Sanguine

by Carolyn Denman

  Bane didn’t balk at answering the hard questions. ‘Jake has something against Lainie. We’re not entirely certain why but he seems to have developed a bit of an obsession over her while she was away. He came for her almost as soon as he discovered she was back. Unfortunately for Tess, the day he picked to come after her was the day we went to Bright and she was here by herself. He took Tessa in the hope that Lainie would come to him as ransom.’ His disapproval was all the worse for the way he refused to look at me. ‘It almost worked, which is why we need to make sure he can’t try the same trick with anyone else.’

  David, Liam and Tim all looked at me with varying degrees of sympathy, but Nicole was glaring at me from where she was sitting up on the bench next to the fridge. Was she blaming me for Tessa’s abduction? That wasn’t fair—Jake had taken us completely by surprise. And I wasn’t going to let it happen again. I might have had my brain pretty well scrambled for a while, but I could still see the obvious solution. If I made myself an easy target then no one else would be at risk and Bane and Sergeant Loxwood could apprehend Jake before anyone got hurt. Assuming I was right about the compulsion, then even if Jake knew it was a trap he still wouldn’t be able to help himself. We could pick the time and the place. I wasn’t quite game enough to voice my opinion out loud just then though, so instead I tried to ignore all the looks by concentrating on my latest orange peel carving. Until Bane took my knife away. We were going to have to have a talk about that soon.

  David nodded, folding his roster and tucking it into his back pocket without argument. ‘Yeah righto, so we patrol. But do you really think that the kid’s just wandering around on foot somewhere hoping to get a chance to kidnap Lainie? He has no supplies, no transport and no obvious weapons. Are we sure we can’t just talk to him somehow? Get him to turn himself in and get some help?’

  Every time I’d seen him since my return, Noah’s dad had been quiet and serious. Had that been standard since his wife’s death? It wasn’t right. His playful green eyes used to be so full of energy and laughter—traits he had passed on to each of his boys, biological and otherwise. I wished somehow I could apologise to him too.

  ‘All we really need to do is prove that he’s breached his bail conditions, then I’ll make sure he’s put away properly and gets all the help he needs,’ the sergeant stated. Throughout the discussion he’d been staring at each of us, one at a time, as if assessing our attitudes. Clearly he wasn’t pleased with the idea of us all going a bit vigilante, even if he did understand our reasons.

  David crossed his arms. ‘So we’re just supposed to wait until he either misses a court appointment or approaches either Lainie or Tessa?’

  ‘Or commits some other offence,’ he agreed. ‘Trouble is, his next appointment isn’t for another two weeks. In the meantime, all I can do is impound his car and hope that he comes to claim it. If he does, I can question him about this morning’s incident. Listen, everyone, I think you’d better all have my direct number so you can contact me the moment you think he might be up to something. I have no problem with you all keeping a lookout for him but I need to insist that no one approaches him under any circumstance. Call me instead. Understand?’ He glared at my bodyguard, who looked back at him impassively. The testosterone in the air was nearly enough to make me sprout hairs on my chin.

  As he handed around a business card with his mobile number on it, I wondered if it was time to buy myself a new phone. The new sat-sleeve attachments must work pretty well if you could get reception even at the cave, but for some reason I felt reluctant. Mobile phones were representative of all that was both right and wrong with the world on this side of the Boundary and I was starting to understand why Harry had hated them so much. Not to mention the frustration he would have felt if Sarah had been able to call him every time he’d tried to do anything remotely risky on the farm. Looking at Bane, who was rinsing orange juice off the knife he’d confiscated from me, I could totally understand. Having a phone was clearly essential if we were going to work as a team to protect Eden and keep ourselves safe, and yet I still wished I could put off buying one for just a little longer.

  The discussions continued for some time, with Bane and Tim explaining the best places to stand guard, the most likely approaches that they thought Jake might take, and some general regulations when it came to guard duty. Honestly. Toilet break rosters? That was going way too far. No one was game to argue though. Not to Bane’s face anyway.

