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MY FAMILY dream didn’t last long.
Mom suddenly broke off the dance, leaving my father there open-armed. Her heels clacked against the floor as she stomped out of the ballroom. I couldn’t tell whether the huffing sounds she made meant she was angry or crying.
My father stood there, stupefied. A cloud of confusion just barely masked his outrage.
I tugged at my face. Part of me wanted to ask what prompted Mom’s erratic behavior. Please tell me he hasn’t broken her heart all over again, accidentally and without even knowing it.
But her departure also gave me an idea. I shifted in my seat. “Valcas, could you go see what that was all about? I—I’ll be right back.”
Before he could answer, I leaped from the table and ran out into the hallway, after Mom.
I slowed my pace once I left the room, hopeful that anyone who saw me leave assumed I was worried about Mom. Which was true. But I wasn’t looking for her.
After a couple breaths, I no longer heard the pounding of her footsteps. If I had to bet, I’d guess she was on her way back to her room, her permanent suite within TSTA Headquarters. The thought crossed my mind that she’d never invited me there. I hoped that meant she was going in the opposite direction.
I glanced down both sides of the hallway.
The walls were sterile and brightly lit. I wished the floor had been carpeted to help absorb the sound of my footsteps. Formal footwear was the worst for being stealthy. I stepped lightly, locating the direction of my guest room. Ray’s office was in a separate section of TSTA Headquarters. Valcas and I had planned to go there together, to catch up with Ray and Lily once they had some time to snoop. But Valcas was too weak; I didn’t want to sabotage his recovery any more than I already had.
I turned down a corridor I recognized from when I’d stayed at TSTA Headquarters for my hearing. If I remembered correctly, Ray’s office was close to Commissioner Reece’s Hearing Chamber. It seemed the TSTA liked to keep its employees who worked in intelligence close to those who dealt with all the evidence. I understood now why it was only a matter of time before reports crossed the commissioner’s desk.
Before making the next turn, I heard voices—a man and a woman, both talking about the Gala. Holding my breath, I paused. It wouldn’t surprise me if everyone who worked for the TSTA knew about the Gala and was invited. Everyone except for the recently sacked Aborealians.
I held my breath, letting the couple pass before turning. Several more doors stood in my way between the hall and Ray’s office. A sign, bolted to the wall, next to his door had Benjamin Raymond etched into the metal.
Since he and Lily had expected Valcas and me to meet up with them later in the evening, Ray told me he’d leave the door unlocked. I let out a slow breath. Even if they weren’t there, and I had to wait around for an hour or so, it would be okay. Unless Mom recovered and blew my cover by returning to the party without me.
I turned the doorknob and exhaled, relieved, when it turned. Anxious to get out of the hallway, I swung open the door and stepped into the room.
“Calla,” someone said.
My stomach dropped as I found myself standing right in front of President Bree.
The pounding of my heartbeat hammered so loudly that I didn’t catch her next few words.
“It’s okay,” said a softer female voice. Lily.
I blinked away the shock of what I’d just seen. As the room came back into focus, I noticed that, even though she was in front of me, President Bree was sitting in the chair behind Ray’s desk, flanked by Lily and Ray.
Ropes covered her wrists, binding them to Ray’s desk chair.
“You guys tied her up?”
“No,” said Ray, regarding President Bree with worried eyes. “She was like this when Lily and I got here. Her feet are bound too.”
“And someone tied the chair to the desk.” Lily covered her grin with one hand. After regaining her composure, she said, “We promised to follow her orders to untie her, but not until she told you what she told us—what she found in Ray’s computer, with her special access code.”
President Bree shot me a smile that dripped of saccharine. “Calla, please convince your friends to untie me. I may even reconsider terminating Ray from his position with the TSTA.”
A sour taste puckered my lips. “You threatened to fire him after breaking into his office? How about the person who did this to you? Who was it?”
President Bree opened her mouth and closed it again. “I can’t say because I don’t know, but I’m certain he was an Aborealian—with white hair and purple eyes. He showed up out of nowhere. I don’t know how he got past security.” Her eyes darkened with hate as she struggled against the ropes, which prevented her from gesturing as she spoke. “He did this, and then he ran out of the office and left me here. He will pay.”
Nick. It had to be. His portal to the TSTA from the Clock Tower led right here, to Ray’s office. But why would he tie her up? Where was he now? Had Ivory come with him? I couldn’t imagine she’d let him out of her sight while he was still covered in burn wounds.
“But the computer—” Lily made a noise that was halfway between a sigh and a giggle, which was creepy under the already disturbing circumstances. “We returned just as her passcode expired.”
“And I repeated it for you.” snapped President Bree. “Now, untie me, you selfish child.”
Ray winced at the insult directed toward his sister. “With the passcode, we were able to conduct further research, right here in my office.”
“The best part,” said Lily, “is that President Bree was here to confirm everything.”
“Not in words, exactly, but in groans.” Ray searched the president’s face. “Please, tell Calla what you told us. We’ll untie you immediately. I don’t like seeing you like this.”
President Bree sucked in a sharp breath as she considered her situation.
I crossed my arms and pretended to be interested in my fingernails. I was dying to know what was going on, but I didn’t want President Bree to know just how much.
