Mystics 3-Book Collection (41 page)

But it was useless. The only mother she’d
ever spoken with was gone.

Her knees buckled as a great sadness washed
over her. She searched the snow for the recording device.

“Muttab? Where’s the recording thing?
Muttab?” But the Minitian had disappeared, too.

Zoey’s eyes burned. She sat abandoned in the
snow.

A gasp sounded behind her.

Claudia had been hiding behind a tree. She
stood there, half hidden, and watched Zoey for a moment. Zoey saw a
little smile of triumph on Claudia’s face, before she turned and
ran back towards the Hive.

Z
oey wasn’t sure
how long she sat in the snow, waiting for her mother to come back,
and she didn’t care.

“Zoey!” Tristan rushed over to her and fell
beside her on his knees.

“Zoey, what happened to you? Your lips are
blue. How long have you been outside? Your cheeks have frostbite.
Zoey?”

Zoey looked into his eyes, but it was too
painful to speak.

“She looks exactly like a zombie,” Simon
leaned forward to examine her more closely.

“Even her skin’s gone gray. Maybe she
is
one of the infected. Which reminds me, we need a zombie
plan—everyone needs a zombie plan.”

Tristan ignored Simon and grabbed Zoey by
the shoulders and shook her.

“Zoey,” he said gently, “Zoey, what
happened? Why are you out here in the cold like this? Does this
have something to do with what you’ve been hiding from us? Zoey?
Why won’t you answer me?”

“She looks bad, Tristan,” said Simon looking
grave, “We should get her in before she dies of hypothermia. She’s
been out in the cold too long without moving.”

Tristan scooped Zoey into his arms as though
she weighed no more than an infant and marched towards the inn.

“I’ll get Aria.” Simon snatched up Zoey’s
red mittens and ran ahead of them in the knee-high snow. He
slipped, fell, and finally made an awkward jump up to the slippery
porch. Moments after he disappeared inside, Aria came rushing
out.

“What happened to her?” Aria grabbed hold of
Zoey’s hands. “She’s frozen stiff! Quick, get her inside!”

Aria yanked the front door open, ushering
Tristan inside. “Set her down near the fire, I’ll go and fetch her
some tea and a blanket.” Aria disappeared towards the kitchen.

Gently, Tristan set Zoey on the couch
nearest the fire. The warmth from the fire slowly woke her up. Her
fingers and toes started to burn, as her freezing flesh started to
warm.

“Zoey, what is it? What’s wrong?” Tristan
sat beside her on the couch, his face twisted in worry.

“Hurts,” was all Zoey could muster. Her
fingers felt like they were about to fall off.

“Quick, rub her hands,” said Aria, as she
settled a cup of tea on the side table and pulled off Zoey’s boots.
“I’ll rub her feet to get the blood going again.”

Tristan and Aria went to work on her hands
and toes, while Simon sat in the chair next to them, squeezing her
red mitts.

After a few minutes, Zoey revived a bit. She
felt like she was waking up from a long sleep.

“I’m feeling better,” she croaked finally.
“Thank you.”

She felt a little foolish and pulled her
hands away from Tristan, who didn’t seem to want to let go. She
looked around. The inn was quiet.

And then she remembered Claudia.

Had she heard everything? How long had she
hidden like a snake behind that tree, listening to her private
conversation with her mother? Would she tell someone?

Aria wrapped a wool blanket around Zoey’s
shoulders and handed her the tea. “Here, drink this. It’s mystic
tea. It’ll warm you up and give you some strength back.”

Zoey wrapped her hands around the warm cup
and took a sip. “This is really good, thank you. It tastes like
honey. I love honey.”

Aria shook her head sadly.

“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have been
so hard on you, Zoey. I never thought I’d drive you away. You could
have died in the cold. I’m so sorry, Zoey, can you ever forgive
me?”

Tears welled in Aria’s big yellow eyes, and
Zoey instantly felt guiltier about concealing the truth than ever
before.

“It’s not your fault, Aria.” Zoey swallowed
some more tea, letting the warmth soothe her frozen body and
feeling stronger with every sip. “This is all me. Trust me. You had
nothing to do with this.”

