Cadence

by Wilson, Dianne J. ;

  “Don't think. Just put colours on the canvas. Abstract is what we are aiming for.”

  Kai didn't have energy to argue. He dipped the brush into the purple blob, smooshed it into the blue and painted a wavy line diagonally across the top corner. Without rinsing his brush, he dipped it into the yellow and swirled the yellow paint into the green. Another wavy line appeared below the first one, swirls of all four colours blending.

  TrisTessa grinned at him, nodding her head. "Perfect. Keep going."

  Kai decided to play her bluff. If she'd been hoping to avoid his questions by making him paint, he was about to prove her wrong.

  His brush swooped up and down as he considered his words. What he would give to have Evazee's talent of saying the right thing. That would be great right now. “I had a vision. We can call it a dream if it's easier for you.”

  TrisTessa focussed on his painting, tilting her head this way and that, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “A vision is a vision. Go on.”

  “You were in it.” His hand shook and the line went skew. “There was also a baby.” Kai felt her gaze on his face, but he stared fiercely ahead as if the canvas was the only thing in the world. He dabbed a thick blob of orange over the ruined line. “You had hurt yourself, but the baby grabbed your sore arm and his touch healed you.” He cleared his throat against the tension threatening to choke him. “A man came in—"

  “Roland.”

  “Yes, Roland. He took the baby away.” Kai had switched from lines to circles. He painted another one, trying to figure out what he was actually asking TrisTessa. Mom.

  “And you want to know if you were that baby, if Roland is your dad, and if that is what happened?”

  His hand dropped to his side, brush splodging paint onto his jeans. For the first time since tackling the subject, he met her gaze.

  “What you described is exactly what happened.” She reached for him, as if to take his hand but folded her arms instead. “Don't hate him, Kai. He thought he was doing the right thing.”

  “It makes no sense.”

  “Very little in life does.” She squinted at his canvas, a random mess of colours that could have been the work of a three-year-old. Grabbing his hand, brush and all, she dipped the tip into the black and guided his hand through a series of swift strokes. Kai couldn't quite make out what it was until the last few strokes landed.

  Under the direction of her skill, his random mess became an eagle, soaring high against a backdrop of planet earth.

  TrisTessa grinned at him, delight crinkling the skin at the corners of her eyes. “Good job.”

  The gallery doorbell rang. TrisTessa crossed to a small monitor mounted next to the door and pressed a button. The display lit up and showed three men and a woman at the front door of the gallery.

  Kai was studying his, or rather her handiwork, but he heard her suck in air and a sliver of disquiet shot through him. She spun towards him.

  “You have to go now.” She bustled him towards the door and away from the main entrance. “Use the back exit. Go quickly.”

  “What's going on?”

  “Nothing!” She forced a smile and her voice softened. “Nothing, I just have an appointment that slipped my mind. I'm sorry, Kai. Please excuse me. Follow this passage, go left at the end, and you'll see the door. Go now.” She was as jumpy as a lizard on a hot desert floor, torn between watching him leave and observing whoever had come into the gallery. With a quick wave, she turned her back on him and left.

  Kai had half a mind to follow her and see what had rattled her so badly, but he was tired and hungry, and their conversation had left him more unsettled than before. Let her have her secrets.

  2

  Runt was in the basement. She lay flat on her back stretched out like a body in a coffin with her hands clasped around a glowing object, the light so strong it shone between her fingers, making her skin look transparent.

  Evazee ran to her side and felt for a pulse. Her heartbeat was shallow and irregular. “Guys, get that thing out of her hands.” She pulled back Runt's eyelids. Her eyes stared with little response from her pupils, which had stretched to inky black circles.

  Ruaan and Zap knelt on either side of the small girl.

  Zap prised her fingers back, but each time he got one free the rest would clamp down harder.

  Ruaan swatted his hands. “Shove off. Let me try.”

  Zap tucked his hands in his armpits with his eyebrows cocked.

  Ruaan held Runt’s fingers in one hand and tried to wedge his other hand between her skin and the object. The tip of his finger slipped past hers and touched the glowing pendant. He shot back as if he'd stuck his finger in a live socket. He smacked into a wooden storage crate and fell to his knees groaning.

