Second Sight (7 page)

“
Just down the road a bit.”
I point straight ahead of us as though we’re driving to a small
town, not Knoxville, but the farther we go, the more apprehensive I
get—claustrophobic, even.

“
This isn’t funny. Where
are we going?”

I take a deep breath. “Knoxville.” My voice
sort of squeaks out, and the minute I say it, Griffin snaps his
foot on the brake pedal before he even realizes there are people
behind him. A horn sounds, and the Lexus behind him zips past.
Griffin veers to the shoulder and pulls off, glaring at me.

“
What in the hell are you
thinking? Yesterday wasn’t enough for you?” He shakes his head and
smacks a hand on the steering wheel. “I can’t take you to
Knoxville, Lizzie. Jimmie will kill me.”

“
No.” I shake my head. “He
will never know. I swear.”

He grits his teeth and leans back in the
seat. “Damn it. I didn’t come here for this.” He glares out his
side mirror and pulls out.

“
Then why
did
you come?” My voice
is thin, like cling wrap stretched too thin.

“
For you. Jimmie sounded
out of his mind with worry, and I knew Lev’s death hit you hard.”
He presses the accelerator down and quickly zooms up to speed. “I’m
going to find a place to turn around and take you home.”

“
You promised!” I snap. “Or
did you even mean anything you said?” I scowl at him.

“
That’s not fair. You
didn’t even clue me in on where you wanted me to go, now did
you?”

I stare out the windows as
tears build up in my eyes. “Does it matter so long as I can prove
what I say is true? That there
are
angels here?”

“
Lizzie, I
can’t—”

“
I swear it won’t be
dangerous. I know one of them. He’s a cop. No matter what he says,
he is an angel. There’s no harm in just talking to him.”

“
Unless it’s in the middle
of a drive-by.”

Ahead, we both see the overpass where Griffin
will be able to turn around if he chooses. I feel the car
decelerate as his foot wavers.

“
Please just do this one
thing, Griffin. I need to talk to Scott. I need to find out what he
knows about Lev.”

“
And what if he knows that
Lev is dead and won’t come back?”

I shake my head and look
back out the window. “No, I won’t accept that. It’s not a
possibility.” My whole body shivers from an unexpected chill, and I
see Griffin glance at me as though he, too, realizes how vulnerable
that suggestion makes me. I won’t believe Lev is gone. I can’t. He
has to exist somewhere. Angels don’t just
die
, not like us.

Do they?

The overpass looms just ahead. Griffin is
still shaking his head. His foot is wavering, and right now I wish
I had the power to make him see what is locked inside my head—the
truth about Lev, Celia, and Evan. There would be no room to doubt
what I’m trying to tell him is true.

“
Please, Griffin. There’s
no way Jimmie will let me come to Knoxville, and he won’t listen to
me.” I’m torn between eyeing the overpass and Griffin’s resolute
expression.

“
Lizzie, I’m sorry. I
promised Jimmie I would take care of you when he couldn’t be
around.”

“
So do it. In Knoxville.
Just for a few minutes. Please.”

The exit ramp is just ahead, and I can’t read
Griffin. Whatever he decides, I know he’s trying to keep me intact,
but the pieces will never heal to form the person who once existed
in this body. She’s seen too much. Her eyes have been opened, and
she’s looking everywhere for angels.

Chapter Five

Griffin slows the car, and I feel my heart
thump convulsively in my chest as the fear of turning around makes
me grip the armrest. I can tell he’s watching me in his peripheral
vision, but I don’t know what he’s expecting. I lean back, eyes
closed, figuring that nothing I do is going to change Griffin’s
decision. Here again, I’m at the mercy of someone else—my fate
determined by someone who’s not me. I hate the feeling. I hate it.
And why shouldn’t I? Who is Griffin to decide? Why should he even
have a choice? It’s my life—my delusion, if that’s what it is. If
I’m wrong, so what? This has to stop. And soon.

I wait for the sound of the turn signal to
start clicking and the unavoidable slowing of the car. Resigned, I
grit my teeth, knowing what’s coming.

