Free Forbidden by Syrie James, Ryan M. James Page B

orgasm, or the way he inhaled that bowl of mac-and-cheese like it was manna from heaven?”
    “Yeah, but don’t you think it’s weird that he’d never eaten anything good before he got here?”
    “Not really,” Erica replied. “He said he grew up on a strict diet.”
    “Okay, fine, but Alec has skills that should be beyond people our age,” Claire continued. “He’s a total prodigy at classical guitar. He got an A from a teacher who apparently only hands out Ds. And he seems to be fluent in both Spanish and Korean.”
    “So he’s a brilliant guy who grew up abroad, probably moved around a lot, and knows a few languages,” Brian said. “Big deal. That still doesn’t make him a vampire.”
    “I suppose you’re going to say he’s pale because he’s from the UK?”
    “Exactly!” Brian and Erica cried simultaneously.
    “So if he had nothing to hide yesterday, why did he run off before anyone could question or examine him?”
    Erica shrugged. “I don’t know. I wish we knew where he lives or at least his phone number, so we could call and check that he’s okay.”
    Claire stood and twisted her hands together, perplexed. “Something just doesn’t add up, guys. Even if you can explain away all those other things, the fact is, I saw those platforms hover for a moment in mid-fall before they tipped. I’m telling you, Alec held them up—somehow—with his mind , and he made them fall to the side. He may not be a vampire, but I think he’s… I don’t know … telekinetic.”
    “Telekinetic. Huh.” Erica nodded pensively as she crumpled up her cardboard food tray and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Well, Claire, if you have ESP, I suppose it is possible that Alec has some kind of mental super-power, too.”
    “Erica!” Claire shot her a silencing look and then glanced worriedly at Brian.
    Brian blinked several times, staring at them. “ Exqueeze me? I bacon your powder?”
    Erica heaved a sigh. “Claire said not to tell anybody, but she’s been having some weird psychic episodes ever since Book Day.”
    “Erica!” Claire cried again, irritated and embarrassed.
    “You almost passed out in the girls’ bathroom the other day!” Erica retorted emphatically. “I think he should know!”
    “Hold the phone,” Brian said. “Are you guys serious?”
    Ignoring him, Erica continued, “Speaking of which, Claire, why didn’t you know in advance that the scaffold was going to fall on us?”
    “I’m not an oracle. I’ve only had one vision of the future. One! I have no idea how this works, or when the visions are going to come.”
    “You’re having visions?” Brian sounded stunned, talking mostly to himself. “How did I miss that?”
    “So,” Claire said to Erica, “returning to my original question: Alec. What is he?”
    “He could be an alien possessing a human’s body,” Erica suggested. “Or a visitor from the planet Krypton.”
    Claire rolled her eyes. “So—vampires are improbable, but aliens are believable?”
    “At least they’re scientifically possible .”
    Brian sat stupefied, sucking up the dregs of his soda through his straw. Shaking his head, he mumbled, “The truth is out there.”
    Yes , Claire thought. And I’m going to find it .

nine

    A lec was running. Fast. His combat boots made a clacking sound on the stone steps beneath him.
    He was in a Japanese garden. But where? In Los Angeles? No, it wasn’t Los Angeles—and, he realized suddenly, it wasn’t a garden. It was a graveyard.
    In the moonlight’s glow, he recognized the stairs sloping sharply down the hillside in front of him, ringed by hundreds of red, centuries-old funereal gates. He’d been here many times before. This was the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. It was isolated and quiet at night—the perfect time and place to finish a job outside the public eye.
    He ran on, his labored breathing growing shallower with every step. His quarry was nimbler than Alec had expected. Alec leapt down the steps