During the funeral, Ric didn’t say anything. He sat there, sandwiched among his mom, me, and Connie, staring, and when he managed to make eye contact, his eyes were empty. I could almost see the pain in them like a tangible thing.
“Don’t miss me too much,” Ric says softly, tossing his carry-on bag toward the ground. I see the grimace at the simple motion, even if he’ll never admit it.
Mrs. Norris sees it too because her eyes widen with concern. “I’ll get our tickets,” she says, leaving Ric and me awkwardly standing out of place in our freshly-pressed funeral clothes. Maple’s only been buried for hours and Ric is already leaving. The Triad said Ric should get away, that he needs time to recover from his injuries. Which is a fancy way of saying they need time to figure out if he should get a new partner. And who.
His mom agreed, and now that his dad is back from his honeymoon, it’s a solution. One Ric is not thrilled about.
I slip my arms around Ric into a hug. He kisses my cheek, but that sad look is still in his eyes. I want to know what he’s feeling, but I also don’t. I can’t imagine it at all. “Don’t give your dad too hard of a time.”
Ric groans. “I’m more worried about the step-diva. Can I call her my stepmom if she’s only a few year older than us?”
“As long as you don’t call her ‘step-diva’ to her face I’m sure it will be fine.”
Ric looks over his shoulder toward his mom. She’s only dropping him off to his dad’s car, and then she’s on another plane to wherever she has to go next. “Mom said it was a good chance to face some demons. I told her I do that every day, and she didn’t laugh.”
“At least your dad is still alive,” I say. Ric sighs, but I don’t regret saying it. I’d say it again because I want him to remember that. We’ve both lost enough people. “You have a second chance—I’d hate to see you miss out on it.”
“I’m stuck in a house with him for the duration of this restcation. I won’t miss anything.” Ric pushes the bag up on his shoulder. “I’ll call you.”
“Boarding pass acquired. See you, Penelope,” Mrs. Norris says. Ric steals another hug and then with a final glance back, he’s gone. The high-low-high notes of the WNN chime. I expect another attack of some sort, but it’s not. It’s a reminder/repeat message about my meeting with the Triad in an hour.
Your attendance is mandatory.
I shove the phone into my pocket. It’s not like I could forget.
…
The counsel chambers are empty. Nothing except the sound of the clock fills the empty waiting room. I close my eyes and take a breath. Deep, cleansing breaths and happy thoughts run through my head, but they can’t stop this. Whatever this is. Somehow, it feels like all the things I’ve worked for are this close to being gone.
“We’re going to be fine,” Carter whispers in my ear. He squeezes my hand tightly until I look at him. He says it with so much conviction that I wish it was true.
The council summoned us two hours ago, and we’ve been sitting here. Waiting.
“They’re looking for more details about Maple and Taylor Plum. It’s nothing, Pen.”
“How can you be sure?”
Carter takes my hand. “They’re going to ask some questions. We’ll answer them, and we’ll leave. That’s it.” I start to protest but he puts a finger to my lips. “Whatever is going on, we’ll get through this.” He presses a quick kiss to my lips and I smile.
He’s right. This is nothing more than a checkup. That’s it. They said they’d be looking into the Static situation, so that has to be all this is. Some questions.
The door opens and Mrs. Bentham stands in front of us, her hair pulled back in its usual up-do and her cheeks pinched. Behind her is Ellore, stunning as ever. I haven’t seen either of the councilwomen in the week since our partnering ceremony, but now neither of them are smiling.
“Miss Grey, Mr. Prescott, come with us,” Mrs. Bentham says.
That’s all. No ‘hello’ or smiles or ‘good to see you’. This is so bad.
Carter takes my hand and we follow behind Ellore and Mrs. Bentham out the door. The Nucleus House is alive with people, and maybe it’s in my head, but all of them look at us as we pass. Ellore and Mrs. Bentham lead us down a hallway back into the testing rooms for Enforcer Examinations.
“It has come to our attention that the two of you have committed an indiscretion. The council and the Triad frown upon these accusations.”
