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She started cutting a trail across the packed floor, doing her best to
be polite as she made her way through the crowd.  When Nicole spotted Slade her
mind began to spin an idea.  She reached her powers out to try to hear Slade’s
mind.  That would be the best way to get her answers so she would truly know if
he was on her side or not.  For all she knew she could be walking into a trap.
    Nicole slowed her pace and wrapped her
power around Slade, only wanting to hear what he was thinking, not the rest of
the room for the moment.  She froze in her tracks as her energy hit an
invisible wall — a wall that
wouldn’t allow her inside his mind.  He has something to hide, her mind
screamed as the wheels in her head began to process everything.  Slade seems
to be keeping her well under control.  Loch said she was powerful.  Nicole
looked up meeting Mr. Casey’s stare as she processed his mind’s words.  “Slade
has been blocking my powers,” she mumbled to herself as she backed away from
the group.

Chapter 5

    Nicole frantically searched the room for
an exit fighting to keep her body from shaking and her feet from running.  She
needed to get out of this room and she needed to go now, before anyone realized
that Slade didn’t have her powers locked away any more.  She spotted two large
doors opening to the outside pool area with many people coming and going.  That
was her way out.  She started moving forward, mindful to keep each step slow
and steady as she came close enough to feel the breeze dancing in from the
night air.  “Nicole, wait,” came a voice from behind her but she kept moving,
pretending to not hear her name being called above the voices of the large
crowd.
    She scanned the area as she stepped
outside, quickly noticing a softly lit, cobblestone path leading into a
garden.  She pressed forward, moving a bit quicker than she intended because of
her warrior speed flooding back into her body.
    She moved forward in the shadows of the
tall trees using her speed and the stealth of night to stay hidden.  Soon she
found herself lost in a maze of green hedges and beautiful, fragrant rose
bushes.  The crescent shaped moon provided her only light as she slowed to a
normal pace but her mind continued to race miles ahead.  Slade betrayed me. 
I thought I could trust him but he was working for Loch all along.  He’s the
enemy. Her mind stated facts as she struggled to find a way out of the
maze.  She could feel the pain of betrayal cutting her heart deep.  She trusted
Slade and had been sure he was a friend and the way he looked at her made it
seem that he wanted more than friendship so how could he treat her like this?
    “Nicole, please!  Just stop and hear me
out,” Slade’s voice rang out from somewhere behind her.  She pressed forward
again, working her way around the edge of the hedges, making turn after turn
trying to put some distance between her and the man she no longer knew.  The
man who just hours ago she believed to be her only friend in this foreign land.
    She made her way to the end of the path
and took a left only to run into a dead end.  “Damn it,” she cursed, staring up
at the top of the hedges.  After a few seconds she shook her head at her lack
of thinking, “You dummy, you can burn a hole through the bushes,” she told
herself as she called her power to her hands and watched as her palms glowed
bright red.  Just as she reached forward to touch the bush a hand grabbed her shoulder
and spun her around.  Nicole was face to face with Slade and froze in place for
what felt like an eternity, staring into his eyes.
    As she took in his pain lined face she
forced her hands to move up between their bodies and created a wall of wind that
shoved him backwards.  She couldn’t bring herself to hurt him even if he did
betray her.  Some feeling deep inside of her was stopping her from setting him
on fire so she could escape.  When she was sure the wind was going to hold him
she