“No!” The word escaped my mouth before I could help it. “I’ve met people who can help me with my ability here. I’m not ready to leave yet. Not when I’m so close to finally discovering what I am and the extent of what I can do. Plus, we still need Hibiscus’s help with Xander.”
“Amya, we cannot risk your life, not when we’ve put so much effort into keeping you safe all this time.”
What if I am kidnapped? I thought. Then I could find my sister and make sure she’s all right…
“This is not only about me. Michelle sent us here to help with Xander’s case. We can’t come back empty-handed, and the solution lies with Hibiscus. She seems to know more about Rascals than she let us understand and I’m certain she’ll come up with an answer that will ease the Protectors’ minds. My dad’s safety is now on the line as well and I’m not going to let the people I love down just because I’m scared that a group of psychopaths might be after me.”
“She has a point, Dad,” Samera said. “We can’t give up just yet. Not when we’re so close to finding the truth, to clearing Xander’s name. Though if we stay, Amya should not be allowed to leave the house on her own. And there’s something you should know.” She glanced at me, a silent question on her face, and I nodded. “Amya thought of something today…”
We told him about our speculations that I might have inherited my father’s abilities, which would explain why I was more powerful than any of my family members. During our narrative, Karl remained stiff, which kept my hopes of staying in Sherbrooke pretty low. He might as well be frightened by me now.
When Sam was finished, the house fell silent, except for the purring sound coming from the living room, where Sleepy, Bashful, and—was it Sneezy?—were vibrating on the couch, Snow White at their feet. Dopey, Doc, and Happy trotted around the dinner table.
I could tell from the anticipation in her eyes that even Madame M. did not want us to leave so soon. It had become clear that she did not receive guests at her house often, whether they were friends of hers or old colleagues.
As for Samera, she was silently biting her upper lip, as if torn between two choices that would change her life forever. From what she had told us, she felt responsible for Xander and me, so staying here would be against her “duty” to keep me safe. But I could tell she liked it here. What if we ended up going to a place where there was no Tim Horton’s?
“Okay,” Karl finally said, making Dopey jump and Snow White’s ears rise in surprise. “We stay here for as long as we need to, but you three are under house arrest. You are not to leave this place without me. Ever,” he added, looking directly into my eyes. “You understand?”
“I do, sir,” I answered.
His expression softened. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, that’s all. Do you realize how it made me feel when you told me your Seraph friends had kidnapped you under this roof and I hadn’t noticed? Training with Madame M. has been the best experience. She’s by far the most qualified mentor I’ve had.” Our host blushed, making her red hair stand out. “But from now on, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
There was such finality in his voice that I did not dare ask if he would be joining me at the Seraph meeting tomorrow. We ate delicious pasta with shrimps, veggies, and garlic. Xander and I did the dishes while Sam locked herself in her room and Karl and Madame M. practiced fighting techniques amongst the cats in the living room.
“You’re too stiff,” Madame M. kept saying. “You need to relax your muscles. Your movements need to—how do you say in English?—flow. Like a wave. Flexible but deadly.” They moved like two people performing a harmonious dance. “No, no,” she chastised as Xander and I were almost done putting the dishes back into their respective kitchen cabinets. “Look at my cats. Flexibility. Stop resisting. You need to comply with and welcome the movements your body performs.
“Look,” she continued, pointing at Dopey, who kept jumping at its owner’s arms. “He jumps, goes into full extension, and falls back on his legs. My cat doesn’t resist gravity; he works with it. Don’t resist my attacks—work with them, around them, and use them against me.”
Madame M. was mesmerizing to look at. Her agility and gracefulness reminded me of her feline friend’s movements. Xander tried to follow the lesson, but he was even stiffer than Karl. The way they moved their limbs was more like Snow White, or a dog in general; it was short and rigid, tense and hard. Madame M. had no difficulty disarming them.
Around ten in the evening, Karl’s cell phone rang. It was Michelle.
