The Rift (19 page)

I stood and faced her. “What did you mean
when you said I ruined Jed’s life?”

She shook her head and spit some dirt on the
ground. “I shouldn’t have said that. He’s a big boy, and he makes
his own choices.”

“Please.” I was too tired to say any more.
Too tired to fight any more.

She glared and nodded. “If you ever tell him
you heard this from me, I’ll rip your throat out and leave you for
the crows.”

“Fair enough.” I wasn’t intimidated. I
suspected she liked me more than she had at the start of the
fight.

She leaned against a tree. “He was going to
get out. Yvonne had agreed to let him go, and he had a safe house
somewhere he could get away from Varius and his mother and all of
the bullshit.” She shook her head and closed her eyes. “He only had
three months left, then he met you. He stopped talking about
getting out and started talking about you. How he needed to help
you and make right what his brother had done. His three months went
by and Yvonne told him he had to sign on for another five years if
he didn’t walk away right then. He stayed.” She looked over at me,
her eyes two amber flames in the dimming light. “He stayed because
he needed to make sure you were all right, that Yvonne didn’t try
to take advantage of you or endanger you in some way. I told him he
was being an idiot and you could handle it on your own, but he
wouldn’t listen.”

“I had no idea,” I said, tears choking me. My
legs felt like jello from the fighting and the horse-riding, and
Tessa’s news sapped the last of my strength. I dropped to my knees
on the dirt and tried to take in what she’d told me. I knew how bad
he wanted to leave the violence and the killing behind, how much he
hated his job. He’d had a way out and he’d traded it to look out
for me? “I don’t understand. Why?”

Tessa sat down in the dirt next to me. “I’ll
be fucked if I know. I thought maybe he was screwing you or you’d
begged him to stay, but I came here and you two barely even speak
to each other. You really didn’t know?”

“No, if I had…” I swallowed a sob. “I would
have done everything I could to make him leave.” I looked at her,
feeling sick with self-loathing and fear. If I’d been stronger, if
I’d never signed that contract, if I’d gone to Harvest One, he
could be free. “I don’t even think he likes me very much,” I said.
“The only reason I can imagine he’d stay is because he felt guilty
about what Caleb had done, but he’d already made up for that and he
never had to in the first place. He had no idea what Caleb was
doing.”

She shrugged. “I guess he didn’t feel the
same way.”

“We have to—”

“Hey, ladies, I hate to interrupt, but
dinner’s on the table and we’re all waiting for you,” Thad said. “I
was expecting to find a dead body out here.”

When neither of us laughed, Thad started to
walk closer, but Tessa held up a hand to stop him. “Tell the others
to start without us, we’ll need a shower anyway.”

Thad didn’t even make the obvious comment
about joining us for a shower, he just turned and walked away. As
his steps receded, the tears started down my face, and I couldn’t
stop them.

“I’m sorry, Kelsey,” she said. “I misjudged
you. I don’t know why Jed stayed, but he’s there now, for another
five years. Yvonne will kill him before she lets him out of that
contract.”

“She’s his mother.”

Tessa snorted. “She’s his boss, first, and
she thinks he belongs to her. She’s never forgiven him for wanting
to leave Varius. If she could make or find another telekinetic as
strong as him, she’d kill him in a heartbeat.”

I had issues with my mother, sure, but she’d
never laid a hand on me, much less considered killing me. “How do
you know all of this?”

“Jed and I, we’ve been friends for a long
time. I’m not part of Varius, so he feels like he can talk to
me.”

A sharp sting of jealousy pierced my chest,
and I hated myself for it. Jed, more than anyone I knew, deserved
to be happy and to be loved, and Tessa seemed like a good person.
If Jed could talk to her about such personal things, I couldn’t be
anything but happy she was in his life. “We should go back,” I
said, pushing myself to my feet, wanting to be away from Tessa and
what she’d just told me.

She stood with me and gripped my arm.
“Please, don’t say anything to Jed. He doesn’t trust easily and if
he knew I told you…”

“I won’t say anything. Thank you for telling
me. I’m not sure why you did, but thank you.”

I started to move away, but she gripped my
arm harder. “I told you because I want you to forgive him or show
him you don’t need him. Whatever it takes to make sure that when he
gets the chance again, he’ll go.”

