Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (31 page)

“Do you want me to shout?” she yelled
again
.

“Not if everyone there’
s going to hear you
.” There was
laughter in his voice
. Hearing that, the tension drained out of her body
.
H
e
’
s
okay
.

“Why didn’t you call my cell?”

“I tried but it kept going to voice mail.”

She reached in her bag and checked
it
.
The screen was blank. It must’ve bounced around in her bag during or after class and turned itself off. She pressed the power button to let it restart.

“
Hey Rae?”
Devon
said. “
Happy Birthday.”

It’s not for another
two
days.
As soon as the thought completed itself, she realized that she was wrong.
She blinked.
How could she
have
comple
tely
forgotten
?
Who forgets their own birthday? I’m dumb as a stump.
Due to a
snow storm that had forced her mother to give birth to her at home and kept her from reaching a hospital for two days, in addition to an
error
made
by the doctor, h
er birth ce
rtificate
stated she was born on
the fif
teenth of November, but it was actually the thirteenth.
After the awful confrontation with Dean Wardell and missing
Devon
, she had stopped paying attention to the days as they passed, totally forgetting about her own birthday
.
Last year she couldn’t forget
. T
his year she couldn’t remember.
“Where are you?”
I miss you.

“Most northern part of
Scotland
.
It’s awesome
,
I wish you
were
here.”
Devon
’s
voice dropped
at the end
.

He’s not alone.
“Me, too,” she
whispered, not sure if he heard.
The longing inside her made her eyes fill
.
Mimicking a tatù, Rae closed her eyes, focused on the communication lines and cleared all the static away that she could.
She hear
d
the swirling wind and water on
Devon
’s end.

“
The buzzing stopped.
”
Devon
chuckled.
“You did that, didn’t you?”

She imagined him shaking his head and grinning so his dimple appeared.
“
Yeah, sort of
.
” She coughed, clearing her throat and
holding back
the tears that wanted to fall.
She stared at the map pinned on the wall by her desk.
“
What’re you doing in John
O’
Groats?”
She remembered going there with her
parents
one summer
long
ago.

“I’m
actually
about ten
,
or
eleven miles north
of there.
If I can find a post
card,
I’ll
send it to you.”
He sounded like an excited little school boy.

Rae leaned over her desk to
get a closer look
of
Britain
.
She found John O’Groats and slid her finger up
. S
he saw
a
little town just to the west.
“
Dunnet Head?
What’re you doing
there?
”
In the recesses of her mind, the place sounded familiar
.
She tucked the name in the back of her mind, to analyze later.

“
Smartie pants.” He laughed.
“
Just finished work.”

“Are you coming home now?” Guilder
felt
like home
—
sometimes.

“No, we’ve got
another
place to go.
Julian’s here with me.
He’s mouthing Happy Birthday as well.”

Rae
sighed
. She tried to avoid doing it into the receiver
,
but
Devon
’s pause proved he
had
heard it.

“We won’t be much longer. Probably back in a week, or so.
” H
e paused before changing the subject. “
Hey I know how to make you feel better.” He cleared his throat. “
I’m standing on Easter
H
ead, facing west towards
Cape Wrath
, watching the sun set.
It’s amazing.
Can you do that tatù thing you did before
--
you know, when you touched my forehead and
saw
what I was looking at or thinking?”

“I don’t
know if
I can do
it
through a phone.
I’ve only been able to do that through physical contact.” She
sniffed and
closed her eyes as she spoke, trying to do as
Devon
requested.
He
was
quiet on the line.

The first image she had looked like a painting.
Then the image changed slightly when Julian walked into view.
Rae smiled and squinted as she focused
on Julian. He stood near a cliff
, h
is hair blow
ing
in the wind
.
The
rays of
a beautiful
pink
setting sun lay
behind
him.
Pressing her eyes shut tighter, the image changed.
She caught glimpses of darkness and then a tiny, dim
light.
Hands
reached
for
the
combination on a box and
turned
the dial
. S
he felt a weird taste in her mouth
—
fear
—
and then relief
when the box opened
.

“
Devon
, what’ve you been doing? Are you okay?” She couldn’t hide the wor
ry in her
voice
.
The flashes w
ere
Devon
’s thoughts. Something
bad or dangerous
had
happened in Dunnet Head.

“Rae, it’s cool. Stop worrying.” His neutral
tone
did little to calm her nerves.
“I just wanted you to see the sunset, that’s all.”

“Tell Julian to put his hair in a ponytail.
He looks like a girl with the pink sky behind him
.” She
tried
to change the disappointed tone in h
er
voice.
The last thing she wanted was to make
Devon
feel bad for letting her into his head.

She
managed a
smile when she heard him tell Julian what she said.
She couldn’t make out Julian’s muffled reply.

“
W
ere you able to see the view
?”
Devon
sounded amazed.

“I
caught
a few glimpses
--
not much but, between the
bits
I saw and the noise of nature on this phone, I get a bit of
the
idea.”

