Текст книги "Finding Sky"

Автор книги: Joss Stirling

Соавторы: Joss Stirling
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Now there was something to look forward to.

‘But you are in trouble, Sky. You broke our trust.

We asked you to keep away from him for your own safety.’

He was right. Of course, he was right. But it wasn’t as if I’d planned it al . I’d just got carried away by the moment. We thought we’d taken enough precautions to make a simple date in a café a reasonable thing to do.

‘And I did not expect to have to spend my evening ferrying you to the town lockup!’

I hugged my knees, my head buzzing.

‘We’re trying to make a good name for ourselves in Wrickenridge, Sky. Your antics aren’t helping. Mr Rodenheim might send us packing if we reflect badly on his centre.’

I dropped my forehead to my knees. I’d been bad.

Simon looked across at me, alerted by my silence that al was not wel .

‘Oh, bloody hel , darling, don’t do that.’ He pul ed the car over and caressed the top of my head. ‘I’m just scared for you.’

‘Sorry.’

‘You make me feel like a monster. I’m cross, but it’s more at those idiotic boys than at you. I know you didn’t have anything to do with that. Please.’

I looked up at him. He must have seen the tears in my eyes. ‘I just wanted to be with him.’

‘I know, love.’

‘Is that wrong?’

‘Not in the normal course of things, no.’

‘We just went to the café. We kept our masks on almost al the time when we were on the streets.’

Simon heaved a sigh. ‘Oh, to be sixteen again.

Just a coffee and it’s become a police matter.’

‘Zed’s on edge because of what happened in the woods. The axe boy was real y convincing—and I screamed—I couldn’t help myself. Zed thought I was in danger.’

‘So, he over-reacted. I can understand that seeing how it’s my fatal flaw. Let’s go and find out what we can do for him then.’

Zed was sitting in the waiting area but the officer on duty ushered me through without letting us talk. I was taken into Officer Hussein’s office as the Gordano twins were leaving in the custody of their mother. I wished I’d had time to change out of my skeleton suit.

‘Not her fault,’ mumbled the bigger twin.

‘Looks like trash to me,’ said Mrs Gordano, her nose in the air.

‘Sky, take a seat.’ Officer Hussein pushed a bottle of water towards me. ‘I think I’ve got the ful picture now, but why don’t you tel me your story.’

I briefly ran through the events from leaving the café.

‘What I can’t understand,’ said the officer, scratching his chest wearily—it had been a long night and it was only midnight, ‘is why Zed couldn’t see that it was a joke? He’s a big guy, taking on a boy a head shorter than him. It just don’t click for me.’

‘Zed Benedict was looking out for his girl, officer,’

said Simon, surprising me when he came to Zed’s defence. ‘He may be a head tal er than that young man, but Sky is smal er than either of them. He would have seen a boy going for her with a knife.

Sometimes you can’t think straight when you are scared for someone.’

‘Was anyone hurt?’ I asked.

Officer Hussein tapped his pad. ‘Not seriously.

Ben Gordano has a couple of loose teeth but the dentist should be able to sort those out. It’l cost though.’

‘Perhaps Zed could split the bil ? It seems a suitable punishment,’ Simon suggested.

Officer Hussein rose to his feet.

‘Yeah, I guess that’s right. No one need go away with a record for this.’

He led the way back to the waiting room. Zed’s family had pitched up in the meantime—parents, Xav, Yves, and Victor al were there—and he was having to sit through a lecture on sneaking out and brawling in the streets. He looked frustrated rather than repentant, back to the sul en Wolfman of the first days of our acquaintance.

Officer Hussein clapped his hands to gain their attention. ‘Al right, al right, people, let’s move this along. I want a word with Zed, then you can al go.’

He took Zed into the back room, leaving me with the Benedicts.

Victor came forward. ‘Mom, Dad, this is Mr Bright, Sky’s father.’

Our parents exchanged stiff nods. I don’t think Saul thought I was sweet any more. It looked more as if I left a sour taste in their mouths. Only Xav and Yves gave me a friendly smile.

‘Like the suit,’ whispered Xav. ‘You and your dad thinking of starting a new fashion?’

