The Hidden - Jessica Verday [44]
He took a moment to answer but finally said, “For now things are being handled. But this matter needs to be resolved soon. For everyone’s sake.”
“Okay, so you come down here, get your assignment, and then poof? You have a house and a car and clothes? What about ID? Credit scores?”
“We get what’s given to us, in terms of houses and cars and clothes. Sometimes it’s a Jetta, sometimes it’s an apartment in a back alley, and sometimes it’s Gucci. If we need an ID, that’s available to us too. They can come in handy.”
I remembered what he’d been wearing when I first saw him, in the cemetery after the bridge dedication. “You were given a mishmash of clothes this time, huh? You have this Goth meets prep meets skater boy vibe going on. Kind of weird. And the khakis? Not a good look.”
“Most of the clothes are already there waiting for us, wherever we’re staying. But Cacey loves to go shopping, and she drags me with her.” Now he looked a bit embarrassed. “Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what century we’re in.”
“You guys need a built-in stylist-for-a-day when you get your assignments,” I said. “That would solve everything. Oh, and a hairdresser, too.”
Uri laughed again and touched his hair. It was longer than it had been in the cemetery. Instead of a fauxhawk he had mini dreads. “I think I’m a pretty good hairdresser.”
I cocked my head. “Maybe for a boy.” He smiled. “Do the other Revenants dye their hair?” I asked. “Sophie’s always looks like it’s not quite done right. Like she’s a natural blonde and the red can’t cover all of it up. And you all have eyes that are completely clear.”
“Our coloring is the same because in the white space there’s no pigmentation. That’s why we all have pale eyes, pale hair, and pale skin. When we come to Earth, we can wear contacts, get a tan, and, yes, dye our hair. It’s the only chance we have to live like mortals. Cacey likes to take full advantage. That’s why she likes Coca-Cola so much.”
“How long do you generally get to live like mortals? Before your assignment is up?”
“It varies.”
“Like …? Two days? Two years? Two months? What?”
“It just … varies.” His mouth tightened around the edges.
That’s all you’re going to get from him on that, Abbey. Move on. “The superpowers must be kind of cool,” I said instead.
“Superpowers?”
“Yeah, the mind-mojo thing.”
“It’s not really a power. More like the ‘power of persuasion.’”
“So, you can persuade people to do things? Still cool.”
“Not actually things—like barking like a dog, or pretending to be a chicken. We persuade them to go along with what we’re saying. Or to forget that they saw us.”
“I gotta say, that’s pretty freaking sweet.”
He smiled. “It definitely helps.”
“When I first met you guys, I was really creeped-out,” I said. “And then all of a sudden everything was fine. Was that the persuasion thingy?”
“That was it. It’s like a calming agent.”
“I totally need to get my hands on something like that. I have a couple of teachers at school who need to be ‘persuaded’ to forget about my homework.” I grinned at him.
“Sometimes people experience a funny taste or smell when we use the persuasion on them,” he said. “I’m not sure why.”
“Yes! Burning leaves? Or burned toast?” He nodded. “Around you and Cacey I could smell it, but around Kame and Sophie I could taste it.”
“I don’t know what it is precisely, but I think it has to do with neurons misfiring. Like a short fuse.”
“It doesn’t really happen anymore,” I mused. “Huh. I just realized that. And, you know, I don’t get that creepy feeling either.”
Uri looked away from me then, and stared at the window. He was probably getting tired of all my questions. But I needed a couple more answered. “Since I’m Caspian’s other half, I’m the only person who can see him, right? I mean, living person? I always thought that but wasn’t sure.”
“Yes. Since you’re the other half of him, there aren’t any other pieces left for other people to see. He’s the shadow that only you can see.