Honesty (Mark of Nexus) Read Free Page A

doors banged open, and some random chick barged through with a grin. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over the place for you two. Feels weird wandering around a festival not knowing anyone, ya know?”
    Scratch that. English accent. Not random.
    Rena stiffened. “What’re you doing here?”
    “Is this not a public thing?” Our new arrival reached into her back pocket and produced a wrinkled flyer. “Faye suggested I get better acquainted with the community during my free time, so she gave me the info. Said you two might be here to show me around.”
    Suspicion confirmed. I cocked my head to the side. “Then, you’re the…” I took a step toward her and froze. The world warped and sped up. My heartbeat, their movements, the sound of a ticking clock. I took another step. This time, I looked back at Rena. “Huh.”
    “What?” Wallace asked, impatient as ever.
    “It’s like time speeds up around her,” I mused. “I’m slower. It’s creepy.”
    “Well, excuse me.” Corynn made a face. “You’re not the friendliest lot, are you?”
    Wallace stepped out of Rena’s embrace and walked over to her. “Sorry, we’re just a little weirded out by the whole thing. It’ll take some adjusting to, you know?”
    She shrugged. “I s’pose so. Who’s this, then? Your brother?”
    No, I’m his stunt double.
    “Yeah, this is Cole,” Wallace told her. “Cole, this is Corynn Catley.”
    I slipped behind Sis, a safe distance away, and nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Same.” Corynn eyed the three of us, scratched her head, and then turned her attention back to Wallace. “Hey, um, could I talk to you for a moment?” She coughed and added in a quiet voice, “In private?”
    Oh shit.
    Wallace blinked. “Sure, uh…” He looked back to us, puzzled, and shrugged his shoulders. “Do you guys mind?”
    Was that a hint to run interference?
    “Tch. Like we care.” I stepped around Rena and bent down. “C’mon, Sis. I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
    She stared ahead, vacant, her mind locked on something I’d obviously missed.
    “Rena.” I clicked my tongue to catch her attention and smacked my back. “Seriously, hop on.”
    She turned to me, blinking as she finally registered the request. “What? No way.”
    “It’ll be fun,” I assured her. Or not. Let’s just get the hell out of here.
    Wallace just stood there, lost in thought. He didn’t even yell at me for propositioning his girlfriend.
    I smacked my back one last time and Rena finally complied, climbing on. I straightened and grabbed under her legs. “Hold on ti—”
    “So help me, Cole, if you say spider monkey…”
    “What the hell is a spider monkey?”
    “Never mind.” She put her arms around my neck and sighed, pressing against me.
    I took it as my cue to blur on out of there.

CHAPTER 3

    “Woo!” I ran through the festival at top speed, distracting Rena with the one thing I knew could trump any worry—panic. “Bet you’ve never gone this fast before.”
    “Cole,” she warned, burying her face in the crook of my neck. Her grip tightened as I jumped a picnic table, and her arms started to shake. It seemed pretty routine to me, but it must’ve been terrifying on her end.
    So, I stopped.
    My not-so-human backpack rammed into me. “Ugh!”
    “Ready for round two?” I grinned.
    She half-climbed, half-slid down my back, stiff as a mannequin. “Shut up.”
    I turned to face her, trying to contain my laughter. “It was fun, right? You can tell me. I mean, you did make me faster.”
    “Never. Again.” She glared at me and tried, in vain, to pat down her frizzy blonde mane.
    I laughed and picked a leaf out of her hair. “It wasn’t that bad.”
    “It was dangerous.”
    I quirked an eyebrow. “For me , maybe. You didn’t have someone choking you.”
    “I was scared! And you almost ran over Pastor Mark.”
    I shoved my hands into my pockets, lifted my shoulders, and made for the church. “Yeah, but at least you