The Eighth Day (18 page)

“So Evangeline isn't the only one left?”

“There's at least one more. It's not my business to know who or where. But remember how I was gone your first Grunsday? I was tracking down a Kin man who'd been offering to sell information about a hidden Emrys heir. Turns out he was a scam artist. He knew nothing.”

“You're not really Evangeline's jailer,” Jax said. “You're her
guardian
too.”

Riley shrugged. “From her perspective, it probably looks like the same thing. My family's been watching over her since before I was born, but from a distance. I'm the one who decided to move next door.”

“Why?” Jax asked.

“Because when you're the only person left to guard something important, you don't want it let out of your sight.” Riley met Jax's eyes. “When your dad showed up here, I was worried, but it turned out he only wanted to help.”

“My dad . . . ?”

“He was hired to find her and decided
not
to complete
his end of the bargain. His employer was a Kin lord named Wylit—the same one who blew up that town. Wylit's vassals have been hunting for Evangeline for years, thinking she'll help them break the spell. Your father knew
my
father, from long ago, and tracked
me
down using the same talent you have. He was trying to do the right thing.”

Jax swallowed hard. Every time Riley told him something about his father, a little piece of his old life was hacked away. This time Jax felt like he got a chunk back. His father had chosen the side
protecting
Evangeline.

“Would it be such a bad thing?” Jax asked. “For the spell to be broken? To let Evangeline and her people live in all the days of the week?”

“Yes,” Riley said grimly. “You wouldn't want to turn Wylit and some of these other Kin loose on the world. As for Evangeline, I'm sure you don't have any idea how strong she really is, or
could
be, if trained by the right people. Or by the
wrong
people.”

Jax shook his head, not believing it. He'd never seen her show any magical talent. She'd attacked him with
pepper spray
. With the safety lock on.

But Riley continued. “Your dad knew it was dangerous to cross Wylit. I think he planned to move across the country, maybe change your family name like I did. Asking me to look out for you was a backup plan. I wouldn't have refused him in any case, but he did me a big favor.”

“What did he do?”

“Wylit's a slippery one, Jax.
My
father failed to catch him, and so did the Morgans, the Dulacs, and every other clan that tried. But your dad hooked up with them somehow—worked for Wylit's vassals and then helped me plant a spy among them. That's what
I
got out of the deal, and
I swear
, I've been trying to do right by you ever since.”

“Then tell me where you went this week,” Jax said.

Riley sighed. “To convince a pair of Kin men to move from the place where they've been hiding for the past forty years. I had warning their location had been discovered and Wylit's vassals were coming for them. But you read that on my phone, didn't you?”

“The weapons were in case the other guys got there first?”

“Mostly. But these Kin of the Taliesin clan are the ones who hid Evangeline and probably know where the rest of her family is. They've sort of been allies with our side all along, but they've never been what you'd call
friendly
. If they weren't willing to cooperate or if they were able to resist my commands, things could've gotten . . . rough.”

“You didn't—”

“No, we didn't,” Riley said. “Deidre suggested moving them to her college campus, where she could guarantee there were no Kin and no Transitioners other than herself present. They agreed.”

Jax frowned. “Is Evangeline safe now?”

Riley ran a hand through his hair. “I'm not satisfied.
I want to look for another hiding place. Then I'll have to convince her to move. And you realize, Jax—I'll move, too. I go where she goes.”

“What about me?”

“Nothing's changed. I want to put you back with your relatives.”

Jax hurled his dagger into his textbook again. Riley jumped off the desk, startled. “You're wrong,” Jax said. “
I've
changed.”

On Saturday morning, Jax took a long bike ride. He used his own bike. He'd left the stolen one at the local police station on Grunsday evening with the address of the owner attached.
Sorry
, he'd written on the note.

Riley had no idea Jax had been kidnapped. Jax had made it to his lesson with Melinda on time, and no one except Evangeline knew he'd been gone at all. And she clearly wouldn't be telling anyone.

