by Cole Gibsen
Kim smiled. “You are wise to be on guard. It lets me know I’ve trained you well.” He held his arms wide and turned a slow circle. “As you can see, I am unarmed.”
Braden made a face. “Dude, that doesn’t mean anything. Your entire body is a weapon.”
Kim’s smile grew wider. “Yes, it is. So you should also know that I’ve been here, watching you since you arrived. If I had any murderous intent, I could have executed it a dozen times now.”
Braden and Michelle exchanged uneasy glances.
Kim shook his head. “I hate how Sumi’s powers have created mistrust between us. I am in trouble, and need you two on my side now more than ever.”
“What kind of trouble?” Michelle asked. “Is Sumi nearby?”
Kim glanced up, meeting my eyes in a silent plea to remain quiet awhile longer. I motioned him to hurry. He nodded once and turned back to Michelle.
I said a silent prayer he would get them on our side. With their help, we were sure to convince Drew, and possibly even Dr. Wendell. Then Sumi would be the one in trouble.
The thought made me grin.
But no sooner had my lips curled into a smile than a stabbing pain erupted in my shoulder. I flinched and glanced down, only to find a tranquilizer dart lodged below my collarbone.
Oh, crap.
I whirled around and looked for the shooter, but already my vision was hazy. Everything more than a couple feet away became a blur of color. I knew I should signal Kim, but a wave of tingling warmth flooded through my body and my arms became too heavy to move.
The only part of me that remained alert was my heart, which skittered wildly inside my chest. Despite my best efforts to fight the drug, I slumped against the roof. The heavily sanded shingles scraped against my skin as I slowly slid to the edge. I wanted to brace my legs against the gutter and claw my fingers into the shingles, but my body refused to listen.
“Rileigh isn’t who you think she is,” Kim continued, his voice sounding far away. “Sumi performed a ritual that allowed her to switch bodies with Rileigh. Now Rileigh is trapped inside Sumi’s body while Sumi is inside Rileigh’s body. I need your help to switch them back.”
“What?” I could hear Michelle’s surprise through the velvet fog of unconsciousness pressed against me. “C’mon, Kim. That sounds impossible, even for Sumi.”
“Yeah,” Braden agreed. “We know Sumi’s powerful and all—but switching bodies? That’s crazy.”
“Kim.” Michelle’s voice was low and soft, the way one might speak to a frightened animal. “Don’t you think the more logical explanation is that Sumi’s manipulating your mind again? Making you think she switched bodies with Rileigh? We need to find her, Kim. We know you were with her. Where is she?”
I’m right here! I wanted to scream, but I only managed a low gurgle no one heard. Invisible weights pulled at my eyelids, and it took every ounce of strength I had to keep them open. The alternating whirl of rooftop and sky flickered before my eyes as I lazily tumbled down the roof. I said a silent prayer Kim would look up before I fell to the ground. Somewhere around here, a Network agent lurked, and I couldn’t afford to get caught. Not after all we’d done to make our way back home.
My eyelids drifted shut.
“Kim!”
The shock of hearing my own voice from outside my body fluttered my eyes back open. I watched helpless as I—or, at least, Sumi in my body—ran into the backyard. Even through the haze clouding my vision, I could see the katana strapped to her back—my katana.
The burn of anger boiled beneath the numbness inside me. Still, I couldn’t move. My leg hung over the gutter, and it was only a miracle no one had looked in my direction. But I couldn’t go unnoticed for long. As badly as I wanted to hold on, my fingers were beginning to slip.
Things were definitely not going according to plan.
Kim swiveled on his feet and jerked back. “You!” His hands curled into fists. “You’ve made a deadly mistake coming here.”
Sumi looked at Michelle and Braden. “I told you his mind’s been manipulated.”
Michelle and Braden exchanged worried glances and retreated to the deck.
