Authors: Rachel McClellan
Most of the students burst into laughter, but Ms. Smitty’s expression stayed serious. “What you’re talking about is extremely dangerous.”
The class quieted down. “So it is possible,” I said.
“For a highly advanced Aura, and even then I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re talking about splitting your cells. It takes an extreme amount of concentration. Auras have died trying it.”
“Who told you that?”
Ms. Smitty crossed her arms to her chest. “Are you questioning me?”
“No, I really want to know. Who said it would kill you?”
Ms. Smitty’s face turned red. “I know you’re not familiar with Lucent’s policies, but I can assure you all the teachers here, including myself, are well versed in everything Aura related. Fall in line and trust that we are the experts.” She whipped her long, black braid behind her as she returned to the book on her desk.
Normally a comment like that would make me explode, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d just learned. My mother
had
turned invisible. It was possible. Now if only I could figure out how.
Class ended. As soon as we were out in the hall, Ashlyn bumped me as she walked past. “If you want to disappear,” she said, “we can make that happen.” She tossed her head back and laughed. It was difficult, but I resisted the urge to kick her.
I headed straight to my room to drop off my books before lunch. The first thing I noticed was how dark the light in my room seemed, but I didn’t have time to ponder on it long.
“Hey, beautiful,” Christian said. He was lying on my bed, reading Britt’s journal.
“How’d you get in here?” I asked.
“Snuck in.” He stood up. “I missed you.”
I looked at him and waited for the real reason for his visit.
“What? I did.” He sat up and motioned for me to sit next to him. “And I couldn’t stand being with Jackson any longer. Something’s seriously wrong with him.”
I dropped my bag next to the bed and sat down. “How so?”
“He talks like . . . I don’t know. It’s just off. Like he’s better than everyone.”
I took hold of his hand. “He said the same thing about you.”
Christian held my gaze. “Do you believe that?”
“Of course not. Is he telling you anything?”
“You mean is he spilling the beans on the whole evil plot? Not just yet.” He looked down at the journal. “But it’s not just Jackson. Since I’ve come here, several of the Guardians feel wrong, like they know a secret I don’t. And I feel like they’re watching me.”
“Maybe they’re trying to decide if they can trust you.”
“I thought of that. That’s why I tried to get Jackson to do something with me tonight, but he said he was busy. I’m going to follow him and see exactly what he’s up to.”
“Want some company?” I said, but I secretly hoped he said no. I had my own things to do.
“That’s okay. You should stay here and hang with the girls. Do something fun. You still remember what that is, don’t you?” He pulled me close.
I leaned against his shoulder and sighed.
Fun?
How could I tell him the only fun I had anymore was when I was fighting?
“Have you talked to Jake lately?” he asked.
This made me smile. “I tried calling him the other night, but he wasn’t home. He’s really happy with Heidi, living a normal life, in a normal relationship.”
Christian leaned away from me. “You’ll have a normal life one day and be in a normal relationship too.”
I looked passed him. “I don’t think so. I have Vyken poison in me. Who knows what that means?”
“But you’ve been able to fight it so far. Before you know it, it will be gone, and you’ll be you again.” He kissed my cheek.
I wanted to agree with him, but I knew I would never be “me” again. The darkness had rooted itself inside me, and even though I might learn to control it, it would always be there, just waiting for me to mess up.
He had to sense it too, deep down, and for the rest of his life he’d probably want to fix me. Christian grabbed the journal off my nightstand and began reading it again.
I stood up. “I’m going to find May and Kiera in the lunch room,” I said. “Do you want me to bring you back anything?”
Christian stared at the journal. “That would be great.”
I waited a second before leaving, watching him and wondering if he’d find what he was looking for.
There’s no cure in there
, I wanted to say, but he never looked up.
Because I couldn’t find May and Kiera in the dining room, I walked into the kitchen, ignoring the stares of Lizens, and found Tessa. “How’s it going,” I said.
She wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and stacked plates of food up her arms. “Good.”
