Hunt for Jade Dragon (4 page)

“How are they?”

“Pretty cute, actually.”

“Do you still want to go for a walk?”

“Yes,” she said, stepping out into the hallway.

We walked back to the Ranch House's main room, then out the same set of doors where we'd entered. Except for the chickens, the front yard was deserted. We walked west, which I only knew because the sun had started its late-afternoon decline.

“How's your room?” I asked.

“It's nice.”

“Anything's nice compared to a Peruvian jail,” I said.

“I was comparing it to my room at home.” Her eyes immediately darkened. Her homesickness was taking a deeper and deeper toll. I reached out and took her hand.

“Where do you think we are?” she asked.

I looked around. “I don't know. It looks like Texas.”

“Have you ever been to Texas?”

“No.”

“Me neither,” she said. “But I was thinking Texas too. Or Arizona.”

We walked to the end of the Ranch House, then followed it around back. About fifty yards behind the building was a stable.

“Horses,” Taylor said. As we walked toward them she said, “It's good to see your mother again.”

“I wish your parents were here,” I said. “I'm sure you'll see them soon.”

Taylor didn't speak for a moment; then she said softly, “I don't think so. We're headed to Asia. Who knows if we'll ever come back?”

“I wouldn't go if I didn't think we'd come back.”

She shook her head. “You'd still go. You're a hero that way.” She looked back at me. “Do you think Taiwan will be as bad as Peru?”

“What do you mean by ‘bad'?”

“Dangerous.”

“I don't know,” I said, then added, “But at least the food's got to be better.”

She grinned. “I like Chinese food.”

When we got to the stable, Taylor walked up to an Appaloosa colt standing next to a railing. “Hey, baby,” she said. She rubbed the horse's nose and he nuzzled against her. “I love horses. When I was little I tried to talk my parents into getting me one, but it was too expensive.”

“How much does a horse cost?”

“It depends on what kind. But it's not just the cost of buying one, it's also the upkeep—like feeding it and the stable rental. On my father's police salary, that wasn't going to happen.” She sighed. “In my dream world I'd live on a ranch like this with a hundred acres
of horse property, and every day I would go riding.” She turned back and looked at me. “You love me.”

“You read my mind,” I said.

“I don't have to. You show me.” In spite of what she'd just said, she looked sad. “I think it's strange that I don't have to guess anyone's feelings and everyone else in the world has to.”

“You're lucky.”

“Not always.” She looked into my eyes. “Sometimes I wish you could read my mind. Sometimes it's hard explaining how I feel.”

The way she said that made my heart ache. “How do you feel?”

She looked down for a moment, then back into my eyes. “When I was kidnapped, I kept telling myself that it was just a matter of time before I'd be rescued and things would go back to the way they were—cheerleading, after-game parties, hanging out with my friends at the Bagelmeister. . . .” Her eyes filled with tears. “I've finally realized that there is no going back.”

“We'll go back someday,” I said.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Even if the Elgen and Hatch and all the bad guys in the world just disappeared, we still couldn't go back. We can go back to our homes and families, but it won't be the same. It never will be. The world didn't change, we did. We've seen too much evil. We grew up too fast.” She covered her eyes with her hand and began to cry. I put my arms around her and pulled her into me. She laid her head on my shoulder.

“I'm sorry,” I said.

Without looking up she said, “I never even went to a prom.”

I held her until the sun began to dip below the western mountain range. We didn't talk, though a few times I purposely thought things knowing that she would hear them. Finally I said, “We'd better go back. We have that reception.”

Taylor wiped her eyes. “All right.”

We walked back to the Ranch House in silence. We stopped outside her bedroom door and I looked into her beautiful face. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “I probably look like I've been bawling.”

“You're entitled,” I said. I took her hand. “I'll talk to these guys about your parents. Maybe they can do something. They owe us, right?”

“Thank you.” She leaned forward and kissed me. “I'll see you in an hour.” As I turned to go she said, “I love you too, Michael.”

I turned back. “I know. I still don't believe it, but I know.”

A
fter showering I dressed in some of the new clothes they had brought, then lay back on my bed, waiting for them to come for us. Ostin was still snoring like a bandsaw. As I lay there listening to him, all I could think about was what Taylor had said about never going back. She was right. I suppose I hadn't thought as much about it as she had because I wasn't really giving up anything. Everyone I cared about was here.

About ten minutes later someone knocked on our door. “Mr. Vey, Mr. Liss. It's time for the reception.”

“C'mon, Ostin,” I said, sitting up. “It's time.”

“Time for what?” he said groggily.

“To go to the reception.”

He yawned loudly, then rolled over. “There'd better be food at this thing.”

* * * 

By the time we walked out of our room, everyone else was already standing in the hallway. Zeus, McKenna, Abigail, and Ian were talking to Tanner.

Taylor walked up to me and took my hand. She looked like she was feeling a little better. Or at least she was doing a better job of hiding her pain. “Did you see Tanner?” she asked.

“I talked to him this afternoon.”

“I hardly recognized him,” she said. “He doesn't even look like the same person.”

“That's exactly what I said.”

Just then Tanner walked over to us. “Hey, Taylor. Mike.”

“I was just saying how great you look,” Taylor said.

“You look great too. Want to go out?”

Taylor grinned. “Flattered, but you'll have to ask my boyfriend.”

“That's not going to happen,” I said.

“Even after I dropped those helicopter gunships?”

“Even,” I said.

