by Jamie Zakian
Shay didn’t flinch. Her gaze had zeroed in on Max and never left. Then, like a moment ripped straight out of his dreams, she ran into his arms. Her fingers glided through his hair, quaking his knees.
“I missed you, baby,” she said, in a throaty whisper that didn’t belong to Shay.
“Jenn—”
Her lips covered Max’s mouth, stealing his words. The second she kissed him, he knew. It was definitely Jenna. He held her tight and strong hands pried him away.
“Dude,” Alexie yelled as Simon pushed Max against a wall.
Evie marched up to Max and slapped him across the cheek, which earned her a hard shove from Shay; or rather, from Jenna.
“Hey,” Shay shouted in Evie’s face. “Watch it, bossy-butt. That’s my man.” She hit Simon until he let Max go then cuddled under Max’s arm.
“What the hell are you doing?” Evie shrieked.
“This isn’t Shay,” Max said. Lights flashed, and the clicks of cameras bounced off the buildings. “We should get inside.” He tried to push Shay… Jenna away, but she clung to his arm with both hands. Once inside Ling Enterprises, she went in for another kiss.
“Have you lost your mind?” Evie yelled at Shay, pulling her away from Max.
“That’s not Shay,” Max said again, mostly to himself.
“What?”
“Yeah.” Shay jerked her hand free from Evie’s clutch, then pushed Evie. “So back off, bossy-butt, or I’ll solarslap you.”
“Oh shit,” Alexie muttered. Her jaw hung open as she stood beside Evie to gawk at Shay’s body moving and talking under Jenna’s will.
“Hey, Sparkles,” Shay said through an enormous grin.
Alexie gasped. “It is Jenna.”
Shay hip-checked Evie aside, then shooed everyone from her way. She walked toward Max, and he backed away from her.
“Don’t,” Max said, hold his arm out stiff.
“It’s okay, baby. Shay still owes me for saving her life. She won’t mind.”
“Ew.” Evie stepped in between them, but looked at neither one. “Shay … Jenna … whoever you are, you’re about to get put on lockdown if you don’t chill.”
“Evie.” Max placed his hand on Evie’s shoulder, gently. “Can I have a minute with her? Please.”
Part of him wished Evie would say no, or perhaps slap him again, but she didn’t. She just walked to the other side of the lobby, beside a stunned Simon and Alexie, with her stare low.
“Come on, baby. Take me to our room. I got a beatdown and need some TLC.”
“Jenna.” Max pulled her toward a corner, and everybody in the lobby slowly followed. “The girl you’re in is only sixteen.”
“So what. I’m seventeen.”
“But, I’m twenty-six. Look at me. It’s been ten years.”
“I don’t care how old you are, stupid.”
She reached for Max’s hand, and he moved away. The sharpest ache stemmed from her touch, crippling his will. He thought it’d feel great to have Jenna back again, but to see her spirit—glimpse her shine trapped within another person’s eyes—only ripped, tore, sliced at his soul.
“I care,” Max said softly. “And the girl you’re in, she wouldn’t think it’s right. I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Max turned his back before he could see the heartbreak on anybody’s face. It took every ounce of strength not to look back. It was a good thing. If he had looked back, he would’ve ran to Jenna. He would have scooped her into his arms and flew off with her. Instead, he took to the skies alone.
Jenna hurried to the window, watching Max jet off in a whirlwind of flames. Shay’s eyes glared at her in the glass and she shot back from the window.
“He ditched me.”
“Umm.” Alexie patted Jenna on the arm, lightly. “He doesn’t want to be with you because, you know, you’re dead.”
“But I’m here.”
“That’s not you, Jenna. We buried you a long time ago.”
Evie marched forward with that bossy-butt look that Jenna had always hated.
“Get out of my sister, you bitch.”
“Ooh.” Jenna took a step toward Evie, bumping the woman’s shoulder. “Nasty. Shay hates you. You do know that, right?”
“Liar!” Evie lifted her hand to slap Jenna and Alexie carted her away, but that didn’t stop the woman’s mouth from spewing.
