The Embers Of My Heart (43 page)

"Likewise," Absynthe said. They shook and I saw a smile creep across Absynthe's face. It wasn't like any smile I'd seen before. She looked happy. Genuinely happy. "Let's get your luggage and get out of here. It's going to be a long day and we have a lot of things to talk about."

Todd smiled. "I imagine we do. No luggage, we don't expect to be here long, just one night."

"That's all?" Absynthe and I said it at the same time. "I hoped to get a little more time with you," I added.

Star nodded. "I feel the same way, but it's dangerous enough to be here at all. Remember what happened during my last visit?"

"Especially for me," Todd added. "Alistair's had a kill on sight order against me for years."

I shuddered. Of course he would. "So how are we going to do anything? The safehouse?"

Absynthe shook her head. "No. I have a plan. Do you think any of Alistair's people know what Todd and Sarah look like at this moment? As long as they don't use their powers, they're just like anyone else, and I know for a fact that we don't have the resources to deep inspect everyone entering campus."

"We're bringing them to Ripley? Are you serious?"

"It's certainly risky," Todd said. "But I think I know what you're thinking, Alex. I like it. Let's go."

We jumped in Absynthe's car. Todd took shotgun while Star and I climbed into the back seat. She sat close to me and rested her head on my shoulder. Instead of heading directly back to my dorm, we pulled into the parking lot of a shop just off campus. "You two should walk from here. It's safer for us to split up. My people are doing the majority of the campus security today, but I don't want to take unnecessary risks."

"Got it." I got out of the car, Star following me. "Where are we meeting?"

"Admin," she said.

"Right under his nose?"

"He's off campus. Stroke of luck."

I nodded. "Got it. See you there."

They drove away and Star took my hand. I led her toward the nearest edge of campus, but then reconsidered and took a parallel street for a bit. She didn't say anything, just looked at the stores and buildings as we passed. Her hand was warm in mine. Christmas decorations decorated each street in shades of red, green, and white. Everything seemed peaceful and calm as we walked through Troy.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" she asked as we crossed a street to get to the campus proper.

"You?"

"Good answer." Her hand squeezed mine. "It's my answer too. Doubt it'll happen. But it would be nice."

"It would be." I squeezed her hand back. Christmas would be back at my dad's place. Mom might show up.

Some relatives might stop by for a few minutes, but most of the time, it was just the two of us. We didn't bother with a proper Christmas dinner most years. Chinese was our go-to.

We crossed the campus to the administration building. My heart hammered as I pushed the doors open and I resisted the urge to tap my powers and scan the area. If Absynthe had misjudged the situation, we'd have agents coming out of our ears any time now. If we fought back, that would be the end. There'd be a civil war in the Establishment and I knew we wouldn't be on the winning side.

Luckily, Absynthe and Todd were waiting near the entrance. "Took you long enough," Absynthe said. "I was starting to worry."

"I took a longer route, just in case."

"He's learning," Todd said.

Absynthe rolled her eyes and led us up the stairs to the third floor, the same floor as Alistair's office. We walked away from his office to the opposite corner of the building. My heart continued racing. If this floor held more Establishment staff, someone would spot us for sure. She stopped at a door without a nameplate and knocked. "Yes?" called a muffled voice from within.

Absynthe beckoned to me and pushed the door open. I peeked around the corner. My mom sat at a desk overflowing with papers, folders, and assorted pens. Her computer monitor had sticky notes all over the edge. There were a pair of chairs in front of her desk, but they also held stacks of folders. It was so unlike how she acted I didn't know what to say. "Good afternoon, Patricia," she said.

"Absynthe, this better be good. I am busy today. Overly busy. Alistair leaves for a business trip and expects me to pick up his paperwork slack? I don't think he's done anything in three days. That man is ridiculous." She gestured at the papers strewn across her desk and finally looked up. "Oh. Kevin?"

"Hi, Mom."

She stood up from her desk. "Absynthe! I thought I told you never to do this!"

"Even after the trial?" Absynthe asked. "Your secret's out, Patricia. No need to hide anymore."

