The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1) (13 page)

I glanced back up into Rafael’s eyes, worried and confused, but taking comfort in his presence. He still held my hand.

“This is a new development. She didn’t have the
touch
a few days ago,” Rafael said, looking at Jareth. “If she had, I would have contacted you.”

“I wish I could believe what you say.” Jareth rolled his eyes as he lounged against the opposite wall. “But it’s all making more sense now. I never imagined that the Blue-Thread I’ve been tracking of late would be
you
!”

With his brows rising into his hairline, Rafael ordered, “Explain yourself!”

Jareth began to laugh. It was a loud, long, and sarcastic laugh. Finally, he said, “Ah, how ironic it is that you’re Blue-Threaded yourself now, Rafael! You, the most hailed Fate Tracker of us all is now …
Blue
.”

Rafael blinked several times and then turned white.

I couldn’t believe my ears. It was sounding so much like what Jung Lin had written down. I was freaking out and wanted to run, but Jareth was standing in front of the door, and I didn’t think he would get out of the way.

There was a prolonged silence.

“How does it feel?” Jareth drawled at last.

Rafael said nothing.

“And this one!” Jareth nodded at me with his chin. “I’d wager the rest don’t know you’re both Blue now, do they?”

“You’re a strange one to judge,” Rafael finally replied. “I know well that she’s a Blue only because of you.”

Jareth smirked and bowed in front of me with an exaggerated flourish. “Now, all three of us are Blue. What does it mean? Is it disaster or bliss?”

“I … don’t understand,” I said. I was nervous, but I needed answers.

At my words, they both tensed. It was almost as if they had just noticed I was there for the first time.

Squeezing my hand, Rafael pulled me toward the door. “You’ve said far too much, Jareth.”

“Not if she’s a Blue.” Jareth shrugged.

“Stay away from Sydney,” Rafael warned. “If I find our mentor, I’ll contact you.”

“And if you don’t, you’ll pay the worst price. Don’t let the fact that your father heads the Inner Circle give you a false sense of security.” Jareth’s voice had taken on a threatening tone.

At that, Rafael expelled an exasperated breath. “The Inner Circle is a myth. Why hold onto such thinking?”

Jareth sneered. “Again, I’m astounded that anyone believes a naïve fool such as you could be Avalon’s most prized Fate Tracker. If you cannot even see what is before you, how can you read the Threads of Fate?”

“Come, Sydney,” Rafael murmured, pulling me to the door.

“Oh, Sydney!” Jareth called.

I hesitated and looked back over my shoulder at him.

“Here’s your VIP T-shirt” he said, tossing it at me with a mocking grin.

It fell to the floor.

Rafael pulled me out of the room. “This way,” he said, leading me through a dark corridor.

I could see a green exit sign blinking over a partially opened door. When we reached it, I shoved past Rafael to pull it open, but to my surprise, he reached over my head and shut the door with his palm. I whirled to look up at him.

“Stay away from Jareth,” he cautioned quietly. “He’s dangerous.”

“You guys aren’t human, are you?” I blurted. I couldn’t stop myself.

He blinked.

I was beginning to recognize that was how he expressed surprise.

“What makes you think that?” he asked, frowning.

“What was all that talk about being Blue?” I prodded, ignoring his question.

“It is nothing you should remember,” he replied. He was still leaning against the door blocking my way, but he raised his other hand as if to touch my cheek.

“Are you going to wipe my memory?” I squeaked in a high-pitched voice, freaking out.

“What?” He surveyed me in outright surprise. “No one can do that!”

“But I’ve seen Jareth disappear. No one can do that, either!” I said. A little voice in the back of my head told me to shut up, that I shouldn’t be telling him what I knew, but I was rattled and on the verge of losing all control.

“Sydney.” Rafael’s voice was soft and reassuring, but filled with authority. “You must calm down. You should not speak of such things.”

“Why?” I gulped. “Because it’s true?”

“No, because everyone will be concerned for your sanity,” he said. “Or, they might think you’re on drugs.”

I shut my mouth. That was true. I couldn’t decide if he’d just threatened me or not, but I was beginning to lose my fear of him. I wasn’t exactly sure why. “So, what is being Blue and what is a Fate Tracker?” I whispered, watching his handsome face closely.

Exasperated, he expelled his breath. “Have you considered that maybe Jareth is on drugs?”

I didn’t believe that. “How would
you
know?” I challenged.

“He’s my cousin,” he answered coolly.

I was about to snort, but caught myself. They
did
look related. Doubt entered my mind.

Rafael took advantage of my momentary confusion and opening the door, pulled me after him into the parking lot where I could see Betty, Ellison, and Grace waving excitedly at us.

“I’m so glad you got to go backstage, honey!” Betty gushed as we approached.

“What happened? What was the prize?” Ellison asked, craning his head around to see if I was hiding anything behind my back.

“These,” Rafael said, interrupting before I could even open my mouth.

He held out two leather jackets emblazoned with the symbol from Jareth’s latest album.

I didn’t even want to know where the jackets had come from. Rafael obviously knew that I knew he hadn’t been carrying them. I took it as his admission that he wasn’t human. I wanted to know more, but I was thoroughly sick of the whole thing right now.

I just wanted to go home and cuddle up with Jerry.

I closed my eyes, wishing they would all disappear and
stay
disappeared.

“Sydney, your jacket is
so
cool!” Grace was practically drooling over it.

“You can have it,” I said shortly.

Grace squealed, and soon Ellison was squealing as well when Rafael gave the other leather jacket to him.

I snagged my sweatshirt from Betty and slipped it on, letting the fairy runes in my pocket run over my fingers.

