“What … what is happening?”
Lucky’s eyes are wide.“I don’t know.One minute, I was here, and then I started thinking about home and”—he snaps his fingers—“there I was.Next blink, and I’m back.”
It can’t be …
Will it work anywhere?Or only places he knows?
“Think of somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.”
“Why?”
“I have a hunch,” I say.
Lucky smiles, and it’s so playful; it makes me briefly forget the spiky tendrils of heat that are steadily growing at my fingertips.I clench my fists.
“All right.Let’s try the top of the Empire State Building.”He closes his eyes.
A second passes, then two.When five have gone by and nothing has happened, he opens them again and shrugs.“Guess I can’t go anywhere I haven’t been before.”
I share the disappointment that’s tugging at his lips.
“Bit of a bummer, if I’m honest,” he adds.
I agree, although it’s probably for the best; there are some horrific ramifications once I start to think about it.Who knows how teleportation works?What if you phased into a wall?Would you die instantly?And what about the space you take up?Does that disappear forever or swap places with you?What about moving through time?
“Whoa, that’s a nifty trick you’ve got there, love.”
Lucky’s voice drifts through the thick cloud of questions consuming me, and I must have closed my eyes at some point because I open them and find the world around us has shifted a few feet higher than before.
No, wait.Not the world, just every static object in a six-foot radius.What the fuck?
I jolt, and everything comes crashing back down with a resounding boom that shakes my bones.“How did you do that?”
“Not me, I’m afraid.”
My heart is pounding so fast; it feels like a blur in my chest.I need air, but we’re already outside.
“Deep breaths, love,” Lucky says.
The garbage beside me starts to rattle violently, an echo of my own strangled nerves.
“Let’s try this,” he says, close enough that I can feel the heat of his body through the thin material of his shirt.
Jeez, he’s burning up.
Taking the crystal from my hand, he meets my gaze.Earlier, his smiles seemed manipulative, but there’s nothing false about the soft curl of his lips.They’re red and tempting, and, oh God, I’m staring.I tear my eyes away.Sound quickly rushes back in.
The alley is quiet again, the objects around us settled and silent.
He slips the crystal into his pocket.
“Can you control it?”he asks.
I don’t know.My fingers are tingling now, pins and needles and lightning under my skin, but I take a deep breath and close my eyes, swaying on my feet.Lucky’s hands come up to my elbows, his palms warm.They are a little dry, a few calluses grounding me to his touch, and I hold on to that as I try to picture the trash can beside me.
Up, I think and wait for the sound of it moving.
Nothing.
