Minutes later, shoveling another loaded forkful into his mouth, Jaden caught his gran grinning. “What?”
“You two look like you haven’t eaten all day the way you’re attacking that food.”
Considering they had probably been awake for way more than a day with that ridiculous time freeze thing, Jaden couldn’t say it surprised him. They were just making up for all the meals they’d missed while flying. He smiled. “And your point is?”
She laughed. “Yes, teenagers! I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Conversation flowed, his gran regaling them with family anecdotes and he and Kayla filling in, between mouthfuls, with news of their own about school, sports, and friends.
Toward the end of the meal, Jaden noticed his grandmother fidgeting. “What?” he asked a second time.
“Don’t keep an old woman in suspense! Tell me what brought you two together.”
Jaden paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. Did I imagine it, or was there some unspoken insinuation in Gran’s seemingly innocent question? Does she know about the Gaptor? No, that’s impossible. But if not, is she implying I have feelings for Kayla? He grimaced. Not this again.
Glossing over his gran’s insinuations, he answered easily. “Would you believe we met in the park near home? I went there to play arrowball, and Kayla was already on the court, so I asked her for a game. I regretted it when I found out what a great player she was.”
Kayla smiled at the memory. “Yup, but you still beat me.”
“Barely.” Jaden grinned.
“The grandson I know would’ve watched and assessed his opponent before asking for a game,” Ruby teased. “There must be more to this story.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Jaden tensed. There it is again. The hint of something more. What exactly is Gran after? If her tone wasn’t enough of a warning, the tingly sense running up and down his spine was. He’d learned to listen to that sense over the years. It always heralded something he should pay attention to. This time was no exception.
Choosing his words carefully, Jaden answered, “Not really. The day we met, Kayla told me she and her family had just moved to our community. So when Markov called and invited me to a gaming marathon the next day, telling me we’d be one person short, I thought it would be a nice for Kayla to meet the group. I invited her, and since then, we’ve found we have more in common than most people.”
Jaden exchanged a subtle glance with Kayla, wondering if she was also thinking about the Gaptor. For once, his gran missed the exchange, her attention at that moment focused on the potato she was cutting.
“Ah, so you say. But this is the first time you’ve brought a girl to visit who isn’t one of the regular crowd. Why is that?”
Jaden studied her as that sense of something unsaid intensified. His gran’s deliberately lighthearted tone revealed the gravity of her question. Well, if she’s after something specific, she’s going to have to spit it out and not beat about the bush. Jaden rolled his eyes theatrically. “Gran, I already told you. And Mom. We’re just friends who really enjoy each other’s company. Can we leave it at that?”
His gran was like a dog with a bone. What was she after? He didn’t dare look at Kayla, worried he might betray more secrets.
His gran backed off, either because she’d registered his agitation or because she’d realized she may’ve overplayed her hand. Whatever the reason, he was glad she had.
Sneaking a peek at Kayla, guilt pinched him when he saw her expression. Studiously blank. Like she didn’t want Jaden to know what she was thinking. But her pensive eyes betrayed her. Did she take that last statement I made about our relationship at face value?
His gran shifted gears. “Tell me about the group. How’s the hunky Markov?”
Jaden grunted. “Ugh, the same as ever. Hounded by more girls every time I turn around. Don’t you agree, Kayla?”
Jaden smirked when Kayla blinked, thrown by the unexpected turn in the conversation. He grinned when she fumbled for a reply.
“Uh, hmm, uh, having only met him once, I’m not qualified to answer that,” she sputtered, sending Jaden a venomous glare.
Jaden almost laughed out loud. He’d bet anything that she was itching to give him solid kick on the shins. Allowing his grin to widen, Jaden paused when she slid him a dangerous smile of her own, as though she knew he’d guessed her intention and was just biding her time for revenge.
Unable to resist poking the bear, Jaden said, “Yeah, you’re right. I must gather the crowd again so you can make a more accurate assessment.”
