She stuck out her hand. “Let’s make a pact, here and now. We’ll always put each other first. Before any secret society.”
“Deal.” Gripping her hand, I shook it hard. Defiant tingles shot up my arm. Steeling my resolve. “Best friends first. Secret societies last.”
“To the bitter end.” She pumped her fist in the air.
I raised my fist, too. Letting the triumph of this moment sink in.
Something twinkled in the window. A flash of diamond-speckled light. Gone in a blink.
And I knew I had more than one ally who’d put me first.
***
Dappled shadows blew across my sketchbook as I doodled my way through art class. Outside the window, clouds rolled in behind me, spilling mottled shapes on my blank pages. I raced to capture their silhouettes.
Two days back at Montrose and I still hadn’t conquered the memories of the ex who followed me across five states. Not to mention the secret society that most likely sicced Jake on me.
I rolled that little tidbit around in my mind, which only made the questions blare louder in my brain. Where did Will really stand in all of this? The Stanton boy crept around like a spindly little spider, crawling in and out of trouble. Did Jake really attack him? And if so, did he replay it over and over again like I did?
Briiing. The bell screeched, and I flinched, shaking off the lingering questions. I scrambled out of class, pummeling my way through the hall and down the marble staircase. Desperately trying to push away any more thoughts about Will and that awful night on the quad.
I had to find Bryan so I could see straight again. I needed a dose of that calm confidence right now. At times Bryan had an enigmatic quality about him that reminded me of Will, especially when it came to his precious Guardians. But at least I knew for sure how Bryan felt about me.
Someone bumped into me, knocking me off course. My boots skidded across the marble.
“Geez, walk much?” I sputtered, till I realized it was just Shanda.
“While I’m liking the attitude, can you take it down a notch?” She cocked her head at me as she pushed open the main door. “Let’s try to get to the cafeteria unscathed.”
“Good plan.” I huddled beside her, wind whipping my hair around as we speed-walked across the frozen quad.
“Okay, showtime. Gotta go make nice with my favorite peeps.” Arching her eyebrows at me, she headed for the smoothie station.
So much for our little pact. I guess it was a secret pact, after all. I headed to the sandwich bar. As I reached for a tray, someone elbowed me in the side.
I smashed into the pile of trays, sending one skittering to the floor.
“My bad,” said a familiar voice.
Glancing up, I caught a snatch of Felicia’s red hair as she disappeared into the sea of tables.
“Don’t pay attention to her.” A strong arm helped me up. “You know she’s just jealous of you, gorgeous.”
“Thanks.” I turned to smile at Bryan, but stopped. My jaw dropped six inches, and I almost forgot to breathe. It was Will. “Oh, it’s you.”
A lizard crawled around in my stomach as I stared up at him, straight into those stormy gray eyes. This was SO not good.
Will’s sculpted cheek curved into a sympathetic smile. He exuded calm. For some reason, that look reminded me of that night in the library, where I thought I almost trusted him. After his New Year’s party crash, I wondered if maybe I’d been right in the first place.
“Yeah, right. Like anyone’s jealous of me,” I whispered, averting my eyes. One thing was certain. His proximity made me feel the same as always. Knees weak. Heart wild.
“If only you knew. I thought we agreed you were gonna start taking calls from me.” His hand was still on my arm, zapping my pulse with its own energy.
I shrugged. “You agreed. I said maybe.” As in the other side of never-gonna-happen.
“I get why you wouldn’t call me at the Cooper compound, or even before New Year’s.” Will turned his Hamlet look on me, full of worry with a flicker of hope. “But you can’t stay mad at me forever. I thought we were going to try to be friends. What if something major went down and I needed to warn you?”
“Try texting, friend. It’s less invasive.” I moved to turn away, but a current sizzled between us. Gluing my eyes to his.
“Maybe I will.” A shadow flickered across his face for a split second. Then it was gone.
I stuck my hand on my hip. “Maybe if you stopped stalking me through my mom I would answer your calls.”
