Psi Another Day (Psi Fighter Academy) (16 page)

Chapter Twenty

Hunter Becomes Hunted

“Oh, boy.” Andy rubbed his forehead with both hands. “Here we go.”

“What? Was I wrong?”

“You did what you had to do. Under the influence of Psychedone 10, Mason might have killed your friend. I’m just afraid. The past has a nasty way of repeating itself.”

“Why would he be so stupid, Andy? Mason wasn’t into drugs of any kind. Why would he take something so nasty?”

Andy shrugged. “Like you saw in his memory, he wanted to prove that Bobby was wrong. Mason so badly wanted the Class Project to be what he needed it to be that he took a stupid chance.”

“What did he need it to be?”

“A miracle. A cure for his past. His second chance.”

I felt so bad for Mason. “He didn’t even realize he was under its influence. He tried so hard to disobey Rubric.”

“On the plus side, we know Mason didn’t kill his mother like we all believed.
And
you kicked some major butt in that park. Three at a time!”

“Two,” I said, feeling my face turn red. “Art ran into a tree.”

“The forest is our friend. Okay, hand over the papers you stole from the police station. Let’s see what Amos didn’t tell us.”

“I didn’t steal them.”

Andy raised one eyebrow and cocked his head sideways. “My apologies. I meant to say
purloined
.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Yes.” He held his hand out. “Give.”

I opened my backpack and dug around for the envelope. “Andy, does the Memory Lash ever get easier? I can’t stop thinking about what happened to Mason.”

“You controlled it this time.” He pursed his lips. “An obvious result of my brilliant instruction.”

“Have you been hanging out with Dr. Captious?”

“No, he’s too self-absorbed. He’d rather talk about himself than about me. Can you imagine?” Andy suddenly became serious and cupped my face in both hands. “The Lash…was never intended to be easy. Just powerful. Rinnie, it’s the only weapon known that can change a person’s heart. Do you understand how difficult that is?”

“Do you think it changed Mason?”

Andy shook his head. “Maybe. Only God knows that. You can’t always tell if a person is changed. But you can be certain when he isn’t.”

I nodded, remembering LaReau. He had no remorse at all. “LaReau was dead inside. The only emotions I felt were dark, empty. Mason was dark, too, but it was more like a little boy trying to dig free from layers of pain.”

“I believe Mason suffered through too many repressed memories not to be affected. From what you described, his remorse is deep. He’ll never stop remembering. The change is going to be slow and painful.”

“I don’t get it. Mason didn’t
do
anything. In the memory I saw, he was the victim.”

“Of course.”

“What does that mean? That’s not how the Memory Lash works.”

“Think about it. What did Mason say after you released him?”

“He curled up in a ball and told his mother he was sorry.”

“Yep.”

“What, yep?”

“From what you described, Mason believes he caused his mother’s death. That was the most painful thing he ever witnessed, and he blames himself. That’s why the Memory Lash showed you that memory.”

“And the man with a decaying skull for a head? He didn’t feel like Scallion.” I knew the answer before I asked, but I was really hoping to be wrong.

“Nicolaitan. He’s very powerful. He made Mason see him as death. Hence, the skull.”

“Did he also make Mason believe it was, hence, his fault?”

“No. Mason really believes it. Just like you really believe your parents died because of you. No matter how often we tell you it wasn’t your fault. Because it wasn’t, in case I haven’t told you. You were six. Six-year-olds are innocent, even bratty ones like you.”

“Hey!”

“Now, where were we? Oh, yes.” Andy smiled and snapped his fingers. “Papers, please.”

I pulled the envelope from my backpack and took out the drawing. “See, it’s just some sort of doodle. No words, no real picture. I can’t make anything out of it.”

Andy looked at the paper, turning it in all directions, then rubbed his finger across the scribbles.

“Wow!” he hollered, nearly dropping the paper. His face got totally serious and he gaped at me like I was a burn victim. “I prayed this would never happen.”

“What’s wrong?”

Andy shook his head. “Be right back.” He turned and disappeared into a closet at the far end of his tech lab. He returned wheeling a flatbed scanner with the words
Andy-Scan 1000
molded into its shining cover.

“Why are you scanning the doodle?” I asked. “You gonna Photoshop your face onto it?”

