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I shook my head. No. He ll worry if he comes home and I m not there.
And so he should, but I don t mean that you leave the trailer behind. We ll unhitch it and park it by your house.
I hesitated.
Or we can stay at her place if she doesn t want to move, Remy offered.
Janelle smiled at him. Bless you, sweetheart. I think that s even a better idea. She patted my shoulder. It s settled then.
No, it s not. Let s get the trailer. The way Janelle grinned and nodded at Remy, they got what they wanted, and I was too stressed out to argue with
them. I caught her arm before she could teleport. Find them, Aunt Janelle. Grampa, Bran, Moira& find them and bring them home.
I promise.
19. PRISONERS
Janelle didn t keep her promise. Sunday came and went with no word from the Cardinals. I knew they were working hard, not coming home until
after midnight. I used my school work to cover my pain and worry, finished both pre-calc and chemistry assignments I d gotten from my teachers. On
Monday, I forced myself to dress up and drive to school.
Kylie was waiting for me outside my math class. What happened? Sykes and Remy unhitched your trailer and couldn t explain to me what s going
on. How come you didn t tell me you d be moving?
I sighed, hating to lie to her. My grandfather bought a house on the eastern bench. I didn t even know about it until Friday.
Her eyes shadowed. First you joined their dojo, now you live near them. Are we still going to hang out?
Of course. From what the trainees told me, their human friends visited them all the time.
Kylie s face lit up. Good. See you at lunch.
Misery shadowed me in every class. I aced the quiz Johnson gave us last week, but he might as well have given me an F. In between classes, I tried
to locate Bran and Grampa s until my head hurt. I couldn t wait for school to be over.
The atmosphere at the dojo that evening was gloomy and depressing, but I pushed myself hard. A few times, Kenta told me to go sit in the weapon
room. Mrs. D. wanted to know why I hadn t said anything on Saturday. I couldn t explain to her, so I just shrugged. That night, I cried myself to sleep,
and the next one.
By Wednesday, I knew I couldn t take it anymore. As I walked toward the cafeteria, students passed me yapping about their weekend plans and the
possibility of Beaver Mountain Ski Resort opening for slope junkies. The chill had settled in the valley, and the meteorologists were predicting early
snow. I hugged myself, the thought of cold temperatures making me even more miserable.
Lil!
I turned. McKenzie hurried toward me, arms crossed and shoulders hunched. She wore a bulky sweatshirt that swallowed her petite frame. It was
the second time I d seen her in an oversize top covering her to her thighs. It was as though she wanted to hide her body.
Can we talk? She nodded at a bathroom door.
I followed her inside. There were students fluffing their hair in front of the long mirrors and checking their make-up. We staked a corner. Are you
okay? I asked her.
She didn t speak, but fat teardrops ran down her cheeks. Soon she was sobbing, her body shaking. I hugged her, warm tears soaking the sleeve of
my shirt. I wanted to cry, too, even though I didn t know what was making her so miserable. But I hated to cry in front of people so I fought it.
A few students stopped preening before the mirror and gawked at us. Get out, I snapped.
They looked at me like I d lost my mind. In the mood I was in, I could create a mini electric storm and fry them. I closed my eyes and took deep,
calming breaths. Everyone out& go& leave& don t come back.
The bathroom emptied fast and I locked the door. McKenzie calmed down, washed her face then yanked a wad of paper towels to pat her face and
blow her nose. Thank you.
For what?
For being there for me, and for not telling Kylie and the others about what happened, she whispered.
It s none of their business.
I was so scared you d tell. She glanced around and lowered her voice even further even though we were alone. And I ve been dreading running
into them& you know, the guys. I just did. Her chin trembled. I thought I d faint or throw up. I was shaking so hard. You won t believe what
happened.
What?
They saw me coming and did a U-turn. I couldn t believe it. She laughed, her eyes tearing again. I& I felt so powerful. I realized then that I had
nothing to fear. They do. They re the guilty ones.
That s great, McKenzie.
Yes, it is. She pulled out more tissue, blew her nose and threw the crunched up mass in the garbage. I signed up for self-defense at C12 dojo. I ll
start next week.
I was happy for her. If only my problems could be solved that fast, too. I missed my grandfather and Bran, and I had this achy feeling in my stomach
that I d never see them again. Doing nothing about their disappearance just didn t seem right. And although my fellow trainees have been very
supportive and we d grown closer, our hands were tied. Every day we waited for news from the three remaining Cardinals and every evening they
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