“How can you be so sure?” Sailor asks. “Nexus seemed pretty certain about it.”
“I’m sure because I know these guys inside and out. None of them would ever betray us like that. You know that, right?”
“Well sure, I know none of them would ever intentionally betray us. But this isn’t a betrayal. They haven’t chosen to work with the Horsemen,” Sailor says.
I know I have to say it, as much as it pains me to even think it.
“Sailor, everyone on the team is strong enough to fight off a dark possession. If one of them really is War, then it’s most definitely a betrayal.”
CHAPTER TWELVE: WHO IS SHE?
Sailor comes bounding down the hallway towards me as I grab some stuff from my locker. My first thought is something is wrong, but then I see she’s smiling and I relax slightly.
“Hi,” she says as she reaches my side.
“Why are you looking so pleased with yourself?” I say.
“Guess who’s got a date tomorrow,” she says.
I try and fail to keep my face neutral. I know Sailor and I being together is a risk, and we’ve never really discussed whether we’re a couple, but Sailor said she wanted to fight for us, and to drop this on me like this is so unexpected. I mean, we’ve just told each other that we love each other.
She laughs when she sees my face and playfully elbows me.
“Jealous?” She grins.
“A little,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You don’t have to be. It’s with Raven.” She laughs. “I just caught up with her and asked her if she’s up for our girly day out tomorrow. She was a little surprised, but she said she is, so we’re going to the mall tomorrow.”
Her reply fills me with a strange mixture of relief that she’s not going on a real date, and nerves that she’s still going through with this. Mel hasn’t gotten back to me with any information yet and I don’t like the idea of Sailor being alone with Raven until we know more. I was really hoping she’d just forget the idea, but I should have known better than that.
“You’re not still jealous, are you?” Sailor teases me.
“No,” I say. “But I’m not convinced this is a good idea.”
“That’s okay.” Sailor smiles. “I wasn’t trying to convince you to give me your permission to do this. I was just letting you know what’s happening.”
God she’s infuriating at times.
“Just make sure I have all the details of when you’re leaving home and where you’ll be going,” I say.
“Aye aye, Captain,” she says with a sarcastic salute.
She finally seems to realize I’m not messing around and she puts her hand on my arm.
“Hey. You don’t need to stress about this. It’ll be fine, but Rye, that woman is dating my dad, and I need to know the truth about her.”
“I know,” I say. “But it’s my job to worry about you.”
She smiles.
“Seriously, Rye, if I can’t take Raven, we’ve got big problems,” she says.
I can’t help but laugh at that. With the dagger in her boot and now the sword she carries everywhere, she makes a good point.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. Yeah, you could take her. Not that I’m suggesting a cat fight with your dad’s girlfriend is a good plan,” I say.
“It depends on whether there’s mud involved,” Sunday says, coming up behind me.
“Well that’s my cue to leave.” Sailor says, laughing.
She heads away shaking her head.
“What the fuck?” I say.
“Just injecting a little Jinx-style humor,” Sunday says. “I really expected him and Aziza to be back by now.”
“The Mojave Desert is huge, Sunday. It could take them a good few days to even cover it,” I say.
I change the subject abruptly, remembering I have a more pressing issue right now.
“Where’s Mel?” I say.
“Last I saw her, she was heading to English,” Sunday replies.
I head in the direction of Mel’s English class.
“Yeah, nice to catch up with you too, Rye,” Sunday shouts after me.
I give him the finger and his laughter follows me down the hallway. I manage to catch Mel before she gets into her class. I beckon to her and she comes over.
“Come on. We’re skipping class,” I say.
She glances back over her shoulder.
“Won’t it be a little suspicious if four of us are missing on the same day?”
“Probably, but this is more important than that. Sailor has arranged her day out with Raven, and I need to know everything you managed to find out.”
“Oh. Well I don’t need to skip class for that. There’s really nothing to tell. There’s absolutely nothing in her past that even hints at her being anyone other than who she says she is. Mind you, there’s a lot of gaps, whole portions of time where I can’t find a trace of her. And there’s nothing I can dig up about her childhood or anything like that.”
“That sounds a bit sketchy,” I comment.
“I know, but in some ways, it’s reassuring. If she was with the Boundless, she’d have a whole fake history available easily in case anyone got suspicious and looked into her. This feels like there might be something off about her, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s nothing supernatural,” Mel says. “Maybe she was in an abusive relationship and had to disappear. Or maybe she’s been up to no good in her past. But I don’t think it’s connected to the Soul Gems or Sailor in any way.”
“Okay,” I say. “But don’t stop looking. I want all of those gaps filled. And if we find out she did a stint of shoplifting and doesn’t want that following her here, then we’ll keep our mouths shut about it. But we have to know.”
“I’m still on it. And the second I find anything one way or the other to explain the sketchy gaps, you’ll be the first one to know.”
“Thanks, Mel,” I say. “You best get into class then. I wouldn’t want to affect your perfect