“Cool.
Everything alright at Guilder?”

Rae
shifted
the mouth piece away
when
she sighed. “It’s empty without you.” No need to tell him about the meeting with his
dad
.
If he already knew, he could bring it up himself. If he didn’t know, well
—h
e had bigger things he needed to concentrate on.

“I’ll be back so
on
.
” The longing in his
voice
was unmistakable
and it soothed her battered emotions a little
.
“Listen,
I’ve got to go. My phone isn’t going to last much longer
. T
he battery’s living on fumes right now.
Have a great birthday.
It’s
—
” The
phone
went
silent
.

“Bye,
Devon
,” she whispered
to the dead line and
slowly
hung up.
At least he was
safe
.
W
hat
’
s he doing
for the Privy Council up
in Dunnet Head?

A quiet but firm rap against her door scattered her thoughts.
Her f
riends would say who they were and call out her name. The knock came again, more intense and harder. A
ho
arse
, low
voice
hissed
, “Kerrigan!”

Chapte
r 1
7

Land’s End
 

R
ae swallowed and forced her heart to slow its rapid pace. She took the three steps to the door and with her right hand on the
doorknob
she rubbed her left thumb over her fingers
,
prepared to send a zap or gust of air at
the first
sign of danger. She swung the door open as fast as she could, trying to scare the person on the other side.

Kraigan jumped back and one arm winding back with a fisted hand
, prepared to pound the threat
. “Why’d you do that? I thought you were going to charge at me.”

Rae relaxed
and almost laughed
. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
She stared at him. “Why’d you rap on the door so mysteriously?”

“I wasn’t sure if you were in.” He glanced down the empty hall. “Plus I didn’t know who might be listening.”

“You’re allowed in
Aumbry
House till curfew.
Madame Elpis prefers you call our rooms and meets us downstairs but it’s not officially against the rules.
” They just had to keep the doors open if there were any boys in their room.

He waved his hand. “I know that. However, I don’t exactly want people to know I’m hanging out with you…someone might suspect something.”
He winked. “If you know what I mean.” He chuckled. “It would be interesting to see what the school would do if rumors started. Kick us both out? Just me?”

“I doubt anyone’s going to think anything.”
After Dean Wardell’s warning.

“I don’t trust anyone
yet
.”

Join the club.
“I kinda know what you mean.”

“You took off after dinner so fast I didn’t get a chance to talk. Are you busy now?”

Rae glanced back at the dorm phone and sighed.
Not really. Might as well find out something interesting for my birthday.
“Give me two minutes and meet me outside where we
usually hang out
.”

Kraigan nodded and turned back to the stairs.

She grabbed her coat, keys and backpack
.
If
anyone saw her she could say she was heading out to study. She counted to sixty twice and took her time walking down the stairs.
Feeling a little like a spy, she had to suppress a wild giggle as she tried to stealthily exit the doors.
I probably look ridiculous.
When she rounded the corner of the building she picked up her pace and jogged d
own the length of the building.

Where is he?
He wasn’t standing on the path or leaning against the wall. She squinted against the growing dark and finally found his outline near the trees.
Halfway to where he stood she paused and waited for him to come the rest of the way to her.
Something’s off tonight.

Kraigan must have realized her hesitation as he finally came towards her.
“I’ve been wanting to talk
to you
since the other night, I’ve
just been busy with school work and
—
you know
—
” He lift
ed
his arm and pointed to his sleeved forearm
.

She stared at his arm.
Man I wish I
could just touch him and figure out what his tatù is.

“Ask me anything.”
Rae tried to gauge his mood, but it was impossible. What her eyes saw didn’t mesh with what her gut was telling her.

He started walking along the
tree line
without
stepping into it.

She followed. “Have you figured out your tatù yet?”

“I think I’m getting an idea.
It seems to be some kind of camouflage. I was hoping it might be something unique like yours,
but when I saw the picture of what yours looks like, I knew it definitely couldn’t
b
e.” He rubbed the material over his tatù. “How long did it take you to figure yours out?”

“It took a while. I’m still learning. It didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t until the end of the school
year
that I actually figured it out.” She smiled at his frustrated sigh.
She might be feeling all bond-y but there was no way she was going to tell him she didn’t learn what hers could do until her life was in danger.
Eve
r
y
body
ha
s
secrets, right?
“It’ll come. Just keep working on it.”

“I am! Between the dean and the head master, I just want to smack someone. They don’t let up
! It’s like they want me to figure it out more than I want to myself.
If they could crawl up inside me and pick it apart themselves, I think they would.
”

Rae laughed. “
Y
ou’ve got nothing on me.
Last year Carter had me in
the Infirmary
hooked up to wires and all this crap the night
af--
of my birthday.” She tried
not
to pause
. Only five
people in the entire world knew her real
birth date
and she wanted it to stay that way.
Molly knew, but had probably forgotten.
She might have mad skill
s
with fashion, hair and makeup, but her mind isn’t exactly the proverbial steel trap. So here I stand, in the dark, with a new
friend
, a boyfriend at the other end of the country, a best friend who forgot my special day, and
no call from Uncle Argyle or Aunt Linda.
Happy freakin’ birthday to me.

