Coercion

by Tamara Hart Heiner

  I appreciated the way he phrased the question. “I don’t think I’ve recovered from my ordeal as well as I thought I had. I’m struggling a bit, and I think I need to put my focus on school right now. My grades are falling. My mind is distracted. I can’t seem to balance everything.”

  He nodded. “So you need some time off.”

  I offered a weak smile. “Can I please? Just a little. I love this job. This is what I want to do.”

  He held up a hand. “You don’t have to say anything else. I understand. Why don’t you take off a week or two, get your feet underneath you again? You went through a traumatizing experience. Take some time to recover.”

  I exhaled, grateful for his understanding and kindness. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to come back?” I asked hopefully.

  “I’ve always got a spot for you. You’re a talented and hard worker.”

  “Thank you.” I turned and left the hallway, relieved at how smoothly that had gone.

  I could only pray breaking Trey out would go as easily.

  *~*

  My fingers danced along the side of my purse as I headed out the door. By this time tomorrow, Meredith, Trey, Beth, and I should all be gone. I hoped Trey knew where we were going, because I didn’t.

  I spotted Meredith’s car as soon as I pulled into the mental hospital. She still sat in the parking lot, and her car rattled with a jarring musical beat. She stared straight ahead, her eyes unseeing and distant.

  I parked beside her and rapped lightly on the car window. Even so, I startled her, and she jumped, crashing backward into her seat. Then her gaze latched on me and she smiled meekly before rolling down the window.

  “Are you ready?” I asked.

  “I think so.” She took a deep breath and barreled onward. “I brought the poem, I hope it works. We just have to get him and get out and then shoot away from here. Are you sure the police won’t suspect me?”

  “Lieutenant Bailey will suspect me right away. I’ll have to lay low and act innocent because the moment they check the security footage, he’ll be after me.”

  She bit down on her lower lip. “The security footage. I forgot about that. That’s going to cause trouble, isn’t it? What should we do?”

  “Run fast?” I said. “That’s why you’re wearing a hat.” I gestured to the knit beanie beside her. “I’m not a hacker. I don’t know how to fry the system or make the cameras not work.”

  “Fry the system.” Meredith narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I can just get one of the guards to turn them off.”

  I raised my eyebrows and looked at her with appreciation. “Why are your powers so much cooler than mine?

  Barely had I spoken the words before the parking lot and building in front of me disappeared. Instead I stood again on a meadow of burnt grass, debris swirling around my ankles as the wind blew.

  And then the hot air and dry wind was gone, leaving me in the parking lot of an insane asylum. Maybe I should take the hint and check myself in.

  “What are we waiting for?” Meredith asked.

  I shook off the crazy thoughts. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  She sucked in a little breath and nodded. “All right.”

  Meredith yanked the beanie over her short brown hair and tucked her glasses into her pocket before climbing out of the car and closing the door, but my mind was stuck on her words. All right. That’s what Aaron used to say to me. Every time he called me or every time he saw me, his first words to me were always, “All right.” I nearly doubled over at the strong desire to get him back.

  “You okay?” Meredith asked, reaching for my arm.

  I shrugged her off and straightened, more resolute than ever. “I’m good. Come on.”

  I spotted the security cameras as we neared the building, and one finger jumped to my mouth automatically, where I anxiously chewed on the nail. I, at least, would be easily identified. “We need to split up. Lieutenant Bailey will try to track who I came in with. He needs to think I did this alone.”

  “I have an idea.”

  “What?” I stopped just out of view of the camera pointing toward the reception area. The receiving desk was in front of us, and a security guard leaned against it, chatting with the receptionist behind it.

  “Go ahead and check in as planned. Go to Trey’s room. I’ll meet you there.”

  “What are you going to do?” My heart began to pound harder.

  “Make our getaway easier. Just go.”

  I eyed her warily as I approached the reception, but Meredith hung back in the parking lot. I turned my back on her and pushed through the front doors. “Excuse me,” I said to the lady.

  “Yes?” she said. The security guard moved away, probably disappointed his flirting session had ended and he had to man his post. He was one more person Meredith and I would have to get past with Trey in tow. My pulse quickened to double time.

  “I’m here to see Trey Clark,” I said, already fishing through my purse for my driver’s license. I remembered that from last time.

  She waited until I handed over my identification before saying, “I’ll need your cell phone as well.”

  I froze. Had she done that last time? I couldn’t remember. “Really? I kind of need my phone.”

  She didn’t even bat an eye. “You can have it back after your visitation.”

  I glanced behind me. The security guard lingered by the door, a bored expression on his face. I didn’t see Meredith in the parking lot, but I knew she had to be nearby.

  “Okay.” I sighed and handed over my flip phone.

  She used my driver’s license to write my name down, the tangible proof that I’d been here. There was no way out of this now.

  She handed a clipboard to me with a pen. “Sign here.”

  I did.

  She put my phone in a drawer and tapped a call button. “I need a nurse to escort a visitor.”

  We stood in an aggravated silence waiting, and then an attendee arrived. The receptionist handed her a set of keys.

  “She’s going to see Trey Clark. Room five-seven-three.”

