Live and Let Psi

By D.R. Rosensteel

Rinnie Noelle would rather kick some creepy villain butt than go on a date. As a Psi Fighter trained in the Mental Arts, she can’t be distracted by emotion. Her nemesis, Nicolaitin, is manipulating students from her school, using them as puppets to carry out his new plan to find the infamous Morgan Girl, and he doesn’t care who becomes collateral damage in the process. People’s lives are depending on Rinnie’s ultimate focus.

But Mason Draudimon keeps slicing into her soul sharper than a Thought Saber, and her feelings for him knock her off her game with the strength of a psionic War Hammer. Mason insists on helping Rinnie take down Nicolaitan for his own reasons—to avenge his mother—and the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the dance between mind and heart, lifeand death, logic and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Jul 11, 2016
• ISBN: 9781633756595

Book preview

For Dad and Mom

Chapter One

Bushwhacked

When I was six years old, this creep who called himself Nicolaitan kidnapped me. He used me as bait to ambush two of the most awesome, loving crime fighters who ever wore a mask—Amy and Michael Morgan, my mom and dad. Nicolaitan is the leader of the Walpurgis Knights and a total slime pit. Murder is his thing.

I escaped. Mom and Dad didn’t. They gave their lives to save me.

We knew Nicolaitan would come back for me, so my name was changed and I went into hiding. My adoptive parents put me in the most intense training program any crime fighter has ever gone through. For ten years I hid my skills, until one day my little sister (yeah, my awesome adoptive family included a shiny new little sister) was kidnapped by a young Knight named Egon. Déjà vu, he used her as bait to capture me. That did it. I was officially done hiding. Little sisters, especially mine, are off limits to creeps.

Things didn’t work out so well for Egon. I kicked his butt. That would have been a nice, happy ending, but I learned it was just the beginning. Before I sent Egon deep into La La Land, he mentioned that Nicolaitan was still hunting for Lynn Morgan—me—the only surviving member of the Morgan family.

My new name is Lynn Noelle. But everybody calls me Rinnie. I’m a Psi Fighter. I protect the innocent. By day, I’m a sixteen-year-old girl who has a hard time deciding how to do her hair for school. By night, I wear a high-tech mask and armor to hunt the darkest, vilest villains you can imagine, way too evil for the police to handle. I know that’s not exactly normal, but normal and I, well, we aren’t really on speaking terms.

And, yeah, the mask is seriously cool.

Nicolaitan won’t stop until he finds me. He doesn’t know my true identity, but he’s relentless and doesn’t play fair. He lures us—Psi Fighters—out by hurting the people we are sworn to protect. His latest attempt happened in the wee hours of the morning, specifically right in the middle of my much-needed beauty sleep. And he did it in the most tasteless way I could have imagined—a poorly written limerick.

There once was an old high school robber,

Who over a young lass did slobber,

But the Passage was home,

And it caused him to roam,

Which led to one fine Danse Macabre.

See what I mean? Unimaginative cadence, sloppy wording—macabre. Really? It doesn’t even rhyme with slobber. Worse, Andy woke me up at three in the morning to read it to me. Then he made me guess that danse macabre means dance of death, Nicolaitan’s melodramatic way of telling us he was about to murder an innocent victim. Yeah. Three a.m. That’s Andy for you.

Andy is my mentor. He’s like a big brother, annoying and lovable at the same time, leaning slightly more in the annoying direction at three ante ploppin’ meridiem. He’s also my sparring partner and one of the most powerful of the Psi Fighters. The Psi Fighters have a long and glorious history that we’re not allowed to talk about. So, I’ll just hit the high points. We are a secret society of Protectors who take on covert missions against dictators, evil organizations, and crime lords. But the Walpurgis Knights are our fiercest enemy. We fight them from the Psi Fighter Academy, a training complex hidden hundreds of feet beneath the city in the old abandoned mines.

Back to the limerick and Andy’s terrible timing at delivering it to me. As badly written as it was, the message was clear—Mason Draudimon was about to die. The young lass in the limerick was a little girl who had been kidnapped by a Knight named Scallion and held in a place called the Shadow Passage. Mason had tried to rescue her. A few weeks ago I would have been, like, Sorry about your luck. Mason used to be a total butthead. He was one of the cruelest bullies in my high school. But then he showed up during my fight with Egon and nearly died trying to save me and my sister. That’s when I saw how sweet he could be.

