Blue at Midnight

by S D Wile

  We spent most of the car journey discussing the events of my horrible morning. Sonia found it exciting as it involved an attractive guy. I tied my hair back as the tips felt damp when I leaned back into my seat. Why was my hair wet? I touched it again and found my hand damp from a clear liquid… water. We’d had no rain so how could my hair get wet? The only water I remembered splashing onto me was from the vase of bluebells but apparently that hadn’t happened.

  Chapter 28

  Not a single sign of Cale had been detected lately and Christian was starting to become more paranoid about whatever plan he’d been plotting. During his walk along a side street which took him to the old factory, he couldn’t help but notice more people than usual either carrying or reading the same newspaper. Something had happened, tensions seemed high. Sitting outside an old sandwich shop sat an elderly lady, peacefully drinking a cup of tea whilst eating a cucumber sandwich. On the woven straw chair next to her was the same newspaper, looking a little ruffled.

  Christian approached the elderly woman who wore a cream woolly cardigan over a peach blouse and a long woollen skirt. Politely Christian asked if he could read the article on the front page as it happened to feature a picture of a familiar face.

  “Certainly dear. Terrible news of a poor local boy being poisoned,” she responded. Sitting amid the scent of lavender with the rays of the sun reflecting off the metal outdoor table, Christian found himself stunned. According to this newspaper the poison used was from a marine creature which was yet to be identified. Although there were no traces of sea water on the victim, this kind of poison wasn’t from this part of the world.

  Only if you had access to all the wonders the sea had to offer, would you be able get hold of such a rare poison. This wouldn’t even be a challenge for his kind. Yet what did Craig have to do with all this? Why kill him?

  “Did you know this person?” Christian asked the elderly woman who had been peering over his shoulder, reading the article for what sounded like the tenth time as she kept reciting some of the phrases to herself.

  “No love but I know Hugo, poor Hugo.” Christian was surprised by the name as he remembered he was Izzie’s boss.

  “What’s Hugo got to do with all this?”

  “Hugo, bless him and that poor boy,” the concerned woman then suddenly stood up to leave, leaving Christian rather confused. All I need is a direct response, he thought. She seemed rather fragile so he tried another approach. Carefully he stood up to move his chair out of her way and asked her if she’d got all her things.

  “Well I think I have.” She then did the slowest three hundred and sixty degree turn Christian had ever seen. Children of Orsa, no matter how much they aged, never became as frail as humans did. Christian tried his best not to stare. When she faced him he took a step closer and bent over to look directly at her.

  “How did Hugo know this person?” She looked at him as if she was a bit irritated because according to her she had already told him.

  “He worked for Hugo,” she finally responded.

  “At Coffee Time?” Christian almost shouted when the woman picked up the newspaper and showed it to him.

  “You must read carefully son. It’s all in the newspaper. Here you need this more than me by the look of it!” None of this information was in the newspaper, which was why Christian had asked her in the first place. However, from that brief encounter he knew that explaining this to the lady was pointless. Watching her hobble down the street, Christian was amazed at how she stopped an oncoming car with the wave of a hand before crossing in front of it, fearlessly.

  Christian finally had the answer he needed: Craig worked at Coffee Time with Izzie. Why didn’t Cale kill anyone else that worked there? This was the second time Cale had been linked to the place Izzie worked. That’s when Christian realised why he was there and not sniffing around her at the college… that was the one place where she was mostly alone, away from Christian. It was time for him to go and see his brother.

  I didn’t tell Sonia that I thought Cale had some sort of an unnatural ability. As we parked up outside the bar/restaurant I wondered what Christian was doing today so I decided to send him a text message, asking him how he was. Just when I was about to press the send button I realised I didn’t actually feel confident enough to do it. I asked Sonia what she’d thought of him and unintentionally expressed a desire to get to know him better. Sonia barely took a second to think before accusing me of fancying him. I couldn’t help but laugh it off. It had been a while since I made a new friend. A lot of people had been highly judgmental of me except him. After explaining this to Sonia and telling her about the incident where Christian stopped me from getting myself excluded the first day back, she was left almost speechless.

  “Send him a text. See how he is,” she ordered looking quite pleased.

  “I was thinking of that but didn’t know what to say.”