  Evazee frowned at Ruaan on the floor. “It's no use. We have to take her upstairs.”

  Zap side-stepped along the wall, keeping as much space between him and Runt as he could. He pulled Ruaan to his feet and shoved him towards Runt. They lifted Runt between them and carried her to the lift.

  Evazee was about to push the button to close the door when she heard a thin growl. It raised the hairs on the back of her neck, even though it was a pitiful sound that held little promise behind its threat. She peered out of the lift, changed her mind about investigating and pushed the button quickly.

  “We're taking her upstairs. Once she's settled, you two are coming back to find out what is growling down here in the dark.”

  3

  Kai walked into chaos at the OS. A small Chinese girl sat just inside the front door, sobbing. Her blue-black hair was caught up in two ponytails that stuck out from the side of her head like paintbrushes and huge tears trailed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. A green mess wrapped tight around her heart. He reached for her hand, helped her up, and she followed him, wiping her nose on her dirty sleeve.

  A group of boys squared up in the passage, ready to pull each other's hair out. Kai could almost feel the green waves of altered testosterone rolling off them. The two taller boys seemed to be the main instigators. Kai pushed them apart. “Stop that rubbish and come.” Kai walked on without looking back.

  In the meeting hall, a skinny girl in jeans and tank top had taken over the drum set. The beats she played were random as if she were trying to avoid rhythm altogether. If that was indeed her goal, she was succeeding.

  The discord rattled through Kai, and he walked over, took the sticks out of her hands and flicked his head for her to follow. Her cheeks flushed, but she left the drums and joined the group behind him. As he walked, he gathered them. All broken, twisted, messed up from the Obsidian Square Affinity training program. The group behind him swelled and doubled, then tripled.

  He led his motley following towards the auditorium where he’d played to drunken crowds before, the same place they’d all been given their first good meal together. Each kid he spoke to came with him. His gut told him they would follow and they did.

  He waved towards the chairs. While they filed in and settled, his mind raced. They all needed fixing, there was no doubt there. But where should he start? He had a hunch, but it was a long shot and if he was wrong, he could lose some of these kids. Tau, what now?

  The little girl holding his hand tucked in close to his leg and sucked her thumb. Her tears had dried up and left two dirty tracks down her cheeks.

  A side door flung open, and Zap rushed through. Sweat ran from his temples, and he breathed hard as if he’d run up hundreds of stairs. “Kai! Where have you been, man? Come quick. It’s Runt.” He bolted up the stage steps, grabbed Kai’s arm, and halted. Then he spun in a slow circle. “I’m interrupting. I can come back.”

  Silence had fallen across the room, with the audience’s attention shifting from Kai to Zap.

  Kai had to tap Zap’s arm to get his attention. “What about Runt?”

  “She found something. A necklace. Kai, she’s not conscious.”

  Kai pulled Zap close and whispered, “I can’t leave this lot
alone. They’re trouble waiting to happen. Split them into groups of their gifting. By the time you’re done I’ll be back.”

  “And just how am I meant to do that? I don’t even know—”

  “You’ve been around this place longer than me. Figure it out. You can hear thoughts sometimes, right?”

  “Yeah, but only under sim.”

  “That’s the thing. That whole adventure we’ve just got back from? That wasn’t a simulation. We were in the spiritual realm.”

  “Ah, man, I don’t like that. I don’t—”

  “We don’t have time. Look how restless they are. Don’t over-think. Your brain will get in your way. Just trust Tau to show you. Now, where do I find Runt?”

  ~*~

  Evazee stroked Runt’s hair. Without her words, touch was the only comfort she could offer. Her loss stung keenly and grew into a lump in her chest that she struggled to draw breath around. Runt shivered so hard that her teeth rattled, but her forehead was too hot to touch. A convulsion twisted through her, and she cried out. A hot, helpless tear rolled down Evazee’s cheek.

