PHENOMENAL GIRL 5 (27 page)

He was in love with me, too? That was so not the thing to say to make it easier to leave. In fact, it made it worse. But I could be strong. I could walk away from him—for my career, for the pending apocalypse, and for the possibility, still hanging over my head, that in order to stop the Dragon, a sacrifice had to be made. I couldn’t go through him forgetting me again…

After to night?

I reached out for his hand. “Wes, I wanted to tell you about our past. But it doesn’t matter now.”

He looked sad. “It doesn’t?”

“No.” I took his other hand and squeezed it. “Because I love
you
, Wesley Charles.”

He crushed me to him, lifting me off my feet and swinging me around. I hugged him back, giggling at the obvious joy he felt at hearing me say the words. He set me back down and kissed me with a passion I returned in kind.

I pulled him back toward my bed. “And we had a date today. In a room with doors that locked.”

I woke the next morning to the feeling of a warm male body in bed next to me. Sprawled behind me was more accurate, with one arm tossed over my waist. I smiled and snuggled under the covers, taking a moment to relive the events of the night before. All of them. I turned to face Wesley and found him awake, smiling at me.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.” I gave him a light kiss.

“Did you sleep well?”

“When I actually did sleep, yes.” I don’t think I’d ever felt so rested on that little sleep. Or maybe that was just me gloating. “I didn’t snore or drool, did I?”

“Maybe a little. But it was cute.”

“Drooling is never cute.” My stomach growled. “Wow, excuse me. I don’t remember eating yesterday.”

“I’ve got to feed you, then.” He got up, taking my hand. “I’d better get in the shower with you. I don’t want to chance you drowning in there because you fainted due to hunger.”

“Is that your excuse?”

“I think it’s a brilliant one.”

Mayhew eyed us as we came downstairs hand in hand.

Wesley acted like nothing had changed, talking about the magic research that had been occupying his time as of late.
“It involves opening a portal to let the Ancient Ones—as in, demons—out. The strongest magic users closed the portals ages ago, almost at the dawn of time.”

“So you were there, then?”

He gave me a dark look. “Ha, ha. And, well, probably, but that’s not the point!”

I tried to stop laughing as he gave me a serious look and continued. “The magic used to seal the portal was powerful, but there is still a way to open it again, though it is very difficult. The caster must bring about certain actions, certain deed magic, but not by his or her own hand.”

“That’s where the cult comes in.”

“Exactly. The Dragon gathers other strong magic-users to do his dirty work, leaving himself powerful enough to cast the final spell. As Fantazia said, all of these other spells, done in the right sequence at the right times, prime the magic forces for the big spell, the incantation that can open the portal again.”

I remembered what I had read in the prophecy. “Syn’s taking a part of my soul, Jihad killing me and you bringing me back, that was all part of this big spell.”

He nodded. “It looks that way. But there are still some variables I’m trying to correct before they happen. The prophecy says…”

Before I could admit to knowing about it and the fact that he might have to die again, Mayhew walked back in. “Pardon the interruption, sir, but Doctor Rath called for you. And he said to tell Miss Lainey that the movers will be here at eleven.”

I checked the clock. This didn’t give me a long time to pack. “Thanks, Mayhew.”

“Just tell him she doesn’t need them anymore and that’ll I phone later.”

I stared at him, shocked at his assurance that I was going nowhere. I had been afraid this would happen, and cowardly me, I hadn’t wanted to bring it up yet. This time I had been
the selfish one, stealing a moment and not thinking about the fallout.

“Wait, I still need them,” I said.

Wesley’s attention snapped back to me. “Why?”

“I’m still going to the EHJ,” I said, knowing this was going to turn bad.

Mayhew must not have wanted to witness the fight, because he left.

“Why are you still going?” Wesley looked hurt. “You were just running from me, and it’s obvious we’re getting along now.”

“First of all, don’t assume I was leaving just because we had a fight. And don’t go bringing up last night in a snide way.”

He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I have…”

“No tact, I know.” I looked down at the table. “Wes, I’ve been working toward joining the Elite Hands of Justice since I was a kid. It’s been my life’s dream. You know that. For God’s sake, you’re the one training me; it didn’t occur to you that someday I’d leave?”

