by Leyton, Bisi
“Elliot, you need to leave now,” Bruno bellowed. “The family reunion is over.”
“Even if she does, I don’t want to stay.” He turned toward the gate again.
“But we might be in trouble.” She clutched at his arm as he moved away. “Bach’s people are coming here to look for something.”
“More of his kind is on the way?” He paused. “You knew, but didn’t say anything?”
“I wanted to be sure,” she replied. “I’m still not sure what’s exactly happening.”
“And they’re coming here?”
“I think so.”
“It’s a good thing I’m leaving now then.” He jerked away.
“What?” Glaring in shock as the man walked away, she wanted to say something, but she didn’t have the words.
“Wisteria.” Stopping, he walked back to her. His tone was calmer and somber. “Talk to your mother about this. I can’t help you anymore.”
“Now, Coles,” Sir Charles commanded.
Bruno approached and grabbed Coles’s arm. “Now!”
“Take care of yourself.” The Major glared at the man, jerked his arm free from Bruno, and walked through the gates out of the island.
Looking around, she didn’t see any soldiers, only the civilian guards and a couple trackers. Sir Charles probably feared the rest of the soldiers might leave with him. And as much as the leadership council hated Coles, they needed the soldiers.
As her stepfather left, she saw a red and black tanker floating in the distance. The gates were closed just as she saw him get into the motor boat—he never looked back.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bach was on Jarthan, preparing to finally leave now that he’d gotten the official news. The empirics would be leaving for the Isle of Smythe in three days. Now he was expected to return to Smythe to await their arrival. While he was gone, he wanted Enric to help him find out what Felip was up to.
“No,” Enric replied firmly when Bach asked him. “I am not interested in tracking down that D’cara. Let the empirics handle it. That is what they are trained to do.”
The boys were in Bach’s chambers, as he packed his belongings.
“Why do you not have a steward gather your possessions?” Enric jeered at the sight of Bach packing. “You are not a domestic.”
“I need you to find where Felip went. Your father has connections that can look into these things. I would prefer not to discuss that when a steward is here.”
As the Lord of Jarthan, Enric’s father was an avenue to get information without having to go through empirics or official challenges.
“The empirics are looking into this,” Enric remarked. “They have a full-on investigation to locate Felip. The mongrel is probably hiding somewhere in the Vashteen plains or Gunori Dessert, hoping they do not find him.”
“Felip was on Earth. Somehow, he journeyed from home, through Jarthan to Earth without being stopped. And since your father guards Jarthan and the threshold, I cannot understand how he is doing that. I need to know what he is trying to do.”
“You saw him on Terra?”
“No.”
“How do you know he was there? Your Terran told you?” Enric grumbled. “You promised this was over.”
The last thing Bach wanted was to be drawn into another conversation about Wisteria. “Felip is still after something and we do not know what or why. How I found out is not important.”
“Well, leave it to the empirics.”
“Enric, you are my friend. I took you on my Great Walk and now that you have finished you have been elevated to the Ino caste. That means you get to live on the Sable Mountains and my father paid you quite a lot when you completed too. You are very wealthy now.”
“And?”
“You owe me.”
Enric’s face dropped and he shook his head. “So, when the time comes, I will not stand in your way if you want to make Alba your intended.” Enric clearly was not thrilled at this notion.
Bach wondered what had happened to change his mind.
“Just put this issue with the Terran aside, please.” Enric sighed.
“Alba does not feel the same way.”
“No, it seems you two were meant to be together.” No, she was in love with someone else, Bach wanted to say.
While Enric covered Bach’s relationship with Wisteria to protect himself, he might respond differently if he knew his sister had once loved a human so deeply she couldn’t be with anyone else.
“What happens when Felip comes back and runs into Alba? Can you risk Felip tracking her down? I know she is an empiric and can clearly take care of herself, but is that what you want?” Bach said instead.
“I will see what I can find,” Enric agreed reluctantly.
*****
After school, Wisteria went straight to the tracker station to wait for her mother to return. She wanted to talk to her about Coles leaving. When she arrived, the controller told her that her mother was working a double shift and that it would be another seven hours before she returned.
Feeling numb from everything that was happening, she headed home. A few minutes into her trek back to the farmhouse, she spotted Steven and Gareth heading toward her.
Steven said something to the boy, and then they argued for a bit until Gareth left. “Wisteria.” Steven headed toward her.
“Crap,” she muttered, checking for a way to escape. The clock tower was few feet away. If she ran, she would get there before he reached her.
“Ria,” he called as she took off. “Ria.” He jerked her back as she neared the clock tower.
“Go away.” She pulled at his grip on her arm.
“Why are you behaving like this?” Steven hissed. “You act like I’m trying to attack you or something. You’re not that special, Wisteria. You should be happy that I’m even paying you any attention.”
“Why do you think I have time for this? My friends died outside because you and Dillon organized another party.” She shoved him back.
“I didn’t organize another party. Dillon did that on his own.”
