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18
The hallways of the school were mostly empty. Nick had never been at school this late before, and the sounds of his footsteps echoed around him, causing him to flinch even as the walls vibrated with the music coming from the cafeteria.
A woman was walking toward him, her head bowed, dark hair hanging around her face, large sunglasses covering her eyes. She wore jeans and a thick coat, a large purse dangling off her shoulders. Who the hell wore sunglasses indoors at night? She must have been one of the chaperones, on her way back from the restroom.
He stopped where one hallway intersected with another, head swiveling. Looking left, he saw a pair of doors that led to the back fields of the school. Two people stood in front of the doors, their backs to Nick. He couldn’t see what they were doing, but they weren’t Dad, so he looked right.
There, at the other end of the hall, was Dad.
He was pacing back and forth, shoulders stiff, phone still pressed against his ear. Nick hurried toward him, shoes squeaking along the linoleum.
A few other kids were standing near a row of lockers, the girls talking excitedly, the boys pretending to be cool and aloof with their suit coats hanging over one shoulder, chests puffed out like they were preening show dogs. None of them paid Nick any attention as he rushed by.
Dad raised his head at the sound of Nick’s approach. The blood drained from his face. He looked as if he were going to say something, but whoever was on the other end of the phone distractedhim. “Igetthat, Rook, but we can’t be too careful. I need you to call Cap, you hear me? Call Cap and tell him—”
“Dad?” Nick asked, out of breath as he stopped in front of his father.
Dad held up a hand. “I know, Rook. But I don’t think there’s much we can do about it now. It’s out of our jurisdiction. The police upstate will have to handle it until we get some idea of what he’s planning. Right. Right. Keep me in the loop. I’m going to stick around here, just to be safe. I don’t think he’ll show his face, but it’s better that we prepare.”
Prepare for what? Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.
Dad said, “Right. Talk soon. No, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you called. I’ll—” The phone beeped against Dad’s ear, and he frowned as he looked at the screen. “That’s … weird. I lost service. What the—” He shoved the phone in his pocket, shaking his head, scowl deepening. “Nick, what are you doing out here? Go back inside with your friends.”
“What happened?” Nick asked.
Dad hesitated. Nick could almost see the way his mind worked and the moment he decided to tell Nick some version of the truth. “It’s … probably nothing, okay? And there’s nothing we can do about it tonight, so go back inside.”
Nick glared at him. “Would you tell me?”
“Kid, I—”
“We talked about this, remember? No more secrets.”
Dad sighed, shaking his head. He looked exhausted, as if he’d aged years in the last ten minutes. “It’s Owen. He broke out of the hospital earlier tonight. I don’t know specifics because it’s still early, but Rook was at the precinct when the call came in. He hurt a few people on his way out. One of the hospital staff, they … it doesn’t look like they’re going to make it.”
No, no, no—“Burke,” Nick choked out. “It was Simon Burke who—”
Dad shook his head. “That’s what I asked, but no one knows anything right now. Maybe he had something to do with it, but doyou really think Owen would want anything to do with his father after what he did?”
Nick couldn’t breathe. His vision began to narrow as he gagged, bending over and clutching his waist. Bile rose in the back of his throat, acidic and hot. His brain shorted out, a synapse misfiring in an electrical snarl.
A hand on his back, strong and warm, rubbing up and down. “You’re okay,” he heard a voice say near his ear. “I’ve got you. Breathe, Nicky. Just breathe. In.In, kid. There you go—and—hold. One, two, three. Out. One, two, three. Again. Yeah, good. In—hold it—and out. Breathe with me. Big breaths. You got this.”
Nick gasped, sucking in air. His lungs expanded painfully, but his head started to clear, the fog dissipating slightly. “H-how did this happen?”
“I don’t know,” Dad said again. “He was supposed to be under constant watch. All those lights.” He paused. “Did Owen ever use his powers without the benefit of the pills?”
Nick shook his head, sweat trickling down his cheek. “He couldn’t. It was only because of the pills that he could do what he did. Why?”
“Because of the shadows,” Dad said quietly, still rubbing Nick’s back. “Rook said he was told that Owen used shadows to—it doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out. Regardless, there’s no way Owen could get back here tonight.”
“Bullshit,” Nick spat. “If he has his powers again, that means he can fly. For all we know, he’s on his way here right now. We have to tell the others.”
“Sure, Nicky. Yeah, we’ll do that, okay? Let’s take a moment to—”
“Hello, Nick!”
Nick and his father spun around, looking down the hall from where the greeting had come.
