Shattered (27 page)

I laughed and softly punched
his shoulder when I pulled away.

“I wouldn’t want to take your
role as the token douche,” I said. “…so show me the room.”

Paul had a tendency to be
outrageous, so when he showed me to a pink room with a tiny twin-sized bed, I
burst out laughing.

“I knew you’d like it,
princess,” he said. “Make yourself at home.”

I sashayed into the room and
closed the door behind me, even though we both knew I couldn’t sleep in here.
I’d take the couch before sleeping inside of this
Pepto
Bismol
bottle. It looked like Emma had barfed
rainbows and sunshine in here when she was younger. It was bright and happy and
way too distracting for the kind of sleep I would need after a night like
tonight.

I lay on the floor to give myself
a moment alone before going back out with everyone. I’d learned my lesson about
not processing things. Bad feelings fester like open wounds, and for me, the
consequences of not dealing with my issues would always be severe.

Right now, my issue was
missing her like crazy. Instead of thinking about the fight or that Kamon had
succeeded in capturing Lydia again. I was imagining Christine’s angry scent,
the potent one, fogging the office and Lydia’s condo.

Because of that scent, my
mind was always in the worst of places in the most inappropriate moments. The
first time I’d smelled it was when Remi bumped her on the stairs in New Orleans.
I’d almost kissed her then. She’d smelled the same way in Kamon’s prison, the
day we’d found her in her destroyed studio, and in the cellar at Trenton. All of
those times my mind should not have been plotting ways to get her out of her
clothes when her powers were out of control.

I liked that side of her, the
dangerous and unpredictable side. I laughed, dragging my hands from my hair to
my face and back again. I’d never thought about it this way before. I didn’t
just like her angry. I liked her powerful.

Tonight, she wasn’t somewhere
scared and alone, weak and in need of saving, and I preferred her that way. She
wasn’t like my mother, and I wasn’t like John.

I hadn’t abused her in the
way I’d punished myself for. After seeing her stand over Kamon’s body and fight
a crowd of hunters, I couldn’t imagine why I’d ever thought she would let me
abuse her.

I had to talk to her. I
couldn’t and wouldn’t fight it anymore. I dialed her number, my heart hammering
in my ears. It rang and I stood. On the second ring, I sat again. I couldn’t
find a posture to stick with.

“Dear?” Sophia answered.

“Um … hi. Is everything
okay?”

“Yes. She’s fine. I would
give her the phone, but her father wouldn’t like that very much.”

I’d never truly had a
wind out of your sails
moment until
then. Of course it wouldn’t be easy.

“Okay. Could you tell her I
called?” I sighed, my heart slowing with the windless world around me. It wasn’t
just me keeping myself away. I couldn’t all of a sudden want what we had back.
She had a father who thought I was abusing her. How do you fix something like
that?

I guessed every huge and
seemingly impossible task started with a first step.

“Or maybe I could … talk to
him?” I asked.

She hummed, an impressed sort
of sound, and said, “Hold on.”

I inhaled deeply and got a
huge whiff of Ewing-sugar. The breath was meant to calm me, but it just made me
more frantic. I started wondering what would happen if her parents couldn’t
forgive me. I’d hurt their daughter, on accident, but still, I’d hurt her, and
I understood why they’d never want me around her again.

Just as I took another
breath, Mr. Gavin said, “What?”

“Uh … hi. It’s-”

“I know who this is. What do
you want?”

A few responses flashed
through my head, but none of them made any sense. I went with something I
didn’t have much time to think through or talk myself out of.

“I know why I love her,” I
said.

He sighed loudly in the
speaker. “And why is that?”

“Because she’s … everything I
didn’t grow up with, but she also reminds me of the good parts of my past. She’s
the best of both worlds. She’s everything my mother was and all the things she
couldn’t be. It makes her seem perfect to me.”

A lifetime passed where
neither of us said anything. He’d breathe, then I’d breathe, and what sounded
like water–waves maybe–would cut in from his end.

