In an instant, all attention had shifted from Summer to Kayla. Summer knew before she even looked that Kayla was tempted. Of course she was. She had always been just as bothered about her power as Summer was. It was the perfect opportunity to learn more from an expert in the craft. The problem was that the expert was Ned, and the last thing they needed was to give Ned a temporary power boost.

  Kayla was frozen for a while before she locked eyes with her guards and seemed to come to her senses. “That is not something I can decide.”

  “Oh well,” Maskz replied, “If you ever change your mind and help shaking off your little guard dogs, let me know.”

  One of the guards stepped forward, and Summer braced for her to put a stop to it and potentially subdue Ned. “There is no need for that,” she told Maskz instead, “Orders from above give you permission to proceed with the experiment, so long as you report the information in detail with us present.”

  “What?” Summer asked in shock.

  Everything about what had just been said was shocking. There was someone ‘above’ who was listening in, and that someone thought it was a great idea to place Kayla’s ability in the hands of a known criminal? Ned might not have personally committed any crimes he could be convicted of, but he had not bothered to hide his involvement with the Jargon case. If she knew that, surely everyone involved knew that as well. So, why?

  Ned grinned. “So, what do you say, Kayla?”

  Kayla seemed even more lost on what to do than before. The readily given permission seemed to be more of a burden than a boon. Summer could understand that feeling all too well. She could tell how things would go if they continued as they were now, so she decided to intervene.

  “Thanks for the offer, but that isn’t something she can decide on the spot,” Summer told Ned, “We will think about it once we return and then let you know, so long as you don’t expect anything in return.”

  “I could promise you that I will not hold this against you, but Jargon isn’t around to make me keep my word,” Ned told her, the smile not fading from his face for a moment, “I don’t know how to make you believe me.”

  “You have done a lot of evil things, but you haven’t lied,” Summer admitted, as much as she would rather not, “Until I find out you did, I will trust your word.”

  “But once I lie even once, it is over?” Ned checked, “That seems fair. I will have to be even more careful not to disappoint you.”

  The guards seemed none too pleased with this development, but Kayla quickly agreed with Summer. Ned prompted them to at least eat some snacks before they left, with a warning that Claudia was in the building and it would be unfortunate to run into her. They reluctantly stayed until Ned confirmed the reporter was gone. For once, it wasn’t Ned that Summer was wary of, but the security that always followed Kayla.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Are they always like this?” Summer asked once they were back in her car. Luckily the guards had a different car of their own.

  “Are you asking if they report my every move to the higher ups?” Kayla clarified, “Yes. That is how things have always been.”

  “No wonder you were willing to do anything to escape,” Summer muttered, “Unlike me, you had an actual reason to risk getting involved with someone like Ned. All I had was a wounded pride and fickle curiosity.”

  “But it led you here,” Kayla said, “and if you hadn’t been there to back me up, I probably would have done exactly as they wanted again. I want to learn more about my ability, but I don’t want to do so in front of them in case my ability truly is different than I imagine. If I become too valuable, they will forcibly remove me from the team.”

  “We could… make a deal with Maskz,” Summer suggested hesitantly, “I know it sounds crazy, but if we actually offer him something in return he might be willing to put on a show and give us the real details in secret. You could be certifiably useless.”

  Kayla let out a snort of laughter. “In any other situation that would be insulting, not reassuring,” she pointed out, “Thanks. I will think about it.”

  The two girls returned home from an outing that ended up being nothing like they had anticipated. Rather than the relaxing time they were hoping for, Summer was even more nervous than before, and she was even wary of the guards now. Would they turn against them if they found out what Summer had suggested?

  Summer’s parents immediately noticed something was off with the mood and asked what happened. She didn’t want to mention the guards or Maskz and make them worry, so she told them all about the annoying reporter instead. How she had ruined their stop at the coffee shop and practically stalked them after, and how they had to slip into somewhere a bit more exclusive to lose her.

  “Where did you go?” Mr. Aster asked with slight suspicion.

  There probably wasn’t any need to hide that much, right? “A place called the Golden Club. I’ve been there before since I was invited by someone,” Summer explained.

  “Ah, that place?” he asked, relaxing, “I was worried you might have gone somewhere dangerous.”

  Was the Golden Club not dangerous? Her parents asked a few more questions about the reporter and then left the girls to have some private time to destress. Summer couldn’t hold back her curiosity and looked up details about the Golden Club. She could immediately see why her father had considered it a safe place.

  Rather than the standard rich club she had assumed it was from the reception and private room she had seen, it seemed like it was a place that openly mocked rich hobbies aimed at children. Sure, it was still definitely for people who were a bit more well off, but who would be concerned about their kids playing miniature golf and splashing around in pool tables? What an odd place for someone like Ned to hang out.

  Speaking of Ned, Summer couldn’t help but remember what he had told her. He called her the source of light, and claimed that her power would become effortless if she knew all of the methods to add or remove light naturally. Maybe something like an eclipse?

  As she thought of it, without having to concentrate at all, it was as if her overhead light had been blocked by a large unseen object. She could tell it was still on by the glow on her ceiling, but no light shone down. It was crazy how a simple keyword and momentary imagination had changed so much. Maybe MysteriousMaskz really could help Kayla with her power.