We rested about half an hour, until I could move again. DJ insisted on walking me back to my dorm. He walked silently beside me, clearing his throat a few times like he planned on saying something, but never did. We were almost to the dorms when we saw Brent.
“There you are,” Brent said. “I was looking for you.” I ran into his arms, while DJ trailed behind. He pulled me into a hug. He was so warm—a stark contrast to me. Even though my clothes were starting to dry, I was still chilled to the bone. Brent was more than warm though, he was almost hot. I swear steam rose between us.
“You’re wet. And freezing,” Brent said as he took my hands into his own. They flooded instantly with heat. He buried his head in my hair, breathing in my scent, sniffed, stiffened and pushed me away with a frown on his face. “You smell like chlorine.”
“I had a run in with Sophia in the pool house.”
The creases on his forehead deepened. “You were in the pool house? Why were you there?”
“It’s where Doogie—I mean DJ insisted on talking to me. He dragged me in.”
“Doogie?”
“Yeah, in elementary school we called him Doogie, but his real name is Doug Stout. He gave me this.” I pointed to my scar. Brent stared at me for a moment and then glared behind me. I followed his expression and saw DJ standing there, staring at us.
“Speak of the devil,” Brent muttered.
“Sophia attacked us. She can appear in windows too.” Then I told him about the whole attack.
My knees felt weak as I recounted the fight. Brent gathered me in his arms and ran his fingers through my tangled hair.
“I’m sorry about taking you into the pool house. That was a mistake.” DJ must have moved closer to us because he his voice sounded much closer. “But Brent, you should have seen it,” he continued, admiration infusing his words. “Yara was amazing. She emptied the entire pool during the fight.”
Brent whistled. “No joke? That’s my girl.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t me.”
“I was there, remember? It was all you.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “And after watching that much power at work, I’m very glad you accepted my apology.”
My lips curved into a smile. He winked at me.
“I’ve got to go,” DJ said. He looked at me more affectionately than I was comfortable with. “I really wanted to help, Cupcake. When they contact you, remember what I said. Run.”
“That’s all you have to say?” Brent interrupted. “Run? You’re the reason we’re involved in this at all and that’s the best you can do?”
“You were already involved.” DJ shrugged his shoulders. “Plus, it’s more of a warning than anyone gave me.” He spun on his heel and walked away.
Brent’s gaze followed him until he had disappeared around the corner. “Did you get what he stole?”
“No, he never intended to give it to me.”
“Figures. What did you learn at the meeting?”
Brent took my wet backpack and led us away from the dorms, toward the administration building. I quickly summed up what I had learned about the Pendrell family, the stolen key, and DJ’s inability to talk about it. Brent pursed his lips thoughtfully as he listened to me, holding my hand as we climbed up the administration building steps.
“So if they are so eager to recruit us, what are they waiting for?” I asked.
“The right moment? A full moon? Who knows?” Brent dropped my backpack at the base of the statue. “How does DJ know all of this anyway?”
“I’m not sure, exactly. He warned me again about that group being interested in the two of us, and told me why. It’s because they know we can project, specifically because we can project off campus.”
Brent looked as if he’d been hit in the face with a frying pan. “Because we can project?”
I nodded. “DJ can too, but only on campus.”
Brent eyes widened and his expression became unreadable. Was it anger? Fear?
“What’s with the look?” I asked. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Maybe we should be nervous.” He chewed a nail. “I’m wondering how they know so much about us.”
“I don’t know, but they do seem well informed.”
Brent pursed his lips. “I think I need to call my dad.”
“Your dad?”
Brent ripped off a piece of his nail. “Yeah. I—” Brent swallowed hard. “I told him the whole story over the summer. Neal wanted me to tell him how he really died. I think I need to talk to him.”
“You think your dad’s involved in this?”
Brent ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, but he’s the only person I told. Maybe he told someone else.” He looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t.
“I told my parents, my sister, and Vovó. Should we find out if they told anyone?”
The sun had started to drop low in the sky, casting long shadows, darkening Brent’s eyes. “Let me talk to my dad first.”
v
“Doogie goes to school here?” Cherie asked, fluffing the pillow behind her head. “And your teacher is forcing him to be your baby daddy?” Cherie’s grin widened. “Should I make him a batch of my famous laxative brownies?”
I laughed. “Maybe later. Today at least he passed along some useful information. DJ said the compartment held a key.”
“What do you think it opens? A safe? Maybe a bank vault?” Cherie grabbed her laptop, settled it on her lap and started typing. Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “We’ll start by checking out if any banks have been around that long. Hotels too. I’ll look into it tomorrow at my internship.”
“Thank you for your help.”
“Anytime.”
“Any luck on the whammy situation in the bathroom?” I still smelled like the pool, and I needed a shower.
Cherie smiled so brightly she could have powered all of southern California. “Taken care of. I even checked with your grandma to make sure it would work. I worked on it all day. Didn’t you notice?”
I hadn’t.
“What’d you do?”
