Senshi (A Katana Novel) (4 page)

6

A
s if chemistry class wasn’t bad enough.

I flexed my tingling fingers and let out a quivering breath. It had been a month since the ninja attack, and so far Kim had no leads on who they were or where to find them. And while the thought of a bunch of ninja on the loose who wanted me dead didn’t give me the warm fuzzies, I had bigger problems to deal with.

Much bigger.

The tingling under my skin turned into pinpricks, like a thousand tiny needles digging beneath my flesh. I wasn’t sure what caused it, only that it started happening to me after the ninja attack. I shifted in my seat, hoping to distract myself from the pain.

My best friend Quentin pushed his metal stool away from the lab table. He eyed me nervously while addressing the doe-eyed brunette sitting between us. “Seriously, Carly, you need to give it a rest.”

“What?” His twin sister snapped her gum. “If people were talking smack about me behind my back, I’d want to know.” She patted my hand, a touch I could barely feel through the buzzing beneath my skin. “Rileigh, you should know that people are … worried about you. You’re super jumpy all the time, you have horrendous bags under your eyes, and, sweetie, when’s the last time you exfoliated?” She wrinkled her nose. “Are you having a breakdown or something?”

I snatched my hand away from hers and clenched and unclenched my fingers. All the relaxation techniques I’d remembered from my past as a samurai had failed. But still, I tried. Sucking in a deep breath of lab air (a sickly sweet combination of formaldehyde and ammonia), I counted to ten and exhaled slowly. Some of the tightness inside me unwound but the pressure remained—like unzipping a pair of too-tight jeans but not being able to take them off. “I am
not
having a breakdown.”

She shrugged and snapped her gum again, a sound that made my teeth grind. “Are you sure? Because you’re totally on edge. And the last time I saw you this stressed, you flipped out on some poor homeless guy.”

If by “flipped out on some poor homeless guy,” she meant “saved everyone’s life from a nunchaku-wielding assassin,” then I guess I did. “That guy was dangerous, Carly.”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. He was just some doped-out homeless guy. Stop being so dramatic.”

The electric hum pulsed beneath my fingertips and a heaviness filled my lungs. I tried to expel it with a slow steady breath, but the weight didn’t budge. “I’m sorry, you’re calling
me
dramatic?” Did she somehow forget the fact he threw a shuriken at her? She either had the long-term memory of a gnat, or she was in denial. My money was on gnat brain.

Quentin shot me a pleading look and snatched the box of matches sitting in front of me. “I think I’ll light the Bunsen burner, if you don’t mind.”

Carly shrugged. “The truth can be painful.”

So can an axe-kick. I gripped the countertop.
Must. Resist. Kicking. Carly’s. Stupid. Face.

“Listen.” She leaned across the table to meet my eyes. “Honey, it’s not that I don’t understand. You and my brother were attacked.”

I laughed through clenched teeth. If only I could make it through my classes without losing control, then I’d get to see Kim at training tonight and I’d feel better. Kim always made me feel better. “Oh, I’m so sure you
understand
.”

“Ri-Ri,” Quentin warned.

Carly flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Of course I do. It makes sense that both of you are going to be traumatized or whatever. Just … maybe tone down the drama while you’re at school? You don’t want anyone thinking you guys are bigger freaks than they already do.”

My body shook as every muscle tightened in anticipation of the explosion to come. Beads of sweat prickled along my forehead as I fought to gain control. If I lost control here, how many people would I hurt? I couldn’t let that happen.

“Wow.” Quentin shook his head. “It’s hard to believe I’m the one who wants to be a psychologist. Your ability to empathize is astounding, you know that?”

“Right?” She nodded. “See, Rileigh? Quentin gets that I’m just trying to help.”

He snorted. “Even so, I think your services are best provided elsewhere. Don’t you have minions to text or something?”

I shot Q a thankful look before I pulled my water bottle from my backpack. I unscrewed the lid and took a long drink, hoping it would cool the anger burning inside of me.

“
Ms. Martin
.”

I paused mid-sip to glance at the chemistry teacher, Mr. Fritz, leaning across a lab table at the front of the room. “I thought I made it clear on the syllabus that there is no food or drink in this class. There are dangerous chemicals in this lab and I’d hate to see anyone get hurt.”

