Dark Before Dawn (23 page)

At 11:00, Dawn followed Ken and his friends to the cafeteria. He had first lunch while Dawn normally had second. She squeezed onto the end of a crowded table across the cafeteria, ignoring the unwelcome stares of the other occupants.

As she huddled in her seat, Dawn caught a flame of red hair at Ken’s table. Her chest clenched, then relaxed. It wasn’t Candace.

At 11:30, the students streamed toward the open double doors. Craning her neck, Dawn elbowed her way through the pack. She’d lost him.

She raised herself on her tiptoes, straining to see. Dawn jostled through the crowd, her gut tightening. Where was he?

Dozens of kids talked and laughed around her. She scanned their faces, whipping her head back and forth. Dawn exhaled as she spotted Ken turning the corner. She fell into step several feet behind him, breathing deeply.

Around the bend, she passed Vicky reaching into a locker. A voice bellowed in Dawn’s head: Make her remember. Have her come with you. Now!

Dawn floundered for a second, and then stopped in her path to concentrate on Vicky.
Remember your talk with Dawn. Go with her now. Lives are at stake.

Vicky slammed her locker door and hurried over, looking a little dazed. "Do you really think Candace is killing people? I feel guilty for even wondering that."

Huh? Dawn blinked. Vicky was acting as if they were in the middle of a conversation. She must be continuing from where they left off in the chemistry lab, before her dose of mind control. Dawn started walking again and checked to make sure Vicky was following.

"Don’t feel guilty. Candace is going after Ken next. I’ve been watching out for him all day."

"Maybe she wants to play a mean joke on him," Vicky said. "We’ve got to be wrong about her, Dawn. This is crazy."

"We’re not wrong. Let’s just hope Candace is being controlled herself so we can reverse it." A disturbing thought occurred to Dawn. If Candace was under Serina’s spell, why wasn’t her natural intuition making her conflicted? She hadn’t shown signs of headaches or energy drains.

Just because I reacted that way doesn’t mean everyone will.

Yet the worry lingered.

The bell signaled second lunch, but Ken didn’t go to class. Dawn and Vicky tagged along as he wandered by the library, audiovisual room and cable television studio, leading them deeper into the maze of corridors.

"Where's he going?" Vicky whispered as he strode past a maintenance closet.

Dawn shushed her with her finger, her heart beating a crescendo. Ken opened a door to a staircase she had never noticed. She let him go up the steps, then she and Vicky climbed after him. As they reached the landing, a stirring of cold air chilled Dawn. Ken had disappeared through a door with a glass panel.

"Where are we?" Vicky mouthed.

Dawn froze as images darted through her mind. Ken teetering on edge, plunging to the pavement. Blood reddening his blond hair.

"The roof!" Dawn inched open the door and watched through the crack. Candace’s red hair billowed in the bitter wind. Stay put, Dawn told herself. She shouldn’t waste the element of surprise. Vicky crouched beside her, peering through the rectangle of glass.

Without speaking, Candace pinned her stare on a point between Ken’s shoulder blades. He marched forward, a toy soldier directed by remote control, his eyes zombie-like and his complexion pale. A shudder rippled through Dawn’s body like an electrical current and she choked back a gasp. Vicky looked up and silently implored Dawn.

It was time to see which of Serina's star pupils had the most talent.

Dawn blocked the waves of fear pummeling her mind, tuning out her thoughts and centering for a moment on her sparkling blue-jeweled telepathy room.
Ken, turn around and walk toward the door
.

He kept walking as if all the life had been starched out of him. Dawn fought back a surge of panic.
Ken, I’m ordering you to turn around and come to me
.

Ken paused, his head cocked. Candace pivoted to the door.

"Show yourself, Dawn," she said in a monotone.

"She’s not herself, I can tell," Dawn whispered to Vicky. "Stay here."

Murmuring a quick prayer, Dawn strode out onto the black coal tar surface. Sunlight reflected down on an array of vents, lightning rods and copper cables.
Ken, go into the school
.

