“What’s up?” I asked.
“Hm? Nothing. Are you…” Like Louise, he trailed off, looking everywhere but at me.
“That seems to be the question of the evening,” I said with a slight edge to my voice.
“Sorry,” he said, turning back to me with the closest approximation of an abashed expression that a Warrior could muster. “It’s just that after what you just went through, well… You don’t need all of this dumped on you right now. I’m worried. We’re all worried.”
I suppose that after the events that had just transpired, I should have expected as much, both from Desmond and Louise. I realized, of course, that I should have been grateful for good friends who cared about me, but to be honest, I was upset. They now saw me as an emotional liability, something fragile and in need of protecting, and that hurt.
“Honestly, Desmond, I would have appreciated a few hours of sleep before the new Guardians were dumped in our lap, to say nothing of the threat of a new and unfamiliar flavor of Discordant. I appreciate everyone’s concern, but I don’t require special treatment. We all went through the same bad day, okay?”
“Fair enough,” he said and turned a wary eye to the stairs. “Well, might as well get the last hurdle over with.”
“After you,” I said with an exaggerated bow.
Meeting the kids went smoother than I imagined. I’d not spent any length of time with split souls in the past, but I didn’t need prior experience to know that we were going to be in for a rough beginning. Jem’s smile and Nai’s scowl seemed permanently affixed to their faces. Despite her general unpleasantness, I did feel some sympathy for Nai’s disgust over their unconventional names. I imagine that joke got old very fast.
Aside from a tense moment when Nai apparently tried to soul gaze Desmond, the twins didn’t give us any trouble. Whether that was because they had exhausted themselves bickering or something Bogie had said, I don’t know, but I was grateful that after the brief introduction, I was able to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. However, by the time I was up and ready to begin moving into our new home, the kids had taken to arguing once again. For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to the relative calm of work on Monday.
* * *
“So I don’t get it,” Nai said, frowning as she took a bite of her burger. “I thought this place was a big deal because everyone was lost. So far, everyone seems normal. Maybe a little cranky, but not lost. Even the people who work here, which has to be soul sucking.”
We were sitting in the mall’s food court, taking a much needed meal break. Pete’s team had been gracious enough to provide us with some basic furnishings, but we needed to provide the rest and the kids had come to us with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs. As such, we had spent most of Saturday shopping, which was probably one of my least favorite activities. By their emotional output, it appeared both Desmond and Nai shared my sentiments. Only Jem remained free of obvious annoyance and anxiety.
“She’s right,” Jem said, looking around. “I mean, look at that guy.” He pointed to the kid behind the counter at a smoothie stand that was known for making their employees wear ridiculous uniforms. “He doesn’t look too happy about what he’s doing, but doesn’t feel lost.”
“He’s not happy about the job, but he’s grateful to have one,” I explained after casting out slightly to read the man’s emotional state. It dawned on me that I could use the necessary evil of shopping as a learning opportunity for the teens. “Not everyone who is unhappy is lost.”
“What does that mean exactly? Lost, that is,” Jem asked.
“It’s hard to explain in words, but the closest approximation is deep confusion. You’ll know the lost by how they feel. As a Guardian, you’ll know exactly what to do based on what you see when you look at their soul.”
As I spoke, a young man in a leather jacket breezed past our table and the atmosphere took a sharp turn.
“Um… that guy isn’t…” Jem stammered as Nai’s eyes went wide in comprehension.
“Oh my god, is that a…” she started, but Desmond interrupted her by standing abruptly.
“Pardon me for a moment.”
“Can I go too?” Nai asked, half out of her seat with sudden enthusiasm.
“Stay here,” Desmond growled and took off after the vampire, who had followed a group of girls down the hall that led to the restrooms.
“Ugh!” she huffed and sat back down.
