Umbra by Christina Bauer

Author:Christina Bauer [Bauer, Christina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, young adult, science fiction
ISBN: 9781945723674
Goodreads: 42194682
Publisher: Monster House Books
Published: 2019-03-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“When meeting strangers in a parallel reality, always trust your intuition. If you suspect someone to be a rogue, you’re probably correct.” – Beauregard the Great, Instructions for Visiting Parallel Worlds

I sit with my back against Meimi’s closed bedroom door. Sickly beams of greenish moonlight reflect off my body armor. Thoughts fly through my mind. The discussion between my mother and brothers … Doc Zykin knowing the truth about Meimi … and the possible threat from that criminal, Fritz. There’s a lot to worry about.

Of all these, my sentient are most concerned with Fritz. They keep sending me images of his square face speckled with raindrops.

“NO!” Meimi’s voice echoes in from her bedroom.

Alarm rattles through my nervous system. Leaping to my feet, I burst through the door and pause, soaking in the scene. Meimi sits upright in bed, her body glistening with sweat. She yanks anxiously at the neckline of her T-shirt. I scan every corner of the room, searching for trouble. To be prepared, I summon my battle sentient to form short swords, one on each arm.

Meimi stares at me, her green eyes wild. “What are you doing?”

“Guarding you.”

“From what?”

I sniff. “Do you want an alphabetized list?”

Meimi exhales. Little by little, the edges of her sweet mouth curl into a grin. “That would help, yes.”

I can’t help but smile a bit myself. “Well, the letter A is for the asshat who took your prototype.” I twist my wrists; the sentient-created swords retract into my skin. “Not sure if you can tell, but I didn’t like that guy.”

Meimi’s smile widens. “Yeah, I got that.”

We share a long look. There’s a glint in Meimi’s eyes. Amazement. Somehow I know she didn’t expect me to be outside her door. Not that I blame her. Meimi has spent her whole life caring for her mother, alone.

Well, that ends now.

Going forward, she’ll always have me.

Meimi pull her covers up under her chin. “Thanks for checking in. I’ll just ... go back to sleep.”

My transcendent looks so lost and alone. There’s no way I’ll leave her now. With gentle movements, I cross the room and sit beside Meimi on her tiny mattress.

“Tell me what happened.” Reaching forward, I trace circles on her back with my fingertips. “Why did you scream?”

“I had a nightmare.”

“What did you see?”

“I was in the kitchen downstairs with Miss Edith. The Merciless showed up. Everyone was killed. Mom too.”

“Rose is safe and asleep. Miss Edith won’t be here for hours. And I’ll be right outside that door.”

“You aren’t treating this as just a dream.”

“It’s not.” I meet her gaze. “It’s a warning. My people place a lot of emphasis on dreams. And my sentient are restless, which is another danger sign. But I merged some of them with the security system. If anything comes close, I’ll know.”

“Ah, your alphabetized list. A is for Asshat.”

“B is for Bad guys.” I run my finger along her jawline. Meimi shivers. “You need to rest and …” I pause. Images from my sentient appear in my mind, all of them coming from outside the factory.

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