Page 102 of My Wild Horse King

And it makes me very nervous for all of them, right down to sweet little teenage Gabe. He tears into his workouts on his Smith Machine in the garage like gaining more muscle mass will keep him safe from Leonid the Executioner.

I wish anything we were doing would be sure to keep us safe. I’m beginning to worry that nothing we do will make any difference when Leonid does find us.

26

GUSTAV

The longest I’ve ever slept in my life was fourteen hours after my first semester of exams at Yale. Or at least, thatwasthe longest, until I managed to use the earth power for the first time.

When I finally wake up, my head’spounding.

Not that Aleksandr cares.

He doesn’t let me eat, drink, or rest in any way until I can reproduce the tiny twister I made before I passed out.

“Now we know that you’ll be tired right after,” he says. “We can act accordingly.”

He’s acting like the fate of the world rests on my abilities, which I’m beginning to think is a little crazy. I mean, sure, Leonid’s concerning, and he’s here, but it’s not like I’m the only person in the world who poses a threat. He’s keeping his magic hidden, which means he’s at least scared of people finding out what he can do.

We’ve been following Leonid’s trip to America on the television, and so far, he’s been meeting with lots of different groups. The most horrifying part is that, as he does, the public opinion on him and on Russia. . .shifts.

He was once the most hated dictator on earth, probably.

And now, all because he’s a good-looking English speaker, most of the American media, at least, is eating out of his hand.

“I really didn’t expect you to be quite so personable,” Oprah says. “You’re quite charming.”

I shut the television off.

“The good news is, it doesn’t seem like he knows where we are,” Katerina says. “That means we still have some time.”

“Maybe he didn’t even come here to find us,” I say.

Everyone laughs.

The timing is suspect. He did announce his travel plans immediately after I saved Katerina and gained the ability to use powers at all. And then, not long ago, he returned her powers. It’s probably just what she suspects—a shameless bid to get her to call him.

She’s been refusing to use them entirely on the outside chance that using them would draw him to us. Clearly the one time she shocked me wasn’t enough.

Or, he’s biding his time. Waiting for. . .we’re not sure what.

It would be nice if super villains in real life provided monologues to tell us their plans. A memo or some kind of declaration would be equally helpful. As it is, we’re left guessing.

And practicing making mini earth tornadoes, apparently.

“Today, we’re going to learn how to bury someone in dirt,” Aleksandr says. “And if that’s easy to master, we’ll work on defending against lightning strikes and fire attacks using earth. It’s surprisingly effective, even with small amounts of soil or other debris.”

“But—”

Katerina has been watching us—they all have. But she has spent at least half her time in her horse form, as if she’s been denied it too long. Whatever else Birch Creek may not have, like great food, or anything at all interesting to do, it’s flush with big, spacious pastures and rolling hills.

“I’m going for a run,” she says. Again.

“Don’t get caught,” I say.

I’ve said that same thing every single day, like an idiot.

I have not mentioned our kiss. She hasn’t either. But I catch her staring at me sometimes. It’s enough to make me want to force myself to be able to use the lightning power, just so she can teach me instead of Aleksandr. I’m really sick of his high-handed superciliousness. I swear, I might knock him in the head with a tiny tornado of mud and claim it’s an accident.

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