Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (5 page)

The
shock on his face was obvious; he hadn’t expected to hear her silent reply.
Liliana was just as shocked when she realized that he too could hear her
thoughts.

You
can hear me
, he
thought.

Yeah,
and you can hear me. That’s a first
. She was more perplexed than ever.

They
continued to stare at each other. He appeared to be about her age. Thin but
muscular, he had dazzling green eyes and dimples. Knowing that he could hear
her thoughts, Liliana tried her best to mask them as she thought,
Wow! He’s
cute
! She hoped that she had succeeded but wasn’t sure. She thought that
she detected a slight smile, but it quickly disappeared.

It was
his companion who spoke first. He wore glasses and appeared to be Hispanic or
Native American. She thought that he was probably a couple of years older than
the other guy, but not by much.

“You’re
Liliana?”

She was
hesitant to reply. “Uh…yeah…Do I know you?”

“No. I’m
Eddie. This is Tyler.” He indicated the guy beside him, who smiled when he was
introduced. “We’ve traveled a long way to find you. Can we talk?”

Tyler
understood Liliana’s desire to meet in public; after all, she didn’t know them,
and a restaurant would provide a sense of security. Few words were exchanged
during the short drive to the restaurant, by the marina. While she sat in front
and provided directions for Eddie, Tyler sat in the back and eyed her with
curiosity.

He
hadn’t known what to expect. He certainly hadn’t anticipated the instant
attraction. Easily nine or ten inches shorter than he was, she had striking
features, fascinating eyes that twinkled, lush, full lips, and long, silky,
jet-black hair.

She
liked him, too. Even though she had attempted to block her thoughts, he had
heard enough to know that she thought he was cute. He would, of course, have to
resist the mutual attraction, at least for now; any flirtations might impede
the search, and he couldn’t afford any setbacks. He needed to maintain focus
and keep his mind clear of distractions.

He
hadn’t heard from Toby since they had arrived to Seattle, and he tried not to
worry. Now that they had located Liliana, they would need to move quickly to
locate the next person on the list, and he still didn’t know who that was.

In the
meantime, he and Eddie would need to convince Liliana to join them on their
unpredictable and perilous mission. He had remained silent, during the drive,
as he contemplated various scenarios. She could laugh at them; he certainly
wouldn’t blame her. Their story did sound absurd. Worse yet, she could call the
police and report that they had tried to abduct her. Guilt teased the edge of
his conscience. He didn’t want to bring her into this dangerous journey but
knew that, in the end, there wasn’t a choice. If she didn’t go with them, she
faced certain abduction, by the same people who had taken his brother.

Liliana
and Eddie made small talk as they walked from the parking lot to the
restaurant. Tyler followed close behind, acutely aware of the hollow thuds of
his footsteps, on the wood plank walkway. He took advantage of his final moments,
alone, to rehearse what he would say.

The
restaurant, which sat high on a cliff and overlooked the water, boasted several
tables on an outside patio. Given the cold, wintry day, however, they headed
inside. The damp, frigid wind zipped off of the lapping waves and whipped
around their coats. Having grown up in the desert, Tyler had never been near
the ocean, and he took a deep breath of the salty seaweed air. He found the
scent to be pleasant and invigorating in an odd sort of way, and he made a mental
note that one day he would like to return. He hoped that Toby would be with
him.

*****

“You’ve
got to be kidding,” Liliana said after Tyler and Eddie had explained why they
had flown over a thousand miles to find her. “It’s a joke, right? Did Aimee put
you up to this?” She took a sip of hot chocolate and looked seriously from
Eddie to Tyler.

Tyler
noticed that she looked slightly over his head when she spoke. She squinted in
concentration, furled her eyebrows, and frowned. Then she shook her head. “You’re
not kidding. I can see that. If this was a joke, your colors would be…” She
paused and shook her head again. “But they’re not. Your colors are pure. I
don’t get it.” She examined the space over his head once again. “You’re for
real, aren’t you?”

Tyler nodded.
“Um, yeah…Yep, we are.” He glanced at Eddie, who nodded, as well. “This is
about as real as it gets,” he continued. “You mentioned our colors. What colors
are you talking about?”

