Indelible

  “Take my advice, Little Waker. Leave it alone.” She closed her eyes.

  “I can’t,” I said. “The Clutch is blackmailing me. My boyfriend is sick and the doctors can’t fix it. The Clutch claims to have some kind of a cure, but they won’t give it to me unless you tell me where the other key is.”

  “I can’t help you.”

  “He’s dying.” My voice broke and I almost dropped to my knees to beg.

  Sophia’s eyes opened and there was a deep pain in them. “It’s a terrible thing to watch someone you love deteriorate and not be able to do anything.”

  “Yeah, it is,” I agreed, surprised at her sudden compassion and hoping it meant her feelings were softening.

  “Has the pankurem been affecting his mind?” Sophia eyes filled with sympathy. “It does that you know.”

  “What?” I touched my necklace and gave Vovó a questioning look.

  “Pankurem will destroy the mind if it is ingested,” Vovó offered from her corner. “It is a poison that will rot the brain. And it is very addictive. It is meant to be worn. That is all.”

  “Brent’s not eating it; we only wear it for protection.” I paused. Something in my memory clicked.

  “Did the pankurem affect Jesse and Evan in some way? I know that Christopher fed it to them. Is that why Evan . . . changed?”

  Sophia didn’t answer. Instead she stared at the picture on the wall. “What happened to my son?” Sophia asked. “What became of Lee?”

  I scratched my head. I had been hoping she wouldn’t ask. Cherie had done her best to find out what had happened to Lee Pendrell but hadn’t found much. She knew he had been born and had survived both his parents. That was all. “I don’t know.”

  “If you find out what happened to him, I will tell you everything I know.”

  Great. First a bargain with the Clutch. Now a bargain with the ghost who’d been trying to kill me.

  “I can’t do that. That will take time and I don’t have any. I need the cure from the Clutch.”

  “I wouldn’t trust the Clutch. Have they allowed you to try their alleged cure?”

  “Just a sample,” I admitted, “but it seemed to work.”

  “But if you bring them the key how do you know they won’t give you a poison or something that will make your beau worse?”

  I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t considered that, because it had crossed my mind.

  “I don’t know. But he’s getting worse. I have to try something. Anything, at this point. They seem to want to use my ability for their plans. If they double-cross me, then they won’t be able to get me to do anything for them ever again.”

  Sophia cocked her head to the side, her red curls falling gracefully across her neck. “Do you love him? Your beau?”

  “I . . . yes, I do.” Unexpected tears prickled in my eyes. “He’s my Christopher.”

  Sophia pressed her lips together but not in anger. She stared at me. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “You don’t.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I may have been confused before, but I do remember that you helped them steal the key.” Her skin flushed and her eyes darkened.

  “Calm down!” I ordered her. I sounded like a younger version of Vovó. Sophia’s hard look softened. “I didn’t steal it. I didn’t help them steal it. I don’t know where it is. That’s why I need you to tell me where the other key is. So I can tell them and get the cure.”

  “I need to make sure they don’t get the keys, which is why I need to get out of here,” Sophia said, thumping her hand on the glass.

  “Even if I got you out of the glass, you still wouldn’t be able to leave campus. The pankurem in the barrier keeps you trapped here.”

  “Pankurem,” Sophia said, making it sound like a curse word. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I detest that loathsome plant.”

  “It’s saved my life, more than once.”

  “And it cost me mine. But not before it destroyed everything I cared about first. If you were smart you would stay as far away from that poison as you can.” She screamed. “It ruined everything. It is why Christopher and I fought that last day!”

  “What?” I stepped toward the mirror.

  “Yes, he confessed to me that the miracle mental vitamin he had me take while I was pregnant had horrible side effects. Instead of making our son a genius, it could make him insane. That plant was what caused my Evan to turn into a murderer. It led him to push me down the stairs to get more of it.”

  “Evan pushed you?” I had suspected him of killing her earlier but I thought it had been a fit of passion not a deliberate act of murder.

  She nodded but didn’t seem to find this news as shocking as I did. “Christopher was always afraid I loved Evan more than I loved him. He thought my outrage was because of what had happened to Evan. But it wasn’t. I was worried for Lee. I took the keys and stormed out of the room, telling him I never wanted to see him again. He died not knowing how much I loved him. Not knowing that I loved him more than I ever did Evan. When I had the keys and realized my life was in danger I separated the keys and hid them. But it was for nothing. I died anyway.”

  “At least your stepsons didn’t get them.”

  Her sorrowful face looked a little less sad as she thought about that. “That’s true. Still, my whole life was ruined because of that plant!”

  I found myself wrapped up in the events of her life and death but I needed to find a way to help Brent. That was why I had come to talk to her. “I have bigger things to worry about than the pankurem.”

  “Yes. Your beau.” She turned her face toward me. She was quiet for a moment, considering something. She nodded like she had reached a decision. “In my day, giving a promise meant something. Does it to you? If you give your word, do you keep it?”

  “I’d like to think so,” I said, startled by the question.

  Sophia seemed to make a decision of some kind. “If you free me from this glass, then I’ll tell you where the other key is.”