  The woman eyed me with interest, and I wondered if Trey already had a reputation here. “Follow me.”

  My heart rattled around in my head as she walked down the hall. What now? We were supposed to get Trey out, but without Meredith, I wasn’t sure how to do that. We couldn’t escape out a window, and this lady was gonna stand by the bedroom door and watch everything we said.

  We took an elevator up a few floors and then went down another hallway. She unlocked the door to his room, not bothering to knock or give any other kind of warning before she pushed it open. I hoped he wouldn’t be changing.

  He wasn’t. He sat at a desk with an open paperback in front of him, looking extremely bored. His face lit up when he saw me, his gray-green eyes flashing. “Jayne!” A smile pressed against his lips. “You came back.”

  I nodded, anxious to reveal our plan but knowing I couldn’t yet. “Why are you still here?”

  Trey shrugged. It didn’t look like anyone had bothered to cut his red hair lately, and it nearly brushed his shoulders. “Beats me. Somebody important wants me here, is all I can think. I’ve passed every test they’ve given me, and even my previous history doesn’t account for me staying here this long.”

  I cocked my head. “Previous history?” I repeated. “Have you been in trouble before?”

  He lifted one corner of his lip. “I’ve been in trouble ever since I was born.”

  I stared at him, trying to pry his meaning from his mind. “Have there been others like me you tried to help? Others who have caused trouble for you?”

  He leaned toward me, and I mimicked his movement. “You are the first goddess to awaken and summon me in my lifetime. I was born to protect you. But there are those who know what I am. They follow me.”

  I knew the words weren’t meant to be accusatory, but it made me feel guilty. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” He shook his head.
“I led them to you.”

  I glanced toward the door. Where was Meredith? My fingers itched to take out my phone and text her, but I didn’t have it.

  “But you came to tell me something, right? Did you meet Karta? Was there a battle?”

  I focused on him, remembering that he didn’t know anything that had happened. “Yes,” I said slowly. “I confronted her. And I lost. She took all of their souls into herself and disappeared.”

  Trey closed his eyes, and I read the sadness etched on his face. “I was afraid of that. I felt the shift in dynamics. But I am helpless here, as imprisoned by my body as I am by this building.”

  I looked at the runes engraved on his wrist, the ones that had appeared to lock his powers away. “I need your help.”

  He lifted one eyebrow sardonically. “I’m afraid I’m a little indisposed at the moment.”

  “One more minute,” the attendant said from the hallway.

  “Meredith, where are you?” I groaned under my breath.

  “Meredith?”

  “Never mind.” There was still no sign of her.

  “Time’s up.” The woman stepped into the room.

  I looked at Trey and let out a slow exhale, my heart heavy in my chest. It was now. We would just have to make a run for it.

  His eyes were glued to my face, and I knew he read something there.

  “We’re getting out of here,” I mouthed. “Follow my lead.”

  He didn’t question me, didn’t ask me to repeat myself, didn’t wonder aloud what my plan was. He just stood up, trusting me.

  I turned around, flashing a smile at the attendant. “Okay.” I walked out of the room with her behind me, but as she put her hand on the knob to pull the door closed, I pretended to trip. I jammed one foot into the doorway and sprawled face-down on the floor. She stumbled over me with a little cry, letting go of the door knob and grabbing the wall to right herself.

  My eyes shot to Trey, but he didn’t need to be told twice. He bolted through the open door and joined me in the hallway.

  “The elevators!” I said.

  But the woman was already scrambling to her feet and unhooking a walkie-talkie from her belt.

  “Inmate on the loose! Secure fifth floor!”

  Criminy. Where was Meredith and her almighty plan? Both of us bolted for the elevator at the far end of the hallway. But it opened before we got there, and two security guards stepped out. Neither was the one we’d seen downstairs, but I couldn’t worry about his whereabouts right now.

  “Stairs,” Trey said, already heading toward them.

  The security guards were faster. They darted ahead of him, blocking the way.

  Static electricity built up in the air around us, making the hair on my arms stand up straight. I glanced around, looking for the source.

  The security guards stopped in their tracks. One put his hand up to his face as if shielding himself from something, and the other one took two steps toward us with the slow movements of someone walking through water. Without thinking, I thrust my hands outward, and they both came to a halt before scooting backward. The woman charged at us, but I swiveled my arm her direction, and she also scooted back.

  I stared at my outstretched fingers, feeling my eyes bulge in disbelief. What was I, a Jedi also?

  The woman yelled, pressing the button on her walkie-talkie again, and anger surged through me. How dare she try to stop us? Didn’t she know who we were?

  The stairwell opened behind the security guards, and Meredith dashed into the hall. She froze, eyes taking in the way we stood. “Jayne?”

  “Just hold them long enough for us to get out,” Trey said, and he ran to Meredith’s side.

  Just hold them? I could end them. I was a goddess of fate, and I had that power. I held the fate to their mortal existence in the tips of my fingers.

  “Jayne!”

