Capturing Today (TimeShifters Book 2) by Jessica Keller, Jess Evander Page B

Portals we know should be there.”
    Portals like the one Michael said is by my house. “How are the Shades doing it?”
    He rubs his knuckles against his jaw line. “The better question is why . See, they’re not supposed to feed off the despair of Shifters. It’s against the rules, but they aren’t playing by the rules anymore.” He drums his fingers on the desk like a college professor. “What would push them to do that?”
    Probably the same thing that’s pushing me to break the rules.
    I lick my lips. “Desperation.”
    “Exactly.” He turns away from the desk and stalks toward the middle of the room. “And none of this was happening until you shifted the first time. I have a hard time believing the timing is a coincidence.”
    So I’m to blame for the problems in the shifting world? Great. Really. Because I needed one more tick against me. Let’s add it to my list. Can’t take care of my father? Check. Failed to make my Pairing work? Double check. Made a deal with my sworn enemy? Check. Am to blame for Portals being destroyed and the Shades becoming powerful? Check again. 
    Not to mention, this means that a bunch of Shifters might still be afraid of me. So walking around Keleusma should be about as awesome as it was for me last time. Which was not at all.
    I rise from the chair and pace away from Eugene. “I need to get back to Michael. I promised him I’d be there when he woke up.” Granted he’s only been asleep for a half hour or so, but if he has shell shock like Darnell guesses, then I want to be there if he freaks out.
    “If you wait a second, I can walk with you.” Eugene fishes through the paperwork on his desk.
    I push open the door. “Don’t rush. I’m going ahead alone.”
    Like always.

 

    Eugene shoves a pumpkin muffin into my hand at the last moment, mumbling something about blood sugar levels, acting as if I’d donated a quart instead of a few vials. The muffin is lopsided, probably from being crammed in a little brown bag in Eugene’s coat pocket for who knows how long. For the record, coat pocket muffin is ten times more appealing than the stuff being offered the past few days on the battlefields of World War One.
    I peel off the wrapper and bite into the best part of Keleusma while I head down the hall.
    Okay, the muffin is not the best part. Close but not the best. But I’m hungry, so right now this half-stale crumbling bakery item is heaven. I lick my fingers and toss the wrapper into one of the waste bins spaced periodically in the long hallways. The finger licking was a terrible idea. I haven’t showered since getting back to Keleusma.
    I planned to head straight back to the medical ward, like I told Eugene, but my feet go in the opposite direction. Down a long corridor I once walked when I was forced to meet the Elders after I first shifted. Wow, that feels like ages ago. A sign that reads Offices leads me past the grand room with the glass ceiling where I met the four leaders last time.
    Now that I’m back in Keleusma and Michael’s on the mend, I need to resume my search for my mother. Erik seems like the logical source for information, but I’d like to avoid the whole go to Mónatos part unless I absolutely have to. If I can get answers here … if someone is willing to help me … No. Donovan won’t help me. He’ll only prove why the Shifters can’t be trusted.
    Perhaps that’s why I’m doing this. For confirmation.
    After hearing about the Portals and changes with the Shades from Eugene, I have to confront the Elders. Someone needs to. Tension from the last few days, from almost losing Michael, zings through my body—it needs a release. My goal isn’t necessarily to pick a fight with Donovan. But if it happens, it happens.
    A man dressed in teal—a member of Keleusma’s security team—stops me in the hallway. “Who you looking for?”
    I square my shoulders and clench my hands, ready for a fight. “Donovan Anderson.”
    “He’s the third door on