How come he'd never been this neat at home?
Even the kitchen sparkled. From the white tiled floor to the gray marble counter tops. I half expected Mr. Clean to pop out of the pantry any minute, complete with earring and a bald head.
"I've gotten that a lot since I came to town," Alyson said with a half smile. "But it's the truth. I am Alyson Cooper."
Anson had let us change out of our wet clothes and into some spare loungers and tee-shirts. I'd donned a pair of dark blue plaid ones. Alyson had the glow-in-the-dark Jolly Rogers. She’d combed her hair back into a ponytail. She was so pale the shadowed contour of her face made her look kinda like the crypt keeper. I thought she was going to pass out again from exhaustion. She’d only just woke again after about an hour of me telling my brother what happened.
As for me, I decided I didn't want to know what I looked like and avoided all mirrors. My ensuing scream would alert the neighbors.
A gurgle escaped the coffee pot by the stove and Anson busied himself with retrieving three cups from the cupboard. My brother is eight years older than me—so what does that tell you? I was a mistake. Why else have another child after eight years and choose to go through diapers again?
He was also the pretty one—on several levels. I got my dad's wide face and almond eyes, and my skin was a little darker than a healthy light tan. Anson sort of got more of the mix. Oh, there were signs of dad all over him. The silky hair he kept in tight Rasta-like braids about an inch long, high cheek-bones and a thin, muscular frame. But Anson's eyes were a much lighter brown—sort of what brown would look like if it had gold in it. He had longer lashes too—no fair!
His Asian background was there—but where my ancestry smacked everyone in the face, his was more of a light kiss, or a ghost. And as far back as I could remember Anson always had girlfriends. If there was one thing I liked about him moving out, it was the phone silence.
Then again—what did that say about my own social life if the phone never rang?
Anson poured three cups and set them in front of us. He and Alyson sipped at theirs and actually sighed as if the bitter tasting bean was ambrosia.
Me? Ugh. I am not a big fan of coffee—but hot-chocolate? Mmmm. Chocolate.
I firmly believed there was a divine link between women and chocolate. That millions of years ago that's where girls got their power, but then man discovered it and refined it down to eatable Easter Bunnies.
"Alyson Cooper—in my parent's house." Anson sipped his coffee. "We went to your memorial service, you know."
"Yes." Alyson's voice had that distant sound again. She was only half listening. What was the other half doing?
"So—where you been? Why the faked death? And why are you here now?"
I didn't expect Alyson to answer that. But she did. And she answered him with a lot more information than she'd given me. Either she trusted Anson more or she'd just remembered other things.
Alyson looked at Anson, her eyes suddenly alert. "My dad, Dr. Alastair Cooper, runs a special operations section of a company called Soul Automatic. His department specializes in government work. Clandestine operations—both in and out of the country."
Well my mouth was open. I hadn't gotten that out of her. Soul Automatic—that'd been the logo on that card.
"Soul Automatic Corporation. S.A.C.—they're pretty much into everything. Not quite as publicized. Their headquarters are in Seattle?" Anson set his coffee mug on the counter.
My jaw dropped. My brother knew about them? Shut the front door!
"Portland. It's in Tiggard, actually." Alyson nodded.
Anson leaned forward. "S.A.C. When you say clandestine operations—you're talking about the kind of work that we think of as Black Ops? Special Forces?"
I looked from Alyson to Anson back to Alyson. Black what? Special who?
Alyson looked very serious. "Yes, but these are very special forces. Please don't ask me to tell what those missions are or were. I'm having a hard time remembering where I was yesterday—or what I was doing."
Anson shot me a what the hell look and pursed his lips. "So you've been alive all this time, faked your death, your father knew, and your mom doesn’t.”
“I think so.”
"So why are you here? And why the hell did you have blood all over your shirt? I took a close look at it, and it is definitely blood.”