He cocked is chin at me, cleft and all. “Maybe if you answered my calls I wouldn’t have to use the mom grapevine.”
“You’re impossible,” I huffed, taking a step back. Anything to break the current between us.
“And you’re adorable.” He closed the gap, zinging me with that infamous smolder.
Electricity fizzled up and down my arms, until I forced myself to pull away.
With deliberate steps, one foot in front of the other, I walked to the cashier. Then to the Guardian table. But I felt the weight of his eyes on me. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was watching my every move.
“There you are, Lucy.” Bryan pecked my cheek as he pulled out a chair for me. “I’ve been looking for you all day.”
“You found me.” Was I talking to him or the waves of guilt slapping me in the face?
“Cute, isn’t she?” He ran his fingers up and down my arm.
My stomach curled in on itself. No way I could eat anything now.
“Gag me, please.” Tony rolled his eyes at us.
“This is gonna be a great semester. I just feel it.” Bryan squeezed my hand, much like he always did when we were alone.
“What’s going on?” Something was different. He seemed way too excited. “Why are you so amped?”
“You caught me. I’ve got some great news, and I can’t wait to share it.” His face split into a grin. “The Guardians have authorized us to have a Seer training session. Tonight.”
“Here, on campus? Wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway? Should we even me talking about this…?” All the air leaked from my chest. Shadows crept in, slithering in and out of my peripheral vision. “Why on earth would they risk exposing the truth? My truth?”
“It’s a risk.” He lowered his voice, eyes darting around the room. “But it’s what the council wants. They want you to get some real-world experience. And since this was the last place—” He clamped his hand over his mouth, before he said what we were all thinking.
I flexed my fingers, if only to keep them from curling up as the blood curdled through my veins. The Guardians acted like I was their new toy. Believe me, I would never be anybody’s puppet.
“We do have some advantages here, you know,” Lenny chimed in, from his seat next to Tony.
“Really, like what?” I chomped into my turkey on rye with a vengeance.
“Harlixton will be there, for one.” Laura gave me a small little smile.
“The other Guardian teachers and administration will be there to protect you, too.” Brooke patted me on the shoulder. “We’ve got your back, Lucy.”
Warmth pinged through my rising anger, sending it down to a simmer.
“We can finally show them what you can really do.” Bryan glanced around the table.
I coughed, almost gagging on the bread. “You seriously want to expose me to more people? I thought we were trying to keep my status under wraps. It’s too soon after…” I didn’t have to say it. Didn’t want to.
My hands trembled, my heart wild again.
“Maybe you’re right.” He stroked my hair as if to reassure me. It didn’t help. “How about I get Harlixton to drop the rest of the staff? Just us and him.”
I bit back a growl. “That’s better than your first plan.” But I still wanted to reach out and punch him.
“It will be fine.” He pressed his lips into my forehead. “You’ll see.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” I bit back the rest
of my objections. Wings of heat battered my cheeks, and I put some space between us. Could I really trust him to look out for me, or were the Guardians number one in his book? From where I sat right now, I definitely felt like number two. At best.
Glancing around, anywhere but at my almost-boyfriend, I caught Will staring at me with those sea-gray eyes, weaving his crafty little web.
Enough. I ground my teeth together. I had to do this. I had to find a way to bring even an ounce of hope to the darkness surrounding Nexis. Not just so I could break free, but so Shanda could too. And Will, and everyone else duped by Nexis. Would it be dangerous? You bet. For more reasons than one. But I had to find a way to stop this never-ending feud. Maybe I was the only person who could.
Chapter 10
“Really, you want to do this here?” Under a black sky, shivers raced up and down my arms as I stood in the middle of the same field that witnessed James’ exile. This time, brittle grass crunched under my boots, and the wind blew frost down my neck. But the memories remained.
Bryan cleared his throat. “It’s the only place big enough for training.”
