by Sadie Waters
Chapter Eleven
Ember was never a fan of driving in New York traffic, but morning was the worst. It was a little after 9:00 by the time Zach was out of the shower, dressed in Jake’s jeans and a black sweater, which actually fit well and looked nice on him--until he insisted on putting that stupid half-hoodie/half-flannel mess he’d been wearing the night before back on over the top. Now, she felt like she was dropping her little brother off at high school, not taking a potentially deadly weapon across town to meet with a confidant.
Doing her best not to yell at the cars in front of her, Ember steered her silver Audi A4 with one wrist while she impatiently tapped her other hand on her thigh. Zach was staring out the window, a blank expression on his face. It was better than the freaking out he’d been doing the rest of the morning. Jake had promised to clean Zach’s clothes while he was gone, and he and Ryan would head over to Zach’s apartment to make sure no one--or nothing--had broken in. While they were there, they’d grab some more of his stuff. Carson was going to talk to Lane and see if he could add anything to Ruby’s description of what had happened the night before.
“My boss is so mad,” Zach muttered, not turning his head. At first Ember wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or just talking to himself out loud. “He’s probably going to fire me.”
Empathy wasn’t her strong suit, but she managed to say, “Sorry. We’ll figure it out.”
He turned his head then, and Ember pulled her eyes away from the bumper of the taxi in front of her to look at him for a second. They were only going about six miles per hour at the moment, so she wasn’t going to crash. He ran a hand through his hair and looked back out the window.
In a couple of more miles, they’d be at the university. She prayed he didn’t say anything else until they reached Dr. Ford’s office. Her friend was expecting them at 9:30, but at this rate it might be PM instead of AM when they got there.
“I should’ve told Jake to get my iPad. If anything happens to that, my mom’s gonna be so pissed.”
Ember raised an eyebrow and tried to control her mouth. How old was this guy?
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Zach, it’s gonna be all right,” she said, hoping her sigh didn’t sound rude. “Just… calm down.” How many times had she said that already this morning. He’d shouted at her earlier about it, asking how she didn’t know that the worst way to get someone to calm down was to tell them to calm down. When she lifted her eyes from the road again, he was glaring at her, but he didn’t say anything.
Pulling into the visitor’s parking lot, Ember looked around for a spot, glad to finally be at the school and hoping she could get this human to walk fast enough to get to Dr. Ford’s office in about eight minutes. Luckily, a dark sedan was pulling out of a space not too far from the religious studies building. “Hold on,” she said, keeping the engine on and the doors locked after she pulled in.
It wasn’t likely any Scales would be present here, not in the daytime especially, but she wanted to make sure no one suspicious was hanging out. Scales typically did their work at night, but if they had any idea what Zach was capable of, they’d do anything they could to take him.
“What are you looking for?” Zach asked, noticing her eyeing her mirrors.
“Just making sure we’re alone.”
He glanced around nervously. “I thought you said they didn’t have bodies or something. Can they just hangout like ghosts or whatever?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “They don’t have bodies, but they can look and feel like they do. And they can also take over human bodies.”
“Like a possession?”
“Exactly.”
A physical shudder went through him. Ember didn’t want to freak him out anymore, but she needed to take a few more seconds to look around. She was pretty sure they were safe. If they weren’t, she’d brought her small revolver. It was tiny but powerful and holstered beneath her leather jacket, which was the only part of her uniform she wore. Jeans and a nice purple sweater would blend in better here. A woman hurried across the parking lot a few rows of cars behind them. She looked like she belonged there. Ember’s hand went to the door handle.
“You sure?” Zach’s voice quaked.
“Pretty sure.”
He took a deep breath. “Can you see them when they’re invisible?”
“No, but you can,” she reminded him and popped her door open, pulling her keys with the other hand.
