Everbound: An Everneath Novel (20 page)

The wind here was fierce, and that’s when it hit me.

“The Ring of Wind!” I said.

We were here. One ring down. Two to go. One ring closer to Jack.

Cole coughed and nodded. The walls were no longer made up of water. They looked like minitornadoes made up of swirling dust and flying debris.

I blinked several times, trying to clear the thin film of dust that suddenly coated everything.

“How did that happen?” I asked.

Cole turned to Ashe, who was staring at the wind wall we’d just come flying over. A light mist hovered in the air at the top.

“It was a flash flood,” Ashe said. “Probably from your fight.”

I thought back to our tense words. Cole had told me the water was attracted to certain emotions. Maybe our anger had consolidated all around us, baiting the water, igniting a fire underneath it until it boiled over.

I was about to share my theory with Cole, but I caught a glimpse of his back. His T-shirt hung in tatters, and the skin beneath looked like raw meat.

“Your back,” I said.

Cole turned his head and glanced behind him. “Yeah. It’ll be fine. Apparently there were a few rocks behind the waterfall. I’m more worried about how to get your projection back, because right now it’s gone.”

I looked down. He was right; my tether had disappeared. “The water wiped it out.”

Cole brought his knees to his chest and propped his arms on top. Some of the gashes on his back opened wider, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was still recovering his breath.

I looked around for anything that could soothe the scrapes, but there was nothing but dust. Grabbing the bottom of my T-shirt, I tried to rip off a piece, but it wouldn’t budge. Wasn’t that how they did it in the movies? Someone was bleeding, and the other person would just tear their shirt in a perfectly straight line?

Bunching a section of my shirt in my hand, I stretched the material away from my stomach.

“What are you doing?” Cole said.

“Something incredibly heroic,” I said. I pressed the cloth against his wounds. Gingerly I tried to close the larger gashes, replacing some of the hanging skin and carefully cleaning out the dirt.

Not that long ago I had tended to the wound on his hand because I didn’t want him to give up. But things were different now. I knew he wouldn’t give up, and I tended to his scrapes simply because he was hurting. This small change in my motivation reflected a bigger change in my relationship with Cole. Shades of trust existed where they weren’t before.

Ashe came over to us. “We’re in the Ring of Wind now. Take heed. The wind has a way of tossing our brains, just like the water did our emotions. It’s the most devious of the rings. Nikki, do you have your token?”

I held it out to show it to him.

“You have to be constantly aware, and remind yourself often of Jack.”

I nodded, squeezing the paper in my fist. I’d held on to it during the flood.

“Good. While you’re playing nurse to Cole, tell us another story about Jack. We need to get your tether back.”

I’d told so many stories, and I was so tired. But then I remembered Jack, and where he was right now, and my cheeks went hot with shame. How could I complain? “What should I talk about?”

Cole looked at me with a suddenly hopeful face. “Was there ever a time when he didn’t resemble a white knight? That’d be great right about now.”

A memory instantly popped into my mind, and my face must’ve shown it, because Cole pressed. “It won’t make a difference if it’s an unpleasant memory. It’s all part of your connection to him.”

“Well, there was one time.…”

Suddenly Max was by my side. “Jack as the antihero? Dude, I’ll bring the popcorn.”

The Surface. Eating lunch with Jack and Jules
.

T
he sun shone down on the school’s courtyard tables. We liked to eat outside whenever the weather gave us the chance.

Jack took a bite of his sandwich, big enough to make half of it disappear. “You’re coming to Paxton’s party on Friday, right?” he said with a mouthful of turkey.

Brent Paxton’s parties were legendary. His parents owned a house on the Deer Valley ski resort, and when they were out of town, the entire school could be found passed out on his floor or hanging from the rafters. Or making out in one of the eight bedrooms. I’d heard about the parties even when I was in middle school, and now that I was a freshman, I was officially invited.

Jules answered before I could. “I am. Ryan Maetani asked me to go with him.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “Finally Ryan succumbs to your spell. When did this happen?”

Jules explained how the magic happened over chemistry lab that morning. Jack was quiet, listening to Jules but watching me. At the first opportunity, he said, “What about you, Becks?”

