by Gray Holborn
I wrinkled my nose slightly at the thought of Soren telling people about my weird little sense. Especially since El told me not to trust people with it for years. I didn’t even know these people yet I had to keep everything that happened in the last week from one of my best friends. “Yeah, I can sometimes see a faint glow. It’s not very reliable though, so there’s not much I can say about it.”
“Like with your human boyfriend, right? He tricked you and somehow hid that he was from the Veil?” Sage’s voice was friendly, but I felt like I’d been struck in the gut with the reminder that Michael was the reason we were all in this mess in the first place. That it was to some extent my fault.
I nodded, unable to say more about it and feeling more than a little useless that my one ability was so faulty and unreliable. As was my judge of character.
“And he’s a space-manipulator? You’re sure, Soren?” Dex asked.
“Yes. If I hadn’t seen him disappear myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. But it’s true.” Soren took a long drink of his beer. “He seemed under the impression that he was after Black instead of El. To be honest, the whole thing was a bit strange. If he really wanted to harm her, he could have just grabbed her then and there. Taken her with him.” He scrubbed his hand through his hair, a gesture I was beginning to secretly dub the ‘Soren’s frustrated signal.’
I thought over his words, my own frustration beginning to grow. Why didn’t Michael just take me with him then and there if he wanted to kill me? “Maybe he had to report back to someone first? Or maybe he can’t bring people with him when he, you know...teleports? Can space-manipulators usually bring along other people for the ride?” I asked
Soren shook his head. “Honestly, we don’t know. There hasn’t been a space-manipulator on record in a very long time. And there’s no reliable information on them as it is. Energy users are very secretive about their abilities. We have no way of knowing the extent of his power. It is possible, though, that he’s reporting back to a larger group and needed to get the go ahead before doing anything permanent. Maybe he’s working for Insurgenti?” He directed the question to Sage and Dex.
Sage shrugged. “It’s possible. We don’t know much about the rebels at the moment. Though it’s hard to believe they’d be able to keep a space-manipulator quiet for so long. Especially as just an underling who’d need to report back. I’d imagine someone with that ability would be at the top of the totem pole.”
“And it’s hard to definitively know what’s the work of Insurgenti anymore. Or if there is only one faction of people resisting your dad’s rule,” Dex added. “The guard managed to bring in a suspected rebel member a couple of days ago. Your father questioned him about your sister and mother, but he didn’t get anywhere before he killed her.”
Holy shit. I knew that we were dealing with some serious stuff, but the thought of El’s dad killing and likely torturing someone sent cold shivers down my spine.
“I was there, during the examination.” Sage pulled at her hair for nonexistent dead ends. “I really don’t think the guy had any idea there was a hit out for Ellie. Plus Jacer was there and he’s the most powerful truth-manipulator in recorded history. Between the two of us, it would’ve come out unless he was working with a pretty powerful blocking agent.”
I wanted to ask Sage what kind of feeder she was, but I knew that was considered rude. So I settled for the second-best question. “Truth-manipulator?” I asked. I didn’t want to halt their brainstorm, but I did want to follow along.
“They are able to manipulate people into telling the truth. It’s not an exact science, and you have to nail the phrasing of the questions for it to be at all effective, but Jacer is known for being particularly proficient.” Jax’s words skated over the bare skin at my neck. He’d been so quiet during the conversation that I’d almost forgotten I was on top of him like an awkwardly large pet chihuahua.
“Maybe it wasn’t the rebel forces then?” El stood up and began pacing; the effect was lost though since her height brought her to eye level when the rest of the group was sitting. “I mean do we have any proof they were the ones after my mom? It’s not like we ever captured the murderer. Maybe it wasn’t them, or maybe it was only a small faction of them. Or a different faction. Maybe it was one of the other leaders after my father. Or maybe it was even more personal than that. Someone Father pissed off. It’s not like we have any fucking clue what’s going on here. He’s never been a fan of keeping us in the loop. Maybe whoever’s threatening my life is a totally different person or group from whoever took hers.” She was rambling, and I knew from the look of concern in Sage’s eyes that, like me, she could tell that El was operating on unusually high wavelengths of sadness and anger.