So, in addition to becoming slightly attracted to him, I sort of owe him one. Otherwise, I would have totally told Andy to take two aspirins and call me in the morning. Instead, I bounced out of bed, threw on some sweats, and rushed down to the Academy, where I met Andy. He was already in full Psi Fighter armor.

Are you gonna wear that? Andy asked, his head cocked sideways, his gauntleted hand on his hip, striking his favorite you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me pose.

I shook my hair so it fell in my face, and shot back with a you-call-me-at-three-in-the-morning-and-expect-me-to-look-good? pose. Then I slipped into my dressing closet, donned my mask and armor, and immediately felt wide awake. Normal people just put their outfits on. Psi Fighters don them. It’s a superhero thing.

The advanced design of my midnight blue uniform made me impervious to practically anything. The knee-high boots were like lightweight moccasins but armored all around. My gauntlets were also armored, but so sensitive that I could feel the texture of my hair through them. The long tabard outlined with gold filigree was more than an awesome fashion statement. It was a second layer of armor that could withstand even a point blank Mental Blast. My belt, complete with Psi Fighter insignia, was a lot like Batman’s utility belt. But I kept snacks in it instead of gadgets.

Then there was my mask, the high-tech helmet that gives a Psi Fighter night vision, super-sensitive hearing, and the ability to communicate with each other as though we can read minds. It also has voice-altering electronics that makes my voice unrecognizable. I can sound like Darth Vader telling Obi Wan he should not have returned, or Hermy the Elf singing Why am I Such a Misfit? Totally indestructible, my mask protects me from anything the bad guys can throw at me.

With the possible exception of spiders.

Even my wonderful space-age Psi Fighter armor can’t keep their ick from making my skin crawl. If the Walpurgis Knights ever figure that out, I’m a goner.

I stepped out of my changing closet and headed into the maze of mines surrounding the Academy. When I entered the brightly lit tunnel, I noticed a large, rubber-tracked carriage rolling silently toward Andy and squealed in delight.

New toy? I sprinted toward the transporter. Dibs on the driver’s seat!

Andy pulled on his mask. Yes to question number one. Not in my lifetime to question number two.

Question number two wasn’t a question. I was staking a claim.

Andy climbed into the driver’s seat. I claim that you can’t stroll down the sidewalk without frightening little old ladies. It would be irresponsible of me to let you drive something with enough power to collapse the mines.

Ha ha. Ignoring his inferior sense of humor, I bounced into the passenger seat. It pulled me in like one of those expensive beds made of space-age foam. Without warning, seat belts snapped tightly around me. Does this thing double as a mousetrap? I asked.

Safety first, my dear. Like I said, there is enough power here to collapse the mines.

I notice there’s no steering wheel.

Andy patted my masked head. Did you also notice that there is no gas pedal?

Or key, or brakes, or fancy switches for activating James Bond weapons. I hope you don’t expect me to get out and push.

It wouldn’t move if you did. Feast your eyes on the electrodes lining my armrest. Andy flourished his hand across the inner console like Vanna White. They connect the driver to the transport’s nerve center. All I do is think. Much cooler than anything 007 has. This baby is loaded. Turbo boost, battering ram, psionic cannon…every accessory you could possibly want.

I shook my head. Hardly.

What’s missing? Andy asked, scrunching his shoulders up to his masked ears.

A makeup mirror. This thing was obviously designed by a guy.

Andy grunted, looked straight ahead, and slapped his hand against the armrest. The transport shot forward, forcing me back into the seat.

I squealed with delight. Is this your answer to the Batmobile?

"Batman wishes he had one of these. That low-tech scrap heap he drives is powered by a plutonium core reactor. One leak, and the whole city is polluted for eighty-seven-point-seven years. That’s why Batman has brain damage."

Why eighty-seven point seven? Why not eighty-eight?

Andy smacked his masked forehead. Half-life of plutonium. Duh.

I patted the dashboard. And this is powered by…?

Andy put his masked nose in the air. Pure, environmentally-friendly brain waves.

What do you call it? The Psycho Cruiser? The Gran Mal Torino? The Mental Model T?

I toyed with Psi-Tran, because technically it’s a Psionic Transport, but then settled on the Andymobile because of its obvious marketing appeal.

Batman’s not the only one with brain damage.

