Amber Uncovered

by Tom Larcombe

  “Something like 'why did it have to be him?' if I remember right,” Greg said.

  “I bet that means she stole something from him. Now she's feeling bad because of it,” Alicia said.

  “I suppose that makes sense,” Charles said. “But why won't she trust me just because she stole something from me?”

  “Hey, if you find out she jacked something of yours, and you're in the middle of helping her, you just dump her, right? So she worse off than she is now if she do that.”

  “No, if I give my word to help someone, I help them. Even if it is to my detriment,” Charles said.

  “Alicia, do you remember Billy? He disappeared off the streets about three years back?” Greg said.

  “Yeah, I remember a Billy. He be problem child, sticky fingers even back at the building. Lifted some of my stuff more than once.”

  “Charles helped him get off the streets and, if I remember right, more than one thing went missing while he was doing it.”

  “Billy got off the streets? I figured someone killed his ass when they caught him.”

  “No,” Charles said. “I helped him. He was stealing because he wanted attention, so I helped him find something to do that got him that attention without stealing. Pays pretty well too. Last I knew he was still painting building sized murals for money. Just not around here since when he came to me for help he said Eric was about to kill him. So I got him some training and set him up in a small business of his own. He was old enough that we could fake him being an adult though, he looked it at least, so that one was pretty easy.”

  “Billy working for real, not stealing any more?”

  “Not the last I heard from him a couple of weeks ago. He was doing a mural down south in California, saying he loved how warm it was there this time of year. None of the cold rain and frosts we get here.”

  “So you be helping people other than Amber? Why her though? Sounds like you after her particular.”

  “I've got this one,” Greg said.

  “Alicia, Amber has a special talent, one that could get her in a lot of trouble. It's just recently that it became noticeable. Charles and Kathryn have similar talents and want to teach her about it so it doesn't become a problem for Amber.”

  “And Billy painting, that takes talent. So you only help people with talent get off the street?” Alicia asked.

  “No Alicia,” Charles said. “We only help people who ask for help to get off the streets, unless they have a talent they don't know about that could cause them problems.”

  “Really?” Alicia asked.

  Charles nodded.

  “Will you help me get off the streets then?” she asked slowly, as though trying to make sure that there could be no misunderstanding.

  “Yes,” Kathryn said. “I will. Charles, may I help Alicia? If we do manage to help Amber, it would be better if you only had to deal with one person at a time, no?”

  Charles gestured towards Alicia with one hand, nodding at Kathryn. Alicia's eyes widened.

  “Just like that?” she asked.

  “That depends,” Kathryn replied. “Do you have anything you want to bring with you?”

  Alicia's eyes narrowed again.

  “You ain't gonna disappear if I go get it, are you?”

  Kathryn shook her head.

  “I'll wait right here at the bookstore, if Greg doesn't mind.”

  Greg was beaming a smile at the group of people around him.

  “I don't mind in the slightest. If we can get Amber off the streets, that's two of my favorite urchins being rescued back to back.”

  “Urchin?” Alicia asked, a hint of threat in her voice.

  “A troublesome young child whose clothes are the worst for wear,” Greg said. “Does that sound like anyone you know?”

  Alicia looked down at herself and blushed.

  “It wasn't an insult Alicia, I used it fondly,” Greg said. “But I felt the need to emphasize the troublesome and mischievous nature of the two of you to Kathryn and Charles since they'll be the ones dealing with you.”

  “That assumes we can find Amber,” Charles said.

  Alicia bit her lower lip for a moment.

  “I don't know where she went now, but I know where she'll be later. Come midnight she'll be at that fast food joint about ten blocks east,” Alicia said. “She gonna be getting some food from Tim. I heard them talking about it.”

  “Tim?” Charles asked.

  “Another kid, well not really a kid anymore, but someone else that lives in one of the apartments on the ground floor of Eric's building. He gots a real job, and almost has a real life. 'Cept, I think he's dealing some of Eric's drugs out of the place he works.”

  “Okay, that's good. If we can't find her in the next six hours, we know where she'll be then,” Charles said. “But, maybe we should just wait for midnight. If she sees us trying to chase her, she's going to be even more skittish and if I try to approach her, she'll bolt again. Kathryn, are you willing to help out some more?”

  “Yes, I will.”

  “How about you Alicia. If you're there do you think Amber would be more willing to talk to Kathryn?”

  “Course she will be. Heck we were both talking about getting off the streets earlier today. If I can talk to her, tell her that you guys look like you're on the up and up, that'll help.”

  “Are you willing to do that?”

  “Bet your ass. I asked her to remember me if this worked and she got off the streets. Now that I'm getting off of 'em I'm not gonna forget about her.”

  “Okay, let's go back to my apartment then, we'll get you set up with some clean clothes and decent food inside of you. Then, later on, we'll go and try to intercept Amber at the restaurant.”

  Greg stepped back inside the shop.

  “Looks like you should get your things Alicia. They'll be here waiting for you when you get back, I promise,” Greg said.

  He gestured Kathryn and Charles into his shop as Alicia took off down the street.