The blush stealing up her face was delicious. This time, Jaden didn’t hold back the laughter. But he toned it down when he glanced at his Gran, realizing the undertone of the conversation intrigued her. If they were to have any hope of keeping their secrets from his astute grandmother, they would have to exercise more caution.
Kayla must’ve reached the same conclusion. “Jaden, why don’t you tell your gran about your plans for the basement?”
Bless the girl! She had come up with something more tangible to direct his gran towards. Jaden pounced on the suggestion. Communicating his ideas, his enthusiasm alone was enough to steer the course of the conversation toward more neutral topics.
They finished dinner, and his gran produced dessert: a sinfully tasty crème brûlée. Neither he nor Kayla could resist, finding space to squeeze it in. Stuffed, Jaden pushed back from the table, groaning. “I ate way too much. Gran, that was a superb dinner. Thank you!”
Kayla echoed his thanks, and Ruby smiled, pleased. “You’re most welcome.”
Jaden and Kayla cleared the table and tidied the kitchen while his gran took her ease. That done, Jaden glanced at Kayla, noting she looked quite at home. So at home she didn’t bother stifling the yawn that slipped out.
“Gosh, sorry,” Kayla said ruefully.
His gran giggled. “It must’ve been some day. You two look like the walking dead. Why don’t you fetch your things from the terraporter, and I’ll show you to your rooms?”
“Thanks, Gran. That sounds wonderful! All that traveling took it out of us.”
Jaden and Kayla grabbed their gear from the terraporter, noticing their bats were still absent. Unperturbed, they returned to the house where his gran showed them to the rooms she had prepared for them.
Kayla’s room was first, and Jaden watched, amused, as Kayla squealed with delight when she saw it. Femininely decorated in pastel greens offset by vivid blue accents and bleached white furniture, it had always made Jaden think of the ocean. He wondered what it reminded Kayla of when he caught sight of her expression, like someone had applied a balm to her soul.
“Ruby, it’s perfect. Thank you so much!” Kayla threw her arms around his gran and hugged her. His gran smiled with obvious pleasure, and they bade Kayla goodnight.
Jaden was in his usual room, down the corridor from Kayla’s, a bathroom between them. He thanked his gran for her hospitality, hugged her goodnight, closed the door, and crashed onto his bed. Instantly, he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Jaden slept in the next day, knowing his Gran wanted her home to provide an environment where her guests could rest. She was also likely to have breakfast ready and waiting for them when they finally arose. He was right.
Emerging from his feathers at around ten that morning, Jaden passed Kayla in the hall on her way back from the bathroom. Together, they skulked into the kitchen, still bleary-eyed, their empty stomachs driving them toward wakefulness.
They murmured greetings and sagged into chairs, greedily gulping the orange juice and gobbling the ample breakfast his gran had set out. His appetite sated, Jaden was awake enough to brew the coffee. Then he poured mugs for his gran, Kayla, and himself before reclaiming his place at the table.
His gran studied them over the rim of her mug. “What are your plans today?”
Jaden slid Kayla an enquiring glance, and she nodded. “We’re trying to find something you might’ve omitted from your
boxes in the storage locker. Do you mind if we poke around the boxes you have here?”
“Not at all. If you tell me what you’re looking for, I can direct you toward the right box.”
“Thing is,” Jaden hedged, “we’re not sure exactly what we’re looking for. We have a vague idea but will probably only know it’s what we want when we see it.”
“It’s a sensory thing,” Kayla said, somewhat lamely.
Jaden saw his gran’s contemplative expression.
“Alright, but if you change your minds, you know where to find me. The boxes are in the barn out back. Have fun digging around. I have to run some errands for my trip, but I should be home around mid-afternoon. Will you be alright on your own?”
Jaden grimaced. “Gran, we’re not toddlers!”
