Uncanny Day (13 page)

As my mind battled each side of the argument, I was shoved hard from behind. The new momentum turned my next few steps into stumbles.

I caught myself and whipped my head around to face my attacker. From the events of the last couple of days, I had grown edgy and didn't know what to expect anymore, but this I should have known. Trent stood, arms spread, taunting me, goons at both sides, and his broken smile on his face.

“What up, fellas?” he asked as Dean turned around as well. I could tell he was set to start throwing fists if need be, although we were at the mall—a public place—and I doubted Trent would try anything. Then again, I still hadn't quite figured Trent out yet.

“Come on, Nolan.” Dean knew better and pulled on my arm.

“Still hanging around with this guy, huh?” Trent thumbed toward Dean. “You just don't get it, do you?”

I raised my hands in peace, taking after Dean and not wanting to start anything, but Trent's riddle still echoed in my head. Was he just messing with me?

“Nolan, come on,” Dean's said, his voice demanding.

Trent flashed another crooked smile and squinted at me as if he knew something I didn't. Dean was pulling me back now, so I was unable get a good lock on Trent's crazy eyes.

Fighting free of Dean's restraint, I stepped a foot closer to Trent. Just needed to be a little closer and I'd be able to make eye contact—or throw a connecting punch, if need be.

“Do it,” Trent whispered to me. His prompt jerked my thoughts to a halt. What did he want? I noticed dark rings around Trent's slits-for-eyes. Something was off about him.

“Oh, no you don't.” Dean stepped in front of me and got in my face, blocking me.

“All I need is a fraction of a second, Dean,” I said out of the side of my mouth.

“Nope. It's not going to happen,” he said, unmoved.

I had to know what was going on. Why was Dean resisting so much? Why did he even care? I wanted to know what Trent was getting at.

“Gentlemen,” a hearty voice called out to the group of us.

Mall security. Crap.

The guard had one hand resting on a Taser and the other fingers tapping a nightstick. Behind him stood another guard, taller, but with the same intent if things went south.

Trent and his posse turned first and headed the opposite way. Dean didn't even give the Rent-a-Cops a sideways glance. He was still dead set on me.

“Move,” he said. And I did, but didn't like it.

Dean and I walked again in silence until we got to the escalator that took us to the second level.

“You shouldn't let him get to you,” he offered, now sounding more cool and collected than before.

I pretended I didn't hear him and spoke my thoughts. “What's the deal with you and Trent?” It was Dean's turn to clam up. I didn't let the question drop and asked again.

“Trent and I. We've got history,” Dean finally said.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Who doesn't? The guy's a jerk to everybody in school.”

Dean shook his head. “No, not like that.”

“Then what?” I asked.

Dean looked at me and then away. “Remember that foster kid I told you about who had been staying with us and burned down our house?”

To say the least, I was shocked as it all sank in. The escalator deposited us on the second floor.

I stayed with the conversation, but felt guilty doing so. “Trent was the one who burned down your house?” I stabbed a thumb over my shoulder to indicate the dispute we had just come from.

Dean was silent. I took it for a difficult yes.

“Hey, man, I'm sorry. He's just …” I stammered a bit, still trying to collect my thoughts. “Bro, I didn't know.”

Dean shook his head. “Nobody does,” he said and made a face that seemed as though he had been wounded.

“I get it now. I'll steer clear of him.” I understood how much a certain individual could hurt someone else. My dad had been my Trent. Playing terrorist in my life. Plaguing my existence. I just had no clue Trent had been that for Dean. Dean was always so easygoing that you'd never have known anything was bothering him. Yet, even Dean had secrets.

His face brightened back to life as his eyes caught something.

“This secret stays between just you and me, got it?” he said. I looked ahead and saw Celia waving at us from a table in the food court.

I nodded. “Don't worry. I'm the only mind reader in town.”

Chapter Thirty-one

THAT UNDENIABLE FRIED-GREASE smell over took my senses and made my mouth fill with the taste for a double cheeseburger. I hadn't been hungry before, but now I felt as though I had gone days without food.

Celia popped up from her seat and almost danced over to Dean and me as we arrived in the food court. She was a cute girl, I'd give her that, but she was a little too bubbly for me. I tended to lean toward a more geeky girl who had freckles on her nose.

Speaking of, as I scanned other tables in the food court, I couldn't find Kate. I pointed my attention back to Celia. “Hey, have you seen Kate Huddy?”

She unglued her eyes from Dean and answered, “Nope.” Then she was back at him.

I kept searching, my stomach still growling. “I'm going to get something to eat,” I announced.

“Grab me something,” Dean chimed in.

What is it with guys and food courts—well, food in general? We're bottomless pits.

Surveying my options, I spotted just the place. Slider's Haven. I just about ran over a little kid who scooted his chair out in front of me. Quickly flanking to my right, I avoided the collision, but stayed on track toward my destination.

I stepped behind a portly guy who obviously had the same state of mind I did and could do nothing but stare at the glistening photos on the menu board.

“Careful, you don't want to drool,” came a voice behind me.

I turned to find Kate.

“How could you eat at a time like this?” she asked.

“Hey, how could you not eat at a time like this?”

She rolled her eyes in Huddy fashion, and although I'd seen it about a million times, something was different now between us. I didn't feel tense and guarded toward her.

“You want something?” I asked, fishing money out of my wallet. In the back of my mind I hoped I had grabbed enough out of the business fund to cover sliders and fries as well as a decent outfit for the dance.

