Seers (35 page)

“Sorry I bailed on you yesterday,” he began.

“Don’t apologize—you needed it. Grandma works you too hard in that yard.”

“Yeah, well—it’s looking good though, isn’t it?” I nodded, and poured some milk into my full bowl.

He watched me eat for a moment, then he set his mug in the sink. “Well, if you don’t need your car this morning, I’m going to take it to the mechanic and get that oil changed.”

“That should be fine. I’m going to be hanging out with Aaron pretty much all day, so I shouldn’t need the car.”

“Oh, the Fall Ball, that’s right—Grandma mentioned that.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but at the last second he changed his mind. “Well, I should be back soon. No more than

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an hour.”

“Be safe,” I told him.

“It’s not my intention to drive like a maniac,” he assured me.

I gave him a smile and then he was gone, already holding a spare set of keys to my car. I heard the front door open and close, and then I was alone.

I finished my breakfast, and then returned to my bedroom. I read for a while, but the silence in the house was driving me crazy.

I finally decided that an angry pair of sisters was better than a sleeping pair, and I knocked on Jenna’s door.

“Jenna? Wake up.” I crossed the hall in two steps, and knocked on Josie’s. “Come on you guys, wake up. I’m bored.” There was no answer. From Josie, I could understand—she was a heavy sleeper. But Jenna usually woke at the slightest sound.

I moved back to Jenna’s door, knocked once, harder than before. “Jenna?”

The momentary panic I’d felt last night was returning. “I’m going to get the key,” I told her. There was a key for all our bedrooms, tucked away in the kitchen. By unspoken rule we weren’t supposed to threaten each other with them. We were supposed to respect privacy, and all that. But I wasn’t in the mood.

When Jenna didn’t reply, I went downstairs, opened the right drawer and snatched up the two keys I needed. I almost ran up the stairs this time, and it took a few tries for my suddenly unsteady hands to fit the key into the lock.

Finally it slid in, and I turned it quickly. I pushed the door, and it swung open.

My heart nearly stopped.

Jenna’s room was empty. Her bed hadn’t been slept in.

Almost in a daze, I moved for Josie’s room. I unlocked it, twisted the knob, and found a similar sight. The only difference from Jenna’s empty room was that Josie’s was a complete mess. I couldn’t tell if she’d slept in her bed, because she never made it—it always looked slept in.

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For a short moment, I didn’t know what to do. And then I was running down the stairs, back to the kitchen, snatching up the phone and looking in the memory until I found it—James Col ins.

It rang several times, and I found myself pacing, gnawing on my thumbnail.

Finally someone answered—a small voice. “Yeah?”

“Is your mom there?” I asked.

The small boy answered very slowly. “Nope, I think she’s at the store.”

I tried to think of something to say—what to ask.

“Who is this?” he asked.

“I’m Kate. Is Josie or Jenna there?”

“Um . . . they were last night. Their sister picked them up, though.”

My knees went weak, and I had to clutch the edge of the counter to keep from falling to the hard floor. Suddenly everything fell into place. The car I’d heard—not the twins, but Grandpa. The twins had been picked up by a sister—definitely not me.

“Did you notice the kind of car they left in?” I asked, desperately hoping that he wasn’t as young as he sounded. I needed him to confirm my suspicions, though it was the last thing I wanted to face.

“Um, yeah, it was a Toyota. Silver, I think. Why?” I know it wasn’t a lot to go on, but somehow I knew. It didn’t matter that the only witness I had was a seven year old boy—

Selena Avalos had kidnapped my sisters.

I didn’t answer his question. I thanked him thinly, and then hung up. I held the phone for a long moment, just trying to breathe. How had I let this happen? I knew they were in danger.

So what if Toni kept an eye on them at school? I should never have let them go to that party. And I never should have gone back to sleep without making sure it was really them.

I tossed the phone onto the counter, and pulled out my cell from my pocket.

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It rang twice—more like one and a half, really—and then I heard Patrick’s voice, slightly tired. “Kate?” I couldn’t breathe. I was shaking. My head hurt. My heart was pounding. “She has them,” I croaked.

