The Tower (46 page)

But then Mr. Baker looked down at me, smiling again as he said, “You will no longer be a civilian Guardian here, Adrian, because, by order of the Council, effective immediately, you are an Honorary Guardian Knight.”

“Knight?” I asked, wondering how Cindy felt about me becoming a Guardian Knight at fourteen years old.

“Honorary Knight,” corrected Mr. Baker.

“And that means what?” I asked.

“For the next three years, you will receive the full compensation, that is, the monthly pay, of a veteran Guardian Knight. And once you come of age, if you have not disgraced your position in any way, you will be permitted to join the Knights upon your request.”

“Does that mean I’ll also be sent on missions?” I asked, glancing at Cindy. She was still smiling, though it was wearing a little.

“Not until you come of age, and even then only if you officially join,” explained Mr. Baker. “Before that, you may be permitted to assist certain missions, but only if you choose to.”

“I like that,” I said quietly. “I like choices.”

“So, do you accept this title?” asked Mr. Baker.

“What title?” I asked.

Mr. Baker shook his head in exasperation. “Honorary Guardian Knight!”

“Oh. Yes,” I said. “I do. Thank you, Mr. Baker.”

Mr. Baker grinned and asked, “So, Adrian, how does it feel to be a hero?”

I instantly stopped smiling. “I honestly don’t know, Mr. Baker. Why don’t you go ask one? I believe you have a hero locked down in the basement.”

“Ah,” said Mr. Baker, the smile fading from his lips too. “About Terry...”

“Why is Terry still in jail?!” I demanded. “Hasn’t she been through enough?”

“Yes,” Mr. Baker said with a sigh. “She has been through more than enough.”

I gave Mr. Baker a puzzled look.

He sighed again and said gently, “You must understand, Adrian, that I do not hold Terry entirely accountable for her actions over the past year. Even though what she did led to the deaths of many of our Knights, I do not believe she should be too severely punished. Terry is a minor, and more importantly, she was merely trying to save her brother, just as you might have done for Catherine. I find Terry’s dedication very commendable, in fact.”

“Then why?” I demanded again.

Mr. Baker frowned. “Terry is still a potential threat to New Haven, Adrian. She has already proven that she would take extreme measures to prevent further harm to her brother. Again, commendable, but nevertheless dangerous to us. I cannot let her go free until we can be assured that she will never betray us again.”

“You’ll need a master controller for that, Mr. Baker,” I said dryly.

Mr. Baker’s frown deepened. “Unfortunately, you are probably right. Of course, we do not have, nor do I care to have, another master. But being without assurance of loyalty is one of our greatest weaknesses. It is a weakness that we must be constantly watchful of.”

I had a feeling the Guardian leader was throwing a subtle warning my way as he said that. I felt a touch insulted by it, but to be honest, I was no longer sure what principles I would be willing to sacrifice to retrieve Cat from the Angels. I could never betray Cindy or Alia, but beyond that, I wasn’t sure where my life was heading. I remembered how stubborn I had been about keeping my hands clean, and now I had killed someone with them. Would I kill again?

“You are,” said Mr. Baker, breaking into my thoughts, “of course, welcome to visit Terry at any time. But if you try to break her out of jail again, Adrian, you will join her in it. Know also that the secret exit has been destroyed. Now that we are certain the Angels know about it, we decided that it was a liability to us.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’d like to see Alia and Terry now, if it’s alright.”

Cindy, who had been leaning against the wall and silently listening to us, asked me, “Alia first, or Terry?”

“Alia,” I replied. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Terry.

“Shall I call her? Or do you want to go up?”

“I’ll go up.”

“Well, you certainly appear healthy enough to walk,” said Cindy, looking me over. “Let’s just call Dr. Pales and get his approval.”

Approval took nearly ten minutes. Dr. Pales insisted on making sure I could move “all seven” of my limbs, and all my fingers and toes as well. Then I thanked Dr. Pales for the bed and bid Mr. Baker goodbye.

As Cindy and I rode the elevator up from the healers’ office together, I noticed that Cindy had pushed the button for the thirty-fifth floor.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Oh, I haven’t told you yet,” said Cindy. “Our penthouse is being renovated for increased security.”

“Bulletproof glass?” I asked in mock-innocence.

Cindy nodded. “We’re temporarily in 3502. Well, that’s where
I’ve
been living, anyway. It’s been kind of lonely. Terry is in jail, you were out cold, and Alia, well, you can imagine where your sister’s been spending her nights.”

I remembered the stuffed unicorn on the spare bed in the healers’ office. “We should have brought her unicorn with us.”

Cindy smiled. “You’re the unicorn, Adrian.”

I looked away, embarrassed, and Cindy asked, “Didn’t Alia ever tell you that unicorn’s name?”

“I’m sure I don’t want to know,” I replied stiffly as we stepped out of the elevator at the thirty-fifth.

Cindy unlocked 3502, and I followed her in.

“Ali, I’m home!” Cindy called out. “Guess who I brought!”

Alia knew by my footsteps. Cindy laughed merrily as Alia jumped into my arms and I spun her around, quickly losing my balance and painfully falling down onto the living-room floor.

“Not quite as recovered as you thought you were, huh, Adrian?” said Cindy, helping me to my feet.

My sister was talking aloud and telepathically into my head at the same time, calling my name again and again. As embarrassing as it was, nevertheless I was enjoying our reunion just as much as she. Once we were calmer, we traded pendants, and I apologized to her for how I had shouted at her on the boat that night.

