Secrets of Yden (19 page)
Authors: S. G. Rogers
****
The headline in the morning paper read "Whiz Kid Routs Art Attack." The article started off harmlessly enough, but then careened into Jon's infamous past.
Teen prodigy Jon Hansen created a stir at the debut of his Tri-County Museum art exhibit Thursday night. In a scene straight from a Hollywood movie, Hansen fought off an attack by an intruder who stormed the preview. Before he fled, Hansen's assailant accused Hansen of murder. Museum officials are reviewing security camera tapes for clues as to how the intruder broke into the event and then eluded capture. No stranger to controversy, Hansen made headlines last year when his father was kidnapped under mysterious circumstances.
The article went on to discuss the exhibit itself in a glowing way. Accompanying the article was a picture of him posing with January and Mr. Emerson. Jon had no doubt worse stuff would show up on the TV news or on the Internet, but he had other things on his mind. He couldn't wait to get to school to have a little honest conversation with Kira.
He waylaid her at her locker before school. "We need to talk. You got the wrong idea about me and January last night."
"I don't know what you mean," Kira replied, lifting her chin. "And I'm not interested in your explanation."
"So you won't listen to me now? I'm not sure jealousy looks great on you, Princess. Maybe you're not the woman I thought you were."
She had the grace to look abashed.
"Kira, I'm guessing my relationship with January is similar to your relationship with Davy."
"Davy has never worn my lipstick."
"He never spent quality time inside an anomaly with you, either."
She gasped. "There was an anomaly last night?"
"Just before you came to the museum," Jon replied. "January
did
kiss me, but I told her I'm already totally hung up on somebody else."
"You told her that?"
He nodded. "No more games, okay? If you want to keep seeing Davy, tell me right now."
"He and I are good friends, and that's all it ever was, Jon."
"But the danceâ¦"
"I would rather have gone with you, but I asked him to take me when I discovered his illness. I tried to tell you, but you didn't want to listen."
It was his turn to be abashed. "You're right."
Their eyes locked.
"I want to spend time with you." Jon's heart hammered against his chest. "Dinner or the movies⦠or we could just talk. Can I see you tonight?"
"I'm sorry but we can't go out tonight. Brett and I have rented a movie to watch at home."
If he had a tail, it would have drooped. "Yeah, okay."
"But⦠she's going to invite Max, and you may come too. I'd like that very much.
"
Jon's imaginary tail began to wag. "It's a date."
Her lips curved into a smile. "Yes, it's a date."
If the bell hadn't rung, he would have run around in circles and done a back flip.
****
Jon pulled Davy aside before lunch. "Sorry about last night. Kira's immigration status isn't exactly⦠settled. She can't be talking with reporters."
"I figured it was something like that. But then I saw the news report about the assault on you. I thought maybe you were worried he would come back."
"Yeah, you never know. It was totally freaky. You get a little publicity and the loons start crawling out of the woodwork, looking for trouble."
Bailey wasn't just any loon, of course, and Jon was pretty certain he wouldn't be satisfied with one sucker punch, particularly not when Jon had put him down. If Bailey had counted on the murder accusation to be some kind of bombshell, he was going to be disappointed. When he realized the murder charge was a big nothing-burger, he'd be even angrier.
What concerned Jon more than anything was the sheer recklessness the former Fox Clan apprentice had shown in transporting so publicly. According to the newspaper article that morning, the police were reviewing tapes from the museum's security cameras. What if Bailey's transport had been caught on tape? And if
all
the tapes were reviewed, Jon was certain there would be an odd jump for him and January, too. Although he'd tried to hit the mark, he hadn't been sure exactly where he was when the time anomaly began.
The security tapes would definitely show some discrepancy, which might be written off as an issue with the equipment â this time. But what if Bailey got even bolder? What if he even got arrested? He'd likely transport out of custody and
that
would be a little harder to explain.
