by Belle Malory
“Oh, that’s too bad.” At first, Fang sounded sincere. But that was quickly ruined, because when Fang turned to walk away, they all heard her mutter over her shoulder, “Too bad they didn’t succeed.”
Kennedy’s hands curled into small fists.
Within a matter of seconds, Fang’s water bottle burst, splashing everywhere. She whipped around, looking between the three of them accusingly. Her eyes pierced into Alanna. “Did you do this?”
Piecing itself back together, the water formed a small bubble and sprayed Fang’s face, leaving her coughing and sputtering.
Kennedy took a step forward. “I did it.”
Fang’s eyes widened a moment, looking completely shocked. Nobody had known Kennedy was capable of something like that. She took a few deep, seething breaths before marching away.
Lexie held her hands over her stomach, laughing hysterically. “Priceless.”
“Dat was the best ting I’ve seen all week” Alanna said between chuckles.
It was horrible, and Kennedy knew it. But she couldn’t help the tiny bit of smugness she felt. Or the tiniest of smiles she tried to hide. Her satisfaction lasted the entire five-mile run, and especially every time she and Fang crossed paths.
By the end of the run, her muscles were screaming, but in a good way. Kennedy still finished last, but not by much. In fact, she made it to Professor Mason’s class on time. Amazing, since she’d never come close before.
He was waiting for her outside the door. “No class for you today.” He handed her a key card. “Take this to room twenty-seven. The telephone room. I’ve notified your family and they should be waiting by the monitor.”
A brilliant smile found it’s way to her lips. “Really?”
“Yep, kiddo, but I expect you back before Biology.”
Biology was her third subject before lunch and almost two hours away. She bounced on the balls of her feet, ready to squeal. “Thank you.”
“Go on now. You don’t want to waste any time, do you?”
Kennedy didn’t spare him another second. She turned, and even after that long run, she found herself running again through the halls of Level 3, trying to scout out Room 27.
As soon as she found it, she dialed her mom’s number. Waiting for an answer was the most excruciating part, and she found herself tapping her fingers against the chair and staring at the monitor.
Answer already!
When their faces appeared, Kennedy could hardly believe her eyes. They were all there. Mom. Reagan. Lincoln. Even Hunter was there in the background.
She waved to them all. “Hi, guys!”
Ashley’s big brown eyes teared up. “Oh, baby. Look at you. You look great.”
Lincoln pointed at the screen and excitedly squealed, “Kenny!” He had grown since she had last seen him, and his tufts of dark brown hair were longer.
Kennedy spoke to all of them for the entire two hours, enjoying every minute.
She didn’t tell them about her almost-drowning with Dr. Sigly or the one with Plaffle. There was no point. Worrying them wouldn’t do any good now that she had decided to stay.
Instead, she told them about life on Olympus, and in turn, they told her how much their lives had changed. “A certain someone got accepted into Dartmouth.” Ashley proudly squeezed Reagan around her shoulders. “And now that her younger sister is footing the bill, she’ll actually be able to go.”
Hearing that brought tears to Kennedy’s eyes. She swallowed, clearing her throat. “Good for you, Rea.”
“Don’t know how it happened. The girl’s got no smarts whatsoever.”
Reagan lightly punched Hunter in the arm. “Listen, just because I don’t know the difference between a palmetto bug and a cockroach, it shouldn’t count against my intelligence.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “It does when you scream at the top of your lungs just because you saw one in your kitchen. I mean, it’s not like they can actually kill you.”
Reagan let out an exasperated groan. “For the hundredth time, Hunter, I could’ve squashed it on my own. You just got to it before I did.”
Kennedy giggled, and for a moment she thought their chummy banter was amusing. But as her laughter died down, she realized how much she missed living next to Hunter, and how it was unfair that she couldn’t be there…and why was he in her kitchen when she wasn’t home? Hunter was her friend, not Reagan’s.
“All right, for Pete’s sake, enough you two,” Ashley ordered. “Give me and Kennedy some privacy.”
“See ya, Kenn.” Hunter and Reagan waved goodbye, taking Lincoln with them.
As soon as they were gone, Ashley said, “So is everything okay? Truly?”
She nodded. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“You promise?”
Kennedy suppressed a smile. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“Okay, okay. I just wanted to make sure.” She bit down on her lower lip, looking like there was a question on the tip of her tongue, but was unsure about asking. “So, when do you think you’ll be coming home?”
Shrugging, Kennedy said, “I don’t know. I’m hoping around Christmas.”
“And will it be…permanently?”
Ah, so that was the information she was pining for.
