“Yeah, that was her,” I said, “but I didn’t know who she was until it was too late. It didn’t help that I was with your sister either.”
Rayne shook his head. “That woman is relentless.”
“How could I make such a stupid mistake?” I said. My forehead dropped into my hands with regret.
“It’ll be okay,” Rayne assured me. “That woman has taken my picture a thousand times. Tomorrow it will be yesterday’s news.”
I looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “You really think so?”
He smiled and took my hand. “I know so. It’s not a big deal. Everything will be fine.”
12. ASH FINDS A SNEAK
Ash clicked off the lamp on the bedside table and rolled to his back on the mattress. It wouldn’t be long now. In just a few days he would finally have the chance to track down his father and give him what he deserves.
All Ash could think about was what he would say to that conniving despicable man the moment he saw him, when he would stare him in the eyes and tell him exactly what he thought of him.
Just when Ash was ready to lapse into a blissfully resentful sleep, a quiet clank sounded from the corner of the room. He recognized the sound immediately— it was the cover to the large air vent popping off the wall. Only a second later, her familiar violet eyes glowed through the opening.
Ash spoke from across the dark room. “You know if they find you they’ll arrest you on the spot. Then you’ll be stuck in here with me.”
A dim light flipped on across the room, revealing her familiar, luminous face.
Violette sauntered toward him, wearing a devious grin. “Well, I can think of worse punishments,” she said.
Ash couldn’t help but stare at her form in that skin-tight black suit.
He had to shake off the thought. She was practically his little sister.
Ash sat up stiffly in the bed. “I thought I told you not to come here anymore. You’ll get yourself in trouble.”
“Stop worrying,” Violette said. “I can take care of myself.” Violette crossed her arms coolly. “And you should know better than anyone, Ash. If you tell me not to do something, it just makes me want to do it more.”
She sat coyly at the foot of the bed, leaning towards him. “I never used to listen to you before, what makes you think it would be any different now?”
“Well, you were eleven,” Ash said. “I figured you would have outgrown that by now.”
Violette slid closer to him on the bed, gracefully crossing her legs as she brought her face only inches from his.
“As you can see,” she replied, “I’m no longer a child.”
He swallowed and stared back at her, unable to speak. She was far from the little girl he used to know... and even more beautiful.
But those violet eyes... they were so much like his mother’s eyes. Whenever he looked at them, all he could think about was that terrible moment when their light faded into the fire as his mother took her last breath of life.
Ash stood abruptly. “Looking like an adult and acting like one are two very different things, Lettie.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I think you should go.”
Violette rolled her eyes. “I thought I told you to stop calling me Lettie.”
Ash reached for her wrist and pulled her away from the bed. “This isn’t a game,” he insisted. “You need to stop being so careless. You’re going to get us both in trouble.”
She yanked her wrist away. “Well excuse me for intruding on your precious sleep. I just thought you might like to see a familiar face after being locked up here so long.”
Violette turned away in a huff.
Ash grabbed her arm. “Lettie, wait.”
She stopped and stared at him coldly. “Don’t worry,” she said, “classes start next week, then I’ll be too busy to come bother you anymore.”
Ash’s tone softened. “You’re not bothering me, Lettie. It’s just... I don’t... I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I don’t know why you even care,” Violette shot back. “The worst they would probably do is kick me out of the Academy, and you’ve already made it perfectly clear that you don’t want me to go there. If they kicked me out they would just be doing you a favor.”
Ash exhaled with frustration. “Being a Scout isn’t as great as they make it out to be.” Then he took a step closer, taking her hand. “It’s dangerous, Lettie. Please, you have to trust me. I know better than anyone.”
For a moment he thought maybe she believed him. Her violet eyes looked deep into his. All he wanted was to protect her.
Her gaze finally broke and her voice went quiet. “I’m not your mother, Ash. I’ve been training to be an agent my whole life and nothing you can say will make me change my mind.”
She pulled her hand away and stepped in front of the air vent where she had come.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “I won’t come here again.” And then she slipped away into the dark.
Ash stared at the hole in the wall, taking a deep breath. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. Violette was more special to him than anyone else on Ambrosia. When he was at his darkest point, after he had watched his mother die right before his eyes, Violette was the only one who was there for him.
He wasn’t good enough for anyone to love him, especially not her. He didn’t deserve her then, and he definitely didn’t deserve her now.
Ash secured the vent cover on the wall and went back to bed, but he couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was that day from their past when Violette’s eleven-year-old face appeared at Crystal Lake. He had gone there to be alone, to escape the prying, pity-filled eyes in Banya after his mother died.
His mother had taken him to their cabin by the lake every summer for as long as he could remember. The lake was formed by a massive crater located at the top of the mountain. The violet water was so still and pristine it looked almost like glass. After his mother’s death, Ash stayed there for months, hoping to feel close to her again.
He couldn’t believe it when Violette’s scrawny little legs walked up beside him at the top of the mountain that day. It was a two hour hike from the cabin to the place where the lake was in view. Violette was still just a kid, and she had only been up there one time the summer before when he had invited Rayne’s family to their cabin.
