Bad Bloods (16 page)

“You want them to know?” I asked, finally
facing him. The car was nothing like I had ever been in before—or
even seen. We were practically sitting on couches in the back.
Adelio drove from the front.

Henderson smiled a small smile, nothing like
the grins he had at Cal’s. “You’re a very intelligent girl,” he
said, slowly. “I imagine that’s why Daniel and you get along so
well,” he said Daniel’s name like they knew one another casually,
something I knew, for a fact, wasn’t possible. He leaned forward on
his knees, never taking his eyes off me. “He’s your boyfriend,
yes?”

“I…” I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. Just
thinking about Daniel made all my horrible memories lighten up with
the blissful ones. “I guess he is,” I said, feeling heat rise to my
cheeks.

“And Robert?” Henderson knew Robert’s name.
“How did he feel about that?”

I didn’t answer. I remembered the photo
Daniel gave Henderson, the ones with all the kids. He tried to
block it, but I saw, and I remembered the words Alec said, how it
had to do with his speech, how our stories would save lives. I
thought it was my story, not Daniel’s, but the more I thought, the
more I recalled how Daniel spoke about me taking all of their
stories into the future—even his.

“Why me?” I finally managed.

We passed under a bridge, and all I could see
for a moment was the golden underside lights shining through the
windows and brightening Jane’s white-blonde up-do. “Well,
sweetheart,” her voice was so soft, “to be quite frank…”

“Be frank then,” I interrupted, still trying
to ground myself in some sort of reality. I—Serena the bad
blood—was in a car with the potentially future president of
Vendona, the 167
^th
city-state of the Council of States.
We’d be in the Highlands at any moment, and Serena would be gone.
Stephanie Henderson would take her place. Other than our blonde
hair, we had little in common. She had blue eyes. Mine were
gray—like I wasn’t alive enough for blue—and Stephanie was born
into a rich world, somehow leaving it behind like it was nothing.
Whatever had happened to her, I already resented her for it because
she reminded me of me. I had a family too—a home—and I had
disappeared, left it behind in the night. I knew why I left. But I
wanted to know why Stephanie disappeared too, and I had to start by
understanding her. I wanted to know why I was taking her place.
“You could’ve had anyone.”

Alec nodded, handing me a chocolate bar.
“Here, eat this first.”

“It’ll help you gain weight,” Jane explained.
“Fast.”

I unwrapped and took a bite, thankful it
tasted all right. They watched me like they weren’t sure I’d obey.
I didn’t have the heart to tell them I only obeyed because it was
something I wanted too. As I ate, Alec spoke.

“You know why you were the most important
candidate.” Candidate. Like I was a politician too. A politician
that had been
tortured and damn near killed
. Robert’s voice
echoed inside of me. I wondered where he was, what he was doing,
how everyone else was too. The further we drove, the more I wanted
them by my side. I curbed my worries by eating.

“What they did to you in there was beyond
what any human being should ever go through,” Alec continued,
calling me a human once again. “And I’m doing worse,” he said as we
exited the bridge, and the dim light revealed his stare. “I’m using
what they did to you. I will tell your story and Daniel’s to beat
them, and I didn’t feel right doing it without you there.”

I finished the chocolate bar before finding
my voice. “And Daniel?”

“He didn’t want to come.”

My heart lunged in my throat. It hadn’t just
been me. Alec had offered to take Daniel too, and Daniel hadn’t
told me. He had kept secrets.

I shoved my shaking hands in my jacket
pockets to hide them, but things only got worse. I felt it almost
immediately—the cold silver—and I pulled it out to make sure. The
bracelet. It was in my hands. Daniel had slipped it back to me.

I gripped it, losing all concentration as I
tried to recall if he said anything to me before I ran away. He
hadn’t said goodbye, had he? He didn’t actually believe we’d lose,
did he? What did he think would happen while I was gone?