It was a bittersweet moment when Kennedy realized what she needed to say. Slowly, she shook her head. “I am what they say, Mom. I am the twelfth keeper.”
Ashley sucked in a deep breath. She nodded again, trying to accept that, but it looked like she was having a difficult time doing so. “How do you know?”
Because I can manipulate an element with my mind.
Because I feel a deep need to keep Earth safe.
“I just do.”
“Okay then.” Ashley swallowed, taking another breath. “My daughter is the twelfth keeper.”
“Are you going to be okay, Mom?” Kennedy asked. “You look like you’re having a nervous breakdown.”
Ashley let out a small laugh. “I guess I just hoped…I don’t know. I only want you to be happy.”
“I’m getting there,” Kennedy promised. “For now, I’m content with being what I am. If I have something to offer the world, I will.”
Ashley moved closer to the screen. “I’m proud of you, you know that? And I wish I could give you a big hug.”
“Me too.”
“I love you, Kennedy.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Epilogue
“Saved you a seat.” Phoenix patted the spot on the sofa beside him.
Kennedy smiled and fell into the cushion. As usual, the two of them were the recipient of several stares. The other keepers hadn’t yet gotten used to them being…well, being a them. Kennedy hadn’t gotten used to it either, and defining whatever they were was somewhat tricky.
So she didn’t. And neither did Phoenix.
Which was perfectly fine. Whatever they were sent butterflies into her stomach on a daily basis. She smiled at the most random of moments, and it had her thinking about Phoenix even when he wasn’t around, waiting in anticipation to see him again.
So indefinable was perfectly fine by her.
“Where’s Mason?” she asked, trying to brush off the lingering awkwardness with casual conversation.
“Running late.”
“He’s never late for the morning meeting.”
“Got a wave from him earlier. Some important news, but he should be here shortly. Coffee?” He held out a mug for her.
“Did you make it?”
He frowned. “Not nice. And no, I think Alanna might’ve.”
“In that case, sure.” Kennedy took the mug from him, grateful for the caffeine. She would need that extra burst of energy later for running.
Professor Mason appeared a few moments later, looking abnormally flustered. He walked to the middle of the room, calling for everyone’s attention. The mild chitchat between the other keepers faded into silence as they waited for him to speak.
Mason hedged, stroking his beard. Whatever he
was about to say was something he didn’t want to. This couldn’t be good. Kennedy shared an alarmed glance with Phoenix.
Professor Mason cleared his throat. “Late last night we received intel from an outside source.” He paused, swallowing. “It distresses me to tell you we received a message from Sae-yer ships. The message was encrypted within our own system. In other words, we don’t know how they broke through, but they did.”
Silence permeated the room, laced with a certain dread.
Kennedy could hear the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. The memory of that awful noise came to mind. Almost mechanically, she lifted her hands to her ears, remembering how painful it had been.
It was no prank. Now she was sure of it. At the time, she hadn’t wanted to believe it could be anything else, but deep down she sensed the truth. Nothing human could make a noise like the one she heard come from the wave-reader. It had to have been something else.
Lexie was the only one with enough composure to speak. “What did the message say, Professor?”
They had all been wondering the same thing, and yet no one seemed like they really wanted to know.
Professor Mason took a deep breath. He looked like he didn’t want to know the things he did. Slowly, his eyes roamed over all of their faces. “They say they’re coming here. They want access to our planet, and if we don’t give it to them, they will retaliate with necessary force.”
At first, the words took a while to sink in. Mason’s voice swirled around in Kennedy’s head, until she could piece each part together, one by one.
Sae-yers coming here?
Impossible. They couldn’t come here. Their composition didn’t match Earth’s.
And then it occurred to Kennedy they were coming here. Not Earth. Here, to Olympus.
What was it Phoenix had told her that day in the atrium? Take out the space center, and you’ve pretty much secured control of the planet.
Everyone else must have come to this realization around the same time, because within moments, the room was in an uproar. They argued and debated and deliberated, and Kennedy could hear the panic within each of their voices. She blocked everyone out, forcing the buzz of their talking to the back of her mind.
It was difficult enough training to be a keeper. Now she would have to act the part. She would have to fight. Maybe.
The thought should have terrified her. And perhaps if she’d found this out months ago, it might have.
Instead, she felt angry. Furious at this alien race who had obliterated China. The same alien race who murdered billions of innocent humans, and for what? Vengeance? Retaliation because they weren’t allowed free access to Earth?
It wasn’t good enough. Someone needed to make an example out of them. They needed to pay, to be shown Earth wasn’t at their disposal.
Let them come, she thought, seething. We’ll be ready.
End of Book One
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Table of Contents
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Epilogue
