Lost Energy (4 page)

UNWANTED
VISITORS

"W
ant to say something, or am I gonna
have to invest in a new steering wheel?"

Farren answered by gripping the
wheel tighter, his cheeks flaming. I probably shouldn't have let him drive,
even if the deep scowl on his face indicated he'd have taken off my head if I refused
to hand over the keys.

I let the silence, flashing lights from
other cars, and stoplights fill the space between us for another block before
trying again. "Why don't you give in already?"

He laughed until he yelled,
stabbing me right in the eardrum. "You think I don't want to be with her?"

"Well…not after tonight."
I kept my tone neutral, practicing the same calm skills Tarek always had.

He smacked the wheel and yelled one
more time. After another red light, Farren's softer voice filled the car. "I
used to work for the authority, Lena."

I really believed this was going
somewhere. But…damn. "I got that when you tasered Tarek, remember?"

"Okay, and so I know how they
operate, what they do to defectors and rogues…traitors."

Shit, this didn't sound good.

"When Guides stray, they're
easy to kill, especially if their Protectors don't stick around after transport."
He took a deep breath and continued on the exhale. "Someone always knew
something, and willing or forced, they'd end up telling us where the traitors
went."

"Farren, you don't have to–"

"I've ended more Guides'
cycles than I care to remember." He shrugged, his fingers still white on
the wheel. "Always a one-man operation. Get in, get out, careful not to
disturb the dimension when you're butchering somebody. Killing a traitor, well,
that was honorable, right? They'd recycle somewhere else, pay for their sins."

Yeah, like me…

"Farren–"

"But Protectors are a
different story, not so easy to kill them." His eyes, a little wild,
glanced my way before focusing again on the road. "They still had to pay,
though."

He didn't have to finish. The
conclusion to the story was obvious. A savage urge to protect my best friend
settled in my gut. "I get it now, really."

He pulled into the trailer park,
shaking his head. "I see all their faces every time I close my eyes. Every
single person I…" He killed the engine when we pulled behind Dad's place. "I
believe in karma, Lena, and it's waiting to bite me in the ass. Can't take the
chance with her. Won't."

I sighed. "Maybe you should
let her go, let her talk to other people without scaring the shit outta them. Stop
giving her hope."

He rubbed his smooth face and let
out a half-groan, half-growl. "She doesn't make it easy."

I opened the door, ready to let him
off the hook. "No, no she doesn't."

Farren got out, pushing the lock
button on the keychain, and headed toward the front of the house. Before I
opened the door, he grabbed my arm. "I'll control myself next time,
promise."

I palmed his cheek. "Someday,
all this, it's gonna be over. They'll get tired of bothering with us. But until
then, you've got Wilma here to help you." I gave him a light slap on his
red cheek before things became too emotional. "Maybe you should trust
Belva, too. She's stronger than she looks."

He tilted his head. "Always
the optimist, aren't you?"

"Somebody's gotta be." I
lowered my voice before opening the door, more than ready to change the
subject. "Look, he spooks easy. Try not to act so, ah, scary, okay?"

Farren smiled, or rather gave a
sneer that curled the right side of his mouth. "No problem. I'll stand in
the corner…make sure he knows I'm there."

"Yeah, that won't terrify him."
I went inside.

As usual, Dad sat in his chair. His
happy relief turned to horror when we walked in and his eyes shifted from me to
Farren, who closed the door and stood there as promised. With his arms crossed
and looking like a menacing biker without the hot tattoos, angry Ginger made a
point to give my shaking father a stare-down.

Before I had a yellow puddle to
clean up, I scowled at Farren and went to kneel in front of the wicker chair. "Hey,
look at me." My voice didn't get his attention, and so I grabbed his jaw,
forcing him to look. "He's here to help, okay? No need to be scared."

Dad's body quaked so hard, I feared
the chair might collapse. "He's almost as big as the other one. They ain't
human, girl."

A snort came from the Big Red
peanut gallery. "Almost, huh?"