“I don’t understand,” said Aria, with her
four hands on her hips. “Then why were you out there in the cold
for so long? Why didn’t you come back inside if you weren’t upset
with me?”

Zoey lowered her eyes. “You wouldn’t
understand. It’s over. Don’t worry about it.”

But Aria didn’t look convinced. “Keep your
secrets then. But I promised the Agency that I would look after
you, so I
am
worried. Now, I’m going to fetch you some of my
famous Ghoul Ginger Soup. You boys keep an eye on her until I get
back.”

Zoey watched Aria disappear. Tristan and
Simon watched her in the awkward silence.

“Are you going to tell us what happened,”
said Simon finally, “or do we have to beat it out of you?”

Zoey smiled. Simon could always make the
tension go away. She let out a long, shaky breath and began
retelling her story. First she told them about her special
abilities, and how Mrs. Dupont was the one who first made her aware
of them.

Their faces were expressionless when she
explained that she had hidden away in her room for the past weeks
because she had been trying to recreate her mirror-port skills.

Finally, she told them about the Minitian,
and the secret message from her mother.

When she was done, she sat back and waited.
She watched Tristan and Simon nervously.

“Well then,” said Simon, as he sat back and
smacked his chin with a mitt. “Slap me silly and call me Sally, but
that’s some seriously wicked stuff. Man, what I’d give to see the
look on Aria’s face when you landed in her super clean sink…must
have been awesome. She kinda scares me.”

He pulled the red mittens over his hands and
started to play hand puppets.

Zoey looked at Tristan, and he smiled. “I
always knew there was something different about you,
Drifter
,” he teased. “I was right. You’re special.”

Heat rose to Zoey’s face and she stared at
her fingers. She wished she could melt into the couch and
disappear.

“Well, I’m not sure it’s a good thing.
Whatever I have, or whatever I am—it’s made me a target.”

Tristan leaned forward. “So, your mother hid
you in the orphanage because she knew you’d be in danger.”

Zoey nodded. “That’s right. She gave me away
out of love, not because she didn’t want me.” Even as she said it,
she felt a comfort she had never felt before.

“She knew if the Alphas and Mrs. Dupont knew
about me, they’d be after me because of what I can do.” Zoey
frowned. “But she also told me that the Agency wasn’t safe and that
I should leave.”

“What? You can’t
leave
the Agency!”
cried Simon.

He lowered his voice when he realized he was
shouting.

“I mean, that’s crazy talk. It’s a lot safer
here
than out there with the Mutes. And we still don’t know
the exact magnitude of the illegal mystics that crossed over.
They’re just dying to kill an unsuspecting agent. Nope, you’re
safer here with us.”

“He’s right,” said Tristan. “Here you have
your friends, and people who care about you. This is where you
belong.”

Zoey didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure if she
was
safer with the Agency. She’d already been betrayed by
Agent Stokes. Her mother had warned her against traitors. Had her
mother been the victim of some treacherous scheme in the Agency?
And then she remembered something else.

“My mother said Mrs. Dupont and the Alphas
were after me,” she said, “but then she switched and said
them
. Like
them
was something else, something even
more terrifying.”

Tristan watched Zoey. “Who do you think
them
is?”

Zoey was silent for a moment, remembering
the terror on her mother’s face. “I saw something,” she said. “My
mother was scared of something when she was speaking to me. I saw
it, not clearly, but whatever it was, it was big and mean, and it
terrified my mother. Whatever that thing is, it’s after her. I
think that’s who or what she meant by
them
. She’s in danger,
and I have to find her.”

“Where’s the Minitian now?” asked Tristan,
leaning forward. “Maybe she knows where your mother is?”

“I thought about that,” said Zoey, “But I
don’t think she knows. It’s just a feeling, but I don’t think she
knows. The message she showed me was old, like ten years old or
something like that. Besides, even if I wanted to ask her, I can’t.
She’s gone. ”

Zoey surveyed the inn and lowered her
voice.

“You guys can’t tell anyone about this—not
even Agent Barnes. Well, not yet anyway. I have to learn more about
my powers.”

“Your secret’s safe with us.” Simon’s hand
puppets fought each other. “No one else will ever know,
promise.”

