“That you’re sorry? The fact that you would consider it appropriate to ask for anything in this moment says a lot about you, David Adler.”
Adler opened his mouth to speak but a balding man with a large mustache—the bailiff, I dimly recognized—pulled him back. Next to him stood Adler’s lawyer.
“Come on, Dave,” the lawyer said. “Now isn’t the time for this.”
As my father’s killer was led down the hallway, Alan reached out and took my arm and, as if he were escorting me to a fancy party, lead me in the other direction.
“Completely ridiculous,” he said. “I can’t believe he approached you like that.”
I nodded, turning back to see Adler being escorted down the hallway, his head hanging as if in shame. And I felt…
A twinge of something. Perhaps it was because I had been so numb over the past few weeks, that I didn’t recognize it at first, but the more I lingered on it the more I saw it for what it was.
Pity.
David Adler had done something terrible. And as a result, the most important person in the world to me was dead, and Adler would go to prison. Nothing could change the facts. But that look on his face, the fear, that guilt, that had felt genuine…
“It’s a good thing your father isn’t alive to see this.”
I jerked upward, only to find that my memory had changed again. Now, I was seventeen, not sixteen, and sitting, not standing. I looked down at the plastic-y surface of the kitchen table, the bright-orange counter-tops, the yellow and brown linoleum flooring, and the information immediately clicked into place. This was Mary Mayhew’s kitchen, and mine, I guess, given that I had lived here during my final year of high school.
But the change in scenery was nothing compared to the change in emotions I felt. Going from an odd mixture of grief and shock and back to…maximum discomfort. Just as I had in that courtroom, I fidgeted in my seat. Only instead of avoiding the court drama in front of me, it was the penetrating gaze of Mary Mayhew that I shied away from.
I had enough strength to peek up from beneath my eyelashes, focusing not on her face but on her hands. Her pink-painted nails rested on her hips.
“Don’t get me wrong, your father…he had faults. But at the base of it all he was a good Christian man, and he wouldn’t let something like this fly.”
She paused as if waiting for what, an apology? Admission of guilt? A promise to never do it again?
Before I could pick one of the three, she jerked forward, pounding on the table with the flat of her pale, bony hand.
“Child, what were you doing up there with that girl? I know that mother of yours didn’t monitor you all that well, but I doubt she let things go that far.” A pause. “Well, did she?”
I shook my head, fighting to get the word “no” out of my mouth. Only it got choked on the way out, the memory of Angela, with her warm brown eyes and black hair, of the promise we had shared.
No one needs to know…
I felt a manicured finger beneath my chin, forcing me to look Mary Mayhew in the face. She narrowed her heavily lined eyes, and the skin around them wrinkled. I fought back the urge to make a face. Of all the women my father could have had an affair with, why did it have to be ugly, unpleasant Mary Mayhew? Why hadn’t my parents made a will before the house fire had taken them? And why had Mary Mayhew been the one to step up and take me in? It wasn’t as if she liked me.
“Such a beautiful face,” she said, looking me over. “Could get any boy with that face. I see how they look at you. Hell, see how full-grown men look at you. They not good enough for you or something?”
She dropped her hand the moment I felt tears form at the edges of my eyes.
“You’re young,” she said with a nod. “And young people, well…I can’t blame you for getting confused, I guess. Especially with all that nonsense going around with young folk about what’s okay. But I’m the one taking care of you now, and as long as you live under my roof, there will be no girls in your room again, you hear? Answer me.”
“Y-yes,” I answered. “Yes, ma’am.”
And I knew instantly that I would hate myself in this moment for the rest of my life.
Only something wasn’t quite right…
Wait, none of this was right! I had never sat in this dated excuse for a kitchen. Had never met this white woman, nevertheless lived with her for a full year. And my parents hadn’t died in a fire. My mother was still alive! Only…why did it feel so familiar? Almost as if—
Smack!
I jerked awake, the sharp, sudden sound pulling me out of my dream. I found the source immediately. Jane stood over me, reaching over sheepishly to pick up a stack of file folders that had fallen onto the concrete floor.
I blinked. Unlike my previous dreams, I hadn’t woken up in my bed (or on the rooftop of the Tong building, so points for that) but in a bare-bones, cell-like room. I was lying on a twin-sized bed covered in white sheets. To the left of me was a metal folding chair. And across the room stood a heavy door with a tiny glass window, somewhat like the room that Alex had been holding Marty in.
And next to me was Jane, her face rapidly turning red.
“Sorry,” she murmured, leaning down to pick up the files. “Alex just asked me to keep an eye on you, so I thought I’d use the time to go over some files, and then—”
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” I said. “Um…it was probably a good idea for me to wake up, anyway.”
Although now that I thought about it, something about my dream had seemed worth remembering…
“Right,” Jane said, nodding, then repeated. “Right.”
Her face still red, she took a seat on the metal folding chair and fell silent. Given that (if my memory was correct), I had recently been dragged up the side of a building and had passed out on the roof, most people would have asked me how I was. If I was okay. But Jane didn’t. And I couldn’t help but wonder if this had less to do with the level of concern and more to do with the fact that social niceties were just…foreign to her.