  Eventually Tessa decided she’d had enough. She left to have a lie down somewhere where she didn’t have to listen to General Millard and his Shield Agents talk tactics. Noah followed her with an armful of snacks for them to pig out on, but when I picked up an extra orange and tried to do the same, Bane manoeuvred himself between me and the door. I sighed. All that effort I had gone to three years ago to get him to lighten up and now I was going to have to start all over again.

  Picking up another two oranges, I started to juggle them in a complex sequence that Beltana had taught me, while Tim ran through the correct nine-step procedure for resisting the urge to scratch one’s nose while on duty, or something equally boring, I wasn’t really listening. Over by the sink, Dallmin smiled. The next part of the trick I had learnt from him. Cueing him with a slight twitch of my elbow, I tossed one orange towards him, then another while picking up yet another from the fruit bowl. Then I turned and threw one to Bane, which he caught easily, with a patient look on his face. Without pause I threw another two at Dallmin, who began to juggle them brilliantly, rolling them along the backs of his hands and captivating everyone’s attention. Spinning my remaining oranges in the air like they were dancing a waltz, I grabbed a couple of apples from the bowl and tossed them at Bane in quick succession. As he stepped forward to catch them, I darted deftly behind him, tossing oranges to everyone as I went. Laughing at his bewildered expression, I ran down the hall and out the front door. I knew he wouldn’t have let Dallmin show him up without at least some attempt at catching the fruit. I was impressed he hadn’t dropped any.

  He caught me halfway across the lawn, literally tackling me to the muddy ground when I didn’t stop willingly. He rolled us over so he hit the ground first, taking the full weight of both of us on his shoulder as we slid across the wet grass. Ouch.

  ‘Lainie, please, don’t do this,’ he pleaded, his lips tickling my ear. I relaxed in his arms immediately. He wanted me to stop, so I did. I had forgotten how to fight because I simply wasn’t interested in it. He rolled us over again and gently pinned my wrists to the ground, no longer trusting me. ‘I don’t want to ever have to do this again,’ he begged, his pearl grey eyes pleading forgiveness. ‘I won’t ever restrain you, I promise, but I need to know that you’re taking this seriously.’

  He was leaning over me in a way that made it difficult to take anything else seriously and I was vividly aware of his knee pressing mine down, holding me still. Was I really this tired from such a short sprint or was I puffing for another reason?

  His earnest expression begged me to understand. ‘I know things have been confusing for you since you came back, and honestly, I’m not sure that you understand the danger you’re in. Things are very different here. I know it must be irritating, but please let me look after you. Only for a little while, until we find Jake. I don’t like the idea of holding you captive in any way … could you just let me go wherever you go?’

  Warm breath blew across my cheek and I started to lose my concentration. His eyes struck sparks from my soul and wrapped me in ribbons of his silken appeal. I was utterly captivated in every way.

  It took me a few moments to remember how to speak. ‘Firstly,’ I wheezed, and then cleared my throat, ‘for someone who says he won’t ever restrain me, you’re doing a pretty good job of it.’ I smiled to take the sting out of my words, but he let me go, looking ashamed until I grabbed his arm and pulled him down again. ‘Secondly, you’ve been holding me captive for a long time, Bane, even
when I was living in Paradise. I’d be devastated if you ever stopped.’ His face began to relax. ‘And thirdly, where did you learn to catch oranges that well? I should have had a much bigger head start than that.’

  Smiling finally, he brushed his lips against mine, teasing, and then said, ‘My training officer wouldn’t let me throw knives until I could juggle oranges. He noticed that I have naturally quick reflexes. If only I could tell him how well his coaching has paid off.’ He was so close that his lips brushed mine as he spoke. Mmm, I was pretty sure his superior officers didn’t exactly have this outcome in mind. Pity, they could really boost recruitment numbers if they did. He kissed me again, far more thoroughly, and I melted into his strength. Releasing my wrists finally, he kissed me into submission instead. It was far more powerful.

  ‘I guess the meeting’s over then,’ I heard Liam remark. Looking up, I saw him standing on the front porch, trying to juggle three oranges. ‘S’okay, carry on, just ignore me. As you were, soldier.’ Grinning, he walked backwards into the house again, concentrating hard on the erratically flying fruit.

