by Lynn Vroman
“I don’t give a shit about my energy. Didn’t expect to live more than once, anyway.” I handed my half-empty plate to Farren, no longer hungry. “Besides, Avery said I’m in trouble regardless of how good I live this time around. My energy’ll read Tainted.” Mom reached over Farren and squeezed my leg as my voice got higher. “Do you think we should do nothing? Write her off as a liar?”
As my temper got hotter, Wilma managed to stay calm, albeit irritated. “Now, I didn’t say that either, girl.”
“Then what’re you trying to say, Wilma, ‘cause all I hear is nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes and came right into my personal space, bending until our faces were level. “What’s got you so anxious to start a war?”
Stunned, I sat back. Farren gave me a sympathetic punch on the shoulder the same time Mom felt the need to come to my aid. “That’s unfair.”
Wilma didn’t even look at her. She kept me pinned with her blue daggers, waiting for my reply.
Well…shit. She found me out. Shame warmed my face while I inspected my fingernails. “I’m…having a hard time figuring out the answer to the question.” Wilma backed up as I raised my gaze to meet hers. “What do you think we should do?”
After another sigh, she re-crossed her arms, hitting us with her stare. “Well, you’re right about one thing. We can’t sit around and do nothing. But that means everyone who’s close to her,” she pointed at me, “will be in danger whether it comes from Avery or Cassondra.”
Shame dug in deeper, setting up camp in the pit of my stomach. I’d never even considered Mom, Jake, and… “We need to tell Belva.”
Farren stiffened next to me before handing the plate to Mom, already heading to the door. “I’ll go get her.”
The door slammed on Wilma’s command for him to sit back down. “That’s just great.” She ran a hand through her messy curls. “Another lovelorn Protector to contend with.”
I barely registered her dig. But she was right about one thing–my priorities were screwed up. Something I’d worry about later. “What’s the plan, then? We can’t leave them here alone.”
Before Wilma could answer, Jake spoke up. “I won’t let anything happen to your mother, Lena. She’ll be safe with me.”
With a tight smile and a quick look at Wilma, who nodded, I said, “Maybe, if one shows up, but Tarek wasn’t the strongest, not by a long shot, and neither is Farren.”
Jake’s shoulders sagged when he looked to Wilma who again nodded in agreement. No time like when he’s down to kick him harder. “You can’t protect her, not alone.” I stood, wanting to be on level with Wilma when I addressed her. “Avery said Cassondra wants revenge.”
“I know what she told you. What do you think? Farren came to Arcus for a vacation?”
“Yeah, so I’ll bet if anyone can help us see if Avery is lying, Teenesee would.”
She stayed silent, worrying her bottom lip.
I didn’t let her in on the little fact that Farren and I had everything figured out already. But Wilma might not see it our way. She needed to be handled delicately, like a thorny flower. Guilt ate at me, though, because my main objective was still Tarek.
“Farren can stay here.” I looked to Jake. “With you two, Mom and Belva should be safe. We won’t be gone for long, just long enough to see if Avery is lying.”
Wilma walked to the window, leaning against the sill. “We definitely need to have a chat with her. And…shit. I guess you need to come, too. Safest place for you is by me.”
Wow, that was easy.
“All we have to do is wait for Farren to come back, then.” Really, I tried hard not to smile. Cassondra could be on her way right now, but…Tarek.
She didn’t say anything while giving me that hard stare she kept for special occasions–like when I really pissed her off.
Squirming a little, I went to stand by Mom. She wrapped an arm around my waist, while Jake snatched my hand. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the angry Protector perched on the windowsill. “What?”
She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head.
“What, goddamn it?”
“What happens next, Lena? After we talk to Teenesee?”
“Ah, if Avery’s telling the truth, Cassondra needs to be stopped.”
“Uh-huh, and who’s supposed to do that?”
With a shrug, I held out my hands. “Well, you and Farren. Who else?”
Her frown deepened. “I see, and what do you think you’re gonna do?”
