Affinity

by Dianne Wilson

  Kai kept his LifeLight dim, Zee wasn’t there.

  He lifted his hand and the school solidified. “Did you see that, Zee?”

  “See what?

  “That school right there...that’s our tree. Try something for me?”

  “I dunno. Maybe you shouldn’t be out of hospital yet. Concussion—”

  “I’m not concussed! Tell me something. When you used to find me, were you sleeping?”

  “That’s what’s got me puzzled. I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “What were you doing?”

  Zee squirmed. “I was...praying.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. At all. To whom?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Who were you praying to?”

  Zee eyed him sideways. “Jesus, of course. Why, is that bad?”

  “Um, no. I don’t think so.” He scratched his head and shrugged, “Well, try it now. Give me a few seconds, and then try. OK?”

  Zee looked dubious, but she nodded and he reached for the ladybug.

  The world turned on its head and he was alone in the dark. Come on, Zee. He waited for a few minutes. Nothing. He dropped his hand and found her next to him on her knees, eyes shut tight, mouth moving silently. He tapped her on the shoulder.

  “I guess it didn’t work.”

  “What were you praying?”

  “I was asking Jesus to take me where I used to see you. Duh.”

  Kai’s brain was working too quickly to trip over her sarcasm. “I see what’s going on. It’s just like the shoes.” He chuckled to himself.

  Zee’s smile dropped. “We need to get you back to hospital. You are making no sense. Seriously.”

  “No wait. I understand this. When you speak to Him focused on your need, it doesn’t seem to work. But when you focus on the Source, on Him, it works. I don’t understand it, but there it is.”

  The smile was back on Zee’s face, only this time it lit her up from inside. “I get it.”

  “You do?”

  She nodded and grinned.

  “OK, Miss Smartypants. Let’s see if you really do.”

  He closed his eyes and touched his bug.

  Seconds later Zee appeared next to him, her hand on his arm and all traces of laughter wiped from her face. “This isn’t a dream.”

  Hearing it from someone else took a butcher’s knife to his heart. This wasn’t a dream, and there was no getting around the fact that he’d left Bree to die at the claws of a pack of darKounds. He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to throw up.

  ~*~

  Back at TrisTessa’s house, Kai stirred another spoon of sugar into Zee’s coffee.

  She sat with her hands clasped around the mug, pale and shaking, her eyes unfocused. The only words she’d said since they’d left the school were different variations of I didn’t know and how is it possible?

  TrisTessa frowned. “What happened to the two of you?

  Kai ignored her question. “Runt definitely came from St. Gregory’s. If we can get into their records, maybe we can track down who placed her there in the first place.” He shrugged. “I’m stumped. Don’t have any ideas.”

  TrisTessa pulled her bag closer and dug around inside. She pulled out a pamphlet printed on glossy paper and slid it across the table to Kai.

  “I think I do.”

  The pamphlet was printed in bright colours, the kind found on postcards from a midsummer beach. It read “SmartArt...art workshops to boost your brain. SandSky gallery offers short courses designed to complement the academic curriculum of school-going children of all ages.” The next paragraph detailed scientific evidence that linked creativity to better brain function.

  Kai’s eyes skimmed the rest which had to do with the two halves of the brain. “This may just work—if you can talk them into letting you come.”

  TrisTessa had already found St. Gregory’s number on her phone and was dialing them. “Oh trust me, I can be very persuasive.”

  ***

  Evazee struggled with the weight of the canvas bag she was carrying.

  TrisTessa carried two the same size, but didn’t seem to be having the trouble that Eva was. She walked upright, glancing left and right to find the classroom they’d been given.

  By the time they reached it, fire burned up and down Eva’s arms with the weight of the supplies. “Do we really need all this stuff?”

  TrisTessa grinned and nodded. “The classes are big.”

  “How did you get them to agree to have you?”

  “It’s amazing what people will say yes to when you waive your fee.” She spread out newspaper on the desks. “Bring those paint pots, will you?”

  “So we’re here. Now what?”

