Secret Worlds (86 page)

With a groan, I lift the box and lug it toward the stairwell. Two men open the door just as I approach. My heart kicks up. I've been seen. Moment of truth.

One of the men is holding the door open for me. 

“Thanks,” I say, sounding winded, because I am. Then I hurry as fast as I can down the stairs to the first floor. 

The main lab is still in use.

I drop the box near the emergency exit, then stroll into the lab. I try to act like I belong here. I don't know how that is, though, so I just duck my head and enter the bathrooms.

Empty.

I toss the backpack in the sink and unzip it. Each balloon contains measured amounts of the ingredients and an attached length of magnesium ribbon. A long piece of ribbon, at that. 

I drop one of the balloons in the wastebasket, trailing the ribbon toward the exit. Then I yank a forest-worth of towels from the dispenser and spread them over the floor. The camouflage is half-assed. 

I have to move quick.

I yank up the backpack and stroll out of the lab and over to the small office. The door is unlocked. I dart inside, plant another balloon bomb, and cross to the library. 

The girl who had been watching anime is gone.

I jog into the reading area. At least I can work without being caught. As long as no one stops by the library, anyway.

I tuck a balloon on a bottom shelf, roll out the ribbon across the entire length of the room, and exit toward the hall. I deliver to each of the three small labs and one to the museum. I just toss that one on the floor.

No more stealth.

The plan is to light two ribbons and then run. The subsequent explosion should reach the rest of the bombs in no time, causing a chain reaction. Since this is on the ground floor, the whole building should collapse.

I bolt for the emergency exit. Just as I'm about to slam through it, I notice the fire alarm on the wall.

Bingo. My moral compass can point north again.

I pull the alarm. Blaring fills the building. It does nothing to the hum in my head.

Sprinklers turn on. They are not going to cause a problem for my build-a-bomb explosions. Ah, the power of magnesium.

People start yelling.

I yank up the box of books and kick open the emergency doors. My car is straight ahead. I run for it, pull open the door, and throw the box into the backseat.

The blowtorch is in my hand before I'm even back in the building. People are scurrying about, trying to find the fire.

I race to the lab bathrooms, sliding on wet tile, and throw open the door. The paper towels flutter away. I catch myself on the jamb with one hand and lean down to light the ribbon.

It catches. I haul ass to the library, swing inside the reading area, and light another ribbon.

That should do it. 

I toss the blowtorch aside and scramble out the emergency exit, the blaring sound finally louder than the hum. People are still yelling and carrying on.

Well, I gave the idiots a warning.

I fumble with the keys in the ignition and slam the car in reverse. Hand on the back of the passenger seat, I turn as I pull out. 

My gaze lands on the books.

They have black spines.

These are the wrong books.

“Oh, sweet Mary.” I throw the car into park and scramble out. 

The hum is back with an attitude.

Where the hell are those books? Where in that whole place could they possibly be?

I smack the side of my head once as if that has ever helped and run toward the building. I can't leave without the books, but they weren't in the library. They weren't in the teaching lab. I checked everywhere. 

Except the wet dirt lab.

I dodge through the crowd in the exit and head into the stairwell, taking the steps three at a time. The hum vibrates along with the railing. I think people are still yelling, but I can't hear them.

I burst onto the second floor and lunge for the wet dirt lab. The door is unlocked. 

There they are. Right on a table in the middle of the goddamned room.

I lug up the crate of books with gold colored spines and turn for the door.

An explosion blasts downstairs. Another follows right after.

Sirens approach from outside.

I lug the crate into the teaching lab and toss it on the counter next to the window. Downstairs sounds like a stampede. I shove open the pane and lean out. It's a long ways down.

The container of books go first. The crate crashes and breaks on the asphalt.

It's an unsettling demonstration of what might happen to my bones. I crawl up on the sill and leap anyway.

So much for not playing Spiderman.

I tuck and roll into the landing, then skitter across the parking after the crate. Smoke billows out the emergency exit doors.

I grab the broken crate, shove it into my car, and peel out.

