“You are icy cold and painful,” I whispered, touching the leathery hand. “You are frozen solid.” In a flash, the KaKonian howled and released my head, pushing me into the stack of tires. The world tilted for a moment as I struggled to catch my breath and stand back up. The KaKonian was now crouched, cradling his bloody frozen hand against his chest.
I pushed myself to my feet and rolled to the side, dodging the boot of another KaKonian. “Get away from my sister!” Nia bellowed, hitting him in the back of the head with a steel baseball bat. He dropped with a sickening thud.
Tears were streaming down my eyes. The mixture of fear and adrenaline forced me to wipe my face and look around for Rena. She was pressed against the side of the cabin, eyes wide with fear. There were two KaKonians advancing on her slowly. I turned and touched two more tires, quickly whispering my instructions. They came alive and hurled themselves at Rena’s two attackers, hitting them squarely in their sides. Once the KaKonians were down, the tires continued to pummel them repeatedly.
Nia and I stood back to back, eyeing the remaining two KaKonians, who were cautiously watching us. The slightly larger one on the left shot his hand out, sending an energy ball our way. Time seemed to slow down. We both ducked out of the way.
Nia moved her hands quickly and a pale energy ball of her own formed, hovering in front of her. I touched it and commanded, “You are large in size, intense with heat, and made to destroy KaKonians.” The small energy ball morphed into a ball so large, both Nia and I had to step back. The heat made my eyes water as it whooshed to meet the KaKonian’s blast head on, engulfing it before spreading even larger and vaporizing the remaining two enemies.
I dropped to my knees and cried. I hated this. I hated having to kill other beings. I hated having to be in fear for my life and my friends’ lives. And I hated being the answer to saving this planet.
Nia placed her arms around me and stroked my hair. “It’ll be OK, sis,” she murmured. “It’ll be OK.” My heart ached. It was so nice to know that even though we were in the middle of a disagreement, my sister would drop her grudges long enough to comfort me. Sometimes I worried that this destiny thing would tear our family apart for good.
I could hear boots crunching on wood and other debris as they made their way over to where Nia and I were sitting, but I didn’t bother to look up. I was suddenly very weary. Maybe I could just sleep right here next to my sister and when I awoke this would all be a bad dream...
A large, warm hand landed on my shoulder, sending tingles down my arm. “You did very well, young Awakener,” Kris said softly. He gave me a gentle squeeze. “What you’re accomplishing is no easy feat.”
The shock of his kind words made me sit up and squint at him through swollen eyes. “Uh, thanks.”
He nodded and backed away but didn’t look away from me.
Mimi floated next to him and cleared her throat. “I know this is hard, Kathleena. But you and your sister did extremely well. I’ve never seen such Awakening skills in someone your age.”
I shrugged and leaned back on my hands. “I guess it’s what we’re destined for, right?”
Mimi gave a small smile at my bitterness. “It will get better. But in the meantime, let’s talk about what happened.” She turned to Rena. “Why didn’t you fight?”
Rena’s round eyes filled with tears. “I guess I was afraid,” she whispered.
Mimi looked at my friend. “Rena, this is scary for all of us. But if you want to live, you must be capable of taking care of yourself. Your primary goal is to survive. Your secondary goal is to help fulfill the prophecy. You are just as important to this team as anyone else.”
She walked to Rena and gave her a quick hug. “We will help you get through this. You will practice with Jala and me more tomorrow. By the end of the day, I would like for you to be able to quickly Awaken the same stack of tires Kathleena has right now. Does that sound acceptable?” Rena gave a pathetic sniffle and nodded. Mimi smiled. “Excellent. Now let’s go inside and get something to eat.”
Rena refused to meet my eyes as she dutifully followed Mimi inside. Nia gave me a look before we followed them in as well. I could sense Kris a few paces behind us. Once inside, Kris and Rena sat down on the couch next to the open window, allowing the fresh breeze to wash over them. I noticed Rena was sitting closer than normal and had begun to whisper frantically to him. Kris didn’t seem bothered by her proximity or the fact that she was talking to him. I frowned. Since when was she not afraid of Kris? And since when was he so nice to us?
