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His chin lifted, not much, just enough of a reaction to tell me I’d caught him off guard and that he didn’t like it. A pleasant smile erased the look and he eased back in his chair.
“It is an experiment, Chloe. I know how that must sound, but I assure you, it’s a noninvasive study, using only benign psychological therapy. ”
Benign? There was nothing benign about what had happened to Liz and Brady.
“Okay, so we’re part of this experiment…. ” I said.
“Being a supernatural is both a blessing and curse. Adolescence is the most difficult time for us, as our powers begin to manifest. One of the Edison Group’s theories is that it might be easier if our children don’t know of their future. ”
“Don’t know they’re supernatural?”
“Yes, instead allowing them to grow up as human, assimilating into human society without anxiety over the upcoming transition. You and the others are part of that study. For most, it has worked. But for others, such as you, your powers came too quickly. We needed to ease you into the truth and ensure you didn’t harm yourselves or anyone else in the meantime. ”
So they put us into a group home and told us we were crazy? Drugged us? That made no sense. What about Simon and Derek, who’d already known what they were? How could they be part of this study? But Derek clearly was, if what Brady said was right.
What about that thing calling us Dr. Lyle’s creations? What about Brady and Liz, permanently removed from this study? Murdered. You don’t kill a subject when he doesn’t respond well to your “benign psychological therapy. ”
They’d lied all along—did I really think they’d fess up now? If I wanted the truth, I needed to do what I’d been doing. Search for my own answers.
So I let Dr. Davidoff blather on, telling me about their study, about the other kids, about how we’d be “fixed” and out of here in no time. And I smiled and nodded and started making my own plans.
Five
WHEN DR. DAVIDOFF WAS done with the propaganda, he took me to see Rae, who was still in that makeshift game room playing Zelda. He opened the door and waved me in, then closed it, leaving us alone.
“Game time over?” Rae said, turning slowly. “Just let me finish—”
Seeing me, she leaped up, controller clattering to the floor. She hugged me, then pulled back.
“Your arm,” she said. “Did I hurt—?”
“No, it’s all bandaged up. It needed some stitches. ”
“Ouch. ” Rae took a long look at me. “You need some sleep, girl. You look like death. ”
“That’s just the necromancer genes kicking in. ”
She laughed and gave me another hug before plunking back down in her beanbag chair. Despite our long night on the run, Rae looked fine. But then Rae was one of those girls who always looked fine—perfect clear copper skin; copper eyes; and long curls that, if they caught the light right, glinted with copper, too.
“Pull up a box. I’d offer you a chair, but decorators these days?” She rolled her eyes. “So slow. When the renovations are done, though, you won’t recognize the place. Stereo system, DVD player, computer…chairs. And, as of tomorrow, we’re getting a Wii. ”
“Really?”
“Yep. I said, ‘People, if I’m helping you with this study of yours, I need a little love in return. And a GameCube ain’t gonna cut it. ’”
“Did you ask for a bigger TV, too?”
“I should have. After the whole Lyle House screwup, they’re tripping over themselves to make us happy. We are going to be so spoiled here. Of course, we deserve it. ”
“We do. ”
She grinned, her face glowing. “Did you hear? I’m a half-demon. An Exhaust—Exustio. That’s the highest kind of fire demon you can be. Cool, huh?”
Being a half-demon was cool. But being a half-demon lab rat, teetering on the brink of extermination? Definitely not cool. As much as I longed to tell her the truth, though, I couldn’t. Not yet.
Just last night, Rae had been lying on her bed at Lyle House, trying to light a match with her bare fingers, desperate for proof she had a supernatural ability. Now she’d discovered she was a special kind of half-demon. That was important to Rae in a way I couldn’t understand—in a way that I just had to accept until I had more proof that this wasn’t the best thing that ever happened to her.
“And you know what else?” she said. “They showed me pictures of my mom. My real mom. None of my dad, of course, being a demon. Kind of freaky when you think about it. Demons aren’t exactly…” For the first time, worry clouded her eyes. She blinked it back. “But Dr. D. says that it doesn’t make you evil or whatever. Anyway, my mom? Her name was Jacinda. Isn’t that pretty?”
I opened my mouth to agree, but she kept rambling excitedly.
“She used to work here, like Simon’s dad. They have pictures of her. She was gorgeous. Like a model. And Dr. D. said they might even know where to find her, and they’re going to try. Just for me. ”
“What about your adoptive parents?”
The clouds descended again, lingering longer, and I felt bad, being the one to bring her down. First telling Liz she was dead, then making Brady relive his final evening, now reminding Rae of her parents…I was trying to get answers to help all of us. But it felt cruel.
After a moment, Rae said, “They aren’t supernaturals. ”
“Oh?”
“Nope, just humans. ” She gave the word an ugly twist. “They said when my mom left here, she cut off all ties with the group. Somehow I got put up for adoption. Dr. D. says that must have been a mistake. Jacinda loved me. She’d never have given me up. He says that story my adoptive parents told me, about her not being able to keep me, was a lie, and if the Edison Group had known about the adoption, they’d have found me parents like us. By the time they tracked me down, though, it was too late, so all they could do was monitor me. When they found out I was having problems, they contacted my adoptive parents and offered me a free stay at Lyle House. I bet it’ll probably be weeks before my folks even notice I’m not there anymore, and then they’ll just breathe a big sigh of relief. ”
“I can’t see—”
“I was at Lyle House for almost a month. Do you know how many times my parents came to visit? Called?” She held up her thumb and forefinger in an O.
“Maybe they weren’t allowed to visit. Maybe they left messages that you never got. ”
Her nose scrunched. “Why wouldn’t I get them?”
“Because your adoptive parents aren’t supernaturals. Having them interfering would complicate things. ”
Her eyes grew distant as she considered this. A spark flickered through them—hope that she’d been mistaken, that the only parents she’d ever known hadn’t abandoned her.
She gave her head a sharp shake. “No, I was trouble, and Mom was glad to get rid of me. ” Her hands gripped the beanbag tight, then released it and patted out the creases. “It’s better this way. I’m better this way. ”
Better a special half-demon embarking on a new life than a regular girl, sent back to her regular life with her regular parents. I reached over and took her game controller.
