Witch & Wizard 04 - The Kiss (6 page)
Read Witch & Wizard 04 - The Kiss Online
Authors: James Patterson
“Why are you still talking to Wisty?”
He laughs, so sure of himself. So certain life is all a joke. “O-
ho
. Another big brother chat. Maybe you should ask
her
why she’s still talking to
me
.”
I clench my teeth together.
“I know who you are.” I stare at him, detecting the slightest falter in his gaze, like a shadow crossing as ice blue darkens to steel.
But when he leans toward me, he’s all confidence. “I know who you are, too,” Heath whispers, and his eyes flicker mockingly. “But I don’t really see where you’re going with this….”
“I know you’re lying. You were a New Order Youth Brigade leader with a different name. Byron Swain showed me your records.”
“Byron,” Heath groans. “Is that pup still nipping at Wisty’s heels and whining for my scraps? The One would say that dog needs a stun gun to the groin.”
I glare at Heath, remembering Byron’s heartbroken face.
“Hey, just kidding—no need for the silent treatment,” he says, picking up the file and flipping through it with casual indifference. “Tell Mr. Swain that in case he wasn’t aware, the Council pardoned all former New Order Youth yesterday.” He opens the folder then, shrugging as the pages take flight and scatter in the wind. “But you knew that, didn’t you? Since you and Wisty sit on the Council?”
“The Council votes for the good of the City. We’re talking about what’s good for my sister.”
“Well, fair ruler, that seems a bit hypocritical, if you ask me.”
I look him in the eye. “I didn’t.”
“Fair enough.” He shrugs. “I don’t think Wisty asked you what you thought about me, either.” Heath starts to walk away, still smirking, but when he turns around suddenly, I’m surprised by his intense expression and blazing eyes.
“You don’t know anything about me, because you don’t want to know,” he says, and for the first time, Heath seems sincere, almost emotional. “I never lied about the Youth Brigade. The One,” he spits, nearly choking on the word, “killed my father. Then, like practically everyone else in this City, I had no choice but to join his service.” Heath picks up his shining blue helmet from the bench and rubs at a scuff mark. “Maybe I just wanted a fresh start, for once.” He sighs. “I hope that satisfies your little background check.”
He gets about five paces before the guilt sets in.
Nice going, Whit.
Here I’m ready to write this guy off as a soulless faker, and he ends up being another kid damaged by the system who’s just trying to stay afloat.
“Hey,” I call after him.
He turns, his gaze accusatory.
“Listen,” I offer, “I’m sorry about your father. I’ll think about what you said, okay?”
Heath shrugs, the mask of amusement creeping back into his eyes. “Does this little heart-to-heart mean we get to be buddies now and throw the ball around again sometime? Because I can’t wait.”
THE SKY OVERHEAD is darkening with the threat of rain, but the clouds inside my head feel stormiest of all.
The bleachers cleared out long ago, so the touch of a hand on my shoulder takes me by surprise.
“You okay?” Janine asks, her eyebrows crinkled with concern.
“Yeah. Sure.” I force a smile. The field is where I’ve always been able to let go of my anxiety, but with this loss today, my stress over the Council, the missing kids, Heath, Wisty… it’s all just been building. “You didn’t have to wait for me.”
Janine shrugs as if to say,
Of course I waited
. She’s hugging her bare arms to her chest, and her hair is damp. I hadn’t even realized it was raining.
“You must be freezing,” I say, standing. “Here.” I hold out my jacket.
Janine tilts her head to the side. “You don’t have to take care of me, you know.”
“Oh. Um.” I shift uncomfortably. “You were just shivering, so…”
But Janine smiles and pulls my jacket over her bare shoulders anyway. “I just meant that everyone expects you to play the hero all the time, and you don’t have to do that with me, okay?” She looks me in the eye. “You can be real.”
“Great. Then if you wouldn’t mind carrying this…” I lift up my gym bag.
Janine’s crack of laughter is sharp and bright, and immediately puts me at ease.
“Would you maybe want to get a bite with me?” I ask as we walk together off the field. “I thought we could go to that fancy new place downtown with the awesome view of the mountains.”
“Whit Allgood, are you asking me on a date?” She arches an eyebrow.