My own anger crept in. I peeled Mom’s arm from my waist, stalking the few feet to the window. “Where’re you going with this?”
If I thought for a second me looming over her had any effect, I must’ve been high. As if enjoying the challenge, she stood, meeting my glare. But we all knew my tall, lean body was no match for her chubby, short one. “Sit. Down.”
I thought about refusing her. The look on her face, and the knowledge that she could pretty much make me do anything she wanted, changed my mind. The attitude stayed as I flopped on the couch, my arms crossed. Wasn’t gonna admit to pouting, though.
When she hovered over me, the frown still in place, I managed to throw a little more irritation her way. “Well?”
Uh-oh. I trusted the frown more than the smile. “So, the plan is–if the Guide isn’t lying–for me and Farren to waltz into Exemplar, kill Cassondra? While you, what? Hide in Arcus with Tarek, maybe?”
The squirming took over again. “Not kill her… I don’t know, go above her head? Try to close the lines? Avery said–”
“I know what she said! Close the lines? Going against Exemplar is a death sentence.” She bent low, her voice getting lower. “Whatever move we make will start a war, girl. If it’s true some Exemplians like Avery are tired of the rules, they’ll rebel as soon as an aggressive action is taken against any Synod member. And do you think those self-righteous assholes are gonna sit back and let a bunch of unhappy campers ruin what it took centuries to create?”
“I…” Yeah, hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“And what’re you gonna do when you get to Empyrean and Zander finds out you’re there? Say, ‘nice to see ya, but I’m off to be with my boyfriend’?”
Now that question threw me. I hadn’t even considered him. “What do you care about Zander?”
Her lip curled and disdain deepened the blue of her eyes. “He hasn’t stopped fighting for you, not even for a minute.”
I leaned back on the flowered cushions. “He made his choice, and I’m not gonna feel responsible for it.”
Her eyes widened and her heavy cheeks burned red. “He made his choice?”
Oh, no.
She waved her hand and the plate on the floor crashed against the front door. Another wave brought me off the couch, suspending me in the air. Mom’s scream filled the room as she tried to come to my side, but Jake grabbed her arm and shook his head.
“You are his choice. He gave up his world…went against his own Protector, for you.”
I couldn’t even kick my feet, just stayed frozen in the air. Her rage scared me a little. It also forced me to search for the right thing to say to calm her down. “Why’re you so mad?”
“That you can’t see why pisses me off more.” Her hand waved, and I landed in a crumbled heap on the floor. “You don’t get how serious this is. If that woman told you the truth, she risked her life–another person you can add to the list of people who gave up everything for you.”
Ouch. That hurt. I swallowed. “I understand exactly what people have done for me.”
She grabbed the front of my shirt long enough to lift me to my feet, waving at Mom who broke Jake’s hold.
“Let me go, Wilma.” Mom stood, frozen by Wilma’s hand, seething.
“You’re done making excuses for her. You all are.” Wilma returned her attention to me, and I held my eyes level with hers, refusing to let the tears fall. “After everything, you’ve learned nothing. Yeah, you found a backbone. So what? What good is it whe
n your one goal is to find a way to be with a man? And you wanna know something else? The man you put above everyone understands the problem. He gets it.”
The tears escaped, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop them. I searched out Mom, whose eyes filled too, but she stood frozen, unable to help.
I willed my lips to stop trembling. “I do get it, Wilma.”
Faced with her disappointment–the anger was easier to swallow. “No, you don’t. All you see is an opportunity.” She wrapped a hand around my wrist and closed her eyes. After a few seconds of reading my thoughts, she said, “And no amount of denying is going to change what’s inside.” Her pointer finger pierced my heart. “Right here.”
She straightened, waving her hand at Mom as she stormed into the kitchen. I tried, really tried, to staunch the tears leaking from my eyes and running down my cheeks. But one look at Mom’s tortured face and Jake’s resigned one, as though he agreed with Wilma, gave my pity party permission to continue.