He laughed. “Like my father used to say, if you don't ask, the answer is always no.” He leaned in closer and his voice lowered. “Have you guys seen Zeus?”

“We see him every day,” I said.

“I mean,
post
shower. He, like, doesn't stink. He smells good.”

“We'll go right over and sniff him,” Taylor said wryly.

Just then a voice from the end of the hall said, “You all clean up nicely.” We all looked over to see Joel walking up the corridor. “Are we missing anyone?”

“Just me,” Grace said, walking out of her room.

“Grace!” Tessa shouted. The girls hugged. “Where have you been?” Tessa asked.

“You know, after these guys took down the academy, I thought I'd come here for a while. How about you? I hear you've been hanging out in the jungle.”

“It's true,” Tessa said proudly. “I've been eating mashed tree larvae and fishing for piranha.”

“That's crazy,” Grace said.

“Seeing you is crazy,” Tessa replied.

Like Tanner, Grace also looked different to me. Lighter. Healthier. I suppose being away from Hatch had that effect on people.

“The reunions are just beginning,” Joel said. “Let's go to the party.”

I was pleased to hear that the event had been upgraded from a reception to a party. We followed Joel back down the hallway, through a set of double doors, then outside to another building. The night air was cool and filled with the song of crickets.

“Is there food at this thing?” Ostin asked.

“What kind of a celebration would it be without food?” Joel replied. “I promise, there will be more than you can eat, including what may be the best steak you've ever had. It's dry-aged from range-fed beef raised right here on our ranch.”

“I'm so happy,” Ostin said.

“Good, because tonight is in your honor,” Joel said. “Have a good time.”

I took Taylor's hand. “That's an
order
,” I whispered.

“Yes, it is,” Joel said. I blushed, embarrassed that he'd heard me. He looked at Taylor. “I'm certain that Ms. Ridley will have an especially good time. In fact, I think I can guarantee it.”

He doesn't know what he's guaranteed
, I thought.

We stopped outside another set of double doors and Joel waited until everyone had caught up. “Are you ready?”

“Let's do this,” Ian said, already knowing what was behind the doors.

Joel opened the doors, exposing a large dining hall filled with people. At the sight of us everyone burst into applause.

My mother was standing near the doorway, waiting to greet us, a broad smile on her face. “This is for you, my heroes.”

We walked into the festivities. The room was decorated with crepe paper and balloons and a large sign that said
WELCOME HEROES
.

We were swarmed by people who wanted to shake our hands. After just a few minutes my mother pulled Taylor and me aside. “Taylor, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes. This is really great.”

My mother just looked at her. “You can tell me the truth.”

Taylor half smiled. “I thought
I
was the mind reader.”

“I'm a mother,” she said. “I have intuition.”

Taylor looked down. “I miss my family.”

My mother nodded knowingly. “Of course you do. But not for much longer.”

“What?”

“Didn't Joel tell you? They're working on bringing your parents here.”

Taylor threw her arms around my mother. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

My mother laughed. “It's the least they could do, right?”

Taylor's reaction filled me with both relief and joy.

A minute later Ostin walked over to us, dragging his parents with him. They all looked as happy as almonds in chocolate.

“Michael, honey,” Mrs. Liss said. “It's so very good to see you.”

“It's good to see you too,” I said. It was. As eccentric as Ostin's mother was, I really liked her. She had always been good to me.

Ostin grinned mischievously. “I told them how we went back home and there were Elgen guards inside our apartment.”

“You boys have had some excitement,” Mrs. Liss said, not looking very happy about the fact.

“I'm watching out for him,” I said.

“We know, Michael,” Mr. Liss said. “Don't think we don't appreciate it.”

Ostin squinted. “Who's watching over whom?”

“You're not watching over his diet,” Mrs. Liss said. “He's not eating enough. I hardly recognized him. He's wasting away.”

“Ruth,” Mr. Liss said. “He's becoming a man.”

McKenna sidled up to Ostin. “Are these your parents?”

“I'm sorry,” Ostin said, realizing he'd abandoned her. “This is McKenna. She's my . . .” He hesitated.

“I'm his girlfriend,” McKenna said.

Ostin's father looked both surprised and happy with the announcement. Mrs. Liss looked stunned. There was an awkward
silence. “You're very pretty,” Mrs. Liss finally said, making it sound like a bad thing. “Are you Japanese?”

Ostin groaned with embarrassment. “She's American, Mom.”

“I'm Chinese-American,” McKenna said.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Mr. Liss said, shaking McKenna's hand.

Mrs. Liss said nothing, eyeing McKenna the way a boxer eyes an opponent before a match.

McKenna seemed unfazed. “It's a pleasure meeting you both as well.”

Just then Taylor screamed so loudly the whole room stopped. “Mom!”

I turned around to see Mrs. Ridley standing in the open doorway. For a moment she just stared at Taylor in disbelief, then she shouted, “My baby!” The two of them ran to each other and embraced. Mrs. Ridley held Taylor tightly, crying over and over, “I can't believe it. I can't believe you're really here.”

I turned to my mom, who was watching them joyfully. “Did you know Mrs. Ridley was already here?”

“I knew they had gone to get her,” she said, her eyes still fixed on them. “She must have just arrived.”

“Why didn't you tell her?”

She turned to me with a wise expression on her face. “Would you have wanted to spoil that surprise?”

After Taylor and her mother parted, Taylor brought her mother to me. “Mom, this is Michael, my boyfriend.”