“I thought this was about the Statics?” I say.
Carter squeezes my hand tighter, but I replay the attack in my head and wonder what the accusations could be. Could they know about De’Intero? “What exactly is our indiscretion?” I ask.
Ellore and Mrs. Bentham exchange a look. A cold one. Mrs. Bentham crosses her arms. “You cheated on the Enforcer Examinations.”
They know.
How could they find out?
What else did they discover? Do they know about the Statics? That I didn’t have magic on my own when I took it? My whole family could get into trouble…
Carter squeezes my hand like an anchor. “That’s not even possible.”
Mrs. Betham still doesn’t say anything, but she looks at me, and there’s a curiosity in her eyes.
Ellore says. “We’re following procedure.”
Mrs. Bentham continues, “It has been mentioned, and now that it has we simply cannot turn a blind eye. We are giving you an opportunity.”
Carter glances at his cousin. “Ellore, is this for real?”
I can’t say anything. My mind is racing, but unable to focus on anything. All my thoughts are fleeting, swirling like smoke.
Ellore nods. “Very real.”
“We’re giving you both a chance to prove to us that this accusation is wrong,” Mrs. Bentham adds.
“It is wrong,” Carter says. But I can’t speak about it, because it’s not. We did cheat—even if I’d never thought of it that way.
“Good,” Mrs. Bentham interjects. “Then you have nothing to worry about. Mr. Prescott, with me. Miss Grey, with Ellore.”
That snaps me out of it. “What?”
“We’re going to re-test you both separately. With me.” She points to the left.
I look at Carter over my shoulder, and beneath his calm exterior, I can see in his eyes that he’s freaking out. Normally, I’d freak out, too. This is our future. But he doesn’t know what Lia told me. The void is more than me pulling from him now. It wants me. I could be powerful with it. This could be the thing that saves me.
Ellore pulls me into a familiar white room. A simulation.
“Penelope,” Ellore says, lowering her voice into a whisper. “I don’t think you did anything. This is a precaution, a piece of the investigation into Miss Lin’s death, that’s all. We had an anonymous tip and it’s our job to follow up.”
I don’t say anything. There’s nothing to say. She’s right. I can do this. A week ago, I’d be screwed, but now I have an advantage.
“This will start as soon as I leave and you’ll have five minutes.”
The room flashes a warning, but I’m ready. The void is ready, a steady pulsing. In a moment the white fades away from me and I’m standing in the middle of the National Mall. They put me in the middle of the action. It’s a sunny day, tourists walking around and people playing Frisbee on the lawn. Everywhere I look there are people, which means I’m going to have to do whatever is happening without drawing unneeded attention.
And I have five minutes.
Last time I had a simulation during the Enforcer Examinations, I had to find the demon and a weapon to fight it. I bet this is similar. I’ll have to find the demon myself—it’s not going to attack me. And it’s probably in Non form—since there are so many around.
I look to my left and right. One way leads up to the Capitol building, and the other toward the Washington Monument. It could be in any one of the Smithsonian museums or monuments for miles. I bet there are even more Nons inside, so that would be nearly im
possible to find in five minutes.
No, it would be outside. I feel like it’s outside.
How much time is left?
I should go and stop debating.
Eeny meeny miney mo—the Monument it is.
I pick up my pace and head toward the other side of the mall. The music from the carousel fills my ears, and I glance at it ahead. I used to like that thing. Before the demon, Azsis, killed my parents, I came here with them. Connie was a baby, but I remember my dad let me pick out my seat. I chose this white horse, but it was next to this really creepy blue and green seahorse and I cried. Dad stood in front of it the whole time and said he wouldn’t let it hurt it me.
I push away the memory because this is so not the time for emotional instability. I doubt the Council or the Triad would allow that to be a reason for failure. What would happen to me if I fail? I don’t even want to think about that.
