He was suddenly very serious. “Yeah, you can. I promise. Or else I wouldn’t tell you that I think you should come with us.”
The firmness in his voice surprised her. “You think I should go?” She’d already decided she wasn’t going to go to Paris with them, but she realized that delivering the message to Jasper in person might be harder than she had anticipated.
“Yeah, I do. Actually, I’ve had to try pretty hard to convince them to even help you.” The humor was gone now, along with the playful grin.
Sarina wasn’t sure how to navigate the sudden change in tone. “Thanks, but I don’t think I need anyone’s help,” she said. “I mean, yeah, I’m bored out of my mind and everything, but I’m pretty sure that Queenie’s about to call me up to help out with some stuff. You know, use my powers and stuff for official Covenant business.”
Jasper’s eyes took on a strange look. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go meet the others.” The change of subject was a bit too sudden for comfort. He gave her arm a little squeeze, then let go and started making his way down the path that led to the parking lot. “You coming?”
She hesitated, but a moment later she found herself catching up to him. Sure, her plan had been just to say a quick hello to Jasper, not meet the whole group. But then again, they had come all this way to meet her. And they’d been waiting for over an hour already.
“So why’d you leave London all of a sudden?” she broke the silence as they walked.
“I had to get out of there and actually do something,” he said, confirming what yesterday’s messages had suggested. “Sorry I didn’t mention anything earlier, but I figured your chats were all being monitored.”
She nodded. It made sense. “And why Paris?”
“We’re going there to meet up with some others like us, other rogues who’ve been restricted from using their powers in any official capacity. We’re going to discuss what we can accomplish behind the scenes without official hero status.”
Seconds before they stepped into the parking lot, her view suddenly … cleared. Or shifted. Or something. Formless blotches of color blended into one another to reshape within a fraction of an instant. For the second time that morning, Sarina was left breathless by seeing powers in action. When she looked again, she saw that one of the tarp-covered army vehicles had transformed into a sizable and more luxurious-looking white station wagon. And it was surrounded by people.
None of them wore costumes. That looked a little odd to her at first, but she supposed there was no reason for incognito rogues to be in costume.
Sarina’s attention was immediately drawn to the twenty-something man who was leaning against the rear end of the vehicle, holding himself with an easy confidence bordering on smugness. His athletic frame towered a few inches over the others. Sarina could tell that he was the kind of guy who didn’t need remarkable looks to dominate a room with his presence. The stranger was wearing a pair of tight fitting black pants and a white shirt under a sleeveless dark jacket, and his wide-brimmed brown hat hinted at a point of origin overseas.
As Sarina and Jasper approached the wagon, Sarina surveyed the rest of the group in one quick glance. It consisted of a sturdy red-haired woman in her mid-twenties and boy with short dirty-blond hair who looked to be in his early teens. That caught her off guard. She wasn’t sure what exactly she’d expected, but certainly not some kid.
The redhead didn’t look impressed or enthusiastic about the newcomer. She couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Sarina, but the loose beige sweater she wore in combination with jean overalls didn’t give the impression that she cared about her looks.
That must be Tess, Jasper’s friend, Sarina thought, recalling a comment that he’d made a few minutes before. The boy was smirking, nibbling on a blade of grass as he gave Sarina an extensive head-to-toe inspection. His attention made her feel self-conscious so she crossed her arms over her chest.
Wait a minute, she thought with a frown. I thought they said there were four of them. Five with Jasper.
But before she could unravel the mystery, the man with the hat approached her, flashing a smile that showed a hint of teeth. He looked like he was in a cheery mood for someone who’d just driven fourteen hours for nothing.
“Nice magic trick, eh?” he drawled in Australian-accented English, referring to the group’s sudden appearance. “So … you’re that Wondergirl everyone’s talking about.”
Everyone’s talking about me? She hoped he was kidding.
“I’m Ace,” the Aussie told her.
