Seers (10 page)

I quickened my step, but refused to run. A fast walk was acceptable, though.

I felt him coming up behind me and my body tensed, though I refused to show it. I lifted my head and stared straight ahead, unwilling to show any sign of weakness.

He drew up beside me, matching his long strides to mine.

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“Kate, will you let me explain?” He asked, his voice not quite a whisper, but pretty close.

“No. Stay away from me.” Before I could veer away from him he was grabbing my arm, keeping me close to his side. “Let go of me!” I growled, glaring up at him. We were still walking, but slowing down as we neared the parking lot.

“No,” he said firmly. “Not until you listen to me.”

“Why are you here?” I demanded.

I guess I expected him to say something like, ‘I’m here because I really am a normal kid, just trying to make it through high school’. Something like that, anyway. Some sort of denial that he was different. At the most, I expected him to admit to being psychic too, but that our meeting was purely incidental.

At any rate, the last thing I expected was the answer he really gave me.

We’d stepped off the curb and were standing at the edge of the parking lot. He yanked my arm, pulling us both to a stop. I was looking up at him, trying to keep my face as hard and smooth as possible. He was staring down at me, his face calm and almost emotionless.

His eyes bored right into mine and his lips slowly but deliberately moved. “I’m here for you.”

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Nine

I stared at him, my mouth dropping open. He met my stare evenly, his clear blue eyes flickering across my face, fighting to measure my reaction.

I blinked, and my voice broke despite my best efforts. “You are stalking me? Why?” I attempted to jerk my arm away but his grip was like iron.

“Please, you don’t understand,” he spoke lowly and quickly.

His rushed words hardly made sense. “Normally this doesn’t happen. You’re different. I didn’t mean to scare you—I was supposed to be reassuring. Once I opened myself to you, I thought I’d cleared all doubt—it usually works.”

“That day, when you opened the door for me?” I broke in, desperate to understand. I couldn’t lie to myself—I was scared, and growing more so every passing second, but this exchange was strangely exhilarating. Now I understood why people jumped out of airplanes.

“Yes,” he nodded once, the motion clipped and harsh. “I was trying to get close to you, by showing you I meant you no harm.” Meant? I may not be a straight A student, but I recognized the usage of past tense. I tried pulling my arm away again, this time putting all my body weight into it. He hardly wavered under the strain—only tightened his grip. I was stuck.

I kept pulling anyway, leaning away from him even as I glared bravely into his pale face. “Why me? What do you want from me!?”

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“You can see auras,” he stated firmly. “Ever since your parents died.”

“How did you know that?” I gasped loudly. “How could you possibly have known that!?”

“I know a lot of things about your family. Things about you.” I used my fingernails to start clawing at his restraining hand, but he only snatched that wrist too. He sighed deeply, gripping both my wrists.

“I’ll scream,” I threatened, still gasping from the adrenaline rush.

“No, you won’t,” he countered. “Because you want answers.”

“Let go of me.”

“No. You have to listen to me, and we can’t talk here.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” He jerked my arms, pulling my body closer to his. I was still straining to lean away but his face lowered toward mine, his voice extremely deep. “Kate, I won’t hurt you. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then let me go!” I nearly cried.

“I can’t do that. We need to talk.”

“Who’s Toni?”

He blinked in surprise—whether from the words, or the demanding way I said them, I don’t know. But it was enough. The split second of surprise was all I needed. I pushed with all my might, my fear and adrenaline lending me strength. I crashed into his chest and he fell, initially pulling me with him. But then his arms shot out instinctively to catch himself, or at least to cushion his fall. That was my moment. I fell onto the curb, but was already rolling away from him. I felt my elbows grind painfully against the cement but then I was lunging to my feet and darting into the parking lot.

I heard him scrambling on the ground and then pounding after me, his breath coming in even pants as he ran.

