She shook her head. “Why should I take you back in time and save you? I don’t care if Regulators terminate you. It’s just one less Follower I have to worry about.”
“You understand nothing.” The scorn in his voice made her hesitate. “There’s still time,” he continued. “Take us back to the day you were abandoned on the side of the road.”
Catty felt a chill pass through her. “How do you know I was abandoned?” Then she remembered Serena and felt suddenly irritated. How many secrets had Serena shared with him?
Footsteps pounded on the cement behind her. She turned. The three Regulators from the coroner’s office walked toward her. She glanced the other way and saw Stanton disappear down the corridor.
“Wait for me,” she whispered and started running. When she was at the end of the corridor, she looked for Stanton.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the boy’s restroom, then into one of the stalls. She was pushed up against him.
“Take us back,” he ordered.
“You don’t understand,” Catty confessed. “I’ve never been able to time-travel that far back without getting stuck.”
Footsteps sounded near the bathroom door.
“Take my hand,” Stanton ordered.
“Why?” she asked.
“We have no time left.” He held out his hand. “Do you want to escape?”
She stared at Stanton. Could she trust him?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CATTY TOOK STANTON’S hand and his tremendous power surged through her. The bathroom stall wavered, then broke apart before exploding into a flash of white light. Stanton’s hand clasped hers tightly, and they were sucked into the tunnel. His speed was much greater than hers. The free fall made her stomach ripple and she had difficulty breathing. She now knew why Vanessa hated time travel. Catty couldn’t pull air into her lungs and at the moment when she thought she might pass out, they fell from the tunnel back into time.
Stanton landed on his feet, but Catty skidded across scorched dusty ground. She lay in the hot sand, gasping for air. Stanton paced, his shadow brushing back and forth over her. The blazing sun stung her arms and face.
Suddenly she sat up with a jerk. Tall spiny cacti surrounded her.
She stood abruptly in spite of her dizziness and wiped the sand and dirt from her face. She took an awkward step backward and surveyed the vast landscape. Wisps of black smoke came from a nearby arroyo. She ran to the edge of the craggy embankment and peered over. The air was filled with the stench of burning rubber and oil.
The charred skeleton of a crashed car sat on the rocky bottom. The sight jogged a memory. She remembered the crash and the fire. Only now she realized she hadn’t been inside the car, but outside watching from the ledge as she was now.
Stanton gently touched her arm and pointed.
Her heart caught. There she was at age six, wandering down the highway in her sandals, baggy red shorts, and a large floppy hat that kept trying to blow off her head.
Tears burned into her eyes. Stanton put his hand on her shoulder as the tears fell down her cheeks.
“Stanton,” a voice called with sudden urgency.
Catty sucked in her breath. “My mother?”
“Yes,” he said.
Her heart beat crazily. She turned slowly.
A slender woman with large brown eyes and thick sun-kissed hair walked toward them. She wore cutoff jeans and a man’s white T-shirt. Her knees and hands were scraped and bleeding.
“Stanton,” her mother repeated.
“She knows you?” Catty glanced at Stanton. How could her mother know him?
“Please, Stanton.” Her mother pointed to the smaller Catty walking in the distance. “Take my daughter’s memories from her so she’ll be safe.”
“I can’t, Zoe,” he whispered.
Catty glanced from Stanton to her mother. He even knew her name. How was that possible?
“Please,” Zoe pleaded again. “If she has no memories, the Regulators won’t be able to find her. You must save her.”
In spite of the heat, Catty began trembling. Why had Regulators been after her when she was only a child?
Stanton stared off at the younger Catty walking down the roadway.
“Do you want what happened to you, to happen to her?” Zoe spoke in a low tone. “She’s only a child like you were.”
Stanton hesitated, then took three steps forward. Catty watched his eyes focus and narrow.
“Thank you.” Zoe sighed with relief and closed her eyes.
“It’s done.” Stanton turned back and Zoe seemed to relax then.
“Maybe now she’ll even be able to live a normal life.” Zoe wiped at her eyes.
Catty heard the whisper of tires on the hot pavement and turned. Kendra’s old Impala pulled to the side of the road. She couldn’t hear what Kendra was saying to the younger Catty, but she knew she was asking Catty if she was okay.
Catty watched Zoe’s reaction. “Be good to her,” Zoe whispered, and then she fell against Stanton.
Little Catty climbed into the car with Kendra.
“Why aren’t they leaving?” Zoe asked nervously.
“Be patient, Zoe,” Stanton murmured.
Catty climbed over several boulders and perched on the top of a small hill so she could watch both her mother and Kendra’s car.
The sun was at a lower angle and the saguaro cacti cast long shadows across the desert floor when Kendra’s car finally pulled away. Catty climbed down from her perch on the hill. Her face prickled with the feel of sunburn.
“She’s safe now.” Zoe blinked away the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She turned to Stanton with a smile that did little to conceal her sadness. Then she seemed to notice Catty for the first time.
“Who’s your friend?” Zoe asked Stanton. She glanced at Catty’s moon amulet and then her eyes bore into Catty’s.
