AMANI: Reveal

by Marie, Lydhia

  “Er, yes. Well, I’m meeting someone for a class assignment,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “Patrick?”

  “They are in seminar room 102 today,” she said, not even looking at her list. “For the writing club, right? You’re a new member?”

  “Writing club? Yeah. Er… where’s room 102 again?”

  Chapter XVI

  Ian Cohen

  “Anything on Operation R?”

  “No, sir. Not since we found their trackers inside the Cave.”

  “If I come back in an hour, will you have something for me, or am I working with a bunch of…” Calm down, Ian, I reminded myself. They’re just starting to trust you… take a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” I told whomever was at the computer searching for Xander, Amya, and Samera. “I haven’t slept since the Rascal escaped. I will blame myself if he harms someone before we get a hold of him.”

  “We are doing everything we can to track him down but, like I said this morning, they removed their trackers in Red and no one has seen any of them.”

  “Keep looking,” I snapped.

  But time was flying by and no one had heard from them yet.

  Michelle still hadn’t come back to HQ, which distressed some of my colleagues and infuriated others. With the explosions and a Rascal at large, the Protectors needed someone they could count on. What they did not know, however, was that Michelle had called a few times already to make sure everything was going all right. I’d told her we’d already rebuilt most of our HQ—including the main office—which she was very happy to hear, and that we were still trying to find Delilah.

  What I hadn’t told her was that, under Meo’s order, I had set a team composed of Protectors from every state on Operation R.

  The Rascals’ goal was to localize Amya Priam. Of course, asking my people to find her would not have been logical. She was loved by many and Michelle had been clear she did not want her, Karl, or Samera followed. So I made it look as though we were tracking Amya’s Rascal friend instead—Xander Macfrey. Incidentally, most Protectors were still convinced he was a danger to the human race, so it hadn’t been too hard to get them on board.

  Some of my personal contacts from other Dimensions were also digging up their own information—

  Oh…

  An idea brushed my mind and I had to stop walking to take a good grip on it. Dick and Max almost ran into me when I turned around.

  “I know who helped Xander escape!”

  Why hadn’t I thought of this before? Stupid, stupid me!

  I ran back into the main office where a dozen Protectors were facing their computer and almost crashed into Amanda, who, unfortunately, had not perished when the bombs blew off half of the HQ.

  “Out of my way,” I said. “You! You there!” I shouted, not remembering the name of the guy with the yellow glasses. He was a Cohen, a cousin of mine. That was all I knew. “Take five of your most trusted colleagues and find Michelle’s personal contact in Red. His name is Jeffrey Archer. He is well known amongst our Red-selves. Find him and bring him back to me.” I had spoken very fast and loud and now the entire room had fallen silent, all eyes on me. “NOW!”

  Like little ants, every one of them returned to their work.

  As for me, I planned on waiting in my office until Jeffrey’s arrival. I hadn’t slept in more than forty-eight hours and, with this new lead, I definitely felt like I deserved a break.

  I persuaded Dick and Max to guard the door to my office to be able to relax alone. At last, I leaned against the headrest of my chair, adjusted the core into a nearly horizontal position, set my feet on my desk, next to the device Meo used to call me, and closed my eyes.

  Satisfied with myself, I breathed deeply and forced my thoughts away from everything I had to get done to make the Protectors love me, to destroy Michelle, and to become the official head of—

  Shhh… Stop thinking…

  My heartbeat slowed and I felt my limbs relax with every breath I took.

  Inhale… exhale…

  I heard steps outside.

  Surely they haven’t found Jeffrey yet.

  Inhale… exhale…

  A distant voice spoke angrily…

  Not my problem.

  I’d specifically asked Dick and Max to wake me only if they’d found Jeffrey. Even information about Delilah’s location wasn’t important enough.

  “You cannot enter, sir,” I heard one of my guards say.

  “He is my son. I will go in even if I have to bang your two thick skulls together…”

  Dad.

