The Scribe Read online

  Julian spread his hands wide. “I didn’t know much more about you when you walked through my door.” He smirked, like he knew something I didn’t. Either Julian was far too trusting, as Anna suspected, or his ability to influence people made him dangerously overconfident. He made a mistake with Serena, and he probably shouldn’t have let me in either.

  Two sharp raps sounded at the front.

  “Could you do the honors?” Julian gestured toward metal door. An ancient punch code lock was all that we had for security, beyond what we could do with our abilities. And the weapons.

  I pulled the gun out of the back of my pants while I strode toward the entrance, lunging out with my mind beyond the door. If there was anything at all suspicious outside, I would shoot first and ask questions later. My mental reach pushed through the relatively weak mind barrier of the person at the door, plunging deep into the soft gel her mind. I got a flash of her personality before she shoved me out again: young, wary of strangers, but also wildly willing to take risks.

  I gripped the rough handle of the gun tighter and hesitated at the door. She knew I was there and nothing strange had happened yet. No sudden instinctual need to flee, like Julian’s brain would cause. No impenetrable barrier like Anna’s. Of course, no one could detect my ability with a simple mind surge either—I had to touch my victims before I could use my skill. If she was bent on attacking, she was saving it for later. Maybe once she was inside.

  I held the gun at the ready as I opened the door.

  Covered from head to toe in black, including a face-hugging Second Skin mask that obscured her features, she wasn’t at all what I expected. Her eyelids moved under the mask, and she minutely cocked her head, so I knew that she could see me.

  “Are you going to shoot me or invite me in?” Her voice was strung tight and her right hand slowly flexed, as if it wished for a weapon to counter mine.

  “It’s alright, Sasha,” Julian said over my shoulder. “Please invite our guest inside. No reason to keep her waiting out in the cold.” A gust of crisp winter air pulsed over the threshold, as if to underscore Julian’s words.

  I eased back, clearing the doorway, but my gun stayed trained on her. She took two steps inside, watching me through her mask and keeping an open path to the door.

  “Put the gun away, Sasha,” Julian said. “I’m sure that our guest won’t be any kind of trouble.”

  I assumed that he had dipped into her instinctual mind to control her. Or at least made sure she wasn’t a threat. I tucked the gun into the front of my pants, but kept a hand on it.

  Julian welcomed her inside with a sweep of his hand. “You won’t need the mask, not if you’re truly interested in joining us. Although I must say, I’m surprised to see a contractor showing up on my doorstep.”

  A contractor. The term scratched my mind. Some jackers sold their mindjacking favors to readers, using go-betweens to set up the transaction anonymously. That must be why the mask. But Julian made a good point. Why was a contractor showing up here at all? Julian’s revolutionary business wasn’t the type that would interest mercenaries. There was no money in it that I could see.

  “I’ll keep the mask, thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder. Another young woman stepped into the doorway, her long blond hair wisping in the breeze. “I’m only being paid to make sure Ava made safe passage here.”

  I tensed my grip on the gun. I should have known to search farther than the door. This Ava person was slender, almost painfully thin—the winter breeze might tumble her down the street with a strong gust. But that meant nothing; it was her mind that posed a threat. I was about to surge into her head when Julian threw a hand across my chest. I wasn’t planning to attack her, I just wanted to know what we were facing. I held back, hoping that he had a plan.

  Julian gave the contractor one of his warm, trust-me-I-know-what-I’m-doing smiles. “I can assure you that your charge is in safe hands now.”

  Sure, she was safe. The girl had little to fear from us, unless she or her contractor friend made some kind of move. Which was why I had the gun. And the knife strapped to my leg. It was us I was worried about.

  The contractor ignored Julian and looked to Ava for confirmation. The girl suddenly beamed a smile straight at me, her wide blue eyes radiating such pure happiness that it startled me—and stilled my twitchy grip on the gun.

  “It’s alright.” Ava briefly touched the contractor’s black-sleeved arm. “Sasha thinks I’m safe, and that’s good enough for me.”