Finally he broke the silence
in the oddest of ways. “Nice chatting with you,” he said. “Ask someone for my
number and call me before you call her again. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

I held the phone to my ear
long after he’d hung up, wondering if that call had been a fail or a win or
something in between.

Dad started gathering the
plastic inside of their old room, and Mom and I waited in the doorway.

“Really, Christopher,” she
said. “I can go home.”

“Someone went to your home
and attacked you,” he said.

“Not my home in Paris.”

He wasn’t listening. He just
kept pulling up plastic and shaking dust out of curtains and this forgotten
part of their lives. He opened the chest at the foot of the bed and pulled out
sheets and blankets.

“You still don’t throw
anything away, do you?” she said.

He chuckled. “No. Afraid not.
They may smell old.”

“Are those your old sheets
and stuff?” I asked. Mom had made me drink a very tall glass of the potion, so
I couldn’t answer the question on my own, at least until I could get a minute
alone in my room.

“Yes,” she said. “This is
very nice, Christopher, but…” Her voice cracked. It took her a moment to
recover. “…I have to be somewhere in a few hours, and-”

“Stay,” he said. “At least
for tonight. For her.” He pointed to me, and I rolled my eyes. This clearly had
nothing to do with me. Mom squeezed my hand and frowned at Dad. Slowly, she
shook her head and declined the offer. “Cape Cod,” he said. “Remember, you owe
me a favor. I’m sorry to have to call it in after all these years, but … you
know what I’m talking about.”

Mom burst out laughing, and
Dad smiled at his feet. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious, Lydia.
Stay. You owe me … and her. Your kid found you unconscious. She may have
nightmares about it.”

“I’m not five,” I said,
mostly just to remind them that I was still standing there.

“She’s right,” Mom said.
“She’s at least seven, but not a day older. This kid makes me feel like an old
hag when I think about how old she is.”

“I know,” Dad said. “Where
did the time go? It feels like just yesterday when…” He paused and sighed.
“Anyway, what do you say?” He gestured toward the bed. “Are you going to stay?”

She walked into her old room,
pulling me in with her, and said, “A debt is a debt. I’ll stay the night.”

“Whoa,” I said. “That’s
different.”

“Different good?” Mom asked.

“Yes,” I said. “What do you
want to-”

“Lydia,” Sophia interrupted.
She walked into the room with her hand over the speaker on her phone. She
looked at us and smiled. There was a hint of sadness in it.

“Is that for me?” Mom asked,
nodding to the phone in Sophia’s hands.

“You know what? I’ll handle
it. And I’ll get you some clothes so you can stay here with them.” She brushed
away a tear, and then she became stern suddenly. “And I’m taking the rest of
the night off, Lydia. There’s nothing you can say about it. I’ll be back in the
morning. Maybe not until lunch. Don’t bother me.”

“Sheesh, woman,” Mom said.
“Fine.”

After showers, Mom and I
settled in her old bed. The sheets smelled like they’d been locked away for
years. The comforter had tiny blue birds all over it. She traced one as I
worked up the nerve to bring up Kamon.

“Spit it out,” she said.
“Your energy is making me nervous.”

“He captured you again.”

“Correction, Remi and three
hunters captured me.”

“That’s worse,” I said.

She shrugged her shoulders,
still tracing the wing of a bird. “This is a young person’s game, angel.
Inherently, I can’t stay on top forever.”

“And?”

She shrugged again. “And … my
powers weakening doesn’t matter that much. This is the end, sweetie. I’ve seen
it. He’s seen it. We are close to peace.”

“No we’re not. I’ve seen the
opposite.”

She stopped tracing and
looked at me. “What?”

“I’ve seen the opposite. I’m
seeing war. Bad things. I’m seeing-”

“You’re not supposed to be
seeing anything, Christine!” Her angry voice was ten times worse than Dad’s. It
had the ability to cut right through me. “Have you been using your powers for
longer than tonight?”

