The Flight of the Silvers (Silvers #1)(215)

“What are you looking at?”

Hannah jumped and spun around. For all the world’s new possibilities, she didn’t expect Amanda to be standing right behind her. Her sister had been downstairs getting her leg x-rayed, or tomographed, whatever it was called. Now she was here on the balcony, propping herself on tempic crutches, holding two paperback novels under her arm.

“Sorry,” said Amanda. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No. I’m okay. I was just . . .” Hannah took a moment to register Amanda’s crude white supports. “Wow. You made your own crutches.”

“Yeah. The ones Peter got me are a little too short. These will be fine.”

“I thought you couldn’t hold the tempis for more than a few seconds at a time.”

“I thought so too. Who knows? Maybe I’m getting stronger.”

Amanda briefly scanned the room, then tossed a worried look at Hannah. “Listen, I hope you’re not sharing a room for my benefit. I mean if you wanted to, you know, be with Theo . . .”

“No. We’re actually good the way we are, as strange as that sounds.”

“That’s not strange.”

“Well, it’s strange for me. You know how stress makes me slutty.”

Amanda laughed. “I think you’re working off an old image of you.”

Now it was Hannah’s turn to grow concerned. “What about Zack? I mean . . .”

“Oh no. We didn’t. We’re not—”

“I didn’t think you did. I just . . .” Hannah desperately tried to find a way to express her issue without mentioning their new ticking calendar. “I just don’t know why you two aren’t together. Especially now.”

Amanda knew, though she didn’t have the strength to discuss it. At some point soon, she’d have to have a long talk with Zack about siblings and Esis. She wasn’t expecting a brave response.

“It’s complicated.”

She dropped her books onto an end table. Hannah glimpsed armored knights on the covers. They clashed swords right above Peter Pendergen’s name.

“Wow. I forgot he was an author.”

“Yeah. He went out of his way to remind me.”

“You don’t like him?”

Amanda shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know what to think yet.”

“He seems nice, all things considered.”

“He does.”

“He’s certainly nice to look at.”

“Yes. He is that.”

“You’re just afraid he’s wrong.”

Amanda’s face darkened. Hannah turned around and cast an airy sigh over the railing. “Yeah. Me too.”

The crutches vanished. Amanda leaned on her sister now, resting her chin on her shoulder. They stared out at the vibrant dusk.

“I don’t think we’re going to die of old age,” Hannah mused. “Not even in the best case.”

Amanda closed her eyes. “I don’t think so either.”

“Mia was right, though. You and I are lucky.”

“We’re all lucky,” Amanda insisted. “We all have family here.”

“Well, they may be my siblings at heart, but you’re my flesh and blood and I love you.”

“I love you too, Hannah. So much. You saved my life today. You carried me.”

They held each other tight, sniffling in unison. Amanda eyed her sister strangely when she broke out in a high giggle.

“What?”

“Just thinking about Mom. If she could see us right now, she’d crap a kitten.”

Amanda burst with laughter. “Oh my God. She’s probably running around Heaven right now, looking for a camcorder.”

Hannah wiped her eyes. Amanda gave her a squeeze, then re-created her crutches.

“These painkillers are making me loopy. I need to lie down again.”

“Okay. I’ll come inside in a bit.”

Hannah spent another ten minutes watching the young lumis dancer perform in her bedroom, twirling her array of colored lines and spirals. The actress flinched with surprise when the girl suddenly moved to the window and waved a rainbow. Hannah didn’t know if she was waving at her or just continuing her routine. If the dancer wasn’t so far away, Hannah might have squinted at her wrist and counted the number of watches.

With that sudden reminder, Hannah dashed inside and rooted through her jeans until she found the purple note that Ioni had slipped her at the parade. Unfolding it revealed a flyer for some rock band called the Quadrants. They were playing at a Greenwich Village bar for one night only . . . in April of next year.

She flipped the sheet over and saw a few lines of blue-ink scribble:

Hannah,

Evan Rander took a good man out of your path. I’m putting one in. Go to this event. Look around. You’ll know him when you see him. He’s still wearing his bracelet.

Don’t lose hope, my dear Given. Don’t count the hours. Whether it’s four and a half years or four and a half decades, you still have a lifetime ahead of you. Enjoy as many moments as you can. Find your happy face.



Hannah leaned back against the dresser, her lips and hands trembling as she reread the note. By the third pass through, her cheeks were wet with tears and she found herself hating Ioni. The girl surely knew of the hell that awaited the Silvers in that office building, and yet she failed to warn them away. Why the hell should I trust you? Hannah seethed.