“Nice to meet you,” Sarina replied politely. “All of you,” she added, looking around at the others. Tess didn’t meet her gaze.
Ace gestured in the direction of the station wagon. “All right! Now that that’s done, hop in. Let’s make some tracks! Three rows of seats, plenty of room.”
Sarina didn’t budge. “But you said I was just going to meet you today,” she reminded him. “Thanks for the offer and everything, but I’m not sure if—”
“We drove a long way to see you,” the redhead cut her off. Her English was accented with an Irish clang.
“I’m really sorry about that,” Sarina replied with remorse. “And I wish I could come with you, really. Paris sounds awesome. The Eiffel Tower and Versailles Castle and all those cozy little restaurants, and I hear they have some pretty great dance crews…” She realized she was rambling so she stopped herself before she came across as a complete idiot. But it was too late. The redhead was already rolling her eyes, making no attempt to fake geniality, and the boy was still looking her over.
Ace snapped his fingers to get the boy’s attention. “Yo, Sunny! Eyes up!”
“Yeah, you brat,” Tess told Sunny, giving his arm a pinch. Still, Sarina sensed a degree of tenderness there.
“I thought you said there were four of you,” she asked Ace, changing the subject.
He jerked a thumb at the back of the wagon. “Snow’s back there. She’s not all that fond of strangers.”
Sarina tried to peer through the window, but the sun’s glare off the glass reflected in her eyes.
“But don’t worry,” Ace continued. “She’ll warm up to you once we hit the road.”
Yeah, about that….
Sarina turned to Jasper, who stood just a little off to her side. He was oddly silent, somberly considering the empty space ahead of him.
He’s probably guessing we’ll part ways after, she figured, and the thought infected her with a feeling of guilt all over again. Guilt and a little bit of sadness at the thought of leaving him so soon after meeting him.
She took a deep breath. “I’m really sorry, but I just don’t think I can go with you,” she told Ace, casting a quick glance again at the others. “I have strong reasons for staying. Reasons that are important to me.”
“That right?” Ace said, raising a brow. Clearly this was not the message he’d expected to hear. “What reasons would those be?”
“My family, mainly. They’d worry to death if I just disappeared.”
She wasn’t going to reveal her hopes for the Covenant, and certainly not her reveries about dinner invitations from Radiant. She knew that they’d just laugh at her.
“Family. I see.” Ace didn’t linger on the subject. Instead, he turned his attention to Jasper. “You better tell her, mate.”
Tell me what? Maybe it was just the wind, but the air temperature felt as though it dropped several degrees. Sarina turned her gaze at the only person in the group who she felt she could trust.
Jasper visibly composed himself, straightening his shoulders before he spoke. “The Covenant’s going to kill you, Sarina,” he said, struggling to get the words out.
Sarina’s mind went blank.”What?” she finally managed.
“I’m sorry, but it’s true,” Jasper told her. He lowered his eyes to the ground.
The words slowly sank in. Her mother’s instincts last night had been right, after all. She wasn’t safe, even in Switzerland.
“This ain’t no joke,” Ace broke in, picking the conversation back up. “One of our friends hacked into some UNEOA computers yesterday morning and confirmed it. You’re right up there at the top of their hit list next to the Sleepwalker.”
Sarina was speechless. How could they think she was as dangerous as the Sleepwalker? She looked over at Tess, who sullenly nodded.
“But … why?” Sarina said to no one in particular.
“The Covenant’s cracking down hard on those with off-the-chart powers. You haven’t even surged, right? And if we believe the information that leaked, well, your range is already about the same as Shanti’s.”
“If they killed her, they wouldn’t think twice about killing anyone else,” the boy, Sunny, added. His accent was similar to the redhead’s, but weaker. He didn’t look smug now. His youthful face was dead serious.