“Okay, fine.” She continued toward the tower doors.
“I’m not a monster. I feel terrible, too. I lost friends there, too. Don’t walk away from me.” He tried to stop her from leaving. “I heard about Coles and I wanted to see how you’re doing,” he said.
His concern surprised her to say the least. “In a period of ten days, I’ve lost my best friend, my stepdad, and even Andrew, because you had that stupid party, Steven Hindle.” She was shaking with rage.
“We didn’t know that would happen.”
“There are biters everywhere. How could you not know?”
“I’m not psychic.” Steven grabbed her forearm. “We’re not the only ones sneaking onto Norton for drinks or whatever. Charles and Bruno do it all the time.”
“Sir Charles is an idiot.” She pulled at her arm. “You’re an even bigger idiot for listening to a thing he says.”
“What happened to you? You used to be so sweet. It used to be that just seeing me lit up your face.”
She couldn’t remember that time. It seemed like years ago, but it had only been seven months. However, reflecting on her stupid crush over Steven was the furthest from her mind. “What do you want from me, Steven?”
“Wisteria---”
“Because I know you’re not really interested in my life. So tell me, what do you really want? You’re looking to score points with your friends or are you trying to make Hailey jealous again?”
“I like you?” It sounded like a question. “Is that what you want to hear?” He ran his pale hand down along her arm.
She smacked his hand away. “I promise, if I ever get that desperate, I will think about jumping off a bridge, and we’ll talk then.” Ducking under his arm, she marched toward the heavy doors of the clock tower.
“Man, who do you think you are? No, really.” Slamming her against the side of the building, he laughed. “Don’t you get it? I’m going to
give you the only thing you’ve ever wanted.”
“What exactly is it that you want?” Bach appeared behind Steven. His green eyes darkened when he saw the blond-haired boy’s hands holding her abdomen. “What are you trying to do?”
She was startled; she hadn’t sensed him on the island.
“Man, Bach, this isn’t any of your business,” Steven ridiculed.
Like most people in Smythe, Steven didn’t know about Wisteria and Bach’s relationship. She suspected if her mother knew, she’d harm him, so she was glad to be discreet. Bach, she believed, didn’t want anyone to know because he didn’t think it was any of their business. Now looking at him, she wondered if part of him regretted that now.
“Go now,” he warned Steven intently.
“Whatever.” Steven let go. “Why didn’t we see you in quarantine?”
“I am immune.”
“Immune,” Steven scoffed. “No one’s immune to Nero.”
“I wonder if you are immune to a punch in the face.” Bach lunged at the shorter kid.
Steven ran.
“Who was that?” Jason walked out, followed by his dog. “Was that Steven Hindle? Oh, I see you found your friend.”
“Are you okay?” Bach asked as he gazed intently at her.
She buttoned her coat and avoided his stare. “Yeah, he’s just a jerk.”
James was now barking from down the street.
“I need to walk him, but I need you both out in three hours. There’s going to be a meeting here,” Jason spoke as he gazed down the street.
“Wait you know about—us?” she asked.
Jason gave her a cynical look. “Do I look like an idiot?”
The dog kept barking.
“James, enough,” the man called, jogging over to the dog. Owner and mutt soon departed, leaving the pair alone.
*****
In silence, Bach followed Wisteria into the room behind the large clock.
She was muttering angrily to herself, but not talking to him.
He’d waited in the tower for several hours before jumping down to find her with Steven. He scowled at the thought of her with that boy again.
Now, she seemed so stressed and he assumed that was why she hadn’t sensed him when he returned to Smythe. “What is wrong?”
Approaching the biel core, she warmed herself. “My stepfather walked out.”
“But that is good news.” He was relieved Major Coles was gone because he never totally trusted Coles.
True, it was Coles who’d made it possible for him to remain on Smythe to travel in and out of the island undisturbed. Coles had told everyone that Bach was simply immune to Nero and they believed that. But the man didn’t fully understand the rest of Bach’s abilities or who he really was.
“How could you say that?” She turned back to him, staring at him like he was crazy.
“I thought Coles leaving would make you happy.”
“He’s committing suicide, that doesn’t make me happy. And I’ve no clue what this is going to do to my mum. And with him gone, we lost over sixty-eight people,” she explained. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
“Maybe this place is not as safe you thought.”
“No place is safe.”
“I know a place that is safe.” Standing next to her, he tangled his fingers into her hair. “Stay in my den and I promise no one will hurt you.”
“You know I can’t leave Smythe.”
“I am not asking you to leave forever.” Although that was what he wanted. He also decided to tell her about the arrival of the cohorts.
“Uh.” Taking off her coat, she rubbed the back of her forearm violently. “What is this?” she cried.
“What is wrong?”
“Nothing,” Pulling her sleeve over her arm, she kept rubbing the spot.
“Did Steven hurt you?” he demanded. “I do not like the way he treats you. If he hurt you, I will end him now.”
“No, no, just promise you won’t be disgusted.”