I grin sheepishly. As lame as it sounds, I’ve never actually asked a girl out. Celia was a cheerleader, and I was the foolball captain, so we first got together because that’s what everyone expected. With Janine, I have to work for it.
“What if I am?”
“Well, then I’m not sure,” she answers.
“Since when is a ‘daughter of the Revolution’ ever not sure of anything?”
Janine smirks. “I’m not sure I want trendy food that looks like whipped vomit and tastes like air. Let’s grab a burger instead!”
“Deal.”
We end up at a hole-in-the-wall grill that used to have the best burgers and wings in the City.
“It feels exactly the same,” Janine marvels. It’s the only building left standing on the block, but inside it’s still cozy, with the same worn red furniture and loud decor on the walls.
“Last time I was here, I didn’t know I was a wizard,” I say, remembering. “I didn’t even know the Resistance existed, and you were already
running
it.”
We stuff our faces with greasy goodness, reminiscing about those early days—the jailbreaks, the protests, the so-horrible-you-just-have-to-laugh-now-because-we-made-it-out-alive mishaps—if you can call them “mishaps.”
“I hate to say it, but this barbecue dip kind of reminds me of that time the Lost Ones basted us in roasting sauces,” Janine says.
Yeah, that was rough—we were trapped between dimensions in the maze of Shadowland, and hunted down by tormented souls who survive on the flesh of the living. Not one of our finest moments.
“I still don’t get why they wanted to eat you.” I pick up her hand. “Not much meat,” I joke. But feeling the warmth in her touch, I can’t help thinking about how I almost lost her then. “That was one of the worst days of my life,” I say quietly.
Janine meets my eyes. “That was the day I knew…”
“Knew what?” I ask, even though I remember. It was the day she told me she loved me. I couldn’t say it back, not yet.
“I knew I never wanted to eat barbecue again,” Janine answers solemnly, and takes a huge bite of her sauce-covered burger. I crack up, but Janine shakes her head and takes my hand again.
“What?” I ask. She glances down at our entwined fingers.
“I never thought I’d be holding hands with the star of the foolball team, that’s all.”
“Yeah, because back in school, girls like you wouldn’t give us jocks the time of day.”
“Ha!” Janine cackles. “Girls like me?”
“Creative, confident, independent, crazy smart…”
“All true!” she says wryly. “I was smart enough to see there was more to Whit Allgood than muscles, even before you read me poetry.”
I smile, remembering that first intense moment between us, and the awkwardness after, when Wisty told her I hadn’t even written the poem.
Janine drops her eyes and sighs. “But you were always with Celia. It was like you didn’t even see other girls, especially me.”
“I see you now,” I say, squeezing her hand.
Janine looks up at me, and I’m really happy to just lose myself inside the endlessness of her wide green eyes. “I see you, too.”
I’M WALKING THROUGH darkness where trees are made of bone, and shadows slither under my feet. When I hear wailing in the distance, a familiar terror grips me. I start to run. But then the sky fills with light, the noises stop, and her face is all around me. Her almond eyes, sweet mouth, and rich curls—she’s all I see.
“Celia?” I ask, blinking up at her ethereal image in wonder. After she died, even the thought of Celia brought instant tears and a sharp stab of hurt, but right now, I only feel peace.
“It’s good to see you, Whit,” she says serenely. “How’s Janine? I can feel the two of you getting closer.”
The accusation makes me wince. “I’m sorry, Celes,” I blurt out. “I still miss you every day. You
know
I wish it could’ve been different, that I could be with you forever, but…”
“But you were meant to live,” she murmurs, and her gaze gets distant. “You’re meant to be with someone who is real and
alive
.”
I nod. Celia’s part of
beyond
now, a face in the sky I can’t even touch. And when I try to remember her musical laugh and sweet perfume, there’s a disturbing emptiness, a place my memories can’t reach anymore.
“How are you, Whit?” she asks in that removed voice, her features blurring in the wind. “Tell me you’re happy. Tell me it was all worth it.”
Was her death worth it to destroy The One?
“I think it was worth it….” I say hesitantly. But I was never good at deceiving Celia, even when it would’ve been best for both of us.
“What is it?” she asks, the clouds shifting as her lips purse with concern.