Ace nodded. “Powers go off the charts, they don’t even care if it’s a hero, a villain, or a bloody saint. They just…” He drew an index finger across his throat to finish his idea.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Sarina said, feeling increasingly overwhelmed. If she was in danger, David surely would have told her. “I haven’t surged. Queenie visited my family a couple of days ago to ask about me. Why would they be so interested in my life if they wanted me dead?”
“They try to understand the power they’re culling before it’s too late to gather information,” Tess informed her in a matter-of-fact tone. “They’re still trying to look for patterns when it comes to who transitions and why.”
“But … my government’s neutral,” Sarina said weakly.
Ace snorted. “This thing’s bigger than any one government, kiddo. Your parliament might be able to stall ‘em for a while, but at the end of the day, your number’s up. If you wanna do something for the world like Shanti did, you gotta be undercover. So … you gonna come with us or what?”
Sarina cast a sidelong glance at Jasper. He nodded grimly, sending her heart into freefall. Even if she assumed that these people were lying to her, she just couldn’t believe that Jasper would.
“Take the offer, Sarina,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t promise you that we’ll save the world, but at least you’ll be safe.”
She still wasn’t convinced. If she was going to abandon her family, she had to be sure. “How do you know the Covenant wouldn’t find me with you?”
“Because we’re off the grid, Wondergirl,” Ace replied. “You heard about all those cases missing without a trace in Europe? Most of those are us. Queenie can’t locate us. No one notices us unless we want ’em to.”
Having experienced the camouflage effect first hand, Sarina could believe that. But she failed to comprehend why anyone would want to disappear from their own lives.
“Don’t you have families? Jobs?” she asked.
Sunny grimaced at her words. Tess, who was standing next to the boy, said nothing.
“We’re gypsies, girl. Wild and free,” Ace told her. “We just do whatever feels right.”
Sarina worded her next question carefully. “And what do you do, exactly? I mean … when no one can see you?”
“We’re not the bad guys, if that’s what you’re asking about,” Ace said. “We don’t go around murdering people or plotting how to end the world.”
Maybe she was naïve, but something about the way he said that made Sarina believe him. Hopefully they didn’t do anything more illegal than hacking into computers for a good cause.
“Ending the world is a dumb idea, anyway,” Sunny added. “Completely uninspired.”
There was a pause before everyone looked at Sarina expectantly.
She hung her head, not sure what to say. She was running out of arguments, but she could think of one that still mattered. “But my family…” she began, feeling like a broken record.
Jasper gave her a compassionate look. “They’ll be safe. And I’m sure they want you to be safe, too.”
He was right, and she knew it. “Okay,” she finally agreed.
Sunny pumped his fist. “Yes!”
“But,” Sarina added firmly, interrupting his celebration, “I want to get some of my things first. I’ll be fast.”
Tess gave her an annoyed look.
“That’s a really big thing you’re asking, Wondergirl,” Ace said. “Too many ways that could go wrong.”
Sunny was giving her another once over. “You’re not gonna narc on us, are you?”
“No, I’m not going to report you,” Sarina promised. The thought had never even crossed her mind. “But I’m not coming if you don’t let me get my things.” It felt a bit strange, digging in her heels, but she knew she had to. There was something she needed to do back in her room. “If you want me to trust you, you have to trust me.”
“I’ll vouch for her,” Jasper said.
“Is it doable?” Ace asked Sunny.
“Yeah. Not too many guards. I can take care of them when she goes back in and out,” the boy said.
So he’s the one with the power to hide people.
“How does this invisibility thing work, exactly?” Sarina asked.
Ace answered for Sunny. “The kid senses everyone in his range who could possibly notice you, then you get turned into background noise that gets filtered out by their brains. Just gets harder when there are a lot of guys who you don't want to notice you.”
“Can they hear me?”
“Nope. He can do the same thing for sounds.”
“Oh,” Sarina said. “Cool.”
“Just try to avoid security cameras though, okay?” Ace added. “If they check the footage later, they’ll be able to see which direction you went in.”
