I hear a noise. Feet pounding against rock. We break apart and I glance behind us, into the dark tunnel that leads back to the chamber. I listen intently. The footsteps are coming fast.
‘He’ll be here in less than fifteen seconds,’ I calculate.
Simultaneously we both lean forward and peer over the edge again. Into the great black void. Into eternity.
‘There’s only one place we can go,’ he says, looking hopefully into my eyes.
I nod and gently touch the open locket that rests against my chest. ‘Only one place where we can be together.’
The footsteps get louder. Alixter’s agent is getting closer. A voice behind us yells, ‘Don’t move!’
Zen reaches down and slips his hand into mine. ‘Do you trust me?’
I smile. ‘With all my heart.’
‘Don’t let go,’ he tells me.
I interlace my fingers with his, squeezing tightly. ‘Never,’ I vow.
We take one step towards the edge and then, together, we leap.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Memory is a tricky thing. At least when it comes to my own. But regardless of how much I manage to unremember (and it’s a shocking amount!), the following people can never be forgotten.
Janine O’Malley, my editor. You have put up with me for four books now. That might be a bigger accomplishment than physically writing the books. I know how I can get.
Bill Contardi, my agent. This book would not be in existence without those three little words you wrote to me: ‘very cool idea’.
Simon Boughton, Joy Peskin, Kate Lied, Angus Killick, Elizabeth Fithian, Kathryn Little, Karen Frangipane, Ksenia Winnicki, Lucy Del Priore, Holly Hunnicutt, Jon Yaged, Lauren Burniac, Vannessa Cronin, Courtney Griffin, Jean Feiwel, Caitlyn Sweeny and all the fantastic people at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Thank you for continuing to support me, pamper me and make my books look good. I’m grateful to be working with such a dynamic group of book enthusiasts.
And thanks to Elizabeth Wood, who couldn’t have designed a more perfect cover for this book!
Ruth Alltimes, Polly Nolan and all the simply marvellous people at Macmillan Children’s Books UK who believed in this story from the beginning – before I even finished it. Now that’s faith!
Allison Verost. An extra, super-duper thanks goes to you because you are a total rock star and because you somehow miraculously manage to never look stressed out.
Meg Cabot, you are an idol and a total sweetheart. Thanks for supporting my book!
Thank you to the fantastic people who worked on the book trailer for 52 Reasons to Hate My Father. The beautiful cast: Alanna Giuliani, Hunter Blake, Micky Shiloah, Tom Wade, Javier Lezama, Wesley Rice and Lishmar, the horse! The hardworking, talented crew: Jason Fitzpatrick, Jason Bell, Terra Brody, Anna Bratton, Jackie Fanara and Charlie Fink. The musicians and bands who contributed music: ‘Time Will Tell’, ‘Shhh! It’s a Secret’, Matthew Clark, Sarah Meeks-Clark, Tommy Fields and Nikki Boyer. The generous people who allowed our little production to crash at your places of business/residence: Brian Braff, Steve and Zina Glodney, Jennifer and Ryan Bosworth, Lisa and Lisa at the Lionheart Ranch and Ike Pyun at the Parlor. And the awesome people who helped make the trailer shine: Ryan Bosworth, Jerry Brunskill, Shane Harris, Thatcher Peterson, Matt Moran and Ella Gaumer.
Liz Kerins, thank you for being there and for saying, ‘Send me more!’ Marianne Merola, thanks to you I now seemingly speak several languages. Nicki Hart, the master swag designer! Deb Shapiro, publicity and marketing genius. Also, thanks to Kim Highland, Kathryn Bhirud, Christina Diaz, Lisa Nevola Lewis, Leslie Evell, Brittany Carlson, BJ Markel, José Silerio, Rich Kaplan and Mark Stankevich.
Huge gratitude goes to Ruth Haas and Stan Wagon for walking me through complex mathematics that was way over my head, Tara Playfair for teaching me how to be Jamaican, Dr Julianne Garrison for the med-school crash course and Lynn and Rob at the Tealeaves Café, for allowing me to sit in your beautiful restaurant for hours without ever complaining (or threatening to kick me out) and for introducing me to the magical qualities of Mayan cocoa tea.