“Some heroes you all are. You’ll sacrifice a sixteen-year-old girl to hang with a buddy.”
Jenna stood in the middle of the lobby, dripping blood from her fingertips, watching Evie throw a fit while being ushered away. It wasn’t exactly the homecoming she’d envisioned. Shay’s voice thundered in her ears, growing louder by the second, and she gripped her temples.
“Please, just a little bit longer.”
“Shay … I mean, Jenna.” Simon reached for Jenna’s hand then drew his arm back. “Why don’t we get those cuts bandaged?”
Jenna’s gaze dropped to the little red pools at her feet. The dark blood tumbling from her stolen meat suit smeared across the bright floor, blocking its shine.
“There’s nothing left for me here, is there?”
“I’m sorry, Jenna.”
The look in Simon’s eyes, the tone of his voice. It oozed pity. A flesh and bone body wasn’t as fun as Jenna remembered, especially not a plain one like this. Her aches weren’t even healing, they were actually getting worse.
Jenna limped toward the open elevator. She hurried past Simon, stepped inside the elevator, and hit the button for the top floor. The door slid shut, closing off Simon and his shouts.
Her reflection shined on every surface, surrounding her. Instead of glimpsing her own lost eyes, she saw Shay’s face. That girl was going to be angry. Shay would never trust her again, not that it mattered.
“I’m almost done. Just one more thing.”
With a ding, the elevator door opened and Jenna hobbled out on her cut feet. A frosty stairwell and three doors later, she was on the rooftop staring at Max’s back.
“I knew you’d be up here.”
Max turned toward her but he wouldn’t look at her face. She couldn’t blame him. Ten years and a different body stood between them. All that time suspended in a gray fog, she hadn’t realized life went on for the people she left behind.
“Jenna, I—”
“No, don’t.” Jenna crept closer to Max, gazing at him in the moonlight. Lines creased his forehead, a dark stubble claiming his chin. He really did look older, kind of … sexier.
“I understand why it’s hard for you. I know you’ve been looking for me, for my soul.”
His eyes glazed over and she choked up. She blinked back her own tears, straining to keep her voice steady.
“I want you to let me go. We were the greatest loves of each other’s lives, and that’s enough for me. I’m happy. I want you to be happy too.”
A tear fell from Max’s eye, splashing the back of Jenna’s hand. He opened his mouth but before he could speak, she laid her lips atop his.
This time, he kissed back. Slow and soft, he kissed her. It was the way he always had, the memory she’d been clinging to while alone in the dark. Jenna wrapped her arms around Max’s neck and held him tight one last time.
“I love you, baby,” she whispered into his ear. “See you on the other side.”
She closed her eyes and drifted away from his words, his touch, and fell back into an empty gray world of shadows and echoes.
Leather crinkled as Evie sat up on the couch in her suite. She’d locked herself in here, alone, to weep in privacy. She should’ve taken this soul business more serious, should’ve listened to Shay when she tried to explain it. Now Shay was gone, and she had no idea how to get her sister back.
After blowing her nose, Evie tossed a soggy tissue across the living room and then downed an entire glass of wine. Half a bottle of this ridiculously smooth Bordeaux and her tears still flowed. The remedy must lie
at the bottom of the bottle. In which case, Evie had some more drinking to do.
As she reached for the wine, the suite’s front door was kicked open. Max rushed inside the living room carrying Shay, and Evie jumped to her feet.
“She just collapsed,” Max said, verging hysteria.
“Put her on the couch.” Evie flung the blanket aside and Max laid Shay on the leather cushions.
“What happened?” She bumped Max from her way, running a hand along Shay’s forehead. “Where’s Simon? Alexie?”
“I don’t know. We were on the roof—”
“You, and the horn-dog soul inside my sister’s body were on the roof, alone?” Evie pushed crumpled tissues aside in search of her cell phone.
“She found me up there. We were … talking and she passed out.”
“Talking?” Evie’s eyes left the cell phone’s screen long enough to roll then she continued typing her message.
“Who are you calling?”
“I’m texting Simon. I’d feel safer being with you if he were here.”
