by Toni Kerr
“You want me to tell you the future?” She stood and walked away from the table, removing a velvet headdress laced with crystal netting, and tossed it into a wooden chest.
“No.” Tristan stayed just inside the flap of a door, unsure of what he wanted from her.
“I wouldn’t tell you either way.” She draped a cloth over the ball of swirling liquid. “You’re hungover.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“It’s the remedy,” she said, eyeing the cup. “Landon was right, you know. Fortunes aren’t worth diddily-squat.”
“That doesn’t exactly sound like Landon.”
“The future is inevitable no matter how you try avoiding it. Knowing in advance only causes grief.” She packed the glass ball and locked the trunk. “Jacques isn’t with you anymore, that much is clear, and if anyone is listening, I don’t agree with this change of events.” She eyed Tristan from head to toe and headed for the exit before he could think about who she’d be talking to.
“What do you mean? Where are you going?”
“If there are problems with your cabin while I’m gone, I’m sure Victor and Landon are more than capable. They’ll look after you.”
Tristan followed her out of the tent, wondering if he should apologize for something he couldn’t remember. But she was gone. Her wooden sign vanished and the line of people scowled at him. When he turned back to look inside, there was nothing but an empty space of crushed grass, dimly lit through white canvas walls.
7
- MAKING NEW FRIENDS -
THE CROWD AT THE CARNIVAL tripled over the next hour. Tristan wandered with the general flow of traffic, hoping to find a familiar face.
“This is the spot, I know it!”
Tristan glanced at the girl, caught by curiosity. She had bright blue eyes and glossy bubblegum-pink lips. Her blonde hair hung in long braids.
“I’ll bet it’s hunting,” said one of the men standing next to her. “We’ll need to be careful.”
Tristan counted six in the group, all men except for her.
“Should we warn them?” asked the girl.
“Not without proof.”
Tristan’s pulse quickened when she glanced over at him; he caught himself smiling and turned toward the crowd before the blushing might give him away. He spotted Victor and waved.
“Feeling better?” Victor asked, falling into step beside him. He spotted the cute girl over Tristan’s shoulder and grinned. “Making friends?”
“Not yet.” Tristan glanced back to see if she was still looking at him; her smile broadened. One of the men took her arm and yanked her toward the forest to catch up with the rest of their group. Something about the way the man grabbed her....
“I don’t know her,” Victor said, “but I’m sure I can find someone who does if you want an introduction.” He handed Tristan a plate of Pad Thai smothered in peanut sauce. “Did you meet the puddle?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’d know if you had.” Victor steered Tristan against the crowd. “There’s a tournament going on that would be much fun to watch.”
“Did you find Alvi?”
“Yep.”
“Glitch in security?”
“Yep.” They walked along the row of tents in a strange silence toward a cliff that overlooked the valley. “There seems to be a lot of uninvited people, but so far everyone’s behaving.”
“Could someone be hunting?”
“Hunting? Here? No. Hunting for what?”
Tristan shrugged and noticed the two men jousting from the top of swaying poles. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“The water’s really deep.” Victor sat on the grass to watch the duel and motioned for Tristan to do the same. “Most of the time, people just jump for the thrill of it.”
Tristan stretched over the cliff to see the water below. A waterfall fed the pool from a creek at the far side of the clearing at his right, and the pool at the bottom did appear deep, funneling into a shallow stream that disappeared under the foliage of trees. He could see a few boys sitting on a flat rock, their necks craned upward to watch the joust from below.
“The water’s actually warm—some sort of geological anomaly. But you have to go through the proper procedure before taking the plunge. Ready?”
“No.” Nothing on Earth would ever make him jump willingly.
“By the power invested in me,” Victor said, dripping with grave sarcasm, “I introduce thee to the puddle. Puddle, Tristan. Vice versa. May the two of you not kill each other in the joining and party on.”
“That’s insane.” Tristan backed away from the cliff. “We will not be joining.”
“Suit yourself, but you might like it if you tried.”
Dorian would probably love it. He buried the thought and kept his fears to himself as he watched the jousters. Both contestants lost hold of their padded weapons and began grappling. They fell at the same time, but one caught hold of the platform, effectively delaying his splash by a solid second.
“And the winner is…” a voice echoed coliseum-style, “Mad Dog Marshmallow!”
Tristan set his plate of food aside and crawled to the edge. Both men were climbing onto a rock at the far side, giving each other high-fives. Two more players in swim trunks appeared on the platforms. “Has anyone ever been killed doing that?”
“No. But, I think someone stubbed a toe once.”
“Jousters ready?” boomed the theatrical voice.
“Glad to see you’re eating,” Landon said, taking a seat next to Victor.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Are you competing?” Landon asked Victor, nodding toward the jousters.
“No. Alvi would probably consider that sidetracking. Besides, we’ll be starting the games any minute now. In fact, I better go juice up the tracker.” Victor stood. “Find me later.”
Tristan glanced at Landon, who seemed content to sit for a while. Behind Landon, he spotted the same girl with the group of guys along the trees, all gathered around some sort of digital device. She looked directly at him and smiled.
