Tremble (19 page)

Super race. Logan sighs into the idea.

Crap.

Sorry, he folds our hands together. I keep surprising you like that.

I don’t mind that you know, although Marshall might have to kill you. I wish I were joking. There’s something else I’ve been meaning to tell you. He’s shown me two more Counts.

His eyes widen. I can’t tel whether he’s anxious or pissed.

“Who?” He says out loud.

“Nat and El is.” I take in a deep breath.

He mouths their names staggering in thought. His hand rakes through his hair a few times, perplexed by the news.

“I can’t believe El is,” he says. “I have to admit I wasn’t al that shocked when you told me about Briel e. I’m likely to believe just about anything about Briel e. But El is…” His thoughts wander. “We played little league, built dirt forts until the sun went down in the summer. Our families went on trips together a few times.” His head picks up a notch. “I bet the Harrison’s have known al along.”

“El is knew about me. But Briel e and Nat don’t seem to have a clue. Could it be possible they’re not aware of it?”

“El is Harrison is a Count.” Logan’s stil trying to digest this. “Anything’s possible.”

***

Days drift by. The sad rhythm of the rain beats upon my bedroom window. I let my tears flow in silent concert. My heart breaks for Gage and the Oliver’s who I haven’t had the guts to face.

I go back each night with Chloe, but the results are the same.

Everybody at school asks how Gage is doing. I have to lie and say he’s getting better. The story is he’s got the flu.

If we can’t get him back, Logan says they’re going to have to file a missing persons report with the police and tel them he ran away.

Could he have lasted two years in L.A.? That is, if the Fems didn’t eat him? Chloe and I are going to try again tomorrow night after the game.

I hope it works, and if it doesn’t I think it’s time to cal in my last resort, Marshal . Although, I’m not above stealing money and hopping a plane to L.A.

—shouting his name for miles before I sel my body to build a super race with anybody.

I lean over and grab a spiral bound notebook and a pen. I’m going to write him a poem and when he comes back I’l read it to him.

I labor for hours, scratching out words, rewriting, adding and subtracting until I come up with something that remotely expresses the way I feel.

I let the spirit of the sad, sad, rain move me.

Long powerful strokes of anguish cut through me when I think of you.

Harrowing hurt, a mile wide, springs from deep inside.

I never knew I could feel this way about anybody—ever.

I hope you know the place you hold in my heart is real.

Come back to me and I’ll show you.

I’ll lead you right into that special place where we can be alone.

I can’t wait to speak these words to him, to see the look on his face when I say them. I try to imagine me tripping al over my apologies when I find him. Of course, knowing Gage, he would want me to forget al about it because he’s just that nice.

Then a very strange thought pops in my mind from out of nowhere.

I think El is Harrison and his light driving pot run may have just saved Gage.

Chapter Forty-Four

Man Down, Man Up

It’s a crystal clear night, and the game is droning on forever. It’s painstaking, like watching erosion happen in real time. The moon shines down over us like a high beam. It rained yesterday, but not one drop today, so the playing conditions seem perfect.

It’s hard to cheer, not knowing whether or not Gage is safe—or alive. It’s the last quarter of the game, and we’re up by ten. Logan says the team’s playing for Gage tonight. I hope it’s the last night they’l ever do that.

Five minutes left in the game. It feels as though my muscles are going to fail. I can’t live off of three hours of sleep a night. The human body isn’t built for this kind of speed, and neither is a Celestra’s.

I pan the bleachers for signs of El is. I see him intermittently, but he keeps disappearing, and I can’t keep track of him.

“I think that’s Logan.” Briel e leans into me.

“What’s Logan?” I give a puzzled look into the stands.

She clasps me by the shoulders and physical y spins me around.

“Weren’t you paying attention? The whistle went off, he’s down.”

Whistles are constantly going off during the games. I’ve completely trained myself to ignore them for the most part.

A smal army of EMTs rol a stretcher out onto the field.

“What happened?” I don’t bother waiting for a response. I grab Briel e by the arm and make her run down the field with me.

The ice-cold wind cuts through my lungs, makes them feel like they’re bleeding from the inside.

“What’s going on?” I fal on my knees next to Logan as close as I can get.

The coach is talking to him, slapping him gently before he gets up to brief the medics.

