Chaos (Kardia Chronicles) (Entangled Teen) (25 page)

We were both breathing heavily by the time we got to his car, the exertion from the short walk using the very last reserves of our energy.

“How long before it comes back?” I asked, turning to put on my seat belt.

“Your power or your physical strength?”

I thought about that. “Both. Either.”

“You’ll be able to run a mile in a few hours.”

In spite of my melancholy, I almost laughed because I couldn’t run a mile on my best day, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Then your powers will come back more slowly. You should be back to normal by morning.”

That was both a relief and a bummer because as tired as I was, I loved the relaxed feeling of not having anything roiling around in me.

The short ride was a silent one, and when we pulled into my driveway, I turned to face him, disappointment leaving a bitter taste in my mouth but fully resigned to the quick “see ya” he so obviously wanted.

Before I could open the door, though, he stopped me with a hand on my arm. “I forgot. I…wanted to give you something.”

He dug into his front pocket, and I waited, telling myself not to get too excited. Could’ve been a stick of gum or the next edition of “That’s What
He
Said,” for all I knew.

But it wasn’t.

He held out his hand, and I held out mine. In it, he dropped a smooth circle that glinted in the moonlight. As soon as it hit my skin, I closed my eyes and moaned.

“Jesus, what is that?” I wanted to open my hand to look, but the silky, juicy waves of power seeping from it into me made it impossible.

“It’s a ring. It…means a lot to me, and I hoped maybe it would help you with the stealing while we figure out whether you’re going to be able to get a handle on this thing.”

It sure as hell would. It was by far the best treasure I’d ever gotten, and I didn’t even have to steal it. Eventually, the power of it would fade until it was just a glimmer, but that could take weeks and until then, I had an outlet. An awesome, guilt-free, amazing outlet.

I wondered where he had gotten it and why it meant so much to him. It had to be important or it wouldn’t feel so good. From a former girlfriend, maybe? The thought made my stomach cramp. Instead, I’d focus on the good part, and the good part was that he’d given it up, at least temporarily, to help me.

Tears pricked my eyes, and I mumbled a quick thank-you and started yanking at my seat belt, desperate to bounce before the waterworks started.

“You okay?”

“Great,” I said, keeping my head down as I tried to remember how to work a fucking seat belt before I embarrassed myself.

“Maggie?”

The seat belt finally surrendered, and I pushed the door open.

“See you tomorrow!” I said, aiming for bright and peppy but not turning to look at him so he wouldn’t see the stupid tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Rest up. We start again Monday. Four o’clock. Don’t be late.”

He was all business again, and that made me cry harder. I ran inside, called a quick “I’m home” to Mom, and pounded up the stairs. I flopped onto my bed and let it all out. I probably bawled for twenty minutes straight, thinking about my night, about Mac, about his family and mine. And when I was through, I felt good. Clean. It had been a long time since I felt that way.

I took down my box of treasure and then pulled my newest one from my front pocket where I’d stuck it. Flipping on the lamp next to my bed, I examined the ring. Two slim bands of shiny, brilliant silver intertwined together like a rope. It was buttery in my fingers, so soft, like if I squeezed just right, it might bend. I considered putting it on, but once I did, I knew I’d never have the strength to take it off. Mom would ask questions, Libby would notice, and if I kept it directly against my skin, the power of it would fade faster. But if I didn’t put it on…I wouldn’t have it on.

I didn’t want Mac disappointed in me for squandering his present by using it up before we got through training, so I set it into the treasure box. But even then, I couldn’t seem to take my fingers off it.
Just for one night
.

Because no matter how hard he tried to pretend otherwise, he cared about me. Even if it was just as a friend, he cared and wanted me to succeed.

I fell asleep with the ring in my hand, and I dreamed of dancing.

Chapter Fourteen

When I woke up, I was energized again.

I stuffed the ring in my pocket and walked to the hospital, my feet barely touching the ground, but when I got there, Mrs. Nelson told me Eric was having some testing done and wouldn’t be finished until much later, so I should come back next Saturday. I felt guilty and relieved at the same time.