“What? No!” He turned to them, his eyes pleading. “The only minds being poisoned here are yours. This is Sumi!” He gestured to my body. “You can’t trust her. You must believe me.”
“No, Kim.” Sumi shook her head. “I’m the same Rileigh I’ve always been. It’s you who’s been brainwashed. We know you’re working with Sumi, and you’ve come back here to kill us all.”
He took a step toward her, and her hand fluttered to the handle of my katana. “You’re a liar. I would never hurt my friends. But you?” He flexed his fingers. “You, I can’t wait to kill.”
I had to stop this! But how? Unconsciousness beckoned me with silk fingertips. One of my hands slipped from the edge of the roof and dangled beside my leg.
“Easy, Kim.” The voice belonged to Dr. Wendell.
I squinted. A blurry Dr. Wendell shape moved into the yard, followed by a blurry Quentin shape. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if Q—or rather, Whitley—held a dart gun in his hand.
So Whitley had shot me. I should have known. If I made it out of this alive, he and I were going to have a little chat.
“Nobody is going to kill anyone,” Dr. Wendell continued. “I just need you to calm down until we can get Quentin here to clear your mind. Everything is going to be okay.”
Even through my hazy vision, it looked like Whitley shot Sumi a fearful look. He knew as well as I did that he didn’t have Q’s healing abilities. Maybe once the others realized—
“Everything is not okay!” Kim yelled, interrupting my thoughts. “That”—he pointed at my body below—“is Sumi! Why won’t any of you believe me?”
This couldn’t be happening. We needed our friends to believe us, not turn against us. And now, thanks to the tranquilizer dart, I couldn’t even make a run for it. I was royally screwed.
“Kim, we know you’ve come here to kill us,” Dr. Wendell answered. “Because that’s what Sumi wants.”
“That’s not true,” Kim said.
“Okay, fine.” Dr. Wendell folded his arms across his chest. “If you’re not working with Sumi, and you’re not here to kill us, then please explain to us why you brought her here?” He lifted his arm and pointed at me.
No sooner had he done so than I lost my battle with unconsciousness. Darkness shrouded my vision and pulled me inside myself. From a faraway place, I thought I heard Michelle gasp as I lost my grip and tumbled to the ground below, right at the feet of my now enemies.
27
The first thing I noticed when I blinked my eyes open was the crushing pain throbbing inside my skull. I tried to lift my head, but it only rolled lazily on my neck as I took in my surroundings. A card table had been pushed against the far wall beside a row of lockers. Beside me was a countertop, complete with sink and cabinets overhead. Gradually, the pieces fell into place inside my hazy mind.
I was in the dojo’s break room.
I tried to stand, but something held me in place. Craning my neck over my shoulder, I found that my hands were bound with duct tape to the sides of the folding chair I sat in.
A chill coursed through me, and I snapped awake. I struggled against the tape, but it was bound too tightly. “Son of hibachi,” I muttered.
“Good morning.”
I jerked my head up and found me—or, at least, Sumi inside my body—standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. My katana hung at her hips. Even more important was the beaded leather bracelet wrapped around her wrist—a bracelet I would have to cut loose if I hoped to get my body back.
Sumi walked into the room and the door swung shut behind her.
Morning? This was even worse than I thought. If daylight was here, that meant Quentin and I were ne
arly sealed inside these bodies forever. How much longer did we have before the transformation was permanent? An hour? Minutes?
Anger burned through me as Sumi walked toward me, a smug smile on her face. Clearly, she thought she’d won—and hadn’t she? Because of her I’d lost my body, my best friend, my life, and now—oh my God. “What have you done with Kim?” I snarled.
She waved the question away with a look of annoyance. “Nothing … yet. After you fell off the roof, that idiot Dr. Wendell tried to shoot him with the tranquilizer gun, but Kim dashed off and we haven’t been able to find him.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Sure, I was glad Sumi hadn’t been able to capture Kim. But that meant his plan to kill her was still on. And in my current condition, I wasn’t in the best position to stop him.
