WeavingDestinyebook

by Ching, G. P.

  "The one thing we can count on is that the Watcher will be lazy and arrogant," Gideon said. "It won't have moved far from the feed, but the illusion it uses will make it hard to find. We'll work in teams. Dr. Silva, Malini, and myself can detect the Watchers. We'll each pair with a Horseman, branching out in separate directions from the site of the murder."

  "Wait, I thought you said she was in training?" Mara said pointing a hand at Malini. "If Malini's not ready, why are you putting her out front?"

  "She can smell Watchers, Mara. We need to use her ability to balance the teams," Dr. Silva responded.

  Jacob leapt to his feet. "I agree with Mara. Malini isn't ready. We don't even fully understand what her abilities are. She can't protect herself. It's too dangerous."

  "Jacob, don't you think I should make that decision for myself?" Malini said. "Maybe if I'm put in a situation like this it will trigger what I am. I have to be useful for something."

  "It's too dangerous!" Jacob insisted, pacing to the gold mantel. A groan came from the pipes as he passed near the wall.

  "Please, Jacob—my plumbing. If you're going to have a tantrum, go outside," Dr. Silva said.

  Gideon crossed the room and placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "It's her purpose, Jacob. Give her the chance to find it, just like you did."

  Jacob's hands clenched into fists. He turned to face Malini. "If you're going to do this, do it with me. I want you to be my partner."

  "Okay. We'll do this together," Malini said.

  "I want Dr. Silva," Mara said. "No way am I charging up Cicero Avenue with super-glow-bright over there."

  Gideon scowled. "I will go as the cat. I won't be a danger to anyone."

  "Gideon can pair up with me," Lillian said. "I'm not afraid of it finding us. I want it to find us."

  Mara leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "It's settled. When do we go?"

  "Tomorrow. Sunrise."

  Malini exchanged glances with Jacob. It was the weekend, the end of spring break. She didn't have school, but her father wasn't going to make it easy for her to disappear for an entire day. How many more lies could they pile on before they collapsed under their own weight?

  Chapter 4

  Missing Pieces

  As it turned out, Dr. Silva was a huge help in finding an excuse for Malini to be gone all day. She told Mr. Gupta she needed help in her garden and because Jacob, who had done it last year, was now working for his uncle, she was willing to pay an embarrassingly high wage for her help. Mr. Gupta, whose weakness was an all-American work ethic, had insisted Malini pick up the extra job.

  They met in the tower, enchanted staffs at the ready. Because Mara didn't have a staff, Dr. Silva and Gideon used their sorcery to send her back the way she'd arrived. Once she was safely on the other side, the others tapped their staffs on the floor and a split second later joined her in an alley near the intersection of 5th and Cicero.

  "This is where it happened." Mara pointed to a patch of pavement near a dumpster. "That building over there—the one with bars on the windows— it's a shelter for the homeless but it was full that night. He'd likely gotten something to eat there, then came here to sleep."

  Malini watched the muscles in Mara's cheek tighten as she told the story. Maybe Dr. Silva was right. Maybe the chip on Mara's shoulder was the result of seeing some horrific stuff.

  "We should check out the shelter. Ask if anyone saw him that day," Jacob said.

  "Good idea," Mara said.

  "Wait, you haven't already done that?" Malini asked. "I thought you found him right after it happened? Why wouldn't you have asked some questions then?"

  "This place was swarming with cops and news reporters. No way was anyone going to talk to me," Mara said, defensively. She shot Malini a deadly glare that seemed to suck all of the oxygen out of the alley.

  Malini tugged at the neck of her hoodie. "I feel hot, like I might get sick," she said.

  "Malini, is it the Watcher? Can you still smell it here?" Jacob asked.

  A cool breeze picked up in the alleyway. The air swept away her nausea and cooled her burning skin. She straightened up. "Yes, Jacob. It's been here, but I think not recently. I can only smell it when the wind isn't blowing."

  "Yes, I believe you're right, Malini," Dr. Silva said. "I see only remnants of evil."

  At her feet, Gideon growled in agreement.

  "So we search. Give me your staffs. You don't want to call attention to yourselves walking around the city with a tree branch in your hand," Dr. Silva said.

  "How do I get one of those anyway?" Mara asked.

