Page 93 of Strange Lights

A little voice in my head. Clearer, louder than before, insisting I pay attention. Never alone. Tether, together, tether. We are together.

The answer to beating my mother is obvious. I do the opposite of what she’s counting on me to do. The opposite of what she would do. Secrecy, distrust, discord. Adele has always worked alone and has always worked to keep me that way. Isolated.

Tethers, the one thing that separates me from her. The one thing I can cling to that proves I am not my mother. Our genetic code might be the same, but she and I are not the same. So I will tell them everything, tell them the worst about me and trust they can see through it to the better parts. Adele may hold more cards alone than I do, but I have a deck of friends, allies, and family that she lacks.

“There’s something you should know about me before we go any further. You all already know Meredith and Zara aren’t Adele’s children by birth or even genetics.”

“And you are, Reggie,” Zara says. “We’ve all figured that much out; it’s kind of obvious. You realized that a long time ago, even if you never said anything.”

“I’m not her daughter. I’m her clone. Everything Adele is, I am too. Her magical signature, her blood, her DNA. I am the same in every way.”

There’s a ringing silence and then⁠—

“Well, fuck, that clears up so many of my questions,” Zara says, eyes unfocusing as she seems to shuffle through childhood memories. “I feel stupid for not thinking of that.”

“Sounds like a reckless experiment Mom would do,” Meredith says nonchalantly.

“You aren’t Adele; you aren’t the same,” Calvin says fiercely, something he said last night too.

“He’s right,” Gemma says. “If you want proof, look at your hands. You’ll have different fingerprints. Even identical twins have different fingerprints.”

Luca snorts. “What, you thought everyone would abandon you because of your genetics? Something you have absolutely no control over? Something that isn’t your fault at all? Sounds about right.”

Just like that, my deepest secret is no longer mine alone. They all know. And no one cares. Incidental information unless they can turn it into a helpful tool. I’m reeling, trying not to let it show. It’s not like I expected to be entirely kicked out of this mission, but I expected some resistance. I was ready for a fight. I mean, it hadn’t entirely escaped my notice that I have people on my side lately. But it’s a shock to realize how easily I might have had them all along. It’s a shock to realize how many allies I have. How wrong I’ve been all these years.

“It’s why she could steal the Gauntlet from me in the first place. But if we go back there, I can fight her now. I can get the Gauntlet away from her. No matter what she has up her sleeve, I can stop it, rescue the rest of the Chupacabra children she’s taken. Then we can peacefully resolve this and return the lost children to their parents. Let her destroy herself trying to form another magical conduit, a weapon to kill the Chupacabras.”

“What makes you think you can achieve all that?” Zara says.

“I won’t just hold her back. I’ll give her a shove.”

“She overpowered you before. Why do you think you could win this time? We can’t afford to gamble. What if she succeeds in using you, accessing your magic through you?”

When our eyes meet, we’re both back in that moment so long ago. As Adele forced me to turn the Gauntlet on Zara.

“Because I have one thing she never will. Tethers. That’s why I could win this time. She has no one on her side. I have all of you.”

“And we could get a lot more people on our side really quickly,” Calvin says.

Zara catches on first, looks to Wolff with a grin. “Today’s your lucky day, babe. I know how you feel about full disclosure. We might not be breaking the news about aliens, but we have plenty of other gossip no one’s heard yet.”

Wolff looks like Christmas has come early.

Zara turns to Calvin, Luca, and Orion. “So, wolf-boys and lizard-kid, how do you all feel about throwing together a live stream?”

Interlude

Teaser Trailer

Transcript and description of the video uploaded to Calvin’s Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at 2:57 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2:

[Video opens on Calvin in selfie mode, inside a Winnebago unfamiliar to his followers, the radio playing upbeat pop music. Several long scars are visible across his face. He grins.]

Calvin: Well, followers, long time no see. I’m sure you’ve noted my absence. It was for good reasons, which I’ll be explaining at length tonight, Wednesday, July 2, at 6:00 p.m. PST. Leave work early. You’ll want to see this one, I promise. I have some stories to tell.

[Calvin points to the scars on his face and winks before the camera flips.]

Calvin: And some friends for y’all to meet.