“I don’t understand,” Mr. Specter said, puzzled. He scratched his head. “How could you heal dead people?”
I sputtered. “I did it in Edgewood for Nelly Smith. I found her on the floor with no pulse and then I brought her back.”
“Oh no, Russ.” He shook his head. “Very often pulses can’t be detected when people are failing, but believe me, she was still alive or you wouldn’t have been able to resuscitate her.” He said it like he was trying to bring me down gently, and I felt a little embarrassed, like a kid who’s the last in his class to find out the Tooth Fairy is really his parents.
“But I touched her and she was icy cold!” I said.
“Like this?”
He got up and clasped my forearm with icy fingers. I felt my eyes widen. “Man, you have cold hands,” I said.
Mr. Specter grinned. “Poor circulation. I’m always cold. But I’m not dead.” He sat down. “At least not yet.”
“I was so sure I’d saved her…”
“You did save her—the same way paramedics save a patient whose heart has stopped. She was on the brink of death and you pulled her back. That’s an incredible thing, but it’s a long way from resuscitating the dead. No human being can do that. Only God.”
“You believe in God?”
“Of course, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah, but I thought since you were a science guy, you’d be all analytical and stuff about religion.”
Mr. Specter shrugged. “Well, even science guys need to believe that there’s a reason for all of this. A purpose. It’s a matter of faith.”
“Right.”
“Try not to dwell on what happened today, Russ. It can eat you up and that serves no purpose.”
“It was just hard to see a guy lying there dead and know I was responsible.” I said.
“It was unfortunate, but ultimately you saved lives. Try to think of it in terms of defending your friends.”
“I’ll try.”
“It takes time to come to terms with this kind of thing,” he said. “I know we’re asking a lot of you, and sadly, I’m going to be asking a lot more.”
I waited and when he didn’t say anything I had to ask. “Is my family okay?”
“Your family?” He pushed his glasses up his nose with one finger. “As far as I know they’re fine. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. You seem so serious, I thought maybe there was a problem at home.”
“No problem, but I am serious, you’re right about that. I was hoping to shepherd the four of you—Nadia, Jameson, Mallory, and especially you, through this whole process, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen that way. The Guard didn’t do a very good job protecting the previous generation—”
“David Hofstetter’s generation?”
“Yes. Five kids were affected by the light particles, and we lost all five of them. They died or disappeared, every last one. We’ve learned a lot in the last sixteen years, and we’re determined not to have that happen again.”
Behind Mr. Specter’s head I noticed a shimmer in the air, like heat radiating off the pavement on a hot day. A presence. An energy that usually proceeded Nadia’s entrance when she astral projected to me. She was in the room, but when she realized Mr. Specter was there, she’d held back. I was pretty sure he couldn’t tell she was there. I tried to keep my eyes on his face, but it was hard not to acknowledge her. “I see,” I said, keeping my eyes on his face.
“I admit,” he said, “that we’ve gotten off to a bad start here. I have no idea how the Associates knew we were in Peru. We’ve taken every precaution. All I can think is that you’re so valuable to them that they’ve been following your every move.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
“No, not your fault. No one’s fault, really. It just shows how much they want you.”
“My sister said that if they want me, I should join them. That I really have no choice.” I looked at him questioningly. I heard so much about the Associates. They’d infiltrated every powerful organization, every big business, and nearly every government. Their goal was total control. Power and money, at any cost. Some claimed that the Associates caused riots, military coups, and natural disasters. Like playing dominoes, they knocked over the first one and then took control after they all fell down, when there was nothing left to stop them. That they took charge when people were hungry and financially devastated, without homes and jobs.
I didn’t want to be part of that, but how could I say no to them? The only group that opposed them was the Praetorian Guard and Carly thought they were a joke. And I was just one person, a high school student. “Carly said I should work for them and try to get a job where I don’t have to kill people. She said eventually I’d lose my powers and they might let me go back to civilian life.” I’d be forty by then. Old, but not too old to grab some of what regular life had to offer.
“Your sister is right.”
“What?” I couldn’t keep the shock out of my voice. I’d been expecting him to say that the Guard could protect me, that he had a plan.
He leaned forward, his chin resting on one fist. “This is going to sound juvenile, but I need to swear you to secrecy. Can you promise not to repeat what I’m about to say to anyone else?”
Coming up over his shoulder I saw Nadia’s energy crowning like a sunrise. She was there, listening, watching. Nothing he said would be completely secret, but that wouldn’t be my fault. The room was not as secure as he’d thought. “I promise,” I said, raising one hand. “I will not repeat whatever you tell me to anyone else, ever.”
“Good.” He nodded approvingly. “I trust you, Russ. You’re young, but there’s something special about you. If I believed in fate, I’d say you weren’t chosen randomly.”
“I’m not a second gen if that’s what you mean,” I said. “Believe me, I’ve done the math and I’ve ruled that out.”
“I’m not suggesting you are. What I am saying is that unfortunately it looks like you’re the Praetorian Guard’s last hope. And I say that not to be overly dramatic or quote Princess Leia—,”
“Except she said only hope.”
