by Jim Johnson
I nodded my head again. “So the grid is part of an even larger ocean of ley energy that is somehow woven into the whole world?”
She nodded, a smile crossing her face again. “Yes, exactly.”
“And in some places, talented Awakened people have modified the leys into organized grids that make things easier to manage?”
She nodded again, her smile widening. “Exactly. You are a quick study, Rachel.”
“I didn’t leave UPenn because of bad grades.” I sighed, then nodded. “Well, I like what I’m seeing. What’s next?”
Miss Chin smiled and stood up, and then held out a hand and helped me to my feet. She dispelled the warding dome with a wave of her hand. I felt the energies of the dome seep back into the ground below us, presumably to sink back into the grid far below.
“Next we get some lunch. And then get you home. You’re going to be more tired than you expect. Working the weave is mentally taxing if you haven’t built up your endurance and skill. It’ll take time, but you’ll be fine. I can sense you’re already on the path.”
She pulled my hand gently toward the stairs. “Come on. Cheese fries and gourmet hot dogs are on me. You did well today, Rachel.”
I let her guide me up the stairs, lost in my own thoughts of the possibilities all around me. As we reached the top of the stairs and headed toward Montgomery Street, I glanced back at that brick archway, wondering when I’d be able to get back and start practicing in earnest.
Chapter 34
MISS CHIN AND I MADE SHORT work of an order of cheese fries and Chicago-style hot dogs, as she had promised. I washed down the post-training meal with a chocolate shake, though the heavy sugar content left me wired. Miss Chin mentioned again how pleased she was at my progress, which made me feel good, all things considered.
We made plans to get together again in a day or two, and then she headed for King Street to get in some shopping. I stayed at the restaurant and pulled out my cell phone. The thing still had half a battery’s worth of charge, which I thought rather remarkable. Messing with ley threads had made electronic devices unreliable around me lately.
I texted Malcolm to find out if he was available. I felt guilty that I hadn’t talked to him at all yesterday. I had intended to get together with him and help more with his sister’s issues, but I’d gotten caught up with Miss Chin and Abbie and my thoughts.
My phone buzzed in my hand. I checked the screen—it was Malcolm. Kinda rude for him to answer a text with a call, but…given the circumstances, I was inclined to give him a pass.
I hit the answer button. “Malcolm?”
“Hey, Rachel. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up. I have a ton to tell you.”
I nibbled at one of my thumbnails as I considered my options, and then nodded into the phone. “I have some stuff for you as well. I’m sitting inside Haute Dogs—just north of Old Town?”
“I know the place. I can be there in about twenty minutes. See you soon.”
He hung up before I even had a chance to say ‘Okay’. I thumbed off the connection and then pocketed my phone. I made myself comfortable in the wooden chair near the plate glass window, and tuned out the hip-hop blaring over the restaurant’s sound system. It was after lunchtime and the place was largely deserted. I considered ordering some more cheese fries, then thought better of it and decided to try some light meditation.
I focused on my reflection in the window and used my inner Eye to seek out some nearby ley threads. I found some and latched onto a couple and used them to help generate a new meditation spiral. I followed it around a few arcs and felt my consciousness slip into a comfortable meditative state.
As I continued to circle around the spiral, I called up the training session with Miss Chin, attempting to replay the events in my mind. Surprisingly, the memories and the visuals of our discussion and lesson came back easily, and I found I could play it and replay it back and forth, as if I was messing with a remote control and a DVD.
By the time Malcolm pulled up, I had replayed the events a couple times through, and had a fair sense of how Miss Chin had manipulated the ley threads to generate the warding dome and also how she had activated my inner Eye to be able to see the permanent rift in the Veil. I wasn’t sure I could replicate the actions, but I had a good sense of the theory.
And that had to count for something.
Malcolm climbed out of his Mustang and entered the restaurant in a few long strides. He nodded at me as he walked in. “As long as we’re here, I’m gonna grab some food to go. Hang tight, okay?”
