Alight: The Peril

by K. C. Neal

  A whoosh of air followed the influences into the funnel, pulling my hair around my face. I hastily brushed my bangs from my eyes and watched as the fog shrank in on itself and disappeared, and the funnel winked out.

  “Ha! We did it!” Mason crowed. He picked me up, his arms around my waist, and spun me around. The hot scent of vanilla and cedar overwhelmed me, and the heat of his skin on mine was almost too much to bear. I grinned up at him and straightened my shirt self-consciously when he set me back on the ground.

  Ang and Sophie joined us, and I gave Ang a sideways hug. Sophie folded her arms and looked toward the water.

  “How did it feel? It didn’t hurt, did it?” I asked them.

  Ang shook her head. “It just felt like everything tipped for a second, but it didn’t hurt.”

  “That was amazing,” I said. “The two of you did that perfectly.”

  Ang beamed, but Sophie gave a tiny shrug. I tried to read her mood, but her thoughts were oddly muted in my mind.

  “Excellent work.” Aunt Dorothy joined our circle, Mr. Sykes not far behind. “You’ve passed the second drill.”

  I couldn’t decide if Sophie looked more bored or irritated. I formed a vortex of yellow for loyalty, and a bit of orange for openness of mind, and pushed it at her, but her expression didn’t change. My stomach gave an uneasy turn. Why wasn’t she more excited? And why didn’t she seem to be reacting to the influences?

  Aunt Dorothy dismissed us for the day, and we all headed toward the dirt road and our cars. Sophie marched ahead, and I jogged a couple of steps to catch up with her.

  I started to reach for her shoulder, but then thought better of it. “Sophie?” I said. “I thought things went well today, you—”

  She cut me off with a look of utter disdain. “Whatever. I’m not spending every weekend standing out in the meadow playing magic with a bunch of dorks. I’m totally over this. I quit.”

  || 12 ||

  I STOPPED SHORT, but Sophie continued walking and didn’t look back.

  I formed a strong yellow vortex, narrowed my eyes, and shot it straight at her head.

  Sophie! I said, trying to make my presence forceful through our link. We need to talk about this.

  No, we don’t. I’m done with it. Oh, by the way, you might want to watch how much you’re thinking about that other guy. You’re obviously feeling guilty about it. I can read it all over your thoughts.

  I don’t feel guilty about anything! I started, then a wall seemed to slam down in the middle of my link with Sophie. Was she blocking me?

  Sophie continued walking away, outpacing Ang. I wanted to run after her and chew her out, especially for that last little barb, but she hopped in her car and sped away.

  Back at Aunt Dorothy’s house, Mason and I sat at the kitchen table, and I told her what had passed between me and Sophie. Well, minus the part about Zane. I struggled to keep my anger from my voice. How the heck had she nearly broken her psychic connection with me?

  “I have to force her to be part of the union,” I said. “How do I do that? It’s like she’s suddenly impervious to the influences.”

  “Force may not be the way to go, here.” Aunt Dorothy shifted on her chair. “You and Sophie have some history, and she’s clearly a stubborn one. That combination seems to have formed a block between the two of you.”

  I sighed irritably. The years-old rift between me and Sophie was mostly her fault, as I saw it. I knew I’d have to be the one to fix it, but I didn’t know where to start. Especially if she refused to talk to me. “Okay, so what do I do?”

  “You will have to try to repair your relationship with her. She is a Guardian because there is potential for a deep bond between the two of you. But you are going to have to figure out how to reach that point, and soon. I suggest going back to when things first changed between you, and trying to understand what transpired.”

  My stomach twisted. I’d rather do almost anything in the world. The hot pressure of tears swelled behind my eyes. I had to make things work—I desperately wanted to bring my union together—but it really tweaked me that I’d have to beg Sophie Marcelle to talk to me.

  “If you think that’s what I need to do, then I’ll do it,” I said, pushing confidence I didn’t feel into my voice.