I set the bottle on the table. “If you’re worried about someone getting hurt, you might want to reconsider the seating chart—” Q shoved an elbow into my side before I could finish.

Mr. Fritz crossed his arms and frowned. “I’m sorry. What was that?”

I glanced back and forth between Mr. Fritz and Q. The identicalness of their scowls was uncanny. Finally, I sighed. “Not important. I’m sorry about the water bottle, Mr. Fritz.”

He nodded, the movement sliding his glasses to the edge of his nose. “One strike, Ms. Martin. Don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t,” I replied glumly and stuffed the bottle back into my bag.

Seemingly satisfied, Mr. Fritz nodded and moved on to another table.

“
Anyway.
” Carly smacked her gum, each pop like a hammer pounding the base of my spine. She poured the contents of a test tube into a beaker. “I didn’t want to do it—I know you guys are best friends and all—but I had to tell Mom that I didn’t feel safe with Rileigh coming over to our house anymore.” She looked up at me and smiled. “At least not until you work out your
issues.
”

Quentin made a choked sound as I whirled around to face her.

“What?” My pulse jumped from a jog to a sprint as the pressure built inside of me, pushing against my ribs until I thought they would crack. It was no secret that Carly and I couldn’t stand each other, but she’d never tried to come between Quentin and me before. He’d been my best friend since first grade. Not to mention he was the one person who kept me firmly grounded in this life. Without him, I’d be more lost than ever.

Invisible hands ripped into my chest, trying to claw their way out. What little control I had was slipping away—and fast.

Quentin, as if sensing my distress, snatched the empty test tube from Carly’s hand. “Carly, oh my God, you got something on your face.”

Wide-eyed, she patted her face. “Where? What is it?”

Quentin pointed to his nostril.

“Oh, God.” The color drained from her cheeks. “Mr. Fritz!” She leapt from her stool, ran to the front of the
classroom, and snatched the wooden hall pass from a hook on the wall. “I have to go to the bathroom!”

He looked up from assisting a table of students and waved her away with a sigh. “Hurry back. Your table is behind the rest of the class. You should have your Bunsen burner turned on by now.”

She nodded and ran for the door.

Quentin gave a nervous glance to the matches in front of him. “Don’t listen to her. My mom loves you and she knows Carly’s a drama queen. She’d never ban you from the house.” He looked at me. “Are you—are you okay?”

Not even close. But maybe if I lied to him I could fool myself. “I’m good.” I tried to sound convincing, but my voice came out strained.

He took a match from the box but didn’t strike it. “Besides, I love you and isn’t my opinion the only one that counts?”

“I just thought she’d be more understanding, you know? I’d assumed since I saved her life, lost my house, and almost died, she’d get off my back.” I shook my head and closed my eyes, trying to harness the energy swirling inside me. It felt like I was being torn in half.

“
Yeah, well … ” Quentin turned on the valve that released the gas. “Welcome to high school.” He struck the match and raised the lit tip to the nozzle.

At that moment, the hum of ki burst through my skin. To make it worse, I’d spent so much of my energy trying to keep it from escaping that I had none left to control it when it did. It happened so fast, I was helpless to warn Quentin about the attack coming his way.

The Bunsen burner exploded in an angry fireball that ricocheted him off his stool, and he collapsed onto the floor. He buried his face in his hands while uttering a stream of obscenities under his breath.

“Q!” I leapt from my chair and joined him on the floor. The acrid stench of singed hair stung my nostrils. “Oh my God! Are you alright?”

He didn’t move but continued to mutter every curse word I knew, in addition to some awfully creative ones.

“Mr. Fritz!” Fear strangled my voice into a garbled mess.

My chem teacher was next to us in an instant. He placed his hand on Quentin’s back, his eyes wide with alarm. “What happened?”

“I—I—”
Oh, you know, I lost control of my ki and set my best friend on fire.
“I don’t know. Quentin was lighting the Bunsen burner, and then—” I sucked in a ragged breath. “And then—”

“It exploded,” Quentin mumbled miserably against his hands.