Yves scratched his chin. ‘Fascinating. Do you know, every bone is anatomical y correct? Whoever made this has the mind of a medic.’

It only then struck me that Simon hadn’t changed either. He’d thrown on a coat but there was unmistakable evidence peeking out that he too was wearing luminescent bones.

I groaned. ‘Kil me now and bury me.’

‘I thought the idea of the skeleton was that someone had already done that,’ teased Xav.

‘Word’s going to get around, you know.’ Yves’s eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

‘Wel , isn’t that a comforting thought.’

Xav rubbed his hands. ‘Yeah, everyone’s going to be talking about how Zed got cuffed and stuffed.’

‘He wasn’t cuffed.’

‘But he was stuffed in the back of the police car.

Besides the handcuffs make for a better story.

You’re both going to be quite infamous. I think Zed’l like the new edge to his rep.’ He tweaked the unravel ing end of my French plait. ‘Don’t worry, Sky, I’l stil talk to you.’

‘Thanks. You’re a hero.’

Our parting from the Benedicts reminded me of an exchange of hostile prisoners in one of those old war films. Zed and I were kept apart then frogmarched to our separate vehicles. He was looking ashen.

I feel like I’ve been suckerpunched. He risked the thought even though we might be heard. I can’t leave without saying sorry. Again.

What happened?

I lost it, flipped out—all thanks to my freaking gift.

I’d seen what was going to happen, you see, months back. Saw you being attacked with a knife. I hadn’t realized it was a fake.

But that’s good isn’t it? The threat wasn’t real.

Yeah, but you’ve just swapped my imagined threat

for

the

real one

of

assassins.

Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of the Benedict family. I’d better stop talking.

Dad’s giving me these weird looks.

Zed?

Yeah?

Take care.

You too. Love you.

He cut off.

‘Sky, are you al right?’ Simon asked, turning the key in the ignition. ‘You’re looking a bit pale.’

Zed had said he loved me. Was it just a throw-away comment or did he mean it?

‘I’m fine. Just need to get some sleep.’

Simon yawned. ‘We’l have to report to the boss first.’

Zed loved me—maybe. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to believe him. The last thing I wanted was to fal in love because, deep down, I remembered that love hurt.

Our grand plan to pretend we weren’t a couple had been blown apart by our visit to the police station.

The gossip was too hot for me to put the fire out with indifference or denial. Zed must’ve realized for he came to find me after my first class, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was towing me into an empty room.

‘Are you OK?’ He gave me a hug.

‘Fine.’

‘I’ve been hearing about this drop-dead gorgeous skeleton from everyone. Seems she had to report to a police station with some idiot who took on a couple of sophomores.’

‘What did your parents say?’

He gave a hol ow laugh. ‘You real y want to know?

I’m going to have to work off my debt for Ben’s teeth with extra chores and go round to apologize. I’ve had to swear not to sneak out with you again. They make me feel about nine years old. You?’

‘It was OK. Simon blames you.’

‘Great.’

I wanted to ask Zed if he meant what he said about loving me but was too scared to ask.

He hugged me. ‘Yeah, I did.’

‘Stop nicking stuff out of my head.’

He ignored my protest. ‘I think I knew it from the moment you stood up to me in the parking lot, but, last night, when I saw you in the station dressed as a skeleton, defending me to the police, I knew for sure.’ He gazed down at me, framing my face in his hands. ‘I understand you stil have issues with what I’ve been tel ing you, but it’s more than just a random pairing, Sky: I real y feel so much for you, it’s scaring me to death. You are just … just everything—your smile, the way you think, the way you get embarrassed when I tease you, your stubborn streak.’

I sort of wanted to hear this—but also didn’t: how mixed up is that? ‘You’ve noticed I’m stubborn?’

‘Can’t miss it. To me, you’re the theme that harmonizes perfectly with mine.’ He trapped my gaze with his. ‘I’m in love with you.’

‘You are?’

His eyes deepened to a darker shade. ‘Sky, I’ve not felt like this before and it’s terrifying.’

‘Wel , wow. Um … perhaps you should try to get over it. I’m not good at this relationship stuff.’

