Truths Unspoken

by K. J. McPike

  “You made plans to go out tonight?”

  “Yeah, before I knew about the whole astral projection thing. We were supposed to go bowling.”

  “Oh, that’s perfect,” I said, formulating an idea. “Great cover.”

  She frowned, still holding her phone. “What?”

  “You won’t have to wait for your family to go to sleep. Let them think you’re going bowling. Then while you’re out, I can come pick you up.” To keep up appearances, I would have to find a place to rent a car—preferably somewhere with an employee I could bribe to let me rent something even though I was way under twenty-five.

  “What am I supposed to say to my friends about where I’m going?”

  “I don’t know. Pretend you’re sick or something.”

  She looked at me like I’d just suggested she slaughter a nun. “You want me to lie to them?”

  “Yeah. What’s the big deal? You’ve never lied about where you were going before?” Her silence answered for her, and I laughed out loud. “Really?”

  She scowled. “Forgive me for not leading a life of crime.”

  I swallowed another snicker for fear she might throw her phone at my face. She was so offended by the thought of lying it was almost cute.

  “Okay, better idea,” I said. “I’ll come with you. Tell your friends you invited the new kid along because you felt bad or something. Then run to the bathroom like you need to hurl.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Why?”

  “So you can call me from the stall. Then I’ll say it’s my uncle that I have to pick up from dropping his car off at the shop.” I grinned. For a plan made on the fly, I was sure it would work.

  My soon-to-be partner in crime shook her head. “It was way too easy for you to come up with that whole lie.”

  “It’s a gift.”

  “Lali, I need help with my math,” a high-pitched voice called.

  “Coming, Sal!” Lali tossed her phone onto the bed and made another shooing motion. “Okay, seriously, you have to go.”

  “I’m going,” I said. “But you have to admit, my plan is a perfect cover on both ends.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Just be there at eight.”

  “Where is there?”

  “The only bowling alley within twenty miles. Drop Pins.”

  “Droppings? Nice.” Another naming fail.

  “Drop. Pins,” she corrected, enunciating each word.

  “Name’s still horrible.”

  “Whatever! Just get out of here!”

  “Okay. Don’t forget to tell your friends you invited me.”

  She tried to murder me with her eyes.

  Giving her a playful wink, I disappeared. The next second, I was back in Lanai. The sun was up now, bathing the crystal clear water in its glow as I collapsed into the warm sand. The scene around me was as beautiful as ever, but even in my favorite place in the world, I knew it was going to feel like forever waiting until eight o’clock.

  Chapter 32

  Invisibility

  Lali was easily the worst liar of all time. And the most pathetic. It took us forever to get out of the stupid bowling alley, and she’d nearly had a conniption in the parking lot because she lied to her friends—even though that was the plan going into it. As if we hadn’t wasted enough potential practicing time waiting for her to work up the courage to pretend to be sick, she got sidetracked with questions when we finally made it to Lanai.

  I didn’t have a problem quickly explaining what Astralii were and that astral projection abilities came out differently for semmies, but then she hit me with a question I wasn’t prepared for: “How did you even know I was a—a semmie?”

  My heart stuttered. I wanted to kick myself for not anticipating it. Of course she would want to know that; any normal person would. But I hadn’t thought through an explanation that wouldn’t give away the truth. Striving for an answer that would buy some time, I shoved a hand through my hair and said, “For one, you don’t know how to control your ability.” I knew that wasn’t what she meant, but I needed a minute to think. What could I say that wouldn’t incriminate me?

  “But how did you know I had an ability in the first place?” she pressed.

  “There are ways to trace astral energy.” Another purposefully vague answer, but at least the statement in and of itself was true.

  Lali seemed to be satisfied with it at first, but then she frowned. “You were in my hallway before I ever used my power.”

  I studied the sand as if it might give me the response I needed to get her off my back. “There must’ve been some kind of residue from when your mom still lived there or something.”