I whipped my head around and
mouthed for Farren to shut up, and then made an effort to soften my face before
turning back to the shell in the chair. "He's human, and so is the other
one. But he won't hurt you; I won't let him."

"How you gonna stop him?"

Ugh! Dammit!
I turned to Farren. "Don't
hurt him."

Farren scratched his head with a
grin. "Ah, yeah, whatever."

Patience wasn't one of my virtues
either. A groan escaped my lips when Dad whined and pleaded for me to make him
leave, but I cut him off. "He stays, and you're gonna stop acting like a
baby, got it? We'll need him if those people show up again."

I stormed into the kitchen, rinsed
out the coffee pot, and started fresh. Farren stayed at the door while Dad
hunkered under his blanket, never taking his eyes away from the
almost
as
big guy in the corner.

Yeah, not the most ideal way to
spend the evening.

∞
∞ ∞

An hour, and another, ticked by.
Farren and I eased into our usual banter, him saying something stupid or
annoying and me calling him on it. We laughed a little, argued a little more, and
didn't bother to acknowledge the trembling sack of bones in the wicker. After a
while, Dad reverted to the silent Indian-wall observer, ignoring us, too.

"…and it's not funny. She did
say–" Farren's passionate defense of some starlet's recent brush with the
law using his tabloid research stopped. "They're here."

He went for the window, all traces
of relaxed gone. Thirty seconds later, the fuzz entered my brain, too. I moved
from the kitchen counter to join Farren at the window.

"Dad? Go in your room and be
quiet. Don't come out." I could fake calm with the best of them. But when
he didn't get up, I dragged him from his chair and heaved him in the room. "Stay
here." Not waiting for a reply, I shut the door and went back to Farren.

Two figures who definitely didn't
belong to the white trash mafia strode down from the graveled hill leading into
the park. Both were female. The smaller one sporting a less obvious
leotard-like outfit Tarek used to call his warrior suit walked in front of a
taller, thin woman wearing a flowing dress that didn't look comfortable in the
sweltering July heat.

By the tension in their faces, they
knew we were there, too.

"I'll be damned." Farren scrubbed
a hand through his hair. "This isn't good." He met my questioning
face. "Looks like the Synod decided to make a personal visit."

"This is an 'oh shit' moment,
isn't it?"

Farren's attention went back to the
window. "I'd say it's
the
moment. You see that Protector?"
Like
I could miss her..
. "She's five-cycled and ruthless as hell, and her
Guide's been a Synod member since before my first cycle."

"What do you think they want?"
As if I didn't know that.

The "you have to be kidding me"
glare Farren threw showed he thought the question just as stupid. He closed the
curtains and went to the door. "The best thing we can do is go out there,
confront them."

I stumbled into the kitchen. "Ah…disagree.
Going out the back window and getting in the car sounds better."

Farren stomped over, grabbed my
hand, and went to the front door. He stuffed the car keys into my front pocket.
"In case..."

He tugged on my hand, but all he
got was a no-go, my feet planted on the floor and sprouting roots. "No."

Farren bent down to my ear. "Running
won't work; they'll keep coming back."

"Shouldn't we wait for Wilma?"

"Love to, but I don't think
they'd be willing to wait with us."

I really hated when he made sense.

"Stay behind me. If shit goes
down, take off. Avery won't do anything to you."

"And Avery is?"

"The Guide. She's the Synod's
Creation Lab overseer, the person who controls in-coming and out-going energy.
A fucking big shot. But you Guides aren't known for your strength," he
tapped his temple, "just this."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Try not to let Nicolette kick
my ass too bad."

Well, what could be said to that?

We stepped off the cement blocks as
the women approached. Nicolette stopped short. Her clear blue eyes shot to
Farren then behind him, past me, and into the house. "Where's Wilma?"

"Around." Farren
sauntered over to face her, all arrogant with confidence I really hoped he had.
"Better question is why are you here?"

Her eyes narrowed as she widened
her stance. "Doing my duty,
Protector
."