  I was willing to promise anything but still I paused. The woman had beaten me to a pulp several times. Could I trust her?

  Sophia’s eye glittered. “If I tell you enough to get the Clutch to give the cure to your beau, will you swear to free me?”

  I glanced at Vovó, who nodded. “Yes,” I said feeling the weight of my promise clamp around me. “You do promise to quit trying to hurt me, right?”

  “Yes.” She laughed and it was a beautiful sound like the tinkling of a bell. “You and I have a common enemy.”

  “Right.” I turned to Vovó. “So how do we get her out?”

  “We don’t have the right supplies. I’ll have to order them, but we will come back. I promise, as well.”

  Sophia tapped her finger against the glass but this time it was very lady like. “Very well. I believe you.” She pushed one of her curls back behind her ear. “You may tell the Clutch that the key belonged to Christopher and it was meant to be with him for all eternity.” Her lips twisted in a smirk. “It’s the truth. See what they make of that.”

  I frowned. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to give me?”

  “Yes, that’s all. You must convince the Clutch it’s good enough to deserve the cure they promised you.”

  “Alright,” I said. My heart hammered in my chest and I hoped what she had given me would be enough. I would just have to give the Clutch her message and I was going to have to sell it.

  “I have one other condition,” she said. “When I get out, I’m helping you fight them.”

  I grinned. “I’m not saying no to that.”

  I turned towards Vovó and saw her wipe her hands on her pants.

  “That was the hardest I’ve had to work to calm a spirit down in a long time.” Vovó mopped sweat from her brow with a handkerchief. “I haven’t had to use my ability like that in years.”

  “You were amazing.”

  Vovó waved her hanky in the air in an ‘aww shucks’ manner. “You did well
too.”

  “Thanks. “I stared at the plant-covered wall. “Why haven’t I seen you do that before?”

  “I only use that power when it is necessary. It takes a lot out of me.”

  “But how did you do that?”

  She strode to the mirror and stroked the leaves. “You are not the only one with special skills. Earth and plants like me. Why do you think my garden always blooms so well?”

  I covered the space between us and touched the springy plants. “I thought you had a green thumb.”

  Vovó chucked me under the chin with a grin. “And so I do, Yara. So I do.”

  I glanced at the mirror and found Sophia watching us. This time it didn’t scare me.

  “I’ll be seeing you again soon,” Sophia said. Her face curled into a thoughtful smile. She was beautiful. “And Yara, thank you for helping me find myself.”

  I almost cried as I watched her disappear. The ghost I had just talked to was beautiful, full of love and loyalty. Had that been there all along and I had missed it? I didn’t want to answer the question. If it hadn’t been for Vovó, I would have given up on her or sentenced her to banishment. Shame burned through me like a refiner’s fire.

  Vovó patted me on the shoulder. “I see that you get it now.”

  A warmth I hadn’t expected touched my heart. “I do. I really do.”

  v

  I found DJ the next morning. “I met with Sophia and I need to talk with the Clutch.”

  DJ tapped his fingers on his chest and looked like he was about to ask me a question but thought better of it. “Tell me what she said.”

  “No. I’ll tell only them.” With that I turned away from him.

  That afternoon, time froze again and this time I didn’t wait for DJ. I knew how to get to the Clutch’s meeting room. He caught up with me before I reached them. Once again they were hidden in the shadows, dressed in robes. I still couldn’t make out an exact number.

  A warm hand reached out and grabbed mine. I turned in surprise to find DJ beside me instead of standing off to the side. I didn’t particularly want to hold his hand but being there without Brent terrified me, and I hung onto it like he was a life preserver and I was drowning.

  “That was fast, Miss Silva,” Mr. Crosby said in his deep voice.

  “I aim to please.” I scratched my calf with the toe of my shoe.

  “So you’ve spoken with Sophia?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?” I could feel the anticipation in the room as if all the men leaned forward hanging on my answer.

  “She wanted me to tell you that the key is meant to be with Christopher for all eternity.”

  A commotion of whispers broke out around me. “And you couldn’t get her to say anything else?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  There were more murmurs.

  “That’s very vague, Yara. I’m disappointed. I expected more from you.”

  “Talking with a ghost is different than talking to a person. I can’t make them do anything. There aren’t magic spells or potions.”

  “I see.” There was silence and I felt like I was a defendant awaiting the jury’s verdict. “Well, we did hope that perhaps you would have discovered more information for us. But you did indeed give us a new avenue of study. You have upheld your end of the bargain. For that you will receive your payment.”

  Surprise rippled through me like chocolate in a marble cake. Based on my previous dealings and DJ’s warnings, I thought they’d be harder to convince. They must have been really hard up for information.

  “A vial of the cure will be delivered to Mr. Springsteed this evening. You’re free to go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We look forward to our next venture together.”

  “I think our relationship ends here.”

  “We’ll see.” His words felt like a leech draining my soul. I hoped he was wrong. I never wanted to have anything to do with the Clutch again.

  v

  The following night I got a call from Brent.

  “I got something in the mail today. What did you do?”

  “Are you at home now?”

