by W. J. May
She carried them into the garage. Molly’s dad stood bent over the hood of a perfect looking Porsche.
“Hi, Mr. Skye. I made you some lunch.”
Mr. Skye popped his head up and smiled. “Well, arn’t you a dear!” He walked over to the small sink beside the table Rae had set the sandwiches on. He turned the taps on and washed his hands, which already looked clean. He pulled two stools out from under table and indicated she should sit on one.
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, munching on their lunch. Eventually, feeling the need to fill the quiet void, Mr. Skye cleared his throat and said, “Har you enjoyin’ yer year wit Molly?”
Rae smiled, catching the teasing glimmer in his eye. The man obviously knew his daughter’s effect on people. “She keeps things interesting.”
“Oi! That she does. She’s always been interested on the outside stuff, but she’s got a big heart.” He patted the left side of his chest. “An’ if you haven’t seen it yet, give er time and it’ll come through.” He fiddled with a loose thread on his shirt. “Now fer you.”
“Fer…fer me?” Rae’s head started pounding. Now it comes.
He’s going to bring up my folks and tell me to stay clear of trouble.
Tell me to not tempt his daughter with evil.
“Don’t you be frettin’ about the past. It’ll catch up with yer soon enough – when yer ready. You’ve got yer hands full wit yer future. That’s what’s important.” He smiled and winked at her.
All the panic drained out of her with a rush. She had the oddest sense of calm acceptance.
“Uh, thank-you.” Rae didn’t know what else to say. That had probably been the nicest thing an adult, besides the headmaster, had said to her regarding her ability.
“How’re the boys? Are they causing you an’ me Molly trouble?”
Rae giggled. He wanted to have that talk with her. Of course he does! Molly probably had strategically told her dad just enough to not be lying and as a good father, he was hoping for more info from another source. Like my father…like a father should. She stopped giggling; she kind of needed the talk.
“There’re a few boys. None of them cause trouble.” She sighed, not sure how to say anything the right way. She had questions, and she needed guidance, a father’s guidance. She knew she wouldn’t get it from Uncle Argyle or the headmaster. She couldn’t even picture asking anyone else. The pressure and uncertainty built up inside her. Finally, when she realized she couldn’t keep it inside anymore, she blurted, “Mr. Skye what do you think of tatù people dating?” Her faced burned and she wished she could take the words back.
He stood and walked over the Porches and dropped the hood with a resounding bang, making Rae jump and regret that she had said anything. I don’t know this man, he doesn’t know me. Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut? But his words, once he spoke, gave her hope.
“You girls ‘ave it ‘arder than we did. They don’t want you ta be together, an’ yet they stick adolescents in the ‘ame room.” He tsked.
He went around to the driver’s side and sat in the seat, turning the key. Nothing happened. He stood and leaned over the door, flicking his finger at the engine. A thin white and blue line escaped his fingers.
“Jus’ be careful. As I sorta said before, you don’ want yer past to predict yer future. Stay clear of gray areas fer a wee while.”
He wrinkled his nose and sat back down in the driver’s seat to try the key again. This time it purred like a kitten. He shut it off and closed the door.
“Yer young. Have fun an’ just make sure a boy’s interested fer the right reason. Tatù or not.”
Rae decided to take his advice and leave before this happy interlude went south. She picked up the dirty dishes to take back into the house, but paused on the bottom step. “Thanks, Mr. Skye. Molly’s lucky to have a dad like you.”
He chuckled. “I didn’ choose to do something big with my ability. I chose a simple life, but wit a wife who likes to go big. Me girls, Molly and her mum, deserve their castle. I’m the one who’s lucky to ‘ave them. Jus’ do me a favor an’ keep me Molls outta trouble.” Then he added, as if having an afterthought, “An’ keep ‘er away from them boys.”
Rae giggled as she went back into the house, thinking to herself that Molly’s father knew his daughter to the bone.
