Stunned (The Lucidites Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

want to imagine the awful torment the people in Ren’s personal life suffer.
    Ten nerve-wracking minutes later the door to the room slides open and Shuman materializes again. She takes hurried strides in my direction and settles into the chair across from me. Her eyes meet mine with hesitation, then focus back on the table. My nerves hum with a dangerous capacity.
    “Everyone at the Institute owes you a huge debt of gratitude for this report, especially Ren,” Shuman says. “You have saved his life. Without a doubt he would have been dead, if it was not for what you just saw. The strange thing is that none of my news reporters picked up on this event. You were expected to see something new to pass the test, but not something of this magnitude.” There’s a pause while she gives me a cautious glance. “The news reporters really should have seen this, but they did not…you did.”
    I stare at her for a long time trying to register what she’s said. “Wait,” I say, leaning forward. “Ren was actually in trouble? I interpreted what I thought I saw accurately? And no one else saw this? Why?”
    Shuman settles back in her chair. “Yes, you saved Ren’s life. Thanks to you, Lucidites were able to rescue him and bring him back to the Institute.”
    Wow! That was fast.
    “Who attacked Ren?”
    “That is not of importance at the moment,” Shuman says at once.
    I know from her previous answers to these questions that this means she knows the answer but isn’t going to tell me. If she didn’t know the answer then that’s what she’d say, instead of deferring the conversation.
    “I am not sure why you saw this when no one else did. However, numerous events are missed every day and that is why I am always looking for different news reporters to add to the group. More eyes mean we can know more.”
    Of course that makes sense. I take a skeptical glance at Shuman. There’s something else. Something she isn’t saying. I sense it. But she doesn’t speak.
    Silence sits between us for a while. It makes me think. Think about what she said. About my confidence. About me having to prove it to myself.
    For a long moment I think over this situation. There’s definitely something about the Panther room that enhances my clairvoyance. Shuman’s right that if Joseph were here I’d probably be even stronger. I can feel that power coursing through my veins now. I close my eyes and let it vibrate in me, enjoying the feeling. I don’t even care that Shuman is staring at me with my eyes closed. When I open them my head is already shaking. I’m hooked on this feeling and want to do this again.
    I swallow and look up at her. “I’d be happy to start tomorrow,” I say.
    Her hands are clasped on the table. Except for a tiny squeeze of her fingers, there are no other indications of satisfaction. Not a smile or an expression in her eyes. “Okay,” she says finally.
     

Chapter Five
    “I passed!” Samara squeals when I sit down at dinner.
    “Oh, that’s wonderful!”
    Relieved and excited for Samara, I tell her I also accepted a position as a news reporter, which I wasn’t going to disclose if she’d failed. Another enthusiastic yelp of delight follows.
    “Usually testing and training takes between six months and a year,” Samara says, stirring her soup. “It’s unheard of for someone to start with the news reporters after only a couple of weeks, or a day, in your case.”
    “Yeah, it’s good to know there’s some perks associated with risking our lives to fight Zhuang.” I laugh morbidly.
    Although I’m probably breaching some confidentiality agreement, I share my vision of Ren with her. Sue me. “When Shuman confirmed it was actually Ren and I’d saved his life, I’d never experienced a bigger rush,” I explain, feeling the excitement all over again.
    “Really? Even when you defeated Zhuang? You didn’t get a huge rush then?” she questions.
    “For starters, we don’t know I did defeat Zhuang. And