  “Now we wait for an opportunity to get to the information we need. Until then? We kick-start some brains with creativity.”

  The first two hours passed in a blur of washing brushes and mixing colours.

  TrisTessa shone as she worked with the kids.

  Eva’s mind wandered. What would happen if she started praying? Would she find herself balancing on a rotten branch? It was a ridiculous thought. Yet she’d been right next to Kai when it had happened before.

  She handed a pot of navy to one of the boys. He had a hooked nose, a slight squint, and had been whispering comments under his breath every time she passed. This bunch were in the thick of hormone-riddled puberty and many of them spent more time studying her than working on their art.

  Something crashed next to Eva and she jumped.

  The hook-nosed boy had fallen off his chair and lay on the ground convulsing.

  TrisTessa shot across the room, “Go fetch someone in the office quick. He’s having a fit.”

  Evazee ran.

  The school was a warren of corridors that bent and twisted. Her heart was pounding by the time she got to the office.

  The secretary was the only one there.

  “Come quick. One of the boys is having a fit in Class 5.”

  The secretary, a thin woman who looked as if she’d never smiled in her life, picked up a first aid kit and ran.

  Zee turned to follow but stopped.

  The computer was on and logged in.

  Maybe this was it. Before she could convince herself that this was a bad idea, Zee sat down and studied the screen. The secretary had the school management software open. All Zee had to do was search in the right age range. If Runt had ever attended here, she’d be in the system.

  A few clicks took her to the class she wanted. She scrolled through. C’mon. C’mon. Quicker. Her ears strained to hear footfall. Nothing.

  There! Runt’s face, slighter younger, hair cut in a short boy style. Another click and she was into Runt’s profile. She didn’t stop to read but snapped a photo with her mobile. She clicked back a few times to return to the secretary’s screen, but she couldn’t find it. Finally, she got up and ran out, bumping into the secretary as she rounded the corner.

  “Where were you? Why didn’t you follow?” Her eyes narrowed. It made her look even more forbidding than before.

  “I’m sorry, I lost you. So I came back here. How is the boy?”

  “He’ll live. You’d better get back. Turn right at the end of the passage. First left, then right again.” She squinted at Eva, her mouth pulled in tight as though she was sucking pips.

  Eva backed away, then turned and walked as fast as she could. By the time she got to the classroom, her legs were jelly.

  ~*~

  Kai sat in a rocking chair, but he didn’t dare move in case it squeaked and woke Runt. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. A thought smacked through his head and he sat up straight. Something had been bothering him all afternoon and he’d just realized what.

  TrisTessa had St. Gregory’s number on her phone. She’d probably been in cahoots with them all along.

  He sank back in the chair, gutted. As nice as she seemed, it could all be a front. Biding her time until she could get him back to the school to be recruited. Maybe there was money in it for
her. So much for finding his mom. What would TrisTessa’s home look like from the other side? Probably as dark as the OS. His arm slid over his chest. Would it work?

  As Runt’s bug touched the treble clef on his skin, brightness exploded all around him. The light in Runt’s room had been dimmed, but the shift lit up her room as though the sun itself had come to visit.

  It took a minute for Kai’s eyes to adjust. The walls of brick had been replaced with the curved, iridescence of a giant bubble. It stretched high above him, arching overhead until it connected with the side of another bubble. Rainbow colours swam across the surface. Kai didn’t breathe or move in case he popped it.

  “It’s stronger than it looks. Feel for yourself.”

  He swung around, and there stood the Man of Light with Eternity in his eyes. Tau. Kai couldn’t help grinning. This place couldn’t possibly exist. He slipped off the chair, landing gingerly on the see-through floor beneath him. Below his feet, he could see more bubbles. Some lit up by their LifeLight-filled occupants, others empty, yet equally beautiful. He tiptoed closer to the wall and stretched out to feel, but stopped short. “I know how bubbles work. When you touch them, they pop.”

  “These won’t break. Trust Me.” The warmth of His voice flooded through Kai.