“It’s just that…”

“Answer me!”

“I … um … okay.” I took a
deep breath and sat up. After a few tries, I looked her in the eyes. “Yes, I
have. And I think you should save those people.” She sighed. “They are
children, Mom.”

“Not all of them.”

“Many are, and even the ones
who aren’t don’t deserve to die when you-”

She clasped her hand over my
mouth and shook her head. “Don’t say it. Please. It’s dangerous to speak about it.”

“But will you help them?” I
asked, through her hand. “If you don’t, there could be a war.”

She shushed me and sighed.
After a long minute of silence, she said, “Wait,” and hugged me abruptly. “You
know things but didn’t badger me about it?” I nodded. “You know things but
didn’t get involved?” I nodded again, smiling now. “Wow.”

“Don’t sound so shocked,” I
said.

“I’m sorry, but you’re my
kid. And I … well, to say I’m so controlling, I really had a problem with
control. You got that from me. I’m just glad you didn’t do anything dangerous.”

I remembered my visions of
running off to Kamon and taking things in my own hands. I was tempted even more
now since defeating Kamon on my own.

“Can I say something and you
not get mad at me?” I asked. She nodded. “I kind of like doing things like I
did tonight. Getting away from them, finding you, helping you. Is that weird? It
was intense but not scary. Is that bad?”

She shook her head.

“This life can be thrilling if
you don’t mind the sacrifice,” she said. “At one point, I lived for that
thrill. But I was far too young to be making decisions like my father let me
make. That’s why I don’t want you involved in any of this.”

“But I don’t want to join
anyone or train anywhere,” I said. “I just want to help. Sometimes, it feels
like I have to. I feel…”

“Responsible,” she finished.
I nodded. “Listen, kid. I get it. You’re kind of like me, but way nicer, with
bits of the nuns, and dare I say it, Sophia. I understand you have things
you’ll want or need to do because of that. I really do. So when I finally make
this world safe for you, you can get into all the danger you want.” She winked
and pulled me into her arms. I nestled in close like a newborn, a reflex as
natural as blinking. I couldn’t believe this conversation was going so well.
“Just … don’t give me a heart attack, okay? Let’s keep the danger to a low
level. Baby danger.”

“What’s baby danger?”

She chuckled. “Shoplifters.
Jaywalkers. I’ll find you those kinds of crimes to solve.” I groaned. “Just
promise me you’ll continue to stay out of this thing with Kamon and me.”

“He pulled me into it.”

“And you got yourself out.
I’m proud, but no more, okay?”

I nodded. It took me a moment
to realize she’d completely avoided talking about the trapped prisoners, but it
had been so long since I’d fallen asleep in her arms. She started the song, and
I didn’t stand a chance. My eyes closed before she finished the first verse.

I felt myself sleeping
peacefully until I had the sudden feeling of being unable to move. I was stuck
in a between state. Not quite sleeping, not quite awake. I heard loud manly
feet banging against stone. Then I saw shiny black shoes stomping down a dimly
lit hall. Black pants with a hard crease in the center covered the tops of the
shoes at a precise and tailored point. It took another second for the rest of
Kamon’s body to come into view. I couldn’t see much of his surroundings. Black
mist sprawled from the ends of his legs and arms and shoulders, blurring the
edges of his body into black empty space.

I watched him walk for a
while, unable to decipher where he was or where he was going, until he banged
on a door.

The mist cleared as it
opened, and Remi stepped out of the door.

Master?

You let her go!

Would you like to come in?

Don’t toy with me, Remi. You let her go! I should throw you in a
cell again!

Remi bowed her head and Kamon
stormed into her room. She smiled like it was Christmas morning. What was with
this chick and leather? She was even wearing it to sit around in her room.
Oddly, she fit right in. It looked like she and Kamon lived in a medieval
castle, the same one I’d seen in Mom’s memories.

I didn’t let her go, Master. I was defeated, along with several of
your best hunters.

Does that excuse it?