The break room door pulled open, and Dr. Wendell stepped through. His eyes narrowed when he caught sight of us. “Rileigh, what on earth are you doing in here? You know Sumi is extremely dangerous and shouldn’t be addressed alone.”
She batted her eyes innocently. “I know. I’m sorry. I was hoping I could get her to tell us where Kim is hiding.”
I’d never wanted to punch myself in the face so badly. Instead, I rolled my eyes and looked at Dr. Wendell. “Please tell me you’re not falling for that load of crap.”
He frowned. “Excuse me?”
I tried to shrug, but the duct tape prevented me from doing more than a head bob. “You can’t really believe that I—or Rileigh—would ever tell you she’s sorry.”
His eyes narrowed. “If you’re trying to make me believe that you’re Rileigh trapped inside Sumi’s body, forget it. You’re wasting your time.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I know Rileigh very well. I live with her, and I would think I would notice if she weren’t herself.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Right. Just like you noticed when our building elevator was sabotaged by ninjas. And you were certainly on top of things when Whitley snuck into my bedroom.”
“Uh.” He scratched at his temple as he looked between me and Sumi.
Sumi shot me a murderous look before waving a hand in the air. “Nice try, Sumi. But I already told him how you used your powers on me to get me to reveal personal information.”
I snorted. “Dr. Wendell, seriously. You don’t believe this load of crap, do you?”
His eyebrows squished together and he opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Don’t worry, Dr. Wendell.” Sumi glared at me as she walked to the counter and snatched a roll of duct tape from the top of the microwave. “I can tell she’s confusing you with her lies. I’ll take care of that.” She ripped a small piece of duct tape from the roll, walked over to me, and placed it over my mouth. “There.” Sumi smirked. “No more lies.”
If looks could kill, I would have vaporized her into a puddle of ooze.
Dr. Wendell frowned. “Right.” I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I detected the faintest hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Sumi must have noticed as well. Her smirk melted into a scowl. “So when is the Network truck getting here?”
Dr. Wendell blinked several times before glancing at his watch. “Uh, I’m not sure exactly. But I would imagine within the hour.”
Panic seized my chest in an icy grip. An hour? How on earth was I supposed to get out of this mess within an hour? And if I didn’t, I’d be back on a truck bound for New York—and this time I wouldn’t have my ki powers to help me get out.
“You don’t know for sure?” Sumi huffed.
He gave her a silent look before answering. “I don’t know the exact time, no. But they’ll be here soon enough.”
Sumi turned to me, an indecipherable expression on her face. “You should probably call them to confirm.”
His brow furrowed. “And you shouldn’t be alone with the fugitive.”
Sumi’s eyes never left mine—which was really trippy considering they were my eyes. “Then send Quentin in here. Maybe he can get some information out of her with his mind powers?”
I pulled against my restraints but only succeeded in rubbing my wrists raw. I knew as well as Sumi that Whitley didn’t have mind powers. But I also knew my chances of survival plummeted the second Dr. Wendell walked out the door.
He turned for the door, hesitating long enough to fill me with desperate hope. A second later, he shook his head and pushed through.
Sumi ripped the tape from my mouth. White hot pain burned across my face and I was certain that as long as I remained in Sumi’s body, I would never have to wax again. She leaned down so only inches separated our faces. “We’re going to have a conversation.” She pulled a dagger out of her boot.
My throat went dry as she brought the blade to my face. I didn’t know what kind of conversation she had planned, but I thought it was safe to assume we weren’t going to discuss the Cardinals’ chance at the Series.
She jabbed the dagger into the bottom of my chin. Pain exploded where the tip tore into my skin. I clenched my teeth together to keep from crying out. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
“You’re going to tell me where Kim is,” she hissed in my ear. “Or else things are going to get messy.”