  During family dinner later that evening, I barely tuned in to the conversation between my parents and Brad. Exhaustion pulled at my eyelids, and I struggled to keep myself upright in my chair. I wanted to sink into my bed for about a year.

  After Brad and I finished the dishes, I escaped to my room and collapsed on top of the coverlet. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the cove, the version of it that existed in the hypercosmic realm.

  A soft breeze billowed around my hair and my shoulders, and sensing someone behind me, I turned.

  “Hey,” Zane said, his blue eyes amused. He stood so close, I could feel the small puffs of his breath on my face.

  I shuffled back half a step, kicking some sand. “Oh, um, my Aunt Dorothy says I’m not supposed to talk to you. She says it’s dangerous.” Despite my words, my heart raced at his presence. Heat radiated from Zane and washed over my bare arms.

  His face turned menacing, his dark eyebrows hiding his eyes in shadow. “Lots of things are dangerous, Pyxis.” Then he grinned, and the bar piercing his eyebrow glinted with starlight.

  “But if there’s a breach at Perth, and we’re connected, and—”

  “Yes, there’s some risk,” he said. I tried to focus on his words instead of his accent, which made everything he said sound exotic and mysterious. “But we won’t let that happen. Don’t worry about the Perth convergence. You have plenty of other things to occupy you now.”

  Understatement of the year.

  Despite Aunt Dorothy’s warnings, I wanted to trust Zane. His words reassured me, and I believed him. Maybe because he was a Shield, his presence eased me. It was similar with Mason, but somehow . . . deeper. Zane had experience; he had been at this for a while. He was older, probably eighteen or nineteen years old. Zane might have three or four years already as a Shield. I trusted Mason, of course, but . . . I just wished we weren’t so new to all of it.

  “There was something you wanted to tell me before,” I said.

  Zane nodded, and a look of intensity crossed his face. He drew a breath, but then cleared his throat and his semi-amused expression returned. “I know you’ve discovered the website, but don’t know how to get in.”

  “The website?” I frowned. He’d been on the verge of confessing something, and I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with websites. Then a memory clicked into place, and I forgot about his hesitation. “Oh, you mean the color blob website.”

  “Yeah, our own private portal. It’s where all the pyramidal unions can communicate with each other. It’s safer than meeting this way, and it’s about as secure as anything can be these days.”

  “Wait, all the pyramidal unions?”

  “There are four total. Called Tapestry Lake, Perth, Britain, and Rome.”

  Despite my surprise, I couldn’t help laughing. “Hmm, one of these things is not like the others.”

  Zane cracked a grin. “Tapestry Lake is by far the youngest. The others have existed for centuries. You’re the babies of the group.”

  Babies? I scrunched my nose. Did Zane really see me that way?

  I straightened and forced my fidgety hands to be still at my sides. “So how do I get into the website?”

  “It’s going to sound odd, but you should be able to do it easily enough. You have to project the influences to get into it the first time.”

  “You’re kidding me. You mean I think at the computer, and that’s how I log in?”

  He chuckled. “That’s the way it works. I don’t understand it myself, but there’s some sort of protocol that recognizes that sort of input.”

  My hand crept up to the nape of my neck to twirl a strand of hair. “Okay, so what influences do I use?” I realized I was fidgeting again, and stuffed bo
th my hands in my pockets.

  “It doesn’t matter. Any single one, or a combination. It’s set up to recognize your unique fingerprint as the Tapestry Lake Pyxis. Every time you use the influences, your unique mark accompanies the action.”

  “I’ll have to see this to believe it.” I couldn’t wait to try it, and start talking with the other unions. And it would give me a more reliable way to contact Zane. “So what do you talk to each other about?”

  “Anything related to the unions and convergences.” He paused and bent to pick up a flat stone. “Each time we have an encounter or breach, we tell the others. When you get on, you definitely need to get in the discussion about the false Pyxis. The others might have some advice for you.” He rubbed his thumb and fingers over the stone.

  I sagged with gratitude. “That would be awesome.”

  “Just get on there and make contact, and you’ll see what we do.”

