Destination Unknown (Lumen Academy Book 1)

by Penelope Wright

  She leans over Heidi’s immobile body. “That’ll feel nice, won’t it, sweet girl?”

  Two more tears leak out of Heidi’s eyes and roll down her temples to her hairline, but she doesn’t make a sound.

  20

  Heidi

  I awaken with a jerk and a splash. Tepid water sloshes over both sides of the tub. How long have I been asleep?

  Aunt Mona and I worked hard today. I trained for hours and then helped her clean the studio from top to bottom. No wonder I’m so tired.

  I don’t even remember getting into the tub, but I usually take an Epsom salt bath after a challenging day, so it’s not a surprise or anything. The only oddity is falling asleep. When I was little, before she died, my mother always warned me about falling asleep in the bathtub; she said I could drown. It’s odd; that’s one of my only clear memories of her. Even then, I never believed her about the drowning and I still don’t. I’m sure I’d wake myself up the instant my nose dipped under the waterline. Not that it’s ever happened.

  I clamber out of the tub, grab a thick multicolored towel, and wrap it snugly around myself. I must have washed my hair before I nodded off because it’s soaking wet. I don’t remember doing that, either. I shake my head a little and drops of water trickle down my back, where the towel has gapped away from my spine. I retighten it and grab the blow dryer off the edge of the sink counter.

  I like my hair when it’s blown dry. I love the way it curls around my collarbones. It’s one of my favorite things to do, taking that little extra bit of time to pamper myself. I flick the dryer on and wave it around my head until my hair is just the way I like it.

  I get dressed in a set of clothes Aunt Mona must have lain out for me. Apparently, I’ll be training as a gray this evening? I guess it’s good to know how to blend into any environment.

  I slip into the clothes, which fit me pretty well, though the tunic is tight across the chest. I wonder if Mona could let it out a little bit. Does Mona sew? Odd that I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised, though. Mona can do just about anything. She’s the best.

  Apparently, I’m going barefoot in this evening’s skill building class, because there are no shoes included with my outfit, and again, that’s fine. I trust Mona with my training. I always have. She’s taught me everything I know and she’s never steered me wrong. I’m very lucky to have her in my life. Mona is my favorite person in the whole entire world.

  I climb the stairs and I’m surprised to find that she’s not alone. My mind flashes quickly backward, like I’m rifling through a new deck of cards, shuffling from the ace all the way down to the twos. I see yearly snapshots of myself and Mona going back to when I was very young, just after Mother died. Never, in all the years I’ve come to Mona for training sessions, has there been another person here. It’s always been just me and her. Now there are two.

  “Hello,” I say to Mona and her…friends? Colleagues? Customers? I can’t tell what the relationships are here.

  “Hello, Heidi, it’s so nice to meet you,” the curly-haired young woman says. The brightness in her voice is as false and harsh as the fluorescent lights at the bobbin factory I just spent the last few weeks embedded in. She has a fresh bruise on her face that has been inexpertly covered with makeup.

  I give her a slight smile because I don’t want to be rude, but my words come out a little standoffish. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  “Oh, it’s just Mona’s talked of you so often,” she says airily, twirling her hand around at the wrist like she’s beating back a swarm of pesky butterflies. “I’m Clarissa.”

  “Clarissa is my new assistant,” Mona interjects. “I forgot to tell you she’d be stopping by.”

  “And I’m Marston,” the hulking, good-looking guy says. His voice is quiet and controlled but there’s something in his tone that raises my guard.

  My hand flies to my hair to make sure it’s smooth as an involuntary shiver ripples through my body.

  “Mona’s nephew,” he finishes.

  Her nephew? My lips part in confusion and I turn to my aunt. “Mona?” I ask, my tone holding the thousand questions that sprang up in my mind at that revelation.

  Mona sweeps across the room and gathers me in a hug. I smell her incense and wintergreen scent, the one that makes me feel so safe, and I instantly relax. “Distant relation,” she whispers into my ear, so quietly, it’s as though she’s speaking directly into my mind, but I can feel her breath against my eardrum, so I know that’s just an illusion. “I’ll explain later.”

