Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

‘What do we do?’ I whispered. ‘How did they find me?’

  She stroked my sweat-matted hair back and smiled determinedly. ‘It’ll be alright, Rowan. We’ll leave today. You’ll be safe, I promise.’ She kissed my cheek and gathered me close again, but her heart beat a rapid staccato under my ear and her breath came fast and shallow.

  ‘You’ll be safe,’ she repeated.

  We tell ourselves stories, inside our heads, about who we are. Usually they’re stories about how special and important we are or would be. Usually they’re wrong and we’re depressingly-ordinary. But only when we’re tested is the truth revealed.

  So what happens if, just once, they turn out to be right?

  Ordinary was my dream.

  My truth lay elsewhere.

  2

  Five years later…

  They aren’t looking for us. They aren’t even aware we’re in the city.

 

  Not sure. They must be close to taking whoever it is, though. They’re excited, but hiding it well. I just can’t pinpoint who they’re watching.

 

  Reasonable assumption. Possible they aren’t certain or they would have moved in already.

 

  Understood.

  ‘Dammit!’ I closed my eyes against the sight of the body sprawled at my feet. ‘You’re an idiot, Rowan Gilmore.’ A quick check showed I was, at least, still out of sight of the security cameras.

  The high, whitewashed walls of the MJE Enterprises employee gym echoed emptiness back at me. The big overhead lights were off, but city lights slanted through upper windows, illuminating the empty boxing ring and gym equipment in a sick, grey glow. Impossibly-perfect bodies and faces, plastered to every vertical surface, smirked down at me.

  I tasted the faint smell of old sweat and antiseptic, and released it on a shuddering exhale. One moment. All it took was one moment of unguarded idiocy to undo everything. I hadn’t made this sort of mistake since I was thirteen. What was wrong with me these days?

  I’d broken someone. Already.

  I rubbed at the back of my neck, trying to erase the uneasiness prickling there.

  What was he doing sneaking up on me anyway? Who was he? Building security? No. No uniform and he looked only about my age of eighteen. Had he seen anything?

  Blue rubber jigsaw mats underfoot absorbed sound as the guy on the floor groaned. At least he was alive and coming to. How injured was he? Any minute he’d open his eyes and the game would be up. Did I cut and run now? Everything was ready.

  He blinked vaguely up at me and shook his head, comically dazed. I suppressed a laugh that had more to do with relief than humour. He groaned and pressed his temple before rising clumsily to his feet.

  I stood back, my hands safely tucked behind me.

  ‘You OK? That was some fall.’ I tried to sound bluff and encouraging with a hint of concern. Not too concerned though. Not like I’d been worried, seconds before, that I’d killed him. Would he remember what had happened?

  He staggered and squinted down at me. His handsome face firmed to good humour. Now he looked familiar. His blond hair was barely mussed and his white t-shirt and cargo pants were tailored and still crisp.

  ‘What the hell happened?’ He grimaced and pinched a neck muscle between lean fingers. ‘I was just trying to get your attention and then...I have no bloody idea. What’d you do? I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.’

  ‘Nothing. You tripped on the edge of the mat and just about broke your neck. Scared the crap out of me.’ I held his gaze with practiced innocence. He glanced down at the mat. I’d lifted the corner moments before, while he was still out.

  ‘Huh. Well that was dumb. Good thing I learned how to fall in judo.’

  ‘Yeah.’ I smiled weakly. ‘Sure you’re ok?’

  He grinned. ‘No worries. Just don’t tell anyone what a klutz I am.’

  ‘Your secret is safe.’

  ‘What’re you doing here, anyway? I was on my way up to meet my dad.’ He jerked a thumb at the ceiling. ‘He’s at a meeting. Saw you and thought I’d come introduce myself. We’re seniors at the same school, y’know?’

  Ah, now I recognised him. I’d seen him around the halls of Cairns High and already decided he was a good person to avoid. Anyone who attracted that amount of attention was trouble. Not that he’d ever notice me. Compared to the flashy cream-skinned beauty of the girls he hung with, my current look of long, dark-brown hair and grey-blue eyes faded into the background.

  Being ignored was the point. I was good at it. Being invisible at school was practically my super-power. Well, one of them.