“Have you seen May and Kiera?” I picked up the last three plates on the table and followed her into the dining room. Nobody said anything this time.
“Yeah, they’re eating outside.”
“Cool. Do you think you can get off or stop working or whatever to eat with us?” When Tessa stopped at a table, I joined her in handing out the plates of food. Both of us ignored the snickering of younger Auras.
“Maybe. Give me a second. Wait here.” She set the last of the plates down and walked away.
I backed up against the wall. Across the room I locked eyes with Sophie. She was clearly upset but didn’t say anything. Instead, she forced a smile. I forced one back.
Tessa returned a minute later. “Let’s go before my mom changes her mind.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, carrying two lunch bags.
May and Kiera were out front sitting on the steps. “I just told her about Dr. Han,” May said. She slid over to make room for Tessa. I sat above her, next to Kiera.
“The plot thickens,” Kiera said, still looking a little too happy about all of this.
“How about you, Kiera?” I asked. “Did you get a chance to talk to Abigail?”
“I did.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook. She flipped through the pages, reading a bunch of notes that started off being about the vitamins, but then changed into Abigail’s youth. My mind began to wander.
“Are you listening?” Kiera said.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m listening.”
Kiera glanced down at the notebook. “And then I asked her when the vitamins were first introduced. She said in 1921. So then I asked—”
“1921? Are you sure?” I interrupted.
Kiera looked over her notes. “Yup. 1921. But I guess back then it was a powder that they put into tea. It wasn’t put into a pill form until the 1950s. As for our blood, they started storing it fifteen years ago.”
This I found really strange. Somehow I expected the timing of the pills to correspond with the timing of when they first started storing our blood.
We continued talking through lunch, but gradually our conversation moved away from dark things to superficial things: boys, shopping, and life outside Lucent. I glanced to the forest beyond, the package of pills burning a hole in my pocket. I was wasting time.
“What are you thinking?” May whispered to me while Kiera and Tessa laughed about something that had happened last year.
“I’ve got to talk to Liam.”
“Then do it. I’ll go to your next period and pick up your assignment. Tell them you’re sick.”
“Really?”
“Sure. There are more important things, right?”
I nodded, grateful she understood. “I’ve got to use the restroom,” I said and stood up. “Be right back.”
As soon I was in the bathroom, away from prying eyes, I pulled the cell phone Liam had given me from my pocket. I texted to the only number listed in the phone:
Can you meet?
A minute later the phone buzzed. I answered it.
“What’s going on?” Liam said, his voice full of concern.
“I wanted to give you something.” When he didn’t say anything, I hurried and said, “Some pills. We were able to sneak a foil of them from the box.”
“That was dangerous. Someone might notice it’s missing.”
“Do you want it or not?”
“Who dropped it off?”
“Jackson.” I paused. “So can we meet? I want to know what’s in them. Your people can do that right?”
“Sure. As for us meeting, don’t you have class?”
“This is a little more important, isn’t it? And there’s something else I want to talk to you about,” I said, without knowing exactly what that was. For some reason I felt I had to see him.
He paused before saying, “Can you get out of the school?”
It would be harder during the day, but I felt confident I could do it. “Yeah.”
“You know our usual spot? Head north from there until you hit a dirt road. I’ll pick you up there. Listen for the sound of my car.”
“You drive?”
“Before this assignment I actually had a life, Llona. I don’t live in the woods, you know.” I heard the smile in his voice. “See you soon.”
I hung up and returned to the girls.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I tossed the rest of your lunch,” Kiera said. “You looked done.”
“No problem. Thanks.” I didn’t look at her. I was too busy surveying the area, looking for an escape route.
“You leaving?” May said.
I nodded.
“Where you going?” Kiera asked.
I patted my pants pocket where the pills were hiding. “I’ve got to get this to Liam.”
“Isn’t Christian in your room?” Tessa asked.
I turned to her. “Yeah, how’d you know?”