Yet we keep driving, never veering toward the
turn lane. Finally, after a couple of minutes pass, I open my eyes
and look at the roadside. A sign just head tells me we are still
headed toward Knoxville, and I suddenly want to hug Griffin.
Instead, I offer him a smile.

“
Thank you,” I whisper,
feeling the tightness leave my chest.

His jaw clenches, and he shakes his head.
“Yeah, well, just remember your promise when all of this is
over.”

“
All right,” I agree
dutifully. Chewing my lip, I try to figure out by yesterday’s drive
how long it’s going to take, but I’ve never been all that great at
judging distance. Still, Scott does deserve some advanced warning
I’m coming, so I pull out the paper with his number and then my
cell phone.

“
Who are you calling?”
Griffin asks, nervously watching me push buttons.

“
Scott, so we can set up a
place to meet.”

The sound of the phone ringing at the other
end arrests my attention, and I focus on the call. As Scott
answers, I somehow hear Lev’s voice buried in his even though I
tell myself he’s not Lev.

“
Hey,” I begin,
deliberately making my voice more cheerful and carefree than I
actually feel. “This is Elizabeth Moon. I was heading into
Knoxville, and I wondered if I could meet with you for a few
moments.”

An exasperated sigh comes out at the other
end. “Elizabeth, does Jimmie know where you are? Is he with
you?”

“
No, but Jimmie has sort of
paired me up with a babysitter to keep me out of trouble, so you
don’t have to worry about that, okay? I just want to meet face to
face because I have a couple of questions I want to
ask.”

There’s a lengthy pause, then he says, “I’m
not working today, so if you’re coming to Knoxville, I guess you
can swing by here.”

He goes on to give me the address with
directions, and I can tell by his tone he’s reluctant, probably
anticipating what our conversation is going to be about. I politely
thank him and hang up, but even after the call, some part of me
lingers with his voice. Maybe it does sound different, but what if
it is Lev’s soul inside his body? Chills dapple my skin with that
thought, and it takes my breath away to think I could actually be
that close to him again. I just don’t understand why, if he is Lev,
he won’t admit it. Has he forgotten me?

“
So where are we headed,
Lizzie?” Griffin asks, half peering at the directions Scott has
given me. Then again, I doubt he can read them, considering my
chicken scratch and abbreviations.

I tell him the address and slide the cell in
my pocket. Although I know we’re getting close to the outskirts of
Knoxville, we still have a little time, and I figure maybe I should
ask what Griffin meant when he said things weren’t going so hot at
home.

“
So what’s going on with
you?”

He grabs his sunglasses from the console and
shakes his head. “Well, I’m not exactly ready to do the college
thing, and my dad is freaking out. He won’t listen. He thinks I’m
supposed to follow in his footsteps and become a point of interest
in Hauser’s Landing’s history when all I want to do is leave that
damned town.” Without his realizing it, Griffin has curled his
fingers around the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn
white.

Tension threads my shoulders, and for a
moment I’m glad to hear someone else’s problems, things that don’t
involve dying or angels—not that much consolation to Griffin; I
wouldn’t want to be in his shoes. I used to think Griffin had too
much freedom, but no—just a lot of money, which doesn’t amount to
the same thing at all.

“
How did you manage to
escape here?”

“
I told him I was touring
college campuses.” He flips the air conditioner lever down, and I’m
glad of the reprieve. “I guess he figures that since classes are
going to be starting next week, this will give me a chance to
enroll The truth is, I haven’t applied to any campuses because I
don’t want to go.”

I shake my head. “Maybe you could swing by
The University of Tennessee while we’re here?” I suggest,
smirking.

“
Don’t help,” he
growls.

“
I’m sorry things aren’t
going so well,” I say. “But I am glad you are here.” And I believe
that, I think. Almost.

“
You’re just glad I’m
taking you to Knoxville, Lizzie. Don’t even deny it.”

I shrug. “Okay, so that’s true. But it
doesn’t mean I’m not glad. You’re the only part of Hauser’s Landing
I missed.”

Griffin grins. “Now that’s more like it.”