“Can you put me on speaker so that Amya can hear me?” she said.
“She can hear you,” Karl replied. “What is it? Did you think of a way to introduce Kellen to the Protectors?”
“No, that’s not the reason why I’m calling.”
As opposed to Mr. Jensen, I hadn’t thought she had news about my father. I was somehow certain Mrs. Cohen was calling regarding my sister. Far from immunized against bad news, although that was all I was getting these days, I told her to cut to the chase. There was no need for subterfuge. I could handle it.
“Ian told me he might have located your sister.” A jolt of unexpected happiness rushed through me. “He received information yesterday that a girl who looked at lot like Delilah had been identified in Oxford, England. Unfortunately, no one could verify this information, so he did not send a team right away. You have to understand that sending Protectors to England, when it could have been any other girl, would have been foolish. Especially since no one wants to come face to face with a Rascal after what happened at HQ. They’re all frightened.”
“Is she still there?” I asked. “I don’t mind going! Just tell me where in Oxford and I’ll do it.”
“And give those creatures exactly what they want? No, that’s not going to happen. Besides, no one has seen her since…”
“In Oxford?” Karl interrupted. “Amya, she is not in England anymore. If my theory is correct, she is in Sherbrooke.”
“Why would she be in Sherbrooke, Karl?” Michelle inquired.
“You said that Delilah was last seen in Oxford yesterday, right? Michelle, we discovered that two other women died the same way as the one in front of the house today. Those women were found in Oxford yesterday. If the three victims died of the same circumstance—if a Rascal fed on their youth—then it would be absurd to think they were killed by two distinct murderers.”
“Why were they in Oxford?” I wondered aloud.
Xander stepped in. “From what I gathered during the short time I spent with Wyatt, last month was a distraction. They killed people’s Blue and Yellow selves to create a sense of panic, while they looked for something or someone. Maybe that’s what they’ve been doing in England all along. Searching.”
“But why bring Deli with them?” I asked.
Xander shrugged, pensive. “Maybe they thought you’d go looking for her.”
“I should have.”
“Right, and what good would that have done her, huh?” he snapped, his pale blue eyes filling with black ink. “She wouldn’t be safer if you were with her. Maybe she’ll become useless to them once they get their filthy hands on you, and they’ll get rid of her. Hadn’t thought of that now, had you? We don’t know what they’re capable of. Clearly they need you for something. You’re some kind of tool in their scheme. And if killing people and almost starting a Third World War is just a distraction, I can’t begin to think what they’re really planning… Meanwhile, you just want to hand yourself to them and give them what they want!” His fists were clenched to his side, shaking.
We fell into an uncomfortable kind of silence, all staring at Xander as the darkness in his eyes faded. Michelle could not see him, though, so she was the first to break the stillness.
“I agree with Xander. It wouldn’t help your sister to give yourself to the Rascals. We will find her, Amya. It hasn’t been a week yet; you said—”
“I said a week before I knew a Rascal could feed on youth! She i
s seventeen! How old will she be when we finally find her?”
“Honestly, I don’t think they’ll try to hurt her…”
“But you can’t be sure! No one can, and I’m stuck here, unable to help my little sister. I tried to distract myself; I’m having fun and all, but it’s still driving me mad! Delilah is missing, my father is a Rascal, my mother needs comforting, and it’s all happening miles away, out of my reach, out of my control.” With a lump in my throat, I had to look away and think of something else before I burst out. “I’m tired,” I added. “I need to get some sleep.”
“Karl,” Michelle said before we hung up. “I sent a team of Canadian Protectors to guard the house, but you will have to be very careful. If you are correct, the Rascals might try a move on Amya sooner than we thought. We saw what happened at the Headquarters. They let no obstacle get in their way.”
“We’ll be vigilant,” Mr. Jensen said in a soothing voice. “You do the same, would you?”
We prepared for a good night immediately after they hung up. Madame M. gave me some sort of screaming device that I should press in case someone were to try and kidnap me, even though Xander was sleeping right beside the couch and Mr. Jensen and Madame M. had left their own bedroom doors open.