  On the wall above, the clock ticked in loud, dragging clunks, nearing six o’clock, filling the silence I left in the wake of his question.

  He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet, his smile sliding to the determined. He stuck out a hand.

  ‘I’m Paul. Paul Eisen. We sit next to each other in History.’ He grinned wryly. ‘But you might not have noticed today. Looked like you fell asleep when Fraser was droning on about Vikings invading England.’ He chuckled. He had a nice laugh. It made his blue eyes crinkle at the corners and showed off even, white teeth.

  He’d been watching me in History?

  ‘Ah.’ I cleared my throat. Conversation. Always tricky. ‘Yes, who’d have thought the people who gave us elves and dwarves could be taught in such a dull way?’

  He kept his hand out long enough that it became awkward and I had to respond. I grasped his carefully. I much preferred the Asian custom of bowing. Nothing stirred; nothing bled through. Thank God. Hopefully that meant these gloves worked.

  ‘Meghan Greene.’ I wasn’t thrilled with my new name. My turn to choose next time. Anna always chose colours for some reason. Last time I’d been Leanne Ochre for chrissake.

  ‘Yeah, I know.’ He inspected my thin, grey, fingerless gloves, and raised his eyebrows. They were ordinary gloves, not gym-workout style. It must look strange. ‘Wait, what? Elves?’

  I retrieved my hand and fiddled with a loose hair over my ear. Catching myself at the nervous gesture I stuffed my fist deep into the pocket of my baggy gym shorts.

  ‘And dwarves. Straight from Viking mythology to you via Lord of the Rings.’ Serious nerd-stuff. If that didn’t send him running, nothing would.

  ‘Huh.’ Paul cocked his head. ‘They were good movies. I don’t see you around school much. Where do you hang at lunch?’

  ‘Library.’

  ‘How come?’ He sent me a look laced with curiosity and just a hint of scorn – though that could have been my imagination. ‘You don’t have to. You’ve only been here what, two or three weeks? Get out and make friends.’ He waved at himself and gave an exaggerated leer. ‘We don’t bite. Much.’

  ‘But I do,’ I said, dead-pan.

  Paul blinked at me and I relented.

  ‘Sorry. Dumb joke. Library’s quieter.’ Truth be told, libraries and the internet were the source of far more of my education, and ongoing research, than schools were. If my mother’d let me I’d do all my schooling that way. Friends were the last thing I needed.

  I glanced around the silent gym. I’d come here after hours on a Friday precisely to avoid encounters with people. Most of the MJE staff bolted straight after work, home to families, friends, beers, and the beginning of the weekend.

  ‘What’re you doing here?’ He sounded more curious than belligerent. ‘This isn’t a public gym, y’know.’

  ‘Safer than the public gyms. I have an employee card,’ I said, concerned he might report me to security. ‘I did some data analysis work for Anna Morgan after school. Thought I’d get some training in after sitting around all day. I like it when it’s not so busy.’

  ‘Oh?’ His blue eyes turned thoughtful. ‘You’re working with Anna? That new change management consultant?’ He chuckled. ‘Everyone’s scared shitless of her.�
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  I nodded and stepped off the mat, drawing him away from the memory of being slammed into the ground. He paced beside me, moving quietly for such a tall guy. He had a gym-built physique that would quickly succumb to gravity if he stopped training.

  ‘Hey, I’ve got to meet Dad upstairs for a few minutes but after that I’m free. Wanna come to the movies tonight? A few of us are going to see the latest Marvel movie – if you’re into that sorta thing?’ He shrugged, his charming smile undiminished by my lack of immediate enthusiasm.

  ‘Thanks, but I can’t tonight…or at all this weekend,’ I added as he opened his mouth again. ‘Sorry.’ I offered a faint, false moue of regret.

  He hesitated, looking aggrieved for a moment before grinning carelessly. ‘Whatever. Some other time then?’

  I shrugged once more, temporising this time. Paul seemed to take it as assent and launched into a description of his friends, the movie and his plans for the weekend. I regarded him beneath my lashes with a mixture of regret and hope. Catching myself, I pressed my lips together. I picked up my gym bag and flung it onto my shoulder with more force than necessary.

  Hope? Really? Hadn’t I learned my lesson yet?