She also got past you.
Kamon spun around with the devil in his eyes. Remi screamed and
fell to her knees. She held her head like it was about to split open.
I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

Indeed you are,
he said.
Lydia has killed
many of my allies, so something is coming, Remi. I am tired of giving you more
chances. This is your job. Christine is your job! If you let her or her mother
slip through your hands again, I will take them off.

I sensed that this was really
happening, and I felt sorry for Remi. Kamon was manipulating her and blaming
her for something that was entirely her fault.

I’ve gotten you this far,
she said.
I’ve
given you something on Lydia that no one else ever did, Master. And I told you
about the witch who could make herself look like her! I told you to video
instead of calling. It almost worked! But I swear, Master, next time, there
will be no almost.

He helped her to her feet. My
stomach turned as he gently rubbed her cheek.

I trust you, pet, more than the boys. Bring her to me again, and
you will have everything you’ve ever desired.

He leaned in for a kiss, and
she shuddered. Before reaching her lips, he stopped, winked at her, and
disappeared.

With a deep gasp, I shook out
of the vision and opened my eyes. I was in my own bed, tucked in like someone
had taken great care to put me there. Long, disheveled hair covered half of my
pillow. There was about an inch between my unexpected guest and me.

“Em?” Her eyes opened slowly,
and then they bulged out of the sockets. She rolled over and tackled me. Her
thoughts were frantic, but she was mostly thinking of the night her sister came
into her room and said a quick goodbye before going out. She was supposed to
come back in an hour, and Emma never saw her again. She started to cry, and I
rubbed her back. “I’m not Edith, Em.”

“I know.”

“So relax.”

“I will. Especially now that
I threw out the glass of zombie juice Sophie left for you and turned your
powers on in your sleep.” She rolled away and pointed at the empty glass on my
nightstand and then to the traces of red powder on my pillow. “I overheard
Sophie telling my parents and Paul’s parents about a mix she uses on your
mother, so I stole some of it from her. I didn’t want you in here sedated when
Kamon could try something else.”

“Wait … what was that about
your parents? And Paul’s?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I sort of
told them you were Lydia’s kid.” I gasped. “No big. They were more concerned
with how Sophie has been living a secret life. They kept her up all night
talking about it. And she happened to mention this powder and I swiped it. I
think it’s kind of like what Gregory gave you, but you don’t have to eat it. I
didn’t want to wake you.”

“How considerate of you,” I
said, my head spinning from the vision of Remi and Kamon and the idea of her
and Paul’s parents knowing who I really was. She wiped her face and went back
to her own pillow. “So we had a slumber party I didn’t know about, apparently.”

“I got here at three this
morning. I called your phone. Your dad has it again. He said I could come over
and got you out of your mom’s bed. He tucked you in. It was very cute.” She sat
up and crossed her legs. “Let’s go outside. It’s pretty today.”

“Wait, did you say my dad has
my phone?” She nodded. “Why?” My powers answered before she did. “Nate called
me?!” I screamed.

She covered my mouth. “You
know how your dad is about Nathan. Stop yelling, crazy!” I nodded and she
dropped her hand. “He’s at Sophie’s, but he was at his parents’ house before
last night. Paul wouldn’t let him go back.”

“Call him. Call Nate. Or
Paul. Someone.”

She took out her phone and
called Paul. She put it on speaker, and it rang twice. “Good morning,
snookie
poo,” Paul said.

“
Snookie
poo?” I asked.

She laughed, and Paul cleared
his throat. “Chris, hi. Ignore that.”

“Gladly,” I said. “Put him on
the phone, please.”

He stuttered for a moment,
and I heard a chair scrape against a floor like someone had gotten up. “He
who?” Paul said.

“He … Nathan. I know he’s
there.”

“Uh … Nathan is … uh …
asleep? Yes, he’s asleep. It’s really early here. You guys should respect the
time difference and call later. Okay? Bye.” He hung up, and I sighed. Nathan
was clearly in the background avoiding me. Wonderful.