“Is she flashing forward again?” I heard him whisper.
“No,” Nakita said softly. “She’s searching the time lines for the mark’s, uh, Tammy’s aura.”
“Really?” Josh said, and I heard him drop his gym bag. “What color is my aura?”
“Blue,” she said tersely. “Shhh.”
As soon as she said it, my entire thinking realigned. Given a name, the resonance I was seeing from Josh suddenly made sense. Blue. Josh’s resonance was blue. I could see it in my mind so much clearer. Feeling more confident, I left the bright glow of Josh and Nakita to scan back a few hours earlier to the tangle of lines where I flashed forward at the track meet. I could feel Nakita’s presence beside me, and together we looked to where my past twined with another, the weight of it seeming to make a dip in the fabric. The aura with mine was a sort of sick greenish color with a flash of orange at its center. Beside it was a bluish yellow one, slightly smaller. Her brother?
It had to be, and I eagerly opened my eyes. Josh was staring at me, having crouched to put us eye to eye, and I grinned right back at him. I couldn’t decide, but there might have been a soft blue glow around him until the sun washed it out. Maybe I had a chance after all if I was really able to see auras.
“Was that her?” Nakita asked impatiently. “The greenish orange one?”
“You saw?” I said, relieved, and she nodded, smirking almost, as I let go of my amulet and the last visage of the time line vanished from my thoughts.
“Tammy has issues,” she said, suddenly a lot more interested in the kids filing into buses or getting into cars. “But most seventeen-year-olds do.”
Seventeen, same as me, or would be if I was alive. Josh stood, extending a hand to help me up. I took it, feeling a tingle between us. The glow about him seemed to strengthen, and I could see a red striation running through it, hovering even closer to his skin. It looked like it was fading, though, like a bruise. His near-death experience, maybe?
Nakita was holding the bars of the fence, her head gently resting between them as if she was in jail. I felt like I was one of the dead, spying on the living. Okay, technically I was, but being behind the graveyard fence only strengthened the emotion. Nakita’s eyes closed, and she breathed deeply. “There’s, like, twenty people the right age that have auras like that,” she said. “Let’s get closer.”
Red purse tucked under her arm, she headed for the impressive gate, her sandals silent on the mown lawn. I brushed my jeans, glancing at Josh’s school pants and shirt. He was going to be hot, but it was better than his running shorts and tank top. “If it helps, Tammy’s brother has a bluish yellow aura,” I said loudly.
“I saw that.” Nakita turned to show me a worrisome smile. Predatory. Eager. Her fingers were on her amulet, the origin of her power and the source of her scythe.
Beside me, Josh hesitated. “She’s not going to kill her, right?”
I shook my head, feeling he was right to ask. I picked up the pace to catch up with her. “Nakita?” I asked warily.
Nakita stopped, her hand on the gate and her eyes on the kids. There were fewer standing around outside now, and the first of the buses was leaving.
“I won’t allow Ron to put a guardian angel on her,” she said tightly. “You’d just better get Barnabas to do his part. But I’m telling you this isn’t going to work. Marks never listen.”
“Ace did.” I was arguing with a brick wall, but even brick walls could be broken down. “Okay,” I admitted as she tilted her head and raised her eyebrows questioningly at me. “So Ace is fated to live a short, violent life, but his soul isn’t meaningless anymore and he gets people to think,” I protested. “And what about Shoe? Now that he isn’t taking the blame for trashing the hospital’s system, he can help prevent that computer terrorist attack in the future. You can’t tell me that’s a bad thing.”
“Life is transitory,” she muttered, a whisper of doubt in her voice. “Only the soul matters.” Checking to see that she had her precious camera, she lifted her head and started for the chipped curb. Josh laughed, and we bumped shoulders as he took my hand and we followed. Like magic, I felt as if the sun was warmer, the air fresher, and my step lighter. His hand in mine was cool, and he gave me a little squeeze, cementing our connection. Josh put up with a lot from me, and I was grateful he was here.
Short, violent life or not, I was proud of our success with Ace. Not only had we saved his soul and life, but we managed to keep his best friend, Shoe, out of the crapper, too.
It had been really hard, though, and our success was as much due to Shoe working to save his own skin as me, Barnabas, and Nakita trying to save it as well. Together Josh and I stepped up beside Nakita at the curb, squinting into the sun at the unfamiliar school. “I know that everyone thinks that Ace was a fluke,” I said softly as Josh’s hand slipped away with a last squeeze. “That’s why we have to do it again.”
Tucking her purse under her arm, Nakita shrugged. Clearly she didn’t believe it was possible, but as far as I was concerned, this scything was already going better than the last. Nakita had agreed to not kill Tammy unless she was sure she couldn’t be helped, and we knew where Tammy lived. We were halfway there.
“Is that them?” Nakita said suddenly, and I followed her pointing finger to a blonde girl standing impatiently with one foot on the steps of a bus, the other on the sidewalk. She was yelling at a cluster of boys still on the school steps, their heads together over a handheld game. “She’s got a greenish aura with that orange center.”