Bailey of the Shark Clan had to be stopped.
****
At lunch, Fred, Casey, and Jon brought their lunch trays out on the patio for privacy.
"I heard you had some unwanted excitement at the preview last night," Casey said.
"Yeah, I watched footage of the fight on the TV news," Fred said. "I wish I'd seen it in person."
"There was more excitement than you know," Jon said. "After the fight with Bailey, there was an anomaly. It was exactly the length you predicted, Casey. Unfortunately, January saw it and I had to tell her everything."
Casey winced. "Sometimes it stinks, being right." He pulled out his notebook to graph the new data point.
"I recognized that guy Bailey from the battle at the Fox Clan stronghold," Fred said. "Doesn't he know Guinn Tanner is alive?"
"He will after today," Jon replied. "Brett told me the authorities were waiting to interview Guinn when his ship docked at Civitavecchia this morning."
"Is that in Northern California?" Fred asked, bewildered.
"It's a port city near Rome, Italy," Casey explained.
"Bailey's Uncle Homa may have some influence on him. The guy's got to lay off gunning for me in public. My first priority, however, is to find the missing part of the scroll," Jon said.
Casey closed his notebook. "We're on countdown until the next event window in nineteen days."
"You going to Dragon Isle tonight?" Fred asked.
"Can't." Jon chuckled. "I have a date."
Fred and Casey exchanged a knowing glance. "You've been seeing a lot of January lately," Casey said.
"She's turned out to be a lot cooler than I thought, but I'm not seeing her tonight."
"Well, if you're not going out with her, then who?" Fred asked.
Jon's grin spread wider.
"No
way
," Casey exclaimed.
"Way," Jon replied.
"Who?" Fred asked.
"You two are going to kill each other within five minutes," Casey said, shaking his head.
"Then I'll die happy," Jon replied.
"Who?" Fred asked, more insistently.
"Kira," Casey and Jon said together.
"No
way
," Fred said.
Jon groaned. "Let's not start that again."
Following Breadcrumbs
On his way home from school, Jon picked up three long-stemmed purple roses at the florist for Kira. Because he was in a good mood, he bought a red rose for Brett, too. After he took a shower and shaved, he changed his shirt several times before he was satisfied. It was nearly dark when he drove up the hill to Brett's house. It wasn't as if he hadn't been to her house before, but this time it felt different because Kira had invited him to a semi-private evening. As he rang the doorbell, he heard someone coming on the other side. He quickly checked his breath. Minty fresh.
To Jon's complete shock, Fred opened the door. His eyes lit up when he saw the flowers. "Are those for me?" he asked in a falsetto voice. "I just love roses."
Jon's jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?"
Fred winced. "Er, yeah, sorry. I'm afraid there was a change of plans."
Over Fred's shoulder, Jon noticed several people in the living room, talking and laughing. Kira came to the door and pushed Fred aside.
"Come in, Jon. Join the party."
Party?
He felt like an utter fool. Obviously, since the house was full of people, he'd misinterpreted Kira's invitation somehow. He stepped inside the house, wondering how on Earth he could have been so stupid. Her eyes fell to the blooms clutched in his fist.
"You brought flowers?"
"Er, yeah. I just thought it'd be nice." He thrust the purple roses at her, wishing he'd ditched them in the bushes outside.
"How beautiful! Thank you." She gave him a hug and then kissed him on the cheek. "I must find a vase."
Slightly mollified at the hug and kiss, Jon wandered into the kitchen, where Ronny was supervising a batch of cheese-covered potato skins and Max was making guacamole dip with an apron tied around his waist.
"Hey, Max. I almost didn't recognize you with your shirt on," Jon said.
"Funny."
Brett was hovering at the kitchen island, preparing to pour bags of snacks into serving containers. "Hello! We thought you were the pizza guy. Why don't you take over for me here? I've got to find some paper plates."
Jon gave her the red rose. "Thanks for having me over."
