by K. J. McPike
Cade was in the kitchen pouring tomato juice over stalks of celery in the blender. “H-hey, Uncle Cade,” I stammered over chattering teeth. “Can you come register me at Lali’s school?”
He pressed the button to start the blender, and I scowled at him as we both waited for the loud grinding sound to finish. “I told you, you’re putting too much effort into this,” he said once the room was silent again. “Just grab her out of that place and be done with it.”
“I only need fifteen minutes, tops. Please. I have to get this over with so I can see her at lunch.”
“Are you trying to find your sister or catch a girlfriend?” He finally looked at me, but the disgust on his face made me wish he hadn’t. How could he ask me something like that? “We should be at Delta’s, waiting for her to come home.”
“You said she wouldn’t be able to get home for a few days.”
Lifting the plastic container off the base of the blender, he poured his pinkish mixture into a glass. “You never know.”
My fists balled. Why wasn’t he taking me seriously? This was the best lead we had.
“Well, you need me to go to Delta’s,” I reminded him. “The sooner you help me, the sooner I’ll take you over there.”
Cade slammed his glass on the counter so hard I was surprised it didn’t shatter. “That’s what this is coming to? You’re turning on me now?”
“I’m not turning on you,” I huffed. “I’m trying to make sure we don’t let an opportunity go to waste.”
“And if Lali sees you with me? Won’t that ruin your little plan?”
“She’s in class. That’s why we have to hurry.”
He turned his back to me and gripped the edge of the counter. “Have it your way, nephew. But as soon as we’re done, we’re going to Delta’s house.”
“Deal.” Hurrying to the closet, I pulled out one of his coats and grabbed the sunglasses from the end table near the door. I hoped the glasses would help mask his hungover appearance. I’d tell the office lady he was having a migraine or something.
Without a word, I draped his coat over one of the bar stools and set his sunglasses on the counter next to him. Then I headed to our home office to dig out my birth certificate and social security card. I figured that was enough to get me enrolled.
A few minutes later, I’d projected us to the windowless wall behind the school. Racing down the side of the building, I rushed back through the main doors and into the office with Cade taking his time to catch up.
“Found him,” I said too loudly, gesturing to my uncle as he came through the door ten paces behind me.
Principal Rockbridge and Mrs. Moubrey eyed Cade warily, but the secretary made quick work of signing me up. She offered to show me to my classes, but I made up an excuse about needing to pick something up from the store. I promised to come back around lunchtime to tour the school, which I hoped would give me a chance to see Lali in the cafeteria.
Cade and I were barely out the door when Mrs. Moubrey called my name.
“I’ll wait here,” Cade said, slumping onto the bench just outside the entrance. It was probably better that way, so I didn’t argue. I wasn’t sure how long classes were, and I wasn’t going to risk him catching Lali’s attention in the hallway.
I followed Mrs. Moubrey back into the office so she could snap a Polaroid of me. Apparently that was a thing in this town. Maybe the principal studied all the photos during the day so she could spot new kids faster.
“Okay,” the old woman said. “You’re all set.”
“Thanks.” I forced a smile. “See you at lunchtime.” As I spun around to leave, the door flew open and bounced off my shoe.
“Whoa,” I called out.
I heard something hit the floor, followed by a high-pitched, “Sorry!”
I sighed. How many times was I going to get hit with a door today? I poked my head into the hallway, and all my blood drained into my feet. There, standing on the other side of the door with wide eyes, was Lali.
Chapter 23
Drawing
Holy crap. I wasn’t prepared for this. Lali looked panicked, too, though I wasn’t sure why. Did she think I was going to flip out because she hit me with the door?
“Um, hi,” she squeaked. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you.”
Remembering I’d read somewhere that girls liked it when guys teased them, I decided to make a joke about it. “Don’t sweat it,” I said, moving toward her and rubbing one side of my face. “I’m sure my jaw will realign eventually.”
She stared at me like I’d told her I murdered kittens for fun.
“Kidding.” I forced a laugh. “No harm done. I’m Kai, by the way.”
It took her an extra beat to shake my hand. Surprisingly, hers was soft and warm. Almost every other girl I’d met had extremities like ice.
“Lali,” she said cautiously. Her eyes held mine, the exact same shade of gray as Xiomara’s. They were framed with thick lashes and way too much blue eyeliner. Even so, Lali was cute, in a trying-a-little-too-hard-to-be-different kind of way.
I squeezed her fingers. “Pretty name. Suits you.” Her cheeks darkened, and I felt a small twinge of victory. Maybe it would be easier to win her over than I thought.
She pulled back her hand and ran it along her arm. “Um, thanks.” I caught her scanning me from head to toe, and something fluttered inside me. Was she checking me out?
Then I remembered I was dressed like it was a hundred degrees outside when it was practically a frozen tundra out there. Lali had on a heavy black sweater and jeans like a normal person. She was probably wondering what I was thinking when I got dressed.
Time for a change of subject. I caught a glimpse of a notebook at our feet. That must’ve been what I’d heard hit the floor.