We sped along the tunnel, noiseless except for the low hum of the rubber tracks on the polished coal floor. Timbers and black rock and the smell of anthracite rushed past me. I had walked the coal mines of the Psi Fighter Academy many times, but I had never flown through them at that speed, nor had I gone that far from the training room. Before I knew it, we slid to a silent halt. The tunnel had come to an end, and a ladder disappeared into the ceiling. All out for Nat Greene, Andy said.

I leaned my masked head against the dashboard. Please don’t tell me you made a secret entrance inside the statue of Nathanael Greene.

Strictly speaking, Andy said, it’s an exit.

Strictly speaking, it’s a historical monument that we shouldn’t be desecrating.

That, too.

The mines under Greensburg lead everywhere. Over the years that the Psi Fighters have occupied the city, we have opened up inconveniently closed tunnels, closed up inconveniently open ones, and dug a series of exits up to the surface in some pretty unusual locations. When I say we, I mean Andy. This particular exit came up in Sinclair Park, inside, of all things, the massive bronze statue of Nathanael Greene, the Revolutionary War hero they named Greensburg after.

If you’ve never been inside a hollow statue, I don’t recommend it. Claustrophobia aside, there are spiders. And cobwebs with dried up bugs dangling in them. I believe I mentioned my unnatural loathing for all things spider.

I patted Andy on the arm. You go first. I followed him up the ladder, planning for the spider yuck to cling to him instead of me, and came out successfully web-free inside Commander Nat.

One thing about Andy, he goes all out when he builds a secret entrance. The interior of the hollow statue’s base was filled with high-tech surveillance equipment. Video monitors that would have made an IMAX HD movie theater jealous covered the walls. Andy touched the electrode plate at the base of the video system, displaying Sinclair Park before us.

I didn’t see anything suspicious—a field of tombstones, and beyond them, a sandbox and some swings. Sinclair Park is weird that way. It was an old cemetery before the rich and famous LaReau family bought it and built a playground in the middle. Apparently, they thought their psycho son, Norman, needed more social interaction. As it turned out, he did. He used the playground to lure children into his child slavery business. I stopped him from taking a little girl once, but he got away. That was my first mission. Which I totally botched.

Let’s go, Andy said.

Where? I asked. I don’t see anybody. I don’t see anything but tombs and teeter-totters. No life forms.

That means the coast is clear, Andy said.

Oh, yeah. I opened the hidden panel on the back side of Nathanael, and we slipped out. The hard part about being a Psi Fighter is that we try not to be seen. Comic book superheroes get their jollies by going out in public masked so they can flaunt the fact that they have a secret identity. We’re also masked, but we don’t like the limelight.

Shimmer, I said into my mask.

Shimmer, I heard Andy’s voice over my mask’s radio.

Shimmer is like stealth mode. We aren’t actually invisible, but it makes us nearly impossible to sense. You know how, when somebody is totally annoying and won’t stop talking, you can just tune them out, like they don’t exist? Well, Shimmer works like that. It tunes you out so people don’t realize you’re around.

Do you see him? Andy pointed. Over there. He’s not alone.

My blood ran cold when I saw what Andy was pointing at—Mason’s motionless body tied to a sarcophagus, and hovering over him, a dark figure wearing a mask like a decaying skull.

Nicolaitan.

My chest tightened. Was I too late? If anything happened to Mason…

Control your emotions, Andy said. I feel your anxiety. So will Nicolaitan.

Got it, I said. I forced the rising panic down and focused on Nicolaitan. He danced in a circle around Mason, playing what looked like a violin. Creepy with a capital C-R-E-E-P.

Andy started across the cemetery. Stay close to me.

Chapter Two

Danse Macabre

Moonlight glinted off the large bronze sarcophagus. Five tombstones formed a semi-circle around it, their long shadows reaching inward like claws toward Mason’s unmoving form. He lay flat on his back, chained to the heavy lid.

Dancing in the shadows, Nicolaitan played an eerie tune on his violin. Memories of the day he kidnapped me popped into my head.

I’ll never forget that disgusting face, I muttered. I hate him.

I stepped toward Nicolaitan, but a powerful hand pulled me back.

Stay still, Andy said. Don’t come out of Shimmer until I do.

Clad in a hooded cloak that swirled around him like a storm cloud as he danced, the evil leader of the Walpurgis Knights seemed more psychotic than I thought possible. What is that creepy song he’s playing?

"The Danse Macabre, Andy said. Just like the limerick said."

He almost makes spiders seem reasonable. I shook off Andy’s hand. What if Mason’s hurt—or dead? He needs our help. Let’s go!

