Crossing Nexis Page 14

  Goosebumps pricked up my arms as I remembered that horrible night in the church library where her father tried to brand me as the Seer. Bryan had to set a fire just so we could get away. What an awful encounter with the Watchers.

  Rage churned in my belly. I arched my back, leaning in. “I didn’t make you forget that you were a Watcher, join the Guardians, and then pretend to be a double agent for Nexis. Who on earth thinks they can be a triple agent?” My blood really boiled through my veins now.

  “It’s times like these, I’m glad I gave you up.” Her eyes gleamed as shadows slithered from the floor, circling her ankles, and crawled their way up her legs. “I saw you on the quad that night, running into the library. Someone had to point your ex in the right direction.”

  The weight of her words smashed down on me like a ton of brinks. “You told him?” I whispered, my stomach seizing up. Gonna hurl.

  Slowly, a smile spread across her evil lips. “I told Nexis, and it looks like they did the rest. Fat lot of good it did me.”

  White hot rage seared through me. Narrowed my gaze to tunnel vision. Crash. I slammed my bag to the floor. Smack. My hand shot up. Hit her in the face.

  Her eyes watered, her cheek reddened.

  “How could anyone be so despicable, so—” I spat out. A thousand needles buzzed through my palm.

  Gasps went up all over the foyer as people got out their phones to snap pictures and start texting. Who knows, someone probably got the whole thing on video. At that moment, I didn’t care one iota. Let the whole world see the face of evil.

  A strong arm encircled my waist. “Lucy, calm down. We need to get you out of here.” Will whispered in my ear.

  Suddenly, his arm tightened around my middle, and my feet were flailing mid-air as he hoisted me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

  Before I knew it, I was staring at his backside as he pushed open the front door. My eyes stung in the cold air, but butterflies whizzed around in my stomach.

  He crunched across the fifty yards across frozen quad, then up the concrete stairs, right into the observatory tower. My face jostled against his firm back the whole time, and I tried not to stare too far south. All the pent up Felicia-rage simmered down.

  At last he creaked open the door to the Nexis tower, but he didn’t set me down there.

  “Okay, okay.” I flailed my feet in the air in the vicinity of his head, hopefully. “You can put me down now.”

  A laugh rumbled in his chest. “Not just yet, my dear.”

  He walked up to the back wall, shrouded in pitch darkness. An electronic beeping sound reached my ears, and before I knew it, a door that blended into the black wall opened up. Trudging through the opening, Will plopped me down on an antique leather sofa.

  “Where are we?” I gasped for breath, afraid to touch my cheeks to see how hot they were.

  He switched on a desk lamp that barely lit up the dim room and pulled up a chair across from me. “It’s the Nexis lounge. I figured you’d be safe here. Less likely to get suspended from school, too.”

  I looked at my hand. Still red. “I can’t believe I slapped her. Did that really just happen?”

  “I can.” His eyes lit up with something, maybe a hint of respect. “She deserved it, after what she just admitted. To the whole school.”

  “You just wanted to throw me over your shoulder.” A little lizard of a shiver ran up my spine at the thought of it.

  “I wanted to keep you from getting expelled. I figure if no one in charge saw, and you weren’t at the scene, they can’t prove anything. Worth a shot at least.” His lips curved into his signature style, right corner just a millimeter higher. “Of course, carrying you around made the plan a little more appealing.”

  I cocked my head at him. “You could’ve set me down on the quad.”

  “You didn’t fight me.” His lips twitched, making my insides quiver.

  “No, I guess I didn’t.” I couldn’t tear my eyes from his face. He was right, and I knew it.

  “It’s okay, Lucy. You can admit it.” His eyes circled me, drawing out the silence so I could hear my ragged breaths against his steady breathing. “You just wanted to stare at my butt.”

  “You wish.” I threw my head back and laughed. How did he keep doing that?

  He cracked up laughing too. When our laughter spent itself, an awkward energy bloomed in the silence between us. We both stared at each other.