Still, these were valid points she was raising and I wanted to ask more questions. I wanted to hear more about the rebels, about El’s mom and dad, but I could tell this wasn’t the time for me to voice that desire. Everyone else in the room knew the history, knew life in the Veil. I’d just have to play catch up when we had more time and when El was less emotionally vulnerable.
“She has a point, Soren.” Jax was tense against my body. “These are all avenues we are going to have to explore. And now with Michael and Desi in the mix, we are going to have to get more proactive in figuring this shit out. We can’t just hide Ellie away for her entire life—and clearly living among humans hasn’t kept her completely off the energy-user radar like we suspected it would.”
Soren nodded his head in agreement, draining his beer in frustration. I could tell he felt helpless. And that was something that wouldn’t sit well with a guy like Soren.
“So what do we now?” Sage squeezed Soren’s knee gently and the intimacy of the gesture sent a strange feeling through my body. I struggled to rip my eyes away from the point where her hand and his leg connected.
“Now? Now you keep my uncle safe. Michael knows where we live, he knows Sam. You stay in Seattle and you watch out for him.” I was momentarily stunned by the iciness in my own voice. I leaned back into Jax, dipping my head down. “Sorry. I know you guys are here to help. It’s been a really long, really screwed up day. I didn’t mean to snap.”
Sage looked at me with sympathy lining her beautiful face. “We’ll do what we can, Odessa. I promise you that.”
Ugh, did she have to be so genuinely nice? It made it impossible to dislike her. Or at least it made me feel really really guilty about it.
“Our best,” Dex added, “might not be much against a space-manipulator, especially one who is likely working with a fire-manipulator and who knows who else. You have to understand that now. We can make no promises beyond watching out for him and keeping a line of communication open between everyone. To be honest, we have no clue what we are up against.”
Dex’s words hit me hard, but I decided immediately that I liked him—he was being honest with me and wasn’t sugarcoating things for my naive human ears.
“You guys should head out now. It’s been several hours since Michael disappeared, and I don’t want Sam alone either. We’ll check in with you every other day or so.” El was fidgeting and I knew she was just as worried about Sam as I was. We were family, and it wouldn’t rest easy with her that we were leaving part of that family behind to fend for itself. I was suddenly excessively happy that Luis had never met Michael—that could only make him safer at this point.
Sage nodded. “We brought some groceries to keep you all stocked up for a few days while you make plans for the next move, and we bought some throwaway phones. We’ll change out every couple of days. I doubt anyone from the Veil would be checking that sort of tech, but it’s best to be as prepared as possible since they found El once already. Especially if you insist on staying near the rift.”
Soren’s posture tensed at that and he stood up with Sage to grab the food from the car, his hand pressing into her lower back as he guided her through the door. I forced myself to swallow the little bubble of jealousy in my gut. Now was so not the time t
o worry about Soren’s relationship with Sage. And never was the only time I would allow myself to think about Soren in that way, no matter how hot he was. Attractiveness did not cancel out assholeness.
As they brought the last of the groceries in, I said goodbye to Sage and Dex, thanking them both in earnest for keeping their eyes on Sam and making sure we would stay updated on everything going on in Seattle. When El asked that they also check in on Luis, some of the tension in my body seeped away. Luis likely wouldn’t be as at risk as Sam, but I was happy to know that Sage and Dex would look out for him as well.
I moved to the kitchen to start putting the groceries away while El, Soren, and Jax said their goodbyes. There was so much affection between them all that I felt like I was intruding.
After they left, we heated up a frozen pizza. We mostly ate in silence, all of us lost in our thoughts from the chaos of the day. Even though it was early, El and I decided to go to bed, both of us drained. We were going to share the room Jax usually stayed in and Jax would take the ridiculously comfortable, oversized couch.