  Crap! As soon as it came out, I realized I shouldn’t have said it. I cringed, waiting for Lali to pick up on my mistake and demand to know how I knew her mother was the Astralis and not her father.

  By some miracle, she looked thoughtful instead of suspicious. “After two months?” she asked.

  “Apparently,” I said, silently thanking the powers that be that Lali hadn’t realized my blunder. “But we haven’t found any others to compare notes.” I needed to change the subject. Fast. I was making this up as I went, and I was sure it was going to catch up to me.

  I decided to go for the easiest target—her family. Saying something negative about them was surely the fastest way to get Lali ranting and on to another topic. I’d seen enough of her fiery side to be confident that she’d snap if I played my cards right. “Your parents really should’ve explained this to you,” I mumbled, doing my best to look disgusted.

  “Yeah, well, my mom is gone, and my dad doesn’t even know about any of this.”

  Though I already knew about her clueless dad from overhearing Xiomara and Solstice’s argument the other night, I pretended to be shocked. “Your mom never told the poor guy he was marrying a freak? That’s messed up.” It was a low blow, and I knew it, but at least Lali would stop grilling me. I’d have to go over everything on my own later and make up a story so I could have answers ready for her next time she wanted to play Twenty Questions.

  Sure enough, Lali was already turning purple. “She tried,” she snapped. “My dad just didn’t believe her. He’s a scientist, and he’s logical. And my mom used to tell us stories about a girl named Astralis who could travel the world in her mind, which was obviously her way of leading into it.”

  That got my attention. Why would Xiomara tell them “stories” instead of the truth? Well, Grandma Naida hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with me, either. Cade guessed she wanted me to have a normal childhood. Maybe Xiomara was hoping to do the same thing for Lali.

  Too bad it backfired.

  “Besides,” Lali went on ranting. “You just said this is new to you, too. Your parents didn’t explain it all to you either, so lay off mine.”

  “My parents were murdered before I could even pronounce Astralis. I’d say they get a pass.”

  Lali blinked at me like a doe in the headlights, the same reaction I’d seen countless times after people found out I was an orphan. It was the expression I hated most. A wave crashed and rolled in close to where we sat before she found her voice. “Kai, I—”

  “Spare me the sympathy speech.” I’d heard enough of the backpedaling people did after finding out about my parents to last a lifetime. I knew I’d started this whole fight, but now I was more than happy to end it. Hopefully, Lali was done with the third degree.

  “No,” she protested. “I feel terrible. I didn’t mean to—”

  I held up my hand. “Look, we didn’t sneak you out to sit here and chitchat about family all night. Let’s focus on figuring out how your power works.”

  She looked like she wanted to say something else to apologize, but she settled for leaning back in the sand. “How do we do that?” she asked. “I haven’t been able to project when I want to. It just kind of happens on its own, and I show up in random places—usually next to your uncle.”

  So I’d been right about her ability being similar to mi
ne. “Okay. So you can track people like I can.”

  “Yeah, except I can’t seem to find the only person I want to track.”

  I knew she meant her mom, and I offered her an understanding smile. “Welcome to my world.”

  It did seem pretty screwed up that both of us had powers that could find anyone except the people we wanted. That alone should’ve given us something to bond over so we at least had a common ground to stand on. Maybe we could even be friends. I hadn’t had a real friend in years.

  We looked at each other for a long moment before she fidgeted in the sand. “What’s that about anyway?” she huffed. “Is there some rule that says we can’t use our powers to benefit ourselves?”

  “Not if I can help it,” I said. “We can both get what we want, Lali. We just have to work together.”

  She nodded, determination bunching her brow. “I can do that.”

  Finally. “Good. Then let’s figure out your trigger.”

  “My trigger?”

  I hurried through the explanation of how she would have to find the feeling that made her project, the way I had discovered that a longing to get away made my power kick in. Then she would be able to manipulate her emotions and create whatever feeling she needed to in order to make her ability work.