Farren rolled his shoulders. "Sticks
and stones, Nikki. But let me make something clear." He stood two inches
from the woman, cocking his head to the side as he looked down at her. "You're
not getting anywhere near the girl, got it?"

When she spoke, I looked down to
make sure my shoes were tied–didn't want to trip when running for my life.

"Hmm, so you," she tapped
Ginger's chest with her pointer, "are going to…what? Stand in my way? A
few months in this place soften your brain, Farren?"

A low snarl escaped as he moved in
the last two inches. "You b–"

"Enough." The sharp
command from the Guide caused Nicolette to back down. Farren made an obvious
effort to relax, though his fists stayed clenched at his sides. Avery
continued, "We're not here to hurt the girl. Please, let me speak with her–privately."

"Not a chance." Farren
stayed in front of me.

"If she doesn't talk to me, it
won't be a lovesick Protector like Mateusz you'll need to shield her from."

As Farren shook his head ready to
deny her again, words came rushing out before I had a chance to pull them back.
"What're you trying to say?"

Avery angled her head to meet my
eyes. "Believe it or not, but Mateusz is the reason why your energy wasn't
annihilated."

I signaled Farren to step aside
with a weak nudge. He moved enough for me to stand beside him.

"Um…I think you might… He's
the reason why I ended up here, lady."

"A move that unwittingly saved
your life."

My curiosity always won over fear. If
the woman had information, I wanted it. "You have ten seconds to tell me how."

"Because, Lena, you truly are
Tainted."

REVELATIONS

F
arren had to catch me when I fell
backward, tripping over the cement blocks. "That doesn't make sense."
I spoke to Avery, but my eyes stayed planted on Farren's.

"If you had a true energy
reading when Mateusz accused you of treason in your past life, your energy
would've still read Tainted—for worse crimes than siphoning good energy to
Arcus. But only because the knowledge you kept secret would've threatened those
set on genuine treachery. So please, may we speak in private?"

Farren quirked a brow as he held
onto my waist, blocking me from view. With a vigorous shake of my head, he
answered her. "Again, Guide, not happening."

I tapped his shoulder and gave him
a little push. Getting the message, he righted me beside him before folding his
arms behind his back, his face an impassive, stoic mask.

"Say what you came to say and
go," I said, my voice not nearly as commanding as I wanted it to be.

Strain developed in Avery's eyes when
she moved forward, her hands held out, fingers splayed.

Nicolette shadowed every step, as
vigilant and tense as Farren.

"Please, if you could–"

I held up my own hand, trying to
imitate the Protectors' hardened expressions. "Whatever you tell me he'll
find out the second you're gone."

"Very well." She lowered
her hands. "You are–"

"So you know, if you give me a
'you're the chosen one' line of shit, we're leaving."

Ginger snorted, his elbow nudging
my side.

Nicolette didn't find it so funny. "You
will show respect, Tainted. She has risked her life to find you."

"It's okay." Avery placed
a hand on her Protector's shoulder. She kept her calm, giving me her attention.
"There will be no such revelation." After a glance at Farren, she
continued, "If you insist on an audience, I suppose I cannot demand
otherwise, yet could we speak where the audience is smaller?"

For the first time since spotting
the women, I noticed a scattered congregation acting as if they weren't trying
to catch every word we said. Giving a few some irritated glares–which didn't
deter their nosiness in the least–I opened the front door and waved everyone
in.

Gesturing to the two lone chairs in
the barren living room, I peeked in on Dad to find him sitting at the edge of
his bed.

"Hey, no worries, okay?" I
did a quick surf through the channels he now paid for, thanks to my taking over
his money, and set the remote on top of the old TV. "Just some friends
from school trying to find me. But stay in here and watch TV for a while."

"You lyin' to me, girl?"
He scooted to the middle of the bed, his eyes begging me to say no.

"Is that something you really
want to know?"

He stared, cinching a blanket
closer to his chest.

Didn't think so.

I put a hand on the knob. "I'll
come get you when they leave."