As I get in front of the carousel, I smell sulfur. A crowd is gathered around the ride, kids waiting in line and old people watching. Crap. One of them is definitely a demon. I walk through them trying to figure out which. No weird eyes. No black sulfur dust in the ears. The demon can’t be on the carousel because I’m sure that thing has iron on it. Maybe it’s not even anywhere near me yet.
I take a few steps closer to the carousel and the scent gets stronger. There’s a tug on my shirt and I jump. It’s a kid, a girl with black curls.
“Do you have a quarter? I don’t have enough money.”
I reach in my pocket and pass it over. As soon our hands touch I look at the little girl, and she smiles. “Thank you,” she says. But it’s not right. Her eyes are bright green, tinged in red, and her smile isn’t innocent. It’s evil. Oh, boloney…
The little girl gets in line the carousel.
She can’t get on it, right? It’s iron. Demons don’t do iron. But then she does. Crap. This is a test. A big test. She’s not a real demon—she’s a simulation. Maybe simulated demons can handle iron horses, or maybe this is a special case. But those eyes are unmistakably demon.
I jump on the carousel before it takes off and follow the little girl around to the seat of her choice. Once she’s sitting, I sit near the assumed demon girl. The music starts and the whole foundation moves around and up and down. It makes me a little sick. What am I going to do?
I can’t use magic against the demon with people watching, and there’s no way I’d get the cloaking spell up in time to do both. Or be inconspicuous about it.
Think, Penelope, think.
I push the demon girl off the carousel once we’re on the opposite side of the crowd. I wait for some angry mother to attack me, but nothing. The girl hisses at me, and in seconds the demon sheds the girl’s skin. Now I’m face to face with a real-live pearl-colored demon.
It lunges at me and I move out of the way. Another lunge, another move. There’s a light post behind me, so I stand closer to it. When the demon attacks again, I move quickly enough that I think it’s caught. But it’s not. These simulations are smarter than real demons. Or the whole iron thing doesn’t work here, which, considering the carousel, makes sense.
I focus on the void. I try to see everything in my head—my magic bursting and filling me up. Killing this demon, guts all over the place. It’s hard to access, like there’s a wall between it and me. If I can’t do this then we’ll be separated, I’ll be stripped of my badge, and my family. If they find out I can’t do magic, then he’s lost to me forever. My family is lost forever. I’m nothing.
I hate that. And I hate the demons for putting me here. And I hate that I can’t change any of this.
Suddenly, the magic burns at my stomach. The sensation means the void is ready.
But I have to make this look convincing. I rip the salt-filled charm off my neck and toss the salt on the demon. It cries out in pain. A bell dings somewhere in the distance—a one-minute warning. It’s now or never.
The magic is so strong that I feel like my skin is melting, exploding, and I have to get it out. I focus on the demon and yell the incantation for good measure.
“Vitute angeli ad infernum unde venistis!” The words are barely out when the magic comes pouring out of me. It feels endless and strong, and I see it coming from my fingertips, and it’s so bright I have to squint.
The demon explodes in an instant. Translucent guts all over the place. It takes me a second to regain control of the magic, because it doesn’t want to stop. Like it’s stronger than me. I have to close my eyes and pull it back in. It makes my head pound, and I cry out in pain, falling to my knees.
Then I’m back in the white room.
Everything falls back into place within me, except my spinning head.
The door clicks open. Ellore is standing before me again, her eyes wide. “We don’t…I’ve never…”
I look toward her, and her face is pale. She’s never seen it before—the magic be literally shooting through my pores. Because it’s not Essence. It’s not normal. What happened?
Ellore pushes a finger to her ear, someone is talking to her through that thing. What are they saying? Her eyes get wide again when she looks at me. “Come with me,” she says. Her voice shakes. I messed up. I totally messed up.
But how? It’s never done that before.
I push away from the wall and look down at my shaky hands. And that’s when I see it. On my left hand pinky finger, there’s a small black dot, purplish.
I scrub at it, but the spot doesn’t come off. It’s not a spot on my fingernail, but under it. I’m pretty sure that only happens when you hurt yourself. Like the time I slammed my finger into a car door.