Before I could say anything, Nia nudged my shoulder and gestured for me to follow her into the kitchen. I obeyed and we both sat down at the table while Mimi hummed and fixed us a few plates of meat and vegetables.
“What’s up with the Death Walker?” Nia murmured, low enough for only me to hear it.
“I know, right? It’s weird.”
“I’m going to keep my eye on him.”
I almost clapped in glee as Mimi set two plates full of grilled fish and vegetables in front of us. The smell was amazing. Nia and I ate in silence, listening to Mimi flutter about around the kitchen. Rena giggled at something Kris had said, causing me to pause, my spoon in my hand in midair. Had that been a...flirty giggle? Nia looked just as confused as I felt. What was going on there? Before we could say a word, the cabin door flung open and Jala burst into the living room.
“We’ve been found.” She gasped, her wide eyes frantic. “We need to move Dia—now.”
Nia stood up, frowning. “Wha—?”
Jala waived her hands, silencing Nia. “Now, Creator. There is a small army of KaKonians about two leagues away marching here. We must go. Now.”
Nia gave a nervous breath and nodded. “Everyone stay put. This is going to feel weird.” She walked out of the house and Dia locked the door behind her. I patted my house’s wall. I could sense her nervousness.
“It’ll be OK, Dia,” I whispered.
We all stood in silence, watching as Nia began to move her hands, frantically weaving her magic. A loud pop pierced the air right before everything went black.
“Ugh,” I groaned, trying to shake the ringing from my ears. “Let’s not do that again.”
“Agreed,” Kris muttered, slumping down into the armchair. I tried to move towards the couch, but the world was still spinning. I settled for slumping against the wall, taking deep breaths.
“Sorry, sorry,” Nia quipped as she walked back into the house. “I usually do that more slowly to minimize the effects, but we were running out of time.”
“Where are we?” Jala asked. She and Rena were hugging each other on the other side of the living room.
“On the very edge of the East Hollow Lake,” Nia said. “No one will think to look for us here.”
Before I could ask why, Mimi spoke up. “How did the KaKonians find us?”
We all looked at each other. Unspoken “it wasn’t me”s floated through the air.
“Do you think we have a leak, Mimi?” Kris asked, standing up.
“Maybe not intentionally,” Mimi replied. “But until we figure this out, we need to stick together. No one goes out by themselves.” We all nodded, a sense of temporary relief blanketing us. For now, it seemed like we were safe. A yawn escaped me before I could stop it.
Nia gave me a small nudge. “Maybe we should get some sleep,” she said. “It’s been a long day.”
She was right, of course. I began to trudge up the stairs. No need to tell me twice. As soon as my head hit the pillow, sleep began to claim me. I wondered who the leak was. And if they were aware they were helping the enemy. What if I was the problem? How would we know?
Before I could worry more about it, sleep took over and I was traveling once again.
Chapter 23
“Make sure you get both sides of each blade,” Grandma instructed, peering up at me. “Otherwise, you’ll just have to do it again.”
I grunted and stretched to wipe down the ceiling fan to my grandmothe
r’s standards. It was the first Saturday of the month, which meant it was time to deep clean the house. At least, that was what it meant in Grandma’s world. The phone rang in the kitchen and she stepped away to answer it. I slowly wiped a blade, taking a moment to add more cleaner to my rag before resuming.
My mind kept wandering to the latest events on Turgor. How were we going to find out who was leaking our whereabouts to the KaKonians? Did the Senior Council know where we were?
I paused and sprayed some more cleaner. Of course they would know, I chided myself. They’re the most powerful group on the planet. But what did that mean? If they knew where we were, why hadn’t they confronted us already? What were they waiting for?
“You know, if you’re going to stay up there all day, you’re going to have to finish the rest of your chores tomorrow,” said Grandma. “And Lord knows you won’t want to do that.”
I groaned, tossing my towel down onto the floor. Grandma stepped out of the way and waited patiently for me to climb off of her dining chair. She studied me quietly while I moved on to dust the TV stand.