  My mouth dropped open, and Julian flashed a look to me.

  “How do you know my name?” My hand tightened again. Was she reading my thoughts? How was that possible, when I hadn’t felt any kind of mind surge? I would have sensed her in my mind if she had linked in.

  Ava glided in front of the contractor and stood uncomfortably close to me. She peered up into my eyes, her slim black jacket shielding her against the chilled wind still gusting in from outside. She was nearly a foot shorter than me, but my body recoiled from her intense gaze.

  “I know all about you, Sasha. I’ve been watching you.” She frowned at Julian, then looked back to me. “Can I trust Julian? Is he a good person? Can he keep me safe?”

  “I… um…” My voice ran away—having to character witness for Julian, I suddenly didn’t know what to say. Was Julian a good person? I hoped so, because I trusted him with my life these days.

  She saved me from answering by nodding. “I had heard about Julian before, but I couldn’t exactly get into his head to find out for myself. Although it wasn’t as bad as when you tried.” The corners of her mouth turned down, then her gaze roamed the factory. “The person hiding in the shadows is also someone I can’t read. That’s why I had to rely on you, Sasha.”

  For no reason at all, the soft smile she wafted up to me cut loose the cords that held my shoulders tense, strung tight across my back.

  “I’m sorry for peeking in on your thoughts,” she said. “I don’t usually spy, if I can help it.” But her smile held no regret, like she was apologizing for breathing, something she couldn’t help and wouldn’t stop if she could. “But your thoughts told me so much… I figured, if only I could find a way here, to you, then maybe I might be safe again.”

  Her words snapped tension back into my shoulders and drove a panicky feeling through my chest like a hot knife. What had she read in my mind? What did she know? I took a step back, and a frown marred the sunshine on her face, like a cloud passing over the sun.

  “Well, then,” Julian said, and I couldn’t tell by his voice if he was amused or annoyed. His face showed only his typical intense curiosity. “Maybe you can tell us about this ability of yours to read Sasha’s mind without him knowing. I have to say that’s a skill I haven’t seen before.” He smirked again, but it was clouded. Which made me wonder what his ability was telling him that I didn’t know.

  Ava ignored him and turned to the contractor, handing her an unos card she pulled from her jacket pocket. “This is all that I have, and most of it is stolen, so you should change it to cash as soon as possible.”

  The contractor took the card and made a quick salute with it. “Nice doing business with you.” Then she turned and left the door standing wide open in her wake.

  I quietly drew in a breath, trying to clear the panic from my chest, then shuffled to the door and shut out the bleak afternoon sun. I took my time reprogramming the punch code. When I turned back, Ava was watching me. Her eyes were alight, intense like Julian’s but softer, the color of the sky on a summer day when you can see for a miles. Julian alternated between studying her and flicking glances at me, as if watching a ping-pong match or possibly a chess game with the concentration he gave it.

  I decided to play it cool, even though my nerves were still singing alarm bells throughout my body. I crossed my arms and leaned against the now-closed door.

  “So are you reading my mind now?” I asked, boring a look into those too-innocent blue eyes. If you are, I’d like you to g
et the hell out and mind your own business.

  “Oh!” she said. “No, of course not. I mean, not that you would know. I’m sorry.” This time her apology seemed real, turning her cheeks red and making her slender fingers work against each other in silent agitation. “I don’t do it all the time. Only when I need to. I promise I won’t do it again. Unless you want me to.”

  I don’t want you in my head! The thought came unbidden and ferocious, but she didn’t flinch, so I guessed she was true to her word.

  “How does that work, exactly?” Julian asked. “Don’t you have to push through a mindbarrier to read thoughts?” He had templed his hands, tapping them against his lips.

  She finally turned the spotlight of her attention to him. “Well, I do in a way, I suppose. I brush against people’s mind barriers. I’m very gentle. They hardly ever notice, and usually they can only tell if they already know that I’m doing it.”

