No Peace for the Damned

dragged myself to the second floor. The wide marble stairs subtly vibrated. A dull thundering sounded nearby, growing louder.
    What the…?
Oh God—Uncle Max already knew I was here
. He must have been waiting for another attempt. Putting out hisfeelers for another source of power. And he would take out the whole place just to get to me.
    I pressed myself flat against the wall. My eyes shut tight. I braced myself. All these innocent people…
    Two women strolled by, annoyed. The man at the front desk sighed heavily. A group of men laughed as they walked through the foyer, then mentally groaned.
Field trip day?
What the hell was field trip day?
    As soon as I thought it, the stairs overflowed in a stampede of children. Hundreds of them. They poured down the steps in a waterfall of activity and chatter. Thank God I was against the wall, or they would have just plowed right over me.
    I waited for the wave to pass. The poor adults followed in their wake. They looked more like zombies than chaperones. I smiled to myself. Max
hadn’t
sensed me. I could still do this.
    Renewed confidence had me flying up the stairs. I’d bent his barrier earlier—I could take it out today. But when I reached the vestibule outside Max’s office, my confidence stumbled. His power was everywhere. Thicker than before. Instead of a fog that I could wade through, the power actually pulsed around me. Alive, active. Evil.
    He’d sensed me the last time, all right. And he had upped his protective wall as a result.
    A few deep breaths and I forced myself to move silently into position. I chose a corner of the vestibule beside the two leather chairs that faced Uncle Max’s assistant’s desk. It was three o’clock and she was closing up shop to get a jump on the weekend. She worried about picking up her kids on time, what she was fixing for dinner, if she could get a date for tomorrow when the kids were with their dad. Normal, everyday thoughts. Nothing at all about my family.
    How often did Uncle Max screw with her memory to keep her so oblivious?
    She shoved some files into her briefcase, pressed some buttons on her phone, shut down her PC, and rose from her seat. My heart stopped in my chest. Would she open the door to Max’s office, to say good-bye? It was bad enough being this close to him. If I had to actually
see
him again…on reflex, I gripped the little panic button clutched in my hand.
    But once her desk was in order, she simply strolled out into the hallway. My whole body relaxed when she was gone.
    I looked at the closed door.
OK, you can do this
. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and centered myself. The weight of his power breathed against my skin. His barrier was like cement around his thoughts. Rough, solid. I had barely brushed up against it when something pulled my concentration away.
    Warmth spread though me, settling the knot in my stomach. A few blocks away, Theo was thinking of me. After days of being intentionally preoccupied, he finally let down his guard. He felt helpless, angry, like it should be him standing outside Uncle Max’s office instead of me. Thirteen should never have put me at risk like this. Never.
    My body tingled. The lingering panic inside me calmed. A soothing confidence took its place. I might have Kelch blood pulsing through me, but I could still help the people around me. And today…I would do exactly that.
    I pushed off from the wall and stood just to the side of Uncle Max’s door. He was at his desk again, fingers flying at the keyboard. I took another deep breath, closed my eyes, and pushed.
    Whoa
. That was one powerful wall. I pushed out a little harder. The typing stopped.
    My heart pounded.
Now or never
. I concentrated my power until my body shook. The wall in his mind shimmered, turning from cement to Jell-O. I was in. My gag reflex went into overdrive—the sheer sadism, the uninhibited evil. Blood, pain, joy,all mixed in together. The barrier tightened, tried to solidify once more. My power wouldn’t let it. Then suddenly…the barrier pushed back.
    My own mental walls slammed into place. His power scraped over my skin and mind. Thick, like an icy syrup. Cold enough to bite. I shivered. His power pulled back.
    I let out a shaky breath.
See, you can do this
.
    The next instant, I was off my feet, flying backward into the wall behind me. My muscles spasmed in pain as my head exploded. I slid down the wall and landed in a heap on the floor. I tried to catch my breath but the pain