Midnight Dawn

by Jocelyn Adams

  He pressed his palms against the side of the pool table, his jaw flexing. “You let it crawl inside you?”

  “Hey, I didn’t die. Something about me startled him and sent him flying back. He seems to think he knows us, but if you don’t know him either, then that’s not possible.”

  “I’d have remembered meeting him before. He hits me in ways no other wraith has, filling me with this sense of utter panic as if I’ve woken up drowning in the Arctic Ocean.”

  That sounded like my dream. “I feel that, too. How do you suppose he swallowed our storms like that?” I sighed, my frustration bubbling out on the wind of it. “Do you suppose the missing bible pages will tell us how to stop him from using our own mojo against us?”

  The Machine had a book of knowledge that was currently full of lies. The current guardians had rewritten what they thought was right. Some of it was bang on, but other stuff couldn’t have been more wrong.

  He picked up the eight ball from the pool table, totally engrossed in the paint job, apparently. “I don’t know. Maybe. It would have been helpful to know who ripped out the real pages and why they scattered them to the wind.” A snap of his wrist sent the ball into the corner pocket. “You said we need to find your mother. So until we have a better plan, we concentrate on Glenna, and prepare to face Baku. I’ll make sure you get to this fight; you have my word on that.”

  I padded to the nearest sofa and flopped down on it. “Yeah, I know you will.” I snatched up one of the pillows and hugged it, part of me wishing it were him. “More of us need to share power, shielding whichever pair is evicting the wraith from the ones on the other side of the veil. Which means every one of the guardians needs to find a conduit.” I twisted to read his face, but he was still fiddling with the pool table, his face in profile. “Do you think there’s only one for each of us, or are there a few we can choose from? Is it Izan who chooses for us, or something inside our souls that decides?”

  He tensed and straightened, as if thinking. “I don’t know how it works, but I don’t believe there’s only one for each of us, only one or two that our storms like more than others. As for the rest of the guardians, most of them are still afraid, but we’ll worry about that after we get Glenna back. I think you have to search for her, because no matter how hard I try, I can’t feel her out there.”

  “You’re the recruiter. You found all of us, so if you and Izan can’t find her, how am I supposed to? I know she was the Architect before me, and the artifacts in which we found the first of the Machine’s bible pages were hers, but I don’t know anything else about her.”

  “Even though you don’t remember her, I have a feeling that if you reach out for her, you might feel something.”

  I sat there blinking at him for a small eternity, hugging the stuffing out of the pillow.

  Yeah, I’d get right on that. If only I knew how.

  Chapter Nine

  I slipped into the hallway from the common room, my mind a giant freaked-out mess of thoughts. The seemingly impossible gauntlet I faced gave me a full body ache. Not to mention I still didn’t know what Baku wanted me to do for him, or why he’d called me the walking dead. At least the vitamin-filled slime shake I’d downed after Asher left to talk to Remy had perked me up somewhat.

  The quiet snick of a door drew my focus to the far end of the corridor where a slight girl with asymmetrical-cut deep purple hair stalked out of a room I’d never seen the inside of. Two other female guardians slipped out behind her. We needed keys that only Asher and Sophia had to get into those rooms, so how had those girls gotten in there? We couldn’t use the Shift from most places within the facility, only in the training and common rooms. It was Asher’s usual lockdown, and only he could manipulate the layers of the Shift. He tried to sell me the line that it was for our safety, so nobody could pop into our bedrooms without an invitation, but I thought it had more to do with control.

  The purple-haired girl held her finger to her glossed lips, winked, and ran in the opposite direction with light springing steps, the other two on her heels. Her black combat boots, laced up to her knees, made no sound on the tile, and her multitone gray fatigues and dark gray T-shirt worked like camouflage against the dreary walls. She stopped at another of the perpetually locked doors. Blue tattoos lit up her arm for an instant when she grabbed the knob, and then all three slipped inside the room.

  She could use her energy to open locks? Hot damn, could I do that? After testing a few of the doors, summoning my storm a little and getting exactly nowhere, I gave up and went to the wardrobe room. I stored her skill away in my mental arsenal for later. Something told me I might need it.

