by Casey Hays
The two of them exchange one of their classic glances. Joshua gestures to Kane.
“Your room too?”
“Yep.”
“Show me.”
He and Kane move off toward his suite while Petra, hands on hips, balks in amazement at all the water damage. She makes her way to the couch, lifts a magazine, watches water pour out of it.
“Unbelievable,” she whispers. She faces me. “You wore the monitor all night?”
“Yes.” Confusion ripples. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Suddenly, she notices Frankie. “Who’s this?”
“This is Frankie. She’s one of my best friends.”
“And… why is she here?” Her fingers crumple the edge of the wet magazine, concern fluttering across her face.
“Dr. Ademov…” Frankie takes over, stepping up and jutting out her hand in introduction. “I’m Frankie Melmack, and I cannot express with an adequate amount of words what an honor it is to meet you. I’ve followed your grandfather’s work for a couple of years now, and to finally meet a member of his family in the flesh? Well, I just… I don’t know what to say. I’m awestruck.”
“It appears you’ve said a mouthful,” Petra points out. She peers at me, a slight scold in her expression. “This is not acceptable, Jude.”
“I didn’t do anything.” I defend. “It was Rylin who told her about this place… before he even told me. And just so you know, Frankie never said a word about it. Not even to me. That’s how discreet she is. You can trust her.”
Frankie lifts hopeful brows right over the top of her frames. Petra lets my words linger on the air as she examines Frankie, a crisp criticism defining her crossed arms. It’s almost comical: two brilliant minds colliding.
“Frankie introduced me to Firebloods before I knew I was one,” I add.
“How so?”
I’ve piqued her interest. Good.
“She found some information on Dr. Ademov’s discoveries. We were planning to do a summer science fair project with the findings, but obviously, things took a strange turn. Frankie almost knows more about me than I do. She’s trustworthy, Petra. An hour with her will prove this.”
I link arms with my friend as I talk, and Petra begins to soften.
“If you would allow me to observe you while you work…” Frankie takes a chance, her voice hopeful. “It would be an honor.”
My own hope joins Frankie’s while Petra considers this. Because I’m so glad Frankie’s here, and I don’t want her to be sent away. There’s something about having her around that brings a sense of stability to my crazy life. The one human friend who knows about me. The one friend I don’t have to hide from.
Petra habitually taps a finger against her lower lip, thinking.
“Perhaps it’s fortunate that you were here.” She shifts her attention to my bedroom, sees the monitor, and takes off. “You slept in here with Jude, I assume.”
Frankie gives me an excited glance and follows her.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And did you see anything? Did you see Jude get up?”
She gathers up the vest from my bed and squats to examine the monitor. The carpet all around it is sopping, but she doesn’t seem too concerned. Maybe it’s waterproof?
“No. She fell asleep before I did. I got up once for a drink, and she was still sound asleep next to me. No water anywhere. As far as I can tell, she never moved a muscle. And then we both woke up to all of this.”
Petra looks up at me. “How long have you been in natural form?”
“Since yesterday, around noon.”
“Is this the longest you’ve ever been decamouflaged?”
“No. I took my ring off again on Monday after we came back from the casino.” I cringe as I revive this little wayward adventure. “I kept it off until Wednesday morning. But after that first strange dream that left me so exhausted, I had Kane compel it so I could finally get some real sleep.”
She hops up, her long, dark hair piled on top of her head bobbing with the motion.
“There is most definitely a correlation between the length you’ve been decamouflaged and the intensity of your dreaming.”
“But I wasn’t in my natural form as long this time.”
“Exactly.” She lifts the monitor and moves toward the door. “Your body is acclimating more quickly. You’re developing muscle memory. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since you began to decamouflage, and look at you. Full natural form already. Your dreaming patterns will likely read more strongly as well.”
In the kitchen, Joshua is busy inspecting the pipes beneath the sink. Kane, peering at him over the bar, turns as we come into the living area.
“Well?” he asks.
