“Yes, it is very late,” Dad said. Ridley remembered Grandpa’s comment about it being a school night, and the realization that her grandfather was alive—alive!—jolted through her once more. She almost told Archer before remembering it was still supposed to be a huge secret. Then again, Archer seemed to know so much about her life that she wouldn’t be surprised if he knew about Grandpa too. But Dad didn’t say a word about him, so Ridley remained quiet.
“Thanks for letting me come by so late, Mr. Kayne,” Archer said. “I know it was unexpected. It’s just that …” He looked at Ridley. “Once I figured out you probably knew about everything, I didn’t want to wait any longer to explain my side of things. I knew the longer I waited, the angrier you’d be when you did eventually see me again.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”
“Try not to be so mad at me?” he suggested with a small smile.
“Uh huh,” she said noncommittally as she gestured toward the stairs. “Dad can let you out. I’m sure you two have a few more secrets to whisper about.”
Dad let out a weary sigh. “Ridley.”
“Sorry. That was a joke. Sort of.” She turned toward her bedroom, and when the cat leaped off the couch and followed her, she didn’t shoo it away.
3
The Wallace Academy uniform for girls consisted of a blue and gray pleated plaid skirt, matching tie, white shirt, dark gray blazer and socks, and black shoes. Ridley gave herself an unimpressed once-over in the mirror stuck to the inside of her wardrobe door before leaning down to pull her wrinkled socks up to her knees. For a few fleeting moments last night, she’d thought she would never have to put this uniform on again. But Dad was so insistent about continuing with life as normal that missing school was out of the question. And he was probably right. He’d been hiding from the Shadow Society a lot longer than Ridley had. He knew what would keep her safe.
After making a face at herself in the mirror, Ridley swung the wardrobe door shut and grabbed the strap of her school bag. Her white-blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail that was probably on the too-messy side of Wallace Academy hair regulations, but after accidentally ignoring Dad’s repeated knocks on her door one too many times this morning, she didn’t have time to fix her hair. She didn’t even have time for breakfast, she realized as she rushed out of her bedroom while pulling her bag onto her shoulder.
“Take an apple,” Dad said, grabbing her arm as she reached the living room and pulling her to a stop.
“Fresh fruit?” she asked, looking at the shiny red apple he pressed into her hand.
“Special treat for the first day of school,” he said. “Remember to act normal, and if something does happen to go wrong—”
“Get the hell out of there and contact you ASAP?” Ridley asked.
“Yes. And I know I’ve always told you not to use magic, but if the society does somehow track you down one day—which I think is highly unlikely, given that you’ve remained hidden this long and essentially nothing has changed—then you do whatever you have to do to get away from them. Become one of the elements, use magic to fight back, whatever. I don’t care, just make sure you get away.”
Ridley nodded. “I will.”
“But if I honestly thought you were in imminent danger, I would do exactly what that letter says. I’d get you out of the city. So if I’m telling you to go to school instead—”
“It’s because you think I’ll be fine,” Ridley finished. “I know. I understand. Oh, and, uh …” Her smile slipped as she looked around. “Did Grandpa come back last night?” A small part of her expected Dad to look at her like she was crazy. Grandpa? he would ask. You mean the grandfather who died years ago? Why would he have come back last night?
But Dad said, “Yes. I gave him the bed in my room. Couldn’t let the old man sleep on the couch out here.”
Ridley breathed in deeply as the truth sank in yet again: Grandpa is alive. She cleared her throat and said, “How selfless of you.”
“Yes, well …” Dad trailed off, and Ridley had a feeling there was a lot he wasn’t saying. “Anyway, I think he must still be asleep. You can spend some time with him after school.”
“Okay. It’s just …” She hesitated, then shook her head. “I still can’t believe he’s here.”
Dad nodded. “Are you still mad at me?”
“I don’t know. Not really.” She looked away from him, her eyes landing on the pile of blankets neatly folded on the armchair with the magic-mutated cat curled on top of them. “It just feels so weird. Oh, and what about Shen? Do you know if the Lins have heard from him?”
