Spiral (Spiral Series) (33 page)

“So, the Visioners came after me because I healed Andrew?” Pierce’s initial insistence that I shouldn’t do it had seemed insane, but now it was starting to make sense.

“Exactly,” said Jackson, sounding desperate. “Well, they were testing you. If you healed him you would use enough hele that they would easily find you.”

“I couldn’t help that he was injured.” My voice broke at the thought of Andrew lying there unconscious, and Olivia’s white face.

I heard two quick footsteps behind me and felt Jackson wrap his hand around my arm. His fingers felt warm. Well, I told myself, he had been doing Watchful stuff. Or whatever.

“They hurt him,” he hissed, staring into my eyes as if he were willing me to understand. “They were baiting you and you took it. Pierce’s attempt to talk you out of healing Andrew was the first decent thing he had ever done, and he did it because he is so hung up on you he didn’t have a choice. Normally, unicorns are all about the healing.”

I was breathless with rage. The only thing I had heard was that the Visioners had intentionally hurt my family. Pierce’s attempt to stop me was a detail, and the idea that he was in love with me was just nonsense. So I just kept walking, refusing to look at Jackson but not to keep pressing him for more information.

“So, these Visioners. What do they want with me?”

“They want what everyone wants,” said Jackson tiredly. “They want power. They want your ability to heal. There hasn’t been a full-blooded Spiral around in ages. The possibilities are endless.”

“So, I am a pawn in some game, or maybe a science experiment?”

“Both.”

“Super. Get away from me.” I walked faster. I couldn’t outrun him, but it would get the point across.

Jackson hurried to keep up with me. “You know I can’t leave you alone.”

“Sure you can. The fact that you won’t is going to be dealt with soon.”

“Nat, it’s not safe for you out there,” Jackson begged. “You have to be protected.”

“Explain,” I said, crossing my arms again. I found that it helped to get my point across. Jill, who was intimidating even when she slept, didn’t need such gimmicks, but when you’re a white-haired eighteen-year-old you need all the help you can get.

“Alright, of course,” he said. “But now?”

When I just glared at him he muttered something about stubborn females and started to talk. Some of it I already knew from what Pierce had said, but I needed to get the gaps filled in any way I could.

“You’re a Spiral unicorn. The only known one. Spirals, as I believe you’ve been told, are very powerful unicorns. Your horns contain gifts of healing that are unmatched by those of any of the other unicorns. Spirals are their own tribe, but there are no other Spirals left to protect you. Usually your tribe protects you, but you don’t have one. Instead, Pierce’s tribe, the Silves, has looked after you. That’s because Pierce’s mother and your mother were best friends. As I’m sure he told you, you’ve known him your whole life.”

My breath caught, and I could tell that the shock showed on my face. Pierce hadn’t told me that, but now I knew why every time I saw him I felt like I had known him my whole life.

It was because I had.

I waved my hand for Jackson to continue. He gave me a look that suggested I had grown a second head, as if he had any right to judge at this point, but he kept going with the story.

“So, they protected you. Instead of keeping you with them, though, they sent you into hiding because they thought that would be safer. The Visioners wanted to know where you were, but through some secret deal they agreed not to look for you until you were out of high school. Unfortunately, you were turning eighteen before that happened.”

“Which is bad, because I got more powers when I turned eighteen?”

I felt like my head was spinning. For weeks, maybe even years, I had felt like I was crazy. Now, instead of knowing I was crazy, I knew all this other stuff that was so hard for me to believe it gave me whiplash.

When Jackson didn’t say anything, I waved my hand for to insist that he continue. He made a face and did so.

“You’ve been in hiding ever since. I was sent to protect you. They thought that if you had someone about your own age it wouldn’t look so weird if we were together. I’m actually a little older, because they couldn’t send someone totally untrained, but not so much older that it was obvious.”

“Right. I said. Buy a friend in Blueberry for two hundred dollars. Everyone hated me but you, right? And it went on for years until Maxie and Jill came along. It’s nice to know that even you wouldn’t have gone near me with a ten feet pole if it hadn’t been your job.” Despite my best efforts, tears started to roll down my cheeks. I swiped at them furiously.

Jackson, his face full of pain, moved to take a step towards me, but he stopped when he saw the look on my face.

“Never again,” I murmured. “I will never forgive you for this as long as I live.” I still had a million questions, but I was too tired to pursue them now. And I didn’t want to ask Jackson, I wanted someone else to give me the answers - if he was still alive. A dull ache filled my chest at the thought that he might not be, but I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. He was fine. I would see him soon. I might even head over to his place that night. I knew where it was, after all, and I needed to know he was okay.

Jackson stood in front of me, uncertain. I knew he wouldn’t leave unless I told him to.

“You have to be protected,” he said again, lifting his hands helplessly. “You can’t get hurt.”