  “No, my parents drove me to school to pick up my homework. I’m in the commons building.”

  I gave a yelp of joy. “I’ll be right there.

  I slipped on a pair of flats, grabbed my jacket and hurried down to the building. He was sitting in a patch of sun in the outside courtyard. He didn’t look any better than he had at Miguel’s Jr, but at least he didn’t look worse. He was wearing a thick sweater to keep out the chill of the day.

  “Do you need to go in? It’s a little cold out here.”

  “No,” he said with a shake of his head. “My mom never lets me outside. I’ve missed the sun and fresh air.”

  I pulled my thin jacket tight around me and sat down in the chair across from him, waiting for him to shower me with gratitude.

  “I thought I made it clear at the hospital I didn’t want you to do anything stupid on my behalf,” Brent said in an angry voice.

  Not the reaction I was expecting.

  “I didn’t want you involved,” he continued. “I was so glad you told them no—once I really thought about it.” He bit at the nail on his thumb. “What did you have to do to get this?”

  “They just asked me to talk to Sophia and get some information.”

  Brent didn’t speak for a full thirty seconds. “That’s it?”

  “That’s all they asked for.” He didn’t look like he believed me so I held up my hand over my heart. “I swear.”

  He smiled then and it made me wonder what exactly he had done for them, but I pushed that thought aside.

  Brent swirled the liquid around in the glass container before opening and smelling it. He winced at the fragrance and gagged. “This smells worse than the last batch.” He lifted the vial to his lips.

  For some reason Sophia’s warning about what the Clutch would really give him made me reach out and stay his hand.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t take it. We don’t know for sure what it is.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m a dead man anyway.” Before I could reply he tipped his head back and swallowed the contents in a big gulp. His eyes went wide and he gagged again, louder this time, and dug in his backpack until he pulled out a half-empty bottle of water, which he promptly guzzled down.

  Brent licked his lips. “That was absolutely disgusting.”

  “Do you feel any better?”

  Brent’s face took on a look of concentration as he mentally felt his way through his body, looking for changes. “No, I feel exactly the same, but it took a while for the last sample to work too.”

  I smiled. “Oh, okay. Good.”

  “Yara, once I was thinking straight I didn’t want you involved with the Clutch and I still don’t. I’m not happy you dealt with them but . . . thank you.” He spun the water bottle around on the table. “I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have you.

  I pretended not to notice the tears in his eyes. We held hands and talked about anything and everything until he had to go.

  I called Brent first thing the next morning but he said he felt the same. The third morning after he took the cure I called but there was no answer. My panic went into overdrive as I pictured everything that could have gone wrong. Was Brent in the hospital again? Had Sophia been right and they had poisoned him? My phone beeped and I nearly toppled over from relief as I saw a text from Brent. “Eating breakfast in the school cafeteria. Come down.”

  I quickly got ready and raced down to the cafeteria. Brent was sitting at our normal table eating his usual French toast and hash browns, no eggs in sight. He looked good. Healthy. His skin had its normal brown tinge, his brown eyes were like chocolate, and his hair was perfectly coiffed. He looked amazing, better than I had seen him look in weeks. I would have taken on a thousand paranoid ghosts and every member of the Clutch to see him look this good again. I felt tears of happiness well up in my eyes but I forced th
em away as I ran toward Brent. I dropped my backpack on the ground and hurled myself into his arms.

  I kissed him long and hard, wrapping my arms around him. He chuckled when I finally stopped and rested my forehead against his.

  “Good morning to you too,” he said with a slight pant.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I was feeling good but after that kiss, my morning just shot into amazing territory.”

  I rested my hands on both of cheeks. “Really? You feel good?”

  “Yes, better than I have since last year.”

  I thought my face would split from the wide grin I couldn’t contain.

  “Thank you Yara.”

  “I would do it again,” I said, meaning it.

  DJ slid into the chair next to Brent. “That’s how they get you, Cupcake. It won’t be that easy. Just wait and see.”

  “Since when did you start eating here?” Brent glowered at DJ. “What do you want, DJ.”

  “I’m trying to prepare the two of you. There’s no happy ending here. They own you.”

  “Brent has the cure. They don’t have anything else I need.” My voice was firm and steadfast but my instincts said otherwise. Would they really have given us the cure? The line Sophia gave me didn’t even really answer the question they’d asked. Had it been too easy?

  DJ stole a piece of toast from Brent’s tray, and took a bite. “You’ll see. There are threads to whatever you did that they’ll grab hold of.” DJ turned his green eyes onto Brent. “I told her not to do it, but she had to save you. I hope your health is worth it.”

  “Of course it is,” I snapped, taking the stolen piece of toast.

  “We’ll see,” he said ruffling my hair and winking at me before standing up and walking away.

  Brent’s eyes looked troubled and my insides felt just as worried.

  “You’re worth it,” I asserted again.

  “I’m glad you think so, but I wish you hadn’t had to get involved. He’s got me worried.”

  “Brent, don’t let him ruin this.” I shook Brent by his shoulders and ordered him to smile. “For now, aside from finding out the Clutch’s end game, there isn’t much else to do, except enjoy your new health.”