  "You don't," Malini quipped in a not so nice way.

  "Malini—" Jacob started.

  Dr. Silva saved him from finishing the statement. "Mara, the staffs were made from the branches of a tree that grew out of my dead husband. Sorry, but his soul has moved on, the tree is dead, and we can't make any more."

  Mara blinked several times in Dr. Silva's direction. "Makes... perfect... sense," she said. Absently, she reached into her coat and withdrew another sucker, yanking off the paper cover and thrusting it into her cheek.

  Malini, Jacob, and Lillian added their staffs to the two already in Dr. Silva's arms. She leaned them up against the dumpster. Her hands circled her body, pulling the air into a glowing orb that looked like fire but crackled like electricity. When it was the size of a soccer ball, she tossed it at the stack and they melted from view.

  "The illusion will last two hours. We'll split up. Mara and I will check out the shelter. I wouldn't put it past a Watcher to pose as another homeless person. Lillian, you and Gideon go north. Jacob, you and Malini move south."

  "Let's do this thang," Mara said, following the others toward the mouth of the alley.

  Malini nodded her head. Weird, a quiet voice at the back of her skull was telling her to go south, anyway. She hoped the voice was her instinct guiding her away from the evil. Unlike Lillian, Malini hoped she wasn't the one to find the Watcher.

  "Come on," Jacob said to her. "Tell me if the smell gets stronger."

  The two broke away from the rest of the group, moving out of the alley and strolling side by side down Cicero Avenue. Traffic was dense, but luckily, the drivers seemed preoccupied with their own business. Jacob was in full Horseman mode, sweeping each passerby for any glimpse of suspicious activity. Malini, on the other hand, watched her shoes hit the pavement, completely distracted.

  "Jacob, do you think Mara is attractive?"

  "Sure. I guess," he answered without looking at her.

  "What is it about her that you find attractive?"

  This second question grabbed Jacob's attention more than the first. He turned toward Malini on the sidewalk and frowned.

  "I didn't say I was attracted to her, specifically. I said she was attractive in a general sense."

  "Well, what do you think is attractive about her in a general sense, then?"

  Jacob opened and closed his mouth. "Malini, I don't think I should answer that question."

  "Well, why not?"

  "Yesterday, you and Mara didn't really hit it off. No plans for a new BFF there I would say. So, I'm afraid my words can and will be used against me."

  "So, you do find her attractive."

  "Will you stop saying the word attractive like you looked it up in a thesaurus under 'ambiguous words to trap your boyfriend with'?"

  "Just answer the question."

  "See, this is what I'm talking about. You're leading me into something, Malini. What is it that you want me to say?"

  Malini crossed her arms in a huff and walked faster. "If I tell you what I want you to say, it's not worth hearing you say it," she blurted.

  "I see. So, either you're digging for a compliment or trying to trap me into saying I find Mara attractive." He laughed. He actually laughed at her.

  Malini rushed ahead. She refused to look at him even though a small part of her knew it wasn't because he was wrong.

  "Malini, if you wan
t me to reassure you—" His arm shot out in front of her. She halted abruptly, swerving to avoid him. His other arm shot out behind her, corralling her on the square of sidewalk. She ducked under it. He surrounded her again with lightning fast reflexes. His bright green eyes smoldered above his teasing grin.

  She refused to look at him. Retreating from his arms, she backed into the privacy fence that bordered the sidewalk. He moved in close. His hands came to rest on the fence on either side of her shoulders.

  "If you want me to reassure you, Malini, all you have to do is ask." His leg slipped between hers until his knee hit the wood behind her. Bending his elbows, he pressed into her. He wasn't laughing anymore.

  As Malini turned the full force of her deadliest look in his direction, Jacob lowered his lips onto hers. Soft at first, a mere brush of lip to lip, the kiss was an appeal for permission. She acquiesced, parting her lips. The kiss went deeper, igniting a slow burn that threatened to start the fence on fire.

  They were both sixteen, but becoming a Horseman had matured Jacob. He was all muscle and almost a foot taller than her. She felt his entire body wrap around her as he bent his neck to kiss her again. Every nerve ending woke up and sent little shock waves to the deepest part of her. Her skin flushed. Her heart pounded.

