Edgewood Series: Books 1 - 3

by Karen McQuestion

  Carly couldn’t wait even one more minute. “Tell me everything David said.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Nadia

  It wasn't until the plane was up in the air and the pilot had greeted us over the loudspeaker that I let myself believe I would actually get to Washington D.C. The lack of sleep hadn't hit me yet—I was running on adrenaline, crazy with worry that my friends and the love of my life were going to get murdered before the day was done. I spent all day in the airport pacing and eating. For breakfast I bought a blueberry muffin and iced coffee from a kiosk, and lunch was a burger. Neither meal was satisfying. When I realized my phone was dead I wandered around looking for an open electrical outlet, but didn’t have any success. Hopefully the PG contact I called had gotten my message and someone would be at the airport to pick me up.

  My seat on the airplane was near the window, so I could watch the runway recede from sight as the jet lifted off. I loved flying, loved the split second moment when the plane lost contact with the pavement and began to rise. Besides our trip to Peru, I hadn't flown since I was a little girl. If my mother's goal was to keep me home for the rest of my life, my goal was the exact opposite. I wanted to travel the world, go everywhere and see everything. I wanted to hike the Grand Canyon, and see the Hoover Dam. Stand in Times Square on New Year's Eve when the ball dropped, tour vineyards in Napa Valley, touch the Great Wall of China, see the pyramids in Egypt, and feast my eyes on the great paintings of Italy.

  I wanted to stand in Anne Frank’s Secret Annex, and ride a trolley car in San Francisco. Scale Mount Everest and visit the Skydeck of the Sears Tower in Chicago, just like Ferris Bueller did. I wanted to do all those things and a thousand more. And I wanted to do it with Russ. But first we had to get through tonight.

  I looked at the ring Russ had given me, twisting my hand so it caught the light from the window. Every time I thought about what he'd said about the spirals symbolizing our interlocking lives and never-ending love, I was so overwhelmed with happiness I wanted to cry.

  The ring was so perfect. The spirals circling it were delicate but distinct, and the gem stone on top looked enough like a diamond that at a glance it could have been an engagement ring. How could he have given me a ring like this and still kissed Layla Bernstein? There had to be an explanation.

  A round-faced older woman sitting next to me said, "What a gorgeous ring. Was it a gift?"

  I flushed red, but managed to nod.

  “Your boyfriend?” She leaned toward me, uncomfortably close.

  “Yes. I'm going to be seeing him tonight.”

  “Well, he has excellent taste in jewelry, I must say.”

  For a split second I wondered if I'd said more than I should. What if she was one of the Associates, planted to spy on me? But after the next ten minutes of listening to her talk about her children and grandchildren (complete with photos on her phone), I was pretty sure that wasn't the case. Finally I said, “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to close my eyes for a few minutes and rest.” She looked a little hurt, so I added, “I was up all night. I didn’t sleep at all.”

  Her expression softened. “Oh, of course dear.” She sat back and began leafing through a magazine she’d taken from the seat pocket.

  With my eyes closed, I was able to shut out the world. After a night spent guarding my luggage, it felt good to finally be able to relax. I calculated the time of my arrival against the start of the Bash and knew I would be touching down right before the Bash began. I could tell the driver what I knew about the inspirational stones and they could call ahead and take them before Russ, Mallory, and James even walked into the event. I wasn't exactly sure what the plan was involving the needle in the necklace, but if the explosions didn’t happen, maybe that would throw off the plan and save them from harm.

  At least I hoped so. But what if no one met me at the airport? And what if I couldn't find an outlet to charge my phone? Even if I did find an outlet, what if I got voice mail again? The thought of all of this hinging on me made me sick with fear.

  I decided to try one more time. Take me to Russ. And whoosh, I was rushed to his room, where I witnessed him standing statue-like in a tux and shiny shoes, while his sister Carly and another woman fussed over him, pulling on his sleeves, and brushing off his shoulders. “I think something should be done with his eyebrows,” Carly said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” said the other woman.

  Russ grimaced. “Oh please, tell me you’re kidding.”

  There was no way I was going to be able to get his full attention for very long. Reluctantly I left his side and returned back to my seat in the plane. How frustrating to be so close but not be able to communicate with him.

  If only there was someone else I could go to who could give the Praetorian Guard advance warning. Someone I could confide in who would give my message to the right people. Again I went through the list. Rosie and Dr. Anton were possibilities. Both of them seemed solid but I didn’t know either one very well. Could I rely on them when lives were at stake? Trying to figure out who to trust was making my head hurt.

  Finally, inspiration hit and I knew exactly who I could trust. I took a deep breath and thought: Take me to Layla Bernstein.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Russ

  Carly pestered me about David all the way down the hallway. “You can’t just leave me hanging, Russ. You have to tell me what you know.”

