Seer

by Ashley Maker

  The three of us walk down a long stretch of white hallway with fluorescent lights overhead. I focus on putting one foot in front of the other until we stop walking in front of Room 34.

  Inside is a medical examination room. Nothing spectacular about it. The exam table’s white paper crackles when I sit down. Perched on the end, I bob my feet a few times before crossing one ankle over the other. Kade stands beside me, arms crossed over his chest while he looks at the clock on the wall, and Laila sits in the only chair available other than a round stool. A stomach-churning mixture of let’s-get-this-over-with and please-oh-please-let-me-disappear swirls within me.

  The door swings open.

  A middle-aged woman in a white coat walks in. She’s tall, with long, sleek black hair that complements her brown skin and is pulled back in a low ponytail. She glances up from the clipboard she’s holding, flashing a glimpse of brown eyes with the smallest evidence of crow’s feet at the edges. There’s a curious expression in them, and skepticism, too, visible in the tightness at the corners. With one last glance at something on the clipboard, she lowers it and extends a hand.

  “Hello, I’m Doctor Miles.” She appraises me before grabbing a pen from behind her ear and jotting notes onto the clipboard. “It’s good to see you again, Clarice. The last time I saw you, you were an infant.”

  “Excuse me?” I blurt out. “I’ve never been here before.”

  “Mmm,” she says, writing down something else. “I was interning when your mother delivered you in the maternity ward. Your birth was the first I assisted on.” She glances up and smiles. “I’ve never quite forgotten that experience. Or you.”

  Her words produce chilling numbness. I try to remember what my birth certificate looked like—what it said, exactly—but I only saw it once and can’t remember anything other than the beige color of the paper and the fact I’d been a six-pound baby.

  Dr. Miles places the clipboard on the desk next to Laila’s chair and walks over to the little counter with the sink. She washes her hands, dries them, then pulls on a pair of blue rubber gloves. “So, what happened to those arms?”

  “I scratched them.”

  She gestures for me to hold them up. “Your medical file didn’t indicate a history of self-mutilation. Is this the first time?”

  “I wasn’t trying to mutilate myself.” I hold both my arms out, wincing as she begins her examination.

  Lips pursed together, she returns to the counter and arranges an assortment of medical supplies on a tray, each item clinking against the metal. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “Something was on me. I tried to get it off.”

  “That’s all?”

  “Yes.” I sigh, but her skeptical look makes me say, “No. There was this gold stuff. It was all over the ground and all over my skin.”

  Her hand hovers above the tray with a bottle of ointment. “Gold stuff?”

  “I don’t know how else to describe it.”

  She nods and steps back over with a bottle of something that makes my nostrils sting when she unscrews the lid. “I see. This might burn a little.”

  After smearing foul-smelling liquid onto some gauze, she dabs at the scrapes. Air hisses in through my teeth. I turn my head away, eyes closed tight with pain. Nothing has ever stung like this. It’s like she poured liquid fire straight into my veins. A whimper escapes my throat.

  Slight weight presses against the top of my head and moves downward, stroking over my hair. I squint through half-lidded eyes, my sight blurry with tears. Kade cringes when we make eye contact. Teeth gritted so tight my jaw hurts, I lean in closer, resting my forehead against his chest.

  “What is that stuff?” I half growl, half cry when Dr. Miles starts in with another round of the agony.

  “We developed it here. It’s like antiseptic,” she says, “but stronger. It’ll keep you from developing an infection.”

  Warm tears seep silently down my cheeks, and it feels like forever until she’s done. Once the scrapes have been cleaned out, she applies a cream that makes my arms feel cold as ice. Relief surges through me as the scrapes start numbing.

  “That will help them heal quickly.” She applies a thin layer of white gauze to my arms, then wraps them loosely with Ace bandages. “All set. Now, I just need to take your vitals and you’ll be good to go. Not so bad, hmm?”

  Hah.