“Lemme ’splain.” Andy shook his head. “You know how, when you’re trying to think of something to draw, you start out by doodling, then ideas crystallize in your head, and you eventually end up with some very intricate artwork?”

“Uh…no. I doodle when I’m bored. Like in language arts when they talk about subjunctives and conjugation and big words that real people never use.”

“You should try doodling when you need to think,” Andy said. “Because the thought is in the doodle.”

“Sounds like drivel.”

“Doodles only drivel when the ink is wet. That’s why Munificent used pencil.”

“Okay, I’m lost. What are you trying to tell me with your twaddle?”

“Munificent was writing to the Psi Fighters. This is how he communicated with us.”

“By doodling? Andy, that is weird, even for you. Why don’t you just build them a Bat Signal?”

“I’m working on it,” Andy said, smiling down at me. “Now, follow me, if your tired brain can stay awake. How do you put thoughts on paper?”

I folded my hands, placed them daintily under my chin, and batted my eyes. “You…write them?”

“Good, good…and what do you do in language arts
while
you’re doodling?”

“Daydream, because paying attention would cause me to fall asleep, then I’d get detention.”

“And daydreaming would be the same as…”

“Thinking?”

“She shoots! She scores!” Andy shouted, and moonwalked around the room.

“So you’re saying my thoughts are in my doodle?”

“Keep your doodle out of this. We’re talking about Munificent’s communication to us, which we would have already known about if he had not been so inconveniently murdered. You need to hear it.”

I smacked myself in the forehead and sighed. “Where is this going?”

“Right there,” Andy said, slapping the paper into the scanner’s auto-feeder.

“So,” I said slowly, “you’re going to scan it…”

“I thought we already established that.” He pressed a key and the scanner started to hum.

“All we established is that you are a Looney Tune,” I said, ready to bang my head off the wall. “What does—”

“This is the Andy-Scan 1000, a clever device invented by—need I even say it?—my own pretty little self. It does for the written word what the MPU 3000 does for memories.”

“You can scan the thoughts out of a scribble?”

“Or a doodle, even if it’s drivel.” Andy punched another button on the scanner.

“Psi Fighters,” a voice boomed over the sound system hidden somewhere in Andy’s tech room walls. “I have—”

Andy hit the button again, and the voice stopped.

“Why did you stop it?” I looked around for speakers I knew I’d never find.

“Honey.” Andy put his arm around me, growing unusually serious again. “There’s something you have to know. If we had gotten this message from Amos Munificent in time, we may have been able to save him. But he wasn’t trying to warn us about a danger to himself. He was telling us that Scallion’s mission isn’t what we believed.”

“How do you know what’s in the scribble?” I was beginning to feel very uneasy.

“I scanned it when I touched it. You’ll learn how. It’s a lot like scanning minds, and you know how to do that.”

“I hate scanning minds. It hurts.”

“This won’t be a field of daisies, either.” Andy punched the button.

“—new information,” Munificent’s voice boomed out. “Nicolaitan has infiltrated the high school more deeply than we believed. I’ve confirmed that the apprentice who goes by the name of Scallion is a student there. I have also learned that he’s searching for the Morgan girl. Nicolaitan knows she is back. He believes she attends the high school.”

“You okay?” Andy asked.

“What?” I had a bad feeling that I was missing something very obvious. “Wait, the Morgan girl…he means
me
?”

Andy nodded. “After we rescued you, we put you in hiding. All traces of your existence evaporated. It was like six-year-old Lynn Morgan never existed. With your parents dead, it was the best way to protect you. Nicolaitan had assumed that we sent you far away. But he must have seen something in Munificent’s mind.”

“What sort of something?” I asked.

“If you hadn’t brought me this memory, I couldn’t have pieced it together, but it makes sense now. Remember the memory of Munificent’s murder, when Nicolaitan asked him about the Morgan girl? He kidnapped you ten years ago. He should have given up and moved on by now. I underestimated how much he hates us. He wants you because you are the only Psi Fighter ever taken alive.”

“I was six. How hard could it have been?”

“That’s not the point. He believes he can unlock your mind and learn the location of the Academy. Then he’ll send his Knights to destroy us. That’s always been his goal. Something caused him to resurface. He must have pulled a fragment from Munificent’s mind somehow. A fragment with you in it.”

