Speed of Light (42 page)

I paused, unable to trust my eyes. “Are you real? Fara, can you see him too?”

“I can see him.” Fara shifted as if uncertain.

“I’m real.” He hesitated. “I’ve thought about this for months. I’m not sure what to say. May I hug you?” His voice cracked.

I felt bound and stiff.
My dad is here. He’s right here
.
A foot taller than me, muscular as if he used his body for manual labor. The tan of his face told me he spent a lot of time outdoors. His wheat-colored hair curled around his neck and ears, falling across one brow.

“Mini likes him.” Tony wobbled, breaking the silence. “You took out the Nocti, didn’t you?”

“I tracked them. I couldn’t risk moving earlier; I needed to know what they had planned.” He nodded. “I’m Argy.”

My dad
. “Tony. I knew Roshana when she was pregnant.” The sadness in Tony’s voice cut me.

My father’s eye filled with tears. “Someday maybe you’ll tell me about that time, please?”

“Of course.” Tony looked at me with love in his eyes. “Thank you for coming. Juliet needs you.”

I blinked, breaking eye contact with Tony, and turned to my father. “You were watching me,” I said, finding my voice. All these weeks glancing outside and seeing a shadow across the street. It was him. Maybe his eyes were the only ones I felt? Maybe the statues were art and not evil.

“Yes.” He nodded. “You’re her Protector?” he asked Fara.

“I am Fara Vishi.” Fara shook his hand.

“I’ve seen your work. You would make your trainer proud.” His grin flashed white teeth and a dimple in his chin.

“My father, my baba.” Fara’s voice hinted at a smile.

Around us the light of the day glowed; the first day
dwellers chirped and sang each other into motion.
Speak up. Ask questions. He’s here
.

“There’s so much to say—I know you’ll have questions. I didn’t know you existed, Juliet. Not until months ago when DG was on the news. I thought my Ana died in the crash. I would have come for you sooner, I swear it.” His voice roughened with emotion; he fell to his knees. “I never would have let them touch her, or you, never again.”

It was as if I’d been released from a spell. I tripped over my feet, over sticks and rocks, sliding into his embrace.

E
veryone wore sunglasses.
So much for knowing who around here is Nocti
. All my little hairs and spine shivers started the moment we arrived—my body was a vibration of Nocti alerts.
Not helpful
. The first laps went by without incident and I began to feel the rhythm of the race.
Straights are speed and turns technique
.

The sun tightened the skin across my nose and at the back of my neck. I didn’t need to pee no matter how much I drank, which meant I was sweating it out quicker than I consumed. The temperature hit ninety-two degrees in the shade.

Is that Sergio?
“Tens, that group of volunteers—is that
Sergio?”
What are they doing? Moving crates? Unpacking what? Drinks? Food?

Tens glanced down at me. “What?” he yelled over the cacophony of noise.

“Sergio!” I mouthed.

When he still didn’t understand me and started to take out his earbuds, I grabbed his hand and pulled him.

I hate being so short!
As the crowd around us undulated and shifted, I couldn’t see Sergio’s group anymore but kept my eyes peeled for volunteer vests.

A gasp waved over the spectators followed by moans that made us stop and look up at the JumboTrons.

“Ouch!” I said, watching the replay of a car hitting the outside wall. Debris flew in all directions and two cars barely missed smacking the wounded car as it slid down the track toward the infield.

Immediately, the green flag changed to yellow and all the cars slowed down. Emergency personnel sped onto the track in red trucks with flashing lights. The crowd held its breath until the driver got out safely and waved to the crowd.

“They’re saying he’s a rookie driver,” Tens said loudly against my ear. “Where are we going? I thought we needed to get to the lake.”

“I think I saw Sergio unloading crates over there.”

Tens’s face closed and fearsome he said, “He did say he volunteered here. Maybe we can convince him to talk? Tell us what’s going on? Where is he?”

I knew Tens wouldn’t pour Sergio tea and have a delicate conversation, but any clues, however we got them, might help. “I lost him.” I shook my head. “Maybe it wasn’t him. They were still doing something odd, though.”