‘Sure you are. You just need time to adjust.’ He put his arms around me so I could rest my head against him and listen to his heart beating strong and steady.

I was so confused. Savants—soulfinders—al that did not hide that this was real y about being committed to him. I’d spent many years defending myself by not exposing too much of my heart to other people; could I trust him enough to risk loving him back? What if I fel in love with him and got hurt?

What if something happened to him?

‘What’s going on now? Has Victor had any luck finding the people after you or who betrayed you?’ I asked.

Zed leant against a desk, positioning me so my back rested on his chest, his hands looped round me, chin on the top of my head.

‘He thinks it’s most likely it goes back to Daniel Kel y.’

I turned to look up at his face. ‘Hey, I’ve heard of him. Doesn’t he build skyscrapers?’

‘That’s only a tiny part of what he does. He’s currently building a city-within-a-city in Las Vegas.

It’s a massive complex of hotels, casinos, and apartments. But he does it with dirty money—not that anyone dare say as they’d be crushed by a ton of lawsuits. He’s got various relations heading different parts of his empire. Some are complete crooks—no better than the mafia. We caught a couple of them in Denver after a hit—we think on his orders, not that we could prove it; they went down for murder one a month ago—it was big news at the time.’

‘I remember them talking at school about it.’

‘Vick is trying to find out if they’ve got a savant on their payrol but it’s tough. They’re hardly going to talk to a Benedict and his sources are coming up dry.

Kel y’s got it in for us now. Wil and Uriel are at col ege in Denver so they’re watching each other’s back. The rest of us are confined to barracks.’

I linked my fingers with his.

‘What’s Wil ’s gift?’

‘He’s most like Dad, can sense trouble. He’s great at telekinesis too.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Moving stuff.’

‘Like lemons.’

‘Yeah.’ He smirked. ‘I’m way better than Xav at it.’

The bel rang in the hal way. ‘I’m missing maths.’

‘That’s too bad. I’ve missed being with you.’

‘I’l get detention.’

‘Then I’l get it too. Great idea.’

‘Won’t you risk getting thrown out—Tina said you were in trouble again.’

‘No, they won’t dare. I’l send you along to the principal’s office in your skele-suit. Man, I love that outfit.’

When no class came in, we realized we had another hour to ourselves.

‘So are you going to tel me the rest of it, about your family?’

He sat on the windowsil and helped me up beside him. ‘Yeah, I suppose it’s past time. We al can do different stuff like telepathy, but we each have a main gift. You know about Dad sensing danger. Mom sees the future and can read thoughts off people: she’s the most like me, I guess. Together they can maintain a guard around the house—it’s part of their combined power as soulfinders. Trace can read objects. If he touches something, he can see the person or the event that brought it there.’

‘Very handy for a cop.’

‘We think so. It’s either that or be an archaeologist. Uriel, I think I mentioned, sees the past. Victor can manipulate people’s thinking …’

‘What!’

‘Yeah, he channels emotion and thoughts. Not so good when you find yourself agreeing to do the dishes when it’s his turn. Xav’s a healer. And Yves can handle energy, make things explode, catch fire and so on.’

‘Bloody hel ! Yves looks so … wel , so friendly and studious.’

‘It was scary when he was a toddler, Mom says, but he’s got it under control.’

‘How can your family do these things?’

‘We just can. It’s like why do you have blue eyes?’

The question fel like an ice cube down my neck. ‘I guess I must have inherited them from my birth parents, but I wouldn’t know, would I? They dumped me.’

‘Sorry, that was stupid of me. I saw something about that in your memories.’

‘Sal y and Simon couldn’t have children so took me on when everyone else thought I was too disturbed for adoption. I didn’t real y speak for four years until they rescued me. They had the patience to coax me out of my shel .’

‘They’re special people.’

‘Yes, they are.’

‘In the most important respect, they’re your real parents now—I can see things from them in you.’

‘Like what?’

‘You’re as nice as your mom about people and that stubbornness, that’s from your dad.’

‘Good.’ I liked the idea of inheriting Simon’s grit.

‘He’s a Yorkshireman. He’l be pleased to hear it’s catching.’

‘You shouldn’t be scared of what you inherited from your biological parents. I can’t see anything to be ashamed of when I look at you.’

