Birthright (Residue Series #2) (10 page)

We left her there, the muscles in her arms coming back to life enoug
h that her hands could uncurl. But w
ith her limbs still frozen across one another and her lips unable to work, she posed no
immediate
threat. Mrs. Wizner would be returning to the classroom soon enough
, and when
she did, there was no telling how Mrs. Gaul would retaliate.

This thought hovered between Jameson and me as we parted ways in the hall
,
and I knew he was thinking the same thing
I was…it
would be wise to run
; although
neither of us
was
willing to
. So,
we waited…

The next class came and went. And the next one
went by
after that. At lunch, I predicted
that
Vires would find
me,
enclose me,
and
haul me off to the ministry
,
or wherever it was they held prisoners awaiting trial
s
for crimes against the establishment. When this didn’t happen, I kept the incident to myself, not wanting
to
disturb my cousins. There was no need
, especially
when the Vires didn’t seem to be reacting. This actually confused me
,
until I
theorized
that Mrs. Gaul wouldn’t mention the incident. Her ego, which seemed grossly inflated for no apparent reason, wouldn’t allow her to acknowledge that the Vires’ most dangerous, roaming enemies got the best of her
.
This thought eased
my mind
some
, actually bringing
a smile to my face.

Eventually, the last class of the day ended
,
devoid of any
unusual
interaction with our enemies. In fact, I was so bored I had to rub the tiredness from my eyes after listening to Mr. Morow drone on about the defining differences between nomadic German rulers and the early African empires.

As soon as we were released, I was on my feet…
remembering
Alison was waiting for me in the locker room.

It took me no less than fifteen minutes to dart the Vires while traversing the school grounds. I had to rush
into
classrooms five or six times where
, mostly,
students were taking make-up exams
.
Once,
I was asked if I was voluntarily sitting in on detention.

No, I thought
…
considering the number of
moldavite
stones I now endure on a daily basis
…
I live in detention every day of my life. 

When I reach
ed
the locker room
,
Alison
was
sitting on one of the wooden benches, feet stretched in front of her, toes tapping madly
.
Her head was down
,
and it
looked like
she was biting her nails.

She grunted after seeing me. “Finally!”
Throwing
herself forward, her hand came out from behind her. In it was a wad of black hair. “Had to make sure no one saw this thing all day long.”

Turning toward the mirror, she slipped the clump over her forehead and tucked the rest of her hair underneath.

“Oh…” S
he stopped and pulled out another wad of hair, this wig
being
sandy blonde. “I have one for you.” Handing
it to me, she insisted, “Go on,
”
and
I began positioning it over my head.

“Want to fill me in on why I’m doing this?” I asked, brushing a strand of coarse hair from my nose and wiping
away
the tickle
.

Alison took a moment to think of the best way to
explain
and snickered under her breath. “Guess you could call it trading places.” She
continued
adjusting her hair before she changed the subject with an offhanded inquiry. “So…you really love my brother,
huh?”

“Yes,” I answered softly
,
but firmly.
In deeper reflection, and more
to myself, I added, “I do.”

“I think you two are good together.” Then
,
as
an
afterthought
,
she added
information that made me feel like she was confiding in me. “We all do. It’s just taking Charlotte a little more time to come around.”

“Yeah…I figured. She’s…”

“It’s all right,” she encouraged. “You can say it. We all know.”

“Tough.”

“Hmm,
”
she mumbled thoughtfully.

I sensed she
was judging
my
description,
and instantly
,
my guard went up.

But then
she nodded in agreement. “That’s better than most things she’s called.”

A laugh shot out of me and Alison looked in
my direction, catching my eyes
and
then joining
in. Our shoulders shook with the force of
our laughter
for the next few seconds
,
before
returning
to adjusting our wigs
,
and the bathroom grew awkwardly quiet.

“Does he say anything about me?” I blurted the words
,
meaning
to be
filler
,
but realized they’d been hanging in my subconscious
, waiting for
the opportune time to ask
. And this seemed to be
it.

Alison’s eyes squinted
with determination
before replying,
“
Its more in
how
he says it
,
it’s
more in his actions.”

“Really?” I asked, openly intrigued.

