Empty Heart

by Al K. Line

  And then it stopped, the child snapped to attention, and there was an angelic girl with beautiful blond hair ruined somewhat by the red taint of blood and her own sweat and tears. Her arms hung limp by her sides and her head was bowed, but when she lifted her eyes to look at us we all gasped. Such a beautiful child. It was impossible not to stare, to be moved by her beauty. Was this her true self, or had she changed her features?

  "Daddy?"

  "Hey, honey, it's okay. Daddy's here now."

  Sunshine launched at Steve and he hoisted her off the ground and hugged her tight, never wanting to let her go.

  "Being a boy felt horrible," said Sunshine with a weak smile. I knew exactly how she felt.

  "What do we do now?" whispered Vicky.

  I shrugged. I had no idea.

  Munchies

  Steve ushered Sunshine over to the breakfast bar and hoisted her up onto a stool. She looked so small, all gangly and out-of-proportion after a growth spurt where her limbs had grown faster than the rest of her. Steve moved to the kitchen nook and leaned on the counter to look at his daughter.

  "Hey," he said brightly, the love clear.

  "Hey yourself," she chuckled, her eyes sparkling.

  Vicky reappeared with an armful of snacks from the living room, a look of distaste on her face. She glared at me. Maybe even glowered.

  "What?"

  "Did you have to do that to them?"

  "Yes," I said, defiant.

  She dumped the snacks on the counter and for a while everything felt almost normal as we dove in and stuffed our faces. I was famished, and clearly not the only one. We munched through the food in record time and nobody said a word, just eyed each other and wondered where to start in discovering what this sorry mess was all about.

  Sunshine seemed content now. She was relaxed, a hint of a smile on plump pink lips. Her aquiline nose twitched as she opened a new pack and sniffed. With a look of delight, she stuffed the Bourbons into her mouth and kept on going until the bag was empty. Then she tilted her head back and upended the crumbs into her open mouth.

  Everyone laughed, we couldn't help it. It was such an innocent act, how children should be, and I guess we'd all assumed such behavior was beyond her. We had to remember, this was a child. Inexperienced in the ways of the world, with an awful lot to learn.

  "Now, I think you owe me an explanation, don't you?" said Steve, his voice stern, at odds with his usual breezy way of talking.

  "S'pose." Sunshine pouted and rummaged through the empty packets.

  "All gone. Time to tell us what happened."

  "Oh, it's such a mess," moaned Sunshine, putting her head in her hands. I was certain she was being dramatic on purpose, and when I caught the hint of a sly smile through her hands, I knew she was one to watch, that she could tie Steve around her little finger with a flutter of her eyelids.

  "Just tell us. We've all been through a lot to get you. We saw the boat, we saw your mum."

  "It wasn't meant to happen like that, it all went wrong." Sunshine broke down, huge sobs wracked her body as she crumpled from the stool.

  I lunged forward and caught her before she hit the floor. She hung on tight, her thin arms wrapped around my neck. Her tears were warm. They were not the tears of an innocent.

  I looked to Steve and Vicky for help, but they held their hands up as if to say I'd have to hold on until Sunshine decided unkempt old wizards weren't the best for cuddles.

  Sunshine continued to cry, and I did my utmost to comfort her, but I felt uneasy, awkward, and God help me, a little scared of this frail girl clinging to me for comfort in her hour of need.

  An Explanation

  Several minutes later, and with Sunshine still holding on, I knew she was avoiding having to explain. So I whispered to her, I felt her body stiffen, and then she let go and dropped down to the floor. Her bare feet slapped on the cheap tiles.

  Without looking at anyone, she moved over to the dining table and sat on a chair covered in striped purple material of some sort. It was truly awful.

  "Well, come and sit down if you want to hear about it," she snapped.

  "What did you say to her?" asked Steve.

  "Just said I'd break her neck if she didn't tell us. That I'd use Wand and blast her to goo. That kind of thing."

  "Dude, not cool!"

  "I'm joking. Come on, let's hear this."

  With much trepidation, we each took a chair and sat, waiting to hear exactly what this young girl had done, what trouble she had caused, what lives she had made forfeit.

  "I just wanted to be normal, to be left alone," Sunshine said softly.

  "Course you did, love," said Steve the doting father whose daughter could do no wrong.

  "So I made a deal with some people who looked after me. Mum refused to ever let me do anything at all cool, we were always on that stupid boat or some stupid place out in the middle of nowhere. I never got to see anyone, play with anyone my age. It sucked."

  "I know it did. Your mum thought it was for the best."

  "And now she's dead." Sunshine broke down again, the tears flowed fast and free, and I knew this would take a while.

  "So what did you do?" asked Steve.

  "I arranged to get the hell out of there!"

  "Sunshine, you watch your language."

  "Sorry, Dad. Anyway, I'd had a guts full."

  "Sunshine, I'm warning you."

  "What, I am twelve, you know? You wanna hear this or not?"

  "Just keep it clean," Steve sighed, rubbing at his face repeatedly until the skin became blotchy. Poor guy, this was a lot to handle.

