by G. P. Ching
“My girlfriend, Malini.”
“Malini Gupta? The insurance agent’s daughter?”
“Yep.”
“That must be the trigger then—the desire to protect. You must be a Horseman. I suspected it from the beginning but this confirms it. The trigger makes sense if you think about it. For as long as I’ve known you, I’ve known you were loyal to the people you care about. The desire to protect is an urge to act on that loyalty. First it was your mother and now Malini.”
Horseman. The label sounded ancient. Jacob wasn’t sure how much of her story he was willing to believe, but being called a Horseman didn’t bother him. It was as close to an explanation for what he could do as he was going to get.
“What now?”
“Come on down and we’ll try something else.”
Jacob prepared himself mentally and jumped. The water rose to meet his feet and carried him gently to the earth, like a falling geyser.
Dr. Silva was in front of him in an instant. One second her hands were empty and the next a staff appeared in a flash of blue light.
“Ask the water for a weapon,” she barked.
All at once, her eyes turned vicious and her lips pulled back from her teeth like an animal. She wielded the staff in her hands, her feet set wide. Dr. Silva could be scary when she wanted to be.
He searched the hum of the water and pretended Malini was standing behind him. The staff was the threat. He concentrated, searching the hum for the best weapon, something to defend her from the staff.
The water sprayed into his hand in a steady stream that filled his grip. As he tightened his fist, he was surprised to feel resistance. Never taking his eyes off Dr. Silva, he lifted the water from the ground; only it was no longer water but a broadsword of solid ice. The double-sided blade glinted in the afternoon light, as hard and sharp as steel. It was three feet long and perfectly balanced in his hand.
How was it possible that the ice wasn’t freezing his palm or melting in the sun? There wasn’t time to think about it much. Dr. Silva’s staff came around toward his head. Jacob circled the ice sword and made contact, gouging the wood. She spun and thrust the staff under her arm toward his gut. He swept the sword downward, blocking the staff.
The movement was much faster than humanly possible. It was as if the sword was anticipating his direction. Each time the blade made contact with the staff, he instinctively knew how to counter the attack. She parried, and he advanced. The battle went on until Jacob was covered in sweat and thankful for the cold hilt of his weapon.
Then, with lightning speed, Dr. Silva slashed the staff down toward the top of his head. Jacob’s sword responded, flying upward in an arc. Only this time the water melted and reformed around the wood. He completed the circle, allowing gravity to help drive the blade around, and wrenched the staff from Dr. Silva’s hands.
She stared at her empty fingers, surprise brightening her eyes.
“Congratulations, Horseman,” she said. “You have won your first battle.”
She bowed formally. Her hands spread to the sides in a gesture as ancient and out of place as a medieval knight jousting on a city street. Jacob was as sure as he’d ever been that she was not human. But he’d given up on asking her what she was. The truth was, it didn’t matter; she was the only hope he had of getting his life back.
Chapter 20
Birthday
“Did you ever think we would make it through this year?” Malini asked.
Jacob followed her through the double doors of Paris High School, exhausted from a full week of final exams. “No, not really,” he said. Between Dane, Dr. Silva, and Katrina, he was happy to survive most days. The year seemed a lot to ask for.
“I guess it could’ve been worse.”
“How exactly?”
Malini stopped walking and looked at him.
“Flesh-eating spiders. There could’ve been spiders.” Malini always did know just what to say. “So, how do you think you did?”
“You first,” he deflected.
“Unless I absolutely bombed that one, straight As.” She grinned. “Second year in a row. How about you?”
“I didn’t do as well as you, but I passed everything,” he said, embarrassed. He hadn’t felt much like studying with everything else going on, and eked by with three Bs and two Cs.
“Oh, come on. Tell me,” Malini said, as they walked toward the Laudners’ shop.
“Not a chance.”
He kissed her lightly on the cheek. Grades aside, nothing made him happier than knowing they had three months free from Dane Michaels and his posse. Even better, the graduation party last weekend for Katrina was a happy reminder that she would be gone at the end of August.
“Admit it, you actually miss school during the summer, don’t you?” he asked Malini.
“Sometimes. But you know what I won’t miss?” She beamed at him.
“What?”
“Walking. You turn sixteen in a week don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. And, I suppose once I can drive you’ll want to mooch rides off of me.”
“When you can drive? How about now?” She leapt onto his back.
He carried her piggyback style halfway to McNaulty’s.
* * * * *
With his sixteenth birthday just around the corner, Jacob practiced driving every spare minute. John came along on trips into town, but since the Laudners lived in the country he also practiced alone on the back roads where there wasn’t any traffic. By the time June 9th rolled around, Jacob was sure he was ready.
He arrived ten minutes before The Department of Motor Vehicles opened and shifted restlessly in front of the door until a squirrely looking man with greasy red hair let him in. Since he was first in line, the man sat him down in front of a fat computer terminal. Jacob worked through each question slowly, relieved when he passed with only two incorrect. Then another man with a potbelly and a gray mustache called his name for the driving portion. He tested Jacob in a small hatchback, far more maneuverable than his uncle’s truck. The gray mustache wrinkled with the man’s smile when he told Jacob he’d passed with a perfect score.