Dawn’s gaze darted to Ken, then Candace, both standing motionless. Dawn sensed a quiet humming of dark energy coming from Candace, knew she had to stop it. And soon.

Candace’s voice reverberated in Ken’s mind
. Don’t listen to this intruder. Keep walking to the ledge.

Eyes glazed, Ken lumbered forward past some kind of round iron drain. Dawn felt his confusion mixed with her own.
Renee’s waiting for you inside the school
, she told him.
You have to go see her. She wants to talk to you about her mother.

Massaging his temple, Ken halted again. Dawn ran over and tugged his hand. "Come on, let's go!"

Candace closed her eyes.
Throw her off the roof.

Ken cinched Dawn’s wrists. He steered her toward the low brick wall surrounding the roof, fingernails drilling into her skin. Dawn cried out and kicked him in the knee, but his vise fastened around her.

The fifty foot drop loomed closer. Bile rose in her throat at the leafy foliage curtaining the hard pavement.
Ken, drop to the floor. The voices will leave you alone. It’s what your dad would want you to do. Your mother would want you to be safe, too.

Ken's eyes rolled back. His death grip on her wrist loosened, and he stumbled, tipping toward the ledge.

Oh, no. Dawn snaked her arms around his waist, grunted as she wrenched his body away from the rim and marched him to the middle of the roof. He sank down and she laid him on the ground, unconscious.

She spun toward Candace. "Listen to me! Serina got into your head. She’s making you a murderer. Think about what you’re doing."

Candace crashed into her, slamming her to the roof floor. She straddled Dawn and cuffed her in the nose. Stars exploded before Dawn’s eyes as blood spurted out of her nostrils. Through the numb pain, Dawn kneed her in the stomach. Candace slumped back, doubled over.

Dawn wiped the blood sliding down her lips with her shirt, tasted the copper residue. Marshalling her strength, Dawn hurled a thought at Candace.
Stop hurting Dawn. Remember the murders you committed.

The blood flow intensified with her inner efforts, jetting down her chin and splattering her shirt. Her injury must have sapped her energy. Dawn staggered to her feet and pressed a sleeve against her nose. She shot another order at Candace.
Dawn is your friend. Serina is your enemy.

With her second attempt, lightheadedness swirled over Dawn. Through the fog, Candace’s confused voice vibrated in her ears. "What happened? What’s going on?"

Dawn tilted her neck forward and the dots swimming before her eyes dissolved. "You tried to murder Ken using mind control. Before that, you killed Scott and Tim. I know you don’t remember, but think about it. You were there both times. How often do people walk in front of oncoming cars and trains?"

"I didn’t kill anyone. Stop saying that!" Candace charged at Dawn with a burst of energy, her strength propelling them forward. She pinned Dawn against the ledge.

Cold brick scraped through Dawn’s shirt sleeves. Her head flopped back, clouds spun above her, dizzying in their whiteness. A seagull beat its wings in slow motion. Dawn’s watch tick-tocked in her ears, her thoughts a slow crawl.

"Candace, no!" Vicky screamed from the door.

Faintly, Dawn heard Vicky scramble over and pummel her sister on her back.

"Stop!" Vicky yelled. "Don't do this. You don’t need to keep killing."

Candace turned, long enough for Dawn to jolt out of her dreamy state. She chopped Candace behind the knees, sending her thudding to the floor onto her backside. Her legs wobbly, Dawn dashed from the verge and joined Vicky.

"Please, Candace, let us help you," Vicky pleaded. "Don't you remember how we used to spend hours in the gatehouse? We got all those cryptography books out of the library and made up secret codes."

Cupping the sides of her head to concentrate, Dawn aimed another message at Candace.
Dawn and Vicky are your friends. You don’t need to hurt them.

"That was a long time ago." Candace pushed herself upright, glaring.

"Not that long," Vicky said. "Remember how we used to play with Diamond? We'd buy her a catnip mouse every Christmas, and she'd go crazy."