“
Should I have flattered
you sooner?”

“
Funny.” He nods to the
increasing traffic ahead and the billboards that have begun popping
up more and more frequently. “So maybe we should talk
directions.”

“
Okay.” I look at the notes
I’ve scribbled and start rattling off the information to Griffin
who has a better memory than anyone I’ve ever met. I just thought
he was acing all those classes because of Gail. Who
knew?

My stomach starts to feel
all fluttery, and although I know I have to ask Scott, I’m still
not sure how. I go through one scenario after another, trying to
find something that doesn’t sound crazy.
I
can’t. No matter how I phrase it, it’s going to sound weird. So if
the blunt course is all the same as the tactful one, I’m guessing
the first strategy out of my mouth is going to have to be blunt and
to the point. I’ve never been one for tap-dancing around the point,
anyway, and I don’t intend to start now.

I’m still rehearsing the whole thing in my
head when we pull up in front of a single story house with a lush
green lawn and yellow flowers scatted throughout the bed up front.
I never would have figured Scott as a flower person. Something else
to think about.

“
You ready?” Griffin nods
to the front door as he takes his keys from the ignition and stows
his sunglasses back on the console.

“
Guess so.” I open my door,
and we both walk up the flower-lined walk to the door. Taking a
deep breath, I ring the bell and listen as the chimes resonate
inside. After the second ring, Scott appears at the door, wearing a
navy blue t-shirt and jeans. Against the dark clothing, his skin
and hair seem to glow as usual, and I can still see the faintest
shimmer of his wings outlining his body. Glancing from my face to
Griffin’s, he finally opens the door and gestures us inside, where
we sit on the couch. He closes the door.

“
Can I get you something to
drink?”

Both Griffin and I shake our heads. Then I
point to Griffin. “This is my friend, Griffin. Jimmie called him to
come and look out for me.”

Scott steps forward, and they shake hands.
Then Scott turns to me. “So what’s going on, Elizabeth?”

I shrug. “Why do you call me that? Everyone
else calls me Lizzie.”

He sits in the recliner opposite us. “Never
thought about it. I can start, if you want.” Then he shakes his
head. “Did you actually drive all the way for that?”

Flustered, I look down. “Of course not. I
just wondered. Lev used to call me that, but nobody else.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Griffin
stiffen and shoot me a warning glance, telling me I’m probably
pushing too hard and too fast. Yet Griffin has no idea what these
questions are doing to me.

“
Coincidence, I’m sure,”
Scott replies calmly. He glances over at Griffin. “Might I have a
word with you privately?”

“
Sure.” A flush creeps into
Griffin’s face, and I can see this whole escapade has left him on
the verge of a meltdown.

Frustrated, I quickly stand. “Hey, what’s
going on? I came to talk to you, not sit around while you talk
about me behind my back. What kind of crap is that? I’m right here.
Deal with it.”

“
I know.” He stands, and in
passing, he sets one hand on my shoulder—a placating gesture that
riles me even more. “But I have a couple of questions for Griffin
since he’s the one who drove you up here despite everything. And I
have a sneaking suspicion he’ll be much more honest this way.” His
eyes are no-nonsense, his tone pointed.

Sighing, I shake my head. “Fine. I’ll just
wait here.” Why do I keep doing this to myself? It happens every
time I trust someone. I become a problem to be solved, not someone
to be understood. We shouldn’t have come here. It’s a complete
waste of time. Anyway, even if Scott is Lev or knows him—he
obviously doesn’t want me in on it.

“
Good choice.” Scott calls,
slipping into the next room and closing the door so I can’t hear
the exchange. I frown at the door but quickly decide that’s not
going to make any difference. I’m stuck, whether I like it or not.
I walk around the room, heading to the fireplace mantle where I see
numerous pictures of Scott. The first one I pick up must’ve
been taken the day he was sworn in as an officer,
and while I see a cute blonde girl in some of the photos, most of
them are only of Scott, which doesn’t surprise me. What about his
parents? Who is the blonde? How long has he been a cop? This
picture looks pretty recent.