by Matt Ryan
Niles walked out of the house with his gun strapped to his waist. He pulled on his belt and gave me a sideways look.
“Niles, stay here and make sure there aren’t any more of these bastards floating around,” Mom ordered.
“Aye,” he said, and stomped past me.
Jackie glared at Niles as he passed her. Carly looked at the ground. Had they hit her with a stone of some sort? She looked off, somehow.
“Let’s get those stones back,” Jackie said. “I know some of those souls.” She’d taken a liking to my mom over the last couple of months, even going as far to call her Ms. C for a day before I banned it.
“Good, Jackie. I’m glad you’re here,” Mom said. “I’d like to take two others with me and I think it should be you and Mark.”
“What? I want to go too,” I said.
“Allie, you just jumped the town. I’m surprised you’re even upright. It wouldn’t be sensible.”
I felt weak, but I wasn’t going to let them hide me away while they fought. “I’m going.”
She sighed. “Fine, but you stay back and let us get to the front line. There should only be a few there, and we can’t afford to lose you to them.” She produced a portal stone from her bag and gestured for us to get closer. “Gather hands.”
“Guess I’ll just hang here for now,” Carly said.
“We’ll be right back,” I said.
Mark wiped his hands on his dark pants and held one out next to my mom’s, while I aligned mine next to Mark’s.
“I could use a few more stones,” Jackie said.
“Do you ever have enough?” I asked.
“If this goes south, just remember your portal stones,” Mom said. “And, Allie, I think this shows us that we don’t have any more time to waste. After this, we’re getting Blane.”
It didn’t sound much like a question, but I nodded my head.
“Let’s get through this first, and then we’ll talk.” Mark stared at Mom.
“Let’s just get going.” I interrupted their power struggle before it could detonate. “You said we had a short window here.”
“Fine.” Mom looked away and addressed the group. “Clear your minds.” She gazed at each of us and then dropped the stone on our hands.
I sucked in a quick breath as we fell. Keeping my eyes open for once, I watched as the milky surroundings stirred around us like we were in a blender. Then the world formed into solids and the ground stabilized under our feet. I let out a breath and took in the three-story buildings flanking us on each side.
In the alley was a homeless guy lying on the ground, using a bag as a pillow. The buildings’ exteriors were covered in graffiti and the air smelled of pungent garbage and old piss.
“Come on,” Mom said, putting her hand in her black pouch. “It isn’t far from here.”
The streets buzzed with cars and taxis. People bustled by on the sidewalk, not giving us new arrivals a second look. Most either kept their attention on their phones or ignored their surroundings entirely. Stores lined each side of the road and I knew we weren’t in LA, but I wasn’t sure where we were. I searched for a recognizable landmark.
“New York,” Mark said. “Been here a few times with my mom.”
“New York,” I whispered, taking in my surroundings with a new awe. I’d never been to the Big Apple. In the distance, I saw the towering spires of Manhattan.
Mom stopped at the front of an apartment complex and looked up. “Here, on the second floor.” She walked over to the buzzer and pressed several buttons. “One person always lets you in,” she whispered.
The door buzzed and unlocked.
Mom pushed the steel door open and held it for us as we walked in. “Get a few stones ready. We should be able to take these punks by surprise, if we’re lucky.”
I rummaged through my pouch and grabbed a freeze stone. They were simple and effective, and it would be safe to use on Iggy, if necessary.
At the apartment door, Mom looked to us and pulled out three stones. “Let me show you how it’s done.” She motioned for us to stand back and then threw a stone at the door. It iced over in an instant, cracking and turning white with frost. Mom kicked the door and it shattered like a thin piece of glass.
She dashed into the room before the last bits hit the floor and threw a second and third stone in rapid succession. They banged with a bright flash that radiated out into the hall.
“Mom, watch out for Iggy.”
She didn’t respond as she walked farther into the room, out of my sight.
Mark walked into the apartment. Jackie went next and I filed in last, smelling the sulfur of Mom’s stones in action. I’d seen her fight a few dark alchemists over the last couple of months, but it still amazed me how bad-ass my mom was. She must have single-handedly taken out an entire room.
I stepped over the shattered door and gazed at the empty room.
My mom flew out of the bathroom looking as pale as the white sheets on the bed. “Run!” she yelled, but it was too late. A stone popped up from the floor and cracked open.
We’d been fooled; we’d walked right into a trap.
I felt Mark’s arms around me as I fumbled for my portal stone. The pungent odor emanating from the cracked stone in the middle of the room made my mind turn to mush and I couldn’t grasp the stone in my hand.
As I fell to the floor, I saw my mom blink away and then Jackie. I coughed and felt Mark’s hand cover mine, a stone between our hands. We jumped together and I welcomed the fall between locations before I felt the dirty ground of our portal circle.
“What happened?” I asked between coughs.
“I found our mole,” Mom said, hunched over, coughing.
“Don’t you think it’s dangerous, leaving the mole in here with us?” I hated the idea of not ousting the person, letting them walk freely among us. My mom wouldn’t even tell us who it was.
“No, we use this as an advantage.”
