Jax is looking his usual disheveled self. Tall and lean, with arrowed cheekbones and bright green eyes, a shadow of beard on his jaw. His wavy dark hair skims the collar of his black t-shirt. Stovepipe jeans are tucked into his buckled boots, and a ring of fire tattoo on his bicep covers one of his many scars.
And right now, he’s smirking like he thinks he’s real clever.
In his hand he’s gripping a sparkling, twinkling cape, looking for all the world as if he’s just emerged from a magic circus act.
“Is this your idea of a fucking joke?” I scowl as I scramble up to sitting.
“No joke.”
“You were invisible.”
“Yeah, that’s the portal cape. It’s the only way I could get in here without being seen.”
My mouth drops open as the cape in his hand emits a volley of sparks. “Was that the cape Arlo wore when he met Sammy?”
“The very same.”
I frown. “Why didn’t you come through the official portal?”
“And get into a hotel without being noticed? Fat chance.”
He’s got a point. Jax works as a peripheral on the outer edge of our domed city. He’s one of the humans who bring goods up from the Labyrinth to Sparkle via huge portal elevators with armed guards around them. (Best kept secret ever—most folks in Sparkle haven’t even heard of the Periphery, unless, like me, they have a relative who’s been sent there for breaking the rules.)
Peripherals aren’t allowed in the center of Sparkle, and since everyone carries ID, Jax wouldn’t have got into the resort without being questioned.
“You shouldn’t be here, it’s not safe,” I hiss at him.
“It’s not safe for you either,” he growls. “I’ve come to rescue you.”
“W-wha?—?”
“I’m taking you to the Labyrinth.”
I bounce off the bed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He glances over his shoulder at the door. “Not the right moment to explain.”
“I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me what this is all about.”
“Fuck, Clem. Just trust me for once, will you?” Jax growls.
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you! You’re always so secretive, why should I?” Hands on my hips, I try to outstare him. “Just tell me the truth—are you working for the monsters?”
Jax’s jaw tightens as we glare at each other.
Truth is, my brother is a wild card. An enigma.
When our mom disappeared fifteen years ago, Jax turned from a happy-go-lucky thirteen-year-old into a seriously troubled teen.
After he was caught drilling holes in the dome’s wall (he told me afterward he thought mom might have escaped to Earth, which was crazy—she would never be able to breathe the air out there), he got sent to a remand school and later, to work as a peripheral.
Three years ago he got badly bitten and clawed by monsters. That’s when I found out about the Labyrinth. I had to take him to hospital in Sparkle and pretend he’d had a car accident.
I sensed back then he was a monster sympathizer, despite the fact they’d nearly killed him.
“Well.” I glare harder. “Are you? Working for them?”
Finally, Jax breaks the silence. “Yeah. Kind of.”
