Echo Into Darkness: Book 2 in The Echo Saga (Teen Paranormal Romance) (5 page)

When I finished, he said, "Yeah, I know about the factions. So?"

"
So
, they're out there looking for me, and I have no idea who they are or how to protect myself against them. I'm tired of living in fear every single day!"

"If you’re anywhere near as powerful as they say, why are you so afraid? Guess you're not the legend Connor says you are."

This got the tiniest of smiles out of me. Connor had told his dad that I was more talented than anyone who existed in my time. Even if I bought into this praise, what good was it? My gift was good for changing the color of clothing and other low-level party tricks. I was no match for soldiers who were trained to maim, kill and enslave.

"If you're so brave, then you take them on," I said, plopping down next to him.

"You'd have to be an idiot to volunteer for a job like that. Why don't you figure out who they are? Then you'd know who to stay away from, and if anyone bothers you, you send them to the police. Wouldn't you feel safer then?"

I let out a biting laugh. "Gee, I tried to look them up under
Supernatural Psycho Killers
but I guess their website was down. By the way, a
website
is a part of what we call the
Internet
, which is the old-fashioned way we communicate."

"You don't need to translate anything for me," he said, not unkindly.

"I appreciate the suggestion but you don't know anything about my world. If you had any idea what I was up against, I don't think you'd be so judgmental. Besides, Connor already tried to find the factions."

"I can offer something your ex never could." He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked and I knew he was about to make another inappropriate comment about my personal fantasies.

"That's it. Get out of my house." I pointed at the door.

"Princess, you're trying to kick me out when you should be throwing me a Welcome Home party. Portland is my home turf. I was born a few miles from here."

Chapter 5

My jaw went slack. "You mean you were born a few miles from here in your time, 2173."

"Listen closely and see if you can follow along: I was born the same year as you, right here in this city, right across the river."

I didn't know what the heck to say, so he kept talking.

"I was a foster kid in a crappy situation. I used to get beat up on a regular basis by my foster dad. Still with me? Good. One night, I left. I was wandering around on my own when this weird guy in a freaky-looking tunic asked me if I needed help. That was Philip."

I remembered Philip, the kindly older man who I met on my first trip to West Region. "He worked with you in the lab."

"Yeah, that guy. He decided I'd be better off living in the future with him than with whoever had bruised me up, and I became one of the original time jumping guinea pigs. I was eight years old."

"Connor never said anything about this."

"Seriously, you need to stop talking about him. Nobody except Philip ever knew where I originated from. I got really sick after he took me to West Region, but he transported me back and forth through the portal until I eventually acclimated. Philip adopted me but I was little more than a lab experiment to him."

"He made you stay in the future all these years?"

Jaxon shrugged. "It's a pretty cool place for a kid. Aside from watching my body parts fade in and out for the first year, I was fine."

Color me surprised, but I may have just gained a little respect for Jaxon.

"Didn't you ever miss your life here?" I asked.

"I missed out on some, let's say
opportunities
that were available to me if I'd grown up in that foster family. I always wondered how that could have turned out." He yawned. "Anyway, my offer stands. You can't avoid an enemy you can't see. I might be able to help you find what you're looking for. Think it over. I'm going to bed."

*******

The next morning, I found Jaxon in the kitchen, eating dry cereal out of the box and paging through my Economics textbook. He gave me an I'm-not-a-morning-person nod.

That was fine by me. I hadn't lost a wink of sleep thinking about his proposition. I didn't want his help. This was a personal matter and he would only get in the way, with his smart aleck comments and arrogance. Besides, he'd been gone for nearly ten years. What could he possibly offer?

Jaxon's value was limited to one thing, and that was making my one, true fantasy a reality. In it, Connor and I would go to school together and have a normal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. We'd live as soulmates
right now
, not in some unknown time in the future.

The one person who could make that happen was sitting at my breakfast bar with a cranky, morning face.

I poured myself a bowl of cereal and ate, casting the occasional glance at my houseguest. There were untold mysteries behind those brown eyes. Scheming. Planning. He had a lot of decisions to make—where he was going to live and how he'd support himself here. I didn't discount the possibility that his plotting included stealing lunch money from elementary school kids. He seemed like that kind of guy.

If I wanted to change his mind about transporting me to Connor's time, I'd need to come up with the right enticement and deliver my request carefully.

"I'll give you five hundred bucks to take me through the portal!" I blurted. Milk spilled over my chin. Smooth I was not.

He gave me a bored look.

"You need the money," I said. "Kimber will let you stay here for maybe one more night. All I'm asking is that you drop me off at the West Region lab. Then you can come back here and, I dunno, live out your life as a fugitive in my sucky time. What do you think?"

"I think if I had the choice between shooting myself and hearing you whine about McCabe's kid for one minute longer, I'd take the bullet. His dad would only kick you out again anyway."

I slumped over my cereal. My trip back was not going to happen.

Jaxon pocketed a few bananas and oranges from the fruit basket. "I need you to drop me off on the southeast side of town on your way to school."

I dumped my hardly-eaten bowl of cereal down the sink. "That's going to make me late."

He sighed. "So take me to a bus stop."

"What's in southeast?" I asked.

His knee rolled back and forth while contemplated the floor, the counter, the air in front of him.

"People I know."

