by Alicia Fabel
“You really are trouble.”
“I’m aware.” How she wished she could be simple.
“Nah. Simple is boring.”
“Sometimes I think I’d like boring.”
Ian grabbed a shirt hanging from the back of a chair and slipped it over his head. “You wouldn’t be able to handle boring. You think you would, but really you’d go batshit.”
“I think you overestimate how exciting I am.”
“Nope. I’ve been in your head, remember?” He snagged the key to his bike. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Do you need something to eat?”
“Not until I’m awake,” he replied.
“Shouldn’t we wait for a riding lesson until you’re awake?”
Ian put a hand over her mouth. “Too much talking. I thought you were the silent type.”
“Only until you get to know me,” Annessa shared.
“Wish I’d known that a little sooner.” Ian frowned. “Who told you where my room is, by the way? I’m going to make them think they’re a toad for a few days.”
“You can do that?” Unbidden, Quinn’s face popped into her head. She stared wide-eyed at Ian, knowing he’d caught it.
“Don’t worry. I’ll figure out a way for Pipsqueak to make this up to me.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Annessa protested.
“Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing. She’s probably laughing her ass off somewhere right now.”
Annessa pointed out the stack of half-folded notes on Ian’s desk. “Those the math notes you told her you’d taken during class?”
“Yep.”
“I saw you buying them off a guy yesterday.” Would hate for her to find out about that.
Ian’s lips twisted with grudging admiration. “You don’t like to lose do you?”
“No.”
“Neither do I.” Ian ushered her into the hall. “I won’t scramble Pip’s brains if you keep those notes to yourself. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Annessa’s cheeks burned from the cold by the time they made it to the stables. “Do you really not feel the cold?”
“Of course I feel it,” Ian said. “I just don’t think about it.”
“That’s insane.”
“What’s insane is how you managed to steer us into a snow drift.”
“I got scared.” And forgot to turn the handles when she’d realized they were barreling toward the snow faster than she was prepared for. Shoot. “Get out of my head.”
“Stop thinking things you don’t want me to know.”
Annessa shoved the thoughts into the background, like white noise. They were still there, and she instinctively knew them, but she didn’t stop to focus on anything in particular.
“You’re getting better,” Ian remarked. “Now just a few hundred more hours of practice and you’ll be a pro, like your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Annessa kept the specific thoughts about Elion away.
Bruce the Moose stuck a nose out one of the barn doors and then shoved his way outside to greet Ian. Someone who looked like a student peered out to see where the animal was going. They seemed to spot Ian and then reared back into the barn, out of sight.
“That was weird,” Annessa observed.
“People avoid me so I don’t learn their deepest secrets. Only I usually already know them.”
“Doesn’t everyone around here learn to shield, with all the tappers on campus?”
“Most tappers can’t hear as much as me,” Ian explained. “Most only pick up intentional stuff—things people direct at them. Or they have to really focus on a person. Touching them is even better.”
“But you can hear everything just by being in the same room,” Annessa concluded. That’s what made him a Legend. Which she wasn’t supposed to figure out. Dang it. She hadn’t meant to. As she worried about the implications of her newfound knowledge, it was sucked into a black hole—not of her making.
No one will know that you know. Ian reassured her. What do you know about Legends?
Just that it means you’re more powerful than the others in your guild.
That’s it? Ian paused mid stroke while petting Bruce’s nose. Bruce nudged against his hand like that didn’t please him.
Yeah.
Try to keep it that way. Ian grumbled under his breath. “I’m being summoned by your boyfriend’s mom. We’d better get over to the mansion and see what’s going on.”
“You don’t already know what she wants? Is that because she’s a tapper too?” Annessa replaced the helmet on her head.
“I can read a tapper’s mind too. But Professor Marks is one of the best shielders I’ve ever met.”
That made sense. “Want me to drive?” Annessa batted her eyes.
Ian rolled his eyes. “No, I think we should probably show up in one piece for this one.”
Ian set a foot down, eyeing the black SUV in the front drive. Annessa started to climb off as the front door opened and Mrs. Marks escorted some people in suits out of the mansion.
Don’t move, Ian told her.
What’s wrong?
Nothing as long as you stay right where you are.
Annessa’s heart thumped as Ian climbed off the bike, leaving her perched there.
“Who are you?” the Lady-suit asked Ian.
Ian replied with a scowl, but Mr. Marks supplied, “Ian is a student at the Academy.”
Elion was at his dad’s side, his expression as dark as Ian’s. Dude-suit pulled a photograph out of his pocket and held it up for Ian’s inspection. It was Annessa. “Have you seen this girl?”
Don’t move repeated Ian. Out loud he said, “No.”
Annessa looked between the suits and then at Elion, waiting for someone to acknowledge her. It’s not like she was hiding, but no one even glanced her way.
“No one at Legend Academy has seen this girl,” Ian said.
“That’s what we’re here to find out,” said Lady-suit with a huge yawn. “Excuse me.”
“You don’t need to speak with anyone else,” Ian insisted.
