Halfblood Journey

by Rheaume, Laura

  “Ah, sure, okay. Thanks.”

  “Be right back.”

  Scythe watched Ian sit back again, crossing his arms and deciding how to continue with his rebuke. The man had no idea how his genial manner and good looks affected people. Scythe still remembered clearly how shocked he had been when Ian first walked up to him in an interrogation cell in Poinsea’s Watch, Menelaus, and shook his hand warmly. Scythe, whose instincts and senses were even then sharp, could tell immediately when Humans were putting up a front. At the time, he couldn’t believe how sincere Ian’s greeting was; he and his sister Lena were the first Humans who looked at him without seeing the halfbreed first. To them, it was no big deal, which blew him away. Since that time, he had come to see how genuinely unique it was to find a person, Human or Kin, who embraced not only him, but any stranger, as openly and fully as Ian did without a second thought.

  It was a reminder that Ian’s love for him was nothing he didn’t have for anyone he met. Scythe looked down, reviewing the information and the map on the screen in front of him, before returning the tablet to his pack. “I’ve got some more work to do. Can you get my food to go?”

  “What?” Ian sat up. “Where are you going?”

  “I am going to check a few things and can do it twice as fast without you there. I’ll be back in an hour.” Scythe stood up.

  “No. I’ll go,” Ian objected, but stayed seated when he saw Scythe’s face. He frowned, “You don’t want me to...what? See you at work?”

  Scythe was feeling the weight of spending so much time with his old friend. He had to admit that he enjoyed the easy companionship and the light humor; it had been that way for him with Lena and Ian from the very beginning and it was something that he had treasured. When he was young, it had been easy and free; now, it was a pain and the costs kept rising.

  When he had more time, he would have to set Ian straight about how things were. The sooner the man accepted that he wasn't the boy he used to know, the sooner he could move on.

  “No, I don’t care if you see, Ian. You saw it all already. It’s just that I can do it faster alone. Besides, all of your whining is getting under my skin.” He ignored Ian’s protest and turned toward the door.

  He approached a table with two large, heavily muscled men who had no idea how much their aggressive stares made him want to meet them outside, as they no doubt fantasized. Humans were so easy. Easy to read, easy to manipulate, and way too easy to kill.

  Well, it looked like there was one that might give him a run…

  Thinking about the hunt, his smile spread slowly, a dark, mirthless line. He passed the last table, where the two men with the stink of fear on them lowered their heads and focused on their meals.

  Chapter 9

  Irv paused at the end of the hall the moment he noticed the figure leaning up against his door. He considered turning and going back down the stairs, but the man looked over at him. Somehow he knew that running was a bad idea, so he made his legs move forward. The thick black pants and the jacket he remembered; it was the face he saw for the first time. The eyes, nose and mouth were Human, but the shape of the jaw and cheekbones, and the ears were all Kin. Short, deep black hair seemed to soak up the light around his head; there was some other color there, too, but it wasn’t bright enough in the hall for him to figure out what it was. The most arresting thing about him was the color of his skin: a strange gray that reminded Irv of concrete, or metal, or the ocean when the sun wouldn’t come out. He didn’t know what color it was, but it wasn’t the color of things that lived. Definitely not Human, and, even for a Kin, definitely creepy.

  No wonder he kept his helmet on. Irv would have, too.

  Despite his determination, he couldn’t make himself get closer than six feet. He stopped, hating it immediately when his voice stuttered, “What...what are you doing here?”

  The halfbreed said, “I want you to show me the freedom fighters.”

  Irv had already been nervous, but this made him downright scared, “I…”

  “Save it,” the man said and, without moving, grabbed him and held on to him.

  Irv couldn’t move, couldn’t see anything but murky, deep green. It swirled around him, drowning his will, suffocating his mind. He choked, and flailed uselessly. Then, in the center of the storm, a bright green sparkled and then grew. He reached for it desperately, drawn instinctively to the brightness, and was pulled up onto a field flush with the fresh, clear green of new growth after a long winter.

  The halfbreed’s voice boomed across the landscape, “Freedom fighters, the terrorists.”

  His memories, dozens of them, came like dogs to the call, jumping forward eagerly. As the man brushed them lightly over the head, both he and Irv relived a portion of them. The majority was of things he had heard, or discussions he had had with friends, speculating mostly. These did not interest the man, and he pushed them away; these discarded moments rolled away into the grass, hovering in the distance where they stopped.

  In spite of a lifetime of living in submission to the Kin and years of the hardship in a bordertown, Irv had never felt as violated as he did at that moment, when the stranger arrogantly sifted through the one thing that had always been his. “Get...get out!” he cried.

  The man didn’t even hesitate.

  His sister, wiping up a table and complaining, “They’re making more trouble for us, is what they’re doing…” Not interested. Trash.

  Irv could see it from his station: the smoke was still rising a day later, but no one was interested in involving themselves...trash.

  “Four more taken away for questioning by the Sedona militia,” grumbled Ren as the truck cleared the gate. “With actions like that, they’re doing the recruiting for the fighters.”

