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“So rude. We haven’t even been introduced.”
She gave a can I just start shocking him into submission now sort of sigh. I jumped in before he got himself into more trouble. “My name’s Evie. Raquel you already know—punched her and then stole her face, remember?—and Jacques over here is your new best friend, because he’s in charge of the feeding schedule around here. Assuming you eat. And you are?”
“Lend.”
“Lend?” Raquel asked.
“Yes, as in, lend me your self.” He shimmered into Raquel again.
“Why not Borrow?” I asked. “Better yet, Steal?”
“I’ll ask again,” Raquel snapped. “What are you?” Given what this guy had done, I didn’t blame her for being impatient.
“Good question. Maybe you could tell me?”
“Why are you here?”
“I love a nice dose of electric current in my body.”
“What were you looking for?”
“Answers.”
“Well.” Raquel gave him a thin-lipped smile. “So am I.” Her communicator buzzed. Relief flashed across her face as she read the message. Looking up, she nodded at her mirror image. “Tomorrow, then.”
She turned and started down the hall with Jacques. I was still staring at Lend-as-Raquel, watching his real face beneath hers. I could almost pick out features now. He stuck his tongue out at me and, before I could stop myself, I giggled. It was too ridiculous coming from Raquel’s face.
Raquel barked from down the hall. “Evie! Now!” Giving Lend-as-Raquel a final glare, I ran to catch up. “They found Denise, she’s fine. And Fehl got back, too. I don’t want you talking to that thing until we know what it is and why it’s here.”
No way, I thought. “Okay,” I said.
“What do you see when you look at it?”
“I don’t know. At first I couldn’t really see anything, I could just tell there was someone under your face. But when he’s not wearing anyone, it’s like—I can’t catch onto anything. I was getting better, though, staring at him in there. His eyes are the only things I can really focus on. Other than that it’s like a silhouette or a clear shadow or … I don’t know—a person made out of water and a hint of light.”
“I’m going to call in some researchers. First we find out what he is, then we find out what he wants.”
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Cool, whatever.”
“You should be in bed.” Her voice was stern. You’d think the whole not-having-a-mother thing, or the whole being six-freaking-teen years old, would get me off the hook for bedtimes. But no. “And don’t forget your class tomorrow.”
“Fine. But if any more alarms go off, I’m going to ignore them instead of saving the day.”
She heaved a give me vampires and gremlins over pouty teenagers any day sigh and waved as she turned off down another hall.
After heating up some milk for hot chocolate, I curled up with a blanket on my couch. My mind was racing too much to sleep. Today had been weird. And for something to be weird in my day, it’s downright freaky. I popped in another movie and let my mind glaze over. The light from the screen flickered hypnotically. I didn’t notice the light coming from behind me.
“Come and dance with me, my love.” His voice was like the color gold—bright and sparkling with the promise of warmth. So much warmth. I smiled, closing my eyes and letting myself be pulled up off the couch and into an embrace. He rested his cheek against mine and the heat spread out, through my face and then down my neck, inching toward my heart. “My heart,” he whispered. I nodded against his cheek. His heart.
My vid screen beeped, jarring me out of the trance. I jumped back and shoved Reth off me. The heat slowly drifted away from my heart. It had been close. Too close.
Reth looked disappointed. He held out his arms. I swore. “What is your freaking problem? Get out! Now!”
“Evelyn.” His voice was a magnet with his warmth still in me. I leaned forward against my will.
“No!” Ripping myself away from the pull, I ran to the partition dividing the TV room from the kitchen and grabbed my communicator. “Get out.” I glared, my hand over the panic button. His beautiful face fell. I wanted to comfort him. Closing my eyes, I lowered my finger. “Out. Now.”
I could see the light of a door from behind my eyelids and waited until it faded to open them again. Reth was gone.
I went over to my vid screen and turned it on. “What good are freaking palm-coded locks when faeries can make their own doors any time they want to!” I shouted at Lish. Her green eyes widened in surprise and concern. I took a deep breath. It wasn’t her fault. “Thanks for the interruption,” I added.
“Reth?”
“Yeah. Can you file a report for me?”
“Yes, of course. We will try to make his instructions more explicit.”