  The necklace glowed between Runt’s tightly clenched fingers, shooting out glowing beams that moved, tracing patterns on the walls and ceiling. It was all too much. Evazee shut her eyes and hunched over. Jesus, help.

  The door swung open, and Kai rushed in with a small Chinese girl in tow. Kai glanced around before meeting her gaze. “What’s going on?”

  Evazee kept stroking Runt’s hair. “We found her like this downstairs. We tried to take the necklace, but it’s impossible. I don’t know what to do. She’s burning up.”

  Kai swung around, staring at the walls, the ceiling. “Do these images change? Or are they just repeats?”

  “What images?”

  Kai squinted at the ceiling and pointed.

  Evazee followed his finger and gasped. “Whoa, I thought they were just patterns. Can’t make out what it is, Runt’s fingers are right across it all.”

  “It looks like the inside of a lab. Those men are wearing lab coats. Let’s move her hand.”

  “Tried that already. Let me just say that it’s not advisable.”

  “Maybe not.” Kai studied Runt’s hands and arms, his forehead creased. “There is some type of current flowing from the pendant. It’s locked Runt’s fingers and arms. Can you see it?”

  It was a throwaway comment, but it stung. Evazee fought hard to keep her face neutral. “That’s your thing, remember?”

  Kai didn’t answer. His full attention was on Runt. “Get ready to grab the necklace. I’ll say when.” He reached for her elbows and flinched as his skin touched Runt’s. Grimacing as if he were holding a hot poker, he clenched his jaw and held on. Runt thrashed from side to side, a guttural moan escaped her lips. Kai kept holding.

  “Any second now...”

  Evazee’s blood pounded so loud through her head that she had trouble hearing over it.

  “Now! Take it.”

  Runt’s fist popped open. Evazee shoved down the fear and reluctance that paralyzed her and grabbed the pendant. As it lifted off Runt’s skin, it snapped shut, cutting off the images and throwing the room into darkness. Evazee lost balance and fell.

  Runt yelled, convulsed once, and collapsed back onto the couch.

  Evazee tried to slip the necklace off past her head, but her hands had closed around the chain as if it were super-glued to her skin. “I can’t get it out of her hands. I’m scared of hurting her.”

  Something bumped and shuffled through the room. In a moment, lights flickered on overhead. Kai had found the light switch. “That’s not quite what I had in mind.”

  He had dark rings beneath his eyes and his hair stood up in all directions. Seeing him so mussed up bent her insides a little. Evazee slipped a hand to Runt’s forehead. It was cool to the touch, and the girl seemed to breathe normally again. Her eyelids fluttered open at Evazee’s touch. She frowned hard and poked Evazee’s cheek. “You real?”

  “We’re back.” Evazee spoke softly, but the wariness lurking in Runt’s eyes didn’t budge. Shadows shifted across her face. She was a terrified little girl. Evazee kept her voice low and gentle, “You’re safe now.”

  Runt’s hands flew to the pendant around her neck and relief relaxed her muscles. “Took you long enough.”

  “I know, I know. At least we’re here now.”

  Kai knelt next to her. “That’s a nice necklace. Where did you get it?”

  “I found it. It’s mine now.” Her jaw clamped shut, forcing her lips into a tight line.

  “Are you being honest, Runt?” Kai fought to keep his face straight.

  Runt was struggling not to blurt out everything. Deception was not in her nature.

  “Oh, fine. That boy—Snitch—he gave it to me. It’s just a present.”

  “Do you know what it’s for? What the pictures mean?”

  Runt rolled her eyes. “It’s just for pretty. I’m tired now. Is there food?”

  Evazee reached for her hand. “I’m sure we can find something for you. Come on.”

  ~*~

  Kai and the two girls walked into chaos in the auditorium.

  Runt was licking ketchup off her fingers from the hotdog she’d eaten. She stopped dead and stared.

  Zap and Ruaan argued on stage, while the kids down below stood behind crossed arms, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other.

  It only took a quick glance for Kai to see that their grouping was completely random, nothing to do with their gifting at all. He mounted the stage, two stairs at a time. “Guys, what is going on?”

