Betrayed (38 page)

Like I would ever tattle-tale. “Okay.” She teleported in a burst of tiny sparkling lights like Guardians, unlike Bran who was usual y there one second and gone the next. I must remember to ask him about that, if I ever talk to him again.

Hurrying to the door, I wondered what Kim and Izzy wanted. Usual y, they fol owed the standard protocol—pinged to tel me they were on their way then teleported in. They rarely walked, except across the school’s parking lot to and from Remy’s car. Not that that short distance counted. Besides, the ridiculous high-heeled boots and shoes they favored were total y impractical for walking.

I opened the door and stared, taken back.

I opened the door and stared, taken back.

They weren’t alone. Maria, the co-owner of the company the High Council hired to clean our homes, stood behind them. Nervous energy poured from her, and she looked like a prisoner heading to the gal ows.

What’s going on?
I telepathed Izzy and Kim at the same time.

“Mrs. Maria has something to tel you,” Izzy said.

It’s about the package,
Kim added.
We want
to know if she’s telling the truth.

They actual y took Aunt Janel e’s suggestion about the cleaning crew seriously. I waved them inside, closed the door, and led the way to the living room. Kim and Izzy took the sofa adjacent to where I sat with Mrs. Maria.

The High Council had a strict policy about who entered our homes and performed regular psi scans on the cleaners and the gardeners in case they saw or heard something. From the way the woman sat on the edge of the couch with her knees pressed together and wrung her hands, I wondered what she might have seen.

“What is it, Mrs. Maria?” I said, keeping my voice pleasant.

She looked nervously at Kim, who nodded and gave her an encouraging smile. “Ms. Kim said the UPS package my daughter signed for is missing.”

I blinked and glanced at the others. I hadn’t expected that. “Your…daughter?”

“My wrist was hurting, and I needed help with the cleaning. It was only for one day,” she added quickly, her voice rising. “Mrs. Larsen warned me to never add an employee without checking with her first. I know I shouldn’t have, but I had surgery and—”

“I understand.” I gripped her hands.
It’s okay.

Everything will be fine.
She was afraid of losing her contract with the High Council. The moment she became composed, I said, “Go on.”

“I was next door while my daughter finished in here when the UPS driver drove up. By the time I found out she signed for the package, the truck was gone.”

“Where did she put it?” I asked.

“Outside the door.”

I frowned. “Why?”

Her anxiety crept up. “It’s my fault. She put it inside, but I told her to come back here and put it outside so your grandfather would see it when he came home.”

That part was a lie. She was scared of getting in trouble for bringing an unauthorized person into our homes.

“She put it out there.” Mrs. Maria pointed at the door. “I saw it when we finished cleaning next door. But it was gone when we drove past later. I thought…,” she swal owed, “I thought you or your grandfather took it.”

I squeezed her hands and did my best to keep her calm. Most of the things she said were true.

“We’l find the person who took it. Thank you for tel ing us the truth.”

She gave me a weak smile then glanced at Kim. “You won’t tel your mother—”

“I promised I wouldn’t. You can go back to work now.” Kim dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

“Thank you, Ms. Larsen. Thank you.” She turned away from Kim, gripped my hands, nodded at Izzy and disappeared through the door as though hel hounds were chasing her.

I waited until the door closed behind her then looked at the others. “She’s tel ing the truth, except for the part about why her daughter put the package outside. They hoped we’d think UPS people just left it out there. She’s scared of losing her job.” Kim sighed and looked at Izzy. “You have to do it.”

“I know.” Izzy sighed and stood.

My gaze vol eyed between them. “Do what?”

“Go back in time and catch the thieving guide,” Kim said flippantly, as though discussing a teleport to her favorite boutique.

“Won’t we get in trouble?” I asked.

“Only if we get caught,” Kim added. “Izzy is pretty good at this.”

“But secretly hates it,” Izzy mumbled.

Kim pinned her with a glare. “Remember the rules, don’t let anyone see you or get trapped in the past.”