  “Don't forget, don't tell anyone about any of this,” Kathryn called to her, just loud enough for Alicia to here.

  “Don't worry none about that. Only two people I talk to very much at the building and Amber's one of them. Josh will be out working right now, so I'll just be in and out of that place.”

  * * *

  “So that was a Dilectis Caeli,” Greg said. “Rather impressive. Not a single book was damaged by that wind and only a few of the papers were even creased. I doubt most Air Wizards would have that much control over their power.”

  “I'm guessing that she really does care for you Greg. So her power, or whatever makes her Dilectis Caeli, knew that and acted accordingly,” Charles replied.

  Greg shook his head.

  “I haven't seen anything like that in years. Almost makes me miss the old days, eh Charles?”

  “Really?” Charles said.

  “I did say almost, didn't I?”

  Charles grinned.

  “You always liked that stuff more than I did. I was always the one that tried to be in and out without being noticed.”

  Greg grinned back at him.

  “I remember. Tonight sounds like it ought to be easy, but would you like some backup? You've already got one innocent in the line of fire if anything goes wrong.”

  “I've got Kathryn for backup,” Charles said.

  “No offense,” Greg said, gesturing to both Kathryn and Charles “but do you know how she'll react if there's a problem?”

  “No,” Charles said, “at least not that type of problem.”

  “I think you should be there Greg,” Kathryn said. “I've got a feeling and I try to trust those since they frequently prove to be important.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Greg said. “Besides that, I really like Amber. I'd love to be involved in getting her off the streets.”

  “Okay then, can you come with us when we head back to my apartment building?” Charles asked.

  “Sure, if you don't mind a
quick stop on the way. I need to drop off my deposit. Don't like to keep too much cash in the shop here. The rent is cheap, but there's a reason for that.”

  “Not a problem,” Charles said. “We're walking anyhow, so now you'll have guards.”

  “Heh, not that I need guards with today's sales, but I'll take it.”

  The three of them chatted until Alicia returned. The look on her face told them everything they needed to know about her life up to this point. She looked amazed that they were still there waiting for her like they'd said they would be.

  “Come on Alicia,” Kathryn said. “We're going now.”

  Alicia looked around, as though to see if anyone were watching. When she didn't see anyone else, her hand slowly crept into Kathryn's. Kathryn turned to Charles with a look of shock on her face. He just shrugged in reply.

  If something as small as us keeping a promise can make her that happy, there's hope for Alicia yet, he thought.

  Greg had his deposit all prepared so his stop only added on an extra minute to their walk. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

  “There's an empty two bedroom on the second floor,” Charles said. “I was thinking that you and Alicia could use that one Kathryn.”

  “Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I was thinking I'd stay with you, but that wouldn't work, would it? I don't think Alicia wants to be in an apartment all by herself.”

  “That's okay if it needs to be that way,” Alicia said, unenthusiastically. “I can stay in a place by myself.”

  “No Alicia, I'll stay with you for now, until we decide where you should go for good. Don't worry, you'll have a say in the matter. But I want to get to know you before that, find out what you like and don't like so I can narrow the options down to start.”

  “You mean I don't get to stay with you?” Alicia asked.

  “You will for a while. But if you stayed with me, then what would happen to the next child that needed me to help them get off the streets?”

  Charles stopped for a moment, struck by her words.

  Maybe she really is thinking about staying here to help me with what I've been doing.

  She looked back and smiled at the expression on his face.

  “Oh, I see. I think. It kinda makes sense,” Alicia said. “It's also different that you're actually explaining to me. Before, I was always told that it was because they said so.”

  Charles let them all in to his apartment. He rummaged through a desk and pulled out a pair of keys that he handed to Kathryn.

  “Apartment 2-C,” he said. “All yours for now. Why don't you take Alicia up and let her put her stuff away. I imagine you'll have to take a drive at some point to get your own things down here.”

  Kathryn took the keys and headed for the door, Alicia in tow.

  “Alicia, do you like taking car rides?” Kathryn asked.

  “Never been on one for more than a few minutes.”

  “Well, I'm going to have to go to my house and get my things. It's a pretty little house on the edge of a forest and it's about an hour away by car. Would you like to go with me when I do that?”

  “I can go with you, really?”

  “I don't see why not,” Kathryn said. “I'd enjoy the company.”

  She closed the door behind her as they left the apartment.

  “So Greg, what tricks do you have up your sleeve for tonight? You actually sounded like you wanted to go on this run. I thought you'd given up things like this?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. I just want to go so I can make sure nothing happens to Amber. I like the kid, you know? Plus she's been a steady customer for a few years now.”

  “You're trying to claim it's because she's a customer?”

  “Like I said, I like her. I can't explain it. There's a few of the kids in that group that are worth saving and Amber is one of them, especially if she's really a wizard.”

  “I think there's no question about that any more, not after what happened in your shop.”

  “Well, it's possible that it was just her being a Dilectis Caeli, but I doubt it. Her being a wizard would explain why I took to her so strong too. Kindred spirit type of thing.”