He took a couple steps toward the counter, then paused and looked back at me. “Can I get you anything?”
I glanced into my empty shake cup, and then forlornly at the table card displaying those decadent cheese fries, but… I focused on him and shook my head. “I’m good, thanks.”
He nodded and then headed to the counter to place his order. I took the opportunity to pull myself completely out of my meditative state and then to toss my trash. Surrounding my mind in the comfort of the ley threads was kinda addictive. If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up losing a lot of time wandering deep within myself.
While waiting for his order, Malcolm made use of the restroom, so I was left to pretty much drum my fingers on the table in time with the music, which had moved into some lighter pop hits. But, soon enough, Malcolm had his bag of food in hand, and led me out of the restaurant and toward his car.
He pulled his keychain out of his pocket as I walked around to the passenger side. He fumbled with it and then aimed it at the car. Nothing happened—no beeping noise, no ‘clunk’ of unlocked doors. He smacked the key fob against his forearm and tried again. Nothing.
I frowned. “Something wrong?”
He shook his head. “Damn thing’s been wonky all day. It’s like the battery is dead.”
I quirked up an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
He used the key to unlock his door and then triggered the locks manually once he was seated. I piled into the passenger seat, trying not to be too impressed that I was climbing into what looked like a very recent model. I mean, it wasn’t my brother’s Mercedes, but still. It was a Mustang.
He started up the engine and locked the doors, then pulled onto Montgomery and then made a right onto the GW Parkway once the light changed. He somehow juggled the bag of hot dogs and fries while doing so. I might have cringed once or twice.
“You look like you’ve done this before,” I said.
He glanced at me with half a fry hanging out of his mouth. “What, eat?”
“Eating while driving.”
“I guess so, yeah.” He shrugged. “Don’t you eat in the car sometimes?”
I shook my head. “I don’t drive.”
“Really?” He glanced at me, the surprise evident in his eyes. “I figured most people around here drove. It’s the nature of the DC metro area, isn’t it?”
I shrugged. “Depends on where you live, I guess. Between the busses and the Metro and my two feet, I manage to get around well enough.” I grinned. “Though I bum rides off people, on occasion.”
He snorted into his straw of soda. “Hah, I bet.”
The mix of bare trees and evergreens along both sides of the Parkway blurred past as he drove north. “Where are we going?”
He glanced at me. “Oh, right. Uh…” He focused on the road and looked a little embarrassed. “Sandelle came home yesterday afternoon. She didn’t think anyone would have been home, but I waited in a closet, thinking she might show up.”
I gave him a puzzled look. “You hid out in your own house?”
He nodded as he finished off his hot dog. “Paid off, too. She came back for some fresh clothes and snacks.”
I pondered that as we cruised past National Airport. “Sounds like she had somewhere to be. A new place to live, maybe?”
He nodded. “I cornered her in the laundry room and asked her some hard questions. Turns out she’s shacking up with this guy.” He clen
ched his hands on his steering wheel. “Her supplier. Buster Jay.”
I blinked and then stared at him. “The guy’s name is ‘Buster Jay’?”
Malcolm shrugged and then gave me a look that suggested he was as clueless as I was. “I guess it’s a street name?”
“I thought you said Sandelle might be hanging with a different crowd.”
Malcolm shook his head. “Hell if I know. She might have been feeding me a bunch of crap. We had an argument and then she took an armful of clothes and the last bag of Funyuns and jetted out of the house.”
I tried to keep the sudden grin off my face, but must have failed, given the look he shot me.
“You don’t mess with a man’s Funyuns, Rachel. You just don’t.”
I bit the inside of my mouth, and simply nodded. I counted to five to control myself, then asked again, “So, where are we going?”
He nodded. “Right. So after Sandelle took off, I started calling some of her friends and asked around. I don’t have a bead on this Buster Jay punk but I do have a lead on one of his regulars.” He pulled the car off the Parkway and onto the Fourteenth Street Bridge, taking I-395 toward the city.