“I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Evie snickered. “I know, but I might hurt you.”
“That’s not fair, Evie. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me.”
“Fair.” Evie tossed her cell phone onto an armchair and it bounced off the cushion, clattering to the floor.
“My parents dying wasn’t fair. Shay having another person’s soul shoved inside her body when she was six wasn’t fair. If you’re looking for fair, you came to the wrong place.”
Evie could slap Max for being naïve, but the look of defeat in his eyes sucked the fun right out of that notion. Before he could say a word, or conjure up another expression that made her want to hug him, she knelt beside Shay.
“Will it be … Jenna when she wakes up?”
“I don’t know.” Max sat on the arm of the couch, staring at Shay.
“But you want it to be Jenna?”
Max buried his face in his hands, his shoulders trembling. “I don’t know.”
Voices broke through a gray fog, bringing with them the throb of pain. There wasn’t a single place on her body that didn’t ache. Her head pounded, feet burned, but the worst was her chest. A sharp stab pierced her heart. This pain didn’t belong to her, it wasn’t of her body or soul. Jenna let Shay back, but left behind the deepest pit of sadness.
“Jenna?”
Max’s eyes blurred into view. He looked at Shay with such hope and fear. It split Shay’s broken heart open even wider. She sat up, happy to find herself on the couch in her suite’s living room. There were a lot of people gathered around her, but not one of them was the person she’d been seeking. None of them were Jenna.
“No. It’s just me, Shay.”
Evie hugged Shay. “I knew you’d find your way back.”
“I’m sorry, Evie.” Shay pried Evie’s hands from her neck so she could get a glimpse of her sister’s perfect smile. “I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you.”
“I know.”
“Do you remember everything?” Simon asked.
Shay looked at Max. She didn’t just remember. She had felt Jenna’s anguish, experienced the intensity between the ghost girl and Max.
“Yeah. It was like watching myself in a black and white movie.”
“Do you know where you were? Where their lair is?”
“Yes. I was in an abandoned hospital, near the docks.”
“The old asylum,” Alexie said, heading for the door.
Simon patted Shay on the arm then rushed out the suite’s kicked-open front door after Alexie.
Max stood in front of Shay, fidgeting with the bottom of his shirt. “Shay—”
“Come on, Max,” Alexie yelled from the hallway.
“I’m really glad you’re back,” Max said, hurrying out of the room.
“Be careful.” Shay turned toward the front door, but Max was already gone.
The emptiness of the room hung thick, dragging her back into the couch cushions. She shouldn’t miss Max, or Jenna. She’d just met Max and only recently discovered Jenna’s soul residing inside her body, yet a strong pull drew her to them both.
Evie took Shay’s hand and the void in her chest filled with love. Shay drew Evie close. She hugged her sister so tight Evie’s back cracked a little.
“What did Dr. Mayhem and Antiserum do to you?” Evie asked. She wriggled from Shay’s embrace, inspecting the fresh bandages along Shay’s arm.
“Nothing. This was mostly from Jenna. I don’t think she’s used to non-healing skin.”
“Jenna. She’s a maniac.”
Evie’s nose crinkled, lips bunching, and a snicker flew from Shay’s mouth. She really did owe Jenna everything. Jenna promised to bring her back to her sister and here she was, sitting beside Evie.
“Jenna saved me. She beat the crap out of two supervillains, with no powers, and made your face turn fifty shades of red. I know you don’t think so, but she really is a super hero.”
Evie squeezed onto the couch beside Shay and crawled under the blanket. “Has she been popping in and out of your body this whole time? Because that would explain the dark makeup phase last fall.”
“No. I never actually felt her until … I got hit with the sonic blast.”
“You mean, until I killed you.”
Shay grabbed Evie’s hand. She wanted to tell her sister it was okay, that it wasn’t her fault, but it would be lies. Something happened to her that night, the night she died. The places she went and people she spoke with grew fainter as the days passed, but the knowledge she’d grazed something significant would never leave her mind.
“I crossed a veil,” Shay said, even though Evie could never really understand what that meant. “It unlocked a door in my mind, allowed me to see what’s been there the entire time.”