Izzy rol ed her eyes. “I know. Mrs. Maria told us the daughter signed for the package around one o’clock on December nineteenth.” Izzy glanced at her watch. “The person pilfered it before two-forty-five, watch. “The person pilfered it before two-forty-five, the time we usual y get home from school. If I can get there just as she puts the package outside, hide in your room and wait, I should be able to see the thief.” I stared at her with wide eyes, gratitude making my voice thick. “I can’t believe you’re doing this when you hate to time travel.”

She wrinkled her nose and gave me a dirty look. “Don’t you forget it. If I bump into the past-you while I’m over there, I’l give you a kick in the butt for getting us into another mess. You know how good I am with kicks. You’l remember the pain four months later.”

Laughing, I threw my arms around her, tears fil ing my eyes. How could I have thought I didn’t understand her? She was unpredictable and a pain in the butt, but very loyal when it counted. Both of them were. Kim watched us with a feigned bored expression. I let go of Izzy, dropped down on the couch beside Kim and hugged her too.

At first Kim stiffened then relaxed when she realized I wasn’t letting her go. A tear fel on her shirt.

“Whoa, Lil. Prada. That means no tear stains.”

“I’l save and buy you a new one,” I said laughing.

She and Izzy rol ed their eyes in such a way that told me the top was unique. From the way Grampa rationed my al owance, I probably couldn’t afford it if I tried.

“Are you sure about doing this?” I asked.

Izzy shrugged. “No, but it needs to be done so we don’t have this medium slash traitor thing hanging over our heads.” She glanced at the clock above the fireplace then the watch on her wrist, which was intricate but used by al Time trainees. It had regular second, minute, and hour hands, a smal digital window for the year and two smal er faces with letters and numbers for the month and day imbedded in the rhinestone background.

Biting her upper lip, Izzy moved her finger in circles above the clear glass surface and adjusted the smal er faces so that the dial of the first pointed at December and the second pointed at the number nineteen. Another finger swipe and digital numbers changed to last year. Final y, she worked on the hour and minutes hands and set them back to one o’clock, the time the package was delivered. Only then did she look at us.

“I plan to get there at exactly one on December nineteenth. Assuming Mrs. Maria’s daughter is talking to the UPS man, she won’t see me teleport into your bedroom.” She looked at the clock one more time, then at me, and final y at Kim.

“It’s three-fifteen now. If I’m not back here in an hour, get Cardinal Hsia and tel her something is wrong and I need to be rescued.”

“That’s not funny,” Kim retorted.

“I know.” Izzy grinned. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “Here goes nothing.” She shimmered and disappeared in a burst of lights.

Silence fol owed her departure.

The turn of events was unnerving to say the least. I didn’t know what to say to Kim, especial y when she sat back, crossed her legs and arms. It was obvious she wasn’t going anywhere. Soon, she started tapping her fingers on her arm.

“You don’t think she’l be okay,” I said.

Kim didn’t even look at me, just kept staring into space. “I don’t know, but I hope so. Izzy pretends to be tough, you know, but she’s not. Two years ago when she moved in with us and we started training, she cried almost every day for a month. She missed her family and didn’t particularly like it here. If anything happens to her….” she pursed her lips then looked at me as though surprised she confessed so much. “Can I use your computer?”

She jumped up and started for my bedroom without waiting for my response. I dogged her footsteps, not wanting her in my room but unable to see a way out of the situation.

“I might as wel browse and see what’s hot while I wait for her return. Hope you don’t mind,” she added.

I rol ed my eyes. Like she’d leave if I minded.

Every time she came to visit, there was always something about my room she had to criticize or complain about. I didn’t care what she thought about my taste in draperies or furniture, but I didn’t want her to see my room in a mess. Bran had arrived way too early this morning to take me to school, and I missed the chance to clean up a little.

Maybe we should do something outside the house. “I plan to take the invitations to the other Guardian students. You can come with.”

“No, thanks.” She paused at the entrance of my bedroom and looked around. “Hmm, you should my bedroom and looked around. “Hmm, you should ask Mrs. Maria to do your house twice a week. She does ours.” Gingerly lifting a towel from the back of my computer chair, she passed it to me using the tips of her nails then sat.