“What’s wrong, sweet pea?” she asked, her forehead wrinkling in concern. “Are you not feeling well? Is there something going on at school that you’d like to talk about?”
I shook my head no. “I’m just tired, that’s all,” I said, offering a small smile. “I’ll be glad when school is over. I don’t know how Nia handles it.”
Grandma chuckled. “We all have our strengths, you know. For example, Mrs. Matley has the prettiest roses in the neighborhood. And I used to get so jealous! I would try to plant my own roses and they would just wilt on the spot as soon as I touched the bush!”
We laughed.
“But everyone knows I make the best sweet potato pies. And Jennifer can’t cook to save her life, bless her soul. So now I’ll send over some leftovers and she sends me flowers from her gardens. We both recognize our strengths and weaknesses.”
I rolled my eyes. “Real subtle, Grandma. I get it—don’t be jealous of Nia.”
“And love your own strengths.” Grandma smirked. “You know, if you could harness that smart aleck mouth of yours, you could probably do something more with that, too. Maybe join the debate club.”
“Aw, Grandma!”
She raised her hands in mock surrender. “I’m just saying. By the way, I need you to stop what you’re doing and run down to the corner store. I’m all out of milk and I want to finish this pound cake.”
Happy for an excuse not to clean, I stood up and tossed the dirty rag onto the side table before snatching the money from Grandma’s hand. I ran out of the door before she could scold me and headed down the street. The sun was hidden behind thick, grey clouds that looked swollen with rainwater. I quickened my pace. No need to get wet and mess up my hair.
Who are you kidding? a small voice inside my head mocked. Even if it did rain, it still wouldn’t mess up your already messy ponytail. Shut up, I muttered to myself as I rounded the corner. The corner store was a few more steps away. Just because my hair is messy doesn’t mean I don’t care about how I look.
Suuuure. The tiny voice laughed.
I grumbled to myself, pushing the door to the store open and almost hitting Mr. Oakland in the process.
“Ms. McLaughlin!” he exclaimed, adjusting his bag of groceries. “Nice to see you.”
I stepped back. “Er, Mr. Oakland...what are you doing here?”
His grey eyes twinkled. “Well, usually stores are open to the public.”
I laughed. “No, I mean in this neighborhood. You live on the other side of town.”
He adjusted his glasses with his free hand. “Ah, well, I was out and about running errands and forgot I needed a few things for dinner tonight. So here I am.” I nodded politely. “How’s the project coming along?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It’s coming. I’m meeting with the group next week to finish it up.”
“Well, if you need more information about multiverses, just let me know.”
I smiled. “Thanks, but I think we got all of the info we needed.”
He barked a loud laugh. “That’s what we all say until it’s not true, isn’t that right? It’s never too late to learn more about life on other planets.”
I frowned. “You’re talking about aliens.”
“Am I?” Mr. Oakland smiled. “Could it be possible that so-called ‘aliens’ could just be ourselves and loved ones from another universe attempting to make contact?”
I just stared at him, my mouth open. This man was certifiably insane.
He sensed my thoughts and gave a small chuckle. “I’m sorry, I can rant a little when it comes to discussing theory. I should let you go before it starts to rain.”
I nodded, and we parted our ways. As I paid for the milk, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Mr. Oakland had been lying when he’d said he’d just so happened to come to my neighborhood’s corner store. Had he been trying to run into me on purpose? And if so, why? A bright light zigzagged across the sky, splitting the clouds. I stopped and stared as a boom of thunder followed quickly behind it. Crap. The storm was almost here.
By the time I made it back to our house, it was pouring, and I was soaking wet. My sister met me at the door holding a towel. I grabbed it, squeezing my hair and ignoring her smirk. She gave Grandma the milk and then followed me through the kitchen and into the laundry room.
“So outside of looking like a drowned rat, what’s new?” she asked, leaning against the door.
“Ugh, don’t you have someone else to annoy?”
“Nope! I’m all done with my chores and Grandma’s making dinner. I’m all yours.”