  I’d made a big mistake in telling her when I did. With only an hour to go before the big event, I needed some downtime to recharge and concentrate—I didn’t want to get sidetracked with Carly drama. I could tell she wasn’t going to give up though, so when we got into the elevator, I said, “Carly, I’ve got like no time here. I’ll give you until we get to the lobby. What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  I shook my head. Her idea of everything included detailed descriptions of the room and the expressions on David’s face. I didn’t have time for everything. “I’ll tell you what I remember.” I reached over and pressed the button for the lobby. The doors slid shut. “Basically, the Praetorian Guard helped him to fake his death in a car accident to save him from the Associates. He’s some kind of scientist now, doing research for them in a lab. The research facility where we found him was pretty cool. It was underground.” I decided to skip over the part where the facility was blown up while we were there, forcing us to escape through underground passages, just narrowly avoiding getting killed.

  “I don’t care about any of that,” she said. “Tell me what he said about me.”

  “He still loves you, if that’s what you want to know.”

  Her look of impatience softened. Clearly I’d said the right thing. She said, “He actually said that?”

  “Pretty much. He’s been keeping up with you and your life, and I sensed he had a lot of regret about leaving you behind.”

  Her smile dropped. “Keeping up, how?”

  “He used to come back to Edgewood in disguise to visit his grandfather, and he heard about you that way.”

  Carly gripped the railing and looked down at the floor. “Gordy sometimes said he saw David, but I thought it was the dementia. He was so confused about so many things. I can’t believe he would visit his grandfather and not me. I could have kept a secret, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “Maybe…” She lifted her head and I could see the tears glistening in her eyes. “Maybe he didn’t come to see me because it would have been too hard to leave me again.”

  “I think that’s probably it,” I said. The elevator doors opened and I motioned for her to walk ahead of me. I hoped she would be satisfied until tomorrow. If David kept his word, he would see her then. Let him explain everything to her. I didn’t want to be in the middle.

  Carly and I walked to the lobby where the rest of our group waited. I couldn’t wait to meet up with them so my conversation with my sister could officially be over.

  “Just a minute!” C
arly whirled around and blocked my path. Even though she was shorter than me, she could still be intimidating. “You said he had a kid.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Boy or girl?” She put a hand on one hip. Her stance said, I’m not going anywhere until I get answers.

  “A boy.”

  “Is David still in a relationship with the mother?”

  “Not really.”

  Her lips came together, and a thinking look came over her face. Just when I thought she might be done, she said, “How did it come up that he had a son? Did you see the kid?”

  “He had a photo in his lab and I asked about it.”

  “What does the boy look like? What’s his name?”

  She was edging into the danger zone. There was no good way to put her off and I sure didn’t want to answer. “Can we talk about this after the Bash?” I craned my neck to look at the group. Jameson gave me a quizzical look, wondering what was holding us up.

  “No, we can’t talk about this after the Bash,” she said, drawing out the words to show me she was in no hurry at all. “We’re talking about it now.”

  “What was the question again?” I could see Jameson gesturing for us to hurry. Standing in his tux he looked less like a praying mantis and more like a super skinny penguin.

  “What’s his son’s name?” Carly asked.

  I took a deep breath before answering and looked her right in the eyes. “His name is Frank.”

  “Oh.” I saw a wave of confusion cross her face. “The same as my Frank?”

  “Carly, his son is your Frank.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Nadia

  Leaving my body in seat 26D, I astral projected through time and space, finding myself in a bathroom not too much bigger than mine at home, but definitely nicer. My view of Layla Bernstein was from behind. She was fully dressed in a gorgeous silver ball gown. Her hair was swept up with little tendrils framing her face. Teardrop earrings and a matching necklace completed the ensemble. I saw all of this in the mirror, the same view she had as she leaned over the counter, putting on her makeup. If I had looked half as good as she did, I would be overjoyed, but Layla had a scowl on her face. She expertly lined her eyes with liquid eyeliner, then stood back and assessed her handiwork, not looking pleased at all. She sort of shrugged as if to say, this is as good as it gets, then moved on to applying mascara.

  I'd only astral projected to a few people, but I knew there were times when it wasn't a good idea to show myself. When someone was holding something close to their eyeball was one of them. I waited until she was done, mentally rehearsing what I was going to say in the meantime. I imagined that she'd scream and maybe run out of the room. If not that, she might become paralyzed with fear, which would be horrible but at least she'd be in one spot which would give me a chance to explain. I hoped she wouldn't faint or become hysterical. I didn't want to scare her, I just needed to talk to her. If I could have texted I would have, but astral projecting was all I had.

  When she was done with the mascara and eye shadow she looked a little happier. Apparently the eyes had shaped up fairly well. She'd achieved the smoky nighttime eye that every girl practices at some point in time. She was my boyfriend’s date for the evening and she looked like a goddess.

  As she paused to double check the whole look, I took the opportunity to come into view. I was behind her, and off to one side. I saw my reflection in the mirror as I made my energy visible. First I was just a shimmer, a mirage, and then the form of my body took shape. When I was finished, I was transparent but it was clearly me, a girl-shaped form complete with the impression of facial features, and hair. The clothes were less defined but still there. A memory of the clothes I wore on the plane.

  I came into view and watched Layla as she noticed the flickering image in the mirror. She turned to see and I expected a horror movie screen, but she surprised me. Puzzled at first, her expression turned to delight. I tried to make contact.

