The Geneva Project - Truth (13 page)

The lunch bell finally sounded and I scurried to the dining hall as fast as I could.  I wanted to get my food and get to our table quickly so I’d have as much time as possible to talk with Sparrow and the others.  I heard Remi calling after me as I ran down the hall, but I put my head down and kept going, pretending not to hear him.  It made me feel bad to ignore him and my cheeks burned with shame. 

I was the first one to arrive at our table.  Sparrow and Journey joined me shortly, and then Nova.  He looked worried, which totally threw me off because that wasn’t what I was expecting.  I thought he would be pretty peeved after last night, and I had a whole speech prepared that I was going to telepath to him, apologizing and explaining that I was ready to work with everyone so we could get my powers under control.  But this, this whole worried, timid-looking Nova was the last thing I expected and it was throwing me off.  I just stared at him, unsure of what to do or say.  We all sat there silently glancing from one to the other.  I could feel the uneasiness and it was making me squirm because I knew I was the cause for it. 

They were all unsure of me, maybe even scared.  And who could blame them?  I was the unpredictable one, turning hands to stone and stopping time on a whim.  I was scared of me, too.  I looked down at my small, rough hands on the thick, dark wood of the dining table.  They looked so fragile compared to the oiled, aged wood.  It’s marred complexion looked like it could stand the test of time, while my hands, well, they looked so plain and ordinary.  How could they be the hands of such power and possible destruction?  I had to quickly clasp them together to stop them from shaking.  I was quivering in my very soul, as I tried to fight back the tears that were beginning to form. 

Nova reached out and grabbed my hands.  He felt steady and warm and I felt his familiar comfort soothing me.  I pulled one hand away so I could place it atop of his to show my appreciation.  Slowly Sparrow added her hand to the top of mine, and then Journey followed suit.  I could actually feel them, feel their support washing over me, calming me, giving me courage—and more importantly—hope.  Hope that I would be able to find out the truth behind all of this, and hope that I would be able to handle it all, with their help.  Even though we could have had a perfect conversation through telepathy, we didn’t need to.  For the first time we communicated to each other perfectly through our unspoken bond.  Somehow, I knew we each completely understood each other and had the same goal: to understand what I could do and how to control it so we could figure out the truth.

I was oblivious to the fact that Remi walked over to our table until he cleared his throat. 

“
Well, I guess I’m not a part of this pact so I’ll just find somewhere else to go be excluded,” he said in a huff.

His words broke us all from our trance and we pulled our hands back.  I tried to protest as he turned to walk away, but Nova cut me off. 
Let him go, Tippy. 

I didn’t know how long he had been standing there watching us all holding hands, staring at each other.  It must have looked pretty strange.  I looked around the dining hall to see if anyone else had noticed us, but everyone seemed oblivious, caught up in their dull little cliques that I not so distantly ago longed to be a part of.  I stared after Remi and watched him until he disappeared into a crowd milling about in the opposite end of the hall. 

“
It’s better this way,” Nova said softly.

“
How?” I asked bitterly.

“
Well, it’s safer,” offered Sparrow, back to her glass-half-full optimism. “You don’t need to drag him into this mess until we have this all figured out, that way you can’t hurt him.”

“
I’m pretty sure I just did,” I sulked.

“
Yes, but he’ll recover from this.  A stone arm?  Not so much,” ribbed Journey.

We all glared at him.

“
What? Too soon?  Aw, come on, it was my arm she maimed and I’m okay with it.  Let’s move on,” he said putting his hands behind his head looking bored.

“
Yes, lets,” I said.  “What’s the plan?” I asked looking to Nova.

“
I have one, but we need to test a few things out first.  I want us to meet in the forest every night for the next week at least and we’ll see if we’re ready for the next step.”

“
Is there any other time we can work together besides the forest?  It doesn’t leave us much time with all the sneaking in and out we have to do,” I said.

“
Well we have breakfast, lunch, and dinner to discuss things and plan, anywhere else would look too suspicious,” Nova said.

He must have been reading my mind again because I was already thinking of suggesting we go to our secret place behind the palm in the courtyard.  He was probably right though.  If we were always disappearing together it might draw attention.  Plus it would be harder for all four of us to get there.  With all of us trying to avoid the Grifts and tarcats someone would surely get caught.  And I guess it would be kind of cramped back there for all of us anyway. 

“
Okay, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to plot and plan, and the forest each night to practice.  I’m in,” I said grinning for the first time all day.

“
Me too,” said Sparrow. 

Nova and Journey just nodded.

“
One more thing though,” I added.  “I have to know the plan.”

“
I thought you might say that,” said Nova, he was grinning now, too. 

He leaned in and lowered his voice, drawing us all closer, held by suspense. 

“
You want answers, well we’re going to get them.  We’re all going to the locker!”

“
What?!” we all exclaimed simultaneously, pushing back from Nova. 

“
Are you mad?  We don’t need much of a plan to get sent to the locker!  And I thought we were trying to avoid getting caught!” I said in a rushed whisper.

“
Well the locker is the only place you’re going to get the answers we all need.  Remember the legend of Lux I was telling you about?  Well, how do you think I learned it?  All that time I spent in the locker has paid off.  It’s not such a dull place to be when you shed a little light,” he said slyly.

