I bark out a humorless laugh. She has no idea.
“I’m going to be straight with you.”
After all her deception, I should hope so. I tilt my head, waiting for her to continue.
“You’ve been on our radar for years now. We just didn’t realize you were one of us. There are a very small percentage of humans who can see through the veil into the spirit realm. We have a division dedicated to identifying these individuals and monitoring them, if only loosely. We rarely interfere with human lives, and only intercede when we think they’re a danger to themselves or others.”
Hold on a second.
“You’ve . . . known about me? And you let everyone believe I was crazy? You let me believe I was crazy? That’s messed up.”
I scooch away from her until my shoulder touches the headboard and I can’t go any farther. I’m sure the look on my face is filled with disgust. Sable glances at the empty space between us then lifts her gaze to meet mine.
“Most humans come to their own conclusions about their visions, so we let them believe whatever they need to believe. It may seem cruel, but to bring them fully into our world would be much more dangerous. Up until very recently, we assumed you were one of these humans.”
“Maybe I am?” My life may be a confusing mess, but I think I’d rather be a messed up human than a Neph-a-whatever.
“You can’t be.” She shakes her head, her waterfall hair rippling slightly with the movement. “Humans can’t jump worlds the way you do. At most, they can see glimpses.”
“If you’ve known about me for years, why reveal yourself now?”
Shifting, Sable brings her leg up to rest on the bed so she can face me. “When you ran away, it triggered a review by one of our investigators. When she looked into your files a bit more deeply, the episodes you’d been having didn’t add up. Humans can only see into the spirit realm—they can’t interact with it. The reports of your injuries were consistent with wounds our own warriors would get.
“Students at this academy, even potential ones, are ultimately my responsibility. Someone reported you sleeping behind Anita’s. You fit the description of the girl we were looking for, so I was sent in to build a rapport with you. Without diving too deeply into things, I can tell you that you are a bit of an enigma to us. You were very careful with what information you shared with me. I imagine you had to learn to be cautious. When I couldn’t find any definitive answers, we decided to pull you in anyway. It wasn’t until you phased that we knew with certainty you were one of us.”
There’s that word again. Phased. What exactly does that mean?
“I’m confused,” I admit.
Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Like I said, I can only imagine what you’re going through. But I want to assure you that you belong here. You belong with us. You’re never going to be alone again.”
Her words, meant to assure, have the opposite effect. My palms grow sticky and my heart rate picks up.
To belong.
To find a place among others.
To not feel so alone, day after day.
Those used to be my deepest desires, but years of hardship and rejection have beaten the longing out of me. The craving is gone.
I’ve worked my whole life to be content alone. That’s all I want anymore—to be left alone. To live my life on my own terms.
I won’t rely on anyone else. People always leave. They always let you down.
The darkness that prowls the spectrum world aren’t the only creatures I avoid. People can cut just as deeply as the shadow beasts’ sharpened claws.
“Am I a prisoner?”
Sable’s perfect brow pinches and her lips pucker. “A prisoner? Of course not. We only want to help.”
“Then why did you kidnap me?”
She looks confused and . . . disappointed? Uncrossing her arms, she leans forward and steeples her hands under her chin.
“We didn’t kidnap you. We’re bringing you into the fold. We brought you to a safe haven.”
“I was fine on my own until you and your muscle showed up. I didn’t ask to be saved.” She flinches when I spit the word “saved” at her. That’s a low blow, but I don’t care. “If I’m not a prisoner, I’d like to go.”
Seconds tick by as Sable and I face off. Finally, she leans back and regards me warily.
“Where would you go? Back to living on the streets?”
I pop my jaw before answering.
“Yeah, if I have to.”
“It’s not safe for you to—”
“Says you. But you’re trying to pull me into a war! There’s nothing safe about that.”
“You’re already part of the conflict, even if you didn’t realize it. We don’t even know how you’ve stayed alive for this long on your own. It was only a matter of time—”
“Like I said, I was doing fine before you and your friends showed up.”
Sable presses her lips together, clearly frustrated that I keep cutting her off. “I know you believe that, but there’s more out there than you realize.” She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, regarding me the whole time. “How about this—I’ll make you a deal.”
I narrow my eyes. It’s in my nature to be suspicious of deals.
“What kind of deal?”
“You stay here for six months, until your eighteenth birthday—” She holds up a hand when I open my mouth to protest. “You stay here for that long. Not a single day less. Let us teach you about our world. All the strange things out there. How your power works. How to use it—”
“Wait, I have a power?” If that’s true, it’s several shades of awesome.
“And when you turn eighteen,” she continues without acknowledging me, “you can go wherever you want.”
“How do you know when my birthday is?” I ask. A note stating the date of my birth and my name, and a yellow baby blanket were the only two things I was left with after someone abandoned me on the steps of a fire station sixteen and a half years ago. The note is currently tucked away in a social worker’s file cabinet. The blanket is most likely molding in a pile of landfill debris. I don’t expect to see either of them again.
“We’ve seen your files.”
“I’ll bet that was an interesting read.” I suck my bottom lip into my mouth and saw my teeth back and forth. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. The only thing you will have lost is a few months. But what you’ll have gained—besides steady meals and a place to sleep—is the knowledge you’ve been robbed of all your life. I understand you don’t really know me, and you don’t know the others at all, but I can promise we only want to help you.”
I turn her words over in my mind. The years have taught me to be naturally wary of people, but having a place to stay is a pretty big bonus. This bed is amazing. And if what she says is true and there are other people like me—whether this angel thing is a hoax or not—it’ll be good to know more about the crazy that is my life.
On the other hand, this might be some sort of cult that wants to sacrifice me to some pagan god.
Oh gosh, why did I think that?
A shiver runs down my spine.