Pedaling aimlessly through town, Jax tried to figure out what he wanted to do now. Mostly, he kept thinking of the things he didn't want to do.

He didn't want to live with Naomi anymore. Living among Normals no longer seemed as safe as it used to. When Terrance abducted Jax, it had been Riley and the Crandalls he hoped would save him, and the Donovans who actually did.

He didn't want to swear loyalty to Riley, either. Jax had grown to like him better and admitted there might even be things to admire in him. However, Jax didn't want to be part of Riley's “chain of command.”

Finally, he didn't want to give up on Evangeline. He'd never met anyone who needed a friend more than she did, whether it hurt or not. If Riley was going to move her, Jax wanted to go too. If she had to be imprisoned for her own safety, then darn it, Jax wanted to make sure she had at least one other person to talk to. The question was whether Riley would let him come, if Jax wasn't one of his vassals. He apparently confided in Deidre, and she wasn't a vassal. But she had other talents Riley valued.

Jax grinned, leaned back on his seat, and let the bike coast.

Jax had a talent, too.

That afternoon, he made a list of the requirements for a “safe house” for Evangeline and had a very good idea. What if they hid her in a boarding school? She liked books. Well, she could have a whole library for herself. And if she hated her eighties clothing, she could “borrow” more modern ones from other girls. Missing food would be blamed on the students, and what school wouldn't love to have a resident ghost? From the little Jax knew about Evangeline, he couldn't think of any circumstances for hiding her she'd find more tolerable.

Well, besides coming out of hiding altogether, of course.

He sat down in front of the computer, laid his dagger beside the keyboard, and whispered one of Melinda's meditation chants to harness his talent. By the time Riley came home from work, Jax hoped to have a list of schools and a well-thought-out argument to counter any objections.

He was only beginning his search when the front door opened and Michael Donovan walked in.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

JAX STOOD UP
so fast, he knocked the chair over. “What're you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet a friend?” Donovan asked cheerfully, setting a pet carrier on the coffee table.

“How'd you find me?”

“Smelled you out, boy!” Donovan grinned. “I knew you didn't live where we left you. We just sniffed around the neighboring towns till we found you. How else was I going to deliver your eighth-day cat?”

Sniffed? Like dogs? Jax stared at the man, aghast, then bent down and peered inside the cat carrier.

It was empty.

“Well, it's not there
now
,” said Donovan. “Won't be back till the eighth day.”

Just as Jax opened his mouth to ask how dumb Donovan thought he was, his phone rang.
Oh, no!
Jax knew who it was before he picked up the phone. “Yeah?”

“Melinda called,” said Riley. “We've got Transitioners in town. I'm on my way, and so is A.J.'s mom.” Jax stared across the room at Donovan, and Riley demanded, “Jax, do you hear me?”

“Yeah,” was all Jax could say.

“It's probably nothing—people passing through who don't know we're here. But if you see anybody, you run. You hear me?” The sound of the motorcycle drowned out Riley's voice.

Jax thumbed the phone off. “You have to get out of here.”

Donovan's grin never wavered. “But we haven't discussed a price for the cat.”

Jax picked up the carrier and tossed it at him. “I mean it! People are coming, and they won't be happy to see you.” If Riley found this man in the house, he might make his first kill after all. And it would probably be
Jax
.

“Smells like somebody important lives here, Dad. No relation of his, though.”

Jax gasped to see Thomas walk down the stairs from the second floor. “How'd you get in here? What were you doing upstairs?” Then, with greater alarm: “Where's Tegan?”

“Takin' a look outside.” Thomas sauntered into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. “Got anything to eat?”

Jax chased after him and, spotting the kitty jar on
the kitchen counter, had an inspiration. “Here's cash.” He pulled out a wad of crumpled bills and shoved it at Thomas. “Take your ‘cat' and get out of this house! Get out of this town!”

“Not a nice welcome for people who saved your life,” Donovan commented.

