The Indigo Thief by Jay Budgett Read Free Book Online Page A

that?”
    “It’s the truth.”
    “Hardly.”
    She tried remembering what had happened before the explosion. She’d lifted Sandra out of the water. “Does this have to do with the girl?” she asked. “The little one on the subway?”
    Hackner patted his greasy black hair. “I suppose she is smaller in terms of stature. But I certainly wouldn’t call her little…”
    “With all due respect, Mr. Chancellor, she was scared to death, crying when we found her.”
    He burst into laughter and turned to his guards. “You hear that, gentlemen? Mila Vachowski was balled up in the back of the subway crying after the bombs went off.”
    They, too, burst into laughter, though their faces betrayed fear.
    Mila Vachowski—one of the Lost Boys. Did they think she had helped her? Was that why she was here?
    Charlie shook her head. “I—I don’t think we’re talking about the same girl.”
    “No?” Hackner raised an eyebrow. “So you don’t know Mila Vachowski or Kai Bradbury? Any of the Lost Boys?”
    What were they talking about? Kai was just a normal kid, like her. “Kai Bradbury isn’t one of the Lost Boys,” she said.
    His smile twisted into its familiar grin. “So you do know him?”
    “Yes.” She nodded. “Yes, I do. But he has nothing to do with the Lost Boys.”
    Hackner smirked. “Just like you, huh, sweetheart?” He stretched a hand toward her leg. She swatted it away.
    “You’re disgusting.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t think that we believe your lies for even a second, Miss Charlotte Minos. Or should I say Charlie? Your H.E.A.L. file said you preferred your friends call you that.”
    “You’re not my friend.”
    “Ah, Charlie,” he said, “that’s where you’re wrong. In time, I think you’ll find we’ll become quite good friends. You just need more time to think. To clear your head and remember the truth. A bit of fasting ought to do the trick.”
    “Sage!” he called to someone in the hall. “Would you remove Charlie’s IV? She’s recovering just fine, but have the kitchen hold her meals. She doesn’t seem to have her appetite yet.”
    And with that, he was gone. A girl’s small frame replaced him in the doorway. Sage, Charlie guessed. The light caught her glazed eyes—she was blind. Despite this, she expertly navigated the room.
    “Arm, please,” Sage ordered. Charlie held out her arm, and the girl withdrew the needle.
    “Thanks,” Charlie said. Sage pursed her lips and nodded. Charlie admired the girl’s soft, straight hair. “Your hair’s a lovely shade of brown.” She watched the girl’s body tense. “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong? I wasn’t even thinking.”
    Sage wrapped the IV tubing around her wrist. “It’s all right,” she said.
    Charlie watched as Sage straightened the sheets at the end of her bed. From the speed with which she did it, it looked like she’d been doing this job for quite a while.
    “How long have you been blind?” Charlie asked.
    “As long as I’ve been working here.”
    “And how long’s that?”
    Sage’s jaw tightened. “Four years.”
    Charlie stared at the girl’s clothes. She looked like a maid of sorts. She wore a simple baby blue dress and a navy coat. Her straight hair hit her shoulders, framing her round face and accentuating her almond-shaped eyes.
    “How’d it happened?” asked Charlie.
    Sage shook her head. “We shouldn’t be talking. I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”
    “Your hair really is a lovely chestnut,” said Charlie from her bed. “It’s the shade you get when you mix coffee with just the right amount of cream. My mom and dad used to drink coffee that color.”
    Sage smiled faintly. “People used to say my mother’s hair was a lovely shade of chestnut. Like caramel mixed with coffee.” She rubbed her eyes. “My hair was blond when I came here. That was the last time I saw it. I guess my eyesight’s not the only thing that’s changed.”
    “No,” Charlie said quietly.