“What happened?” I lean over his face. His breathing is labored. He’s dripping with sweat and can’t keep his eyes opened.

“Hit my head.” His eyelids twitch. “Back hurts, can’t breathe.”

“Can I do something?”

He gives a wry smile and shakes his head just enough.

I clasp onto his forearm and close my eyes like I’m praying. I’m going to find Gage tonight with Chloe.

My Uncle has a connection that can help us. Don’t do it. Don’t go messing with the Fems. They can change things. Please, there are still things you don’t know.

The coach barks at Briel e and me to take off. I get up and brush the grass off my knees.

Why exactly are there stil things I don’t know? Who does Logan think he is keeping these things from me? Of course I’m going to get Gage. I put him there, and I’m going to get him out.

I wait until they wheel him down the field before running over to him with the other cheerleaders. I rub his bare shin while Michel e whispers something right in his ear.

Feel better, and I love you, I say.

He raises his thumb as they wheel him away.

***

“El is!” I shout after him.

The crowd swirls in every direction and I hold up my hand until he sees me.

“What’s going on?” He clasps my hand in an awkward handshake.

“How’s your stash?” I ask, jumping on my toes.

“Down to the dregs.” He gives a nasty smile.

“Wel let’s go. I’m up for an adventure. I’ve got enough adrenaline in me to knock a few more of Carly’s windows out.” I wrap my arm around his shoulder playful y.

“Cool. Let me go take care of something real quick, and I’l be right back.” He jogs over to a group of girls howling with laughter.

“Where’s the party?” Marshal ’s breath tickles my cheek.

“Don’t do that.” I jump back and pan the area for Michel e. If Marshal ’s stil here she can’t be far behind. “I don’t know where the party is. Ask your girlfriend.”

“Snippy.” He leans in. “I hope that’s jealousy. How is young Gage?” He twitches his nose with amusement.

“Very lost. Would you mind tel ing me how to bring him back?”

“Where is he?”

“Two years ago, L.A. And have I mentioned with Fems?” I’m so frustrated with him I want to push him clear across the field.

“Fems and Logan and Gage oh my.” He wiggles his fingers.

“I’m not laughing. Are you going to help?”

“Are you going to let me woo you?”

“No.”

“Then my answer’s the same.”

“I can’t believe you.” I shove him hard in the chest. The thread of a pleasurable current rustles up my arms and fil s me momentarily with the urge to latch on. “You have the ability to save Gage and my dad, and you won’t do it!” I feel the heavy weight of tears building behind my lids. I’m so pissed I want to hit him over and over—beat him.

“I’l have you arrested for assault if you do that again Miss Messenger.” He says in his most professional voice. “Should you change your mind, my services wil be on standby this evening.”

Michel e appears by his side. The dark circles under her eyes are caked over with foundation making her look more than ten years older.

She threads her arm inside his and scowls at me. They saunter off in the crowd like a bona fide couple.

Un-freaking-believable.

“Let’s do it,” El is says, catching up with me.

“I need to make a pit stop at Chloe’s first. You in?”

His eyes close with discontent.

“Here we go,” he mutters under his breath.

Chapter Forty-Five

Blind

Chloe stops sweeping the floor with her dresses and lasers a storm of intense hostility in El is’ direction.

“Why him?” She growls.

“I thought it’d be fun. Besides, Logan hurt his back.” I don’t let on that he’s pretty sure he won’t get back to the right year and why. “So El is, explain to Chloe about your never ending stash trick.”

“Is that why you brought me here?”

“Yes. It might lead to my never-ending Gage trick. Just, help me,” I say exasperated. “I’d go alone if I could figure out how to land five minutes ahead of myself.”

“You can’t.” Chloe rakes a brush through her hair so violently that I hear some major breakage occur. I almost warn her she’s asking for split ends, but then a year in a coffin’s probably not too good for her glossy mane, either.

“We’re stil going to the party, right?” El is asks.

I shoot him a vicious look of discontent. He knows what happens to Chloe at that party. How can he be so moronic to bring it up right in front of her? Are al Counts this stupid? The opposition’s suddenly not looking so bad.

“If you’re good, just you and I,” I whisper while Chloe snatches a pair of jeans off the floor and heads into the closet.