I shrugged, and absentmindedly screwed the cap back on my Diet Coke bottle. “I would, but since Jules has a
date
”—I cut my eyes over to her—“I don’t really have anyone to go with.”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Jules beat him to it. “I know someone who would die to go with you.”

“Who?” Jack and I said in unison.

Jules glanced around playfully before leaning in and saying, “Andrew Hanks.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please.”

“I’m serious. Jack, you should see the way Andrew gazes at our girl. It’s like one of those cartoons. His eyes become little hearts that pop out of their sockets.” She put her hands to her eyes and pulsed her fingers outward.

I threw a grape at her. “Shut up.”

“Hey, I sit behind him. I have a clear shot at him. Most days I have to mop up after him from all the drooling.”

“Stop it.”

She shrugged. “I’m just saying. He’d stop a train for you. All you’d have to do is
mention
the party, and you’ll have yourself a date.”

“I don’t know.…”

“Jack, help me out here. Tell her.”

At the mention of Jack’s name, I realized he’d grown awfully quiet. “Tell her what?” he said, frowning. He obviously wasn’t too interested in the conversation.

“What would a guy want to hear from the girl he secretly crushed on?”

Jack stared hard at the table, and I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the tips of his ears turned bright red.

“How would I know?”

Jules sighed loudly. “Well, I know the girls never give you the chance to secretly pine. One piney look from you and the clothes start dropping, and then they’re all ‘Ooooh, your place or mine?’” Jules flipped her hair dramatically. “But imagine for a moment that you’re not another species. And you were crushing on our dear Becks. What would you want her to say to you?”

I played along and watched Jack. He finally lifted his gaze to meet mine. He had the strangest expression on his face. He seemed … embarrassed. And maybe a little bit angry. Or he might’ve just been really annoyed with the conversation.

“I have no idea. Crushing on Becks would be like crushing on my sister. I can’t imagine it.”

This time it was my face that turned red.

Jack looked away, as if he were suddenly interested in the group of people next to us. Jules stared at Jack, her eyes narrowed, and a strange little grin appeared on one side of her mouth. I didn’t think it was very empathetic of her, considering I was mortified at what Jack had just said.

She looked to me, then announced, “I’ve gotta go. Return a book I borrowed.”

Great. Now she was abandoning me. Before I could compose myself enough to realize I didn’t want to be left alone with Jack, Jules was gone.

And I was alone with Jack.

Who was tapping his spork on the table and studying the faux-wood grain so hard you’d think he had a test on the pattern next period.

I was still humiliated, but I couldn’t figure out if it was because what Jack had said was really rude, or if I was so offended because of how I felt about him.

“I’m not your sister.”

“I know.”

“…”

“…”

“Is it so hard to believe someone would like me?”

Jack finally looked at me. “Of course not, Becks. It’s just … I didn’t …”

His voice trailed off as something behind me caught his attention. If it were possible for his dark eyes to get any darker, Jack’s totally did.

I turned around. There was Andrew Hanks. Standing awkwardly behind me, a chemistry book in his hand.

“Hi, Nikki.”

“Hi, Andrew.” I gave him my widest smile. If that whole thing with Jack hadn’t happened, I probably would’ve dialed down the enthusiasm. “What’s up?”

He shoved the chemistry book toward me, almost hitting my chest with it. “I wondered if you could maybe go over today’s lab with me? I just ran into Jules, and she told me you understood this stuff.”

Jack snorted from behind me. I shot him a glare, and he mumbled, “Sorry.”

I turned back to Andrew. “Sure. Have a seat. Do you two know each other? Jack, this is Andrew. Andrew, this is—”

“I know who he is,” Jack said in place of a greeting.

Andrew sat slowly, looking from me to Jack. “If I’m interrupting …”

“Not at all!” I said.

“Please, do sit!” Jack said, matching my exuberance and swinging his arm graciously in front of him. Then he feigned instant boredom and turned to observe the rest of the courtyard while he finished his lunch. Why was he so angry? I looked at Andrew. Maybe the two of them had some history I didn’t know about.