  "Some of the people on the boat were as fed up as me. They'd been around for years, supported Mum, you know that, Dad, but she went weird, really bossy, and even more secretive. Wouldn't let anyone do anything. So I made a deal. They'd help me escape if I promised to keep a low profile and not get into trouble."

  "And where were you going to do that?" asked Steve.

  "I was gonna come and live with you, of course." Sunshine beamed at her father; she clearly adored him.

  "Really? Oh, wow, that would be so cool."

  I think they were perfect for each other, one little kid, one big one.

  "Yeah, and when Mum turned up we could tell her to shove it."

  "Watch your... Ah, forget it. So you made a deal, what then?"

  "It was going perfectly, we were all set, we were gonna put everyone on one of the small boats and then simply let them make their way back to shore. But they got wind of it, everyone freaked out a little, and then Mum went and took the keys and locked herself away."

  "Let me guess," I said. "One of your people lost the plot and shifted, right?"

  "Yeah, idiot. He shifted and he was always a dolt, couldn't control himself when changed, and he got in to Mum, they had a big fight, and by the time I arrived she was dead. The others went nuts at him, and were acting all strange, all secretive like, then they fought and then the boat came and we left."

  "So you had another boat?" asked Steve.

  "Just in case. A couple of others were in on it too. Um, they're outside actually, keeping watch."

  "Not any more, they aren't," I mumbled.

  "I'm sorry, I really am, but what's going on? We were waiting for it to be safe to come find you. The others said you were being watched and it was hard to get you away, that it all had to be timed just right. They said we couldn't just turn up as about a million shifters would try to get me, but once things settled down, once I was with you and just living with you, then it would be okay? It will be, won't it? Tell me it will all be okay?"

  Steve plastered a smile on his face to hide his worry and moved to cuddle Sunshine. "Everything will be fine, honey, you'll see. Everything will be just fine."

  We all knew it wouldn't. Sunshine had done a foolish thing, but was unaware of what her supposed rescuers had done, used her to make some quick cash, or at least try, but even with that problem solved there was sure to be plenty more to take it
s place.

  The shifter community would be out in force, and after one thing. The most powerful shifter there had ever been. A girl of twelve who just wanted to go to school and hang out with her dad, watch TV, meet boys, and be moody. Just like all the other kids.

  We had our work cut out, that was for sure.

  And Now?

  Steve and Sunshine went upstairs to pack up the few things she'd brought. Seemingly, she was unperturbed by the guy in the bedroom she'd manipulated so he would kill himself. Why had she made him do that if she was unaware of the fake kidnapping? One question amongst many others, another one I assumed I wouldn't get the answer to. She was a law unto herself, different to others, and dangerous because of it. But just a child.

  Vicky and I sat at the table and stared at each other.

  "Well?" she said with a pout.

  "Well what? He's your boyfriend, what do you want to do?"

  "They can't come home with me, not with the girls, not with people looking for her. You heard her, they put people on one of the small boats, they'll be out looking for her and won't know what happened, that her mum is dead." Vicky checked the room, as if speaking about it could make Sunshine go off the deep end.

  "You're right. Man, I can't believe Steve kept this quiet. You okay about that?"

  "Not sure. I understand his reasons, but I thought we were close, that he trusted me. He should have told me."

  "Guess he was being sensible, keeping her secret, keeping it secret who he really was. Kept him and her safer. Maybe. Dunno. They do like to play their games."

  "But I can keep a secret," moaned Vicky, getting up and pacing the room.

  I raised an eyebrow when she wasn't looking. Vicky was the worst person ever at keeping a secret. It's like it burned a hole in her head until she blurted it out to someone.

  This was a major mess, and I truly didn't know what was for the best. Who would be after her? Were there shifter communities who wanted her for themselves? Would they hurt her? Would they take her? Would others come for her? Did they even know? The shifters, unlike Vicky, were good at keeping their secrets. I'd never heard specifics about Sunshine, just hints and rumors that there was a powerful child shifter somewhere out there. Nobody would be able to connect such vagaries to Sunshine if she kept a low profile.

  What about Cerberus? They'd kept awfully quiet lately and I didn't like that. They'd left me alone, I had no idea who was running things now, and wondered if they would try to take Sunshine. They wanted all the artifacts, didn't trust the magic users with them, what would they think of a young girl with seemingly limitless powers? How would that be classed? What would they do with her if they got her? I needed to find out such things, needed to be sure she could try to make a go of it.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had plenty of detective work to do before she could come back to the normal world. Ha, the normal world, like there's any such thing.

  Off We Go

  It wasn't long before the newly reunited father and daughter came crashing down the stairs making such a racket Vicky and I dashed out into the hall ready to blast and glower only to find they were grinning and laughing. Guess dead dudes in your bedroom are less distressing for shifters than other prepubescents.

  Still, they were in good spirits, so what's an aging wizard and his equally aging sidekick to do but join in the jollies and up their game?

  And so it was, without further ado, apart from a call to the Cleaner and a begrudging yes to an increased bill because of the distance and mess involved, that the four musketeers got the hell out of dodge. Actually, it was worse than dodge, it was the new burbs, where souls died, kids became trapped in their houses because the gardens seemed to shrink year after year, and adults slowly lost the ability to do anything but drive cars and sit on their bums. The art of walking soon became lost in these places, they weren't near anything to walk to, so why bother?

