Chasing Shadow (Shadow Puppeteer) (7 page)

He looked like a banker the way his hair was combed. I missed the goat contacts. His shoulders were broad under the starched blue shirt and my stomach tightened at the memory of him lifting me over said shoulder as if I was as small and delicate as Starr. He felt so good last night with his leg between mine.

I shook that thought quickly. We had a score to settle.

“She has a record. Do you want me to stay?” Grif said.

The men who broke into my house this morning called him Draken. They also called him a Free-String Walker, a term the Daily Dark often uses for humans the government controlled. His eyes rested on me and I found myself fidgeting.

“I can handle this,” Draken said.

Grif quickly left us, closing the door behind him. Draken’s presence was dominating now that I was sober.

He was reading data on his personalized palm size computer as I studied him. His smile was tight and professional. I’d seen that smile a thousand times; mostly when adults were trying to coax me into admitting something. Was he working for World Congress or the Berserkers?

“You will pardon the interruption Miss McKnight; it appears some interesting information has come to light on a wholly different situation. Where were you last night between the hours of curfew and 4 a.m.?”

This had to be a trick question He knew exactly where I was. “Sleeping.”

He didn’t even blink.

“How long have you lived with Ms. Sable?”

“It’s in my record.”

He nodded, but didn’t check his chip scanner for details. If what he said last night about watching our house was true, he already knew my history.

“How did you get that bruise on your face?”

I wanted to say something cocky about his handkerchief, but incase this conversation was being recorded it was safer not to fall into that trap. His cold façade was made me nervous. He was far more ridged today.

“What do you know about Abigail Sable?” Draken asked.

This integration was starting to make me nervous. I lowered my shields so I could feel him, but there was emptiness. He didn’t even have the surrounding aura that people had. Starr was the same way and my empathy persuasion didn’t work on her.

I chose my words very carefully. “She watches a lot of television.”

“I’ll remind you that by law, you are sworn to truth when talking to a World Congress official. Have you seen strange people entering the house, some of them, maybe at night?”

I was sweating. He was digging, though I felt no shame in lying, I couldn’t help wonder what would happen to me if I got caught. I gave my best nonchalant shrug and crossed my arms just under my chest, hoping for good old sexual attraction. Draken was on the up and up, because he didn’t glance at my chest. Rex never did either. I didn’t know how to deal with men who didn’t respond to my allure.

I didn’t want to go down with Abigail, but loyalty won out. “No.”

“At seven o’clock this morning, three men entered your house.”

Draken pressed a button on his handheld and then handed it to me. There was a picture of three men entering the house. He reached over and clicked a button and the next picture showed one of the men closing the door, but just behind him, the photo caught the gleam of a pulled gun.

If the camera caught them, then it caught me sneaking around the corner. I felt dizzy and sat down, despite the protest of my bruised tailbone.

“What do you have in the duffle bag, Miss McKnight?” Draken asked.

What was this guy’s game? I licked my lips, stalling for time. I didn’t want to get dragged out of school like Len.

His handheld rang and his scrutiny was diverted as he read the message.

“We’ll continue this later,” he warned.

As he walked out, I couldn’t help but notice that even his demeanor was different. For the oddest reason, it felt like he didn’t recognize me.

I pulled myself out of the seat and my wrist gave a strong pulsing ache. Draken was a problem for later. Right now, I needed to find Memphis. He was the smartest kid in school. If anyone knew what was wrong with me, it would probably be him.

B
y lunch time, my entire body was cramping. It felt like something large was pushing through my veins. I really needed to find Memphis, but as hungry as I was, I couldn’t leave without eating a little more.

The cafeteria was a circus. The conversational buzz was about Len, which saved me from jokes about my bruised nose. As sad as the situation was, girls went missing all the time. Even children from perfect homes become runaways. It didn’t mean World Congress was involved.

Still, the thought of kidnapped girls made my stomach knot in such a way, that it was physically painful eating. I dropped the fork on top of my food and casually glanced around the cafeteria. Memphis was a no show, which wasn’t uncommon, if I was as smart as him, I’d also spend lunch in the lab.