“I snuck him in.”
“Right. Would you mind telling him where I went and take him some food while you’re at it? I’ll owe you.”
“He’ll want to go with you,” May said.
“I know, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be, and he’s meeting with Jackson later.”
“I’ll tell him,” Tessa said. “Come on, let’s go. I have to help with dishes.”
We parted ways. I made sure no one was watching as I walked around the school and toward the back. I headed straight for the shed, pretending it was my destination. When I reached it, I turned around. No eyes were watching. No one cared where a girl like me was going.
I leapt high over the wall. It took me about ten minutes to run through the forest and find the road I thought Liam was talking about. The forest felt different in daylight. I didn’t like it.
Standing in the center of the dirt road, I looked both directions.
Listen for him
, Liam had said. I closed my eyes and focused. Not far away I heard an animal, probably a rabbit, moving through grass. I listened to its quiet movements. Calculated. Careful. And then I heard a rhythmic thumping. I whirled around, searching for the sound. I took a few steps forward. Definitely this direction.
It wasn’t long before I realized the sound was a bass drum, muffled by the walls of metal. I rounded a bend in the road and spotted the back of a black 1967 Chevy Impala. It was Jake’s dream car. All the windows were as black as the paint, and they shook from the bass beating from what sounded like rock music. I approached the passenger door. The music disappeared and the window rolled down.
“You made it,” Liam said.
I bent down and peered into the car. As soon as I saw him, I grew lightheaded.
Guess the pills have worn off. Good.
I mentally pushed back the dizziness and said, “Anyone tell you it’s summer?” Liam was still wearing his leather jacket.
“Sun allergies,” he said. “You getting in or what?”
It took me a second to realize what he meant. I opened the passenger door and jumped in, still trying to get over the dizzy feeling. “So, you really can’t be in the sun?”
Liam was facing me, but because he was wearing sunglasses, I couldn’t tell if he was looking at me or not. A short moment passed before he said, “I can, but it hurts. Instant sunburn.” He turned forward and pressed on the gas.
“I meant what I said before. You can have some of my blood.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “No.”
“I’m just saying. I bet it would make your job a whole lot easier.”
“What do you have for me?”
I reached into my pocket and removed the foil of pills.
Liam took it and drove while he examined the casing. “Bodian Dynamics,” he said, his voice low. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“Who are they?”
“A huge research corporation that has their dirty fingers in everything. I think they have a facility not far from here.” Liam turned the car left down another dirt road.
“Where are we going?”
“I have a place not far.”
“So you do live in the woods.”
He snorted. “It’s just temporary.”
“Where do you normally live?”
He adjusted his weight in the seat. “All over.”
“Vague much?”
“I have a few homes. Maine. Alaska. Canada.”
“But where’s home? You know, the place where you have Thanksgiving?”
He didn’t answer right away, but when he did I regretted asking the question. “Not much of a family thanksgiving when all your family is dead.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I’ve been around a while,” he added.
A minute later, the car slowed. “We’re here.”
I looked out the tinted windshield. A cabin, more like a shack, was just up ahead. “Nice place,” I said.
Liam turned off the car. “See you inside.” He opened the car door and bolted, hunched over with his jacket pulled over his head.
I followed behind him but not as fast. The area was well covered by trees; the wood cabin almost looked like part of the forest except for a single window near the front door.
“You mind closing that?” Liam said, when I entered the cabin.
I couldn’t see him, but when I closed the door, he stepped out of the shadows and flipped on a light, illuminating one big room. A small kitchen was on the right and a bedroom on the left. No pictures, no personal touches. It felt empty even with both of us standing in it.
“Cozy,” I said.
Liam held the pill package to the light, examining it. “It’s a roof over my head.” He lowered the pills and set them on a small table. Using his cell phone, he took pictures of the front and back of the foil. I waited patiently while he typed a message into his phone. When he was finished, he looked up at me. “What else did you find out?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you had to talk to me about something else. Besides the pill.”