He caught Kayla smiling at his outrage. His gran no doubt hadn’t intended offense. Rather, it was her way of showing she cared. Trying to salvage the situation, Jaden said, “Sorry, Gran. We’ll be alright.”
Ruby waved a dismissive hand.
Kayla, not wanting to be the guest who took advantage of her host, asked, “Is there anything you’d like us to do for you while you’re out?”
“Thanks, dearie, but that’s my domain while you’re my guests. You just enjoy your visit. Try and get some rest and have fun. Life’s too short to waste a single moment.”
The note of apprehension weaving its way through his gran’s last sentence had Jaden swiveling her way. Scarcely concealed anxiety lurked in the depths of her warm brown eyes. His blood chilled. What exactly does Gran mean? He remembered her strange behavior last night, and his sense she knew more than she was saying resurfaced.
Jaden wasn’t the only one to notice. As soon as his gran left, Kayla said, “Is it my imagination, or does it feel like your gran’s hiding something?”
“It’s not your imagination. I got that impression last night, but I thought I would let it play out and wait for her to make the first move. I doubt it’ll happen though.”
“Are we going to tell her why we’re really here then?”
“Not if we find the map. Let’s get to work.”
Kayla shrugged acceptance. Wordlessly, she followed him to the barn.
It was an enormous structure built with concrete cinder blocks, its frame supported by bare reinforced steel girders.
Kayla chuckled. “Sheesh, are you sure this is a barn? It looks more like a bomb shelter!” She’d never seen a barn this ugly or utilitarian before. Then again, she hadn’t seen many barns, so what did she know?
Jaden chuckled. “Right? Gran had it built soon after she moved here. Her neighbors raised a ruckus because of it, said she was ruining the landscape. But Gran quashed all their complaints, determined to build a structure that would last.”
“Last what?” Kayla sobered. “You don’t think she built it so she’d be safe from the Gaptor?”
Jaden paused, considered, and then shook his head. “She’s the one who gave my mom the medallion. If she knows about that and if she also knows about the Gaptor, why hasn’t she said anything?”
“Maybe for the same reason we’ve mentioned nothing to her either,” Kayla said.
“Perhaps . . .” Jaden trailed off, his attention snapping to the boxes lining one wall of the barn. “Shall we find that map?”
Kayla nodded, and they began hunting through the boxes holding items belonging to a bygone era.
By noon, they had found a mountain of fascinating objects, but no map. They stopped for a quick lunch, then resumed their search. When mid-afternoon rolled around, they had checked every single box and still found nothing resembling a map. Tired and disheartened, they moped back to the house, finding they had been so distracted they hadn’t noticed his gran’s return.
She smiled warmly at them. “I was just coming to find you. I have chilled homemade lemonade and a chocolate cake that need your attention.”
“Exactly what we needed.” Jaden sighed. “Thanks, Gran.”
“I take it from those sad faces that you didn’t find what you were looking for?”
Her scrutiny made Jaden want to squirm.
His gran studied him for a moment, before she said, “Why don’t you give it a rest for a while, and we’ll play some games?”
Jaden, remembering his mother’s request to spend quality time with his gran, suppressed his groan of frustration and did his best to smile as he accepted.
Kayla followed his lead without complaint.
His gran led them to the covered patio hugging the rear, shady side of the house, overlooking an exquisite garden. They plopped onto the colorfully padded wicker chairs, arranged around the glass-topped table. Sipping lemonade and scarfing down generous slices of cake, they spent an entertaining few hours playing various games.
Evicted from the round a few minutes earlier, Jaden stretched back in his chair, enjoying the interaction between Kayla and his gran.
Kayla leaned forward, her petite, curvy body poised for the victory she was sure was hers. Her face was flushed, and her green eyes glittered with excitement. She’d pulled her long blonde hair up into an elegantly messy knot, spilling out at irregular intervals in long, golden streaks.
Jaden longed to tuck the silky strands back where they belonged. Sighing, he picked up his drink instead.