“I'm trying to save
your
lives now!” Jax sprinted through the house and out the front door to see what Tegan was up to.

He found her standing in the yard, sniffing the air. “Tegan!” He grabbed her by the arm. “You guys set off a security shield, and people are coming. You have to leave
quickly
!”

Her eyes narrowed. “A security shield?”

The squeal of tires a block away made them both turn around. Michael and Thomas were just leaving the house, Thomas counting the cash and Michael holding the cat carrier under his arm. “Scatter,” Tegan said.

Jax had been shouting at them for the last minute and a half, but Tegan's one word sent them running. Thomas scrambled over the fence at the back of the property, while his father made a sharp left turn, crossed the street, and walked between two neighbors' houses. When Jax turned around, Tegan was gone.

Mrs. Crandall's car jumped the curb pulling in front of Riley's house. The driver's door flew open, and Mrs. Crandall climbed out. She stalked toward Jax, looking left
and right. Mr. Blum, who was fertilizing his lawn, eyed her curiously.

“See anybody, Jax?” Mrs. Crandall called out.

Jax remembered her talent. “No strangers.” That was the literal truth. She gave him a sharp look, but the approach of Riley's motorcycle distracted her. She lifted an arm and drew a circle in the air with her finger. Riley acknowledged by raising a hand, then turned off to circle the block. Mrs. Crandall turned off the ignition in her car. “Wait inside, Jax.”

Jax returned to the house and released his breath in a gush. Was the Donovan talent
smelling
people out? That was disgusting! And what had Thomas been doing upstairs? Jax took the stairs two at a time. At the back of the second floor, he found a window open, and when he stuck his head out, he saw the shed directly below.
Well, that's how he got in
. Jax shoved the window closed and locked it.

He took a look around Riley's room, but there was no way for Jax to tell if anything was missing. On his way out, he glanced at the photograph of the girl tucked into Riley's mirror.
Is that his dead sister?
With that reminder of what was at stake, Jax went downstairs to wait.

Later, Jax looked Riley straight in the eye and said, “I went out to look around and didn't see anybody who didn't belong here. Then Mrs. Crandall drove up, and she told me to stay inside.”

He braced for Riley's command:
I order you to tell me the truth
. But it didn't come. “Melinda says these people have passed through her net before. She thinks they might be loners who live not far from here and occasionally shop at the Walmart or get off the highway for gas.”

Jax barely kept his mouth from dropping open.
Of course
Melinda had detected the Donovans before. They probably lived only ten miles away. Jax could have mentioned them at any time after discovering he had classmates who were Transitioners, and Riley wouldn't have been surprised. He wouldn't have had to say a word about being kidnapped.

But he
hadn't
mentioned them to Riley, and now he'd told an outright lie. If he changed his story and confessed, Riley would lose all trust in him. And if Riley didn't trust him, he wouldn't take Jax with him when he moved Evangeline. Jax would end up back at Naomi's, living every Grunsday by himself.

He was going to have to stick with his lie and hope he'd seen the last of the Donovans. He'd given them money, which was all they cared about. There was no reason for them to come back to this house. Jax had nothing more to offer.

“So we're good?” he asked in what he hoped was an innocent voice.

“I guess so,” Riley said, as if trying to convince himself, but he still looked worried. “Doesn't hurt to be cautious, though.”

Riley called in sick to work on Monday to keep a watch on the house next door and almost lost his job for taking another day off. He didn't exactly command his boss not to fire him, but Jax heard him say over the phone, “Have a little sympathy.” Jax shivered. As Melinda had predicted, he was getting a feel for when Riley was using his talent.

Jax went to school for his final exams. To his relief, the Donovans didn't turn up.

“Maybe they moved,” one of the kids said.

“I hope they enjoy repeating seventh grade in their new school,” Miss Cassidy grumbled. But when she picked the blank test off Tegan's desk, Jax heard her add, “It's a shame.
She
had potential.”