Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books)

by L. A. Banks

  Ayana’s eyes were sad as they met Sarah’s, but a gentle smile graced her face. “Sometimes you need a second pair of eyes, I guess…. Even the best navigators do.”

  “I’ll be yours and you be mine, okay.”

  Ayana hugged Sarah. “I love you, girl. Thank you.”

  “I will always have your back till the day I die. Just promise me you won’t go through any illegal portals.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” Ayana said, breaking their hug. “Listen, you be careful, too, all right? Don’t let anybody talk you into doing something crazy. Only a few kids in Upper Spheres know how to open the portals—Casey was one of them. But please, please, please don’t rat on Brent. He’s not an opener, he just goes through them to get high in town. But he never hurt anybody.”

  “But, Yaya, how do you know that’s all he’s doing? He and Stefan are a lethal combination. Maybe he went through the portal the night Arthur and Casey disappeared.”

  Ayana shook her head. “No, he was with me that night.”

  “Whatever, you still don’t need to be around somebody who’s getting high like that. I mean, things can happen.”

  Ayana released another weary breath. “I know, but Brent is pretty safe. It’s just weed.”

  Sarah raised an eyebrow but decided to let some of her argument drop. Brent, high, sounded anything but safe. Ayana’s “just weed” comment didn’t make her feel better, either.

  “With all this stuff that’s going on with missing students, tell me why these guys are still sneaking out and getting high and just doing crazy-ridiculous stuff, Yaya?” Sarah dragged her fingers through her hair and yanked out her ponytail scrunchie. “That’s insane.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Ayana let out a long, weary sigh. “Look… it’s complicated.”

  “Complicated?” Sarah shook her head, annoyed. “And how are they keeping all this from all the teachers, Nana—all the seers in the administration?” Although she’d already pretty much figured it out, she wanted to hear it said out loud by her cousin for total confirmation.

  “Blocker groups,” Ayana admitted quietly. “That’s what Brent wants me to do, too—help block against them getting caught. He’s pissed because I don’t want to be involved.” She looked up at Sarah. “There are a lot of students around who want to do things that won’t fly with the administration and are tired of being cooped up here, as nice as it is.”

  “Like?” Sarah folded her arms, and Ayana glanced away.

  “Like… stuff. I’m not asking you to agree with it, I’m just asking you to be cool and not tell, okay, Sarah?” Ayana’s eyes met Sarah’s and held her gaze with a silent plea. “Don’t put me in the middle of something just because you overheard what you weren’t supposed to hear. That’s not fair.”

  Sarah swallowed hard. She would never rat on her older cousin. “Anything you tell me stays with me. I promise.”

  “Thank you.” Ayana smiled sadly. “Until you’ve mind-locked with a guy, you have no idea how unbelievable and. . .intimate it is. You’ve never felt closer to a person, and you feel like you never will again.” She stared at Sarah, and silence stood uncomfortably between them for a moment. “He needs someone to believe in him, Sarah.”

  Sarah picked up her backpack and hoisted it onto one shoulder, feeling sad. Her cousin could do so much better. But apparently that was going to have to be something Yaya worked through on her own. Disappointment weighed more heavily on her shoulders than her backpack did.

  “I want to be there for you, Yaya,” Sarah finally said.

  Ayana stepped forward and hugged her. “I want that, too.”

  “I’ll see you later…go wash your face,” Sarah said, kissing her cheek. “I’m late for library orientation.”

  “Thanks,” Ayana said, grabbing her books off the steps. “Don’t think badly of me, Sarah…. I’m still working through all this crap.”

  Sarah nodded and headed up the dimly lit stairwell. Ayana had always looked out for her. Now it was her turn.

  Chapter 17

  Walking quickly toward the library, Sarah kept her head low and moved through the crowd as deftly as she could. But a touch on her arm jerked her out of her thoughts.

  “You cool? No new developments on the all-girls war front?”

  Sarah shook her head and gave Val a smile, glad that he cared. “No news is good news.”

  “Hold up,” he said with a wide grin. “Where’s the fire? You going to dinner?”

  “Got library orientation for an hour first. I sorta volunteered.”

