Seeker (Shadows)

by Jolene Perry

  Addison sighs as she takes another large bite. “Never in a million years did I think I’d end up—”

  “Running from The Middle Men and chasing shadows and hanging out in a dirty harbor in Nassau?” I try to tease even though this is a million miles from where I thought I’d be too. Even four months ago, I thought I’d probably head to some university near Seattle and close to my mom and now… Now I’m in the middle of this huge plot to… I’m not even sure what we’re trying to do. It started out as a quest for more information and turned into a million more things when I had a vision of Landon and I being interrogated by an older man who I now know is part of The Middle Men. And we decided not to go with them. I had no idea what would follow that decision.

  It still seems to me that if they wanted us, coming nicely would have worked much better, but maybe I just saw too far into the future. I can’t keep that thought in my head, because it may mean that by running away, we’ve forced ourselves into my vision. Even with so much more understanding of what I do, there are so many more things I don’t understand.

  “My biggest concern a few months ago was replacing a pair of jeans that I threw away because I got arrested, and I didn’t want to wear them again. And that the guy who’d used me for far too long was getting married to some snob of a girl his parents are sure to adore.” Addison sighs. “But Dean… I mean. I didn’t get it, you know? People in love. And now? I’d do anything for him. Well, and I didn’t expect to be chased by the guys my dad works for either. All Dad’s work stuff seemed so far removed from my life.” Sadness pulls her face into another frown, and I’ve held on to both her and on to Landon trying to use their energy to find her dad, and don’t see him. He helped Dean and Addison find us, and we’re not sure how The Middle Men would have dealt with that.

  Just because I can’t see him in our future doesn’t mean he’s dead, but that’s enough to weigh Addison down. It weighs me down, too, as I get closer to her.

  “Dean would do anything for you.” I know it because I’ve felt it, from both of them.

  “And so would Landon,” Addison says, her fine features more relaxed than I’ve seen in weeks.

  As much as being in as busy a place as Nassau makes me nervous, I think it gives her a sense of stability. She’s a whiz at navigation, but she misses the city.

  I could boat for days at a time without sight of land and be fine. But Addison and Dean have spent most their lives touching people so they could use their gift, and I’ve spent more of my life avoiding people so mine didn’t overwhelm me.

  “What do you think is going to happen with all of this?” she asks quietly.

  “I don’t know.” Mostly I just don’t want to be caught, but I’m afraid to say that out loud. Addison is a million times stronger than she thinks she is, and hopefully that won’t be tested until she’s ready. But for how little control we have over our situation, I can’t imagine that’ll be the case.

  Landon steps into the boat from the back deck. “See anything, babe?” he asks.

  I close my eyes and try to concentrate on the island, our surroundings, on each of us. Landon’s hand closes itself over mine, and just like always I feel this rush of energy and then try to slow the pictures down so I can focus on now and what might be coming later today or tomorrow, or…

  “I see those two people again. From the little boat.” I’m trying to catch surroundings now. Find the little parts of the picture.

  “What are they doing? Do you know where they are?” Dean asks.

  He’s such a planner. I love this about Dean, but it sometimes makes him a bit high energy for me.

  “They’re…dancing at an outdoor club or café.” I open my eyes again but keep Landon’s hand in mine.

  Dean and Landon exchange a surprised look. Guess they thought we’d be hunted down with guns or spears or something.

  “What?” Addison’s immediately tense. She hates being left out of things. So do I, but the guys always catch us up on what they’re planning, and Addison normally shoots them down and forces us all into a version of their plan that makes sense. It’s worked so far.

  “First, Micah.” Dean’s dark eyes find mine across the table, almost desperate looking. “Do you see any of the other Middle Men? Anything that could show we’re walking into some kind of trap?”

  “He’s being paranoid.” Landon shakes his head.

  “Paranoid is good.” Addison gives Dean a small smile.

  “Paranoid is definitely good,” I agree.

