NESS
Everything is hazy in the moments after I wake up, especially as I try to figure out why there are fresh scars across my ribs and another above my ankle. Everything clicks as soon as I get a closer look, because my complexion isn’t on this paler side. I’m fresh out of a nightmare where I was torturing Emil with the infinity-ender dagger. The whole thing was more monstrous than how it happened in real life, but maybe it represented how Emil felt in that moment, and that’s why I shifted into him while I was sleeping.
Judging by the sun, it looks like I’ve slept the entire day away. I can’t believe the Senator hasn’t put me to work yet.
I remain in Emil’s form and stare at the scars that his phoenix powers couldn’t heal. We had a moment in some art supplies room at Nova where I helped clean his wounds while keeping my eyes shut because he didn’t want me to see his body; even the form I’m looking at right now is mostly imagined since Emil always hides himself in baggy shirts. There’s a lot I would give up right now just to touch him again. To explore our feelings. Maybe even discover each other without any clothes on.
“That Spell Walker your boyfriend?” Jax asks from the door, his presence completely surprising me.
My blood rushes to Emil’s cheeks, and I glow gray as I revert back into myself. “No,” I say as I throw on one of my old shirts. I have no idea how long Jax has been watching me. I can’t have the Senator thinking that Emil is someone I’m interested in. “He’s just another good guy that got hurt because of me. Many more to come thanks to you all.”
Jax doesn’t take the bait. “Tell me. How many times have you turned into other people to see what they look like naked?”
I sit up in bed. “That’s not how this works.”
“That’s a shame.”
I wasn’t best friends with my bodyguard Logan, but there was always decency between us. “Any chance of Logan relieving you from your shift?”
“He took leave after your ‘death.’ Took it personally,” Jax says. “But don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
Let him think that he’s the one that’s got me cornered, even though every time he smirks and crosses his arms or taps his left foot, he’s giving me what I need if I get the opportunity to shift into him and escape.
I got good at picking up details on people years ago. Samples came back from this family photo shoot where my smile was so convincing, even though I’d been pissed at my parents that morning. I was only eleven then and thought it was bizarre how smiles could be faked. I kept studying other people from there, trying to figure out their tells. Which smiles from Mom were lies? Was Dad’s smile real when he saw me onstage for school plays? Or the one when I drew him in third grade for Hero Day?
This all came in handy at the beginning of February when I stood under the Cloaked Phantom—the twice-a-year constellation that elevates shifting abilities—and drank Luna’s potion to get my powers. She appreciated how well I paid attention to others, and even though our sessions were brutal before I could really get a handle on shifting, it’s all played a part in why I’m so good at what I do.
I have to use this to my advantage, but plotting against the Senator and his team is tricky. There’s no telling when Zenon is looking out of my eyes to see what I’m up to. I can’t take notes about any plans. I can’t mess with the window, which has been welded shut. I can’t set aside anything I might use as a weapon. I have to operate like there’s a camera on me at all times; I don’t know that there isn’t. I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed, eyes closed to black him out. It’s a good thing he can’t see into my head, I guess.
The lights in my room switch off. I turn, thinking it’s Jax still messing with me, but the hallway is dark too, and he’s looking around suspiciously.
“Status on power,” Jax requests into his wrist communicator.
“Scouting perimeter now,” Zenon’s voice responds. Then, seconds later: “Intruders. We’re surrounded.”
“Have you identified them?” Jax asks.
“I can’t make eyes on them,” Zenon says.
That means that whoever is surrounding the manor must be spread out or not looking at each other. When a person is alone, Zenon can only identify them if he recognizes their body or clothes, or if they’re staring into a mirrored surface like a puddle or glass.
“I’m taking Eduardo to the panic room,” Jax says.
The panic room has existed in the manor since the Senator was a child, but he’s had it updated over the years as he’s made more enemies. It has everything we could need—independent high-speed internet connection, fridges with enough food to last two weeks, top-of-the-line wands, bathroom with functioning shower, foldout beds, and, most importantly, the strongest power-deflecting gleam-shield that money can buy. I don’t want to go down there. I can’t risk tripling the number of locks keeping me in the manor.
It’s a long shot, but what if Emil is here to rescue me? If he suspected that the enforcers got their hands on me, then maybe he would’ve thought the family home would be a good place to check out. Then again, it’s damning to break into the house of the presidential candidate who is running on a platform of how dangerous celestials are. If the Spell Walkers are risking their necks for me, it’s only because Emil made the case that I came back for them during the invasion at Nova.