I sighed and peeled off my pants. “I ran into Mr. Oakland, the guy whose work we’re researching. He’s kind of weird.”
“Oh yeah? What’s his field?”
“He studies multiverses.”
Nia grew quiet, popping her gum as I peeled off my shirt and grabbed a new outfit from the clean clothes basket on top of the dryer.
I glanced over at her. “What?”
“Do you think he’s aware of places like Turgor?”
“You know, the way he talks...I wouldn’t be surprised.” I shrugged and tossed the wet clothes into the washing machine. “But unless he can follow me into my dreams, there’s no way he’ll ever be able to link me to Turgor. You, either.”
Nia followed me again as I moved from the laundry room up to my room. “Still, we better keep an eye on him. I don’t like coincidences when it comes to this stuff.”
I turned around to face her. “If you want to check into his background, be my guest. But be prepared to be put to sleep. That guy has published twelve huge books on the subject.”
She smirked. “Not a problem. I like to read.”
I ignored her and fell face-first into my wonderful, soft bed. The cool sheets caressed my face. Mmm...
Nia coughed.
I rolled over with a sigh to face her, noticing she had her DiGi in her hand. “Can I help you?”
“Check your DiGi.”
“Why?” I whined, not moving. “Doesn’t a girl get a night off?”
“Not when you’re in a war, you don’t.”
I dug around in my jeans pocket for the small device and flipped it open, using my fingers to enlarge it so that it was right in front of me in the air.
Girls, I need for you to come as soon as you can. There’s been news. Kiss Grandma for me. -Grandpa
My eyes narrowed. Since when did Grandpa send cryptic notes like that? And he never ever mentioned Grandma, especially in messages to us. What if it was a trap? My eyes met Nia’s. It seemed like we were both thinking the same thing. Something wasn’t adding up and it probably wasn’t good.
“Let’s just get through dinner and we’ll see what’s going on,” I said, my voice calmer than I felt.
She nodded and walked silently out of the room. My heart began to pound. Nia was never frightened—what if she was right to be worried? We needed to
get to Turgor, and to Grandpa, as soon as possible.
Chapter 24
“Grandpa, what’s going on?” I rushed into Dia’s kitchen to find our grandfather, Mimi, Rena, and Jala sitting around the table. Kris and Nahime stood leaning against the kitchen counter. And some random guy sat on the floor, legs crossed, eating a large piece of fruit.
“Uh...hi,” I said.
“Girls, meet Sterrey, the Creator I mentioned before,” Grandpa said. I glanced behind me to see that my sister had arrived, her worried eyes locked on Grandpa.
He continued. “They’re both supporters of our cause. Sterrey has been collecting intel while Nahime has been helping Kris with security detail.”
“So...what’s going on?” Nia asked. We both moved to empty chairs at the table and sat down.
“There’s been a development,” Mimi began. She pulled a copy of The Brozek Ledger out of her bag and laid it upright on the table. “There have been a string of attacks in the city.”
“What kind of attacks?” I asked.
Kris cut in. “The kind that generate a lot of public concern. In response, the Senior Council has put the whole planet on lockdown for all civilians.”
Nia took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “OK, so what happens now?”
“We need to figure out what our next move is going to be,” Jala said. “Maybe it’s time to strike at them before they strike at us again.”
“Perhaps,” Grandpa said, tugging the end of his mustache. “But are the girls ready? Are we?”
Kris jumped in. “Don’t forget that the KaKonians have an entire army behind them. “
Jala slammed her fist down on the table. “As an Undine, it is my sworn duty to protect the citizens of Turgor.”
“Yes.” Mimi nodded. “But it is also your sworn duty to protect the girls and train them for the final battle.”
Jala leaned back in her chair and glowered. We all sat quietly with our thoughts for a few minutes. I picked at my nails, ignoring the weight of Kris’ gaze on me.
A thought struck. “You said that attacks have started?” I looked at Nia and then back at Grandpa. “When, exactly, did they strike?”
Transference (The Two Worlds, #2) Page 12