Shift

FOURTEEN.2

They all squeezed inside the office and shut the door behind them. Kayden looked around the small space in disgust. She hadn't thought it'd be this bad. Objects were strewn about, piled up on each other like a landfill. She wouldn't have been surprised if she had seen a mouse scamper over all of the filth.

Kayden started clearing off a futon, and Vincent helped her, tossing potted plants and odd wooden contraptions onto the floor before sitting down next to her with a grin. Helio and Lexi shared a beanbag chair, while Marie took the one opposite of them with a dainty plié. But Blaze remained standing, his eyes on Walter's cluttered desk.

"Do you think he'd mind if I used his laptop?" he asked.

"Probably," Kayden said, but Blaze didn't listen. He took the computer off the desk and sat down on the floor. Kayden could just make out his desktop image: it was a black and white picture of a young couple in front of a sequoia tree.

As Blaze began typing, Kayden's eyes flicked up to Lexi. Her cousin's fingers were intertwined with Helio's, but her eyes were stuck on Marie. Kayden had never seen Lexi stare at someone so intently; it almost made her feel better, knowing that her cousin wasn't immune to jealousy. But if Marie saw her stares, she didn't seem to mind; she was too engrossed examining the office, her sapphire eyes sweeping across the cracked walls and cluttered floor.

"So," Vincent said, turning to look at Kayden more fully. "Where are you from?"

"New Jersey," Kayden said.

"Ahh Jersey. Was the shift bad there?" He looked interested, propping an arm up on the back of the futon to rest his head.

"Um, not insanely," Kayden made up. There was no point in telling Vincent that she was a non-er; she barely knew him and it was much too long of a story.

"Lucky for you." He glanced around the room. "So what are you doing here in LA? Did you come all the way for the Congregation meeting?"

"Kind of," Kayden admitted, shifting a little bit. She was unsure of how much to tell him. Her eyes flicked to Blaze, but he was still engrossed with the computer, and Lexi and Helio had struck up a half-hearted conversation with Marie. "Blaze and I got into a bit of trouble because of the shift."

"The thing on your wrist, right?"

At first Kayden was startled he knew, but then she noticed that the sleeves of her button-down were pushed up to her elbows, exposing her wrists. The green symbol was in full view.

Vincent smiled sheepishly. "Mind if I see?"

Kayden offered her wrist to him. Vincent turned her arm over gently, as if he were handling a fragile flower, to expose the pale underside. His hand felt warm and buzzed with magic, stronger than anything she had felt with Blaze. He must be really powerful, Kayden thought as a small rush ran through her body. Unbidden, Lexi's words from that morning played through her head: When we kissed, there were sparks. She suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss Vincent.

Vincent's dark curls obscured his eyes as he ran a finger over the green symbol. "What's with the mark? You can't undo it?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. Not unless the shift is reversed."

He whistled quietly. "There's no way that's going to happen, especially since this new book is out."

"We're going to find a way," Kayden said, taking her arm back. She glanced at Blaze on the floor, hoping that what she said was true. He didn't seem to have heard her; his eyebrows furrowed as he clicked links and scanned web pages, like an artist sorrowfully searching his muse.