Not much longer, she repeated. Her skin felt itchy, too, itchy and hot. She must have given herself a carpet b.u.m when she fell. Except . . . except all of her skin felt hot. Not just the part touching the carpet.
The heat covered her body, sending pinp.r.i.c.ks of heat into every pore.
And it was getting hotter.
Michael didn"t know how he was even going to get his two hours of sleep tonight. He had to be living in the noisiest house in America. Dylan was doing his snoring thing in the other bed, and Amanda had the flu. Mr. Pascal kept bringing her into the bathroom across the hall, so Michael got to hear every moment of her puking. He felt bad for her, but still . . .
He rolled over on his side. He was going nuts. At least Sarah hadn"t started her nightly scream fest. He had to be thankful for that.
Sarah must have been a mind reader because right then she started to wail. Michael heard Mrs. Pascal rushing into her room. Which meant the singing would start any second.
I"m out of here, Michael thought. With all this going on, the Pascals probably won"t even notice. And if they do, I"ll deal with them-and Cuddihy-tomorrow. He crept over to the window, opened it, and crawled out.
He didn"t even have to think about where to go. He headed straight for Maria"s. He wanted to find out if she"d had any luck with the pen. And maybe he"d try kissing her again. That quick one hadn"t brought up any little-sister feelings. Maybe he was ready to move on to the real thing and really let himself taste Maria"s raspberry lips.
Michael started to jog. He loved being out at this time of night. He felt like he owned the whole town. He picked up speed, running full out, flying. He turned onto Maria"s street. It was after midnight, but he knew she wouldn"t mind a late visit. She never did.
Her mom"s car was parked in the driveway, so he tried to be extra quiet as he climbed over the fence. He crept around to Maria"s window. It was still open, so he climbed on in.
And saw her lying on the floor. A sharp acid taste flooded his mouth as he rushed over to her. Maria"s blue eyes stared up at him, blank and empty Blood was smeared under her nose and down one cheek. And tiny red dots covered her skin-her face, her neck, her arms, her hands, everywhere that he could see.
"Maria!" He took her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. Her body was stiff and still under his hands. "Maria, come on! Say something." She didn"t utter a sound.
He grabbed the sports bottle off her dresser and squirted some water on her face. He stared at her intently. Move, please, you"ve got to, he thought. But he didn"t see even the tiniest response.
He didn"t think this was another spell of paralysis. There"d never been any blood before. And those red dots-what were they? What had happened to Maria?
Michael pressed his head against her chest. Relief surged through him when he heard her heart beating, fast and sort of jumpy, but definitely beating. Okay, I can deal with this, he thought, fighting to stay calm. I can heal her. I just have to make a connection. Then I"ll be able to figure out what"s wrong.
He took a deep breath and studied Maria"s still form. He wasn"t as good at healing as Max was, but he knew he could do this. He had to. There wasn"t any wound that he could see, so Michael rested his hands on Maria"s forehead. He focused all his attention on her. He was expecting to get a rush of images from her mind.
Instead he saw two creatures. Their-faces didn"t even seem like the right word-were wide at the forehead and narrowed down to pointed chins. Their mouths were gaping circles lined with thin earthworm-length tentacles. The tentacles waved in the air, searching, searching. They had no noses and shallow, b.u.mpy depressions where their eyes should be.
No, Michael realized. Those b.u.mps were their eyes. They had dozens of eyes.
In unison the creatures swung their heads toward Michael. The tentacles of their mouths stretched toward him, straining to reach him.
They see me, Michael realized. He jerked his hands away from Maria. He felt like his whole body was vibrating. His teeth kept knocking together.
What was that? What the h.e.l.l was going on? Those . . . things weren"t any memory of Maria"s. And they saw him. It was impossible, but it happened.
Max. He had to call Max. Michael leaped to his feet and s.n.a.t.c.hed Maria"s phone off her dresser. He punched in the Evanses" number. Isabel answered on the second ring. "I need you and Max to get over to Maria"s right away," Michael said. "And be quiet. I don"t want her mom or her little brother waking up."
If Mrs. DeLuca saw Maria right now, she"d call an ambulance. And that would be a big mistake. Michael didn"t know what was happening to Maria, but there was no way any hospital or doctor could deal with it. And while they were trying to figure out what to do, Maria could die.
Michael suddenly felt like he"d chugged a gallon of ice water. Coldness rushed through his body, cramping his stomach, making him ache.
That"s not going to happen. Don"t even think that, he ordered himself. Maria is not going to die. I won"t let her.