Zach gulped in air and opened his door like he was diving under water. Trying not to laugh, Ember dropped her keys in her pocket, locked the door, and went around to meet him at the trunk of the car. He was still looking around wildly, so she slipped her arm through his. “It’s okay. Come on.”
“What about that guy?” Zach asked, gesturing at an older gentleman sitting in his truck, talking on the phone, near the back of the lot.
“He’s fine,” Ember assured him.
“You can see him?”
Her eyes desperately wanted to roll, but she wouldn’t let them. “I can see him. Besides, Scales don’t typically talk on the phone.”
“Maybe it’s a cover.”
“Come on, Zachary.” Ember tugged his arm, and he started moving in the direction of the main entrance, glancing over his shoulder like a drug dealer afraid the cops were on to him.
Inside the building, he seemed to relax slightly, until they passed a group of students in the hall. Then, Zach jumped and tucked himself against the wall. “Students. Humans.” Ember whispered.
“Sure?”
“Uh huh.” Not only were they just a bunch of kids, they were all carrying religious studies textbooks. There was a pretty good chance they weren’t even that rowdy at a party. “Come on, buddy.” She realized she was talking to him the same way she might a stray dog she was trying to coax into a cage so he could be taken off the streets. “Come on.”
He took her hand, and Ember led him toward the stairs that went up to Dr. Ford’s floor, the third. If there was an elevator, she didn’t know where it was. They only had a couple of minutes before they’d be late, not that he would mind such a short delay, but it would bother Ember.
As long as there was no one else around, Zach seemed to loosen up some. On the second flight of stairs, he chuckled and asked, “What’s your boyfriend gonna think when he hears I was holding your hand?”
“Depends on which one you’re referring to,” she muttered.
“Huh?”
They reached the top of the stairs, and she saw Dr. Ford’s office near the other end of the hall. Apparently, Zach still hadn’t figured out the situation with her and the guys, and she really didn’t want to try to explain it right now, so she ignored it. She guessed he was still under the impression that Ryan was her boyfriend. What that made Carson and Jake, she wasn’t sure, but she was glad no visuals popped into her mind. Ember knocked on Dr. Ford’s door, aware that Zach’s head was turning wildly again.
“Come in!” his familiar voice called, and Ember pushed the door open, glad to have someone else help her with the scared college kid again because she was quickly growing exhausted of literally having to hold his hand through everything. With any luck, Sylas would have some answers, they could take this guy home, and she would never see Zach Parker again for the rest of her lives.
Chapter Twelve
Dr. Ford’s office was cluttered, bookshelves overflowing onto the desk, continuing to stacks on the floor. Religious artifacts covered the walls and occupied every surface not holding a book or stack of papers. The space was compact, or at least the large, dark furniture and lack of exterior lighting made it appear so. All of the furniture touched at least one other piece, from the ornate mahogany desk to the chair behind it. Sylas pushed up from his seat and stood, running a hand through his graying hair as Ember let go of Zach’s hand and closed the door behind them.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite student,” he joked coming from behind the desk to greet her. Ember
hadn’t actually taken a class from him in a couple of centuries, but he still insisted he’d had more fun debating the fall with her than any of the tens of thousands of other pupils he’d instructed over the course of his lifetimes. He gave her a quick hug and then straightened his bowtie. “I never will get used to the colors in your hair.”
Ember pulled a strand of mostly blonde hair in front of her face. She was so used to the pink, blue, and purple highlights now, she didn’t even think about it most of the time. For the most part, she was still a blonde. Dropping her tresses, she said, “Dr. Ford, this is Zach Parker, the guy I mentioned on the phone.”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Parker. It is a pleasure to meet you.” The professor shook Zach’s hand, despite the bewildered look on the young man’s face. “Please, come in. Have a seat. I have twenty minutes before I’m expected in the lecture hall.”
Thinking that might not be enough time, but willing to give it a try, Ember took a seat in one of the two antique chairs on the near side of the desk, settling into the thick floral cushion she was fairly certain had to have been replaced recently. Dr. Ford reclaimed his chair behind the desk, and Zach looked behind him at the door before he finally sat down next to Ember.