“Here, jump up.” Tens leaned down and hoisted me onto his shoulders, my thighs around his head. All of a sudden, not only was I taller than everyone, I could see exactly why threading through this crowd was so difficult—the sheer numbers of people standing shoulder to shoulder and lounging on roofs of cars and in truck beds. I was overwhelmed.

“See anything?” Tens said as he began walking in the direction I pointed.

No, no, Sergio. No Nocti. Only broken crates? Wood planks ripped apart in haste or carelessness
.

As I opened my mouth, I heard screaming. Horrified. Terrified. Screams.

Footsteps like a herd of wildebeests pounded.

Thundering, panicked running
.

Then, all I saw was a tsunami of humanity, wild-eyed and frightened.
Coming toward us
.

“Put me down. Put me down!” No way could Tens run with me perched up here. I scrambled lower, thinking I’d run next to him, but he had different plans.

“Piggyback, now!” Tens held on to my thighs and I wrapped my arms around his.

It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t the cute piggyback rides of little kids, but it kept us from being separated. He
didn’t know which way to go, as the mob kept scattering and changing directions.

“Snakes!” someone screamed.

I heard an ominous rattle as Tens leapt onto the hood of a car and I saw a pile of snakes untangling below us. They put live, poisonous snakes in the Snake Pit. Only Nocti would think that made it a party.

I
never wanted to let go. I felt safe.
My daddy
.

“You need to get them to the track,” Tony interrupted our reunion.

“But … Mom’s remains are here,” I said, pulling away from my dad’s strong arms.

“She’s not, though.” Argy held on to my arms. “She’s not here. You have to let her move on.”

I nodded.
Can I? I just found her
.

“Meridian is counting on you,” Tony said weakly. “Can you take them?” he asked Argy.

“I can.”

“Before you go … They said Juliet was bait for you?” Tony pressed.

“After the accident, I studied them and became a hunter.” Argy’s expression dimmed.

“Of Nocti?” Tony asked, surprised.

“Yes. I can sense them, see the darkness around them before they know who I am. I shine Creator’s light upon them. They fear me now, even more than they did then.”

“So, you can help Juliet and Fara? Make sure they’re safe?”

“Yes, you have my word. But you come too.” Argy tried to help Tony to his feet.

“I’ve lost too much blood. I will wait here for the police.”

“I can carry you.” Argy bent as if to try.

“No, I’ll keep Roshana company so Juliet can focus on defeating the Nocti with you.”

“Tony, come with us.” Fara shook her head. “Roshana isn’t going anywhere.”

Pointing at the girl who lay on the ground, unmoving, Tony said, “We don’t know that those two didn’t have friends out here somewhere.”

“All the more reason for you to stay with us.” Fara almost stomped her feet.

Argy reached into one of his cargo pockets and withdrew a palm-sized screen. “I brought two.” He handed one to me and pressed a sequence of buttons. “Use this
to get out, then call for help. Give them the coordinates. They’ll know exactly where to come find us.”

“You’re not coming?” I asked.
What are you saying?

“You’ll worry less if I stay with your mother and Tony. Just in case.” His eyes overflowed with warmth and understanding.

I realized he was right. “You’re right, but if you can defeat the Nocti, we need you with us.”

Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at the tree trunk. The glow disappeared.

I gasped. “You made them glow? It’s not because they’re Fenestra?”

“Bones are bones, Juliet. I asked for Light’s help to recognize those we sought. Especially after I realized you and your friends were searching for souls touched by the Nocti.” He knelt by Tony and they clasped hands. “If I leave you here to wait, you will take care of my girl?” Argy asked, his voice rough and cracking.

“With my life. I failed her once; I will not fail her again,” Tony answered with a conviction I’d never heard before.

Is this how he sounded in the middle of a war? How he prayed with men who no longer knew what they fought for?

Fara took the GPS unit from me. “We have to go.” She tugged my braid.

I know
. I hugged Tony carefully around his wound. “I’m sorry. I love you. I do.” I let the tears I’d been holding back fall.

“Oh, Juliet.” Tony cradled my face in one hand. “Go make all of your family proud of you. Kick some Nocti ass.”

I choked on a laugh that dried my tears instantly.
Tony doesn’t swear. Doesn’t show a temper
. I nodded, slipping my hand into my father’s.