“Yeah, but they took our soul stones, and I sure as hell don’t think we have what it takes to make a bunch more of those. Iggy said they were important in making the philosopher’s stone.”
“She said that?” Mom smiled and leaned forward. “You think I’d leave something so valuable in Chang’s room?”
“I knew it.” There was no way my mom would have left those stones floating around.
“You knew that room was a trap, didn’t you?” Mark asked.
“I knew it would show me who the mole was or wasn’t. If they told the truth and the dark alchies were in there, then it wasn’t her.”
“Her?” I asked.
Mom grimaced at the slip. “Damn stone fogged my brain. Don’t go snooping around looking for this person, you hear me?” My mom raised an eyebrow at me until I looked away. I knew there wouldn’t be any more discussion of it.
Mark huffed and stretched out his arms.
Deceit bothered me, and I dug my fingernails into the leg of the table and wished she’d be honest with me. I wanted the connection with her. Even sitting in her dining room still felt weird to me, no matter how many times I’d been there. I so badly wanted it to feel like home.
We’d spent two months at this camp, preparing for Blane and the creation of the philosopher’s stone. In that time, we hadn’t had one meaningful conversation. All we’d done was gather materials, talk over methods, stare at graphs, and for the love of god, the alchemist diagrams. So many diagrams.
I understood why Mark kept his mouth shut. From the moment we’d first arrived, he’d gone back to his uncomfortable state, much like when we were at Verity’s Academy. And now we had another thing to think about, a traitor among us. Why wasn’t my mom telling me who it was?
“We won’t go looking for her,” I said, and shot Jackie a look. I knew she couldn’t control herself; digging up a good mystery was her thing.
“There’s something else I want to talk about,” Mom said.
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re ready to dig up ol’ crazy, aren’
t you?”
“I think what we found today proves we need to pick up our pace. I keep hearing how Axiom is getting close to the stone for Quinn. We can’t let that happen.” She looked disgusted. “But they don’t have my daughter and her special boyfriend.” She winked.
“Mom . . .” I rolled my eyes.
“What, like I don’t hear about you two around camp? Young love is one of the most precious things you’ll have in life. Enjoy it.”
With my face turning a shade redder, I looked away from Mark.
“So, when are we digging this dude up?” Jackie asked.
“Tomorrow,” Mom said.
“Tomorrow?” I repeated. I’d figured we’d have more time. Since the moment I’d learned where the guy was, I’d been reluctant to actually go get him out of the dirt. We’d found plenty of stuff to do in the meantime, but my mom was probably right. If we wanted to get closer to the stone, we’d need Blane.
I said goodbye to my mom and we left her house. We walked down the dirt road that split the tiny town. People seemed to have calmed down and had gone back to their routines. It wasn’t exactly a bustling city to start with, with only fifty people in total living there. The few who were out were walking around, getting their last outdoor moments in before our curfew at sunset. Smoke was billowing out of a few chimneys and sent a sweet smell of fire through the town.
“See ya at the house,” Jackie said, and ran ahead.
I sighed. I knew it was one of her attempts to get me and Mark alone. I swear, since Leo had betrayed her and she’d sworn off all men for all of eternity, she’d lived vicariously through me for romantic endeavors. If you could call them that.
Mark caught my look and smiled. He reached out and held my hand. I loved feeling his skin against mine, and I often fantasized about us being somewhere different.
We took our time walking to my house and came to a stop at the front door. He turned me to face him. “Just about turn-in time. You want me to tuck you in tonight?”
I grinned and looked away before gaining the confidence to meet his gaze. Why did he have to be so beautiful? Saying no might’ve been easier if he wasn’t, especially since every bone in my body was screaming yes. Just lying with him and feeling his body against mine was enough. Okay, maybe I wanted a bit more. That was what scared me. I wondered if Mark had more experience than I did. It wasn’t something we really talked about.
“Jackie and Carly are going to want to talk about today, I’m sure,” I said.
“Okay.” He released my hand and took a few steps toward the house he shared with two other students. “But the offer stands if you change your mind. I know of a few paths less taken around here.”
“Oh, you do, do you?”
“I could be at your window in under a minute, any time of the night.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Maybe” was all I got out before I walked toward my front door. “Night,” I called back, and thought maybe I should have kissed him. I didn’t know why I had to be so complicated. I felt like there was always something between us, pushing us apart, even as we struggled to keep it all together.
I paused at the door, trying to wipe the smile from my face. As much as Jackie wouldn’t admit it, I knew she still hurt, and I didn’t want to rub my relationship in her face, even if she demanded every gritty detail. Like, why in the world did she want to know what Mark’s tongue felt like? I pushed the door open with more authority than I’d intended, or maybe it was just the right amount. After I shut the door behind me, I leaned against it and prepared for the debriefing.
Carly ran up to me. “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing. Mark wanted to come over again, but I said no.”
She looked confused. “What? No, I’m talking about the soul stones. Did you get them back?”
“Oh, didn’t Jackie tell you? Those were fakes. Mom still has the real ones.”
“Where?” Carly asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you asking?” Jackie said, standing behind Carly with her arms crossed.
Carly whipped around at the sound of her voice. “Just curious, is all. Didn’t you guys think it was weird that Chang had them this whole time?”