His voice was more alert, more focused—more concerned.

“Kate? What’s wrong?”

“Selena Avalos. She has my sisters.” Now that I’d told someone—admitted my horrible mistakes aloud—I couldn’t remain standing. My legs folded, and I sat heavily on the floor, my dizzy head pressed against the cupboards behind me.

The only control I had seemed to be in my arm—the one that held the phone almost painfully to my ear.

“Where are you?” Patrick asked quickly.

“My house,” I whispered, tears stinging in my eyes. “Please hurry, Patrick.”

s

The front door was unlocked, and Patrick walked in without knocking. He’d just hung up the phone when he pulled up to the house, and I was just closing mine when our eyes met. He was standing just inside the door, I was still sitting on the floor of the kitchen; only the long entryway separating us. His face was a perfect blend of pity, fear, and anger.

He didn’t bother to close the door. He crossed the space between us in several long strides, and then in one swift motion he was crouching next to me, gathering me in his powerful arms.

I fell against him, aware that Toni would be coming in right behind him, but not caring.

“I should have done something,” I groaned into his shoulder.

“This is all my fault.”

I’d told him everything I knew over the phone, during the few minutes it had taken him to drive here, and he was shaking his head—protesting my self-beatings just like he had in the car. “No, it’s not. You couldn’t have known. I should have seen it, though.

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I’m so sorry.”

Patrick pulled me to my feet but continued to embrace me until my trembling subsided.

Once I stopped shaking, he released all but one hand, and we both turned to face Toni, who was hesitating in the open doorway.

“Come in,” I told him, wiping quickly at my face, trying to dry the tears. I wasn’t crying anymore—the shock and fear—and even a good portion of the guilt—were fleeing. Taking over my emotions now was anger. I wanted to rip Selena’s eyes out. She would pay for messing with me and my sisters. They were all I had left.

“So,” Toni said, closing the front door and walking slowly back to the kitchen. “What’s the plan?” Patrick’s voice was very low, and there was a deep undercurrent of something dangerous. “She gave us her number—obviously for this purpose. They want Kate—it’s going to be a trade.”

“Then let’s do it—call her.”

Patrick shook his head at me. “We can’t do that. It goes against what the Guardians stand for—”

“They’re my sisters!” I exploded at him, yanking my hand out of his. I know he was stung, but in that second I didn’t care. Let him hurt a little. This was as much his fault as it was mine, and I didn’t want to feel all the responsibility. “I don’t care about you Guardians—your laws, your rules. I could care less if all of this just disappeared. They’re two little girls, and they don’t deserve this! They’ve been through enough pain. They’ve lost their parents—they don’t need this!”

Patrick’s eyes never left mine, though I could see the hurt in his tense face. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Of course we’ll get them back. I never meant that we wouldn’t.” I continued to stare at him, already wishing I could take the words back—it was obvious that they’d cut him deeply. But instead of apologizing I tried to steady my breathing.

“Then you’ll call her?” I asked at last.

He nodded. “If that’s what you want.” He looked up at Toni.

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“Call Jack Williams—we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“You got it, man.” Toni pulled out his phone, and wandered back into the family room, dialing quickly.

Patrick pulled out his own phone, and flipped it open. He typed out her number from memory, and then held the phone to his ear, still watching my face.

In the quiet room, I could just make out the muted sound of the ringing. After several tense seconds, someone answered. The words were quiet and distant for me, and I couldn’t make sense of them.

Patrick’s tight face never wavered as he spoke. “All right, you have my attention. Where are they?” She said something briefly.

He didn’t answer right away.

She repeated her words, more firmly this time.

Stiffly, he extended the phone to me. “She wants you,” he said softly, eyes tight.

I took the phone quickly. My fear was gone. “If you’ve hurt them, I swear I’ll drive a knife in your heart myself.” I heard the husky laugh of Selena Avalos, and it made me sick.

“Now, now, remember what I said about getting uppity? Your sisters are fine—for now. They wouldn’t stop talking at first, but once the drugs kicked in . . . they’ve been a lot more manageable.”

