Страница 40 из 66
“Why did you bother taking me to the karate studio when you have all this?” I asked. “We could’ve avoided the whole kidnapping fiasco.”
“I think they would’ve gotten you eventually. And anyway, I figured you’d be uncomfortable here in my house since you didn’t seem to like me much.”
Bree didn’t need us to entertain her. She didn’t need us at all. From the moment we stepped foot in the gym, she’d dashed off to explore, but not before I rattled off a warning to be careful.
Hayden and I got in a good amount of practice before Bree decided she wanted in. He taught her a blocking move he’d taught me, then we wrapped it up and strolled to the pool. Hayden found some floaties for Bree. Since I didn’t have a bathing suit, I stayed out and watched.
* * * *
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to Skyler’s party?” Hayden asked outside the bathroom while Bree changed into her clothes.
Now I kind of wanted to go, especially since I only had a few more minutes with him.
“Positive. And thanks, by the way,” I said in a tone that meant I didn’t really mean it, “for telling Nadia and Cori
“Maybe you should listen to them,” Hayden said as the bathroom door opened.
“Are you coming with us?” Bree asked Hayden.
“No, midget. You’re doing a sleepover at Jackie’s. Maybe next time.” He patted the top of her head.
“Let’s go,” I urged Bree. It had been so long since I’d driven my own car, I’d almost forgotten it existed — and that it was parked at Hayden’s.
He followed down the driveway. “Hey. You should go tonight. You might have fun.”
I smiled. God, I was going to miss Hayden. I’d spent practically every minute with him for days. He’d become a habit. I hoped after a night away, I’d miraculously see there wasn’t anything compelling about him after all.
“No. I’m not going. But we can run in the morning. Eight-thirty?” I got behind the wheel. I had no plans to go anywhere, though it was Saturday night. I had a book I wanted to get back into. Maybe I’d read it in another tub full of bubbles. A much better choice than subjecting myself to the temptation of Hayden.
“See ya.” He closed my door and backed up toward his house.
* * * *
My key slid into the lock of my front door. Someone was inside and it wasn’t my mom or dad. Not David, not Chait or Rena and it wasn’t Phillips or Linton. Someone else. Someone familiar and yet not familiar.
A sorcerer. The energy was unmistakable — a pulsing, vibrating swell of power that permeated my being. I stopped to text Hayden, then changed my mind and put my phone away.Whoever it was knew I’d sense them. They didn’t bother with a Blocker or anything fancy. They weren’t trying to hide.
I opened the door, but stayed on the porch in case my instinct turned out to be off. Something tickled my nose. Orange blossoms? Reminded me of… my grandmother.
Just then, images rushed me. The time Grandma took me shopping for my birthday. Instead of asking her to buy me the same gadgets my friends talked about and coveted, I insisted on getting every color of pen I could find, along with tons of paper so nothing would ever come between me and writing the stories in my head.
Grandma was supposed to be dead. Who else could project the images? I’d practiced reading pictures with Frank and Lila so I knew the difference between a first-hand memory and one a sorcerer had seen from someone else. The shopping memory arrived to me crystal clear, not faded or distorted like a copy. It had to be Grandma’s way of letting me know it was her.
What if it was a trick? I cautiously made my way over the threshold and to my room. The wood floors creaked under my feet with each step. “Who’s there?”
My bedroom door seemed to open a few inches on its own. “Tessa, come in.”
No, it couldn’t be. I held my breath and opened the door the rest of the way. A woman stood in the shadows and ran a shaky hand through her short blond hair. She was exactly how I remembered. Except younger. My eyes blurred. “Grandma.”
I launched myself at her, my purse falling to the floor with a thump.
“Oh, Tessa.” She wrapped her arms around me and stroked my hair. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I thought you were dead. Does this mean Zoe’s alive too?”
“No sweetheart. You know she can’t be. You saw her. Remember? She can’t come back.”
“But you came back.” I nuzzled into her neck.
“Only because I never really died in the first place.”
I hugged her tighter. Grandma was supposed to be dead. If she was hiding in my room with the curtains drawn, she wanted everyone to keep thinking that. How long could she stay without risking too much? However long, it wouldn’t be enough.
I relaxed my hold and withdrew to look into her eyes. “What’s going on? Are you on the run?”
She gave me a sad smile. “Yes. I only have a few minutes.”
Grandma probably wouldn’t be able to return to me any time soon either. I’d need to memorize everything about her. “You look younger than Mom. Hard to believe Mom and Dad never noticed. Or me, for that matter.”
“Of course they did. But you were much younger and had other concerns. I told them I had a very talented plastic surgeon.”
“I don’t care how good he is.” I shook my head doubtfully. “No way can he make a sixty-something woman look this good. No way.”
“There are ways to make yourself look older. I worked in a movie studio for a while and learned how to do makeup.”
Ah, that explained it. “So we age at a different rate than normal people. Which means I’m going to look like I’m seventeen for, like, another twenty or thirty years?”
“No, dear. You’ll reach maturity like anyone else. Then everything slows down.” She chuckled softly. “Sometimes, I don’t know whether it’s good or bad. If I date a non-sorcerer, I look ridiculous dating someone my own age. I’m forced to date younger men.”
“Grandma!” I giggled. I needed to get as much info from her as I could before she had to leave, but it felt good to be able to joke with her again.
“I’m teasing.” She laughed and hugged me again, tighter. “I’ve missed these moments. You have no idea how much.”
“Well, if you weren’t so busy being a cougar.” I snorted.
“I wish.” Grandma sighed heavily. “But I don’t stay in one place long enough to date.”
“Why did you fake your death?” I asked when she’d loosened her grasp and I could breathe again. “And why are you hiding?”
“I can’t even begin to cover everything. But I’ll try.” She sat on the bed, taking me with her and slinging an arm around my shoulder. “I’d made my choice. I was naïve and believed anything they told me. As the years passed, I rose in the ranks. The more I discovered about our leader and his operation, the more I realized I had to disappear. With my knowledge of their organization, the only way out was in a body bag.”
“Which side did you choose? Fawn texted me earlier to set up a time to meet Boris’s people at Headquarters, but I haven’t answered. I need to answer her soon.”
She rose and wandered about my room. “You know about the rival groups, Jane’s people and Boris’s?”
“Hayden filled me in a bit,” I said.
“Is he your boyfriend?”
I snorted. “Very definitely not.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder, a smile playing at her lips. “But you want him to be.”
My gaze fell to the floor. “He’s not boyfriend material. But I don’t want to talk about him. I need to know which side you chose.” And if trusting Chait was a huge mistake.
“Boris.”
My instinct had steered me well. “I had a feeling choosing them would be wrong.”
“That depends on how you look at it.” Grandma turned and leaned against the dresser in front of me. “Boris is extremely powerful and skilled at manipulation, which makes him dangerous. But Jane’s side has some undesirables too — usually spying for Boris. Even if they aren’t on Boris’s side, sometimes people have their own agenda. If Jane were the greatest leader in history, she’s still only as good as those backing her up.”