  “But that’s not the only reason I brought you here.” His words were slow and deliberate.

  “It’s not?” My breath snared in my throat again.

  In the dim lighting, only parts of his face were illuminated. I watched him struggle through his thoughts, eyes darting around the room.

  Finally those gray eyes landed on my face. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Felicia when I saw you on New Year’s. I just thought it would make things worse.” He gulped, Adam’s apple bobbing.

  “You knew what she did?” Prickles pounded my eye sockets, but I fought to keep the dam from bursting.

  He sighed, running one hand through his sandy hair. “Maybe I should’ve told you. Now that Felicia’s made a mess of it, I wish I had.”

  “I can’t say it would’ve been something I ever wanted to hear. That someone could be that cruel.” I inhaled, shudders racking my shoulders.

  Will abandoned his chair and landed on the couch beside me. “I’m sorry, Lucy. That’s why I wouldn’t let her into Nexis. I made the call.”

  “You’re kidding?” I practically choked on the words. “You did that for me?”

  Something different lurked in his eyes. Not sympathy. Something more. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  “I didn’t let her join Nexis, because it was the right thing to do. This group doesn’t need any more monsters.” His eyes widened like he’d just realized he’d said too much.

  My heart thumped wildly in my chest, and my next words tumbled out before I could check them. “I think I may have been wrong about you. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things.”

  Shadow and light played across the planes of his face. In a heartbeat, he wrapped me up in his arms, squeezing me into his chest. I burrowed my forehead between his leather jacket and his black sweater. The dam finally burst, and my tears dampened the cashmere, but he didn’t say a word. Not for a long time.

  He inhaled a ragged breath. “Don’t worry, Lucy. I’ve got you now, and I’m not letting go. Not this time.”

  A fresh batch of tears wormed their way to the surface. Because he was right. My mind screamed, “No!” but my heart wouldn’t listen. It felt like I was beating myself against an internal brick wall. This time, my tears had nothing to do with Bryan’s choice—the Guardians over me. I was crying for a different reason. My heart was letting go of Bryan. To make room for something new. It had to.

  If I didn’t check myself soon, I could see my heart losing itself all over again. To the guy holding me in his arms. The question was—could I really fall for Will so soon after Bryan?

  Chapter 15

  I couldn’t think. I couldn’t focus. The tug of war between Will and Bryan had started all over again. I stumbled out of the Nexis tower with tear-stained cheeks, not knowing which way to go.

  Should I go back to class and the onslaught of questions I’d face in the aftermath of my fight with Felicia? No way. Instead, I turned toward my dorm and raced to my room.

  Finally, I collapsed in a heap on my bed. And then the tears came. Clogging my nose, spilling down my cheeks.

  My bruised heart was reeling, my head full of more questions than answers. The questions clawed my lungs until I could barely breathe. I couldn’t do this on my own, no matter how much I wanted to be my own Seer. I needed a little help right now. Rolling over on my back, I glanced up at the ceiling.

  “Okay, where are you, angel?” I stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars overhead. “I could use a little help down here.”

  Saltwater dribbled
down my chin, so I reached in my nightstand for a tissue. My fingers brushed the Bible I’d forgotten about, and my hand sparked.

  “That’s weird.” Pulling out the graduation gift from Grandma, I slammed it on the bed. It fell open, its gilt-edged pages rustling open to a chapter I’d never seen before. Zechariah. That name sounded familiar.

  I thumbed through the pages, reading the subheads. It was all about an angel who appeared to the prophet Zechariah.

  I yanked the book into my lap so I could read it better.

  “Whoa girl, watch it.” Shanda stood in the doorway, staring at me like I’d just kicked her puppy. “Be kind to the good book.”

  “Since when do you care about the Bible?” I blinked, rubbing my eyes. I hadn’t even noticed her standing there.

  “Since now. Look, I’m just worried about you. I heard about your fight with Felicia. They sent me to check on you.” Whether she knew it or not, her eyebrows arched on the word “they.”