“Yeah, he…he’ll say your name really low…in a whisper when he suddenly sees you down the hall or in the cafeteria like he wants to call out to you but realizes at the last second that he can’t. Sort of sad, really. Or we’ll try to get his attention at breakfast or dinner and we can’t
,
and we all know why…”

“Why?” I asked
,
innocently.

“You!” She chuckled. “He’s thinking about you.”

“Oh…” I had to admit that was ridiculous to ask but I didn’t want to assume. Sometimes it was still surreal that we’d overcome centuries of deceit and found a way to be together.

“But
,
there’s other times when he’s completely frustrated by you.”

“Really?” I asked, amused now.

“Absolutely. When he catches you glaring at a Vire he always sighs and shakes his head, but he keeps watching to make sure nothing happens because he-”

“I know. He wants to keep me safe,” I finished
,
thinking back to this morning when he intervened with Mrs. Gaul.

“That’s right.” She paused
, staring
at my reflection, her demeanor
became
stiff and intense. “He really does love you.”

The pleasure in hearing those words only paralleled the same feeling I had when he
confessed it himself.
His image fluttered
briefly
into my mental view,
one when
he was grinning.
His glistening
clear
,
green eyes
and the
beautiful scar stretching above his eager lips
caused
the searing heat of excitement
flooding
my stomach
to
suddenly
ignite.

I promptly reverted bac
k to acting nonchalant as
Alison threw her hands out
, gesturing
that she’d perfected
her wig
placement. Slowly
turning around
, she
asked,
“See any blond
e
?”

After a full two circles, I verified, “None.”

She checked me for inky black strands that might be escaping
,
and we
proceeded to switch
clothes
.
Then w
e stood back, looking
in the mirror
,
to assess and
I was able to piece it all together.

After inspecting
Alison’s reflection
,
I saw the resemblance. While she was a little shorter than me the rest
of her features held
a strikingly odd familiarity. Our shapes were the same, our limbs were nearly equal length, and our clothes fit
each other
perfectly. If she kept her head down, she could pull it off. 

“Give me a five minute head start,” she instructed. “I’m going to lead Theleo and his thugs off your trail. When all is clear, Jameson will come for you.”

She started for the door
,
but I caught her arm. “Where are Jameson and I going?”

She blinked, appearing confused. “You don’t know what’s happening?”

“No, what?” The anticipation of spending a few undisturbed hours with Jameson
rapidly grew,
but
her uneasy expression caused apprehension to blend
with
it
.

“Store owners around The Quarter are getting surprise visits from Vires. They started last night but really ramped up their destruction today.” When I didn’t understand her insinuation, she clarified, “They need you to heal them.” Her eyebrows
rose
then
,
sending me a daunting look.
“Hope you’re up for it…”

She bravely
glided outside
, tucking
her head,
black hair
casually falling
around her face.

When the door had closed,
I turned back toward the vacant locker room, stunned
and
unnerved.

Last night…I contemplated. What was I doing while the Vires were hurting others? When the answer came to me
,
it physically made me recoil.

I’d been talking with Miss Mabelle and, once again, I was arguing against accepting a surreal destiny while I could have been far
more useful.

Shame and anger
threatened to smother me,
as I struggled to shake off the feeling of failure.

Then
,
someone’s fingers
embraced
my forearm.

My first thought was: Jameson.
My
next
thought
was: Vire.

Immediately springing
into
a defensive position, I twisted my arm toward the thumb of the hand now gripping me and slipped free from its hold
, but
I didn’t stop there. I was already in motion.

Spinning around
, I used my
momentum to gather the
necessary
force
and
balled my hand into a fist,
aiming
directly for the person’s face.

It landed with a slap against the surface of a hard, inflexible hand.

“Jocelyn.”

I registered the voice as Jameson’s and paused.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I allowed my eyes to adjust and he came
into
clear view. His reaction could be summed up in one word
…

Alarm.

“Did that hurt?” he asked, uneasy
and
closely evaluating me. “Are you all right?”

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “Well, other than the entire city being overrun by Vires…
engaging
in a showdown with one of them today…
having
those I love
in constant
danger…
staring
at a future I can’t possibly imagine for myself…
and being
unable to
openly
help those being harassed…I’d say everything is dandy.” I tested a smile
,
quivering,
and somehow it found its way to my lips. “Sorry for nearly hitting you.”