When the clock in the house chimed five o’clock, his gran announced it would have to be their last round to keep dinner on schedule. When she saw how disappointed they were, she encouraged them to continue without her.
“Gran, it wouldn’t be any fun without you.”
Kayla nodded. “I agree. We’d rather help you with dinner.”
“Oh no, I’m happy to make—” was as far his gran got before they insisted it was non-negotiable. Sighing at being outvoted, she conceded.
They finished the round and packed the games away before moseying to the kitchen. Relishing the sheer indulgence of having nothing to do other than enjoy one another’s company, they nattered while marinating the chicken for the grill and prepping the garlic bread and salad.
His gran avoided discussing the boxes or what they had been searching for, setting the tone for a relaxed evening. But his tension rose as the evening progressed. His gran, it seemed, would say nothing. Kayla’s fidgeting told him she knew it too.
By the time they finished their meal, Jaden couldn’t stand it any longer. As soon as his Gran rose to fetch the dessert, he shot Kayla a searching glance.
Kayla was waiting for the silent request. She nodded vigorously.
Jaden took a deep breath. Time to get down to business.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The strain on Jaden’s face as he waited for his gran to dish the dessert was almost too much for Kayla. Twice, she opened her mouth to say something but bit back the words. It was his gran. His family’s map. He needed to do the talking.
The dessert doled out, Jaden didn’t even sneak a spoonful before the words tumbled out. “Gran, you know the basement gaming room I was telling you about last night?” She nodded, and he rushed on. “Mom gave me this medallion.” Jaden removed it from his wrist wallet and reluctantly handed it over. “She said you gave it to her.”
Watching Ruby, Kayla noticed the sudden spark in her eyes, like she’d been waiting for this. Had she? Kayla observed more keenly as Ruby caressed the medallion, composing herself.
“I did. And I see she kept her word when she said she would look after it and pass it on. I presume she told you how important it was to take care of it?”
“Yes, she was very clear on that point,” Jaden said, stressing the word to emphasize his mother’s insistence. “Here’s where it fits in. I’m using the medallion as inspiration for decorating the room. But I needed more ideas, so I asked Mom whether you’d given her anything else like the medallion. She said no but suggested I look in the boxes you left in our storage unit.” Jaden paused. His grandmother was staring at the medallion like she both loved and feared it simultaneously.
Suddenly looking up, Ruby said, “Jaden, you’re taking forever to get to the point. What do you want to know?”
Her directness shocked Jaden. “Well, Kayla, and I found nothing in your boxes in the storage locker. We also came up empty on the boxes in the barn. Is there anything else you inherited with the medallion?”
Ruby closed her eyes, a physical block to Jaden’s question. She didn’t answer for a long time. Kayla tried not to squirm as they waited. Finally, Ruby opened her eyes and glared at the medallion. With a heavy sigh, she laid it back on the table.
“How much did your mother tell you about the medallion’s history?”
“Other than that it’s been in our family for generations and that I needed to be careful about not losing it, not much.”
“Hmm,” Ruby murmured.
She was quiet again for so long, that Jaden spoke. “Gran, is there something else I should know?”
Ruby shook her head, coming out of her reverie. “Your mother should’ve told you the whole story before giving you the medallion. It’s true that it’s been in our family for generations. But your mother should also have told you that there is a purpose to it being in our family. Have you noticed anything unusual about it?”
Kayla acknowledged Jaden’s furtive glance. What exactly is Ruby asking? And how much can we say without sounding insane?
“Well, there’s that tingly feeling that I get when it’s on my hand,” Jaden said, testing the waters.
“Really?” Ruby perked up as though this meant something.
The tension between Kayla and Jaden zinged to new heights, unspoken questions flying between them. Ruby knew more about this strange business than they could’ve hoped.
Kayla was disappointed when Ruby discerned their sudden attentiveness and composed herself. Glancing between them, as if assessing who she should start with, Ruby settled on Kayla. “How much do you know about all this?”
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