“Okay,” Sarina said, convinced she was going to be fine. She turned back up the hill.
“And don’t say nothing to nobody.” Ace gave her a hard look. “You do that, we got problems, you and me. And hurry. The moment Queenie checks on you and can’t find you, shit’s gonna go down. Radiant’s gonna show up in less than a second.”
Sarina could believe that. She couldn’t remember the exact definition of the speed of light, but less than a second of travel time sounded about right.
“I’ll be quick, promise!” she said, jogging back up the road.
Sunny didn’t let her down. None of the guards even blinked when she returned to the building. They just stood there, looking as if they couldn’t see her. It was an amazing feeling, flying under the radar like that. She could almost believe she really was a secret agent on a mission.
She stayed close to the walls as she made her way to her room, avoiding the cameras where possible. Although if everything went well, they’d be long gone before anyone thought to check the footage. Once back in her room, she packed a bag with some essentials: clothes, her winged shoes, some toiletries, her family pictures, and her purse. She checked to make sure the webcam was still covered in socks before picking up her phone to text a message to David. Something that wouldn’t give anything away. She owed her family so much; she couldn’t just disappear on them without a trace.
I’m not dead. Don’t worry. Going off grid with DJ and some others so I won’t be useless. Love you guys, Sara. She hit send, then tossed the phone on her computer desk. She knew she was going to miss her phone, especially her favorite music tracks, but she couldn’t take the risk of having the whole group tracked down because of it.
Leaving the basement was the next logical step. She threw one last glance over the colorful walls and floor. I’ve gone this far, she rationalized. Now I just have to go all the way. With that, she left the facility behind, never stopping to look back.
When she returned to the vehicle, everyone else was already waiting inside except for Tess, who climbed into the driver’s seat as she spotted the straggler cresting the hill. Sarina jogged the last steps to the wagon and a rear door was thrown open for her.
“Hop in,” Ace said through the partially lowered passenger window.
Sarina hesitated bri
efly before climbing into the car’s middle row of seats beside Jasper. Only jerks let people wait if a door was held open for them. Besides, she’d crossed the threshold. There was no way back now.
“Welcome to the Nameless,” Sunny said from rearmost seat. He was grinning broadly at her.
“The Nameless? But you have names,” Sarina pointed out. Duh.
“Has more to do with being off the grid, actually,” Ace pointed out as Tess started the car’s engines and put the vehicle in gear.
No time for second thoughts. These were her people now, come what may.
As Sarina turned in her middle-row seat to say a proper thanks to Sunny for his help, she was stopped in her tracks by a pair of dark eyes watching her intently.
“Oh, Dancer, meet Snow,” Jasper introduced them.
So this is the fourth person, Sarina thought. Five with Jasper. And now six with me.
The Asian-featured girl was perched in the other rearmost seat beside Sunny, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Nearly everything about Snow was white. Fitting, perhaps, but she’d taken the theme to extremes. Even her long hair and eyebrows had an alabaster hue, which was especially startling next to the black teardrop tattoo that adorned her cheek beneath one eye. Sarina couldn’t even begin to guess at Snow’s age. Sixteen? Twenty-five? She had no idea.
“Hello,” the other girl offered in English, with an accent Sarina didn’t recognize. And with that tiny offering, Snow’s gaze refocused on the seat in front of her.
“Hi,” Sarina replied uncertainly.
“She likes you,” Sunny said from his seat beside the alabaster girl. “She ignores most people.”
Sarina’s curiosity was peaked. “What’s your power?” she asked Snow.
The white-haired girl didn’t respond.
“Don’t be offended,” Jasper explained. “She’s shy.”
“Oh, okay,” Sarina said. Even so, it still stung a little.
“Far as we understand it,” Ace said, answering her question, “her power takes things away. Colors, objects, sound. Maybe her lack of talking is a side effect.”
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