As a fellow awkward person, I could relate.
I moved myself up and into a sitting position, noting—with some relief—that while my body felt sore, it wasn’t nearly as bad as when I had fallen off the tram or the top of the commerce center. (Note to self: falling off great heights apparently takes the longest recovery time. Who knew?). At the same time there was this odd…fuzziness at the back of my brain.
Maybe it was because I had just woken up?
“Where’s Alex, by the way?” I asked, reverting to our previous line of conversation.
“He’s calling one of his sisters, I think.” Jane reached down to check her phone in her pocket. “Something about them needing to find rides or something. It’s been over an hour since we got back, and he’s been in here the entire time.”
My chest tightened with emotion. He waited for me? Even with the giant mess of things in between us? Was I even worth that level of concern? After all, when he had asked me what I had thought about him, back at Sal’s Seafood, I hadn’t been able to respond.
“So…he’s okay? And Riley?”
“Oh, we’re fine. Riley thinks he may have damaged the gauntlets, though. He’s really upset about that.”
“I can’t picture Riley as upset.”
“He stress eats.” Jane shrugged.
“Is this research about Black and Blue?” I asked, looking down at the tablet.
“Right now, I’m more interested in you!”
“What?” I shifted uncomfortably among the sheets. “Why me?”
“Well, it’s just a theory, really.” Jane paused to nibble on her lips. “And given that I don’t have access to most of those files anymore…” She tapped the tablet on her lap and sighed. “It means I’m mostly going off of memory here.”
“I’m confused. Why wouldn’t you have access—”
“Compared to when I was an archivist.” She shifted uncomfortably. “I had higher clearance in certain areas of information. Reg
ardless, during my last several months in the archives my mentor had me working on a database made up of dead trees.”
“Um…what?”
“Sorry, I forget how little outsiders know sometimes. Dead trees are Forger Families that have gone missing for one reason or another. Our records go back hundreds of years. Even more than that in some cases, although those records aren’t always as credible. People didn’t used to be quite as strict about birth and death dates, you know.
“Anyway, sometimes we just lose track of certain families. Many die out the normal way people die: famine, war, disease. But others…they just wander away. We might have theories on where they could be located, but until we get direct contact or, better yet, a successful Awakening, we don’t really know where they fit in. Like your family.”
“That’s right. Riley mentioned that my father contacted you guys about ten years ago. Something about old family legends.” I shrugged. “But they had to be just that. Jane, no one else in my family has powers.”
“That’s actually pretty normal. For most families, only one in four displays any kinds of powers, and when it comes to most Empowered people, those abilities are pretty minor. A small family could go multiple generations without realizing what’s going on.
“When your father visited us ten years ago, he spoke directly to my mentor.” She faltered. “Former mentor, I mean. From when I worked in the archives. And the family legends that your father mentioned triggered something in my mentor’s memory. Dead tree A-249.”
She shook her head before continuing.
“And if this was true, then, well…it would be huge! We’re talking about the holy grail of dead trees. A tree that went back over a thousand years in just Japan alone, and then further in China, filled with people who were said to create illusions by either bending shadow or light. The stories that came out about this family. The power level that they were said to display! The gaps we could close in our knowledge!”
As Jane spoke, the professional stiffness that had always marked her dissolved. By the time she got to the end, she was pretty much fangirling out. Only instead of flailing over a comic book or movie, she was doing it over some sort of Empowered genealogy.
It was kind of cute. Weird. But Cute.
“And then…your father cut off connections with us. Refused to apply for an Awakening for either of his children. The loss of the opportunity was devastating. So instead, we kept an eye on you and your brother over the years.”
“What, like stalkers?!”
Okaaay. Less cute now and more weird.
“What? No! Just through the news and maybe a few visits to your schools every now and then.”
“Right. Like stalkers.”
“The results were disappointing. Neither of you ever displayed any exceptional characteristics.”
“I’m not sure that anyone would describe my brother’s meteoric rise through the education system as unexceptional,” I said with a huff.
“We closed the books on you both, but now.” Jane paused, shaking her head, sending her curls bouncing. “The way Riley described how your powers worked on the roof. That transformation. That’s in line with how some members of A-249 used to activate their powers!”
“But Jane. My strength…my other powers. They’re not just illusions.”
“Oh, good. You’re up.”
I’ll admit it, both of us jumped at the new voice. I looked up to see Alex leaning against the doorframe, looking ridiculously attractive in that leather jacket of his, arms crossed over his chest. And me? My hair was almost definitely a mess of tangles. I knew what I looked like first thing in the morning. And ugh! Now my face was starting to turn red in embarrassment. It was one thing for someone like Jane to see me like this, but Alex…
“Are you okay?” Alex asked with a frown.
“Ah…sure.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my right ear. “Just um…learning about some family history. Maybe.”
“Right,” Alex said. “And I hate to interrupt, but Riley said he wants to talk to you, Jane.”