“No news yet,” Dad said.
“And did they recognize any of those elementals? The names on the letters, I mean?”
“No. And Mei reminded me again that they didn’t know the man who was carrying the letters. The one Shen accidentally—well, you know.” Apparently Dad didn’t feel comfortable using the words ‘Shen’ and ‘murdered’ in the same sentence either. “Mei said he must have been from one of the elemental communities they don’t know about.”
“Okay. So that means none of those people will know the truth.”
“Ridley, it’s not your—”
“I know, I know. I said I wouldn’t get involved.”
A knock on the door downstairs interrupted her before she could say anything else. “Ridley, come on!” Meera’s muffled voice floated up the stairs. “We’re gonna be late!”
“Okay, I gotta go.” Clutching the apple in one hand, Ridley hurried downstairs. She crossed the antique store’s back room, dropping the apple into her school bag and pulling her keys from a side pocket as she went.
“Finally,” Meera said as Ridley swung the door open. She pushed her long black hair—far neater than Ridley’s—over her shoulder and adjusted her oversized glasses. “I cannot wait for you to get a new commscreen today. I sent you a ton of messages yesterday hoping you’d at least look at your commpad, but I guess you had more important things to do.” The hurt in Meera’s voice was unmistakable.
Yeah, important things like trying to stay alive, Ridley thought. “Meera, I’m so sorry,” she said as she stepped outside and pulled the door shut. “I had to help my dad. I was busy all day, and most of the evening as well, and I didn’t even think to look at my commpad.” None of those statements were lies, exactly, which Ridley was pleased to note. Perhaps she could navigate her way through this web of vague half-truths and never have to outright lie to her remaining best friend. “I’m really sorry,” she added again, wrapping her arms around Meera.
After a brief hug, Meera stepped back and said, “Well, anyway, happy first day of senior year.”
“Wow. Yeah. Senior year.” Ridley tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. But Grandpa was alive, and Shen and Dad had killed people, and Ridley was one of a top secret group of magical humans. Starting senior year was nowhere near the top of the list of items jostling for the number one spot in her thoughts.
Fortunately, Meera didn’t seem to notice. “And look,” she said, pointing up. “The sun’s actually out today.”
Ridley squinted between the buildings at the almost cloud-free sky. On a bright day like today, it was impossible to make out the arxium panels that hovered above the tallest buildings, shielding the city from the wild atmospheric magic. The gaps between the panels provided more than enough space for today’s sunlight to beam through. Hopefully no stray magic found its way down along with the light. “Wow, this is what sunlight feels like?” she said. “I’d almost forgotten.”
Meera shoved her playfully. “Don’t be silly. And come on, we need to run or we’re going to miss the bus.” They took off together, more speed-walking than running. “Anyway, I’m taking this as a good sign,” Meera added. “Our senior year has to be a good one if it starts off with a sunny day, right?”
“I really hope so.” Ridley’s bag bumped back and forth against her side. “Some might say the year started off with a shooting, but let’s go with
a sunny day instead. Way more positive.”
“Ugh, the shooting. Don’t remind me. My parents almost wouldn’t let me leave the house today. But that net-mail yesterday from Principal Colson said there’s security surrounding the entire school now, so that helped. And my parents firmly agree with him on the whole academics come first thing, so that made it easier for them to let me out.”
“That’s good.” Ridley figured the school shooting probably hadn’t even entered her father’s mind that morning. It certainly hadn’t entered hers.
“But still, they haven’t caught the shooter,” Meera continued breathlessly as they rounded another corner. “So even though there’s increased security, I don’t think I’ll feel completely safe until we know who did it or why.”
“Uh, yeah.” Ridley put her hand down to keep her bag from bumping around too much—but mainly because she felt the need to do something instead of replying to Meera’s comments. She didn’t want to accidentally tell Meera that it was their best friend who’d done it.