  Bree would have loved these bubbles. At the thought of her, Kai felt his bubble pop. Not as strong as those he was standing on. Bree had been convinced that this man couldn’t be trusted, that he was dangerous. And look what had happened to her. Kai pulled his hand back. “What do you want from me?”

  “Everything, and nothing.” He walked over to where Runt lay sleeping. He put his hand on her forehead, the size of it dwarfed her. “Kai, listen carefully. There are more like her who need rescuing. Are you willing?”

  Bree lay across Kai’s heart like a deadweight that slowed every beat. Soon it felt as if it would stop beating altogether. “You’ve got the wrong person.”

  The man shrugged. “That’s one opinion. You do know that you don’t have to touch your birthmarks to see in the Spirit. Yes?”

  Kai coughed and scratched behind his ear. I knew that. He couldn’t help gawking as the bubbles stayed put. How was this possible? Tau had called them birthmarks, not imprints. But Kai had never seen the marks before the bus. It didn’t add up. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Up until a few days ago, my biggest challenge was to scrape enough money together to feed myself and my cats every day. Then I had a run in with a bus and everything went weird. I’m seeing things that could get me locked away in a soft room for the rest of my life.” He waved toward Runt. “I have her on my hands, and I met you.” Bree. I killed Bree.

  “So have I got your attention yet?”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “What was your question, Kai?”

  Kai paced, a step for every unresolved issue. His mind raced. “What is going on?”

  Tau perched on the edge of the bed, his hand on Runt’s forehead. The LifeLight inside her danced at his touch, swirling and sparkling.

  “You believed. That changed everything. Your spirit is alive. You’ve been activated. Now, what will you do about it?”

  “I’m no hero.”

  “You don’t have to be. You have Me.” He tilted His head, “I have an assignment for you. Your team is being drawn together. It’s already begun. You up for it?”

  Kai sat down in the rocker. Look casual. This is no big deal. “My team? What are you talking about?”

  “You’ll know them when you see them.” He stood up and stretched. “They’re back. Think about it. What is seen is temporary. What is unseen is eternal.” He passed through the bubble wall, and the world twisted at a crazy angle. Rainbow brightness receded and shrank, seemingly swallowed by the pale light from the lamp.

  Kai was back in Runt’s bedroom.

  Keys rattled in the lock downstairs.

  Runt stretched in the bed. Her eyes fluttered open for a second, but closed again as she rolled onto her side. Her feet poked out the end of the duvet, and Kai leaned over to cover them. He froze.

  In the curve of her arch was a silvery tattoo. It was the same size as Kai’s music notes, but shaped like a pair of wings stretched out to fly. This was too much to be a coincidence.

  The door handle creaked down, and Zee’s face peeked around the door, “Hey. How is she?”

  “No change.” Kai covered her feet.

  “Her name is Teva.” Zee closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed.

  “So you managed to get to her records?”

  “I did, but they were no real help. We did, however, get information from an old man who works there.”

  “The janitor? Old Phil?”

  Zee nodded. “You know him?”

  “He warned me to get out of there. If not for him...” Kai let the words and the thought go. No point going back to what could have been. Or what should have been, for that matter.

  Zee pulled the zipper on her jacket, took it off and hung it on the back of her chair. Underneath she wore a spaghetti strap top in a shade of emerald that made her eyes seem luminous in the semi-dark. As she moved, Kai saw a silvery flash.

  He stepped closer, trying to see without looking as though he was looking. But Zee was a girl. She apparently had instincts for this type of thing.

  “What are you staring at, Boy?”

  “The tattoo on your chest...How long have you had it?”

  “I don’t have a tattoo.”

  “But it’s right there, look.” He pointed at the mark shaped as a single feather, the kind they used to write with in the old days. He’d seen them in movies. It was the same silvery colour as his and Runt’s, but Zee’s nestled in the hollow above where her collar bones met. Just above the mark, a silvery feather pendant hung on a strip of leather around her neck. A second pendant hung next to the silver one—a real feather mounted on a silver ring. It looked familiar. “Where did you get your necklace from?”