Chapter 20
Personal Demons
The rest of the Winter break passed slowly with Molly and her mother taking every possible opportunity to drag Rae out shopping to stores which were so far outside of her price range, it felt ludicrous to even walk in the shop’s door. It took some time for Rae to give in, and just enjoy the company.
There were moments when Rae felt like she was looking at a Norman Rockwell painting, watching Molly with her parents. They were disparate parts of the same whole, like puzzle pieces that seemed so different, yet fit together perfectly to make a beautiful picture.
They were so perfect together, and sometimes Rae longed to have that so much it hurt. Molly always seemed to know when Rae fell into a dark mood. She would come and drag her back into the fray, until Rae felt she was no longer on the outside, that she kind of became part of their family. It was an idyllic time, a welcome respite from the stress and pressure of school. Part of her wished it would last forever; the other part couldn’t wait to go back to Guilder, to see Devon, the headmaster and to face the other students.
Eventually, Rae found herself and Molly on a train, heading back to Guilder, the golden times ended. But even with the grim and dreary environment of school, teachers, expectations and the ever-watchful eye of the dean, the one thing life at Guilder wasn’t, was slow.
The first week back at school seemed to pass faster than all three weeks of the Christmas break combined. While on vacation, she had enjoyed the privacy of not having to talk about her tatù. In fact, after having flashed through inks like a cartoon flip book at the Alumni Dinner, Rae realized having had only Molly’s ability for three weeks had been heaven.
In no time, everyone fell back in the swing of things and gossip was abundant. On campus, everywhere she went, Rae heard students talking about her tatù and the alumni dinner. She ignored the whispers, figuring she’d show them what she needed to in the Oratory.
Monday evening, Rae headed down the marble steps and into the library a few minutes ahead of eight. She passed a few seniors sitting at the front of the room. She settled at her usual table with Devon near the back.
She hadn’t chatted with him since before Christmas. Her knees bounced against the underside of the table making it shake noisily, and earning her dark looks from Madame Elpis. She got up and began pacing around the aisles at the back of the room. Rows of books lining the shelves looked like walls.
Rae dropped her head sideways to get a better view of the titles. Most of the books were old leather -bound tomes with gilt printing on the bindings. She touched one, pulling her hand back in surprise. She felt power from the book shift into her. Well that’s new. How could a book have ink power? Well, there was only one way to proceed.
Dropping her hands to her sides, and standing perfectly still, she waited for her gift to show her what power she’d just absorbed. Eyes closed, she focused on the inner hum of her body.
The library grew completely silent – aside from the steady noise of the old ceiling lights and the computers.
The urge to wrinkle and twitch her nose grew strong inside of her. Rae knew the ability she’d just absorbed belonged to a shape-shifter and immediately following the realization, came the knowledge of whose it was. She opened her eyes and sighed. “Gale, I know it’s you.” She tried to peek over top of the books. In her best sing-song voice impersonation of the Shining, she said, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Laughter erupted from the front of the room. A tiny mouse crawled between two books, one of which Rae had touched. It jumped to the floor.
Within seconds, Gale stood beside her, a sheepish look on her face. �
�Sorry,” she whispered. “The girls dared me to try it. I hope you’re not mad.” She looked frightened enough to turn back into a mouse.
Rae smiled and laughed, trying her best to show that she was nothing to be scared of. “Here I was thinking some book might actually be a human stuck in the library stacks. I was about to pull the book out to try to free it!”
A small, squeaky laugh erupted from Gale and she hurried back to her friends, giggling the whole way.
“What am I missin’ out on?” Devon’s voice came through the other side of the aisle, behind the books.
Rae peeked through the stacks, disappointed not to sneak a glimpse of the sexy body the voice belonged to.
“Just playing a joke on Kerrigan,” Nadia, one of the twins, called from across the room
“Except she didn’t fall for it,” Gale added. “Figured it out in about five seconds.”
Aidan appeared in the aisle. “I got her once already.” She grinned triumphantly.