“Me? No, thanks. I don't like my food slathered in grease.”

“Are you kidding? Look at those pictures.” I motioned to the menu overhead. “A golden bun lying atop a sizzling, cheese-covered, grilled-to-perfection burger with a stack of steaming fries piled high next to it. Behind it, a tall, sweaty, cool cup of sweet drink to wash it all down.”

Kate raised her eyebrows to me then let out a snort.

“You do know you're lying to yourself thinking that's healthy for you, right?”

I laughed back. “Oh, I know, but I just can't resist something so good.” I turned back to the mouth-watering photo. “Lie to me all you want, delicious slider. You will soon be in my belly.”

“You're disgusting, you know that?”

I looked back at Kate. “Oh, and the things I know about you.”

She instantly grew serious and punched my arm. “That's not funny.”

Having Kate know my secret was actually not the worst thing in the world. It was sort of fun, really. Too bad all fun comes to an end. Ours did when I spotted Trent coming toward us from across the room.

I had a feeling I wasn't going to get my sliders.

I took Kate's hand just as the worker at the counter asked for my order. We turned and moved back toward where Dean and Celia waited for us.

“Nolan, what are you doing?” Kate tried to wiggle her hand out of mine.

“Scumbags right behind you.”

Kate looked over her shoulder. “What do they want?” she asked.

“Revenge,” I said without thinking and hoped she hadn't heard. Kate gripped my hand tighter now, realizing the reason for our hasty change of plans.

Dean saw us coming. I tossed my head to the side, indicating the trouble following us while trying to speed up our pace.

“Split up. Meet at Old Navy in fifteen minutes,” he called out to us, low enough that Trent couldn't hear. “If things turn real bad, find those mall cops.”

I nodded, fully understanding the plan.

I supposed we could have just gone straight to the mall security, but then there was the chance our parents would get involved, and, like Dean, I didn't want to screw up this outing, considering we were both looking forward to tomorrow night.

Dean and Celia took off to the left and Kate and I to the right. To follow us both, the Three Stooges would have to separate as well. I was curious whom they would choose to follow and also what Celia was thinking.

With Kate's hand still in mine, we weaved between shoppers and groups like a pair of fish through water. I looked back to see if I could see any of them following, but it was too crowded. Trying to blend in with everyone wasn't all that hard to do, but we must have been moving too fast because Kate tripped. Her hand being in mine kept her from a total face-plant, although she did go down to her knees. I turned, half catching her under the arms, letting her weight bear down on me. My leg lurched back to balance us.

“Whoa—you all right?”

“Yeah, keep moving,” she said, back to her feet in a flash.

How had it come to this? My mind tried to grasp that question as we narrowly missed plowing over a woman toting two children by the hands.

“Slow down!” she called out when Kate whispered in an apology as we passed them. I noticed a smile on Kate's face. Was she enjoying the chase? Then I heard a snarky laugh and took another risky look back. It was confirmed. We definitely had pursuers, and not one or two—we had all three of them on us, Trent in the lead. Why would they all come after me? We had to lose them somehow.

By now I was becoming winded, and each step began to grow heavier. It felt like my body was shutting down. Was I dying? Was there something inside my head? I couldn't be sure, but figured I was just out of shape. This running thing wasn't going to last long.

“We need find somewhere to hide,” I said quickly between breaths.

“Here.” Kate became an anchor and towed me into a store. I didn't have time to read the sign before I was already inside. Kate didn't stop and wound around a few racks of clothing, ducking down behind them.

A middle-aged overweight man, his glasses at the end of his nose, peered down at us where we cowered for cover.

Kate shot him a glance. “Take a picture—it will last longer!”

The man went back to looking over the shirt he held in his pudgy hands.

I listened toward the front of the store to see if I could pick up Trent's voice. Had they seen us come in here?

My chest rose, and my lungs felt like bagpipes.

“You okay?” Kate whispered.

I nodded. “I think we lost them.”

The man had moved away from us to another part of the rack, but kept sliding his eyes first to Kate and then to me. I made good eye contact with him and was back in a split second.

“Harold. Get lost.”

The man's eyes widened at me and he lumbered off to another part of the store.

“Come on. Let's try not to look so crazy,” I said as we pulled each other to our feet.

“Did you know that guy?” Kate asked.

“Who? No. Why?”

“Well, you said his name.”

I tapped the side of my head. Kate gave an “a-ha” look and shook her head. “I feel so vulnerable around you now.”

“Don't worry about it. I'm not a creeper.”

She made a face that said otherwise.

An overhead announcement thanked us for shopping at Old Navy and said there was a storewide sale.

“So how long before Dean and Celia make it here?” Kate questioned, looking around the store.

“Don't know. They did run the opposite way, but probably figured out by now that no one was chasing them. I bet Trent won't be able to find them now either.”

Kate rummaged through her shoulder bag and brought out her black notebook. I recognized it from the other day when we had run into each other in the hallway. It seemed like such a long time ago. How things had changed since then.

“So, while we have a few moments alone … I did some research,” Kate said as she paged through her notebook. “Have you ever heard of the Shadow King?”

I was still scanning the entrance to Old Navy for either Dean and Celia or Trent.

“What? No. Is he some kind of Disney character?” I finally answered. Kate let out an annoyed breath matched with a scowl. I placed my attention back on her. I really had no idea who or what she was talking about.