Souljacker (21 page)

She looks up as the door snicks shut behind
us. Her eyes meet mine for a moment, almost motherly, and then she
looks at Sync. “All systems seem to be functional and free of
viruses. I’m ready to perform the surgery.” Her words are teasing,
but her voice is soft. “This will be a huge change and there’s no
guarantee your system will be compatible. I just want you to know
the risks before we get too far. Are you sure you still want
this?”

Sync buzzes softly and I let her go. She
floats over to the shell, looking down almost lovingly at it. “I
want this more than anything else in the world.”

I fight back the burn of tears as I reach for
her. She comes willingly and I hug her in my arms. I say softly,
“Be brave, okay? Whatever happens, we’ll be waiting for you. I’ll
see you on the other side.”

“Thank you, Luce. This really means a lot to
me.”

Now the tears press harder and hotter behind
my eyelids. I nod and turn away and Iofiel reaches for my hand. I
squeeze his back and focus on relaxing. Everything will be fine.
I’d always promised Sync a sexy android body…and her dreams are
finally coming true. I should be happy, not on the verge of a
breakdown. Slag emotions, always getting in the damn way.

“This might take a little while,” Diesel
warns. “So why don’t you two go get something to eat and relax.
I’ll bring her around when I’m done.”

“Of course. Good luck, Sync,” Iofiel says,
flicking her in the antennae before leading me back out of the
room. The door shuts with a resound thunk and I stop and take a
steadying breath. “You okay?” He looks at me, his chocolate gaze so
full of warmth and love that I can’t help but reach out and hug
him. He wraps long arms around me and it doesn’t matter that one of
them isn’t human or that his cyborg eye is bared to the world.

“I’m good.”

“I saw a little diner on the square earlier.
Worth a try?”

I smile despite my dreary mood.
“Definitely.”

Despite the fact that Harlequinn’s Diner is
manned by a bunch of kids younger than me, the food smells amazing.
We both have the special—a couple thick slabs of ham, mashed
potatoes, and a gravy glaze.

A little girl with blonde pigtails takes our
order, a pixie grin on her face. “We never have tourists in
Polaris! This is so exciting!” she squeaks. “You wanna drink?”

“What do you have?” I can’t help but indulge
her.

She beams and pulls out a menu card with
scribbled handwriting on it. “Lemonade and fruit punch.” She
pauses, her lips turning into a thoughtful expression. “We make do
with what we get on supply runs, yanno!”

“Lemonade for me,” I say.

“I’ll have the same.” Iofiel smiles down at
her and she turns two shades of pink, nods, and bustles off.

I can’t help but laugh. “The ladies sure do
love you.” Our little waitress isn’t the first to take notice of
Iofiel’s wolfishly good looks. Though the older the girls are, the
warier they appear, staring openly at him and not bothering to hide
their whispers behind their hands. Obviously they’ve been taught
not to trust the enemy, but Iofiel doesn’t seem to be bothered by
this.

“Yeah, yeah. But you know there’s only one
lady for this heart.” He even does a cheesy wink.

I snort and he grins.

We eat our meal with quips back and forth
that have me grinning like a banshee and in a much higher spirit
than when we first sat down. When I’m done, I push my plate away
and Iofiel stacks his on top. Then we drink our lemonade as fast as
we can to see who wins. I do, of course.

“Leave our waitress a good tip,” I say with a
little grin as I see her peeking out from behind a counter. He nods
and lays down several bills on the table. We stand up and pay for
our meal. Before we can head out the door, the little girl is shyly
tugging on Iofiel’s shirt so we turn back around.

“You guys wanna play hide and seek later?”
Her blue eyes are hopeful and excited. “New players, yanno. All the
kids play, really. It’s fun!”

Iofiel and I glance to each other. Iofiel’s
looking at me with a strange expression on his face and it dawns on
me that as a cyberhound, he probably never really got to play much.
“Let’s do it, Io. It’ll be fun.” I turn to the girl, who rocks back
on her heels. “What time?”

“When the sun starts going down, we all
gather in the main plaza, by the old fountain. You can’t miss it.
Then we’ll play!”

As the sunset paints the sky in ruby red and
sherbet orange, kids come out of the woodwork, gathering around a
dilapidated old fountain with plenty of bird poop in the greenish
water. The older kids hang back, watching us with quiet curiosity,
but the younger ones bounce forwards.

