Shift

TWENTY-TWO

Kayden immediately recognized Room 132 as she drew nearer; it was the conference room next door to the janitor's closet, the one they had escaped into after using the transparency spell on the wall. She shuddered as a sharp memory flashed through her mind and she took a deep breath before entering.

She had almost expected the room to be empty, that the note had been some stupid prank, but Helio was there all right, his thin frame just the wisp of a shadow in the dark corner. The fluorescent lights were off, but ambient lighting from the parking lot filtered in through the windows, painting the conference room in an odd orange-yellow light.

Helio's eyes were wide, white orbs in the darkness. "Shut the door," he said in a harsh whisper, gesturing with his hand. He was sitting at the large conference table in the corner, the seat farthest from the door.

Kayden shut the door and walked over to him, sitting in the chair beside him. She pulled out the note, crumpled and warm, and handed it to Helio. "What's going on?"

"Were you followed?" Helio asked. His voice was serious, with no hint of sarcasm.

Kayden felt her heart speed up, just for a moment. Followed? "Why would I have been followed? And no, I don't think so. I didn't bring Blaze or Lexi, if that's what you mean."

Helio let out a slow breath. Kayden half expected to see him lounge back in his usual nonchalant fashion, but he didn't move. His back was set a little too straight, and his eyes were locked on the table, as if he were trying to burn a hole through the wood with his mind.

"I'm not sure if this is going to work," he finally said.

Kayden stared at him. This was beginning to sound like a breakup, she thought. Not that she had ever experienced one. And not that she and Helio had ever been romantically involved. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to Lexi about this?"

"No!" Helio's eyes locked onto Kayden's. "Not to Lexi. Not to Blaze. You're the only one I can tell... and even that I'm not so sure about."

Kayden could feel her impatience rising. She tapped the table with her index finger. "Well then, tell me. Try it. I want to get to bed soon."

Helio looked like he was in pain. His neck was crooked oddly and he kept clenching and unclenching his hands, grasping at air. He finally turned towards Kayden and took a deep breath. "I... I've been under a spell."

Kayden blinked. "What?"

Helio held up a finger to silence her. His eyes widened and his left hand fluttered to his chest, gripping the wrinkled button-down tightly. She thought for a moment that he was having a heart attack, but after a second, he lowered his fingers.

And then he grinned, a manic smile that frightened Kayden. "I said it!" he said in victory, the smile widening. "I said it! Thank God!"

"Helio, what is going on?" Kayden demanded. "You've been under a spell?"

"Not just one spell. A couple," Helio explained. "And one of the spells was that I couldn't tell anyone about the spells... but I can tell you. Because you're a non-er!"

Kayden was growing to hate that word. "I've been called a non-er enough for one day," she muttered darkly.

"No, it's a good thing," Helio said, and for once, he sounded sincere. "I should start from the beginning."

"Yes. And please go slowly."

Helio nodded, pressing his hands down on the table. "It started a few months ago," he said. His voice was low. "My father thought it would be a good idea for me to get an internship with the Congregation right after graduation; he works for them and wanted me to get my foot in the industry as quickly as I could. I sent in the application, did a few interviews, and in the beginning of July I found out that I had gotten it." He frowned. "I also found out that when you become an intern for the Congregation, you are assigned to one of them. And I was assigned to Naven.