“Pardon me?” Mr. Specter looked at me over the top of his wire-rim glasses.
“Princess Leia in Star Wars. What she actually said was, ‘…help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.’”
“So she did.” He chuckled. “And that story turned out well, so maybe that bodes well for us too.”
“You were saying?”
“Oh yes. Back on track.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking as a representative of the Praetorian Guard, I’m asking you to join the Associates, as an undercover operative for our side.”
The silence echoed around us. I said, “You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head slowly. “No, I wish I were.”
“But you’re talking about secret double agent, James Bond kind of stuff. Infiltrating an organization and giving secrets to the other side. The kind of thing that can get a person killed.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I know it’s asking a lot, and if there were other options, we’d go in that direction, but we have no choice. We’ve reached a dead end. The Praetorian Guard has the largest numbers we’ve ever had. We have more command centers, and access to more technology, but we can’t touch what they can do, we can only watch it happen. But you, you’re the key to accessing everything. You’ve met with them, and satisfied their requirements. They want you on their side.”
“I didn’t meet with them,” I said. “They kidnapped my nephew and made me pass their stupid tests so I could get him back.” The day Frank was abducted had been horrible. Halfway through the Associates’ challenges I wasn’t completely sure I’d get us out of there alive. And now Mr. Specter wanted me to make this my life? It would be a short-lived life.
“I know it’s a lot to think about,” he said apologetically. “And I wouldn’t put this on you now except we don’t have much time. I’m not going t
o be around much longer and they want an answer.”
“And who is this they? I only know of you and Kevin, Mrs. Whitehouse, Rosie, and Dr. Anton. I know more about the Associates than I do about the Guard. How can I risk my life when I don’t know anything about your organization?”
“You’ll hear everything, once you make the commitment,” he said. “In the meantime, you’ll just have to believe me. Listen to your gut, Russell. What is it telling you? Who are the good guys here?”
“Maybe there are no good guys,” I said, looking down at my hands. “Just two groups, each with their own agenda.”
Mr. Specter looked pained. “I know this is a lot to process. I’ll check back with you tomorrow and you can tell me what’s on your mind. And of course, if you have any questions, I’ll try to answer them as best I can. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough.”
He got up and stood by the door. “Russ, believe me, I understand how heavy a burden this will be for you, but it’s also an incredible opportunity that few people in the history of mankind will ever get to have. You’re like the guy who gets the ability to go back in time and can go back and kill Hitler. And that’s not overstating it. You have that much power to affect life on this planet for that many people.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“It’s just…” He stopped, his hand on the door knob. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but we have information that says the Associates are planning their biggest project yet. They are going to do something so huge, so unimaginable, so horrible that no one will be prepared for something like this. It will literally threaten life as we know it in all the powerhouse countries of the world. If they succeed, it’ll be an apocalypse. They’ll wait until we’re desperate and then the Associates will take charge and it will all be over. One percent of the population will live like kings and the rest of us will be scratching for food like animals and living to serve their needs.”
It sounded, I thought, like something out of a movie. Unimaginable that it could actually happen in real life. I nodded to show I was listening.
He took a tissue out of his back pocket and wiped his forehead. “When you accept the job with the Associates, you’ll have to distant yourself from Mallory, Jameson, and Nadia. You have to make them think you sold out, that you have no morals. They’ll have to believe that you’re with the other side or it won’t work.”
“And if I can’t do that? If I can’t distance myself from them?”
“You have to.” His tone was firm. “It’ll be hard but I know you’ll do the right thing, son. And I want to tell you ahead of time that I’m really proud of you. I wish I could be there to see you set things right.”
He looked like he was about to cry, which made me really uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just nodded. “Well, I’ll think about it.”
“Good-night Russ. Sleep tight.”
“Good-night Mr. Specter. See you tomorrow.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Nadia
I didn’t mean to spy on Mr. Specter and Russ. Okay, I guess at first I was spying on Russ. A little bit. I’d astral projected into his room with every intention of talking to him. But I held off for some reason. First I watched as he punched numbers into the calculator on his phone, and I knew he was checking to see if the dates would work out for Carly to be his birth mother. I’d just done the math myself, so I knew what he’d find—that he was already alive the night her boyfriend witnessed the meteor shower spiral on the field. Which meant he wasn’t a second gen after all, just super powerful and multi-talented for no apparent reason. Being able to heal people, sense electricity, and shoot lightning bolts out of his palms made him stand out, even among other teenagers who’d been exposed to the light particles and acquired powers of their own.
I almost appeared to Russ after that, but I stopped when I saw him pull out his wallet because I was curious to see what he was looking for. I got my answer when he removed a silver disc with a clear marble in the middle. He held it up to the light and ran his finger over the grooves etched around the middle of the thing. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but he treated it with reverence, polishing it with his shirt before putting it away again.