  She was so caught up in the kiss, she almost didn't notice the smell. The first licks of it came on a breeze, making her pull back a little. The second, stronger, caused her to push hard against Jacob's chest. She turned her head and inhaled the sickeningly foul smell of Watcher, a metallic sweetness like arsenic and aspartame.

  "It's here," she whispered into Jacob's ear and pointed her thumb behind her. "I think, behind the fence."

  He was gone in a flash, the warmth of his body replaced with the cool spring air. She tried to follow, but she wasn't nearly as fast. Yards ahead of her, he turned the corner. She caught up to him where the eight-foot wooden slats gave way to chain link. The entrance gate was chained shut.

  "A junk yard," she said, panting. "No attendant on duty. How do we get in?"

  "We don't. You need to stay here where it's safe." Jacob pulled up his pant leg and removed the flask of water that was strapped to his ankle. "I'll go over alone. I can take this thing."

  The top of the fence was lined with barbed wire. Visions of Jacob bloodied and tangled in its barbs had her searching for an alternative.

  "Break the lock, Jacob. Don't go over. Someone driving by might see." She pulled out her cell phone, her thumbs flying across the keyboard. "I've texted the others. Help is coming."

  "I can't wait. I understand what Mara was talking about now when she said she was drawn to it. My body is about to pull a sucker-punch on my brain and drag my hijacked ass in there. Besides, we can't give it a chance to get away."

  At least he listened to her about the fence. He lifted the padlock in his hand and filled the mechanism with water, maintaining contact so that it wouldn't drip through his fingers. He froze it, spreading the molecules where the key should have been. The lock opened.

  "Go ahead, Jacob. I'll close it behind you," Malini said.

  He slipped through and disappeared behind stacks of tires and rows of rusted cars. Malini did close and lock the gate behind him but not before she slid through first. There was no way she was going to leave him to do this alone. Dr. Silva would make short work of the lock anyway.

  "Solve the problem," she said to herself. That was what her father always told her. It was all about critical thinking. Plan the work then work the plan. She didn't know what she was or what power she had, but today, even if it was as an ordinary girl, she was going to help Jacob kill this Watcher.

  She scanned the junk in front of her. Up, she needed to climb higher, so that she could see. A boxcar rusted in the west corner. Perfect.

  On quiet feet, she ran as fast as she could to the wreck and climbed the ladder up the side. Thankfully, she could see most of the junkyard. Stacked vehicles blocked the southwest corner, but otherwise, the twisted metal was low enough. She found Jacob right away, creeping forward between stacks of junk, holding tight to one side of the path.

  Unfortunately, she spotted the Watcher next. The sight of it made her gag. It wore the illusion of a young man in overalls, a form that fit right in with the surroundings. Anyone who caught a glimpse from the outside would think he was a custodian. But Malini knew what he was immediately. His smell rose up over the rest of the rot and hit her full in the face. If that wasn't enough of a clue, it was eating something, and from where she stood, it looked a lot like a human foot.

  Left, she punched into her cell phone to Jacob's number. She saw him pull his phone from his pocket and silence the vibration.

  Where R U

  Never mind. Go left.

  Jacob moved forward and followed her directions, circling around a pyramid of stacked barrels, low and out of sight.

  Left again. Right after the blue Nova. Careful, U R close.

  He followed her directions, creeping down the pathway and then sliding around the blue car at the end. The Watcher stopped eating and sniffed the air, tossing the bones he'd been chewing aside and wiping the blood from his hands on his overalls. Malini saw the smear for only a moment and then it faded into the illusion, swallowed by the fake perfection Watchers liked to use.

  It senses U, Malini texted, but it was too late. The Watcher spotted Jacob's feet under the Nova and instantly transformed itself into a little girl in a pink dress and pigtails.

  Girl is Watcher! Malini typed but Jacob had already stowed his phone, pouring the water into his palm and forming his favorite ice blade. He crouched into a fighting stance.

  As Malini feared, he hesitated when the little girl scampered around the corner.

  "Help me," it said, holding out a chubby hand.

  "What are you doing in here?" Jacob asked.

  Malini said a silent prayer that Jacob wouldn't lower his weapon. The little girl inched closer, her eyes as big as saucers, her chubby hand reaching for Jacob's. And Jacob was reaching back, drawn in by the illusion. She had to do something. She had to warn him.