  We sat up sheepishly. Well, I felt sheepish, Bane looked smug. Naughty Guardian.

  ‘What would you like to do now?’ he asked, painting my cheeks with muddy war paint. ‘Are we going somewhere or should we go back in and let everyone know they can leave?’

  I rolled my eyes at him. ‘Of course we can go back in. I’ll be good. Just don’t take too long because I get bored easily.’ Helping me up, he started brushing grass out of my hair, not realising it was a lost cause. My plait had unravelled and curls were springing up around my face, bringing the bits of lawn with them. ‘Honestly, Bane? I am taking Jake seriously. After what he did to Tess, how could I not? But don’t forget that I’m not powerless either. Just because I enjoy fooling around, it doesn’t mean I can’t move mountains if I need to.’

  He stopped brushing and took my hands in his. ‘I am well aware of what you can do, Lainie. The problem is, you have a weakness. You can’t seem to do a thing to protect yourself and somehow Jake is compelled to exploit that. I don’t understand it. If he succeeds in ending the Cherub line, doesn’t that put Eden at risk? Why can’t you protect yourself?’

  Twisting my hands, I turned them, palm upwards, and rested them in his. I’d been thinking a lot about why the Words hadn’t come in time to stop Jake from shooting me. ‘My weakness is your strength. It’s a well-designed system. I need to remain clean enough to enter Eden but I can’t do that if I’m forced to hurt someone to defend myself.’

  ‘With the sort of power you have access to? You dissolved a gun! Why would you need to hurt anyone?’

  I forced myself to reply honestly. The truth frightened me.

  ‘Because I can’t always guarantee that I will be able to dissolve a gun. This authority I’ve been granted doesn’t work like casting spells. It’s based on need, and faith. When Sergeant Loxwood was pointing that gun at you in the hotel room, I believed at that moment that if the gun went off, the natural sequence of events would have ultimately and unavoidably revealed Eden to the world. The police attention—the media attention. So I was able to provide a supernatural intervention. Later, when I went to rescue Tessa, I tried to convince myself that the threat to Eden was again unavoidable. I wanted to end it without hurting anyone.’

  ‘Well that didn’t work,’ he grumbled.

  ‘Exactly. Because it isn’t magic. And I’m glad of that because if I had full control over it I really would hurt someone.’

  ‘No way. Why would you?’

  ‘Because I’m still so weak. I get frightened easily and I make mistakes. I’m not clever enough to come up with the best way to do things and I react like a frightened rabbit when I’m scared. Or worse, like a cornered tiger. Do you have any idea how dangerous I could be?’

  His hug eased some of my trembling. ‘Yeah. I get that, I guess. So let me help you. Let me protect you. I’ll end this threat and then we can just be us again. Boring and normal. You won’t have to do anything that scares you. Just let me get you through the next little while first, okay?’ He brushed an errant tear from my cheek as I nodded. Normal sounded wonderful, until a sliver of teenage self-doubt edged its way forward.

  ‘Bane? Would you still like me if I was normal?’

  He paused, taken aback. ‘Yes of course, although what exactly do you mean by normal?’ His eyes danced, yet his voice was serious. ‘I’m madly in love with you, Lainie Gracewood, regardless of whether or not you can control the weather, but I can honestly tell you that I would be heartbroken if you ever became normal. You have a light behind your eyes that’s been there since before you lived in Eden, although it’s far more noticeable now. If that light ever faded, a part of me would die, I think. I’m intoxicated by it, and it has nothing to do with your superpowers. There’s Life in you, and it shines most brightly when you’re happy. I’d give up my own life in an instant to preserve that.’

  I was stunned. Army Bane had left the building. So had insecure teenage Bane. The man before me was self-assured and confident … and flirting with me shamelessly. I could no longer fool myself into believing it was just his compulsion that made him like me. The breathtakingly gorgeous man before me really did love me and was doing everything he could think of to prove it. I was just me, and he was way too amazing, but it was finally starting to sink in. He cared about me. Me, Lainie, not just me, the Cherub he had to guard. My heart fluttered as it tried to dance a tiny celebration dance.