I was faster, but only just. I spotted my car and aimed for the passenger door, knowing that Lee hadn’t locked it—she never

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did, unless I verbally reminded her, which, luckily, this morning I hadn’t. I slammed into my car, clawed for the handle and yanked it up. The door opened, and I all but jumped inside, jerking it closed behind me. I slapped my hand against the lock, just before Patrick’s hands landed on the window.

“Kate!” He called through the glass, his eyes panicked.

“Please—open the door. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I would never do that. Please.”

“Stay away from me!” I yelled, crawling backwards over the emergency brake and into the driver’s seat.

“Kate, please, this is important. Have you seen anyone else with a different aura—aside from me and Toni?” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys. My hands were shaking, but I tried to ignore that as I fitted the key into the ignition. I could feel my phone in my pocket, and I was grateful I hadn’t left it in my locker with my backpack. The small device offered a small sense of security. All I had to do was push a few buttons and I could be connected with reality again.

I started the car, and shifted into gear, not bothering with my seatbelt. The car started to roll forward, but Patrick just walked alongside it, palms still pressed to the window.

“Kate—Have you seen anyone with a black aura? Kate?” Once clear of the other cars, I pressed more firmly against the accelerator and Patrick started jogging next to the car to keep up with me. “Kate, listen to me. It’s only a matter of time. If you see anyone with a black aura you need to get—” I reached the exit and launched into the street with more speed than I’d used since the accident. But it had the desired effect. Patrick’s hands slipped away from the car, and he stopped running after me.

As I shifted into third I looked into my rear-view mirror.

He was standing in the empty road, watching me with his arms hanging at his sides. His piercing eyes seemed to find mine, though that seemed impossible. He was already receding into the 74 K • • •

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distance—how could he possibly see my eyes in the small mirror?

It wasn’t until I rounded the corner and merged onto another street that I noticed the trembling. I was shaking all over. With weak fingers I fought with my seatbelt until I heard the loud click that signaled its locking into place. Then I leaned back in my seat and sucked in deep breaths. Though my body was beginning to slowly relax, a part of my mind was growing more and more terrified.

I wondered what Patrick had been trying to tell me; what he would have told me if I hadn’t run away. But I’d done the logical thing, hadn’t I? He’d restrained me, chased me, threatened me—

Hadn’t he? My heart was throbbing inside my chest, each beat slightly less painful than the one before it. Yes, my body was sure that I’d done the right thing. But my mind couldn’t stop hearing Patrick’s words, over and over—an endless echo meant to haunt me.

It’s only a matter of time.

s

I drove straight home, and was relieved that my grandparents were gone. I had the house to myself. I parked my car and walked into the house—careful to turn all the locks safely back into place.

I went straight to my room, still clutching my keys. I laid on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, my mind reeling with a million different thoughts.

Patrick knew about me. He’d known about me before I’d told him anything. He was here for me. Why? And black auras? More strange people were going to come into my life?

It’s only a matter of time.

I kept an eye on the clock, and when it was time I headed back out to my car. Once inside I locked the door again, the small security a necessary thing in my current condition. I was completely freaked. I drove back to the high school, hoping that Lee would be ready and waiting. I didn’t want to linger. But my worry was

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unfounded—Lee was there, and Patrick wasn’t.

She must have been a little surprised to see me already in the car, but she didn’t seem to realize that I’d been gone. She climbed in and immediately started talking about the band teacher, and how awful organizing the music library was going to be.

I nodded occasionally, and she didn’t appear to notice my lack of interest. After she’d exhausted that subject she turned on some loud music. I wanted to talk to someone about what had happened, but I couldn’t find the words. I opened my mouth several times, but nothing came out. So I drove in silence.

Once at the elementary school, I pulled next to the curb and waited for the twins. My eyes scanned the parking lot, despite my fear of seeing something I’d rather not, but all I saw were the usual swirling colors. No black. And—almost more important to me—

no silver.