  "JACOB, IT'S HER," Malini screamed.

  Jacob took a step back and wielded his weapon. The little girl façade ripped in half and the black scaly skin of a Watcher emerged. Its wings sprung forth with a menacing hiss. Dodging Jacob's thrust, it lunged a taloned paw at his stomach, ripping through t-shirt and flesh. Blood soaked the cotton. Jacob slashed and dove, avoiding the beast's claws. Somersaulting between its legs, his second jab landed in the creature's thigh. The holy water of the blade burned its flesh. The creature howled.

  From her position, Malini lost sight of Jacob. He'd rolled behind the scrap. She needed to climb higher, to make sure he was okay. Unfortunately, she had her own problems.

  Below her, a second Watcher approached the boxcar. It stared up at her, squinting its snake-like yellow eyes. She'd learned in Nod that, whatever she was, she was hard for Watchers to see. But she was sure she was easy for them to hear, and her scream had just given away her location. Backing away from the edge as quietly as possible, she dropped down on the opposite side. The sound of talons puncturing metal gave her goose bumps as the Watcher climbed the boxcar. A winged shadow crept over her.

  She bolted, launching herself between piles of junk and ducking behind the first mass of metal big enough to hide her. It was a mistake. The pebbles and dust she kicked up only drew attention to her location. Behind her, wings flapped and footsteps pounded the dirt, closer and closer. Pulse racing, head filled with visions of Nod, she lost all control and panicked. She raced for the gate. The beast was on her in an instant, its serpentine hands snatching her backward by the shoulders.

  Malini's head snapped forward from the jolt. The beast whipped her around. Talons. Scales. Foul breath and sharp teeth. Its yellow eyes drew ever closer. Losing all capability for logical thought, she became a whirlwind of biting teeth and scratching nails. She kicked and thrashed. A terror-fueled howl worthy of any horror movie
escaped her throat.

  The place where the Watcher's black scaly hands touched her bare skin began to burn. Agonizing pain radiated from the touch point. The Watcher pulled back one taloned paw and shook it. Had it burned her or had she burned it? She didn't wait to find out.

  Kicking hard against the thing's ribs, she freed herself, falling to the dirt. She crab-walked away from the beast. Its paws were covered in blisters. So was the skin on her shoulder where it had touched her.

  It didn't take long for the thing to figure out another way. With an evil smile, it ripped a pronged chunk of steel from the rubbish, and stabbed it at her with supernatural precision. It caught her around the neck and pinned her to the earth. Helpless, Malini struggled, a butterfly under a pin. Something sharp glinted from the creature's talons. It closed in, a silver knife aimed for her heart.

  "See you in hell, whatever you are," the Watcher said, raising the blade.

  "I don't think so," Jacob's foot barreled into the Watcher's side. They tumbled to her left in the dirt. She tried to watch but the cold steel that scraped the sides of her neck wouldn't allow her to turn her head. She heard thrashing, a grunt, and then Jacob howled in pain.

  Malini couldn't bear it. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the end, praying in her last moments for Jacob's safety. But instead of death, the sounds of familiar voices came to her. Inexplicably, the metal prong was gone and she rubbed her scraped neck in relief.

  "It's okay, Malini. I'm here." Jacob scooped her trembling body into his arms and stood her up next to him.

  The Watcher was pinned to the Earth next to her, electric purple energy binding its arms, legs, and wings. Mara, Gideon, and Lillian looked on as Dr. Silva lowered a glowing purple spear toward the creature's heart.

  "Why did you come here?" she demanded.

  The beast gave a wicked laugh that made the hair on Malini's neck stand on end. She hugged tighter to Jacob's chest.

  "Your partner is already dead. Tell us why you came and we may spare you," Dr. Silva said, again.

  "Why?" the thing laughed. "You ask why? The why is already done. We are everywhere, traitor. And you…" Its yellow eyes washed over them. "None of you are safe. We know who you are, and we know how to find you. We will be avenged, Soulkeepers. The next flood is coming. This time it will be Watchers on the ark and the righteous shall perish." The beast laughed sardonically until Dr. Silva plunged her weapon into its chest. The flesh imploded around the energy, folding inward before turning to ash. They all stared at the place where it had been. The cremated remains blended into the dirt pathway.