Alyson opened her mouth, and then closed it. "I don't know why I'm in Georgia. Look, I wasn't kidding when I told Olivia I couldn't remember much of anything. I can remember Savannah. I remembered the cemetery, and I remember River Street. I can remember…some things from the past three years but most of it is…hazy. But then, I can't always remember what I had for breakfast."
"Hey," Anson stood back and put his hands up. "Peace, Alyson. Even I can't remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday morning. But—I'm going to guess something pretty bad happened to you between yesterday and today—which might explain your memory loss. And you told Olivia you think your dad killed someone?"
Alyson stared at her coffee, her hands cupped around the sides of the ceramic. "I think he killed a lot of someones. And I think I saw it."
"But you don't remember it clear enough?"
Alyson shook her head. She didn't say anything for a few minutes so I butted in. "Anson, can I get hot chocolate?" I said as I pushed the untouched coffee away. "Oh, and ever heard of a company called Helios?"
My brother snickered as he took the coffee and held it. "Yeah—they're a scam. Another one of those self-help companies that promise you wealth and happiness and deliver nothing. Stay away from them." He turned and set the untouched coffee on the counter. But he didn't move to fix me any hot chocolate.
Pooh. "How do you know that?"
He gave me that know-it-all look he always did when he knew more than me. Which was often—I just wouldn't ever admit that to him. "Look, I read a lot. I'm a lawyer, and I hear things."
Alyson perked up. "You ever prosecuted Helios? Someone sue them?"
"No," he shrugged. "That's peanuts. No money in it. But Olivia, why are you asking me bout Helios? How do you know of them? You didn't run into them or something did you?"
I wasn't sure how to answer that question. Should I tell him I'd left them a message? I glanced at Alyson and was surprised she was looking at me. She gave me a quick shake of her head and looked back at her coffee. Well, Alyson didn't want me to say anything. I wondered why but decided to follow his lead.
"Nah," I said
A phone rang. Anson pulled his cell from his pocket and checked the caller I.D. He turned a smirky face to me. "It's mom and dad."
I slipped off the stool. Mom and dad! I'd forgotten they were coming back home—and then I thought of the the mess on the carpet and the mud in the foyer—
"You want me to take it?"
Well that offer of aid made me stop a minute—Anson so rarely ever helped me out with the parents. He mostly told on me just to see me get into trouble.
I didn't trust him—but I trust my own lying skills worse. I nodded at him.
"Hey there," he answered the phone.
I sat back down and watched him. I could hear a loud voice from where I was sitting. I guessed it was dad..
"No…wha…uh-huh….no, she's fine…it's just…no, no. I think it'd be better if she stayed here with me. No, I don't mind." He looked at me and winked.
Huh? Anson winked at me?
"Hey, dad. Was there anything wrong with the house…oh…really?"
I strained my ears to hear what it was dad was saying, but Anson's grin was maddening. Finally he laughed out right and said, "Yeah, I agree. I told you not to buy those."
And then he said good night and hung up.
"Well?" I was on my feet again, my heart pounding against my chest. "Are they mad at me?"
"Not for the reasons you're thinking," he looked at me and then at Alyson, who'd sat pretty quiet through the whole conversation. She sort of looked like she was listening to something e
lse.
The phone rang again. I jumped.
Alyson put a hand on mine and when I looked at her face, it wasn’t good.
Anson looked at the I.D. He smiled—but I noticed it didn't really touch his eyes. "I need to take this in private," and he disappeared. I could hear his feet moving up the stairs.
Alyson turned to me. “We need to get out of here, and we shouldn't talk about Helios—not around him."
"Why not? What was all that stuff about S.A.C.? And why do we have to leave?”
Alyson licked her lips. Her eyes searched my non-comprending face. “Look, I'm remembering things—bits and pieces. I don't know—I just—I just don't think we should be talking about Helios. I'm getting a bad feeling about them. And there's something slightly familiar about your brother."
"Well yeah there's something familiar. You used to know him too. Just like me. We lived in the same house. Only he was an ass." I chewed on my lower lip and then remembered mom said doing that could make a bruise. "Why can't we tell Anson?"