“Being Simon Kerrigan’s daughter, I got the entire lab-rat treatment.
”
She straightened, realizing
he had
leaned forward and so had she.
The proximity made her uncomfortable for reasons unknown.

“So you’re saying I
have it easy
?” Kraigan grinned as one of his eyebrows went up.

“
I
f you want to look at it that way.” She didn’t really care
at the moment
.
She just wanted the rather disappointingly lack-luster day to be over.

“
Listen,
I don’t like owing anyone favors.” His brow
furrowed as he appeared to think hard for a solution
. “
I got it!
You know Carter’s tatù?”

“Yeah,” she said
.
W
here
are you going with this?

“You can stop it, you know,” Kraigan said his face serious.

“Stop what?” Rae had no idea what he meant.

“Carter.”

“Stop Carter?”
Can I sound
any more
like a parrot?

Kraigan shook his head, his
frustration with her lack of understanding evident
. “No! I meant
,
there’s a way to stop his tatù from digging inside your head, into your past.”

Rae blinked in surprise.
There is?
How does he know?

“Did you also know he can dig into your past by touching you
and you won’t know it?”

“What?” Rae’s heart set off at a galloping rhythm. “That’s impossible.”
Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!
All the seemingly random times Carter had touched her shoulder or arm came flooding back. If true, this news was truly catastrophic. “That just can’t be true.”

“Why? Because you think he’ll share everything with you? He’s just like the rest of them. They’re only after one thing, and trust me, it’s not you.” He grunted. “They want
to be the hero who finally defeat
s
Simon Kerrigan’s legacy, for good.
How do you think he found me?”

The revelation was
mind-blowing.
The first time Carter had touched her, she saw everything he saw. She knew what he had discovered
. Could he have touched her again and figured out
her secret relationship with
Devon
?
Nah, he’d have forced us apart, told the dean or even the Privy Council
, right?
Or maybe he
had his own reasons and methods for accomplishing his goals
. “How do you stop it? Stop him?”

Kraigan grinned slyly. “Got some skeletons in the closet you don’t want to share,
Kerrigan
?”

Rae played with
a
slightly lose string on the hem of her coat.
Lie. Better safe than sorry.
“Not really,” she said shrugging. “Just figure some memories are my business, not Carter
’
s, the schools
,
or the Privy Councils.”

“Kudos. I
totally
get it.”

“Has Carter used his tatù on you?”

“A couple of times. First time was when he met me at the orphanage.
When we were alone he showed me what he could do.”

“So how do you know he can do it without you knowing?”

“Cause another time he talked to me about stuff he shouldn’t know about. Like a silly time I got in trouble from the sisters.
When he had touched me the first time, that had not been one of the memories he went through, and I’d never told anyone about the incident
. I put two and two together after that.” He shrugged. “I
felt invaded, you know? So, I
figured a way to block certain things he didn’t need to know.” He tilted his head to the side. “Haven’t you ever tried his tatù?”

“
Of cour
– wait, no…” She thought about it. “Last year I figured Carter had it in for me. I didn’t check him off as the good guy till the end of the year. The
way he acted made me never want to try his tatù.
He played the bad guy to protect me and I…I guess I forgot I
even
had his tatù.”

Kraigan stopped walk
ing
and held his arm out. “Try it on me.
Look for something easy. He stared off into the distance. “See if you can see what I had for breakfast.”

Rae hesitated. “I’m not sure I can even bring the tatù power out.” Should she tell him that she went off their hums and inner feelings to find what she needed? Some came easy without thinking, but others she had to search through and try to remember how they work
ed
. “I don’t know how to use it.”
I could pick up his tatù though and add it to the collection.

“Whatever.” He dropped his arm. “You just need to know how to block him.
This is what I did: t
hink of a memory you don’t want him to know. Go through the memory and then use something imaginary like a filing cabinet or a room with a door. Something to store it in safely.
You own the memory and if you can build a wall around it, you can stop him – or anyone – from seeing it.”

Wow. That’s something really big to share.
“You’re sure?”

“Positive.” He grinned. “One day you’ll thank
me
for it.”

“Bugger.”
He might not be too bad.

He reached inside his pocket and pulled out his cell. “Shit. I gotta go.” He started texting, not bothering to look at her as he began walking away. “I’ll see you around tomorrow.”

And
good-bye to you too
.
Rae watched his retreating back.
Happy freakin’ birthday, Rae
.
She thought about
Carter’s tatù. She definitely needed to figure
out how much he knew and learn how to block him
.
And other tatùs with similar abilities.
She wrapped her coat tighter around her and quickened her pace back to her dorm room, deep in thought as she brought up memories and carefully hid them in a safe
that needed a
four-digit PIN
.
She
would
use eleven-thirteen --
her real birthda
te
.