“Now, I have some understanding of what has transpired, but the entire situation seems so difficult to grasp.” He took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth before replacing them. “Have you acquired any other information today, Ember?”
She looked from Zach to Dr. Ford a few times before she said, “This morning, we discovered that he can see us when we’re Blending.” It wasn’t something she’d cared to mention over the phone, though she had let him know that Zach had apparently seen a Scale the night before and filled him in on Lane’s concerns.
Dr. Ford’s forehead was puckered as he took in Ember’s statement. “You don’t say?”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but he could see Carson and me--both of us--while we were invisible. Ryan was there, and he couldn’t see us.”
“Interesting.” Dr. Ford turned his attention to Zach. “Tell me about yourself, son.”
With his eyebrows arched, Zach shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. I study accounting at Berkeley. I’m getting my Masters. Should be finished this spring. I hope to get on with my dad’s firm. My parents live on Stanton Island. I have a younger sister who went away to study engineering at some state school in Missouri because that’s where her boyfriend went--Missouri S and T in Rolla. I work at the coffee house near my apartment several days a week. Go to the library to study most nights because my neighbor plays to loud rock music until the middle of the night. That’s really about it.” He looked as unimpressed with his life as Ember felt listening to all of the details.
“I see.” Dr. Ford leaned back in his chair, twisting it slightly. “Have you ever… seen anything like this before?”
“No.” Zach’s answer was definitive and quick. “Nothing like that at all.”
“Not even when you were a young boy?” Dr. Ford probed. “Never imagined you saw anything in your closet or under your bed?”
Zach was shaking his head, but at the second suggestion he stopped. He looked at Ember, and she tried to be encouraging, even though she really just wanted to hand this problem off to Sylas and get out of Dodge. “Doesn’t every kid see monsters under their bed? I mean, that’s just part of having an imagination, isn’t it?”
“Sure, sure,” Dr. Ford agreed. “That’s usually the case. What about in the basement or in dark alleys? You ever see anything spooky there?”
“I don’t know.” Zach’s eyes were fixed on the corner of Dr. Ford’s desk, like he was digging back through his mind, trying to remember events he may have suppressed. “Nothing other kids at school didn’t talk about seeing.”
Dr. Ford smiled. “Yes, most children do imagine they see monsters from time to time. Did your monsters linger when they noticed you noticing them, Zach? Or did they leave? Did you ever see the same one more than once? Anything unusual ever happen to your neighbors or someone in your family? Any illnesses amongst your parents or your sister? Lethargy? Lack of energy?”
Zach’s puzzled expression deepened. “That’s a lot of questions.”
“Take your time,” Ember offered, touching him on the arm lightly.
“Well, I think I may have seen the same one a few times. They never left when I saw them. Sometimes… sometimes I felt like they were laughing at me, like they thought it was funny I was scared. I do remember, when I was in fourth grade, my neighbor killed himself. He seemed like a normal enough guy--in his mid-twenties. We talked about baseball sometimes if he was out in his yard. He had a decent job. Then, one day, he took a pair of scissors to his throat. My parents didn’t know I could hear them talking about it, but I did.”
Ember caught Dr. Ford’s eyes. That didn’t sound normal at all. Was it possible a demon had claimed the neighbor, and staged it to look like a gruesome suicide? It wouldn’t have been the first time a Scale did something like that.
“My mom has lupus,” Zach offered. “She’s tired a lot. And my dad gets headaches. You think that has something to do with what I saw yesterday?”
With that reassuring smile on his face, Sylas shrugged. “It’s hard to say, son. It’s possible. We can look into it. Zach, do you have vivid dreams?”
He nodded, the look on his face proclaiming he was about done with all of the questions.