‘Just don’t look too hard.’ I crossed my arms.

‘I guess one of them at least must have been a savant.’ He snagged a curl and twirled it playful y.

‘My family comes from savants on both sides. Dad’s people are part Ute—that’s a Native American tribe.

Mom says she has gypsies and al sorts in her bloodline. Dash of Irish somewhere along the way and a big dose of Mexico. I’d say we were doomed from birth.’

‘That’s how it works?’

‘Yeah. My parents are both key players in the Savant Network—it’s a kind of world-wide web for those of us with a gift. Mom’s gift helps check those who join, making sure they are in it for the right reasons.’

‘So bad guys need not apply?’

He shook his head. ‘Not that they’d want to. The Net is about using our gift for the benefit of others.

We keep ourselves secret so we can live as near to normal lives as possible, but that doesn’t stop us helping where we can.’

‘And you real y think I’m a savant too?’

‘Yeah I do.’

‘But I can’t move things.’

‘Have you tried?’

‘Wel , no. I wouldn’t know what to do. I thought I saw stuff once—aura, I suppose you’d cal them—

but I don’t any more.’ Not that I’d admit, anyway.

We sat for a while, hand in hand, gazing out of the window. The skies were thick with iron-grey clouds.

Snow began to fal , thick and fast, gusts of wind driving it horizontal before letting it drop back to a gentle downward progress.

‘I think this is it,’ said Zed. ‘The first proper snow.

I’d love to be able to teach you to ski but it’s not safe for you to be with me out there.’

‘I suppose it wouldn’t be a good idea.’

‘You should get Tina to take you out: she’s pretty good.’

‘I might do that. But she’l laugh at me.’

‘Yeah, she wil .’ He was doing it again—reading the future.

‘Then again nothing can be as humiliating as the skeleton suit.’

‘Don’t knock the suit. I’m preserving that and gonna beg you to wear it on special occasions.’

I kicked myself. I real y mustn’t fal in love with this guy, but I wanted to curl up and tuck myself inside him, never to leave him. ‘Wil you teach me to shield?

I don’t want your family reading every thought that crosses my mind.’

He put an arm round me. ‘No, we wouldn’t want that. I catch some of them sometimes, you know. I like the one where you …’ He whispered the rest in my ear, causing me to die of embarrassment.

‘Shields—I need shields,’ I said when my cheeks stopped burning.

He laughed. ‘OK. The technique is simple but it just takes practice. It’s best to use visualization.

Imagine building wal s, putting yourself inside them, keeping the emotions, ideas, thoughts safe behind the barriers.’

‘What kind of wal ?’

‘It’s your wal ; you decide.’

I closed my eyes and recal ed the wal paper of my bedroom. Turquoise.

‘That’s good.’

‘You can see what I’m seeing?’

‘An echo. When someone’s shielded I see a shadow, a blank. Yours is a pale blue colour.’

‘My bedroom wal s.’

‘Yeah, that’s good. Safe, familiar. When you throw that up between you and anyone listening, they should find it hard to get behind it. But it takes work

–and we al forget from time to time.’

‘The savant working for the shooter—has he let his shield drop?’

Zed shook his head. ‘That’s why we know he’s good—powerful. Either that or he’s long gone, but we doubt it.’

‘They’l try again?’

‘We think so. We hope so, because now we are expecting them, we have a chance of catching them, and they might rol over on the mole in the FBI. But knowing what’s in the wind, you be extra careful, promise?’ He ran his finger lightly over the back of my hand, sending a shiver down my spine.

‘I promise.’

‘I’m keeping you a secret, even from my family.

You’re too precious to risk anywhere near this mess.’

Tina couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting Zed to teach me to ski. ‘You’ve got one of the best skiers in the district as a boyfriend—and I’m stil angry with you for not tel ing me the truth about that, by the way

–and you ask me to teach you?’

‘That’s right.’ I picked up a scraper and helped her clear the snow off her car windscreen in the school parking lot.

‘Why?’

‘Because according to Zed you total y rock on the slopes yourself. You’re my Obi Wan and I am your faithful apprentice.’

She preened with pleasure at the praise. ‘Thanks.