Ray shook his head. His blue eyes scanned mine. He looked torn. “I’ll start by telling you what I know, and what I found out, I guess.”
“Please, Ray.” Lily patted his back. The gesture seemed to calm him. “Calla needs to know.”
He leaned back against a shelf, seemingly careful not to stray too far from President Bree. “At the Gala, I was struck by the president’s first name.”
I nodded. “Susana.”
“Yes, the same name that we’ve been calling the Place of the Lost. With President Bree logged into my computer, I was able to find that the TSTA has a project named after her.”
A series of lumps formed in my throat. “The project’s named Susana? And what you found ties it to the Lost?”
“Not just to the Lost, but to me—my tattoo.”
Chills rippled across my shoulders and down my spine. “You found the origin of your tattoo?”
“I think so.” Ray glared at President Bree. I marveled at how he was able to do so and still look respectful.
She, however, kept her lips tightly pressed shut. I wondered whether she’d accessed Ray’s computer with the intent to erase the files. But, couldn’t she have done that from any computer? Or had she anticipated Ray would leave the Gala and sneak off to his office—just in time to catch him?
Ray continued, “I thought it might be possible that the TSTA tattooed me at some point while I was being tested, during training. Maybe right before testing?” He absently rubbed the space below his left rib. “I’ve never been sure of the exact moment—of when I first noticed the tattoo. I knew I didn’t always have it; but, somehow I felt as if it had always been a part of me.”
Suddenly, I wondered whether I’d been too hard on Mom for having accused her of refusing me a TSTA education. After hearing this, I wanted no part of the TSTA’s training. The agency manipulated and abused. It imposed unreasonable sanctions on travelers, and it had an entire project dedicated to the Lost. Yet no one there had made any effort to help the Lost; they’d left them there to suffer. I wondered how long the Lost would have remained there if my father and I hadn’t set them free.
But why would they do such a thing to Ray? I bit my lip. Was it possible that the TSTA had known his twin sister had become Lost too?
President Bree hissed out a breath. “Testing is essential to the TSTA. It’s how we determine who is worthy and who is not. We’re looking for a group of talented travelers to assist us—to help fortify our war against Aboreal.” She smiled. “Congratulations, Ray. You passed the final test.”
He looked at her, doubtful.
“You’re lying,” I said. “You just fired him, remember? This is a cover-up for all of your disgusting tests.”
President Bree glared at me.
“I’m right, aren’t I? The Place of the Lost was one of the TSTA’s experiments, wasn’t it? All that suffering. All that pain.” My body tingled with memories of the agony and fear I’d felt in Susana. The Uproars there didn’t feed off the blood of the Lost to collect travel talents—my father’s theory had been wrong. The Uproars collected travelers, guinea pigs for the TSTA’s benefit. “You let people get Lost, you charged talented travelers with searching for the Lost, in hopes that they’d also end up in Susana. And for what purpose? To hand select a few travelers to rise up against Aboreal? To test a kind and intelligent Detail Technician—which caused his own sister so much pain? I don’t buy it.”
President Bree didn’t budge. Not a single hint of flinch. How could Ray and Lily think they’d confirmed anything? She’d go as far as she needed—she’d say anything—to be set free.
Personally, I was done with the TSTA’s games. “I think we should just leave her there,” I said. I turned to leave Ray’s office.
“Wait!”
Glancing back, I caught a glimpse of terror in President Bree’s eyes. A moment later, a manipulative smile spread across her face.
“Think about it,” she said. “Two Remnant Transporters, two Detail Technicians, and a World Builder with no fear of getting in trouble. Valcas has no affinity for Aboreal, even though half of his blood comes from that revolting failure of a society. Oh, and don’t think I don’t know about the Time Keeper. It’s only a matter of time before he’s sent back to Aboreal. They will deal with him as they see fit.” Had her wrists not been bound, I imagined she would have sliced her finger across her throat. “And then the Clock Tower will be mine. Aboreal will never have control over the TSTA.”
Only a matter of time. That must have been TSTA officials’ favorite expression. It was as if time was theirs, a substance to control. Just like lives.
If the TSTA hated Aboreal so much, then why bother hiring Ivory as a Chauffeur? I answered my own question in my head, grateful that I hadn’t blurted it out without thinking. Ivory was the TSTA’s only other lead to Nick. Surely the agency suspected Nick’s part in the contributory infraction. It just couldn’t find him...or the Clock Tower. Had Nick done something to make the Clock Tower inaccessible to the TSTA? Valcas had been able to find it using his travel glasses, and my father had no problem traveling back and forth between the Clock Tower and other worlds. Did all this have something to do with the contributory infraction?
I stifled a laugh, knowing the Time Keeper that President Bree claimed to know so much about had tied her up. He’d infiltrated the TSTA, right under her nose, and had prevented her access to where he was hiding.
I flashed President Bree a glare that finally made her flinch. “You had the TSTA name its Place of the Lost project after you, and you had your name tattooed on Ray so that he’ll never forget it. You even convicted him of an infraction when he was without blame. I don’t know where or when you’re from, but tell me something. Does the TSTA punish itself for leaving Daily Reminders in others’ pasts?”
Without waiting for an answer that I was sure I’d never get, I blurted out one last piece of my mind before slamming the door behind me: “There’s definitely something revolting here, but it’s not Aboreal.”