“
That’s right!” I said, suddenly remembering what Nova told me about the locker.  I had almost forgotten about that with all the chaos of last night. 

“
What are you saying, Nova?” asked Sparrow.

He leaned in again, serious this time, speaking in a whisper. “The legend is down there.  It’s written on the walls.  We need to go down there and read it.  It’ll help us understand Tippy’s powers, because if she’s who we think she is…,” he paused, “well, there’s just a lot we need to learn.” 

I looked around at our little group. 
“Are you all still in?”

“
Yes.”

“
Yep.”

“
Of course.”

“
Okay, well it’s settled then, we will meet back here to come up with the best way to get in and out of the locker and we’ll practice those skills when we go to the forest.  We need to do it soon though because the New Year Gala is coming and we need to have this figured out by then.”
said Nova.

Gong!

Our little group of four worked tirelessly over the next few days.  We plotted together over each meal in a hurried whisper.  We practiced all our powers in the forest at night, but there never seemed to be enough time.  Mostly because I slowed us down with all my questions.  I didn’t know enough about the Truiets and how everything worked.

“
Isn’t there like a Brief History of Truiet Magic she could take?” Nova joked one afternoon.

“
I know, I know, I’m sorry,” I said.

“
Well…” Journey spoke up grabbing our attention.  “I might know someone who could help her.”

“
Have you been holding out on us, Journey, is there another one of us here?” Nova said, suddenly hostile.

“
No, not exactly.  I just have a hunch about this.  When we’ve been going to the forest, I’ve been seeing signs.”

“
What kind of signs?” Sparrow asked.

“
Well, the old Truiet markers.  Carved into trees and rocks.”

“
Yeah, I’m sure there are old signs still out there.”

“
Well, that’s what I thought at first, but it’s been so long and I’m sure the Flood destroyed most of them.  And then last night I saw a new one.”

“
How do you know it was new?” asked Nova skeptically.

“
It was glowing.  They only glow blue like that for about two days.” 

“
How come none of us saw it?” I asked.

“
You have to know what to look for.  The Truiets hid their signs to protect their people.  This way only those with their powers could find them.  I can show you the markers tonight so you know what to look for,” Journey said.

“
So you’re saying there are Truiets living in the forest?” Sparrow asked.

“
Yes,” Journey said slowly.

“
That’s impossible, they were all killed in the Flood,” Sparrow said.

“
I actually agree with Journey,” Nova said, shocking us all.

“
What?” I asked.

“
Well, I’ve been working out there for a while now and I sometimes get this feeling that I’m not alone out there, like there are other power sources out there somewhere.  I could never figure it out or see any signs of anyone other than us orphans and Grifts, but it’s just a feeling.  What you’re saying confirms it.”

“
Okay, so even if this is true, we can’t just go hand Tippy over to a Truiet and say, ‘hey, can you teach her all your secrets?’” Sparrow said.

“
Why not?” I asked.

They all just looked at me, shaking their heads.

“
What?  Come on, I’m sick of being in the dark about how all this magic power stuff works.  It’s slowing us down.”

“
She’s right,” said Nova, again surprising me that he was on board.  “When we go out tonight, show me the markers and I’ll try to get a bearing on it tomorrow during Flood work.  Maybe I can find one of them and try to see if they might be open to helping us.”

Journey nodded and we all got up from the table as the bell chimed. 

I caught a glimpse of Remi across the dining hall as I was leaving.  I never saw who he was sitting with now or if he was hiding all alone somewhere.  I pushed that thought out of my mind because it made me feel guilty for neglecting my best friend.  I just needed to get to the bottom of all of this.  Maybe once I did, I would be able to tell him and he could help me!  Remi would be the perfect person to tutor me on the Truiets if he knew about them.  He’s so smart and always did such a good job helping me concentrate on our studies.  Speaking of studies, they’ve really been suffering this week without Remi.  We had exams coming up soon before the New Year, but I could hardly ask him to help me cram after excluding him from everything else that was going on in my life. 

I tried to push Remi out of my mind as I went back to our room to get ready for music rehearsal, but I just about smacked into him on my way to my wardrobe. 

“
Uh, sorry.  I…”

“
You just were looking right through me.  Don’t worry, I’m starting to get used to it,” he scathed.

“
Remi, no it’s not like that!  You’re my best friend.”

“
Really?  Because I thought friends talked to each other, included each other in their lives.  It’s like you’ve been living in another world since you started hanging out with them.  I never see you anymore and you’re always with them, whispering.  What is going on with you, 65?”

“
Remi…”

I longed for him to understand me.  I begged forgiveness with my eyes and pleaded mercy with each beat of my heart, but it didn’t work.  The damage was done.  He knew I wasn’t going to tell him anything and he was hurt and angry and I couldn’t blame him.  I watched him shake his head and walk away from me as my heart was breaking under the pain I had caused him. 

It was as if I could feel his pain.  My chest felt tight and heavy, and I had a lump in my throat that tasted of bitter despair that was threatening to suffocate me.  It choked back my words and thankfully my tears.  I felt dizzy and confused, like I was lost at sea with no North Star for guidance.  Remi was my North Star, but I had just cut him loose to wander aimlessly in space.  It seemed the star and the sea didn’t know what to do without each other.