"What happened?" Isabel exclaimed.
"Just get here," Michael ordered, keeping his voice low. He hung up the phone and returned to Maria. He sat down next to her. "You"re going to be all right," he said softly. "I"m going to take care of you. I"m going to figure out a way to heal you."
He reached out and slid his palm down over her eyes, forcing the lids to close. He hated seeing her eyes all blank like that.
Michael decided he should go wait by the front door for Max and Isabel. It"s not like they could ring the doorbell or anything. That would definitely wake up Maria"s mom and brother.
He leaned close to Maria, her soft hair brushing against his face. Her skin felt hot under his fingers, way too hot. "I have to go away for a minute," he whispered. "But I"ll be right back." Then he kissed her. Her lips were soft and sweet, just like he"d thought they"d be.
"I should have done that before," he told her. Then Michael pushed himself to his feet and crept through the dark house to the front door. He unlocked it and stepped out onto the front porch. He"d wait for Max and Isabel out there.
But he couldn"t stand still. He hurried out into the middle of the street and looked for Max"s Jeep. Where was he? Didn"t he know this was an emergency?
You talked to Isabel about two seconds ago, Michael reminded himself. They"ll be here as fast as they can.
Michael wondered if he had time to check on Maria and get back out here before they showed up. He turned back toward the house and caught sight of a pair of headlights out of the corner of his eye. He stared down the street. Yeah, it was the Jeep. Max had obviously broken a few speed limits to get here.
Max pulled up alongside him. "What"s going on?" he demanded.
"It"s Maria. She"s in a coma or something. When I made the connection to heal her, I saw two creatures, I don"t even know what to call them, staring at me. They saw me. I know it," Michael explained, his words tumbling on top of each other.
"Okay, we need a plan," Isabel said, her voice calm and steady. "We are going to come up with a way to save her-now."
"Let"s take her to Ray"s," Max said. "His powers of healing might be stronger than ours."
Ray wasn"t exactly Michael"s favorite person. But if he could help Maria, Michael would get down on his knees and kiss the guy"s feet.
"I"ll go get her," Michael said. "You two wait here. There"s more chance we"ll get caught if we all go." He ran back to the front door and slipped inside. He made his way back to Maria"s room and scooped her up in his arms. He cradled her tight against his chest. She still felt so hot. He didn"t know if that was good or bad. At least it meant she was still alive.
He carried her out of the house and over to the Jeep. He climbed into the backseat, still holding her. "We"re going to take care of you," he said. He hoped somehow she could hear him.
Max pulled the Jeep out of the driveway and peeled out down the street. Isabel twisted around and ran her fingers down Maria"s cheek. "Something weird happened with Maria a couple of days ago," she told Michael. "We were in English, and she had a little spell or something. Like a blackout. When I asked her what happened, she wouldn"t tell me."
Michael gave a growl of frustration. "That happened when she was with me, too. I should have known she was hurting herself. She looked like she was half dead when she was paralyzed."
"What are you talking about?" Max demanded.
"Maria"s psychic. Every time she uses her power, she gets paralyzed. Can"t move, can"t talk, nothing. She made it sound like it was no big deal. But she couldn"t see herself when it was happening. If she could-" Michael broke off and shoved his fingers through his hair.
"Psychic? Are you sure?" Isabel exclaimed.
Max pulled into the UFO museum parking lot and parked the Jeep at the foot of the stairs leading to Ray"s apartment. "Do you want help with her?" he asked Michael.
"No. No, you go ahead. Tell Ray what happened. I"ll be right behind you." Max and Isabel jumped out of the Jeep and took off up the stairs.
Michael climbed out of the Jeep and took the stairs more slowly, trying to jar Maria as little as possible. "Ray"s going to know how to help you," he told her. He wanted her to know what was happening.
Ray met him at the front door. "Put her down in the living room and let me look at her," he said.
Max shoved a couple of the beanbags together, and Michael carefully laid Maria on top of them. He sat on the floor nearby, keeping her hand locked in his.
Ray knelt down next to them. His eyes were wide as he stared at her. With a shaking hand he lightly touched one of the red spots on Maria"s face.
"Bounty hunters," he whispered.
"What?" Michael demanded.
Isabel joined them in the living room. "I called Alex. He"s going to get Liz and come over."
Ray grabbed Michael by the arm, his fingers squeezing hard. "Max said you saw some kind of creatures when you connected with Maria. Did they have multiple eyes and tentacle mouths?"
"Yeah. Why? What"s going on? Can you help her?" Michael asked.