  She releases me and steps back, and I smile at Marston, albeit a bit nervously. “Well, it’s especially nice to meet you. I’ve never met any other family.”

  Marston’s eyebrows fly to the top of his forehead, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t aware of me, either, which isn’t a big surprise, I guess. “Mona is – was – my mother’s sister,” I explain.

  “Really?” Marston says, his tone of voice inscrutable. “Older or younger?”

  “Older, of course,” Mona snaps. “Why are you giving her the third degree?”

  “It was just a question,” Marston zaps back.

  “So, Heidi,” Clarissa says in a voice that sounds like it’s been recently oiled, “how are you feeling?”

  “Um, fine?” I say, raising my voice in a question. How am I supposed to be feeling, other than weirded out to discover a long-lost cousin standing in my aunt’s studio?

  Clarissa pulls a small, top-bound spiral notebook and a pen from her back pocket. “On a scale of one to ten, with one being the lowest and ten being the highest…” Clarissa begins, but Mona throws her hands in the air.

  “Really, Clarissa? Really?”

  “Well, as your assistant director—”

  Mona holds her hand up. “Assistant, Clarissa. Not assistant director. Assistant. I made that very clear.”

  “And I thought you understood—”

  “Ladies,” Marston bellows, and they both fall silent as all three of us pivot to him. “I thought we’d gathered here to work through the snag in Heidi’s teleportation training, not to bicker.”

  Snag in my teleportation training? And then I remember. I was supposed to go to the Academy. I’d been working toward it my whole life. I don’t want to be a taxi Jumper, hauling rich and important people around the world for chit credits. I want to be more than that. I want to train with the elite. And I pushed myself too hard. My face falls into my hands. I can’t believe I shoved it out of my mind, but it all comes flooding back.

  “You did tell me Clarissa was coming,” I say in a muffled voice through my hands. “I just didn’t remember. I must have blocked it out. I’m so… Mona, I’m scared. I shouldn’t have forgotten that.”

  Marston takes a step toward me, his hand outstretched, then stops. His hand falls to his side. I feel like he wants to be comforting but doesn’t know how. He doesn’t look like the type who would put a girl at ease.

  “Don’t be afraid, Heidi. We’re all here to help you. We’ll get this figured out,” Mona says. “As my assistant” – Mona’s eyes flash to the curly-haired young woman – “Clarissa already knows about the issue.”

  Clarissa’s mouth pops open like she’s going to say something, but Mona doesn’t let her get a word in edgewise. “And I was just about to bring Marston up to speed.”

  Clarissa closes her mouth, and now it’s pressed into a thin, flat line. But she adjusts her pen in her hand and poises it above her spiral notebook, like she’s about to take notes.

  I was right, because she begins scribbling the instant Mona starts speaking again. I already know all of what Mona’s saying, and I can’t help but watch Clarissa write feverishly, licking the tip of her ballpoint pen so many times, she quickly has a blue streak on her tongue. Despite what Mona said, Clarissa acts as if it’s all new info to her…facts she’ll be tested on later.

  “Heidi’s been coming to me for training once a year since she was a small girl,” Mona says. “But th
ree weeks ago, we began an intensive with the goal of getting her accepted to the Montana training facility. Heidi doesn’t want to be a taxi Jumper. She’s gifted, and I believe she’s destined for more. We began rigorous training sessions, and unfortunately, I pushed it too far.”

  “I pushed it too far.” I can’t let Mona take the blame for my failure of judgement.

  “I’m your teacher. I bear just as much responsibility,” Mona says. “Maybe even more.”

  Marston folds his muscular arms across his chest. Cords stand out on his forearms – his fists are tightly balled.

  “Heidi experienced a mental snap,” Mona says gently, and I nod along with her as she speaks. “Assigning blame isn’t necessary. The fact of the matter is we pushed too hard and her mind ricocheted back on itself.” She lowers her eyes sorrowfully, laces her hands together, and takes a deep breath. “She can no longer access her minerals. She’s temporarily lost her ability to teleport.”

