A sad expression washed over her. “Yeah, I managed to send a text to my mom to tell her not to worry. I said I was spending a couple of days at a friend’s house so I could study. It gets lonely in our house, and my mind gets distracted all the time. There’s only so much trash TV you can watch before the silence gets deafening. Anyway, she gets it.” She took out her phone and showed me her mom’s reply. All it said was, “Okay.” I got the feeling there was more to this than she was letting on.
“She just said, ‘Okay’? Isn’t she worried?”
Suri shrugged. “She’s too busy to worry about me. I love her, but I could probably be gone for a month and she wouldn’t notice. She’d only be upset about it when the refrigerator started to stink or the school called her or something. Not that they care too much, either. As long as my grades are good, and I make sure to throw in a mystery illness or a ‘personal problem,’ they don’t bat an eyelid about absences. I’ve ducked out enough times to pick up extra shifts at the Science Center, and they’ve never called anyone. I always make sure my ass is covered.”
“I can’t believe she just said, ‘Okay.’ Are you sure you’re fine with that?”
She leaned against the wall, propping her chin on her hands. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m going to get out of here soon enough. San Diego isn’t where I want to be, and she’s not going to stop me from leaving.” She glanced up at me. “I want to be a musician and head out to LA to try and get a record deal. College always seemed like my way out, but I don’t think I’d be happy there, shelling out a fortune for a degree I don’t even want. That’s just a one-way ticket to a job I’ll hate. It makes me feel lost, sometimes. Like, I love my music, but it’s a tough industry to break into. And nobody’s going to take a high school kid seriously. But I think I’ll only be happy if I can be somewhere, with my guitar, making music. I’ll only be happy if I do something extraordinary with my life, you know?”
I tried to picture her with a guitar, singing something. I thought about asking her to sing, but I didn’t want to put her on the spot. Still, it was refreshing to hear the problems of a normal kid. Someone who was worrying about her future, instead of everyone else’s. That should’ve been me. It probably would’ve been, if the Ryder twins hadn’t come for me at the Smiths’ house.
“I envy you,” I said.
She peered at me, curious. “You do? Why?”
“Because your problems are a million miles away from mine,” I admitted. “I’m worrying about the end of the world, while you’re worried about your hopes and dreams. I’d give everything to be able to do that instead. That’s why I envy you. I didn’t ask for this much stress, but I got it anyway. And now, I can’t get out of it.”
“Now I feel silly.” She dropped her gaze. “Here I am, chatting on about being a musician, and you’re dealing with super powerful witches with a god complex.”
I put my hand on her forearm. “No, don’t feel silly. I like hearing about it. It reminds me that there’s a normal world out there. One you’ll get to go back to, with no memory of this place or any of the bad stuff that’s going on. I envy that, too.”
She froze. “What do you mean? I’m not going to forget you or this place. No way.”
“You have to. They’re going to wipe your memory so you can’t remember. It’s the safest thing to do, for you and for magical society. At least, that’s what the protocol says,” I muttered bitterly. “I don’t believe it, just for the record. I think they could trust you with everything you’ve seen and heard. But they won’t listen.”
Suri gripped the tulip tighter. “I don’t want to forget. If I don’t remember any of this, then that means I won’t remember you. I don’t want you to disappear, Jacob.” She sounded torn. “My life was boring as hell until I met you. I went to school, I went to work, I came home. That was it. And then you came into my life. Sure, we hit things off with the weirdest of bangs, but still… I like you, Jacob. You risked your life for me. I can’t think of anyone who would do that other than you. I don’t want to have to forget.”
“I don’t want you to, either,” I whispered.
She covered my hand with hers, on the top of the wall. “There’s a lot of pressure on you right now, huh?” she said softly.
“Yeah… Sometimes I wish I could just leave it all. But I couldn’t, even if I wanted to,” I replied with a sigh. “I’m needed here. I have to see this thing through.”