  “I’ll be your bodyguard for a while, if you want—to make sure nobody from another compound tries you again, all right?” He moved into her and boxed her in near a locker.

  She just stared at Val for a minute. “You don’t have to.”

  He smiled. “I know I don’t, but seeing as how you almost got slimed, I thought I’d get your back.”

  She smiled and gave him a little shove, then started walking again, glancing over her shoulder at him.

  “Offer stands,” he called out behind her.

  “Okay,” Sarah said in a distracted tone as she pulled out her PIU and looked at it. No text from Wil. She shoved it back into her backpack pocket and kept walking. Nothing in her life was going right. Nothing.

  Bored out of her skull, Sarah listened to Mrs. Hogan and feigned interest even, though her stomach loudly growled.

  “Are you clear on the check-out procedures?” Mrs. Hogan asked brightly.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Sarah said in her most studious voice.

  “Good, good, good,” Mrs. Hogan replied, clapping and making her blue marble wand spark. “Then let’s have at it, shall we? I want to show you cataloguing, proper book and manuscript care, and shelving, not to mention how to help instructors when they need you to research for them or send up a bibliography to their classrooms.”

  Sarah’s felt her eyes glazing over.

  Suddenly Mrs. Hogan yanked on Sarah’s sweater, all the while glancing around to make sure that the coast was clear. Then the cherub-faced librarian spoke in a whisper behind her hand, chuckling.

  “And glory be, child, I will show you how to discreetly help Miss Tillie. She’s a wonderfully meticulous and lovely lady, but so painfully slow. Still, we cannot hurt her feelings.”

  Sarah nodded, her mind a million miles away. But when her stomach growled again—loudly—Mrs. Hogan simply sighed.

  “Go have dinner, Sarah. Maybe this was a little ambitious for a first day. It’s just so rare that I get a student who’s interested in my library—most don’t understand all the wondrous secrets and knowledge that it contains.”

  “Ma’am… next time, when I come back…”

  Mrs. Hogan waved her hand with a pleasant smile. “Go eat. We have plenty of time to get together… but remember, destiny sends us on journeys and to places that may seem to be one thing when we begin, only to show themselves as a fantastic surprise later.” She gave Sarah a wink. “This place is not as boring as it seems. Don’t you give up on it, Sarah… or on yourself.”

  “Thanks,” Sarah replied, gathering up her books. She had no idea what Mrs. Hogan was talking about. Adults had been speaking to her in riddles all her life; there was no reason to believe they’d stop now that she was in school.

  Without actually bolting, since she didn’t want to offend Mrs. Hogan, Sarah got out of the library as fast as she could and headed to the cafeteria, hoping Wil would be there though she hadn’t heard from him.

  The crush of the five o’clock dinner crowd was long gone, and only students who were coming from extra-curricular activities or who were just hanging out remained. Sarah fingered her green Blends pin as she surveyed who was seated where. Allie and Hyacinth had waited for her. Tami was nowhere to be found. Ayana wasn’t around, neither was Brent—or Stefan. She kept walking, trying to act casual, trying to remain calm, but not seeing Stefan or Tami was sending off warning bells in her head.

  To her complete dis
appointment, Wil was there but seated far off in a corner, alone with Patty. She tried not to stare, tried her best not to allow her gaze to linger, but it was next to impossible.

  “You cool?” a familiar deep male voice said next to her ear.

  “I swear, Val, I wish you wouldn’t do that vamp-stealth thing,” Sarah said, turning to glance at Val over her shoulder.

  He shrugged, rolling a toothpick around in his mouth. “You know you love it, especially when I bring news from the front line.”

  Now he had her attention.

  “Notice how Melissa and crew aren’t here, but no authorities swooped down on you for that little altercation you guys had in the hall?”

  “Yeah…” Sarah said in a non-committal tone, not sure which version of the story Val had heard.

  “Word is, something spooked Amy Feingold—and Melissa’s sister is over there trying to pump Wil for info to see if he knows anything.”