It took me at least one hour to clear my head, and when I finally fell asleep, I dreamt the same repetitive dream haunting my nights, over and over, as if my brain was trying to tell me something. Me leaving the center for Jews on Princeton campus and hearing Wyatt speak to a man. Then Wyatt chasing after me and finally catching up and sending me into a coma.
After the third time, I woke up sweaty and panting. I’d never put much thought into this, but who had been that man giving orders to Wyatt?
Chapter XXV
Ian Cohen
I had been surprised when Michelle had told me I was doing a good job so far. Obviously she had no idea what was going on at Headquarters. My dad had decided to occupy one of the few spare bedrooms on the second floor, and he’d agreed to use Michelle’s office until she returned; I hadn’t yet figured out what to do with Amanda, so I’d had to lie to her parents, saying she was staying at my place, and I’d had to tell our colleagues she was sick; and above all others, Meo hadn’t given me any news for more than a day, and I was burning with questions. Had he found Amya? Who was the man they’d been looking for in England? And what did the Rascals need from him?
Everyone at HQ was asleep, except for a few night guards and Max, my personal bodyguard, who would be awake until three in the morning, when his replacement, Dick, would take his night shift. This meant I had to wait until either needed to go to the bathroom to place pillows under my bed sheets and Travel to Red.
Luckily, around one-thirty in the morning, Max’s bladder was full of coffee he’d drunk all evening to keep himself awake. I sneaked out of Amani quickly and climbed the stairs two by two, to where I’d hidden Amanda in the deserted, unfinished building parallel to HQ. It had changed since I’d last come yesterday. Most of the tinted windows were installed, walls were up, the staircase was not as scary to use, and—
And Amanda was gone.
GONE!
Furious, I kicked a piece of paper hanging on a chair and punched a nearby wall.
Just yesterday, when I’d brought her food and water, she’d been tied to the top-floor balcony. She’d been sunburnt and her clothes had been drenched by the rain, but she’d been right there!
Had the workers freed her? I didn’t think so. During different missions for Michelle, I had had to deal with people living in Red, and I would have bet my arm they were the kind who minded their own business.
Only a few hours had passed since my last visit, which meant she couldn’t be far.
The sky was dangerously gray, and lightning bolts kept shooting across the dark clouds, but I had to go after her nonetheless.
I sprinted down forty-nine floors and emerged, breathless, on a street full of odd-looking people. Five men wore only towels around their waists and twirled around in circles while a woman in a wedding gown was walking six electronic ferrets… She almost bumped into me, as if I was invisible. A coupe was singing a song I’d never heard on the corner of Corn and Cherry; a bird made of metal and wires was arguing with an equally manmade squirrel; and three adolescents sped their bikes, one nearly crushing a ferret.
I could never get used to this Dimension. People were insane and thought only of themselves.
I needed to focus. Where would a desperate woman go? During missions for the Protectors I had come across a club down on Cherry. Maybe Amanda would seek refuge in a crowded place. But she had never Traveled before, so she wouldn’t know about the club. A restaurant surrounded by thousands of royal-blue light bulbs grabbed my attention, and I decided to start from there since Amanda hadn’t eaten for almost eight hours. It was only logical she would go for some food first if she planned to run away.
My feet hadn’t hurdled the doorframe before a fist found my nose with a crunching sound, sending me straight back onto the street.
“How dare you treat a woman like this?” I heard as my eyes filled with water. My ears started buzzing and my sight blurred, though it didn’t matter. I would have recognized this voice amongst millions.
My father’s.
Clutching my nose as blood spread around my fingers, I said, “What are you doing here?”