A scuffle breaks out between two
twelve-year-olds and a sandy haired guy with smiling eyes breaks
them up without even touching them. One minute they’re punching
each other, the next it’s like there’s an invisible barrier between
them. They grumble and the older boy chuckles and says something
that has them both looking my way.

Caddie races up behind us and taps my
shoulder. “You guys are playing too?”

“We got a personal invitation,” Iofiel says,
pointing to the pigtailed girl.

“That’s Jolee. She’s a cutie for sure! If I
ever have kids, I hope they turn out like her.”

There’s a sickly honking sound and a tall
girl stands on the edge of the fountain, blowing a dented trumpet
at the top of her lungs. The kids settle down, but excitement
buzzes across them like a wave.

“Alright, everyone, we’ve got a few new
players tonight.” She points to where we stand and all heads turn
to us at once. I feel eyes staring holes into every inch of my skin
and I give a small wave. Caddie sticks out her tongue. Iofiel gives
a thumbs up. “So let’s welcome them to the game. Hands up!”

The littler kids throw their hands up and
start clapping, followed by the languid claps of their older peers.
Jolee bursts from the crowd and clambers up onto the fountain,
teetering for a moment. The older girl steadies her, but Jolee
doesn’t seem to notice.

“Okay, guys, I’m gonna count to a hundred.
You know the rules.”

“What’re the rules?” I hiss to Iofiel.

“Guess we’ll find out.”

“The seeker will count to a hundred. You have
the entire city of Polaris to find a spot to hide in, but there’s a
crapton of kids, so finding a spot’ll probably be hard,” Caddie
says and at my pointed stare, she adds, “Lake and Josh told me
about it. Trumpet blares for every kid found. Plus, if you get
spotted, you can run and it kind of turns into tag. If they tag
you, you’re the new seeker.”

“Great.” I look down at my poor battered
feet. More running. Joy of joys.

“Ready? Setttttt? GO!” Jolee squeals and it’s
utter chaos. The crowd fans out, kids bolting in every direction,
looking for a hiding spot. A girl shrills loudly, a sound of joy.
Iofiel throws me a startled glance and I laugh and break away from
him. My boots clop on the dirty pavement as I scour places big
enough for me to hide. But to a little kid, this place is probably
hide and seek paradise.

I skirt down an alley, hiding behind a mass
of propped up wood. I’m barely able to wedge myself in there before
I hear the trumpet again, signaling Jolee has started her seek. I
feel a rush of childlike excitement. A couple of boys dart past,
their sneakers untied. I hear Jolee’s shouts rise up.

Fallon jogs up and spies me. She brushes long
hair out of her eyes. “We both must suck at hiding, huh? Give you a
tip: If you keep switching hiding spots, it’ll take longer to be
found. It’ll give you a chance at winning. Last person found’s the
winner. Good luck, Lucy,” she says and skips away.

I take her advice to heart and head further
into the little town. If I see kids running, I head in that
direction, keeping my body low and my ears and eyes alert. I duck
from spot to spot and the trumpet keeps announcing found kids. Must
be getting close to the end of the game.

I jump as something scrabbles down the alley,
an animal or something, but it spurs me to keep moving. Only then I
hear something behind me—someone—and I bolt. At first I feel a
trickle of excitement at being chased. Except for the person is
tall and masculine and definitely not little Jolee.

And he’s not laughing.

My heart lodges in my throat as I run. My
lungs burn as my arms and legs pump back and forth. I eat up the
ground but he follows behind with the speed of a cheetah, his
footfalls nearly silent on the pavement.

I take a sharp left, panic climbing up my
spine to hold my throat hostage.
What if this isn’t a game
anymore? What if it’s Lylan? What if they’ve found us?
My fists
clench at my sides as the memory of the Wraith ambush rises to the
top of my memory. My power bubbles beneath the surface, ready and
willing, and I know what I have to do.

I slam on the brakes, spin on my heel, and
face my attacker with my fist drawn back.

I never get the chance to lob a power ball.
He’s on top of me, his weight crushing me to the ground and I open
my mouth to wail a warning to Iofiel when the guy begins to laugh.
I stare up at him…

And gape.

Holy freaking slag. Is this even
possible?

“MaXXX?”

“The one and only, babydoll.” He flashes his
trademark grin. He’s wearing beater jeans and a tight T-shirt that
shows off the lean muscles in his arms. His royal blue hair is
disheveled, but somehow amazingly perfect, and his eyes twinkle
with amusement. “Had you going, didn’t I?”