Then I’m hit with a terrible thought that would track against me: What if Emil just thinks I ran away again and never comes looking for me?
Jax tells me to follow him, and I cooperate to buy time to figure out my next move. I’m tense as we go down the hall. Glass shatters from the downstairs foyer, and we pause at the top of the stairs. The backup security alarm goes off for mere seconds before being disconnected. Even I couldn’t have disabled the alarm that quickly; maybe Wesley dashed in and handled it.
While Jax is distracted, I run toward the Senator’s office so I can open the window and climb down the terrace. I don’t make it far before I’m telekinetically yanked back so hard that it feels like my spine might snap. I’m suspended in the air, all my joints stiff as Jax rotates me toward him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Jax says with glowing eyes.
Zenon’s voice booms from Jax’s communicator: “Above you!”
We both look up. My heart sinks when it’s not a Spell Walker falling from the ceiling, but a Blood Caster. Dione drops fast like this one time she fearlessly jumped out of a building to escape enforcers. She tackles Jax in front of the office with her six arms, pinning him down before he can defend himself, and she unleashes a flurry of punches on his face and chest.
The telekinetic hold on me breaks.
I have to run. If I’m not fast enough, being locked up won’t be my biggest problem. The Casters will torture me for betraying them, bone by bone. I don’t want to be around to see if Luna succeeded in her ritual. I can’t go through the office without risking Dione grabbing me with one of her arms. I run downstairs, rounding the corner and sprinting through the dining room and into the kitchen. The Senator and Zenon are standing in the doorway, and I skid to a halt. But Zenon knew to expect me, and he slams me against the wall before I can reverse course.
“Why are the Blood Casters attacking?” the Senator asks.
“You tell me,” I say.
“I bring you home and the gang arrives not even twenty-four hours later! If you sent them a message—”
“I ran away from them, remember? You’re the one who spoke with Luna last. Maybe she’s trying to clean her hands of you for good.”
He looks like he wants to throttle me.
“Acolytes approaching,” Zenon says as his glowing eyes flash like twinkling stars. “They’re all armed.” He releases me and aims his own wand at the doorway.
Unless he’s a sharpshooter, I’m our best shot. I take a deep breath, and the familiar gray light washes over me as I transform into Dione. This is the first time the Senator has seen me use my power. I hate that in saving myself I’m also saving him. I step out into the dining room with my shoulders hunched, doing my best to impersonate Dione’s mask of determination when she’s hunting. The acolytes freeze when they see me.
“What are you doing down here?” I bark in Dione’s voice. She’s never patient with the acolytes. “Go upstairs and spread out.”
They follow my orders. This will buy us a minute at most—just until they find Dione laying into Jax. I have to escape before Stanton shows up. If he’s focused on hunting me, my morph won’t mean anything. He’ll be tracking my scent.
“Get to the panic room,” the Senator says as they all come out of the kitchen.
If I’m locked in that room with the Senator, only one of us will come out alive.
“Someone’s coming in,” Zenon says, pointing at a wall without a door.
We’re all confused until my nightmare comes true—Luna and June emerge from the wall holding hands. Luna’s silver hair is dirty, and there’s blood all over the same ceremonial cape she wore the night I got my powers. More bloodstains decorate the stomach of her silky white blouse. If she’s been wounded and is still managing to hold herself upright like this, this must mean she’s won.
She’s unkillable.
Zenon fires multiple spells from his wand but they sail through Luna and June as if they aren’t really there.
Luna’s green eyes study me. “Dione, dear, why haven’t you snapped this fool’s neck?” She’s right. Dione’s allegiance is always to the woman who gave her power when she felt defenseless in the world. “Drop the charade, darling Ness.”
I cross my arms as I revert back to myself.
“Family reunions are so beautiful,” Luna says. “Especially when someone returns from the dead.” She appears distracted for a beat, then pulls herself out of her reverie. “I must say, Senator, this welcome doesn’t feel very welcoming. First we’re greeted with spells, and now no one is even offering us a seat. Get your house in order.”
“Maybe if you’d given us some notice,” the Senator says. “If you’re here for the specter of yours who’s been detained in the Bounds, I cannot advise Bishop to release him under any circumstances. It won’t do well with our supporters.”
