AMANI: Reveal

by Marie, Lydhia

  During the meeting, I merely had time to ask a few questions. One, which bothered me the most, was why they’d all been born with the knowledge of Dimensions while my family had never heard of them. I’d only learned about parallel worlds because of Samera.

  “You’re not the only one,” Patrick assured me. “So many Seraphs don’t even know what they are. And that’s why Hibiscus created this club. We try to find them and help them with their ability.” Patrick’s gaze quickly shifted to Vivian, who was staring at her feet. “There should be a club like ours in every school, to help and guide our kind.”

  “If my family members had not mentored me the first time I heard those voices in my head on my sixteenth birthday,” Sine said, “I would’ve thought I’d gone crazy.”

  Kristin nodded. “We were trained not to be scared of the other side even before we could talk. Our mother sees the Red Dimension. She was so proud when we told her of our ability.”

  “Proud of you,” Emily commented. “I recall she was scared of me for a while.”

  “Everyone’s scared of you.”

  That made Emily smile for the first time. “They should be.”

  “I’ve tried to visit patients in asylums,” Sine continued, sadness in her voice. “Many of them, those who hear voices or see things others don’t, they simply need help; help to understand and control their ability.”

  “But like I told you last year,” Patrick said. “Some have gone too far; they can’t differentiate our world from another. We’d better find those who’ve just started experiencing the Transition.”

  “I still believe that more than half those patients could be saved. If only I could speak to their doctors…”

  “To say what? You were told, just like me, that our ability must be kept a secret. People don’t like the extraordinary. They don’t accept what they cannot comprehend. Telling anyone could put us all in danger. Best thing that could happen is we’d be thrown into an asylum with the rest of them.”

  “So we just leave them to rot in a mental institution,” Sine finished, loathing all over her beautiful delicate face. “We let them think they’re crazy for the rest of their miserable lives.”

  Patrick cleared his voice and looked at his cell phone. “Two hours has already passed!” he exclaimed. “Amya, will you come to our next meeting on Wednesday? We’re currently helping Vivian with her ability.”

  Nobody had mention what Vivian could do, but from the menacing look on her face, I didn’t dare ask.

  “Yeah, sure. I don’t know how long I’m staying in Sherbrooke, but I’ll be there!”

  “Superb!”

  Everyone stood up and, after saying goodbye, they vanished into the hallway. All except Patrick. “If you’d like, we could train together. You said earlier that you don’t really know what the extent of your ability is. I could help you find out, if you want.”

  “Yeah,” I immediately replied. Patrick’s family had trained him from the first day he’d started his Transition. Maybe he could teach me a few things that’d help me figure out how my special ability worked and how far it could be stretched. “That would be great!”

  “Tomorrow? We can meet here. I’ll book the room from two to three; is that okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  I left the seminar room and ran downstairs, excited to tell Samera and Xander everything. I’d finally met people like me! And they were amazing, beyond anything I’d imagined.

  I wondered if there was a club like this at Princeton. If I had joined, would it have prevented Wyatt from sending me into a coma?

  More and more questions were pilling on top of each other, when I noticed that my friends and Karl were waiting for me outside the library, at the bottom of the steps, Xander leaning against the ramp, looking grim.

  “You guys! You won’t ever believe what those people can do!” I exclaimed. “It’s incredible. This girl, Sine, she can hear her selves! And—and Patrick, who I assumed is kind of the leader of the club, can Sojourn too!” My thoughts were going so fast, I had difficulty making coherent sentences. “Oh! And there are these twins! They see through the curtains. One—” Seeing as none of them seemed to even care what I was saying, I stopped. “Hm, what’s up? Did somebody die or something?” I’d said that as a joke, but the gravity of their expression rapidly made me rethink my sentence over. “Did something happen to Delilah?” I stepped toward Samera, who was frowning and shaking her head. “Is anyone going to say anything or are we playing charades?” I snapped, now upset.

