Jane was glad that Angela and Gordon had come up with their cover story. It left her free to curl up in two blankets and oversized neon pink sweats—very easy to understand why someone deliberately forgot them in the women's locker room—and pretend to be somewhat in shock, to avoid answering questions.
She wasn't completely pretending. There was a lot to process, to try to figure out what had happened and how she had nearly gotten herself trapped. Thank goodness Kurt had been close enough he could tap into her Gift and join her and help. Jane shuddered as the sound and feel of the bus starting to collapse in on itself reverberated through her mind and memory. What if she had been caught in there?
What if the twins had been caught in there?
Would they have been caught in there? The more she thought about it, the more sure she was that their twin-bond, their shared powers and concentration had kept the bus from collapsing. It wasn't anything the Voice had done. He might even have been trying to kill the twins, or using the bus incident to trap her.
"What if the twins did it, and not the Voice?" she murmured, when the police officer who was taking the incident report walked away to talk to one of the emergency responders.
"Did what? Pushed them down into the hole?" Kurt grinned and started to shake his head. She saw the exact moment he realized it was possible that the twins, with their awakening Gifts—and lack of training—might have pushed the bus into the cavern under the road totally by accident. He swallowed hard. "Those kids need to go to school."
"How are the Old Poops going to get them out of here with so much attention focused on them?"
"Wait a couple days, then have them show up and claim they saw the girls' picture in the paper and think they're the spitting image of a runaway granddaughter and..." He trailed off, eyes narrowing, while Jane fought not to burst out laughing. "They probably have much better stories than that already in their files, I'm guessing."
"Oh, yeah. Airtight. Hard to fight. But we still haven't determined if they're Lost Boys or not."
"Jane Wilson, you are the most interesting girlfriend I've ever had."
"Uh huh." She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"So it's official? You and me, boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Hey, you can't go through what we went through and just walk away. I mean, you know, facing the Old Poops like I did. You owe me."
A giggle escaped her as a snort.
"So...have we had an official date yet?"
"Around here..." Angela stepped up in front of them. Jane opened her eyes to see her holding out a tray of sandwiches. "Considering what we have to face as guardians of this town, what you two went through qualifies as a wonderful date."
"Hate to admit it, but she's right," Kurt said.
"So, did we win?" Jane asked, softening her voice.
"Only time will tell." Angela moved the tray of sandwiches closer. "Eat up. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
"Us." Jane smiled and leaned in closer to Kurt. The brilliant grin that lit his face, even his eyes, put a funny, churning warmth in her middle. "That sounds really good."
END
About the Author
Michelle L. Levigne has been a story addict for as long as she can remember, discovering Narnia and Star Trek at an early age, and becoming addicted to Greek mythology. After discovering fandom in college, she published 40+ short stories in various SF and fantasy universes. This launched her writing career, eventually creating her own universes instead of playing in someone else's.
She has a BA in theater/English from Northwestern College and a MA in communication, focused on film and writing, from Regent University.
In 1990, she broke into the public market when she won 1st place in the 4th quarter of the Writers of the Future contest. It took another 10 years before her first book contract, for Heir of Faxinor. Since then, Michelle has published 60+ books and novellas with multiple e-publishers, in science fiction and fantasy, YA, and many sub-genres of romance. She has been a finalist in the EPIC Awards competition multiple times, winning with Lorien in 2006, and The Meruk Episodes, 1-5, in 2010.
Her training includes the Institute for Children's Literature, advertising, a stint with a community newspaper, and freelance editing for small presses and a major business publisher.
In 2008, she launched her own freelance editing business. Check her Website: www.Mlevigne.com.
* * * *
Uncial Press brings you extraordinary fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Put a world of reading in your pocket.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
About the Author
Hero Blues Page 29