I made myself smile at Bee, opening the car door. “It’s probably the sunblock seeping into my brain or something. Or overexposure to chlorine.”
As I went to get in the passenger seat, I happened to glance down into my bag. Frowning, I realized I had only my towel, keys, and sunglasses, which meant that my book was still at the pool.
“Be right back,” I told Bee, and then jogged back up to the pool’s gates. They were still unlocked; a few of the cleaning guys were emptying trash cans, picking up litter, vacuuming the pool, all the things I was very glad were not in my job description.
There was no sign of the book by my chair, so I walked across the concrete toward my locker in the changing room. The staff didn’t get special rooms or anything, but we all were given our own lockers, so it was possible that my book had fallen out in there.
I kept a bright purple lock on mine and, as I spun the dial, I was already thinking about what I’d do once I got home. Bee would go to Ryan’s, and while I knew I was welcome there, I definitely did not feel like third wheeling it. I could sit in my room with my book and fully give in to this black mood, or I could maybe go out in the backyard and practice a few Paladin moves.
Or, I reasoned, yanking the lock from its slot, I could go over to my aunts’ place, watch whatever bad reality-TV show they were currently obsessed with, and let them shove my face full of cake.
Yeah, that’s what I’d do. I could use a little spoiling and a lot of sugar and butter.
Opening the locker door, I glanced inside, looking for the telltale orange cover of Choosing Your Path, smiling as I imagined what kinds of cake The Aunts might have for me.
I was still smiling when the lights went out, plunging the changing room into darkness.
Chapter 2
FOR A MOMENT, there was no sound but my own breathing and the distant plink from the row of sinks on the other side of the wall.
“There’s someone in here!” I called, thinking one of the cleaning guys had just reached in to cut off the lights.
But there was no answer, no apologetic “Sorry about that!” The room stayed dark.
I wasn’t scared, exactly, but my heart was definitely pounding. If this was some jackass’s idea of a prank, boy, had they picked the wrong girl to scare.
Adrenaline flooded me, and I threaded my fingers through the loop of the lock still in my hand. My punches were strong enough on their own, but a little extra oomph never hurt anyone. Besides, anyone who purposely scares a girl by herself deserves a broken nose.
“I suggest you turn those lights back on,” I called out, my voice loud in the silence. “Let me also suggest that you not let me catch you, douchebag.”
There was someone in the room with me. I couldn’t hear them breathing or moving or anything, but every hair on my body was standing at attention, telling me I wasn’t alone. For the first time, something close to fear rattled through me. If this was one of the college boys who cleaned the pool, he’d have already made some noise. A laugh or assurance he was “just playin’.” Or at the very least, I’d smell some cheap cologne.
I slammed the locker door behind me, hoping to startle whoever was in here into making a noise that gave me a sense of where they were.
And sure enough, there it was: the littlest gasp over to my right, close to the other row of lockers. There were benches between me and that area. Lock still clutched in my hand, I started to inch my way toward the light switch by the door, keeping far away enough from the benches to avoid tripping. All I had to do was move a few feet, then I could reach out and turn the switch on, but I didn’t want to run. I couldn’t remember if there’d been anything on the floor when I’d come in, and I wasn’t a hundred percent sure about those benches. They could be closer than I was imagining, and the last thing I wanted was to whack my shin while trying to run away. No, my best bet was to move as slowly and quietly as I could.
There was a sudden breeze as someone moved—fast—right by me, and my heart leapt up into my throat while my fingers curled tighter around the lock.
For all that I’d battled all kinds of bad guys, it surprised me enough for a startled squawk to escape my lips, and I turned, trying to figure out where the person had gone. This was more than just some jerk screwing around with a girl by herself. This was legitimately dangerous. It wasn’t a David-is-in-trouble feeling, but my Paladin senses were kicking in nonetheless. Not just heart-pounding, blood-racing, normal “I may get killed” stuff, but a sensation like Pop Rocks going off in my chest.
Planting my feet firmly, I drew back the hand holding the lock. In one quick, powerful movement, I shoved out. My hand hit something bony—a shoulder, I thought—but the person didn’t budge.
Even though I knew this wasn’t one of the pool guys, I said, “Last chance to turn on the lights, dude.”
There was no answer.
They’d retreated, I thought, moved back to get a better look, but then, just as I started to turn in the direction I thought they might have gone, there was a sudden shuffle of footsteps, and pain exploded on the side of my head, sparking lights in front of my eyes.
Stunned and in pain, I staggered back, my knee catching the edge of one of those benches after all.
Another sense of movement, and I reached out just in time to catch a foot that had been aiming for my midsection. It was small, but the shoe felt heavy, the tread thick. A boot, I thought, and one that would have forced all the breath out of my lungs had the kick landed.
Using the other person’s weight for momentum, I rose to my feet, still holding her (it was a girl now, I was pretty sure) ankle and giving it a vicious wrench.
The bone didn’t break, but she gave a very satisfying cry of pain. Still, that motion, twisting her ankle, weakened my grip on her boot, and she pulled away, retreating back into the darkness, breathing hard.