“Who thought up this sick joke?” I mumbled to myself
Moonlight beamed down on me, and I tilted my face toward that silvery smile. My emissary of strength. Where was my angel? I’d need all the strength I could get to push me past the fear quivering in my belly.
Inhaling the wintry air, I closed my eyes for a second. Big mistake. My brother’s tortured eyes stared back me. That look of anguish on his face tormented me all over again.
Krrrh, krrk, krrh. Footsteps crunched through the frozen tundra. Headed straight toward me.
My eyes snapped open as shadowy outlines emerged on the dim horizon. My lungs seized, and my heart beat wildly in my chest. As the figures trudge closer, I caught snatches of Laura’s red hair in the moonlight. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was my Guardian friends, not the Nexis council who banished James.
“What’s going on?” I stuttered, my pulse slowing down some, but not enough.
Mr. Harlixton emerged from the shadows, and laid one hand on my shoulder. “Relax, Miss McAllen. It’s just me and the students. No other Guardians will be joining us tonight.”
“You know this is where James got banished, right?” A ball of fear lodged in my throat. “Why are we here?”
“I truly regret having to bring you here, Miss McAllen.” Moonlight glinted off his glasses as he pursed his lips together. “I’m hoping we can find a way to redeem this spot. Reclaim it for something else.”
I swallowed back the acrid taste in my mouth. “If we’re going to do this, just call me Lucy. And I’ll call you …”
“Raymond, if that’s what you wish.” A hint of a smile soften his stern face. “But only outside of the classroom.”
“Deal.” I shook his hand. “What’s the grand plan?”
“I’ve instructed your friends to guard the perimeter.” Raymond pantomimed a circle around the three of us. “Bryan will show me a little of how the Coopers have been training you. The Guardian elders want to know you’re as prepared as you can be. I’ll be giving them a full report of tonight’s session.”
“No pressure,” I mumbled to the moon.
Raymond took my hand, then Bryan’s. “Whenever you’re ready, Lucy.”
“Okay.” Then I made the colossal mistake of closing my eyes.
Darkness crashed around me like a rogue wave, submerging me in inky nothingness. I felt like I was floating, free-falling through the universe.
I gripped Bryan and Raymond’s hands—my only lifelines in the utter blackness. Torches flickered on the horizon, screaming into focus around me in a familiar scene.
Black-robed figures surrounded me. James stood in front of me, whispers hissing around us.
Fear oozed inside me, thick like black tar, gluing me in place. Shadows undulated toward me, like a hand. Reaching out.
The darkness curled around James’s shoulders, pinning his feet to the grass. Clenching his muscles, he gritted his teeth and nodded his head like he was ready to fight the shadows.
Then the scene faded to black. Lights brightened around me as I lay curled up on my comforter back home—crying my eyes out after I found out my brother disappeared. I choked and sobbed all over again.
But the darkness was there. Holding me, too, like shadow-hands wrapped around me. I gasped deep breaths, hiccupping and hyperventilating. Then the hollowness dug into me. An ache that threatened to consume me from the inside out. Then the darkness closed in again.
A voice filtered over my head, deep and resonating.
“Lucy, hold on. You have the power. You can beat this.” The voice sounded just like James.
Warmth surged through my limbs. I turned my face heavenward. Please send my angel to squash this darkness, these horrible memories. I can’t take it anymore.
Familiar lightning crackled the sky.
WaaBam! A silvery bolt struck right in front of me. The scene in my bedroom shattered into a million pieces. Flashing back to the torch-lit circle, my brother kneeling in the middle.
KerrRack! Another bolt of light scattered the robed figures. Splintering James and I in opposite directions.
In a flash, a different memory sharpened into focus. A great tree, split in two by the same bolt of lightning. The dark night lit up like day. All the shadows screamed away, singed out of existence by a blinding light. Brighter than an exploding sun.
I fell to my knees. Collapsed in a heap on the brown grass.