"Diamond was your cat. She liked you better. Everyone likes you better."

Tears shone in Vicky's eyes. "You loved that cat. You used to bring her into bed with you every night and give her those treats she liked."

Dawn crept up behind Vicky for support, in case Candace flipped out again. One stray thought from her subconscious could set her off.

"What does Diamond have to do with anything?" Candace demanded.

"She's dead, because of you," Vicky said. "Just like Scott and Tim. But I believe Dawn's right. I don’t think you realize what you’ve been doing."

"Stop it! Diamond had an accident, you idiot. They all had accidents." Candace paced before them, ashen, hands shoved deep into her jeans pockets.

Remember your role in the deaths,
Dawn sent.
Serina used you. She made you murder Scott and Tim.

Candace stared straight ahead, as if watching a movie only she could see. She grabbed her frizzy hair with both hands, swallowing over and over as if staving off nausea.

"Serina went to school here," Dawn said. "She had some enemies and now she’s going after their kids. I’m not sure why Serina isn’t killing them herself, but she chose you to do her dirty work."

"No, Serina’s my friend." Candace shook her head, vehement. "You’re giving me fake memories."

"Wake up, Candace, she’s not your friend!" Vicky shouted, impatience hardening her previous gentle tones.

Candace’s Lapis Lazuli earrings and necklace pendant glimmered in the sunlight. Dawn fixed her gaze on the sparkling blue gems. Those crystals still held Serina’s vibes. She had to get them away from Candace.

Take off the jewelry and throw it off the roof. Now!

Wordlessly, Candace glided to the edge of the building, unfastened the earrings and necklace, and tossed them downward. She stood there, arms entwined around herself as if she were submerged in ice water.

"Are you okay?" Vicky laid a hesitating hand on her sister’s shoulder, but Candace flinched.

Vicky shuffled over to Dawn and whispered, "She’s not going to freak out again, is she?"

"I have a feeling it’s sinking in. Now that the crystals are gone, she can think more clearly." Dawn latched her attention on Candace. "It wasn’t your fault, Candace. We know that."

"Maybe we should go to the police before Serina does anything else," Vicky said.

Candace whirled around with a sudden flare of energy. "They’ll put me in prison. Mom and Dad will kill me."

"Candace is right," Dawn said. "The police will never believe our story and Serina will handle the cops with no problem." She looked over to see if Candace had any input, but her friend had retreated back into herself.

"What are we supposed to do if the police can’t help?" Vicky asked, coiling her hair around her finger.

Dawn glanced down at her bloodied shirt. She’d barely survived the confrontation with Candace. Serina was even stronger. "I have to go after Serina myself," she muttered.

They jumped as a moan emanated from Ken. He rolled over into a sitting position, rubbed his forehead and blinked at Dawn through unfocused eyes. "What happened?"

"I’ll tell you later," Dawn said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but what’s going on?"

"Later." Dawn steadied her woozy stepbrother to his feet and gestured for Vicky and Candace to follow them down the narrow staircase into the building. Ken disentangled from her protective grip.

"I can walk myself," he declared, still looking befuddled.

They found their way through the maze, Candace plodding tortoise-like as Vicky brought up the rear.

"I assume no one’s sticking around to finish the school day?" Dawn stepped outside into the sunlight and held the door for the others.

"We’ll worry about that later." Vicky lingered with Dawn as their siblings went ahead. "I’ll take Candace home. I’ll make up something for my parents."

In a lower voice, she added, "I’ll make sure she sees a psychiatrist."

"Do that, definitely. I think she’ll have a hard time dealing with all this." Dawn didn’t express her other concern.

Although Candace seemed shell-shocked that she’d committed two murders, her main worry was going to prison. What if she hadn’t suffered from headaches and exhaustion, like Dawn had, because her sense of right and wrong was blurred? What if her conscience was borderline and Serina had just nudged it over the edge? Candace needed psychological help ASAP.