Starr sat across the cafeteria with the photo club. Their cluttered table had cameras and photo books next to their trays. I sat with them once and regretted it. Even the geeks found pleasure in teasing me. At least they kept Starr busy.

I popped an apple slice into my mouth and tried to rehearse a plausible conversation with Memphis. My excuses for these wounds sounded suspicious and Memphis wasn’t the type of person who saw through lies. I barely had a plausible idea when the noise level raised an extra decibel as the cheerleaders entered. That was my cue to exit.

Gathering my things, I rose right as a tray slid onto the table across from me. Brian leaned in, trying to look sexy with his sweater vest and thick glasses. His mousiness got in the way of the sex appeal.

“Are you free tonight?” Brian kept his voice low as he fumbled with his glasses in the same sloppy way he fumbled me in the dark.

I smiled and it made my face hurt. Brian was one of the most unthreatening guys I knew.

“We might be able to work something out for another night this week.”

Brian’s smile was pure, where Sergeant Grif’s was lecherous. I’m not kidding myself. Brian desires my body, but at least he’s respectful about it. He fills my inner void and I fill his inner horniness. It wasn’t a match made in heaven, but it made me less lonely.

“Sounds great, we’ll work the details out tomorrow,” he said, throwing me a wink as he stood. He tried so hard at being sexy. It was endearing

With the noise at its highest, I stood with my tray and emptied it in the nearest trashcan. It was time to get down to business while everyone was occupied. Draken hadn’t left a patroller at the school and Principal Viddie wasn’t camped out watching the students. I pushed through the cafeteria doors, favoring my hurt wrist and nearly collided with Rex pacing in the hall.

“We need to talk.”

I hoped I appeared indifferent to his tone. He held my eyes for only a moment before he started pacing again. It gave me a chance to study him. He usually had better control over his intensity, which meant something was really bothering him. Was it Amber or was it me?

“If you came to apologize for your girlfriend, don’t bother,” I said.

He stopped pacing. “Amber? No. It’s not about her, but if she’s bothering you, I’ll talk to her.”

“We haven’t spoken for months, so I can’t imagine what you’d have to say to me.”

I was proud that I kept the hurt from my tone. When he severed our ties, he didn’t so much as cast a look in my direction. I just stopped existing in his universe. That hurt more than the breakup.

“What did the patroller want with you?” he asked.

His mood was strained. When he was in a bad mood, like now, his golden brown eyes were more brown then golden. On his good days, the gold almost appeared amber. I wish this was a good day. His temper flooded me even without lowering my shield.

“Just asked a few questions about Len,” I said.

He swooped in, closing the distance between us. His hand circled my waist to keep me from tripping as I tried to step away. All my focus went to that sturdy grip at my painfully bruised back. I was dizzy with the mixed pleasure of his touch and the pain that radiated from it. That wasn’t the only part of me involuntarily reacting. A grunt slipped my lips.

“Damnit, Belen, this isn’t a joke.”

I opened my mouth to comment and couldn’t find the words. My head was woozy and all I really wanted to do was lean in and smell him. Curse my swollen nose. I really missed the cedar scent of his skin.

“Lay off, Rex. I told you what I know. World Congress thought I could answer questions about Len, but I can’t. I have a few classes with her, but I don’t know her.” Lying hardly disturbed me. I’ve been doing it for a long time.

He let me go, but the heat of his hand still warmed my skin. My breath hitched and when he glanced back at me, I thought he might have heard it. His hearing couldn’t be that good.

“Brian’s only using you.”

“You didn’t think I was going to stay your doting fan forever, did you?” Another lie.

The heat from his glare could have burnt my clothes off. It would be a first being naked in front of him. Rex had a great deal more control over his primal urges than a lot of guys I knew.

“I need to tell you something important,” he said.

“Don’t you think it’s a little late to start making confessions?”

As much as I liked him, I was pissed off and hurt. I wanted him to show he cared if even just a little bit. I wanted to stop being the throwaway child, the throwaway lover, the throwaway friend.