***

As I'm flooring it down I-8 into Arizona, my phone rings. I fumble for it in my pocket and answer without checking the caller ID. 

“Dimitri, I'm coming over. I'm heading toward Phoenix now.”

I stare out the windshield, dumbfounded. I have no idea what just happened. 

I think I blew up a lab.

“Dimitri, can you hear me?”

Silvia is on the line. 

“Silv, what? What are you doing?”

She huffs. “I'm swinging by your place in about an hour.”

“What?”

I can't think of anything else to say. 

“Are you drunk?” Her tone is admonishing.

“No, but I would like to be,” I say. “Why are you coming by?”

Sometimes I forget she knows where I live.

“I have stuff for you,” she says. “I'll show you when I get there.”

“Okay … ” My brain is still trying to catch up. “Silvia, I'm not going to be home for a few hours.”

“Why not?” She sounds irritated.

“Because I'm … Look, just go hang out at McDonald's 'til I call you.”

She groans. “Fine.”

I hang up.

Dealing with Silvia is not in the top hundred things I want to do when I reach home. To make matters worse, she's apparently sneaking out of the mansion now. 

I wonder what she is up to, and how it's going to cause new problems.

Once I see there's no Audi in my carport, I call Silvia to tell her I'm home. I would rather just meet her at McDonald's, but the Walkers do whatever they want. Especially Silvia. I need to get her headed back to the mansion before I can take the books to Karl. Otherwise, she might become bored and decide to wait for me here—and then run into Syd.

I lug the broken crate of books up the front porch. My muscles throb and burn with every movement. Unfortunately, I still have a ways to go before I can crash.

With numb arms, I work the key into the lock and let myself into the living room. I try to kick the door shut behind me. My balance slips. I turn to catch my fall and knock the crate into the end table. The crate finishes breaking in half. The books scatter across the floor and couch.

I stare down at the books because I'm too tired to move. Then I take a deep breath, gather them up, and stack them on the coffee table. 

The doorbell rings. 

Silvia is already here. Lucky me.

I trudge to the door and pull it open.

Silvia looks up at me expectantly, like I'm supposed to be happy to see her. Instead, I gaze over her to the carport.

“Where's your car, Silv?”

“Oh, I left that at McDonald's. I like walking.” She pushes past me into the living room and turns in a half circle. “This place hasn't been redecorated since I was here three years ago. I'll send someone out tomorrow.”

“Please don't.” I shut the door. “And you left your car where?”

“It's two blocks. Good exercise.” She plops down into the chair.

I rub my hand down my face. As much as I would like to be angry, my brain just can't handle anymore stupidity.

“Give me your keys,” I say.

She raises her eyebrows. “My keys for what?”

“Silvia, you clodpoll, you don't leave a Porsche unattended in a McDonald's parking lot.”

Her expression drops.

I sigh. “Come on.”

We load up in my car and head to the McDonald's.

“Aren't you going to do something about all that?” Silvia points her finger up and down me.

“About what?”

“You look like you fell off a mountain,” she says.

I glance at my arms. They are gashed up, bruised, and dirty. My face probably doesn't look any better.

“I'll deal with it when we get back.” I pull into the McDonald's parking lot. “Go get your car and follow me.”

She shifts in her seat, somehow moving closer even though she was already against the center console.

“You always look after me.” She caresses my hand on the console. “I think Daddy would be happy if he knew.”

I groan and loll my head back on the seat. “God, Silvia, it's not a good time for this.”

“Well, when?” She draws back, her expression darkening. “When is a good time?”

“It's never going to be a good time,” I say, even though I shouldn't.

“You don't have a choice in this, Dim,” she replies with an edge.

I glare at her. “The fact you'll have to order someone to be with you should speak volumes.”

Her mouth gapes. Then she composes herself and bursts out of the car. She stomps halfway toward her vehicle, spins around, and storms back to my open passenger window. 

“I brought this for you. I thought it would help with your research about the hospital donation. I thought it would make you happy.” She flings a folder I didn't even notice she was holding onto the seat and stalks away. 