My head and knee ached, but I had more than just adrenaline fueling me now. My Paladin powers roared to life, filling me with something almost like giddiness. This may be scary and dangerous and all, but it meant my boring summer was over, and to be honest, the idea of taking out some of my angst on someone who really deserved it seemed like a solid plan.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice a little hoarse. “I mean, other than the girl I’m about to wipe the floor with.”
There was a laugh, but she sounded breathless, too. “You wish. Clearly you’ve never met a Paladin.”
She lunged then, and I kicked, my flip-flop flying, but my foot connecting with her jaw.
“Um, I am one?” I answered, and I could hear the girl spit on the floor.
“Whatever,” she scoffed, and I reached out, trying to grab her. She moved out of my grasp, but I still moved forward. “No, seriously,” I told her. “Aren’t you noticing how I’m kicking your butt? You think an average girl could do that?”
No answer, and I racked my brain, trying to think how there could be another Paladin. There was just supposed to be me. Well, me and Bee, but David had turned Bee into—
I grabbed for the girl again, my fingers wrapping around a thin, sweaty bicep, and I heard her draw in a shaky breath. “Wait a minute. Did David make you? A blond boy, glowing eyes, terrible dress sense. Have you seen him?”
The girl answered me, but I’m going to skip over what she said since it was like 90 percent profanity and didn’t really answer my question anyway.
David had to have made her. Paladins could only be created when one died, passing his or her power on to another person via this kind of creepy kiss thing. Or, if you had an extra-superpowered-up Oracle—which David was—then the Oracle could make them. David had done that back in the fall, turning a bunch of girls into jacked-up ninja debutantes, but he’d then drained that power from all of them except Bee (she’d been kidnapped before David could get to her).
It was the only thing that made sense. And if David had created thi
s girl, then she knew where he was. Maybe he was even close. He’d have to be. After all, when I’d been David’s Paladin, being too far away from him had physically hurt. So David couldn’t be far.
The thought made something in my throat go tight. “Tell me!” I demanded, giving the girl a shake. My fingers were so tight around her arm, it’s a wonder they weren’t touching. I could practically feel bones grinding, and the girl gave a little whimper of pain.
And then, all at once, it was like the strength went out of my grip. I actually felt it go out of me, like someone had opened a drain. One moment, I was all Paladin Triumphant, and the next, I was just a regular girl, the pain in my head seeming to multiply by about a thousand.
I couldn’t help but stagger a bit, and the girl in my grip must’ve felt it because she twisted away immediately, and then before I could so much as think, her foot was shooting out, catching me right in the thigh.
It was a good move, and one I’d used myself. Hit just the right spot, and the whole leg goes numb, knocking the person to their knees. It certainly worked on me now, and as I crumpled to the gross changing room carpet, a cold sweat broke out over my entire body.
For almost a year now, I’d had Paladin powers, and I’d started taking them for granted. I’d been in a lot of scary situations, but I’d always—always—known I was going to be okay. How could I not when I was basically a superhero? But being a regular girl facing someone with those powers?
The girl kicked again, and while I reached out automatically to deflect it, it was basically like a butterfly batting at a Rottweiler. My fingers glanced ineffectually off her ankle, and the kick hit me high in the chest, making me bite my tongue in agony.
Dropping to her knees, the girl grabbed my braid, yanking my head up, and I had a dizzying, sickening moment of realizing that she was going to kill me. She’d either cut my throat or snap my neck or something, but I was going to die in a matter of seconds. The last time I’d been this close to someone murdering me, I’d been able to stab him with the heel of my shoe. Tonight, I was wearing flip-flops, and one of those had gone flying off in the middle of all of this.
Still, I fought. I twisted in her grip even though the movement scraped my cheek against the carpet and made me feel like I was about three seconds away from losing a whole chunk of hair. I might not have my Paladin strength at the moment, but that didn’t mean I was going out easy.
But the girl just held on tighter, her knee coming to rest painfully against my ribs as she leaned closer. “Once I’m done with you,” she whispered, “your friend is next. I’ll be the only one. That’s what he wants.”
The words barely penetrated as I thought of Bee, waiting on me out in her car. I yanked my head again, trying to get the girl to let me go, my scalp burning, my face stinging. Had David told her about Bee? How else could she know?
But then the last thing she’d said hit me. That’s what he wants.
“David sent you after me?” The thought hurt almost more than the grip she had on my hair.
The girl was leaning closer now, her breath warm on my face, smelling like Juicy Fruit gum. “You didn’t think he could just leave you here, right?” she asked. “Not when you’re the one who wants to kill him.”
My head was swimming, both with pain and confusion, and I tried to twist in her grip again. “I would never hurt him,” I heard myself say, but the words sounded weak, breathless.
The girl snorted, and I grimaced as her knee dug into my back. “He said you’d say that.”
I tried to roll over, but she was still holding me too tight, her powers in full force, and mine . . . gone, it seemed like, so I stayed where I was, fingers digging into the grubby carpet.
“You talked to him?” I asked, and she shifted slightly. I got the impression she was reaching for something and, while that was worrying, I wanted to keep her talking.
