by Allie Burton
“You’re sure?” Math’s tone rose higher. He peeked and ducked back down again. “How are we going to get a good look at the photo? Right now, it’s our best clue to finding the instrument.”
My beating heart pounded in a hard rhythm, a purposeful rhythm, a determined rhythm. If Aaron had a recent photo, then he had an idea where the trumpet might be. Did I wait and try to get the information from him or did I steal the information myself?
No question really. I needed to get the photo.
The photo had to be recent because the trumpet had been in the country only a few days. “What if we blocked a security camera?”
“What good would that do?” Math shot me a curious expression, not ridiculing my suggestion but not supporting it, either.
I had to explain why this was a good idea. An idea to prove to Math I was an equal partner.
“A distraction. Guards are paranoid when a camera isn’t working.” This I knew because a while back someone had spray painted several camera lenses black.
“I could smash a camera with a tool.” Math opened his bag.
“No. We don’t want to be destructive. We don’t want them sounding the alarms. We only need to distract this one guard so I can get inside and snatch the photo. It may have clues to where the trumpet is located.”
He used the black sleeve of his T-shirt to wipe his forehead. “How?”
“What if you cover a camera with your shirt? A camera close by and in the opposite direction.” I pointed at a camera close to the storage-room door that swiveled between the hallway, the door, and inside the storage room when the door was open. “The guard will leave the security room and go that way.” Away from me. “I’ll sneak in and get the photo.”
“Okay.” Math jerked his head in a determined nod. “Great idea.”
I glowed with his compliment, even knowing I’d tricked him again. I knew why the guards were paranoid about the cameras. One of the Soul Warriors had broken into the museum, searching for a university professor.
“Hide around the corner. If the guard scans this direction he won’t see you.” His concern made my trickery stick in my throat. “Ready?”
Math would make a good partner if we weren’t working at cross purposes. He’d listen to suggestions and ideas. He’d do his share. But we were working together only temporarily, each of our end goals different.
“Ready.” I scooted backward around the corner of the security room. Picking my spot, I peered at Math.
He crawled under the security room’s window so he couldn’t be seen. Then, he peeked around the door and waited until the guard must’ve turned in the other direction.
I held my breath, watching and praying.
Math slid across the concrete floor, past the open doorway, at what appeared to be warp speed. He swung behind a box waiting to be unpacked and stood underneath the camera. He tugged on the hem of his long-sleeved black T-shirt and pulled the fabric over his head.
My eyes dropped back and my mouth dropped open. My heart, which had been racing with worry, now purred with desire. I licked my lips.
His trim waist led to sculpted, six-pack abs. His chest had a light smattering of hair. And his broad shoulders flared, highlighting the strength he’d had hidden under the bulky shirt.
My skin fired and my breath shallowed. I wanted to see more, be closer, touch him.
He took the shirt and draped it over the camera lens. He caught my gaze and winked. He hid behind a mummy being stored against the wall.
The wink jerked me back to reality. This wasn’t a body-building competition. We were on a quest. Math had done his part and it was time to do mine.
The guard mumbled and slammed something down. The chair he sat on swirled around on the ground, grinding into the concrete. I heard a few more oaths.
“It’s that camera right there,” the guard mumbled. His chair squeaked with the loss of the man’s weight. He lumbered out the door and went straight toward the blocked camera, holding his walkie-talkie close to his mouth.
I rubbed my sweaty hands together and got to my feet. With shaky legs, I dashed into the security room, aware of the infinite possibility of being caught. Aware of my tummy twisting and my fear ratcheting up.
Not taking time to glance at the banks of screens with flickering images from around the museum, I yanked the photo from the bulletin board and tiptoed out of the security room. My mission had taken only seconds, and yet had seemed a lifetime.
Exiting, I saw the guard jump and grab the shirt from the camera. He scrutinized the garment and started to swing back toward the security room.
Toward me.