She sighed and sat back down. "I suppose you're right. Good afternoon, Kevin. What can I do for you two?"

"We have an urgent matter you need to deal with," Absynthe said. "A couple of special guests have information that we need to act on immediately."

"Unless it's a matter of life or death, it can wait until next week. I'm leaving for Boston tomorrow and will be there until Monday. I have this stack to finish up today. I have this stack to finish up tomorrow. I don't have enough time in my day to deal with this." She gestured at her desk. Absynthe didn't respond and my mom sighed. "Fine. Can they be done in ten minutes or less?"

Absynthe shrugged. "Probably."

"All right. Come on in."

Absynthe and I walked in and stood to the sides. Todd strode through the doorway, head held high, and a huge grin crossing his face. Star stepped in right behind him. "Afternoon, Pat. How are you?"

Mom jumped up again and her face turned white. Her jaw moved without sound for a moment before she pointed across her desk at him. "What are you doing here? There's a kill on sight order against you! She's supposed to be bringing me your head, not your living body!" She pointed at Absynthe. "And he's not supposed to know about you at all!" Her finger pointed at me.

Todd let out a chuckle. "Alex is actually the one who contacted me."

Absynthe studied the ceiling. My mom let out a deep breath through her nose. "I'll deal with her later, then."

Todd reached behind him and pulled Star out to the side. "I'd also like you to meet my aide, Sarah."

Star's face held hints of red matching her hair. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Parker," she said. "I hope you're not too upset with our interruption."

"No, though I really should be. It's been a long time since I've seen my brother." Mom sat back down and clasped her hands on top of her desk. "Kevin, please shut the door."

I shut the door, making sure not to slam it, and leaned back against it. "I've missed working with my little sister," Todd said. He stepped forward to lean on the back of one of her chairs. "Though I'm disappointed Alistair's still running the show here. I was hoping you'd stage a coup before now."

"We've held his most dangerous ambitions in check. These days, he has more opposition than ever, as evidenced by your sudden appearance in the lion's den. Todd, you know I can't guarantee your safety here."

"I know."

"So. This isn't a social call, and I do have work to do. Why are you risking your life coming here?"

"We're here about him." Todd jerked a thumb over his shoulder at me.

"What about him?"

"He was attacked two days ago." My mom looked past Todd and glared at me. I spread my hands wide. What was I supposed to do, not tell anyone? "To be blunt, you don't have enough trustworthy people to protect him."

"No shit," my mom snapped. "You think I don't know that? I've begged Alistair to keep him safe. I've offered to contract work out to anyone under the sun, on my own dime, but he refuses. Too much of a security risk, he says. He says that, even after Shade's people attack right here, on campus! And then he goes on vacation!"

"He's letting Kevin go, while keeping his hands as clean as he can," Todd said. "That's why we're here, to make an offer to help out."

"Help out?"

"I can move a cell here," he said. "We can provide an extra buffer of protection, as long as enough of your people overlook their presence."

"Why?"

"He's my nephew."

Star drifted back toward the door and reached out for my hand. I took hers and squeezed. My mom looked at me. "It's not that I don't appreciate it, but there isn't much I can offer you in exchange."

"I'm not asking for much besides costs of living here."

"Any deal we may or may not make is going to be completely under the table." Her head turned toward Absynthe. "And if Alistair finds out about it, you and I are going to take the fall for it. Are you fine with that?"

"I understand the risks," she said.

Mom nodded. "All right. Absynthe, please call our people together for a meeting tomorrow morning. We can't make this decision between just the two of us."

"Understood."

For some reason, I hadn't expected my mom to be involved with Absynthe's faction. I felt silly. For all I knew, she was the one who started it. She looked up at me and gave me a smile. "Todd, I believe that your aide will be in charge of whatever cell you place in the area, yes?"

"That was my intention, yes," Todd said.

Star looked at me, eyes gone wide. "No way."

"I'm pretty sure she'd murder me in my sleep if I didn't place her here," he added.

Star looked toward him and stuck her tongue out, but she was smiling from ear to ear. I found myself grinning as well.