I shook my head. He always found a way around them. My guess was when they told him to go get me today he applied it as a blanket statement rather than a simple onetime retrieval command. “What did you need?”
She looked embarrassed. “I wanted to ask about the disturbance. I will talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of exhausted. I’ll come visit and tell you everything, okay?”
“Do you want to spend the night here?” When I first came to the Center and had bad dreams, I would drag my blanket and pillow in and sleep on the floor next to Lish’s aquarium. She’d tell me stories until I fell asleep. I was tempted, but felt too silly about not being able to spend the night alone because of a stupid faerie.
“I’ll be okay.” I forced a smile. “Thanks, though. Good night, Lish.”
The mermaid’s eyes smiled, and the vid screen went blank. I plopped back down on the couch. Reth had been so close. Again. And—worst of all—part of me wished that we hadn’t been interrupted. But I had learned the hard way with faeries. It’s all about possession and taking advantage, and, unlike human boys on all the TV shows, they aren’t in it for sex. They couldn’t care less about that. They want your heart, your soul. I was never giving mine back to Reth.
Deciding that hadn’t stopped the ache of missing him, though.
I spent the rest of the night wide awake, wrapped in three blankets and freezing. When the clock read 4 A.M. I gave up. I got dressed in my warmest clothes and walked to Containment. Lend was curled up asleep on the floor. I sat against the wall and watched, fascinated, as his body flicked through identities the way I click through channels. After maybe an hour he went into his strange water-and-light state. I was so tired I could barely focus my eyes at all—and suddenly I could see him. It was like once I stopped trying so hard to look, he was just there. He actually had hair and normal features—cute even, if he had pigment. Even more surprising, he didn’t look much older than me.
After a moment his eyes opened and met mine. Color flooded through him—he was wearing me again. The eyes were still flickering, trying to find the right shade.
“What are you?” I whispered.
“What are you?”
Offended, I frowned. “Human.”
“Funny, me, too.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Funny, neither are you.”
I set my jaw and glared. What a jerk. “Why did you come here?”
My voice came from his mouth, disconcerting as always. “I could ask you the same thing. Are you going to kill me?”
HAVE A BLEEP BLEEP DAY (#ulink_729d81f1-0be0-5873-a970-9ed32628f27b)
I–no, that’s not what IPCA does,” I said. “They don’t kill paranormals, they—”
Lend raised a hand to stop me and sat up, large eyes narrowing. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Why would I kill you?”
After a moment he let out a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s you.”
“What’s not me?”
Standing, he stretched. Did I mention how weird it was watching my body do this stuff? He even had the hair right—a little messy this morning, since I hadn’t bothered to brush it yet.
“Can you please go back to normal?” I wanted to look at him more now that I could see him better.
He smiled, flashing my perfect teeth at me. I had to go through three years of braces for that smile; no fair that he could copy it in a second. “Normal? What’s that?”
“How you really look.”
“Can you take off all your clothes?”
Okay, weirdest thing ever—I just asked myself to take off all my clothes. It doesn’t get much creepier. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“You asked me to be naked; I thought it was only fair.”
“I just meant stop wearing me. Be yourself. But yourself with clothes.”
“These are my clothes. But, if it bothers you.” I melted off him and he grew a few inches. In my place was a teenage guy. Black hair, dark brown eyes, olive skin, and, oh yeah, absolutely gorgeous. Like, belonged on one of the shows I loved so much gorgeous. “Better?” His voice had changed,
deepened, and I wished I was talking with an actual teenage guy.
“Definitely.” I looked closer. Still Lend under there. Even the dark eyes didn’t hide his water-colored ones; I could see him shimmering through.
“This seems to be a popular one.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.” Then I frowned, curious. “What does your real voice sound like?”
“What makes you think this isn’t it?”
“I think it would sound different. Softer. Like water.” I realized how stupid that sounded, but his smile dropped off and he gave me a considering look.
“If you didn’t come here to kill me, why are you here, Evie?”
Awkward. Here I was, no makeup, ratty hair, in front of the hottest teenage guy I’d ever seen, fake or not. Why was I here? “It’s my job.”
His smile returned, this time with the usual ironic twist to his lips. “Oh. Your job. Quite the career for someone your age.”
