Devil's Advocate (The X-Files: Origins #2)(83)

“Do we, um, have contingencies for that?”

The red-haired agent smiled. “We always have contingencies, kid.”

The black sedan drifted along a block and half behind Dana Scully, moving silent as a shadow.





CHAPTER 76

Beyond Beyond

9:13 A.M.

“Dana,” said Corinda, a bright smile blossoming on her face as she looked up from the counter. “I’m surprised to see you this early. Don’t you have school today?”

Dana marched up to the counter and slapped both her hands down on it, making Corinda jump. There were only a handful of customers in the place, each dressed for yoga and heading toward the back, with their rubber mats rolled up under their arms. They glanced at Dana, clearly reading the fury and tension in the taut lines of her posture. Dana ignored them and leaned forward and nearly spat her reply at Corinda. “I got suspended.”

“Suspended? Why?”

“You’re the great psychic. I thought you’d already know.”

Corinda’s smile leaked away. “Okay, you’re clearly upset. Your aura is crackling with negative energy.”

“My aura’s fine,” snapped Dana. “My life’s falling apart and it’s your fault.”

“Mine?” Corinda looked truly surprised. “How is it my fault that you got into trouble at school?”

“How? How?”

“Stop yelling.”

“You went to the cops. You were all over TV. Your face is in the papers. I think you know.”

Corinda hustled out from behind the counter, took her by the arm, and half led, half pulled her to the table on the other side of the screen. “You need to sit and calm down, Dana.”

“Why? Because you don’t want people to know what kind of egotistical jerk you are?”

“No, because this is a sacred place of spirit and there is a yoga class starting. Show some respect.”

Dana lowered her voice but not her intensity. She sat with her back to the partition but leaned across the table to hiss at Corinda. “Sunlight was going to talk to the sheriff.”

“I know.”

“So why did you?”

“Because he was thinking about it and I didn’t think we could afford to wait any longer. I did try to find him, though, but he was out. I waited as long as I could, and then I drove over to the sheriff’s office.”

“You made this all about you,” said Dana. “You made this all about the great and powerful psychic Corinda Howell.”

Corinda’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly would you have had me do? Tell everyone that a fifteen-year-old girl was seeing angels and devils? That the dead were talking to you?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Sorry to break it to you, sweetie, but the truth isn’t always the best thing. If I’d told the absolute truth, they’d have put you in the spotlight. What chance would you ever have for a normal life? They already think I’m weird. I’m the strange lady who runs that weirdo store in town and does tarot card readings and talks to the spirit world. That’s me and that’s who I am already. If people think I’m some kind of nut, it won’t exactly be a news flash. But, Dana, you’re new here in town. You’re still a kid. I know what it’s like to be strange in school. I was mocked and made fun of my whole life. I never had a chance for a normal life. Never. You still do. I can make it so that the thing that happened to you in the locker room was because of your exposure to me. I can sell that and people will buy it. The focus won’t be on you, and after a while people won’t even care about that. Not even the kids at school. The story is already so much bigger than your vision of Maisie that you aren’t even mentioned in the papers. You’re mad at me because I’m taking credit for it? Sure. Be mad, that’s okay. And later on when you’re able to make friends at school and meet guys and go to proms and have a regular life, maybe you’ll take your ego out of high gear and realize that what I did was done out of empathy and compassion for you.”

Dana sat there, stunned into silence.

Corinda reached across and took her hands. “I’m your friend, sweetheart. I always will be. I care enough about you that I can deal with you being mad and even hating me at the moment. It won’t change how I feel, and it won’t drive me away.”

Dana was too confused by the rush of conflicting emotions in her heart and head to say anything. Corinda patted her hands and then went off to fetch tea and a muffin for her.

She set them down and then had to go off to ring someone up.

Dana stared at the little carrier of tea bags, and as she did so her fear and anger returned. Quieter now, though. She picked up one of the kind that she usually drank. The small paper label read SOOTHE. She sniffed it, then glanced around to make sure no one was looking as she quickly stuffed it into her backpack. There were three other Soothe tea bags, and she took a second one, stripped off the little paper tag, stashed the bag with the other one she’d taken, then took a plain tea bag of a common commercial brand, removed the tag, crumpled the SOOTHE tag around the string, then dunked the bag into her cup. She pushed the tea carrier away.





CHAPTER 77

Beyond Beyond

10:04 A.M.

Dana was about to get up to leave when she saw Sunlight come out of his Chrysalis Room. He wore baggy black pants like a modern dancer might wear, and a blue velour shirt embroidered with spinning planets and suns. He spotted her and came over quickly and slid onto the opposite bench seat. His handsome face was creased with concern.