Dude-suit started to argue and then closed his mouth. A puzzled expression crossed the man’s face along with the woman’s. And then in a move that creeped Annessa out, they both turned in unison to face Elion and his parents.
“Thank you for your cooperation. And for allowing us access to your campus. If you learn anything more, please be in touch.”
With that, they turned, climbed into their shiny SUV, and pulled away.
“You’re sure they won’t be suspicious later?” Mrs. Marks asked Ian.
“As far as they’ll recall, they roamed across campus and spoke to dozens of students. No one at Legend Academy has seen Annessa.”
Holy Heck. Ian had just planted a fake memory into the heads of two FBI agents. He could do that?
Careful, Ian warned. You were never supposed to see this.
That made her throat tighten, but whenever anyone looked in her direction, their eyes skimmed right over her. They don’t know I’m here, do they?
And I promise you want to keep it that way.
Annessa was well aware of the risk to her freedom if anyone found out she’d witnessed part of the mystery of Legend Academy. She held completely still and remained silent while Ian climbed back on the bike.
13
You don’t like doing that to people do you? Annessa asked.
Why do you think that? Ian knocked the kickstand up.
Because I’ve never seen you go this long without cracking a wiseass remark or heckling someone, she teased and then asked seriously, Does it hurt?
When I fell from Heaven?
Oh please. We both know that white isn’t your color. Annessa felt a rumble along his back.
“Ian?” Mr. Marks’s tone implied he’d said it a few times.
Annessa held her breath. She hadn’t meant to distract Ian. If they figured it out...
I heard him the first three times. I’m just i
gnoring him.
Why?
Because right this second, I don’t feel like playing by the guild rules. Hold on.
Ian revved the engine and tore off down the road. There were a couple of angry shouts, but he didn’t slow. Annessa wrapped her arms around his chest and tried to keep her mind empty so Ian could clear his own. Trees and buildings flashed in Annessa’s peripheral. Just when she wondered how big the loop around campus was, he slowed. They were right back at the mansion. The Marks hadn’t moved inside yet. Instead, they stood there having what looked like a very intense conversation.
“Ness?” Elion’s brows pinched at the sight of her behind Ian.
Looked like she was visible this time. Ian retrieved the coin from his pocket.
You thinking about leaving campus? Annessa asked, not sure how she felt about that.
I heard back from my contact, Ian said. Someone might know where your shadow is.
Annessa’s chest inflated with hope. Forget heads or tails. Let’s go.
Mrs. Marks’s eyes flew open wide. “No.”
She pressed her hands to the side of her head. Ian saluted and headed for the gate.
Understanding dawned on Annessa. You looped campus so they didn’t know I was with you that whole time.
Otherwise, I would’ve been out of here already, he confirmed.
You need a code, Annessa pointed out.
Which I have, and they won’t have time to change it in the next ten seconds.
Mrs. Marks just now? She guessed.
Yeah.
It looked like it hurt her.
I didn’t have the patience to coax it from her gently. Ian typed in the password, a string of at least a dozen numbers.
What if someone recognizes me out here?
They won’t.
And Annessa knew that wasn’t just an empty assurance. No one would see her if he didn’t want them to. She could understand now why students avoided him like he was the bogeyman.
Nah. When the bogeyman shows up, people won’t cower. They’ll run screaming.
That’s a comforting thought.
Eh, who knows, Ian said. The world could end before then, and then it won’t be an issue.
Except the world will have ended in this scenario, so you’re not making things better.
Yeah, that would be unfortunate, he relented. You should probably make up with your boyfriend before it’s too late.
He’s not my boyfriend.
And yet you still occasionally dwell on how his hands felt—
No! Out of my head!
I’m not in your head. You’re yelling at me, which is kind of hard to ignore. And I picked that tidbit from your head days ago, Ian informed her. If it makes you feel better, what you think about him is PG compared to what he thinks when he looks at you.
Nooo. She didn’t want to know what memories about her went through Elion’s head. Or what Ian might have seen…of her.
No worries. I don’t mind those parts one bit.
Annessa wanted to curl up and die. If she let go, she’d probably die pretty quickly when she hit the pavement blurring past. She felt Ian laughing at her thoughts and asked, Do you have a girlfriend?
Are you really hitting on me while we’re discussing what I’ve seen between you and another dude?
I am not hitting on you, Annessa argued. And we are not discussing that.
We aren’t discussing my love life either, Ian replied.
Why not? she asked. It only seems fair since you know so much about me.
I like the color black.
Huh?
You heard me, Ian said.
Yeah, but what’s that got to do with anything? she asked.
Now you know something about me that I’ve not told anyone else at the Academy.
Oh gee, Annessa said. I feel so honored that you would trust me like that.
You should, he replied.
How long does it hurt you, after you screw with people’s minds?
Ian didn’t answer. Annessa wasn’t surprised.
We’re here, he said.
He killed the engine, helped her off the seat, and tugged the helmet off her head. She hadn’t realized how warm her face was until it was exposed to the elements. Where in the boondocks were they? A sign near the roofline of a cabin read, Family Adventure Time. Under all the snow, Annessa could make out miniature golf obstacles and past the course was a winding raceway.
