Shift

SEVENTEEN.2

Mrs. Lee, who had been standing tentatively in the entryway, crossed the hotel room in a few long strides and pulled her daughter into a hug. Kayden could smell her perfume and feel the soft fabric of her shirt rubbing against her face.

Kayden couldn't help it; she tightened her grip on her mother, remembering with sudden clarity how she had felt locked in the janitor's closet, worried that she'd never see her again. Her mother tightened as well, and for a moment they just stood there, locked in each other's embrace.

When they finally pulled apart, Kayden appraised her mother silently. She was wearing khaki shorts, a simple shirt, and the pair of sandals that she liked to wear around the house. No purse, no luggage. And her eyes, green like her daughter's, looked more than a bit frightened.

There was one other person who had entered the room: a tall man with grey hair and a black suit. He held the room key in one hand and a briefcase in another. His mouth was a line.

"Hello, Father," Kayden heard Blaze say. He had stood up from the couch, but made no effort to cross the room.

Silas Merg glanced at Kayden's mother before turning back at his son. "Let's go to one of the bedrooms." And without waiting for a reply, he disappeared down the small suite hallway. Blaze screwed his eyes shut for a minute and took a breath before following his father. Kayden heard the door to one of the bedrooms click shut.

There was a moment of silence, in which Kayden realized, for the first time, how crazy everything had gotten in just a few days.

"How did you get here Aunt Karen?" Lexi asked, standing up from the couch.

"Lexi," Mrs. Lee said, pulling her niece into a hug. When she let go, she had a strange look on her face. "I was... transported here." The word sounded odd on her lips, Kayden thought, like some foreign word that she wasn't sure how to pronounce. "About twenty minutes ago, I was just doing the dishes, trying to keep my mind off things. I was worried sick about you two. You were gone for two days already, and Lexi left yesterday to go visit you at your father's and hadn't come back yet." She pursed her lips. "You were never at your father's, were you?"

"No, I wasn't," Kayden said, shifting her weight between her feet. She didn't like the way her mother was staring at her. She looked both disappointed and scared. Kayden had never seen those two emotions on her mother's face at the same time.

Mrs. Lee sighed. "So, one second I was doing the dishes, and the next I was in a room with a bunch of people in it. I started panicking, but a woman, Lira, told me to calm down. She said that they had brought me to a hotel, and that you and Lexi were here. She said you were safe." She looked at them carefully. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," Kayden reassured her. "Well, kind of. Do you want to sit down?"

Mrs. Lee settled down on the couch. Lexi sat on her one side, and Kayden sat on the other.

"Did Lira tell you about the magic shift?"

"She tried to tell me about it, but I had a hard time listening. I was just hoping you two were okay." She closed her eyes. "And when she started talking about magic... I thought she was crazy. She took a piece of chalk and drew this weird symbol on the table. And then she said something and a glass of water just floated to me from across the room—no strings or anything. I nearly had a heart attack. Then she told me to go with Mr. Merg up to this room to see you two." She paused and opened her eyes. "That's all I know."

Kayden didn't know what to say. She remembered when she had first arrived in Blaze's kitchen. She had already known about magic and was still terrified. She was impressed that her mom was holding herself together so well.