Supernaturals: Secrets (Book 1)

{14} Listen

Mia's POV

"Hey, Mi?"

I turned to see Rhyme looking at me from across the hallway. I'd just been heading down to the music room to record a new song. 

"Yeah?"

I was surprised to see that Rhyme was here. She wasn't keen on music -- never had been -- and it seemed to only annoy her unless it was soothing and calming. That was why I never told my roommate I was going down to the music room, otherwise at just the word her eyes would glaze over in boredom and her lips would twitch.

"The other day... what was that about with Echo? I've never seen you act that way with a newbie."

I frowned, racking my brain for the memory. Echo? I'd hardly even spoken to her since the day she arrived. That was... a week ago? I shrugged; not many people except for Troye cared about the time. 

"Um... you mean when she first came? I think.. I don't know, I just sort of related to her."

Rhyme nodded slowly. "Why do you want to know?" I questioned, tilting my head like a lost puppy.

"She just... well, she acts a bit weird. Whenever someone asks her about her powers, she flushes up and gets all nervous and then won't talk. At all. The only person who's even watched her do it is Luke. And... even though her power is only hearing... she...."

Rhyme trailed off, and I cleared my throat. "She what?"

Rhyme stared at me with an almost frightening look on her face. "She beat Luke."

My jaw dropped. What? No. I did not hear her right.

"She beat... Luke?" I tried out the words in my mouth. They sounded weird. 

No one had ever beaten Luke. His ability to control a person's actions... there was no way to beat him. Even Adasia, with the power of a shield, was helpless to his manipulation.

"How did she do it?" I asked, aware of how dry my mouth had become. I could not believe it. For once in my life, I was frightened; frightened of a girl only thirteen years old.

Mia shrugged. "Nobody knows. Luke refuses to talk about it. Whenever he mentions her, his eyes light up like he's fascinated by her." 

She added, "but I guess we all are."

I nodded in amazement. This tiny girl, with a power so minimal that she should have had white eyes, had beaten our director.

"Eyes?"

"Dark blue. It's unexpected."

"Why hasn't she been promoted to a higher rank?"

Mia inhaled sharply. "She doesn't wanna."

My head snapped to her face. "She what?!?"

"Luke asked her if she wanted to become a leader. She said no. Didn't even want to become an officer. But it's suspicious. She didn't say it as if she was being humble, but more like she was... hiding something. Something that could be revealed if she was leader or officer."

I frowned. "That's strange."

Mia nodded fiercely. "I'm not going to ask her, because that's rude, but... just see if you can catch a hint of what's up with her, okay?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

~time skip brought to you by the moon's now abnormal rotating~

I took of my headphones, grinning joyfully. I loved music. It was the one thing in the world I felt was actually normal and not complete chaos. Not only that, but it was an awesome power to have.

Suddenly I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye. Instinctively I spun around and pulled a medium sized knife out of the pocket of my jeans, holding it against the person's neck. Then I realized it was only Echo, with hands up and a surprised look on her face.

"Sorry," I breathed, stepping away and sheathing the weapon. 

"You guys sure are very careful. Knife?"

I lowered my eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed that I'd almost killed a girl I was trying to befriend. 

"Safety precaution. Since we all have advanced reflexes, Luke taught us how to... defend ourselves. After all, if a normal human found out about us, we'd be running for our lives."

She nodded. "Makes sense."

"So, why are you here?"

Echo bit her lip and looked away. I raised an eyebrow and pointedly crossed my arms, shifting my weight.

"I heard you guys talking about me."

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed my eyes as I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment. 

"I'm so, so sorry. How did you hear?"

She looked back at me, than tapped her ear twice. "Outstanding advanced hearing, 'member?" 

I nodded, slightly smiling. 

"I just wanted to say... I get that you guys don't trust me or whatever... I honestly don't even know how I do half the things I do. That fight with Luke? It was like one moment he was throwing punches at me for a beginner lesson and the next he was laying on the ground with his eyes closed. You don't know how much I freaked. I thought I'd killed him."

Echo let out a soft breath of air. I could tell she'd held that information in for a while.

"He told me later that he'd gotten an awful migraine. Said it was too much to handle. 'Must've been the heat.' I guess, but... there was something in his eyes. So, I don't really believe him."

I nodded again. "That is sort of weird," I agreed. 

Echo looked at me with a new look in her eyes. "Anyway. We should get back, shouldn't we?"

I smiled. "Yeah. We should."

A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the crappy ending. I know, I suck, I know, my writing sucks. But I love doing it so imma continue... comment down below what you think Echo's power is!!

~|Fun Fact: Keith is an amazing liar, but those close to him will notice that although he is able to control his glowing eyes, when lying about something important or telling a very large lie, the insides of his fingers will glow light green (as he is a commander). This would be helpful, except Keith knows about this and makes sure nobody ever sees his palms.|~