  “Who sent you?” I cocked my head at her, waiting for her to say his name.

  “Just people.” She walked over to my bed, stiletto boots clicking, and dumped her stuff on the floor. “Whatcha reading?”

  “My Bible just flipped open to Zechariah.” Every nerve ending in my body tingled as I patted the bed for her to sit down.

  “Didn’t you say Zechariah was mentioned in the Guardian Book of the Seer? The one those witches stole?” She leaned in closer to examine the page.

  “Nice one.” I let out a very unladylike snort. “But you’re right. The Guardian book mentioned Zechariah a lot. Something about a lampstand and some olive trees. It didn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Let’s see.” She riffled through the pages again, landing on chapter four. “Here it is. The Golden Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees.”

  “Huh, that’s weird.” I glanced over at her. “The Guardian book said something about placing a stone on the lampstand to protect the olive trees so their gifts could be used to bring light instead of darkness.”

  “You weren’t kidding. That’s more than weird.” She squinted down at the page, reading the small print for herself.

  The amethyst against my chest grew warm and I unzipped up my coat, pulling the necklace from its usual hiding place. “Do you think this could be the stone?”

  Shanda’s eyes zeroed in on the amethyst in my hands. “I guess so. I mean, it is glowing, after all.”

  Staring down at the jewel in my hands, I blinked. Sure enough, my roommate was right. The amethyst glowed brighter and brighter every second.

  “Whoa, that’s creepy.” Still, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the amethyst.

  To my right, Shanda had taken my Bible and was reading it to herself. “Look, here it says, Zechariah had a vision, then asked the angel what it meant. Is that how it works?”

  “What do you mean?” My forehead scrunched as my eyes flew from her face to the book. “Let me see.”

  There it was, in black and white. Zechariah saw a vision, just like me. Except he asked the angel to interpret it for him. Then the angel asked God, relaying the interpretation back to Zechariah. This happened again and again. My mouth lolled open. And it dawned on me.

  “That’s it!” I screamed, wrapping my friend in a bear hug. “You’re a genius!”

  “Well, duh.” Shanda tried to wriggle herself free. “But why exactly?”

  “Okay,” I released her shoulders, keeping my voice low. “Maybe I can’t control my visions. But maybe I can do what Zechariah did, ask my angel to interpret those visions. What if that’s my job as the Seer?”

  Her eyes widened. “Is that really all there is to it?”

  “I’ll never know till I find out.” A nervous energy welled up inside me. It felt like my whole body was shaking from the inside out—with excitement for a change. I zipped up my hoodie and stuffed my Bible into the front pouch. Nothing could stop me now. “There’s no time. I have to get to the field. Do a little training of my own. You coming with?”

  “Don’t even think about it.” She hissed, grabbed my arm. “What’re you thinking? It’s broad daylight. At least wait until tonight. After curfew.”

  “Seriously?” I slumped back down on the bed with a huff. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right.” She shot me a satisfied smile. “We’ll take some time to plan it out, stay off the Nexis radar.”

  “Yeah, it’s probably best to lay low after what happened with Felicia.” My heart sank, but the urge still wriggled around inside me. I had to do something that made sense. Something I could understand, or at least wrap my mind around. I needed to find my own purpose, not one some secret society gave me. Until I discovered my path, I felt helpless. Useless. Like maybe I shouldn’t have been given this gift. Maybe it should’ve gone to James. But it hadn’t.

  No matter how much better my brother would be as the Seer, this gift had landed on my shoulders. Now I just needed to learn how to harness my visions—or at least figure out what they meant.

  ***

  My bedsprings creaked as I reclined against my fluffy back pillow. The pages of my bio book fluttered by aimlessly. It was no use. I couldn’t focus on anything but the passages I’d read in Zechariah. And the field. Like it was calling me. Begging me to test out my new theories.

  “Enough.” I heaved the book to the floor. It made a satisfying crash. Shanda didn’t even glance up from her laptop.

  I couldn’t stand it anymore. Time to make my next great escape.