“You’re not much older than me.” Now that I’d seen him better, I was sure of it. Corrupted mortals like vampires show their real bodies’ ages—old and nasty—underneath. True immortals, like faeries, have eternal youth, but there’s something different in their faces. All those years don’t add lines; they smooth, like a piece of glass turned around forever on the ocean floor. No mortal has that polish. His face was neither old nor ageless.
The shift in his expression confirmed it. “Ha!” I smiled smugly. “I’m guessing … fifteen.” I went low on purpose.
He looked indignant. “Seventeen.”
“See? You told the truth. That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?”
Lend shook his head, then sighed. “Trouble.”
“You bet I’m trouble,” I countered with a smile. Sure, maybe I was flirting, a little. Could you blame me? The only guys I ever met were too old, half monsters, living corpses, or immortal creeps. At least Lend was close to my age, whatever else he was.
“No, you’re in trouble.” He looked and I followed his eyes right to Raquel, who was not happy. At all. She finished crossing the hall and fixed a steely glare on me.
I was about to apologize, but then I rolled my eyes. “What are you going to do, ground me?” Maybe I shouldn’t have been so flip about it, but really. After the night I had, the last thing I wanted was a lecture.
“Out. Now.”
I walked past her, turning my head to glance back at Lend. He winked at me and I couldn’t help but smile.
Instead of going to my room, I made my way to Central Processing. It was still early but that’s another great thing about Lish: she doesn’t sleep. I loved Central Processing. Unlike the rest of the Center, it didn’t look sterile. The entire room was a circle, with desks placed against the wall and everything based around Lish’s gorgeous aquarium. About fifty feet in diameter, it was fifteen feet high and a perfect circle. They even managed to transplant a living coral reef, complete with tropical fish in the crystal blue water. Way better than my unit.
Lish was staring at the series of screens that lined the front of the tank. She was like the ultimate personal assistant. No sick days, no vacations, no sleep, and she wanted to be there. A lot of the paranormals couldn’t be trusted with too much. Even though they’re neutered, most of them harbor a bit of resentment toward IPCA because of the loss of freedom. But Lish loved her job. She was in charge of scheduling, monitoring, transports, you name it. Girl knew everything.
Apparently not today, though. Her green eyes widened with interest when I walked up to the tank. I smiled. “What’s up, Lish?”
“How are you feeling? Are you okay after last night?”
Lish knew me better than anyone else at the Center. Raquel was in charge of me, but she was hard to talk to about feelings. After all, when the main way you communicate is through sighs, it makes it hard to relate to teens. Lish understood how bad a new run-in with Reth would mess me up. I could (and did) talk with her about everything.
“Been better. Didn’t sleep.”
Lish tried to swear—which is always funny, because the computer won’t translate it. It went something like this: “Bleep stupid bleep bleep faeries and their bleep bleep bleep obsessions. He had better stop bleep bleep bleep the bleep bleep rules or I will bleep bleep bleep the little bleeeeeeeeeeep.” All in a completely robotic monotone. Awesome. Lish could really get going sometimes. I loved her for it; she was like the big sister I never had. The big sister who happened to be shiny green and covered in scales, with a long, finned tail and webbed hands. But she was beautiful in her way.
I laughed. The robot voice tirades always cheered me up. “Okay, you bleep bleep do that.” She shook her head, still mad about Reth. Something on one of her screens took her attention and she waved her webbed hands in front of it for a few minutes. I wasn’t sure how all the tech worked in there, but it always looked cool.
Once she was done, she looked back at me. “So, tell me about what happened yesterday with the break-in.”
“What don’t you know?” Lish was usually the font of all information. Granted, most of that information was classified, but we were best friends. We told secrets, and kept them, too. Like the time when I was twelve and the Center was processing a load of pixies. Lish knew how badly I wanted to see them and slipped me the when and where information—even though Raquel had grounded me for wandering off on a bag-and-tag mission. Too bad pixies turned out to be dirty, ugly little things, even their wings coated with mucous. Yet another cartoon dream shattered.
“They are not releasing much intel. What is it?” She looked worried.
“Don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like him. Neither has Raquel.”
“Why was he here?”
“Don’t know again. I caught him in Raquel’s office, but he hasn’t said why.”
“And he can take the appearance of anyone?”