“Do you have the same dreams over and over again? Do you ever dream you’re imprisoned? Lost? Or perhaps that you are someone else, someone from a long time ago? The same person, more than a few times?”
It was obvious where he was going with this line of questions. Zach knew it, too. “Are you suggesting perhaps I’ve been reincarnated, that I’m one of you? Is that why you want to know? No offense, sir, but I’m not sure I even believe a damn word any of you have said to me, so don’t expect me to be super quick to accept I’m some bizarre, non-human creature just because you say so.”
Dr. Ford chuckled. “No, I wouldn’t expect that. But the answers to all of my questions are yes, aren’t they?”
Zach looked at the clock on the wall. “I think I’ve given enough of my time to this ridiculous inquisition. I need to get to class.”
“Zach,” Ember began, putting her hand on his arm, but Dr. Ford interrupted.
“Very well. That’s fine. I have no further questions for you at the moment anyway, young man, though I do think I’d reconsider going to class or anywhere else you frequent for a day or two until we’re certain that the entity you saw last night has no ill intent.”
Getting out of his chair, Zach shook his head. “All of this is… ridiculous. Ember, can you take me home now?”
She looked at the professor, and he nodded, but she knew he wasn’t saying she should take Zach home, only that they should leave. “I’ll be in touch,” Dr. Ford said to her, and she gave him a small smile and thanked him for his time, noting Zach was waiting by the door because he was too afraid to go out into the hall by himself. And yet, he wanted to go home….
He stayed right beside her on the stairs, muttering beneath his breath about crazies, but not willing to stray away from her and her weapon. Ember assumed Dr. Ford would do some research, perhaps make a few phone calls, and then touch base with her again soon. She’d gone into the meeting hopeful that he’d say Zach was definitely not a Seer and that he had a logical explanation for what had happened the night before, but after hearing Zach’s answers to the general questions Dr. Ford asked, she realized there was more evidence to support Ryan’s theory. How it was possible, she still didn’t know, but as they headed toward her car, Ember tried to accept the fact that there was a decent chance Zach really was a Seer, which meant she’d have to protect him no matter what. And the enemy would definitely be coming for him.
Chapter Thirteen
Ember expected Zach to slink to the car, as if his own shadow might attack him at any moment. Instead, he did the exact opposite and s
printed across the parking lot so quickly, she almost thought he had Flying powers. He wasn’t quite that fast though. When he got to the door and tried the handle, it was still locked, and Ember felt slightly bad for not having unlocked it for him. He stood impatiently shifting from one foot to the other, muttering, “Come on, come on,” under his breath while she fumbled for the keys. Once he heard the locks disengage, he ducked inside and relocked the doors.
Seeing as though he had just locked her out, Ember pulled out her cell phone and casually strolled toward the car. Unlocking the car again would be no big deal with the clicker, but she didn’t appreciate being locked out of her own vehicle. She dialed Ryan’s number and waited for him to answer, reaching the car and leaning against the back bumper. She could hear Zach inside shifting around impatiently.
“Hello, beautiful.” Ryan’s voice brought a blush to her face she was glad he couldn’t see. “Are you still at the college?”
“Just getting ready to leave. Are you still at Zach’s?”
“We are. Jake’s across the hall talking to one of the neighbors. We were asking around to see if anyone heard anything unusual last night, and the woman across the hall said it was what she didn’t hear that was alarming.”
“What’s that?” Ember absently checked out her manicure as she listened to Ryan’s response. She needed a fresh coat of polish.
“The music Zach’s next door neighbor plays every night. She said he didn’t play it at all last night. When we knocked on his door, no one answered.”
Ember’s stomach tightened slightly, but she decided there were plenty of non-paranormal explanations for why a college kid wouldn’t play music or be home in the middle of the day. She was about to ask a follow up question when Zach hit the horn, making her jump. She turned around and glared at him, and he raised both hands at her like an impatient child. Not used to being taken by surprise, Ember glared back.