"The things you saw . . . they"re bounty hunters. A race of creatures from our planet," Ray explained. "Their bodies are designed for hunting, and our people used them to track down criminals. They use a kind of . . . mental warfare. It leaves spots like the ones on Maria."
"Mental warfare? What"s that?" Isabel demanded.
"It"s something the hunters use to kill from a great distance," Ray answered. "They use their minds as weapons. Their power is staggering."
"Kill?" Michael exploded. "Someone"s trying to kill Maria?"
"It looks that way," Ray said.
"But you"re saying an alien did this," Max jumped in. "Why would an alien target Maria?"
"Good question," Ray said. "I don"t-"
"I have a better question," Michael interrupted. "How do we stop them? What do we have to do to save Maria?" He stared down at her face-and saw her eyelids flutter. "She moved!" he cried.
He rubbed her hand between his. "Maria, can you hear me?" Michael demanded. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes slowly opened. They had lost their horrible blank expression. "Thirsty," she mumbled.
"I"ll get water," Isabel said.
Michael brushed Maria"s hair away from her face. He smoothed her shirt down over her stomach. He couldn"t seem to stop touching her. "You scared me," he said.
"Sorry." Maria"s voice was thick and scratchy. Isabel rushed back in and handed Michael a gla.s.s of water. He wrapped one arm around Maria"s shoulders and helped her sit up enough to drink.
"Do you feel well enough to tell us what happened?" Ray asked.
"I don"t know what happened. How did I get here? What-" She was interrupted by a frantic pounding on the front door.
"I got it," Max said. He hurried out of the room and returned a moment later followed by Alex and Liz.
"Are you okay, Maria?" Liz cried.
"What happened?" Alex half yelled.
"I stopped by Maria"s and found her pa.s.sed out on the floor," Michael explained. "She had these red spots all over her."
Maria raised her hand in front of her face. She gave a soft whimper when she saw the spots.
Michael tightened his arm around her. He knew it was going to be really hard for her to hear the rest. "Ray says alien bounty hunters were after her." He locked eyes with Maria. "They"re using some kind of mental weapon on you, but we"re going to figure out a way to stop them. Right?" he asked Ray.
Ray didn"t give Michael the answer he wanted. He didn"t say he knew exactly how to stop the bounty hunters. He just smiled at Maria. "First I think we need more information," he said. "Tell me about your psychic powers-and the spells you get."
"She doesn"t have any psychic powers," Liz burst out.
Maria looked up at Liz. "Actually, I do. I was going to tell you. I just-"
"Maria," Alex said gently, "just tell us the facts."
"I . . . I found a ring in the mall, a ring with a strange stone," she said slowly.
A ring? Michael thought. Maria hadn"t told him about that.
She cleared her throat, and Michael gave her another sip of water. "The stone helped me tap into psychic powers I didn"t even know I had. Healing. And I could touch any object and then see the person it belonged to-know exactly what they were doing right at that second."
Michael could feel Maria trembling. But she was holding it together, telling them what they needed to know.
"Can I see the ring?" Ray asked.
Maria pulled the gold chain off her neck and handed it to Ray. A ring set with a green-purple stone hung on the end.
Ray ran one finger over the stone. "It"s one of the Stones of Midnight," he said, his voice hushed and solemn. "I never thought I would hold one in my hand."
Isabel leaned over for a look. "That"s Nikolas"s ring!" she cried.
"I found it the night . . . the night he, you know," Maria said. "I didn"t know it was his."
It was good to hear her talking. Plus her skin was cooler and those little red dots were gone. He"d been so afraid . . . Michael didn"t even want to complete the thought.
"How could Nikolas have gotten the Stone?" Max asked.
"The Stone was stolen by the stowaway on our ship," Ray reminded them. "Maybe someone found it at the crash site. Or somehow it was attached to Nikolas"s pod-"
"Who cares about that right now," Michael snapped. "We have to stay focused on Maria."
"Well, now I know why the bounty hunters have targeted Maria," Ray said. "They"re after the Stone. The consortium must have hired them to track down the fugitive and retrieve it."
Ray ran his fingers through his thinning gray-brown hair. "Every time Maria used the power of the Stone-what she thought was her psychic power-she was sending a signal to the bounty hunters, helping them track her down. They"ve obviously gotten close enough to begin using mental warfare against her."
Maria cleared her throat again. "Wouldn"t they be able to tell I wasn"t an alien?" she asked.
"Not necessarily," Ray answered. "The hunters are probably still too far away to tell anything except that the Stone is being used."