  After looking in my ears, mouth, eyes, and nose, she listens to my heartbeat and checks my blood pressure. “Everything’s clear, although your heart rate is elevated. Try to keep yourself calm over the next few days.”

  This lady is a riot.

  She shoots a stern look at Laila and Kade. “Be sure to tell the headmaster what I said. If I have to admit her to keep that heart rate regulated, I will. We don’t want a repeat of the Chambers Incident.”

  The door has barely closed behind Dr. Miles before Laila is on her feet. “Do you have any idea what she was talking about?” she asks Kade.

  He shakes his head. “I’ve never heard of the Chambers Incident before.”

  “Neither have I.”

  Eyes darting between the two of them, I say, “Well, I wish somebody would tell me. What did she mean when she said she’d admit me?” My gaze settles on Kade. “You promised.”

  There’s a hard look in his eyes. “And I meant it. She was talking about admitting you here at the infirmary.”

  “No.” My voice rises. “No way. I don’t want to be admitted anywhere.”

  In a calming, almost parental tone, Laila says, “I’m sure everything will be fine, but we need to get moving if we’re going to make it to your briefing on time.”

  Relieved for a reason to leave the infirmary, I don’t argue with her. On the trek back across the lodge, I feel as numb as the ointment made my arms. Despite Kade’s promise, I keep imagining goons jumping out from around every corner with a straight jacket and the keys to lock me away. Unless I’ve already gone crazy and all of this is a hallucination.

  At this point, I’m not sure which scenario would be worse.

  Before I can go too far down that line of thought, I glance down and catch sight of the thick bandages. They remind me this is real, because pain isn’t supposed to happen in dreams. My heart sings in relief when we pass the hallway to the cells.

  Kade breaks the silence. “You really don’t know anything about the Chambers thing? Your dad’s never mentioned it?”

  “No, I don’t remember anything about an incident.” Laila frowns. “The name is familiar, though. I know I’ve heard it before.”

  With a sigh, Kade says, “I feel like I have, too.”

  Laila snaps her fingers, eyes lighting up. “Alecia Chambers! Two summers ago….”

  They both abruptly stop walking.

  Kade’s eyes narrow. “You don’t think…”

  “What else could it be? How many other Chambers are there at the compounds?” Her voice rises in excitement. “And then how many of those died two summers ago? Wouldn’t that warrant the use of the word incident?”

  “Was she a Seer?”

  “I don’t remember. I think she might have been.”

  They both look at me, and I’m staring at them with my mouth gaped open. Somebody died?

  The knot in my chest becomes so tight I don’t think it will ever unravel again.

  24

  A large, draped window admits a pathway of light across the beige carpet of the headmaster’s office, its brightness glaring off the surface of portraits and plaques on the walls. Mathias stands up from behind the L-shaped cherry desk in the far corner, his gaze fastening first on my face and then on my bandages.

  “Good to see you again, Miss Palmer,” he says, in such a serious tone it doesn’t sound like a good thing at all.

  I nod. “Mathias.”

  He catches Laila’s eye. “Go find the instructors and fill them in with what’s going on. I’ll catch up with you over dinner. And tell your mother I need her to come in here.”

&nbs
p; Looking miffed, Laila says, “But don’t you want to know what I have to say about what happened?”

  “Go find the instructors and send your mother in,” he repeats with quiet authority.

  With a frown more closely resembling a sneer, Laila flips her long hair over one shoulder and storms out of the office, slamming the door behind her with such force it rattles in the frame.

  Other than rolling his eyes ever so slightly, Mathias’ stoic expression remains unchanged. His lips pinch at the corners as he glances at the clock on the wall. The room is so quiet I can practically hear the second-hand ticking, even though I’m standing too far away for that to be possible. After a full two minutes of awkward silence, the door opens and a woman wearing a smart black business suit and low heels walks in. Light brown hair brushes her shoulders, curling at the ends. Her green eyes flicker around the room, meeting mine briefly before landing on Mathias.