Landon followed his gaze and turned back toward the jousters. “I’m sure we can figure out who she is if you want to meet her.”
“That’s okay.” Tristan grinned, embarrassed. The last thing he needed was more distractions. And after Dorian, he knew how difficult girls could be. “Maybe later.”
Landon let it drop with another slight shrug. “Did we tell you about food?”
“What about it?”
“Don’t eat food that’s been created by a mind, thinking it’s a meal. It’ll fill you up just fine, but there’s no nutritional value. A lot of the desserts are made that way on purpose; the women seem to prefer it.”
Tristan studied his plate of Pad Thai. “How can you tell the difference?”
“You can’t really. Taste and textures are what you’d expect, but you’ll starve to death if that’s all you eat. People die every year trying to lose weight that way. And there’re few enough of us as it is.”
“How many of us are there?”
“Hard to say—not many. And don’t worry about the food; you won’t starve with Victor around, he loves to cook.”
Tristan nodded, glad he didn’t have to think about food quality. He took a quick peek over Landon’s shoulder to see if the girl was still there, oddly disappointed by the sea of strangers.
* * *
They headed toward the back of the clearing where a fire blazed as high as the trees. Landon introduced Tristan to several people, then left to help Victor with some sort of mechanical contraption.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to say hi.”
Tristan turned to the voice and stared up at the blonde girl with his breath caught in his throat, momentarily forgetting his surroundings. Was she really waiting to say hi? To him?
“Is anyone sitting here? I’m Shaely.” She held out her hand. Her fingernails were painted in a light, pearly pink that shimmered or
ange in the firelight. Tristan scooted over on the log to make room and reached for her hand as she pulled it away to sit. They both laughed at the mutual awkwardness.
“Sorry. Yes. I mean, no. No one is sitting here. I’m Tristan.”
“So, what’s going on here tonight?”
Tristan shrugged. “I’m not really sure. It’s my first time.”
“Really? Mine too.” She flipped open an electronic screen and snapped it shut again, frowning.
“What is that?” Tristan asked.
“Nothing. My mom just wants to know where I am.” She slumped, then straightened when she noticed the poncho. “Wow! Where did you get this?” She fingered the fabric while examining the design.
“I don’t know, it’s mine. I guess. Someone gave it to me.”
“Really? Who?”
Tristan took a mental step back, suddenly unsure of why she’d want to know who gave it to him. “I found it. In a suitcase.”
“How long have you had it?”
Did it matter? “Since yesterday.”
Her face lit up with excitement. “That’s great!”
Tristan saw Landon approaching and stood. “This is Shaely. Shaely, Landon.”
Landon held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I haven’t seen you before.”
“Oh,” she glanced at Tristan, then back at Landon, suddenly fidgety with her feet. “We don’t get out much.”
“We?”
Tristan frowned at Landon for sounding so rude.
“My brothers and I.”
“How did you hear about the party?”
“Um. One of my brothers, I guess. It sounded fun.”
Victor interrupted, carrying a clear tube packed with tiny black wires and glasslike marbles. Landon seemed to relax. “We’re ready to start. You guys playing?”
“Playing what?” Tristan asked.
“Sure!” Shaely said. “I mean, if it’s alright.” She looked at Landon for apparent permission.
“Should be fine.”
Tristan and Shaely followed Victor to the forest line, along with half the crowd around the fire. Tristan slowed to stay at the back, not daring to go first. A cord connected the clear cylinder to a bag beside Victor and he spoke to each kid as they stepped forward from a line.
Tristan glanced back at Shaely in time to be blinded by a flash from her phone. She grinned at the snapshot and put the device away. “Did you just take my picture?” he asked, self-consciously running a hand through his hair.
Her face blushed as cute dimples hugged her smiling lips. She almost couldn’t look him in the eye. “Are you...seeing anyone?”
“Not really.” Tristan thought of Dorian. Were they dating? If they were, they certainly weren’t anymore. “Not unless—”
Her smile grew wider. “Maybe tomorrow? Will you be here?”
“Oh.” Sweat ran down his back and his pulse raced. “I don’t actually know my schedule.”
“I see.” She turned away. “That’s okay.”
“No, really! I just got here. I don’t know if I have a school schedule or not. But I really wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”
Her lips twitched into a grin. He couldn’t hear her thoughts, but hoped she believed him. “I guess we’ll see.”
Victor pushed buttons on some sort of remote control and waved the next kid forward.
“So, what is that thing?” she asked.
“I have no idea.”
“It’s one of Victor’s inventions,” answered Landon. A blue light appeared like an aura around the kid’s head, vanishing when Victor pushed a button on the remote. “Go ahead.” Landon waved Shaely forward. “Ladies first.”
She bit her lip and frowned, then stepped forward nervously.
Landon kept his voice down. “People were trying to discover who had abilities beyond the normal parameters. What they tried didn’t work, but Victor kept toying with the idea. We call it ‘the tracker’. It measures and registers instabilities in common brainwave patterns. It’s sort of confusing, but you get the idea.”
“Instabilities?”
“Well, we could use a nicer word, but let’s face it. What we do isn’t exactly defined as normal.”