  I stepped into the warehouse-sized closet full of plastic-covered hangers on a conveyor belt like they have at the dry cleaners. Sophia, with her bright, streaked hair, rushed around, outfitting what appeared to be most of the Machine, about fifty sentinels and soldiers in total.

  Since when did the soldiers get to go hunting? They were another class of guardian that included Sophia, who supported the sentinels in the hunt. Maybe this was a good thing, a sign of small changes. Or maybe a result of my latest mistake, calling for numbers. What if one of them died? What could I have done differently in Chicago? Damn Izan and his trippy shit.

  Angry voices carried over the low, anxious murmuring of the crowd. As I walked in, all conversation stopped, and every set of eyes stared at me. Probably because we’d locked up the Colonel. Gah, I’d totally forgotten about that booby-trapped quagmire I still needed to navigate. Awkward.

  They started blinking out into the Shift in small groups, most shooting me sharp stares before they departed.

  Remy moved his bulk in front of me. “Never seen the sentinels so outta sorts.”

  “Raldad told me they’re afraid I’m going to kill them all, which is ridiculous. How can they have been hanging around me for months and not know I’m not into violence?”

  Sophia marched over in her skinny jeans and lacy yellow camisole-style top with one hand on her hip and one gesturing at my skirt. “Care to explain this, huh? Do you have any idea how hard I worked on that dress?”

  Given their alert-but-not-freaked state, I assumed Asher hadn’t yet spilled the beans about what Izan had told me. I shrugged. “King Kong here threw me over a car.”

  “You what?” She gaped at him, having to crane her neck back to look him in the eyes, and I chuckled when the tattooed giant shrank back from her.

  “The wraith coming for her,” he said, cowering before the dainty girl. “I didn’ mean to do it so hard.”

  It was like watching a lion bow down to a kitten. “That only gets funnier every time I see it,” I said, glad I could still find humor in anything. “I wish you two would admit that you like each other. I’m sure Sophia is your conduit, Remy, and I need your help now more than ever.”

  “That’s not funny.” Sophia inched away from the big guy, folding her arms together. “Don’t even joke about that. I’m not his anything, and I’m too weak in power to help anyone.”

  I glanced up at Remy, who stood so still, I considered checking him for a pulse. “You know we all need to find our matches, and the only way to do that is by touching and sharing power. It’s part of starting the Machine, I know it, and…we’re kind of in a hurry.” I couldn’t begin to guess who mine would be. It was possible Asher hadn’t even recruited the guy yet, which would explain why I kept fizzling with every guardian who dared to let me test him out. Maybe once I found Mr. Right, I’d be strong enough to beat Baku.

  “Don’ think that’s a good idea, kolohe,” Remy said, cocking his head as if tossing what I’d said around his mind.

  Sophia shook her head, shaking free a few strands of aqua hair from her knot. “I see that look in your eye, and you can forget it. I’ll do almost anything for you, but no skin contact. I won’t do that.”

  “Why not? What better way to convince the rest of the Machine of what we need to do than to show them the power you two can create togethe
r? Attraction is part of the connection, and you two are obviously drawn to each other.”

  “No way. I can’t, so don’t ask me to.” She rushed off into the mile-long rack of plastic-covered hangers.

  I turned back to Remy. “Why did she bolt as if I asked her to juggle grenades?” I asked.

  He swiped a giant tattooed hand over his shaved head. “Something happen the night of her induction. Real personal. Maybe she talk to you about it. If she want touch me again, then I do it, but I won’ force her, ever.”

  “Uh…yeah, sure.” What could have happened to squick her out so badly? She wanted to touch him; it was written all over her every time she shared air with the guy. I guess I needed to add therapist to my job description.

  Considering the girl I’d seen in the hall, I asked, “Hey, do you know that soldier who has purple hair?”

  “Don’ say much, about as big around as a twig?” Remy said as one of the soldiers, a redhead named Kyle, approached.