I fought the urge to groan. Why did things always have to get messy? Why couldn’t enemies ever offer to settle their scores with a game of rock-paper-scissors? Instead, I curled my lips and spoke through clenched teeth. “I have no idea.”
“You’re lying!” She dug the knife blade deeper into my skin.
I flinched and balled my fingers into fists. Something warm and sticky began to trail down my throat. “Careful. Are you sure you really want to damage your own body like this?” I asked.
She laughed. “As if I care. I’m never going back into that body. So save yourself some trouble and tell me where Kim is.”
My eyes darted to the bracelet at her wrist. It was close enough to touch, if I weren’t bound to the chair. There had to be a way I could break free …
“I’m warning you, Rileigh.” She spoke my name as if it burned her tongue. “If you don’t tell me where Kim is, I will kill you. I’ll tell the others you broke free, attacked me, and I had no choice.” Hate blazed in her eyes like a torch, so hot I could almost feel the heat emanating from them.
I glared back, my jaw throbbing from having my teeth clenched together. Think, Rileigh! I needed a plan, which meant I had to stall Sumi until I came up with one.
“Why do you care so much about finding Kim?” I asked. “He hates you. You know that, right?”
She flinched at the word hate and jabbed the knife deeper into my skin. Pain flashed across my vision in white streaks. “No. Kim’s confused, that’s all. And it’s because you’re always ruining things. He said he was disgusted by my powers—but now I don’t have them anymore. And once you’re gone, he’ll remember that he loved me first. He’ll see that I’ve given up everything to be with him, and he’ll love me again.”
And she honestly believed that—I could see it in her eyes. For the briefest second, I almost felt sorry for her. How awful to spend a lifetime loving a man who would never love you back.
She pressed her lips together. “If you really don’t know where Kim is, then I have no further use for you.” She pulled the point of the knife from my chin and laid the long edge of the blade against my neck.
Son of hibachi.
I went rigid, afraid any movement would drive the blade into my skin. I considered screaming, but knew Sumi would slit my throat before I even opened my mouth.
I struggled to calm my heaving chest. I couldn’t believe that after everything I’d done, Sumi was going to win. And worse still, once she killed me, there’d be nothing I could do to help Quentin.
Sumi grinned. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
I refuse
d to close my eyes. If she was going to kill me, I wouldn’t give her the pleasure of seeing me flinch. I tilted my chin so I could meet her stare head-on. How ironic—the last thing I would see before I died would be my own eyes staring back at me.
“Got any last words?” she asked. “Not that I care.”
“Yeah.” I licked my dry lips. I knew if I wasn’t around to stop Kim, Sumi was as good as dead herself. “See you on the other side.”
28
What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Sumi kept the knife at my neck as we both turned in the direction of the voice.
Any other time, having my best friend interrupt my im-pending murder would be a good thing. But considering it was really Whitley inside Q’s body, I was hardly relieved. Rock, allow me to introduce you to Hard Place.
Sumi pulled the knife from my neck and I exhaled loudly. “What I’m doing doesn’t concern you, Whitley,” she said.
“Is that so?” He folded his arms across his chest. “That happens to be my soul mate you’re poking with a knife. So, yeah, that concerns me. If she dies, so do I—a fact I’m sure you’re well aware of.”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” I mumbled.
Sumi shot me a dirty look before sliding the blade back inside her boot. “I wasn’t going to kill her—I was simply trying to get her to tell me where Kim is hiding.”
Whitley made a face that clearly showed he did not believe her. “You know, I agreed to help you in this insane scheme because you promised you would stop hunting me down. I’ve done everything you asked. I tricked Rileigh and her healer friend into going to the gym. I agreed to swap my life with his so he couldn’t use his power against you—which, by the way, made me the proud owner of the most ridiculous car in existence. All this, and yet here you are, with a blade to her neck, which is really a blade to my neck. Call me crazy, but I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t want to keep your end of the bargain.”