“I’m sorry I said those things, Alia. I really wasn’t mad at you, you know. I was just scared.”

Alia smiled and said aloud, “It’s okay, Addy. Everything was crazy. And you did save me from that fire.”

“You were amazing,” I said. “Terry was right to bring you after all. You saved her life.”

“We saved her life,”
corrected Alia, forgetting to use her mouth.

“Thanks for this too, by the way,” I said, tapping the right side of my head.

“I’m sorry it’s so messy,”
said Alia, looking sad.
“I can’t re-grow anything.”

“It’s okay,” I said with a shrug. “Actually, I haven’t even seen it yet.”

I walked to the bathroom mirror, Cindy and Alia following in my wake, visibly curious as to how I would react.

My right ear wasn’t damaged so much as it was missing. More than half of it had been torn away, leaving only the lobe and a bit of the upper part. The light-foot’s bullet, having nicked the right side of my head slightly below my eyes, had hit right inside my ear, tearing away the back.

“I’m no expert on plastic surgery,” said Cindy, “but there’s probably some way to restore it. Or at least some of it.”

“Maybe,” I replied, fingering what was left of my right ear. “But it’s not so bad, really.”

Cindy stared at me in the mirror. “Don’t tell me you’re going to refuse treatment for this too, Adrian. I’m sure it’ll be expensive, but...”

I turned to Cindy and smiled. “If someday Terry gets her arm back, I’ll have my ear fixed, okay?”

Cindy smiled too. “You really are a knight, aren’t you, Adrian?”

I turned away from her. Cindy loved embarrassing me like this. Alia giggled.

Then Cindy asked quietly, “Are you sure you want to live with a jagged ear?”

“I can still hear with it,” I replied. “It’s not that bad.”

“I suppose not,” agreed Cindy. “If you had been hit an inch more to your left, you wouldn’t be needing ears now.”

We laughed, and then Cindy said in a serious tone, “Adrian, I have to say something to you that... well, something I really don’t want to say.”

“What is it, Cindy?” I asked. “You’ve usually been straight and honest with me.”

“I don’t want to say it, Adrian, because I think what you did, that is, coming after me...” Cindy paused for a moment, as if groping around for the right words. “Adrian, what you did was dangerous, reckless, and cost you, Alia, and especially Terry very dearly. It was stupid, and I hope you never do it again. But what I really wanted to say is...”

“Yes?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Cindy smiled softly. “Thank you, Adrian. Thanks for coming after me.”

I grinned. “That’s what family does, right?”

“Right,” chuckled Cindy.

Then Cindy hugged Alia, saying, “You too, sweetie. Thanks for coming after me. But you better not do it again!”

Alia and I laughed, and then I said, “As long as you’re in such a good mood, Cindy, I think I’ll take this opportunity to tell you something, too.”

“Sure. What is it, Adrian?”

“Promise you won’t get upset?” I asked, grinning from ear to jagged ear.

“Never thought I’d hear that from you,” Cindy said cheerfully. “Lay it on me!”

“Okay, here it is, Cindy,” I said, my smile quite possibly widening beyond the reaches of my face. “I really, really, and I mean
really
hate your taste in clothes. I’m tired of dressing like a preschool girl. I want a whole new wardrobe, and I want to pick it out myself.”

Cindy stared at me for a moment. Then she suddenly exploded in a fit of laughter. Not fully understanding her reaction, I nevertheless laughed with her until my sides hurt, and when we finally stopped, Cindy said, “Okay, Adrian. You earned it. If you must, you may choose your own wardrobe.”

“Thanks,” I said, hugging her. “You’re the best!”

“But you have to pay for it yourself, okay?” said Cindy. “You’re a Guardian Knight now, so you won’t be needing an allowance from me anymore.”

“Deal!” I said, releasing her.

“You know, Adrian,” Cindy said slyly, “the main reason I bought girly clothes for you was because of this little girl.” Cindy patted Alia on the head once. “Back when you two first met, I thought she would be more comfortable around you if you looked like one of her dolls. But I never really expected you to put up with it for this long. After all, Alia got used to you pretty quickly.”

My jaw dropped. “I’ve been wearing this horrible stuff for two years, Cindy!” I cried, tugging on the front of my pink pajama shirt. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Cindy shrugged. “You never complained until now. And like I said, that was the
main
reason, not the only one. Personally, I think you look
absolutely lovely
in a dress, Addy.”

“Cindy!”

Alia and Cindy laughed hard enough to shake the building. I scowled at them both.

“Hey, don’t be mad, tough guy,” said Cindy. “You can buy all the manly clothes you like from now on. Just so long as you don’t get any more tattoos.”

“Now there’s an idea!” I grinned. “I think it’d be really cool to have a skull on my other arm. And maybe a dragon across my chest.”

Cindy looked horrorstruck. “You wouldn’t!”

“No promises,” I said evenly. I wasn’t about to get a tattoo, of course, but it felt good to pay Cindy back a little for her two-year joke. At least it was finally over.

I ate lunch with Cindy and Alia, showered, and then, having no more excuses to delay any longer, I rode the elevator down to the subbasement. I forbade my sister from coming with me. I was in no mood for an audience.

Now for the hard part,
I thought as I stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the holding block. The guard on duty, thankfully, wasn’t the pyroid I had blasted unconscious. He recognized me though and, with a curious smile, let me into the holding block.