“Oh, hey, do you know why Shen hasn’t been replying to my messages either?” Meera asked, and for a second, Ridley wondered if she’d spoken his name out loud after all. “What do you mean?” she asked, stalling as her mind raced to figure out what to say.
“You guys were both super quiet the whole of yesterday,” Meera panted as they ran across a street and around an upturned garbage bin spewing its contents onto the sidewalk. “First you bailed on me, then I was supposed to hang out with Shen, but then he canceled too. Have you heard from him?”
“No, sorry.” At least that was a question Ridley could answer honestly.
“Oh, right, no commscreen.” Meera slowed beside Ridley as they reached the bus stop. “I keep forgetting.”
At the intersection further up the street, the bus rumbled around the corner. “Just in time,” Ridley said. They joined the queue of people shuffling forward, and soon they were climbing the stairs into the bus. Ridley dropped onto the first available empty seat and slid across to make room for Meera. After sitting, Meera pulled her bag onto her lap and removed her commscreen. She frowned at the slim rectangular device, then gave it a shake. “I think my commscreen’s being glitchy too,” she told Ridley, tapping at the screen a few times on various apps that didn’t seem to want to open. “Maybe it’s about to die like yours did. They just don’t make these things the way they used to.”
“You sound like my dad,” Ridley said with a chuckle. “Good thing we’re both getting a new one today.” As scholarship students at Wallace Academy, the first day of a new school year meant receiving new versions of all the tech items most filthy rich Wallace Academy students took for granted.
“Yeah, thank goodness.” Meera lowered the device with a sigh. “I just wonder if maybe Shen’s been replying but his messages haven’t come through.”
“Mmm, yeah, maybe that’s it,” Ridley said with a small nod. She swallowed and turned her head to face the window as the bus pulled away from the curb. Her gaze moved blindly across the flashing advertisements on the billboard screen across the road as her mind drifted. She didn’t want to think about Shen, but she couldn’t help wondering what he was doing at this very moment. Had he somehow made it out of the city? Was he traveling through the wastelands now, just as her letter had told her she should do?
“Hey, is everything okay?” Meera asked, nudging Ridley’s arm. “You’re being weirdly quiet this morning.”
“Um, yes.” Ridley faced Meera with a smile. “Sorry. I zoned out there for a moment. I’m just tired after getting to bed so late.”
“Okay.” Meera shifted in the seat until she was fully facing Ridley. “So anyway, I was thinking of … like … maybe …”
Ridley raised an eyebrow. “Maybe what?”
“Maybe, um …” Meera’s shoulders rose until they were almost by her ears. A pink tinge appeared in her cheeks. “Telling Shen how I feel about him,” she said quickly, a wide and somewhat terrified smile stretching her lips.
“Oh,” Ridley said.
Meera’s face fell instantly. “Oh? Seriously? I thought you’d tell me to go for it.”
“Yes, of course, sorry.” Ridley smiled and forced out a laugh. “You just took me by surprise. I thought you’d deliberate over this decision for weeks, at least.”
“So you think I should do it?”
“I—well—it is quite a big step, you know. Taking your friendship to the next level.” Desperate for an excuse to avoid Meera’s gaze, Ridley opened the flap of her school bag and rummaged inside until she found the apple. “I mean, what if he doesn’t feel the same way?” She rubbed the apple against her skirt. “Do you think things will be really awkward afterwards, or will you guys just go back to normal around each other?”
Meera hesitated. Then, in a voice so quiet Ridley could barely hear her, she asked, “You don’t think he feels the same way?”
“Well, I just … I really don’t know.” And I hate myself so much for lying right now, Ridley added silently as she took the largest bite she could manage out of her apple.
“Yeah, maybe I should wait a bit,” Meera said, staring past Ridley out of the bus window. “See if I can figure out how he feels.”
