Spiral (Spiral Series) (37 page)

Before I could keep walking he smiled at me.

Then he slipped his hand into mine and I knew instantly. I smiled.

My hand wasn’t a hand anymore. It was fireworks and chocolate.

We walked a little further, then he stopped and turned towards me, tugging me gently.

“I am going to kiss you now. Don’t blast me into oblivion.” Even in the shadows I could see him smile.

My eyes widened, but I didn’t know if it was because of the word “kiss” or the word “blast.”

“Can I do that?” my muddled mind managed to make my mouth stammer out.

“You should be strong enough to use your powers for blasts, yes,” he said, smiling slightly. “Remind me to show you . . . after I kiss you.”

A long time later we broke apart, but I kept my arms wrapped tightly around his waist.  I was breathing hard. “You feel comfortable,” I said. “You're like a pillow with a ribcage.”

“Thanks.”

I blushed. That was probably the dumbest thing any girl had ever said after her first kiss.

“See you tomorrow,” he murmured, smiling. “Can’t wait for history class.”

It was a shock to realize that I was still in school. Not for much longer, but still. I had no interest in calc class any more, or any of the rest of it, for that matter.

“In biology do you think they’ll teach us about unicorn spirals?” I called out to him.

He grinned in the darkness. “Maybe if you ask really nicely.”

I was about to walk into the house when a familiar voice called out from behind the bushes. Before I could jump inside, Jackson stepped forward.

“Hey,” he said. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and the shadows created by the porch light only highlighted the dark circles under his eyes.

“You look tired,” I said, my mind racing to wonder whether he had seen me kissing Pierce. It was a strange idea. The only boy I had ever liked seeing me kiss someone else.

“It’s nice to see you too,” he said, coming towards me. His black t-shirt and dark jeans made it look like his head was floating on air.

“I don’t want you here. I don’t want to talk to you,” I said, my hand on the door.

“You were out with Pierce?” he asked quietly. “So, staying away from him is out the window?”

I stood there silently. I had wanted Jackson to like me for so long that it was hard to look at him now. He was standing in front of me and my lips were swollen from kissing someone else.

“Look at all the damage he’s caused,” said Jackson, his eyes pleading.

“The only thing he’s done wrong is not to tell me sooner who I was. And he at least had good reason not to.” I glared.

“I did as well,” said Jackson, throwing up his hands. “I signed a contract to keep quiet.”

“Right, you were contracted to be my friend,” I said, stepping up so that I was right in front of him. “You weren’t my friend at all. THAT’S my problem. Here I was thinking you were my best friend. I thought. . . .”

I let that hang there. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that for years I had wanted to be more than friends. That was all in the past now.

“I’m not leaving,” he said quietly. “I’m going to stay and watch over you.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I shot back. “I think there’s someone else to do that now.” I was sure, just like I was sure that I would always be friends with Maxie and Jill, that Pierce would keep me from harm or die trying.

“Fine,” said Jackson, shaking his head. “I give up.”

Before I could say anything else, he turned and started to walk away. I watched him disappear into the darkness. The next day we had school, and Andrew was coming home, and I was too tired to worry about Jackson. I wasn’t even sure I cared any more. Maybe I’d be fine never speaking to him again, and I hoped that they’d remove him from duty as my Watchful. I didn’t want someone charged with my security that I didn’t - couldn’t - trust.

Then again, from what Pierce had said, the Silves no longer cared about my security at all.

Sighing, I stepped into the house. Instantly I felt the familiar crackle of dangerous electricity, the power of the Visioners.

I turned to run, but when my hand touched the doorknob, it burned. The air had that familiar, hot, suffocating current, and my skin started to peel and disintegrate. I had never felt the power so strongly before.

My skin healed immediately, though, just as it had in my dreams, and moving quickly, I tried to turn on a light. That did no good, because the power suddenly went out. Of course. . If the Visioners controlled currents, they were better off keeping me in the dark.

“Jackson,” I screamed, hoping he could still hear me but knowing he couldn’t. I looked around the dark kitchen frantically but didn’t see anyone else there. I was alone and under attack.

I started to move, forcing air into my throbbing lungs. I thought that if I could just get to my room and lock the door it might buy me some time. But I was never going to make it to my room.

The currents attacking me were overwhelming and slimy. Involuntarily, I gagged. The feeling was all too familiar from my dream of the Snake Man. I hadn’t had a chance to ask Pierce about my dreams yet; I wasn’t even sure I wanted to tell him about them. But I was sure that my dream was of a Visioner. My only question was: Who was the brown-haired girl who saved me, while losing her own life?

I choked and stumbled, landing hard on my knees on the living room floor.

“Are you trying to run?” asked a young female voice. I knew that voice. Oh, damn.

I looked back into the kitchen, and there stood Haley, dressed all in black. Only her pale face, framed by waves of blond hair, was visible. She reminded me of Jackson standing outside in the dark, a floating head on an invisible body, but I hadn’t felt danger from Jackson. Even if I was angry with him, I still felt safer with him than I did anywhere else except when I was with Pierce.

