At their house, everyone plopped on the sectional couch, their faces long. I didn’t feel sorry for them. Kim had been a total bitch toward me too when I’d first joined the program.
“Tell us what you did,” Kim said with a sigh. “Because I can’t take it anymore. It’s been three days of pure torture.”
I explained what had happened during training and the mock attack inside the pit, and our impending trip downtown.
“That would not work for us,” Sykes announced, then slid lower on his seat and propped his legs on the coffee table. “I have Solaris
“You finally met women you can’t charm,” I teased.
He made a face as though he wanted to throw up. “Wouldn’t try to charm those two if you paid me. Half the time I want to slowly…” he curled his fingers and imitated strangling. “The problem is they might ascend, then come back and haunt me.”
“Esras is not so bad, but the competitiveness between the sector subgroups is killing him.”
Kim stood. “I’m going to invite my team to go downtown, too. Where are you guys going, Lil?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. We need to go for group activity, so it’s either movies or bowling at Fun Park. Anything is better than having them at my house.” All the electronics were in my room, which meant they’d have to spend their time there, leaving me with no privacy.
“If we agree to meet at Fun Park, can we have a bowling match?” Kim asked.
“Sure. Tell them the Psi Team has issued them a challenge. That should unite them long enough to make them feel like a team.”
Kim laughed. “I agree. What time do we meet?”
“Three o’clock? I’ll call and reserve lanes.”
Sykes chuckled. “Make it two lanes. We’ll challenge the Earth Team.”
“Challenge accepted,” Remy said. “And the two winning teams can have a showdown, so make sure we have the lanes for two to three hours.”
“What showdown?” Izzy asked, having appeared behind us unnoticed. “We’ll keep time and make sure no one cheats.” she added once we explained the plan.
“Oh come on,” Sykes griped. “What’s the fun without using our powers? And what do you mean by ‘we’?”
“Sol can time with me. Unlike you guys, we Time Guardians get along. So how are we getting there?”
- 20 -
BONDING
“Not a good idea,” Aunt Janelle said after I explained our plan to drive Remy’s SUV to Fun Park so Cardinals could use it to teleport in and out through. She and Grampa were lingering over their lunch in the kitchen.
“Don’t you think the locals will notice that many people coming out of such a small car?” Grampa asked.
“Fine. Then we’ll walk or take the local transit bus.”
“All of you walking down the hill or taking the bus will draw attention too,” he insisted. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you proper transportation and make the necessary arrangements.”
Their reluctance was annoying. It was obvious they didn’t like the idea of us going downtown. It took them three days to ‘plan’ the whole thing. They reserved the bowling alley for an entire afternoon, set up an account, and asked for certain drinks and snacks to be served. I was surprised they just didn’t demand the owners to close it down for us. The bowling alley was part of a complex which included an arcade, an inline skating rink, and a play area for children.
Of course, during those three days I had to deal with my team bitching about our enclave. How boring and quiet it was. I had no choice but to invite them to my place.
“I have a desktop and a laptop computer, TV and a gaming console,” I picked up the remote from my dresser and passed it to Nio. “The controllers and video games are all down there,” I pointed at the pile under the console. “I’ll borrow more from Sykes and Remy’s if you don’t like my selection.”
Kent took the computer chair, but instead of rebooting the desktop, he reached for my stash of books. The rest of the guys settled on the floor, leaving the lounge for the girls. Fiona took the lounge, but Cat-eyes Eva knelt by the guys and started talking video games as they flipped through my collection. I grinned when they chose my favorite. It was one of the two games my mother had designed before she died. She’d worked for a software company in Seattle before she’d hooked up with Valafar.
“Are these your parents?” Onora asked, lifting the electronic frame from where it usually sat on my dresser. I hadn’t noticed her nosing around until she spoke.
“Yes.” The flip side of playing hostess was dealing with overly curious people. I took the frame from her and slipped it facedown into my drawer. I hope she got the message to stay away from my things.
It didn’t stop her. I decided to put away my photographs before they came over next time. Bran didn’t seem to mind hanging out with them. I, on the other hand, missed my time with Izzy and the others.
The day of bowling couldn’t come soon enough for me. The excitement hung thick in the air during training and at lunchtime. I was the one in a crappy mood. No one remembered it was my birthday. Not Grampa. Not Bran. Not Kylie. I knew the senior Cardinals were busy tracking down Gavyn, who’d disappeared again. Still, that was no excuse.
We piled in the bus the Earth Cardinals had made out of an SUV and took off toward town. Ironically, the bus had Guardian Tours plastered on its side. The first person I saw inside Fun Park was Kylie’s boyfriend, Cade, playing one of the arcade games. He waved and indicated the entrance to the laser tag room, which meant Kylie was in there. She’d been gone a lot since I refused to mind-blend with her. Either she was still pissed at me or she’d really been out of town.
“Mr. Falcon’s party?” a woman asked before we reached the bowling counter.
“Yes,” I said. “The others are right behind us.” While the woman led my team to tables near the lanes, I went to talk to Cade.
“Kylie is playing laser tag with Amelia and Nikki,” Cade said, his eyes on the screen as he blasted alien invaders. “So how long is your friend going to study bats?” he asked.
“What?”
“Your blonde friend. Kylie’s been driving her to and from Whistling Caves every night for the last week. Since we’re supposed to take her tonight again, I wondered how long she has to do this.”
“I don’t know,” I said slowly, but my mind raced. Kim must have been using the cave to teleport out of the valley undetected. She’d needed someone to pick her up at her house and take her back. Other than the housecleaning company, Kylie was one of the two humans who came and went inside our compound without arousing suspicion. The other one was my other human friend McKenzie, who was in Europe for the summer.
“Why can’t she ask one of you to take her?” Cade asked.
I shrugged and said the first thing that popped in my head. “It must be a surprise for one of us.”
Cade made a face. “Bats?”
“Yeah, they make good pets. Oh, there’s Kylie.” I hurried away from his side before I could tell another senseless fib to cover the last one. Who kept bats for pets? I didn’t give Kylie a chance to go to Cade. After I hugged Nikki and Amelia, I grabbed Kylie’s hand and pulled her toward the bowling area.
“You’ve been keeping a secret from me,” I whispered.
She grinned. “I keep lots of secrets from you. You have to be more specific.”
I glared. “Kim and the cave.”
Kylie exhaled. “Oh, I’m so happy you know. You have no idea how much I wanted to call you and…” She stopped and studied me with narrowed eyes. “You read my mind? After you promised not to?”
“She can do that too?” Cade asked from behind us, making me jump.
“Of course I can,” I said with a false smile. “All Gypsies do.”
He grinned and asked, “What am I thinking right now?”
“You want to buy pizza and drinks, but you’re not sure you have enough money for the three of us.”