“Well, yeah,” Jackie said. “Have you talked with Cathy lately?” she asked, meaning my mom.
Carly shook her head, looking confused again.
“Jackie, stop it. It isn’t her.”
“Isn’t who?” Carly asked, getting annoyed.
“There’s a mole amongst us,” I said. “My mom won’t say who it is, but she let it slip it’s a girl. So, Little Ms. Detective, here, is on the case.”
“A mole? I knew it,” Carly said, and moved toward Jackie. “What are the clues?”
Jackie narrowed her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m suspecting everyone at the moment.”
Carly threw her arms up and walked away mumbling, “I freaking save your asses and you still think I’m a possible mole?”
I sighed and looked at my open bedroom door and the crumpled sheets on my mattress. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it certainly looked more inviting than any bed I’d ever seen. But that wasn’t what I wanted in there. From the moment my mom had mentioned a mole, I’d thought about the piece of paper I had, and I wanted to take another look at it.
Carly slammed cabinets around and yanked pots and pans from the cabinets in the kitchen.
“You know she’s not the mole,” I whispered to Jackie.
“I know, but look how she gets all mad. It’s hilarious.”
“Just tell her you know. It’s mean.”
“I will, but not yet. This might be the only entertainment I get for the rest of the night.” She walked toward the kitchen. “Carly, can you tell me where you were this morning?”
“Would you stop it?” Carly said.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I let them argue while I went to my bedroom. I glanced at them in the kitchen, and thought I’d have enough time to look at the paper in privacy. The small bedroom didn’t hold much: a twin bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe closet, and a small desk. I sat at the desk. It looked like the top drawer held only a few pens and sheets of paper, but after I pulled the drawer all the way out, I felt for the piece of paper I’d taped to the underside of the desktop and yanked it off.
Leaning back, I looked at the paper. I wished I’d never found it, but I had, and each time I read it, my heart beat faster.
My bedroom door opened and Jackie peeked in. “What are you doing in here?”
“Nothing.” I stuffed the note between my legs and tried to look inconspicuous.
“Why’s your drawer pulled out?”
“I was trying to fix it. It fell off the rail.”
Jackie frowned, not buying my story. “Can you come out here and verify you were with Carly between the hours of three and noon today?”
“Yes, but only if you leave her alone. You know she saved us all.”
“Please.” Jackie rolled her eyes in disbelief. “I had them right where I wanted them. Carly didn’t save us; she only sped up the process.”
“I heard that, and I did save you!” Carly screeched from the kitchen.
“Get out here soon,” Jackie whispered. “Carly’s making mac and cheese.”
“Original?” I asked.
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll be out in a minute. I just need to finish up with this drawer.”
Jackie leaned in, staring at my hands between my legs, and glanced back at Carly before saying, “Listen, if you need some private time with whatever you’ve got stuffed between your legs, just put a sock on the doorknob.”
“I hate you.”
“I know you and Mark haven’t been . . .” She bumped her hands together.
“Just shut up, Jackie,” I said, and threw a pencil at her.
“If that was what you were hiding, it’s never going to get the job done.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. �
��I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Fine, but hurry up. I think Carly’s going to use a stone on me. I need a witness.” Jackie left and closed my door.
Great—she knew I had something in my drawer, and worse yet, she knew I was hiding something from her. I slid the drawer back in place and looked around my room for a new hiding spot. I got on the floor and looked under the bed—too obvious. The wardrobe cabinet didn’t look any more promising. Tapping my chin, I looked at the ceiling and the broken dome light. Janet, my stepmom, had had me clean hers out several times. Just a spin of the nut, and the glass dome would come off. We didn’t have electricity most of the time anyway.
With my desk chair placed under the light, I climbed up and unscrewed the nut that held the glass dome in place.
“What the . . .” I whispered, looking at the small electronic device taped inside the light. I pulled it down and stared at the wires sticking out from it. I didn’t know what it was, but I took it for a surveillance bug of some sort. I didn’t see a camera hole, but there was a small microphone. Could they be listening in on us? And why?
When I looked at the letter in my hand, the two items connected dots I didn’t want to connect.
“Allie,” Jackie called from the kitchen. “It’s ready.”
“Coming.”
“I bet you are,” she called back.
I giggled at her immaturity and shook my head. I took one last look at the note.
7:15 a.m. Wakes up
7:32 a.m. Exits room and enters kitchen. Makes toast.
7:54 a.m. Jackie enters kitchen and joins Allie at kitchen table.
I stuffed the note into the dome, then put the microphone-thing in my pocket. How many devices were around my room, around the house? And why? I could tell Jackie and Carly, but they’d ask where I’d gotten the note and that’d lead to me telling them how I’d found it folded up at my mom’s house. They were already suspicious of her, and I didn’t want to build on it. We just needed to get that stupid philosopher’s stone and be done with it all.
I’d deal with my mom later. Tomorrow, I’d take them to Blane. Thinking of seeing him again gave me chills. I could still feel his fingers in my brain and I wondered what the man would be like in real life. Plus, I’d never been to England and that was an excitement in itself.