did you go back to where you knew he could be?”
I clenched my jaw and felt pain, and thought about whether I must have been doing it in my sleep. “Because I didn’t want to just sit here and stew in my fear of him. If you sit around and think about how much you’re afraid of something, it just makes it worse. I didn’t think he was that bad…I thought I could beat him.” I lowered my head. “I was wrong.”
“You wanted to face off with Wolfe?” He shook his head. “That’s madness. You need to stay where you are, let the Directorate protect you.”
“The Directorate can’t protect me. He went through their agents like they were made of whipped cream.”
“It doesn’t matter, Sienna. I don’t think he can touch you so long as you stay there.”
“I don’t want to stay here any more,” I said. “I’m ready to leave and join you.”
He shook his head again. “Sorry, but you can’t do that. I can’t protect you right now, not from Wolfe. Soon, but not right now.”
“I just…” I crinkled my eyes, closing them as tight as I could. “I just want to get out of here. Out of town. Away from everything and everyone.” I took a breath. “I read a book about towns in western South Dakota, and it had pictures; they were gorgeous, green and mountainous. I want to see mountains, Reed, and beaches, and anything but this gawdawful snow. It’s so dim and dark all the time and I hate it…”
“This is not a problem you can run away from,” he said with a look of sadness. “Wolfe is relentless.”
“He doesn’t know where I am now, and he can’t know where I am from here on if I’m careful. My mom dodged these people for years. He’s not a psychic and he’s not infallible.”
“You don’t know Wolfe. He’s lived for thousands of years and he uses time to his advantage. You’re right: you’d likely make it out of the Minneapolis area, maybe even out of the state and the country, but he’d track you down eventually.”
He wore a look of pity and I felt something sharp inside that woke up my defenses. I didn’t know Reed any better than the Directorate people. I composed myself, pasting a smile that was as fake as any I’d ever worn. “Fine. All right.”
“I can tell you’re hurting…”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I snapped. Not sure where that came from, but I had a suspicion.
“Not much, but I can tell you’re blaming yourself for what happened to those Directorate agents.”
“I have to go,” I replied, as brusque as I could make it. “I have to wake up. They’re going to test me in the morning.”
“Just make sure you—” His words faded as I struggled and forced my way out of the dream. I didn’t wonder until later what he was going to say.
Thirteen
I woke up just after one in the morning. Except for a few minor aches, my injuries from the battle with Wolfe had healed themselves without much sign of anything odd. I realized I had gone to bed without dinner and that I hadn’t eaten much lunch the day before either. I left my dormitory room (always fully dressed, remember?) and wandered the halls. I didn’t hold much hope that the cafeteria would be open at this hour, but I doubted I would have a problem stealing some food.
Besides, was it really stealing? They would have given it to me if they’d been open. I came through the entrance to the cafeteria and found a few lights on, scattered throughout the place. Spotlights outside the massive windows showed snow was lightly falling outside. The smell of cleaning solutions hung in the air and when coupled with the dimness it gave the place the vague sense of what I’d imagine a hospital to feel like.
A lone figure was sitting in the corner where the two glass walls met, staring out into the dark. I crept up quietly until I got close enough to realize it was Zack, then started to tiptoe away. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, least of all him.
“I can see your reflection,” he called out. He turned, revealing a series of bandages over his nose with a piece of metal over it to hold it in place for healing. “I figured you’d be hungry sooner or later.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Hungry and tired, so I think I’ll just get something and go…”
“Why don’t