Starlight (Book 1)

41: This Time, It Wasn't Me

I rubbed my eyes. I'd woken up early, unable to sleep despite the soft comforter of the guest room. Luckily for me, Irène was also an early riser, and cooked up some crêpes for me while I intermediately dozed off.

"I've never been a very deep sleeper," she told me as the pan sizzled. "The sound of the rain always wakes me up."

The storm continued all throughout the night and hadn't stopped yet. Droplets continually pounded and rattled the windows.

I looked up to slight vibrations, spotting Riley. His tired eyes and pyjama bottoms made it seem almost like he was sleepwalking. "You're up, Kat?" he asked gruffly. "I was just going to call Nia. She's supposed to check up on Peach again today before she heads off to work."

"She's working today?" Irène said. "What does she do for work, again?"

"She does the coding for some financial company. Even I'm not sure I totally understand it... anyway, maman, has there always been no service out here? I could have sworn I was able to send texts yesterday."

"You have no service?" I said, fishing my phone from my pocket. I tapped the screen, and sure enough, at the top were the words 'Searching for available networks.' I hadn't given it much thought when I woke up, but he was right. I'd texted Jax yesterday, and it was strange that I hadn't received any notifications during the night. "Huh, neither do I. Maybe there's a blackout?"

"Use the home phone, dear," Irène said. She set out the plate in front of me. "It's in the parlour, charging."

Riley disappeared for a moment, only to return with both phones in his hands. "The lines are dead. I tried calling Nia, and my cell. Nothing works."

"That makes no sense, chérie," Irène said. She bent over to press the buttons for him. "Cordless is practically long-lost technology now, but in my days, rotary phones were—" she stopped as the phone gave a low, electronic beep of refusal.

"You see?" grumbled Riley. "I'm going to wake Halley up."

In the time it took him to return, I finished my breakfast. Halley came stomping down the stairs, clearly unimpressed. "Look, there's a radio in my car. If you want to make me look paranoid, then I'll ask about the phone lines."

"You are paranoid. Paranoid of being judged by your colleagues," said Riley bluntly.

Halley gazed daggers at him, grabbing her jacket off the hook, the door slamming as she stalked to her truck without shoes or a single care in the world.

She returned a few moments later. By that time, the whole house had risen. Spotting me, she said, "It makes no sense. All the phones are down through Astral City, but the electricity is still working. Something is going on."

I stood up in an instant, packing up as quickly as I could. Riley rolled off the couch and we parted way with my grandparents.

It was time to act.

***

I had gotten home and pulled on my suit when a cacophony of noises tugged me from my buzzing thoughts. My nerves thrummed and I bolted towards my bedroom window, coming across a pile of people tumbling to my bedroom floor. Among the mess of arms and legs was Jax—wearing his leather jacket and a black fabric mask tied with a string—and Mirage.

Mirage flopped against the carpet like a fish out of water, groaning. "Found you."

I blanked. "What are you doing?"