by K. J. McPike
He would, with his preachy self.
Even from the side, I could see that Lali looked like she was about to cry. The sight made my fists clench. I started toward them, ready to shut Nelson down.
A table of girls broke into giggles as I passed, announcing my presence before I did. Lali turned around, her heavily lined eyes rounding when she saw me.
“Hey, Lali,” I said. Since she was probably still mad at me, I forced myself to greet Nelson, too. His lack of intelligible response told me he disliked me just as much as I disliked him. Or he sensed that I wanted to punch him for putting that look on Lali’s face.
“Kai, we have to tell him,” Lali begged. “Please.”
I frowned at her. There was no way I was going to tell this schmuck anything about our abilities.
An idea popped into my head, and I felt my face perk up at the thought of making Nelson squirm. “You want to tell him we’re an item?” I asked, putting on my best acting skills. “I thought you wanted to keep that under wraps.”
Lali hit me, her cheeks turning fifty shades of red. “I’m serious!”
“Clearly,” I said, unable to stop smiling. “I heard some girls talking about you and me this morning.” That wasn’t true, but the look on Nelson’s face made the lie worth it. “Word travels fast in this town.” I let my gaze bore into hers, waiting for her to grasp my double meaning. Just to piss off her annoying friend even further, I slid my arm around her waist.
It worked. His whole body went rigid.
“You know what, Lali?” he seethed. “You do what you want. I’m done trying to talk sense into you.” He thundered past us without another word, nearly running over some poor chubby kid who got in his way.
My smirk lingered until Lali shoved my arm off of her. “Are you trying to ruin my life?” she yelled.
I rolled my eyes. Getting rid of her lecture-happy friend was hardly ruining her life. I would go so far as to call it an improvement. All that guy had done since I met him was stress her out.
“I’m trying to make sure you have a life to ruin,” I said. “I told you it’s dangerous to go blabbing to people.”
She held her head like she was on the verge of a panic attack, and I did feel kind of bad. Not for making Nelson angry—that was one of my finer moments, actually—but for giving Lali something else to be upset about. She already had enough on her plate as it was.
“Your friends will get over it,” I insisted, even though I kind of hoped Nelson wouldn’t. “I’m trying to keep us safe. They don’t need to know every detail of your life. If they can’t give you a little privacy, forget ’em.”
“Says the person who has no friends to speak of.”
I flinched, knowing she was right. I’d lost touch with the few friends I had back in Hawaii, and homeschooling wasn’t exactly conducive to making new ones. The sad truth was, Lali was the closest thing I had to a friend. Too bad every time I turned around, she was angry with me. And even if she was right, she didn’t have to throw it in my face.
“Well, that was unnecessary,” I muttered. “I’m going to let that one go because I know you’re upset. But you don’t have to be. You’d be amazed at how little you actually need the people you think you need.”
Trust me. I’ve survived without people this long.
“I don’t want to not need them. I like needing people.”
“Fine.” I glanced up at the crowded lunchroom, thankful for the roar of voices to drown out this conversation. “Then I’ll be your substitute.”
Her responding scoff stung more than I wanted to admit. Just because I was out of practice didn’t mean I couldn’t be a good friend. Well, not counting the secrets I had to keep from her and the lies I had to tell to cover them up.
“I mean it,” I said, suddenly eager to prove myself. “You need a ride to school? I’m your guy. I’m much more efficient than a car anyway.” I’d hoped that would get a laugh, but her frown didn’t budge.
“And I can give you a cutesy nickname,” I added. “Lollipop is the obvious play.” I tried not to roll my eyes thinking about Nelson’s stupid pet name for her. I’d had to endure it the night I sat through bowling with her friends. “I’m going to go with something more creative. Something like Lali Green Giant.”
“Great.” Still no smile.
“No? How about Lali Lali Oxen Free?”
“Wow.” Her tone stayed flat as a pancake.
“Lali Want A Cracker?” That at least got a hint of a chuckle. I snapped my fingers. “I’ve got it! Laliwood!”
Her mouth stayed turned up at the corners. “You’re such a loser.”
“I got you to smile,” I countered. “That makes me a winner.” She shook her head, but I could tell she wanted to laugh. “We’ll get through this without them,” I promised. “Just wait, you’ll be permeating like a champ in no time. You’ve been practicing, right?”
“I got half of my arm through my window.” She swirled a finger in the air with as much enthusiasm as a pet rock. “Whoop dee doo.”
“Hey, that’s a start. You’ll get it faster than you think.” I saw her eyes drift over to where Nelson sat at the far end of the room. He saw it, too, but he turned away and Lali’s face fell back into despair.
Man, I hated that guy.
“You will,” I assured her. “And I’ll help you. That is, if you let me.”
She sighed and looked up at me with a vulnerability I hadn’t seen from her. “Thanks,” was all she said.
But then, that was all she needed to say.
…As I got to know you over the next few weeks, it became harder and harder to keep things from you. I honestly wanted to be a friend to you, and I had no plans to lie about anything other than the obvious stuff involving your mom. You made great progress with permeating, and I had more faith in you than I could even express. I was sure that as soon as you were ready to test the transposer under the bay, it would switch you back to your physical body, and we’d be on our way to Alea.