  Layla Bernstein?

  “Are you talking to me?” She pointed to herself with a long-handled makeup brush, the kind women used to apply blush or bronzer. I'd thought she looked perfect but apparently she had more to do.

  Yes, I need to talk to you.

  “Are you a ghost?” The grin on her face told me she wasn't afraid of ghosts.

  No, I'm a real person. My name is Nadia.

  From outside the bathroom door, a female voice, said, “Layla, did you call me?”

  Layla didn't even turn her head. “No, I wasn't talking to you, Chloe. I'm speaking to a spirit.”

  Chloe giggled. “Oh okay, as long as you’re all right.”

  I'm not a spirit. I'm alive. I said. I'm astral projecting to you from somewhere else. I’m a friend of Russ Becker’s. That didn’t sound quite right so I amended it. I’m his girlfriend, Nadia.

  “Fascinating!” She reached forward and put her hand closer until it was through me. It didn’t feel like a physical touch, but I picked up on her essence. She was trustworthy. “So you’re one of those meteorite kids too?”

  I wasn’t sure how much she knew, but there wasn’t time to get into it. I can astral project, I said. I need to send a message to Russ.

  “I’m going to be seeing him tonight,” Layla said, as if this was a major coincidence. “I’d be glad to give him your message.”

  A rap on the bathroom door, and then Chloe said, “Layla, are you on the phone?”

  “No, I’m talking to this girl who astral projected to me.” She turned to me and said, “Is it okay if I let her see? Chloe would be cool with it, trust me.”

  No, no, no! I said. You can’t tell anyone besides Russ that you saw me. Seriously, you have to promise.

  Layla said, “No dice. I tell Chloe everything. I’d trust her with my life. She is my life.” She set down the makeup brush and folded her arms, a definite sign that this wasn’t negotiable.

  Okay, so I couldn’t call the shots here. I let it go and continued on. Okay, well do you know anything about the Praetorian Guard? When she shook her head, I knew I had to give her the condensed version. Just tell Russ that the inspirational stones Mrs. Whitehouse gave them at the airport are actually explosives set to go off during the Bash. Tell him not to trust Mallory or Jameson. Mallory’s necklace is dangerous. Russ needs to get it from her. I told her there was a plan to kill her and her mother, which I thought might freak her out, but she didn’t seem all that concerned. Mr. Specter invented something called a Specteron. It shoots some kind of dangerous particle beam. When I started relaying the conversation between Mrs. Whitehouse and Kevin Adams, she seemed to lose interest.

  “That’s a lot for me to remember,” Layla said. “You do know all the guests will be screened like they do at the airport? And the Secret Service will be there too. It’s totally safe.”

  It’s not safe. These people are ruthless, I said. Be very careful and tell Russ to be careful too.

  “I will,” she said. “Don’t worry I’ll take good care of your boyfriend.”

  Yeah, about that…

  She laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I have no interest in Russ. He’s not my type.”

  We talked a little while longer. Layla asked me what powers Russ had and I found myself telling her everything. I’m not sure why. Usually I can keep a secret, but she seemed trustworthy enough and I even sensed she might prove to be helpful. “Really?” Her eyes widened. “He can shoot electricity and heal people?”

  Yes, but you have to keep this to yourself. Even as I said it, I saw her eyes dart to the door and I knew she was going to be telling Chloe. Well, too late now.

  Layla said, “I knew he could undo brainwashing, but I never would have guessed everything else. Fascinating.”

  I told her not to go anywhere alone with Mallory, and she said, “Believe me, I wasn’t planning on it.” Then she said, “You’re lucky you caught me alone. Usually I have people for these events, but the last time the makeup artist made my eyes look so weird I decided to do it my
self this time around.”

  Her world was so unlike mine, that even if we met in real life we probably wouldn’t be friends. Still, I liked her well enough. When Chloe knocked again, saying it was almost time to go, I said, I better get back. My physical body is on an airplane and my flight should be landing soon. I will be at the Bash, but I won’t get there until after it starts.

  “Will I know you when I see you?” Layla asked. “Do you look the same in person?”

  I don’t know. How do I look to you?

  She cocked her head to one side. “Petite. Pretty. Dark hair.”

  That’s me, I said. I could have cried from happiness. For years I’d thought of myself as monstrous, but I guess that wasn’t me anymore.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see you at the Bash then,” she said, a cheerful note in her voice.

  When I got back to the plane, I opened my eyes to see the matronly woman next to me regarding me with wide eyes. Her face was so close to mine I could smell her coffee breath. “Well, look who’s back,” she said with a smile. “I was getting worried. You looked like you were dead to the world.”

  I feigned a yawn. “Just a power nap. Did I miss anything?” I moved my head from side to side to loosen up my neck muscles.

  The woman said, “The pilot just announced we’ll be landing in fifteen minutes. Right on schedule.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Russ

  The news that Frank was David’s son rendered Carly speechless, and for a split second I regretted laying such a load on her. But only for a split second. After all, she’d been there for the conception, so in theory this shouldn’t have been news at all.