"Yeah, okay." He
hesitated. "Hand me the remote?"

When I tossed it to him, he turned
the volume up to thirty. I shut the door on the mechanical sounds of canned
laughter to find Avery seated in Dad's chair, examining the Indian wall.
Nicolette stood behind her like a sentinel, keeping her eyes on Farren. He had
no trouble meeting her glare while standing behind the empty chair. My spot, I
guess.

Sitting, I cleared my throat a few
times to try to get the Guide's attention without resorting to disrespect. Only
because her kindness made it hard to be mean. My attempt at being nice had
nothing at all to do with her scary Protector's threat earlier.
Yeah, right.
When Nicolette gave Farren a stare that could drop a buck at fifty yards, and
hearing the audible swallow coming from behind me, I stopped the throat
clearing.

Well, maybe she had a little to do
with my newfound respect.

For a few minutes, the single sound
in the house was the too loud television's tinny laughter. Being here, feeling
the familiar tension, caused anxiety and anger to play tennis in my skull. Not
her fault. She didn't realize this place had no cozy, warm feelings reserved by
me. But if the bitch didn't talk soon, a lot less Indian pictures would be
hanging on the wall due to an unfortunate accident with a wicker chair.

I picked the first picture to aim
at when Avery finally spoke. "You seem to have an acute fascination with
the native people from this part of the dimension. Proud people, I must say. I've
met one who is particularly…noble."

Yeah, that's not what I wanted to
talk about.
"They're
not mine. Look, small talk's great, but maybe we should stick to why you're
here." After a glance at her angry Protector's face, I added, "Ah…please."

Avery adjusted her chair so that it
faced mine and sat with posture straight and tidy. "You are right."
She rubbed her hands together–the only sign of nerves, her face remaining
serene. But she didn't start the conversation with me. The Guide looked up to
Farren. "What I have to say may cause you some turmoil."

"Don't worry about me. You all
already lost my vote in the respect department." If I hadn't known Ginger
so well, I'd have sworn he was bored with the conversation by his dull tone.

But I knew him pretty well, and he
was ready to snap.

"Watch yourself, Protector."
Nicolette's eyes shined, her arms crossing over her chest.

Farren's deep voice trumped her
scare-stare, all the dull disappearing. "Next time you open your mouth, I'm
going to put my boot in it, got it? Protecting her from words isn't part of the
job."

The television in the other room
got louder as faint whining accompanied the boxed laughter. These pissing
contests were going to give the old man a stroke.

Before a Protector war began in the
living room, I stood up. "We're not gonna get anywhere if we have to stop
every five seconds to see who's the scariest." I glanced down at Avery. "Talk
before these two start busting up my dad's place."

"Nah, I say kill 'em and worry
about how to hide the bodies."

If Farren didn't shut it…

I gave him a warning scowl. "Let
her talk. If you don't like what she has to say, then you can beat the woman's
ass. Deal?"

He rolled his shoulders and cracked
his knuckles. "If that's my only choice…"

I ignored the glare from Nicolette
and sat down, leaning elbows on knees. "I'm listening."

Avery smiled, softening her
features and brightening her blue eyes. She wasn't what I'd call pretty, but
her docile face and seemingly inherent kindness had a calming effect. "You
haven't changed much in this cycle, Lena. Still the leader, I see."

I squirmed under the weight of her
compliment. "Yeah, well, it took a while to get here."

She reached over to squeeze my
folded hands before placing hers back on her lap, no longer rubbing them
together. "As I told you, what you went through with Mateusz in Exemplar,
and here to an extent, has saved your energy from annihilation."

Leaning back, I gripped the
armrests. When her placid expression didn't change, and nothing else left her
mouth, I said, "Do I even have to ask you to explain?"

Her cheeks pinked and her serene smile
faltered. "No, of course not. It's… I practiced saying what I'd tell you
so many times." She rubbed her temple, yet composed herself again when
Nicolette placed a hand on her thin shoulder. "May I start over?"

