Zarius’s chair scrapes as he pulls himself in. “He’s not talking. It must’ve been a big one.”
Tess rests a hand on her husband’s arm. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
The first bite of fluffy, crunchy waffle has Tristan closing his eyes. Honeyed sweetness floods his senses, sweeping away the remaining horror of the vision.
Although, this one was more of a nightmare. There was blood, and wide, frightened eyes.
Another few mouthfuls and Tristan’s ready to talk. A person’s death is something they need to prevent.
As succinctly as he can, and with as little emotion as possible, he tells Tess and Zarius what he saw. Two girls, one possibly already dead. In the first vision it looks like it becomes two fatalities. In the second vision, something changes. He doesn’t know how it ends, but it sure as hell feels more hopeful than the first.
Zarius and Tess glance at each other. Zarius frowns. “Was there anyone else there? Did you get a look at the Skin?”
Tristan shoves another forkful of dripping waffle into his mouth, shaking his head as he chews and swallows. “That’s a negative on both counts. You know how the visions are. They’re like tunnel vision, only showing me a slice of what’s going on.”
Zarius strokes his chin. “Skins don’t usually work alone.”
“There were others there, but they weren’t moving.” Tristan chews on another mouthful. “The brunette, she was talking to someone, but I couldn’t see who. Maybe it was another Skin.”
“This vision was different,” Tess says quietly. “More dangerous. Deadly.” She lifts startled eyes to Zarius, then Tristan. “Do you think one of them was a Zodiac?”
Tristan rocks back in his chair. “That would explain why the blonde girl was on the ground.” Possibly dead. “Skins don’t usually attack humans in plain sight like that.”
Zarius pushes to his feet, pacing across the kitchen and then back to the table. “The only way we can know for sure is if we find them.”
This time, Tristan loads up his fork. Training with Zarius most days means having a hearty appetite isn’t an issue for him. The hours of running and weights and self-defense mean he can eat what he likes when he likes. On top of being able to kick a Skin’s ass, it’s a nice little bonus.
It also means with his mouth full, he won’t point out that trying to find the other Zodiac Heirs is what they’ve been doing for years.
Tess draws in a breath. “What if she’s the Gemini Twin?”
The waffle turns to dust in Tristan’s mouth. His soulmate. The other half of him.
Quite possibly the key to defeating Chardis.
Zarius starts pacing again. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, love. We need to find these girls first, then we can see if a stone glows in their hands.”
Tristan starts chewing again, but the sweet, crispy goodness in his mouth has lost its appeal. He puts his knife and fork down, starting to think strategically. “I’ll scout around school. Then afterward, I’ll find out where the local hangouts are and check those out, too.”
Zarius nods. “It’s a start. The girls could be at any school in this area, though. The visions are always of somewhere nearby.”
“I’ll transfer next week if I don’t find them,” Tristan adds, consciously working to not grit his teeth.
Suddenly the haystack this needle is hidden in doesn’t feel any smaller. So far all they know is that some poor girls are going to be lying on a dark floor somewhere, their lives hanging in the balance.
“And there was nothing about the location that jumped out?” Zarius strokes his chin. “That could be a place to start.”
Tristan’s hands grip the table in frustration. “No. It was black as night.”
Of course, it was. So far their hit rate has been zero. And that’s in over seventeen years.
Why would this be any different?
“We’ll have to keep an eye out then, my guess is you’ll know it when you see it,” Zarius says, frustration grinding his words out.
Tess begins clearing the plates and cutlery. “I’ll start wandering the malls, see if anyone fits the bill.” She smiles brightly. “We have the description of the two girls, that’s something.”
Zarius slips a finger through the loophole on her jeans, tugging her onto his lap. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
Tess giggles, holding the plates up high but not making a move to stand up. She leans in, the intent to kiss obvious.
Tristan makes a point of scraping his chair back as loudly as he can. “Way to make the waffles come back up, guys.” He throws his hands in the air as he heads to the stairs, grinning to himself when their chuckles follow him up to his room.
He makes an issue of their loved-up ways, but they know it’s a token objection. Zarius and Tess became his carers when they were quite young, and their life has focused on keeping him safe whilst finding others like him. They deserve the joy they find in each other.
Plus, it’s meant he’s grown up surrounded by their love. Nurtured by it. Inspired by it.
It gives Tristan hope that he’ll find his own soulmate. The second Gemini Twin…
Grabbing his clothes out of his suitcase—he decided long ago there’s little point in unpacking—Tristan pauses. Could one of the girls in his vision be a Zodiac Heir? Could she be the other Gemini?
What other reason would there be for a Skin to so blatantly murder someone?
Telling his heart to calm the farm, Tristan quickly gets dressed. A cursory glance in the mirror has him combing his fingers through his hair, which is more than he usually does. But it is his first day, which means he has to make a good impression.
And for the first time in as long as he can remember, it feels like fate might be on his side.
Maybe he won’t have to kick its ass after all.
3
Brielle
It’s a sunny, clove-scented day as Brielle rides her bike to school. Mirror Point is a quaint little suburb on the outskirts of New York City. Brielle’s often grateful she didn’t end up in a group home in the city. She’s heard awful rumors about those places. Grace Orphanage is one of the last nun run orphanages in the country, and given her curse, she prefers the company of nuns.
On many mornings like this, she imagines how different her life would be if she’d grown up in the city. She’d likely have ended up in a nut house. New York’s full of shady people. She’d be plagued with visions everywhere she went, and probably so overrun with guilt that she’d…
She pushes the thought out of her mind as she stops at the intersection. Yes, Mirror Point is comparably a great place for someone like her. Simple people with simple lives. And enough parks and even a lovely cliffside where she can escape the crowds when she feels overwhelmed.
The light turns green and she rides forward, hoping the school day passes quickly and without a hitch so she can get to her meeting. This is her last chance to get adopted. So much hangs on her making the best second impression she can.
She just has to act normal.
The parking lot of Mirror Point High is flooded with the usual vehicles full of parents dropping off kids who are eager not to be seen with them. Brielle envies those kids. What she wouldn’t give for that kind of life. Something so simple, so ordinary. Something that just about everyone takes for granted.