THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

costs.”
    Why did that make him angry?
    Shaking his head as though what she’d shared was irrational, he said, “Although I’ve not studied all ancient worlds, I knew our gifts were not once celebrated and appreciated as they are now. But I had no idea those with our abilities who lived two centuries back were persecuted.”
    “Persecuted is a strong word,” she argued, thinking of the entire civilizations lost or abused at the hands of evil people.
    “It’s not strong enough if you’ve spent your life without basic human comfort because of being born with a gift. To treat one as that in our MystiK world is to face punishment, because the gifted are rebuilding our world and protecting our future.”
    Good grief. He made her sound like something special.
    Valued.
    She couldn’t wrap her head around that.
    Or that he came from the future.
    If not for having Rayen and Tony on this whacked-out trip, she’d think this was all some insomnia-induced dream. Speaking of Rayen and Tony, she had to do her part and get as much information as possible on how to get out of this place. She’d been so engrossed by talk of the future–could that all be true?–she didn’t know where to start. Since Jaxxson claimed to be a captive as well, she led with that.
    “I’ve figured out that none of you want to be here,” Gabby began. “Can’t you escape?”
    “No. Only TecKnati scouts can operate the transenders.”
    “That metal thing that spit us out here?”  She described it further.
    “Yes.”
    If only TecKnati could operate the pods, what did that say about going home to Albuquerque? Had that little girl Rayen rescued traveled in their same pod since she was dumped in the clearing they’d been ejected into?
    What a weird place, but one where her strange ability was accepted. No, celebrated as special. And Jaxxson could teach her so much.
    Staying here had huge benefits, for a short time anyway, while she learned from Jaxxson, but she had to help Tony and Rayen find a way home. This was a dangerous place where people with abilities were held as prisoners.
    And too easily died.
    She could see why everyone had reacted so strongly to her, Tony and Rayen.
    Still, where had Jaxxson’s antagonism from earlier gone when he’d seen her as a hybrid or whatever that word was? “I appreciate that you’re no longer looking at me like I’m a devil spawn, but what changed your mind about ‘my kind’ as you called me?”
    He took a moment to answer, looking chagrined. “In my world, one with your unusual eyes is called a Hy’bridt, and is revered above all other MystiKs. The majority are women, who are allowed choices other MystiKs are not.”
    Revered? Fat chance that’d ever happen back home. “What kind of choices?”
    A muscle twitched in his jaw and his words came out loaded with resentment. “Such as the one in my family who should have been the next healer sent to YEG/4. City Four. But it would have meant traveling from ORD/1 where we both lived.”
    “What’s city one and four?”
    He thought on that a moment then lifted a finger. “I understand what you’re asking. Where would these cities be in your world?”  When she nodded, he explained, “Due to my need to understand medicinal resources available in each of our ten cities, I had to study the development of different lands. At one time City/1 was known as Chicago and City/4 was called Edmonton.” 
    “Those are definitely in North America,” she acknowledged. “So what happened with this Hy’bridt girl? How old was she?”
    “She’d reached eighteen, her age of maturity, and chose not to leave home. I was sent instead.”
    “How old were you?”
    “Thirteen.”
    Outrage surged through her on his behalf. She’d been sent here and shuttled there since an early age with no regard to how difficult the changes had been on her. “That’s so wrong. How could they do that to you? You were just a kid.”
    “MystiKs are considered mature at eighteen and expected to take their respective places in society at that moment. Thirteen is not a child in our world. Healers are rare and, with the exception of Hy’bridts, few are female. For that reason, we’re trained from birth, prepared to go anywhere at any time.”
    She waved off that comment, refusing to accept that it was okay to do that to an adolescent. “Regardless. You deserve to feel ticked off about being screwed.”
    He smiled. “Ticked off? Screwed?”
    “Ticked off means angry,