I nodded, waving my hand.

"There are things you knew
once…things that could have potentially saved lives."

"You're treading awfully close
to that 'key to salvation' line, Avery. No disrespect, but I've read too many
fairy tales with the same theme." I rubbed the wicker armrests. "None
rarely imitate reality."

"I do not speak of children's
stories." Her agitation pushed at the passive façade, the color in her
cheeks darkening.

Ugh! Fine.
Maybe I was being a bitch. But if
I still thought it was bullshit, I'd make them leave. Ask them to leave,
anyway. Don't think I could make Nicolette do anything. "I'm sorry. Please,
continue."

She tucked loosened strands of pale
hair behind her ear. "Forgive my temper. Recent events have been most
trying." Avery refolded her hands, the bedroom television keeping us
company while she collected herself.

The silence gave me time to really
look at her. Tension and fear she'd been trying to hide surfaced. Christ, what
the hell was I getting into now?

"You see, we have been fed a
lie for centuries–more time than even I can comprehend. The first Synod members,
from whom many on the Synod elders today descend, found out things about the
universe that should've been kept from human knowledge."

"You mean the existence of
other dimensions, don't you?"

"Exactly, yes."

The back of my wicker chair began
to shred. I turned and my gaze smacked into Farren's white knuckles. When I
raised my eyes to his face, it was as colorless as the hands squeezing the
chair. He didn't meet my stare, seeing as he was too busy giving the Guide a
death glare.

Shaking my head, hoping he'd catch
it in his peripherals, I patted his hands before facing Avery. By the grimace
on her face, she was completely aware of Farren's boiling temper. But like a
pro, she ignored him. "Every Exemplian who is inducted into stations of
power in the Synod is told the secret and instructed to perpetuate centuries of
falsehoods amongst the population. The system, dispersing energies unto
selected dimensions, is preached to be the way the human race will survive and
prosper." Sadness etched her face. "But I know different."

"Tell me what you believe."
I hoped her answer would ensure Farren didn't go for her throat.

"Because of our evolved
brains, giving some the powers to cross dimension lines," she looked up at
Farren and pointed behind her to Nicolette, "or the ability to read and
guide energies, our tiny world has held humankind's fate without any right. We
are called privileged, but in truth we are thieves, stealing life, judging it,
for selfish gain."

"Wait. Why're you telling me
this?" My eyes widened. "Oh, shit. You're a traitor, like Kendal."

Kendal was Mateusz's woman and the
person who I accused of treason in my past life. Because of that, to protect
Kendal, Mateusz made sure Old Lena was marked Tainted through a bogus energy
reading he fudged. Her energy was then sent to Earth after her execution. All
confusing stuff, but it boiled down to this being my life now, Old Lena a
memory.

I didn't mean for it to come out as
an accusation, but it sounded that way–at least to Nicolette, whose feathers
got ruffled again. "Avery is no traitor, Tainted. She's brave…and so,
once, were you."

"What the hell's she talking
about?" My voice was whispery strands of air, lacing together the words
swimming in my brain.

Avery stood, giving her Protector a
subtle frown. "During your last cycle, whilst searching for a way for you
and Tarek to escape the…privilege of Exemplian life together, you figured out
the secret. It was a stroke of good luck that I was the Synod member you
confronted."

I watched her pace, letting the
information sink in. Not much to say after something like that.

She didn't seem to notice my
silence, her story pouring out. "Together we devised a way to change the
status quo. You spent years building trust with many Wardens, listening to
them, realizing they desired the lines to be closed. I spent the time spreading
the truth to those I knew who were unhappy, suspicious. We planned a rebellion,
and we were almost ready to act when Mateusz intervened with his false
accusations against you." She stopped in front of me, respect glowing in
her eyes. "You are the sole person who has accomplished so much with the
Wardens–they are the key to ensuring centuries of wrong righted."

"Why tell me all this now?"
I wasn't gonna lie–excitement coursed through me. Taking the power away from
those who took so much from me sounded enticing.