Through the Windshield Glass (24 page)

"Just a
few clothing changes, it shouldn't take us more than a few days to get to the
palace and after that we'll all either be dead or living in a place with mounds
of fresh clothes. There's no need to over pack," Michael said. He turned
and looked into the trees behind him and quickly back to me. Then he stood up
and offered his hand to help me up.

I took too big
of a step standing up and ended up uncomfortably close to Michael, I stepped
away and turned to look at the trees. Maybe it was just my imagination but they
seemed to be laughing at me.

Michael walked
around me to open the trapdoor for us to descend back into the compound again.

"Michael?"
I asked. Michael turned to look at me with one hand on the door handle.

"How did
Daman contact you?" I questioned. I spit the words from my mouth, I said
them so fast that I thought Michael had missed what I said.

To my surprise
Michael smiled, "I guess you could call it twin telepathy. It was easy for
him to communicate with me, all he had to do was wait until I touched Rebecca
in the infirmary and he used the memories we shared to tell me
　
what he wanted to say. He
actually helped us learn how to beat him."

"Cleverness
isn't the same as common sense." I said.

Michael
laughed, "No, it's not." Michael opened the door and waved me through
first. I didn't want to admit it, but despite my efforts Michael was becoming
my friend.

Chapter Thirty-two

The next two
days were full of preparations and lies. Leigh already knew about the plan, so
I just twisted the truth a little bit by telling her Michael and I were going
to scout where to start and that I needed her to watch Maria for a few days
while I was gone. She was pretty upset about being left behind, but I assured
her she would miss none of the action.

Leigh was still
reluctant, but she agreed after I told her there would be no one but Kinga and
the infirmary staff to care for Maria while I was gone.

Convincing
Leigh was the easy part. I ran into Kinga more often in those two days than I
had in nearly two months of being in Beyond. Each time I saw her I kept my eyes
stoically away from hers, I didn’t need her seeing the truth behind my eyes. I
also did my best not to talk to her. Each time I saw her I hurried past so it
would look like I was busy doing something, which I usually was, but I could
tell she kept trying to talk to me and I knew the longer I avoided her the more
annoyed and determined she would become to talk to me.

Six o’clock on
the evening we were to depart saw our small party of volunteers eating quietly
in a somber dining room. Max and Avery were talking in hushed voices across
from Michael and I. Gregor was scribbling madly on a paper napkin, Michael was
whispering the plans in my ear again for the ump-teenth time, and the five
others who were accompanying us were staring at their plates still full of
food. Even I was unable to eat, each time I attempted to put a piece of pulled
pork into my mouth my stomach would churn dramatically and I would have to set
my fork down again.

Michael told us
all we would have to leave the table one at a time so it didn’t seem too
suspicious. Max and Avery jumped up very first; I noticed a furtive glance
between them when their arms brushed as they stood. It didn’t seem probable,
but for the first time I wondered if there was something more than friendly
between the two. If so, they were by far the oddest-looking couple I’d ever
seen. Max was nearly a giantess, and Avery was exactly the opposite, the only
premise for attraction I could think of was their personalities.

Next, Gregor
stood and left with a short nod to Michael. Two of the unnamed at our table
stood holding hands; the woman, I think she was called Bridgette, seemed to be
the woman Snow White was based on. Her dark curly hair cascaded down her
shoulders and midway down her back, mixed with her olive complexion, slight but
feminine figure; green, almond shaped eyes, and graceful movements, she was a
raven-haired goddess. The man Bridgette was with was equally beautiful, but in
an entirely different way.

His name was
Roman. He was larger than Max, and could have easily broken Bridgette in two
with his thumb and forefinger. I could see why Michael had thought he would be
a valuable asset. One look at Roman and I was sure even Daman would be running
for the hills.

I watched as
Bridgette and Roman walked out of the dining room and wondered for the
millionth time what it would be like to actually have a real romance that
wasn’t with a manipulative villain.

The last three
people besides Michael and I stood to leave. They were easily discernible as
siblings and I tried not to imagine what unhappy circumstances would have
surrounded their deaths. All three looked somber, the girl most of all. It
wasn’t hard to see that she was the youngest, her two older brothers, who both
shared her red hair, stood next to her as though they were her body guards.
Together, the two boys flanked their sister all the way out the dining room
doors.

That just left
Michael and me.

“Are you ready
to go?” I asked Michael.

He looked up
from Gregor’s napkin and thought for a moment, “No,” he finally said, “I need
some time to think a few more things through and I should probably try to eat
something.”

“Okay,” I said,
“I’m going to go though. I need to check on Maria one last time and make sure
that Leigh is going to be all right while we’re gone. Plus, I haven’t really
packed yet.”

Michael nodded
and I knew he wasn’t really listening. He was poring over the napkin as though
it were the most enthralling novel he’d ever read. I rolled my eyes and went to
the dining room door.

I still
couldn’t just think and have a door open where I wanted it to, but usually if I
asked very nicely, I could get most of the doors to do what I asked. This was
not one of those times.

I walked out of
the dining room and into a hall I didn't even sort of recognize, it was completely
different from any I'd seen thus far. It was carpeted in brilliant white, the
walls were paneled mahogany and the ceiling seemed to be in a state of
constant, exquisite twilight. I felt like I had stepped into a prince's private
rooms. I turned back to the door I'd come through hoping I'd be able to return
to the dining room and have Michael help me find my way back to my own room,
but it wasn't there, in fact there weren't any doors.

"Don't
panic," I whispered to myself. I'd had doors disappear on me before, but
I'd always been in a hallway I recognized or had someone with me who could get
me out. I forced myself not to think about the year I'd spent in agony before
coming to Beyond and just focused on keeping calm so that I could find a way
out before someone came. I couldn't explain why, but I felt like I was
trespassing and I didn't want to get caught.