“Hold your horses!” a dark-haired boy yelled back, making an ugly face at her. “I’ve got to get to a portal, or I’m going to lose my place!”
“You’re going to lose your ride home, you idiot!” she yelled back. “Mom is going to be ticked if she has to leave work to pick you up again, Johnny!”
The memory of my heart gave a pound and vanished. Johnny. That was Tammy’s brother’s name.
The girl turned in a huff and stomped up the stairs. In the line of buses, the second one revved its engine and left. Two more to go until Tammy’s could leave.
“Your sister is a witch,” I heard one of the boys say to Johnny, but Johnny was too engrossed in his game to comment.
“That’s them,” I said, suddenly worried. Now what?
Josh fidgeted as the next bus left. “Are we getting on?”
My lips pressed. Nakita could only carry one person in flight, and I didn’t want to separate.
“Guys . . . the bus is leaving!” Josh said, motioning for us to run for it.
“Johnny!” the girl shouted out her window. “Get on the bus!”
A surge of excitement raced through me. “Let’s go,” I said, and we all broke into a jog. The bus was revving its engine. We slipped on right after Johnny, stomping up the stairs, Nakita first, then me, and lastly, Josh.
“Hey,” the driver said, clearly not recognizing us, then he blinked. I could feel my amulet warming, and guessed that Nakita was doing something. The driver’s gaze suddenly went unfocused, and I scrambled past him and into the aisle when he reached to pull the door shut. Josh barely made it.
I blew my breath out in relief. Thanks to Nakita, the driver either didn’t see us, or didn’t care. The kids, though, knew we didn’t belong, and about fifteen pairs of eyes stared at us as we made our way down the aisle. Nervous, I worked my way to the back where Tammy sat with two girls, one with her, and one behind them, leaning over the back of their bench.
My unease grew as several pairs of eyes took in my purple-tinted hair, and someone snorted at my yellow shoes. Hand going to my amulet, I touched on the divine long enough to bend light around it, hiding the stone. I could still feel its original shape, but as far as anyone knew, it was just a silver chain.
I jumped when Josh touched my hand, and he grinned for having surprised me. Leaning forward, his breath tickling my neck and sending a shiver through me, he whispered, “I’m going to sit behind Jo
hnny. See if I can learn anything.”
“Okay,” I whispered back, and he flopped into an empty seat, closing his eyes to look bored. His foot, though, was jiggling. He was enjoying this, and that made me feel good. Being the dark timekeeper’s girlfriend was hard. It ought to have a few perks.
“There,” I said to Nakita, pointing out the empty seat in front of Tammy.
Nakita sat stiffly, her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something bad. I agreed with her. I hadn’t ridden the bus since I’d gotten my car a year ago. ’Course my car was still in Florida with my mom, but I’d rather ride my bike in the rain for five miles than take the bus now. I gingerly leaned back, my feet spread wide for balance as I fell into the half-aware stupor that the bus had always engendered in me. Slowly Nakita’s posture eased as she took in my slouch and the barely contained havoc of the rest of the bus. It was noisy. I’d forgotten that part. Oh, joy.
The bus lurched, and I propped myself straight as we hit the main road. Slowly the noise evened out and the roaring of the diesel became a background hum. Okay, I’d found Tammy. Now the question was, how could I convince her to stay home tonight so her apartment wouldn’t catch on fire, Johnny wouldn’t die, and she wouldn’t lose faith in herself and the world? It wasn’t like I could turn around in the seat and tell her to make a better decision or her brother was going to go to the big arcade in the sky.
“Oh, it’s to die for!” a loud voice said, too bold to be comfortable on my ears. “I saw it last night. His pants are so tight you could bounce a peanut butter cup off them, and I swear, his shirt had a new button undone in every scene.”
“Good God, Jennifer,” Tammy said. “What is it with you comparing boys to food?”
“So what?” the loud voice protested. “I’m going to see it again tonight. With Chris. You want to come? We can invite Dan and double date.”
“I’ve got homework,” a new voice said from right behind me, sort of a soft, quiet voice that sounded like it belonged to someone who had been beaten down one too many times by her friends. I knew that voice. It had never been mine, but I knew it.
“Homework,” Jennifer snorted. “I knew you wouldn’t come. I was talking to Tammy.”
Beside me, Nakita started fiddling with her amulet. I glared at her, not wanting her to draw her sword. Barnabas would have a fit.
“Come on, Tammy,” Jennifer coaxed. “You like Dan, right? Now’s your chance to find out how good he can kiss.”
“Uh . . . my mom . . .” Tammy started, and Jennifer laughed.
“Ple-e-e-ease!” she moaned. “There is no way your mom will find out. She’s working.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like I can sneak out with Johnny around. The little brat will tattle on me.”
“So wait until he’s asleep. We’re going to the late show, anyway.”