Ridley nodded as she chewed the apple and made a grand effort at pushing down the emotion rising in her chest. She’d successfully managed to keep the secret of her magic and her stealing from Meera for years, telling herself that those parts of her life had nothing to do with Meera. But this? Lying about the guy who was their closest friend? Ridley didn’t know how she was supposed to keep it up. But telling the truth wasn’t an option either. Revealing anything about Shen would only lead to more questions.
“Oh my gosh. Oh my freaking gosh. Did you see this?” Meera shoved her commscreen in front of Ridley’s face. “The mayor’s son. He’s dead.”
A shiver raced through Ridley as the words on Meera’s screen blurred and the scene from the night before flashed through her mind. Shen with a gun, swinging it back and forth between Lawrence and Archer, trying to decide who to get rid of first. The crack of the weapon, and then Lawrence sliding to the balcony floor.
“ … no leads yet, apparently,” Meera was saying as she scrolled through the news article. “It was on a private balcony at that fancy restaurant in Brex Tower, so no one saw what actually happened.”
Ridley cleared her throat. “That’s insane.”
“People heard a gunshot … Lawrence’s bodyguards ran onto the balcony … and then … what? Something about a guy in a masquerade mask?” Meera’s eyes scanned the article. “But that was only after the gunshot. And he was nowhere to be seen once the waiters managed to get onto the balcony.” She looked up. “This is just so freaking weird. What the heck do rich people get themselves involved in?”
“That’s a good question,” Ridley said. “One we probably don’t want to know the answer to.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Meera tapped her commscreen a few more times before adding, “Wow, okay, finally.”
“What?”
“I just got a message from Shen.”
Shock jolted through Ridley’s body. “You did?”
“Well, via his mom.” Meera handed her commscreen to Ridley to show her the message.
Mrs. L: Morning :) Shen asked me to pass on this message: Hey, I’ll be out the city for a while. Emergency family situation my parents needed me to deal with. Don’t know when I’ll be back.
“I wonder why he didn’t just message me himself,” Meera said as Ridley handed the commscreen back to her.
“Yeah, I wonder,” Ridley answered, though she was almost certain she knew the answer: That message wasn’t from Shen. Ridley was willing to bet Mrs. Lin had written it, and that she still had no idea where her son was.
“What family does he have outside Lumina City?” Meera asked. “I mean, he has family on another continent, right? But that can’t be who he’s talking about. The Lins can’t afford to send Shen on the TransAt.”
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Ridley shrugged. “He must have some family in another city not too far from here. I think I remember him mentioning a cousin or something.” She bit into the apple again before any more lies could escape her lips.
Meera narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “If you knew something, you’d tell me, right?” Ridley inhaled a piece of apple and started choking. “Jeez, sorry.” Meera laughed and smacked Ridley on the back. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything. I just mean that you’ve known him longer than I have, so maybe you’re aware of some history or something that he never got around to telling me.”
“No—I—I don’t,” Ridley said between coughs. She straightened, took a deep breath, and wiped her watering eyes. “I don’t know anything. Do you, um, want the rest of this?” She held the apple toward Meera.
“After you’ve spluttered all over it?” Meera rolled her eyes. “No thanks.” She groaned and tipped her head back against the seat. “Well, even if we don’t know all the details, at least we know Shen’s okay. It’s the not knowing that’s worse.”
The truth of Meera’s statement struck Ridley squarely in the chest. Not knowing was worse. If she had the option of rewinding her life by a day or two and never discovering the things she now knew about herself, she would never choose that path. Ignorance was worse. Having that perpetual question at the back of her mind—Is there anyone else out there like me?—was worse. How could she seriously have considered keeping that information from the other elementals living in Lumina City?
She couldn’t. She had to find them and tell them the truth. She knew Dad was worried about her safety, but she didn’t have to be reckless about this. She could pass on the letters in the same discreet manner in which she’d conducted her thefts for years. Some might even say her stealing had prepared her for this new mission.
Ridley settled back against the seat, the tumultuous ocean of her thoughts calmer now that she had new purpose.
Elemental Power Page 4
