I gripped the sides of my chair. This didn’t bode well.
Senior Layane’s eyes landed on me. “What happened the night that you and Rena went to Giza Graveyard?”
I cleared my throat and answered for both of us. “We were told to Awaken a Death Walker, so we did.”
“Who was with you?”
“My grandfather, Rena’s mother, and Nia.”
“Why?”
“They thought the assignment was a bit too dangerous for first years, so we asked them to tag along.” That wasn’t the truth and it took all of my power not to let my voice crack.
Senior Layane’s eyes narrowed. “What happened next?”
Rena jumped in. “We found a Death Walker and Kay awakened him. Then we went home.” The silence in the room was deafening as Senior Layane carefully studied us before pushing her chair back and standing. Our heads rose to follow her tall frame as she stood to her full height. Yolanda had grown cold against my skin.
“And you are telling me the truth?” Senior Layane asked.
“Yes,” Nia answered, her voice holding less bravado than usual. “The truth.”
“And nothing else happened that you might want to share?”
“Like what?” I asked, feigning ignorance. “Has something happened?”
Senior Layane gave a smile that could be easily mistaken for a snarl. “Of course not. I just have a hard time believing that two first-year students with no training at all would be able to easily Awaken a Death Walker.”
I shrugged. “We didn’t believe it could happen, either. But it did.”
Senior Layane walked in front of her desk and leaned against it. Sweat began to form on my brow. What did she know? “I sense that you’re not telling me everything,” she said. Nia opened her mouth to protest, but Senior Layane held up a hand to stop her. “I can’t prove it. Yet. But the Council has tasked me with investigating everything that happened that night. If you have nothing to hide, you will indeed have impressed the most powerful wizards on this planet with your feat. If you are found to be lying, your punishment will be severe.” She studied us as her words sunk in. “Senior Lynch has gone missing. Our intel shows that he was out looking for you the night you Awakened the Death Walker.”
“Why would he have been out looking for us?” Nia asked.
Senior Layane’s mouth curled. “That’s the million-coin question, now isn’t it?” She walked back behind her desk and folded herself into the chair. “Go home. Get some rest. And know that I will be watching you very closely.” She nodded and gestured for us to leave. We hurried out of her office, back down the corridor and into the elevator. It wasn’t until we were out of Caldbeck and back at the bus stop that we all let out a collective sigh of relief. None of us spoke as we boarded the bus and made our way back to Tormey. We arrived at Dia and stood outside, shivering in the cool night air.
“That was intense,” Nia said, breaking the silence.
I nodded and swallowed. “Let’s get this over with.” We had agreed with Grandpa to move Dia and tonight was the first night we had to hold our end of the bargain. Nia closed her eyes and began to fall into a light trance while Rena and I scanned around to make sure no one was watching.
“Yolanda,” I whispered, “keep a look out. Let me know if you sense anyone coming this way.”
“Copy that,” Yolanda answered.
Nia began to rub her hands together and then held them up in front of her. She moved her hands apart slowly, creating a large portal for Dia to move into. The black hole pulsated with magic. Yolanda warmed as she began to seek out any magic nearby. Nia gestured for Dia to begin moving into the portal.
“Do I have to?” Dia complained, moving slowly.
Nia chuckled. “You know as well as I do you have to. It’s for your own good.”
Dia huffed and finished gliding, disappearing into thin air.
Nia turned to me. “OK, now you and Rena. Rena, Jala has set up shop next to Dia. I’ll see you guys in the morning.” We nodded and stepped into the pitch black, leaving Nia behind.
Chapter 5
The next morning, I woke up back on Earth to the smell of bacon and eggs greeting me from downstairs. It was Friday, the blessed last day of the school week. That thought alone prompted me to peel myself from my warm and comfy bed to head downstairs. The perk of living with Grandma was that I got a daily dose of her home cooking. Even before our parents died, I loved coming over for Grandma’s food. I plopped down at the dining table, greedily eyeballing the large plates of food but knowing better than to start eating before Grandma gave her approval.