  Of course, that was easier said than done. At first, she thought her trigger might be the desire to follow someone. But then she couldn’t project after me when I disappeared, and it didn’t take long for her to get cranky.

  I kicked out my feet in front of me and sighed. “It took me a few guesses, too.” I hoped that would reassure her, but she was so all over the place it was tough to know what would be helpful and what would set her off. “Try thinking about the last time you did it,” I offered. “What was going through your head?”

  She paused to think. “I was freaked out. I saw you talking to Cade, and I thought he was a murderer. I was convinced you guys were following me.”

  Dang. She had picked up on my stalking her. And here I’d thought my new student gig was clever.

  “Part of me wanted to run after you both so I could figure out who you were,” she went on. “Then, the next thing I knew, I was standing right in front of you.”

  Wait. What? When was she ever standing in front of us?

  “I don’t remember seeing you,” I said.

  “Yeah, no one seems to see me.”

  No way! I gaped at her. “Are you serious? You’re invisible?”

  “Is that bad?”

  I wanted to laugh with relief. “That’s awesome!” This was even better than I thought. Astralii—and most semmies from what Cade had told me—were visible in astral form. If Lali wasn’t, she’d be able to spy on the Eyes and Ears and figure out all their secrets, like how to get into the lab despite the block.

  Lali’s face gave away her confusion at my excitement, and I tried to explain. “I just assumed Cade and Solstice were too distracted to notice you,” I breathed. “But if no one can see you, you might be more useful than I thought.”

  “Useful? I’m not a power drill, Kai.”

  I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “That’s not what I meant.” But even her attitude couldn’t bring down my excitement at this discovery. Now I was more determined than ever to get Lali’s ability under control, and even more confident that she was the key to finding my sister.

  Chapter 33

  Flight

  I blew out my breath, desperate to say something that would calm Lali down. Again. Clearly, bringing her to the most relaxing place I’d ever seen, on a gorgeous sunny day, had done nothing to help her unwind.

  As soon as we figured out her trigger was fear, the first thing she did was try and project to her mother, even after I told her not to do it. Of course, she hit the block and went into full-blown meltdown mode. I projected myself into the same block hoping to get her off my case about taking her to Xiomara myself, but then Lali flipped out because she assumed her mom was dead.

  Thinking on my toes again, I’d just made up a story about her mom setting up a block to prevent Lali from coming after her, but that backfired and only made Lali storm down the beach claiming she didn’t want to find her mother at all. She still stood with her back to me, and honestly, she was making me reconsider my hope of friendship. I wasn’t sure I had the energy to keep up with her roller coaster of emotions.

  “Did you ever consider the possibility that she’s trying to protect you guys?” I tried, praying that would put out some of the fire raging inside Lali. I couldn’t believe I was defending Xiomara, but actually, what I said was kind of true. Xiomara had only agreed to set up the block because she didn’t want Lali to become obsessed with trying to find her.

  “From what?” Lali threw out her arms so hard I thought they might fly out of their sockets. “She didn’t protect me from being terrified and thinking I was losing my mind.”

  She wanted to. My conscience called me a slew of unflattering names. I told myself I didn’t owe Xiomara anything, but letting her daughter blindly hate her based on my actions and lies still gnawed at me.

  “Yeah, but there’s a lot you don’t understand about what it means to be a semmie,” I said. “There are people who will kill you for it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  A breeze blew across my face, the air a cool contrast to the heat rising in my cheeks. I hated the thought of discussing the Astralii responsible for taking my family from me, but I had to get Lali back on track.

  “I’m talking about the Eyes and Ears,” I told her.

  It felt like another round of forever as I explained Alea, how the Alean government banned Astralii from having kids with non-Astralii to prevent the creation of more semmies, and how the Eyes and Ears were nothing but glorified spies who kidnapped illegal semmies and killed their parents. I saw the pieces connect in Lali’s head, and I knew she’d just realized why I was an orphan in search of his semmie sister.