  “I hate how everybody in here is so sneaky and has an agenda,” Sarah said, grabbing a tray. She almost wished Val hadn’t come over to fill her in. She was exhausted and just wanted to eat. The politics of the Academy were maddening—and it had only been a day.

  “Yeah, well, speaking of agendas… see if you can get your pal Tami to chill.”

  Val nodded when Sarah stopped adding vegetable stir fry to her plate and stared up at him.

  “I’m just saying,” he murmured, and then glanced at the table where Al, Miguel and Donnie were sitting. “She’s gonna get your brother beat down, if she doesn’t watch out.”

  “What’re you talking about, Val?” Sarah hiked up her backpack with one hand, precariously balancing her tray with the other.

  “You didn’t hear this from me, but she left here with Stefan. Al ain’t feelin’ that at all… is all I’m saying, all right. That dude Stefan has more issues than you know—anger management kinda issues and a real violent history—so none of us are diggin’ him rollin’ solo with Tam.”

  “Neither am I,” Sarah said, glancing back at the table where the boys were sitting.

  Her brother’s eyes had turned silver, he was so mad. But she knew that he wasn’t ready to be embarrassed in public again by Tami, or get into a fistfight that he’d probably lose with Stefan. So he just sat there smoldering. None of the Upper Sphere girls that she knew were there. Jessica and company were probably off doing homework. Tina and Darlene were nowhere in sight, either.

  “Cool… then talk to T soon as you can.”

  Sarah nodded as Val loped away. She got some juice, and then rushed over to where Allie and Hyacinth were seated. The moment she sat down, they began whispering feverishly.

  “Tami has lost her mind,” Allie hissed. “We tried to stop her, but you know how she is.”

  “He came over here and asked her if she wanted a tour, and we were like, Tami, are you crazy—and she just got up and told him sure.” Hyacinth leaned in closer, whispering quickly. “A tour? Like she knows that guy well enough to be going off with him alone somewhere, Sarah—and going around this school at night without a hall pass, and—”

  “I know, I know,” Sarah said, taking out her PIU. “I’ll let Yaya know, all right?”

  Allie and Hyacinth sandwiched Sarah as she quickly typed in, Need 2 tlk ASAP, and then pushed send. She set her PIU in front of her as she ate quickly, all of them waiting impatiently for Ayana to text back.

  “How come she’s not answering?” Allie glanced at Hyacinth, who stared at Sarah, waiting for her to explain.

  “Because she’s probably with that jerk, Brent,” Sarah said in disgust.

  “Then what do we do?” Hyacinth looked from Allie to Sarah.

  Sarah sat back and shoved her plate away in frustration. “The only thing we can do. We go back to our room and wait for her.”

  “Relax,” Tami said with a wide smile. “I don’t see why you all are making this into such a big deal.”

  “Relax?” Allie said, sparking. “We had no idea where you were and—”

  “Yeah, you did. I was with Stefan.”

  “That guy is notorious, Tami!” Hyacinth fussed in a tense whisper.

  “I know…” Tamara said, closing her eyes and hugging herself.

  “Let it rest,” Sarah said, now so disgusted she almost didn’t care. “We were worried, Tami could give a hoot, so we’re stupid for getting all bent out of shape.”

  Allie crossed her arms and stared at Tami. “You did it just to stick it to Melissa, didn’t you?”

  Tami shrugged and gave them all a devil may care look. Sarah closed her eyes. Tami was going to be the death of her.

  “So where did you go?” Sarah asked, feeling resigned.

  Tami plopped down on one of the desk chairs and stared at her roommates for a moment. “You promise not to freak out?” she finally whispered, glancing at the door.

  Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

  Tami rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath.

  “Well?” Sarah said when Tami remained silent.

  “Look, you’re not my mother, okay—so let’s start there.” Tami gave Sarah a hard glare.

  “Fine… fine,” Sarah said, holding up one hand. “I’m going to bed.”

  Allie and Hyacinth just stared at Sarah’s back for a moment before returning their attention to Tami.

  Tami began picking at the wooden edge of the chair. Finally she looked up and whispered, “He took me into town.”

  Sarah turned around and stared at Tami as if she had heard wrong. A thousand warning gongs went off inside her head. “What?” The question came out in a furious whisper.