Luna waves him away. “I hold no present concerns for Stanton. He’s a soldier who understands the great sacrifices we must make.”
Stanton’s locked up? I don’t even have to know why right now. This is great news.
“Then why are you here?” the Senator asks.
“To discuss our futures. Is the living room this way?” Luna asks as she and dead-eyed June walk past us. “Beautiful dining room, by the way,” she calls over her shoulder, walking through the manor as if she owns it.
Footsteps on the stairs catch my attention. Dione glares at me, four of her arms retreating back into her sides; I clock her bloody fists before they vanish. Jax might be dead.
“Don’t you dare put on my face again,” Dione says to me as she catches up to Luna.
Great. I’ve pissed her off too.
We all gather in the living room, but Dione sends the acolytes to the kitchen. I lean against the fireplace’s mantel, wishing I could shift into a bird and fly out through the chimney. Luna takes a seat in the Senator’s armchair, forcing him to sit on the couch. Zenon seems shifty as he keeps watch on Dione and June.
“I held up my end of the deal, Luna,” the Senator says. “Do you want to explain to me why Eduardo is still alive?”
“If you wanted your son dead, you could’ve gotten your own hands bloody. You still can. By all means.” Luna relaxes into the chair with her hands folded over her knee. “I suspect he’s alive because you recognize the influence his power can have in securing you this election.”
I wave to them. “I’m standing right here. Maybe you can take this discussion about whether or not I should be alive or dead to another room.”
“You’ll be dismissed shortly,” Luna says. “I saved your life when your father sought to make you a martyr. I gave you power and security. Most importantly, I gave you my trust. You betrayed me by divulging my grandest design to the Spell Walkers, and ruined decades of work.” She stops and coughs blood, using the sleeve of her blouse to wipe it from her lips. It’s a beautiful sight; she isn’t unkillable. “I don’t intend to die alone, Ness. For your punishment, you’ll play a role in making sure all of the Spell Walkers go down with me.” She turns to the Senator. “I believe this goal will be of great interest to you as we approach Election Day.”
“I’m winning in the polls,” the Senator says. “What makes you think I need your help?”
“I’ve always admired your commitment to a plan, Senator, but do not forget who ultimately engineered everything,” Luna says. He blushes. “The knowledge I hold on how your son’s powers work will take us both very far in our shared agenda.”
I’m about to shout in her face when Dione dashes in front of me and holds me back with her muscular, tattooed arm. “I’m done working for you, Luna! Both of you!”
“Then innocent lives will be taken,” Luna says. She nods at June, who vanishes.
We’re all kept in suspense as Luna smiles on.
Zenon leans toward the Senator. “The girl is returning with two more people, sir. Both blindfolded.”
I’m expecting one of them to be Emil, but when June finishes reappearing, she’s holding on to the wrists of an older woman I immediately recognize as his mother and a young woman with brown skin and dark hair. June removes the latter’s blindfold. It’s Eva Nafisi, the Spell Walkers’ healer. She has a black eye and bruising across her wrists. She must’ve been forced to heal Luna from whatever wound someone inflicted on her; man, I hope it was Emil who attacked her. June removes Carolina’s blindfold. Carolina is absolutely petrified, as expected of any hostage until a disturbing shock takes over: she’s actually seeing Luna and the Senator—the damn presidential candidate—sitting across from one another like a casual evening between neighbors.
Luna locks eyes with me and points at Carolina. “You’ll cooperate, or we’ll cast a spell straight through her head. Eva is a very talented girl, but even this will be beyond her means.”
Carolina is shaking so hard. I won’t be the reason she’s killed.
The Senator smiles—one of those terrible, honest smiles. “What’s the plan?”
“Lock these two away somewhere,” Luna says, gesturing at Carolina and Eva. “Send Ness away. He clearly can’t be trusted to know the work that’s ahead of him.”
“Zenon, escort our guests to the panic room. Reverse the controls from protection to entrapment,” the Senator says. Then another smile, this one playful. “Go to your room, Eduardo.”
If this is some game, I can’t win. I’m not even being given the rules. But I can’t give up yet. There’s got to be a chance where I can cheat my way to victory.
Carolina and Eva struggle as Zenon and June force them downstairs. Dione takes it upon herself to watch after me since she took down Jax.
I look over my shoulder one last time as we leave Luna and the Senator alone. Is this what it was like when they sat down to plot the Blackout—to plot my death? Are they plotting it again?
I wish I’d died the first time.