“Mornin’.” Grandma’s rear greeted me. She stood up from in front of the stove, holding a pan of hot homemade buttermilk biscuits. My mouth watered. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Good, I’m starving.” I grabbed a pile of bacon, tossed it on my plate, and then began scooping eggs before reaching for a piping hot biscuit. Grandma watched me, pleased as usual with my appetite, before lighting a cigarette and sitting down in front of me.
“You wake your sister up?”
I shook my head no and took a swig of orange juice before replying, “She’s not up yet? I thought she was already on her way to class.”
Grandma exhaled and took a swig of her coffee. “She must have had a late night.”
“Nia doesn’t do late nights,” I pointed out. I took another bite of my biscuit before adding, “I’ll wake her when I’m done.”
Grandma nodded and added a spoonful of sugar to her coffee. She took another drag of her cigarette and watched me for a few moments. “You know, you have your mother’s appetite,” she said. My chewing slowed. “Your grandfather’s, too. I would always make enough to feed a small army, even though it was just the three of us.” She gave me a small smile and took a drag. “He loves breakfast.”
I swallowed, the food suddenly tasting of ash on my tongue. The guilt of knowing Grandpa was alive and well was killing me. It simply wasn’t fair that Nia and I got to run around with him on another magical planet....and here Grandma sat not knowing that he was indeed okay. Grandma and I locked eyes.
“Do you think he’s ever going to come back?” I asked.
Grandma gave a shrug, but her eyes filled with tears. “Who knows? I certainly have hope. Doctors have been seeing bigger miracles than that.”
“When was the last time you went to see him?”
“Last night.” Grandma sighed and reached over to pat my hand. She flicked ash off of her cigarette with the other. “I swear he knows I’m there.”
I gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. “I’m sure he does, Grandma.”
She gave me a final pat, finished her coffee, and then stood up, coffee in hand. “Finish your breakfast and go get your sister up. Y’all are going to be late.”
I nodded and pushed around the rest of my food before throwing it away and heading upstairs.
Chapter 6
“What if I don’t get a good grade?” Nia fretted, pacing in front of her locker. Being a senior in high school was oddly more stressful for Nia than being a powerful legend on another planet.
I rolled my eyes. “You always get a good grade.” I stuffed my science and history books in my bag and slammed my locker shut. “I can’t remember a time when you didn’t get a good grade...on anything. I’m pretty sure I remember you acing naptime in kindergarten.”
“I had the best track record for completed naps,” Nia murmured, leaning against her locker. She looked at me with wide eyes. “But this is important!”
“What else is new?”
“Kay!”
I chuckled and nudged Nia on the shoulder before slinging my backpack on my own. We began making our way through the packed hallway. “You’ll be fine. You’ve studied for this physics test a thousand times.”
“I need an A to keep my GPA so that—”
“You can be class valedictorian,” we finished together. Nia glared at me.
“Yeah, yeah.” I laug
hed. “I’ve heard you say it once or twice. Trust me, you’ll be fine. Think about it. Champion napper ends up being class valedictorian. You’ve come full circle.”
Nia laughed in spite of herself and nodded. “OK. OK. I’m going in.” We had walked right to her physics class and were leaning against the wall. “Wish me luck.”
I gave her a grin and a salute before rushing off to the worst class of the day: biology class. Ew. I barely slid in before the bell rang. Mrs. Temely gave me a withered look before slamming her class attendance roster shut. She stood up to address the class.
“Good afternoon,” she said, fixing her piercing gaze on us. We all mumbled something incoherent back.
“Now, let’s begin. I gave you three chapters to read last night on the evolution of the common Mississippi muskrat. Please open your books and turn to page 248...”