“Hey you...!” she had called out from behind.
Ash turned. “Lettie?” he asked in surprise. “How in the world did you get up here?”
“How do you think,” she said with a laugh. “I walked. Just like you.”
Ash shook his head. “Well, who drove you to the cabin then? Did Rayne come with you?”
“No,” she said, “Rayne’s been busy lately, going on Water Keeper missions and stuff. Nobody else would take me either, so I just stole my dad’s truck and drove here myself.”
The corner of Ash’s mouth lifted. “You drove yourself?”
Violette shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I’ve been driving around the orchard for years.” Then, she climbed up the side of the boulder where Ash had been sitting and sat down beside him.
He threw his arm around her side, giving her a hug. “You know you’re the craziest eleven-year-old I know, right?” he said.
She grinned. “But also your favorite eleven-year-old.”
He gave her another squeeze and laughed. “Yes, you’re definitely my favorite.” He paused. “So, how did you know where to find me anyway? Nobody knows that I’m here.”
Violette smirked. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I mean, I checked a few other places first because they weren’t as far away, but I was pretty sure this is where you would be.” She looked up at him with thoughtful eyes. “I just know how special this place was for you and your mom.”
Ash smiled sadly and gazed out at the lake. “Yeah, my mom loved it here.”
Violette put her little hand over his. “It’s a beautiful place. Your mom was beautiful too. We’ll all miss her.”
>
Ash grasped her hand tighter. “Thanks, Lettie. That means a lot.”
She looked up at him with concern. “I saw all the stuff they were saying about you on TV, how you’ve completely gone off the deep end and all that, and I don’t believe anything they said. I just want to make sure you know that I will always be here for you... no matter what.”
Ash’s memory faded as he rolled from his side to his back and stared up at the ceiling.
Violette had always been there for him just like she had promised, and that was exactly why he would do whatever it took to keep her safe, even if it meant pushing her away.
13. MEMORIAL
A wave of panic tore through me. At first I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Flashes of chaos reeled through my mind. Everything was shaking.
I couldn’t tell where I was. The ground shook beneath my feet causing me to fall. There wasn’t time to think; all I could do was fumble on my knees and hope nothing crashed down on my head.
Then, the shaking stopped.
My eyes darted left and right in alarm as I struggled to stand. My heart raced. Everywhere I looked there were people in the street, all of them hurt or confused or sprawled unconsciously on the ground.
I saw a woman only a few yards away. Her clothes were dirty and torn, and she was hunched over in the middle of the street, crying. The tears streaked down through the soot on her cheeks.
I stood there, paralyzed, unsure what to do. The woman was holding a boy in her arms, a small child.
“Please!” the woman cried. “Save him!” She sobbed and clutched the child to her breast. “You have to save him!”
I rushed to the woman’s side and fell to my knees, ready to do whatever I could to heal the dying child. The woman lifted the boy’s shoulders toward me, urging me to take him into my lap.
When I pulled the motionless boy to my arms a jolt of fear clenched through my body. Black, dead-looking eyes stared back at me from the boy’s face, with a web of black veins taking over.
I shuddered in horror. I couldn’t save him. It was already too late.
In an instant, the boy disappeared and a light pierced through my mind, so bright it was painful.
I gasped and opened my eyes.
It was just a dream.
The familiar comforts of my bedroom came into focus, allowing me to get my bearings. It was just another nightmare of Voss, I told myself. Take a deep breath and you’ll be fine.
As I lay there trying to calm myself, I wondered if I would ever be free of him. Even from somewhere across the universe, Voss still managed to haunt me in my dreams. How could I possibly rest when I knew he was still out there on Earth? Who knew what terrible things he could be planning, if not for me, then for some other innocent, unsuspecting person?
I didn’t want to think about it. It was Sunday morning and my last chance to rest before getting back to work on my training the next day.
I turned on the TV, hoping to clear my mind. As I flipped through the channels I realized that most of the stations were airing the same program. It looked like a large crowd of people had assembled at the edge of Banya City Park near the steps in front of the Court of Ambassadors.
After a few minutes I finally realized what the special occasion was. It was a memorial service for the Agent who had died—or more specifically, the Agent I personally had let die at the testing center just a few days earlier.
As much as it pained me to be reminded of that day, my eyes remained glued to the program until the service was over.
Ambassador Zieg Thompson himself gave the final remarks. His words were both powerful and touching as he honored the Agent’s memory. Many of the citizens of Ambrosia were shown on screen with tears of gratitude in their eyes, memorializing the Agent’s life which was spent fulfilling his duty in the service of the people of Ambrosia.
I wondered if I was the only person who knew the truth about the man they were honoring. Just remembering the darkness I had felt from him at the testing center made my entire body feel sick.
As soon as the memorial service was over I rolled out of bed, ready to get myself some breakfast. But just as I reached for the knob on my door a picture suddenly flashed in my mind. I stopped for a moment, taken off guard.
