Free Brightly (Flicker #2) by Kaye Thornbrugh Page A

inside, just held the door open with one hand.
    “I could guess what you decided,” she said, eyeing their bags. “Or you could tell me.”
    “Neither,” Filo replied. “But feel free to tell us how we’re getting to wherever the hell you people live.”
    Clementine smiled faintly. “Road trip.”
    The van didn’t have a backseat, just a flat, beige-carpeted cargo area. With their bags trundled into the back, Lee, Nasser, Alice and Jason found that there was just enough room for them to pile in, too.
    Filo seemed to be taking his time locking the front door. As Lee nestled herself between Nasser and a duffle bag, she saw him lift his gaze to the wooden sign that hung above the door.
    “Filo?” Alice called gently.
    “Coming.” He held back for just a moment more. Then he squared his shoulders, strode to the van and climbed inside.
    Clementine hauled the door shut behind him and trotted around to the front. She opened the passenger-side door, clambered over Davis and settled herself in the center seat. Henry was driving.
    The back of the van was dim and stifling, as the air conditioning didn’t work, and Lee silently lamented that her amber charm only seemed to work outdoors. With no windows on either side, the van felt like a rumbling box on wheels.
    “We have to sail to Siren Island,” Henry said, pulling away from the curb. “The boat’s moored in Seattle, so that’s where we’re headed.”
    “How long will it take to get there?” Alice asked. Her voice was flat, with no hint of friendliness.
    “It’s a seven-hour drive,” Lee reported, remembering the weekend trip she’d taken to Seattle with her mom while Lee was fourteen. It was the farthest she’d ever been from home.
    She remembered the city, even bigger and grander than Bridgestone. In her mind’s eye, Lee could still see the two of them pacing slowly through the art museum and navigating the crowd-choked cobbles of Pike Place Market.
    That weekend with her mom seemed so long ago. Untouchable, like another life. Lee’s heart clenched as she remembered that, in a way, it was. The years spooled out in her mind like a mess of yarn that she couldn’t untangle.
    Davis glanced over his shoulder with a thin, nervous smile. “Henry drives like a maniac. It’ll be more like five.”
    “How comforting,” Lee answered, her voice hollow. She laced her fingers together in her lap as the van rounded a corner and she left yet another home behind.
     
* * *
     
    The islands rose like emeralds, vibrant and thrumming with activity. It was summer, tourist season, and all sorts of boats were out on the water: cruisers, yachts, ferries crowded with camera-wielding passengers. Lee stood on the deck beside Nasser, doing her best to ignore the rolling motion of Eudora , the cabin cruiser they’d boarded in Seattle.
    Jason stepped out of the shadow of the cabin and onto the deck, narrowing his eyes against the light as he approached his brother. “Nasser!”
    The other boy pulled his gaze from the water. “Yeah?”
    “Davis has been pointing out the different islands we pass. I asked him about that one.” Jason pointed to a distant landmass. “You know what he said?”
    “What?”
    “It’s not an island. It’s Canada ,” Jason said, grinning. “Our home and native land!”
    “Is it really?” Shading his eyes with one hand, Nasser squinted at the landmass. “Huh.”
    Jason’s smile shrank slightly. “What is it?”
    “Nothing. It’s just been a while. Eight years.”
    “Time flies.”
    “I was just thinking that it feels like longer than that. A lot longer.” His expression was thoughtful, but she could see the tension in his shoulders.
    She touched his arm. “You okay?”
    He shook his head. “Sometimes I forget how close it is. The border’s just a few hours away from Bridgestone. We could probably glamour some passports and go back anytime we wanted to. But we won’t.”
    “Why not?”
    Jason shrugged. “It’s been too long.