“Where are you? What do you want?”

“I propose an exchange. Or rather, my boss does.”

“Quin Romero.”

“Not bad, for a watch dog. But still, a little too high and mighty, for my taste. I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes. Be on the road, and I’ll tell you where to go. Go ahead—bring your Guardians. I’m sure they’ll enjoy the ride.”

“I want to talk to them,” I said forcefully, but she’d already hung up. I let out a shaky breath, and then I snapped the phone shut, and handed it back to him. My voice was wooden. “She’ll call back in fifteen minutes, with further instructions. She wants

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us in the car.”

Patrick slipped his phone into his pocket, nodding to show he understood.

The front door suddenly opened and Grandpa caught sight of us from the entryway, though his eyes were squinting until almost closed. They had yet to adjust from the bright sunlight outside, so he walked quite slowly into the kitchen.

My mind scrambled for some excuse to have Patrick here—

then I wondered if Patrick would have gone invisible. There was no way for me to tell, so I decided to force a smile and—for the moment—pretend like I was alone. Of course, I knew Grandpa would notice my tears. He was too observant to not notice, but maybe he would be blinded enough that I could escape before it could really register.

Grandpa stepped into the kitchen, still squinting. He took in my face, and then he glanced at Patrick.

My mind scrambled for a good lie to explain his presence.

And then my Grandpa said something so unexpected, it took me almost a full minute to realize all the implications—and even then I didn’t fully understand. “Kate,” he asked me slowly, his brow furrowed tightly. “Would you mind telling me exactly what a Guardian is doing in our kitchen?” 274 K • • •

Thirty-one

Patrick recovered long before I did—all the dots connecting faster than mine were appearing. His eyes were wide, but his voice was composed at least. “You’re a Seer,” he stated, surprise almost making it sound like a question.

Grandpa Bennett nodded once, giving Patrick the once over.

“I don’t think I ever met you. You have to understand, though, I left the life of a Seer years and years ago.”

“Grandpa?” I finally choked. “You’re a Seer!?” He shrugged a single shoulder, his dirty suspenders almost creaking with the motion. “Since I was about twenty-five or so.

Nearly died in the Vietnam war—you’ve heard the story before, I just left out the small detail of my newfound Sight. Of course, I stopped helping the Guardians several years after I married your Grandmother.”

So many things suddenly made sense to me—it was more information than I could digest in a single second. “You can see my aura—that’s how you read me so well. You can see my emotions. You cheated!”

Grandpa nodded calmly. “Yes. And when I visited you in the hospital, and heard you talking about colors and auras, I knew exactly what was happening to you.”

“But . . . then why didn’t you say anything?” I tried to keep the accusing voice to a minimum.

“Before I had the chance, you were back to normal—or so you

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pretended. Very well, I might add. I thought your feelings of isola-tion came from your parents’ death—not your secrets. Forgive an old man’s inability to handle a situation. I just supposed that the Guardians had become super efficient, and that they were able to deaden your Sight while you were still in the hospital. I guess I was so relieved that you weren’t like me, I didn’t bother to ask you much about it.”

“What about Grandma?” I asked, wondering if my life could fall apart any more than it already had. “Does she know about all this?”

Grandpa snorted. “Do you think that woman could handle her world getting that shaken up? She’s always liked things just so.” He nodded toward me, a knowing look in his eye. “You’ll find that the less you can tell the people you love, the better.”

“I can’t believe it,” I whispered. “You’re a Seer. All this time . . .

you’ve known everything.”

He sent a hard glance back toward Patrick. “Well, not quite everything. I had no idea you were involved in all of this. I just thought you suffered from severe boy problems.” Toni started speaking to us from the other room, heading quickly back to the kitchen. Grandpa jumped and twisted around in surprise, so we were all facing him when he would finally make his appearance at the door. “Well, Jack’s definitely in. He’ll bring Jason along too, and then we can . . .” Toni’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of my Grandfather. “Um. Hi.” He smiled, though it was small and awkward. “I’m a friend of Kate’s. We’re just trying to plan a little get together, you know, live it up like youngsters do . . .”