“There was a… disappearance recently
“I don't... “There was a… disappearance recently
“I don't understandA disappearance?”
“It could have been an accident… but there might be…” He hesitated, unwilling to say the
word“Humans may be in this area
“Humans?” I squeaked, too loudHe heard the fear in my voice and interpreted it the only way
he could
“There's no proof of that, Leaves AboveNo sightings or anythingBut
youshould proceed on to Phoenix without unnecessary delayOr maybe Tucson? That would be closer
“There's no dangerYou can continue with your
balenciaga designer plans
“If you're sure, Seeker…”
“I'm quite sureJust don't go wandering off into the desert, FlowerThe expression
warmed his face, making it kindJust like all the other souls I'd dealt withHe wasn't
anxiousabout me, butfor meHe wasn't listening for liesAnd he probably wouldn't recognize
them if he was
“I wasn't planning on it I smiled back at him“I'll be more carefulI know I couldn't fall
asleep now I glanced at the desert out Jared's window with a wary expression, so the Seeker
would think that fear was making me
chanel top alertMy expression tensed into a taut mask as I caught
sight of a pair of lights reflected in the side mirror
Jared's spine stiffened at the same time, but he held his pose
My eyes darted back to the Seeker's face
“I can help with that,” he said, still smiling but looking down now as he fumbled to remove
something from his pocket
He hadn't seen the change in my faceI tried to control the muscles in my cheeks, to make them
relax, but I couldn't concentrate hard enough to make it happen
In the rearview mirror, the
miu miu clutch headlights got closer
“You should not use this often,” the Seeker went on, searching the other pocket now“It's not
harmful, of course, or the Healers wouldn't have us give it outBut if you use it frequently, itwill
alter your sleep cycles
The lights slowed as they approached
Just drive by,I begged in my headon't stop, don't stop, don't stop
Let it be Kyle at the wheel,Melanie added, thinking the words like a prayer
“Miss?”
I blinked, trying to focus“Um, Awake?”
“Just inhale this, Leaves Above
He had a thin white
costume jewelry chanel aerosol can in his handHe sprayed a puff of mist into the air in front of my
faceI leaned forward obediently and took a sniff, my eyes darting to the mirror at the same
time
“It's grapefruit scented,” the Seeker said“Nice, don't you think?”
“Very nice My brain was suddenly sharp, focused
The big moving truck slowed and then idled on the road be-hind us
No!Mel and I shouted togetherI searched the dark floor for one half second, hoping against
hope that the little pill would be visibleI couldn't even make out my
omega pocket watches fee