“I’m going to assume that they were worried what the head archivists might do with that information.”
“And how is it that you have access to information that’s so high level?” I jerked my chin at Riley. “You don’t seem all that special.”
“Oh, please. Riley’s—”
“Jane!”
Riley’s voice came out sharp, cutting through all the noise in the room. Jane shut her mouth without another word.
“Let’s…not give away all our secrets, okay?” Riley said with a sigh. “After all, Dawn here just revealed that the woman we came to Bailey City to study just happens to be among us.” He turned to Dawn. “I take it that this means Amity Graves located Mr. Peterson again.”
“Y-yes,” Dawn replied. She paused, looking back and forth between the two Forgers.
“It’s fine,” Riley said, sliding off the table. “Jane’s smart. She’ll be able to put two and two together once she gets over the horror of falsifying official Forger records.”
Dawn nodded, then continued. “Apparently finding Dana was part of her plan all along. Calypso wanted revenge for what was done to her years ago, but she also wanted to be whole again. She hoped that my healing factor could…well, heal her broken mind.”
“So, she asked Mr. Peterson to transfer your powers to her,” Riley said. “And I’m going to assume that things did not go as planned.”
“Alex stopped her,” Dawn said, nodding toward me.
“Wait, transfer Dawn’s powers.” Jane shook her head. “I don’t—”
Riley let out a sigh. “Jane, I promise I’ll explain as much as I can later—”
“But it wouldn’t have even worked that way!” Jane spun toward Dawn. “This is what I was trying to explain to you before. Your powers are illusory by nature, like the rest of your bloodline.”
“Jane my powers aren’t—” Dawn began.
“Yes, they are illusions! You just have the ability to make them real.”
“Wait,” I said. “I’m confused.”
“Jane thinks she may have found my family tree.” Dawn nodded at me.
“Think about it. It’s in how you transform. You think, ‘I’m going to become this powerful superhero,’ and if your will is strong enough—will has always been important with this bloodline—you become that powerful superhero. Your healing factor, if my theory is correct, it’s not really healing at all. You’re merely reverting to this…superheroic mental projection. But if you do that too often, you run out of power, forcing you to turn back to your regular self. Various members of your family experienced similar cool-down periods.”
“Hold up.” I raised a hand. “What does this have to do with Calypso?”
“Everything! Think about it. For one thing, her plan wouldn’t have even worked in the first place. Dawn doesn’t have any healing powers, not really. It’s more a side effect. In fact, given Calypso’s fractured mental state, it’s impossible to say whether she would have had the will to access those powers to their full extent.”
“Oh, I don’t think lack of will was ever Calypso’s problem,” I replied. “But if this is correct, why can she access Dawn’s powers now?”
“Because the transference went wrong! She not only got a fraction of Dawn’s powers, but her memories as well.”
“Wait,” Dawn said. “Are you saying that Calypso—”
“Thinks that she’s Dawn?” I finished.
“To a certain extent, yes.” Jane replied. “Why else would she look like her?”
“That…must be so confusing,” Dawn said with a frown. “To have a whole new set of memories shoved in your mind.”
Like Dana, I couldn’t help but think. Then paused.
“You guys,” I began. “I think I have—”
“We won’t be able to confirm all this until Calypso wakes up,” Jane continued, then spun around toward Riley. “Until then, I want to talk to you.”
“Jane.” Riley raised both hands. “Now’s not—”
“Three, Riley. I went through three failed Awakenings. And this entire time there was an easier way out there and you didn’t tell me.”
“Listen. It’s—”
“Transferring powers! Do you know what knowledge like that could do for Forger communities?”
“It’s not the same, Jane,” Riley said, his voice steady. “Think about it for a second. This has nothing to do with lineage. Transferring abilities from one person to another is theft, pure and simple. Not to mention that Calypso and Dawn’s situations are not unique. Every time this guy tried to do something, things ended up wrong.”
“But that’s because this Peterson was doing this on his own! If he had access to a Forger community with trainers, then we would have a chance. If anything, using someone else’s powers would be better for people who were denied Awakenings in the first place. You more than anyone should—”
“We’re not having this discussion, Jane. The decision was made by the higher-ups, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Well, some of us are tired of just doing whatever the higher-ups demand of us!”
Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Dawn raising a hand to her head. She stumbled back, bumping against the two-way mirror with a dull thud.
“Dawn?” I said, stepping toward her. “Are you—”
“Fine, I’m just…being this close to her while she’s asleep? It makes me feel drowsy.”
“Then let’s move farther away.” I jerked my head toward the door.
Given that neither of the Forgers had broken their argument to notice that Dawn had stumbled, it seemed like a good idea.
Dawn nodded, and we exited the room, heading down a long, almost prison-like hallway with gray concrete walls. A far cry from the abandoned office surroundings that made up the other half of the Forgers’s space.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to leave those two alone?” Dawn asked, twirling a strand of her hair with her left hand.
“Sounds like they need to hash things out,” I said, then sighed. “A lot of history there.”