She was right this time. My room looked like it was hit by a tornado. Printer papers with different invitation designs were strewn on the floor around the desk along with several tops and my PJs. A cup of cold cocoa and granola bar wrappers sat beside the computer. Kim pushed them aside then fired up the computer.

Ignoring the papers, I threw the clothing in the hamper and removed the drink and the wrappers.

“What’s the name of the caterer you used when you threw your party?”

She chuckled, picked up a pencil, and scribbled on one of the printer papers. “I kind of had a feeling you might need her. Izzy said to let you run things your way. How ridiculous. I don’t understand why she keeps forgetting reputation is everything in high school.”

“It’s stupid,” I retorted.

“Unfortunately, what you think doesn’t matter,” she said in an absentminded tone, her attention on the screen as she clicked the mouse. “That’s how it is here, and there’s nothing you can do to change it.” She glanced at me, a frown on her face. “You might want to talk to Bran’s sister about the way she dresses. It looks like she shops at a garage sale blindfolded. I hope she has something decent to wear to your party.”

Okay, I had enough of Ms. Perfect. She liked to hear the sound of her own voice.

“I’ve got to go. Thanks for this.” I waved the piece of paper with the name and phone number.

“Tel Ursula I sent you. She knows what we like, which includes pizza that’s to die for. You might also want to talk to Remy about covering the bookcases downstairs. Some of your grandfather’s books belong in the museum, and you don’t want drunken high school boys around them.”

“Oh, there won’t be any drinking,” I replied.

She cocked her eyebrow at me. “Grampa’s orders,” I added defiantly.

Kim laughed, and not in a nice way.

“Whatever. Just remember, al they care about is music, booze, and hooking up.” She started typing.

As I stood there, I was certain of two things.

First, there would be alcohol at my party whether I wanted it or not. Second, my human friends would kil me if they didn’t help me with this party. I needed to involve them somehow. Turning, I went to the kitchen to cal the caterer.

***

Later, I left practice only to find Bran waiting for me outside. Sitting on the hal way floor, arm propped on one bent knee, his back to the wal and head tilted upwards, he stared into space. His eyes were shadowed and lips pressed together as though he was thinking unpleasant thoughts. I’d never seen him so miserable.

My heart squeezed, the urge to sit beside him and hug him washing over me. Since I decided on leaving him alone, I held back.

He noticed me, and his emerald eyes lit up, lips curling at the corners and dimples flashing. The smile didn’t fool me. I’d seen the misery first. Our fight was taking a tol on him too.

“Hey,” he said and jumped to his feet, his gaze not leaving my face.

I gave him a tiny smile, crossed my arms, and hugged myself.

“I came to watch you train, but the old man had the pit locked down tighter than Tartarus,” he teased, but shadows stil lurked in his eyes.

“He doesn’t like an audience. What are you doing here?”

“I’d like to walk you home,” he said.

Cute but not exactly what I wanted. I started toward the entrance. He fel in step with me, uneasy silence settling over us. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and caught him studying me, too.

We both looked ahead as though we were doing something wrong. But my heart lifted. Maybe he regretted keeping things from me. I missed him.

We entered the rotunda foyer just as students poured out of their classes. Some walked in groups toward the pit while a few ran into the library. They al wore black sweat suits like mine, the standard uniform. Celeste saw us and waved.

“Have you talked to the psi class yet?” Bran asked as we left the Academy behind.

I shook my head. “Tomorrow maybe or Wednesday. I’m not sure what I should show or tel them. What if they’re not impressed? What if they them. What if they’re not impressed? What if they laugh? I watched the others teach, and they were awesome.”

Bran laughed softly. “You worry too much. Just be yourself.”

Easy for him to say. Al he needed to do was flash his gorgeous smile, and they’d love him. “Have you taught a class?”

“Every week since the school opened,” he bragged.

I rol ed my eyes. “Show off.”

“Not,” he retorted playful y. “I’m just good at it.

Maybe one day I’l be a teacher.”

The thought of Bran as a teacher was hilarious. I couldn’t see him in any position except a Cardinal Guardian. “Have you heard from Lottius?” He shook his head. “No.”

“Are you worried she might not contact you?” He frowned and appeared to think about his answer. “Not real y.”