“I believe this,” I said, bending down to grab it, “is yours.” My eyes landed on a doodle in the margin, and I almost dropped the notebook onto the tile again. She’d drawn the symbol Solstice and Xiomara had tattooed inside their bottom lips. And it wasn’t just the symbol—it was drawn inside a mouth.
Lali snatched the notebook from me before I could register what it meant. “Yeah. Thanks.” She clutched the drawing close to her chest and avoided my eyes.
I couldn’t speak as my brain sped through possibilities. Even if she knew her mother had a tattoo like that, what were the odds she would just happen to draw it right after Xiomara and Solstice had shown me their tattoos last night? Did Lali project to her mother while we were trying to come up with plans in the living room? It hadn’t quite been midnight, but I doubted her ability was on that specific of a schedule. Instead of the usual Astralii style of projecting that had their astral forms appearing just above them, maybe Lali could track people like I could.
But we would have seen her if she projected into our living room. Cade told me astral forms were transparent and silvery, but they were definitely visible.
Unless Lali was hovering above us without our noticing.
The thought made my heart race. If that were true, it meant Lali could travel. But if I wanted the chance to find out, I had to say something to keep her talking. The expression on her face said she was about to run for the hills.
“Do you draw much?” I blurted out. I cringed internally. That was the best I could come up with?
She blinked twice, and I could have sworn she swayed backward. I read the panic in her eyes, and my stomach plummeted as realization hit. If she projected to her mother last night, then she would have seen me, too. Was that why she looked so startled when I’d stepped around the office door?
A loud fake cough came from behind me. “Good morning, Lali. Were you planning to come in?”
Principal Buzzkill. Great. The tension in her tone told me any chance of figuring out what Lali had seen was ruined.
“Um, yeah.” Lali glanced at me again, still clearly shaken.
“I’ll get out of your way,” I said, playing my part of the clueless new kid as well as I could. “It wa
s nice to meet you.”
Lali moved her head up and down slowly. “You, too.”
“See ya.” I took a few steps backward to feign lightheartedness before turning to head down the hall. I felt my face fall as soon as my back was to Lali. That drawing had to mean something, and I needed answers. If I came back during lunch, I could find a way to pull her aside. Now that I suspected she knew something, maybe it was better for me to tell her I knew her secret and get past the pretense of getting to know her. That would certainly speed things up.
Thankfully, even if she had seen me with her mother, she would have seen us all working together. She wouldn’t have any way to know that I was the one who’d kidnapped her.
And you’d better keep it that way. I wanted to kick myself for not thinking of it sooner. We would have to make Xiomara set up a block before Lali saw anything. Or, anything else.
Cade was still sitting on the bench when I stepped outside. “You’re never going to believe this,” I whispered.
He peered at me over his sunglasses before standing. “What?”
“Lali drew Xiomara and Solstice’s weird lip tattoo in her notebook.”
He looked over his shoulder toward the school as if he’d be able to see what I was talking about.
“Do you think she traveled in her sleep and saw us last night?” I asked.
“That’s a pretty big leap, nephew. We would have seen her.”
“What if she was floating above us?”
Cold air whipped past, and we both shivered. “Let’s go before you freeze to death,” Cade said, starting down the walkway. “We can talk about this at home.”
I followed behind him, my brain still firing at full speed to make sense of things. “Whatever the case, I’m coming back later to talk to Lali.” We stepped around the side of the building, and I was thankful to have a break from the wind—even though the slush covering the ground tried to make my toes numb as we walked.
Cade scoffed. “Why?”
“Because she might’ve seen something. And if she really can travel, then she can get to Alea.”
“Getting to Alea won’t help us if I still can’t project,” Cade grumbled as we turned around the back of the school. “They won’t let me into the lab.”
I frowned. Where did that come from? He never mentioned not being able to get into the lab when we were trying to see if I could get to Alea. Why was he just realizing that issue now?
“Maybe her ability can get us inside the lab,” I offered. “If Lali didn’t project to Xiomara last night, then Xiomara must have shown Lali her tattoo before. What if Lali knows more about Astralii than we thought? I need to talk to her.”
“Come on, nephew. Think about this. You don’t even know for sure that she can travel.”
“You didn’t see that drawing,” I argued. “She has to know something. She could be exactly what we need.”
“Need?” Cade let out a harsh laugh. “We need her like a hole in the head. She’ll only complicate things.”
I sighed. I was done arguing with him. I didn’t care what he said; I was going to explore every possibility. But first, I had to get Xiomara to set up a block that would stop Lali from projecting to her and ruining my plans.
Chapter 24
Block
When I appeared in the in-law suite, Xiomara started so hard she nearly knocked over the easel in front of her. Even though my attempts to project to the others based on her art had failed, apparently she wasn’t giving up on that approach. Not that I blamed her—it wasn’t like anything else was working. But hopefully that would change soon.
“You know, it might not kill you to give me a heads up before you do that,” she scolded, slipping off her stool to retrieve the charcoal pencil she’d dropped from my startling her. She had her short hair pulled back into the tiniest ponytail I’d ever seen, the front held in place by the same ridiculous pink headband she’d been wearing the night I took her from her home. It was hard to believe that was two months ago.
