Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (15 page)

Knowing
that they were pressed for time, they played quickly, and it wasn’t long before
only three colored balls remained on the table. She realized that she only had
one ball remaining while Toby had two.

“I’m
chalking that up to beginner’s luck,” Toby said. He stood at the opposite end
of the table and held his cue stick to the floor.

“Luck? I
don’t think so.” Rebecka shook her head. “I’ve got skills.”

“And you
had a pretty good teacher, too.”

She
laughed. “Well, yeah, that too, of course.” She glanced at the clock on the
wall. “We’d better hurry. You’ve only got five minutes before Bobby’s going to
switch the camera back on. If you don’t want to risk it, we can just end the
game now.”

“What?
Walk away and let you win? I don’t think so!”

“It’s
only a game.”

“Sure,
you say that because you’re winning.” He circled the table, tilted his head, and
squinted at the balls. Then he squished his way between Rebecka and the table.
He took a step back and leaned his back against her. “Excuse me. You’re in my
way.”

Rebecka
giggled. “Oh, I am, huh? Well then, let me just move out of the way for you. I
wouldn’t want to hinder your ability to play.” She took an exaggerated step to
the left. “Is that better?”

He
glanced sideways at her and grinned. “Much better.” He leaned over the table
and lined up the cue stick. “Now then, let me show you how to win…” He cut his
sentence short and straightened.

Rebecka
looked at him, puzzled. “What was that? What were you going to show—”

“Shh…”
He held a finger up to his lips. “Someone’s coming.”

They
simultaneously stepped toward each other, until they stood side by side. “Did
you hear something?” she whispered.

Toby
shook his head. “No, I had a brief vision. Hold on for a second.”

She
looked at him as he closed his eyes in concentration.

He
opened his eyes a few seconds later. “It’s that guy who came to my room…Jesse.”

“You saw
Jesse? Where?”

“He’s down
the hall, and…” He closed his eyes again. “He’s walking this way. He just
passed the stairs. Is there anywhere else besides here that he could be
headed?”

“I doubt
it. There’s a dance studio, but other than that, every other room is empty.”

“So
basically what you’re saying is, we’re sitting ducks.”

“Um,
yeah…I think we’re screwed.”

“
We’re
not screwed.
I
am…
you’re
not. Get out of here. Now.”

Rebecka
shook her head. “Toby, I can’t just leave you.”

“
Yes
,
you can. There’s no sense in both of us getting caught. They don’t know that
you use your abilities to move about this place. Don’t blow your cover now. Get
out of here.”

She
leaned in close and whispered in his ear, “The author’s name is Patricia
McCormack.”

He
pulled her into a bear hug and whispered back, “Thank you. Now go.”

She took
a deep breath. He was right; she needed to go. But still, she regretted leaving
him behind. Still held in his embrace, she whispered back, “I’ll see you soon.”
Then she closed her eyes and focused on her room. Just when the tingling
sensation reached her head, she heard the door begin to open, and then she was
gone.

A row of
aspens that lined the drive, greeted them upon their arrival. The trees,
swaying gently in the breeze, relinquished their hoard of snow, which resulted
in a rhythmic splatter on the roof of the Jeep, as they drove up the long,
winding lane. With luck, the kidnappers wouldn’t expect their return, to
Eddie’s hometown. The confusion would hopefully buy them time while they waited
for guidance and direction from Toby.

Tyler
glanced over his shoulder to the back seat. Liliana had used his fleece
pullover as a pillow. Snuggled against it, she slept in momentary escape from
the tumultuous situation that engulfed them. He was hit with a sense of guilt
as he watched the peaceful countenance of her face. He silently questioned the
wisdom of bringing her along. Maybe she would have been better off in Seattle.

“They
would have found her, you know,” Eddie said. He glanced at Tyler. “If we had
left her there, she would probably be locked up with Toby, by now.”

Tyler
turned to him with curiosity. “How did you know that’s what I was thinking?”

“It
doesn’t take mind-reading skills. I see the way you look at her. Whether you
want to admit it or not, you’re starting to care about her. And besides,” he
continued, “I was thinking the same thing. She’s a sweet girl, not the type to
run away from home or do anything crazy like that. But it’s true…They would
have found her. She’s better off, for now, if she stays with us.”

Tyler
sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

Liliana
awoke when Eddie brought the Jeep to a stop, in front of the house. “Are we
already at your place? I can’t believe I slept the whole way!”

“Don’t
worry about it,” Eddie said. “We’re all tired from the trip. No sense in
staying awake when you could be resting.”

She
handed Tyler the pullover. “Thanks for this. I think you’re going to need it.
It looks a bit chilly outside.”