“Mr. Munificent acted like he knew me at the assembly,” I said, suddenly in terrible fear. “If Nicolaitan read Mr. Munificent’s mind, he knows who I am. I have to get home. Andy, we have to protect my family!”

Andy took me by the shoulders. “We don’t know whether he knows your identity. Munificent only knows Rinnie Noelle because your dad consults with the police force. He doesn’t know you’re the Morgan girl. He thinks she disappeared.”

“She is correct,” a voice barked from behind me. I jumped into Andy’s arms and nearly knocked him over. The Kilodan stood only feet from me.

“Why would you sneak up on me when I’m already frightened out of my skin?” I snapped.

The Kilodan let loose with an electronically altered laugh that made the Joker sound sane. “I’m training you to control your emotions.”

“Not doing a very good job of it,” Andy said as he peeled my arms from around his neck and sat me on the floor.

“Munificent may not have had knowledge of your true identity, but Nicolaitan does,” the Kilodan said. “He has a long memory, and will have retained fragments from the kidnapping. What he does not know is your current identity. He knows the Morgan girl has Psi Fighter abilities, but he has not yet linked her to you. We must be cautious. He has eyes everywhere. But as long as you don’t use the Mental Arts while unmasked, he’ll never make the connection.”

My heart was in my throat. “I just did.”

Chapter Twenty
-
one

The Spring Fling

The next day I was a bundle of nerves. The anxiety of being discovered by Nicolaitan was awful. If he found me, he’d unlock my mind, learn the identities of the Psi Fighters, and the location of our secret Academy. Then we would all be vulnerable. As frightening as that reality was, it was marshmallows and chocolate pudding compared to the sheer terror of choosing an outfit. The Spring Fling was that night, and I had nothing to wear. Fortunately, Kathryn was skilled at all things soirée. She invited me to her house to get ready. I seriously wanted to murder her for telling Bobby things I trusted her with, but I decided to wait. The last thing I needed at the moment was a fight with my BFF. And, to tell the truth, I was terrified to hear her reasons, especially if they confirmed that my most trusted friend in the entire cosmos was untrustworthy. I didn’t know if I could live with that.

“Powder blue,” she said, plucking a dress from her closet. “It brings out your eyes. This is perfect. Delicate, feminine, petite. Asymmetrical hemline to make you appear taller, show a little leg…then just a touch of blush, a hint of eyeliner, a very light eye shadow, and matching lip gloss. Oh, Rin, the poor boy won’t know what hit him.”

By the time we got to the school, my anxiety had subsided a bit. Kathryn had a comfortable confidence with social events that was very calming. Unfortunately, I didn’t. The minute we walked through the double doors, my nerves took over again.

The poorly lit gymnasium was packed, people dancing everywhere. We had arrived fashionably late, although I would have preferred being fashionably later, by, say, a year. As I scanned the gym, searching for signs of Egon, Kathryn began dancing happily beside me, oblivious to my pain, singing along with the music. “…you don’t know you’re BEAUTIFULLLLLLL… Hey, Rin, our men will find us soon!”

I nodded. My mouth was dry. “I don’t feel so good.”

Kathryn laughed. “Oh, you’ll be fine. Such a worrywart. What’s the worst thing that can happen? Oh, never mind…it just did.”

The double doors slammed open. Rubric, Chuckie, and the Red Team sauntered into the gym.

“A meeting of the minds,” Kathryn said. “Don’t they look precious?”

Art Rubric and Chuckie Cuff looked like hit men in their stupid trench coats, but the Red Team looked amazing. Gorgeous hair, expensive jewelry, high heels—Tammy had a low-cut gown with a slit up the side that made her look like a runway model. I was officially jealous. Any black-hearted person who looked that good deserved my wrath.

“What’s Angel wearing?” I asked. “Sleaze Bag by Gucci?”

“Meow, Rin.”

Teachers had positioned themselves around the gym, just like they did during assembly, to feel like they were in control. But we all knew better. It was common knowledge that the teachers hated chaperoning (I can’t imagine why with such model students). Consequently, only the ones with low seniority had to attend, and they were too busy chatting to each other to notice anything the students were doing. Unless there was a nuclear explosion, it was unlikely that they would leave the safety of their seats.

Suddenly, my heart stopped. My lungs seized. “Kathryn, I’m seriously gonna upchuck.”

