Conjured

“Only if you let yourself be,” Patti said. “My only strength is in hiding and watching.” She gestured at the bed and the monitors. “But you … you aren’t powerless, especially combined with Zachary. I’ve watched you two. Together, you can make yourself safe—once you find out who you need to be safe from.”

“She’s right!” Zach lowered his voice and repeated himself, “She’s right. Think about it: I know that dragonflies can fly at speeds up to thirty-five miles per hour, switch directions in midair, and even fly backward, and you can make it happen. You have extraordinary magic, and I have an impressive imagination fueled by a decade of dedicated bookworming. Together, we’re unstoppable.”

My cheeks began to ache, and I realized I was smiling broadly, widely, wildly. He said “together.” Reaching out my hand, I squeezed his. “Are you sure? It’s dangerous.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“The agency will chase us. They need the visions in my mind.”

“I’m still coming with you.”

“We’ll have to leave this world. And we might not come back.”

He hesitated and then turned to Patti. “My parents … Can you tell them that I’m all right? Tell them that I’m … tell them I’m making up for not being able to help Sophie. They’ll understand that. Or at least my mother will.”

Patti shook her head. “Your parents—”

“Please. I … can’t go back.”

She looked as if she wanted to object again, but she didn’t. “I won’t tell them anything that will endanger them. But I will tell them you’re safe. Even though it’s a lie.”

Zach took my hands in his. “Eve … all my life I’ve dreamed of doing something extraordinary. With you, I have the chance. Say the word, and I’ll go with you.”

He hadn’t seen the nightmarish visions. He hadn’t had IVs jabbed into him and new skin grafted to him. He wasn’t haunted by the faces of people who had died. He didn’t see blood, death, and pain when the world went dark around him.

“At worst, you’ll learn who your enemy is, and who you really need to hide from,” Zach pointed out. “And then we’ll run like the wind, if the wind had legs and incredible superpowers.”

“At worst, I’ll be killed. And sliced into pieces.” I shook my head. “No; at worst, you will.” Unless Malcolm had lied … Unless my visions were wrong … Unless the agency was the enemy, and the carnival was the sanctuary … Unless no one had really died …

“Do you know how to find the carnival?” Zach asked.

“It’s in another world. I don’t even know which one. It travels around.” But the idea was worming itself into my mind. As long as I had Zach, what could stand in our way? So far, I hadn’t seen a limit to my powers. If I could learn who I was and why I had these powers and why I could share them and what had been done to me and who had done it … If I could learn what my past was, then maybe I’d have a chance at a future.

“Do you know how to get to other worlds?” he asked.

I glanced at Patti. “Level five?”

“Level five,” she confirmed.

Chapter Nineteen

Patti raised the shade in her library office and then opened the window. Outside, the parking lot was half- full. A woman in a rose-colored raincoat yanked a toddler onto the sidewalk. A man tossed books into the backseat of his car. Another man pulled out of his parking spot.

The black car with the tinted windows was in its familiar spot under a tree.

“I’ll try to buy you time,” Patti whispered. “Good luck. Be safe. And if you can’t be safe … be yourself.” She squeezed my shoulder as I climbed out the window and dropped down to the ground behind a bush. Zach followed after me.

Above us, Patti closed the window and shut the shade.

“Fly?” Zach suggested.

I shook my head. “They’ll expect that.” Through the branches, I studied the black car. I didn’t see any movement, but from here, I couldn’t even tell if the engine was on or off, much less if anyone was inside.

“But they don’t know …” His eyes bulged as he realized what I’d implied. “You think Patti will tell them we’re here?” His voice was incredulous, as if such a betrayal were inconceivable instead of logical.

“I know she will,” I said.

“But …”

“Her safety depends on cooperating with them,” I said. “She’ll tell them everything. But I have an idea. See that car?” I pointed toward the black car. “I think we should use it.”

His cheek next to my cheek, he peeked out at the parking lot in the direction that I’d pointed. “You mean, steal a car?”

“Stealing isn’t the same as lying.”

“True, but …”

“It’s an agency car. We can drive it to the agency.”

“Oh. Then that’s not even stealing,” Zach said. “That’s returning it.”

Grabbing his face, I brought his lips to mine. I breathed into him as his arms wrapped around my waist. We broke away, and I felt slightly dizzy.

“Ready?” I said.

“Uh, yeah. That was … wow.”

“On three? One, two, three …” Hand in hand, we burst out of the bushes and ran across the parking lot toward the car. The car door flung open, and an agent stepped out. He had his gun in his hand.

And then the gun transformed into a flower. Petals fell from the agent’s hand, and the stem drooped. Zach stole another quick breath of magic, and the agent was swept forward—up, up, up onto the roof of the library.

We ran to the car. Zach dove into the driver’s seat, and I hopped into the passenger seat. The key was still in the ignition, and the radio was playing. Zach shifted the car into reverse and then stepped on the gas. The car lurched backward, and we careened out of the parking lot. I clutched the glove compartment and wondered if this one had a gun in it like Malcolm’s did.

“Left,” I told him. I continued to give him directions until a block from the agency. I pointed to the parking lot of a convenience store. “Stop there.”

He swung into one of the parking spots, facing the Dumpsters. “Now what?”

Twisting in my seat to face him, I said, “Last chance to change your mind. You can go home, be with your parents, and live your normal life, and I won’t blame you.”

He was quiet for a moment. “You saw my home. You met my parents. You saw my normal life. Just tell me how to leave this world. Please.”

I nodded. And he exhaled, his face relaxing into an almost-smile. “The offices are level three, the hospital is level four, and the silver room—the way out—is level five.”

“What about one and two?” Zach asked.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It might matter. I bet it matters to the people on one and two. You know it’s going to bother me, not knowing what’s on one and two. I like to know things.”

“Zach, focus. We need level five. I thought we could transform—”

“Cats?” He sounded eager, as if he were about to start bouncing like a puppy. “Birds? Or mice. Mice could work. Mice can drop twelve feet without injury and can jump twelve inches straight up.”

“Zach. You know this isn’t a game.”

He calmed instantly, and in his eyes I saw a hint of … fear? “I know. But if I think of only the magic, it makes the rest of it less terrifying. Leaving home? Stealing a car? Breaking into a government facility? Searching for a