“I’d like to take a look at Jude’s readings before I say more.”
“The maintenance guy said something about ‘last time’?” I ask. “What did he mean?”
Joshua pops out from under the sink just in time for him and Petra to toss one of those famous eye exchanges. But she answers immediately.
“Anika,” she says. “Something happened once with her.”
It seems impossible with all the heat accumulated in the room that frigidity could overcome the air. But it does. Beside me, Kane’s body shifts as the words penetrate him too.
“What happened?” I ask.
“She flooded a room during a dream.”
And that’s when the reality hits me. I shift my eyes toward Frankie.
“So… I did this?”
I scan the water damaged room, completely floored. I don’t want to own this. It’s too… impossible. But Petra’s eyes are way too bright with excitement for me to deny what I’ve seemingly done. And from behind her lenses, Frankie beams.
“I told you.” She tosses an arm around my shoulders. “Jude Gallagher, you are increasingly becoming one of my more fascinatingly favorite friends.”
Only now, huh? Wow.
I need to sit down. I shrug out of her embrace and sink onto the couch. The water soaks through my shorts, penetrating my skin. I hardly notice.
“Our daughter’s own dreams were similar to yours,” Joshua says, picking up the conversation. “Didn’t realize how much until now. Rylin saw your potential when he told us about you. Now, you’ve proven it.”
“I don’t even know what I’m doing. Or how I did this.”
“But you will, in time.” Petra hands the monitor off to Joshua and kneels in front of me, disregarding the water that wets her knees. “A lot is changing inside you very quickly. You’re owning a side of yourself that has remained stifled nearly all of your life, but that doesn’t negate how strong it is. Your Fireblood nature has a vitality that equals if not outweighs your humanity. Soon, it will feel as natural to you as your own familiar skin.” She takes my hands in hers like she has so many times this week. “And… you have something Anika lacks: the advantage of camouflaging any time you like. You have balance. Control. The best of both worlds.”
“I guess so.” My half-smile is unconvincing in every way.
“It’s not yet been a week,” Petra reassures. “And look at what you’ve accomplished?”
“Ruined a perfectly nice suite?”
“You’re missing the point,” she chuckles. “I’m very pleased by what I see here today.”
“Tell that to the maids.” I sigh with a lift and fall of my shoulders. “I really flooded this room?”
“Did you dream about water?” she asks. I halfway acknowledge the truth of it. “Then, the answer is yes.” Her brows push together. “Did you find Rylin?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe?”
Petra purses her lips. It’s quiet for several seconds.
“Well…” Joshua cuts in, shifting the monitor from one hip to the other. “Based on the amount of water you extracted, it appears, as it was with Anika, you’ve developed a portal. A doorway for your dreams to manifest into reality.”
No freaking way.
“Seriously?” A shiver of ex
citement scrambles up my spine. “What else did Anika extract?”
“A flower. A can of soda.” Joshua kind of beams as he relays this. “A puppy… once.”
“Fascinating…” Frankie grins.
“A puppy?” I can’t believe it. “She pulled a real live puppy out of her dream?”
“She was amazing.” Joshua’s voice floods with adoration. He grins, but Petra’s scolding posture straightens up his face pretty quickly. He clears his throat. “We didn’t let her keep it.”
“You also don’t let her dream anymore,” I remind him.
It’s cruel in my mind, and Petra and Joshua cringe in unison. It can’t be easy depriving your child of such a rare ability. I mean, a puppy? That’s insane.
“Anika understands.”
Petra seems to be trying to convince herself of this more than anyone else. And I’m beginning to wonder if these two know their children at all. Kind of feels familiar all of a sudden.
“Well, can I talk to her?” I ask.
“No.” Petra’s answer is sharp and final. “It’s been years since she had a single dream, and I will not have you rehashing any memories we’ve tried to staunch.”
Staunch. Yep. Cruel and abrasive both.