“It’s just so much harder running things than I’d imagined,” I sigh. “Dealing with laws and kidnappings and the Mountain King threat. And Wisty seems to be pulling away from me and—”
“
The Mountain King?
” Celia breaks in. The light filling the sky flickers like a candle.
“From the Mountain on the western border…”
“The Mountain King is
alive
?” Her detached tone is replaced with alarm.
“The Council thinks he just wants to negotiate the old laws for water usage,” I say, trying to stay calm.
“Listen to me, Whit.” Celia’s voice rises, and the bone trees around me sway. “There are souls here in the beyond, souls of
children
, who became Lost Ones because they couldn’t rest after what had happened to them at the hands of the Mountain King.”
“I don’t understand,” I whisper, feeling a cold dread flood my chest.
“The Mountain King killed them, Whit. He slaughtered whole cities of people!” Celia screams, her voice thundering all around me. The force of the sound knocks me to the ground.
“What are you talking about?” I shout up at the sky, but her face is fuzzy static now.
“Promise me you’ll stay away from the Mountain,” Celia pleads as she fades into red clouds. The shadows start to creep back in as the light dims, and I feel my panic rising. “Promise me you’ll be careful….”
I wake up from the dream soaked in sweat, with her voice still echoing in my head. But it’s the middle of the night, and Celia is dead. I don’t know who to tell, or who to fear, or where to go. I don’t even know if it was real.
I’m alone in darkness again.
“SO.” I LOOK AROUND a table at the tired faces of the Over Watch, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice. “What’s the latest? Has anyone heard any news about the Mountain People?”
Wisty looks at me strangely, but I continue. “Any contact near the border, or changes with the water negotiations? Anything about the King? Any news at all?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, brother,” Wisty protests. “You sound like our dear General Bloom, and we’re not at the Council meeting quite yet. Coffee first. Then business.”
“Coffee coming right up,” Emmett offers.
As he sets down the mugs, I raise an eyebrow at my sister. “I thought you hated coffee.”
“I do.” Wisty drains her mug in one big gulp. “I also hate rules. And meetings. And waking up early. Ruling the City is just a barrel of fun. Hit me with another cup, Emmett,” she says, and slaps the card table.
“Hey, easy there,” Byron groans, lifting his head off the swaying table and rubbing sleep from his eyes.
I guess I can’t blame them. It
is
obscenely early—the sun hasn’t even risen—but after that dream, I lay awake, the dread slowly turning into icy fear. By early morning, I sent out the alert to the Resistance to meet at The Tube so we could touch base before the eight o’clock Council meeting.
I’m so on edge, even the graffiti looks malicious this morning; all I see are those painted soldiers marching on the wall. But then I catch Janine midyawn and she grins, looking adorably game for anything, as usual. For a moment, the warmth I felt with her yesterday floods my senses. Maybe the dream was just a stupid dream. Everything is going to be okay.
“There were more kidnappings last night,” Sasha reports in his typically blunt way, instantly shattering all notions of things being okay. We all stare at him, and he shakes his head dejectedly. “We couldn’t get there in time. That’s the news.”
“I thought we had eyes and ears all over the City,” I say, bewildered.
Byron nods. “I used all my connections.”
“And no one saw anything?” I ask desperately, the frustration starting to spill out of me. “We couldn’t save them?”
“Hey, we’re doing everything we can, pulling crazy hours,” Sasha says defensively. “I was up all night patrolling.”
“We just need more people, Whit,” Janine says. “It’s hard to get new recruits because the kids who survived the New Order are still afraid. Don’t forget, it wasn’t that long ago that we lost most of the Resistance to the regime.”
Celia’s voice intrudes on my thoughts.
Souls of children
, she said.
The Mountain King killed them.
“And you’re sure
none
of your street ears have heard anything about the Mountain King?” I repeat, fixing Byron with a hard stare until he squirms.
“Whit, stop it!” Wisty snaps her fingers in front of my face. “This is bad enough without you acting like a total jerk. What’s up with this stuff about the Mountain King? Did you have another one of those visions?”
Janine raises her eyebrows, and I hesitate.
Just my dead girlfriend shrieking at me to be careful.