“Awesome. I’d do anything to keep this stash going. You know how much money I’m saving?”

Freaking frugal El is is what I’m going to cal him from now on. I hate to break it to him, but I don’t real y care about his financial situation, and plus it’d probably be real y good for him if he got off the stuff anyway. He’s going to end up some loser Count and I’l be partial y responsible. Then a major light bulb goes off.

“I’l do as many runs as you want in exchange for a favor.”

“You wanna upgrade to a sledge hammer?” His face smoothes out in anticipation.

“No, the hammer’s working out pretty good.” One of these days Carly is going to find out it was me, and El is is going to be behind it—most likely inadvertently. “Get me a list—something on paper of al the major Count players.”

He shakes his head gazing out the window.

“Or no stash?” He asks.

“No stash.”

***

The three of us arrive back in L.A. and my old room is stil destroyed beyond recognition. I have no intention of hanging out with a plate of milk and cookies for my old self this time either. Who knew I was so kick-ass, even if it was me I was trying to kil ?

“So let me get this straight, you’re using the same bag over and over?” Chloe looks doubtful.

“Yup.” El is seems curt with her.

“There’s no way. It’s got to be a treble.”

Chloe exudes confidence, so natural y I believe her.

“A treble…” I say. Like when I thought I had managed to escape from Ezrina only to end up back there again, treble? “That means we’re going to get sucked back into that situation?”

“Bingo.” She says without emotion, picking up my book of poems and making herself at home on the bed.

“So, how do we create a treble?” I’d do anything to get Gage.

“You can’t fix anything like this with a treble. It has to play out—the sooner the better.” Chloe picks up a pen off the nightstand and starts rearranging my poetry.

“So El is and his stash mean nothing?” I can’t believe this.

“Per usual,” she quips.

I want to take El is by the neck and bang his head into the wal . And why is Chloe so calm?

“Don’t just sit there, do something.” I feel like picking up a bra off the floor and flinging it at her.

“You have El is.” She glowers at him. “Besides, this whole time continuum thing is far too smal a space to contain the two of us.”

The covers rumple, and she’s gone.

“Crap,” I hiss. “What did you do to piss her off so freaking bad?”

“Technical y, I haven’t done anything yet.” He sits down at the computer and starts scrol ing around.

“El is, there are Fems out there after Gage—eating Gage. Don’t you have a sense of urgency to get up and do something?”

“No.” He doesn’t bother looking up.

“What did Gage ever do to you?”

“With him out of the picture it ups my odds of hooking up with you.” He gives a lazy smile before pecking at the keyboard.

The room shakes. A loud bang comes from downstairs, and El is pops out of the seat.

“We gotta find Gage,” he says.

“Oh, now you wanna help.”

“No, actual y I want him to protect me.”

The sound of shattering glass rattles the house.

“We need to go downstairs,” I say, pul ing him towards the door.

“Anyone ever teach you to run away from danger?”

“Don’t be stupid, El is.” I open the door. “That’s where al the fun is.”

The room goes dark. The house starts in on a series of violent blows, and I lose a hold of him.

Loud thumping footsteps methodical y climb the stairs.

The bedroom window explodes letting in the muted light from outside. A wild jolt picks up the house and drops it. El is tumbles backwards right out the new gaping hole.

“El is!” I try to move towards the window to see if he’s al right, but can’t.

I feel something secure itself to my right arm. It’s a long black tail connected to something coming from the hal .

Oh, fuck.

Chapter Forty-Six

Repeat

I didn’t mean to leave El is. Once I saw that smooth as velvet fur on the leather whip of a tail, I began to black out and somehow ended back up in my bed safe on Paragon.

A slow drizzle forms little beads of rainbow pearls on the foggy glass of my bedroom window. I perch myself in the built-in seat beneath it and lay my hand on the cool of the glass.

Chloe went back enthused last night, only to meet her fate. El is wasn’t even that hot on going to save Gage, and I dragged him anyway, just like I dragged Gage, and now it’s al turned into a big pile of crap. I’ve got no choice but to figure this out on my own. I don’t think Logan wil be too impressed when he finds out I went back and lost El is too. Technical y I didn’t lose El is. Most likely he broke his back when he fel out the window and lay helpless as a wild herd of Fems plucked off his limbs.