Reid was pacing again. He knew it was an annoying habit to those around him, but he just couldn’t be still when something was bothering him. And something was definitely bothering him. His conscience prickled and he shoved back the memory that was trying to push its way to the front of his thoughts…not that he wouldn’t like to sit and think about kissing ‘Mara,’ but standing outside Michael’s office waiting to talk to the one person who said not to get attached to this girl was hardly the time to dwell on breaking that rule.
He spun around and started back down the path he’d dictated for himself. Headquarters was located underground in natural caves that had been discovered before the Revolutionary War. Over the years, as the group grew, they had been excavated to make room. Now there were so few members that at certain times you could wander the maze-like halls and not see a single person. The hallway where Michael’s office was located was a large tunnel, one of the originals. The walls were worn smooth now and sconces were spaced evenly between massive carved doors. Each one led to a different room, serving a different purpose: training, storage, even bedrooms for those who worked from headquarters. There were some Reid hadn’t even been in and had no idea what was in them.
The enormous wooden door swung open. Jonathan Richards walked out, nodding in response to something Michael had said.
“I’ll get started on that immediately,” Jonathan nearly ran into Reid as he turned. “Hello, Reid,” he said as he hurried away.
“Reid, come on in.” Michael gestured him into the office. Enormous bookcases lined the walls; a few were even carved out of the stone themselves. Books of every color and size lined them. Most were historical texts and several were in French. Reid had more memories than he could count of sitting in one of the wingback chairs that scattered the room and carefully leafing through those volumes, studying for some test or other. There were very few empty spaces among the books, and in those were large crystals of varying colors, some were even rough, uncut gemstones. Someone had discovered long ago that certain ones enhanced a person’s natural dream walking ability. A large amethyst sat on a pedestal, spotlighted by a small lamp. It seemed to glow from within, pulsating as its energy guided those who were in the dream world.
Reid plopped into his favorite chair, the one with a slightly frayed arm from him picking at it as a child. Michael sat down behind his large walnut desk. He straightened a small stack of papers before pressing his fingertips together and eyeing Reid. Reid felt an overwhelming need to confess everything but clamped his mouth shut against it. Michael had said to use whatever means necessary to gain the girl’s trust. Somehow he didn’t think that had included making out with her though. Reid remembered vividly how soft her lips had been, tasting faintly of some kind of berry…strawberry perhaps?
Shaking his head to clear it he concentrated on the task before him. “I’ve got enough information to find the girl. She attends a private school in Garden City, New York.”
Michael pulled his hands apart and clapped, a wide grin on his weathered face. “Excellent! How soon do you think you can locate her?” He pulled a drawer open and began to sort through several files, pulling out a number of different papers.
Distracted by what Michael was doing, Reid had to think for a moment. “Umm…it shouldn’t take too long. The school is relatively small and I’m almost positive she’s a senior.”
Nodding, Michael shuffled through the papers, muttering to himself. Seeming satisfied, he handed the stack to Reid, who took them hesitantly. “What are these?” As he flipped through them he saw a transcript with his name and perfect grades from some school he’d never heard of, let alone attended, along with several teacher references raving about his enthusiasm for learning and willingness to help. There was also a utility bill addressed to ‘William and Rita Jones’ at some address in Garden City. A small synopsis of who these people were rounded out the stack.
“How did you know where I would be going?” Reid was a little weirded out.
“Oh we have aliases set up all over the US,” he said, waving off Reid’s concerns. “You’ll need those to enroll at the school. Since it’s a private school we’ll need to set up an account to pay the tuition.”
“Enroll?” The idea had never occurred to Reid and he wasn’t sure if he liked it.
“Yes. It may take a few days to find this girl. You have to be 100% positive it’s her. It will be easiest if you pose as one of the students. That way no one will question your presence or any questions you ask.” Leaning back in his chair, Michael’s grin widened, like he was giving Reid some great gift.
Skipping high school was one of the few things Reid wasn’t sorry he’d missed in all his training. Since he’d never attended a regular school, having been tutored by various members of the knights, his only information was drawn from the few movies he’d seen. They drew a pretty bleak picture: bullies beating up weaker kids, teachers that didn’t care, subpar education. Reid’s training kicked in as he reigned in his instinct to whine about the decision. It was already made and logically it made sense…that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Michael made a note to himself then picked up the phone. After a quiet conversation where Reid picked out only a few words, small apartment, and under the radar, he hung up. “There, we’re all set. I will send you your new driver’s license before you leave. You’ll be going by Reid Jones. I figure it’s always easiest if you keep your real first name for the first couple of undercover missions. Causes less confusion.” He scribbled an address on another sticky note and handed it to Reid. “This is where you’ll be staying while you’re there.”
Reid stood, a little unsure if he was being dismissed or not. “Umm…how will I get there?” The question sounded juvenile but luckily Michael understood.
“Oh, yes, you might need some transportation.” He dug around in a drawer for a second before pulling out a set of car keys. “You can take the Buick.”
Reid took the keys, slightly disappointed. It would have been nice to get a better car but once again he denied his natural whiney reaction and headed home. Once home, he found a large duffel bag in the back of one of the closets. His mother was not home, presumably out on Somniun Vigilor business, but there were neat stacks of clean laundry on his bed. He placed them all in the bag and pulled the few things left in his drawers out as well.
He hoped he’d be able to pull this off. He had such little experience with people his own age and was more than a little unsure how he supposed to act. The hazy outline of ‘Mara’ flashed across his vision. He had so little information to go on: long brownish hair and fair skin. And as one of them was usually sitting down when they were together, he had no idea how tall she was. I think I can be pretty sure she’s shorter than me…though that doesn’t take much for a girl. His six foot frame pretty much guaranteed he was taller than her.
Looking down he realized he was done packing. The bag was pitifully empty. I have a feeling I’m gonna have to pick up a few things when I get there in order to fit in. From what he’d learned, Silverton Prep was a pretty exclusive school. Sighing, he zipped the bag and threw it over his shoulder, took a deep breath and walked out the door towards his new life, however temporary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you've enjoyed my story so far!
YOU ARE READING
Let Her Sleep (Dream Walker Chronicles #1)
Teen Fiction(Formerly known as Dream Walkers!) Coming out November, 2014! Cordelia Jameson has met the boy of her dreams...too bad he's only in her dreams! In modern New York, seventeen year old Cordy learns she can enter and manipulate dreams, triggering two...