The image of a burning building drifted before my eyes, and again, the terror of Tammy seeing the quietly flashing ambulance with its small, covered stretcher filled me. I turned my head just enough so I could see Jennifer leaning over the back of Tammy’s seat, her arms dangling. Her expression was mocking, and I recognized that pissed look Tammy was now wearing. I’d been goaded by people I thought were my friends, too. She was going to do it, not because she wanted to sit in a dark theater with Dan, but because she didn’t want Jennifer to think she was chicken.
“Look,” Jennifer said, gum snapping, “wait for your mom to call at nine, like she always does, and then come out when bug boy is asleep. Easy peasy. You’ll be home by twelve thirty.”
The girl who had begged off with homework had her lips pressed, silently telling Tammy to say no. Jennifer saw it and pulled back a little. “You’re chicken,” she said derisively.
I sighed, knowing what was going to happen next.
“Am not!”
I held the edge of the seat as we took a corner, looking away when Jennifer’s eyes met mine for a second. “Then I’ll see you at ten thirty,” the girl said, and I could feel her eyes on me still.
“Fine,” Tammy said, and the memory of her terror hit me again.
“You can’t!” I exclaimed, turning in the seat.
The three girls and Nakita stared at me, Nakita in wonder, Jennifer in anger, and Tammy and her last friend in bewilderment.
“Who asked you, you freak?” Jennifer said loudly.
My face warmed, but it wasn’t like I could just turn back around. “I . . . uh,” I stammered.
“Madison is not a freak,” Nakita said hotly. “She’s trying to save Tammy’s soul.”
My eyes shut, and I cringed. When they opened, Tammy’s eyes were wide, and the girl with her looked afraid. Jennifer started to laugh. I was mortified. God, did Nakita even have a clue how lame that sounded? Even if it was true?
“What the hell?” Jennifer said. “Are you some kind of Bible school reject?”
My temper got the better of me, and I squinted at her. “Honey, the stuff I’ve done and gotten away with would put your daydreams to shame,” I said, anger shoving my embarrassment to the back of my mind to deal with later. “So listen to me when I tell you sneaking out isn’t worth it.”
The sound of the fire roaring was echoed in the bus’s engine, and I stifled a shiver as I looked at Tammy. Seeing her new resolve, I realized that speaking out had done more bad than good. She wanted freedom. She wanted to make her own decisions. But she clearly thought that making her own decisions meant doing the opposite of what her parents said was good for her. I’d call her a fool, but I’d been the same way myself. Until I had died trying to make a point that I was no one’s little girl.
They were still staring at me. Maybe I should try a different tack.
“Look, all I’m saying is that stuff goes wrong sometimes,” I said. “What if your little brother gets hurt? A burglar could break in, or the building could catch on fire. He’d be all alone.”
Jennifer flopped back into her seat. “In this town? You gotta be kidding me. Nothing happens here. Mind your own business.”
Nakita reached for her amulet, and I gently kicked her ankle. Her gaze shot to mine, her eyes seeming to say, “I told you so.”
I was hot with anger. I don’t know how, because I was dead and didn’t really have a body, but I was definitely warm. Disconcerted, I turned around, very aware of them still staring at me.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at Nakita. I didn’t want her to be right. There was no way that I was going to spend the next thousand years sending out assassin angels to end lives in order to save souls. I stood when the bus lurched to a halt.
Nakita rose with me. “We’re getting off? What about . . . her?”
My eyes were fixed on the front as three kids filed off. “Tammy will be fine until tonight. We need to leave before I shove my amulet down Jennifer’s throat.” I looked back at Nakita, who still hadn’t gotten into the aisle. “Come on. We know where she lives. Or Barnabas does.”
Nodding, Nakita followed me to the front. “We’re leaving?” Josh said as I touched his shoulder, but he immediately picked up his gym bag and stood.
From the back of the bus, Jennifer said in a mocking falsetto, “Going home to play tea party with your dolls?”
Josh winced at my pressed lips and warm cheeks. “Time to leave. Gotcha.”
“Before Madison learns how to use her amulet and scythes the wrong girl,” Nakita said, clearly amused.
“I can’t believe I just blurted it out like that,” I berated myself. “I am such an idiot.”
“Didn’t go well, huh?” Josh asked as he filed out behind Nakita, and we all got off the bus.
“That’s one way to put it,” I said, hands on my hips and staring at the bus from the sidewalk. Tammy was watching me, and Jennifer was making angelic faces looking heavenward. I hated that they were laughing at me, especially with Josh watching.
Nakita and Josh were beside me, and I held my breath as the bus drove away. The three kids who got of
f with us gave us a long look before heading down the sidewalk.
“Madison?” Josh asked, and I exhaled.
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to get rid of my anger. I hadn’t handled it well, but it was only my second scything. “We know who she is, and what she’s doing tonight. That’s more than we did ten minutes ago.” I glanced at my watch, surprised to find out it had only been just that long. “Barnabas is probably a few houses up,” I said as I put my hands in my jeans pockets and started to follow the bus’s route. “You want to just walk it?”