  Just hearing the words out loud causes tears to spring to my eyes. My fondest memories are of Mona’s delighted face at the end of our yearly training sessions, when I would demonstrate – perfectly – all the new concepts she’d taught me that year. I can clearly visualize myself Jumping from one side of the room to the other as a little girl, Mona heaping praise upon me. In another memory I’m a little older, Jumping from a kitchen to a bedroom and back. Again, Mona praises me exorbitantly. I have ten other memories just like it. Though, somewhat strangely, while I get older, Mona never seems to age. And oddly, she’s always wearing the same flowing caftan in every memory. I briefly scan my mind, challenging myself to find a recollection of her wearing anything else, but I can’t. Well, it is her signature look. I probe for other memories, anything at all, but before I can dig too deeply, Mona’s hugging me again, and now, unexpectedly, I lose my battle with the tears and they spill from my eyes.

  “Wow, that’s…quite a story,” Marston says. His voice sounds tight, with my face buried in Mona’s robes.

  Hot, salty tracks trace their way down my cheekbones as Mona strokes my hair. “In addition to losing her ability to teleport, Heidi also doesn’t remember a thing from the last three weeks.”

  “So John doesn’t ring a bell?” Marston says curtly.

  I gasp and involuntarily jump from Mona’s arms. Because I do remember John. “Oh my god, I have a boyfriend,” I blurt out, my hand flying to cover my pounding heart as adrenaline races through me. “How could I have forgotten that?”

  Mona darts out a hand and grips my forearm tightly. “You two broke up.” Her voice is hard enough to etch glass. I can tell from her tone that she doesn’t like him very much. But I did. Didn’t I?

  My heart flipflops in my chest. “We broke up?”

  “Yes. He was a terrible boyfriend, dear heart. You deserve so much better.”

  I know I should be devastated, but Mona’s words feel right. “I can’t believe I don’t remember that,” I say wonderingly.

  “Yes, and I can’t believe Marston brought it up when you only just met,” she says acerbically. On the other side of the room, Clarissa can’t stop scribbling on her pad.

  But why would you tell Marston about me and John?

  Mona moves even closer to me. “I wanted Marston to be gentle with you,” she whispers. “He has a tendency to be rude.”

  I step back from Mona and look at her questioningly. I hadn’t spoken my thought out loud. And yet she answered it.

  An alarmed look flashes across Mona’s features, which she quickly smooths away. “That’s enough chitchat,” she says briskly, releasing my forearm and rubbing her hands together. “I asked you both here because I know you can help. Clarissa, with your advanced studies, and Marston, with your practical knowledge, there’s no better team to attack this problem head on. Let’s get to work.”

  “Actually,” Marston begins, but Mona cuts him off.

  “We must be discreet, Marston. I want only the best for Heidi, and she won’t ever be accepted to the Academy if they believe she has any issues with mental instability.”

  I squeeze my eyes shut tightly several times in a row to fight back a fresh batch of tears. I’m so afraid that might happen. I want to go to the Academy more than anything else in the world. I’ve been trying to get in since I was little and I never quite made the cut. This was my best shot, and now…now it’s ruined because I didn’t respect my own limits.

  Marston’s obviously waffling with whether he wants to help me or not. If Mona says he’s the best, then I believe her. Mona always knows the right thing to do. I turn beseeching eyes to Marston. “Please?” I ask humbly. “Will you help me?”

  Marston rubs his jaw, then moves his hand to the back of his neck. He looks up at the recessed lighting, then at Mona, then at me. He stares at me for so long that I start to wonder if time has stopped, but I know that’s not a real thing. Nobody can stop time.

  He blinks slowly, draws a deep breath in through his nose, and exhales. “I will.”

  21

  Marston

  We try everything we can think of. Hours pass. But Heidi can’t do it. She has no teleportation ability whatsoever.

  She can’t access her minerals. She can’t even feel them. For all intents and purposes, she might as well have no gift at all. But she does have one. Mona triggered it with meditation and a B flat tone and zapped her all the way to Region Four, to The Citadel and into the bed of the maharaja. Not that Heidi remembers any of that. Mona told me the whole story in a rush when Heidi was in the bathtub, letting the warm water set her memory wipe and reinstall. And don’t even get me started on that. Mona is her aunt? Heidi thinks we’re cousins? Great.