As Mrs. Temely droned on, I stared straight ahead and zoned out. If I was careful, I could fall asleep with my eyes open and she would never know it. Thoughts of Turgor raced through my mind and I wondered what Rena was doing right now. Kris’ face floated into my mind, his scowl causing me to form one of my own. I shook my head and stared down at my book, mentally scolding myself for even thinking of him.
The bell rang and I jumped up, successfully surviving another torturous class. Before I could jet out of the door, Mrs. Temely’s dry, prickly voice rose above the other students racing to escape as well.
“Not so fast, Ms. McLaughlin,” she said. “You stay behind with us.”
I sighed loudly and turned around to find three of my classmates sitting in the front row. They were all looking at me expectantly. There was Jacob Matthews, a quiet goth kid with thick-rimmed glasses and jet-black shoulder-length hair. Next to him was Abby Knight, cheerleading extraordinaire. She ran in Nia’s league in the looks department, but she wasn’t nearly as smart as Nia was. Her long tan legs were crossed at the ankles with cute black boots on her feet. Her dark auburn hair was pulled into a messy bun with a few strands hanging down at the nape of her neck. Right now her brown eyes were hidden behind purple cat eye shaped glasses. Abby was the only cheerleader brave enough to sport her glasses instead of contacts and I always admired her for it. She had her glossed lips pushed into a pout as her eyes tracked my movement while I made my way to my seat.
The third chump in our group was Nathan Nesbitt. Nathan was a tall, slightly heavyset boy with short, cropped sandy-brown hair. He’d just transferred from another school last month when his family had relocated from Tennessee.
I slid into a chair in the second row and waited for Mrs. Temely to lay whatever dreaded assignment she had concocted on me. She seemed to take pleasure in assigning extra duties to me. We had a mutual dislike for each other and I had resigned myself to lying as low as possible until graduation. So naturally she sought me out as much as she could.
“You four have all been chosen to receive extra credit and potential college credit by participating in a project of my design. ” She looked squarely at me before continuing. “Your grades leave much to be desired, and I’ve already contacted your parents to let them know of this opportunity. There was a unanimous agreement that this would benefit all of you.” She walked to stand in front of the chalkboard, her central command post, ignoring the loud groans coming from us.
“Did you know we have three recipients of the Natural Science Medal right here in Jackson?” We each shook our head no. “Jacob, Abby, and Nathan. Your job will be to interview these three people and then design a project based on one of their studies.” I stared at her with my mouth open. She wanted us to do what? “I’ve prepared the list of interview questions for you to help get you started on the right track.” Mrs. Temely moved over to her desk and started rummaging in her drawers. I took the opportunity to evaluate my new team members.
I gave an inward groan. Great. I had been saddled with the rejects. Mrs. Temely found her papers and moved to pass them out to us. I grabbed mine and shoved it in my backpack, not bothering to look at. Mrs. Temely shot me a dirty look. “I expect you all to work together. Interview together, prepare a written report together, and complete the experiment together! I mean it.” She raised a gnarled finger at us. “This is a good opportunity. Don’t screw it up.” She stared at us for a minute before adding, “Dismissed.”
We all scrambled to get out of the classroom, not bothering to stop and talk with one another. I raced home and into the kitchen, slamming my bookbag on the table.
Grandma walked into the kitchen and headed towards the fridge. “So Mrs. Temely told you about your assignment then?”
I huffed and plopped down in the kitchen chair. “Why would you agree to this? You know she hates me!”
“She doesn’t hate you.” Grandma chuckled. “She just sees your potential.”
“She’s evil.”
Grandma gave me a stern look. “I want you to take this seriously, Kay. Your parents would have wanted you to have a decent show at attending a college.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. “I mean it! You won’t get far slacking off in class, hiding out so you won’t have to do more than the bare minimum.”
I bit my tongue and looked down at the table. She was guilt-tripping me, darn it... and it was working.
“Now I want you to do your parents, your Grandpa, and me proud and do your best,” she said. “You hear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I mumbled to the table.