  Paul frowned at me, turning his head this way and that. ‘Hey, are you and Anna related? You just…well you look a bit alike.’ He pointed at my long, dark-brown wig. ‘Apart from the hair, that is.’

  I groaned inwardly. As hard as we tried to hide my existence from the world, in small towns like Cairns it was difficult. We did look enough alike that our relationship was obvious to people who saw us together. Paul was too sharp for comfort.

  There was no point in denying it, so I nodded. ‘My mother.’

  ‘Well that’s great! I just thought,’ he added, eager again, ‘y’know, since you’ll be here a bit if you’re working for Anna, and I’m here a lot helping my Dad, we could hang. Dad’ll be cool about it.’

  I shrugged just one shoulder this time and turned aside. So that’s what this was about. Very occasionally, someone made the connection between the new kid at school and the woman hired to drag some local business into the modern world. Then, inevitably, they thought I could influence Anna on who to fire and who to keep. If nothing else occurred to make things worse for me, the badgering would go on for a few months, until we moved.

  Private though the gym here was, coming to the building where she worked had been stupid and, as it turned out, a waste of time.

  ‘Meghan.’ Paul touched my arm and halted. I pulled my wrist away as gently as I could. He still looked affronted.

  This had to stop. Whatever he was doing, I couldn’t afford to buy into it and there was no point in torturing myself with the possibility of normality happening. He was just sucking up to me because his dad’s job was at stake. I had to keep that in mind.

  ‘Look, you seem like a nice guy Paul.’

  He raised one brow. ‘I hear a “but” coming.’

  I lifted a shoulder. ‘I just don’t think it’s smart to get too friendly with anyone connected to MJE. It complicates things for my mother.’

  He stared down at me, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance in those clear blue eyes. ‘You’re dodging me because our parents work together? That has to be the most bass-ackward thing I’ve ever heard.’

  ‘I’m flattered but I’m just not the kind of girl you want to be friends with. My life’s complicated and I’m only in town for a little while. We’ll be moving on as soon as Anna’s job is done. I can’t get tied down here. Sorry.’

  He tilted his head and sent me a shrewd look that belied his cheerful, open countenance.

  ‘But don’t you get lonely, doing all that travelling? You’re eighteen. You should be out partying and having fun. You avoid everyone like the plague.’ He gave a sympathetic half-smile. ‘But you don’t really strike me as the loner loser type. What’s with you?’

  ‘I’m a cold-hearted bitch who’d rather read than party?’

  He laughed and shook his head. ‘Nah. I saw the way you stood up for that first year kid in the hall last week.’

  When I looked blankly at him, Paul grinned lopsidedly. ‘Never seen Adam Burke look so shit-scared. Whatever you said to him, it worked, he hasn’t looked sideways at the younger kids and he’s stopped groping the girls as well. What did you say?’

  I twitched a smile, savouring again the moment the bully had seen the truth in my eyes.

  ‘Just that I’d push his nose into his brain if he tried anything again while I was at the school.’

  Paul cocked his head. ‘And could you?’

  ‘Probably not,’ I lied. ‘But he seemed to think I could. I hate bullies. Look, I’ve really got to go.’

  I headed past him, in the direction of the change-rooms. This was hardly the person to bare my soul to, even if I felt so inclined. If I agreed I was friendless, the next thing would be an offer to assuage my loneliness. The truth was: I found him attractive enough that I might even do something dumb, like fall for him. Wishful thinking aside, I did not need that sort of complication right now. I couldn’t afford to get close to anyone, physically or emotionally. So I said nothing.

  He stepped in my way.

  I lifted my chin to keep eye contact, giving him a strait, no-nonsense stare; one that usually kept eager guys at bay. His mouth twisted into a self-assured little smile.

  ‘Don’t.’ I strode away.

  He followed again. He was persistent, I had to give him that. In fact, much more persistent and I’d have to show him what happened to guys who stepped over the fine line between chasing and stalking. But that would mean a hurried departure. And both Anna and I were so over those it wasn’t funny.

  Stopping outside the door I eyed him pointedly. ‘This is the Ladies, Paul.’

