Residue (36 page)

We studied our surroundings, realizing for the first time that our conflict here didn’t only destroy our school, it threatened our lives.

“
Just a second…You keep saying ‘they’ or ‘them’,” Alison commented. “Who are you referring to? Who is doing all this? Only the Vires are capable of pulling those kinds of things off.”

“
The Vires act on behalf of The Sevens…” my mother pointed out. Then she allowed the rest of us to process what she’d said, to come to terms with exactly what it meant. Only after eyes widened and jaws went slack, did she speak again.

Very slowly, she nodded. “The Sevens are the reason for all of this…” She swept her hand around the courtyard. “This retaliation upon retaliation…It is exactly what The Sevens want.”

And the words that came to mind were ones that I’d heard over these past few weeks, ones that simmered to the surface, having lingered beneath until there was reason for them to rise up.

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Charlotte, however, wasn’t immediately convinced. She scoffed quietly, contesting, “I have a hard time believing that story. I’m sorry, Ms. Veilleux, but this woman works for the ministry, which is commanded by The Sevens.”

While Ms. Veilleux attempted to respond, a far greater confidante supported my mother and Ms. Veilleux’s claims.

“
She’s right about my abduction,” Jameson stated. “And if she’s right about that…” He left the rest to be insinuated, placing his trust in my mother in the face of his guarded siblings.

His courage stunned me.

When Burke spoke up his tone was curious but not suspicious and it was a testament to how much he respected Jameson’s integrity. “You knew who abducted you? How did you find out? And why didn’t you tell us?”

“
I learned about it yesterday, from someone who’s proven to be trustworthy.”

“
Isadora,” my mother concluded.

He was slightly thrown that she identified his source so quickly. That reaction alone confirmed the truth to my mother.

She nodded. “Isadora’s the only other person who knew.”

Fear crossed his face then, for reasons I couldn’t quite grasp until my mother responded.

“
Your secret is safe, Jameson. I’ve known about your supply route for some time now.”

Of course she did. She always did her homework and had researched Jameson well, as demonstrated by her summary of him outside Aunt Lizzy’s house. How could his confidential trips to the swamp be excluded from his profile?

“
You knew and didn’t turn him in?” asked Charlotte, suspiciously.

“
We knew when your family started it. If I’d wanted to turn any of you in, I would have done it a long time ago.” She looked at Jameson and gave him a nod of approval before encouraging, “Keep it up. We’ll make sure The Sevens are looking the other way.”

The Caldwells glanced at each other with a mixture of appreciation and revelation.

Jameson’s forehead creased in contemplation then. He’d caught something I hadn’t. “You said ‘we’?” he prompted.

“
I’m not alone in my insights about The Sevens. There are others of us and our numbers are growing.”

“
So…” ventured Burke, “you…and others…are working for the ministry to deceive them?”

“
We work for them in order to be in a position to protect the interests of those who aren’t capable of defending themselves,” she corrected.

Then something amazing happened. The Caldwells began to smile and nod, a show of appreciation for a Weatherford that I didn’t think was possible.

“
Not what you expected?” my mother asked, grinning. “Thought I was ruthless and corrupt?”

Alison burst in to laughter while the rest of the Caldwells nodded vehemently.

My cousins were just as speechless as the Caldwells, I noticed.

“
You never knew?” I asked Oscar, who stood the closest to me.

“
I didn’t tell anyone,” my mother answered. “It was too risky for them - and for me. And it would destroy my chances at finding the truth and helping others.”

The expressions of those around me changed rapidly. We’d all realized it at the same time but it was Jameson who put it into words. “You went into the enemy’s nest, unaccompanied, without any other support only so that you could keep us safe?”

“
It had to be done,” she replied plainly.

He shook his head at her, deeply amazed, and he wasn’t alone.

“
You’re worth it,” she said to me and then repeated it to everyone else. “You’re all worth it.”

Charlotte, the most contentious of the Caldwells, the one who was the first to strike and ask questions later asked Ms. Veilleux to release her and then approached my mother. “
If
what you’re saying is true…and I have the instinct it is-”

“
And she has great instincts,” added Dillon.

She sighed at being interrupted and then finished, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet one of the Weatherfords.” Then she extended her hand and my mother took it without reserve.

After a brief handshake Charlotte turned to me. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve started. My brother…” she glanced at Jameson “seems to be right about you. I’m glad you two are together…” She paused to smirk, one that was for the first time not aimed at me. “If it aggravates The Sevens.”

Vinnia laughed under her breath. “I’m with you on that…”

I laughed with Charlotte and Vinnia, as friends do in any other setting, something I enjoyed more than I imagined I would, and from that point Ms. Veilleux seemed to feel safe enough to release the rest of them. They moved unrestricted around the debris and as I watched them I noticed how they seemed more relaxed around each other, not quite friendly but on the same level of newly formed acquaintances. We were starting from scratch with a new perspective. And it gave me hope.

“
Amazing what the truth can accomplish…” muttered Jameson.

I laughed softly, released his hand, and wrapped an arm around his sculpted waist, enjoying the feel of his muscles beneath my fingertips. “I was thinking the same thing.”

He leaned over and kissed my temple, stirring excitement in me so that I rotated my head and met his kiss with my lips.

Charlotte groaned.

“
Sorry,” I said through a smile, pulling away as Jameson laughed without remorse.

Burke, standing a few feet away didn’t notice. His attention was on something else as he kicked a singed piece of railing. “Ms. Veilleux, I’m sorry about this…about the school…about everything.”

“
We all are,” said Estelle, humbled.

“
What…What will you tell them?” Alison asked, openly dismayed.