  “Oh… my… God,” Allie whispered, and covered her heart with her hand.

  Hyacinth opened her mouth but no sound came out of it.

  “I told you not to freak out.”

  “No, you tried to get me to promise not to freak out,” Sarah said. “Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear what they said during opening ceremonies? People are disappearing—dying! We’re forbidden from going outside after curfew—not to mention from going to town! And how did you get there?” Her eyes got wider. “Did you take a portal into town?”

  “How else would I have gotten there?” Tami offered her a casual shrug, but her eyes held a furious glare. “Don’t judge me just because you’re scared of the dark, Sarah.”

  Sarah sputtered. “Tami!”

  “Sarah, look, I know what Baba said, but I was perfectly safe with Stefan.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “Stefan said that the administration always makes things sound worse than they are. Besides, he knows that town and these portals like the back of his hand. and he said he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” Tami smiled. “And it was such a rush!”

  “Tami, if who- or whatever is taking people decides they want you, there is no way Stefan could protect you!” Sarah’s voice was escalating.

  “And how do you know that?” Tami said, getting truly angry now. Her voice was rising to match Sarah’s. “Look, Sarah, I appreciate the concern, but believe me, I know what I’m doing.” She smiled again. “And Melissa is going to know it, too.” She got up, went to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas. “I’m going to take a shower,” she announced and left the room.

  Allie and Hyacinth grabbed their robes and dashed after Tami, no doubt seeking the juicy details of her excursion. But there was something in Tami’s tone—something beyond the anger and know-it-all note—that rubbed Sarah raw. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but something was not quite right. Sarah’s PIU sounded. and she quickly looked at it, expecting Ayana’s message. But it wasn’t her older cousin. Wil had sent a text! He’d kept his word.

  She stared at the simple message: Hi srry I missed u @ dinner—drama—have a gr8 nite.

  Sarah’s fingers flew across the keys, typing in U2, then she pushed send, pressed her PIU to her chest and closed her eyes.

  Chapter 18

  Tami having a twenty-four hour at
titude was nothing new. It was something to be weathered, like the flu. But what really distressed Sarah was that Ayana never got back to her. Finally she saw Yaya at breakfast, and her cousin told her she’d been caught up with a project last night—which they both knew was a lie—and that she’d give them tips on the dance later. Ayana even took the news about Tami with a resigned shrug, which completely blew Sarah away.

  And once again she was left all alone with things swirling in her head and no one to confide in. Her best friend had an attitude, Ayana was mentally AWOL—off in la la land with Brent—and somehow telling Allie and Hyacinth about Wil just didn’t seem the same.

  The three friends filed into Mrs. Gulliaume’s chemistry class, minus one—Tami. She was already inside and seated at her desk, her mood aloof. Sarah let out a deep sigh of annoyance. Tami could be so stubborn, and moody didn’t even begin to describe her. Later. They’d deal with it at lunch.

  Sarah slid into her seat, noticing Val’s sly smirk, which oddly made her feel better. Even Donnie’s goofy grin and failed attempt to bump fists with her as she passed felt welcomingly familial. Miguel gave her an it’s-all-good nod. It felt safe, having a lot of people around her who she knew, deep inside, she could count on. Al was still being relatively cool; his attention diverted fifteen different ways by the endless selection of pretty girls in the class. And then there was Wil’s welcoming smile.

  “Chemistry, ladies and gentlemen,” Mrs. Guilliaume said, waving a large kettle and spoon around, “is art—not science.”

  The teacher smiled warmly at each student as she happily glided around the room while she lectured, her hefty frame hidden beneath a large floral print shift, accentuated by Earth Mother sandals, and an apple seed and handmade bead necklace. One long, thick, auburn braid hung down her back. She looked like an out-of-era hippie who was having a grand time running a classroom. Even though one could call her a little quirky, Mrs. Guilliaume was fast becoming Sarah’s second favorite teach after Mr. Everett.

  A very studious-looking girl near the far wall raised her hand. “But, Mrs. Guilliaume, what about the periodic chart and all the stuff they showed us in the mini class yesterday and—”