I've never understood why people on the run hide in small towns.
In small towns, everyone knows everyone else's business. If they've inter-married enough over the centuries, they're probably all related in one way or another. Gross, but true, and it means news travels fast over kitchen tables and via landlines, cos all small towns have shitty wifi service. Trust me on this. I know.
Bottom line: They talk.
Add that to the cumulative problems of zip to do, nowhere to go, and nothing much going on, and any newcomers who blow into town instantly become a hot topic of conversation. Frankly I was surprised we hadn't made the front page of a few local papers in some of the towns we briefly called home over the years.
Big cities. Those were the places to get lost. People rarely knew the names of all their neighbors along one hall of an apartment block, let alone anyone on the thirty or sixty floors above or below them. You could walk the streets in broad daylight in complete anonymity. Famous people did it all the time. They ignored new faces in the city. They didn't ask a million and one questions about who you were and where you were from when you went to the market to buy a quart of milk.
But would my Guardian listen to me when I pointed that out?
At least this time she'd chosen somewhere in what she referred to as the Goldilocks Zone. Not too many people, not too few. Just under ten thousand at last count according to Google. The most we'd seen in a while, not that we made direct eye contact with anyone if we could avoid it.
Gig Harbor wasn't the worst place we'd lived. But it wasn't New York or Chicago or San Francisco or any of the other places I'd been desperate to visit since forever.
"Lina, you're going to be late."
"Not gonna be late," I mumbled in reply. "I'm never late."
Late kids got noticed when they walked into homeroom after everyone was seated and silenced. Even if they'd already attended the school for a whole four months. And since my lifelong goal was not to get noticed...
"Don't forget your lunch."
I shook my head. Seriously? How many million times had we done this? It was the same thing every morning. Word for word. Different towns and places but the same thing over and over and over and -
"There's little point thinking sullen thoughts when I can feel what you're feeling from the other room," Diana calmly stated as she walked into the kitchen and ruffled my hair on her way to the coffee pot. "Have a good day, kid."
I aimed a sideways glare at her as I flattened my hair and stuffed the last books into the satchel sitting on the table. I hated having my hair ruffled like I was a six year old and I hated being called kid. But most of all I hated that there wasn't a single thing I could say about how I felt that she didn't already know.
Guardian's carried a little slither of their charge's soul inside them. Literally. Meaning she was connected to me and could feel what I felt every hour of every day, no matter how far apart we were. If I needed anything, she would provide it. If I was frightened, she would be there. As in poof! and she appeared out of nowhere. Reassuring if I ever got into any real trouble. But at the same time annoying as hell. Cos I couldn't hide anything from her.
Tossing the satchel over one shoulder, I grabbed my keys off the hall table and yelled the obligatory 'see you later' as I stepped through the front door.
The short drive to and from school was my favorite part of the day. Partly because of the pretty views of the harbor. Mostly because of my car. The Honda was far from new, it had a few scratches and the odd hint of rust on its faded silver paintwork, but it was mine.
Illinois, our last port of call, wouldn't let me have a driver's licence until I turned eighteen, which was ridiculous when I'd been able to drive since I was twelve and could safely (and successfully) challenge a NASCAR driver by fourteen. Reason enough to move in my opinion. The Washington limit was seventeen, which placed it in the Goldilocks Zone for my age, too, give or take the seven months I'd finally convinced Diana to add to my latest I.D.. We'd barely unpacked a box before I'd applied for my new permit and taken the test.
Sometimes I fantasized about heading for the nearest Highway and driving until I hit a city I could explore. I'd picture every minute detail in my head, the sights, the sounds and the scents. All the places I'd see and people I would meet. I'd imagine what it was like to be just another kid, playing hooky and having fun. Pretend if my identity was discovered I wouldn't end up in a secret lab being dissected like a rat or dead.
I was picturing that fictional utopia as I swapped books at my locker, where Megan found me.
"Big news!"
"Someone on the water polo team drowned?"
"No. And bite your tongue. You know I only drag you to those things for the abs. The abs are sacred." She propped a shoulder on the locker next to mine, and donned an 'ask me' expression.
As the only friend I'd allowed myself to make since I arrived at Gig Harbor High, she got a lot of leeway. I needed her to help me blend in. So, I humored her. "Go on, then."
"New students. We're getting a bunch of them. Three seniors, two juniors and a freshman."
Since she was practically bouncing out of her skin with excitement, I presumed at least some of them were boys. Locker closed, satchel returned to my shoulder, I turned in the direction of homeroom and waited for her to fall into step beside me.
No-one gave us a second glance along the way. We were the invisible students. The ones who didn't speak up in class, didn't fit into a clique, and were neither pretty or weird enough to garner any interest. I'd targeted Meg for that exact reason my first day there.
"I heard Jess Lucas telling Morena Garcia she saw some of them in town over the holidays," she continued conspiratorially. "There are three boys. All of them hot according to Jess. And you know how she can be. She already has one of them picked out."
"What happened to Corey or Corbin or whatever his name is?"
"Calvin." Meg made a scoffing noise, "Last weeks news. He didn't get her the gift she'd been hinting for weeks she wanted for Christmas. She broke up with him January 1st."
"At two minutes after midnight?"
"Pretty much."
"Good start to the year for him."
"Right?"