“What I have to be is left alone,” I hissed. “You’ve done enough. You’ve lied enough for a lifetime. Now get going.” Pain slashed at my chest at my friend’s betrayal. “You knew all this time what I was and you let me think I was crazy. Jackson, I TOLD you everything. I told you about my dreams, my . . .” My breath hitched, but I forced myself to go on. He had to understand. “I told you I could heal and you just sat there and nodded when the whole time you KNEW I wasn’t crazy, because you knew what I was. How could you?” I felt tears prick at the sides of my eyes and turned away.

We had reached the end of my driveway, and I had decided that if he tried to follow me into my house I was just going to walk inside and slam the door.

But Jackson didn’t argue, he just stood there.

Good, I thought. My mind was on my horse blood and the black-haired guy I had left alone in the park. I couldn’t believe that I had done that to Pierce, who was the one person who had been there for me through this whole mess. Now I knew that his attempt to convince me not to heal Andrew hadn’t grown out of some sort of misplaced malice, but from his desire to keep me safe. I couldn’t fault him for that.

Of course, I had no way to know what else he had done wrong. Jackson was convinced he was a bad guy, but somehow I couldn’t see it. Whenever I saw him, all I felt was safe.

Without a backwards glance I stormed into the house. I had a lot to think about.

The Visioners were overwhelming. Despite my years of training, there were just too many of them. If Jar had been there we might have been able to take them, but he wasn’t. My best friend was still enjoying the comfort of home and the hoards of girls who worshiped him there. Besides, Gretchen would probably have tried to have him disowned, again, if he had come with me.

I was on my own. At first, my walls of healing, which looked like white sheets stretched in front of me when they were at full stretch, held out well. But there were just too many Visioners to handle, and eventually my walls weakened.

The hissing sound just outside the walls grew louder and I was forced to my knees. I desperately wanted to cover my ears, but I was busy keeping the hele going as waves of electricity roped over me, thrown by the Visioners. I wanted to cry out, but it was becoming harder and harder to think or to move. I tried to take deep breaths, but the air couldn’t work its way into my lungs.

The Visioners were using electrical currents to pound at my defenses, and I wasn’t going to be able to keep their power at bay forever. I needed a better solution, but I couldn’t attack and defend against this many Visioners at the same time. My body was starting to crumple in on itself from using too much power.

“Pierce!” came a distant but familiar voice. “Where are you?”

Never in my life had I been so happy to hear Eric call my name.

“Over here,” I croaked. I wasn’t sure if I had said it loud enough for him to hear, but the next instant he was there.

My defenses collapsed as he stood over me, putting up his own Watchful defenses. Behind him I could see at least twelve Visioners ringing us.

“Boy, when you do a thing you sure do it all the way,” he muttered, hauling me to my feet.

“Yeah, well, I like to make a show,” I said back, trying to grin. My body ached and my legs didn’t want to support me. Keeping twelve Visioners at bay had taken its toll.

He chuckled. “Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

With a start I realized that he hadn’t come alone. Several other Silves, none of whom I knew well, were with him. They had engaged the Visioners while he came to help me. Now there were only three Visioners still paying attention to Eric and me. The others were occupied with the Silves.

“I’ll deal with this,” said Eric. Pulling out three of his vials, he hurled them so fast and so hard that the three Visioners didn’t even have a chance to move.

With a sickening hiss the substances burst on the Visioners’ skin. I saw red splotches through the fabric that hid their identity, then I heard screams.

“Let’s go,” said Eric, pointing across the park. I saw his truck there and I made a run for it. At first my legs didn’t want to move, but I soon had them working well enough so that with Eric at my back we made it to the truck safely.

The other three Silves were still fighting the Visioners, but they were winning.

“What were they doing so close by?” I asked. “Where are the Dekers?”

“Shockingly enough,” Eric drawled, “the Dekers were fine with the Silves fighting the Visioners. They thought it was better for us to die at the hands of the enemy than for them to risk their own fighters.”

The Dekers were cold and calculating. It was what I had always respected about them.

“And why are the other Silves here?” Before it was even out of my mouth I knew the answer. They were here to get me. I had broken unicorn rules by telling Nat what she was, and they had come to take me in to face the Elders.

Panic gripped my heart. This was no time to leave Natalie. I turned to stare at Eric, but he must have been expecting my argument, because I didn’t even see his fist swing towards my face until it connected with my temple.

If a human had hit me my head would have healed itself automatically, but Eric wasn’t human, and he had put enough power behind his punch to knock me out instantly. The last thing I saw before blackness descended were the other three Silves racing towards the truck.

I woke up at Locke. I wasn’t surprised to find myself in the bedroom I shared with Jar, only this time I was alone. It must have been early evening, because the light had almost entirely faded.

Without waiting to wake up fully, I sprang out of bed. I had to find out what had happened to Natalie, so the sooner we got the Elders yelling at me over with, the better.

I pulled open the door and was surprised to be confronted by Gretchen.

“Do you have to be everywhere?” I muttered as she stood up, blocking my path.

Her eyes were cold as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “Someone had to keep an eye on you. I volunteered.” She said it almost as if she had done me a favor.