  “Well he’s kind of a friend now so ask him how his day is going and if he isn’t doing anything ask him to join us.” This sounded like a great idea. Unexpectedly he texted back straight away saying he had some work to do but would definitely see me soon. Seeing the grin on my face Sonia knew he’d replied and looked more excited than me when I read out his response.

  Four fruit cocktails and a nacho platter later we decided to go home and make a start on the new assignment Chidlow had set us.

  Chapter 29

  The text from Izzie made Christian want to forget going to the coffee house and see her instead. Although he knew she wouldn’t have been alone, it would have been a good chance to clear things up with Sonia, who was practically Izzie’s shadow, like Cale used to be with him. As he made his way through a pungent alleyway which opened up directly opposite Coffee Time, memories of the time spent with his brother kept entering his mind. Christian couldn’t risk letting his emotions get the better of him. He had to have his wits about him. Murdering someone regardless of whether they were a human or a Child of Orsa for personal gain was ruthless. He didn’t understand how the elders granted Cale access to the lands, when they knew he would have been desperate to prove himself, so desperate that he would do anything. It was worse knowing that Cale had used a poison from the ocean, leaving the humans to suspect foul play.

  If a Child of Orsa had a strong enough purpose they could gain access to the lands without the elders’ approval, as the waters would allow their exit. The fact that the waters let him through showed that there was some right in what he was going to do. Deep down he knew he would have to confront Cale about his actions and make him pay with his life.

  With the ting of the Coffee Time doorbell Christian entered, wondering why his journey had been so easy. There was change in this place. Christian could feel it like a magnetic force. It was coming from the front of the coffee house, by the large window looking out onto the street. A vase of bluebells caught his eyes.

  “Can I help you young man?” Awaiting his customer’s order, Hugo stood there staring at the vision of a distressed young man with dark ruffled hair, pale skin and eyes that were as distant as the sun. Even though he was looking back at him, his clenched fists and strong stance gave Hugo the impression he wasn’t here to buy coffee.

  “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me where you bought that vase from.” Originally, Christian had planned to ask for a coffee but he needed an opportunity to touch the vase without looking strange enough to be thrown out.

  “Now why would a young man like you want a vase like that?”

  “My mother, she collects vases and this one caught my eye,” he answered a dishonestly.

  “How lovely. What’s her name?”

  “Orsa.” He was glad that Izzie wasn’t working at this moment.

  “What a unique name. Well this was a small gift from a charming young man that used to work here.” Hugo’s eyes were filled with sorrow as he stepped down from the counter and walked towards the fragile object.

  “What was his name?” asked Christian, even th
ough he now knew.

  “You’ve probably read about him recently in the papers – Craig. The boy died a tragic death. I was only speaking to him about doing more hours a few days ago and now he’s not with us anymore.” Pain was the same, no matter how it was caused or who was feeling it; human or Child of Orsa. Christian could see it all over this heavy-set man’s face and he couldn’t help but feel guilty. It was even worse knowing that this was just the beginning.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “ME TOO!” shouted a disturbingly familiar voice from behind the counter. Leaning forward with a vicious glare, shooting nails into Christian’s eyes was Cale, showing a wide grin, which used to mean mischief to Christian but now it was darker and somewhat out of touch. Both of them stood there transfixed with sheer hatred which Hugo was starting to sense. Strangely, the vase collapsed off the table and lay smashed on the floor in a pool of water. A disorientated Hugo went to clear it up when Christian told him to stop.

  “I beg your pardon,” said Hugo, clearly offended at Christian’s tone of authority. The situation was very tense. Cale looked ready to kill and if Hugo didn’t leave right now he would be next. It was obvious by the look on Cale’s face that he didn’t care. He was here to cause chaos and make it very difficult for his brother.

  “You’ll cut yourself. Do you have something to clear it up with?” Christian asked, convincing Hugo to walk into the back storeroom, before swiftly slamming the door behind him and bending the metal handle so he couldn’t get out. A furious Hugo pounded the wooden door but had no luck as his attempts were just background noise for the two Rourkes.

  Both of them were standing opposite each other surrounded by sharp kitchen utensils and steam flowing from the recently opened dishwasher. As soon as Christian stepped closer Cale pressed his right hand into the wooden counter then lifted his weight over it to land lightly on his feet in front of him.