Jake stayed where he was, watching, but my mother rushed over, throwing her arms around me, guiding me to the couch. “She’s wrong, baby.” She stroked my mussed hair.
Her words made me cry harder. “No, she isn’t.” I buried my face and let her console me anyway. I tried not to get her blue blouse messy, but when I finally dragged myself from her arms, a big wet spot in the middle of her stomach proved my efforts futile. “Sorry.”
God, I so did not deserve the compassion swimming in her eyes. “Don’t be.” I knew she wasn’t talking about the wet spot. “It’s okay to be in love, Lena–and it’s okay to be young and think about nothing else. We’ve all been there.”
Wilma’s booming voice, a little raspier than usual, came from the kitchen. “Stop coddling her, Jacie.”
Mom’s eyes hardened, but she refused to look away from me. “She’s my daughter, and I can say and do what I please.” She swung around to meet the scowl of probably one of the strongest people not only in Earth, but in a few more dimensions, too. “Her past is yours, her present and future are ours. She’s eighteen, for God’s sake! What do you expect from her?”
Silence.
That fueled Mom to keep going. “She’s always had to sacrifice, and I think it’s about time she does find some enjoyment in this life.”
Wilma crossed her arms and gave the front door a glance. “If she doesn’t get her head out of her ass, this life isn’t going to last much longer.”
Mom stood, her tiny fists balled and ready to take on my bored-looking Protector leaning against the doorjamb. But as soon as she took a step forward, the door burst open.
Belva came rushing to my side, her face bright red for a change. Farren closed the door, satisfaction lighting his eyes. She opened her mouth undoubtedly to accuse Farren of being an asshole, but then her gaze met mine. “What’s wrong?” She threw her arms around my shoulders and crushed my face into her neck, patting my head. “What’d you do to her?”
Even though my face pressed into her rose-smelling skin, I knew exactly whom she trapped with her accusing hazel eyes. After a few more renegade tears, I pulled away. “It’s okay, pal.” Scrubbing away the remaining moisture on my cheeks, I continued, “Listen, could you stay here for a day or two?”
Belva’s glare remained planted on Wilma, answering me with her own question. “Why do you still put up with that bitch? She’s a fucking lunch lady.”
As Wilma’s hand went up, Farren went to stand in front of my friend. “Please, Wilma.”
Wilma dropped her hand, giving him a sneer. “Then control her, or I might relieve some stress.”
Farren nodded, sitting next to Belva. “We need you to stay here, with me, for a while.”
She gave him a scathing look, her lip curling. Whatever happened on the way here had her looking at him with much less enthusiasm than usual. “For what?”
He switched his attention from me to Wilma, a clear help-me message written all over his face. Since Wilma refused, smirking, I took over. Voice still a little unsteady, I said, “There are things I haven’t told you, stuff that sounds too crazy to be real.”
And how do we proceed from there, self?
She wanted to know, too. “What would those things be?”
“I…well…” As pissed off as I was at her, I looked to Wilma, pleading.
She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Oh, fine!” She stomped over to the couch. “I couldn’t care less if you stay or go, but these two–for some reason that’s completely beyond me–care enough to want you to live.”
My turn to comfort as Belva leaned into me, her body shaking. “What the hell’s she talking about?”
“Nice, Wilma.” I rubbed Belva’s arm. “There’s too much to explain, but know there are some dangerous people out there who’d do anything to make my life miserable, including hurting people I love.”
Her eyes, a little wild and a lot confused, searched mine. “So call the cops, right? Call the cops, Lena.”
“Ah, the people who don’t like me much… The cops can’t help.”
“Well, why not?”
“Because–”
“Enough!” Wilma grabbed my arm, yanking me off the couch and away Belva. With one more fluid move, she heaved my friend into Farren’s arms. “You take care of the details.” She raised her arm in the air and opened her fist, the tear screaming open.
Farren folded Belva into his arms, more restraining her than looking to comfort, as she screamed, the whites of her eyes taking over her entire face. I struggled against Wilma’s hold to show my dislike for her tactics. But it’d take more than me–like at least fifty of me and a few Farrens–to actually force Wilma to do anything.