“Suck it up, Belen and listen. It’s a matter of importance to your wellbeing and you should be aware of this,” Rex said.

If he saw all the self-inflicted scars on my body, he’d know I didn’t care too much about my wellbeing. Sanity was a fickle thing.

His attention snapped down the hallway towards the auditorium doors. It was distant, but I heard it too. Someone was coming.

“We’ll meet tonight.”

That was definitely not a request.

I don’t let anyone push me around. “I’m busy.”

“Not anymore. This is serious. We need to talk,” he said.

I wanted to be angry with him, but there was something in his tone that worried me.

“The tool shed is never locked and there are no cameras on that side of the school,” I offered. There were never cameras near the forest limits.

This time when he frowned, his eyes were golden, full and dark. I always felt like there was something kindred between us. Did it occur to him that we’d be alone in the shed?

“I just don’t want to see you hang yourself over something you don’t understand. Once you have World Congress’s attention, things get dire,” he said.

My muscles tightened again, making it difficult to focus on his words. He had no idea what dire meant to me right now. I tried to walk around him, but he caught my arm and raised my injured wrist up between us. The ooze bled through the gauze and the white fabric of my shirt. By the way his nose wrinkled, I knew it smelled.

“What happened last night? What did you get caught up in?”

The footsteps were getting closer.

“I’ll tell you tonight in the shed.”

He let my arm go and walked into the cafeteria. A burst of rowdy noise filled the hall before the door once again muffled it. I kept my arm close to my body and hurried down the hallway towards the stairs.

“Principal Viddie,” a woman called. The man stopped walking.

I was out of breath when I made it to the staircase. If Principal Viddie caught me outside the cafeteria, I’d be questioned for the entire break. That was time ill spent. I hurried on up the stairs determined to find Memphis before the bell.

Memphis was predictable. I’d find him on the third floor in the advance science labs. He was a junior like me, but too clever for his own good. People gave him space.

I heard tongs tap against glass and followed that sound down the hall. All the lockers were down stairs, which left plenty of room for posters and diagrams on billboards behind glass. I hesitated in front of the lab door wishing there was a window I could peep in. The last thing I needed was to barge in on a teacher and student. I took a deep breath and entered.

His back was turned to me, but I’d recognize Memphis in his lab coat anywhere. In the mornings, his hair started out combed, but by lunch time, it was a mess.

“Memphis, I need you to look at something for me,” I said.

He faced me with protective goggles that magnified his eyes. “What do you need looked at?”

Ever practical, Memphis pulled off his gloves and washed his hands while I unwound the gauze on my wrist. My veins were black under the surface of my left arm, but it stopped at my elbow. It could be a reason why the rest of me hurt so badly. I should have brought more gauze. Memphis started back over with fresh gloves and a mask over his face, which didn’t give me confidence that things were going to be okay.

The skin had sunken in and blackened around the edges. The muscle was a dark red that went into a pus yellow towards the center and I’m still sure that’s bone I saw glinting white. I felt cold, but Memphis’s hands on my arm gave me comfort.

“It’s a deep cut. The coloration of your skin suggests dead flesh, but the muscle is still pink under the pus. It looks like your body is counteracting the toxins.”

“You think there are toxins in there? What’s wrong with me? Is it fatal?” That’s what I cared about most though losing my arm came in at a close second.

Memphis reached for a magnifying glass. “I’ve seen an injury like this before. May I?”

He held up a cotton swab and I nodded.

“What cut you?” he asked.

I braced for pain, but he only swabbed along the side. It didn’t look like blood that he smeared onto the slide. It was brackish like swamp water. My stomach turned and I had to fight to keep my food down. After today, who knew when my next meal would come.

“You can tell me what you want, but the truth can help me determine the cure,” Memphis said.

He didn’t glance at me as he stuck the sample under the microscope. I bit my bottom lip. In the end, I trusted him more than a doctor.

“It happened last night on Xyla. I was scratched by something that looked dead,” I said. He stopped what he was doing to look at me. I had to tell him what I already knew. “It looked like Starr, but it wasn’t. It was her doppelganger.”