“What?” Rae asked, furrowing her brow. “When?”
“The night of your birthday. In the Infirmary.” Aidan’s eyes sparkled. “I sneaked outside your window and tossed you some crazy dreams.”
“That was you?”
“Yeah, ‘til you rolled out of bed faster than the wind and stared right at me. I took off running, positive you had caught me.” She giggled. “You never ratted me out. I thought that was cool of you.”
Rae thought back to the night. All of it had been strange. “I remember waking and jumping out of bed. I freaked at my own reflection. Never saw you.”
Aidan winked. “Gotchya.”
Devon leaned over Rae’s shoulder, his hand wonderfully warm on her arm. “I’d watch it. From what I’ve heard, payback’s a bitch.” His smug smile backed up his words, making Rae wonder what he was thinking.
That wiped the silly smirk off Aidan’s face. Worried eyes glanced at Rae. “Sorry. I won’t ever do it again.”
Rae couldn’t help grinning, even though she hated the nervous tension in Aidan’s voice. “No worries.”
“I-I’ll leave you guys to get some work done. We won’t bug you again.”
“Happy New Year,” Rae called out as they headed to their table, hoping she could do a tiny bit of damage control.
The girls mumbled a reply and turned back to their books.
“Sorry I haven’t had a chance to catch up with you.” Devon sat down across from her. “Things were just really busy at home. Now, it seems, just as busy here.”
“Is it your mom?”
“Nah, Mom’s doing great. Her cast came off last week. She’s wearing one of those air casts now which she can walk on and take off to shower. She’s in heaven.” Devon let out a long breath. “My father’s putting me through hell. He’s hounding me to get my applications in order for university.”
Rae’s heart stopped. She’d never considered Devon wouldn’t be here next year. She’d kind of hoped he might stick around and, if she had the courage to ask, maybe mentor her more.
“Where’s your dad pushing you to go?” Hopefully really close by.
“Cambridge. It’s his alma mater. For having a tatù, it isn’t much help in deciding what to do. I was sort of thinking about some kind of spy work for the government, maybe the Privy Council. My dad disagrees. He seems to think I don’t have what it takes.” Devon looked dejected for a moment, but quickly cleared the expression from his face. “It was just a long holiday break, and I’m happy to be back again.”
“Me, too.” Rae blushed realizing how it sounded. “I didn’t mean I was happy to have you back, I just meant it felt like a long break, and I was happy. To be back. At school.” She shook her head, wishing she had Molly’s mouth at the moment. Because I sound lame. “How’s Beth?”
“Beth?” Devon looked like he’d forgotten his girlfriend for a moment. “Oh, Beth! She’s good, I think. I haven’t spoken to her since the first week of Christmas break.” He reached over and grabbed a couple of books from the stack and flipped through one. “We broke up.”
He said it so quietly, Rae wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “Oh.” Maybe he broke up with her? Yay! Or did she dump him and he was totally depressed? Poor Devon! Rae didn’t say anything else, but she harbored a tiny twinge of guilt when she realized she was suddenly in an awesome mood.
“My dad said you were the talk of the alumni dinner.” Devon’s soft brown eyes met hers. “Seems Dean Carter put you center stage.”
Rae cringed at the memory. The entire night seemed like a bad dream now – from Dean Carter to Riley’s attempted kiss. In fact, she wished it had all been one of Aidan’s creations. But, lucky her, it had all been real.
“Let’s just say I’ve no plans to attend next year,” Rae said firmly. “I’ve done my time.”
Devon laughed and held his hands up front of him. “I won’t bring it up again! I promise! Let’s try and get some work done then, shall we?”
He pulled a folder from his bag. Inside were newspaper clippings. He slid the file to her and opened the cover.
Rae looked at the black and white photo on the first page, instantly realizing it was of the fire that had burned her house down and killed her parents. She read the caption: FIRE KILLS TWO. MIRACLE CHILD SAVED.
Leaning forward, she read the article.