All the teachers, librarians, principals and students who have invited me into their schools. Thank you for welcoming me with such open arms and making me feel as though I have halfway interesting things to say. Thanks to all the librarians and booksellers who stock my books on the shelf and hand-sell them to readers. And to the foreign publishers who bring my stories to life all over the world.
Writers are crazy people. And, ironically, it’s other crazy people who keep us sane. Thank you to my support team of fellow writers who have managed to keep me on the ledge (as opposed to falling over the side of it): Alyson Noël, Robin Reul, Joanne Rendell, Brad Gottfred, Mary Pearson, Gretchen McNeil, Leigh Bardugo, Lauren Kate, Amanda Ashby, Carol Tanzman, Carolina Munhóz and Raphael Draccon. And an überspecial thanks to Jenn Bosworth, who read this book way before it was readable and who puts up with me far more than she should.
Terra Brody. You continue to impress me with your strength, creativity and ability to watch an entire season of Vampire Diaries in one night.
Michael and Laura Brody, I’m quickly running out of ways to tell you what cool parents you are.
Charlie Fink. Thank you for making me laugh, letting me cry, fixing broken plots and humouring me when I swear I’ll never write another book again.
And most important, and never ever forgotten, the biggest, fluffiest, warmest, shiniest, sparkliest thanks go to my readers.
Forced on the run again after their location is discovered by Diotech agents, Seraphina and Zen are challenged by a strange illness increasingly afflicting Zen, and the appearance of a beautiful and entrancing young man named Kaelen, who Sera finds herself instantly and undeniably attracted to. But unbeknown to Sera, Kaelen is actually a synthetically engineered Diotech agent, genetically designed to be her perfect match. Sera is torn between the inexplicable chemistry she feels with the handsome Kaelen and her loyalty to Zen. And when it is discovered that the only cure to Zen’s mysterious disease is manufactured and controlled by Diotech, Sera must make a choice: surrender to Kaelen to save Zen’s life or stay with Zen only to watch him die.
The second book in the compelling
Unremembered series,
publishing in March 2014
After returning to the Diotech compound and receiving a successful memory transplant, Sera is now living a happy, uncomplicated (and controlled) life with Kaelen, another synthetically engineered human like herself, with whom she is deeply in love. She has no recollection of Zen or her previous escapades. But the nagging feeling that something is missing from her life continues to plague her, and uncovering the truth will reveal the dark and disturbing reality about Diotech and its sinister plans for the future of the human race. The road ahead of Sera will be inevitably paved with rebellion, revolution and the biggest challenge she has yet to face: deciding between the soulmate she chose for herself . . . and the soulmate who was designed to choose her. Which love will prevail: the love perfected by science or the love perfected by love itself?
The third book in the suspenseful
Unremembered series,
publishing in March 2015
Jessica Brody is a bestselling US author of nine novels – two for adults, the rest for teenagers. She works as a full-time author and producer and lives in both Colorado and Los Angeles.
www.jessicabrody.com
First published in the US 2013 by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
This electronic edition published in the UK 2013 by Macmillan Children’s Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-4472-2117-3 EPUB
Copyright © Jessica Brody 2013
The right of Jessica Brody to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.
Table of Contents
Title page
Dedication page
Epigraph page
Contents
Awoken
PART 1: The Fall
1. Anew
2. Coverage
3. Accessories
4. Marked
5. Empty
6. Touched
7. Home
8. Craved
9. Scanned
10. Written
11. Proof
12. Lingual
13. Grudges
14. Confirmation
PART 2: The Return
15. Rationalizations
16. Promises
17. Exposed
18. Fiction
19. Visitor
20. Departure
21. Broke
22. Darkness
23. Humanity
24. Escape
25. Connected
26. Contained
27. Isolated
28. Fabrications
PART 3: The Surrender
29. Air
30. Found
31. Driven
32. Impediments
33. Deserted
34. Incomplete
35. Chat
36. Wants
37. Trusting
38. Winter
39. Temporal
40. Existence
41. Betrayed
42. Goodbyes
43. Fallen
44. Hollow
45. Open
46. Faith
Acknowledgments
Author biography
Copyright page