I blink up at him, confusion clouding my
earlier fear, making it muddy. Death is no longer immanent. “Aren’t
you supposed to be a rock star?”

“Sure thing, sweetie. Just part time.” He
winks and it somehow both annoys me and makes my heart flutter all
at once.

MaXXX Starfell is the lead singer of the pop
band, Elysium. I’ve seen them play so many times at Cosmo, back
when they were a no-name, label-less garage band. They’re big time
stuff now…but if he’s rich and famous and so damn beautiful, why is
he
here
of all places?

“Are you a freak too?” I blurt out.

His eyes flicker from bemusement to sharp,
keen interest. “Depends on who’s asking.”

Does it really matter? This is
MaXXX
here. I pause my babbling thought stream. Oh God, Sync will freak.
“Will you come back with me? My friend is your biggest fan.” I
leave out the part that she’s an android…or well, will be soon.

He waggles his eyebrows. “Anything for a
couple of hot chicks. Tag, by the way.”

I slap him despite his celebrity status.
“Jerk.” I push on his chest. “Get off me.”

MaXXX leaps nimbly to his feet, dusts off the
knees of his jeans, and offers a hand to me. Oh, so chivalry isn’t
dead among rock stars, eh? I plant my palm in his and he pulls me
up, kissing my knuckles. “Did I mention you were beautiful?”

I can’t help but smirk. “My boyfriend’ll have
your ass.”

He flashes another award-winning smile. “I’m
not afraid.”

“You should be.”

I take off, heading back towards the fountain
in the square, MaXXX at my heels. Turns out, he’s a pro at wooing
the ladies, hitting on me as we walk. “Really, what does your
boy-toy have that I don’t?” His voice oozes with sexuality and any
normal girl would fall right into his arms with a swooning
sigh.

I’ll admit, my knees are a little wobbly, but
I have Iofiel.

“Lucy?” I hear Iofiel’s voice and turn to
face it. My voice on his name is like being called home for dinner
by my mom, in my make-believe world where I have a little sister
named Ramona and a puppy who still pees on the floor. Wow, I
haven’t needed that fantasy in awhile.

Iofiel pulls up short as he sees MaXXX, a
question unspoken on his lips and in his eyes.

MaXXX, in turn, blinks and pales two shades
past his normal milk-and-honey complexion. He takes a wary step
back, those baby blue eyes wide. “Holy shit, babygirl, that’s a
cyberhound.” His voice is tinged with nerves.

I can’t help myself. I sidestep over to
Iofiel and wrap my hand in his cyborg one and beam up at the
startled rock star. “Yep. Meet my boyfriend, Iofiel. Io, this is
the one and only MaXXX Starfell, frontman of the band Elysium.”

Chapter 26:

Lucy

“Jeez, girl you nearly won the—holy crapola,
who is
that
?” Caddie’s voice is star struck. MaXXX tears his
gaze away from Iofiel’s face to look at Caddie, who’s shoving her
way between us with her jaw hanging wide open. He notices and
smirks. “MaXXX freaking Starfell?”

“The one and only, baby.” He waggles his
eyebrows and Caddie pretends to faint. Her knees buckle and she’s
going down, fast, but MaXXX is faster—he scoops her up in his arms
and she gazes up at him, dazzled. “I sometimes have that effect on
people.”

“I think I’m in love.”

I roll my eyes and catch Iofiel’s grin.
Hormones. Lake’s old news now that she’s met MaXXX.

Jolee shouts something and runs up behind us.
“Hey, you found her! Good job, Maxxie!”

I glance to the rock star, then look down at
Jolee. “You know him?” And again, why would someone like him be in
a place like this?

“Oh yeah, he’s one of us.” Jolee shoots me a
crooked-tooth smile. “You wanna tell us a story tonight?”

“Do I ever!” MaXXX is overly enthusiastic for
her benefit and it’s cute. He helps Caddie to her feet, makes sure
she’s steady, then bends down to scoop Jolee up in his arms. She
squeals as he tickles her, her little arms wrapped around his neck.
She’s secure and confident in his arms, like they’ve been close all
their lives. Hell, maybe they have. Maybe that whole rock star
façade is just a mask he wears…

Kids crowd around us, bored of playing hide
and seek. Most of them are chanting and clapping, their eyes
shiny.