Jenna tried opening the back door, but it was locked. Lee turned around and unlocked it and Jenna slipped inside, sliding all the way over. Josie was right behind her, the two of them continuing a conversation as they shut the door and put on their seat belts. I started to inch my way out of the parking lot.

“I still think she’s weird,” Josie was saying, shoving her backpack to the floor.

“I think she’s awesome,” Jenna argued happily. “You just hate her cuz you’re getting bad grades already.”

“It’s school—who cares?”

“Maybe you should care.”

“That’s the best comeback you’ve got?”

“What was wrong with it?”

“It was so not cool.”

Jenna leaned forward, pushing her head up between the two front seats. “You guys heard about Ms. Rhodes, didn’t you?” Lee turned down the sound just slightly. “Ms. R? She’s still teaching here? She’s an old bat.”

“That’s just it—she’s not teaching anymore.” 76 K • • •

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Lee glanced back at Jenna. “She retired?” Though my mind was focused on other things, I found myself listening to the conversation despite myself.

Jenna was shaking her head. “Nope. That’s the weird thing.

She was there the first couple of days, then just disappeared.” Josie shoved her head up beside Jenna’s, her eyes rolling. “It’s not that exciting. She didn’t show up Thursday, so we have a substitute until the school can get a hold of her.”

“She’s not answering her phone?” Lee asked.

Jenna bobbed her head. “Kinda freaky, huh? Someone was going to go by her house today, but I never heard what happened.”

“She probably just lost her mind and forgot what day it was,” Josie argued, “Can we hear something else?”

“What if she was murdered or something?” Jenna asked quietly, and though I could tell she was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing, some fear was leaking through. “I mean, people get murdered every day. It makes sense that it would happen to someone we know eventually.”

“Who would murder an old sixth-grade teacher?” Josie snorted, settling back into her seat.

Lee shrugged, pushing her long black hair over one shoulder.

“Probably any of her past students.” Josie laughed, but Jenna broke into the sound. “Anyway, until she gets back we have a cool sub. Miss Avalos. She grew up in Mexico, and she tells some really awesome stories.”

“I think she’s pretty lame,” Josie argued.

“Just cuz she actually teaches us something—expects us to answer . . . ”

The argument continued, but I tuned it out. I had other things on my mind than missing elementary teachers, and cool or lame subs.

In fifteen minutes I was back in my room and lying on my bed. I could hear the twins downstairs, and I knew that my grandparents would be home soon. My grandpa was so good at reading

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me, I knew he’d start insisting to tell him what was bothering me.

And I wanted to—I just wasn’t ready yet.

And so I called Aaron.

“Hey,” he answered on the second ring. His voice was so surprised and happy, it was easy to picture his aura. “What’s up?”

“Do you want to go out tonight?” I asked, getting right to the point.

He was quiet for just a second, but I knew that was only because he was taken aback. For months he’d been the one forcing me to do everything, and then suddenly out of the blue here I was, asking him out.

“Of course,” he finally answered, his smile even more evident now. “What do you want to do?”

“Anything,” I said, staring up at the ceiling, almost blinded by the pure and boring white.

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Ten

We went to a movie, but I couldn’t have repeated the name of it. There were some battle scenes, and occasionally the theater would burst into laughter. But though I was sitting in one of the best seats in the house with Aaron holding my hand, I wasn’t really there. I was convinced at this point that I’d been wrong to run away from Patrick so soon. I should have learned more about him. Now he probably thought I was a terrified target, and that couldn’t be a good thing. I needed to confront him. The only problem was, I was scared to. I’d joked about him stalking me, but he really had been. According to him, that was the reason he was here. Did he need me for something? Was he here to get my help? But why would he need my help? Did he want me to see how angry his mom was, or help him manipulate his Dad’s emotions? Such simple explanations seemed ridiculous.

But what else could he want with me? Was he psychic too?

Did he hunt down other psychics and kill them, so he could be the only one? And what was his relationship to Toni? Were they friends, or enemies? Should I be telling all of this to the cops?