Evie leaned back on the couch and narrowed her stare on Shay. “How do I even know you’re you right now?”
“You sucked your thumb until you were sixteen.”
“Hey!” Evie smacked Shay’s arm then glanced around the empty suite. “That’s a secret.”
“A secret only I know.” Shay rested her head on Evie’s shoulder. “I’m sure you knew right off the bat it wasn’t me.”
“Oh, yeah. You ran up and kissed Max, all dramatic, just like in every generic teen flick.”
“Anyway.” She’d never do something that vapid. “That’s just so …”
“I know,” Evie said, with a dead-serious expression.
“All right.” Shay snuggled closer to Evie. She pulled the soft blanket up to her scratched cheek and nudged the TV’s remote with her toe. “Put on Runway Wars. I want to see if the snotty girl gets the boot.”
Lucius crept into a corner of the dayroom, squishing Cyrus against the wall. His stare followed Max and the hero squad as they walked right past him.
“I don’t even want to move,” he whispered to Cyrus.
“Why?” Cyrus pushed Lucius aside and walked across the room. “They can’t see us.” He waved his hand in front of Simon’s face then stuck up two middle fingers, chuckling.
“This is great.” Lucius tailed the trio of so-called heroes deeper into the asylum, grinning at Cyrus. “We should stay invisible.”
“Can’t do, brother. Sixty minutes, tops, or you really will be staying like this. Forever.”
Cyrus tilted to the side, staring at Alexie’s butt as her cape swung. “Think she still digs me?”
“You had your chance,” Lucius said in a growl.
“I don’t think they’re here,” Max said.
Lucius secretly followed his adversaries down a hallway, which would lead them back to the dayroom. He cut in front of Cyrus, so he could walk behind Alexie. “She needs a darker, stronger man.”
“Don’t even think about it.”
“I’m already thinking about it.” Lucius reached out to trace the blue streaks in Alexie’s black
hair.
“Hey.” Cyrus crashed his hand against the wall, blocking the tight corridor and stopping Lucius in his tracks. He stared daggers, but Lucius didn’t back down.
“We should go,” Simon’s voice echoed down the hallway, “this could be a decoy. They could be at our place right now.”
Max and his super-buddies stomped their polished boots, and broke windows somewhere down the hallway, as Lucius stood tall in front of his little brother.
“You have a new woman, and I promise you’ll like her much better once I’m done with her.”
Cyrus grabbed Lucius by the cloak straps and slammed his back against the wall. “Stay away from my women, all of them.”
Lucius laughed but he wasn’t amused, at least not by the anger in his brother’s eyes. His fist clenched. If Cyrus didn’t let go of his cloak soon, he’d have to swing.
“It’s too late, plans are already in motion.”
The watch on Cyrus’s wrist beeped, and he released his grip on Lucius. Little chirps filled the hall as Cyrus pressed buttons on his watch. A low hum bounced off the walls, vibrating the air as an electric-laced breeze rushed down the hallway.
“We’re visible again.”
“I’m not a monster.” Lucius clutched onto his brother’s shoulder, holding firm. “I can tell you like this new girl. There has to be a way to test people, see if they can withstand the blast.”
“Maybe.” Cyrus shrugged away from Lucius, his gaze wandering off. “Each of us, even Simon and Alexie, have an additional strand in our DNA sequence, which allowed for successful mutation.”
“Exactly,” Lucius said, trying not to use his scheming voice. “You go whip up a test and I’ll bring her to you. If she isn’t a candidate, I’ll let her go.”
“Yeah, all right.” Cyrus glanced back at Lucius as he walked away. “But let me know before she gets here, so I can put my mask on. I don’t want to blow it with her.”
Geniuses were beyond gullible. Mention scientific tests and they forget all about plots to steal ex-girlfriends.
Lucius leaned against the dusty wall in the dark corridor, gazing out a cracked window. Through fractured glass, he stared at the moon as it hovered beside Ling Enterprises. Twenty-four hours ago, he’d given a wayward superhero a proposition in the park. It was time for him to get an answer.