“I’ll say.” She paused and shook her head. “Calypso. Regardless of what my powers actually are, she seems…dangerous. I don’t know what to do about her.”
“I do. I think you need to contact your hacker friend.”
Dawn blinked. “Dana! That’s brilliant! He might be able to reverse everything! Let me give him a call.”
As she fumbled in her pocket for her phone, we reached the doorway that led to the rest of the Forger’s space. I reached for the handle but didn’t get very far. The door refused to budge.
“Must need one of those card things,” I said with a sigh.
And as if on cue, I saw Riley’s head poke through the door at the end of the hallway. He looked away from us, then toward us, clearly unsure of which direction we had headed in. Catching sight of us he nodded and walked in our direction, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
“Sounds like Calypso isn’t the only one with a beef with the higher-ups,” I said, crossing my arms.
Riley’s face went stiff with annoyance, but only for a second. Then he was all calm again.
“Jane will be fine. She just needs to think for a moment.” Riley nodded toward Dawn. “Who are you calling?”
“The one person who might be able to put things back together again,” I replied. “Dana Peterson.”
“Huh,” Riley said.
“He’s not picking up,” Dawn said. “I wonder where he is?”
“At some wedding, probably,” I replied.
As she dialed again, Riley pulled the badge from his pocket and waved it in front of the sensor. The lights went green, and I heard a sharp click. Riley pushed opened the door and Dawn went through, the phone pressed against her ear.
“Well, this could go horribly wrong,” Riley said with a sigh.
I frowned before speaking. “What are you talking about? It’s the best solution we have right now. Dana could fix everything.”
“Or make it worse.” Riley shook his head. “The higher-ups would never approve of this.”
“You know, out of the two of you, I pegged Jane as the rule czar. But she’s not the one constantly giving in to what the higher-ups want.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Jane is very respectful of Leadership.” Riley paused. “Normally.”
“Why did you keep Dana a secret from everyone?” I asked. “It’s not like you have anything against kidnapping people. Calypso can attest to that. And you had Amity back then. I’m sure she could have re-written his memories to make him a very willing participant.”
“We don’t do stuff like that anymore,” Riley said, tension escaping into his voice.
“Yeah, but you did eight years ago. Why not bring Dana on board?”
Riley’s eyes met mine.
“Because it makes it too easy. Not everyone should have powers,” he said. “Some people are just too dangerous.”
“What are you implying?” I took a step forward.
“No answer. I left a message.”
I turned to see Dawn standing a few feet away from us, her cell phone in hand. She looked back and forth between the two of us, then hesitated.
Riley cleared his throat before speaking.
“That’s probably for the best,” he said. “Calypso’s out like a light anyway. We can try again first thing in the morning.”
“S-sure,” Dawn replied. “First thing.”
Not willing to give up right away, we checked Dana’s house to see if he was still there. Only, when we arrived, we discovered the windows blackened and his car gone.
“I’m sticking to my wedding theory,” I said, peering up through my windshield.
“I hope everything’s okay.” Dawn played with a lock of her hair. “Do you think he may have been kidnapped, like Marty?”
“Nah, the rules have clearly been established. Someone tries and kidnaps Dana, you’re always there to save his ass.”
A small smile cracked on Dawn’s lips, then immediately fell.
“I wonder what Calypso did with Marty,” she said.
“With everything going on in her head, I don’t know if she would remember.” I shook my head. “Marty’s only been gone since Friday. That’s what…four days?”
“Has it only been that long?”
“We’ll see what we can get out of her tomorrow,” I replied. “It’s getting dark. Want me to drive you home?”
“Um…isn’t that a little out of your way?”
Ah right. Dawn was rich, wasn’t she? Easy to forget that. She acted so normal for someone who lived east of the river.
“I’ll just take the tram,” Dawn said. “There’s a stop just a few blocks from here.”
“It’s late. I don’t think that’s very safe.” I paused as I saw a smile on her lips. “Are your powers back already?”
“I’m not on full, but they’re coming back.”
“Damn, well. At least let me drive you down to the central line. The tracks here are pretty shitty.”
“And they say chivalry is dead,” Dawn said, then paused. “You know, now that I’ve lost my powers a few times, I’m starting to understand what it feels like to be without them. It’s ah…like being hungry? But without the hunger pangs?”
“I’m going to nod and pretend that made sense to me. Just like I pretended that I understood everything Jane said about your supposed family tree. Illusions and willpower? Do you think any of that’s true?”
“If it is, then I feel like I should be getting a ring or something.”
“Huh?”
“It’s from a…never mind.” She waved me off. “To be honest, I don’t know what to think about it. Maybe once things are finished with Calypso, I’ll talk to Jane for more details.”
“If she hasn’t murdered Riley and fled the state.”
“That was really intense. More so than their argument over whether Jane should come to the rally or not. It seems like getting powers as a Forger is quite a big deal.”
