by S. D. Grimm
“I’m headed to the library. You want me to check out something?”
He paused, seeming to consider it. “If it triggers a memory—”
Not this again. I wanted to scream. “So be it. How do we stop her?”
“We have to find her and kill her. Ava isn’t trained. I’d suggest you start hanging around her—it’ll help jog her memories. She’s the one who needs to be reminded of her training.”
Yeah. She was the one who had to pull the proverbial trigger, after all. I crossed my arms. I might not wake up like I hated life, but Nick’s dour moods were starting to rub off.
Nick grabbed his helmet and opened the front door. “Get Ava to trust you enough to come here.”
“Okay.” I headed to the sink with my empty bowl and spotted something under the island. I picked it up. “Nick, looks like Kelsey Harper left her ID here yesterday.”
He snatched it out of my hands.
“I bet she left it on purpose.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
He pocketed it and his unreadable expression seemed to hold a hint of rue that made me wish I hadn’t teased him. “Here’s something that would be good for you to remember, Cade. Life as a Phoenix is lonely. Falling in love isn’t a good idea. In fact, it’s forbidden.” Then he put on the helmet and left.
I stared at the doorway and shook my head. My brother the conundrum.
And since when was love forbidden?
Since it was such an amazing day and I wanted my good mood back, I opted to take the other motorcycle that Nick had told me not to take without permission. I was pretty sure giving permission wasn’t in his wheelhouse, so I took it anyway. And it was awesome.
When I finally pulled into the library parking lot, I found myself checking my helmet hair in the rearview mirror. I’d known Yuki all of a few weeks, and I was already feeling self-conscious around her. Not good for my uber-confident self-image.
I spotted her sitting at the table through the huge windows in the side of the building. She leaned over a book on the table, her fingers gliding through her brown hair. Lighter when the sunshine touched it. Petals from a flowering tree right outside the window blew in the breeze past the window, and I recalled the strange memory I’d had of the Japanese woman. At least, I’d thought she was Japanese. Just by thinking about her face, I couldn’t quite tell, but something inside of me knew that she was a Japanese woman.
Yuki turned her head and her eyes met mine through the glass. She waved tentatively. I waved back and headed up the steps. The face from my memory—painted white with bright red lipstick—could have passed for Yuki.
I shook my head. That would be impossible. Right?
The library door opened as a blonde woman walked out, nose in a book. She bumped shoulders with mine.
“Sorry!” She offered a smile and touched my shoulder briefly. I shrugged it off. Maybe Nick was right. Maybe I was in a good mood this morning.
I went inside and joined Yuki at the table. “Good morning.”
She regarded me for a few moments. “I didn’t think you’d actually show.”
“What?” I slid into the chair across the table from her and gave her my best wounded look. “What do you take me for?”
A sweet but slightly venomous smile curved her eyes. “How about a slacker who floats by in his classes by tapping into his superior intelligence only enough to glide by as an average student without ever divulging that ‘average’ in his case merely means minimal effort.”
“Someone’s been taking notes on more than class material.”
Her expression screamed “oh please.” “Hardly. You’re easier to figure out that you think.”
Ouch. “Doubtful.” I leaned over the table.
She sat back, completely unintimidated by my blatant staring, and crossed her arms. “Why did you come, really?”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Slowly, she uncrossed her arms but didn’t release her eye contact. “All right, Elderson. This partnership might work out after all.”
I couldn’t stop my growing grin.
She held up her finger as if to stop me from getting any ideas. “Might. Just don’t blow it. I’m going to get into Harvard, and a botched presentation my sophomore year is not in that plan.”
“You have everything planned out?”
She shrugged, but for the first time that confident eye contact wavered. “Not everything.” Again, she pinned me to my seat with those piercing eyes. “In fact, I like a bit of spontaneity. If it’s done well, of course.”
“I think that still falls under the term ‘planned.’”
“You don’t think I can be spontaneous?”
I couldn’t hold in my chuckle. “Let’s see. You walk to your car the same time after school every day, which is parked in the same area. You take the same route, always reading, and you always wait for Ava. You predictably use your blue pen in history, black in Spanish, and a pencil in math, and you take notes in specific colored notebooks for each class. For example, green, science. Purple, lit, which makes sense because lit is your favorite subject and purple your favorite color. So, no, I don’t think spontaneity is your scene. But if you’re willing to give it a shot, I can take you somewhere right now.”
She stared at me, eyes wide—I couldn’t tell if she was slightly horrified, and I mentally kicked myself for saying too much. But then she cocked her eyebrow. “A challenge?”
I tilted my head, hoping to entice her to give in at least once. Also, I really wanted to know whether or not I was right about purple being her favorite color.
She slammed the book in front of her closed. “Sure. Why not?”
“Really?”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
I could not hide my growing smile as I stood. “Then let’s go.” The thought of her behind me on the bike with her arms clinging to me sounded pretty good right about now, and I didn’t want to mess this up. Not that it was love or anything, but it still felt forbidden, and that sent another thrill through me.