She shivered. "I just don't know. I feel lost—and I'm frustrated because of it. I feel like I'm supposed to be doing something."
Doing what?
I looked at the small monitor next to the refrigerator. It was a TV and I found the remote on the counter and turned it on—I needed something else to think with. Some background noise.
It was on a news channel, and one of the local weather personalities was talking about severe thunderstorms over Savannah. Thunder rumbled outside. Duh.
While Alyson went all introverted again I watched the station, though not really paying attention to it.
Thunder rumbled overhead again. Lightning flashed outside.
The screen changed again, and this time the lower headline told about five halved bodies found in the middle of the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.
Five halved bodies? The sound was turned down so I couldn't for the life of me figure out what they meant by halved? Like bodies that were cut in two? Ew, gross. I was just happy I lived in Savannah, where crime made more sense.
Yeah. Right.
I looked at Alyson, the television becoming too gruesome. She was on her feet and standing in the doorway next to the stairs, as if she were trying to hear what he was saying upstairs. “You know anyone else that can do what you do?"
Alyson looked back at me. "With teleporting? No. But each legacy’s power is based on their elemental birth sign.”
“Like the Zodiac,” I filled in. “But the Zodiac has opposites, or corresponding months. Do legacies?”
“I’m not sure,” Alyson slowly shook her head. “I think there’s something about the Gemini itself that becomes its own worst enemy.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re remembering a lot of stuff now.”
“Some, yeah. I remember there was a rumor about an operative who could manipulate all of the Zodiac. I think his code was actually Zodiac.”
I held up my hand. "Wait a minute—operatives? Code name? You've gone all secret spy on me."
Alyson looked at me. "Yeah—it's what Soul Automatic did. Does. Fixes things. And I had a code name too."
I smiled at her. "What was yours? Poofer?"
She shook her head and her expression was serious. "No. It was something else." Alyson fixed me with a tragic stare. "I was—I was the first to be given a code name. I was called…Evanescence."
I blinked. "You serious? Like the music group?”
“No. They’re Evanescent. I mean like the word, and what it means.”
I knew what the definition of evanescence was, but only because I liked the group Evanescent and wanted to know if that was a real word. It meant to disappear. To fade away.
I said, “To be forgotten.”
“Yeah. Well it makes sense, doesn’t it? I can make things disappear." She shrugged. "Even myself."
You Too?
This was getting deep. And a little uncomfortable. Where was Anson?
My phone rang—buzzed in the rather long pocket of these really comfortable loungers (need to get me a pair of these)—and I reached for it. There was no number displayed, and I'd purposefully left my voicemail blank with only the number. No mention of my name and no voice.
What? Never heard of creeps getting your cell phone number and then calling? They're less likely to do that if they don't know who they're calling.
"Is it that Helios group?" Alyson whispered.
I shrugged. "Says unknown. Why are we whispering?"
"Where is your brother?" She leaned forward.
That's when I saw the chain and the necklace. Hadn't noticed it before. I figured it was because it'd been tucked in her shirt. But sitting here with only a long-sleeved black tee-shirt and Jolly Roger loungers the silver chain and rather odd looking pendant stuck out.
"Whazzat?" I pointed to it.
Alyson reached behind her neck and unclasped it before handing it to me. "I had this on when I woke up."
I took the necklace. "You mean you don't know where it came from?"
"Nope."
The pendant was two inches long. At first I thought it was one of those Egyptian cartouches for sale in the back of some of those gossip rags at the checkout in the grocery store. I sometimes grabbed one those magazines and glanced through it when I had to go with mom. Grocery shopping is definitely on the bottom of my fun list.
But it wasn’t Egyptian. The pendant was silver, with five symbols down the side… “These are Zodiac symbols.”
She took it back and replaced it around her neck. “Yeah. I looked at it before I took a shower. I think it’s Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Tarus and Gemini. I have no idea what it means though. Or why I’m wearing it.”
Thunder sounded outside the condo as Anson came barreling down the steps at that moment. "Alyson has to leave. Now."