Andrew placed his notebook open on the table. Both pages were filled with scribbles and eraser marks. “I’ve tried to get the answer three different ways, but I’m coming up with nothing.”

I studied his notes, followed the equation, and mentally pictured how I’d accomplished the same problem. “Here,” I said, pointing to one part of his equation. “You’re using the wrong value for Avogadro’s number. It’s six-point-oh-two-two times ten to the twenty-third. You have six-point-
two-oh
.”

Jack interjected. “It’s only, like, the first thing you should’ve learned on the first day of Chem.”

I breathed through my nose. Jack was already in advanced chemistry, and just like everything else, he excelled at it. His dad was a chemical engineer, so Jack had probably had the number memorized from infancy.

I stared at Jack. “Not everyone grew up with bedtime stories like ‘The Exciting History of Avogadro’s Number.’”

This time it was Andrew’s turn to snort. Jack handed him his bottle of water. “Here. Wash it down.”

The rest of the lunch was more of the same, but later in the day Andrew did ask me to go to Paxton’s party. Before, I might have turned him down for a quiet evening at home with a good book.

But now I said yes.

The Everneath. The Ring of Wind
.

“Man, Jack sounds like a real tool,” Cole said.

“You don’t understand,” I said, kicking a rock off the trail. I felt a little guilty for sharing a story that could give Cole the opportunity to put down Jack, but I remembered the whole thing through a different perspective. Because I knew now that Jack was struggling with his feelings for me at the time. I could forgive him a lot for that.

“My tether’s back,” I said.

Right then Ashe came up to us. “Wanderers. A few paths away. We’ve got to move.”

Wanderers. Again. At the mention of them, I realized how tired I’d become.

“Why don’t you just kick
them
?” I said, stifling a yawn.

“Kicking only works on humans,” Cole said. “Let’s go.”

Of course kicking only worked on humans. How convenient. I kicked the ground, and for a brief moment I acted unconsciously instead of intentionally. I quickly turned to move, and I got a little to close to the wall of wind. A particularly strong gust caught the
ever yours
note out of my hand and sucked it away and inside the wall.

I didn’t think. I jumped after it.

The wind lifted me off my feet. Jostled me above the ground like a rag doll. I tried to breathe in, but the wind tunnel was so powerful that I couldn’t catch any air inside my mouth. My hair whipped viciously at my face.

The torrent slowed for a second, as if the wall were taking in a breath, and I sank. I caught a glimpse of the others. It was just a quick glance, but I could see Cole trying to jump in after me. Max was holding him back. As I was about to hit the ground, the gale blasted all around me again, throwing my limbs in different directions. My left arm twisted behind me. I thought it would rip off.

I screamed, but the sound got lost. The more I struggled, the more I imagined my tendons ripping. So I stopped. Went limp.

Jack
, I thought. I couldn’t compose my thoughts into a last message except to say his name.
Jack
.

I started to sink, but the cyclone was catching its breath again. If I was going to do anything, it would have to be now; but what could I do? I reached out toward the pathway. I could see Cole struggling against Max. Reaching for me. I saw his hand, but it wasn’t near enough. I couldn’t stretch out past the wind.

The reprieve was over. A fresh gust tossed me higher. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could survive. The wind would tear me to pieces, and I would never touch ground again.

A blast of air rotated me around so that my feet were heading into the wall. A flash of an idea hit me. The water wall had a solid middle. Maybe this wall did too. I straightened my entire body and put my arms out wide, spreading my fingers so that if the wind was going to move me in any direction, it would be farther into the wall. The same blast of air pushed me in. I pointed my toes. Tried to elongate my body as much as possible.

And then I felt my toes brush against something solid deep inside the wind wall. Before the gusts could carry me away again, I flexed my feet, bent my knees, and shot them toward the solid thing. My feet hit it; and with no force to counteract, I went sailing out of the wind wall.

At the wall’s highest point.

Cole must have seen me shoot out from the wall. He dived toward me, cushioning my impact with the ground. We landed in a heap.

I shivered. It was more like a spasm. My arms and legs were shaking with the relief of being released from their contortions.