“Oh, you lucky girl!” Kathryn chirped. “Yours came first!”

Framed by the door, all alone and absolutely beautiful, Egon shimmered in the light like an archangel. Dressed in a blue button-up shirt, he glided into the gym.

The instant Egon crossed the threshold, cretins surrounded him. Tammy Angel flung her beefy arms around his neck. A sudden urge to dismember her filled my kind and loving heart. Egon smiled politely, but didn’t appear to be talking much.

“Ignore her, Rin,” Kathryn said. “She knows he’s with you. She’s being the Alpha, as usual.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t give away my secret by destroying her in public?”

“I’m saying Egon is a gentleman, and you have nothing to worry about.”

Kathryn was right. Egon scanned the gym as he pried Tammy’s monkey arms from his neck. Then our eyes met, and he broke into the most adorable smile I had ever seen on a human. While Tammy flapped her never-ending jaw, fake-laughing hysterically, Egon brushed by her, his gaze never leaving mine. I chuckled quietly at Tammy’s blank stare when she realized she had been deserted.

“Hi, Rinnie. Hi, Kathryn.”

“Hi, Egon,” Kathryn sang. “Oh, look! Bobby’s here! I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Kathryn, wa—” Panic suddenly bodyslammed every other emotion I owned.

“Hi,” Egon repeated.

“Hi.”

“You look amazing,” Egon said, taking a step back, eying me from head to toe.

“Thank you. I brushed my hair.”

Oh, wow! I had officially destroyed every contender in the Stupidest Response to a Compliment contest. We stood in silence for a few very awkward moments. I decided I was wrong about there being no words to describe how I felt. Discomfort, nausea, regurgitation…those words did a fine job.

“So…I guess you saw Tammy Angel attack me,” Egon said. “I’m sorry, she’s just hard to control. We went out one time, and now I can’t get rid of her.”

“Try flea and tick medicine.”

“Maybe
I
need a bodyguard.” Egon did a double eyebrow-raise. “Are you interested? I hear you’re better than you admitted.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, Chuckie said he saw you kick some dude’s butt in the park.”

“He…umm…yeah…” Chuckie was officially dead. “Sometimes we do Tai Chi in the park. That’s probably what he saw. It’s very relaxing.” Oh, Chuckie was so very dead.

I looked out across the gym, searching for something clever to say, when I found Mason on the other side. He was dressed in a classy Diesel jean jacket and T-shirt, but he looked like I felt—lost, completely out of his element, like he didn’t belong. Then his eyes connected with mine. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but shook his head as though he were arguing with himself. His eyes closed, and he turned, disappearing into the crowd. I wondered what was going through his mind.

All at once, the music changed, and a slow song echoed through the gym. “Hey, I like this one.” Egon smiled and gently took my hand. “May I have this dance?”

Warmth rose in my face. My first instinct was to run, but he slipped his arm around my waist. That did it. I was a goner. I was about to melt right at his feet. Which I was totally okay with.

Egon pulled me close, and his thigh brushed against mine. Little shivers ran through me. When his feet moved, mine followed. We swayed slowly to the music, bodies in total sync. Dancing with Egon was like—okay, this will sound slightly abnormal, but it was more relaxing than sparring. It was more exciting than wearing my mask and armor. When I laid my head on his shoulder, I utterly disappeared. It was even better than Shimmer mode! If you were a Psi Fighter, you’d totally understand how awesome it felt.

Sometime during the song, Kathryn and Bobby were dancing beside us. I glanced over and saw Kathryn kissing Bobby. His eyes were wide with fear, pleading with me. I shook my head, smiling. Poor Bobby never had a chance.

Egon leaned down and gently pressed his forehead to mine. I laid my head back on his shoulder until the song was over, then found myself being led by the hand away from the dance area. Without warning, he turned me toward him, a mischievous glimmer in his eye. “Bobby hasn’t learned defense against lip locks, has he?”

I smiled and glanced at the floor.

Egon took my hand and said, “Have
you
?”

In the darkened room, I was sure he couldn’t see how red my face had just turned. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and tilted my chin up. Just as I felt his breath on my lips, Egon grunted and crashed into me, knocking me off my feet. I landed hard on the gym floor and heard the thump of a large, soft something beside me. Tammy Angel, butt down and glassy-eyed, the contents of her purse on the floor beside her. She harrumphed and scooped everything back inside. Then she looked up. Her pupils dilated and slowly focused on me. A smirk crossed her face, and she hauled herself to her feet.