“I will speak while you listen, you unworthy child,” he spat. “It is beyond me where you found such an idea—to tie your fiancée to a pole. For TWO DAYS!” He kicked my shoe and I flinched. “I never raised you to be such a coward! Haven’t you learnt AT ALL while I’ve been gone? Haven’t you become a man? At the age of ten, your sister was more of a man than you’ll ever be! I cannot believe this. I followed you; that’s why I’m here. I followed you and found poor Miss O’Neil’s hands tied up like an animal! Don’t you have any RESPECT for women, Ian? And she told me everything!”
His screams gathered a small audience of blurry faces.
He knew about Meo. What was I going to say to defend myself? If I hadn’t felt so dizzy, I might have killed him right there, in front of these people. All the anger I’d experienced in my life was nothing to the fury, the indignation, the hateful rage that made my nails dig into my palms just looking at him. How dared he mingle in my private life now when he’d been absent for most of it? How dared he shame me because of something I’d done to a stranger, when he’d never been able to take care of his own son?
But I could say none of that. I was left lying in the middle of a crowd of monkeys disguised as humans, all clapping and cheering for the fight to go on.
“Get up.”
I gathered all my courage and shook my head indignantly. “Why would I? You’re just going to send me right back to where I am,” I replied. “I’ll pass, thank you.”
“Choosing to be polite now? Wipe that smugness off your face or I’ll make you regret you were ever my child.”
“Never needed your help for that.”
We each held the other’s gaze for a moment. There was such disgust and fury in those light-brown eyes, but also pity and despondency, which—and I would never admit it to anyone—hurt my very core.
“Fine,” he finally muttered, backing away from me. “You see all these people? I have a feeling none of them will stop me if I lay a hand on you again.” A loud roar agreed with him. “But I was never a violent father. I have values, see.” He paused, shaking his head slowly. “I tried, Ian. I tried when you were younger, but you never understood. That’s the reason why I left. You were a lost cause then, and you haven’t changed a bit. Maybe this will teach you.” The blue lights behind him blinded me and soon I could only discern his shadow among the hungry crowd. “Keep him alive,” were his last words before a herd of animals threw themselves at me from all directions.
I shrunk into a ball, put my arms over my head, and waited for the hits to cease. At some point, I heard the voice of a woman cry my name, but it was promptly muffle
d and then it was gone.
My father and Amanda had left me to the starving lions.
***
“How long has he been out?”
“Four hours and twenty-seven minutes.”
“You should leave him alone. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”
***
“How is he doing, Goldbridge?”
“Not good, I’m afraid. A solid hit to the head, he got. He’s lucky to have been found by medics in Red, though. The rest of his fractures have been taken care of. Solid technology they’ve developed there. Wish I could bring some of it here.”
“You know we’re not supposed to bring inventions from other Dimensions into our own. If we did, the world would want to know where we found them. Unless it’s for the Protectors’ use only, like the coop-holes or the memory serum. Then no one has to know.”
“We could save so many lives…”
“Let me know when he wakes up.”
***
“Ian? Ian, can you hear me? I’m so sorry I told your dad. I was so angry at you. I didn’t think straight. Please forgive me…”
***
A blinding light peeked through my eyelashes as I tried to open my eyes—or more precisely eye, since the left one seemed to be glued to my cheek. I grunted.
“Oh, Mr. Cohen, take it easy. Take it easy,” Dr. Goldbridge advised. I grunted once more in response as I brought my hand to the left side of my face. “No, no! Don’t infect the lesion. You almost lost your eye there, you know. If it weren’t for those sensational surgeons in Red… Well, all is fine now. Just leave your face alone for a bit, would you? Can you hear me properly?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Wonderful. Now, are you able to lift your right arm?” I did it quite easily. “And your left?” he added. As soon as I’d made the smallest movement, he gasped. “Brilliant! Absolutely miraculous. You see, the X-rays indicate that your left elbow was broken, but the doctors repaired it. It now looks as though it was broken six months ago.” I heard him scramble sheets of paper frantically on my right. “I need to find out how they did it. I must—” He whispered the rest to himself, scrawling something down on a notepad.
AMANI: Reveal Page 17