Ms. Veilleux’s lips tucked under briefly as she contemplated it. “The truth. That we had a fire we couldn’t immediately contain.” She winked then, in case we missed her analogy. “Unfortunately, they’ll still use it as an excuse.” That message wasn’t lost either. We all knew what she meant. The Sevens had their reason to send in Vires, to surround us, to find some way to eliminate their threat.

“
And they’ll act quickly,” cautioned my mother.

“
Then so will we,” I said, surprising myself at my resolute tone. It earned a smile of respect from my mother and nods of agreement from everyone else. “First things first…”

“
Right, we start by spreading the news,” Jameson said, following my line of thought. Then he grinned and said, “Jocelyn, I think it’s about time you met my parents…”

22 THE PLAN

A layer of fog sat like a thick, white skin over the water’s edge drifting toward the lowest branches of the cypress trees. The smell of moss and decay was strong tonight, lingering in the still air. In the distance, an owl made its presence known giving the swamp an eerie quality.

“
I’ve heard of this place but…” Spencer whispered as if he were on sacred ground.

“
But you never thought you’d see it?” I finished, not bothering to hide my voice.

“
Never…”

Estelle laughed to herself. “When I was a little girl, I used to think I’d end up here.”

“
That’s still possible,” Oscar warned with a smile. He was teasing but a few others raised their eyebrows suspecting.

Aunt Lizzy, who had been chattering continuously since we’d left the house, was now tentative and speechless, telling me that this was her first trip here as well.

For once,
I
was introducing them to something new.

As we stood on the bank, my mother and Aunt Lizzy to the left and my cousins to the right, dense air began to swirl in the distance and the faint sound of a motorboat rose over the water. The fog broke and Jameson’s boat glided toward us, around cypress stumps and shallow sand bars. By the time he’d docked and roped it, I was grinning excitedly. His frequent glances in my direction as he secured the boat were proof that he’d missed me too.

His sandy blonde hair was combed back to expose his bright, expectant green eyes. I was momentarily captured by them only to be drawn away by the crisp white button down curving in on his muscles underneath. He looked out of place, like someone stepping off a GQ cover.

It had been two days since the incident in the courtyard and although we’d spent those days together, he’d left me tonight to arrive earlier with his family. Because of that, it had been a very long evening for both of us.

When he pulled his eyes away, he finally addressed those standing around me. “All of you came,” Jameson stated, nodding. “Good. It’ll be helpful for everyone on both sides to meet.”

Aunt Lizzy, who was now carefully stepping across the dock’s rotting boards, her arms spread eagle for stability, said, “Thank you for the ride.”

“
Here,” said Jameson hastily climbing out of the boat. “Let me help you.”

“
Oh…pish,” she said in frustration and a second later her feet were lifted up over the bow of the boat to her seat.

Vinnia chuckled in awe before following Aunt Lizzy’s example and simply levitating into the boat. She, Aunt Lizzy and I then lifted the rest of my cousins to their seats.

My mother and I, being the last ones on the dock, gave each other a fleeting glance before she asked, “You don’t need my assistance, do you?”

“
No,” I replied, briefly stunned that she knew I had the ability to levitate. We’d kept that information hidden from Aunt Lizzy and Miss Mabelle. I’d also been careful not to use it since my mother arrived. But she had her ways of learning details about others which she had no qualms about applying to me. “How long have you known?”

“
A while,” she replied coyly, gave me a wink, and levitated herself to her seat.

I could have levitated. Everyone knew this. But standing alone on the dock, I bent down and accepted Jameson’s hand. Knowing our touch would be limited under the eyes of our families tonight, I was going to take advantage of every situation I could. And as his hand came around mine and our eyes met, the heat of exhilaration settled in my stomach and I was glad to have decided on it.

Then Estelle threatened my plan by suggesting, “Think we should just levitate everyone there?”

Jameson came to my rescue by mentioning, “I need to get the boat back anyways - for my family.”

“
Okay,” she shrugged and settled back against the boat’s edge, to my relief.

Jameson winked at me and then sat down. It was a calculated move so that he landed with our thighs pressed together. He must have known we would need to act with restraint too because he didn’t move the entire trip.

As we passed smoothly through the village I noticed that it was back to normal. Lanterns were lit outside the stilted homes. From within, light and laughter flowed out. As I watched, the heat from my stomach rose and settled in my chest, warming my heart.

Behind me, it remained silent and I knew my mother, aunt and cousins were studying the village. Then we reached our destination where people I assumed to be Jameson’s parents had congregated with Isadora at the end of her dock.

“
And here we go…” Estelle chortled beneath her breath.

Mrs. Caldwell, a stout woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a defined chin, was assessing us as we approached. She looked like someone who knew how to handle just about any situation, someone my mother could relate to. She was holding hands with Mr. Caldwell, a man with kind eyes, notably long legs, a stocky torso, and graying beard. He looked like Jameson might in fifty years if someone were to tell Jameson that his son had fallen in love with the enemy. In other words, he accepted it with poise and dignity.

Once we were tied to the dock and everyone had disembarked, Jameson ushered his parents forward and introduced us each by name.

Very carefully and with a great amount of hesitation, Mrs. Caldwell offered her hand. Only when my mother stepped up and took it did it seem like everyone breathed again. From there, the timidity lessened as hands crossed and genuine salutations were extended.

At the end of our introductions, Mrs. Caldwell hesitated just before admitting what was going through her mind. “I’ll be honest with you, Isabella. My initial instinct was to reject this meeting. I was also inclined to refute what Jameson has said about you and your family. But I think you can appreciate our sense of prudence.”