“Let’s see it, boy!” John said, pulling the driver’s license from his fingers.
“Finally! You won’t have to drive me around anymore,” he said.
“Well, I didn’t really mind, Jacob, but I can see why you’d be excited to have some freedom. You’ve worked hard these last couple months to pay off your debt and to learn to drive. I’m proud of you, not just for earning this but for adjusting as well as you have.”
Jacob smiled and picked the license from John’s fingers. Of course, he hadn’t really adjusted. He’d just decided to be patient. He planned to go back home to Oahu as soon as Dr. Silva could find his mom. But John didn’t need to know about that until it happened. The sad part was that he actually liked his uncle. Jacob wasn’t sure when exactly it had happened but he’d started to care about him. He would miss John and the closeness that he felt to his dad when he was around.
“So, I don’t think it’s too early for your birthday present, do you?” An ear-to-ear grin lit up John’s pale face.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Jacob replied.
“No I didn’t—but I did anyway.”
He followed John out into the parking lot where his uncle stood in front of the big blue truck looking like his head could explode with joy at any moment.
“Happy birthday, Jacob!” he said, slapping Big Blue.
“Thanks,” he replied, wondering what his gift would be.
“This is it,” John said, “I’m giving you Big Blue!”
“No way!”
“Your aunt has been on me for years to get a new truck and now I have an excuse to do it. She’s all yours.”
“John, this is awesome! Thank you, thank you so much.” Jacob was so excited he allowed John to hug him and actually hugged him back a little. He caught the keys that John threw his way and crawled behind the wheel. John cli
mbed in on the passenger’s side.
“Guess what?” John said, as they pulled out and headed for home.
“What?”
“I’ve got something else for you. One more surprise.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. What else could there be?”
“When you first got here, Jacob, I promised you that we would fix up that room for you. I think it’s time.”
Jacob swerved, and John reached over to correct the wheel.
“Easy now, you don’t want to lose that thing on your first day driving. Drop me off at home and then go pick out some paint and things downtown at Johnson’s Hardware. Doug and Judy will charge it to my account. Heck, take your girlfriend with you. I’m sure she’ll be as excited as you are that you’re driving. Anyway, I’ll get started painting tomorrow while you’re working with Abigail. That way it’ll have overnight to air out.”
“John, this is the best. I don’t know what to say. This is more than I ever expected.”
“You’re more than I ever expected. I wish things were different with your ma, but I’m happy we’ve had this chance to get to know each other. That’s the blessing in it.”
Jacob said nothing, but the words were a two-fisted punch to the gut. He didn’t believe in blessings and he wasn’t happy to be in Paris. But he didn’t want to hurt John’s feelings by saying so, because he was happy he’d gotten to know John, too. So he kept his mouth shut and his eyes on the road.
* * * * *
Malini couldn’t wait to help Jacob shop. She babbled endlessly about how much fun they’d have this summer, now that he had a car, and how cool his room was going to be. But the initial excitement he’d felt about the car and his new room gave way to anxious contemplation about the future. Tomorrow, he would meet the medicine woman.
Every day here, every moment, he grew more attached to John and Malini. If the medicine woman knew where his mother was, what would happen then? How would he leave them? And, what about when he found his mom? The apartment belonged to someone else now. Where would they live?
“What color are you thinking?” Malini said, handing him an assortment of cardboard paint swatches. They stood before a rack of thousands of two-inch color cards competing for their attention. He’d never known there were so many colors to choose from.
“I’m not sure. Not pink. How about black?”
“Too dark. It would look like a cave.”
“What do you think then?”
Malini shifted the swatches between her fingers: deep burgundy, rich mahogany, dark greens and blues. “Don’t get angry at me because I know you don’t like to talk about it but ever since that day with Dane and the water … I just think blue.” She held up a dark grayish blue color called “stormy sea.”
He took the swatch from her hand. The color was not something he’d have picked for himself but it gave him a calm feeling.
“It’s perfect,” he said, in a voice barely above a whisper. He moved closer to her. “I had no idea what I wanted until just now. This is exactly it. You know me better than I do.”
He was inches from her now, taking in the sweet genuineness that was only Malini’s. His words were true and not just about the paint. It was at that moment that he decided he wouldn’t leave her behind. One way or another he would find a way to keep her with him.
“What do we do next? Does the paint come in this color?”
“No, they have to mix it.”
“How do they do that?”
“Just trust me,” she said, lifting the card from his fingers. “I’ll get it.”
“You’re amazing, Malini,” Jacob said.
“Don’t you forget it,” she replied. She cast a sassy grin over her shoulder as she moved toward the paint counter.
Chapter 21
Red Stones for Manioc
With all of the preparations made, Jacob jogged across the street to Dr. Silva’s house the afternoon of June 10th. He’d barely slept the night before thinking about the journey. Tonight he would finally know for sure what happened to his mom.