  “Sorry to ruin all the fun. It’s quite a shame Christian. I could see you were really starting to get comfortable around here.”

  “You couldn’t just confront me to my face. You had to go around like a snake.”

  “Now where would the fun be in all that? Think about it. If I did just that I’d miss out on experiencing the lands for myself.”

  “Why would you suddenly be interested in coming here?”

  “We all are! Except we wait for the perfect time, permission from the elders, but you couldn’t wait could you? Persevere! Wasn’t that what we were taught? Now look at you...”

  “Look at me? Look at you! You get joy from murdering people!”

  “You mean humans? Already you are starting to embarrass me, living in a filthy, musty, forgotten pit whilst interacting with these flawed beings!” Based on Sebastian’s teachings, nothing Cale had stated was incorrect, he just chose harsher words to communicate this. On the other hand, Christian had recently learnt that none of this described the people he had observed and got to know.

  “Have you even stopped and just looked at who is actually in front of you, around you? Thought about it simply, without…” It was so difficult to complete this sentence without showing disrespect for his own kind, his home, his world.

  “Without the numbers? Teaching of the elders? Everything Orsa had taught us? Since when did deceit start running through your veins?” The man that stood in front of Christian’s eyes was not his brother. He loathed his very existence. His repulsion vibrated off him making the ground beneath Christian’s feet feel like it was going to rupture at any moment.

  “You feel betrayed, angry that I left, broke the numbers and never looked back. Do you think I would have just done that for nothing?”

  “It was all for nothing because nothing is more sacred than Orsa.” Christian reminded him that they were trained as soldiers, trained to be efficient, precise and strong, maybe even perfect which was why they never reflected on their actions. If they decided to do something it was their duty to follow it through.

  “It’s natural for our kind to come to the lands, find a human to sacrifice, redeem our soul and claim our rightful place but what have you been doing?”

  “I’m not the only one with something to hide. Why did you put an impression on that vase?”

  When the Children of Orsa were feeling mischievous they would purposely put an impression on objects to trick other Rourkes. This would stop them from seeing the object in real time. In other words you would put an impression on an object if you didn’t want someone to see its present state. Children of Orsa would put an impression on an object by reversing its timeline to a chosen moment. This ability was given to them as keepers of lost objects whereas humans simply forgot or disposed of things as soon as they didn’t need them any longer. The more you practised this, the easier it became for a Child of Orsa to identify an impression. It was impossible to build an impression that would trick an elder but that never stopped the two brothers from trying when they were bored.

  “Why don’t you see for yourself?” Aggressively, with the slightest touch, Cale whisked the droplets of water mixed with shards of wet glass towards Christian’s face. Within seconds the glass flew at him only to crash onto the counter, leaving not a single mark whereas the droplets of water went straight into his eyes as they had a story to tell. He witnessed the moment Cale held Izzie in a paralysed state while he moved in closer. The water showed her soul spasm hysterically in her attempt to break free. Once the water had shown its story, the droplets pulled themselves out of his eyes like tears and dispersed, creating a barely visible mist.

  At that moment Christian knew exactly how far Cale was going to go with this and had lost all control of what he was about to do next. Both men stood in the coffee house intent on murder.

  “Now that we have passed all the formalities, may I start with the words déjà vu. I wonder who is going to come in and save this place this time.” Lifting his leg with a blinding speed Cale slammed it down on a coffee table, smashing it to smithereens. Larger pieces of the wood were sent to harm Christian but he moved between them rapidly and leapt towards Cale who grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to crush him against the wall. Responding with a head-butt, Cale stumbled backwards giving Christian a couple of seconds to grab a broken piece of furniture. As soon as he did, Christian felt the tight grip of Cale’s arm around his neck as his head was jerked back. That’s when something sharp was forced into his back. With an irritated howl Christian smacked his head into Cale’s chin, causing him to slightly ease off which enabled him to spin around and cram a narrow piece of wood through Cale’s stomach. Using the weight of his body, he pushed Cale back not seeing the chair between them causing him to trip and fall flat onto his back. Excruciating pain erupted through Christian as he lay there plunging into darkness…

  The Rightful Place

  The next book in the Blue at Midnight trilogy by S.D Wile

  September 2014