Haunted
Page 57
"Hey!" a young man's voice shouted. "Hey, that's mine!"
Three giggling girls streaked past, nearly knocking me—the woman, Lily—flying. They kept going without so much as a "Sorry," not surprising, considering they were about thirteen and being chased by a boy their age.
Bitches. Stuck-up little bitches, just like their mommies. Too good to say "Excuse me." Why bother? It's only the hired help. The cleaning lady.
I squirmed free of Lily's thoughts. The three girls ran shrieking down the hall, plowing past the two women without an apology, either, but Lily didn't notice that, didn't care about that. One of the girls lifted something and waved it like a flag as she ran. A boy's bathing suit.
"Give me that!" her pursuer yelled.
They threw open a door and zoomed through. The barest whiff of chlorine wafted back.
As the boy skidded after them, my gaze went back to those distant sheets on the wall. I honed in on them, concentrating, but was only able to invoke half my usual power, just enough to make out a few of the headings. SPRING FLING. TUTORS WANTED. MARCH BREAK MADNESS.
Two men strode in front of the bulletins, coming toward us. Both were in their early twenties, both dressed in sweat-drenched shorts and tank tops, both damned fine-looking. My pulse quickened, heart tripping, a slow burn of longing plunging through me—pretty creepy, considering these boys were about half my age. Fortunately, since I had neither a pulse nor a heartbeat, I knew this lust attack wasn't mine.
Brett. The name fluttered through Lily's mind. Her gaze lingered on the shorter of the two, following him up the hallway.
"Next week is going to be my week," Brett said to his companion. "You just watch. I will beat you so badly, you'll—"
"Die of shock?"
Brett cuffed the other man and they bounced down the hall like overgrown puppies.
Look at me, Brett. I'm right here.
The two men passed Lily without a glance her way.
I'll make you look, Brett. I'll make you see me. Just wait—
An alarm wailed. Lily shot up, blinking fast, heart racing. The bedside clock-radio continued to screech.
She slammed the Off button, then stared at the blurry red digits. Seven-thirty.
"I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go," she muttered.
"Oh, but today will be different," the Nix whispered.
Lily chortled and reached for her glasses. "Oh, yeah, today will be much different."
With her glasses in place, the room came into focus. She leaned over and opened the nightstand drawer.
Inside were a few dog-eared magazines. She reached underneath, fingers closing on metal. She pulled out her prize. A semiautomatic.
The scene faded to black.
After a few minutes, Trsiel pulled me out.
"Is that it?" I said. "I need more. Did you see the flyers on the wall?"
"I saw papers, but I couldn't get a good look. I'm restricted to what she sees."
I started to pace. "So was I, but I could zoom in a bit. It was a community center. Indoor pool, ball courts, bulletins for a dance and March Break activities—she works in a community center. And that's where she's headed now. With a gun."
As I passed Trsiel, he grasped my shoulder, forcing me to stop pacing.
"Eve, we need to—"
"Slow down and think. I know that. But I think better when I'm moving."
He let me go. I wheeled and strode across the cell.
"Let's see what we have," Trsiel said. "Her name is Lily and she works at a community center as part of the cleaning staff."
"Yeah, yeah." Still walking, I rubbed my hands over my face. "Okay, she just woke up, so it'll take her a while to get to work. It was seven—Wait. What time is it now?"
Trsiel walked through the cell bars and looked around. "This clock says just past nine-thirty."
"Then we've got a two-hour time difference. That means she's somewhere west of Colorado. American accents, so definitely in the country."
"Upper West Coast accents," Trsiel said. "North of California."
"Right. Thanks; I'll talk to Jaime. We'll search the Internet for community centers on the upper West Coast with mentions of a Spring Fling and March Break Madness. Once we've narrowed it down, she can see whether any have a janitor named Lily." I stopped pacing. "A game plan. Good. But it'll take some time. With any luck, that guy she's after won't be heading to the community center for a while today."
I paused, then looked at Trsiel. "So she wants to kill this guy because he doesn't notice her. Besides the seriously fucked-up logic behind that, there's one thing I don't get. What is this boy to me?"
Trsiel frowned.
"The Nix is doing this for my benefit, right? A demonstration of her power. A lesson for me. So—" I stopped and met his gaze. "Look, if she succeeds in killing this kid, I'll feel bad. Anyone would, right? But it won't—well, I don't know him. If this is a lesson, either I'm missing the point or this Nix has me pegged all wrong, thinks I'll fall apart over the death of a stranger."
"She knows you're working on something usually reserved for angels—"
"So she probably assumes I'm typical angel material—protect the innocent no matter who they are.
Makes sense." I glanced at Sullivan. "Should we check in her skull one last time? If I could get a better look at the flyers in that hall—"
As I said the words, I pictured the flyers again and my words froze in my throat. The pink poster.
TUTORS WANTED. I'd seen that before. Months ago. My memory pulled up an image—a soft, pretty hand reaching for the tabs along the bottom of the flyer, ripping one off, silver rings flashing. A deep sigh sounded somewhere to the left.
"Literacy tutors? Oh, please. Don't you do enough of that crap already?"
"It's not crap. And it's only an hour a month."
" Like you've got an hour to spare! Geez, Paige—"
I spun on Trsiel. "Portland. The community center is in Portland. My daughter—oh, God, Savannah goes there."
Chapter 27
I RECITED A TRANSPORT INCANTATION. AT THE LAST second, Trsiel realized what I was doing and grabbed my hand. We landed a few blocks from Paige and Lucas's house. The community center was a couple miles in the opposite direction.