I clawed at the ground as the choking air made it into my lungs. Fighting to draw breath, I saw black spots appear before my eyes. Soon I wouldn’t be able to breathe at all.

“You don’t know what’s happening,” said Haley, her voice soft. “You should have died with your mother that day. Pity she sacrificed everything for you. But that’s going to be fixed right now. You know you cannot survive. No one has explained this to you yet, but you would upset the balance of power among the tribes too much. Luckily for the other unicorns, they have us Visioners who want you dead just as much as they do. See, what they don’t understand is that as long as you’re alive, as long as that much hele is concentrated in one person, we’re in danger. If you were to survive, and dare I say even thrive, you could wipe out the Visioners. Of course, the unicorns are too busy worrying about their own necks to care about yours.”

I stared into her cold, bottomless eyes. There was no feeling there, and my body was starting to shut down, my vision blurring. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.

Haley smiled and stepped forward, knowing she had won. “Just give in,” she murmured. “It’s only darkness. It’s only for a short time. You were never going to win, even with your big, strong unicorn to protect you. He can’t be everywhere, and he can’t defend against the forces that have come to claim you. Give in. Give in....”

She kept repeating that comment until my weak body was lulled into submission. I couldn’t fight the stranglehold that the bad air had on me any more. I didn’t know how to use my hele properly, and Haley knew it. The last thing I saw before I didn’t see anything more was Haley standing over me, smiling.

Jackson hadn’t been close enough to save me.

I woke up to hear voices arguing, but I couldn’t make out either one. My head felt fuzzy, like it was wrapped in a towel. Gasping, I felt fresh air flood my lungs. At least the electricity wasn’t attacking my body.

I was lying face down on a hard dirt floor. Moving was painful. Even listening hurt. All I wanted was to black out again, but I couldn’t let that happen.

So I didn’t move. After listening for another few minutes, I was confident that wherever the voices were, they weren’t in the room with me. It sounded like they were above me, which, if I was in a basement, made sense.

As I lay there a memory came flooding back to me. I was sitting in a field with two women. I knew them, but I didn’t recognize their blurry faces. They were laughing. One had white hair, one had black. They looked comfortable and happy.

“But I don’t want to go back,” the white-haired woman said.

“But it’s where you belong. If they want you back it doesn’t sound like you have a choice,” said the black-haired woman. Her face was sad.

“You belong where you’re happy,” said the white-haired woman stubbornly. “I wasn’t happy there and I never could be. It’s no place to raise a daughter.”

The black-haired woman sighed. She turned to where I was sitting on the blanket next to the woman I knew was my mother. “Natalie, you can stay here for as long as you wish,” she murmured, smiling at me and offering me her hand. I removed my fist from my mouth and placed it in her hand. She made a face at me as my mom laughed herself silly. “Thanks for that, Natalie.”

As the three of us sat there enjoying the sunny day, there came a rustling in the grass.

The dark-haired boy’s eyes went to his mother’s first, then to mine. He smiled and moved over to sit next to me. He was tall but a little chubby, nothing like the man he had become.

“Pierce,” said my mother. “Where have you been?”

“Talking to the Elders,” he said. “I told them I thought you should stay.”

His mother’s face instantly clouded. “Pierce, you should stay out of it. The Elders have a lot to think about.”

“They think too much,” he said. “Sometimes the answer is too obvious to bother thinking about.”

“They sure don’t feel that way,” said my mother dryly.

“That’s okay,” said Pierce. “No matter what, my mom and I will protect you.”

My mother threw her arms around Pierce. “You’re becoming quite the little man,” she said, smiling at him. But his smile was for me.

I returned to the dank basement floor. Pierce’s smile stuck in my mind.

I woke up Monday morning to six text messages from Maxie. She was on her way over, because Natalie was missing. She and Jill had gone to pick her up for school and she hadn’t answered the door. Her dad and Olivia were still at the hospital, so Maxie and Jill had grabbed the hidden key and let themselves in. There was no sign of Natalie.

She was gone.

How could I have been so foolish?

As I read her texts my body went cold. I had dropped Natalie off the night before and everything had been fine. I slammed my fist into the wall of my bedroom, creating a shower of plaster. I should have walked her to the door. I should have stayed outside her house all night.

Panic made me stupid. I ran to Eric’s room, intent on demanding that he help me get Natalie back from the Visioners, but he still wasn’t there.

I pulled out my phone and started to call Jar. My hands were shaking so badly I had to try twice. When I finally heard ringing I put my back against the wall and slowly slid down it, feeling light-headed.

Jar didn’t answer.

Frantic, I tried Eleanor. She didn’t pick up.

I knew there was only one other person I could call. Feeling sick, I dialed Gretchen. She, of course, picked up on the first ring.