Free Surrender by Lee Nichols Page A

else. Maybe one of Neos’s creatures, like the siren. And I think she’s the key to whatever he has planned next
.
    Coby squeezed my hand.
I’ll help you find her
.
    I squeezed back.
I was hoping you’d say that
.
    Oh, and I’ve been meaning to give you something
.
    What?
I asked.
    This
, he said, and tackled me from the stone wall into a wet pile of snow.
    The next day, Coby and I followed Harry’s break-in instructions to the letter and spent the afternoon wandering Thatcher’s grounds. We’d split the school in half, and I was checking classrooms, lounges, and the cafeteria, while he hit the libraries and the old servants’ quarters.
    As I passed through the front hall, I noticed the giant silk floral arrangement someone had donated. Harry had mentioned it when he told us how to switch off the alarm. “That new huge ugly bouquet? I could do something with that.” There had been an evil glint in his eye as he planned his next prank. But as I took in the fake gladiolas and long-stemmed roses, I couldn’t figure out what he’d do. Although, the black vase did look big enough to hold a few baby pigs—a bouquet of pigs. I smiled at the idea.
    It was my first and last smile of the day, because even though I felt the traces of ghosts extending back for centuries, I didn’t find any who resembled Rachel. I did,however, manage to summon the ghost jocks as I entered the gym. Actually, it looked more like they’d been waiting for me. They were playing one-on-one, and as I stepped onto the court, Craven bounced the basketball off my head.
    â€œOw!”
    Score!
Moorehead called.
    Gah!
I rubbed my forehead.
Can’t you guys
ever
give me a break?
    You want to break?
Craven threw himself to the ground and spun around on his back, while Moorehead performed the robot.
    You
so
died in the ’80s
, I told them. I don’t know if it was them or the ball, but I was getting a headache. Or maybe I’d been concentrating too hard on summoning.
Have either of you seen a ghost that doesn’t belong here? A woman or something else? I don’t know, anything out of the ordinary?
    Well, this emo ghostkeeper chick has been stalking us
, Craven said, eyeing me meaningfully.
    I’m not emo! How do you even know the word? Shouldn’t you say, like, “groovy” or “far out” or something?
    Coby entered behind me, saying,
Nothing in the staff room
. He caught sight of the ghost jocks.
Hey, what’s up?
    Your girlfriend’s angst is up
, Craven said.
    Moorehead nodded.
And the stick
.
    Which stick is that?
Craven asked, with exaggerated politeness.
    The one that’s up her—
    O-kay!
I kicked the basketball at Moorehead, adding alittle compelling force so he’d feel it when it smacked him in the chest, and stalked away.
    Coby followed, looking amused, but he didn’t say anything as we continued searching, checking the locker rooms, teachers’ lounge, and maintenance room. We stopped periodically as I tried to summon the Rachel-looking ghost, but I couldn’t feel her in the Beyond.
    She’s probably hiding
, Coby said, as we stepped back into the main hall.
There are some pretty remote places in the Beyond
.
    Maybe
, I said, crossing toward the door.
Or maybe I only imagined her in the first place
.
    Coby, as always, knew exactly what I was thinking.
You don’t believe that
.
    No. But what am I supposed to do? I can’t summon her, so that’s that
.
    What about the ring?
he asked.
Why can’t you use that to go into the Beyond?
    Because I don’t know how. Maybe Simon could … wait
. I thought about how Simon realized we could reverse-engineer our powers.
What if instead of trying to summon her, I send something to her?
    What? Some kind of message?
Coby asked.
    Yeah
. I closed my eyes, concentrating on my summoning powers, pulling them forth until I could feel a glowing ball in my chest. I infused the ball