“Vampires are dangerous,” I said with a hint of warning. “All Discordant are, for that matter. But you did a great job of identifying his aura,” I added, hoping my compliment would placate her, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. “If you come across a Discordant, always call Desmond.” I stared pointedly at the shiny new phones that neither she nor her brother seemed capable of putting down since we purchased them this morning.
“Um, Seth? About that…” Jem set his pizza down, looking pale. “Can vampires, you know, turn us?”
“Turn?” It took me a moment to figure out what he was saying. Monster mythology fluctuated so much in popular culture that I had a hard time keeping up with how the general population perceived what they believed to be imaginary creatures. “Ah, no. Humans can willingly sacrifice their souls to the Discordant in hopes of one day joining their rank, but in doing so, they are submitting themselves to slavery in the Chaotic realm and most don’t survive.”
“The what?”
“Oh my god, Jem, really? Pete told us about that. It’s where the Discordant come from,” Nai said before I could explain. “Really though, why haven’t we just gone over to their realm and put an end to this?”
“Don’t you think that if it were that easy, we would have done so already?” I countered. “Look, now that you have your phones, I’m going to send you a link.” I called up a page on the internet and sent it over to the kids. “A few years back one of our agents set up a wiki with all of the information you could ever want about the Discordant. I suggest you study this in your spare time.”
“But this is just the wiki for the game Monster Curse,” Nai said with a frown.
“That it is,” I said with a knowing smile. Video game mechanics eluded me, but I had their attention. “Monster Curse was developed to be a training tool for agents.”
“Well, that explains why it was impossible to beat,” Jem noted.
“The Warrior who developed it thought that passing it off as a commercial game was a good way to make money,” I explained. “Prior to that, all of our information was kept in a handbook the size of the Greater Manhattan phone book. When game wikis became popular, this one was added as a way for all of us, not just the Warriors, to easily access information on the Discordant without carting around the reference books.”
The fact that we now had this information at our fingertips was something that still awed me, but it was obvious I was alone in my awe. Though really, I should not have expected a reaction from two kids who were born after the advent of high-speed internet connections.
“Wait,” said Nai, whose lips were twisting into a devious smile that I didn’t trust. “So here, where it tells the weaknesses, this is actually a guide on what weapons to use on the different Discordant!”
“In the most general terms yes,” Desmond said as he rejoined us, flashing me a look that said he knew, as I did, where Nai was going with this. “But the wiki doesn’t mention Warrior magic or any of our trade secrets, so I wouldn’t start sharpening any stakes if I were you.”
“I was just thinking this could be useful if we’re attacked,” she said defensively.
“Your souls are muted,” I explained. “You are in no personal danger of being attacked by a Discordant.”
“Unless you start sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Desmond added with a look of warning. “If you’re hell bent on slaying beasts, a mobile version of Monster Curse is available. I’ll even invite you to try to best my high score,” he added with a smug smile.
&nb
sp; By the time we were finished with all of our shopping, the sun had long since set and it was time to get back to the bar and back to our real job of protecting Blackbird from the Discordant. I was hesitant to leave the teens home alone, but I didn’t have a choice. Even with Bogie and the witches assisting, there wasn’t much hope of saving the lost if both the Guardians and the Observer weren’t present. As we were leaving, Jem stopped us.
“Um, do you think it’d be okay if we hung out with Bogie?” he asked, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Bogie’s working the bar,” Desmond said. “And why the hell would you want to hang out with that runt anyway?”
“Well, he’s a nice guy and uh…” he stammered, suddenly embarrassed. “And it’s just… we don’t…”
“There’s no food,” Nai supplied in irritation, opening the empty fridge for emphasis.
“Son of a…” Desmond sighed, looking just as guilty as I felt. Despite spending the day at what felt like every store in Blackbird, we’d neglected to do any grocery shopping for the new place.
“Here,” I said, handing them each a few bills. “There’s a diner down the street called Louie’s that stays open all night.”
“And next to that is a convenience mart for snacks and drinks. I suggest picking up some bottled water,” Desmond added. “I strongly advise against drinking from the taps.”