No. He’s protected by remorse. You changed him that day with your Memory Lash. Remorse is a very powerful force.

That rhymes, but the beat is off.

So is your sense of who’s in charge. Turn up your enhancers. Mason has a strong pulse and steady breathing. If you zoom in on his eyes, he looks annoyed. Which I will also become if you don’t follow orders.

I hit a button on my mask, and Mason’s breathing came in loud and clear. He sounded like a dragon through my mask’s enhancers. And his eyes, bitter, enraged… Mason was far beyond annoyed.

Nicolaitan threw his hands in the air and his violin evaporated.

Psionic fiddle, Andy said with a moan. Now I’ve seen everything.

I hope you enjoyed my little song, Nicolaitan said to Mason. "I thought it appropriate, given the classical significance of your situation. You see, my good Mr. Draudimon, the danse macabre is symbolic. It’s an epic where Death invites his victims to dance with him from midnight until he takes them at the crowing of the dawn rooster, which, by the way—he pointed to the eastern horizon—is very soon. I thought your rescuers would be here by now, because the clue I gave them was ridiculously simple. As usual, they disappoint me."

Life is just full of disappointments, Mason said, jutting his chin toward his left arm. It was still encased in a cast from his fight with Egon.

Battle injury, Nicolaitan said, clapping his hands. That, my boy, is a badge of honor, not a disappointment.

You misunderstand. It’s a disappointment that I can’t get up and beat you over the head with it.

A man after my own heart, Nicolaitan said quietly.

Didn’t know you had one, Mason said. The day you murdered my mother you told me you’d be back for me. Untie me, and see if I’m as easy to kill as a deranged woman.

Nicolaitan’s mask was too real. Rips in the decaying flesh of his face revealed stark white jawbone. He shook his rotting head and his exposed teeth clacked together. Murder? My good man, I simply beat her over the head with a shovel. Multiple times, I admit, but that’s hardly artistic enough to be called murder. Your mother wasn’t deranged. She was an experiment. Like you. I had such hopes for you. So much promise. So much anger. With a little guidance, you could have been just like me. Still could. I believe in second chances.

Mason jerked against his bonds. I’ll never be like you.

Let’s not be hasty, Nicolaitan said. Emotions make the man, and you, my boy, have become one fabulously angry young man. I can work with that. Join me.

Mason’s mouth twisted, his fists clenched, and his eyes filled with fire. "I said I’ll never be like you!"

Final answer? Nicolaitan asked, twirling his hands like a game show host.

Never!

Then die. Nicolaitan said it as though it were the most natural thing to say, and then he cackled like a jackal. A ghostly hand erupted from his outstretched palm and fastened on Mason’s chest. Handless Death, the deadliest Psi Weapon of the Walpurgis Knights. The weapon Nicolaitan had used to murder my parents ten years ago.

Let’s move, Andy said.

I started forward, prepared to fight the most lethal human alive to save Mason, when Andy’s next words stopped me short.

Never mind, he said. I was right. He’s protected.

You weren’t sure? I snapped.

I was pretty sure.

Nicolaitan struggled, pushing the misty hand, unable to force it through Mason’s chest. The hand frothed and fizzled, rolling across Mason’s supine body like a morning fog. Nicolaitan straightened up and pulled his gauntleted hand back, tiny red eyes gazing from skull-like eye sockets, staring at the palm. He glanced back at Mason, leaned forward, and slammed both hands onto Mason’s chest. Mist shot across his body like high-pressure steam, and Mason lurched like he had been hit by twin pile drivers.

I jumped toward Mason, but Andy caught me by the shoulder again.

Stop it, Andy said quietly. I told you he’s safe.

"Hmph." He didn’t look safe.

Is that supposed to scare me? Mason lifted his head from the sarcophagus and glared at Nicolaitan.

Nicolaitan lifted his hands from Mason’s chest, put them behind his back, and began to circle the sarcophagus like he was out for a Sunday stroll. Why won’t you die? he asked, as if the question was totally perplexing. He stopped and latched his hands onto Mason’s face.

I could see he was doing a scan.

You’ve been changed. Protected by remorse. Why can’t I see a face in your mind? Is it possible you don’t know who did this to you?

Told ya, Andy said.

I elbowed him.