“Watch where you’re going, Peroxide,” she slurred. “You shouldn’t embarrass Egon like that.”

Egon helped me up, the concern in his eyes barely hiding something darker. He turned to Tammy. “She’s not the embarrassment,” he whispered.

Tammy jabbed her finger at me. “Stay out of my way, Peroxide. I’m not in a good mood tonight.”

“And that’s different from when?” I asked sweetly.

Mason suddenly appeared, shouldering his way through the crowd. He took Tammy roughly by the arm, jerking her finger out of my face. “Sorry, no harm done. Right this way, Tam.” He smiled at me and slipped away, dragging her behind him.

“Mason, let me go!” Tammy struggled against him, but he towed her along like a puppy on a leash. Before disappearing into the mass of dancing kids, he glanced back at me. Sadness filled his eyes. I sighed, overcome by an unexplainable longing. For just an instant, I forgot where I was.

“What’s going on with him?” Egon asked.

Oops. “What do you mean?” I pushed Mason out of my mind.

“Something’s up.” Egon’s eyes narrowed. “Mason’s not causing trouble.”

I touched Egon’s arm. “He’s not himself. Maybe he’s afraid of you.”

Egon laughed and took my hand.

“Let’s get something to drink,” I said. Before we started toward the punch table, I noticed a slim object lying on the floor at my feet. “Tammy didn’t clean up her mess too well.” I bent down to pick it up—a fountain pen, red and silver barrel with a white rectangle in the center. Just as my hand touched it, mental sparks jumped from my fingertips and I jerked back. I reached out again, carefully closing my mind, and picked it up. My heart raced, and I scanned the room, searching.

Tammy Angel was Scallion?

No. Way.

I watched the creep disappear into the crowd, but now that I understood who I had let get away at the Shadow Passage, I found myself giggling inside. Early on, Kathryn and I had decided that Angel couldn’t possibly be the face behind that mask.

Which was the signature of a Knight.

“I’m not thirsty anymore,” I said to Egon. “Come on, let’s dance.” I took him by the hand and towed him back to Kathryn and Bobby.

“But, I am,” Egon said quietly.

Kathryn was not going to be pleased with me, because I was leaving. Unfortunately, neither was Egon. But I needed to tell Andy and the Kilodan what I had learned, and I had to do it quickly. What a relief. Now, the Psi Fighters could protect my family. The kidnapping would be ended permanently. And we could force Scallion to lead us to Nicolaitan.

I led Egon across the gym floor, stopping in front of Kathryn and Bobby. “Could you excuse us for just a sec? C’mon, Kathryn.” I yanked her away from Bobby and glanced back at Egon. “She has to potty.”

Egon had that expressionless expression, but he didn’t object, so I made a beeline for the bathroom. There was no more time for interruptions. I could worry about what he was thinking later.

“This had better be good,” Kathryn snipped. “Bobby and I were getting very, very friendly.”

“I noticed,” I said. “And don’t worry, it’s extremely good.” As we approached the girl’s bathroom, the door banged open and a cloud of smoke rolled out, followed by a swarm of people. Laughter echoed inside. I grunted, led Kathryn down the hall, whipped open the boiler room door, and shoved her through.

“Will you please tell me why you dragged me from a hot guy to a hot boiler room where, by the way, we will get detention if we’re caught?” Kathryn growled.

“I found something!” I proudly plucked Scallion’s Amplifier from my purse and brandished it over my head.

“I have a pen, Rinnie. If you wanted a pen, you should have asked. Tonight is the night for
having
romance, not writing about it.”

“Kathryn, if this is what I think it is, I found Scallion.”

“And what, I ask in an irritated tone,
is
it?”

“It’s an Amplifier.”

Kathryn stared blankly at me. “I thought you weren’t supposed to show them to anybody.”

“It’s not mine.”

“Well, whose is it?”

“Scallion’s. It all makes perfect sense now.”

Kathryn grabbed me by the shoulders. “I will give you two more seconds that rightfully belong to my Bobby. Now tell me…who…is…Scallion?”

“The head of the drug ring. Tammy Angel.”

“Oh. Unexpected.”

“Tell me about it.”