  “You ready for this?” Shanda eyed me over her laptop.

  I nodded, lips curling. “It’s time to test out my theory. Are you still coming?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that.” She closed her laptop and tiptoed across the room. “We definitely shouldn’t sneak out together. It’ll draw too much attention. Why don’t you go first? I follow in five to ten minutes to make sure no one follows you.”

  I eyed her warily. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve done this before?”

  Her lips curled up. “I’ll say it like this, those Guardian girls are amateurs. No more banging around every time you sneak out.”

  My jaw fell open. “You heard me, didn’t you?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I’ll stay in the shadows and cover your back. We got this.” She nodded to the coat rack. “Don’t forget your parka.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I zipped up my black parka, and tiptoed out the door. Slinking down the dark hall, I made my usual path down the stairs and out the kitchen window. Once my feet reached ground, I couldn’t move fast enough.

  Blood zinged through my veins, fueling me as I hit the cold night air. I needed to get to the field. Someplace away from everything and everyone. Someplace I could think.

  At last I came to the clearing in the trees, my open patch of brown grass. A crescent moon slid out from behind the clouds, greeting me with enough light to help me remember. I knew Shanda wouldn’t be too far behind. My muscles relaxed.

  Unzipping my parka, I unsheathed my Bible, and laid it down in the straw. Kneeling over it, I closed my eyes.

  Lord, please send your angel to light up the sky. So I can understand the visions you’ve given me.

  The hairs on my arms fluttered. Rose up straight.

  A bolt of lightning sizzled the sky. Slammed into the ground next to me. White hot. Scorching the grass less than five feet away.

  “You called.” His voice boomed—a melody in each note.

  My chin quivered. The rest of me, too.

  He hovered before me, in all his whiteness. A glorious, dazzling white that prismed around him with opalescent bits of rainbowed reflections.

  “Thank you for coming.” The earth quaked, or was that just my knees? I bowed before him. “Please, I want to know what my visions mean. I have to know. Please, just tell me.”

  “Don’t do that.” A gentle boom blasted a gust of icy wind in my face. “That’s not how it works. Don’t pray to me, I am just a messenger. Stand to yo
ur feet. I will ask if the Father wishes to reveal something to you.”

  “I, uh, I’m sorry …” With robotic precision I rose to my feet. But I couldn’t stop staring at him. The whiteness, glittering in front of me like a star descended from the heavens to glow its sheer brilliance in a frozen field.

  Golden eyes focused on me again. “He will tell you one thing about one vision. But you’ll have to figure out the rest. Choose.”

  Images flickered through my mind like a slide show. James getting banished, shadows slithering in the darkness, all those St. Lucia visions. And I knew.

  I sucked in a halting breath. “That vision of St. Lucia last year in my dorm room. She reached out to me, trying to tell me something. What did she want me to know?”

  Static crackled in the air around me. Was he angry? Could angels get angry?

  Wind rushed at me like a sonic boom. “He knew what you would ask. Saint Lucia wanted you to know two things. She was not the first Seer, but she was the first Seer they discovered.”

  “What?” My jaw dangled to my chin as shivers racked my body.

  An arm emerged from the folds of white. A wispy hand, flat and vertical.

  “She also wanted you to know this. If you use your gift the right way, you could be the last Seer this world ever needs.” A great blue orb whirled in his brilliant hand.

  I watched it twirl and twirl. And twirl. Until it stopped.

  The diamonds shifted, and his hand disappeared again, the blue orb with it.

  Air seeped from my lungs. A slow leak.

  I could only whisper. “No way. How could I possibly do that?”

  “You will know when the time is right.” His words dimmed to a low roar.

  A breeze caressed my face. Comforting almost.

  Those golden eyes burst into two licks of flame. “Be on your guard. Darkness comes after long periods in the light.”

  In a rocket-thrust of wind, he blasted off. Shooting back to his place in the heavens.

  I watched his light trail twinkle past the sliver of moon. A funny tingle wiggled up my spine, my lips curving, toes curling.