  “That’s such a relief. Thank you for letting me know about this.” I shifted, and my feet settled deeper into the sand. “Any idea why no one here ever used it?”

  He pulled his arm back and then whipped it out, and the stone skittered across the lake and then splashed with a small plink and sank out of sight. “Well, it’s only existed for about twenty years. Had there been a pyramidal union in your parents’ generation, I’m sure Tapestry Lake would be plugged in. But the old union probably didn’t even know about it. And TLC has always been a bit . . . separatist, or so I hear.” He gave me a wry look, as if I knew the explanation for this. Then he grinned and shifted his weight, moving closer to me, and a waft of warm air brushed my face and bare arms.

  “Huh, really.” Separatist? Had the other unions been in contact with each other all along? Maybe I could find a way to ask Aunt Dorothy why Tapestry was so isolated from the rest, without giving away too much of my conversation with Zane. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Like, I don’t know, any tips about working within a union, or training, or whatever.”

  He might know something that could help me with Sophie, but I didn’t want to sound like I was completely flailing with my union.

  His eyes softened. “You’ll catch on to all of it, Corinne. You have plenty of challenges, but you’ll work it out. Don’t forget to take care of yourself. Everyone needs to escape once in a while.” As he spoke, the heat radiating from his body intensified, and the air around us shimmered and then we stood in a gossamer cloud made of long, delicate strands. Each time a thread brushed my bare skin, it caused a tingle and a tiny vibration. With alarm, I realized my shoes no longer touched solid ground. Disoriented, I searched for some object to help me ground myself, understand which way was up and which was down.

  “Don’t panic.” Zane’s voice was low and soft. He took my hands in his, and my vertigo faded. Warm energy raced up my arms and through my body, and I began to sweat a little. “Just drift.”

  I closed my eyes, and focused on the sensation of the gossamer threads trailing over my skin.

  “What are these things?” I whispered, afraid my words would disturb our surroundings.

  “They’re threads of subconscious. They connect all of us to each other.”

  I looked around me in wonder. Each of these threads represented a person? My mind faltered, trying to grasp that each of these threads represented a person. “We’re not going to hurt them, are we?”

  “No, our presence doesn’t disturb them. As long as you’re not trying to influence or forcibly rearrange them, it’s perfectly okay to be among them.” I caught his ice-blue eyes on me, and he pressed his fingers against my palms.

  The touch of the threads and the weightlessness of drifting through them lulled me. My worries blurred until I couldn’t recall any details. I wanted to float here forever.

  Zane’s hands slipped from mine. As I drifted up and up, I heard his faint voice below me. “Use this wisely, Pyxis. Now that I’ve found you, I can’t have you losing yourself.”

  I half woke some time later on my own bed, my shirt askew and one arm dangling over the side. I indulged in the sleepy, relaxed sensation for several minutes, caught between the realms of sleep and wakefulness.

  Gradually, thoughts began to intrude. . . . The drill. . . . The funnel. . . . Sophie turning her back on me. . . .

  My stomach knotted. I must bring Sophie into the union. And I must do it as soon as possible.

  || 13 ||

  THE NEXT DAY I got to school early and staked out Sophie’s locker. I fiddled with the strap of my messenger bag while I scanned sophomore hall for her waves of auburn hair. Since I woke up, I’d been thinking about what to say to her, how to persuade her listen, searching for the words that would get through to her. For once I actually hoped Brad would be with her. Maybe I could influence him and then he might help me convince Sophie to talk to me.

  “Oh gawd, would you get out of the way?” Sophie said close behind me, bored but purposely loud to make me jump. I spun around to face her. Not a boyfriend or minion in sight.

  I stopped fiddling with my bag and grasped the straps tightly. This was it. With a level stare, I straightened and stepped forward, just close enough to her to invade her bubble a little. Her eyebrows arched.