Zoey sighed and placed her empty cup on the
side table. “Well, that’s not exactly true. Claudia was there.”

“What?” chorused Tristan and Simon.

“She saw me, and she saw my mother.”

Zoey’s anger returned.

“I didn’t know she was there until the
message was over. She was hiding behind a tree like the little
coward that she is.”

Tristan stood up and started to pace around
the living room. “How much did she hear?”

“I’m not sure.” Zoey remembered the
triumphant smile on Claudia’s face. “A lot, I think. I know she’s
going to tell someone sooner or later. What will the Agency do to
me?”

“I don’t know,” said Tristan, and he fell
silent.

“Then I have to move quickly.”

Zoey pulled off her blanket and began to
lace up her boots. When she was done she stood up. “I’m going to
New York, before they try to stop me.”

Simon looked up from his puppet performance.
“What?”

“I’m leaving,” said Zoey, realizing then
that she had just made up her mind.

Simon jumped up. “Like, right
now
?
But—aren’t you still, like, frozen? I think we should stay here
where it’s warm. New York has snow too, you know. And it’s really
windy.”

Zoey looked towards the kitchen. Aria was
busying herself behind the counter and did not look up.

“You don’t have to come, but I
need
to do this. I need to figure out what happened to my mother and
where she is. Something’s after her. She needs me. New York was
where she was last stationed. If there are clues to her
disappearance, I’m guessing I’ll find them there.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Tristan.

Simon pulled off the red mittens and handed
them to Zoey.

“Tristan might be
slightly
better
looking and a
tad
stronger than me,” he flashed his teeth at
Tristan, “I know the girls love the strong silent type — but I’m
smarter. And you’re going to need my spectacular people skills on
this mission of yours. So I’m coming with you, too.”

Zoey smiled. “Good. Let’s go quietly and
quickly before Aria sees us.”

Without another word, the three of them
moved quietly out of the front door and towards the hall of mirrors
in the Hive.

Zoey reached the doors first and pulled them
open. They stomped the snow from their boots and walked into the
vast marble hall. Round, square, rectangle, even some
triangle-shaped mirrors hung low to the ground on both sides.

The hall hummed. They looked at each other.
A sudden draught brushed her cheek. A golden oval-shaped mirror
nearby shimmered like water and a green light bulb flickered on
above it. Two snow-covered men stepped out.

“Director Hicks won’t be pleased we’ve lost
another Big Foot,” the first man said to the other man. “I wish
they’d stop eating all the cows - they’re not making this
easy.”

Trying to look casual, Zoey walked over to a
tall silver mirror with the inscription,
United States of
America
written beside it. Tristan and Simon moved next to her.
She glanced at her friends, trying not to look nervous.

“Ready when you are,” said Simon, sounding
braver than he looked. Tristan set his jaw and gave Zoey a short
smile that said
we’re with you.

Zoey stepped up to the side panel and raised
her finger.

“Stop right there!”

A short, round, elderly woman with short
straw-colored hair marched towards them with a look of superiority
across her wrinkled face.

“Great,” whispered Simon, “here comes Mrs.
Jenson
,
the new receptionist. She’s ten times nosier than
Mrs. Andrews ever was.”

Zoey felt a sting in the pit of her stomach.
She remembered the horrible way Mrs. Andrews had been shot, right
here in the main hall.

“Just stay cool,” said Tristan. “She doesn’t
have to know the truth.”

Mrs. Jenson stood with her hands on her
hips, eyeing them suspiciously. She looked like an overfed
vulture.

“What are you three doing here on a
Saturday? Shouldn’t you be with your families?” She turned to Zoey
and added, “Except for
you,
of course.”

Zoey glared at the woman. She didn’t like
the way she said
you
, like Zoey was inferior somehow, like
she was second best. Obviously, she was one of those who believed
that Drifters shouldn’t have been allowed in the program.

“We’re on a special field assignment,” said
Tristan, his voice calm and steady. “All the Operatives are.
There’s no rest this weekend for us if we want to keep up with the
program.”

Mrs. Jenson surveyed them for a moment. “I
don’t believe you. Wait here till I contact Agent Ward.” She
pointed a grubby finger at them and then marched back towards her
desk.