“There’s something else,” Sailor says. “Before my sedative kicked in, I was lying on my bed and I heard her in my dad’s bedroom on the phone. I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard her saying something about getting it before it was too late. What else could she have been talking about?”
“Literally anything,” Sunday says.
“Name one thing that makes more sense than her being talking about the Soul Gem,” Sailor says.
The whole team start talking at once.
“Anything with an expiration date.”
“A resource for class that we need before our exams.”
“A statement piece for an occasion.”
Those are just the ones I pick out. I have no idea what a statement piece is, but that idea came from Ya-Ya, so I’m figuring it’s a fashion thing. All of the ideas sound plausible, but Sailor isn’t accepting any of them. She’s shaking her head violently.
“No. She was talking about getting the Soul Gem. I know she was.”
I want to get involved in the conversation, but I don’t know what to say. Part of me wants to defend Sailor; while she does have every reason to hate Raven, that doesn’t mean she’s not right. I have seen a few things myself that have given me a reason to pause, but there’s nothing definitive. Sailor is already so paranoid about Raven that I’m afraid if I speak up on her side, she’ll no longer have her defenses up around anyone else. But if she’s right, then it could be dangerous for us all to try to talk her out of this.
“Rye. What do you think?” Sailor demands.
I swear that girl can read my mind sometimes. It’s like she knows I’m wrestling with this and this is some sort of test to see if I’ll back her up or not.
“I think it could be anyone, and we need to keep our eyes and ears open and our defenses up,” I say carefully.
“Way to straddle the fence, Rye. Careful, you might get splinters in your ass,” Jinx says.
I glare at him, but Sailor nods her head.
“He’s right, Rye. Do you believe me or not?” she demands.
“I believe you think it’s Raven,” I say. “But I’m not sure I agree with you.”
Her face drops and I hurry on.
“I’m not ruling her out, I’m saying we need evidence one way or the other before we start making accusations, and more importantly, before we start dropping our defenses around other people.”
“Fine,” Sailor says. “I’ll get you the evidence. I’ll talk to her.”
“No, it’s too dangerous to try anything,” Sunday says.
Sailor turns her attention back to him, and I breathe a sigh of relief that I am momentarily out of her line of fire.
“How is it dangerous, Sunday? If you honestly think Raven is nothing more than a schoolteacher, then what could be dangerous about talking to her?”
“Boundless have ears everywhere,” Sunday says.
It sounds lame even to my mind, and it makes me think that deep down, the team does believe Sailor could be onto something.
“I’m not stupid enough to come right out and ask her anything that anyone could use against me,” Sailor says.
“How would you be able to question her without an audience though? Either your dad would be there, or it would have to be at school,” Mel says. “You couldn’t talk freely at school, and if your dad’s there, Raven isn’t going to drop her guard.”
“There’ll just be me and her,” Sailor says. “I’m going to take her up on her offer of a girls’ day out, and I’m going to find out what I need to know.”
I start to shake my head and Sailor turns back to me.
“What? You’re saying I can’t go shopping with my dad’s girlfriend? You don’t get to decide that, Rye, I do. And I’m doing this. And if you’re all right, then I’ll eat humble pie and let it go. And if I’m right, then we deal with her. Agreed?”
No one responds, and I realize they’re all waiting for me to respond for the team.
“Well?” Sailor demands. “You’re all so sure I’m wrong, why are you worried about me spending time with her?”
“It’s not that I’m worried about,” Aziza says. “It’s the thought of you alone with none of us around. The Boundless could take a chance on snatching you. Not to mention we don’t know when or where the next Horseman might pop up.”
“I’ll be in a shopping mall, Az. It’s not like we’re going to go for a walk somewhere deserted,” Sailor says.
Everyone is looking at me again.
“Fine. Do it. But you won’t be going alone. We’ll be tailing you,” I say.
Sailor opens her mouth to argue and I give her a look that tells her my decision is final.
“Fine,” she agrees. She gives me a smile. “If spending all day trailing around a mall is your idea of fun, then who am I to stop you?”
I roll my eyes, but I’m pleased she agreed to meet me halfway. It’s not at all like her, and that more than anything convinces me that maybe she is right about Raven. Sailor is pretty fearless, and the fact she’s happy for us to tail her on this means she genuinely thinks Raven poses a danger to her.
“Okay, now we’ve got the paranoia out of the way, can we get on with your surprise?” Mel grins at Sailor.
Sailor is quiet for a moment and I hold my breath waiting for her to curse Mel out for saying she’s paranoid. Instead, she surprises me once more and grins.
She laughs. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Come on,” Mel says, getting to her feet.
I’m as curious as Sailor as to what her surprise might be, and I find myself laughing along with the team at Sailor’s excitement as Mel leads us all out to the warehouse.
“If my surprise is you guys ambushing me for a training session, I am going to be seriously pissed off.” Sailor laughs.
“There’s definitely no ambush involved.” Aziza smiles. “But after you see it, you might just rethink wanting a training