Nicolaitan sprang back from Mason. The psionic fiddle reappeared in his hands, and he began playing the Wicked Witch song from The Wizard of Oz, dancing like a madman. Then he stopped and the fiddle vaporized with a loud hiss. He slowly turned to face Mason, rubbing his bare jawbone as if in deep thought. Then he dipped his rotting face so close to Mason’s that their foreheads touched.

I seem unable to murder you by civilized means, Nicolaitan said. Since I can’t take your useless life, I suppose the least I can do is give it new meaning. Do you remember the first time you saw me?

Every detail. Mason’s eyes narrowed.

You see, that’s the problem with today’s society. People are so ungrateful. I saved your life that day, Mason. Your mother was trying to kill you. Not of her own free will, of course. I was in the midst of developing a brilliant—if I may say so myself—mind control drug, and she was my first guinea pig. Truth be told, Psychedone testing on animals should be outlawed. It destroyed her mind. Your mother is useless to me now. I must say, though, the experiment itself was a smashing success. Ten years later, I have Psychedone 10, a peerlessly powerful prescription. I control an army. If you join me, I’ll let you have your own army. Nicolaitan cupped his hand to his mouth and leaned toward Mason. And as a bonus, I’ll tell you where your momma is.

Do you think I actually want to see her grave? Mason tugged against the chains. I would have found it by now if I wanted to. She’s buried in Livermore.

You miss my meaning. Your mother is quite alive.

What? I gripped Andy’s arm, fighting to contain my shock.

Liar! Mason yelled, and he struggled to pull himself upright. "I watched you murder her! My father buried her."

You saw what I wanted you to see. He didn’t bury her; he hid her at Old Torrents and covered the whole episode up. I was there, Mason. I took her home with me. She walks the streets of Camelot as we speak.

Mason’s eyes softened and closed. His body slumped as though the fight had slowly left him. I don’t believe you, he whispered.

Yes, you do. Nicolaitan brought his rotting face inches from Mason’s. The only way to know if I’m lying, my boy, is to find her grave in the Livermore Burial Grounds. But you won’t. She’s insane, wild as a feral cat, but quite alive.

What’s Camelot? I whispered to Andy.

That’s what he calls his hidden training grounds. You know, King Arthur, the Round Table…Knights.

He’s lost his mind, I said. Let’s move.

Not yet—

I ignored Andy and stepped soundlessly across the cemetery lawn, stopping only feet from Mason. I felt Andy behind me.

Nicolaitan looked up slowly, as though he sensed someone was near. Come out, come out, wherever you are.

I came out of Shimmer.

Greetings, Psi Blighter, Nicolaitan said, bowing low. "I don’t want to seem rude, but I was expecting someone taller. I should have known the Kilodan is too cowardly to face me. Or was my riddle too difficult for his small mind? Would a phone call be better next

Reviews for Live and Let Psi

[loveydoveybooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Originally posted on Lovey Dovey BooksLive and Let Psi is the second installment in D.R. Rosensteel’s Psi Fighter Academy series. This clean action packed mystery puts the super in superhero and proves itself to be the story to read for all aspiring crime fighters. Rinnie Noelle is not your average teenage heroine. She’s trained in the mental arts and she’s in hiding from the villainous Nicolaitan. Even if you haven’t read the debut novel of the series, Psi Another Day, you may find that this story brings readers up to date on the happenings of Rinnie’s life. Though knowing about prior events doesn’t guarantee immediately falling in love with the characters. It’s refreshing to come across an author who writes in the young adult genre and keeps it PG. When I think about what I would recommend to younger family members and friends, stories like this one should come to mind. Although, I would not consider a ‘clean’ story to involve a storyline about drug use, that’s also where age range and preference comes into play. It is a serious issue in the lives of young adult readers and the story doesn’t go into graphic or depressing detail. The story had a balance of hard hitting action and an underlying positive message, but I really couldn’t get invested in the characters. Maybe it was because I hadn’t met these characters at the beginning of their story, so whatever growth or changes they’ve made, I just wasn't able to relate. I also felt that the dialogue was slightly off kilter. There were conversations that had no substance, and came across as random bantering. I think that in a different form, like a comic book or graphic novel, the story could have been better represented. The one-liners may have worked better and not have seemed like filler for more concrete dialogue. Live and Let Psi didn’t live up to all of my expectations, but I can say that the quirks and quips of the Dweeb League made the reading fun. Younger readers of the young adult genre will more likely take the Psi Fighter Academy series as a guide to finally becoming that kick butt superhero of their dreams!*Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review*