From there, I knew I would be able to figure out a way to get to Kala and give you back your mom so you and I could both live our lives—hopefully remaining in each other’s lives. But, of course, something else threw another monkey wrench in all my plans…
Chapter 38
Caller
The days fell into an exhausting routine for the next few weeks. I had already given up on the weak leads Cade was coming up with, and I only spent the afternoons pretending to follow them. Really, I was just fitting in sleep whenever I could, but I wanted my uncle to think I was honoring our deal so he would still be willing to instruct Lali and me if we got to Alea. No, when we got to Alea. More than ever, I believed we would.
The nights—and very early mornings—were saved for teaching Lali the art of sneaking out. Of course, it was much easier with my ability to take her out of her house without using the door. Even so, once her family turned in for the night, we stuffed her bed with pillows the good old-fashioned way. I even played recorded “sleep breathing” on my phone and left it hidden near her bed in case her dad came by to check on her.
From there, I took her to construction sites—per Solstice’s suggestion—so she could practice permeating different materials of varying difficulty until she worked her way up to steel. She’d already mastered glass, wood, brick, and cement. I wasn’t sure what value I brought other than moral support while she practiced, but she always seemed to want me there, and I couldn’t deny how much that meant to me.
Tonight, I sat next to her on a half-built brick wall as she stared down her challenge for the evening. This time it was the collection of steel beams above us. They would be the deciding factor on whether she was ready to try and find the transposer under the bay. If she could consistently permeate the beams, then we would know her astral form could get through the steel wall blocking the tunnel under the San Francisco Bay—and the steel dome surrounding the transposer in Alea.
The cloudless night sky offered a peaceful enough backdro
p, with a smattering of stars that seemed to offer encouragement. At least, that was how I saw them. Then again, I wasn’t the one with all the pressure on me.
Lali sighed loudly, wringing her hands as she stared at the beams above us. Her hair was pulled back into a half-hearted bun, revealing the worried expression that would otherwise hide behind it.
“You can do it,” I said in the best encouraging voice I could manage. “Just don’t think about it so much.”
She pursed her lips and gave me a sideways glance. “I thought the key was focus.”
“You know what I mean. Just try.” I nudged her with my shoulder. “If you don’t get this show on the road, I’ll have to take back your favorite nickname. I don’t call you Laliwood for nothing.”
She breathed a laugh in spite of herself. “Maybe losing that nickname is my sole motivation for not projecting right now.”
“Oh, please. We both know you love it.”
“I thought I hid it so well.” The ghost of a smile lifted her cheeks as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A second later, her breathing deepened into the rhythmic sound of sleep, and I knew she had projected.
As always, my mind wandered while I sat there waiting. When we teased each other, and when her face was relaxed this way, it was almost as if I hadn’t completely upended her life. Somehow, it made it easier to ignore the guilt. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen once all this was over. I was really starting to look forward to spending time with Lali—probably too much—and I didn’t want to give that up.
Lately, I’d been toying with the idea of returning her mother to her without telling her the truth of why she had been gone. I could say Cade and I had managed to trace her and found her on the run from the Eyes and Ears or something. But that meant Xiomara would have to go along with whatever story I made up, and that presented its own set of problems. I would have to trust that she would never slip up and tell Lali the truth, and I knew that was a tall order.
Still, it was a possibility—one that I wanted to make a reality.
Lali’s breathing started to sound labored, snapping me out of my pondering. I didn’t know exactly how much time had passed, but she’d built up her strength so she could stay in her astral form for nearly twenty minutes at a time, and I was sure it hadn’t been that long.
Before I could shake her out of her projection, her eyes flew open and she leapt to her feet. “I did it!” she squealed. “I moved through the beam three times in a row!”
I shot to a stance, barely resisting the urge to throw my arms around her. I clapped my hands instead. “I knew you could do it.” I grinned, and she beamed back at me.
“Does this mean Solstice will finally tell me where to find the tunnel to the transposer?” she asked.
“Definitely,” I said, though I couldn’t be sure. Technically, this week was supposed to be dedicated to Cade’s plan, and Solstice had remained tight-lipped about where to find the tunnel this whole time. She said she didn’t want to throw off Lali’s focus. At the time, I agreed because I knew how overwhelmed Lali was already, but now I kind of regretted it. I hoped Solstice wouldn’t make a big deal about the whole alternating weeks thing. Even if she did, I could find a way to make her cooperate.
I reached for Lali’s hand. “Come on. I’ll take you home so I can go see if Solstice is still awake.”
It was getting late, but it had only been a couple hours since I dropped Solstice off at her apartment. She’d spent the day brainstorming with Cade and going through Delta’s house for what must have been the hundredth time. She should have been willing to help Lali find the transposer if for no other reason than to give her something to focus on besides digging through boxes of junk.
I took Lali to her room and showed up in Solstice’s apartment. Solstice was at her kitchen table sipping tea in her pinstriped pajamas, her red hair knotted on top of her head.
“Lali did it,” I told her, a proud smile taking over my face. “She got through steel.”
Solstice’s eyebrows shot up. “She did?”