  My eyes popped open and the calm I had felt for what seemed like a split second instantaneously transformed into utter panic. I hadn’t seen my dad in years. What in the world was he doing here?

  The door burst open and a tall, dark-skinned man stalked in, followed by my two bodyguards.

  “Sir, we tried to stop him…”

  “He says he is your father, sir. Is that correct?”

  “If not we’ll take care of him…”

  My dad’s right eyebrow rose. “I’d like to see you try.” Then he stared at me and I immediately felt self-conscious. I was lying down in my chair, my feet on my desk, and my hair must have been messy… “I see you haven’t changed, Ian,” he added slowly.

  “Dad,” I repeated but this time out loud, while I straightened up to a sitting position. “W—what are you doing here?”

  “Oh, don’t start, Ian. You know very well why I came all the way from Belgium.” He sat on the chair opposite me, a pompous expression on his face. “My dear sister gave me a call yesterday, saying she had left Headquarters for a few days and, to my great surprise, telling me that you were in charge until she returns.”

  “That is correct,” I said, trying to sound calm.

  “Don’t be arrogant, Ian. You know as well as I do that you aren’t fit for this.”

  Using all the courage I had, I said, “Michelle must have thought I—”

  “My sister doesn’t know you as well as I do. And you should never call her Michelle. It is Mrs. Cohen for you. She is still your superior,” he spat with his nose in the air.

  “I am doing fine with HQ, Dad. We’ve managed a lot since she left. It is very nice of you to come by, after all these years, but we definitely don’t need your help.”

  “Watch your manners, son.” His last word seemed to taste acrid in his mouth. “Mrs. Cohen agreed to my visiting you until she comes back. I will oversee your operations and make my own idea of how competent you are.”

  “Did she ask you to come?” I asked bitterly. “If she didn’t trust me with the task, then she should’ve chosen someone else—”

  My father laughed out loud. “She did trust you, but my sister is naïve. She likes to see the good in people.” At least my father and I agreed on one thing. “I would not want her mistake to cost the lives of innocent people or the reputation of the Protectors.” He stood up and walked past Dick and Max, who bore blank expressions. “I assume you will find me an office by the end of the day. I also require a report on every decision you’ve made since Michelle’s departure by tomorrow morning.”

  He closed the door behind him, leaving me abashed, fists clenched, and utterly humiliated. Dick and Max were gawking at me and I couldn’t even find the words to make them leave me alone. After my sister’s death, which I was partly responsible for, my father had left for Belgium. I’d only been thirteen then but I had felt such relief that my number-one bully had finally retired to another country. He’d always preferred Jemina, my twin, and I believed it was because she had converted into Judaism and I hadn’t.

  Now he was back and there was so much I did not want him to find out about me and my outside-of-work activities.

  Damn. Operation R!

  I had to make sure my father did not find out I’d been looking for Amya, Xander, Samera, and Mr. Jensen under Michelle’s nose!

  I instantly leaped to my two feet and called the main office. Amanda answered.

 
“Hey, can you transfer me to the guy with the yellow glasses?”

  “Ian?”

  “Yes. It’s urgent.”

  “Which guy with the yellow glasses, Ian? Do you know his name?”

  A mix of angst, rage, and fear boiled in my veins. Was she being an idiot on purpose? “The guy with the FREAKING YELLOW GLASSES! There’s only one in the room. Just call it out and he should recognize himself!”

  “That would be rude, don’t you think? Give me his name and I’ll transfer you right up.”

  I could discern amusement and vengeance in her voice and violent images of things I would have loved to do to her came rushing like a movie clip in front of my eyes. Strangling her would have been most satisfying, truly, but I had no time to dwell on such a fantasy. My father was probably going to start asking questions soon…

  I threw my phone at the wall and sprinted to the main office, pushing Protectors out of my way.

  “Coming through!” I shouted. “MOVE! I’m in a hurry!”

