The Secret Hour

“Relax, they’re halfway to downtown.” The last two nights Melissa had felt them close to the center of Bixby, probably up on the tall buildings down there, well away from darkling country and with a clear view in every direction. Jessica was a lot safer with Jonathan than at home, even Rex had to admit.

The front door was locked.

“Damn city folk,” Melissa said. They crossed to Jessica’s open window.

“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Rex said.

She pulled herself in through the window, tasting leftover Jessica thoughts in the room. She extended a hand to help Rex pull himself up and saw him instinctively jerk away before he realized she was wearing gloves.

“I’m always in a good mood in the blue time,” Melissa said when he was inside. “Especially when I get to do some serious casting.”

Rex gave off a sharp flavor of anxiety.

She sighed. “Don’t worry, I promise not to have too much fun.”

“Just don’t start to enjoy it too much. The lore is full of—”

“Stuff that bores me,” she interrupted. “Speaking of which…” Melissa looked disdainfully around Jessica’s room. “Wow, she is so daylight.”

Rex frowned. “She’s not that bad. Why do you hate her so much?”

“I don’t hate her, Rex. She’s just… she’s nothing in particular. I think she got switched at birth with a real midnighter. Everything’s so easy for her.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

They went through the door and faced a long hallway. Melissa pushed open the first door on her left.

“Smells like… little sister.”

“You can taste that?”

“I can see it.” Melissa gestured at the floor. It was cluttered with skirts, jeans, shirts, crumpled papers, and school-books. Two walls were covered with boy-band posters, and on the bed a small form lay twisted among the sheets, clutching a stuffed animal.

Rex laughed. “Your psychic powers never cease to amaze me.”

They closed the door and headed farther into the house. There was a bathroom on the right, and the hallway opened on one side onto a living room. At the far end of the hall was one more door.

“This looks promising,” said Melissa as she pushed it open.

Jessica’s parents lay there, frozen while asleep.

Melissa looked at them, pale and defenseless. Like all stiffs, they didn’t seem quite human, more like department-store ma

Rex was poking around the room, peering into the moving boxes near the closet. Like the other midnighters, he was a little bit freaked out by stiffs.

Melissa didn’t mind them at all. Cold and hard though they were, this was the only time she would ever willingly touch another human being. She pulled off her gloves.

“I think we’ll start with Mom.”

20

7:22 A.M.

A CHANGE OF MIND

“Good morning, Beth.”

“In what sense?”

“Sight, sound, smell, all the other senses. It’s su

Beth paused next to the table. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing. You are my sister, and I’m making you toast.”

Beth plonked down at the kitchen table and looked at her big sister warily.

“Aren’t you kind of happy for someone who’s grounded?”

Jessica considered this for a moment, watching the elements inside the toaster warm to a red glow. The smell of toast came from the machine, drawing a deep breath from her.

“Toast is good,” she answered.

Beth snorted. “If you’re going to be all retarded, could you make me an omelette, too?”

“I’m not that happy, Beth.” The toaster popped. “Here you go.”

Jessica pulled the bread out with her fingertips and dropped it onto the waiting plate, twirled around, and placed it before her sister.

Beth inspected it carefully, then shrugged and started to butter it.

Jessica dropped another pair of slices into the toaster, humming to herself.

She still felt light, as if midnight gravity hadn’t completely faded with the blue time. Every step felt as if it would turn into a leap, carrying her across the room, out the window, into the air. All last night she had dreamed of flying. (Except for that hour when she had been flying.)

She and Jonathan had hung out on the big, crumbling Mobil Oil sign atop the highest office building in Bixby. It was a huge Pegasus, a flying horse. The unlit neon tubes that outlined its shape had shimmered with dark moonlight, the spread wings shining like those of some angel come to protect her from the darklings.

The steel framework that held the sign in place was rusty, but Jonathan was pretty sure it was clean. It was in the center of town, where darklings almost never went. He’d been going there for almost two years and had never seen so much as a slither.

For three nights in a row she had felt safe in the blue time. Safe and secure, weightless and…

The toaster popped again.

“Happy,” she said quietly.

“Yeah, you’re happy. Got it.” Beth was spreading jam onto her remaining piece of toast. “Omelette-level happiness yet?”

Jess smiled. “Pretty darn close.”

“Let me know. So, Jess?”

“Yeah?”

“This Jonathan guy you got busted with? You like him?”

Jessica looked closely at her little sister. Beth seemed genuinely interested. “Yeah, I do.”

“How long have you guys known each other?”

“That night we got busted was the first time we hung out.”

Beth smiled. “That’s what you told Mom. But how come the night before, when you came to visit me and make that Ms. Mature speech, you were all dressed?”

Jessica swallowed. “I was?”

“Yeah. Jeans and, like, a sweatshirt. You were all sweaty and smelled like grass.”

Jessica shrugged. “I was just… I couldn’t sleep. I took a walk.”

“Good morning.”

Jessica started. “Good morning, Mom. Want my toast? I can make some more.”

“Sure, Jess. Thanks.”

“Looking good, Mom.”

“Thanks.” Her mother smiled, smoothing the lapel of her new suit with one hand as she took the toast from Jessica. She sat down at the table.

“Wow, you’re allowed to eat breakfast with us?” Beth asked. “I thought Aerospace Oklahoma frowned on family time.”

“Hush, Beth. I have something to say to your sister.”

“Uh-oh. From the toaster into the frying pan.”

“Beth.”

Beth stuffed toast into her mouth, shutting herself up. Jessica pushed down the toaster lever slowly, her mind racing. She turned and sat down across from her mom, trying to think of what could have given her away. They had left nothing to chance. She always left after the blue time started—it took Jonathan a few minutes to get here from his house, anyway—and was back in bed before it ended. Maybe Mom had found a dirty shoe, or an open window, or taken fingerprints from the tops of buildings downtown….

Beth. Jessica glared at her little sister. She must have told Mom and Dad about Jessica being dressed on Friday night. Beth blinked i

“Your father and I have been talking about your punishment this morning.”

“He’s awake already?” Beth asked.

“Beth—,” Mom started, then paused. “Actually he was awake early, but he went straight back to sleep. We were both tossing and turning a lot last night. And we both agreed that we should have thought about your punishment a little longer before we decided on anything.”

Jessica looked at her mother warily. “Does this mean worse punishment or less?”

“Yeah,” Beth said. “Are you guys caving?”

“We’re thinking that you’re new to this town, and you probably feel a need to be accepted. What you did was wrong, Jess, but you weren’t trying to hurt anyone.”

“You are caving!”

“Beth, go get ready for school.”