Before
she could reply, Eddie smiled and nodded his head in understanding. “You see
auras, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Can
you see them, too?”

Eddie
shook his head. “No, I can’t. I’ve read about auras though. You can see them,
huh? That’s cool.”

“Cool?
Yeah, I guess so. The older I get, the more I’m beginning to appreciate it.”

“So,
what does that mean? You can see if I’m lying or not, just by looking at my
aura?”

“Well,
yeah. For the most part, I can. It’s taken some practice to learn about what I
see, but I’ve observed auras basically my whole life, so I’ve had some time to
figure it all out.”

“And you
can hear other people’s thoughts, too,” Tyler said. “So really, you can always
know if someone is lying.”

“Yeah,
auras are definitely truer, though. People can try to mask their thoughts, but
no one can fake an aura. Auras show what a person is truly about.”

“So,
you’ll come with us then?” Tyler felt a wave of relief. Maybe it wouldn’t be so
hard to convince her, after all. She
had
to see that their intentions
were true.

She
didn’t answer immediately and turned to look out of the large picture window
next to their table. Tyler looked at the view beyond and waited with patience
as a few sailboats passed by in the harbor. He watched a group of seagulls
swoop out of the sky and dive into the cold, murky water below. Finally, she
turned back to them.

“I
believe you. As odd as your story is, I do believe you. I just don’t see why
you need me. Why don’t you just call the police or the FBI and let them know
about your brother? Let them find him for you. I mean, really, as much as I
feel for you and would like to help, we’re just teenagers. What can we possibly
do?”

“The
people who took Toby are smart,” Tyler said. “They know what they’re doing, and
they’ve covered all of the bases. As far as the police are concerned, Toby’s
just another runaway. Even if we did explain that he’s been kidnapped, they
wouldn’t believe us. We don’t have proof.”

“Okay,
so I get that. But why do you need me? I understand that my name is on this
list, but I don’t know where your brother is. I may have a few unique abilities,
but I’m not psychic by any means. I wouldn’t have a clue how to find him.” She
looked at him with wide, unblinking eyes, as though daring him to convince her.

Tyler
glanced at Eddie, who shrugged and gave him a look that said,
I don’t know
what I’m doing here either
.

 Tyler
took a deep breath and met Liliana’s gaze. “We don’t know how we’re going to
find Toby either. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.
Right now, we’re just trying to stay one step ahead of the people who have him,
because the truth is, they’re after us, too. The people who took Toby also want
us—
all
of us. It won’t be long before they track us down, and when they
do, we won’t be any better off than Toby is, right now.

“I don’t
know how we’re going to find him, but we
will
find him. And honestly, as
of right now, I
don’t
know what you can do to help us. But I do know
that we can’t leave you here alone. If you stay, they
will
find you.
They’ll take you, and you’ll be considered another runaway, just like Toby.”

“If I go
with you, my grandfather will worry about me. He’s old. I can’t put him through
that. And my parents aren’t even in the country. If they find out that I’m
missing, they’ll have to come home. I can’t even begin to imagine how angry my
father would be.”

“So, you
would
consider coming with us, if your family didn’t find out?”

“Well…um…I
guess, but…”

Eddie
looked at Tyler as though he were an idiot. “And what exactly do you have in
mind? Don’t you think that her family would notice her absence?”

Tyler grinned
at him, but addressed Liliana. “One thing that I’ve learned is to never say
never. There’s always a way to accomplish something. Sometimes you just have to
think outside the box.”

“I’m
open for ideas,” Liliana said, “but I really don’t see what I can do.”

Tyler
sat for a moment, in silent contemplation. There had to be a way. He watched a
lone seagull, with a fish in its mouth, land on a pillar in the water. Another
seagull landed on a nearby pillar and eyed the fish enviously. Viewing the
other bird as a threat, the seagull with the fish flew away.

Tyler
turned to her. “You said that your parents are away right now? Who are you
staying with?”

“I’m
staying with my grandfather, but I think I’m going to go stay with my friend…”
Liliana paused for a moment and thought,
Of course, maybe I could tell my
grandfather that I’m going to stay with Aimee, but really, I could go with you
.