…
Yuki held me tight as I revved the engine. “You ready?”
“Like this?” She wrapped her arms around me.
“Exactly like that.” I was grateful that she couldn’t see my grin. “Have you never ridden a bike?”
“Never. My parents are kind of…protective.”
“I don’t want to get in trouble with Mom and Pop.”
She laughed. “I’m certainly not going to tell them. But you don’t really seem the type to care about that.”
“How about for the next hour, you throw everything you think you know about me out the proverbial window.”
“Everything?”
What was I doing? Getting close to someone wasn’t part of my mantra, but something about her made me want to drop a wall or two.
She laughed. “Like the fact that I believe you’re a cocky know-it-all with really good looks and a shallow personality?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I glanced at her over my shoulder. “Not everything. That second-to-last one is completely true.”
“And you’re conceited.”
“Give me chance, okay?”
Her eyelashes fluttered and she looked utterly serious. “A chance to what?”
“To show you a different side of Cade Elderson.” I released the brake. “Now, hang on tight.”
I took her down along the beach drive, which she loved. She turned her face into the wind, letting my shoulders buffet her only once we pulled away from the water. Then I drove her through the quaint little downtown. Only when we reached the third red light did she say something. “This is pretty amazing.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“How much longer?”
“How long do you want?”
She paused. The light was about to change. “Can you…make it go faster?”
I laughed. “I know just the place.”
She squeezed tighter as I took off at the green light. I took he
r outside of town to a long stretch of road and shot out like a bullet. She screamed, delighted, and hugged me close.
When it was time to head back, I drove near the water again. Her hold on me grew much more comfortable. At one point, it almost seemed as though she forgot herself and actually snuggled into me.
Just as we pulled in front of a corner store next to the pizza place, nearly back to the library, Yuki’s hold on my waist loosened and she seemed to lean right into me, heavy. Was she falling asleep? I pulled over and found her on the verge of fainting. I parked and caught her.
“Yuki?” I didn’t know what to do, so I tapped her cheek—harder than intended. My heart started pounding. “Yuki!”
Her eyelids fluttered and she sucked in a breath. “Where am I? What—how long was I out?”
“How long—does this happen regularly to you?”
She shook her head and leaned back on the brick wall of the storefront. I realized people walking by had taken to gawking. She offered a weak smile at a couple. “I’m fine.” As she pushed off the wall and crossed her ankles into a stumble, it was clear she wasn’t fine.
Thankfully, I caught her. “What happened?”
A tear dripped out of her eye, but she wiped it away before I could see. The only reason I knew was because one had landed on my sleeve. Warm and wet and a sign of vulnerability she didn’t want to share. Wishes I could normally respect if it weren’t for the fact that I couldn’t let this go until I knew for certain that she was okay.
She looked up at me, smiling.
It looked like a real smile, but it couldn’t be. Not after what I’d just seen. Then I recalled how she’d helped me with my headache. Like she understood what I’d been going through. I helped her gain her balance. “I think I should drive you home.”
Her fingers gripped my sleeves so tight and a wild look broke through her composure. “No!”
“Why not?”
She looked away. “I…” She leaned against the wall again, body limp like she was giving up the hiding thing. “I don’t want to go. And no one asked you to take care of me.”
“How often does this happen?”
“More now. I don’t know. Once a month.” Another tear spilled out of the corner of her eye as she stared up at the blue, blue sky.
I leaned on the wall next to her and looked up at the sky, too. So bright. Vast. Like her planned-out future. “I take it you know what’s wrong with you?”
“No one does.”
A tight pang hit my chest. “What do you mean?”
She shook her head and fisted her hands. “They can’t figure it out. I get dizzy, faint. No one knows why.”
“Is…is it serious?”
She sniffed and let out a frustrated laugh. “They just know something is wrong with my heart. Maybe a lot of somethings. I probably need a new one.”
Whoa. Something in my chest dropped like a stone. I faced her, unsure what to say. But maybe this was one of those times to say nothing.
She pushed off the wall and faced me, wearing a rueful smile. “I don’t have a lot of friends, but all of them know about my…condition. Everyone is always so careful with me, like I’m some sort of fragile porcelain doll. But you—you treated me like a regular girl. That hasn’t happened to me in so long.” Her hand rested on my upper arm and she smiled, slightly sad. “Thank you for today. It was the best day I’ve had in a long time.” She pulled off the helmet and handed it to me. “And you’re not exactly the person I thought you were.” Then she started walking away.
The library wasn’t that far from here, but I’d been heading back that way. “Yuki, wait.” Everything about this was wrong. She’d nearly fainted and could have been seriously hurt if I hadn’t caught her and pulled over. What was she thinking? The heat in my chest died as I reheard her words. She wanted to live. Like a person who didn’t have to worry about taking it easy.
And here I was getting so mad at Nick about the same types of things.
Except if Yuki died, that could be forever. She didn’t have another chance like I did.
I raced after her and caught up. “Where are you going?”
“Library. Then home.”
I tugged her shoulder until she stopped and faced me. “I can’t not take you to the hospital, Yuki.”