  “So you're rather fond of her?”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Then you won't mind parting with one of the newest version of the wizardry primer at a steep discount then, will you?”

  “Oh no, no you don't. You know how hard it is to get a hold of those?”

  The two men bickered over the pricing for a while, easing the tension they both felt with their banter. Less than an hour later Kathryn and Alicia returned, Alicia looked much cleaner and her hair was wet, suggesting that they'd paused for her to take a shower.

  “I've got a bunch of boxes in the basement,” Charles said. “Stuff left in apartments when people moved out. I bet there are some clothes there that would fit you if you're interested.”

  Alicia perked up at his words.

  “You sure?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “Maybe I can take you down there after dinner and you can go through the boxes, see what you want.”

  “Yeah, that sounds great.”

  “Charles?” Kathryn said.

  “Yes.”

  “I can do that now while you make dinner for all of us,” she said.

  “I'm making dinner, am I? I thought we might get some take-out.”

  “Since when do you like take-out?” she asked.

  “Hey, I thought Alicia might prefer it,” Charles said.

  “Why don't we ask her?” Kathryn said, turning to Alicia.

  “So, would you rather have take-out or have Charles cook for us?”

  Alicia paused for a moment, thinking.

  “What kind of take-out and what kind of cooking?” she said.

  Kathryn turned to Charles, who paused for a moment as though considering his options.

  “I was thinking either pizza or Chinese for take-out. But if I'm cooking I'll make chicken and vegetable stir fry served over rice.”

  Kathryn leaned over and stage whispered to Alicia.

  “Trust me, take him up on cooking for us. He's a good cook and his ingredients are about as fresh as you can get.”

  Charles glared at her.

  “I want to try what you said, the stir fry thingy,” Alicia finally answered.

  “Okay, done then,” Charles said. “Give me an hour to get dinner set up. I'll give you the keys so you can get to the boxes. They're all tucked in that efficiency apartment in the basement that I never managed to rent out.”

  * * *

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  Amber walked into Second Chance Books and saw Greg standing in the middle of the shop.

  “Good to see you Amber. I'm glad you decided to come,” Greg said.

  A noise at the back of the store caught her attention and she looked back there to see the man that had been planting trees, the one she'd stolen the crystal from, come out of the back room accompanied by an attractive older lady.

  Greg looked at the man, then turned to Amber.

  “Amber, this is the man I was talking about, Charles. He brought his friend Kathryn also, maybe to make you more at ease by having a female here.”

  Amber was staring at Charles, her mind racing. Charles caught her gaze and smiled. It was too much for her.

  Why'd I have to go and rob the guy that wants to help me? she thought.

  “It's him? Why did it have to be him?” she said.

  Amber panicked and felt something pull at her as though it were leaving her body. A wind rose inside of the store, blowing paper and books all over the place. As she watched, everyone else protected their faces from the flying objects, but she didn't feel threatened by them at all. She turned and sprinted for the door. Once she was outside she felt whatever had left her body returning to her as she took off running.

  She caught herself when she realized that she was running towards the building, where Eric was looking for her. She turned
at random and kept going, slowing her sprint to a fast walk so she didn't stand out as much.

  What the hell do I do now? she thought. I never should've stolen that crystal. Ever since I did, everything's gone wrong, even worse than it was before. Maybe it's cursed or something. I know, I'll put it back where I found it. Maybe if that Charles guy finds his crystal he'll still be willing to help me. As long as he doesn't know I stole it from him for a couple of days it should be fine. I bet I can do that.

  She changed direction again, now headed back to the park.

  He was already at the park today. I bet he doesn't go back. Even if he does, it's almost dark out and I can hide if he shows up.

  When she reached the clearing, she scrambled to dig the crystal up. She stopped abruptly when she noticed that the white stone she'd placed on top of where she'd dug was now a perfect sphere. She shook her head, wondering if she were dreaming or this was really her life.

  After tossing the sphere in her backpack, she dug down to the crystal. A shirt from her pack served as a cleaning cloth to get the dirt off the crystal. There were a few spots where dirt had gotten down into crevices on the stone, and she focused hard on the crystal as she cleaned it, looking down into it to see if there were any more dirty spots.

  The tiny tingling, like ants walking over her hand where the crystal touched her skin, grew stronger and stronger. A moment later a rush of energy, like nothing she'd ever felt before, filled her. It felt like her skin was tingling and her hair standing on end.

  She looked down at the crystal, sure that the energy had come from it, only to see that it's glow was now dim and feeble.

  “Oh shit! I broke it,” she said.

  Maybe he won't notice? I mean, it's still glowing a tiny bit.

  A breeze, a cold one, found its way into the clearing. She shivered and looked around. It was completely dark out now and there were no lights in the forest.

  Except the one I'm holding. Way to go twit, let anyone out here know right where you are.

  She glanced over the crystal one more time, trying to see if there were still dirt on it. She didn't see any so she wrapped it up in the shirt she'd been cleaning it with and zipped it into an outside pocket on her backpack.