As my eyes fluttered opened, the field reemerged. But I stood alone now, except for my angel, who shimmered in whiteness before me. His eyes glowed—two golden flames in a face of alabaster. Every feature shining with mirrored reflections of light from somewhere beyond this planet.
“You are stronger than the darkness.” I heard his words clearly, though his lips never moved. “Keep choosing the light.”
I stared at his brightness, unable to look away. “Will you show me? Will you come back?”
The light around him trembled, like a breeze rustling a million shards of crystal. “I will show you. Soon. You will see me again, when you need help the most.”
A tremor pulsated the ground. In a blast of sparks and lighting, he shot straight up into the night sky, the moon a mere speck in his wake as he disappeared into the constellations.
Voices rang in my ears. Hands grabbed mine. Blue eyes filled my vision, coming closer.
Bryan pressed his forehead into mine. “Lucy, are you okay? Lucy, talk to me.”
“I, uh…” I stammered, my tongue a cotton ball in my mouth, my whole body shaking like a leaf.
“Tell me what happened. Please, I have to know you’re okay.” His ragged breath warmed my nose.
“I can’t.” I swallowed, blinking hard. Gripping his hands as if he could bring me into reality.
“Can you try?” Bryan hoisted me to my feet, cupping my face with his hands.
“I don’t know.” Because it’s too soon. The words hung in my mind, unwilling to escape. It was my vision with my angel, and part of me didn’t want to share it. The other part couldn’t put it into words just yet.
Seconds ticked by. I parted my lips, just staring at him.
His face softened. He mashed his lips into mine and wrapped his arms around me.
My mind screamed, “No.” as my body went rigid. Why didn’t I want him to kiss me? The answer came in a flash. Because I didn’t want him to see what I just saw. Not yet. It was too personal.
I reached up to push him away, but strong hands came between us, landing on my torso, pulling us apart. I inhaled the cool air like a much-needed splash of cold water.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mr. Harlixton yelled.
My cheeks burned, but Raymond wasn’t looking at me. His angry glare seared into Bryan.
“Yeah, what are you doing?” Brooke trotted towards us, the rest of the Guardians not far behind.
“I, uh, well crap.” Bryan
dug his fists into his pockets, eyes darting from me to Raymond and Brooke. “Only the Guardian Council knows the truth. If I kiss her, I can see her visions.”
“Nowaydude,” Tony exhaled three words in one breath. “That’s messed up.”
“It certainly is.” Raymond’s voice grew louder. “While I can understand why you didn’t mention it to us, I don’t think that’s the best way to get the information you want. Did you even ask her if that’s what she wanted?”
“No, I didn’t. I just assumed.” Air puffed out in front of Bryan as he turned my way. “Did you want me to see?”
“Not yet.” I shook my head, staring at his knees instead of his face. “It’s too personal.”
One rough hand enveloped mine, and I recoiled.
Taking a step back, I put some much-needed space between me and Bryan.
“I’m sorry, Lucy.” He hung his head, dropping his arm to the side. “I really thought that’s what you were trying to tell me. I just thought it would be easier this way.”
“I’m not mad.” I pursed my lips, hardening my gaze at him. Somehow I had to make him understand. “It’s just that it means something to me. Kissing you.”
“It means something to me, too.” He inched close enough for his breath to warm my face.
“Not this again.” Lenny rolled his eyes. “Don’t make me sic Raymond on you, man.”
A laugh gurgled up my throat. “It’s so weird to call him that. Maybe we should just go back to calling you Mr. Harlixton.”
“Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” Harlixton pushed his glasses up his nose. “Either way, all of this is still going in my report.”
Bryan’s cheeks blossomed pink splotches. “Great. My stupidity will be recorded for generations.”
Now my cheeks were on fire. “Do you really have to write it down? This is so embarrassing.”
Harlixton actually took out a notepad and pen. “Not to mention groundbreaking stuff. I’m sorry, Lucy, but this has to be done.”
Bryan slung his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “Don’t worry. It’s only me who should be embarrassed.” He planted a kiss on my forehead.
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