  “You know any?” Irv asked, wondering if Ren were one.

  “No, it’s just obvious. Stuff like that just makes folks resentful. Some are gonna get fed up.”

  “What about you?”

  “Naw. I got me a job.” Trash.

  Irv tried with all of his strength to pull the remaining memories away, but they didn’t respond. He tried to push the man out of his mind, with similar results. He tried to get control of his body, but he could not even feel his own arms and legs. The field was his whole world and he was powerless in it. His spirit quailed and he moaned aloud.

  The halfbreed did not acknowledge him. Then, he found it. Irv’s heart started to pound in his chest.

  He looked through the viewer and saw a woman. “Can I talk to you a min, Irving?”

  He opened the door. “Yeah?”

  “I heard you’re interested in us,” she said, stepping inside without an invitation. He backed away from her, giving her space to close the door.

  “Us?”

  She didn’t answer, but gave him a solid look.

  He swallowed. Finally, a chance to do something… “Yeah. I mean, I am.”

  “Okay, we’ll let you know,” she nodded and turned away.

  “What? That’s it?” he asked, surprised. “What do you want me to do?”

  “We’ll tell you when we need you. You’ll do it, and then that will be it.”

  “That...is that all?” He was disappointed. He was ready to give up his apartment, go into hiding, whatever it took… “I see, you don’t trust me yet. I understand.”

  “No, you misunderstand. This is it. This is how we do it. All you need is the willingness to help when you’re needed and the strength to pull it off.”

  “Pull what off?”

  “Whatever we ask you to do.” She tapped her wrist and turned away, “You won’t hear again until then.”

  “Thank you, I’ll do my best.”

  “Good.”

  She left without another word. He leaned against the wall, thinking of his cousin and his brother and his friend. “This will be for you,” he promised their departed souls.

  After that, the stranger discarded the remaining memories after barely touching them, and, without warning,
let him go. Irv came to his senses in the hallway, staggering into the wall. He looked around and saw that the halfbreed was leaving.

  “You freak bastard,” he managed to croak out.

  Again, the man didn’t react, until Irv called after him desperately, his precarious situation belatedly occurring to him. “Hey, you gonna turn me in now, right?”

  The man said, to Irv’s surprise, “I’m hunting them, not you.”

  “But...but I am one of them,” Irv’s pride forced him to insist, even though his common sense screamed at him to shut up.

  “Is that what you think?” the stranger asked as he began to descend the stairs.

  Irv felt like he was going to throw up. Leaning on the wall for support, he dragged his feet to his apartment. Inside, he leaned his forehead against the cool metal of his hall cabinet. Anger, fear and pain fought for dominance inside of him. Finally, pain won: pain for what had been done to him, and pain for what all of them suffered, with no end in sight. He slid down the cabinet until he was huddled on the floor and let the wave overtake him.

  -----------

  Ian finished the last of his orange juice and set the cup down next to the empty plate. He leaned forward onto his elbows and ran his hands through his hair.

  Lena, he thought, I could use you right now.

  Although they were twins, they had always been very different. Lena was the one who could make things happen, get the impossible done, out of sheer determination. Ian had never been strong that way; the closest he could get was to emulate her, and even that was a weak substitution. Lena would be able to reach him, Ian was sure.

  However, his sister was far from being able to help. Aside from being heavily pregnant and thousands of miles away, she was unable to even give him her advice. Smoke, her Kin husband, kept her and the family safe with his military experience and by lending them his protected, legal status. Even so, they had long ago figured out that they were always under surveillance, by both the Human and Kin governments. In-home transmitters were detected and eliminated by Smoke, whose Kin senses easily picked up even the smallest sounds, so their home was distance monitored by highly sophisticated listening devices. It used to make Lena rabid, but she had learned to live with it. Every week, she and Smoke took a stroll around the neighborhood and destroyed any equipment they found. After years of study and practice, they knew exactly what the range, size and location requirements were for all the offensive devices and had become very good at finding them. Not only was it very expensive to keep tabs on Lena, it was also dangerous. They were constantly followed when they left the house, although, at a fair distance, since tails that got too close tended to get beaten up.

  Finally, they were sure that all their transmissions were spied upon as well. So, even if Ian could contact her, he wouldn’t be able to speak frankly regarding his growing concerns about Scythe. For one, they had a firm rule that they did not discuss any of their abilities aloud; their powers were coveted by some Kin factions, and feared by others, both of which had endangered their lives in the past. Second, Ian knew that Scythe had his own problems with the Kin, and their family didn’t want to draw attention to him if they could help it.

  All the care they had taken to protect their family over the years made a compelling argument for why Mercy’s actions were so intolerable. In one swift strike, she had endangered her own life, given indications of her abilities, shone the spotlight on herself, her family and Scythe, and reestablished the connection between the young man and themselves, something they knew Scythe had worked for the last five years to break, for their benefit as well has his own. Scythe had every reason to be outraged by the whole situation.