Someone’s hand was on my shoulder, and I had
to blink to see Jane. She had moved over to my side, and her hand
was stroking my hair, slowly, like my mother used to do. Her blonde
hair even reminded me of my mother’s, but Jane smelled like baby
powder. My mother smelled like ink.

“No one will ever have to go through what you
did ever again,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t acknowledge
it.”

“I’m using you,” Alec concurred. “You’re a
pawn, but we all are. It’s about making yourself useful, so you can
win the game.”

I stared back at him, swallowing whatever
fear had taken over me from before. “You’re not what I thought
you’d be.”

Henderson’s eyebrows rose. “What did you
think I’d be?”

“Worse.”

Both of them tensed.

“No matter what, they’ll know you lied,” I
started, feeling the strength return to my voice as I unclipped the
bracelet and slid it over my wrist. “You’ll go down as the worst
lying politician in all of history.”

He grinned. “I believe that makes me the most
honest one.”

I closed the clasp and stared at the silver
jewelry dangling off my wrist. I had jewelry on. Real jewelry. “You
really think we could win?” I asked after a moment.

“My dear,”—his hand landed on my knee—“I’ve
always thought we could win. That’s why I’m here.” He cleared his
throat. “That’s why you’re here too.”

When I
heard the doorbell ring at noon, I hadn’t expected Robert to bring
others with him, but a few of the older teens followed, each with a
younger one following their shadows. I recognized Steven and
Catelyn immediately. Both of them held one of Melody’s hands, and
the little girl was the only one smiling at me. She even broke away
to hug my leg.

“Danny,” she squealed against my leg, and I
patted the top of her head, unsure of what else to do. Having
everyone’s eyes on me was enough.

I had warned my flock beforehand—much to
their dismay—about Robert’s deal with me. The Northern Flock and
the Southern Flock were officially one, but the one member that
held us together was gone. She’d almost been gone for an entire
day, and my mind wondered what she could possibly be doing in the
Highlands, though the look Robert gave me was enough to freeze my
thoughts.

“Daniel,” he said, stepping inside before the
others followed.

I nodded at him but tended to the others.
Everyone’s rooms had been combined or completely moved. Most, if
not all, of the younger children would be sleeping on a collection
of pillows and blankets in the basement. One of the only exceptions
was Blake. He was still sick, and he was only getting worse. He
stayed in my room. And he was the only one who stayed in my room. I
normally crashed next to him or on the couch.

“And here they are.” Michele’s overly cheery
voice was just that—overly cheery. It was obvious how much she was
faking it, but only Adam and I knew why. Those two were the only
ones who knew why Robert and I hated one another, and I had to beg
Michele to be nice to him. She still wouldn’t look me directly in
the eye for agreeing to Serena’s terms, but she’d come around. She
always did. “Welcome.”

Ryne scooted behind her, and his eyes moved
over the others. “I’m Ryne,” he introduced himself, as neutral as
his expression was unreadable. Clearly, Michele had asked for his
help. All the others were hiding elsewhere.

“Guys!” I shouted, knowing they couldn’t
ignore my voice, and slowly but surely, they appeared, one face
after the other. Maggie with Adam. Kally with Tessa. Peyton
dragging Ron behind her. And Floyd by himself. Floyd was the only
one grinning, and he extended his arm with his powers to Robert, a
true show-off.

“Welcome, I’m Floyd.”

Robert stared at his hand for a moment, but
he shook it right when I thought he wouldn’t. “Robert.”

After that, the house erupted into giggles
and one shout over the other. Kids getting to know kids. More kids
showing up. Little heads of hair bouncing around. Two kids on the
couch. One kid playing with a cat I didn’t recall seeing, but
Serena did tell me about it. I wondered if the pet followed
Catelyn, but I decided not to ask. One more mouth to feed wasn’t my
biggest concern.

I started for the stairs, ready to check on
Blake, when Robert cut me off in the entryway. “Where are you
going?”