“A big deal that both of our visiting librarians missed out on.” I paused. “Did you catch what Jane said. About how Riley, more than anyone else, should understand the people who aren’t allowed Awakenings.”
“You’re right,” she said with a blink. “It sounds like he was a reject too. Just like Calypso.”
“Some people shouldn’t get powers.” I sighed. “And it’s clear that he thinks I’m one of them.”
“Oh, Alex.”
“Nah. I can’t blame him. I can see the weak points in places. Hell, I should be in construction or something.”
“Or a civil engineer.”
“Considering I never met a math class I couldn’t flunk out of, I’ll take a hard pass on that one.” The breaks hissed as we came to a four-way stop. “My powers are useful, but I haven’t done anything worthwhile with then.”
“You helped me,” Dawn said.
“That doesn’t count. You wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for me. You can’t put someone in a shitty situation, and then expect to be treated like the good guy for pulling them out of it.” I turned and looked at her. “And had it been someone else behind your mask, I probably wouldn’t have helped at all.”
Dawn’s gaze dropped from mine. Just like at Sal’s Seafood. I held back a sigh. The past twenty-four hours…we had worked so well together. Trying to find Marty. To stop Black and Blue. I was stupid if I thought that could change what had already happened…
“You asked me before what I thought about you.”
I blinked, Dawn’s words breaking off my chain of thoughts.
“And it was, still is…hard to say, because it’s changing all the time. When I first met you, I just thought that you were charming and funny, and um…other things.” Her face colored slightly. “And then I found out you were Faultline and the two halves…they didn’t seem to fit together.”
My face twisted into a scowl. “Yeah, well, unfortunately they fit together a little better than you might be comfortable with.”
“Oh, I know that now.”
“Right,” I said, turning back toward the road. “Right.”
“But Alex, that’s because I wasn’t seeing the whole picture in the first place. I didn’t really know you. You were just…this super-intriguing guy. But now, having spent more time with you, I’m beginning to understand more. For one thing, you’re really smart!”
“Says the Bailey U student to the high school dropout who barely managed to scrape together a GED—”
“And you really care about the people close to you.”
“Tell that to the drones.”
“And right now, I’d say that you’re pretty stubborn.”
I opened my mouth to protest, then shut it again.
“And yes, you’ve made some decisions that were…well, decisions that I never would have made. And for those, you feel remorse.”
Dawn paused, nibbling on her lower lip before speaking again.
“Alex, you said that when you think of me, you see that person dragging herself across the floor to try and save Calypso. And yeah, that’s me, but I’m more than that. I mean, when I come up against something that scares or overwhelms me, I run right in the other direction.”
“I seem to recall your running straight into danger a lot.”
Dawn’s eyes hit mine.
“I did it when my father died,” she said. “Ran away from my own grief until I couldn’t feel anything. I ran away from Sunshine when she got too close to the truth about my double life. And I ran away from my feelings for you.”
I remember running across the phrase “you could have heard a pin drop” in some of the books I’ve read. I always thought it was just a cliché. But in that moment, everything from the hum of the car engine to my own damn breathing, just turned off. Hell, someone could have pulled up behind me and leaned on the horn, and it wouldn’t have mattered. All that mattered were the words coming out of Dawn’
s month.
“Alex, I’m…a mess. More flaws than strengths. It would be wrong of me to expect you to be perfect in return. I may not have figured you out yet, but I see a little more of you every day. And I don’t want to stop learning about you anytime soon. So, um…I hope that’s okay?”
Dawn’s cheeks turned pink, her gaze dropping again. I reached out with my right hand to take her own, placed on her lap. Her fingers were gripped tight, but the second my hand touched hers they relaxed into mine.
And then, everything changed.
A slap could be heard throughout the car, and I barely had enough time to process the fact that it was Dawn, slapping my hand away. She lunged for me, her hands wrapping themselves around my neck with all her strength. Of course, as Dawn, that was nothing, easy to shake off, but I couldn’t do it. For a second, all I could do was focus on the fact that Dawn’s beautiful, dark eyes were now a cold, pale green.
And they were filled with anger.
“Traitor,” she growled.
My foot slid from the brake and onto the gas, and we careened into the intersection. My years of driving in a city took over, and I twisted myself back to the road just in time to see a red truck coming up on us from our right.
We were in too far to stop.
Instead, I hit the gas, swerving around the truck and crossing the intersection. I could hear his horn echo around the city as he zoomed past me and my tiny-ass Jetta.
I pulled over to the side of the road and put the car in park. My hands ached as I pulled them from the steering wheel. I had been gripping it so hard.
When had Dawn let go of me?
I turned to the passenger seat to see Dawn’s hands far from anyone’s throat. Instead, they were pressed against her face, covering her mouth and nose. Her eyes were terrified and wide.
And, thank God, back to their normal shade.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why did your eyes change like that?”
Dawn didn’t reply, just remained frozen, as if in shock. I don’t even think she was breathing.
Shit. Hadn’t her father died in a car accident?
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