Page 66 of Jinxed

‘I have to warn you that we take prank calls very seriously. This is going down as a warning on the recordof Miss Zora Layeni and her baku Linus354. Goodbye.’

Linus switches off the call and crawls back up Zora’s arm, as we stare at each other in disbelief. ‘Not registered?’ Zora’s eyes open wide.

‘They’ve wiped Jinx from the database,’ I say, frozen with shock.

‘That means Moncha Corp know he’s the rogue baku,’ says Zora, biting her lower lip.

I nod, tears welling up in my eyes. ‘Zora... they’regoing to destroy him.’

She leans forward and grabs my hand. ‘What are we going to do?’ asks Zora.

I blink, squeezing her fingers back tightly. Never have I been so grateful to hear the word ‘we’ in my life. ‘I need help. I need someone with at least a level 3 baku.’

Zora breathes out heavily, clutching level 2 Linus to her chest. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘I think... I think I need my teammatesback.’

ZORA PROMISES TO MEET ME AFTER school, and in the meantime calls me a car to take me to where Ithinkmy old teammates will be. We hug each other tightly before leaving.

‘Don’t worry,’ she tellsme. ‘We’ll get him back.’

The drive over to Companioneers Crescent disappears in a flash, and the car pulls up at the edge of the recreation ground.

I can see Team Tobias wrapped up in their brightly coloured coats, huddling up for a strategy session with red cups of coffee – or hot chocolate in Ashley’s case – steaming at their sides. I snuggle down into the collar of my down jacket, but thenforce myself to lift my head up high as I approach.

It’s Tobias who sees me first. He scrambles to his feet and the others follow, taking a defensive stance behind him.

‘What are you doing here?’ he demands. ‘Come to cheat some more?’

The insinuation stings, but I don’t let it get to me.

‘Please, guys... I need your help. Jinx is gone. They’re saying he never existed. But I think he mightstill be at Moncha HQ somewhere.’

‘Wait a second. You want us to help you?’ says Tobias, his hands on his hips. ‘You have some nerve, Lacey. You led us all on, letting us think you were a part of our team when really you were a wild card all along.’ He shakes his head. ‘You know what? If I was someone else – like maybe Gemma – I could be impressed by your ruthlessness. It’s impressive. But Ididn’t think you had it in you. So no, don’t come crawling back here for help now.’

I can’t take Tobias’s intense angry gaze any more, so I look at the other team members. But there’s no sympathy on their faces either. No one wavers. Not Kai, not River, who’s always sort of liked me, not Ashley, who remains stony-faced. They’re all strong behind their captain. They’re a proper team – tightlybonded, woven together, strong. I was the loose strand. Something that could be snipped off at any convenient moment.

I just didn’t expect to be the one holding the scissors and making the cut.

‘It was a mistake to come here,’ I say.

‘Damn right it was,’ grumbles Kai.

‘Come on, guys, we have a battle to prepare for,’ says Tobias.

Without another look, they spin around and walk out of therink, shutting out the lights as they leave, leaving me alone in the cold and the darkness.

* * *

I head home. There’s nothing left for me to do. There’s no way I can track Jinx. I can’t go back to Moncha HQ. Even worse, I don’t have anything to remember him by. He’s gone for ever.

I lock myself in my room and cry into my pillow, the fabric turning damp beneath my cheek. Mom asks me what’swrong, but I can’t bring myself to explain. Not yet.

I’ve done everything I can think of, and I’m exhausted.

Well,almosteverything.

Jinx is smart. More than that, he makes his own decisions.

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