“But—”
“You are not ready for this.” With a desperation, Petra clutches my fingers. “Do not try to extract anything before I’ve given you the green light. And do not attempt it without my assistance. Do you understand?”
“Not really,” I frown. I just extracted an entire body of water. So yeah, I think I’m ready.
“You’re in such a hurry, Jude.” Petra’s voice is pleading, like she knows the minute she turns her back, I’ll do exactly what she’s asked me not to. “You need to be patient with some things. Give us time to approach this safely.”
Patient. I hate that word these days. And we don’t have time to sit around waiting for my brain to catch up with my Fireblood self. We don’t have time for analyzing dreams and assessing how to safely pull objects out of them. Petra reads my mind in my silence.
“Please, Jude.”
I look at Kane, testing him to see if he’s with me.
“It’s now or never?” I ask inside his head. He smiles.
“Now is the best time. Just tell her what she wants to hear.”
I face Petra.
“Okay.”
I say it with exasperation, but it seems to appease her. Joshua knows better. He flashes me a glance teeming with fire, but he says nothing.
“Get yourself some breakfast and meet me in the lab.” Petra says, climbing to her feet. “Hopefully I’ll have some preliminary findings about this new development by then.”
“Dr. Ademov?” Frankie steps forward, hesitantly lifting a finger. “Would you mind if I tagged along? I’d love to see you in action.”
Joshua lifts a brow, just now realizing Frankie is a new face in the crowd. “Who’s this?”
“Our friend, Frankie,” Kane answers, hugging her to him. “She looks fierce, but she’s harmless.”
“You’ve clearly got the Fireblood stamp of approval.” Petra clamps her hands together in front of her, scrutinizing. “I suppose having you in the lab wouldn’t hurt.”
Beaming, Frankie gives us two thumbs up and follows them out.
Kane squishes over and plops down beside me with a wet splat. We both laugh. He slides an arm around me. I sink into his side, grateful for a quiet moment.
“This is crazy, you know?” He drops his head against the back of the couch and slinks low. “You actually brought water out of your dreams. And not a little water.”
“I know. But do you think I can, you know… a puppy?”
He eyes me. “You want a puppy?”
“Shut up.” I nudge him in the side with my elbow. He winces, but his dimples pop free.
“I think one day, you’re gonna get that puppy.”
I think a minute. “I’m going to try it.”
He stills. “Petra says you’re not ready.”
“I know. And I’m still going to try, if I can.”
You see, I need to be able to do this one thing. To prove to myself that I have what it takes to be brave. To save my brother. To face the Contingent. One tiny bit of the amazing would do it, and if I have it in me to extract things from my dreams, it’s worth the risk to find out, and quickly. I squeeze a water-soaked cushion, listen to it pitter patter onto the carpet.
“You’re with me, no matter what?” I pin Kane with the question.
“Yeah.” He readjusts his fingers between mine. “Always.”
“Good. Because I’m letting you in again.”
“Yeah, well you may want to rethink that,” he smiles. “I suggested we jump out a window. I can fly, and I suggested we jump?”
“I think you know by now that I’d follow you anywhere.”
“That’s what scares me.” The familiar little crease in his forehead appears.
“We should find out if there is a cornfield nearby.”
“Right.” Kane runs a hand up the side of his face, thinking. “I don’t suppose he clued you in on where a cornfield might be?”
“Nope.”
“Petra is not about to give us access to the internet.”
“Nope,” I repeat. “But we’ve got something better.”
Kane’s confusion aggravates the crease between his eyes. I smile, letting him mull over it a few seconds—on purpose.
We don’t need the internet when we’ve got Frankie Melmack.
Twenty -three
Work is in full swing in the lab today. Every office is occupied by a technician or a computer analyst. Kane tells me Joshua filled him in on some of the projects. There’s the hybrid initiative, of course. Several Firebloods have been working on compelling large objects for longer periods of time. Another project focuses on a less invasive method of redirection that does not involve so much chunking. And finally, the process of inner-compelling, mostly in order to find a way to relieve the strain it adds to a Fireblood’s body and mental state. All of it is pretty foreign to me, but I know what it entails. Exhausting concentration.