  When I finally reached the doorknob, I saw through the small window embedded in the white door that my father was already there, talking to Amanda.

  I straightened my back, forced myself to look normal, and walked in. The two of them were deep in conversation, Amanda laughing cheerfully. I’d rarely seen my dad with a genuine smile on his face, and every time that happened, it was because he didn’t know I was looking.

  Dismissing bitter thoughts, I silently made my way to the guy with the yellow glasses, the main Protector overseeing Operation R.

  “Hi, er, can you remind me your name again?”

  Startled, he answered, “Henry. Henry Cohen, sir.”

  “Henry, I just received an order. Operation R is now a top-secret affair. I was told that even Michelle cannot know about it.” That made Henry frown, but he did not say anything. “Tell your contacts and anyone working on the project that they cannot divulge information to anyone who isn’t already involved in the operation. Anyone, do you hear me?”

  Henry nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “How many, would you say, are helping us find Xander?” I whispered.

  “Sixty people, maybe? Seventy tops.”

  “Seventy?” I repeated a little louder than I should have. I’d personally created the list of contacts whom I doubted knew Michelle personally. I had listed fifty people at most: one in each state… “I need every single one of them informed of the new operation status by the end of the hour. And also tell them that we are to never mention the names of the fugitive. Everyone is to report to me directly. To me—is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “No matter what you hear or what anyone tells you, you are to report to me only, okay?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Ian!” My father’s voice echoed in the room. “Come here for a second.”

  Reluctantly, I turned around and walked in his direction. He was still standing next to Amanda, who was smiling brightly.

  “I am quite busy right now. What’s the matter?” I said.

  “Busy? That isn’t the first adjective I would have used to describe you when I entered your office earlier,” my father snapped. “Now, Amada here was just telling me about the great news! Why didn’t you mention it?”

  “As I told you, Mr. Cohen,” Amanda replied in a teasing voice, “Ian wants to keep it a secret for now.”

  What was she talking about? Great news?

  Amanda did not have clearance to Operation R. She couldn’t be talking about that… no… She was only a secretary at HQ.

  But what if she knew? What if she’d heard Henry talk to me or…

  I was about to make up an excuse and say that Michelle had personally asked me to look for Xander, but then my father spoke before I had a chance.

  “But I won’t tell a soul,” he said, surprising me with his enthusiasm. “Oh, my daughter would have loved to meet you, Amanda. Jemina never believed Ian would be able to keep a girlfriend for more than a week,” he added. “How she would have reacted to him getting married is beyond me!”

  Chapter XVII

  Amya Priam

  Seminar room 102 was on the second floor. The closer I got, the faster my heart throbbed against my chest.

  Ever since I’d learned about my ability, I’d wondered if there were other people like me. I’d longed to ask questions to a friend who would understand me completely… My best friend, Samera, was also special, but she belonged with the rest of her family, who could also Travel between Dimensions.

  Where did I belong? Who else could Sojourn without needing to have skin-to-skin contact with a person?

  Hopefully I was going to find out.

  I knocked twice on the door and a tall, handsome guy with light-blonde hair and a red scarf around his neck appeared on the other side, a jolly white smile on his face.

  “Hi! Can I help you?” he said.

  “Er… yeah, well, Hibiscus said that—”

  “You’re Amya, aren’t you? I’m Patrick. Come on in!”

  “How did you know?”

  Patrick beckoned me inside and winked at me. “H just texted me.”

  “Oh…”

  The door opened wider and six pairs of eyes stared at me.

  “Guys, this is Amya, a Seraph from…?”

  “New York,” I whispered, intimidated.

  Patrick invited me to sit down on the last vacant chair. “Welcome to our secret little club,” he said, clapping his hands together. “I’m so excited that we have two new members this month!” He pointed toward a girl with red and golden-yellow ombre hair who was frowning at me. “Vivian joined just last week! Now, this is Adam Jiang.” Patrick elbowed the only other guy in the group, who was sitting next to him. He wore thin rectangular glasses and his hair was untidy in a somehow fashionable way. “He is an international student from Beijing. Has been studying here for two years now. The ability running in his family is to see people’s auras and detect truth from lies.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Adam said.