I didn’t think he noticed girls like me.’

‘He’s not what you think. He’s not as unapproachable as he seems. He’s just got this …

this problem with relaxing around people.’ And he’s stressed out half the time witnessing major crimes for the FBI, but she didn’t need to know that part.

‘And our parents aren’t too keen we spend time together—not since we ended up at the police station.’

‘Oh my God, it’s like West Side Story!’

I didn’t think that very accurate. If my memory of the musical was any good, I don’t think either of them was pursued by assassins with extra-sensory perception.

‘Fine, I’l teach you,’ continued Tina. ‘Besides, there’s only so many times a girl wants to fal on her butt in front of the boy she’s out to impress.’

Actual y, she had a point. Perhaps it would be better to learn from her.

‘Wisdom you speak, Obi Tina.’

She laughed. ‘None of that—I’m the one who gets to speak backwards—no, we’re both wrong—that’s the little green guy, Yoda.’

I slapped my forehead. ‘You’re right. So I just get to pout and act badly when you try and teach me anything.’

‘Try channel ing Luke rather than Annakin—the outcome is better. I’l take you Sunday morning if you like, after church. We finish about eleven so I’l pick you up at quarter past.’

‘Great.’

‘Got any gear?’

‘No. What do I need?’

‘Don’t worry. I’l bring you my old suit—I grew out of it years ago. You can hire skis at the sports store.’

‘I can’t wait.’

‘Think you’re going to be a natural?’

‘Um.’

‘Sure you are. Feel the force, Sky.’

I wasn’t a natural skier—not by a long way. But I was a natural at fal ing over. My balance needed a lot of work. I’d been compared to Bambi before but today I felt like him when he first gets up on his hooves, legs slipping in al directions.

‘Don’t you sometimes have those daydreams,’ I panted, spitting out snow after my most recent face plant, ‘where you try something new and find yourself to be an undiscovered talent?’

Tina patted my back consolingly. ‘Al the time.’

‘It’s just not happening here.’

We were stil at the foot of the nursery slopes. I could see the cable car doing good business taking the more experienced skiers up to the peak, Xav manning the ticket booth. It was a perfect day for skiing—sky pale blue, snow glistening with seductive promise, the heights beckoning. The mountains were at their most benign, Old Man Weather in his chair, rocking gently, no nasty changes of mood in mind.

Tina caught the direction of my gaze. ‘Zed’s probably up top. Mr Benedict pays the boys to work the weekend shift.’

At least he wasn’t here to see my failure. I was providing Xav with enough entertainment as it was.

‘OK, let’s go again. Remember, Sky, it’s just your first lesson.’

I watched with a sensation of despair as a little four year old whizzed by on mini skis. She wasn’t even using sticks.

‘You can’t compare yourself to them. They don’t have so far to fal and are indestructible at that age.

Once more. Yeah, that’s it. Keep the skis paral el.

No, no, don’t let them spread!’

‘Ouch.’ My thighs were screaming protests as I nearly did the splits.

‘That was good—better.’

‘Better than what?’

‘Better than the time before. Had enough for today?’

‘Oh yes.’

‘Would you mind if I went up to do a run down?’

‘Of course not.’

‘You could come too.’

‘You are joking?’

‘You could take the cable car back again. You might like the view from the top.’

I grinned, pleased that Tina was coming round to Zed going out with me. She had dropped her dire warnings, decreasing the threat level to ‘yel ow alert’

rather than ‘crisis’. ‘I might just do that.’

Skis on our shoulders,

we trudged to the queue for

the lift. Xav’s eyes widened when he saw me at the kiosk. He shot a panicked look at Tina.

‘Sky, sweetheart, don’t you think it’s a bit early to take a run from the top?’ he asked.

‘No, I feel just in the mood.’ I suppressed my grin.

‘Tina, you need to talk her out of this. She could kil herself.’

‘Don’t sweat it, Xav. She thinks she has undiscovered talent.’

He covered the ticket with his hand. ‘Not sel ing you one, Sky.’

I rol ed my eyes. ‘For heaven’s sake, Xav, I’m not completely stupid. I’m just going up for the ride.