“Maybe we should send Betty over to check on them,” I said as Desmond and I crossed the park that separated our new neighborhood from downtown. “She’s good with kids.”
“Did you explain mystics to them?” Desmond asked.
“Never mind,” I said with a defeated sigh. There was always something.
“They won’t be kids forever,” Desmond said as we passed Louie’s Diner. “What’s a year when you’ve lived as long as we have?”
I stopped and gave him a pointed look. “You’re going to drag out that cliché after the week we just had? Need I remind you that you only arrived in Blackbird last Tuesday?”
Desmond flinched, as if I’d punched him. “Fair point, Seth. Fair point.”
* * *
“You know, Seth, as backwards as Blackbird is, I’m sure there is a plumber out there who could set up a bathroom.”
“Several,” I grunted as I tightened the connection on the drainpipe I was installing. “But they would charge four times more than what it cost me to get the supplies from Home Depot.”
I had to admit, after living in the small apartment over the Five Penny, having a spacious home that afforded each of us privacy was a nice change of pace. Everyone had their own bedroom and there was even an extra room that we turned into a study, but like most homes built at the beginning of the last century, there was just one full bathroom, which was the first thing that Nai noticed (and complained loudly about).
“True, but aren’t some things worth spending money on?”
“Desmond, it’s plumbing, not rocket science. I can do this,” I said, trying to keep my irritation in check. To be fair, my previous plumbing experience involved unclogging the drains at the apartment, but I was confident that the hour of video tutorials I had studied were sufficient. If I actually had the guts to be honest with myself, installing the plumbing on my own was a pigheaded display of macho pride. Ever since Friday night, Desmond had been treating me as if I was some sort of fragile child incapable of self-preservation and quite frankly, I was hurt. Sure, I was ready to sacrifice my soul for the greater good, but being prone to martyrdom didn’t mean I was helpless.
“I wasn’t implying that you are incapable,” he said, rolling his eyes upward. “I was merely suggesting that the DIY approach seems unnecessary, especially when we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment.”
“Physical labor helps me think. At least it would, if someone wasn’t nagging me every five minutes,” I grumbled. “Besides, have you looked at the mortgage payments on this monstrosity yet? Admin may have covered the closing and down payments, but we’ve been saddled with thirty years of monthly payments equal to half my income and last time I checked, the bar was all but breaking even. That’s not even mentioning two additional noncontributing household members draining our funds.”
“Actually, we ran a considerable profit last week,” Desmond informed me without hiding his surprise. “At first I thought that Bogie was watering the drinks, but no, people actually seem to like the runt.”
“Well thank the Creator for small favors,” I said, ignoring the barb against Bogie. I wasn’t in the mood to add another log to the argument fire. “I just hope it’s enough if they decide they want to continue their education next year.”
Fortunately, what felt like our five hundredth argument about finances was interrupted when the front door slammed and Donna stomped her way up the stairs. I’d called her to see if she could pick up some supplies from the hardware store for me. Since the kids would be getting back from their first day at school, I also planned to use this as an opportunity to introduce them to the concept of mystics. Originally, I’d hoped to take them up to meet Harry, figuring that because they had been raised Catholic, he might not have come across as shockingly as the concept of witches, but time had gotten away from me. I’d be lying if I said this damned bathroom wasn’t the biggest drain on my time.
“Hey guys,” she said, squeezing past Desmond to drop a bag full of copper fixtures on the floor in front of me. “I took the liberty of getting some insulation. Trust me, Nai will thank you when she doesn’t have to take freezing showers this winter. Oh, and the sealant you asked for was all wrong. I got this instead. It’s waterproof and weather proof.” She looked around at the small room with an appraising eye. “We might want to go ahead and replace the subfloor in here. I can see where there was some damage and we don’t want the shower falling through the floor. Speaking of which, that drain needs to come up a few inches.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I left enough room for the tile…”
“Here, let me see that.”