  “Nice meeting you too,” I replied, already fascinated. I had so many questions for Adam. “What do you mean by people’s auras?”

  Adam shrugged. “Someone’s aura is principally made of their selves in other Dimensions. For instance, yours has some dark red from your waist down and clear blue surrounding the rest of your body.” He paused, smiling at my uneasiness. “Now the red’s spreading out… It all depends on how you feel, which Dimension influences you the most, etcetera.”

  I felt myself blushing.

  “Now, Kristin and Emily Wilson”—he pointed his chin toward two girls who must have been twins, though one had pale blond hair while the other had clearly dyed hers a dark shade of brown and was wearing heavy black makeup—“are identical twins from British Columbia. They both have the sight. Kristin”—the blonde one raised her hand vigorously—“can see through Heaven.”

  “You’d love to have a peek,” she said, grinning.

  “And I see through Hell,” Emily muttered in a monotonous voice.

  It made sense now that one was full of energy, always a smile on her face, while the other… not so much. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to bear such an ability. The effect of constantly seeing what happened in Hell surely influenced Emily’s mood.

  “My sister does smile once in a while, eh, don’t you?” Kristin added. “But she mostly keeps to herself.”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “Especially when people speak about me as if I’m not in the room.”

  “There’s little Mary Bell,” Patrick continued before Kristin could retort. He smiled at a tiny girl with ginger hair I’d barely noticed. “She’s a Healer, just like Hibiscus.”

  “Hi,” Mary cooed, followed by a shy smile.

  “Sine Ebun, here”—Patrick gestured toward a very dark-skinned girl with a shaved head, sitting next to Adam Ziang—“comes from Nigeria. She is capable of hearing her selves.”

  “It’s just like a TV channel,” Sine said. “I
can tune in on my Red or Yellow self.” She closed her eyes, “Yellow’s currently collecting food from a Frapidor.” She opened her eyes again. “A Frapidor is a kind of critter living in the Yellow Dimension. It’s a sort of blind rabbit that has a pig’s nose and a bat’s wings. It’s mainly used to find food for the kids.”

  “Yeah, I think I’ve seen one once while riding a Benny,” I said without thinking. “Personally, I find the Banimos the cutest,” I added, remembering their furry baby gorilla faces and gorgeous owl wings.

  Everyone gaped at me.

  “You’ve been in the Yellow Dimension?” Kristin inquired.

  “We’ve never had anyone who could visit the other Dimensions,” Patrick said excitedly. “The knowledge of the parallel realms was passed on through generations in my family, but I never knew that people could actually visit them!”

  “How do you do it?”

  “Can you take us?”

  Unsure if I was allowed to talk about Samera’s family and their purpose to protect our realm, Amani, I felt trapped.

  “I cannot Travel,” I blurted out. “I know someone who can. She’s not a Seraph, though,” I added when their eyes lit up. “She’s—well, it’s complicated.”

  “So you’ve really seen what’s on the other side?” Kristin asked passionately. “Have you been to Heaven?”

  “Or Hell?” Emily grumbled.

  “No. If I remember correctly, the Pr—those people who can Travel haven’t had access to either since a Rascal escaped from Hell.”

  They all shivered at my mention of a Rascal. To fill the silence, Patrick introduced himself. And as it turned out, his family was also capable of Sojourning, but just like my own, they had to be in physical contact with a person to do so. He was genuinely disappointed when I told him I did not know why I was any different… Disappointed but very impressed.

  Then, an explosion of questions resonated in the room. Questions on Rascals, on the Dimensions, on my own special ability. They were all eager to hear more, except for Vivian, who stared at me like I was some sort of huge, disgusting spider she would have loved to crush under her foot.