  “It’s not Delilah,” Xander finally said.

  “You should call your parents, Amya,” Karl added. “They’ll explain everything.”

  “Were they in an accident?”

  “No!” Sam erupted. “No one is injured or dead.”

  I threw my hands in the air. “Than what the hell happened for you to look so… depressed?”

  Remaining silent, Karl handed me his cell phone. “Your father is waiting for your call.”

  I gazed at the phone but didn’t take it. The suspense was too much; my hands were shaking. “Does he know we’ve escaped HQ? Do they know about Deli?”

  “They know everything,” Xander said slowly. “But that’s not why you should talk to your father.”

  Indignant at their silence, I snatched the phone from Mr. Jensen’s grip and hastily dialed my dad’s number. He picked up at the first ring.

  “Amya?”

  It was so good to hear his voice, though he sounded restless.

  “Dad! Look, Delilah is going to be fine, okay? I asked Michelle not to tell you because I knew you would be worried. But we’ll find her, okay? The—well, Michelle’s people are very good at their job. I’ve seen them—”

  “Your mother and I are going to help find your sister, but that is not why I wanted you to call me, Amya.”

  They were? Then they knew about the Protectors and… What had Michelle told them exactly? Did they know about the Dimensions too?

  I heard a woman sob on the other end. Was that my mother?

  “Dad…” I started, but was immediately interrupted.

  “Amya. Michelle is here with us right now and I will need to get back to her shortly, so I don’t have much time. Listen to me. I wanted to be the one to tell you.” I could now discern fear in his voice. Fear and—was it regret? “Michelle came to our house earlier. She… well, this isn’t easy to say, but I have to spit it out all the same.” I heard him take a deep breath before he quickly confessed, “I am Hibiscus’s old friend, Amya. I am a Rascal.”

  Chapter XVIII

  Ian Cohen

  “You better have a good explanation as to why you told my father we were engaged.” I threatened Amanda the second the door of my office closed behind her. It’d taken almost two hours to get rid of my father and his relentless inquisitions regarding the wedding. Why he’d gotten all zealous over this lie was beyond me. I’d never seen him so happy. Not since my sister’s death. “And where did you find this ridiculous ring?”

  “Bought it just this morning. Isn’t it beautiful?” A large grin was stamped on her silly face, but I could tell she was also scared. “And I’ve been telling my parents I’m going out with a guy from work for a year now and they’ve been asking questions as to whom it was and when they could meet him. Last night, I panicked and said it was my boss—well, you. And, well, they kind of invited you to dinner on Saturday night.” Seeing the shock on my face, she kept going. “I’m already forbidden to tell them where I work and what I do; I had to have some kind of answer for the most private part of my life!”

  Amanda was one of the few people outside the Cohens who worked at Headquarters, except for the safety department. Jim, a friend I had accidentally killed a month ago, had also been one.

  “But it’s a lie! I’m not your fiancé!”

  “I know, I know… But seriously, you don’t understand how pushy my parents are! I’m thirty years old, Ian. They expected me to have kids… like five years ago! They w
ere so happy when I told them…”

  “You could have chosen anyone at HQ! Anyone! Let’s find my father and you’ll tell him it was someone else.” My fists clenched and unclenched while I tried to figure out what to do with her.

  “No! It has to be you. I already said you were called Ian Cohen and, being Jews themselves, they were thrilled to hear I was dating one.”

  I laughed, trying to calm myself. “I’m not even Jewish. And this is not a question. You will tell my father and your parents that you are dating someone else. Is that clear?”

  She seemed to be debating something in her head. Her eyes moved slowly from my left eye to my right, without blinking.

  “Actually, you might want to reconsider my offer, Ian,” she said, sounding more confident than I’d ever heard her. “I know very well that you are trying to toss Mrs. Cohen aside and take over as the leader of the Protectors. Since you came back from England, you have transformed and become much nicer to your co-workers, so I thought maybe you’d changed your mind… Maybe you’d realized Mrs. Cohen wasn’t that bad after all. But your little speech the other day confirmed my suspicions.”

