Page 12 of Entangled (Guardian Academy 2)

He doesn’t have to. I know.

If the wrong person finds out, I’ll probably end up dead in a field just like the fey.

Chapter 9

After Jax leaves the car to go tell Hadlee we’re leaving, I crack the window, slump back in the seat, and try to sort through what just happened. While I don’t know everything about the magical world, I’ve never heard of anyone being able to live other people’s memories. Reading minds, sure. There’s a spell that can do that. But actually living the memory, feeling what the person felt …

I shudder, reliving the awfulness. God, I hope that doesn’t happen often.

This is only the start, Alana … my grandpa’s voice appears again. The start of your gifts … the start of your curse …

“Curse?” I ask aloud. “What curse?”

Silence is my only answer.

I audibly sigh. “Where are you? And where do you go when you grow quiet like that?”

Nothing.

I sigh again and rest my forehead against the cool glass. So I’m cursed with a gift, but what gift? And if this is only the start, does it mean I’m not only just a Guardian? What lies ahead for me?

Maybe I can ask my parents.

No!

The word screams in my head, but I’m unsure if the thought was mine or my grandpa’s.

I get the message loud and clear, though, feel the severity all the way to my bones. Whatever is happening to me, it isn’t a burden I need to put on my parents, at least until I find out more.

By the time Jax climbs into the car, I’m sweaty, exhausted, and confused. Jax looks stressed out, too, his hair sticking up as if he raked his fingers through the strands at least a hundred times.

“Ready?” he asks, slamming the door and turning the key in the ignition.

The engine rumbles to life, and he shoves the shifter into reverse and backs out onto the road.

I straighten in the seat and draw my seatbelt over my shoulder. “I think I’d be more ready if you told me where we are going.”

“To see a friend of mine.” Once the car is on the road, he pushes the shifter into drive and moves forward in the opposite direction of the academy.

I refuse to look at the field as we pass by it, afraid of what I might feel.

“A friend who doesn’t live at the academy, I’m guessing.”

“Nope. He lives a few towns over.” He steers the car around a Jeep partially blocking the road then presses on the gas and peels out, leaving the bloody massacre in our tracks. “I don’t want to take you back to the academy just yet, not until we find out more about what’s going on with you.”

“And how do you plan on doing that? Because I have no clue what happened to me.”

“Me, either, but this friend of mine knows way more than I do.”

“Why? What is he?”

His knuckles turn white as his grip on the wheel tightens. “I’d rather not tell you until I get there.”

“Well, now you have to tell me or else I won’t go.”

“And how do you plan on doing that? By jumping out of the moving car?”

I shrug. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

He heaves a frustrated sigh. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you can’t freak out.” He pauses, deliberating, and his frustration morphs into curiosity. “Have you really jumped out of a moving car before?”

I hold up three fingers. “Three times, and I have a wicked scar on my thigh to prove it.” I lower my hand to my lap. “But don’t change the subject. Tell me what this guy we’re going to see is.”

He taps his fingers against the top of the steering wheel, restless and uneasy. “He’s an Enchanter.”

My fingers instantly seek the door handle as I seriously consider bailing, just jumping out of the car while it’s moving seventy miles an hour and letting the asphalt tear me apart.

“Alana,” he warns. “Stop thinking like a Keeper. Just because Oliver is an Enchanter, it doesn’t make him a bad person.”

“Yeah, but it does make him a person who can possess people’s minds.” I withdraw my hand from the door, but the idea of jumping out still sounds more appealing than lounging around with some dude who can turn me into his own personal puppet. Sure, their sorcerer blood makes them a walking magical dictionary, but I don’t know if I’m that desperate yet. “I’ve heard stories about Enchanters, terrible stories where they make people do horrible things.”

“And there are some Enchanters who will use their power for that kind of purpose, but I’ve known Oliver since we were kids, and he’s a good guy.” He removes a hand from the wheel and places it on my leg, right above my kneecap. “I need you to trust me on this, okay?”

I stare down at his hand. “Is the touching thing some sort of wolf persuasion tactic?”

“Maybe.” His lips quirk. “Is it working?”

I start to shake my head and lie, but then sigh. “Fine. I won’t judge Oliver until I meet him.”

“Good. I’m glad you see it my way.” He gently squeezes my knee.

I bite down on my tongue. “Fine. I’ll let you win this one.”

Instead of grinning, he frowns. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?”

“Ha, ha, you’re such a riot.” I slump back in the seat. “I’m just tired, okay? It’s been a long morning.”

“Just promise me you’ll tell me if you start feeling strange.” Worry laces his tone. “We have no idea what happened to you, so we don’t know if there are going to be any side effects.”

I nod, agreeing that I will. Then we settle into small chitchat as we drive down miles of desolate highway and pass through quaint, little towns.

I want to talk about what happened, try to figure out more before we get to this Enchanter dude, but I have the impression Jax is purposefully avoiding the subject. I don’t know why other than perhaps he thinks we’re still at risk of someone eavesdropping on our conversation.

We’re just veering toward the outskirts of another town when my phone rings. I fish it out of my pocket, and my mood goes up a notch when I see the call is from Jayse, my cousin and best friend.

“Hey,” I answer. “I’m glad you called. I could really use Jayse-cheer-me-up time.”

“I must have read your mind.” Nervousness rings in his tone. “Look, Alana, I really wish I could say I called just to say hello, but this isn’t a friendly phone call.”

“Okay.” I stiffen, recalling the incident with the Transition Re-programmer. “What’s going on? You’re not in any trouble, are you? Because you’re only allowed to get into trouble when you’re with me.”

“No … well, not really, I guess.” He doesn’t sound too convincing. “It’s actually you I’m worried about.”

“Me? I’m fine,” I lie. “It’s you I’m more worried about. I mean, we still haven’t talked about that thing …” I leave the silent statement out there.

I never told Jayse that I know he’s been using a Transition Re-programmer and that I know he’s transitioning into something. He knows I think he’s keeping something from me, and he told me he’d tell me when he’s ready. Part of me hopes he’s ready to talk now, because I really want to understand what he’s going through, why he has been acting so distant lately. Another part of me hopes maybe he’ll wait until I’m a little more stable.

“I promise this has nothing to do with me,” he says. “It has to do with the territory clan of vampires.”

My thoughts float back to the fey’s memory …

A tattoo of a blood droplet with a silvery T is carved into the center. She’s part of the territory clan …

I flinch, coming out of the memory, hyperaware Jax is observing me instead of the road.

“Okay, what’s going on with them? And why are you telling me?”

“Because …” His nerves show through his uneven tone. “There’s a rumor going around that they killed a bunch of fey near the academy.”

“That may or may not be true,” I say, uncertain if I’m allowed to talk to him about the case.

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