In his heart, he was sure she was still alive. He didn’t have the sort of peace or finality he did with his dad’s death. But as he crossed through the gate into Dr. Silva’s backyard, he wondered if that was because there hadn’t been a funeral or a body to see. There was no proof. If she were alive, what he learned in Peru would be the key to saving her. But he also knew that it was equally likely his greatest fear might be revealed. If his instincts were nothing more than wishful thinking, he might find out she was dead.
As planned, Dr. Silva met him at the mouth of the maple orchard.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked with a quirky half smile, as if he couldn’t possibly be ready.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.
Dr. Silva handed him a safari helmet with mosquito netting and then coated him in a thick fog of bug repellant. From her shoulder, she removed a canteen on a long leather strap.
“Put it around your neck and shoulder so that it travels with you.”
“What is it?”
“Tea. Just in case.”
“In case of what? Early Peruvian tea time?” he laughed.
“It has medicinal properties,” she said.
The pieces clicked together within Jacob’s mind just as they approached the privet. Dr. Silva had told him her specialty was horticulture, and John had said that her plants were used to make drugs. Now she was admitting that the tea had “medicinal properties.”
“The first day I was here … that’s why I told you all of those things. You drugged me!”
“Now, now, I merely gave you something to help you relax,” she said. “Anyway, it was for the best. I had to know enough about you to make sure you were ready.”
Jacob wondered what other means she’d used without his permission to attain her goals. He crossed his arms over his chest as they entered the back garden. As he covered his nose to pass the corpse plants, he couldn’t help but think that Dr. Silva had been pulling his strings from the very beginning. She wasn’t human, that was for sure, and she’d never been honest with him about who or what she was. He’d trusted her because he’d had no choice.
While he trotted over the stone path and walked the sandy meadow trail, he realized trusting Dr. Silva might not be an all-together wise thing to do. In fact, by the time he reached Oswald, Jacob was jumpy with suspicion about Dr. Silva’s motives and sure this trip was a bad idea. But there was no turning back now, not with the hope of finding his mother so near at hand.
“Hey, where’s Gideon?” Jacob asked, noticing for the first time that the cat wasn’t in his usual place by Dr. Silva’s side.
“Oh, he’s in the house. He doesn’t like to travel through the tree unless it’s absolutely necessary,” she replied. “Now, it’s important we hold hands as we do this so that we aren’t separated during the journey. We wouldn’t want to end up on different ends of Peru.”
Jacob hadn’t thought of that scenario and wasn’t happy to have something else to worry about.
Dr. Silva interlaced the fingers of her right hand with his. She looked him in the eye.
“It’s time,” she said.
Jacob nodded once, too nervous to speak.
She touched the branch.
Because he was not the person directly in contact with the tree, the experience was slightly different this time. Jacob could see the bark creep up Dr. Silva’s left arm, shingling her skin. It layered itself across her chest before covering her face and swallowing her whole. It spread down her right arm before reaching his fingertips. Then the familiar slowing happened; however, Dr. Silva remained the same. It was as if they were in a bubble together as they floated up to the sky and then became the sky. They rolled down a tube, the bubble blown down a straw. As they reached the bottom, he felt himself pop out of the ground and land clumsily at the roots of a massive tree. He was still holding Dr. Silva’s hand when his knees buckled. The sickness was evident but not as ba
d as the first time.
“Welcome to Peru,” she said, opening his canteen and lifting it to his lips. “If I’ve calculated correctly, we should be near the border of Ecuador, deep in the Amazonian rainforest. I must warn you, this isn’t a schoolyard. Quite a few creatures exist in this forest that would view you as lunch.”
“So, where do we go next?” he asked.
“We don’t. We wait for a guide.” Dr. Silva removed a long, hollow piece of wood from her bag and raised it to her lips like a flute. She blew three long, deep notes. When the last tone ended, she raised her finger to her lips. He held very still and listened.
The jungle was loud. Birds called from the canopy and monkeys leapt from tree to tree above him. There was a constant ruffling of leaves from things he was glad he couldn’t see.
After several minutes, he turned to Dr. Silva to ask if she should call again. He didn’t say the words though, because standing between them was a small, mostly naked man with spikes through his nose and an intricate pattern of red tattoos on his face. He had arrived silently and Jacob got the impression that he’d been standing there longer than either Dr. Silva or he had noticed.
Dr. Silva said something to the man in a language Jacob didn’t understand, then reached into her bag and produced two polished ruby red stones. She handed them to the man, who nodded in response and then pointed to his left.
“This way, Jacob,” Dr. Silva said. “This is Pandu. He will be our guide to the village where the Healer lives. Why don’t you go first?”
He lifted himself from his seat on the tree root and followed after the man.
“Watch your step,” Dr. Silva said.
“What was that you gave him?”
“The red stones? They were payment. The Achuar believe any red stone is a link to their Earth mother. What I gave him was simply red quartz but here it is very valuable.”
“Interesting.”
Pandu carried blow darts that hung in a quiver from his shoulder. His dark hair and leathery skin blended well into the rainforest. Jacob lengthened his stride to keep up, fearful that he could lose the man in the jungle at the slightest lapse of attention. The man navigated the terrain as if it were a paved trail.