It had been a rough week. Still, the thought of hanging around alone all day didn’t sit well, so I texted Libby and asked her to come over to chill with me. I had forgotten to ask Mac whether I could tell her about him, but I was going to have to tell her something soon. She was going to notice us talking in the hallways, and I wanted to at least explain that we’d buried the hatchet, even if I couldn’t share the rest.

When I got back to my house, she was already walking up the pathway.

“Hey!” She was dressed in a fake fur coat complete with earmuffs and a giant Russian hat that looked like it had come from a buffalo. Nice.

“Hey. Awesome outfit.” I jogged up the steps and snuck by her to open the door.

My mom must have heard us come in, because she called out, “There’s some fresh-brewed iced tea in the kitchen if you want, and I left something in your room for you.”

We armed ourselves with glasses of tea, and I snagged a bag of pretzels from the pantry. It was the one snack food both Libby and I could agree on. Salty, crunchy, and semi-delicious for me, fat free and semi-healthy for her.

I charged up the stairs, my mood still upbeat. A breather from Mac was a good thing. Whatever I’d been feeling toward him—I was leaning toward grateful, which was way easier to swallow than the other option—was getting all muffed up in my head and I needed the downtime.

Then, I got home and Mom had a surprise for me. Good start to the weekend.

I opened my door and smelled it before I saw it. That musty, leathery scent that always conjured a memory of the classics section at the library. My heart skittered as I looked around and spied the mini-mountain of books next to my bed. Maybe twenty or so, all stacked up like a neat little building made of bricks.

“Holy stink,” Libby muttered and buried her nose in the crook of her furry arm.

“Suck it up; it’s not that bad.” I set my glass on the vanity and crossed the room to kneel next to the pile. All of them were fat, with gold brushed onto the edges of the pages, and all of them looked realllly old.

“What are they for?” Libby had come up behind me and peered down, her brows drawn together in a frown.

“They are our research project for the next few weeks.” I gave her a bright, hopeful smile, but she didn’t smile back.

“I’m going to need a little more info before I agree to touch those things. It smells like mummies in here, and I’m not big on the idea of soaking up the stench.”

“That’s not even a quarter of them,” Mom said from the doorway. She crossed her arms and leaned on the jamb, a tight smile bracketing her mouth. “They’re pretty fragile, so I didn’t want to just dump them all in boxes, and I didn’t want to overwhelm you or take up your whole room. Start with those. Once you’re done, let me know and we’ll switch them out for others.”

“What if I damage them?” I murmured, tracing the delicate scrollwork on the front of the top book with my fingertips.

“They’re your grandmother’s books, and I know she’d want you to have them. If something happens to one of them, it can be repaired, all right?”

I nodded absently, already itching to dig in. Finally, some real information that wasn’t bull.

I looked back over at Mom to ask her more questions, but she offered an apologetic half smile, shook her head slowly, and backed out of the room. She’d done all she could bring herself to do, and that had to be enough for now. I may not have understood why she was so afraid or what her reasons were for being so against me learning about my powers, but I had no doubt that pushing her further could be the last straw for her.

The fury that typically came with those thoughts didn’t this time. I loved her and she loved me. There might be a time in the near future where I didn’t remember that, or anything else. I had a job to do, and I wasn’t going to waste any more of my energy being angry with her for doing the best she knew how to do.

At that moment, Libby sneezed so loudly, I startled. “Bless you.”

She rubbed her nose and grumbled a “Thanks.” All was quiet when she stripped off her Siberian outerwear and then shuffled toward me. “So what do you need me to do?”

“Mom brought these out of storage for me, so I could learn more about our history.”

She looked at me for a long moment and nodded. “Makes sense. I’m in.”

And just like that, once again, I wasn’t alone. Libby was with me, and she was going to help me figure this mess out. I said a little prayer that, if the Council decided to strip my memory, Libby and I would find our way back to this point again someday. Best friends. The sister of my heart. I wanted to flop on the bed and cry but settled for a wobbly grin.