  “Yeah, that’s her,” I said.

  “We call her Iris ’cause the color of her hair. She’s never said a word since she been here, but she sneak around like nobody I ever saw.”

  I scratched at my bandaged shoulder. “Iris, huh. Is she deaf?”

  “Who know? Every time I try to get close to her, figure her out, she disappear. That girl spookier than a creaky old house.”

  Kyle stopped beside me. The slender guy stood a few inches taller than me. “Are you afraid she’s after you like the Colonel?” he asked. “I kind of overheard your conversation, sorry.”

  “No, nothing like that. I just have this feeling I’m going to need her help, but I’m not really sure why yet.” I listed the CliffsNotes version of our Izan/Baku predicament for them.

  Remy stared after where Sophia had gone, his legs tensed as if they planned on rushing to her with or without him. “We have only two day to get strong?” Sharp, violent words rushed out of him in his native language. “Tell me what to do. You say, I do it.”

  “Holy shit, this is bad.” Kyle paced back and forth behind Remy. I had a weird moment of déjà vu, that I knew Kyle from somewhere other than the Machine. We’d never gone on a job together; I’d only seen him around the facility. Weird. Was that one of my instincts talking to me? If so, how did it help me? No freakin’ idea. I would have asked him, but if he’d been wiped from my mind, I’d undoubtedly been wiped from his, too.

  “We might have more time than that, but we have no idea how soon Baku will become Super Dragon Mantis,” I said. “Izan said the more souls he eats, the stronger he’ll get, so we have to assume he’s out there gobbling them up as fast as he can swallow. What I need you to do, Remy, is work things out with Sophia.”

  He sighed hard and loud. “That one gonna take time, but you talk to her. She trust you.” If only I didn’t have a mountain to climb first.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to her. I’m not sure I could do this without you guys. You’re the only two in my life who make complete sense to me.”

  Asher came toward us, and judging by his sour puss, his talk with the other sentinels hadn’t gone well. Kyle tensed as if expecting a fight, but he stayed beside me and stood his ground. The remaining stragglers in the room zapped away into the Shift to hunt in pairs, but not before they launched a few visual razor blades in my direction. Scared, pissed, or a mixture of both? Fantastic.

  “Don’t worry about them now,” Asher said. “The Colonel’s stunt last night has put us back further in the trust department than when we started three weeks ago. All of them deny knowing who their conduit is, and when I asked them to find out…let’s just say I don’t foresee any matches in the near future, for any of them.”

  “Not surprising,” I said, “but disappointing all the same. Somehow I need to convince them to accept their places in the Machine.” I wished Asher and I hadn’t been alone when we’d faced Marcus, so someone other than Remy and Sophia would believe what we said about him.

  “We make them see,” Remy said.

  “In a matter of days? Sorry, but there aren’t any magic glasses that’ll make them see what they need to. Whatever that is. I feel like a blind girl wandering around a room full of razor blades. No matter which way I turn, I’ll leave a trail of blood.”

  “If Izan didn’ think you had it in you, he’da jus’ left us, right?” Remy patted me on the shoulder.

  “He has a point,” Asher said.

  Kyle swung around in front of me, his dull blue-and-jade soldier eyes open wide, eager. If I believed the likely fake parts of the bible, which I didn’t, he fell low on the power scale according to the lack of brightness in his eyes. Somehow I knew that was a lie; I just didn’t know how to prove it yet, or how to bring the lower-ranking ones up to their full potential, but I had to figure it out soon.

  “I think I can set up security, some sort of early-warning system,” Kyle said. “Maybe a little internet spying, to help us find the wraiths without waiting for our senses to pick them up, and maybe I can do some research on what Baku’s body has been up to lately. It might help you find your mom, if nothing else.”

  I blinked at him. “You’re a tech guy, huh?”

  His brow wrinkled up. “Uh…I guess so? My gut’s telling me that’s what I need to be doing right now, anyway. I need to hit the true reality and find some stuff, set up a station somewhere for me to work from. I don’t think I can get online while in the Shift.”