  However, what Ian hadn’t expected and what worried him was the transformation in Scythe’s personality. Ian, like his whole family, had been very close to Scythe at the age of thirteen, when he first appeared in their lives. Something about his quiet surety, intelligence and direct manner reached out to them; before they knew it, he had become one of the family. To Ian and Lena, Scythe was the younger brother they never knew they were missing until he stood there at the door. They, who had clung to each other after their parents’ disappearance and rebuilt their lives together, found that they yearned to include the amazing boy that no one wanted.

  Ian remembered the boy’s first smile, the first real smile, not the half grins that were uncommon enough when they met him. It wasn’t brought on by some big event, but by a little comment during a quiet moment. They were home on one of their breaks from the abducted children assignment, one in which they had not been having any luck. Faith was in the middle of her pregnancy with Will and Mercy was just a young girl of nine.

  Lena had said, in typical fashion, “Ian, you and Scythe clean up the dishes. I’m going to check on our case.”

  “Yeah, right, because there is sure to be an update from an hour ago,” Ian said sarcastically.

  “Look...okay, I admit that there is only a slim possibility…” She edged towards the door to the living room.

  “You are so stinking lazy, Lena,” Ian complained, getting up and clearing the table. Scythe was already at the sink.

  “What, honey?” Lena tilted her head, calling behind her. Her hand was on the doorframe. “I think Mercy just called me. Sorry, got to go. I think she might have fallen and broken something.” She disappeared.

  Ian carried the stacked plates to the counter and, shaking his head, opened his mouth to apologize for his sister. He forgot what he was going to say when he saw Scythe’s expression. The steam rose up from the pool of hot dishwater and the boy’s long hair fell forward as he focused on his task. Nevertheless, Ian could still see the wide, brilliant smile that spread across his face and shone in his eyes. Ian’s heart swelled in his chest to see the boy that had been so distrusting and closed, so lonely, find moments of such happiness in his home. He wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of his life.

  “Ian, what’s the matter?”

  Ian blinked, coming out of his thoughts to see a concerned Scythe, the smile a memory. “Are you all right?” The youth quickly wiped his hands on the towel at his waist, but then stopped, unsure of what to do.

  “Oh, I’m sorry Scythe. No, I’m fine, thanks.” Ian reached across and gripped Scythe’s shoulder, and then, impulsively, pulled him into a hug.

  The boy stood there in shock for a second, and then hesitantly he lifted his hands and gently patted Ian’s arms. “Ian?”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m just glad you’re here, Scythe, is all.”

  Scythe didn’t know what to say so he said nothing; even that pleased Ian. His often ruthless honesty was one of the things Ian truly loved about the boy; even simple pleasantries were deemed beneath his code of honor if they were the least bit false.

  “Daddy!” Mercy yelled exuberantly from the door, apparently free of broken bones. “No hugs without me!” She ran up to them and smiled triumphantly when her father immediately picked her up. She wrapped her arms around each of their necks and pulled their cheeks against hers. “Uncle Scythe…”

  Ian and Scythe exchanged a surprised look. She had never called Scythe 'uncle' before.

  “Um, yes, Mercy?”

  “You’re my Uncle, right?”

  Ian grinned, knowing already what the boy would say.

  “No.”

  “But I want you to be in our family, so you’re my uncle until I grow up.”

  “Is that so, Mercy?” asked Ian. “And then what?”

  “Then I’m going to marry him,” Mercy said, her eyes glinting playfully.

  Ian laughed harder than usual after getting a look at Scythe’s face. “What about your first grade teacher? I thought you were going to marry him?”

  “No, I’m going to marry Scythe now. He’s perfect,” Mercy said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  Scythe swallowed, stunned, which got Ian going again. His side was starting to hurt. Deciding to give the boy a well-deserved break, he put Mercy down and said, “You
r Auntie Lena is looking for you. I think she has candy, but you have to really torment her for it. Whatever you do, don’t take no, for an answer.”

  All thoughts of her impending marriage evaporated, and she raced out of the room.

  Ian and Scythe turned back to the dishes, matching grins on their faces.

  “Is there anything else I can get you?” The woman said sweetly, mistaking the object of his smile. She placed the package containing Scythe’s food on the table. “More juice, while you wait for your friend?”

  Ian looked at the small clock on the wall. Scythe had been gone just over an hour, so Ian expected him at any minute. “No, just water, if you don’t mind. Thanks though, everything was very good.”

  “Thanks, we do our best. You gonna be in town long?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure. Depends on how much work we have. We might be in and out.”

  “What work you doing?”

  “Yeah, I’d like to know that, too,” said a man brusquely, coming up behind her and making her jump.

  “General!” she yelped, “You gave me a start.”

  The heavyset man planted himself next to her and frowned, “You’re keeping company that makes us around here uneasy.”

  The man’s bravery proved contagious. A murmur of voices rose up and spread around them. A woman said from a nearby table, “I thought they were illegal.”

  Her friend answered, “Naw. Not illegal. Just not so legal.” He laughed and was joined by several others, including the man in front of Ian.