“Let’s both sit on the floor with a book apiece and start reading. Mostly, I’m looking for anything on my line.
Kardia
Aphrodite.” I debated and then tacked on, “Or the Council of Amaranth.” I wanted to try to find something about Mac…to figure out what line he descended from, too, but I’d do that when I was alone. I couldn’t have Libby asking too many questions.

She took a long gulp from her glass of tea and set it on the nightstand. “What’s that?” she asked.

“Some sort of watchdog unit. My mom was telling me about them, and I’m trying to learn more about our laws and what their role is.”
Annnd to find out if I am throwing myself on the mercy of a bunch of harpies.
Once this was all over, I wouldn’t hide anything from Libby ever again. Still, my gullet ached with all the deception and I swallowed hard to dislodge the lump.

“Okay.” She shrugged and sank to the floor across from me, settling into the soft peach carpet. “Pass one over.”

I carefully lifted the top book from the pile and handed it to her. It wouldn’t have surprised me if the thing disintegrated in my hands, it felt so fragile, but it held up nicely and she settled it on her lap.

The next in the pile had an elaborate hand-drawn picture of a flower on the cover but no title. I peered at the precariously balanced tower and shrugged. I had to look at every single one, so might as well start at the top. “And I’ll take this one.”

I opened the cover and read the inscription.

To my dearest Delphine,

Every day we spent together was magic.

Yours,

S

I flushed, trying not to think too hard about what that meant. My grandpa’s name was Harold, so Gram must have had herself a man before they got married. Funny, I’d never really thought of her as anything but Gram. The idea that she had a boyfriend at some point, and they’d done…
magical
stuff together made me want to squirm in discomfort.

“Seems like this one is about the rules and regulations of the early governing body, before the Council of Amaranth was formed,” Libby said after a few minutes passed. She gently leafed through to the middle and nodded. “Yep, that’s what this whole book is. Do you want me to skim them or move on?”

I tore my attention from the book I was reading on medicinal herbs and considered that. “I guess do a quick skim to see if anything jumps out at you and then go to the next one. If you get to the Amaranthus, though, let me know.”

Skimming was easier said than done. My ancestry was the cause of a butt-ton of problems, but it was also fascinating. The second book I grabbed seemed to focus on alchemy. I’d always thought of that as bullshit, but it was fascinating and I couldn’t keep myself from reading.

Libby was apparently having the same problem because she still held the same book she’d started with when I looked up an hour later.

“I thought you were moving on?”

“Yeah, I am,” she said with a smile. “I keep getting caught up.” She set the book gently next to her and reached a hand out for another. “Lay it on me.”

I gave her the tome titled
Gods and Man
and jerked my chin toward it. “That might be a good one. Want me to get a notebook so we can jot down page numbers if we see anything I should be reading? I don’t want to dog ear any of them.”

“Good idea.” She grabbed a pen off my dresser, and we went to work again.

By the time we were both all read and noted out four hours later, Mom had called up the stairs to let us know that she and Gram were going grocery shopping but could drop us at the mall for a while if we wanted. It sounded like the perfect break, so we bundled up and headed out.

I had a few things to pick up—namely a couple more sweaters like the one I’d worn today—and Libby wanted to get some perfume. Once we got that taken care of, we stopped off at the food court. While Libby was oohing and ahhing over the fruit and salad selection at Soybean Me Up, Scotty’s, I headed straight for Pretzel Place and asked for my usual. She’d placed an order and had to wait but gave me the stink eye from the line.

As soon as her food came, she barreled toward me with hell in her eyes. “Seriously, how can you put that in your body?” she asked, eyeing the pretzel-dog case like it was full of freshly minted dog crap.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer.” She already knew why. Because it tasted good. “What’s your beef with delicious food, anyway? I don’t get it.”

“Chemicals and trans fats aren’t delicious to me. I bet if aliens came down they wouldn’t even recognize that as food.”

“See? Another reason to get used to it. My digestive system is all prepped for an alien invasion, and yours isn’t. Once they come and wreck shop on our fruits and vegetables, what will there be left?” I held up the dog to my nose and took a long, appreciative sniff. “Trans fats and chemicals. Come to Mama.”