He looked guilty. “I just assumed you’d change your mind.”

“As much as I love you, you can’t expect me to just walk away from everything I’ve worked for just to be the Reincarnist’s girlfriend. I’m sorry, but you can’t.” I felt tears spring to my eyes and wiped them away. “I wanted to be a hero, not hook up with some rich guy who’d take care of me.”

“What are we doing now? Regardless of romantic involvement, you’re my partner. We can still work together.”

“Okay, so I’d be the Reincarnist’s girlfriend and sidekick,” I amended. “I know the luster of the EHJ is gone for you, but it is a big deal to be asked to join. It’s what everyone in our set works toward.”

“They’re nothing but celebrity poseurs! I know you, Lainey, you’ll be miserable.”

“Then that’s something I need to learn for myself.” I
sighed. “But don’t ask me to give it up for you. And that’s not the only reason I’m leaving, anyway. I know about the prophecy, Wes.”

He frowned. “Exactly what do you think you know?”

“I saw it while you were out on the astral plane. There was something about the dark soul and pure soul and then a Darklight that would end the world. We can’t stay together if we could somehow bring about the apocalypse. Hell, we may already have!”

“Lainey—”

“I can’t believe that you would want me to stay while knowing that.”

“Lainey—”

“I’m surprised Rath didn’t move me back sooner, since he knew about it too.”

“You don’t—”

“And it’s not like I never want to see you again, especially not now, but we just need space until the apocalypse is settled. After that, if we really love each other, we can find a way to work this out. Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I would if I could get a word in!” He took me by the shoulders. “Lainey, first of all, I haven’t finished translating that prophecy yet, so I don’t know if we have anything to do with bringing the Darklight or not. Remember, the Dragon is still the caster and still involved in some way; he may have to summon the Darklight, not us. We may fight it, I really don’t know. And second, the prophecy says the Darklight will either lead the world into darkness
or
save it. So even if we help this thing or somehow summon it, it may be for the good. I’m trying to find a way to prevent things from even getting that far.”

I remembered the bit about sacrifice. “Oh.”

“You should have said something earlier, love,” he complained, giving me a hug. “I could have explained.”

“Well, you should have told me about it since I’m part of the equation,” I countered.

“True.” He kissed me and I forgave him, but it still illustrated that he thought of me more as a sidekick than a partner.

“Don’t let the Dragon factor into your decision to go,” he said.

“It’s still important, and you don’t need me around as a distraction, Wes—and let’s face it, that’s what I would be now.” I saw the way he was looking at me, like he wanted to take me back upstairs again. “And I really do want to try the EHJ. Maybe I’ll hate it, but I owe it to myself to try.”

“You’d be a great distraction,” he said, and then sighed. “And you’re right, I can’t ask you to give up everything for me. That’s not fair. Alright, so a little space, and after this Dragon mess is settled, we’ll try to work something out.”

“You know, your son runs the EHJ, for God’s sake, you can make time for a visit. Maybe you’ll decide you want to come back to work there,” I hinted.

“And hell could freeze over.”

I smacked him. “Sarcasm will not win you points.”

“I just know how things work in the EHJ.”

“Stop sounding like a superior old man.”

“I
am
a superior old man.” His mouth twitched in humor. “I’ll start working on the I-told-you-so dance for when you decide you hate it there and miss me too much.” He was messing with me now, trying to tease me so I wouldn’t fall apart. I appreciated it.

“Well, when I’m making the world a better place and you get lonely, I’ll expect you to drag your antisocial butt in to change your member status back to active for good,” I said with a bittersweet smile.

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Yes, we will.”

He sobered. “I’m going to miss you, Lainey. And I’m not going to let this be the end.”

My heart warmed. “Good. And I’ll miss you, too. But you get so into your work, you won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“Trust me, I’ll notice.” He slid a hand around my waist. “Now I’ll have a whole new set of explicit memories to dream about.”

I smiled at him. “I’ll dream of you, too.”