When we reached the homeroom door, she grasped hold of my arm and pulled me back a step. "Are they in there?"
I peeked inside, "No."
She released my arm to smooth her hands over her stomach and tug on the bottom edge of her hoodie. "How do I look?"
"You look fine."
My second attempt at entering homeroom was stalled by another, slightly firmer arm grasp.
"Do you think I should take the hoodie off?"
"It's nine degrees outside and the heating in here has only been on for an hour. Your call." When she looked a little forlorn, I sighed, "Any guy would be lucky to have you, Meg."
She wasn't all that bad. Few extra pounds of puppy fat, maybe. But otherwise... choppily cut, shoulder length fair hair, bright blue eyes, good skin. Apart from her obsession with boys, she was pretty good company. She could be funny at times, was smarter than she thought she was, and could navigate the internet like an FBI investigator when she was searching for celebrity gossip or debunking the latest crazy conspiracy theories. What wasn't to like?
"I'm at the point where any guy is exactly what I'll take. Much as I love you, we're not going to Prom together. Senior Prom pics are eternal."
Okay, then. Glad we'd cleared that up.
I pointed at the open door. "I'm going in now. Care to join me?"
"We need to work on your pep talks."
"I didn't know I was supposed to bring any pep to school today. You should have messaged me."
She pushed me through the door. "I didn't know you'd need it til ten minutes ago. Just have my back if I talk to one of them, k? And try not to want the same one as me."
As if. Boys weren't part of the plan. Not yet, anyway. Presumably they would be at some point if I was supposed to continue my bloodline. Though how I'd broach that subject with a guy without breaking my cover or making myself sound like a total wack-job remained to be seen. 'Hi there, don't s'pose you'd consider impregnating me so my ancient soul has a vessel to pop into sometime in the future?' probably wouldn't cut it, either way.
Removing the satchel from my shoulder, I dropped into the seat I'd occupied last semester, halfway between the front and the back of the class, in the center of the room. My own personal homage to the Goldilocks Zone after Diana droned on about it's numerous benefits for at least three hours while we drove halfway across the country for the ninety bazillionth time.
The how-to-continue-the-bloodline talk was gonna be interesting. I wondered if she thought it had to include birds and bees or had assumed sex ed would take care of that part. I sincerely hoped it was the latter, cos it was gonna be awkward enough discussing -
I gasped and creased forward at the waist, grasping the edges of the desk with white knuckles. No. Not now. Not here. I'd never experienced it so strongly before, it had been more of a tingling of fine hairs on the back of my neck and forearms, but I knew what it meant.
Demon.
"Lina, you okay?" Meg's voice asked.
Sucking in several deep breaths, I did everything I could to avoid a panic attack, while my gaze checked to make sure my Guardian hadn't already popped into the room. No sword-wielding Diana, so that was good. Which just left the other small problem...
It was close. I knew that much. My senses wouldn't have gone full-on-red-alert if it wasn't. They created a full body cramp, and an ache in my abdomen that pushed all the way through to my spine, which took considerable effort to straighten as I summoned a weak smile for Meg.
"Cramp. It'll pass in a minute."
"That time?" Meg mouthed in sympathy.
Since it was precisely the out I needed, I nodded, my gaze drawn to the wall behind her as my body stiffened. It was in the hall. Right beside us. But there was no way it could know I was there. I was wearing my pendant. The one which hid me from them. So, it couldn't sense me the way I could sense it.
My gaze tracked down the wall towards the door with a growing sense of dread, a small part of my subconscious becoming aware the phone in my satchel was vibrating. Diana obviously knew something was wrong. She needed me to check in. But I couldn't. I was frozen in place.
Someone was stepping through the door.
The appearance of Mrs. Hedlund, our homeroom teacher, was a bit of an anti-climax. Then another figure followed her into the room. And another. And another. Two tall boys and an equally tall girl.
Shit.
There. Were. Three. Of. Them.
"Quiet. Quiet everyone!" Mrs. Hedlund called, clapping her hands together to emphasize the demand. "We have three new students joining us today."
My gaze dragged over each one of them in turn as they lined up in front of her desk, heart thudding loudly against my breastbone as I searched for any indication they'd sensed something different. Something none of them would have encountered before or would recognize if they found it. As my hand lifted to the pendant hanging from my neck, I had to remember that, too. There was no way they could know. Why would they, when all of my kind were supposed to have been wiped off the surface of the earth?
All I had to do was stay calm, act normal, ensure they never knew, seize the first possible opportunity, and run.
The first guy was blonde, had deceptively Greek-god-like features, and was smiling warmly at random people in the room like he owned the place and was there to welcome them instead of the other way round. The girl was equally beautiful, with features that hinted at a Native Indian heritage, and a defiant tilt of her chin which said she would take on everyone sitting in front of her if they didn't welcome her.
As my attention shifted to the last one, it lifted a couple of inches. He was easily six feet tall, possibly more, with an athletic physique and a broad chest and a mop of thick, dark hair. But he was looking at his feet and frowning above a pair of black-rimmed glasses, so I couldn't see -
His chin tilted a little. A muscle in his jaw jumped in a way which suggested he'd clenched his teeth. Then his head lifted sharply, his gaze locked onto mine with the accuracy of a heat-seeking missile, and the sharp intake of breath I took in reaction to the intensity in his dark eyes snagged in my chest.
He knows.