At that point I was about to make my presence known, but when Mr. Specter knocked on the door I held back. Obviously, I wasn’t going to announce myself then. The polite thing to do would have been to go away and try later, but when Mr. Specter said he wanted to talk to him privately, curiosity got the better of me. I always did love knowing secrets, and this turned out to be big. But not good. How could they expect him to ditch his friends, join the other side, and risk his life by reporting back to them? It wasn’t fair.
Now, I wasn’t sure if I should tell Russ that I knew that the Praetorian Guard wanted him to work as an undercover spy for them. If I did tell him, he’d know I was using my astral projecting to snoop around and watch him, which I didn’t want. Maybe I’d keep what I’d seen to myself. I could have secrets too.
When Mr. Specter said good-night I retreated back to my room. I could have projected to Russ then, but I didn’t. The timing didn’t seem right. Mr. Specter had mentioned the possibility of an apocalypse, which made anything I wanted to talk about seem trivial by comparison.
My room here in the convent was tiny but felt secure, even if the hook and eye lock was a bit of a joke, like the latches they had on the latrines at Girl Scout Camp. I liked the lamp next to my bed, some kind of salt crystal the size of my head with a bulb under it. It smelled good and gave off a nice yellow glow—too low to read by, but too bright for a night light. A good light for thinking about the day’s events and what I hoped for the future, both mine and the history of the world.
I was just about to shut out the light and go to sleep when I heard a faint knock at my door. When I opened the door a crack, I saw Russ standing out in the darkened hallway.
“I know it’s late,” he whispered, “but—”
Before he could say anymore, I opened the door and motioned for him to come in. I was in my pajamas—v-necked t-shirt and fleece bottoms; he was still dressed from the day except for his feet, which were bare. He sat on the edge of my bed and I put a finger to my mouth. “We have to be really quiet,” I said, so softly I was nearly mouthing the words.
“You don’t seem surprised to see me,” Russ said, raising one eyebrow.
“After today, nothing surprises me.” I sat down next to him—right next to him. I wasn’t planning on getting so close, but it felt right.
“You look really cute. You shouldn’t cover yourself up all the time.” He gestured to my t-shirt, and I glanced down to see it was far more revealing than I’d realized. When I looked up, his face flushed red and I could feel his rush of embarrassment. It was so adorable, I could have exploded.
There’s something amazing about having a guy you’re crazy about come to your bedroom late at night. A guy who feels shy and sheepish, but even so, he’s getting pulled to you, and he can’t stay away, in fact. I knew he just had an intense conversation with Mr. Specter, and was probably having trouble wrapping his brain around the enormity of the task at hand, so who did he come to see in his time of need? Not Mallory. I repeat, not Mallory. Not Mallory with her perfect body and her flawless skin and her unbelievably thick ponytail, but me. Nadia. Just me.
“Did you want to talk about something?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Russ said, looking relieved. “I was wondering…”
His short pause was turning into a long pause. “Yes?” I prompted.
“I was wondering—are you mad about something?” He’d been looking down at his hands, but now he raised his head to look straight at me. “Because I saw you when you projected into my room a few minutes ago, but you didn’t come forward. You heard me talking to Mr. Specter didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“But you just suddenly left. Are we okay?”
I got up on my knees so that our faces aligned, then pu
t my hands on his shoulders. Our foreheads touched. I couldn’t believe I was being so bold, but he didn’t pull away. A ghost of a smile came across his lips. I said, “Yes, we’re okay.”
He nodded slightly. “Good.” And then he pulled me toward him and his lips went to mine. Right then, I experienced a revelation—in an instant I saw that my entire life had led up to this kiss. Everything that happened since I was born had laid the groundwork for me to be here now. I was meant to be in this room with Russ, just the two of us together, his mouth pressed softly against mine. There was none of the awkwardness I’d worried about ahead of time. Our DNA was encoded to do this; he was made for me. I wrapped my arms around him, and he pressed closer, both of us experimenting with all the ways two people can join lips.
He pulled apart for a second, than brushed my hair off my face. “Oh Nadia,” he whispered, and just hearing him speak my name made my heart sing. No one had ever said those syllables in that way, each syllable infused with love.
I smiled and leaned back in to kiss him again, thinking I never wanted this to end, that we could do this for an eternity and it would be time well spent, when there was a rapping at my door. I stiffened and Russ leapt to his feet, a guilty expression on his face.
“Nadia?” Another sharp knock. “Are you okay?” It was Mrs. Whitehouse.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I said, trying to keep my voice low and steady. I wiped the back of my hand against my mouth as if removing evidence.
“Can I come in?”
Frantically, I waved an arm at Russ telling him to get into the bathroom, but he must have had the same idea because he was already on his way. “Okay, just a minute.” I went to the door and jiggled the hook, pretending I was unlatching it. I held the door open about a foot, and I blocked the opening with my body.
She craned her neck trying to see around me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine, thanks. Just about to go to sleep.” I fingered my top to draw attention to the fact that I was wearing my pajamas.
Edgewood Series: Books 1 - 3 Page 43