  “I think we’re going to need a Seeker,” Landon starts. “Someone from each gift.”

  “And how do you plan to get one?” I ask, suddenly wondering if I am right in that we don’t have any more Middle Men than the two young ones in our near future. Maybe they know how to play with my visions like Landon can play with both their equipment and their talents, and The Middle Men will be waiting for us on every corner. Even the younger people wouldn’t know about that. Maybe. And why do we need someone from every gift? Just to be stronger? And if that’s the case, what do we need to be stronger for?

  “We are going to let ourselves get caught.” Landon’s brows wag a few times. “And we’re going to do it tonight.”

  My stomach flips over, and I suddenly feel the need to throw up.

  NINE

  Kara

  “I’m sorry, you want to do what?” I ask. “This is ridiculous, Ocean. We’re not screwing around here. I thought I told you how serious this is, and I thought you understood.” And now he just wants to “hang back” and “see what they do.”

  “What you seem to have forgotten is that direct approach isn’t going to work with them.” Everything in his stiff stance and tight eyes and jaw, says he’s not giving in.

  I’m still not sure why Ocean insisted on getting a room in this dump of a hotel. There are at least a few nice places in Nassau aside from Paradise Island and the family monstrosity Atlantis. The smell of dampness and cheap laundry detergent tinges at my nose, but mostly I’m sort of shocked that he suddenly doesn’t want to move forward—especially after our talk on the boat.

  “But I’m sure I know the harbor they’re at. I can find out easily which slip they’re in. Even if they make the boat and themselves disappear, we both know where it is, and we can still get them.”

  It’s so exasperating. They’re right here.

  “Maybe it’s not that easy.” He shakes his head. “Maybe Landon’s gift reaches further than we understand, and they won’t be right there when they disappear.”

  I’m not even sure where to start because nothing on this chase is like the few I’ve done before. I mean, the only time someone is on the run is if they want out, and that’s so clean cut. This… It just doesn’t feel the same. The problem is that no one got to them early enough to tell them to keep quiet about what they can do so we’d leave them alone. The frustration of them running away from their first meeting sweeps over me again.

  “Let’s just…” Ocean sighs and lets his body relax, probably knowing that gesture gives me nothing to fight against. “I’m asking for one night. That’s it. One night in Nassau to see if we can get to them in a less direct approach. If we want them on our side in the end, I think this is the way to do it.”

  I can feel myself caving like little blocks toppling over each other, and I want to stop it, but there are just too many bricks.

  The words come out before I’ve even fully decided to go along with him. “We both take handcuffs, and have to be on our guard because—”

  “Two Manipulators working together are no joke. I got it.” Exasperation is back.

  “You sure?” I hate that I trust him one second, and then my body tenses in mistrust the next.

  “Kara.” His voice is tinged with irritation. “I get that I don’t have The Middle Men experience that you do, but I do have a lot more experience with people than you. Please. Trust me on this.”

  The energy swirls between us and just fuels my embarrassment and frustra
tion. “Are you knocking how many friends I have?” Or don’t have…

  “I have no idea who your friends are, aside from Samson who made it very clear he’d kick my ass if I laid a hand on you.” Ocean’s arms fold across his chest. “Or that he’d try.”

  I hate how he’s talking about Samson. How he’s looking at me. How he goes from making me want to cave into him to being pissed. Every emotion pushing between us fires me up more.

  And then his aggravating smirk is back and as anger and frustration well up inside me I reach out to slap it off his face, but he’s too fast and grabs my wrist, locking my body into something completely different than anger, but just as intense, and I can’t breathe.

  “There’s a lot of energy crashing through this small room.” His voice starts off strong, but weakens as he steps closer, our eyes locked.

  I feel like someone’s sucked the air from me and his hand is hot on my wrist, burning me, and I take a half-step closer to him, wondering what it would be like if our bodies touched. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, letting the feeling of closeness pulse between us.