Perfect
! Tyler thought back. He smiled at
her and winked when she realized that he had heard her thoughts.

This
is too weird
, Liliana
thought.
I’ve never had someone else in my head. You must be used to it,
having your brother and all, but it’s a first for me.

It’s
kind of a first for me, too. I mean, I’m used to my brother. He’s been in my head
since the day we were born. But I’ve never had anyone else hear my thoughts
.

He
smiled at Liliana. She really was pretty. Remembering that she could hear his
thoughts, he focused to push all feelings of attraction aside and worked to
keep his mind on the problem at hand.
So, what do you think
? He
continued the silent conversation.
You tell your grandfather that you’re
going to stay with your friend and then you come with us? What about your
friend? Do you think she’ll say something?

No, I
trust her. Obviously, I can’t tell her what I’m up to, but if I ask her not to
tell anyone, she’ll stay quiet.

What
if your other friends call your grandfather’s place and ask for you?

They
won’t. Aimee’s the only one with his number. My other friends would call my
cell phone
. Liliana
frowned as she thought the plan through.
I’ll have Aimee tell my friends
that I have laryngitis. And even if they did happen to get his number and call,
my grandfather only speaks Chinese. Basically all he’d be able to say is,
‘Liliana not here’
."

Tyler laughed.
“It’s perfect,” he said out loud. “Probably the best plan we’re going to be
able to come up with.”

Eddie
looked back and forth between Tyler and Liliana, who were still smiling at each
other as though they shared a secret. “Excuse me? Plan? Why do I get the
feeling that I just missed out on an entire conversation?”

Tyler
shared a smile with Liliana and laughed. “Sorry I guess we forgot for a moment
that this is a three-way conversation.”

Their
waitress stepped up to the table, then, and interrupted. “Can I get the three
of you anything else?”

“Uh, no,
thanks,” Tyler replied. “I think we’re ready for the check.”

“Okay
then. I’ll be right back,” she said and departed.

Eddie
turned to Liliana. “So what’s the plan? You coming with us?”

“It
looks like I am. I must be crazy.”

“Join
the crowd. I’ve been convinced that I must be crazy since I began this
escapade.” He looked to Tyler. “Where are we headed next?”

“We need
to go to Liliana’s place so that she can pack a bag and pretend to go to her
friend’s house. And then…I don’t know. Hopefully I’ll hear from Toby soon.”

“What
about my school?” Liliana interrupted. “When I don’t show up tomorrow, they’ll
call my house. And when they don’t get ahold of anyone there, they’ll call my
grandfather. The school secretary
does
speak Chinese.”

“Does
the school know that your parents are out of the country?” Tyler asked.

“No, we
never told them.”

“Does
your father speak English?”

“Yeah. What
are you thinking?”

“I’m
thinking that Eddie can call the school tomorrow morning, pretend to be your
father, and tell them that you’re going to be out sick for the rest of the
week.”

Liliana
raised her eyebrows and frowned with skepticism.

“Don’t
worry. It’ll work.”

When she
still looked hesitant, Tyler sent a pleading look to Eddie for assistance.

“Yeah,
don’t worry about it,” Eddie reassured her. “It’ll work.” Then, he spoke in a
baritone voice, “I’ll call the school tomorrow and pretend to be your father.”

Liliana
laughed. “My father doesn’t have that deep of a voice. Your own voice should do
just fine. They don’t know my father that well to recognize what he sounds like
anyway.”

Just
then, Toby’s thoughts entered his mind.
Good, you found her, didn’t you? Are
you with Liliana?

A wave
of relief swept over him and he spoke to his brother out loud, “You’re here! I
was so worried that you wouldn’t be able to reach me. Yeah, I’m with Eddie and
Liliana.”

Eddie
glanced at him with a look of curiosity. “Um, are you talking to us?”

“No,
it’s Toby. He’s here.”

Liliana
looked just as confused as Eddie. “He’s…
here
?”

“Yes and
no. Physically he’s still…somewhere else, but mentally he’s here. I can hear
his thoughts and he can hear mine.”

Can
you go outside
? Toby
asked.
With all of the conversations and people around, your words are
broken up, like a bad cell phone connection
.