Suri nodded. “Who are you doing this for? What gets you out of bed in the morning and makes you keep going? I’d probably have lost my nerve by now.”
“I do it all for me, for you, for Harley, for your mom and friends, for the people I care about, for the world you know and the world you don’t.” It hurt to say it. “This is bigger than all of us. Too many people are depending on me. If I don’t keep going now, it’ll all be over, and we’ll all be screwed.”
“I get it… but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel sorry for you.” Her words took me by surprise. “You’re a kid, like me, after all.” She moved toward me, and my breath exited the building. “I don’t think you should have that much weight on your shoulders. You said you wanted to be an engineer—you should be allowed to work toward that, instead of worrying about the rest of the world. I guess there’s a lot that I don’t understand, but I can see why you’re doing what you’re doing. Even if I think it’s unfair.”
I froze as she looped her arms around my neck. She smelled so good. As she pulled me into a hug, I felt her hair brush against my cheek. It was intoxicating. I relaxed against her and put my arms around her waist. I’d never hugged someone like this. This was different than a normal hug, somehow.
She nuzzled into my shoulder, squeezing me tighter. “I wish things were different, for both of us.”
“You’ve already made things better for me,” I murmured back. My heart was pounding. My head was filled with her scent, her touch, her closeness. Here, with her, I could imagine a future. Maybe, when all this was over, I’d see her again and everything would be okay. She was like a link to normality. If I got to be back in her arms someday, maybe I’d be able to be normal again. Maybe she’d be a musician and I’d be an engineer. Maybe I’d listen to her play her songs in our dingy first apartment. Maybe I’d go to her gigs and get to say, “She’s my girlfriend.” Or, maybe we’d all be bending to the will of Eris. This was the great uncertainty of my life right now.
“We need to head back to the infirmary,” I said, reluctantly pulling away. She gazed up into my eyes, and I gazed back. I could’ve gotten lost in those eyes. They were so big and bright and seemed to reflect the starlight above. “You can sleep in the quarantine room, but you’ll have to be locked in for the night to make sure nobody stumbles in on you.”
She lifted her hand to my cheek. “I can’t stay with you?”
“Uh…”
She smiled and brushed my cheek with her thumb. “I’m teasing you. The quarantine room sounds fine with me. Beats spending a weekend on my own. Besides, I want to be here, near you.”
“I’ll try to let you stay here for as long as I can,” I promised.
Suri nodded knowingly, then her expression became serious. “I’m rooting for you, Jacob. And I hope you get that glowing bitch, after what she tried to do to me. If she’s planning on punishing people who won’t follow her, just because she feels like it, then I hope you smash her into little pieces. Seriously, if there’s anything I can help you with, to bring her down, you can count on me. Even if it’s just to take your mind off everything, I’ll be there.”
I covered her hand with mine. “Thank you, but I’d rather just keep you safe for as long as I can while you’re here, and make sure Naima isn’t out there looking to use you as leverage against me. I showed my hand when I came to get you. Naima might use you again, now that I’ve shown her what lengths I’ll go to, to save you.”
“Naima?”
“Cat-woman.”
“Ah.” She nodded, smiling sadly. “I’
m sorry I gave them something they could use against you. Not that it would’ve stopped me from speaking to you when I did. You deserved that rocket ship sticker for getting me away from those kids.”
I resisted the urge to bring her hand to my lips. “It’s not your fault. If it hadn’t been you, it would’ve been someone else.” And I dreaded to think who that might have been because, if it had been anyone but Suri, I might not have gone after them. Maybe that would have been easier. But I’d never been one for easy.
Twenty-Eight
Jacob
Having made sure that Suri was settled in her new room, I found myself taking a walk in the coven hallways. Nobody was around. I liked it at this time of night. It was just about the only time that the SDC was peaceful, especially now. I hadn’t had any direction in mind when I’d started walking, but I was surprised to find myself heading down the corridor to Levi’s office. I normally didn’t come to this part of the coven. With Suri’s hug and her eyes and her perfume racing in my head, I hadn’t even been looking where I was going.