Mr. Fritz held his arms up and glanced at the students who’d left their seats and were climbing over each other to get a closer look. “Okay, I need everyone to calm down.”

I stared at him in disbelief. Calm down? I’d nearly roasted Quentin’s face off, and he wanted me to be calm about it? My stomach twisted until I thought I’d double over from the pain. What if it’d been worse? What if—

Before I could finish my thought, the Bunsen burner flared to life again, issuing a beach ball-sized fireball that dissipated with a whoosh into black smoke before reaching the ceiling.

“What the—” Mr. Fritz stumbled backward, knocking over Carly’s abandoned stool. I jumped in front of Quentin and grabbed onto a metal leg, righting the chair before it could fall on him. At least my reflexes hadn’t failed me.

Mr. Fritz’s skin paled to the color of the plastic skeleton mounted on the wall. He grasped the counter and pulled himself to his feet. “Gas leak. It has to be a gas leak.” He looked at us, his eyes impossibly wide. “I want all of you”— he scanned the entire classroom—“outside and in front of the gymnasium. NOW.”

The stunned silence erupted into squeals and shrieks as my classmates scrambled to grab their belongings before stampeding from the room.

“Ms. Martin.” Mr. Fritz grabbed Quentin’s elbow and motioned for me to do the same. Together, we lifted him to his feet. “Get Mr. Farmer to the nurse. I’m going to the office to alert them about the gas leak. The school needs to be evacuated.” Mr. Fritz placed a hand between my shoulders and gave me an urgent push forward.

I nodded even though I knew there was no gas leak. Wrapping my arm around Quentin’s waist, I guided him out the door and down the hall. I whispered how sorry I was more than a hundred times, but still he refused to look at me and kept his face buried beneath his hands. How badly had I burned him? Would he scar? Guilt twisted my insides.

Carly had been right about me.

I was dangerous.

7

T
he good news is, you’ll live.” The nurse, a tired-looking woman with a sloppy gray bun at the base of her skull, patted Quentin on the cheek. His eyes stayed locked on the mirror in his hands.

I stood by his side, my chest tight with worry. “So he’s going to be okay?”

The nurse smiled and tugged on the ends of the stethoscope wrapped around her neck. “They’re just eyebrows, dear. They’ll grow back.” She glanced at Quentin. “It is interesting, though. If you were as close to the Bunsen burner as you say, I’m surprised you weren’t burned. You’re a lucky young man. I’m going to get some salve for your face. I’ll be back in a minute.”

When she was out of the room, Quentin set the mirror aside, closed his eyes, and groaned.

“It’s not that bad.” I stared at the bare skin where his eyebrows used to be. The nurse was right. While the flames had burned away his eyebrows, his skin wasn’t even inflamed.

“Not that bad?” He turned angry eyes on me. “Give me a robe and an ugly pedicure, and I could play the bad guy in those wizard movies!”

I flinched. In all the years we’d been friends, he’d never once yelled at me. “Q, I’m so … I just … I’m sorry.”

He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly through his nose. He stayed that way for a moment, like a deflated balloon, as the silence between us pressed against me so thick and heavy I thought I might suffocate. Finally, he opened his eyes. “I know.” He patted his hand against the vinyl table where he sat. I jumped up next to him and leaned my head against his shoulder. Maybe Quentin wouldn’t stay mad at me. Hope picked at the knot inside my chest.

“I know you didn’t
mean
to hurt me,” he said. “But you need help, Ri-Ri. You’ve been struggling to control this ki thing of yours for what—a month? And this?” He wiggled the skin where his eyebrows had been. “This should tell you that you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“But I haven’t been
doing
anything.”

He gave me a pointed look.

“Oh. Right.” But that was going to change. Before today, I’d assumed the real threat was the ninja; that’s why finding them had been my top priority. Turns out I was wrong. The real threat was me.

I met Q’s eyes. “I’m sorry I let things get so out of control and put you at risk. From this day forward, getting control of my ki is my number-one priority.”

“Good.” He smiled, but his eyes remained serious. “Because next time, someone could lose
more
than their eyebrows. You understand that, don’t you?”

I sucked on my bottom lip and nodded. I understood. Until I got my ki under control, I was a ticking time bomb.

No one was safe.