  I nodded. “They have Kala. They’d have gotten me, too, but I wasn’t there when the raid happened. My grandma took me to the store while Kala was napping so my parents could rest, and when we got back—”

  I run through the front door, clutching the plastic toy frog in my palm. Mommy and Daddy will think it’s so funny, the way he jumps when you push on the tab coming out of his bum. “Mommy!” I call out over the swishing of my shorts. “Daddy!” They don’t answer. I turn into the living room, and one of the chairs is flipped over. When I look to the left, I see Mommy and Daddy. Why are they sleeping on the floor? No, they’re not sleeping. Their eyes are open. Wide open like they are scared. Their faces make me scared, too.

  I cleared my throat. “I should’ve been there.”

  “Kai.” Lali’s voice sounded like it was on the brink of breaking. “You couldn’t have known.”

  That was what everyone said. But there was no excuse. “I still should’ve been there for her,” I insisted. “I could’ve gotten her out. Even if they had us both in the lab, as soon as I figured out my power, I could’ve gotten us out. But she’s trapped there because I was a bratty little three-year-old and wouldn’t stop whining until someone took me to the store to get some stupid quarter-machine toy.” The familiar stab of regret made me wince. If I had just been more patient…

  “I’m so sorry,” Lali whispered.

  I kicked a shell into the ocean. I hated that she felt bad for me when she should have loathed me for what I’d done. She would have loathed me if she knew the truth.

  But I couldn’t dwell on that. Not right now. I turned to face her. “I’m not looking for your sympathy. Just some assistance.”

  “Of course.” She looked at me like she’d just noticed the color of my eyes or something. “I want to help. Really, I do.”

  For now. As long as you don’t know the truth. “Thank you,” I said anyway. “I want to help you, too.” That was mostly true. I wanted to give her back her mother, because that would mean I finally had my sister. “But I can’t
do that if you freak out when I tell you things. There’s still a lot you don’t understand, and you can’t go jumping to conclusions before you know the whole story.”

  She straightened up, and I hoped that meant I’d finally gotten through to her. “I’m sorry. I’m just so lost. Everything is coming at me at once.”

  I sighed. I could understand that. Maybe I was being too hard on her, throwing too much at her in a short time. I was so eager to get her to help me, I’d forgotten she was a scared sixteen-year-old girl who hadn’t had the luxury of being prepared for any of this like I had. Even with Cade there to guide me, it had been a lot to deal with.

  “I know the feeling,” I admitted, remembering the number it had done on me when I realized that what I’d believed for most of my life wasn’t true. “For years, I thought they’d killed Kala, too. Right after I developed my ability, Cade told me there was still a good chance she was alive, and that my projecting might help us find her. Talk about overwhelming.”

  “Kai?” Lali’s voice came out too high, and her sympathetic expression had morphed into fear. “Could they…is there a chance they know about my family?”

  Oh. I hadn’t considered that. From the way Cade talked about the Eyes and Ears, it seemed they mostly went off tips. I couldn’t imagine anyone would know about Lali’s family, especially in a small town like Browshire.

  Unless it’s already on their radar like South Creek.

  That seemed unlikely, though, and I didn’t need Lali panicking again. I’d just gotten her calmed down.

  “I doubt it,” I said with as much conviction as I could muster. “I lived with my mom, my grandma, and Kala in a kind of underground community. It was full of Astralii spouses and their semmie children. My dad was an Astralis, so he lived in Alea most of the time and had to visit us in secret.” Not that I remembered many of those visits.

  I kept going before the heaviness of that thought pulled me down any further. “All the semmies’ Astralii parents had to sneak away from Alea to visit. Our whole group was supposed to be a secret, but someone must’ve leaked our location to the Eyes and Ears.” Saying the words out loud made my blood boil. If I ever found the person responsible, I’d kill him myself.