  Just as my chest brushes against his, Ocean jumps back dropping my hand and cutting off whatever pull just flowed through our bodies.

  “I don’t think we can afford to lose focus right now.” But he’s breathing hard like he just ran a mile, and I guess I sort of am, too.

  Our eyes remain locked for a few more moments before I look away, embarrassed at my total lack of self-control.

  I sit on the corner of the bed in our small room and stare at my lap. “I don’t get this.” I gesture between us. The energy is too much. It pushes and pulls, and I can’t ignore the feeling that we’re perfectly aligned. But I’m determined to not let that dictate how I feel. The problem is I have no idea how to separate how I really feel with how my body and energy reacts.”

  “It’s a new one for me, too. If that helps any.” He shoves his hands into his shorts’ pockets. And even with his blond hair and blue eyes, he looks like the kind of guy who could fit in just about anywhere. He looks like he belongs in Nassau. Linen shorts, simple T-shirt, flip-flops. Nice, but not too nice, sort of non-descript. And I don’t know what I am.

  In a dress like almost always—a T-shirty one. Something simple, but with pockets. Spandex underneath so I can keep my scar from the shadows covered and don’t have to worry about giving anyone a show. Guys always underestimate a girl wearing a dress, and it’s helped me out more than once.

  “Tonight, we’re going out. We’re going to wander the town, see if we can get a feel for why they stopped in such a busy port. I just have this gut feeling that they have an agenda here, and I want to know what it is. If the shadows have already convinced them to move forward with whatever the shadows want them to do, I don’t think they would have stopped, but just kept on going.” Ocean leans back against the wall and slides his hands in his pockets.

  I let his words sink in and consider everything he’s said. He’s right, on all counts, and for someone who seems to just jump into ridiculous situations, he really does think first.

  “Agreed. I’m going to call my dad and see if he’s got anything for us.” I let out a breath and pull out my phone, turning my back to Ocean because even without the energy between us, he’d be pretty distracting. Also. Using my watch to talk to my dad is just so…dorky.

  “Yes, Kara. What can I do for you?” Dad asks.

  “I want to know the odds of us being successful,” I say. There’s really no point in beating around why I called.

  “Why do you ask?” He’s trying to keep his tone casual, but he’s my dad and I can see through just about anything he tries to put off.

  “Because as far as I can tell, catching them before they reach Long Island is fairly crucial and something that people would be pulled from other jobs for. Instead, you’ve decided to send two eighteen year olds. Not that I don’t think we can do it. It just seems—”

  “I can’t give away too much, Kara. You know how easily timelines can shift if I tell you too much. All I can say is that my decision to send the two of you ended up in our best odds.”

  Dad’s silent.

  I’m silent.

  There’s way too much silence. Best odds, doesn’t sound too great.

  I open my mouth to speak, but Dad beats me. “I’m so proud of you. I know you can do this. We have no idea the possible amount of damage done if that group of four people is somehow tricked by the shadows.”

  I’m a bit overwhelmed for a moment at how much emotion is in his voice, but if I internalize that too much, I’ll start to panic about what he’s possibly set us up for here. We all promised to put The Middle Men above ourselves and those around us, but surely my parents wouldn’t have sent me if they’d thought something awful could happen. Would they?

  “Do you think it would take so few people to release the shadows?” I ask.

  “They’d need one of every talent,” he says. “But remember we’re all connected. I don’t think the shadows would just take their talents to free themselves. I think they’d take everyone’s. The group would simply act like the conduit.”

  My heart starts hammering because Ocean and I have the only talent they don’t have. And take everyone’s talents? Because of that group we could all lose what we do. If the shadows are let loose after that, how would we even begin to fight them?

  Dad says to stay in touch and I think I mumble something in response, but I’m suddenly feeling very alone and very unsure.

  Ocean takes a step toward me and I jump not realizing until now that he was listening in, and instead of being upset with him like I normally would be, I’m just glad that I don’t have to relay the information again.