“Oh?” Jane immediately moved to her feet. “Is Black and Blue up as well?”
“Not when I was—”
“I need to be there when he questions her!” She clutched her tablet and file folders to her chest.
And then, without saying good-bye, she shoved past Alex and into the hallway.
“Apparently they don’t teach manners at Forger Academy,” Alex said.
“She mentioned that she used to work in the archives, whatever that means,” I said.
“Sounds like a place a little better suited to her, to be honest. Now that she’s gone, how are you, really?”
“I’m fine. I mean…a little achy but it’s actually not all that bad.”
I shoved the twisted sheets aside. I started moving to my feet and then…
“Ooof,” I said with a wince, placing a hand on the small of my back. “Except for maybe that.”
“What’s wrong?” Alex took a step forward. “Do you need me to take a look—”
“No, no! I’m fine.” I raised both hands in front of me and felt my cheeks start to redden again. “It’s just…getting dragged up the side of the building. Well, it’s not too surprising that comes with consequences.”
I tried to laugh it off, but the results were…yikes. Pretty forced. Anything to distance myself from the mental image of Alex removing my shirt for any reason.
He shook his head before speaking.
“I’ll say,” he said. “It looks like sleeping for an hour helped, at least.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Although I don’t exactly feel…”
I blinked. The dreams—no, memories—came back to me all at once. The realization that was dawning on me the moment that Jane woke me up by dropping those stupid files.
“Alex.” I reached out and grabbed onto his left arm. I felt him stiffen in response. “I figured it out. There’s a reason why she looks so much like me. We need to talk to Riley and Jane, right now!”
Riley and Jane, it turned out, weren’t very far. Just two doors down the hall. I entered its open door to find Riley sitting on top of a small metal table, his feet planted on one of those folding chairs, a bag of Funyuns in his hand. Across from him, Jane stood rigid, clutching her file folders and tablet tightly in her arms.
“Listen,” I said, walking in. “I think I know what’s going on with…”
My voice drifted off as I took the final step inside the room. Now, I had a better view of everything, including the two-way mirror that made up a large chunk of the left-hand wall.
On the other side lay Black and Blue.
And even though I had seen her face-to-face just an hour ago, it was hard not to falter at the sight of my double, sleeping in a bed, identical from the one I had just woken up in. From the way the rooms were positioned, my bed would have been pretty much on the other side of the wall from hers, placing us mere inches away from each other as we slept.
I felt the fuzziness in my head intensify.
“Hey, Dawn,” Riley said. He paused to yawn. “Jane mentioned that you had woken up. How are you recovering?”
“Better than her,” I said, my gaze drawn back to Black and Blue. I walked toward the window, then turned my back to her.
“I’ve reported back to headquarters, and they’re going to see about sending over one of our psychics,” Riley said. “See if we can figure out why this one looks so much like you.”
“Oh, I know exactly why she looks so much like me,” I said. “Just like I know that the last thing she’s going to want to do is talk to one of you.”
Riley narrowed his eyes before speaking. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I know who she is.” I shook my head. “In fact, I think part of me has known for a while. Only…with everything going on, I haven’t really had the chance to stop and think.”
“You’re not making sense. I’m gonna need you to slow down.”
“The answers are i
n my dreams. I’ve been having the strangest ones lately. And every time I get close to her, outside of Colossus, on the rooftop of the Tong Building, I hear these…voices from my dreams. Almost like they’re pulling me back in. The closer I get, the more intense they are. And now I know, given how she reacted at the Tong building, that she hears them too.”
“Wait.” Riley raised a hand. “Are you trying to imply that you’ve been having the same dreams?”
“I have no idea!” I threw up my hands. “But the thing is…they’re not just dreams. They’re memories. My memories. And hers.”
I turned to the glass to see Black and Blue, resting peacefully on white sheets. A fact I knew to be a lie. How long had it been since she had truly slept peacefully?
“I don’t understand,” Riley said. “Why would you be sharing memories?”
“Shit,” Alex said. I turned around to see him shaking his head. “The transference.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Looks like it was more successful than we realized.”
And with that I turned back toward my mirror, my double, my doppelganger.
Toward Calypso.
14
Alex
“Huh,” Riley said. “Calypso looks real good for someone who’s been dead for over a month.”
“What do you mean by transference?” Jane asked, taking a step toward Dawn.
Dawn blinked. “Don’t you know?”
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be librarians or something?” I asked, moving away from my position against the wall. “Don’t you know how Calypso got her powers in the first place?”
“An unsanctioned Awakening. I’ve done my homework.” Jane crossed her arms over her chest.
“Yeah, those records were falsified,” Riley said through a mouthful of Funyuns.
God, that guy had the worst taste in snacks.
Jane spun at Riley.
“What are you talking about?” she asked. “None of the records are falsified.”
“These are.”
Jane opened and shut her mouth, once, twice.
“That’s dangerous! The integrity of the archives…” She paused, shaking her head. “And what would the point even be? If the information is that sensitive, then why not just require a higher clearance level? The highest clearance level! Head archivists only.”
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