"All right," Mom said. "I presume you have a place to stay tonight?"

"We have hotel rooms," Todd said. Star winked at me.

"Good. Absynthe will pick you up in the morning. Now get out of here, Todd. Stay safe."

"See you in the morning, Pat."

We left campus the same way we entered, hand in hand until meeting Absynthe at the designated meeting place. She drove us to the hotel Todd had booked and we waited for them to check in. "You kids go have fun for the day," Todd said to us. "Alex and I have a lot of work to do in preparation for tomorrow."

"Work," Star said. "Is that what it turns into when you get older?"

"Work. Actual work. Go away."

Star and I left to wander the city of Troy. Over the afternoon, we walked past dozens of tiny restaurants and shops, ducking in whenever she pointed out something interesting. I found myself carrying a couple of bags of trinkets. We almost decided to stop at an Indian restaurant for dinner, but she pointed out that we'd pay for it later. Instead, we decided on Greek. Their gyros were good but nothing compared to her favorite place in Seattle, or so she claimed.

After dinner, we continued our exploration. The sun dipped below the horizon and the city glowed. She suggested dropping by a bar or two, but I didn't want to run into anyone from school. Her pouting only lasted a moment before she tugged me onward. Instead of beer, we stopped by a liquor store and picked up a bottle of wine. If it had been summer, I would have suggested drinking it on the waterfront.

We headed back to her hotel room and entertained ourselves with a movie and the bottle of wine. Watching the movie quickly devolved into making out, and making out quickly devolved into making love. Hours later, we fell asleep in her bed together, limbs still wrapped around each other.

Her phone rang while the skies were still dark. "Yeah?" she mumbled into the phone. I tried to listen in, but my head wasn't in the game quite yet, and one of my arms was numb and sending unpleasant tingles down to my fingers.

"Sure. Got it." She laid the phone down and rolled over to face me. "Alex will be here in a half hour. Time to get up."

She didn't make a single move. "You first," I said.

"It's cold."

"You can have the shower first."

"Of course I can." She pushed herself up. "I'd say we should save time and shower together, but a half hour just isn't enough time."

"You're something, you know that?"

She got out of bed and ran her fingers through her hair, letting me get a good look at her naked body in profile. "Don't stare," she said. "You've seen it before."

"I like it more each time."

"Yeah, yeah." She tossed me a smile and headed into the bathroom.

We took quick showers, resisted our hormonal urges, dressed, and made it down to the lobby before the half hour was up. Todd was already there. I sat next to him while Star checked out. "You're wearing the same clothes you did yesterday," he said. "Isn't that like a walk of shame?"

I tilted my chin toward her. "Nothing shameful about that."

He chuckled and let the subject drop. Absynthe pulled up outside within a few minutes and we headed out. She took a different route than she did the last time we had gone to the safehouse. Star leaned on my shoulder again and was asleep in moments. Todd and Absynthe yawned all the way there. I wondered if they were tired for the same reason we were.

We pulled into the driveway of the nondescript house. Three cars were already there. I shook Star gently to wake her up and we headed inside. Establishment agents were sitting around the living room, many of them drinking coffee. When Todd walked in, silence fell. He paused in the doorway and I saw uncertainty in his eyes. "Good morning, everyone," he said.

"It's been a long time since you left us." said one of the older agents. He stood up and walked to my uncle, eye to eye. "A long time. It's good to see you again, Todd." They shook hands warmly and I felt some of the tension in the room fade. Others followed suit and soon enough, Todd was sitting on a couch with a cup of coffee in his hands and a group listening to him tell stories of his days in the Establishment.

Star pressed a cup into my hands and we sat in the kitchen, apart from the rest of the group. The front door opened and closed repeatedly and new voices joined the crowd. "I don't understand why anyone tries to get things accomplished at this hour," she said.

"Some people are morning people," I said.

She grunted and focused on her coffee. "Some people are wrong."

The door opened and closed again and the conversation faded to a stop. "Good morning," my mom's voice rang out. "Good to see you all here. We're pressed for time, so let's get this moving. The basement should have the space we need for this."