Kane pulls me to a stop outside of a cubicle containing a Fireblood with ash blond hair and matching wings. Half-hidden behind a screen, he’s covered in electrical wires just like the ones Dara stuck all over me. I study Kane. Arms crossed, his eyes flash orange with excitement as one tech presses a button on a computer, and the Fireblood’s wings vanish for about two seconds before a jolt of electricity shudders through him. The smell of burnt feathers hits my nostrils as smoke swirls up over the top of the cubicle.
“What are they doing?” I ask Kane.
“Trying to camouflage his wings with a remote,” he grins, excited. “I don’t think they’ll succeed.”
It’s nice to see Kane excited about something. He would never admit it in light of the situation with his parents, but being in his natural form most of the time has been good for him physically, and I can see that. Maybe, if we’d come to Singe under different circumstances, he’d allow himself to enjoy it a bit more. I link my fingers through his elbow as we move on toward Petra’s glassed-in workspace. Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to come back for a leisurely visit when this is all over.
Kane keeps his wings hidden as we enter the room, his skin overlaid with a light hue. His eyes burn low with a crisp fire, as crisp as my quickly beating heart that strums in my throat. I’m anxious for many reasons, mostly involving my plans to go rogue for the second time, and it’s all Rylin’s fault.
Okay… so it’s not all his fault. Clearly, Mr. McDowell never intended for either of them to return. And if I had to guess, I’d say he did it to protect Rylin. He knew the Contingent would be looking for us. We all knew it. Better to stay as far away as possible.
Petra hunches in front of a computer screen, intently studying my brainwaves and reading off her findings to Joshua. He types; Frankie hovers, observing, desperately holding her tongue. Everything in her
body language indicates she’s close—on the verge of offering input. A look of near relief floods over her when she sees us. She rushes over.
“Did you guys know there is a Fireblood encased in a cylinder tank full of water?” She points in the direction of the main lab area, her voice a tight whisper, as if she doesn’t want Joshua and Petra to realize what she’s discovered. It makes her statement that much more humorous. “He’s been underwater for forty-eight hours. His ability to store oxygen in his lungs has expanded to twice its function already.”
“Forty-eight hours.” Kane comes to his full height. “I wonder if I could do that.”
“Please tell me you aren’t going to ask for your own cylinder tank.” I hand him a warning glance.
He really gives it some thought, but then…
“Nah. I don’t like the pruned look.”
Thank goodness. I move in to lean over Petra’s shoulder. The scans are the same mountainy scratches as before.
“So? Anything new?”
“Jude, my dear…” Petra pushes away from the screen, the wheels on the stool squeaking. “You are an extraordinary find.”
With a lift of my brow, I look at Joshua. He concentrates on the laptop screen, rubbing at his scruffy chin. His loosened camouflage allows me to notice the tiny flickering inside his eyes, as if just that amount of flare is enough to help him solve the mystery that is me.
“Like what?” I ask.
Kane makes his way over to Joshua and reads the notes for himself. Surprise takes over his face. He looks at me. I straighten, a tiny bit of fear prickling.
“What, Kane?”
Without answering, he gestures me over while Petra busies herself with printing several pages of my brainwaves. I join Kane and skim Joshua’s notes over his shoulder.
The subject appears to be dreaming in such a way as to open a portal into her mind, one in which she is capable of extracting portions of her dreams. The findings conclude that this may become progressively stronger as the Fireblood qualities of the subject gain intensity. She has exhibited the ability to extract fractions of objects from her dreams, pulling them into the real world, i.e., the presence of an unknown source of water covering the area upon awakening. Further, brain activity of the subject implies that she is awake for twenty-two to twenty-three hours of a twenty-four hour day, even when she appears to be sleeping. Theoretically, she could go without sleep for several days when in her natural form.
