Unleashed: The Deepest Fears Lie Within (Secrets of the Makai) (10 page)

“I don’t know, it’s mine. I guess. Someone gave it to me.”

“Really? Who?”

Tristan took a mental step back, suddenly unsure of why she’d want to know who gave it to him. “I found it. In a suitcase.”

“How long have you had it?”

Did it matter? “Since yesterday.”

Her face lit up with excitement. “That’s great!”

Tristan saw Landon approaching and stood. “This is Shaely. Shaely, Landon.”

Landon held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. I haven’t seen you before.”

“Oh,” she glanced at Tristan, then back at Landon, suddenly fidgety with her feet. “We don’t get out much.”

“We?”

Tristan frowned at Landon for sounding so rude.

“My brothers and I.”

“How did you hear about the party?”

“Um. One of my brothers, I guess. It sounded fun.”

Victor interrupted, carrying a clear tube packed with tiny black wires and glasslike marbles. Landon seemed to relax. “We’re ready to start. You guys playing?”

“Playing what?” Tristan asked.

“Sure!” Shaely said. “I mean, if it’s alright.” She looked at Landon for apparent permission.

“Should be fine.”

Tristan and Shaely followed Victor to the forest line, along with half the crowd around the fire. Tristan slowed to stay at the back, not daring to go first. A cord connected the clear cylinder to a bag beside Victor and he spoke to each kid as they stepped forward from a line.

Tristan glanced back at Shaely in time to be blinded by a flash from her phone. She grinned at the snapshot and put the device away. “Did you just take my picture?” he asked, self-consciously running a hand through his hair.

Her face blushed as cute dimples hugged her smiling lips. She almost couldn’t look him in the eye. “Are you...seeing anyone?”

“Not really.” Tristan thought of Dorian. Were they dating? If they were, they certainly weren’t anymore. “Not unless—”

Her smile grew wider. “Maybe tomorrow? Will you be here?”

“Oh.” Sweat ran down his back and his pulse raced. “I don’t actually know my schedule.”

“I see.” She turned away. “That’s okay.”

“No, really! I just got here. I don’t know if I have a school schedule or not. But I really wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”

Her lips twitched into a grin. He couldn’t hear her thoughts, but hoped she believed him. “I guess we’ll see.”

Victor pushed buttons on some sort of remote control and waved the next kid forward.

“So, what is that thing?” she asked.

“I have no idea.”

“It’s one of Victor’s inventions,” answered Landon. A blue light appeared like an aura around the kid’s head, vanishing when Victor pushed a button on the remote. “Go ahead.” Landon waved Shaely forward. “Ladies first.”

She bit her lip and frowned, then stepped forward nervously.

Landon kept his voice down. “People were trying to discover who had abilities beyond the normal parameters. What they tried didn’t work, but Victor kept toying with the idea. We call it ‘the tracker’. It measures and registers instabilities in common brainwave patterns. It’s sort of confusing, but you get the idea.”

“Instabilities?”

“Well, we could use a nicer word, but let’s face it. What we do isn’t exactly defined as normal.”

Shaely erupted in lighthearted giggles as the pale blue light surrounded her head.

Tristan approached Victor, eyeing the strange contraption, glad to have Landon and Shaely standing beside him.

“I promise it’s not going to kill you,” Victor said cheerfully, aiming the remote while pushing one of the buttons. “It records your personal brainwave patterns. When there’s a spike in the sensors, everyone can see the light, which means the tracker caught you cheating. Depending on the rules, you’re either disqualified or cleared with points deducted. Do something with your mind.”

“Like what?”

“Doesn’t matter, anything. Move a rock.”

Tristan settled on a flat stone near Victor’s feet. It didn’t move and he quickly searched for an alternative. Shaely pretended not to notice, but people behind him stopped talking. Or maybe it just seemed that way.

What if he couldn’t do it anymore? Near panic, he searched for loose sand between clumps of meadow grass and transferred a pinch to the palm of his hand. He almost hooted in triumph when the largest of the grains rolled to the side.

“Heh,” Victor said, aiming the remote and pushing a button. “Try something else.”

“Oh, come on.” Tristan’s cheeks flushed. Shaely looked like she wanted to leave. “That was decent!”

Victor shrugged, glancing at Landon.

Tristan let out his breath and spotted a larger rock—it rolled without difficulty and he smiled with relief. “Piece of cake.”

Victor tapped away on some other keyboard from the bag.

“Try it without the poncho,” Landon suggested.

Tristan sighed, removed the poncho, and handed to Landon. Shaely’s face fell with disappointment. Maybe he should have handed it to her instead?

Victor pointed the remote. “Go for it.”

Tristan moved the same rock and his vision brightened through a haze of light blue.

“Guess that was it.” Victor punched in several numbers and began giving instructions to the rest of the group.

“You’ll have to leave it off,” Landon said. “I’ll keep it for you.”

“You’re not playing?”

“I’m working.” Landon handed him two strips of green cloth.

“What about Victor, is he playing?”

“He and Alvi are running the course.” Landon put a hand on Tristan’s shoulder and led him away from the group. “You’ll be fine. In tonight’s events, no one is allowed to do any mind tricks—that’s why we’re using the tracker.”

That was a relief, especially since he’d almost made a complete fool of himself in front of Shaely just for trying. “Is it okay if—” He glanced at Shaely, standing by herself by the fire, texting someone on her phone. “She asked if we could maybe get together tomorrow?”

Landon sighed, seeming to think it over. “We’ll get our class schedules tonight, then you can do whatever you want with your time.”

Sheer excitement and anticipation launched his hopes to new heights.