Three giggling girls streaked past, nearly knocking me—the woman, Lily—flying. They kept going without so much as a "Sorry," not surprising, considering they were about thirteen and being chased by a boy their age.
Bitches. Stuck-up little bitches, just like their mommies. Too good to say "Excuse me." Why bother? It's only the hired help. The cleaning lady.
I squirmed free of Lily's thoughts. The three girls ran shrieking down the hall, plowing past the two women without an apology, either, but Lily didn't notice that, didn't care about that. One of the girls lifted something and waved it like a flag as she ran. A boy's bathing suit.
"Give me that!" her pursuer yelled.
They threw open a door and zoomed through. The barest whiff of chlorine wafted back.
As the boy skidded after them, my gaze went back to those distant sheets on the wall. I honed in on them, concentrating, but was only able to invoke half my usual power, just enough to make out a few of the headings. SPRING FLING. TUTORS WANTED. MARCH BREAK MADNESS.
Two men strode in front of the bulletins, coming toward us. Both were in their early twenties, both dressed in sweat-drenched shorts and tank tops, both damned fine-looking. My pulse quickened, heart tripping, a slow burn of longing plunging through me—pretty creepy, considering these boys were about half my age. Fortunately, since I had neither a pulse nor a heartbeat, I knew this lust attack wasn't mine.
Brett. The name fluttered through Lily's mind. Her gaze lingered on the shorter of the two, following him up the hallway.
"Next week is going to be my week," Brett said to his companion. "You just watch. I will beat you so badly, you'll—"
"Die of shock?"
Brett cuffed the other man and they bounced down the hall like overgrown puppies.
Look at me, Brett. I'm right here.
The two men passed Lily without a glance her way.
I'll make you look, Brett. I'll make you see me. Just wait—
An alarm wailed. Lily shot up, blinking fast, heart racing. The bedside clock-radio continued to screech.
She slammed the Off button, then stared at the blurry red digits. Seven-thirty.
"I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go," she muttered.
"Oh, but today will be different," the Nix whispered.
Lily chortled and reached for her glasses. "Oh, yeah, today will be much different."
With her glasses in place, the room came into focus. She leaned over and opened the nightstand drawer.
Inside were a few dog-eared magazines. She reached underneath, fingers closing on metal. She pulled out her prize. A semiautomatic.
The scene faded to black.
After a few minutes, Trsiel pulled me out.
"Is that it?" I said. "I need more. Did you see the flyers on the wall?"
"I saw papers, but I couldn't get a good look. I'm restricted to what she sees."
I started to pace. "So was I, but I could zoom in a bit. It was a community center. Indoor pool, ball courts, bulletins for a dance and March Break activities—she works in a community center. And that's where she's headed now. With a gun."
As I passed Trsiel, he grasped my shoulder, forcing me to stop pacing.
"Eve, we need to—"
"Slow down and think. I know that. But I think better when I'm moving."
He let me go. I wheeled and strode across the cell.
"Let's see what we have," Trsiel said. "Her name is Lily and she works at a community center as part of the cleaning staff."
"Yeah, yeah." Still walking, I rubbed my hands over my face. "Okay, she just woke up, so it'll take her a while to get to work. It was seven—Wait. What time is it now?"
Trsiel walked through the cell bars and looked around. "This clock says just past nine-thirty."
"Then we've got a two-hour time difference. That means she's somewhere west of Colorado. American accents, so definitely in the country."
"Upper West Coast accents," Trsiel said. "North of California."
"Right. Thanks; I'll talk to Jaime. We'll search the Internet for community centers on the upper West Coast with mentions of a Spring Fling and March Break Madness. Once we've narrowed it down, she can see whether any have a janitor named Lily." I stopped pacing. "A game plan. Good. But it'll take some time. With any luck, that guy she's after won't be heading to the community center for a while today."
I paused, then looked at Trsiel. "So she wants to kill this guy because he doesn't notice her. Besides the seriously fucked-up logic behind that, there's one thing I don't get. What is this boy to me?"
Trsiel frowned.
"The Nix is doing this for my benefit, right? A demonstration of her power. A lesson for me. So—" I stopped and met his gaze. "Look, if she succeeds in killing this kid, I'll feel bad. Anyone would, right? But it won't—well, I don't know him. If this is a lesson, either I'm missing the point or this Nix has me pegged all wrong, thinks I'll fall apart over the death of a stranger."
"She knows you're working on something usually reserved for angels—"
"So she probably assumes I'm typical angel material—protect the innocent no matter who they are.
Makes sense." I glanced at Sullivan. "Should we check in her skull one last time? If I could get a better look at the flyers in that hall—"
As I said the words, I pictured the flyers again and my words froze in my throat. The pink poster.
TUTORS WANTED. I'd seen that before. Months ago. My memory pulled up an image—a soft, pretty hand reaching for the tabs along the bottom of the flyer, ripping one off, silver rings flashing. A deep sigh sounded somewhere to the left.
"Literacy tutors? Oh, please. Don't you do enough of that crap already?"
"It's not crap. And it's only an hour a month."
" Like you've got an hour to spare! Geez, Paige—"
I spun on Trsiel. "Portland. The community center is in Portland. My daughter—oh, God, Savannah goes there."
Chapter 27
I RECITED A TRANSPORT INCANTATION. AT THE LAST second, Trsiel realized what I was doing and grabbed my hand. We landed a few blocks from Paige and Lucas's house. The community center was a couple miles in the opposite direction.