I thought of what Wraith had told me about my
own contract with Yvonne. If I took him up on his offer, Jed would
have no reason to stay at Varius. Maybe he could make a new deal
with his mother or get her to shorten his contractual obligation.
At least if he stayed I’d be certain it wasn’t for me. “I’ll do
everything I can,” I said. Jed deserved to be free and happy. He’d
done so much for me and I owed it to him to do whatever I could for
him.

I was hobbling back to the house, trying to
see the ground and not trip on a tree root or a rock, my mind on
Jed, when Tessa grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to the ground.
“There’s someone watching the house,” she whispered.

I looked out into the night, but I couldn’t
see much.

“I smell two, but there could be more,” she
said. We sat like that for several long minutes, before she gave me
a light shove.

“You go to the house and tell the others. Act
normal, but go quickly.”

“What about you?” I asked.

“I’m going to shift and scout around. They’re
in wolf form, so tell the guys to bring the tranq guns.”

I nodded and stood, walking the rest of the
way to the house in a fear-induced fog. My heart raced and stars
burst in my eyes. At the bottom of the porch steps, I took a deep
breath and tried to calm myself. I could hear laughter in the
house, and I didn’t want to walk in and destroy that light and
warmth.

I stepped into the kitchen. Thad was telling
some story involving a bear and everyone was laughing, but he froze
when he saw me. “What happened?”

“Tessa says there are wolves watching the
house. She’s shifted and she wants us to bring the tranq guns.”

“How many?” Jed asked, his face free of any
hint of emotion.

“Two, possibly more.”

Jed, Henry, and Thad stood.

“Kelsey, you stay here with Angelica,” Jed
said.

“I should go,” I said, my heart was trying to
beat its way up my throat and my vision blurred with fear, but if I
ran and hid, I was pretty sure I’d never stopped hiding. I needed
to keep Henry safe and I needed to prove to Jed I was tough enough
not to need him. “Henry’s hurt.”

Jed eyes flashed with anger. “You stay.”

“She’s right,” Thad said. “Henry can’t fight
in his condition.”

“Then she and Henry can stay.” Jed walked out
like it had been decided.

“Thad?” I said. “Please.”

Thad nodded. “It’d be stupid for you to stay.
Henry you stay. Angelica whatever witchy shields you’ve got, use
them.”

Angelica nodded and I followed Thad out to
the hall where Jed was walking toward us with two very big guns. He
stopped when he saw me and his jaw clenched. “Thad, you aren’t in
charge here. We agreed.”

“You’re wasting time, and you’re being an
idiot,” Thad said, at least as angry as Jed as he ripped a gun from
his hand.

“She doesn’t even know how to shoot.”

“She’s standing right here and she does know
how to shoot. Henry taught her,” I said. I was pretty good, too.
Henry said I had a natural ability. Varius had a small range on
site and I’d spent a couple of hours there every day. I took the
gun from him. It looked like a regular rifle, so how hard could it
be? Of course Henry had only trained me on hand guns, but the guys
didn’t need to know that.

Jed snarled, but he didn’t argue anymore.
“Kelsey you get down in that brush right past the house and shoot
anyone who comes by. Thad, you come with me and do what I say out
there, or I’ll shoot you myself.”

Thad nodded, and we headed out.

I hunkered down behind some bushes near the
house. I kneeled and waited, expecting something to happen any
moment, but nothing did. I waited and waited and waited. My joints
started to ache and my knees hurt. I thought I heard a thud and a
howl in the distance, but that was all I heard. I didn’t even hear
birds tweeting in the trees. I smelled the food from the house,
corn and barbecue sauce like someone had grilled, and my stomach
growled. I wondered if anyone would notice if I popped inside for a
few bites and returned to my post.

While my thoughts were on food, something
knocked me onto my back. The weight of knees pressed into my chest
and Jeremiah loomed over me, his face twisted in rage and his jaw
already starting to shift and contort grotesquely.

I gathered every bit of life force I could,
which was difficult, since I couldn’t breathe, and rocked and
bucked and twisted, trying to get Jeremiah off me. “Jeremiah, it’s
me, Kelsey.” His eyes didn’t focus on my face. It was like he
couldn’t see me at all. “Bruce,” I said. “Bruce, please.”