“Call on the Creators to guard Tony and your mom,” Argy instructed me before we turned to go. “Remember no creature is inherently evil, just given hard choices to survive. It’s part of your gift.”

I glanced at Fara, who smiled. “You can do it.”

Life energy around us, will you please come? Watch over my mother? Tony?
I didn’t know what else to say.

I closed my eyes and even though I felt insanely silly, I called out silently to the woods around us for help.

The bushes rattled. Branches of the trees rustled. I opened my eyes to see birds flying in and settling in a circle around us. On the ground, they came too.

“Custos will keep watch, right, girl?” Tony said as the wolf sidled up to him and sat down.

Mini, too, rubbed her head on Custos’s chest and forelegs. She meowed when Custos barked. Coyotes took up the howl. Raccoons hissed and chattered. Possum climbed the tree.

“That’s very Disney,” Tony remarked.

“Where do you think they got their best ideas?” Argy smiled. “That’s my girl.”

“I
t’s snakes!” I saw a thick, black-scaled body slither under the bed of a pickup truck, trying to get away from the stamping feet and hot sun. Near every crate, every box, a pile of multihued snakes uncoiled and slithered, scared as much as the people around them.

I heard the announcer vaguely in the background but couldn’t understand his words. All around us, snakes coiled and struck defensively. People fell either from bites or from being trampled by others. Wounds wept, leaving blood streaks down bare legs.
Who knows what the Nocti did to rile them before releasing?

The Snake Pit was party central for the duration of the race. It came to life in the most macabre way.

“We have to find the well,” I yelled.
We’re running out of time
.

Tens started for the fencing that separated us from the hot-air balloons around the lake.

Around us, chaos waved as people ran mindlessly. A girl not much older than me was carried by with a bleeding bite wound on her leg. A child lay motionless near a car. Tens kept us moving, but I found myself at the window with the first casualties of the day.

A
rgy drove toward Speedway and the track as if the Nocti chased us.

“We did the right thing leaving them there?” I asked again.

“Don’t second-guess yourself,” Fara admonished.

All I ever do is second-guess myself
.

I didn’t have to look in the mirror to see the mess we presented; I could smell us too. “Do I look as bad as you two do?”

“Like bathing is overrated? Yes, you do,” Argy answered.

We have the same sense of humor
.

“Oh, good.” We used wet wipes to get the worst of the dirt and grime off.

We made it to the track as the race started. Argy—Dad—bought a ticket from a scalper as we picked up ours at will call.
Thank God, Fara knows about the world. I would have wandered around the outside fence
.

I saw a Woodsman in a yellow shirt and black pants, his insignia tattooed on his forearm. “Where’s the finish line?” I asked him.

“Head two entrances over and use those stairs. Careful, girls.” He frowned as if he wanted to say more, but a family who was lost demanded his attention.

The scents of fried food, roasted turkey legs, and egg rolls coaxed me from the edge of exhaustion. Fara tugged me to a stop. “You need to eat. What do you want?”

There were so many recipes floating at the back of my throat I was sure I would cook for a month when this was over.
One way or another
.

Sleek military jets swept across the sky above us with a roar, and helium-filled balloons in red, white, and blue rose behind them.

“They told us to be at the pole for the duration of the race. Just in case. We have to go.” I yanked on Fara’s hand.

“Juliet, they know where our seats are. I’m sure if they need us, they’ll find us.” Dad hugged my shoulders, double-teaming me with Fara.

Fara stood her ground. “You have to eat. You can chew and walk at the same time, can’t you?” She bought us fifty bucks’ worth of grease and starch.

I smiled. “I don’t know. It’s been a long day.”
Week. Month. Life
. I swallowed without tasting much of it.

Any normal day, the sheer volume of people and the throbbing energy of the track would have overwhelmed me to paralysis. But I kept moving.
Where is Meridian? Tens? Are they making progress?

“Girls? I see a group of Nocti.” Dad slowed us down.

“Where?” Fara asked, reaching for her chains.

“Eh, stop!” Argy hissed. “Selling T-shirts. Go on, find your seats. I’ll catch up with you. I need to take out as many as I can. Remember”—he paused and looked at me—“you can shine light through them, Anyone can, You just have to believe.”