A combustible, deadly fire took the lives of two people: Simon and Bethney Kerrigan. Their remains were found inside their smoldering house. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined; firefighters are not ruling out foul play. Miraculously, their six–year-old daughter was found unharmed in the tree house in the yard. All trees surrounding were singed. However, the tree house mysteriously had no fire damage. Investigators are still trying to determine if she was inside the house when the fire began or if she may have seen anything that might explain the cause of the fire. The fire did not spread to any neighboring houses. The investigation continues.
Rae glanced at Devon. He nodded and turned the page to the next clipping.
SIMON KERRIGAN killed. Murder or Mistake? The man that many have come to fear and believed to be invincible is gone. His remains were located among the fire debris of his house. His wife, Bethney Kerrigan, who also died, was discovered beside him. Their daughter was found unharmed. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire – possibly a mistake made by Simon or by another source outside the home.
Simon’s business associates are devastated. For this reporter, I will sleep better at night knowing Simon Kerrigan is gone. He will no longer be a threat to any of our kind or the rest of the world. Many of our readers will feel the same as I do. Let’s all hope the Kerrigan daughter has the gift of her mother, not the malevolence of her father. The six -year -old’s only living relative is Argyle McBane; his whereabouts are currently unknown.
Rae looked up, slightly confused. The second article didn’t come from a typical newspaper. It seemed pretty bold to think, let alone put down on paper that her father was the boogieman. Yet, it told her little more than what she already knew. The difference here, was that it made her feel protective about her family, flawed as it was. It still felt like her personal loss, no one else’s, she greatly disliked having anyone else comment on it, especially with the tone this article had projected. Devon seemed to read some of her thoughts. “The first article’s from the local paper. The second article is from our newspaper.”
“You mean, those who are inked?” She blinked several times, trying to absorb what Devon meant. It was difficult to accept, even though she knew it was true. People had actually feared or hated her father, and even after his death, they didn’t put much confidence in her future. They were passing the gauntlet from him straight down to her, had done so in fact, before she was ever inked. Her need to defend herself, her life, her family, both dead and alive, and her tatù grew stronger. Just a reflex, she told herself, but felt like she’d still been actively attacked. It had felt that way for a long time, and had only been growing worse.
I’ve been naïve all this time to think I’d ever fit in here. She might be one of them, but she would never belong. They’ll never accept me.
She played with the zipper on her backpack. “You know, I wish I hadn’t been born. Or maybe had a brother to carry this load instead of me. It would’ve been better if it just skipped over me.”
“You don’t mean that.” Devon looked horrified. He took her hand in both of his.
“When Lanford told me you were coming, know what he said?” He squeezed her hand before releasing it. “He said you were coming to this school because of how special you are. He said you were going to need this tatù like the river needs the sea. And it would need you like the sea needs the river to survive.”
“Sounds like Lanford’s been having conversations with my uncle.” Rae couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Devon pressed on. “You can’t bury it deep inside and pretend it doesn’t exist. The sooner you realize that and accept it, the easier life will be.”
Rae scoffed. “Easier? You’ve no idea what it’s like to be me! Did you have newspaper articles written about you? Or an entire school and fraternity of gifted people leery of your tatù, watching your every step, suspicious of everything about you waiting for you to turn into a monster?” She ticked each point off on her fingers, her voice rising with each point. “I don’t know who my real friends are. I have an uncle who never told me the truth and a mother who wrote me a letter before she killed my father! Don’t even let me get started on my so-called evil father. I don’t even know if the school has me here to help me, or so they can try to protect their own asses from what I might become!” She rolled her eyes. “Sure, this ink’s awesome. I can do such wonderful things. All I need is a little group of adoring psychopaths following me around so I can mimic their abilities.” She stood, tossing the articles back at him. “How would you feel if people shrank away in fear of you and you’d done nothing wrong? Don’t give me some river-sea metaphor and try to make me feel all better – it isn’t going to change anything!”