  “Finally, you’re here.” Mathias gestures between the woman and me. “Miss Palmer, I’d like to introduce my wife, Pam. She’s my secretary and will be taking notes of this meeting.”

  Pam smiles. “I’ve heard much about you since your arrival. It’s nice to finally meet you, dear.”

  “You too.” It’s hard to smile back when her gaze keeps slipping to my bandaged arms.

  Mathias indicates for Pam to take a seat at the desk. She crosses the room, the floral scent of perfume floating along behind her. After settling into the chair, she opens a laptop computer and begins clacking away at the keyboard.

  Only after the typing stills does Mathias turn back to me. “It’s been brought to my attention that an unusual event occurred this afternoon.”

  That’s one way to describe it.

  When I don’t immediately answer, he continues with, “Would you care to elaborate, Miss Palmer?”

  Wow, I actually do want to tell him. Maybe then he’ll be able to tell me what I saw and what’s happening to me.

  “Gold,” I say after I’ve psyched myself up for the big reveal. “I saw gold, and it was everywhere. It was on me, too. All over my skin.”

  Pam’s clacking stops abruptly. A glance passes between her and Mathias, who narrows his eyes and sounds unconvinced when he says, “You saw gold?”

  “That’s what I just said. Trails of it everywhere.”

  He frowns and rubs a scar on the top of his left hand. When he catches me looking, he stops. “Well, Miss Palmer, seeing something appear out of thin air would certainly provoke a physical reaction from most people.”

  Thank you, Captain Obvious.

  Mathias addresses Kade. “Were you there?

  “No, sir.” Kade’s standing so close his voice sends an electric shiver down my spine. “Laila called me right after it happened. I missed the entire incident.”

  “Can anybody tell me what exactly the ‘incident’ was? ‘Cause I’m really starting to question my own sanity over here.”

  “At this time, I cannot,” Mathias says. I give him an oh-really look, and he adds, “You aren’t displaying the usual Seer traits. More observation is needed before I can tell you what it is that you saw.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I’m afraid I am not.”

  A sick feeling churns. “You’re saying you can’t tell me anything about what’s happening to me?”

  “There are things I could tell you, but I’m not sure you’re ready to hear them.”

  More churning. “Try me.”

  He glances at the bandages. “Very well. I’ll start by telling you only two other Seers have shown the exesto gene. One is dead. The other is on a compound in Oklahoma. You potentially having the exesto changes everything.”

  I try to swallow back the sick feeling ascending upward from my stomach. “Because of the Chambers Incident?”

  His eyebrows shoot toward his crow’s peak hairline. “How did you hear of that?”

  “Dr. Miles mentioned it.” I stand up straighter and inhale deep. “If you want me to go along with all of this, I expect you to answer some of my questions now, especially when it is my life on the line.”

  Mathias seems to consider me carefully. Though his gaze is boring into mine, I refuse to break eye contact. Too much is at stake, and I’m sick of all the secrets.

  His expression doesn’t soften. “I’ll answer what I feel I can.”

  “Fine. What is the Chambers Incident?”

  “Two years ago, Alecia Chambers from the Tennessee compound began her first stages of the expertus,” Mathias says, reciting the words like cold facts. “She was a child of a pure Seer pairing, but that didn’t prepare her for the things she saw when she started phasing. Things such as X-ray vision. As it turns out, she was quite weak—bad genetics, I suppose. Right in the middle of one of her classes, during a phase, her heart rate increased beyond sustainable levels, causing a heart attack.”

  My hands start shaking. I can’t keep the waver out of my voice. “And then what happened?”

  Mathias looks away, tracing the scar on his left hand before he frowns and rubs both hands together. “Miss Chambers never recovered. The damage from the heart attack put her in a vegetative state. Her parents took her off life support.”

  A sudden coldness floods my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut but can’t block out his words. She was just like me, and she died. This whole time, I’ve been thinking they were the threat, but I’m the one with a ticking time bomb in my chest.