  I could not believe my ears. Little annoying Amanda was cleverer than I’d given her credit for. “So what if I think Michelle is ready to retire?”

  “Well, I’ve heard you’ve been taking measures to convert to Judaism, and I could help you with that. I could convince my family rabbi that you’re ready and that you would like to convert before we get married.”

  “But we’re not getting married!”

  “Maybe not, but he’d have to believe we are. I swear, that would speed up the process. Then, when you’re finally a Cohen at heart, the Protectors will take you more seriously. I’ve already heard a few say that they think you’d make a good leader. They say you’re not afraid of making difficult decisions.”

  A jolt of hope made me shiver. “Do you remember who—”

  “It doesn’t matter. What does is that, by marrying me—our engagement would take your plan a step further.” I frowned, lost in a turmoil of thoughts. “You wouldn’t even have to pay me back for the ring!”

  “I sure wasn’t going to offer!”

  Amanda’s smile reached her eyes. “Does that mean you agree?”

  On the one hand, I couldn’t stand Amanda, but I was already forced to work with her, so why not pretend we were together in the process? Our work decorum would forbid us to get too close to each other anyway, so we wouldn’t have to behave any differently. Plus, after my father’s unexpected reaction to the news, I could convince him to help with the wedding plans, thus keeping him away from Operation R, or anything I planned on doing for the Rascals. I just had to make sure Amanda remained quiet about my plan on becoming a permanent leader at HQ.

  “As my fiancée, you wouldn’t dare tell anyone what you just told me, now would you?” I stared dangerously into her eyes. “Otherwise, I might become a widower faster than you can say ‘I do.’”

  She swallowed hard, her mouth wide open. “I wouldn’t dare. Actually, as my future husband, you’d be entitled to ask for my help with… anything, really.” Amanda attempted a step forward and touched my arm in a flirtatious way.

  I swiftly brushed her away. “This is a business agreement, nothing more,” I snapped. “I help you with your parents and you keep your mouth shut… and your hands to yourself.”

  Disappointed, she shrugged. “It’s a start.”

  I was about to reply when my phone rang. “Ian,” I grunted.

  “Hm, hi—this is Henry…”

  “Who?”

  “Er… Henry from the office.” I remained silent, confused. Did I know a Henry? “Er… Henry, the guy with the yellow glasses, who’s currently on Opera—”

  “Oh! Henry, of course!” Amanda rolled her eyes. “What is it, Henry?”

  “I—er—you should come here right now. I’ve got something. It’s urgent.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice before I dashed through the first floor and was by his side a minute later, panting.

  “What is it? Did someone slip? Tell me Michelle wasn’t informed… Did you find Jeffrey?”

  “No, sir. I gave your number to all my contacts and they will report directly to you, sir, just like you asked. And Jeffrey Archer hasn’t been found yet. But do you remember yesterday, when you told me to monitor Amya’s parents’ phone?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Well, they just received a call from a small city called Sherbrooke, in Canada. I have reason to believe that it might be from Amya. It would make sense, as we’re unable to find her and her friends in the States.”

  “Brilliant! Were you able to get the exact location?”

  “Yes, I wrote it down for you,” he replied, subtly passing a small piece of paper to me. I folded it and put it in my pocket. “I assume we do not need to locate Mr. Archer anymore, but should I send a team to retrieve Xander Macfrey?”

  “No! I mean, I will have to think of a plan to make sure he doesn’t escape before we reach him. I will give you further instructions by the end of the day.” I set my hand on his shoulder, making him jump in surprise. “Good work, Henry.”

  I could tell by the grin on his face that he was proud and startled by my reaction. And to be completely honest, I was too. Like Amanda had said, I’d been very nice to most people at HQ lately, simply because I needed them to trust me. So far, it seemed to be working.