“So…what?” I stared at him. “We’re going to talk to a drug addict?” I was entirely unable to keep the incredulity out of my voice.
He held the steering wheel tight in his hands. “Well…yeah.”
I stared out the window as we drove over the glittering Potomac, the Washington Monument to our left shining in the sunlight. “Christ on a crutch, Malcolm. This is a hell of a way to spend a Monday afternoon.”
Chapter 35
MALCOLM PULLED OFF I-395 PRETTY quick and into East Potomac Park, and brought us to the parking lot outside the tennis courts. Even though it was mid-afternoon in freaking February, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot and joggers and bikers moving along the park’s various paths and roads. Malcolm got out of the car and, after a moment’s hesitation, I joined him.
He tried the key fob on the car again, but again it didn’t work. He glanced at me and sighed. “Stupid technology.”
I shrugged. “If it’s any consolation, I’m having problems too. I can’t keep a charge in my cell phone to save my life.”
He frowned as he started walking toward the bridge that arced overhead nearby. “Anything you’re not telling me?”
I fell into step with him. “I think it’s got something to do with our connection to the ley threads.”
He glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “The what, now?”
Oh, right. He had no idea. Crap. “Uh…we have a lot to talk about, Malcolm.” I reached out and grasped a handful of his parka sleeve, stopping his movement. He glanced down.
I stared into his eyes. “We’re connected to something much bigger than ourselves. Your ability to, you know…” I glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. “Shoot fire from your hands? And my glowy crystal and stuff…it’s all related. We’re all connected.”
His expression turned serious, and he leaned in toward me. “Go on.”
I licked my lips, then nodded. “There is power everywhere, all around us, in the form of glowing threads of energy. All those glowing threads are connected to all living people, and also to dead people whose souls haven’t moved on to…wherever they’re going.” I focused on his eyes to see if he was still with me. He looked doubtful, but his eyes looked hungry for more.
“People with training and talent can…can manipulate these threads of energy to do things, like make crystals glow, light candles, and…and I guess blow up handguns.” I stared at him with wide eyes, silently praying he’d understand I wasn’t nuts.
After a long look into my eyes, he asked, “And create spinning tunnels in the air, like in the Branchwood stairwell?”
I nodded. “Yes, exactly.”
He stroked his stubbly chin with long fingers. “How do you know all this?”
I looked away, toward a nearby pool of water. So far I hadn’t told Miss Chin anything about Malcolm, and I was hesitant to tell him about her. I didn’t know why. Maybe it was time to break that up.
I took a deep breath and plunged in. “The woman who I got this crystal from knows a lot about these powers—talents—whatever you call them. I’ve talked to her and gotten some pointers on how to use them safely.”
His eyes widened. “Can you teach me? I don’t want to hurt anyone accidentally again.” He snorted. “Or, you know…burn my house down.”
I rested a hand on his chest. “Seriously. I know the feeling.” I looked up into his eyes, seeing the worry reflected in them, and even a little bit of trust, though I didn’t look at that too closely.
“Yes, Malcolm, I think I can help you. We can help each other. But we have to be careful. Hardly anyone knows about these abilities. Most people are oblivious to this kind of stuff.”
He nodded and gently put a hand under my arm and started us walking toward the bridge again. “So we’re like superheroes, but in secret?”
“Something like that. I’m not sure what you are, but I’m like this Beacon thing, where my job is to guide lost souls to the…” I trailed off, realizing he was looking at me sidelong. “What?”
“You’re a what?”
I bit my lip, considered what to say, then shook my head. “There’s too much to explain right now.” I gestured toward the bridge. “Where are we going?”
“My tip tells me one of Buster Jay’s regulars hangs out here.”
“At the bridge?”
“Well, he may be homeless, so…I guess under the bridge?”
I shook my head. “Great. Come on. Any idea what this guy is supposed to look like?”
He walked alongside me stride for stride. “Nope. Just his name—Cubes.”
