When Hi looked up, his eyes were pinched, and his jaw was skewed at an unnatural angle. He started to speak, but his lips froze. For a second his pupils glinted in the moonlight. Then his eyes rolled backward into his head.
"Hi!" I screamed.
Hi slumped forward, unconscious. I lunged to catch him before his head smacked the deck.
"Ben!" I yelled. "Something's wrong with Hi!"
Ben cut the motor and hurried to join me in the stern. Though Hi was out, he was breathing normally.
"Did he crack his head on something?" I struggled to remember how to treat a concussion.
"Hiram, wake up man!" Shelton slapped Hi's cheeks, then rubbed his arms. Not exactly Web MD stuff. I gently eased Shelton back.
Hi's lids rose slowly, revealing eyes that looked very wrong. His soft brown irises were gone, replaced by golden orbs split by dark, black pupils.
Driven by instinct, I backpedaled, stumbled. Hit the floorboards.
What was that?!?!?
"Something happened to his eyes!" I said.
Ben and Shelton stared in my direction. Neither had been close enough to see. They moved to Hi, expecting the worst.
Hi blinked. Sat up. His irises were their normal chestnut brown.
"That felt weird." Hiram shook his head, trying to realign his thoughts. "Did I black out?"
"Yep," answered Shelton. "You okay? Your eyes working all right?"
Hi raised and lowered his lids. "Of course." Then his voice went high. "Wait, why? What's wrong? Is one hanging out or something? Tell me!"
Shelton and Ben glanced my way.
"Nothing, Hi, my fault," I said. "It must've been a trick of the light. Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
It was true. His eyes looked fine. Whatever I saw was gone. Or never existed.
"This is what happens when a jellybelly tries sprinting a mile," teased Shelton.
"I don't see you on the track team, pal."
"Let's get home." Ben moved to the wheel. "It's past two, and we've got school tomorrow."
"Everything's okay, right Tory?" Hi needed reassurance. I'd frightened him badly.
"You bet. We got a fingerprint and didn't get caught. Pretty damn okay, I'd say."
Hi leaned back and closed his eyes. "Weird," he said. "I've never fainted before. And now I feel great."
I tried to block it, but the image came unbidden. Golden irises split by black pupils. Bottomless. Primordial. Reminiscent of a different creature.
Suddenly I felt drained. My mind slurred, seemed to bend, then snapped back into shape. Energy coursed through me.
I struggled to move. Couldn't. Helpless, I slouched against the seatback. My lids sought each other.
Deep within my body, links shattered, fell together, were reborn.
My eyes flew open. Something was different. I could sense it in every fiber of my being. What? A change had occurred. I ran an internal check, trying to understand the alteration. Found nothing.
I felt light. Powerful. The weariness of the day washed away in a flood of visceral strength.
The boat skimmed the placid waters. An almost-full moon floated high overhead. I stared, rapt, entranced by the lunar beauty. Hearing a call I'd never heard before.
I glanced at Hi. He was gazing skyward, as I had, eyes glowing. I understood. He felt the same pull.
Unbidden, a name sprung to my lips.
"Whisper," I said, not knowing why.
"Whisper."
The name hung for a moment, then dissolved in the darkness of the soft summer night.
PART THREE:
INCUBATION
CHAPTER 32
The alarm blasted for ten minutes before I stirred.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Kit pounded on my door, a reminder that missing school two days straight wasn't an option.
"Up!" I lied.
I lay motionless beneath the covers, still exhausted from the previous night's adventure, plotting schemes to stay in bed. My joints ached. My head weighed a thousand pounds. I hoped I wasn't getting sick.
Thunk. Thunk.
"Tory! Get moving!"
Ugh.
One foot on the carpet. Two. Sluggish, zombielike movements. My eyes refused to stay open. I plodded through my morning routine, then had to sprint to catch the shuttle.
The boys didn't look any better. Ben and Shelton moped, churlish, in no mood for conversation. Hi snored, occasionally slumping on Ben's shoulder until shoved away.
At school, time moved in slow motion. Usually I enjoy my classes, but today I wanted a fast-forward button. I needed to talk to Jason about the fingerprint.
During biology class? No. My request was unusual, and borderline illegal. Not a topic for the group. Plus I had to do some prep work first.
Shelton and Hi met me in the library during lunch. Ben wasn't there when we used the microfilm reader, so he was excused.
"We need our prints as a control," I said.
Snagging an ink pad, I rolled my first finger, pressed it to an index card, and jotted my initials. Shelton and Hi did the same.
"Remind me why we're doing this?" Shelton asked.
"To be sure the mystery print didn't come from one of us," I said. "We don't want to chase ourselves."
"Do you have any idea how to analyze prints?" Hi asked.