“Keep sending those kinds of dreams and I’ll be rejoining the EHJ sooner than you think.”

“And then
I’ll
do the I-told-you-so dance.” I kissed him lingeringly, knowing that would be all for a while. But this wasn’t the end; it was just a pause, if he wanted it to work as much as I did.

I could only pray he did.

I entered the EHJ headquarters with a bit of trepidation. I had been there before, of course, but never with a platinum access card in my hand. I got in the elevator, swiped my card across the scanner, and the penthouse level lit up.

“Welcome, Phenomenal Girl Five,” the elevator said in its electronic voice.

“Thanks.” I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. I was excited to start the job I had been working toward forever, but also sad. I didn’t know how or if things would work out with Wesley. He had quit the team, and I had joined it. He had his own life at the mansion, and now I was a good distance away from it.

Don’t become that girl
, I told myself,
the one who gives up on moving away to a different town or a better job because of a guy. If we really love each other, our relationship can survive some distance.

The doors pinged open and I was in the largest, most posh penthouse I had ever seen. Everything from the hardwood floors covered with expensive rugs to the priceless works of art on the walls screamed wealth. And in between all that, every technological toy known to man and alien was stuffed in the rooms.

As I stood there gaping, a six-foot-tall woman with long black hair who was more glamorous than a movie star glided up. Aphrodite—she didn’t need her powers of enthrallment to snare people’s attention.

“Hello, Lainey.” She held out a manicured hand. “I’m Kate Hughes, we met at your preliminary interview. Welcome to the Elite Hands of Justice.”

“It’s great to be here.”

“You have your card, of course, and Mindy has entered your codes into our mainframe. Any personal guests have to be cleared by a senior member before security will allow them up. Se nior members are, of course, myself, the Magnificent, White Heat, and Doctor Rath.”

“Alright.” Who was I going to invite here? It’s not like I had a lot of friends, except Wes, who had only founded the team. I’d think they’d let him in.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you around.”

She led me through various rooms—living area, kitchen, dining room, training room, and lab—one after the other in a whirlwind tour.

“Where is everyone?” I asked as we left the lab, a huge state-of-the-art facility. How in the world did all of this fit on one floor?

“All in the meeting room. I’m supposed to take you there next. This way.”

She opened a set of double doors that led to a chamber that looked like a cross between a boardroom and the headquarters of NASA. Monitors lined one wall, tuned to various news stations and what looked like security cameras. A large glass table occupied the other side, and sitting around it, looking bored, were the rest of the members of the Elite Hands of Justice. All turned to stare at me.

Feeling very self-conscious, I brushed some hair out of my face and stammered, “H-hello.”

Six pairs of eyes stared back at me.

“Everyone, this is our newest member, Phenomenal Girl Five, Lainey Livingston,” Kate said, going to an available chair, leaving me to stand in front of everyone by myself.

Doctor Rath, sitting at one end of the table, tapped on a small clear keyboard in front of him and a hologram of the
building popped up. “Maintenance is bringing your things up to your quarters,” he said. “Room G.”

“Yes, sir.” I didn’t even know where the quarters were; we seemed to have skipped that on the tour.

“Did everything go alright with the Reincarnist?”

Well, that was one way of putting it
. I nodded. “Just fine, sir.”

“So what’s the new one like?” asked a woman about my age, with short black hair streaked with magenta, looking up from the bit of machinery she was tinkering with. I recognized her as Mindy Clark, a.k.a. Tekgrrl, who had a way with machinery and could invent almost anything that came to mind. I guess that’s one bonus to being experimented on by aliens. “He as much of a stick-in-the-mud as the last one?”

“He’s nice,” I said. Did I just call Wes
nice
? Not that he wasn’t, but could you use
nice
as a descriptor for someone you’d been intimate with?

“Hardly how I’d describe the last one,” Simon spoke up. “I’ll bet you’re glad to escape from your sentence early, Lainey.”

“No. I’m happy to have this opportunity, but I enjoyed working with him,” I replied, trying hard to avoid looking at Rath. It sounded like I was talking about an old boss instead of my lover.