“About you?” He couldn’t understand the question. He could never find any part of her disgusting. “Why would you ask me that?”
Rolling up her sleeve, she showed him her arm. “I’ve been getting this rash and it keeps coming and going. No one knows what it is. It kind of looks like your tattoos, but these aren’t tattoos.”
“I do not have any tattoos.” Inspecting the dark spot, he immediately knew they were from him. He should’ve told her this could happen sooner, so she wouldn’t be worried. Gently, he ran his hands over her skin and some of the shana vanished. “It is nothing to worry about.” Part of him was elated, because he knew this meant she did in fact, love him. Part of him was terrified, because this would be hard to hide from the empirics when they arrived.
“You know what it is?”
“My spots, my shana, I …” He was slightly embarrassed. “I must have given it to you somehow.”
“So, are we sick?”
“They are birthmarks that sometimes move, and clearly, they have moved onto you. Everyone knows about shana where I am from--even those who do not have them--I just assumed you did. I am sorry.”
“Why did they move?”
“Because you are in love with me.”
“Oh.” Biting her lip, she rolled her sleeve down and resumed warming herself.
“But you cannot let anyone see this,” he warned. “The empirics—”
“Trust me, no one is going to see this.”
It was as if she was ashamed and this stung, even though they had to be discreet.
“The empirics will be here soon, so I need to keep my distance from you until they are gone. I cannot risk them even suspecting we are friends. They might try to do something.”
“When will they get here? How many are there?” Trembling, she moved away from the biel core.
“We have a few days and they will be here.” He didn’t want to worry her but he did not want to hide anything from her anymore. With all she was going through, it felt better to give her a few days of peace. He also knew that she could go to her mother with this, but he couldn’t lie to her. “Seven empirics will be here in a matter of days.”
“What? So soon? What are we going to do?”
“Nothing. They will ask a series of questions and once they have what they want, they will leave. We just want to take back our artifacts,” he explained.
“And they won’t take anyone from the island?”
“Wisteria.” Out of breath, Jason burst into the room. “Wisteria, you have to come now. It’s your mother.”
*****
“What happened to my mother?” From the look on Jason’s face, Wisteria knew this was bad. “Where is she?”
“On her way home,” he answered. “You need to go home now.”
“I am certain she is fine. I saw her on my way in,” Bach tried to comfort her.
She shoved past him. Getting home, she saw her mother in bed surrounded by Sabine Morel, one of the doctors on the island, Yvette’s stepmother, and Ferris.
Her mother seemed asleep.
“Mummy.” She hurried to the bed. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She fainted on her patrol today,” Sabine said, signaling to her mother’s patrol partner to leave. “She hasn’t woken up yet.”
“But she’ll be okay?” Sitting on the bed next to her mother, Wisteria placed her palm on her mother’s forehead. She felt warm.
“She’ll be up in a few hours,” the doctor replied.
“Why did she faint? Did she hear about Coles?”
Sabine laughed. “Yes, she heard about that. But that’s not why she fainted. It happens sometimes in the early stages of pregnancy. She might be anemic, but I’ll have to run some tests.”
“My mother is pregnant?”
“Yes, didn’t she tell you? This wasn’t a secret, as far as I know.”
“So Major Coles knew?”
“Your mother will have to explain that to you.” The doctor stood
up. “When she wakes up, give her plenty of water, keep her cool, and make sure she stays off her feet. I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Do you know where David is?” she asked the doctor.
“I’ll get someone to look for him.” Moving to the door, Sabine stopped when she saw Bach standing in the doorway. “Maybe Bert can help you find him?” She left before he could reply.
He stood watching her mother with some uncertainty. “Coles left her and he knew she was pregnant. Perhaps he did not love her or learned the baby was not his.” There was no love lost between him and her mother.
“Bach, why do you say things like that?” She glared at him for a moment while realizing again, He really isn’t like us.
“Wisteria…”
“Please leave. I want to be alone with my mother.”
Glowering, he turned and headed for the door.
“Wait.” She shook her head. Knowing her mother, what he said could be true. Coles didn’t say it was her mother who wanted to end things, but he might’ve been lying. They both could be lying. What she did know was that right now, her mother was unconscious and her stepfather was gone.
She signaled for Bach to enter. “Can you stay here with me until she wakes up?”
“I should look for your brother.”
“No, David will come home when he’s ready.” Forcing David to come back now would just make things worse because he’d be livid. She didn’t want to deal with that. Instead, she lay down next to her mother and watched her sleep.
He walked over and sat down next to her.
She was glad that he was with her and didn’t seem to want anything but to be here.
*****
The minutes turned into hours, but her mother never stirred. By eleven that night, she knew there had to be a problem. “She’s been out for eight hours. Sabine said she should be awake by now.” She got up. “I’m going to get her. Unless there’s anything you can do?”
“Pulse her?” He shook his head. “She is pregnant. I am not sure what will happen to the baby if I did that.”
Biting her lip, she grabbed her coat and left the room.