  Zee felt for the necklace and held up the silver feather. “This was from my gran.” Her fingers switched to the real feather and she rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. “Runt gave this to me as a present. She said it matched the silver one.”

  He reached over and brushed the strange marking with his thumb. An image flashed in his head. Zee writing with living flames, the LifeLight inside her, coming out through the pen in her hand.

  He jerked back. If these markings meant what he thought they did, he would have to leave before these two got sucked into an assignment he had no intention of taking on. One life lost was more than he could carry on his conscience. As far as he could see, there was only one small problem. Before he could run, he had to get his guitar back.

  20

  Open Sessions looked even more run down in the sunlight. Night was kind to those with things to hide. Wind whipped through the street, tossing up rubbish as if it were bored.

  A woman in a long, black coat came up the road, heels clacking in relay. Both her hands were buried deep in her pockets. She glanced at Kai, frowned and crossed the street, footfalls speeding up as she passed opposite him.

  Kai scratched at the stubble on his cheeks. It was prickly and felt as though it was trying to pick a fight with him. He ran a hand through his hair. Every spike popped straight back up. Lady, I would cross the street to avoid me too. It was a bad day when his hair even ganged up on him.

  Something feather-light brushed the back of his jeans. He swung around and grabbed. It was a kid, a head or two taller than Runt. He’d tried to pick pocket Kai. Had Kai not been so on edge, the boy would have got away with it too.

  Kai hoisted him up under his arm and made for an alleyway. The boy wriggled and kicked. “Let me go!”

  He was wild and desperate, furious at being held.

  The side street was deserted. Kai felt around in the left pocket of his hoodie. His fingers closed on a chocolate bar he’d been saving for emergencies. Now seemed as if it mi
ght just qualify.

  He held it out to the boy, just beyond grasp.

  “This is for you.” He kept his voice low, soothing. “I’ll not hurt you. I just want to ask you a few things, OK?” There was something familiar about this kid.

  The boy wiped under his nose with the back of his hand and rubbed it on his T-shirt. He looked Kai up and down, and then nodded.

  Kai put him down and held up the chocolate, half expecting him to bolt. Kai sat down on the pavement, his feet stretched out into the street. He tried to look casual, as if it didn’t matter if the boy hung around or not. By the size of his arms, not too much food came his way.

  The boy checked the street and sat down next to Kai.

  Kai handed over his prize and the boy held it in his hands on his lap, staring at it in awe. His fingernails were grubby with weeks of collected dirt.

  “So you live in there?” Kai waved towards the club.

  The boy nodded.

  “You have a name?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  Kai shrugged. “I’m Kai.”

  “That’s a dumb name.”

  “I bet yours is, too.”

  “Is not!”

  Kai shrugged and started whistling.

  “Snitch. Because I’m way better at snitching stuff than anyone else.”

  “Ah,” Kai held out a hand. “Pleased to meet you, Snitch.” Snitch stared at his hand as if it were a snake. Kai tucked it back in his pocket. It was cold here in the shade. “Why do you live here? Don’t you have a family?”

  “Dem’s my family.”

  “What about school?”

  Snitch’s face crumpled.

  Kai might as well have sworn at him.

  “Don’t need no school.”

  “Of course. Your grammar is near perfect.” Kai remembered where he’d seen this boy. “Hey! You were at St. Greg’s with me, weren’t you?”

  Snitch shot to his feet as if the pavement were a stove plate on high. “Don’t you come ‘round here no more! Hear me? I don’t want no trouble.”

  Before Kai could say another word, Snitch bolted. Kai ran after him, but the boy was too fast. He crossed the street, still clutching his prize in his hands.

  As he got to the door, a man stepped out from the shadows. His hair hung in tatty loops from his head, knotted and twisted into a scant grey braid that trailed down his back. His fingers closed around the back of Snitch’s neck. The man held Snitch up, twisting him this way and that. Sniffing through his spikey grey moustache, the man took the chocolate bar and pocketed it. He set Snitch down and shoved him through the open doorway with a foot on the boy’s behind.