  Clarissa knew the part of the story that began at the meditation studio, and I knew what happened afterward, based on what Heidi told me and what I saw with my own eyes.

  I know she has power locked inside her body. Vast power. I drew it out of her when our lips touched so many hours ago. Not that she remembers that at all.

  But it’s not working now. No tones trigger even the slightest twitch in Heidi’s location. I know this because I’m her Jump partner. I hold on to her tightly during every attempt. If she goes anywhere, she’ll take me with her. But her power is inaccessible. She can’t find it, no matter what we try.

  Clarissa has grown surly, Mona is increasingly agitated, and I’m just mystified. I’ve never heard of anything like this. And it makes me wonder…if Heidi has a dormant power like this, how many other people – how many other grays – might too? That thought is mindboggling.

  “Tell me again about my last Jump? The one where I snapped,” Heidi asks. “There must be something we’re missing.”

  Mona speaks slowly. She has a hastily rehearsed version of the truth that she’s relayed several times throughout this agonizing afternoon of failed attempts. “You had a long, tiring day. We decided to run one more training module. Jumping while scent-suppressed. We rolled out a mat and you lay there” – Mona points to the other side of the room – “and I played the bowls. I dotted your forehead, and—”

  Heidi inhales a sharp breath through her nose, interrupting Mona’s monologue. “Lavender?”

  Mona blinks rapidly. “Yes.”

  “I hate that scent.” Heidi sniffs the air cautiously. “I can almost smell it now.”

  A nervous look flits across Mona’s face.

  Heidi rubs her thumb and forefinger together, rolling her earlobe absentmindedly between her pinched fingers. She winces and pulls her finger back. I’m sitting right next to her, and I see a spot of blood on her fingertip. I suck my breath in. The GPS tag. Does she remember?

  “There was something in my ear,” Heidi says, an almost dreamlike quality in her voice.

  “You tagged her?” Clarissa says incredulously. “Like an animal?”

  “She received a piercing. She couldn’t very well masquerade as a gray without one,” Mona says. “Yes, I added a wearable GPS locator tag. And good thing I did,” she concludes huffily.
>
  “Why was it a good thing?” Heidi says, her voice both hurt and confused. “It was hard. Metal. It hurt my ear. Maybe that’s what broke me?”

  Mona opens her mouth to respond, from the look in her eyes, it’s obvious she realizes her mistake. It was a good thing from her perspective; that was how she found Heidi after she leaped away and landed inside The Citadel. But Heidi doesn’t remember that at all. Before Mona can get a word out, however, her satellite phone bleats an aggressive ring tone. Her eyebrows fly up. “I have to get that,” she says, depressing the button and holding the phone to her ear.

  “Come on, Heidi. Let’s get you some ice water,” I say, helping her to her feet. I want to move her away from Clarissa, who’s been eyeing her like a particularly horrifying zoo animal since Heidi mentioned the piercing. Everyone in our business has to use a GPS locator from time to time, but we clip them to our clothing or wear them as rings or bracelets. Piercing the skin – tagging – is for grays and livestock.

  I’ve barely poured an inch of water in Heidi’s cup before Mona’s shrieking voice causes my hand to jerk and slosh a burst of liquid onto the floor.

  “Well, of course I warded the premises! Did you think I wouldn’t?”

  I thrust the cup into Heidi’s hand and set the pitcher down on the sideboard with a clatter. Mona paces in the corner of the room. She listens for a moment, a scowl twisting across her face. “Under normal circumstances, obviously. But after what you pulled, did you think for a moment that I wouldn’t?” She pulls the phone away from her ear and shouts at it. “Go ahead and bring me to Council! I think we both have some explaining to do, don’t we?”

  “Mona!” I bark, and she’s so startled, she drops the phone. I think she honestly may have forgotten we were all here.

  “Marston,” she says sharply. “It’s late. Take Heidi for dinner. I have to deal with this.” She points at Clarissa. “You stay here.”