  Speaking of cars, we soon made it to ours, and Vicky got in the front with me riding shotgun while the other two got in back.

  We didn't discuss a thing, didn't sit down and talk about what we were going to do. With a nod from me, Vicky drove us away from what must have been the strangest kidnapping I'd ever heard about, let alone been involved in.

  I'd have liked a little more action.

  Making Plans

  Vicky headed back to the city. It would take a while, so I had plenty of time to think. We all needed to talk about this, but I had to remind myself that Steve, bless his heart, may have been a tough guy when it came to fighting and stuff, unafraid of anything or anyone, anyone other than Vicky, but then she scared everyone a little, but he wasn't the deepest of thinkers. He'd be content he had Sunshine, even though she'd got her mum killed, and would accept he'd have to face trouble once word got out.

  He didn't go in for thinking ahead, planning, or considering what might happen, which I guess was why Sunshine was kept with her mother, but this was serious and if he was willing to risk everything by just winging it then I'd have to do the thinking for him.

  So while Vicky squinted at the bleak road, and Steve and Sunshine gabbled non-stop in the back like excited kids, I rested my head and I thought.

  What was the truth about all of this? How had Sunshine convinced them to go along with her plan to make a break for it? They were people supposedly dedicated to protecting her, weren't they? Thoroughly vetted by her mother. Guess they got bored, could be convinced otherwise for a payout, even if they'd planned on getting the cash from Steve. Sunshine had made the suggestion to them to get her out of there, they'd gone along with it as they'd agreed between them to offer her for ransom. Okay, makes sense, so far so good.

  Had Sunshine manipulated them into helping her, affected their emotions to help her out? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, they were still on the ball enough to ask for money, so it wasn't like she had them constantly under her influence.

  What next?

  This whole messing with people's emotions thing. It was scary verging on terrifying. She could do it to me, someone wise to the ways of magical influence, and she could seemingly affect people all over the city. It was something that truly made her a liability, that made her need to be kept safe, protected, and more importantly happy.

  But how many twelve-year-olds are always happy? So that would be a major issue however you looked at it, and was clearly why she'd mostly been kept out at sea. Maybe until now the distance from land and people kept her influence to a minimum, or maybe she'd simply never been in such a heightened emotional state before so hadn't affected others not very close? I didn't have all the answers to that, didn't even know where to start asking Sunshine as my guess was she wouldn't know.

  And who would be after her? Everyone? Sure, anyone with dubious intent, anyone who wanted power, anyone who liked the exotic, they'd all want such a child, a creature unlike any other. Hopefully few people knew about her, and most were dead, but there would be some that would find out soon enough and might decide to make a play for the girl.

  And I still had Cerberus playing on my mind. What would their role be in all this?

  I yawned, closed my eyes, and prepared for a doze.

  "Oh no you don't," said Vicky just as I began to drift off. "We have things to talk about."

  "Really, like what?" I asked as I lifted a heavy eyelid.

  "Don't get smart with me, mister." Vicky glanced in the rearview and I realized all was quiet. "They're asleep so we can talk. What are we going to do, Arthur? Who will be after her? Where can she go? What if she makes everyone do what she wants? Can she do that?"

  "All in good time. Don't get your knickers in a twist. I've just been thinking about it all and I think I have the solution, at least for now."

  "You do? Awesome." Vicky grinned at me. "You always have the best plans."

  "I sure do."

  "Is it cunning?" she asked.

  "Is my hat nice."

  "Yes!"

  "Then let me rest, we'll talk later
."

  "Roger that."

  I sighed at Vicky's nonsense, but couldn't help smiling. She was starting to grow on me. Like mold.

  More Questions

  "Something isn't right," I grumbled as I opened my eyes only to find the dawn sky unusually clear, the motorway busy, and I wasn't dead, which is always the best way to wake up in the morning.

  "Just worked that out, did you?" Vicky grinned, probably because she thought she was being funny, but she wasn't, because I was the funny one, she just looked funny.

  "I don't mean Sunshine. Okay, I do, but there's something else, there has to be. Something else is happening that we aren't aware of. I can feel it in my bones. My wizard senses are tingling, trying to tell me something, but I don't know what. We need to pull over, all have a chat."

  "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

  "Unless you want wee in the car it is." I clenched my bony buttocks, maybe that would stop my bladder bursting for a few seconds.

  "I meant having a chat. She's been through a lot, has been taken advantage of, poor child, maybe we should leave it, not force the issue."

  "Vicky, stop it. When you act sensible it freaks me out."

  "I am a mother. I know children, and I know sometimes it's best to let them dictate the pace, that way they tell you things properly, because they actually want to. They don't like being made to do things that are uncomfortable for them."

  "I know, and I get that, but if Sunshine is to stand even a remote chance of getting through this without something monumentally terrible happening, or happening again, as her mum getting killed is one hell of a burden to bear, then we need to talk, and we need to do it now."