8
-
T
AKING
T
HE
P
LUNGE
-

KIDS OF ALL AGES got themselves organized into color-coded groups near the fire. Tristan and Shaely helped each other tie green strips of fabric around their wrists.

“This race will be an obstacle course,” Victor announced. “There are two identical courses. Teams will race side by side, followed by the next two. The teams with the fastest times will advance to the next stage, running the course as individuals for the win.”

“What are the prizes?” someone asked.

“First place gets four five-day passes and hotel accommodations to the Euro Disney in Paris.” People clapped and cheered, giving each other hugs.

Shaely’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Who funds these games?”

Tristan shrugged as Victor continued. “Second place gets an all expense paid weekend for their entire family in the spectacular area of Key West. This includes hotel, food, a half-day guided fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, and a four-hour tour by helicopter.

“Third prize is four passes to the Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, South Africa. By the way, all prizes will be given in three age groups: 8 and under, 9 to 13, 14 and over.”

The youngest kids jumped up and down with renewed energy, shouting their hoorays. Tristan stood back to give them more celebration room. A young girl raised her hand. “Are you going to fight us along the way?”

Tristan stared at her, shocked, then waited anxiously for Victor’s answer in case she had a serious point to make.

“No forces will be used against any of the teams, until you race as individuals. If anyone is caught using their brains, the whole team will have to restart that particular obstacle.”

Everyone groaned.

“The course will be clearly marked. Any other questions?”

Tristan huddled with the green group, tempted to put his hand on Shaely’s shoulder to complete the circle. But then her arm landed softly on his back and he tried not to glance her way. The older kids who’d played these games before strategized in muted whispers.

“Yellow and Green will go first,” Victor announced.

A thrill of excitement pumped through Tristan’s veins as he walked to the starting area with Shaely and his team.

He could be normal here, if everyone had the same mental issues. Not that it was a bad issue, but at least it was something they all dealt with and it didn’t have to be a big dark secret.

Among the trees, Landon caught his attention and nodded with half a smile, wearing the poncho, then walked on.

Tristan took a breath at the base of a wooden ladder, letting his teammates climb first to the decking above. A pit of something purple extended between the two platforms. The liquid rolled in waves, splattering gold sparkles as bubbles broke the surface.

Victor and a girl stood on the far side of the pit. Victor wrote on a clipboard and the girl, dressed in black jeans, hot-pink lace-up boots, and a long-sleeved black shirt with hot-pink feathers around the neckline, held a bouquet of pearly, helium balloons. Jet-black hair shimmered with blue and her glimmering lipstick matched the substance on the ground.

“Put Julie on your back for this first obstacle,” Stanley, the team leader, said. “It’ll save us time.”

Tristan glanced down at the girl, who couldn’t be older than six, and dropped to a knee to let her climb onto his back. Stanley did the same for a boy who was probably about eight.

“Does everyone understand the rules?” Victor called. “No using your brain. Everyone on the team must complete each obstacle before the team can start the next challenge. Ready?”

Victor blew a shrill whistle and both teams ran to a single rope spanning the distance between platforms, with two additional ropes available as handrails. Stanley crossed in less than a minute, while a boy about twelve bounced on the rope behind him. He let Shaely go next.

Tristan almost fell before he could get his first foot off the decking, as if his shoelaces were tied together. Julie, the girl on his back, squealed when he caught himself. By halfway mark, the rope beneath his feet swayed from side to side, which seemed far more challenging than the bounce Stanley had to deal with. Tristan bit back his frustration and concentrated on his steps.

Something barred his ankles, something he couldn’t see, forcing him to step over or around the object to make any progress. The yellow team finished and Stanley was yelling at him to speed up. But how could he? Julie gripped his neck so hard, her feet clinging to his waist, he knew she wasn’t the one throwing off his balance.

His foot slipped on the rope and before he could blink, Julie launched herself from his shoulders, reaching for Shaely’s outstretched hand. Tristan barely saved himself as his fingers lost hold. He hooked his legs and arms around the rope he was supposed to be walking on, hanging upside down above the purple goo. Julie would have fallen if she’d stayed on his back, or she’d have pulled them both down.

He heard her crying and arched his neck to see what had happened. Shaely and the rest of the team were with her, trying to pull her hands away from her face. Blood trickled from between her fingers.

Tristan pulled himself along the rope until he reached the crossbeams under the platform.

By the time he hoisted himself up to the main deck, little Julie was gone and the team was climbing down the ladder.

“Where’d she go?” Tristan asked Stanley, jogging to catch up. “Is she okay?”

“Her mom took her to the first-aid tent. Probably just a cut in her eyebrow, but dude, you didn’t need to throw her.”

“I—” Had he thrown her? He didn’t think so. It was just an accident.

“At least we aren’t disqualified,” Stanley added, slapping Tristan on the back. “And Victor said she can join back in if she checks out okay.”

“Great save though!” Shaely said, wrapping her arm around his as Stanley sped toward a green sandbox. “I wasn’t sure you’d make it!”

How could he not feel better, with her walking beside him? She radiated happiness. And confidence. Things he desperately wanted.

The team dove into the sandbox, looking for hidden objects. Stanley found one first—a key with a chain of green beads, and ran to hang it on a hook in the nearest tree. The two other boys and Shaely found theirs within a few minutes. Tristan fumed, combing through every inch of the sand for his. Thankfully, Shaely came back to help him.

“There should be two in here somewhere, if we include Julie’s.” He was beginning to think someone pocketed it.

“Come on, man!” Stanley said. “You’re holding everyone up!”

“I’m trying, but there’s nothing here!”

The two youngest boys dove back in to help, finding both keys within seconds.