  “So you can read their thoughts by simply brushing the surface of their minds?” Julian asked. I recognized the Board of Directors voice he used when diving into things that fascinated him. “You don’t jack inside their heads at all, then?”

  “Oh no,” Ava said. “In fact, I can hardly jack at all. At least not very strongly. I’m mostly a linker, really.”

  Julian’s lips quirked up at that.

  “Well, maybe you didn’t hear,” I said, “but everyone here has an extreme talent.” I glanced at Julian. “I don’t know if being a linker qualifies as extreme.” Although there was no question that her ability to get in my head without my knowledge was making me extremely uneasy.

  Her pale face turned even whiter as she grasped my meaning, and my insides wrenched loose. Why did I say that? Part of me wanted to shove her right out the door again. Part wanted to say something to ease the frightened look on her face.

  “Please don’t turn me away,” she said. “I… I risked a lot coming here, and…”

  “No one’s turning you away.” Julian’s voice gentled, like he was talking her down from bolting. “You’re safe as long as you’re here, and you were right to trust us.” I was glad that he recovered for my idiocy. At the same time, I didn’t like the soft tones he was using with her. My head was ready to explode with the contradictions.

  “Just tell us what you can do,” Julian said. “You’ve already shown you have unique skills.”

  She took a shuddering breath, and the worry seemed to float right out of her. “I can jack, but not well, and I can’t keep people from jacking me worth a darn.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “I can read thoughts without people realizing I’m in their heads. I can link thoughts too.” She dropped her hand and gazed into Julian’s eyes. “And I can do it at long distances.”

  He was entranced. “How far?”

  “Miles,” she said. “Tens of miles? Once I reached all the way to Wisconsin, but that was from the northern suburbs of Chicago New Metro. I haven’t tried further than that.”

  “Tens of…” Julian let out a low whistle. “You’re a viewer.”

  “A what?”

  “You can view at long distances…” His gaze flew a hundred yards away. “I’ve heard of an ability like this, before the change, before mindreaders were common. There were a few people who claimed they could see things at huge distances… but I didn’t think it was real…” His gaze snapped back to her. “That’s an outstanding ability, Ava.”

  I could see the gleam in Julian’s eye. He had already decided to invite her to join. But something didn’t add up. She could spy on us long distance, but she only spied when she had to? She was all of a hundred pounds soaking wet, with this crazy ability, but she never jacked anyone? No one was this innocent, especially a jacker. I could picture Anna seething back in the racks, wondering why Julian was letting himself be duped again.

  Time for me to inject a little reality. “We don’t know anything about her, Julian.” I ignored the twinge that came when she frowned the tiniest bit. “She says she can do these things, but she could be making all this up. And I’m sure there’s more she’s not telling us.”

  “Quite true,” he said, but he sounded more like he was humoring me than doubting her. “Maybe a demonstration is in order.” He turned to Ava. “I have a friend named Myrtle. She’s a rather strong jacker. Her mind’s not impenetrable, like my sister lurking in the back, but I assure you that she’ll push you out of her head if she senses you. She’s a few blocks away. Can you find her?”

  Ava fluttered her eyelids closed, and I noticed that her eyelashes were almost invisible against her pale skin, like hand-spun threads of gold from a fairy-tale.

  “Yes,” she said in a whisper. “She’s older, a grandma. She’s fond of knitting and the Cubs. And…” Ava paused, then opened her eyes to focus on Julian. “She worries about you, Julian. You remind her of a grandson she had, then lost. He was a dreamer too.”

  Julian’s eyes widened and his lips parted as if he was going to say something, but the words got lost before he could form them. I didn’t care for that look at all—he was buying this hook, line, and sinker.

  “Julian,” I said in a low voice. “This is a parlor trick.”

  Julian snapped out of his trance, and I slid a sideways glance to Ava. Again she looked hurt, and it made my stomach clench. I didn’t like how she got into my head, how I noticed every little change on her face, how uncomfortable she made me. Maybe that was her real ability. I couldn’t tell, but I didn’t trust her five ways to Sunday.

  “She could say that about anyone,” I added. “Maybe she plucked it out of your head.”