“Zoe,” Stanton said. “I want you to meet your daughter.”
Zoe glanced at Stanton in disbelief, then stared at Catty in openmouthed wonder. Her hand reached out and caressed Catty’s cheek, touched her lips, and smoothed back her hair. “I see your father in your face,” she uttered more to herself than to Catty. Then a slight smile crossed her lips. “I give you away and you return to me the same day. At least I know you do make it safely into the future.” She started to embrace Catty.
Catty closed her eyes waiting for her mother’s hug. She had imagined this so many times—but Zoe pulled back suddenly.
“This is too dangerous,” she declared, and new anxiety filled her eyes. “You must leave. The Regulators are always watching me.”
Then she turned to Stanton. “Why did you bring her here?”
Catty glanced at Stanton and wondered if it had been a trap after all.
“I wanted you to tell her about the Secret Scroll,” Stanton replied smoothly.
“She’s received it already?” Zoe asked and seemed surprised; then her shoulders slumped in anguish, and she raked her fingers through her hair. “How can that be?”
Catty wondered why her mother was so distressed.
Zoe’s eyes nervously studied the horizon. “You must take her back before the Regulators come.”
“But…” Catty began. “Why have Regulators always been after me? I thought Regulators only terminated Followers who rebelled against the Atrox, or didn’t follow the Atrox’s orders? What would they want with me?”
Zoe scanned the desert, then turned back to Catty. “There’s no time for me to explain now. Give me your address and I’ll find you in the future. That’s the best I can do.”
Catty fumbled in her bag for a piece of paper, found one, pulled it out, and scribbled her name and address across the top. She handed the paper to her mother.
“I’ll find you, later, when it’s safe. I promise.” She hugged Catty, then gently pushed her back to Stanton. “Take her now.”
Catty looked at the paper in her mother’s hands and with a shock realized she ha
d written her name and address on today’s geometry test paper.
Stanton grabbed her wrist and the air shimmered.
“Wait,” Catty yelled. She reached into her bag and pulled out the blackened moon amulet and gave it to her mother. “Here.”
“You have it?” Her mother seemed shocked. “I thought it had been taken from me.” She held it tenderly and fastened it around her neck.
Catty smiled at her. “See you in the future.”
Her mother looked up and smiled back. “See you.”
Stanton reached for Catty’s hand and his energy rushed through her.
Her mother looked desperate. “Don’t trust Maggie,” Zoe yelled after them and then she mouthed, “I love you,” as her face contorted with sadness.
The desert landscape wiggled, then broke apart as if it were a sheet of glass. They were whisked into the tunnel as an explosion of brilliant light filled the air. Catty squinted her eyes, emotions roiling through her. She thought about her mother and then about Maggie. Why would her mother tell her not to trust Maggie?
They landed on a quiet street near Catty’s house. It was already dark and the only sound was that of sprinklers watering a nearby lawn. Stanton caught her before she fell to the ground.
“So now you know that the Scroll has put you in grave danger,” Stanton stated.
Catty nodded.
“If you’ll give it to me,” he offered, “you’ll be safe.”
Catty couldn’t bring herself to trust him. “Why aren’t you afraid of the curse?”
He smiled bitterly. “Because I am already cursed.”
The words chilled her. She almost felt sorry for him.
“My offer stands,” he whispered and then he dissolved into shadow.
She stood in the darkness and wondered why he so desperately wanted the manuscript if not to give it to the Atrox. Still he didn’t seem as bad as she had once thought. She could almost understand why Serena liked him so much.
Catty wondered what it was that made her mother trust Stanton. She held the memory of her mother’s face in her mind and started walking home.
A few minutes later, Catty brushed against the pink oleanders that grew in front of their redwood fence. She crossed the porch as a gentle breeze stirred and the wind chimes tingled.
She opened the door, went inside, and locked the door behind her. She had expected Kendra to be waiting for her, having fits because she hadn’t gotten home in time to watch the store, but the house was as silent as a tomb and dark, except for the light coming through the windows from the street lamps.
For just a fleeting second she felt as if Stanton hadn’t transported them far enough into the future and that she could run up the stairs as she had when she was younger and find Kendra in bed, reading. Then Kendra would run her bath-water and she could fall into her own bed without a worry. She wished things were still that easy.
She sighed and walked into the kitchen. She switched on the overhead lights. The clock read nine o’clock.
She reached for the telephone to call Vanessa. Her mother answered.
“Is Vanessa there?” Catty spoke into the receiver.
“Hi, Catty,” Vanessa’s mother greeted her. “Vanessa’s at the party with Toby. Aren’t you going?”
Catty had forgotten the party.
The doorbell rang. She knew that it would be Chris.
CHAPTER TWELVE
CATTY OPENED THE door. Chris smiled at her. He smelled of spicy aftershave and looked cuter than ever.
“I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon.” He walked into the house and handed her a bouquet of red roses.
“Thanks.” As they walked into the kitchen, she breathed in the scent of the roses.