  He started and actually blushed. ‘Oh, right. Well, look, if you change your mind, let me know. What’s your number? I’ll text you mine.’ He waited expectantly, phone ready.

  I stared at him, unspeaking.

  With a grimace, he shrugged. ‘Fine. Here’s my number.’ He pulled scrap of paper out of his wallet. Using a pen dangling from a nearby exercise record chart, he scribbled a number on it and grinned in unspoken apology. ‘It can be just a movie, I promise. If that’s all you want.’

  ‘Sure.’ I tucked the paper into a pocket, saluted and shouldered the door open, watching to make sure he didn’t follow.

  Clearly he wasn’t used to being told “no”. It hadn’t fazed him, but he also hadn’t taken me seriously; certain of his appeal. I wasn’t afraid of him, but if he did get bent out of shape by rejection he could make my life at school very uncomfortable. And if he spread the word about Anna’s connection to me, our lives could get very dangerous.

  I could live without friends, but I didn’t need any more enemies.

  Screwing up my nose against a twist of depression, I leaned against the closed door and considered the Exit sign. The little green man on it symbolised my life: forever running, never escaping. Paul was right. I was lonely, but what choice did I have? No-one would understand who I was. Hell, I didn’t.

  I inspected my hands; they had almost killed Paul. I retrieved my gear from the lockers and strode to the sinks and gripped the steel towel rail until my knuckles whitened. I stared at myself in the mirror. It might be just a movie to him, but to me it represented a whole lot more: a life that most people took for granted. Metal creaked and cracked under my palm. I grimaced, released the twisted, snapped rail and wiped my prints off it. Dammit.

  I plucked Paul’s number out of my pocket and stuffed it deep into my bag, dismissing him and all my stupid, childish dreams.

  I changed into street clothes. Gently straight-arming open the door to the foyer, I checked shadows and exits out of habit.

  ‘Paul!’ An urbane tenor voice echoed outside, hollow in the vast, glass and marble foyer.

  I slid into shadows. From this position I could see Paul, but he couldn’t see me. He stood not far away.

  ‘Dad.’
Paul folded his arms across chest and lifted his chin.

  On the opposite side of the open space, the elevator doors stood open. Mr Eisen stalked across the floor, heels rapping sharply on the marble, arms swinging. His jaw was sharp with tension; his deepset blue eyes snapped with the fire of intelligent impatience. He was an older, more intense version of Paul; his equal in height and slightly broader across the shoulders.

  His gaze swept past my hiding place, unseeing, before flicking back to Paul’s face, then jumping away again. He stopped a few feet from his son and shoved his hands into his pockets. In the half-darkened foyer, he stood in a pool of sharp light that cast heavy shadows beneath his eyes.

  ‘What are you doing here? You were supposed to meet me in the conference room twenty minutes ago.’ He spoke quickly, each word clipped and precise. He checked his watch and looked over Paul’s shoulder towards the massive clock hanging above the glass front doors.

  ‘I was catching up with…a friend.’ Paul’s evasive answer was disappointing. Evidently I wasn’t good enough to rate a mention by name.

  By the expensive suit and gold watch on Mr Eisen, the family wasn’t short of money. He probably wouldn’t approve of his son dating the daughter of a single mother who didn’t even own a house.

  ‘Obviously someone you don’t care to tell me about.’ Mr Eisen gave him a cool look. ‘Which means I wouldn’t approve.’

  Bingo.

  Paul shrugged and curled a lip. ‘You don’t approve of any of my friends, so why should I bother trying?’

  ‘Well, if you’d go to St Augustine’s, like I asked, I would.’

  ‘That’s why I don’t go there.’

  Mr Eisen’s eyes narrowed. Another check of his watch deepened his frown. With quick movements, he scraped long fingers through his short, blond hair, glanced at the darkened sky outside and swore. A smile stretched his lips and disappeared again, leaving his eyes untouched. His face relaxed as he seemed to get his irritation under control.

  ‘You’re right. I apologise.’ Mr Eisen raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. ‘Things are a little…stressful with all the changes Anna Morgan’s implementing. We’re all working long hours and I’m tired. Sorry I snapped. I just meant that I have big plans for you. Don’t get in with the wrong people now.’ He grabbed Paul by the elbow and moved him towards the elevator.