  “Amanda, I need you to leave me alone for the rest of the day,” I said the moment I set foot in my office. I still had to find a private office and concoct a false report for my father on my activities since Michelle had left Headquarters. “We can discuss our… engagement tomorrow. Don’t go telling people about us yet, although my father might be doing just that as we speak. We’ll find a good story, to make it sound believable for the rest of our colleagues, some other time.”

  Amanda stood on the other side of my desk, thoughtful.

  “Ian…”

  “I don’t have time right now. I told you we’d talk about it tomorrow.” I made a few steps forward, but she didn’t budge. “Now, I believe you know me well enough to understand that I’m not the most patient person in Amani. If you don’t leave my office right away, I might have to—”

  I was rendered silent as my gaze fell on Amanda’s right hands. Or more, because of what she was holding: the coop-hole lookalike I used to communicate with Meo. She raised it, slowly, and said, “It rang.” My heart stopped; then she finished me with, “And I answered.”

  Chapter XIX

  Amya Priam

  I didn’t know how I had gotten there or how long ago I’d left the library when I heard Xander say they would be waiting on the bench, leaving me alone, sitting on the moist lawn, in the middle of what seemed like a small maze traced into the grass with ceramic.

  I should have felt angry at my dad for lying to me all these years. I should have felt sad that he hadn’t trusted me—or my mother, judging by the sobs I’d heard on the phone—enough to reveal to us what he was. I should have feared him, even though I knew he wasn’t necessarily a bad Rascal.

  But I only experienced this empty numbness, like I was floating above ground, outside my own body. Like the fog in my brain, clouding my thoughts, would drive me mad.

  After minutes or hours, snow began to fall, instantly melting as it touched the earth… and my nose. I threw my head backward and gazed at the frozen drops emerging from nowhere, out of the dark sky. The sun had set and a cold wind was making the beautifully designed snowflakes dance around me, illuminated by the cars’ headlights every time one drove by. Once in a while, I watched crystalized precipitation fall silently into my eye, making me blink. But I stood there as if unable to move, as if helpless.

  And that’s exactly what I felt. Helpless. All those things happening around me: Wyatt, Xander, Delilah, and now my father… and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t just straighten my neck to avoid the snow falling into my eyes, because I was
frozen and clueless as to what I had to do to make everything stop. I could only sit there and hope that the wind would blow everything away.

  “Amya?” It was Xander again. I heard his footsteps on the grass before I saw his face. Without a word, he sat down next to me. We stared at each other for a moment, and then he said, “Talk to me.”

  And that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I burst out crying. In a second, he was holding me in his arms, holding me tight, my face in his neck.

  “I’m s—so scared…” I bawled and he held me even tighter. “I’m so, so scared,” I repeated. “Please feed on me. P—please make it go away.”

  Xander shook his head. “It won’t make much difference, Amya,” he whispered. “The pain will go away, but it’ll be back before you realize it’s gone. You have to face it now. Facing it now will make it more bearable later.”

  “But it f—feels so heavy!”

  “Then just let it go. Get it out of your system. That’s the only way.”

  I drew a long breath, held it in, and finally let everything go… I cried like I’d never cried before. I cried because of my father’s secret. I cried for my sister. I cried because I was scared. I cried because Xander was now a Rascal and it was all my fault. And finally, I cried for me, just because I hadn’t allowed myself to bawl my eyes out for years and it felt so good to do so.

  My eyes and nose were probably swollen by the time I stopped, but Xander’s eyes only exhibited love and compassion as he released me and dried my cheeks with his warm fingers.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like a balloon.”

  He laughed. “Aside from that?”

  “Lighter, I guess.” I managed to return his grin. “Thanks.”

  He pushed a lock of wet hair away from my face. “Are you up for our next mission, then?”

  “What would that be?” I asked, feeling very hungry for the first time today. Please tell me we’re going to have dinner.