She yanked me closer to her side as the wind picked us up off the ground. Belva screamed louder. I mouthed sorry, but couldn’t really feel anything except excitement. It didn’t matter that terror paled my best friend’s face.
I also didn’t consider how pissed Wilma was or how I’d prove to her that I cared about the situation. Because all I could think about was exactly what she accused me of.
ZANDER
Empyrean was as perfect as the picture I held sacred in my memory since Tarek brought me here, when he kissed me for the first time. We landed in an alley in the heart of a floating city. When we hit the main streets, I gawked while people shopped. Vendors called out, giving a good-natured ribbing to those who ignored their wares.
Wilma told me once when I asked about Empyrean’s evolution that even though the dimension surpassed Earth there wasn’t any visible evidence of modern technology. She stressed visible. From my first visit, I remembered running water and working bathrooms, but that was the extent of what I thought modern. Wilma also said Empyrean’s evolution was almost as high as Exemplar’s. The population here knew about dimensions, including what Exemplian Guides and Protectors were. Exemplar even considered Empyrean their “sister world.” I had asked her who would choose to live without convenience, and Wilma’s answer was an eye roll, followed by a snotty, “People who know what that shit does to humanity, that’s who.”
As I watched the way people interacted with each other–no interrupting phones, computers, or the stressed hustle that goes along with being technologically savvy–I finally got what she meant. I wouldn’t call the scene Utopian, especially with the few shoving matches in the middle of the street. Not to mention the two women obviously fighting over a smug guy, grinning like an idiot watching them go at it. I envied their passion, their desire to connect to something that didn’t need to be charged every four hours.
The smells coming from the food vendors made my stomach growl. Not the typical fast food, processed crap I ate every day. Don’t get me wrong, I liked that stuff, but the fresh fish twirling on spits and bread still steaming from time in the ovens made my mouth water. Clean food.
Wilma didn’t seem all that intrigued. She pulled me into the fray, and through it, heading toward a connecting bridge leading to Teenesee’s home. I let her drag me by the w
rist as I took in the cobblestone roads and bridges with all the enthusiasm of a two-year-old. The floating streets bouncing us around reminded me of my old waterbed without the frigid cold that went with it. The ground felt soft, too, due to the slight give of the cobblestone, yet the rock was as hard as pavement. Walking through the town was a perfect feeling of contrast.
“Do you feel that? When you walk, do you feel it?”
Wilma hadn’t said two words after handing my ass to me back home, and to be honest, it was the first time she’d ever given the silent treatment for longer than five minutes. I’d say anything to get her talking again, even if all she wanted to talk about was my bad attitude.
Relief loosened knots in my stomach when she decided to answer. “Yeah, I feel it.”
That was all she gave me. No smartass comments, no telling me to stop talking like an idiot, only a simple answer she’d give to anybody she didn’t much care about. The knots tightened right back up. “Wilma, you can’t stay pissed at me.”
She stopped when we made it to the backside of Teenesee’s manse, which deceptively looked like a small, quaint cottage from our vantage point. Wilma let go of my wrist and sighed. “I’m not pissed. Scared more like. For you, your family, Tarek, Farren, this place…every place I’ve ever been to. This is new territory for me. The walls are crumbling down, and I don’t have the strength to hold it all up.”
I didn’t expect that answer, not from the strongest person I’d ever known. Her fear sent the flags up in my brain. For some naïve reason, I thought she could take care of the problem, like she’d been taking care of everything for the past five months. Hell, my entire life–ah, lives.
Deep breath. “Well, you don’t need to hold them up alone.” I hugged her. Affection she wasn’t comfortable with, but indulged me when I needed it. As I squeezed, she swatted my back in an irregular pound-pat pattern. “I won’t disappoint you again.”
The awkward patting turned into a fierce hug. “You never disappoint me. Ever. You’ve been through too much, and you deserve to be happy…with Tarek or whatever else you want. I wish it could be that easy.”