Rafael held something small out to me. “You forgot this, Sydney.”

It was a small, round, metal-rimmed hand mirror. I’d never seen anything like it before in my life, but I recognized the fairy protection rune engraved on the back. I don’t know why I took it, but I did, and stuffed it into my pocket.

Rafael nodded at me and then bowed to all of us. “It was pleasant to see all of you. If you’ll excuse me, I must be going.”

To my surprise, Grace just waved at him absent-mindedly. She was too busy whispering with Ellison and comparing jackets.

I watched Rafael walk away feeling conflicting thoughts. I wanted him to go away, but I also wanted him to come back. I felt safe with him, even though he was kind of creepy. I wondered what I would do if Jareth suddenly showed up. Nervously, I clutched the fairy runes and mirror in my pocket.

Betty was watching me closely. “Are you ok, honey?”

I could tell she was worried. For a brief moment, I wanted to throw myself in her arms and wail that I felt trapped in some kind of alien plot to take over Earth, but I knew Rafael was probably right. Everyone would think I was on drugs, and I’d end up in rehab next to my mother.

“I’m tired.” I forced myself to yawn. “And I’m just worried about my first day at work tomorrow.”

“You’re right! Kids, get in the car.” Betty began to shoo us all to the truck. “We have to get home. Sydney has a big day tomorrow!”

Chapter Eleven - First Day on the Job

Samantha terrified me. After only the first hour at my job, I was convinced that I’d never make my new boss happy. She had given me a stack of black T-shirts with the “Bean There, Baked That” logo emblazoned on the front, had told me to put one on, and then had sent me out to clean tables, dump trashcans, and sweep floors. I worked hard, concentrating on doing my best, but each time I glanced in her direction, I’d see her watching me with that perpetual frown of hers. It made me increasingly paranoid that my first day on the job would also be my last.

Her very first words to me were orders that I couldn’t interact with her customers. She considered them royalty and allowed only certain baristas to talk to them. The rest of us could only smile, and if a customer wanted to ask a question, we had to escort them to one of her preapproved baristas. It was a little odd, but I was fine with it. I really didn’t want to chit chat with every stranger that came through the door anyway. I preferred to mind my own business and wash cups and dishes in the back.

At two o’clock, she gave me a lunch break. She allowed her employees one free menu item a day, so I chose a tuna sandwich and sat down at a small table in the corner. I looked at my sandwich proudly. It was the first thing that I had ever earned. Smiling in satisfaction, I opened my mouth to take my first bite when a coin rolled across the table surface.

Startled, I looked up to see Jareth settling in a wooden chair opposite me, his intense eyes locked on mine.

I choked. My heart began to pound in my chest.

“Good afternoon, Sydney,” he said. His tone was sarcastic.

Again, he was dressed in black, wearing a T-shirt with his own face splashed across it, and a leather jacket embroidered with his name. He’d pulled his long, dark hair into a ponytail. Noting that he wore eye makeup yet again, I could almost believe he
was
Rafael’s cousin.

He obviously wasn’t attempting to hide his identity. The customers in the shop whispered and pointed at him. There was a man outside the window shamelessly snapping pictures of him through the glass.

I swallowed and turned my back to the camera.

“We need to talk about last night.” Jareth was smirking at me. His words reverberated through the shop, loud enough that everyone could hear. “And since I can’t come to your house, I’m forced to come here.”

I stared at him, my mouth open in disbelief.

Lowering his voice, he added, “I’ll wager that fool Rafael has told you nothing.”

Not knowing what to say, I found myself edging away.

He lifted a mocking brow. Picking the coin up from the table, he began to flip it through his fingers. “I’m not the dangerous one here. It’s Rafael who will lead you to destruction.”

“Destruction?” I repeated. It was such a drastic statement. In spite of my distrust, I couldn’t just let that sentence hang.

“He has turned Blue. The potential for destruction is too great to be ignored.” He was speaking so quietly I could hardly hear him now.

Nervously, I took a huge bite of my sandwich. I fervently wished my brain would stop freezing in crucial moments like this. Why couldn’t I be one of those clever people who shined their best under stress? The only thing I could think of to do was to pretend everything was normal and eat my tuna sandwich.

He watched me with a snide expression, almost as if he were amused. In fact, I think he was. Seeing me squirm seemed to entertain him.

Finally, exasperated, I said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jareth didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he continued to flip the coin, slouching a little. He looked utterly cool, and he was completely aware of it. He draped himself over his chair as if posing for the photos the paparazzi were taking of him through the window. From time to time, he would nod and wave at someone in the shop who had called out his name, but always as if he were royalty and they had the cooties or something. Surprisingly, no one seemed to notice his obnoxious attitude except me.

After several minutes, he finally laid the coin down and steepled his fingers. “Both Rafael and I can read the Threads of Fate. We are Fate Trackers.”

“I’ve already heard you say that,” I said with a slight snort. “And it sounds as ridiculous now as it did last night.”

He seemed a little surprised by my disparaging response. He shifted, moving to tap his finger on the table for a few seconds before continuing, “This is no laughing matter. Your fate line is Blue and a Blue Thread of Fate is a double-edged sword. It can lead to success beyond your wildest imagination or complete and utter destruction. Most often it’s the latter.”

It was becoming too much. For the first time I wondered if this was all part of some kind of elaborate hoax. I looked around, half expecting hidden video cameras to emerge.

“Your skepticism won’t alter the facts.” Jareth shrugged. His tone was snide and arrogant. “Perhaps Rafael has said nothing because you’re incapable of understanding.”

I liked Jareth less with each encounter, and now I was beginning to wonder how I had ever liked his songs.