  “So. Now you and I have to figure out if we’re the hunters, or if we’re being hunted,” Ocean says as he tries to put off another one of his relaxed smiles, but ends up looking like Shrek instead.

  And he’s exactly right anyway. “Get me out of here. Let’s go wander. I’m with your plan—if you have one.”

  My fingers shake and my body’s shaking, but Ocean’s the only one here and I’m choosing to trust him because I might fall apart if I don’t have something to hold on to.

  “That’s my girl,” he whispers as he brushes past me, sending shivers down my spine, and leaving me wondering if he meant for me to hear. This time I don’t just load up with my taser, but with my small knife and plastic zip-ties to use as handcuffs as well. At this point, there’s no such thing as being too careful.

  TEN

  Dean

  After Landon’s announcement about being caught, Addie’s practically quivering under my arm as we leave the dock and start up the noisy street. There are as many mopeds and golf carts as cars, which I find amusing and a nice distraction. Addie pulls in closer, and I hate that she’s afraid, but love that she trusts me to help her feel better. Just touching her was hard at first because we’re both able to manipulate the other, and what I want transfers to what she wants, and we were worried our feelings weren’t our own—her more than me, because she feels amazing next to me no matter what. That girl could get me to do anything—gifted or not. Now that we trust each other, the way I want her transfers to the way she wants me and it all magnifies, making being around Addie amazing and very addictive.

  Her voice comes through as clearly as if she were speaking out loud. Being caught doesn’t seem like the best plan. She tries to sort of laugh, but she’s not at all convincing, and I know she understands it’s the best idea we’ve got.

  What Landon hasn’t told either of them is that he has a connection here that he’s meeting up with. Some guy he found online who I think is probably pretty damn shady, but that it seems we might need if we’re going to learn anything new. He kept the girls out of it trying to protect them, but I think we might be the ones in need of protection when they figure out what’s going on, which they will do.

  What? Addie asks.

  Oh. Right. I always forget you can he
ar my brain’s ramblings. I give her another squeeze.

  Should I be worried about this guy?

  I have no idea.

  “I don’t want to be Daphne,” Addie leans further into me. “Because right now I definitely feel like we’re in a Scooby Doo movie.”

  I love that she’s obsessed with that show and take her in my arms, glad we’re so close to the same height. Her slim body slips against mine, and just like every time we’re this close, I sort of lose the edges of myself in her and the way she feels against me. I had no idea love was this intense, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

  “Daphne’s hot, and she always gets rescued in the end.” I stop and slide my lips against hers, loving the salty taste of her in the heat.

  Her mouth pulls into a smile as she brings us together again for a much deeper kiss. The kind that makes me want to forget whatever it is we’re trying to do and spend the night in our small cabin on the boat. We’ve both lost sleep to be together—even though we’ve been pulling shifts so someone’s always awake. It’s worth it. I swear we were made to fit together.

  “Okay.” Landon slaps my back. “I’d really like to find this little shop before we’re wandering these streets in the dark.”

  “What shop?” Micah asks.

  Landon gives me just enough of a look to know I should keep my mouth shut. He’s about to feed the girls some BS so they don’t freak out that we’re about to meet some guy who’s recommended in a million different circles for his dealings in not only Voodoo but talking to the “passed on” or almost passed on.

  At the very least, though, I say something to Addie. Landon’s got this, just try to act pissed when it comes out later, okay? So Micah’s not mad to be the only one left out. She’s been through some pretty crappy stuff because of her visions, and sometimes I think Landon goes too far to protect her, but he really is trying to help.

  I block my thoughts from Addie as well as I know how and hope Landon’s trying to help. We share the fact that we have talents, but Micah and I are in a whole different realm of people than Addie and Landon (the kind that doesn’t take yearly trips to exotic countries), and sometimes I wonder if he rushes into things too fast because he hasn’t had to be as careful in life as I have.