I thought about turning back, but Levi’s door was ajar. Soft voices floated out into the corridor.
I approached quietly. If Levi caught me listening in, he’d spew out his usual “off with their heads” rant. I stopped and pressed back against the wall. Light spilled out onto the floor, and the voices got louder. I could pick out Levi and Imogene pretty easily. And Remington. And a couple more I didn’t recognize. It had to be the whole California Mage Council, out in force—and, by the sounds of it, jumping down Levi’s throat.
“Did you really think you could get away with something like this?” Remington seemed to be leading the ass-chewing. “Did you honestly think we wouldn’t find out that you’d been keeping us in the dark? Seriously, Levi, this is low, even for you.”
“I had no choice,” Levi replied. He sounded shaken. Evidently, he had expected to get away with it. Although, if the Council members were this peeved, that couldn’t be good for us. If they were finally coming for Levi, then what would that mean for the SDC? I had no clue. I just knew Levi was in a heap of trouble. And he’d put the SDC in even more trouble because of his lies.
“You had a choice, Leonidas.” Imogene sounded disappointed, like a stern mother. “You had every opportunity to tell us the truth, so that we could help you fix this, but you chose not to. Don’t pretend that this is anything other than self-serving pride. You wanted to be the only one in the know. You wanted to be the one with the upper hand, and what has it brought you? Nothing but mayhem. Katherine has succeeded in the fourth ritual because you wanted to prove something. And, in doing so, you have only proven how incompetent you are. No, incompetent is too kind a word—you have only proven how much of a danger you are in this position.”
“Was it that important to you, that you stood out as superior to Alton and the SDC’s previous directors? Was it that important that you had to risk global safety?” Remington spat. “What did you possibly think you could do on your own, Levi?”
I couldn’t understand his motivation, either. What did he still have to prove?
“I had to show how strong we were,” Levi replied. “Do you know how people view this coven? Magicals laugh at it. It’s the butt of their jokes. I wanted to change that by retrieving Echidna ourselves. We were almost ready to strike. I had everything in order. I was handling it.”
Bullcrap. Katherine had been lounging around Lethe without a care in the world. She’d been able to launch a trap for me, without worrying about the SDC fighting back.
“Well, I hope you think it was worth it now.” Remington’s voice dripped with bitterness.
“Need I remind you, Leonidas, that you were never elected as director of this coven?” Imogene said. “You were installed here as a substitute until a suitable replacement for Alton could be found. This was never a permanent fixture, and yet you have behaved as if you are emperor over this establishment. As if the rules of magical society, and their safety, do not apply to you. You have behaved in a cowardly manner and have only made matters worse for this coven. How could anyone trust the SDC now?”
As if things weren’t bad enough for our reputation. If Imogene was doubting us, we were screwed. She’d always been an advocate for this place.
Remington grunted in agreement. “Not to mention our trust in you. Your influence and connections got you into the Council in the first place, not your experience in leading a coven. We looked past that because you’ve always been a logical and cautious Mage. Now, you’ve just ruined any respect we ever had for you.”
“This is not a one-person race to the finish line, Leonidas. This is a group effort. It has to be, if we’re to stand the slightest chance against Katherine,” Imogene added. “Nevertheless, now that your misdeeds have been brought to our attention, we will alert the covens and other Mage Councils. I don’t give a fig what the National Council and the president have said.”
I supposed that was as close to the F-word as Imogene Whitehall dared to get, though the impact was the same, coming from her. She sounded mad. Really mad. And for her to say she didn’t care what the National Council and the president said was huge.
“You can’t—” Levi tried to argue, but his voice wavered. I wished I could’ve seen his face.
“Which brings me to some troubling rumors I’ve been hearing, regarding your security magicals.” Imogene was delivering another blow. My heart was practically in my mouth.
