SCINTILLATE - Book #1 of The Light Key Trilogy

Chapter 7

The next day, I woke with solid intent. I had to go back to Say Chi's and ask Faye how I could arrange for a Kirlian photograph of my silver aura. I needed evidence of what I was seeing. Maybe then Dad would believe me. Also, if having a silver aura was so rare and evil people were looking for someone like me, Faye might have a crystal like hers that could block people from seeing it. Could I hide in plain sight?

My body buzzed with nervous anticipation, and my mind hungered for more information. Unfortunately, my dad and Janelle had also awoken with an intention—to keep me as busy as possible with inane chores.

I finished vacuuming well after lunch, all the while my insides churned and my patience strained. Since I had bookended the previous day with fights with my dad, the lie about going to work at the Boys & Girls Club fell easily from my lips. Janelle smiled conspiratorially at me, and I knew my father had told her about Finn asking for a date. She assumed I was going to meet him, but after my father's rudeness, I wondered if Finn would even talk to me again. It seemed strange after having just a few encounters, but if there were no more, it'd feel like I lost something.

I returned to the old downtown section of Santa Cruz. The afternoon sun slanted over the roofs of the stores, casting long shadows on the narrow street. I bought one of my favorite treats—a cinnamon roll—and tried to shove my anxiety down as I walked past the eclectic stores, the sculptures of dogs made from river rock, and groups of teens who sat with their backs against the storefronts playing guitars for spare change.

I locked my bike in front of Say Chi's and pushed at the door, expecting to be given my peaceful benediction, but it was locked. The sign on the window said CLOSED. Odd for a downtown store to be closed on a Saturday afternoon. I peeked through the glass and yelped when Faye's face suddenly appeared on the other side.

She unlocked the door with a look that told me she didn't want to. I went to step inside, but she blocked my way. "I'm closed today." Her expression was strained. Her eyes glanced worriedly behind me and up and down the block. Her gorgeous candle-like aura morphed into the sickly, fear-tinged yellow I'd seen coming from my father.

My fingernails dug into my palms. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I stayed late after you left, trying to find information on your...unique situation." Her voice descended to a whisper. "There was a particular volume I tried to locate that I thought might have something about"—her voice lowered even more—"silver. I came in the next morning and the shop had been broken into. They stole my hard drive and left this stuck to my monitor." She handed me a blue sticky note.

Be very careful the tales you tell.

You won't like the ending.

My nerves tingled. From my peripheral vision, I watched shots of silver flare from my body.

Faye looked apologetic but resolute. "Whoever did this was sending a message, and I got it loud and clear. I'm off the case, honey."

My gut clenched. "I don't understand. Why would—?"

"Someone doesn't want people looking into this. This note is about you. Look, I wish I could help, but I'm a single mom with cancer and a special needs kid. I can't afford to have anything happen to me or to this shop. You might want to keep this quiet. Perhaps there's a reason people like you are so rare. I'm very sorry. Take good care of yourself. And please," she said, her dark eyes imploring, "don't come here again."

Faye shut the door in my face.

A cannonball of dread dropped into the pit of my soul with a thud. It pulled my heart down with it. People like you. Rejection was a sour pit I swallowed whole. I'd been turned away because of what I was. Blamed for something I didn't even understand. Faye was the only person who seemed to know anything about why I was different, and she wanted nothing to do with me.