She pointed toward our mirrors and windows. She had glued jewels and various stones along the edges of the mirrors. Cherie didn’t have my handicap in crafts and her work made the mirrors look designer.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, but how is it going to help?
“I used the jewels that had Pankurem in them. I know it might not be able to keep her from appearing but it should weaken her if she gets too near it, right? I did it to the mirrors in the bathroom too and all the ones you usually pass by during the day. I’ll start working on the windows next. I hadn’t even considered them till your attack at the pool.”
“Mrs. Hewett is going to shoot you,” I said.
“Nah, she loves me. All teachers do.” Cherie closed her laptop. “I figure after all the fighting Sophia’s been doing, she’s going to need to re-charge her batteries so we won’t know for awhile how effective the new decorations are, but it should help. Like I said it’s Vovó-approved.”
“Thank you Cherie.” I gave her a hug.
Cherie pulled back, crinkling her nose. “This wasn’t a pure act of service. I have to share a room with you and if you stink then I’m the one who suffers.” She pulled out my bathroom bucket from behind her back and shoved it at me.
“I can take a hint,” I said before heading toward the shower.
v
When I entered the cafeteria the next day, DJ was waiting for me with a smile on his face and a new and improved flour baby. He had assembled her into a much cuter specimen than my own creation had been. “Here’s the changeling.”
“Thanks.”
“And I have this too.” He looked both ways and leaned a little closer “The remains of our first child. I thought we should be together for the funeral.” He took the bag back and dumped it in the trash. “Any last words?”
I laughed. “Thank you for the replacement.”
?
??No problem. It’s the least I could do.” He rocked back on his heels. “I sort of blame myself for that whole incident.”
“I do too. I’ll see you in class,” I said, slipping past him and walking over to where Steve and Cherie were waiting in line to get food. DJ watched for a minute before leaving.
“What were you guys talking about?” Cherie asked.
“My failed attempt at child care.”
After we got out our food. I plunked my battered tray down and slid in between Audrey and Brent.
“I have to know,” Audrey said. “How did you get that bruise on your neck earlier this month? I’ve heard all the rumors but I want to know the truth.”
Audrey must have noticed something strange in our expressions. Audrey had been the most reluctant in our group to delve into the paranormal, but was starting to get used to our shop talk.
“Oh,” she said. “It’s a ghost thing right?”
“Yep.” Cherie took a bite of her waffles. “Sophia, the ghost from the internship party has been stalking her.”
Audrey’s brown eyes widened.
“Yeah,” I joked, “despite the rumors, Brent isn’t beating me.”
“What?” Brent choked on his potatoes. “People are really saying that?”
“That’s the most popular rumor.” Audrey spread jam on her toast. “But I also heard you and Kelsey got into it after she posted the video of you punching the mirror on the internet.”
“Oh man, someone did get it on video?” I dropped my head to my hands.
“Yeah, it went viral,” Steve said. “You’ve had 6,000 hits.”
“You all knew? About the video online, and the rumor that Kelsey beat me up?”
Everyone nodded.
“Like she’d have been able to beat me up that bad and walk away without so much as a scratch.” The sudden silence at the table made me frown. “What, you don’t think I could take her? I’ve got a couple of moves.”
Again silence, except for Brent, who was snickering.
“Fine. I know she’s tough, but I am too. I could have schooled her. Well, I could have thrown a calculus book at her. Then ran and hid.”
Brent laughed outright. “She does have some mad book-throwing skills.” He rubbed his temple where my calculus book had given him a killer bruise last year. “So I was thinking, we should do some training tomorrow. We need to get you in peak shape so you can stand up to Sophia.”
“Good idea.” I was tired of being the victim, especially after this last incident in the pool house. I was up for anything to make me stronger.
Chapter Ten
That evening Vovó called. She was going to be running errands and wanted to know if I had time for a visit. I told her sure and that I’d meet her in the commons building at eight. I wandered down there early and decided to study while I waited for her. But instead of reading or making flash cards for an upcoming quiz, I found myself eavesdropping on conversations.
The room was filled with gossip about the pool house and its shattered windows. From the rumor-mill, it sounded like we were home free. The rumors were outlandish, from a terrorist bomb to a science experiment gone wrong. Others thought of something more mundane, like sabotage from a rival swim team. Fortunately, the truth would have been even harder to believe, and no one mentioned DJ or me being seen anywhere near there.
Vovó arrived just after eight. She walked with purpose, a pink shoebox tucked under her arm. I waved her over and she sat down across from me. She wore a big, white, visitor’s sticker on her floral shirt. She pulled a container of homemade cookies out of her purse and slid them across the table to me.
I took one out and bit into the chocolate chip goodness. The sweet flavor melted on my tongue and made everything in the world seem better. I had already filled her in on everything that had been happening, and I wanted to ask what she thought of it all, but I knew how easy it was to eavesdrop on conversations here.
So instead I asked her, “What’s up, Vovó?”
She pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Querida, last summer wasn’t enough training. I think you need more.”