"Your foster family?"

"Hell no. Well, sort of. I thought I'd see if my foster brother is around. I don't care about the rest of them."

My laptop sat on the breakfast bar. I flipped it open.

"What's their last name? I can see if they're still at the same address."

His aura tightened around him, protective. "Don't bother. I'll figure it out."

"Are you sure? I can map out their address for you."

"Positive."

So much for extending the olive branch of friendship.

I drove us through my neighborhood and toward town. Rain pelleted the pavement and bounced a foot. We got to the bus stop at the bottom of the hill where commuters huddled beneath the plastic shelter with their umbrellas thrust outward against the wind. They looked miserable.

I kept driving and turned onto one of the bridges spanning the river.

"Taking pity on me?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Go up a few blocks and take a right." I caught a whiff of gratitude from his aura, if nowhere else.

The last turn took us into a neighborhood that had seen better days probably twenty years ago. Houses were small. Paint peeled off the siding and weeds grew out of clogged gutters.

"Anywhere in here is fine," he said.

I pulled to the curb.

"You never said if you wanted my help or not," he said.

I gave him a long look, trying to understand why he cared what happened to me.

"I'm not exactly your favorite person, and that goes both ways, so why do you care about the factions? Or what they want to do to me?"

"Maybe I like the idea of spending more time with you," he replied with a sly grin.

God, I wished he'd let up with the charm act. "Aren't you afraid of them?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Then pardon me for saying so, but you're certifiably nuts. Or you must have had a lot of training in West Region to be that brave." A new thought occurred to me. "Are you actually worried about my safety?"

He let out a surprised laugh. "Let's get one thing clear. I'm not here to protect you. Never was on my agenda, never will be."

His tone stung. "Oh, please. Like I even need your protection. And don't forget,
you're
the one who offered to help
me
. I'll pass."

"Good luck with the factions," he said.

"Good luck tracking down your brother."

"
Foster
brother." Jaxon stepped into the downpour.

Chapter 6

I parked in the school lot two spaces away from Becca and Lucas. They leaned against a red Mustang convertible, their tongues angling down each other's throats. Watching them sparked a twinge of loneliness. She had her guy and a whole new crowd of friends. That was more than I had. I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

"Hey, Echo, wait up!" Becca peeled herself off her boyfriend and jogged to my side. Her fingers were warm on my arm. "I'm sorry I was such a bi-otch yesterday. It's just, all this Wiccan stuff was…I dunno. I totally overreacted. I guess I thought I had something special, you know?"

Her apology fell flat. What did she think, that I was keeping secrets from her just for fun, to make
myself
feel special?

"You're right, there's a whole lot I haven't told you. You know why? It's private. A lot happened between me and Connor that I can never explain, not to anyone."

I headed into the building. She hooked my elbow. "I'm sorry. I never should have yelled at you yesterday. I guess I was a little jealous of him."

"Well, you've got a boyfriend of your own now."

"No, I mean he was taking up all your time. You and me hardly hung out anymore. You used to tell
me
all your secrets, you know? I know you had some odd stuff going on and it's none of my business, but I'll listen when you're ready?" Her face was wide open, hopeful.

"Thanks," I said, warming at the notion of having my friend back.

We stood there for an uncomfortable minute.

"So," she stalled.

"So."

"Oh!" She held up a set of car keys. "I got my license! And look what my dad bought me!" She pointed at the sleek, red Mustang convertible where she and Lucas had been making out. Becca had gotten her dream car.

"Congratulations. It's beautiful."

"It's so new, I'm afraid to leave it in the parking lot. It doesn't even have license plates yet," she said. "Hey, Lucas has basketball practice most mornings so if you ever want a ride—"

"I'd love to," I cut in.

We chattered until the final bell cut us apart.

******

During my free period, I went to the library and checked out the yearbooks from the past three years. That seemed like a good way to search for the girl I'd met two days ago. I tossed them in my book bag with my usual gobs of homework.

As if I didn't have enough going on, that afternoon, I started my new part-time job. Mind you, I didn't want this job, but Kimber got tired of watching me sulk around the house during winter break. She'd left me not-so-subtle hints about job openings. One day, I found the Smoothie Shack phone number written on my bathroom mirror with lipstick. Point taken. I applied the next day and got the job.

The Smoothie Shack occupied a space in one of the downtown complexes not far from Pioneer Mall and was a favorite after-school hangout for Lincolnites.

The shop was divided into two parts, the juice bar and The Cave. The girls usually hung out at the bar, sipping fruit drinks that they spiked with Diet Red Bull. The guys played arcade games in the darkened back room, The Cave, coming to the counter to refill sodas and flirt with the girls.

I showed up for my first shift a few minutes late. My manager was a pimply-faced senior who worked his way into management by putting in extra hours over the summer.

"If you show up on time and get the orders right, I'll put in a good word for you. Management has its perks, you know. Free smoothies and game tokens."

He'd forgotten to introduce himself, so I took a wild stab in the dark and assumed his nametag read
Joe
for a reason.

Joe handed me a t-shirt with the Shack logo and a baseball hat. After I changed, he gave me a sixty-second tutorial on how to make smoothies (fruit, ice, special powder, know how to use a blender?), a short cash register lesson, and left me behind the counter to fend for myself.