Kelley Armstrong - The Calling

I nodded. “It’s about the experiment that went wrong. Project Genesis. Details of what happened.”

“And what happened?” Corey said.

I had to finish reading the first page before I could answer. Then I explained. As we’d guessed, Project Genesis was another experiment with genetically modified supernaturals. Only these ones seemed to be normal types. Well, “normal” in the sense that we’d heard about them before. Witches, sorcerers, half-demons, werewolves, and something called necromancers.

“I’ve seen them in video games,” Corey said. “They control the dead.”

“Zombies?” I said.

“Right.”

As supernatural types went, that seemed weird, and I suspected there was more to it. According to the notes, some of the kids had problems. So they locked them up in a group home. The kids figured out why they were there and escaped. And apparently came back and destroyed the laboratory, killing Dr. Davidoff and several others.

“Why can’t we do that?” Corey said.

“Because we don’t know where to find anyone,” I said. “Even if we did, we aren’t ready for that. They had help. A father and an aunt who’d been in on the experiments.”

“So what happened?” Corey asked. “And what does this have to do with us?”

I read the second page. Then I told him.

We ditched the car in one of the big shopping plazas in Nanaimo’s north end. From there, we’d hop a city bus to the ferry. Before that, though, I found a pay phone. I put in my money and dialed my grandmother’s number in Skidegate.

It rang four times. I knew the machine was going to pick up, and as I waited, I considered what I’d say. I had to make sure she knew it was me, not some ghoul pretending to be her dead granddaughter. I couldn’t give any information about where I was. I just wanted to get a message to my parents that I was okay. I imagined what would happen then. I imagined them confronting the St. Clouds, demanding to know where I was, accusing them of lying and threatening to call the authorities.

I imagined how the St. Clouds would react to that.

My grandmother’s voice invited me to leave a message. I closed my eyes and listened to her. As I hung up, I whispered “I love you.” Then I went back to the guys.

We splurged in the gift shop, buying hoodies. Then we split up to buy the ferry tickets, and didn’t reunite until the boat left the harbor.

We stood on the back deck, watching our island fade into the mist. When it disappeared, I took out the notes from Rafe again and reread the second page—details on the subjects who’d escaped. Rafe had added notes at the bottom, about a real contact his mother had given him.

He might know more , he’d written. Find him. Then find them .

“Find them,” I whispered, shaking my head. “How do we find them if the St. Clouds can’t?”

Daniel put his arm around my shoulders as we leaned over the railing, cold mist spattering our faces, our island long vanished. “We try.”

I leaned against him and nodded. Try . That was all we could do. And we would.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG is the bestselling author of the Otherworld series; the first book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, THE GATHERING; and the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers trilogy, which includes THE SUMMONING, THE AWAKENING, and THE RECKONING.

Kelley’s earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves while safely locked away in her basement writing-dungeon. You can visit her online at www.darkestpowers.com.

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ALSO BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG

THE DARKEST POWERS TRILOGY

The Summoning

The Awakening

The Reckoning

THE DARKNESS RISING TRILOGY

The Gathering