My shoulders ached as I forced a shrug. “Just
making sure everyone’s getting settled in.” Time was passing faster
than I could fathom. It had probably been hours. The golden sunset
was streaming through the curtains, brighter than the usual winter
gray glare, but it was the object he was holding that caught my
attention. It was a photo of Blake, one of the only ones I had, a
copy of the one I had at Cal’s, except I kept this copy on the fire
mantel.

He flashed it at me, and the sunset caught
the glass. “I don’t see this little boy.”

I didn’t like his tone. “His name’s Blake,” I
said, squaring my shoulders, “and he’s sick.”

Robert’s eyebrows rose, heat rising in the
air. I heard the others shift, and I knew I wasn’t the only one
that sensed Robert’s powers. “When will I meet him?”

“When he’s better,” I forced the words out.
“I wouldn’t want him around the others until then.”

“Robert, right?” Adam approached quickly, too
quickly, as if to warn Robert of his abilities, but he smiled like
he mastered controlling happiness. “Why don’t you help Michele and
me in the kitchen? We’re planning a large dinner—”

“Sure.” There was no kindness in his tone. He
knew what Adam was doing. I wondered if he also knew who Adam
was—Calhoun’s nephew—and I wondered what else Robert had figured
out by watching me over the years. Either way, it was clear he
understood our situation better than I did.

As Robert disappeared into the kitchen,
Michele caught my eyes and nodded at me. She followed him, and I
knew he’d be out of the way for a while. I itched to go upstairs to
Blake, but this was an opportunity to speak to his flock without
his overprotective gaze.

I forced myself to walk over to the giant
table in front of the big bay window, the table we always ate at,
and the entire group tensed as I approached. Catelyn especially.
Steven grabbed her hand. Melody was the only one who didn’t look
up. She was too busy coloring with crayons, and by the looks of it,
I doubted she had ever used one. Timmy—the human—watched her with
careful amazement, like he thought the crayons might hurt him.

It was then that I remembered what Serena had
revealed. She couldn’t read.

I sat down and reached over to grab a crayon.
The others watched me, and I scribbled down a few letters. They
didn’t say a word until I pushed it at Steven—the one I presumed
was the eldest of the kids. He was probably between Serena and me,
but he blinked at me.

“What’s this?” he asked, staring down at the
paper.

“Your name.”

“I know.” He could read, but the others
leaned over, awestruck. Catelyn gripped his hand harder.

I wrote hers down and pushed it to her.
“That’s yours.”

A wet gloss coated her blue eyes, and she let
go of Steven to touch the paper. Her fingers shook as she skimmed
the first letter. Steven laid his hand on her shoulder as I
continued to ask the others for their names so I could write them
all down. Melody was so excited by hers that she almost ripped it
in half, but Timmy was the first to start tracing. He looked like
he had some education, but without continuous education, it was
clear that a lot of the kids had dwindled.

“I couldn’t teach them all on my own,” Steven
said, explaining the situation I had already guessed. I couldn’t
predict all the children’s stories, but I knew the common ones for
bad bloods. Even though school was mandatory, most kids were
discovered in elementary school. Sometimes, the parents took them
out before then to hide them, and no one questioned it when kids
didn’t show up at school. It was an unspoken rule. Once a child
went missing from society, it was presumed they were never worthy
of society at all. When kids were on the street, it was difficult
to justify teaching them school lessons. They had survival to worry
about. If Michele, Cal, and Adam weren’t around to help me, I
doubted my kids would’ve been able to read either.

“C-A-T-E-L—” Catelyn stopped, frowning as she
looked over the last two letters.

“Y and N,” Steven finished. He hadn’t even
had time to teach his own girlfriend.

“Y and N,” she whispered back, but she laid
the crayon down.

“Melody!” the little girl screamed her name,
and Timmy giggled like it was the funniest joke in the world. Her
tracing was awful.