“So,” I started, running a brush through my hair, “about Dex. Was I misreading the situation out there or was there some tension between you two?”
El’s skin flushed, but she met my face with a reluctant smile. “Yeah I should’ve known that wouldn’t slip past you, Sherlock.”
“That wouldn’t have slipped past Mr. Magoo, El.”
“Fair enough. Dex was my first time, you know, makin’ bacon.” She winked at me while grabbing her pajamas out of one of her overstuffed bags.
“Ew. I’m so glad that I already hate bacon, because you would have just ruined it for me with that visual. Still, first time or not, it’s unusual for sex to make you blush.”
“Well, Dex and I are complicated. You see, he’s a body-manipulator too.” Her eyes bugged out at me like that should mean something to me.
“So? What, you guys learned the tricks of the trade together?”
“Remember when I said it’s common for powerful supes in the Veil to try to generate the most powerful breeding line?” She paused, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Oh. Oooooooh. You’re father wants you to marry him, doesn’t he?” I tossed my brush on the ground and hopped on the bed, way too invested in the conversation to worry about untangling knots.
“Not just wants me to marry him, Dess. I’m betrothed to him now. My father tried to rush the match before I left, but Dex wanted to wait awhile and see if the mate bond would develop first. I think he felt bad that I’d been given no choice because of my father’s stance on the issue and my position within the realm.” She blew out a long puff of air, causing her hair to float away from her face.
“Mate bond? Are you shitting me? That sort of thing is real where you’re from?” I’d heard about the stereotypical destined romance in books and shows, but it had always given me the creeps. Call it fate or whatever you wanted, but I was a fan of free will; anything that took away a girl’s choice grossed me out.
“Not in the sense that you’re thinking. So off of the soapbox, Dessa, before you get a chance to get comfortable. They exist but there isn’t like a single soulmate situation in the Veil. From what I understand, the partners have a choice and can choose to break it or stop it once they begin to notice the connection forming if they want. And if you break one bond, you are potentially free to establish another. Which is really useful, because sometimes the bond is unrequited—” she paused, shaking her head at me. “Stop giving me that look. It’s not that creepy, but it is sort of complicated. Anyway, it was actually really sweet of Dex to try to wait. He wanted to make me feel more comfortable about the whole domestic side of my role in the Veil.”
“So you wanted to settle down with him then? Start popping out little pink-haired shopaholics?” I had to admit, the girl could do way worse than Dex. Then again, I guess all supes were just on average ridiculously good looking.
“I always figured at the time I would. Eventually. Things back home are different than they are here, Dess. It’s not exactly easy for me to go against my father’s wishes.” The sadness in her words cut me deep. El was typically so full of life, so happy, independent, and ambitious; it was strange to see how much power her father and her old life had over her.
“And now? Do you still want Dex?”
“No.” The single word rang with a resounding clarity that seemed to even startle El as she spoke it. Her cheeks reddened and I had a feeling she wasn’t thinking about Muscles McGee. Maybe her tiny crush on Sam wasn’t as tiny as I’d always thought.
I decided I’d pushed her on the subject enough. If she wanted to tell me more, eventually she would. And truthfully, keeping her alive was higher up on our list than dissecting the tangled webs of Veil politics and El’s lovelife. “We should get some sleep.”
She nodded her head and we both got ready for bed. Luckily, Jax’s room was outfitted with a giant king-sized bed, likely to fit his giant frame. We snuggled in and turned off the lights.
After a few moments, I could practically chew on the tension in the room, the heavy stakes of the day settling over us both. It was crazy to think that just yesterday we’d been working a typical shift at The Tavern and out for a night of dancing. Crazier even to think that two weeks ago, our lives were filled with nothing more than work, school, and hanging out with Luis. I turned towards her, a giant grin on my face. “Hey El, there is one good thing about all of this.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Her words were unusually cynical and I found myself missing the version of El that wasn’t so bogged down by her past.