I’m positive that wasn’t there before.
Chapter Fourteen
Carter
Penelope hasn’t come out, and it’s been an hour. I was in and out of my test in twenty minutes. I stand up again, look out the window, sit down. Where is she? What would they do to her?
An anonymous tip. Who would report us for this? And why? And more importantly, how does anyone know? None of this makes any sense.
“Carter,” Ellore says my name and I jump up out of my seat. She’s alone. No Pen.
“What’s going on? Where’s Pen?”
Ellore can barely look at me. Her hands are shaking. I’ve never seen her like this. I try to be patient, but I can’t handle her not looking at me. “Something happened in her test.”
The worst words ever said. “Where is she?”
“They’re taking her.”
I shake my head. Taking her…“What are you talking about? What happened?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it—”
“Like what?” And she looks at me, eyes wide and hands shaking. She holds them out in front of her, like she doesn’t understand her own hands. And I get it immediately. It wasn’t that Penelope didn’t do magic, it was that she did. She used the void. I grab Ellore’s shoulders. I need her to focus. “What happened, Ellore?”
“It came out from her fingertips—bright. So bright. I can’t even explain it. I—”
Just like in De’Intero. Everything was so bright then, and if she did it in her re-testing then there’s no telling who saw her. This is trouble. “Where is she?” I hear my heart pounding in my head. I have to find her. I have to stop whatever’s about to happen. “Tell me. Please.”
“The Triad voted.” My dad. The Triad has approved our re-testing, and he’s aware of our magic, that we’re connected. Did he set us up? He wouldn’t do that. Would he?
Ellore mutters. “They think it’s safest if she’s contained, until they can figure out what’s going on. She’s in transport, but they’ll…”
I don’t wait to let her finish that sentence. I run.
I burst into my dad’s office, unscheduled and uninvited. Both things that he hates. “We need to talk.”
Believe you are the most determined presence in the room and others will accept it. You are a Prescott, after all.
Kenneth Slade and Sacra Lenore, t
wo members of the council, both look in my direction. Their expressions say it all: how dare I burst in and demand time with the Triad leader? Kenneth raises an eyebrow at me. I don’t give a damn about procedure. Not right now. Not while Pen is in trouble.
“Now,” I add. I use my best Prescott tone. See Dad? I have been paying attention for almost eighteen years.
Victor Prescott crosses his arms, but doesn’t even blink. His suit crinkles around his shoulders as he waves a hand in the air toward Kenneth and Sacra. Only that movement and they’re already on their feet. Dad presses his lips into a tight line. “We’ll resume this later.”
As soon as the door closes behind them, I look at my dad and cross my arms to mimic his stance. “Stop this.”
He leans back in his chair with a sigh. I hate when he is condescending. “Sit down, son.”
I shake my head. “I’m not sitting down. Whatever’s happening to Penelope—stop.” I’m past the point of saying please. We’re both aware of what I’m doing here. “She hasn’t done anything to deserve any of this.”
Dad raises an eyebrow, leaning back in his seat. The chair squeaks. “She cheated on her exams.”
“You reported us?”
He holds his hands up. “I did not, but I should thank whoever did.”
I slam my hands on his desk, and give him the finger in my head. He doesn’t even flinch. “She didn’t cheat.”
“You gave her magic, William, and that’s cheating. Even indirectly. She’s told lie after lie. As have you.”
“This isn’t fair.”
Victor Prescott straightens in his chair. I said the wrong word, and I can tell from the look on his face. ‘Fair’ isn’t a word in our language. “You’ve spent most of your life ignoring my advice and instructions, but expecting fairness? That is not what I raised you to be.”
I won’t be anything he raised me to be. Always on alert, ready for action, stern but open, better. I won’t pretend my way through life, or smile and agree. I want to live my own way and to be as far away from him as possible.
“Aren’t you going to sit?” he asks.
I ignore him. “Let her go, Dad. She’s not a threat to anything.”
Storm: a Salt novel (Entangled Teen) Page 8