My insides froze with fear and nausea threatened. My legs kept working. I dashed around the corner to where I’d been hiding.
I heard the guard hurry into the security room.
Sinking to the ground, I hugged my knees and let the nausea pass. The guard hadn’t seen me. My perspiration chilled on my skin and I shivered.
Math slid back and hugged me, chasing the chills away, not the fear.
“You got it!” He whisper-yelled.
I wanted to celebrate, to hug him longer, but we weren’t out of the museum yet.
A radio cackled from the security room. “I need backup.” The lone guard requested help.
Uh oh. My heart raced against my thoughts trying to think of a way out. We couldn’t leave the way we’d come through the broken door. The guard would see us. Security must be on high alert. I didn’t want Aaron to discover us because I planned to stay with Math until we found the trumpet.
“This way.” Shoving the photo into my waistband, I grabbed Math’s hand and we ran down the hall. Pushing open the metal bar to the stairs, I paused.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs. Multiple footsteps.
The footsteps weren’t as loud as my heart punching in my chest, bouncing back and forth off my ribcage.
Math’s wide glance swiveled searching for an exit. We couldn’t go back toward the security room and we couldn’t go up the stairs.
“Come on.” I tugged him toward the cafeteria and halted at the door.
“Where’s the door?” Math ran toward the bars and rattled them.
I couldn’t catch my breath. My head grew fuzzy. “Behind those locked bars.”
The sliding set of bars into the kitchen were down. We couldn’t access the kitchen’s back door. There was no escape in this direction.
He gave me an odd look, probably wondering how I knew such things.
“I think.” I grabbed the edge of a table and pushed it below a large skylight in the ceiling. “We’re going to have to stack tables—”
“Promise you won’t scream.” Before I could ask what he was talking about, Math was at my side. I hadn’t seen him move.
“Scream about what?” The only screaming I planned to do was at Aaron if he forced me to stay in the museum.
Math’s lips quirked into an awkward smile. His cheeks lit up stoplight red. “I need you to take off your shirt.”
Thrills cascaded over my skin. “Whaaaat?”
“You have a tank top underneath, right?”
How did he know? I slipped off my black T-shirt. Both of us weren’t wearing a shirt now.
He took my shirt. “I’m going to take you in my arms…”
Melting. If we weren’t running for our lives, I’d like the sound of that.
He wrapped my T-shirt around his left fist. “We’re going to jump up and out the skylight.”
I jerked from my desirous haze, staring at the twenty-foot-high ceiling. Shocks splintered my romantic dreams. “Excuse me? Did you say jump?”
Chapter Nine
Piper
Math’s arms wrapped around me, causing sparks against my skin. His bare chest connected with my partially-clothed one. The heat between us flared. Our gazes connected, protective and exciting. I wanted to lean closer, close enough to feel his sculpted muscles and smell his intoxicating scent of eucalyptus.
“Hold on.” His strong voice filled with confidence. He lifted his shirt-covered hand in the air above his head. “Ready?”
I gave a short, scared-excited nod.
He bent at the knees and his muscles bunched under my tight grip. Resembling a slingshot, he sprang upward with a burst of energy. We jumped—no, flew—into the air. A breeze rushed through my hair. My stomach flipped, like when a car hits a rough bump, and landed at my feet.
Except my feet weren’t on the ground anymore. They dangled in the air as if I was on a carnival ride, except I was riding Math. We were headed straight for the skylight. The glass skylight.
Images of flying glass stabbing our skin, much worse than when Uncle Louie shoved me into the mirror, had me heaving. I scraped air into my shredded lungs. Gulped. Swallowed air again.
Air charging past. Air I shouldn’t be able to fly through. “Math!”
“Cover your head.”
My scream died at his tough tone. My raw throat hurt. With one hand clinging to his waist, the other snaked over my head, I squeezed my eyelids shut, wanting to believe we’d come out unscathed.
His covered fist hit the glass.