“No
problem.” He pulled the fleece over his tousled hair and shivered as he looked
out at the fresh, untouched snow. It was hard to gauge from inside the vehicle,
but he guessed there was at least two feet on the ground.

A tall,
skinny girl bounded down the cement steps of the house. “Eddie! You’re home!”
she shouted. She grinned from ear to ear as she ran toward Eddie. Tyler guessed
this must be the sister he had mentioned.

Eddie
swept her into a giant bear hug and swirled her around. When her feet were
planted back on the ground, she turned to the newcomers. “Who are you friends?”

“This is
Tyler and Liliana.” Eddie indicated them each by turn and then placed an arm
around her shoulders. “This is my sister, Abby.”

“You
were gone
forever
,” his sister scolded.

He smiled
down at her. “Not forever. Only three days.”

“Well,
three days too many.”

“Ha! I
missed you too, little sis.” He turned to Liliana. “Why don’t you go on in and
get warm. Tyler and I will grab the bags and be right in.”

“All
right. Thanks.” Liliana smiled and turned to follow Abby up the steps.

Once she
was in the house, Tyler turned to Eddie. “Do you think we’ll be safe here?”

“As safe
as anywhere else, I suppose. If they tracked my credit card, they’ll know we
flew to Phoenix, but after that, there’s virtually no trace of us.”

“I hope
you’re right.”

“Hopefully,
once Sarah and Grace get here, we’ll be able to formulate some sort of plan.”
They hadn’t actually spoken with Sarah, but through a continuous circuit of
phone tag when Eddie had taken the risk to occasionally turn his phone on, he
had determined that she had somehow located Grace, and together, the girls were
on their way to Flagstaff.

“I’m
curious how Grace and Sarah found each other,” Tyler said. “That seems like an
odd coincidence.”

“Yeah,
no kidding. My grandmother says there’s no such thing as a coincidence. If they
found each other, they were brought together for a reason. Hopefully they don’t
run into any problems along the way. I imagine they should be here soon. You
haven’t heard from your brother?”

Tyler
shook his head and frowned. “No…I haven’t.”

“Well, come
on. We might as well go inside. You can meet my family, and we’ll make lunch.
If there’s nothing else that we can do besides wait, we might as well relax.”

Once
inside, the house presented an illusion of safety. Eddie’s father sat in a
recliner and watched TV in front of a warm and inviting wood stove. Off to the
other side of the house was the kitchen, where Eddie’s mother stood in front of
an open refrigerator and put groceries away. The entire scene was refreshingly
normal, and Tyler was thankful for the temporary sanctuary.

“Hey, son,
welcome home!” Eddie’s father waved from the chair. “How was Tucson?”

“It was
good. I brought some friends home. This is Tyler, and Liliana is around here,
somewhere. Abby already stole her away. I told them they could stay with us so
they wouldn’t have to get a motel room.”

“That’s
fine. Your friends are always welcome. Hi, Tyler, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to
meet you too, sir,” Tyler replied.

His dad
smiled. “You can call me Mannie.”

“And I’m
Claire,” his mother said as she entered the living room. “It’s nice to meet
you, Tyler.” She extended a hand in greeting.

“Thank
you for allowing us to stay here.”

“It’s
our pleasure,” Claire said. “Have you boys eaten?”

“No,
we’re starving,” Eddie replied.

“Good.
Why don’t you go ahead and find the girls. I’ll make lunch.”

*****

“Well,”
Eddie said once they had finished lunch, “I guess all we can do is wait. As
much as I hate to say it, I should probably get caught up on homework. I don’t
want to fall behind any more than I already have. I’m going to call my lab
partner to find out my missing assignments. Do you two think you can entertain
yourselves for a couple of hours? You’re welcome to watch TV with my dad, or if
that prospect doesn’t excite you, I can loan you some snow boots and coats, and
you can explore the property.”

“I like
the idea of staying warm,” Tyler said.

“Oh,
come on! Where’s your sense of adventure?” Liliana elbowed Tyler in the arm.
“Let’s go outside and play in the snow.”

“I’ve
got warm clothes you can borrow,” Eddie told him. “In fact, we’ve got a couple
pairs of snowshoes in the garage. Have you ever gone snowshoeing?”

Tyler
shook his head. “Nope, can’t say that I have. I’ve lived in the desert my whole
life, and my foster family never took me anywhere.”

Liliana
grinned. “Let’s try it! It sounds like fun!”
Don’t be a wuss
, she
thought to him.

Excuse
me
? Tyler retorted,
silently.
I am not a wuss!

Good,
then come out with me
,
she thought back.

You’re
on
, Tyler thought in
return.

“We’ll
go snowshoeing,” she told Eddie.

Eddie
looked back and forth between them and smiled. “Why do I feel like I just
missed something?”