The chocolate in my mouth suddenly tasted bitter. I made sure my voice was too quiet to travel to the next table. “What I need is to get rid of Sophia permanently. How is your plan coming? It’s been almost a month since you agreed to help me. She should be gone by now. If we can’t get her to move on peacefully, then we need to banish her. She needs to go.”
“Again with the talk of banishing. Don’t you remember you decided she needed your help?”
“Yes.”
“You are missing the point of what we do. It takes time.” Vovó rested her elbows on the table and took my hand. “Helping a ghost isn’t always easy or convenient but it’s worth it.”
“I don’t have time.”
“You must make the time. Not only with helping ghosts but with your Waker studies. You need another summer, and at least one more year of training with me. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll even survive the rest of this year.” I folded my arms and rested them on the table. “Vovó, I can’t spend another year with you in Brazil. I have to go to college in the fall.”
“Your parents and I have talked about this. We all agree that you should put off college for a year and spend that time with me in Brazil, training.”
It felt like my world had fallen out from beneath my feet. “What?”
“Your parents and I agree it might be in your best interest to defer school for a year and train.”
I shook my head. “No. There is no way mom would agree to this.”
“It was her idea. She saw your stitches, your bruised wrist, your strangled throat. You drowned last year. Your mom wants to protect you, and she knows that avoiding it isn’t going to help you. We all want you safe, Yara.”
I slammed my hand down on the table and Vovó startled a bit. “I don’t want to do this. I’m going to Columbia. I’m going to be a journalist. You don’t get to make those decisions for me. I don’t want this to be my life. I don’t want to—”
“To be like me. I know.” Vovó’s bottom lip quivered. She ran her hand along her forehead. “You don’t have a choice about being a Waker, Yara. I’m sorry. This is your life. You have much to learn. There is still much you don’t know about herbs, about our legends, about other techniques to help ghosts. It will take months, possibly years to study. You have to have a strong foundation to build upon. Yara, your powers are strong. But you need to learn how to use them. You can do things no woman in our family could do before. You need to be trained to protect yourself. I won’t always be here and I need to pass on everything I can to you.”
Despite my anger, her words softened my heart. “Vovó, you are an amazing woman, but. . . ”
“Just think about it, Yara. We aren’t forcing you to do this. It is your choice. Completely.”
“You never asked Melanie to make this choice. She was able to go to college.”
“She had been training with me her whole life. And she has never run into murderous ghosts before. But even if she had, she’d have been more prepared.”
Of course it would all come back to my years of hoping I’d never become a Waker and avoiding the lessons my grandma had tried to teach me. If that were true, then this year off from school would be my own fault. I didn’t want to think about that.
I picked up another cookie and tried to think of something else to talk about. “I think I saw a Waker in the store a while ago.”
“You probably did.”
“Really?” I took a bite. “You knew about them?”
“Of course. The term ‘Waker’ is American.”
“Why haven’t you ever told me about them?”
She shrugged. “You never asked.”
“But if they exist, I can study here and still go to school.”
“The training, even here in the United States is usually done by the matriarch of the family. But I supp
ose you could ask.” Her lips drooped into a frown. She slid the pink box across the table to me. Inside were several different colored capsules. They looked like vitamins.
“What are these?”
“I knew the idea of you giving up your next year for training wouldn’t be easy for you, so I brought a peace offering.”
I picked up gel-cap filled with blue powder. “What do they do?”
“They’re kind of a . . . time slip pill. When you told me about time freezing for you when other people were projecting, it made me consider what I know about astral projecting. It seems to you like time freezes, right?”
I nodded.
“Time doesn’t really stop, it just slows down. A lot. Anyway, it creates a small area of time . . . distorção?”
“Distortion,” I translated.
“Yes, distortion. It bends time in that little spot, like the dip when you stand on a trampoline. Then it bounces back when the body and spirit reconnect. Your body shaking with cold is from that bounce. With the barrier up, anytime anyone projects on campus, everyone is affected. But outside it is a much smaller area, maybe like a small city block.”
She reached out and grabbed a cookie for herself. “It’s a lot more complicated to explain about what happens to people who move into the dip when it’s in progress. But that doesn’t really matter. This concoction will let your body keep up with the spirit, and help you move while others are projecting.”
“In my body?”
She nodded.
“Wow. Will it work for everyone?”
“Yes. Even those without the ability to project.”
“Cherie is going to love this. How do you know all this?”
She gave me a sad smile. “Years of study and continued research. What I do, it isn’t easy. It’s a full time calling.”
I swallowed hard and tears swam in front of my eyes. “I know Vovó. I’m just not sure I want it to be mine.”
“I know, Querida, but it has chosen you. Will you at least consider what I’ve said?”
“I will, Vovó.”
v
The next afternoon, Lesley had Brent and me drive to the original Alumni House to pick up some boxes that hadn’t been brought over yet. We knocked on the door, and a very small, wrinkled, gray-haired lady opened it.