The shattering glass sounded like tiny crystal clinking to a toast of our destruction. Shards rained around us resembling frozen snow. Tiny slivers pricked my skin.
The pain was nothing compared to the fear. Fear I’d die tonight.
Math’s feet pounded on the roof of the building. “You okay?”
We’d landed. Safely.
Dazed, I opened my eyes and nodded too stunned to speak. We’d jumped through the ceiling. Jumped higher than any Olympian I’d seen on TV. Jumped like he had superpowers.
My heart missed one beat, then another. We stood on the roof of the museum. The foggy night air swirled around us similar to my foggy thoughts, making this seem unreal. We’d flown from the ground floor of the museum, through a skylight, and now perched on the roof.
No, I didn’t fly. I’d clung to Math. He was the one with the superpowers.
My heart skipped another beat.
Math. Had. Powers.
I shook my head. I didn’t believe in the Order’s hocus-pocus. Didn’t believe any of the members had powers. Didn’t believe the trumpet could heal.
Yet, I’d flown in Math’s arms. I’d experienced his magic.
“Half way.” His lips changed to a boyish-adventurous smile. A smile that said he was enjoying the experience. “Then, we can take care of those new scratches.”
He had healed my injuries the other day. I hadn’t imagined it.
Math. Had. Powers.
Healing powers. Strength powers. Jumping powers.
What else could he do?
Trembles worked their way through my stunned body, making my knees quiver and my limbs shake. From the flying, sure. But also from the realization.
Powers and magic were real.
I’d witnessed that fact. My cynicism faded away. No, faded was too gentle of a word. My disbelief blew a gasket, steaming high into my body, incinerating my bloodstream, boiling in my head.
“Hold on tight.” Before I could process his words, his muscles tightened beneath my fingers. He bent at the knees and we were airborne again.
This time we went down, down, down.
A scream built in my lungs. I swallowed the sound, not wanting to alert the museum guards.
We fell like one of the water fountains the Order had constructed around the outside of the museum. Except we weren’t really falling. It was a controlled jump. My belly flipped and flopped. Not from fear. From exhilaration. Trees whizzed past from the top down. Leaves, branches, trunk. We went from sky to ground.
Our feet touched the wet grass. My knees collapsed and I started to fall.
Math grabbed me around the waist. “Are you okay?”
Real concern in his voice. Real sympathy in his expression. Real warmth in his eyes. I didn’t remember ever feeling that protected before and it drew me to him. Placing my palms on his bare chest, I leaned closer. I didn’t break our connection. His green gaze softened. His mouth opened. His head angled.
Our bodies touched. My soul reached out to his in a desirous throb. My quivering lips touched his in a soft caress, initiating a kiss. At contact, energy flashed between us. We were connecting on a completely different level. Physical, emotional, spiritual.
Our first kiss. My first kiss ever.
And I initiated it. Female power roared.
I’d never been exposed to guys before. There were no other kids living below the museum. I’d never attended school after first grade. Math was my first. And it felt like he should be my last. My forever.
Screeching broke my thoughts. Put on the brakes, Piper. I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even trust him. Sure, he’d saved us from being caught by the guards, yet I had to think about my goals.
His lips moved against mine. Touching, tasting, feeling. His tongue coaxed me to open my mouth. A moan worked its way through my body, turning my muscles to mush. I slanted into him, using his body to support mine.
“This way! They can’t be far!”
Shouting brought me out of the fog. Math, too.
His body stiffened and he stepped away. “We need to get out of here.” He opened his arms wanting a hug. “Come here.”
“Um, I thought you said we needed to go.” As much as I’d enjoyed the kiss, we couldn’t get caught.
He dropped his chin in an are-you-serious expression, then grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him. “We do. We’re jumping.”
Once he had me in his arms, we leapt into the air above the trees. My eyes glued open. How could this be possible? Not as shocked, I enjoyed the ride. Wind whipped my hair into my face. I was flying.