In the brighter light he glanced at her, then took a longer look, lingering on her clothes and feet. An odd expression crossed his face. She suddenly became aware that she was covered with desert dust, sunburned, and sweating. She could only imagine what she must look like. She touched her cheek and wondered if it was still covered with sand.
“I’ve been working in the yard,” she lied and took a vase from under the sink.
“At nine o’clock at night?” he asked with a wry smile.
She ran water into the vase. “Chris, I really can’t go to the party with you tonight.”
He leaned over the breakfast bar and smiled at her. This time she noticed his clean, even teeth, so white and healthy as if he had been eating apples all his life. She wanted to kiss him but instead she turned away.
“Why not?” he asked. “All you need to do is take a quick shower. You don’t have to dress up. No one is.”
She slipped the flowers into the water and set the vase on the counter. “I feel too tired. And I just need time to think. Don’t you ever want to be alone sometimes?”
“Sure.” He stepped around the counter and stopped close to her. She glanced up and saw herself reflected in his pupils. His fingers played on her shoulders.
“I’d like to be alone with you,” he whispered slowly. “We could stay here and watch videos.” His hands smoothed down her arms and then he held both of her hands. He didn’t seem to mind that they were dirty.
“That’s not what I had in mind,” she answered.
“But I don’t want you to miss the party.” His words rustled across her right ear. He took one more step and this time he was close enough to kiss her. His thigh rubbed against hers. She shivered with pleasure.
“Please come.” The word fell on her ears like a caress and he looked at her in a dreamy sort of way that made her feel giddy. “Come to the party with me, Catty.”
He leaned over and traced one finger gently over her chin and down her throat. She leaned back and let him kiss her.
“Come to the party,” he said between his kisses.
She hated to think that she was the kind of girl who would do things just because she liked the way a guy kissed her.
Finally, she pulled away from him. “I’ll take a quick shower.”
“Great.” He grinned.
They drove over to the hills in Brentwood. The smoky smell from the fires was stronger here, and Catty’s eyes burned. Finally, at the top of the hill, Chris pulled his battered Volvo to the curb and got out. Catty heard the music as she stepped from the car. Chris took her hand and they walked up to a huge house with massive columns and an ornate iron fence.
“Whose house is it?” she asked as they walked through the front room.
“Jerome’s,” Chris answered. “The guy who plays drums in the marching band. His uncle’s an entertainment lawyer.”
She followed Chris through French doors that led to a large patio. It was already crowded with kids dancing. On the other side of the pool, a band played on a cement terrace. A heavy metal band hammered out notes with complete recklessness. Kids in black pressed against the platform, head-banging in time to the hard rock music.
“The music will change soon,” Chris spoke into her ear. “Then we can dance.”
She leaned against Chris. She liked the feel of his arm around her waist. Now she was glad she had come to the party.
She started to say Let’s go look at the view, when Chris suddenly withdrew his arm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
He shook his head but he didn’t look at her. His eyes searched through the crowd of dancers, jostling around them. She followed his look and wondered if he had recognized someone.
“Listen.” He took a quick step away from her. “Would you like something to eat?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
But he was already stepping away from her. “I’ll just get us a couple of Cokes.” He turned and left her without looking back.
She sighed and sat down on a patio chair that had been moved out to the grass under the jacaranda trees. Chris ran around the pool and across the lawn to a metal table that was piled high with soft drinks and ice. He took two Cokes, but instead of coming back to her, he went inside the house.
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She wondered briefly what he was doing. She sat back and waited impatiently. By the time Chris returned, the heavy metal band had finished playing and three guys from La Brea High took the terrace and started rapping. Their footwork was fast. Their right arms punched down as their left legs kicked back.
“Here.”
She turned back. Chris handed her a Coke, then sat on the lawn next to her chair. He opened a napkin filled with cookies.
“Try a cookie,” he offered and bit into an oatmeal raisin.
She hesitated a moment, then spoke clearly, “Chris, maybe you should just take me home.”
“Home?” He looked wounded.
“Well, you’re not acting like you want to be with me or you wouldn’t have run off as soon as we got here.”
“I thought you’d want something to eat,” he protested.
“I told you I didn’t.”
“I want to spend the evening with you,” he explained. “Why else would I have asked you? I thought we could have a good time.” But even as he spoke, his eyes started scanning the kids standing around the terrace.
“Look,” Catty continued. “I don’t want to share you with anyone else.”
His eyes shot back to her.
“You’re always looking around like you’re afraid someone is going to see us together. That means only one thing to me.”
“What?” He looked confused.
“That you have another girlfriend.”
He looked at her in disbelief. “Thanks,” he whispered.
“Thanks?” she repeated. Now it was her turn to feel surprised. “What do you mean, thanks?”
“Thanks because it means you think we shouldn’t see other people.” He looked happy.
“I didn’t say that,” she protested.
“But it implies you want us to be exclusive.”
“I said I didn’t want to share you.” She thought a moment, then smiled. “Okay, it means exclusive, but something has been bothering you. You’ve been acting so—”
He jumped up. “I’ll be right back,” he interrupted. “I forgot to get pizza.” He ran toward the house.