  “This isn’t about you, or me, or anything that’s happened in the past.” I kept my voice low and calm, but my hands were shaking. “It’s much, much bigger than any of us. We’ve been chosen for these roles, Sophie. You are a Guardian in my pyramidal union. You may not like it. I admit I’m not thrilled about it. But neither of us can hide from this reality. The longer you try to deny it, the more time we lose.” She shrank into herself a little, and my heart sparked with hope. Maybe I was getting through to her. “I know you can feel the danger, just like I can. And that danger is going to spill out into Tapestry very soon, and it’s going to be devastating unless we stop it. Do you want something horrible to happen to Tapestry?”

  We stared each other down for what seemed like minutes, but probably was only a few seconds.

  She pursed her lips for a second and peered down at her feet. “Don’t use the influences on me.”

  I frowned. “What?”

  “I never gave you permission to do that.” She glared up at me. “It’s wrong.”

  Permission? I bristled, my heart pounding. “It’s my right—” I dropped my voice to a fierce whisper. “My right as Pyxis to use the influences when I need to.”

  “Well, it’s my right to not have someone using her mind control magic on me.” Her eyes narrowed. “Just because she wants power over me.”

  Did she really think this was about controlling other people? Some kind of juvenile jockeying for dominance? For a second I thought I would erupt. But that was probably what she wanted.

  I raised my chin and peered down at her. “Give me your word that you’ll be there for our next drill, and the next, and anytime we’re called to protect the convergence. And you won’t block me from our link. That’s the only way.”

  She gaped at me a moment, then her mouth clicked shut. “Fine.” She eyed me. “Deal.”

  The warning bell for first hour rang.

  I turned to go. As I walked away, I blew out a lungful of air that I felt like I’d been holding for years. I didn’t trust that she’d stick to our agreement, but at least now I had something to hold over her if she broke it. My hands were still shaking.

  * * *

  I invited Mason, Ang, and Sophie over after dinner so I could tell them about the website and try getting onto it. Mason sat on my purple chair, and Ang sprawled next to me on my bed. He was telling her a little about the website and how we’d found it. I twirled and untwirled a strand of hair while I tried not to stress about the fact that Sophie wasn’t there yet. I didn’t have the energy for another showdown with her.

  I’m on my way, Sophie said through our link.

  Everything okay?

  Yeah.

  At least she seemed to be making an effort. I fired up my laptop and then passed it to Mason so he coul
d do a web search that would bring us to the site we needed. I still didn’t totally understand it, but he said there was a piece of code he had to search for to get to the site because it had an address that changed all the time.

  He handed the laptop back to me, and the now familiar color blobs drifted, undulated, merged, and separated across the screen. I wanted to log in, but I waited for Sophie.

  “She’s not going to bail on us, is she?” Ang asked.

  “Nah, she just told me she was on her way. Didn’t she say anything to you?”

  “No. In fact, it’s almost like she’s blocked herself off from me—telepathically, I mean—since yesterday.”

  “Still today?”

  “Well, she’s back in my mind today,” Ang said. “But kind of muted or something.”

  I chewed my lip. Sophie had cut herself off from Ang? I could understand why she’d have a problem with me, but I’d assumed the link between the two Guardians was stronger.

  I talked to her this morning, and she promised not to cut us off anymore, I said to Ang. Let me know if it happens again, okay?

  I will. Thanks for doing that. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.

  No, but it was necessary. I shook my head and blew out some air. And she and I still have a lot more crap to work out.

  The bedroom door swung open, and Sophie walked in. “Sorry I’m late. Took me a few minutes to figure out what to tell Bradley.”

  It hadn’t even occurred to me. She would need to give my brother some explanation for why she and I were hanging out.

  “Oh, right,” I said, and gestured to the bed, where she settled cross-legged next to Angeline. “How’d that go?”

  “A little dicey.” She gave us a rueful half grin. “I couldn’t say we were working on something for school, because he’d probably know about any group projects going on. So I told him that since he and I were together, you and I decided we should try to be friends.”

  “And he bought that?” After all the complaining I’d done about Sophie over the years?

  “Well, not at first. I had to, um, distract him a little.” She bit her lip and glanced at me, as if just now realizing she was talking about my brother.