Shaely erupted in lighthearted giggles as the pale blue light surrounded her head.
Tristan approached Victor, eyeing the strange contraption, glad to have Landon and Shaely standing beside him.
“I promise it’s not going to kill you,” Victor said cheerfully, aiming the remote while pushing one of the buttons. “It records your personal brainwave patterns. When there’s a spike in the sensors, everyone can see the light, which means the tracker caught you cheating. Depending on the rules, you’re either disqualified or cleared with points deducted. Do something with your mind.”
“Like what?”
“Doesn’t matter, anything. Move a rock.”
Tristan settled on a flat stone near Victor’s feet. It didn’t move and he quickly searched for an alternative. Shaely pretended not to notice, but people behind him stopped talking. Or maybe it just seemed that way.
What if he couldn’t do it anymore? Near panic, he searched for loose sand between clumps of meadow grass and transferred a pinch to the palm of his hand. He almost hooted in triumph when the largest of the grains rolled to the side.
“Heh,” Victor said, aiming the remote and pushing a button. “Try something else.”
“Oh, come on.” Tristan’s cheeks flushed. Shaely looked like she wanted to leave. “That was decent!”
Victor shrugged, glancing at Landon.
Tristan let out his breath and spotted a larger rock—it rolled without difficulty and he smiled with relief. “Piece of cake.”
Victor tapped away on some other keyboard from the bag.
“Try it without the poncho,” Landon suggested.
Tristan sighed, removed the poncho, and handed to Landon. Shaely’s face fell with disappointment. Maybe he should have handed it to her instead?
Victor pointed the remote. “Go for it.”
Tristan moved the same rock and his vision brightened through a haze of light blue.
“Guess that was it.” Victor punched in several numbers and began giving instructions to the rest of the group.
“You’ll have to leave it off,” Landon said. “I’ll keep it for you.”
“You’re not playing?”
“I’m working.” Landon handed him two strips of green cloth.
“What about Victor, is he playing?”
“He and Alvi are running the course.” Landon put a hand on Tristan’s shoulder and led him away from the group. “You’ll be fine. In tonight’s events, no one is allowed to do any mind tricks—that’s why we’re using the tracker.”
That was a relief, especially since he’d almost made a complete fool of himself in front of Shaely just for trying. “Is it okay if—” He glanced at Shaely, standing by herself by the fire, texting someone on her phone. “She asked if we could maybe get together tomorrow?”
Landon sighed, seeming to think it over. “We’ll get our class schedules tonight, then you can do whatever you want with your time.”
Sheer excitement and anticipation launched his hopes to new heights.
8
- TAKING THE PLUNGE -
KIDS OF ALL AGES got themselves organized into color-coded groups near the fire. Tristan and Shaely helped each other tie green strips of fabric around their wrists.
“This race will be an obstacle course,” Victor announced. “There are two identical courses. Teams will race side by side, followed by the next two. The teams with the fastest times will advance to the next stage, running the course as individuals for the win.”
“What are the prizes?” someone asked.
“First place gets four five-day passes and hotel accommodations to the Euro Disney in Paris.” People clapped and cheered, giving each other hugs.
Shaely’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Who funds these games?”
Tris
tan shrugged as Victor continued. “Second place gets an all expense paid weekend for their entire family in the spectacular area of Key West. This includes hotel, food, a half-day guided fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, and a four-hour tour by helicopter.
“Third prize is four passes to the Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, South Africa. By the way, all prizes will be given in three age groups: 8 and under, 9 to 13, 14 and over.”
The youngest kids jumped up and down with renewed energy, shouting their hoorays. Tristan stood back to give them more celebration room. A young girl raised her hand. “Are you going to fight us along the way?”
Tristan stared at her, shocked, then waited anxiously for Victor’s answer in case she had a serious point to make.
“No forces will be used against any of the teams, until you race as individuals. If anyone is caught using their brains, the whole team will have to restart that particular obstacle.”
Everyone groaned.
“The course will be clearly marked. Any other questions?”
Tristan huddled with the green group, tempted to put his hand on Shaely’s shoulder to complete the circle. But then her arm landed softly on his back and he tried not to glance her way. The older kids who’d played these games before strategized in muted whispers.
“Yellow and Green will go first,” Victor announced.
A thrill of excitement pumped through Tristan’s veins as he walked to the starting area with Shaely and his team.
He could be normal here, if everyone had the same mental issues. Not that it was a bad issue, but at least it was something they all dealt with and it didn’t have to be a big dark secret.
Among the trees, Landon caught his attention and nodded with half a smile, wearing the poncho, then walked on.
Tristan took a breath at the base of a wooden ladder, letting his teammates climb first to the decking above. A pit of something purple extended between the two platforms. The liquid rolled in waves, splattering gold sparkles as bubbles broke the surface.
Victor and a girl stood on the far side of the pit. Victor wrote on a clipboard and the girl, dressed in black jeans, hot-pink lace-up boots, and a long-sleeved black shirt with hot-pink feathers around the neckline, held a bouquet of pearly, helium balloons. Jet-black hair shimmered with blue and her glimmering lipstick matched the substance on the ground.
