| PART EIGHT I pushed Alex behind a newspaper booth before Lonnie, Rath or Nicholas could see me. “You mean Nicholas, as in let’s-make-all-the-humans-go-poof-so-I-can-find-and-kill-the-aliens Nicholas?” Alex asked. “The one and only. We have to figure out what’s going on,” I rushed. Alex nodded and looked over my shoulder. “They’re talking about something important,” he began. “Lonnie and Rath are totally serious. And Nicholas looks really pissed. He’s practically yelling at them.” I turned around and peeked at them. Alex was right. It looked almost like Nicholas was lecturing them. Then I remembered what Ava said. “They’ll do anything to get home,” I said turning to Alex. “That’s what Ava said. They must be cutting a deal with Nicholas.” Alex was shaking his head and looking at them. “This is so not good. We’ve got to tell Max.” I nodded and took one last look at the three. “Let’s go,” I said, heading for the subway entrance. We ran the whole way back to the others. When we rounded the corner, they all stopped talking and looked at us. Ava was on a couch, Michael was leaning against the sidewall, and Max was sitting on the other couch with Tess on his lap. Everyone stood up and began asking questions. Alex and I were both out of breath and were trying to calm down so we could talk. Ava lead Alex to the couch and Michael headed over to me. “What’s going on?” Max asked. He looked between us, but avoided my gaze. “We saw Lonnie and Rath…” I started, pointing behind me. “They were with Nicholas,” Alex finished. Everyone looked shocked and looked from me to Alex. “We’re not making this up,” Alex said. “Do you know what they were talking about?” Tess asked. We shook our heads. “It didn’t look good though. It’s like they were striking some kind of deal,” I added. “I told you they’d do anything to get home,” Ava said, shaking her head in disgust. No one spoke for a while. Max was deep in thought. Tess kept looking at me, obviously worried about me being around him. Alex was slumping forward, leaning his head in his hands. Ava was staring into space. Michael was leaning against the wall again. I was standing near the entrance to the tunnel, keeping lookout for Rath and Lonnie. Then Michael came and stood by me. My heart sped up a little and I felt my cheeks grow hot as I remembered what Alex had said. “You okay?” he asked roughly. I looked up at him and nodded. “Good.” His face was hard and I realized he was angry with me. As he began to back away, I caught his arm and he looked to me again. “I’m sorry about yelling earlier,” I said quietly, “I know you were just trying to help. I just needed to get away.” Please let him forgive me. He nodded, his expression softening slightly. “It happens.” I let go of his arm and we remained facing each other. His chest lifted slowly as he breathed, and I could see his muscles through his shirt. My eyes trailed to his arms and then hands, each so strong. I fought the urge to reach for him. “I told him about the granolith,” Michael said in a hushed voice. My eyes shot up to his, suddenly afraid again. “And?” He looked at me for a moment before replying. “You don’t have to tell him anything. He believes me. He says it makes sense. You know, that it’s so powerful. And he won’t use it as a bargaining tool.” I released a breath of relief. I smiled at him and he gave me a half smile in return. My heart soared when he smiled at me like that. Michael’s face grew angry suddenly. “I also found out why he left. Lonnie told him about Vilandra.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “That’s not all though,” he said, crossing his arms. “Max approached Isabel and they got into a fight about it. Then I showed up.” “That doesn’t make any sense Michael,” I replied quickly. “You said you didn’t know why he left.” “Max didn’t fight with me and Isabel,” he said. “He fought with Lonnie and Rath. They impersonated us.” My eyes grew wide as I absorbed the information. It made perfect sense. They needed Max to come to the summit. What better way than to divide him and his family? “Does …” “Max know?” he finished. I nodded. “Yeah, we figured it out.” “Hey guys, we need to talk,” Max called. Michael turned and we headed to the others. “So what happens now?” Tess asked, turning to Max. He sighed and looked at each of our faces. When he looked at me, he glanced away quickly. “I go to the summit, I guess,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I already passed the test and contact with the other worlds would be good. We need to find out as much as possible about the war.” Everyone nodded and Michael asked, “When is the summit?” “This afternoon,” he replied. “I’m guessing I won’t be going,” Michael commented grimly. Max looked at him with a downcast face. “No, you won’t. They only want four and we probably shouldn’t push Rath or Lonnie and their tempers. Especially if they’re scheming with Nicholas. They need to be in our sight at all times.” Michael looked away, obviously upset. “Yo! What’s this?” Everyone turned to see Lonnie and Rath at the entrance. And boy did they look pissed. I glanced to Max, hoping he’d take the lead. He looked a little flustered. “You havin' a party?” Rath asked, stepping closer. He looked at everyone else before looking at me. He grinned slyly and nodded his head suggestively at me. As if I’d ever go for that. “They were worried so they came to check on us,” Max said from behind me. Lonnie sauntered up behind Rath and looked down at me. “And what do you have to be worried about?” I suppressed the urge to shudder and turn away. She’s so intimidating. “When you guys disappeared without telling us anything, we kinda had reason to worry,” Michael said, coming up behind me. Lonnie smiled tightly at him. “You worry too much,” she replied. Although I couldn’t see his face, I knew Michael was glaring at her. “That’s enough, you two,” Max interjected. King to the rescue. Lonnie smirked at Michael before turning her gaze on Ava. “Look who finally decided to show up.” Ava’s jaw clenched. Rath snickered and added, “Nice clothes.” She turned away. “Anyway,” Lonnie said, looking at Rath with annoyance, “it’s time to get ready. Summit starts soon.” Everyone turned to Max, who took a deep breath and picked up his coat. “Let’s go,” he replied. He turned to Michael. “Yeah, I know,” Michael said. “We’ll wait here for you.” It was obvious to everyone how unhappy he was with being left behind. Max nodded and followed Tess, Lonnie, and Rath as they started for the entrance. As he rounded the corner, he and Tess glanced back at me. His eyes lingered on me and Tess turned to him. The sadness and worry in her eyes was evident. She took his hand in hers and he looked down, a small smile on his lips. When they turned back to me, I smiled, letting them know I was happy for them. They returned my smile and continued on their way. After they left the rest of us sat quietly, wondering how long we would have to wait. |