Tina’s the one who’s going to ski down.’

He laughed with relief. ‘Great. No charge then. But just to be sure, I’l look after your skis.’

Tina flashed her season ticket and we climbed into the car. The view was spectacular. We hung over the roof of the Benedict house for a second then set off up the cable, brushing the tops of the firs until they too plunged away and we were swinging across a gorge. Below us antlike skiers zipped to and fro, making the whole business look so easy.

Ten minutes later we got out at the station at the top.

Zed was busy loading the car to go down—there were only a few sightseers like me so it wouldn’t take long.

‘Grab a coffee.’ Tina nudged me towards the concession stand. ‘I’l meet you back by the bottom of the cable car in half an hour.’

‘OK. Have fun.’

Settling her feet in her skis, she propel ed herself off the start of the black run.

‘A coffee with milk and a doughnut please,’ I asked the shiny faced man at the stal .

‘Not skiing, hon?’ he asked, handing over my pastry in a white bag.

‘First time on skis. I’m rubbish.’

He laughed. ‘So am I. That’s why I stick to serving coffee.’

‘How much?’

‘On the house—to celebrate your first experience of skiing.’

‘Thanks.’

Zed jogged up behind and scooped me round the waist, lifting me in the air, forcing a squeak from me.

‘How’s it going?’

‘I’m crap at skiing.’

‘Yeah, I thought you might be.’ He spun me round.

‘I’ve only a minute until the next car arrives, just enough to steal a bite of whatever you’ve got in there.’

‘This your girl, Zed?’ asked the stal holder.

‘Yeah, José.’

‘Why is it al the best ones are always taken? Ah wel .’ He passed over a Styrofoam cup and winked at me.

Zed took me back to his cabin at the head of the cable car. We could hear the creak and groan of the wheels running the lift. I studied Zed’s face as he checked something on the control panel—the width of his shoulders as he reached to make an adjustment to the display, the muscles in his arms flexing. I hadn’t got before why my friends spent so much time admiring boys in my old school; now I completely joined that party. Was this gorgeous guy real y mine? It was hard to believe I had been so lucky.

‘How do you know where the car is?’ I asked as Zed absentmindedly took a bite out of the doughnut.

‘Hey!’

He laughed, holding the bag out of my reach, and pointed to a display. There was a series of lights counting down as the cars went over points. ‘That shows me I’ve four minutes.’

Jumping, I grabbed the doughnut back and licked at the jam.

‘Sweet tooth?’

‘You’ve noticed?’

‘The hot chocolate with everything was a bit of a clue.’

I took a bite then handed it back. ‘You can finish it.’

He wolfed it down then took a slurp of coffee.

‘Ugh! Milk. I should’ve guessed. I need something to take the taste away.’ He tapped his chin, one eye on the monitor. ‘I know!’ He bent down and nibbled at my lips. I felt my body shift, a strange heaviness that urged me to hang on tightly to him or col apse in a heap at his feet. He gave a hum of pleasure and deepened the kiss.

We were interrupted by the arrival of the next batch of skiers. Unfortunately they consisted mainly of kids from high school who banged on the door and whistled when they saw what was going on in the cabin.

‘Here, Zed, stop making out and let us out!’ yel ed a girl from my science class.

‘Down, boy!’ barked a guy from senior year.

‘OK, OK,’ replied Zed, dropping me back on my feet. He looked pleased rather than embarrassed while my face was exploring al the possibilities in the red spectrum.

Once the skiers were off to their chosen runs, I stayed with Zed for another ten minutes then caught the car down the hil .

‘Thanks for coming up,’ Zed said, closing the door behind me. ‘You’ve stil got a bit of sugar on your lip.’

He brushed a tender kiss over my mouth, then tugged my jacket straight.

‘Hmm, I think I’l have to visit you again. It appears that the cable car is going to be more my thing than skiing.’

‘Take care.’

‘I’l try. You take care too.’

Tina persisted with my lessons to the point that, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, I could trundle down the nursery run without fal ing over until I reached the bottom.

‘Woo-hoo!’ She did a little dance on the spot as I made it. ‘Jedi knights watch out!’

I struggled off the skis. ‘I don’t think I’m much of a threat to the Empire just yet.’