  “That is the best idea I’ve heard in a year,” I said, cataloging yet another skill in our arsenal that my Spidey senses were sure I’d need later. “Keep it to yourself for now until we know what guardians are siding with the Colonel and which ones want to live.”

  Kyle bowed to me and left before I could tell him not to do that.

  “Let’s go, Plaid,” Asher said. Having his brothers-in-arms accuse me of being a traitor had to put a damper on his mood. To Remy, he said, “See to it they stay in line. Use force if necessary. Make sure we have somewhere to come back to.” If we come back hung out there unsaid.

  Remy kissed my forehead. “Kick ass, Addy.”

  “Yeah, I will,” I said, giving a lame laugh that would have convinced exactly no one that I believed my words wholeheartedly.

  Hold on, Mom. I’m coming.

  Chapter Ten

  After a quick wash in the bathroom, I hastily dressed in black yoga pants and a black tank, about all I could stand against my newly bandaged cuts. Asher had been my shadow the whole time, probably afraid someone loyal to the Colonel would send an assassin after me. God, what a mess.

  I emerged from the circular curtain that served as our changing area in the wardrobe room, trying to sort out the chaotic emotions eating at me.

  “I have this nasty feeling in my gut, but I don’t know why,” I said to Asher. “It’s not about everyone’s doubt, or even Baku. I think it has to do with my mom. Am I afraid she won’t like me? Did she do something terrible to me and a part of me remembers? Why am I dreading this so much? If I can even find her.” I stared at him as if he was the last real thing in a world of nightmares.

  He came away from the wall he’d been holding up with his backside, now dressed in dark jeans and a deep blue button-down. He could have worn a burlap sack and still looked divine. I felt like a ragamuffin beside him. His scent had changed lately. Something was missing, but I couldn’t put my finger on what.

  “Your relationship with her was complicated and mostly nonexistent, but I don’t think it’s because she didn’t want you. Look, we’ll talk about this later. No more stalling. Reach out for her with all you’ve got, not with your mind, but with your soul. Let go of the fear and everything else and concentrate on the feelings her name stirs in you.”

  Trusting him to keep me safe, I closed my eyes and set my senses free into the Shift. The false realities were still cold, vast, and deep, but I wasn’t looking for wraiths at the moment. Little pings came back to me, those warm threads that, if I followed them, would lead me to the Machine’
s missing bible pages. For some reason, I could sense the pages and the artifacts they’d been hidden in, probably by my mother. The book had belonged to her, apparently, and I’d loved it to pieces when I was young, as if my soul had used it as a surrogate for her.

  With muted grief in my heart, I concentrated on that feeling, but the book threads tugged on me, in all directions, harder and harder until I couldn’t think of anything else but getting to them.

  “It’s not working,” I blurted out of sheer frustration.

  “Then keep trying,” Asher said. “Concentrate.”

  I opened my eyes, rubbing my temples. “The pages keep getting in the way. It feels like they’re going to tear me apart. It wasn’t like this before my storm changed the day we faced Marcus. What’s happening to me?”

  Asher crowded me. “Changed how?”

  I shook my head, unable to deny the pages. “Can’t talk about that now. I think my instincts have reared their heads, and I either listen to them, or my brain is going to come right out through my eyebrows.” But what about Mom? What if I didn’t find her in time, or I couldn’t save her? What was I missing?

  Izan had told me to follow my instincts. Maybe the pages would lead me to Mom, like bread crumbs. There were probably dozens still missing, so we needed to move.

  I held out my hand to Asher. “I know you can follow me through the Shift, but it’ll be easier if you let me take you with me, because I have a feeling I’ll be going really fast,” I said.

  “Did you find her?” He stared at my proffered hand as if it might turn into a steel trap with jagged teeth.

  “I think the pages will lead us to her. Seriously, I need to go now.” I pressed my free palm to my head. “Ugh, it hurts.”

  He exhaled and set his hand on me the way I’d touch a person with tissue paper for skin. I hated that touch more than his not touching me. I assumed whatever vibe my energy emitted gave him the heebs.