  Julian’s eyes narrowed at that, finally. “Well, it’s certainly easy to check.” He pulled a slim, silver phone from his pocket. He must have jacked into the mindware to dial, because he simply held it to his ear and a moment later spoke into it. “Hello, Myrtle. How are you?” He paused. “Would you humor me for a moment and tell me what you’re doing?”

  Ava had a patient I-told-you-so look.

  Julian smiled. “You know I’m not a Cubs fan,” he said to the phone, “but I’m sure I could find a use for one of your hand-knit scarves.”

  “She’s afraid you’re going to let Anna use it to clean guns,” Ava whispered, so that she wouldn’t be heard on the phone.

  Julian frowned, holding Ava’s gaze. “Myrtle, I have a new recruit who thinks she can read your mind.” He paused. “Yes, the one who contacted you. Would you mind thinking of a number for me, but don’t say it.”

  “Sixty-two,” Ava said. “Wait, no. She changed it to the square root of negative three.”

  Julian’s eyebrows hiked up, and even I was taken aback by how fast she had said the response. Like there was no hesitation. Like she had read the mind of a woman three streets over as quickly as the thoughts popped into her head.

  “Okay, Myrtle. Tell me.” Julian nodded, as if he never doubted it. “Thank you, Myrtle. No, that’s all for now.” He clicked the phone shut, his gaze still trained on Ava’s. He stepped closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. I pushed up from the doorway, not sure why that alarmed me so much.

  “That’s an impressive ability, Ava,” Julian said. “One I’m sure we could use in the battles ahead of us. But you must be very popular with that skill. Why have you decided to come to us?”

  Finally, he was asking the right question.

  She peered up into his eyes. “Sasha thinks you’re fighting for something important. That you’re the hope for the future of all of us.”

  “Is that so?” Julian flicked glance at me and my face ran hot. If he gave me one of those smirks of his, I swear I would walk out the door. But he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t seem to register my embarrassment at all. Was he just checking on my instincts? I was beginning to feel like there were way too many people inside my head: even I didn’t want to be there, much less have anyone else snooping around.

  “The future belongs to us,” he said to Ava. “Humankind is evolving and mindreaders were just the first step. Eventu
ally, jackers will be the dominant species, but only if we fight for it. Only if they don’t destroy us before our numbers make our dominance inevitable. It will take a revolution to change the world, but every revolution has a seed that is its beginning. A start that could be easily snuffed out, if not grown with the right people at the right time.”

  She soaked up every word. I had heard it before, but it still pulled at me. That was Julian’s true talent: he found the right words for the right person, the thing that appealed to them on a basic level. Maybe he cheated and used his instinct handling skill. I couldn’t be sure, any more than I could tell if Ava was still inside my head, reading all my doubts.

  “There are a lot of the wrong people out there,” she said. “How do you know? That they’re the right person?”

  “I ask them what they’re willing to fight for.”

  She nodded, as if that made sense, her eyes lit with the same spark of hope I felt when Julian offered me the one thing I needed: a reason to keep going. But I knew why I desperately needed that hope. I had a lot to atone for. Dark secrets that Julian still couldn’t guess at.

  What was she hiding?

  “Ava,” I said, my voice thick, her name feeling strange on my tongue. She whirled to face me. It took a moment for me to speak when she was looking at me with those bright, happy eyes. “Sorry, but I can’t believe you’re walking in to sign up for a revolution out of the goodness of your heart.”

  The corners of her mouth turned down. My hand crept up to rest on the grip of my gun. She was having way too much effect on my emotional state. Something was wrong with that. Maybe she was having the same effect on Julian too.

  “Plus it’s hard to believe that your Clan just let you go,” I said. “After all, you claim you can’t fight off a jack, so how could you leave, if they didn’t want you to?” A problem I knew entirely too well. “What are you hiding?”

  She left Julian’s side, her movements so smooth that she seemed to glide over to me instead of walking. My heart pounded unevenly as she arrived next to me.