“I don’t really know. I guess he’ll be okay. He’ll probably wake up with confused memories but blame it on partying too hard.”
“Poor guy,” Eli sympathized. “It reminds me of a corny movie about zombies and body snatching. Yet it’s really happening and Dark Lifers seem to be stalking you.”
“Maybe they still are,” I said with growing trepidation. Holding out the GEM, I flipped it open, not surprised this time to find only blank paper. But I knew what to do.
“GEM, could you tell me about the Dark Lifer in Warren?” I asked. “Has he been captured yet?”
As I stared at the paper, it changed, rippling with movement like stiff fingers stretching, then growing so bright it seemed to glow.
A single word curled across the page in perfect cursive penmanship.
“He hasn’t?” My heart skipped. “Why not?”
“But I told Cola he was staying in Venice Beach. If Cola could smell his essence on me, why can’t the DDT find him?”
“He’s staying in a beach house with his friend Alonzo. I don’t know the address.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” I retorted. “I’m just a rookie Temp Lifer who messed up my first real assignment. What do you expect from me? A miracle?”
A three-letter word flashed across the page — large, bold, and demanding.
Then, without my even touching the book, it slammed itself shut.
“Why’d you close it already?” Eli asked, peering over my shoulder. “We haven’t asked for advice on how to help my sister.”
“The book has ideas of its own,” I said, a little annoyed at being ordered around by a bunch of paper. “But I’ll ask it about your sister afterwards.”
He furrowed his brow. “After what?”
“After we go to the beach.” I tucked the GEM into my pocket. Grammy and Cola may have warned me not to get involved, but as a Temp Lifer, I had to obey the GEM.
“Why the beach?” Eli asked, following me to the door.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Apparently I’m still on the job.”
* * *
Spring Break: Day Two.
Traffic insanity, pedestrians swarming the sidewalks, surfers in black wetsuits and rainbows of bikinis everywhere. And the action at the beach was even crazier. Finding a Dark Lifer was like trying to spot a minnow in the deep sea.
Unfortunately, I lacked Cola’s sniffing talent.
“What does this dude look like?” Eli asked, because of course he’d insisted on coming with me even though I’d warned him that it could be dangerous. And I wasn’t just referring to the Dark Lifer, I thought privately as I stared at hot, tanned girls showing lots of skin and curves. Eli was only in high school and too trusting. I’d have to stay close to protect him from any bikini-clad predators.
“Warren is blond, with big muscles and an ever bigger ego,” I explained. “He wears leather gloves.”
“Gloves? Weird.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “I think he’s hiding gray fingernails and glowing hands.”
“It’ll still be hard to find him with so many people hanging out on the beach.”
“He and Alonzo will probably be hanging with Sadie and Mauve. Sadie is petite with long black braids and Mauve has bright pink hair so she should be easy to — there she is!”
“Mauve!” I called, running toward the beacon-pink hair.
She was sitting on a beach towel, smoothing sunscreen over her skin while staring off at a volleyball game where all the players were (a) male (b) bronzed (c) beach-a-liciously hot.
“Hey, Rayah,” Mauve said lazily as she closed the lid on the sunscreen. “Guess you survived the crappo condo — or did you find somewhere else to stay?” Her gaze drifted to Eli.
Catching her drift, I firmly shook my head. “No!”
“No reason to get all defensive.” She giggled. “So what if he’s a little young? He’s kind of cute and—”
“—my brother.”
“Oh … well, that explains why he looks so familiar.” She lay down on her stomach, grinning up at us. “He’s grown up a lot since the family portrait. So are you going to introduce us?”
“Mauve, this is Eli.”
Eli nodded, blushing as if suddenly shy with an older, pretty girl. “Nice to meet you,” he murmured.
“Cute and polite, obviously you’re nothing like your sister.” Mauve smirked knowingly. “So what brings you here, Eli? Did your parents send you to spy on Rayah?”
“I came down to visit some friends.” Eli’s gaze drifted to Mauve’s hands as she worked the suntan lotion deeper into her thighs. He was a guy, after all, so I couldn’t blame him for noticing. Mauve wasn’t exactly a prim- and-proper girl next door; she was closer to a girl-going-for-anything-wild.
This was getting us nowhere and wasting time.
“Mauve, have you seen Warren?” I folded my arms across my chest, impatient to get moving.
“You just missed him. He went with Sadie and Alonzo to watch the sand-sculpture contest. They wanted me to go, but I’m working on my tan. The contest is over that way.” She gestured far down the beach, where the dark mass of a crowd gathered near the shore.
Without giving Mauve a chance to ask any questions, I tugged on Eli’s hand and headed off down the beach. I heard his sneakers slapping the sand so knew he was following. The sun was brighter today, with fewer clouds and no wind so the air seemed thick and muggy. Sweat dripped down my forehead and underarms as I hurried forward.
“What’s the plan?” Eli asked, falling into step beside me.
“I find Warren and then pass on his location through the GEM, which is right here in my jeans pocket.” The jeans were heavy and warm but the pockets came in handy and gave me the freedom not to carry a purse. “I just hope the DD Team responds quickly so that once I find Warren, he can’t get away.”
“Be careful around him,” Eli cautioned.
“I will.” I thought of the tomb-like bicycle warehouse, shuddering.
Glancing over at Eli, I considered telling him more about my scary encounter with Warren. But I had a feeling he might go all macho and do something stupid if he knew everything. And I had a guilty reluctance to say anything about Dyce. Eli might get the wrong idea about that, too.
It wasn’t like we could talk much anyway, since the sound of shouts and conversation were getting louder as we neared the crowd surrounding the sand-sculpture contest. There were large, sectioned-off areas with groups working together — and fast — to shape damp sand into museum-worthy creations. By tomorrow the sand sculptures would wash away, as if their lives were temporary, too.
Passing a group of little boys making a sand pirate ship, I heard music nearby and followed the sound to a group of spring breakers dancing on the beach. I saw Alonzo first, sitting on the sand and gazing out at the ocean. He looked up with a start when I interrupted his meditation, then pointed toward the impromptu dance floor. In the midst of the gyrating bodies, Sadie and Warren bumped and swayed with such abandon that I suspected they’d started drinking early, or had never stopped and were continuing from last night.
It was creepy being near Warren again, and even creepier seeing his dragon gloves. Didn’t he ever take them off? He had to realize he would stand out with such a peculiar style.
“Is that him?” Eli shouted close to my ear.
I nodded, pushing back nervous fear that made me want to run in the opposite direction. But I was too close to helping the DD Team capture Warren to quit now. I may not have the time to solve Sharayah’s problem, but I
