Kathy Reichs - Code

The notion filled me with dread.

“Let’s talk at lunch.” I started down the hall. “We’ll figure it out, once and for all.”

The morning came and went. Most Bolton students were attending the ball in some capacity, and gossip was everywhere. I overheard dozens of whispered conversations about escort selections and rumored dress prices. When lunch finally arrived, I headed outside to meet the other Virals.

As if to deny the possibility of an onrushing tempest, the weather was a crisp, cloudless sixty-five. I circled to the rear of the grounds, expecting the area near the pond to be empty.

I was wrong.

Madison and Chance were seated on a bench with their backs to the building. She was speaking animatedly, hands fluttering to emphasize her points. Chance contributed the occasional nod.

I would’ve given my life savings to eavesdrop.

Then do it. You know you can .

My pulse quickened. Should I? A quick three-sixty confirmed that no one else was close by. What’s the point of superpowers if you never use them?

I slipped behind a tree.

SNAP.

The flare came easily, boosting my senses into hyperspace.

A thousand scents flooded my nostrils. Sticky, pitchy pine. Algae-coated pond water. A slight hint of peanut butter. My eyes tracked fruit flies swarming in the branches overhead, dancing among bright arrows of sunlight. I tasted a tang on the breeze, loamy dust mixed with sweet hydrangea. Felt the wind caress individual hairs on my arms.

Most importantly, I heard two voices arguing quietly.

Peering around the tree, I studied my quarry. Madison’s shoulders were tense and her back was rigid. A ring-decked hand kept worrying her hair.

Nice rocks. Keep talking .

“You’re not taking me seriously!” Frustration sharpened Madison’s words.

“Of course I am.” Chance said calmly, eyes never leaving the pond. “I don’t share everything with you, but I haven’t been idle.”

“Do you really think—” Madison’s voice dropped to a shrill whisper.

I inched forward, straining to overhear.

“Don’t you think there’s something freaky about her? Like, for real ? That she’s not normal?” Madison’s delicate features contorted into a grimace. “Other than being a total loser, I mean.”

Chance took a long time to answer. “Enough with the petty insults. You saw what you saw. I have my own suspicions. But neither of us has any proof.”

“Tory’s possessed .” Madison shook with the vehemence of her words. “Or, like, a witch or something. I saw evil in her eyes. It wasn’t natural, I just know it!”

A tremor ran through me.

My worst fears, confirmed.

Madison had seen the flare in my eyes. Chance had witnessed much more than that. And here they were, together, discussing me. Making plans.

Nightmare .

What did Chance mean, that he hadn’t been idle? I had to know more.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Hi and Shelton stroll from the building. They angled for a bench beyond the trees screening me from Chance and Madison. A moment later Ben joined them. Facing the opposite direction, the trio pulled sandwiches from their lunch bags.

Neither group was looking my way.

I felt a tingle in my brainpan. My pack was close, though not complete.

No. Crazy .

The idea scared me, but I acted before reconsidering.

Closing my eyes, I sought the empty space in my mind. Visualized the flaming cords connecting me to the other Virals. And there they were. Fiery lines, faint, weakened by distance and the fact that the boys were not flaring. Coop was no more than a blur in the ether.

You’re not at full strength. This might be a bad idea .

Ignoring my own good advice, I tried something I’d never done.

I opened my eyes. Narrowed my focus to the couple on the bench by the pond.

Chance and Madison. Madison and Chance.

Projecting my consciousness in their direction, I searched for their minds.

Heat surged through me. Shards of glass pierced my skull and raked across my cerebral cortex. Ignoring the pain, I forced my thoughts forward, outward , untethered from my body.

The world grew hazy. Grainy. My head swam. I shut my eyes again.

Two bubbles appeared in the subliminal void.

I forced my mind toward them. Contacted one.

A deafening buzz. Then Madison’s voice exploded inside my head. Thunderous. Words too garbled to understand.

It’s working! I can hear her thoughts!

Someone shrieked.

SNUP.

My eyes flew open.

I wasn’t sure if the scream came from outside or within.

Madison slapped at herself as if covered in spiders. Her head whipped wildly, like a hunted animal.

I clung to the tree, shaking, thankful it hid me from the duo by the pond. Glancing over one shoulder, I saw the other Virals staring at me in shock.

My consciousness recoiled like a broken rubber band.

I tumbled into darkness.

CHAPTER 40

VOICES INTRUDED FROM far away.

“Oh man, she really did it this time!”

“Should we call the nurse?” Panicky. “An ambulance?”

“And say what, exactly?” hissed a third. “That our friend passed out after some bad telepathy?”

The words were distant. Thin. Like radio transmissions from an old submarine. I tried to block them, to stay wrapped in murky oblivion.

The voices wouldn’t let me.

“What was she thinking?” Angry. Disturbing my blissful drift.

Ben. Why’s he so upset?

“She went too far!” Fretful. Shelton? “What if she couldn’t get back?”

Against my will, one eye cracked open. Three silhouettes hovered over me, backlit by brilliant white light. For a crazy moment I thought of heaven.

That notion jarred me awake.

I moaned weakly.

“She’s coming around!” The roundest shape coalesced into Hi. “Tor? You okay? If you’ve gone vegetable, blink at me.”

“Real nice,” I wheezed. The effort nearly put me back under.

“Help her sit.” Shelton still sounded anxious. “Ben, get some water.”

As Ben ran off, Hi and Shelton pulled me to a seated position. My head pounded. I was very close to puking in my own lap.

Gingerly, I surveyed my surroundings. Bolton Prep. Outside. East lawn, just off the main entrance.

I licked my lips. “Time?”

“Lunch is almost over.” Hi was scanning for observers. “You’ve been out two full minutes.”

Unsure how to help, Shelton nervously patted my arm. “What happened?”

“Flared. Tried to read minds.” I was too shell-shocked to lie.

“Chance and Madison?” Shelton grabbed both earlobes. “Are you crazy!?”

“Maybe.” I leaned to the side, hawked, spat. “Didn’t work.”

“So that’s why Madison wigged out.” Shelton began pacing. “She jetted inside a second after you dropped.”

Hi was rubbing his forehead. “Tell me they didn’t catch you.”

“Not sure.” I staggered upright. Wiped spittle from my cheek. “Don’t think so.”

I replayed the moment my consciousness touched the bubble. I’d known it was Madison, not Chance. Was certain. For a nanosecond I’d recognized her thoughts, though I hadn’t understood them.

Had Madison felt something on her end? Did she sense it was me poking around?

How could I be so stupid?

“How could you be so stupid?”

Ben unsealed a bottled water and held it to my lips. I gulped, swished a mouthful, then spat on the grass.

I agreed with Ben, but would never admit it now.

“They were saying things. About me.” My brain was still slightly derailed. “They suspect. I was trying to find out what they know.”