“That’s not how it works,” she said. “It’s more like—”
“Like you just know,” I finished for her. I understood that. It was the same way I would feel when David was in danger. Orders didn’t have to be issued; you just knew what to do.
And now David was ordering this girl to kill me? I couldn’t believe that.
Something cold pressed against my neck, and I felt like my muscles turned to water, my breath sawing in and out of my lungs so quickly I was almost wheezing.
This couldn’t be how I died. Not on the floor of the changing room at the local pool, cut down when I was helpless and scared.
I was just starting to coil some kind of strength together when the girl was suddenly off me, and I realized another person had come into the changing room.
Bee.
Chapter 3
NOW MY FEAR was all for Bee, and as I heard the gasps and thunks of Bee fighting with the girl, I suddenly found the strength to move. Still weak, I crawled for the door, wanting to hit the lights, but unable to get to my feet just yet. It felt pathetic, shuffling over the carpet, my whole body aching, my throat raw, but lights would help Bee, and that’s all I wanted to do right now.
I shrieked as something hit me hard in the side, and then I was flat on the ground as something fell on top of me. No, over me. In the dark, either Bee or the girl hadn’t seen me and had backed right up onto me and tripped.
“Bee?” I cried out as I heard the sickening thwack of a head rapping against the lockers.
“I’m okay!” she replied, and while she sounded out of breath, she didn’t sound hurt. I pushed myself to my feet and lurched for the wall.
I heard a cry of pain and whirled around. “Bee!” I called again, but she was close to me now, her voice winded.
“That was her,” she said, “but I didn’t touch her.”
The girl cried out again, and I fumbled at the wall. What the heck was going on?
But before my fingers could hit the light switch, there was a movement off to my right, and someone shoved past me and out into the night. When I’d been fighting as a Paladin, I couldn’t stop fighting until someone was dead. How could she have just taken off like that?
The lights flared into life, and when I turned around, Bee was standing near me, breathing hard. The terry-cloth cover-up she’d thrown on over her bathing suit was ripped at the neck, nearly hanging off one shoulder, but other than that, she looked okay.
From the way she was staring at me, I guessed I looked a lot less okay.
Raising one shaking hand to my head, I felt my hair. “Did she tear any out?” I asked, a sudden image of myself half scalped coming to mind.
Bee shook her head. “No. It’s a mess, but I think it’s all there.”
Crossing the room, she took my head in her hands, looking at my face. Then her eyes dropped lower, and her lips fell open a little bit. “Oh my God, she cut you.”
I thought there was a little sting on my neck, and I’d definitely felt the girl hold a knife there. But thinking I’d been cut and having actual confirmation of it were two different things.
Grimacing, I lifted a hand to my neck, and my fingers came away red. It was shallow, but still.
“We need to get out of here,” I told her, and Bee stepped back, glancing around the changing room.
“Should we try to go after her, or—”
There was no doubt in my mind that girl was long gone, and even if we did go after her, I’m not sure how much damage we could’ve done. I was trembling, Bee was clearly freaked out, and that girl had a lot of advantages over us.
Namely, that her Paladin strength was apparently working just fine.
“No,” I told Bee. “At least not now.”
We made our way out of the locker room, the pool quiet except for the occasional sizzle of a bug against the zappers. Bee locked the gate behind us before we walked into the parking lot.
“Do we need to go to the hospital?”
Every muscle
in my body ached, and breathing hurt a lot more than it should have; but hospitals meant questions, and questions meant my parents, and my parents probably meant more questions and possibly the police.
So I shook my head, trying not to lean so heavily on Bee as she helped me out to the car. It was dark now, but the streetlights were bright, casting big, comforting pools of illumination on the asphalt as we wound our way through the parking lot. I tried to focus on the big moths battering themselves against the bulbs and not on how shaky and scared I felt. My limbs were tingling, something close to adrenaline moving through me, and I knew I was feeling my Paladin powers seeping back in. That was good. That helped me not feel like what I’d been for a second: a terrified, helpless girl at the mercy of someone I couldn’t see.
Someone who had gotten away.
Bee must have felt me shudder, because she stopped, pulling back to look at me. Her brown eyes were wide enough for me to see the whites almost all the way around her irises. “Harper—” she started, but I waved her off.
“I’m fine.”
I was basically the opposite of fine, and we both knew it.
“Was she just stronger than you, or is something wrong?” she asked, and I swallowed hard. Bee’s own powers seemed fine, and as much as I tried to pretend that mine hadn’t faded, she’d never had to practically hold me up before.
“She just surprised me is all,” I said now. “And it was like I never managed to get off the back foot, you know?”
Bee nodded, but she didn’t say anything. She just moved a little faster, and soon we were at her car, Bee gingerly helping me into the passenger seat. I was able to buckle my seat belt without wincing, so that felt like a minor victory, and it gave me the courage to sit up a little straighter. The sooner I convinced Bee I was okay, the sooner I would feel okay. Or at least that’s what I hoped.
She got into the driver’s seat, her keys jangling as she started the car, and I looked over at her. “Ryan,” I said. “We should go make sure he’s all right, let him know what happened.”