  ‘A light behind my eyes? Really?’ I tried unsuccessfully to suppress a grin at his overly-sentimental turn of phrase.

  His answering laugh was a bit self-conscious. ‘Um, actually, Lainie, there really is. A light, I mean. You and Dallmin both have it. Noah too, although it’s not as bright. Look closely in the mirror some time, you’ll see what I mean. And it does shine brighter when you’re happy.’

  ‘Oh!’ That was unexpected, and yet I believed him. I had already noticed it when I had spoken to Dallmin in the river the previous week. Throwing my arms around his neck, I hugged him so hard that he grunted. If he wanted happy, I could be happy.

  Chapter 50

  I lasted through almost two whole days of calm obedience before I pretty much lost the plot. The weather was protesting my enforced idleness almost as much as I was. As I watched the hail bouncing off the sheep, I pondered if I could possibly come up with a way to change the weather so that it only ever rained at night time. Surely there was a way I could convince myself that it would protect Eden? I was so, so bored. Even guard duty would have been more interesting than sitting in a tree watching hail bounce everywhere.

  ‘Can we go into town today? I want to buy something for Tim,’ I entreated, climbing up to another level of the large scribbly gum that grew sideways on the steep part of the hill paddock. Tim had applied for leave without pay from his job at the bank but wasn’t confident he would get it. Stubbornly, he insisted on staying in Nalong regardless. We would never be able to make it up to him if he lost his job.

  Bane reached up to my branch and pulled himself up easily with one bulging arm. ‘What would you buy him?’ he asked, indulging me before his inevitable refusal.

  ‘A dirt bike,’ I replied, tracing the wiggly lines on my branch with my fingertip. ‘I taught him how to service my old one yesterday, so I know he’ll be a kind and responsible owner now.’ And he seemed to like bikes. He patrolled around on mine even when he wasn’t on duty. Especially if Nicole happened to be rostered on, like today. Apparently they were going into town to watch a movie after their respective shifts, too.

  ‘Good idea,’ he agreed, and I nearly fell out of the tree. ‘There’s only one problem. It’s Sunday, and the shops are all closed.’

  Of course. There was always a reasonable excuse as to why we couldn’t go anywhere. I flopped down along the branch like a sleepy koala, arms and legs dangling while hail pelted me as pun
ishment for even asking. I kept forgetting that trees were so unhelpful as shelter here.

  ‘What if he loses his job, Bane? Can’t you convince him to go back? Money is important here, I remember that much.’ I also remembered the fact that Bane had also quit his job, as well as the army. For me. I didn’t have a clue as to how to start that particular conversation, though, so I chickened out.

  ‘Don’t worry about it. Can you keep a secret?’

  ‘You mean when there’s no embargo stopping me from spilling it?’ I asked, picking bits of bark off with my thumb.

  ‘Tim has plenty of money. His parents are seriously wealthy. He doesn’t like people knowing because he wants to make it on his own. Don’t worry about him, he’s just learning what his priorities are. He’ll land on his feet.’

  Wow. Tim was rich? Wait until Nicole found out. I was relieved, but still couldn’t shake the feeling of lethargy and futility I had. My mind started swimming with all those exhausting complications that seemed so insignificant but I knew weren’t. Like earning money. Then I chickened out of my chickening out. I was too worried about it to not ask.

  ‘Bane. What about you? Will you land on your feet too?’ His chin jerked up, almost like he was nervous, and so I knew I was right to be worried. ‘You loved the army, and you were good at it. I’m not happy that you had to quit for me.’

  His eyes burned as he answered. ‘For a moment let’s just ignore the fact that the dux of the school never even bothered to find out what courses she got accepted into.’

  Dux? Oh, yeah. Literally a lifetime ago. At least I’d gotten out of having to make some awful speech to the next lot of graduates.

  He exhaled in a way that made me think he had practised what he was about to say. Maybe he’d known it was coming. ‘How about you try to see it as I do?’ he suggested. ‘I’ve spent three years training to defend my country, and now I’ve been commissioned to defend you, and Eden. I’m fulfilling my training, Lainie, not turning my back on it.’