  “So you see, Miss Palmer, that’s why it’s so important we know what’s going on. I’d like you to report to Dr. Miles anytime you feel the least bit poorly. I don’t mean to frighten you, but you’re right about your life being on the line. We don’t want anything to happen to you that can be prevented.”

  “Nobody can prevent a heart attack.”

  “That’s true. However, we can prevent you from being under extra stress. Is this the first time you’ve experienced something out of the ordinary?”

  And there it is. One of the questions I didn’t want him to ask.

  Being careful with the bandages, I touch my throat and look at the window behind him. “No, it’s not the first time.”

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

  I stare at him in disbelief. “Maybe because I don’t want to be a Seer? I don’t want any part of this. The day we met, you and your goon knocked me out and locked me up. Why in the world would you think I’d confide in any of you after that? That I’d tell someone my eyes go all haywire and I can see through the stupid wall sometimes?”

  The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. I cringe and wait for Mathias to react. At first, he just stares with raised eyebrows. Then he smiles—he actually smiles—and rubs a hand across his chin.

  “Did you get that last part down?” he asks Pam.

  She nods. Her voice dips low. “Every word.”

  “Make a note to cross reference that with the boy in Fairview, would you?” His smile disappears as his attention shifts back to me. “You’re new here and you’ve had a shock, so I’m going to let your insolence slide this time. However, I cannot stress enough that holding things in and keeping secrets can only hurt your health in the long run. Let me make myself clear when I say I will not lose an exesto Seer over her inability to get over herself and the past. Do you understand?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, I get that you’re in charge here.” I catch myself from saying they’re the ones who have given me these secrets to begin with.

  “Good. Now, if you’ve exhausted all your questions, I suggest you go get some rest. I expect you to resume your regular training tomorrow.”

  “Wait.”

  He lets out a rushed sigh of a breath. “Yes?”

  “I…I want to talk to my dad. Can I call him?”

  The look in Mathias’ eyes softens. “Your father is in transit right now, but I’ll let him know of your request when his assignment is complete.” He glances at what looks like a pile of paperwork on the desk and begins ushering me to the d
oor.

  I hold a hand up to stop him. “What assignment? I thought my father was retired.”

  Mathias jerks his gaze to mine and freezes. After a second’s hesitation, he clears his throat and opens the door. “His skills were needed, so he returned to the field. I really must see you out. Kieran, return her to her room and then come find me when you’re done. I need to talk to you about the mentorship.”

  “Of course,” Kade says.

  The headmaster nods in my direction. “Good day, Miss Palmer.”

  I catch a glimpse of Pam studying me with ruby lips pursed and arched brows furrowed before Mathias closes the office door, cutting off the hesitant reply still lingering on my lips.

  That condescending jerk. He did not just shut the door in my face. I raise a hand to flip him the bird, even though I know he can’t see it, but I can’t because the stupid bandage won’t let me bend the other fingers down far enough.

  “Can you believe him? All of his” —I lower my voice— “‘get over herself and the past’ nonsense. It’s not like I asked for any of this.”

  “Would you rather be with your dad?”

  His question is like a smack to the face.

  “I don’t know.” I blow out a breath, a familiar ache settling in my chest. “I’d rather be with my mom, but I know that’s not going to happen.”

  Kade reaches over like he wants to take my hand, but stops short of doing it. The pain I feel is mirrored in his eyes. “I’m not going to say it ever goes away, but I promise it gets easier.”

  “I hope so.”

  He touches his fingertips to mine, obviously being careful with the bandages. “I should get you back to your room.”

  Most of the walk is quiet, both of us absorbed in thoughts we don’t share. Halfway up the spiral staircase in the girl’s dorm, Kade looks over and says, “Thanks for covering for me, by the way.”

  Heat steals across my skin. “I almost blew it. I didn’t mean to tell him about that one time. Do you think he suspected anything?”

  “Not at all. In fact—” His words cut off when we reach the last step.

  Following his gaze, I find Tarry leaning against the wall by Laila’s door. My muscles tense as he straightens and walks toward us. How much of that did he hear?