In a few seconds, her Porsche squeals past my car, zips out of the parking lot, and disappears from sight.

I pick up the folder and shuffle through the papers. It's a print out of everyone who has worked at the mansion in the last thirty years, their role, their dates of employment, and their salary.

Typical of Silvia, her power to acquire anything is both impressive and useless.

***

My wounds are numerous but superficial. Considering I jumped two stories from an exploding building, I'm surprised all I need is some rubbing alcohol.

The hum is so light it might as well be gone, but it won't fully shut off until I deliver the books. As much as I would like to sleep first, I never really rest until I've completed the wish. It seems too risky.

Plus, I probably should make sure Silvia arrived safely. Karl will pin it on me if something bad happened to her.

The drive to the mansion is quiet. The desert offers no noise, and I'm too tired to bother with the radio. I don't like the thoughts creeping around my mind, but they're always there. I might as well let them get their say in eventually.

I have no idea what will happen when Silvia inherits the master bond and takes our situation to a new level. I'm not looking forward to finding out either. The worst part is, I have no idea how this is going to impact the future with Syd. My hopes and my reality are not meshing, and I don't know how to fix either.

At the mansion, I let myself inside and lug the books to the summoning chamber. I swear these damn things are enchanted to grow heavier with each step.

I drop them on the floor, and then jump.

Karl is already sitting on this throne.

Good god, it's after midnight.

“Bring them to me,” he says.

My shoulders slump with exhaustion, but I scoop them up and leave them next to the throne. I step back and wait, because I'm sure he has plenty left to talk about.

That's just how this night is going.

“I would be upset,” he says.

Yep, here it comes.

“It turned out well in the end, however.” He leans forward. “You got lucky. Orders are orders.”

I scowl. “What are you talking about? I found the books and blew up the lab.”

The hum has vanished, so I know I fulfilled the wish. 

I have no idea what is happening anymore.

“I had asked for the lab to be in ashes, but I only wanted to send a message,” he says. “What you did sent one, loud and clear.” 

I would almost swear he is praising me. I must be so tired I'm hallucinating.

“I'm pretty sure it's in ashes,” I say. “I used thermite. Lots of thermite.”

He puts his hand to his chin. “Smart move, but it didn't collapse the building. Left sizable damage. Possibly weakened the structure.” He smiles and settles back in his throne. “They got the idea. Good work.”

I stare at him. If he's ever complimented me on anything since I became the genie, it has been so long I don't remember.

“There is one thing,” he says.

Crap. I should have left when I had the chance.

“You're playing in a big world now, Dimitri,” he says. “Cameras are everywhere.”

My heart stops. Then it kicks up. Of course I'm on camera. I saw security watching monitors at the downtown office building. The anthropology lab would have had them too.

I stutter trying to formulate an answer, but I have nothing. 

He holds up his hand. “I took care of them. Just be mindful next time. I can't always swoop in to fix things, but I know this is new to you. We're no longer hunting down businessmen, where the only cleanup needed is paying someone to take the fall. I understand everything has changed. But soon, Dimitri. Soon it will be over.”

I study Karl in silence. For the first time since I took over this role, I see the man who had brought me gifts for Christmas and my birthday when I was young. The man whose daughter I had built forts with in their enormous backyard. The man who used to tell the house staff that I was to be treated as his son.

Back then, I had considered us family. Finding out that wasn't the case for him might have been the second worst thing he has ever done to me. 

The first was killing my father.

***

A good night's sleep can improve almost anything. In the morning, I'm able to shove down the disaster of the last few days. 

I try calling Silvia, but she doesn't pick up. I'm not worried. I saw her car in the garage before I left the mansion last night. She is just mad at me.

Nothing new there.

I text Syd to let her know I'm back. She wastes no time showing up at my front door wearing tight black shorts over fishnets, another pair of wicked boots, and a shirt that shows a peek at her stomach every time she moves. She damn near jingles with jewelry.