth. “I thought we were past the evasiveness, Thirteen. If you want to know something, just ask.”
    He stepped in front of me, his wide frame blocking out the rising sun. “Why you, Magnolia?” he asked quietly. “Everyone in your family has powers. Why were you the only one they tortured?”
    Humiliation sat coldly in my chest, chilling me with the truth. “No one has powers like mine. I can’t die. No matter what they did, no matter how hard they tried, I always lived.”
    He lifted his head in understanding. “You were their first failure.”
    “I am their only failure.”
    I stepped past him to look out over the open cornfield. Brown and full of weeds, completely unused, forgotten. Each dead bush, each overgrown vine—all further proof that this was not the estate. That I was still free.
    “Thank you,” he said softly, “for helping us the way you are.”
    “It’s just information. You guys already know a lot. I’m just filling in the holes.” At least that’s what I’d been telling myself.
    “You’re helping. It won’t be easy talking about your family, but knowing what we are up against will be invaluable when the time comes to bring down one of your relatives.”
    I stared into the field, watching as the fog slowly lifted. “I could still run away,” I murmured, not sure why I’d said the words out loud. Thirteen stiffened.
    “Is that still an option you’re considering?”
    I jerked another shrug.
    “Then you’re not really free.”
    I turned on him with a glare. “Of course I’m free. I escaped, didn’t I? I can make my own choices and go wherever I want.”
    “Of course you can make your own choices. But escaping was just the first