Unfortunately,
the moments when you are most frightened of being seen are the moments when the
whole world seems to see you. In this case, it wasn't necessarily the whole
world, just one of the most important people in the world, and the one I'd been
trying to avoid for days.

"Ira!"
Kinga said in surprise as she came through the wall at the opposite end of the
hall. Apparently, the doors were just cleverly disguised as more wood paneling.

"Um--
hi," I said. I shifted closer to the wall and felt for a seam in the wood
paneling, hoping that I might be able to get the door behind me to open. I
didn't care where; I just needed to get away from Kinga.

"How did
you end up here?" Kinga asked, "This is supposed to be a private
hall."

I didn't dare
ask why, I just mumbled that I still wasn't used to the doors and they didn't
always work for me.

"Would you
like me to show you some tricks?" Kinga asked.

"No,"
I said. Then I made the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life, "Mi-- I
mean Beau has
　
been trying
to teach me, but I'm useless at it."

"You
almost said Michael," Kinga said.

"No, I was
going to say my friend, but then I realized you know Beau well enough I could
use his name." It was a poor excuse, but it's the
　
best I could come up with at such short notice.

"I know
Beau does not prefer his new name, but he needs to learn to use it. It is much
safer that way. He and Alecsander have too many connections, for his safety and
the rest of ours, please refer to him as Beau," Kinga said. Her tone was
polite, but decisive, forceful and nonnegotiable.

"Right,"
I said, "I really need to get back to my room now. I left Aida with
Perdita and I’m sure they're both pretty tired."

"Just a
moment," Kinga said. I had just found the seam in the wood behind me that
I was sure would open the door. My heart pounded against my chest, I was
thinking of my room so hard I was certain Kinga would be able to tell and would
make me step away from the wall, but instead she leaned casually against the
wall across from me. I noticed she was still wearing the gloves she had worn
when I first met her, it was then I also realized I'd never seen the mark on
her hand.

"Why do
you wear those gloves?" I asked quickly before Kinga had enough time to
gather her thoughts. It was obvious casual wasn't her strong point and it was
taking her a few seconds to get used to her position on the wall.

Kinga glared at
me harshly. Obviously, despite looking casual, this was not going to be a
casual conversation.

"That is
irrelevant to what I need to discuss with you," Kinga said. Once again,
there was no wiggle room; even though Kinga's only real authority was that she
had once been a princess she still had the air about her that made her word
law. I assumed that even if she were in prison, shorter and blindfolded, her
commanding voice would still be enough to frighten someone into submission.

"What is
it we need to discuss?" I asked innocently, "I really need to get
back to my room, can we do this another time?"

"Another
time may be too late," Kinga said. She gave up on looking casual and stood
up straight, feet apart and hands clasped behind her back. Instantly, she was
ten times more imperious.

"You have
been spending far too much time with Beau," Kinga said. She started pacing
in front of me, "Also, you have been avoiding me which I do not take
kindly to. I thought we had overcome your childish, rule-breaking habits, but
obviously we have not."

"How am I
breaking the rules by spending time with Beau?" I asked. Another huge
mistake, I should have kept my mouth shut rather than challenge Kinga's
authority, but her argument was not making sense.

Apparently, I
took Kinga by surprise. Evidently, she hadn't been expecting me to see through
the hole in her accusations. She gaped for a few seconds before closing her
mouth, clearing her throat, and picking up again as though nothing had
happened.

"As I was
saying, you are obviously incapable of adult thought, despite your age. I am
stripping you of your privilege to care for Perdita--"

I attempted to
cut her off, but Kinga held up her hand and continued, "Furthermore, Aida
will no longer be permitted to visit you without supervision by either myself
or Cassidy."

"I don't
think I understand," I said. My anger was growing hot and I was fighting
with myself to keep from raising my voice, "Are you saying I know longer
get to be with the only three people in this entire place that I like because
you are jealous that I'm spending so much time with Michael?"

I purposefully
used Michael's name that time, it wasn't smart, but it was a slap in the face
to Kinga's imagined authority.

Kinga's mouth
drew into a thin line and her eyes burned deep into mine. I tried to keep eye
contact, but my finger slipped on the door latch at that second. The door fell
open and I tumbled through and onto my back.

I looked up to
see Kinga framed in the doorway looking livid. On instinct I kicked the door
closed and scrambled to my feet.

Chapter Thirty-three

To my utter
surprise I was actually in my bedroom. I guess my desperate thoughts had
worked. Leigh and Maria were both asleep on the bed despite the early hour.

Leigh was
curled in Maria's arms and if I hadn't known them I would have almost assumed
them to be sisters even with the difference in hair color. They were both
petite, both beautiful, and each had the same way of bringing a smile to my
face when I was down.

I bit my lower
lip and reached under the bed where I had been storing each outfit I'd worn for
the last two weeks. When I started putting them there I hadn't really known
why, it had just been on a whim, but now I was grateful for my accidental
foresight.

I shoved all
the clothes into a drawstring bag that Michael had slipped to me during dinner,
all the while I was careful to keep one eye on the door in case Kinga should
decide to track me down again.

Once all the
clothes were in the bag I pulled the drawstring shut and contemplated whether
or not I wanted to attempt sleep or not. I quickly realized that even if I
weren't still reeling from my narrow escape from Kinga I wouldn't be able to
comfortably sleep anyway since my bed was occupied.

Sighing, I
hiked the bag up on one shoulder and asked the door ever so nicely to let me
outside. I wasn't really expecting it to work. If anything I had been expecting
to open the door and find myself in the walled in courtyard, but to my extreme
surprise, I was facing a set of stairs like the ones Michael and I had climbed
previously.

I checked
behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed before realizing that I was
still standing in my room.