Grandma clucked her tongue and turned her attention back to the refrigerator. “You hungry? We’re having leftovers for dinner. Your sister’s at cheerleading practice, so it’s just you and me tonight.”
I shook my head. “I had a big lunch. May I be excused?”
Grandma sucked her false teeth. “Mm-hmm. Go ahead, but don’t forget what I said.”
I nodded and trudged up the stairs, wallowing in self-pity. There was a special place in the afterlife for people like Mrs. Temely. I flopped down on my bed with a sigh and closed my eyes. Maybe things would be slightly better than today’s events on Earth.
Chapter 7
A cool wind whipped around us as we stood facing Rowena. She had taken Rena and me to an abandoned part of Brozek. Currently, we were waiting for her to finish surveying the surrounding dilapidated buildings to make sure we were indeed alone.
She came back with a bit of sweat on her forehead and a large grin. “We’re all in the clear!” She clapped her hands victoriously. “Let’s get started.”
Rena and I exchanged glances. We’d both pinky promised to do our best to be vague about our abilities with Rowena. It pained me because I really liked Rowena. Unlike Temely, I believed she did have her students’ best interest at heart.
Rowena held onto her grin. “OK, today’s assignment is a toughie. I want both of you to awaken all of these buildings. Rena, you take the buildings on the East. Kay, take the west. There are thirty structures on each side. You have ten minutes.”
Rena and I stared at her, slack-jawed. We were going to do what in how much time?
Rowena laughed giddily and pulled out a stopwatch from her jeans. She held up a hand. “Get ready...”
Panic swept through me. How was I going to fake Awakening something? A thought hit me. I glanced at Rena, who gave me a small nod, indicating she was thinking the same thing.
“Get set...Go!”
Rena and I raced past Rena and scurried to our designated areas. My first building was a three-story brick home that had been hit by a bomb. It was missing its outer left side wall, and the roof had begun to cave in. The windows were blown out, the door kicked in, and the insides were trashed. Pity swept through me. No structure deserved to be left like this.
I placed a hand on its doorway and whispered, “You are strong, sturdy, built to uphold. You have no cracks.” The frame immediately obeyed. Sounds of wood coming together filled the air with crackles and pops until the frame was solid and upright again.
I placed my hand back on it. “You are a nice sandalwood color
.” Color seeped from my fingertips and through the frame. I stood back and surveyed my work, impressed with myself.
“Five minutes!” Rowena called out. She had already awakened her first building and had moved on to her second.
I looked back at my house. “You have intact windows that are gleaming.” Shards of glass flew from the dust and dirt on the ground to the windowpane. They began rearranging themselves until all of the windows were fixed. I patiently waited. When they were done, I pressed my foot against the base of the house.
“Two minutes!” called Rowena.
I kept my focus on my foot. “House, you are strong. Built to uphold. Impenetrable.” The house groaned as the foundation began repairing itself.
“Time!” Rowena shouted. “Please come back to me, girls.”
I patted the house. “Sorry I couldn’t finish the job, but I hope this helps a little bit.” I ran back to meet Rena and Rowena. Rena looked pleased with herself. I glanced past her to see that she had awakened three houses. I bit back a grin. Not bad, but certainly not spectacular. It seemed we both had the same thought: do the bare minimum to avoid arousing suspicion.
Rowena studied me with a frown. “Kay, you only awakened part of a house.”
I nodded.
“What happened?”
I shrugged. “I was Awakening as fast as I could. It’s hard for me to do it under pressure.”
Rowena’s eyes narrowed. “But you awakened a Death Walker.”
I nodded again but didn’t say anything else. Rena looked wide-eyed between Rowena and me as we stood staring at each other. Yolanda sent gentle energy pulses out, warming my skin. I took a cautionary step back.
Finally, Rowena sighed. “OK, let’s try again in a few days. Go home and get some rest.”
Rena and I nodded and scurried back towards the main road to find a taxi. We waited until we were out of the neighborhood to talk.
Transference (The Two Worlds, #2) Page 4