"What up with the panic?" I asked.
Anson frowned at me. "Let's just say I have connections in places. And Miss Cooper should not be here."
"What kind of connections know if Alyson, who we all thought drowned, should or shouldn't be here?" I followed Anson out of the kitchen and into the spare bedroom where Alyson and I had changed.
“They’re private connections," Anson was saying as he opened up his closet and pulled down a black duffel bag. He set it on the bed and opened it, then started dumping long sleeve tee-shirts and sweat-shirts into it. Then he grabbed old jeans and socks out of a chest of drawers by the closet. "I've got spare clothes that Alyson can wear—though they'll be a bit loose on her. I've got a friend coming over—she's cool so don't worry about her—and she'll get Alyson out of Savannah."
I stood in silence as I watched Anson work. Some stranger was going to just drive Alyson away? Not sure I was liking this. "Wait, wait, wait," I put up my hands. "Get her away from what? From her father?"
"I can't say," Anson said. He paused and looked at me, then put his hands on my shoulders. "Sis—Alyson Cooper isn't supposed to be here. Now. In this town, at this time."
We were looking at each other, but I was sure Anson was trying to tell me something I wasn't getting. Of course she wasn't supposed to be here—we'd all thought she was dead.
"I should have known," Alyson said as she stepped into the room. There was a funny look in her expression. Something distant in her eyes. And she was—glowing. "I should have sensed it from the moment we met."
Anson actually did the push-little-sis-behind-his-back maneuver. Which was sweet, but totally unnecessary. I moved from behind him and held up my hands at Alyson. "What's going on? How come you're all glowy—"
And that's when I noticed Anson.
He was glowing as well.
And it wasn't like someone was shining lights on them—more like someone had taken a fluorescent blue pencil and drawn outlines around them.
"Get away from him," Alyson said as she held her hands at her sides. "He's a legacy, Olivia. Same as me."
“He’s—” I blinked and looked at Anson. "He's what? He's my brothe
r—he's not a legacy,” I said, but I scooted over the bed to the other side just in case. I'd never seen Anson glow before. Yeah I’d seen him hopping mad at me when I dinged his car—but never glowing.
"Olivia," Anson said. "Just get out of the house. Susan's almost here. She'll handle it and get Alyson out of here. Something terrible has happened and created this Alyson. This Alyson isn't normal."
I frowned. "This Alyson? You say that like there's more than one."
"What does that mean?" Alyson said. "Who did you contact? Who did you just talk to?"
Anson frowned. "I'm trying to help you, Alyson. You are not supposed to be here. We have to get you to a safe place—"
"Then why are you telling me to get away from her?” I asked.
"Because she's not stable. This Alyson isn't right. I don't know what she's done, or what she's seen, but we have to get her out of Savannah and hidden before they realize where she is.”
Huh? Okay—what happened to my paradigm? Where was the life I was familiar with? Hell, where was the brother I knew? You know, the life where dead friends didn't show up in the middle of the house, or brothers didn't start glowing and spouting out gibberish? Where there were only chemistry tests and history pop-quizzes, and learning what the latest fad in shoes was going to be?
I was thinking maybe I'd left that life behind somewhere. Tucked under the mattress cover.
Welcome to the end of sixteen.
'Cause seventeen was coming in with a bang.
"Wait just a freak'n minute here," I put my hands up. "Anson—what is going on? Who realizes she’s here?”
"Just don't worry about it, sis," Anson said. "Alyson Cooper has a very dangerous skill—"
"I know. She teleports. Done it. Got the queasy stomach."
That got my brother’s attention. He glared at me. "You teleported with her?”
I nodded. It was a simple admission. No big words.
"Oh god that was stupid, Olivia. Just stupid." He started swearing more than I think mom would have approved of. "You have no idea what you've done, do you? For you to be touched by another legacy? Especially a Gemini?”
Someone banged on the door downstairs and I heard a woman's voice. "Anson? You there?"
The Dead Girl Page 3
