hush-hush for the FBI. It was odd to see him out of his sharp suits and wearing festival gear of T-shirt and jeans, like seeing your head teacher on holiday. ‘Um, hi, Victor.’
‘Hello, Angel,’ he said solemnly, though I think he was teasing me. As a mind reader, he would know that I was terrified of him—not what he would do to me but what he would find out about me. It felt like a foretaste of the final judgement standing before the all-seeing, all-knowing Victor.
His lips quirked, his grey eyes crinkling a little at the edges. ‘You’ve got that wrong, Angel. I don’t know everything—far from it.’ He leaned closer. ‘I just make people think I do—gets results.’
I grinned and gave a theatrical shiver. ‘Works on me every time.’
Summer emerged from the tent carrying my dress and belt draped over one arm and shoes in the other. ‘These what you were looking for?’
‘Shoes! I’d forgotten about them.’ Just looking at those high heels made my arches scream but a girl has to sacrifice comfort for fashion when she is performing before Kurt Voss. I let out a little squeak of excitement. ‘This is just the best day of my life and I love you all to pieces!’
Will laughed. ‘Now we’ve got that settled, do you have time to tell us what the hell’s going on with you? Leave you five minutes and you have wormed your way to a dinner invitation with the hottest band on the planet and identified a suspect for your own soulfinder.’ He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. ‘I thought this was about me.’
I checked the time on Uriel’s watch. I had five minutes before I had to run back to the performers’ zone. There were dressing rooms available for artists that were much better than trying to wriggle into that dress in a metre-and-a-half-high tent. I plonked myself down on the grass and took a deep breath.
‘OK, here’s how it happened.’
When I finished my summary of the day, Victor was already on his phone.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘Texting my colleagues. If these guys are unregistered savants then they’re in danger and could be a risk to our community. I’m checking them against the grey list.’
‘Grey list?’ asked Alex. He was sitting with his legs and arms around Misty so she could use him like a backrest.
‘The one we keep off the Savant Net. Some people ask not to have their names out there.’
‘A secret annex to an already secret list,’ mused Alex.
‘Like being ex-directory,’ suggested Summer.
‘Good idea if you’re mega famous like Kurt,’ I said.
Misty threw a daisy at me. ‘“Kurt” is it now? On first-name terms, are you?’
I grinned and threw it back. ‘Absolutely. You should’ve seen me rub Jay’s face in it when I announced I was Kurt’s new BFF. He’s even let me back into the band on the strength of it. He couldn’t resist the ace chance to schmooze.’
That set off a round of not very flattering comments about my lead singer.
I jumped up and brushed off the seat of my leggings. ‘Sorry, guys, but I really have to go.’
‘Just a moment!’ Will grabbed my hand and tugged me to a stop. ‘I know you want to test out whether this Marcus guy is your soulfinder—of course you do—but promise me you’ll only do it when you are sure you’re in the clear. I don’t know how sensitive that psychic detection device can be.’
‘It picked up your telepathic messages to me when you were commentating on Alex’s debate at my school, Angel,’ said Misty. ‘Davis didn’t know at the time it was you though, so I guess it works in a largish room and is not very focused.’
Will nodded. ‘So best to be cautious, OK, sweetheart?’
There was so much going on, my head was whirling. I spelt out my agenda for them, tapping each finger. ‘Right—no irresponsible telepathy, check. Give one show-stopping performance to impress rock god, check. Avoid kicking Jay in the you-know-whats at after-show pizza party, check. Ditto to said
‘Hello, Angel,’ he said solemnly, though I think he was teasing me. As a mind reader, he would know that I was terrified of him—not what he would do to me but what he would find out about me. It felt like a foretaste of the final judgement standing before the all-seeing, all-knowing Victor.
His lips quirked, his grey eyes crinkling a little at the edges. ‘You’ve got that wrong, Angel. I don’t know everything—far from it.’ He leaned closer. ‘I just make people think I do—gets results.’
I grinned and gave a theatrical shiver. ‘Works on me every time.’
Summer emerged from the tent carrying my dress and belt draped over one arm and shoes in the other. ‘These what you were looking for?’
‘Shoes! I’d forgotten about them.’ Just looking at those high heels made my arches scream but a girl has to sacrifice comfort for fashion when she is performing before Kurt Voss. I let out a little squeak of excitement. ‘This is just the best day of my life and I love you all to pieces!’
Will laughed. ‘Now we’ve got that settled, do you have time to tell us what the hell’s going on with you? Leave you five minutes and you have wormed your way to a dinner invitation with the hottest band on the planet and identified a suspect for your own soulfinder.’ He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. ‘I thought this was about me.’
I checked the time on Uriel’s watch. I had five minutes before I had to run back to the performers’ zone. There were dressing rooms available for artists that were much better than trying to wriggle into that dress in a metre-and-a-half-high tent. I plonked myself down on the grass and took a deep breath.
‘OK, here’s how it happened.’
When I finished my summary of the day, Victor was already on his phone.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘Texting my colleagues. If these guys are unregistered savants then they’re in danger and could be a risk to our community. I’m checking them against the grey list.’
‘Grey list?’ asked Alex. He was sitting with his legs and arms around Misty so she could use him like a backrest.
‘The one we keep off the Savant Net. Some people ask not to have their names out there.’
‘A secret annex to an already secret list,’ mused Alex.
‘Like being ex-directory,’ suggested Summer.
‘Good idea if you’re mega famous like Kurt,’ I said.
Misty threw a daisy at me. ‘“Kurt” is it now? On first-name terms, are you?’
I grinned and threw it back. ‘Absolutely. You should’ve seen me rub Jay’s face in it when I announced I was Kurt’s new BFF. He’s even let me back into the band on the strength of it. He couldn’t resist the ace chance to schmooze.’
That set off a round of not very flattering comments about my lead singer.
I jumped up and brushed off the seat of my leggings. ‘Sorry, guys, but I really have to go.’
‘Just a moment!’ Will grabbed my hand and tugged me to a stop. ‘I know you want to test out whether this Marcus guy is your soulfinder—of course you do—but promise me you’ll only do it when you are sure you’re in the clear. I don’t know how sensitive that psychic detection device can be.’
‘It picked up your telepathic messages to me when you were commentating on Alex’s debate at my school, Angel,’ said Misty. ‘Davis didn’t know at the time it was you though, so I guess it works in a largish room and is not very focused.’
Will nodded. ‘So best to be cautious, OK, sweetheart?’
There was so much going on, my head was whirling. I spelt out my agenda for them, tapping each finger. ‘Right—no irresponsible telepathy, check. Give one show-stopping performance to impress rock god, check. Avoid kicking Jay in the you-know-whats at after-show pizza party, check. Ditto to said
Similar Books