  Zap was red in the face from arguing. “This genius has been arranging kids according to their birth date. That’s not even logical.”

  Kai tried to keep the frown off his face. “And you?”

  Zap swung his hands in circles as if trying to coax the right words out. “Height. Tall ones over there and short ones on that side. Makes perfect sense.”

  “What about their gifting?”

  “Oh, there’s no way to tell that. None at all. We’re just going to have to go according to height.” Zap looked pleased with himself, then turned to Kai and grimaced. “I’m not a nitwit.”

  “I never said you were.”

  “But you thought it and that’s just as bad.”

  Kai rubbed his chin as a thought budded. Maybe there was a simple way to do this. “Runt, go get a big piece of cardboard and a marker from the office. Don’t sass me, just go.” He pulled Zap close and whispered, “Walk through the crowd. As you go, repeat this in your head: if you can hear this, sit down and put your hands on your head.”

  “I’m not going to do that.”

  Kai silently steel-eyed his friend.

  Zap caved. “That’s not fair. You can’t order me around using your thoughts.” He turned on his heel and harrumphed.

  Kai turned to the kids in the hall, who were fast losing interest and getting rowdy. He cleared his throat and clapped his hands, but nobody noticed. He considered yelling, but nobody would hear him. Kai turned in a circle to check the stage and found a guitar. In a few seconds, he’d tweaked the tuning, plugged it into an amp and began to play. A wave of quiet rolled over the crowd, starting with those closest to the stage and washing through to the edges of the room.

  Kai played until he had all their attention. “Right everybody, close your eyes. We will be giving instructions that you might hear. Or you might not. If you do hear them, do what they say. If you hear nothing, do nothing. Simple, yes?” He waved Zap towards the people.

  At first, nothing happened. Giggling broke out as Zap passed a group of younger girls. Zap walked in a slow zig-zag, making sure to get within a few steps of each person in the room. He paused and then glared at Kai.

  Then it happened. A tall African chap sat down and put his hands on his head. Then another, and another. By the time Zap had finished his circuit, there were at least twenty who had heard his instruction and sat on the floor with their legs crossed, hands on thei
r heads.

  Kai waited until Zap was back alongside him. “Open your eyes.” Small chaos erupted as each one looked around. “Those who are sitting, please make your way to the front here. Zap will be teaching you how to use your gifting. It seems you are able to sense the thoughts of those around you. This is a form of discernment, and it’s part of your gift. Please go with Zap.”

  Zap sidled over to Kai. “What are you doing? You can’t make these kids my problem. I don’t know how to teach them about this. I barely know when I’m doing it.”

  Kai patted him on the head. “You’ll do great. Now go get on with whatever you think will work.”

  “You’re forgetting that I don’t even know how I’m doing this, let alone how to teach someone else. You can’t make them my problem.”

  “And we can’t afford to let them go without doing something to bring them back from the training they’ve just been through. Come on, Zap. Just go.” Kai turned his back on Zap, hoping it would be enough to cut off the conversation. He didn’t have anything else to say. Zap just had to get out there and figure it out.

  Ruaan shoved Zap’s shoulder. “Go on, Bru, do the right thing.”

  Kai patted Ruaan’s back. “Ruaan, I’m glad you feel that way. You’re up next.” The effect on the boy was the same as whipping out a box of snakes in a kindergarten class.

  Ruaan backed away so fast he nearly tripped on his own feet.

  Zap chuckled, pointing at Ruaan as he led his little band of broken souls out of the auditorium to find a quiet place.

  Ruaan rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t even have a thing. Sorry man. Can’t help you.”

  “Don’t start with me. Today has been too long.”

  Runt came back with the cardboard and pen and shoved it into Kai’s hands. He crouched on the floor and wrote in his neatest writing. If you can read this, follow me. The words squiggled across the page, worse than a spider dancing through an ink stain. Runt clucked her tongue, took the pen and card out of his hand, and settled on the floor. She turned the cardboard upside down. The tip of her tongue poked out the side of her mouth with concentration as she wrote out the same words and handed it over to Ruaan. “At least they might be able to read it now.”