Page 37 of Land of Shadow

God, I’m not cut out for politics.

He plucks something from his pocket, his movement minute. “Come here.”

I swallow hard at the way he says it. “Excuse me?”

“I said come to me.”

What am I, a dog? “How about you come to me?” I say tartly.

He closes the distance between us with a quickness that sends my heart racing. “I thought you’d never ask.”

What is he? If I hadn’t been spooked before, I am now. He moved so quickly,tooquickly. So much so that it’s impossible, my mind trying and failing to do the math on the simple mechanics of it.

Taking my hand, he leans closer, his lips whispering against my ear, sending a not entirely unpleasant shiver down my spine. “They’re watching.”

Then he’s gone, walking out of my room with a sure stride.

I close my fist around the scrap of paper he pressed into my palm. Another secret.They’re watching. Nothing’s safe. Only pen and paper, and even then, it could get intercepted if I’m not careful. I need to know what the hell is going on. I pocket the scrap of paper and stand for a while, my mind trying to sort through my interaction with Valen. But it’s like trying to put a jigsaw puzzle together in the dark.

Eventually, I walk to the kitchen and dig around for some dinner. Gene’s been stashing odds and ends in my refrigerator and freezer, and I even found an orange on my counter.

Just once, I reach into my pocket and run my finger along the mysterious bit of paper. I can’t stay in the dark like this, not when my sister is in danger.

I’ll pass it along like Juno asked, but onlyafterI’ve read it.

11

The lab is quiet the next morning, each scientist hunched over their computer or a microscope. I don’t interrupt.

“Here we go.” Gene hands me a cup of coffee, his hands shaking a little.

“You all right?” I ask.

“That?” He holds out one of his wrinkled hands, the brown skin weathered from sun and life. “I’ve had that little tremor for a decade now. Not sure what caused it, but it doesn’t hurt me none. I suppose I won’t be doing surgery anytime soon.” He smiles and puts a donut on a little paper plate for me.

“Thanks.” I take a big drink of coffee, slightly burning my tongue—the sort that lingers only for an hour or two. Worth it.

“Sure.” He looks around the lab. “If there’s anything you need me to do for you, just say the word.”

“Will do.”

He nods and limps off toward the corner of the lab he’s claimed for himself.

I take a bite of donut and walk toward one of the empty desks—the one farthest from Aang, who’s already scowling at me over his reading glasses.

“Morning.” Gretchen rolls from her desk and comes over to me. “Sleep well?”

I shrug.

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to.” She has an accent I hadn’t noticed before. It’s sort of Midwestern maybe.

“We haven’t really gotten to know each other.” I pull up my rolling chair and sit. “Where are you from?”

“Missouri,” she says. “A tiny town outside Kansas City.”

“Do you miss it?” I ask.

“Oh.” She rolls back and forth a little. “Sometimes, yeah, I guess. But I’ve been gone so long now, it feels like I was in school for more of my life than I lived at home.”

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