We soared over the museum’s manicured garden and thrills feathered along my skin. We crossed the road and excitement jolted like caffeine. We landed between two houses and joy bubbled within. We were safe from museum security. Safe on the ground.
Math steadied me and then dropped his arms from around me. “Let’s go.”
Contact disengaged and my brain engaged, rebooted. Being out of breath didn’t stop me from asking, “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” He prowled ahead, trying to avoid my question.
“Jump. Fly, really.” I hurried my pace to catch up.
“It wasn’t flying. For it to be flying the upward force has to be greater than the gravitational force imposed on an object. It’s a combination of Newton and the Bernoulli Principle.”
“What?” I’d kissed this guy. This superhero. This super-brain. “Never mind.” Wonder and stupidity short-circuited my thoughts. I was dumb.
After being pulled from school, I spent a lot of time reading. It was the only way I was going to learn about the real world. From fiction I turned to non-fiction, trying to teach myself so when I escaped from the Order I’d be educated.
Obviously, I’d failed.
Maybe Math wasn’t a superhero. Aaron said the Soul Warriors used their powers for evil. After everything I’d seen, how could I believe that?
Why did Math want the Trumpet of Peace?
One question at a time. I snatched his hand and yanked him to a stop. “Tell me.”
His entire body stiffened. His mouth formed a grim line. “You don’t believe in magic.”
“I don’t…I didn’t…” The synapses in my brain tangled and crossed. What did I believe? Before today I hadn’t believed in magic or powers or any of the ideals the Order professed.
Being raised by the Order should’ve made me a devout follower, except I’d seen the backstabbing and conniving by the members. I’d heard them ridicule Mom. I’d been treated as a servant, not a daughter.
I’d also seen Uncle Louie and his employees fall asleep at the sound of the trumpet and I’d been in Math’s arms flying through the air. “What you did, was that magic?”
I had to be sure. Confirm what I saw and how it happened.
“Not magic, really.�
� His hesitant tone told me he didn’t want to confess. “A power.”
The word settled in my mind. I had no choice but to believe. Excitement pulsed through my veins. With power he could—
He tugged on my hand and dragged me forward. “Keep walking.”
“Why can’t we fly?” A smile tugged on my face. I couldn’t believe I asked the question.
My head buzzed. If Math had powers and could heal, maybe he could help Mom. I bit my lip, holding myself back from asking. If he couldn’t help and he knew I wanted the trumpet, he might not include me on the quest. I wasn’t ready to share my entire truth.
“I only jump when necessary.” Red flushed his cheeks and he hurried his pace.
“So you’ve done that before?”
“Yes.” His monotone didn’t explain anything.
“Tell me.” I wanted to know every fantastical thing he could do.
Huffing, he knew I wasn’t going to give up. “Did you hear about the ancient Egyptian amulet stolen from a museum in San Francisco a few months ago?”
“Yes.” The Order had talked about the theft nonstop.
“The amulet held powers from King Tut and the sun god Aten. I was exposed to those powers.”
My stomach dropped, dropped more than when we’d flown through the skylight. “Exposed? Is it dangerous? Will you die from radiation or something?”
“No. I received powers by being exposed.”
Anticipation had me flying higher and higher. Doubt brought me down to the ground. How could I believe these crazy things? After what I’d seen, how could I not? “What kind of powers?”
“Enough.” The harsh sound of his voice told me he’d reached a breaking point.
I pushed, needing to know. “Enough of what?”
“I’m not at liberty to tell you any more.” His response came out between clenched teeth.
“Or what, you’d have to kill me?” I forced a chuckle, trying to make a joke.
Except it wasn’t funny. Aaron had told me the Soul Warriors were wicked. They wanted to create chaos in the world, not peace. I should probably be more worried. And yet, Aaron obviously wasn’t telling me the entire truth. I didn’t know whose crazy story to believe.