The next thing I knew, I was seeing another vision. I recognized the man in my head right away. He was the other agent Orion had brought to the testing center, not the one they were memorializing on TV but the one who had survived, the one I successfully healed from a stab wound. I could see that he was sitting in a nice chair on some kind of stage, with lights and a camera crew all pointed in his direction.
This vision felt just like the ones I had experienced when I was trying to locate my parents, like I was seeing the agent’s physical location right in this moment.
Something instinctively told me to turn the TV back on. Without even thinking, I went for the remote and pressed the power button.
Sure enough, right there on the screen was the agent I had just seen in my mind. All of his surroundings on the screen were exactly as I had seen them in my vision. Not a single thing was different, right down to the color of his tie.
I couldn’t believe it; I saw the agent’s location without even trying.
The well-known radio personality and talk show host, Birch Parker, was sitting in the chair next to the agent on TV.
“For those of you who are just tuning in,” Birch began, “we’re here live for an exclusive interview with Agent Jaymen Pike. Many of you might remember Agent Pike from his interview last year when he shared with us his brave attempt at stopping Voss Hastings from escaping Cayno.”
As soon as Birch said the word Cayno, a vision flashed in my head of Voss throwing a knife at my throat when I was exploring Agent Pike’s mind at the testing center. It suddenly was clear that the vision I had experienced was an actual memory of Agent Pike’s, when he had tried to stop Voss from escaping Cayno.
Birch turned away from the audience to address the agent. “Thank you, Agent Pike, for agreeing to meet with us today.”
“I’m happy to be here, Birch, although I wish it were under better circumstances.”
Birch crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees. “Yes, I agree. It’s a terrible tragedy to have lost such a good man and respected agent.”
The agent nodded dolefully. “Yes, especially at such a young age.”
“And from what I’ve heard, Agent Pike, you yourself came within inches of death on your last mission, am I right?”
“You could say that. I was stabbed with a knife by some kind of Earth-criminal. I was lucky to make it back to the Threshold alive.”
Birch smiled sympathetically. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’re thrilled and relieved to see you made it back safely.”
“I’m just doing my duty,” the agent replied. “It can get rough out there sometimes, but as a Scout the risk of danger is part of the job description.”
“That’s true,” Birch said, “and we’re grateful to you for risking your life out there for the safety of Ambrosia.”
Birch paused. “So, tell us Agent Pike... What’s happening out there on Earth that is causing so many agents to come home with severe injuries?”
The agent shook his head. “Somehow these Earth-criminals know about the Healing Water and they’re targeting Water Keepers. A lot of Keepers don’t have enough training to defend themselves against these kinds of attacks.”
“And that is why they’re sending out well-trained Scouts like yourself?” Birch asked. “To protect the Water Keepers?”
“Yes,” Agent Pike said. “And to retrieve and protect the stolen Healing Water. I don’t know where these Earth-criminals are getting their information from, but these weren’t exactly common thugs. They were smart; they had resources. These are exactly the type of criminals we should be afraid of finding out the truth about Ambrosia. In my mind... this is just more evidence that the Keeper program is becoming a major risk to t
he security of our people.”
“I think I’m inclined to agree with you,” Birch said. “Ever since the fiasco with the ‘Miracle Doctor’ in California, the Healing Water thefts have gotten out of hand. In your expert opinion, Agent Pike, do you think the people here in Banya should be concerned?”
“Definitely, they should. Let’s just hope the Council is taking these matters seriously,” Agent Pike said.
“Yes, we can only hope...” Birch said. Then, he turned toward the audience. “Stay tuned for more with Agent Jaymen Pike, right after these messages from our sponsor.”
I clicked the mute button on the remote to shut out the noise of the commercials, so I could ponder what I had just seen. The entire time Agent Pike was being interviewed I felt uneasy, like I could sense that he wasn’t being completely truthful, but I wasn’t sure which part he was lying about.
I knew that he was the man I had healed at the testing center, but I didn’t understand why I was able to see his location before I turned on the TV. I didn’t even know Agent Pike. How was it possible that I could see his location, without even trying, when I couldn’t see Jax or Violette? What was my connection to Agent Pike?
And then it struck me... it should have been obvious all along. I healed Agent Pike. The connection had nothing to do with how well I knew someone; the connection came through the bonding effect of the Healing Water. I had healed my mom when she was dying of a broken heart, and I healed my dad when he was almost killed by a car explosion. I even healed Rayne too, when the shrapnel from the explosion put a gash in his leg. And before I even healed Rayne we already had a strong bond between us, from when I almost died in a car crash and he used all his Healing Water on me.
Suddenly, it all made sense. I had never healed Jax or Violette. That had to be why I couldn’t see them like the others.
But then I remembered Orion. I never healed him either, and yet, I saw his location quite clearly when he passed through one of the Thresholds. Then again, the vision with Orion felt different than the others.
Flood Rising (The Water Keepers, Book 4) Page 11