The wrench was out of my hands before I had a chance to protest and Donna began undoing the fitting I had just spent an hour putting in.
“You left room for the tile, but were you going to stick tile to a wooden floor? We need to make sure there’s room for the backer board. Honestly, Seth! I thought you said you knew what you were doing?”
“My mistake, looks like you already hired a competent plumber.”
I met Desmond’s smirk with a glare and stood up, moving over to check the leads on the toilet and sink. At least I knew they were properly installed, admittedly, with Donna’s help.
“Hey, have you guys checked this place for residuals?” Donna asked, putting her ear to the drainpipe that she had ‘expertly’ adjusted. “I’m sensing a lot of conflict in here.”
“Not yet,” I said, wondering if what she was feeling wasn’t the residuals of the irritation I was feeling toward Desmond. “We did a sweep of the basement and attic, but we were mainly looking for Discordant squatters after we found some pixie dust in the corners.”
“Well, that could have been there for years. We still have glitter all over our bathroom from last week. I can do a reading, if you’d like,” she offered. “If there’s anything bad we can do a cleansing. Actually, I’d recommend one anyway, you know, being an old house and all. Oh no, is this seriously what you were planning on putting up in the shower?” she asked, switching gears with a frown as she picked up the small ceramic ledge. “Uh-uh. This ain’t gonna work if you have a teenage girl living here. We’re going to need one of those floor-to-ceiling thingies with racks for every product you can imagine and some you can’t.”
“A reading would be appreciated and no, that’s just the soap dish,” I assured her, shaking my head to keep up with Donna’s dizzying tangents. “I do not pretend to know what women need in the shower and was planning on letting Nai pick out her accessories after the room is finished.” Looking around the gutted closet, I added in a mutter, “If it gets finished.” When I
looked it up online, several DIY forums assured me that a small bathroom was a weekend job, but five days into the project, I had barely finished installing the plumbing. I’d even taken the day off of work, which was something I’d never done before.
“You know, there’s no shame in asking for help,” Donna said sternly, but her expression was one of amusement.
“I did ask, and I appreciate what you’ve done.”
“You asked me to buy stuff,” she huffed. “Look, I’ve done this before. You have not. We can probably get the framework and the rest of the plumbing set up today. We’ll do the reading and cleansing on this place tonight, and I’ll come over tomorrow after Desmond gets up and finish out the shower and tiling. By the time Nai gets home from school, she’ll have a finished bathroom.”
“That’s generous, Donna, but I can’t ask you to take off of work,” I reminded her. Sometimes, Donna’s enthusiasm got the better of her.
“Eh, actually… I was let go yesterday,” she said quietly, suddenly sullen.
“Oh, Donna. What happened this time?” This was the third job she’d lost in a month and I was beginning to worry.
“Officially, I was let go because I wasn’t a good fit with the corporate directive. Unofficially, the pipsqueak manager had a grossly overblown problem with the fact that I was trying to educate our customers on the dangers of ingesting processed foods.”
“You worked at Applebee’s,” Desmond said, daring to vocalize what I wouldn’t. “I wouldn’t exactly call the manager’s issue grossly overblown.”
“Yeah, well…” she huffed. “Whatever. If people want to poison themselves…”
“You know what? Why don’t we do that reading now?” I said, cutting Donna off before she went full blown into one of her favorite topics. “I think I’m sensing a little conflicted energy as we speak.”
Chapter 4
Land of the Lost
The way my sister complained, you would think we had been sent to the North Pole or something. Okay, so Blackbird was kind of out there in the middle of nowhere, but it’s not like we grew up in a huge city or anything. We came from Minnesota. Rural Minnesota. Well, okay, the suburbs, but the way she carried on, you’d think we lived in some high-rise apartment in downtown Minneapolis. I think she just wanted to have something to complain about because she thinks that’s what she has to do.
Splitsville (Rise of the Discordant Book 2) Page 5