“I think the go-cart course is closed for the season,” Annessa informed Ian.
“Bet I could convince someone to clear the track,” Ian bragged.
I bet you could.
A face peeked out the door and the person turned and yelled, “It’s him. He’s got some girl with him.”
Annessa yawned. She really hadn’t been getting enough sleep. Either that or hypothermia was setting in. She was sure she’d read somewhere that freezing to death was a lot like falling asleep.
“Come inside,” shouted a man.
Annessa wasn’t sure what she expected, but it sure wasn’t a squatter’s camp. Albeit a nice one, despite the underlying musty smell of disuse. There was even a portable generator running a space heater and a coffee pot. The two men and the woman must have been playing cards right before they showed up. Now they watched the two arrivals warily.
“You bring us anything good?” one of the guys asked Ian. Annessa couldn’t see much of his face beneath an unkempt beard. And she didn’t want to guess how long he’d been wearing his flannel shirt.
Ian pulled some cash out of his pocket, and the guy swooped in to eye it like he’d never seen money before. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“I’m sure it can be used to bargain for something you want,” Ian replied.
“Who’s she?” the woman asked. A hint of wrinkles lined her forehead while she studied Annessa with narrowed eyes.
“A friend,” was all Ian said.
All three of the squatters turned to eye Annessa with disconcerting curiosity. “Really?”
“Yes,” Ian said.
“And this is hers?” The man waved the cash in the air.
“Yep,” Ian said.
Which made no sense to Annessa because it definitely wasn’t hers. But she was getting so tired she was almost certain her head bobbed, so who knew what she’d missed. A wave of nausea hit. She’d felt like that a couple of times before. A quick peek down proved that Zoom was gone. She never did find out how long a person could live without a shadow. How had she not asked about that? It was a rather important thing to know. For the moment, though, she’d suck it up so Ian could find out how to get her shadow back.
When Annessa tuned back into the conversation, she realized they were making a grocery list. Weird. They called out the items they needed as if they were angry about the list too.
“We need milk and sugar,” the lady demanded.
This seemed to upset Ian and he countered with, “No, get the eggs.”
Why argue? There was plenty of money to get all of that, plus the toilet paper the one guy kept repeating like it was vital. Although, to be fair, toilet paper was at the top of Annessa’s list as well. Man, she hoped they were talking in code, and those were really the coordinates to her shadow. Because if they weren’t, this little meeting was pointless and taking too long.
Zoom left, she informed Ian. Probably went to tattle about where we are. Elion has to be on his way by now.
Ian didn’t seem to care. His funeral. She let her heavy head fall against his arm. It struck her as funny that he was so tall she couldn’t use his shoulder. But she was too tired to smile. A moment later, he jostled her.
“It’s time for us to go,” he said.
“Not yet.” One of the guys moved to block the exit.
“This was all a set up,” Ian concluded.
Annessa’s head cleared when the three squatters sprouted fangs. She’d been trying to stay open-minded about the serpent people as a whole, but she was certain these guys bel
onged under the Academy’s definition of Phyton. Which was synonymous with evil bastards.
“We didn’t expect you to show up with the girl,” the woman said. “We can’t just let this opportunity pass.”
One of the men held up a wisp-cube for Annessa to see. It was not empty.
“Zoom?” Oh no, they’d taken Axton’s shadow.
“What is she talking about?” asked the man.
“It’s not Zoom,” Ian told her.
Well that was a relief. Except if it wasn’t Zoom, which meant… “Is it mine?”
“Oh yeah, honey. It’s yours all right.” The man with her shadow licked his lips. “And now we have you too.”
Can’t you make them hand it over? Annessa asked, but as she turned toward Ian, the other man cracked Ian in the head with a golf club. He slumped to the ground.
No he can’t, honey, said a male voice in her head.
The air in Annessa’s lungs whooshed out. They were tappers.
Not all of us. My buddy over there has a different specialty, said the man with the club, pointing at his friend. The other man had swapped out her wisp cube for a knife at some point.
Annessa let her thoughts fade into noise.
“She’s learning to shield,” said the tapper Phyton, leaning on the golf club like a cane. “Isn’t that sweet?”
The man with the knife spun it carelessly between his fingers. And then he tipped his head, and Annessa’s stomach dropped. Something about him seemed feral. But of course the one brandishing a weapon would be the most violent one in the room. She knew without a doubt he planned to use it on her too.
“He’s not the only one with a weapon, honey.” The tapper Phyton indicated the woman. She held up a hand. In the center of her palm appeared an orb of flames. It wasn’t orange, though. It was blue and purple. Somehow, Annessa knew it would burn through her flesh like acid. Her heart raced and she felt sick—not just from being without a shadow. She was going to feel the burn of fire and the slice of a blade. Everything in her screamed that those Phyton enjoyed using their tools. They enjoyed inflicting pain.
“That’s enough,” Ian growled from the floor.
The tapper Phyton crowed. “Aww, is the big bad Academy boy going soft?”
