“So you can do anything?” James said, amazed.
The brothers laughed.
Lychnus took over. “Not quite anything. It’s all about manipulating the world around us. When I do this”—he raised his hand, and after a brief moment, it disappeared completely, making it seem like his arm ended at the wrist—“I am not actually turning invisible. I’m just bending the light around my hand, if that makes sense.”
Sure enough, James thought he could almost see a faint outline of the hand in the air, no more than a shimmer. A moment later, the hand reappeared.
“So with enough training, Derek can be a full Super. He can save lives, work to protect innocent people. It’s a noble calling,” Calico said.
“I don’t see how we could say no to that,” James’s dad said, his hands steepled in front of him.
“I suppose...” Their mom looked at Derek, who sat quietly, his face impassive. “What do you say, Derek?”
Derek leaned forward, clearly uncomfortable at the attention suddenly being turned on him. “Well,” he said slowly. “I suppose if I have these powers, I should learn to use them. It’s my destiny.”
“Then that settles it,” their dad said, smiling broadly.
“Great to hear!” Lychnus grabbed his glass and held it up. Everyone at the table followed suit. “A toast. To Derek, soon to be the newest and youngest Super.”
“To Derek!” everyone around the table echoed and drank from their cups.
The cups were lowered, and the energy in the room was palpable. They all beamed, and a sense of understanding seemed to pass among the Bolt family. They all knew that the course of their lives had just changed.
For better or worse.
Chapter 14
James awoke with his forehead pressed against glass. He opened his eyes and his stomach lurched as he stared out at the blue sky over a thick layer of clouds that rose and fell in peaks, like an endless white mountain range. He didn’t remember falling asleep. He’d been staring out at the darkness, his mind a jumble of thoughts, a record player that wouldn’t stop playing even well past when Rocky began snoring. At some point, though, his exhausted body must have taken over and forced him to sleep.
He yawned and peeled himself off the glass. Rocky was still asleep across the aisle, using the two seats like a bed, his feet stretched out on the floor. How he slept so long and easily, James didn’t know.
The door to the rest of the plane remained shut, but a metal tray had appeared on the ground. Two breakfast sandwiches sat on it, and James’s stomach grumbled at the sight. He hadn’t eaten anything since Cal’s Diner, which probably almost killed him anyway. Any thoughts of spiting their captors by not eating dissipated quickly, and James grabbed a sandwich and bit into it. It was surprisingly delicious. But a plane this fancy probably had a private chef. So even the food for the prisoners was better than normal airplane food.
After he finished eating, he returned to his seat and stared out the window. After some time, Rocky stirred and woke up, bleary-eyed. The bruise around his eye had settled into blue and black. He looked around, spotted the food, and dug into it without a word. When he was done, he stretched and yawned.
“How long do you think we’ve been flying?” he said.
James shrugged. “Eight or nine hours, at least.”
“Only sixteen to go.” Rocky drummed his hands on his lap. “They didn’t give you your phone back, did they?”
James shook his head.
Rocky sighed. “I’ve been up for five minutes and I’m already bored. They could at least give us a movie or something.”
“I don’t think they care about our entertainment.”
“We could play a game,” Rocky suggested.
“No.”
“Okay, fine. But we should at least talk about what we’re going to do when we land.”
James glanced around the cabin. He had spent a lot of time studying it, trying to spot where a microphone could be hidden. But the truth was, on a plane, it could be anywhere. They could have someone listening in to every word they said. Stick your two prisoners in a small room for twenty-four hours, and they were bound to reveal some information.
James shook his head.
Rocky sighed and leaned back in his chair. James did the same, staring at the passing clouds out the window.
Time passed in a haze of boredom. James fell in and out of restless sleep, adjusting himself in the increasingly uncomfortable seat. A few hours in, he moved to the second row, just for a change of pace. After one of his fitful naps, he awoke to see Rocky doing push-ups and sit-ups in the aisle, his shirt stained with sweat. James figured he should do the same, but instead, he turned over and fell back asleep.
Eventually, he simply couldn’t sleep anymore. His head was sluggish and his eyes felt heavy from oversleeping. So he let his mind wander, more than he had in a long time. He thought of school, of his mom, of his dad, of Derek, of the Supers, of sports, of the one time he asked out Annie McGrath in middle school and she laughed in his face...
Excitement came some hours later when there was a click at the door. James and Rocky both sat up, alert, hoping something would happen to alleviate the boredom. But when the door opened, it revealed yet another nameless man in a black suit, holding a tray of food. He surveyed the two of them coolly, then bent down and placed the tray on the floor. A moment later, the door was shut and locked and he was gone.
Rocky picked up the tray, wordlessly passing James a ham and cheese sandwich. James ate it