“Nothing
important.” Tyler glared at Liliana and then turned to Eddie. “Do you have a
pair of boots that will fit?”

*****

Almost
an hour had passed when it occurred to Tyler that he had forgotten about the
cold. He admitted, only to himself, that he was glad they had decided to
explore the winter wonderland. He stood back for a moment and watched Liliana
follow a hawk that flew from one tree to the next. Her excitement and wonder
for life made him smile. If the search for his brother hadn’t been at the
forefront of his mind, he would have openly admitted his attraction for her.

Caught
up in her enthusiasm for bird watching, he found himself looking skyward at the
fleeting bird as he trudged through the snow to catch up to her. He had almost
reached her when his left ankle gave way. He stumbled forward over a bulging
tree root and landed face-first into the snow.

Startled
by his hollers and exclamations, Liliana turned and trudged toward him. She
plopped down beside him and helped him into a sitting position. A hint of a
smile was quickly replaced with a frown as she wiped snow from his forehead.
“That was quite the face-plant. Are you okay?”

Tyler
sensed that her apparent concern was a mask to hide her amusement.

“I’m
great,” he mumbled.

From out
of the blue, Toby’s thoughts invaded his mind.
What are you doing
? his
brother inquired.

Oh,
thank God
! Tyler
thought in return. Liliana raised her eyebrows in silent question. “It’s my
brother,” he explained. She wouldn’t be able to hear Toby’s end of the
conversation, but at least she’d be able to hear his own thoughts.

“Good!”
She sat up straighter in alert attentiveness.

We
were just out for a little snowshoeing adventure
, Tyler thought to his brother.

You
and the girl, huh
?
Toby replied with a hint of amusement.

He
scooped up a glove full of snow and crushed it into a tight ball.
Yeah, we,
uh, just sat down to take a breather,
he thought.

Liliana
chuckled. “Yeah, sure…That’s exactly why we sat down.”

A wave
of pain emanated from his left ankle; he grimaced slightly at an attempt to
bend it but decided not to mention it, lest he worry his brother.

I
think I might have a lead for you
, Toby thought.
It turns out that the people who are
looking for you guys are from an agency called the IIA. They’re serious, and
they mean business.

The
IIA? Does that stand for something?

Yeah,
it’s short for Indigo Intelligence Agency. It’s a long story, but the main
thing you need to know is that they’re determined to find you. They want to use
our gifts for their own intelligence purposes. Basically, they want to use us
as spies.

Spies?
Really? That’s…interesting.

Interesting
to say the least
,
Toby thought in return.

So
did you find out where they’re keeping you?

No,
not yet. From what I gather, I’m in the middle of nowhere, but that’s all I
know. I think we might have a good lead for you though. There’s someone on the
outside who might know where we are.

‘We’
might have a lead
?
Tyler queried.
Who’s the ‘we’?

I’ve
met someone else who wants to help. Her name’s Rebecka. They kidnapped her,
too. She’s been here a bit longer and has a little more inside information.

That’s
cool,
Tyler thought.
We can use all the help we can get.

Speaking
of help, were you able to find everyone on the list?

Yeah,
just about. Sarah and Grace should be here, soon.

Where
is here?
Toby asked.

We’re
back in Arizona, at Eddie’s house, in Flagstaff.

That’s
perfect, because the next person I want you to find is in Sedona, not too far
from there. Her name is Patricia McCormack. She’s the author of a book about
Indigo Children. I don’t think she’ll know where I am, but she knows someone
who does. There’s a tracker who used to work for the agency, and he bailed on
them. He took off, and they don’t have a clue where he is. The author wrote
about him in one of her books, and there’s a good chance that she might know
where he is. If you find the tracker, then he can tell you where they’re
keeping me.

Nice.
We just have to wait for Sarah and Grace to show up and then we can head out to
look for her.

Thanks.
Please be careful. Word is, these guys are keeping a close eye on her, hoping
that the tracker will return. If they see you there, the gig’s up.

No
worries
, Tyler reassured
him.
We’ll think of something, and we’ll keep our eyes open.

Thanks,
bro. I knew I could count on you.

Of
course. Don’t worry. I’ll be coming to see you soon.

After
Toby was gone, Tyler filled in the pieces of conversation Liliana had missed.

“That’s
awesome!” she replied when he had finished explaining the details. “At least
now we have a lead.”

“Sure,
but that’s assuming she’s been in contact with the tracker. Toby doesn’t know
for sure.”

“Well,
it’s better than nothing. Do you want to go back to the house and tell Eddie?”

Tyler
hesitated, “Um…yeah.” Once again, he attempted to flex his ankle, but took in a
sharp breath and froze when he was assaulted by the increased pain.