‘It’s a start—don’t knock it.’ She picked up her own skis. This Sunday was much cloudier than the first time out on the slopes, the top of the lift obscured from view, the weather in a sul en mood.

We queued up for the lift to find Saul on the desk.

‘Hi, Tina, Sky.’ He let Tina through the turnstile but it didn’t click for me. Saul was holding me back. ‘No point you going up today, Sky. Xav’s on duty. I gave Zed the day off to go boarding.’

‘Oh, OK.’

The cable car was about to leave. Tina gave me a wave. ‘Wait here. I won’t take long skiing down.

Weather’s too horrid to hang about.’

I moved out of the way. The last of the queue filed inside.

‘We can’t keep you and Zed apart, can we?’ Saul said, coming to sit beside me on a bench in the waiting area as the car began its journey up the hil .

‘Seems that way.’ I scuffed at the snow. I had an odd feeling that Saul was suspicious of me.

‘We don’t want anything to happen to either of you.’ He stretched out his long legs, the gesture reminding me of his son.

‘I know. It’s been quiet, hasn’t it?’

‘Yes, it has. We don’t know what to think. I’d like to believe that the threat has gone away but my mind tel s me different.’

‘They’re lying low?’

‘That’s my guess. I’m sorry you got caught up in this. These people know that if they get one member of my family, they weaken al of us.’ His profile looked noble staring out at the mountains, expression resolute. I sensed Saul belonged to the landscape around us in a way few residents did; he was in tune with it, part of the melody. MountainMan

–standing as a barrier between his family and danger. ‘Victor doesn’t think they mind who they hurt,’ he continued, ‘just as long as the rest of us are so crippled emotional y that we can’t function as a team. I’ve got everyone on lockdown, not just Zed.

But we can’t keep on like this. Our job’s tough and our boys need to be free to let off steam, to forget.

They can’t if they’re not al owed to act natural.’

‘I know about the lockdown, Zed told me. But isn’t he a bit exposed out here snowboarding? And Xav’s up the mountain on his own.’

Saul brushed at the leg seam of his jeans, flicking away a speck of dirt. ‘Don’t worry about the boys.

We’ve got security in place. Now we know the savant’s using shielding, we know what we’re looking for. That time in the woods, wel , I suppose you could say we were caught with our pants down.

Not again. And you, you’re being careful?’

‘I am. I don’t go out on my own. Sal y and Simon know to be wary of people we don’t recognize.’

‘Good. Don’t let your guard down.’ We sat in silence for a few moments, unspoken words hanging between us.

‘Zed’s told you, hasn’t he?’

He reached out and squeezed my hand. ‘Karla and I know. And we couldn’t be more pleased. We couldn’t help but notice that something momentous had happened to our son. For your sake, for Zed, for the others, we think he’s right to keep it a secret until this is resolved.’

‘The others?’

‘Sky, I don’t think you understand just what you’re getting yourself into here. You are now Zed’s number one priority, just as Karla is mine. Seeing him find that wil be tough on the others. It wil seem unfair, him being the youngest, that his soulfinder just fel into his lap while the others stil have to look for theirs. They’l be delighted for him, but they wouldn’t be human if they weren’t jealous.’

‘I don’t want to create problems for your family.’

He patted the back of my hand. ‘I know. Just give us time to get through this and they wil look forward to welcoming you as one of us.’

‘But I don’t know about that yet. I’m only just getting used to Zed; I’ve not thought of anything beyond the next few weeks.’

Saul gave a knowing smile. ‘You mustn’t worry, Sky, al wil fal into place in its own time. You haven’t factored in that it’s God and nature working this; you’l feel what you need to feel when you’re ready.’

I hoped he was right. My feelings for Zed were deepening, but they weren’t yet enough to think in terms of a for ever commitment, which is what they were expecting. I knew myself wel enough to realize I’d back off big time if anyone forced the issue. So far, Zed seemed to understand that, but how long would his patience last?

I was real y disappointed that I didn’t see Zed that afternoon, despite hanging out at the end of the runs.

Tina came down first, feeling pretty steamed over a boarder who had almost col ided with her on the slopes.