Her eyes grew harder, and she stared into me. For a moment, I thought she might actually be contemplating taking me down. And for a moment, I also felt she might be able to. Almost like I knew—no, no. Oh no. I gripped her arm as I doubled over, clutching my head in my other hand. Everything spun as the memory crashed into me.
This time, the woman standing before me, long dark hair pulled into a tight ponytail, was most definitely Yuki. No makeup. No mistaking.
And she pressed a naginata against my throat—the blade was very sharp.
I held my hands up in surrender—far away from my weapons. The owner of the restaurant was certainly not going to let me back here if people kept making death threats on my life, especially with swords. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize women could become samurai.”
The sword’s sharp side rested against my skin, and I was sure she’d get blood all over my clothes. Annoying, since I didn’t really have another shirt.
Her glare intensified. “You don’t realize much, baka.”
If she wanted to call me a trickster, maybe she knew me better than I thought. “Hey, that’s a little harsh.”
One side of her mouth curved in a smile. A half smile was really my charming technique. And here she was stealing that. Not to mention my credibility. Actually, she’d make an excellent monster hunter. Maybe I could bring her on board in our fight and persuade Nick to bring his mystery girl into the picture.
This woman’s eyes were still pretty harsh, though. So that seemed rather unlikely. I swallowed, causing the blade to drag against my skin. “What I mean to say is, I’m sorry. I never meant to insult you.”
“No?”
“Just poke a little fun.”
“You are baka.”
“My name is Cade.”
The naginata fell away from my neck as she lowered her arm, and her eyes widened. “You are Caderyn?”
I checked the slice on my neck. No blood. “You’ve heard of me?”
That half smile lit her face again.
“I see. The bad stuff.”
She shrugged. “Some good.”
“A samurai with humor? I like it.”
She glared again, but the ferocity she’d just shown was no longer in it. She sheathed her sword and ordered a sake as she sat across from me on the floor. Those eyes never left my face—a cat waiting to pounce. “I know why you are here, Caderyn. And I need your help.”
I sucked in gasoline-tinged air, and the memory spit me out into the present. Yuki gripped my shoulders, concern plain on her face.
I shifted to sit on the dirty sidewalk and breathed. “I’m okay.”
“Clearly.” Her voice carried the same no-nonsense tone as memory Yuki. A samurai. The girl in front of me—bookworm, straight-A student—didn’t seem like a female samurai. Then again, this Yuki was sick.
She tilted her head to the side and her compassion was back. “How often does that happen?”
Daily. “It really depends.” Maybe her episodes were the start of returning memories, too. “Hey, do you like swords?”
She slugged my arm and started to stand. “Gross, Cade.”
“No!” I grabbed her wrist before she could go. Her pulse tapped against my fingers, delicate and fragile, strong and wild. I let go. Who was this girl? “No.” I repeated softer this time and stood, dusting off my pants. “Swords, like weapons.”
“My father bought me an authentic katana for my eleventh birthday.” Her eyes practically sparkled. “I took lessons until…until they found out about my condition.” She bowed her head. “They said it was too strenuous.” She glanced up at me. “I’m sure you can relate.”
On a smaller scale. But if she was a Phoenix, too, I
might be able to tell her why she was getting sick. I just had to get her to trust me. “I’m guessing your parents won’t like me if I drop you off at home on my bike?”
She laughed, but then lost a bit of the smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s like they’re trying to walk the line between keeping me alive and letting me live.”
A hint of that half smile returned, only this time happier.
I took her hand in mine and towed her toward the bike. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Just trust me.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nick
I sat at the table in the coffee shop, turning Kelsey’s ID over and over in my fingers. She didn’t live far from me at all. I had her address right here, but something about showing up on Wyatt’s doorstep seemed like a bad idea right now since I’d seen Ava’s car there.
That meant I needed to tell Wyatt to stay away from my sister. A conversation I’d have later; I didn’t want Kelsey around for that. Having her as an ally right now seemed like a good move, knowing Wyatt’s past.
So, I’d called Kelsey and asked her to meet me here.
I stared out the window as rain droplets splashed against the glass. I hoped the book I’d found at the library proved useful. If it didn’t I might be out of time to fix that situation. My past sins knocked on the door of my memories. They blurred as the past raced back to me. As I remembered why my father used the memory stone on Ava and Cade.
Trembling, covered in blood, I stood outside the council room where my father was conducting a meeting with the other six heads of the Phoenix families.
My knees shook and my heart wouldn’t stop racing.
“I can hear your armor rattling through the whole building.” Dinah’s teasing voice made me close my eyes and breathe in calming air.
I turned toward her and her smirk faded. Her eyes widened, and she touched the red sash I wore. Her gaze traced my face and softly she pressed her palm against my cheek. Her jaw tightened. “How many?”
A heavy weight sank into my gut, and I turned away from her.
“Don’t look away from me, Nick. Please?” She coaxed me to turn back to face her. To look into those dark pools of eyes. “You have no reason to be ashamed with me. Do you understand?”