“Bruce is dead,” Jeremiah lisped through his
deformed mouth. “And you killed him.”

“No, I didn’t. I tried to help you.”

Jeremiah raised a fist and I saw a very large
rock in his hand. I screamed and pushed at him with everything I
had, but he wouldn’t budge. He raised the rock above my head,
holding it in both of his hands, and there was no doubt in my mind
that he intended to kill me. My vision went black with panic and I
twisted and fought, shoving my knees ineffectually against his
back. Luckily, the way he was holding the rock over his head put
him off-balance and my flailing knocked him further off-balance, so
that he had to drop the rock to catch himself. I twisted and
scrambled out from under him.

I reached for the tranq gun, but it was out
of reach. Jeremiah grabbed my calf and pulled me back toward him,
and I grasped at anything I could find. As I scrabbled, I felt
smooth stone under my fingers. I had to roll to get both hands
around it, then I used the momentum of Jeremiah pulling me, along
with what force I could muster, to sit up and slam the rock hard
into his face. Blood sprayed and his head swung hard to the right.
I didn’t stick around to see if he recovered. I ran for my gun.

I spun and pointed the gun at Jeremiah, but
he was on the ground, unmoving. My whole body shook, but I kept
that gun trained on him until Jed showed up. Jed looked at me, and
I saw sympathy in his expression before he dropped to the ground
and checked for a pulse.

“Call Wraith,” he said. “Tell him to get over
here, now.”

“Is he dead?” I hated how shaky my voice
sounded.

“No.”

“Do you want some help getting him in the
house?”

Jed didn’t say anything, his face turned away
from me, but I could just imagine his expression. I could see his
eyebrows raised and his mouth twisted in a fake sneer as he
pretended to be insulted and tried not to laugh. Once upon a time,
he would have made some joke about me helping to carry a man twice
my weight, but he said nothing.

“Right,” I said. “I’ll be inside.”

I had just gotten off the phone with Wraith
when Jed and Thad walked into the house carrying Jeremiah between
them. I smiled to myself about having been right about Jed needing
help, but I didn’t say anything to the boys as they passed me and
headed to Angelica’s room.

Angelica gasped and ran to Jeremiah as they
carried him in. “What did you do to him?” she asked, her voice
high-pitched. I noticed a bruise on her cheek, but she ran out of
the room and after the boys before I could see how bad it was.

Henry was on the couch with Doctor Veronica,
but she got up and followed Jeremiah and the guys. Henry patted the
seat next to him, and I went over and sat down. Tucker was sitting
on the armrest next to Henry’s shoulder. I realized I hadn’t seen
him in a while and, for the first time in a long time, his years
were obvious on his face. He looked exhausted and worried. “Wanna
tell us what happened?” Henry asked.

“Not really,” I said.

Tucker snorted. “Sure, just keep it to
yourself. Bottle it all up until it destroys you.”

I sighed and glared at Tucker. “I’m going to
have to tell Wraith what happened in a few minutes. I just don’t
want to have to repeat myself.” I felt oddly calm and easy for a
girl who had just narrowly missed being bludgeoned to death. I had
beaten Jeremiah and I felt stronger and less afraid. Alone in the
dark with my nightmares, things might be different.

Henry wrapped an arm around my shoulders and
pulled me close. “I’m filthy,” I said.

“That’s one of your best qualities,” he said,
then he pushed me away a little bit. “But you also stink. Maybe you
should hit the shower before Jed and Thad come back.”

I leapt to my feet, wanting a shower in the
worst kind of way. I started down the hall as Jed and Thad were
heading back to the living room. I ducked into the bathroom before
they reached me and locked the door. “Make it quick,” Jed said
through the door, his voice gruff.

I didn’t say anything. I stepped out of my
filthy, sweaty clothes and into the warm spray. When I was
finished, I wrapped a towel around me to run to my room and get
dressed. I threw on flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, then
walked back out to the living room.

Only Henry and Doctor Veronica were out
there. “Where is everyone?” I asked.

Henry looked up, worry lining his face.
“Tessa didn’t come back.”

“The wolves she scented?”