“We won’t have to write that English paper now. In fact, presumably, we won’t have to worry about homework for quite awhile.”
“Excellent point. How will Professor Sadjwick live without Jax’s presence in class?”
We both broke out into a hard laughter, the kind that’s so full that only breathy sounds came out. And then we slid off to sleep, smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes—somehow both conflicted and at peace with the day’s turn of events.
Chapter Fourteen
I woke up with the sunrise. Apparently my body had grown accustomed to it’s new sleep schedule. Ellie was spread out across the bed. Somehow during the night she’d wound up sleeping horizontally, the pink tips of her short hair hanging off the edge of the bed.
Quickly, I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a tank, tiptoeing down the hall to head to the bathroom. The house was quiet, and I could hear Jax’s light snores echoing in the living room. After grabbing a bottle of water and tying my hair back, I left the house, careful not to let the door slam as it shut.
The landscape was only more beautiful than I’d remembered it the day before, the sunrise dancing lazily against the still water of the lake. It was peaceful here and, while I couldn’t forget all that was happening in my world, it was nice to have a moment of serenity. I spread a blanket I found on the edge of the bed along the splintered wood of the dock. Taking a deep breath, I ran through the yoga poses Jax had taught me over the week, some of them leaving my limbs hanging precariously close to the water’s edge. My body ached, but as I transitioned from position to position, I felt a beam of pride at how much easier it was to hit them, my muscles strengthening and stretching with each breath.
After an hour, sweat was dripping steadily down my back. When I paused for a sip of water, the skin on the back of my neck started to tingle as that feeling of being watched rushed over me. Had Michael found us already? Did he somehow stick a LoJack on me?
Turning slowly, I let out a quick breath of relief when I found Soren leaning against a post on the porch, his eyes steadily focused in my direction. The relief at finding Soren and not some serial supe-killer quickly trickled away, and my cheeks flushed at the intensity of his gaze. How long had he been there?
He walked slowly towards me, his expression unreadable; the glare from the sun made the features of his face indistinguishable.
“Odessa Black, a
wake early by choice? What dimension have I stumbled into?” His gaze travelled away from me, taking in the surroundings. “Your form looks pretty good. Jax said you were taking well to yoga.” He paused when he was within a few feet, my eyes slowly adjusting to the balance of sun and shade on his face. “It’s good for building up your strength, fluidity, and balance. All very necessary when it comes to fighting.”
I opened and closed my mouth, not sure what to say. Soren and compliments mixed as commonly as oil and water. “Yeah, I guess,” I said, too stunned to say anything else.
“Has he started to train you in fighting techniques?” His eyes traveled slowly down my body; not in a seductive way, but as if he were assessing the developing shape of my muscles. Clinical.
“Sort of. He’s taught me a few punching combinations and worked with me a bit on my hitting form. Mostly we do yoga and run.” I pulled the loose material of my tank, suddenly self conscious of how the sweat made it cling like Saran Wrap to my body.
“I owe you an apology, Black.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze staring off into the lake.
“For what?”
“I didn’t take you seriously when you said you wanted to train. That first day. I should have done things differently. I shouldn’t have treated you the way that I did and then pawn you off on Jax when you asked me to teach you. It was clear you wanted to protect El, that you weren’t going anywhere. I think I was trying to intimidate you into letting it, and her, alone.” He paused and I held my breath. This was the most he’d ever said to me, and I never imagined I would hear Soren utter an apology.
“Yeah, you were kind of an asshole.” I smiled slightly, letting him know that I was both serious and trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh, I’m still an asshole. That’s not what I’m apologizing for.”
I crinkled my eyes in confusion. Surly Soren I could handle. But humble, teasing Soren? I didn’t know what to make of him.
“Look my point is just that I should have taken training you seriously. I will now. Yesterday made it abundantly clear that El won’t leave you behind and that we are up against more than we imagined. And I’ll likely need your help as we track down our sources.” He paused momentarily. “Assuming your aura vision isn’t totally screwed up and useless, that is.”