“What rumors?” Levi shot back sourly.
“That you’re somehow manipulating them into remaining quiet. I would’ve said that was beyond you, but now I don’t believe anything is too underhanded for you.”
“That’s a barefaced lie. I haven’t done anything to them.”
This punk was really going to try and weasel his way out of this. Not that I was shocked. But he was picking the wrong people to lie to. The Mage Council was already sick of his crap, and he wasn’t doing himself any favors by keeping up the ruse. We’d seen the truth from O’Halloran’s behavior.
“Then what do you have to say about the pills you’ve been giving them?” Remington replied.
Yes, Isadora! She’d clearly gone to Remington and told him about them.
“The National Council gave them to me for the security magicals’ protection.” Levi sounded eerily calm. “They’re supposed to protect them from that hex Katherine used on Krieger. There’s nothing untoward about them. And, if there is, then you need to take that up with the National Council, not me.”
“There’ll be an investigation, you can count on that,” Remington said. “And I’ll take it as high up as I have to, until someone gives me an answer.”
My man! I trusted Remington. He’d get to the bottom of what was in those pills.
I figured it was a good idea to get away from the office before people started leaving. What else could they have to say? They’d told Levi how things were going to be. He couldn’t really do much to argue. And I really didn’t want to get caught.
I snuck away and decided to head down to the cells. I had a sudden urge to speak with Alton about what I’d overheard. It still bothered me that he wasn’t the one in charge anymore. He’d have dealt with all of this like a pro. And who knew where we might have been, if he hadn’t stepped down?
One thing troubled me as I headed for the coven’s underbelly. Even if the California Mage Council told the other covens everything, it wouldn’t stop Katherine’s influence from spreading. It wouldn’t stop her from getting more powerful. I hoped Alton might be able to give me some advice on how to act on what I’d heard, even if that was just to keep my mouth shut.
I’d just slipped into a side corridor to portal myself into the cells below, when a shadow crossed the entrance. I looked up, startled. But it was only Louella. Thank God. I’d been expecting one of the Mage Council, or worse, ready to berate me for eavesdropping.
“Geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” I said. “What gives, creeping up on people like that?�
�
She frowned. “What gives, being out and about at this hour?”
“I could say the same to you.”
Her expression softened. “Touché.”
“I went for a walk, and I happened to pass Levi’s office. He was getting an earful from the California Mage Council.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“They found out about Echidna, and they found out about the security magicals acting weird. They’re going to tell the other coven directors and the Mage Councils what’s been going on, and where we’re at with Katherine. You should’ve heard Levi, man—he was dead scared. Imogene and Remington are one scary team, when they put their heads together.”
“So, Levi knows they know…” Louella said. “Where are you headed?”
“I wanted to speak to Alton about it.”
“I’d like to help, if I can.”
I shrugged. “Sure, I could use the company.”
She stepped forward but hesitated. “I’m sorry about before, with the Suri stuff. I know I probably came across a little… intense. My Telepathy is still wrecked, so I’m on edge most of the time, at the moment. I keep getting bad vibes from everyone, even you, but I guess I’ve gone a little harder on Suri. I still don’t like her being here, but I don’t want to fall out with you over it. You’re one of the only people I actually feel close to here. I love the Rag Team, don’t get me wrong, but I always feel like the kid in the room, if you know what I mean.”
I nodded. “All too well.”
“And you’re one of the only people I actually trust.” She looked shy. “After what happened to you in Lethe, I just… I didn’t want you getting into any more trouble. I know I can’t change her being here, but I’d like to protect you, or at least help you keep focus. I won’t get in the way. I’m just aware that this is all taking a turn for the worse.”
“Louella Devereaux, my personal bodyguard.” I chuckled.
“I’m tougher than I look,” she retorted, with a grin.
Harley Merlin 7: Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix Page 23