She set the pencil in the tray along the base of the easel and dusted her hands on her jeans. “What’d you do with Solstice?”
“Took her somewhere she can’t attack you,” I said flatly. “Listen, I need you to set up a block.”
Her nose quirked up at the sides. “Why?”
“Because if Lali ends up with an ability like mine, I’m not going to risk her showing up and plucking you out of here.” Or seeing that I’m the one responsible for your absence…if she hasn’t figured that out already.
I couldn’t help but cringe at the thought. I told myself Lali hadn’t pieced it together. If she had, she would have said something when she saw me. Right?
A range of emotions played out across Xiomara’s face. I could tell she was hesitant, but the logic behind keeping Lali away couldn’t be argued. Even Cade had agreed, which was why he’d been okay with my coming here instead of staying at Delta’s house with him. I’d reluctantly given him back the gun and dropped him off there just in case Delta showed up, but he was as eager to get the block set up as I was, even if it was for different reasons.
“I’m only agreeing to this because I know my daughter,” Xiomara finally said. “If she projects to me, she won’t rest until she finds me in person.”
I shrugged. “That’s as good a reason as any.” Why she thought I cared about her motivation, I didn’t know. Maybe she was trying to justify it to herself. “What do you need to do it?”
“If I remember correctly, a crystal grid, black tourmaline—”
“Let me rephrase that,” I interrupted before she gave me the full rundown of terms I didn’t understand. “Where do we go to get what you need?”
She eased back onto the stool behind her. “Any crystal shop should have everything.”
“Cool.”
“I don’t know how to set up a personal block, though.” The way she said it made the statement sound like a shameful confession. “Delta only taught me how to block a particular space.”
“Okay…” The stressed-out look on her face made me feel like I was missing something.
“I just thought you should know,” she murmured. “Since you won’t be able to project in and out of the house anymore.”
Oh. Well, crap. That was going to be a pain. “Wait, that means you won’t be able to leave the house anymore either?” I asked.
“Not if you don’t want to risk Lali projecting to me.”
Great. More complications. Between Xiomara being grounded here and Cade wanting to make sure someone was always at Delta’s, communication was going to be interesting to say the least. And I would have to find a place near the house to come and go unnoticed. Not to mention, I’d have to run back and forth to whatever place I found a million times a day now that I was going to be in and out of Browshire.
I sighed, looking around the in-law. Was this my karmic payback for trapping Xiomara in this bubble for most of the day? And here I thought I was being nice by not making her stay in an old shipping container.
Wait. Could she put the block around that? I struck down the idea as soon as it came to me. I couldn’t make her stay in there again. Besides, if she blocked it, I wouldn’t be able to get in and out anymore. Cade and I had fused the lock shut to make sure no one could escape.
But maybe…
“Could you set up the block just around the basement?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek as her eyes roamed over the walls. “I can try.”
After a quick online search for the nearest crystal shop—which was thankfully in Miami—I drove Xiomara to pick up supplies. We were back in the in-law less than an hour later.
“So, did you have any trouble dropping off the letter?” she asked as she dug the stones and candles out of the shopping bags. She didn’t look at me, but I could feel my face flushing. I hadn’t given the note a second thought since the previous night. As far as I knew, it was still crammed inside the pocket of yesterday’s shorts.
“Well, um,
Lali was awake last night,” I mumbled.
Xiomara’s posture drooped, but she lifted her eyes to meet mine. “Oh. Well, she’s at school now. Maybe it’s better to leave it today.”
I nodded, but I still wasn’t sure I wanted to pass the note along to Lali. What if it just opened up old wounds about her mother’s disappearance? I was still hoping to keep her as level-headed as possible.
“Who knows?” Xiomara forced a laugh. “If she realizes I didn’t run off and forget about her, maybe she’ll take it easy on me in her diary.”
My head snapped up. “She has a diary?” Would she have written about seeing her mom last night? That would at least give me a definite answer about the symbol she’d drawn in her notebook, and something to use to convince Cade that it was worth pursuing her.
Xiomara frowned at me, and I realized I’d sounded way too excited. I cleared my throat. “I mean, isn’t a diary kind of middle school?”
“It’s a perfectly legitimate means of expression,” she snapped.
I lifted my palms. “Okay, touchy subject.”
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m just worried about her dealing with so much at once.” I forced my face to stay neutral. If she was trying to guilt trip me, it wasn’t going to work. “And I was thinking…” she went on. “Maybe you could give her some tips on how to control her ability. Perhaps you could be like a guide or something. Just so she knows she’s not alone.”
I couldn’t stop my reaction to that; my eyes bulged and shot to her face. Was she serious? Or did she suspect that I was trying to bring Lali into my mission to Alea?
“Um, why don’t we just start with the note?” I hedged. “I can go drop it off now.” Or pretend to so I can check out her diary.
“No, wait. I need your help with this.”
“What? Why? I don’t know anything about crystals.”
“I’ll tell you what to do. Two intentions will make the stones stronger.”