"Oh, how sweet!" She kissed Jon on the cheek and darted off into the walk-in pantry, rose in hand.
Max shot Jon a dirty look as he mashed an avocado. "You brought Brett a rose? I should kick your behind. Why are you always showing me up?"
Jon chuckled. "Force of habit, I guess."
He poured yogurt-covered pretzels and candy-coated chocolate pieces into bowls while apprentices partied in the living room. Finn caught his eye and waved in greeting. "Hi, Jon! This is my first time on Yrth!"
"I hope you like it.
"
Casey was there, too, chasing Mo around the dining room with an aerosol can of whipped cream.
Why didn't Casey warn me he was crashing my date?
A big chorus of female "oohs" arose when Kira set out the purple roses. A few moments later, she joined Jon in the kitchen.
"I love the flowers," she said. "I've never seen purple roses before. Did you color them with magic?"
"No, they grow that way." He picked up the pretzels and candies. "Where would you like these?" He tried to keep his tone friendly, but the strain in his voice was audible.
"Follow me."
She led the way to the living room and pointed to the coffee table, where several huge baskets of tortilla chips had already been set out. Jon put the bowls down just as the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of delivery guys loaded down with eight boxes of extra-large pizzas. Although Jon moved to help, Fred, Ian, and Finn beat him to it.
Casey gave Jon an apologetic look. "Sorry to bust in on you, but this party was a last-minute thing."
"Who doesn't love a party, right?" he muttered.
While everyone was descending on the pizza, Kira took Jon's hand and pulled him out onto the balcony.
"I'm so sorry," she murmured. "It wasn't supposed to be like this tonight. When Brett transported to Dragon Isle to find Max, people began to invite themselves over. Ronny called Fred and Mo contacted Casey and as you can see it's no longer an intimate evening."
The weight on Jon's heart lessened.
At least I didn't completely get my signals crossed.
"I'm disappointed," he admitted. "But maybe we can do it some other time."
She slid her arms around his waist. "Definitely."
His arms tightened around her. "You know, Casey doesn't think we can go more than a few minutes together without trying to kill each other."
As she rested her head against his chest, she whispered, "Let's prove him wrong."
****
After the movie was over, everyone lingered to talk, and it grew so late Kira fell asleep on the sofa. The remaining apprentices transported back to Yden and Casey, Fred, and Jon helped Brett clean up. The house in order, they headed for the door.
As he left, Jon cast a longing look back at Kira. He wanted to say good night to her but she was curled up on the sofa, fast asleep. He'd had fun, but it certainly hadn't been the evening he'd envisioned.
At least I can look forward to seeing her again â assuming there is a future.
Jon spent the night at home and transported to Dragon Isle early the next morning, hoping to catch his grandfather before anyone else was awake. Quixoran was gardening when Jon arrived, using magic to shape a few mobile topiary bushes into flying squirrels. The Dragon Clan wizard glanced up as his grandson approached, and the squirrel bush he'd been shaping squirmed out from under his hands and flew off in search of a nut tree.
"Oops. Good morning." Jon cleared his throat. "I want to apologize to you about last Sunday."
"From what your father told me, I wasn't sure I would be seeing you today."
"For a little while there, I wasn't sure either."
"And now?"
"I have a job to do. I hope you'll let me stick around long enough to see it through."
Quixoran nodded his leonine head. "We all get knocked flat from time to time, but not everyone has what it takes to get up again. I'm proud of you."
Moisture found its way into the corners of Jon's eyes. He'd been prepared for a rebuke, not praise.
I'm so lucky to be Quixoran's grandson.
"I won't let you down."
"I have no doubt in my mind you'll always do the right thing⦠even though your path is sometimes circuitous."
Jon chuckled. "Yes, sir. Um⦠there's something else you should knowâ"
Quixoran held up his hand. "Tell me about it after breakfast. I don't enjoy hearing bad news on an empty stomach."