“Yeah. I told you, she’s going to be the one who gets us to Alea. I know it. I can feel it.” I really could. Lali was my little light of hope, and it was only growing from here.
“At this rate, it seems like she’s our only shot,” Solstice admitted, setting down her mug. “Cade and I have pretty much exhausted the list of Delta’s friends and every friend I can remember coming to visit Ori and Ursula.”
I nodded, hoping my face didn’t give away that I hadn’t actually followed up with most of those friends. But it wasn’t like it would matter anyway, not when Delta was still MIA. “Well, Lali just needs your directions to get to the transposer, and we’ll get her ramped up,” I said.
Solstice sighed. “Okay. Bring her here.”
Lali was squirming next to me on the blue and white sofa a minute later. She must’ve been exhausted, but I knew how the anticipation of success could replace sleep. That was the only thing getting me through my own exhaustion lately.
“So, the transposer,” Lali said, bouncing her knees.
“Yes.” Solstice gave her a dirty look until she stopped moving. “The entrance is hidden inside the arch of the upside-down U-shaped rock just below Point Bonita.” She looked up at me. “You remember where that is, right?”
“Um, yeah.” I frowned. Did Cade tell her that he had me project there after I got my ability under control? He’d hoped I would be able to get to the transposer, but, as usual, my lack of astral form ruined his plan. But why would he feel the need to share that with her?
“Under the arch,” Solstice went on, “inside the curve that extends out toward the water, is the tunnel entrance. It’s circular, not much wider than a manhole cover, and it’s covered with a decal to match the rock. Just search for where the uneven rock becomes smooth and circular. Once you find that, you can move through it and into the tunnel.”
I heard Lali swallow, and I reached over to squeeze her hand.
“Follow the tunnel,” Solstice said. “It’s about nine miles, and it will be dark, but you can feel your way through using the walls. Note that it dips up toward the end rather steeply. You can’t miss the transposer; it’s a big glowing ring. Just make sure you don’t go diving through it if you see anyone else in there. I don’t know how long it’s been since the Eyes and Ears used it, but there’s still a risk that they’ll be there. Traveling Astralii will not take kindly to intruders.”
Wow. She sounded like she cared. That was new.
“Also,” she added. “There’s a one-way exit, a trap door at the end of the tunnel that leads up to a house. Do not go in there, under any circumstances. Do you understand?”
Lali nodded.
“Repeat the instructions,” Solstice insisted. She wasn’t satisfied until Lali had parroted her words back to her three times.
“Okay.” I checked the time on my phone. “It’s already after one in the morning. Lali, you should try to get some sleep. We won’t be able to see a thing out there until sunrise, anyway. I’ll come get you tomorrow morning.”
Solstice stood up. “Do you know how much is riding on this?” Her gaze was focused on Lali, as if challenging her.
Lali shifted uncomfortably. “Yes. Believe me, I know.”
“She knows, and she doesn’t need any more pressure on her,” I said, giving Solstice a challenging look of my own. She must have given up on Cade’s plan, too, if she was this desperate now. “Let the girl rest. We’ll be back tomorrow.” Instinctively, my arm twitched to reach for Lali before I remembered I was already holding her hand.
She’s letting me hold her hand! My stomach fluttered, but I forced my wayward thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time.
I dropped Lali off at home, and we agreed that she would call me as soon as her dad left for work in the morning. Then I would take her to San Francisco to find the tunnel.
By the time I projected back to my room, I was ready to collapse. Just as I started stripping
off my shirt, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Thinking it was Lali calling to clarify something about our plans for the morning, I went to answer it. My jaw dropped when I saw the number flashing across the screen.
It was Delta.
Chapter 39
Secrets
I nearly dropped the phone. My mind swam as I stared at the screen with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t answer it—Delta might remember my voice. Plus, she thought this was Solstice’s phone number.
Solstice!
I projected to her just as she was folding herself into bed. She jumped when she saw me, but her annoyance quickly turned to confusion as I forced my phone into her hand.
“Delta!” I managed. “Answer it!”
She tossed back her blanket and sat up, studying the screen. Her blue eyes looked like they might fall out of her head.
“Answer it!” I repeated.
Fumbling her fingers over the touch screen, she hit the button to accept the call. “H-hello?”
The voice came out muffled on the other end, and despite my straining to listen, I couldn’t make out what Delta was saying.
“No, no, that’s okay,” Solstice breathed. “Where are you now?…That’s actually not too far from me. Can I come pick you up?…Yes…Perfect. Then I’ll bring you back to my apartment so we can set up a block here.”
She moved toward the closet and started pulling out clothes as she spoke. “Okay. I can be there in about two hours…Good. Thank you for calling me back. I’ll see you soon, Del.”
Solstice hit the end button and looked at me like she’d just won the lottery. “Delta’s still here in California. She couldn’t fly back home because she lost her ID, and she just switched her phone over and got my message. I can’t believe that worked!”
I shook my head, still in shock myself. “Thank God she didn’t ask how you got her number.”
“She probably will,” she said, handing my phone back to me. “But we have time to come up with that story on the ride over. I need you to navigate.”