  Trey shouted from the stairwell, and an icy feeling like cold water rushed through my brain and down my neck. I released the guards, who slumped forward as if holding still had taken all their energy. I darted past them before they could recover. Meredith shot me a look, but I was already racing after Trey. She stayed behind a moment longer, but before I could worry about her, she dashed into the stairwell, letting the door bang behind her.

  What just happened? I’d analyze that later. Right now we needed to get out of here.

  Nobody blocked our way at the entrance. Even the receptionist was missing. I stopped just long enough at the desk to sign out and grab my phone.

  “Hurry, hurry, I don’t know how long the spell will last!” Meredith said. She held the door to the parking lot open for me, and I barreled past.

  Trey paused outside. “Where now, my knights in shining armor?”

  Meredith grabbed Trey’s arm and met my eyes. “He’s with me, right?”

  I nodded, my heart still working overtime. “I’ll head straight home and wait for your signal. What happened back there? Where were you?”

  “I got distracted by the guard,” she said. “I managed to get him to turn off the cameras, but my spell worked a little too well. He couldn’t remember where they were. I don’t know how long he’ll be out of it. But at least all the police will see is you walking into the building. There’s no sign of me. Go home and claim innocence when they call. You saw Trey, but he was fine when you left.”

  “They won’t believe that,” I said. And that didn’t begin to answer what happened in the hallway.

  “It doesn’t really matter what they believe, they won’t be able to prove you did anything.”

  “What about the guards who saw me? And the nurse? Where did the receptionist go?”

  An expression mixing guilt and pride flashed across her face. “The receptionist is taking a nap. And the guards and nurse who saw you have short-term amnesia. All poetically induced.”

  We’d reached our vehicles, and I unlocked mine quickly. “Okay, that’s impressive,” I admitted. “But you still took too long. I was about to freak out.”

  “Looked like you had it under control when I got there.”

  “Dekla,” Trey said.

  I inclined my head toward him, some instinctive part of me responding to my Latvian name.

  He stood with the passenger door to Meredith’s car open, already half inside. “Jayne.” He softened his tone. “You’re starting to remember. That’s good. That’s what will save us. But we have to teach you to remain in control.”

  Yeah, whatever that meant. Things were definitely wicked strange right now.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  I drove as fast as I dared, not wanting to get pulled over and find out that there was a warrant out for my arrest. I made it home without incident and breathed a sigh of relief when there were no patrol cars in my driveway.

  “Mom! I’m home,” I called as I burst through the front door.

  She appeared from the den. “I expected you an hour ago.”

  “Sorry. I went by the mental hospital to say hi to a friend. And then I had a craving for sugar, so I stopped at the gas station.” I pulled a handful of candy out of my purse, pleased that I had made just such a stop yesterday.

  Mom only look mildly pacified. “I don’t want you going out right now, Jayne. It’s such a crazy climate.”

  “Is that Jayne?” Beth appeared at the landing. She flashed me a smile, and my heart did a little somersault, remembering that in a matter of minutes, she and I had to break away. I needed to tell her what was going on, but how could I—

  My phone rang, and an ominous feeling prickled up the back of my neck. I pulled the phone out and scanned the Caller ID.

  Unavailable.

  It had to be Lieutenant Bailey. Did I answer it? I could pretend like I didn’t hear it.

  No. It would be better to let him know I was safely at home. I flipped it open, putting on my most casual voice.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Jayne Lockwood?”

  Definitely Lieutenant Bailey. “Yes.”

/>   “Miss Lockwood, there’s been an interesting development at the mental hospital. Your friend Trey Clark has gone missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

  I pressed the palm of my hand into my chest, getting into character. “Missing?” I gasped. “I just visited him an hour ago!” I saw my mom moving in closer, concern emanating from her aura.

  “And nothing seemed odd when you were there?” he said.

  Lieutenant Bailey didn’t mention seeing me on the security footage or on the check-in sheet, but he also didn’t act surprised that I had been there, which meant he’d already known. And hadn’t said anything.

  I could feel the battle lines being drawn. He’d already laid a trap for me.

  “No, nothing. I told him I would see him tomorrow. You’re sure he’s gone?” I winced at my question. Maybe too much.

  “Yes, he’s gone. Moments after you were seen entering the building. I find it strange that he would vanish right after seeing you, especially when you were so adamant about needing him.”

  My face warmed at his insinuations, correct as they were. But he wasn’t done.

  “Even more oddly, all of the camera feeds went dead shortly after you arrived. And every personnel in the building acts confused. Nobody remembers anything. It’s like the whole past hour didn’t even happen.”

  He was all but outright accusing me. He knew I had some kind of power, and he knew I’d been there. But he had no proof.

  “That’s so odd!” I said, continuing with my act. “How are you going to find him? My time with him was so short, I didn’t get to ask him what I wanted!”

  “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll find him.” His voice was icy now. “Before the feed went dead, the parking lot camera caught another girl who arrived close to the same time as you. We saw you talking to her before you went inside. Who was it?”

  My blood ran cold. Parking lot camera? Criminy. We’d missed that one. And he wasn’t really asking; he knew. Judging from his voice, our truce was over. I could lie and say I didn’t know her, buy us some time. But when the lie was discovered—and I knew it would be—I would lose all credibility with the police department.