I shook my head. “This gets better and better. We’re going to meet a drug addict named Cubes who lives under a bridge.” I raised a hand to pause our walking. “You think he’s a troll?”
Malcolm shot me a confused look. “Come on, Rachel. Get your game face on.”
He gestured toward the underpass. A long swath of brown grass sloped up from the waterfront to the bridge. An assortment of ratty little tents and makeshift lean-tos had been erected on the slope, clustered together underneath the bridge. A pair of steel barrels stood just outside the collection of tents, a fire blazing away in one of them. A couple of shabbily-dressed men, scruffy and lean, shifted from foot to foot in front of the fire, rubbing their hands together.
I took in the scene and then glanced at Malcolm. “This is where we meet Cubes?”
He focused forward and nodded. “I guess so.”
I shifted in my hoodie and glanced at his Ravens parka, which still looked mostly new, even though one sleeve was a bit singed. “I think we’re a little overdressed.”
He glanced down at me again and shrugged. “Come on, let’s do this.”
Since this was his issue, I let him take the lead. While I walked a step behind him, I focused my inner Eye and reached out for several ley threads, and gingerly wove them into a protective cocoon around me again. Then, inspired, I did it again and tried to pull them together around Malcolm’s form just ahead of me. It was harder to make it work, I guess because he was moving. I managed to get it around him, though, and held onto the threads connecting my cocoon to his, sort of like tethers.
He paused and glanced at me. “What are you doing? I feel…some sort of a static charge all around me.”
“I’m experimenting a bit…seeing if I can protect both of us at the same time.”
He nodded toward my chest. “I see that.”
I glanced down. Crap. My ever-present crystal was merrily glowing again. I reached up and flipped it under my hoodie. Even through the fabric I could see the glow and feel the warmth.
Malcolm resumed walking toward the two men at the burning barrel. He held his arms slightly out to either side, showing he wasn’t a threat, though I noticed that both hands were clenched into fists. With a little concentra
tion within my third Eye, I saw that he had ley threads in hand. I guess he was ready to bring the fire if he needed to, and I suspected he was somehow doing it unconsciously. Training would be interesting, for sure.
Malcolm stepped over to the burning barrel. “Hey. I’m looking for someone, someone named Cubes?”
The two vagrants glanced at each other and then resumed rubbing their hands. One of them, a white guy with a scraggly beard and a ratty ball cap, said, “Cubes be sleepin’, man. Don’t bother him. He had a rough night.”
The other vagrant, a dusky-skinned man with a receding hairline wrapped in a thick green blanket, added, “Yeah, up all night ranting about his old lady.”
Ball Cap said, “He been talkin’ about chasin’ the tiger, too.” He shook his head.
I frowned. “Chasing the tiger? Is that a drug thing?”
The two men glanced at each other and then at me. Ball Cap squinted at me. “What you doin’ here, girl? This place ain’t for you.”
Malcolm cleared his throat. “Like I said, we’re looking for Cubes. Where can we find him?”
Ball Cap stared at Malcolm. “Said the man be sleepin’. Go on, get outta here.”
I felt a surge of power from Malcolm. The cocoon of threads I had wrapped around him shifted slightly, though I wasn’t sure why. He rested his hands on the steel barrel that didn’t contain a fire.
“I really need to see Cubes, right now.”
Through my inner Eye, I saw Malcolm pull threads together and create a spark in each hand, and those sparks flared down into the barrel. I closed my inner Eye before the flash, but even then, I could see the eruption through my closed eyelids. I felt the sudden warmth on my face.
I gingerly opened my eyes. The metal barrel in front of Malcolm now had a little fire in it, and both the vagrants had taken several steps back from it, a mix of surprise and fear on their faces.
The one with the blanket wrapped around him turned and took off for the far side of the bridge support, but Ball Cap fell back on his butt. Malcolm slid around the barrel and moved toward him, thin trails of smoke seeping from within his fists.
