Wraith

by Shane Smithers

  ‘And when we have the SAFFIRE,’ said Cirro, ‘how are we to neutralise it?’

  Nimbus didn’t answer straight away, but when he did, his voice was not as steady. ‘It cannot be disarmed. Returning it to the upper atmosphere is our only chance.’

  What Azurien communities were close by? ‘Cloud 17,’ he suggested. ‘It is uninhabited at the moment.’

  ‘Or 31,’ said Nimbus. ‘They are equipped with a bio-containment facility.’

  ‘Will that be able to contain the blast if need be?’ Nimbus gave no response.

  FIFTY-FIVE

  Lyndoch, South Australia

  ‘Feelings,’ said Aureole, putting her hand on her chest.

  ‘You need to explore your feelings.’

  James screwed up his face. ‘Why?’

  They were standing in a secluded meadow, with a vineyard on one side and a forest on the other.

  ‘Because your state of mind affects how well you can do things. If you are feeling miserable or depressed, it is much harder to accomplish even simple tasks. Haven’t you ever experienced that?’

  ‘Well, yeah. But . . .’

  ‘What were you thinking about when you caught me?’

  Deep creases formed on James’s forehead. ‘Um . . . saving you, I guess.’

  ‘And what were you feeling?’

  James shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous. You were feeling something. Worried. Scared.’

  ‘I wasn’t scared. I was just focused on saving you.’ Aureole sighed. ‘Fine. What about at the river?’

  James shrugged. ‘I don’t know . . . confused I guess.’ ‘Confused?’

  ‘About what to do.’

  ‘But you made up your mind, before we took off. So confusion isn’t the emotion you were feeling when you were carrying me.’

  James thought back, remembered Aureole’s pleading eyes, her arms wrapped around him, the warmth of her body against his. Then, just before they’d crashed into the river, he’d looked back at Cirro’s angry face. Averting his gaze, James gave a small cough. ‘You think, if I can feel a specific emotion, whatever it is, I’ll be able to carry stuff?’

  Aureole nodded vigorously.

  ‘All right. I’ll give it a go,’ said James slowly. ‘But I’m not telling you what I was feeling. That’s personal.’

  A smile spread out across Aureole’s face, and she rubbed her hands together excitedly. ‘Okay. Let us get started.’

  James spent the next three hours concentrating on capturing that feeling while holding rocks of different sizes and trying to levitate. At first, Aureole oscillated between yelling at him and being nice. However, she must have figured out that being nice was more productive, and by the end was doing nothing but giving him encouragement.

  The sun had long since crossed its zenith and begun its descent when James felt he’d had enough. Shadows were covering half the meadow now and a cool breeze was tickling the grass.

  ‘Gran’s going to start to worry,’ said James, putting down the last rock.

  ‘There’s just one more thing I want you to do,’ said Aureole.

  James gave a tired groan. ‘Really?’

  ‘Just one more thing,’ she said and removed her sunglasses. Her startling, ice-blue eyes fixed on James in such a way that a tingle went down his spine. She stepped forward a little timidly, grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her. ‘Take me up high, Bird Boy,’ she whispered in his ear.

  ‘Are you sure?’ said James.

  ‘Yes,’ said Aureole softly. As she put her arms up around his shoulders, a beautiful shimmer of gold washed over her hair.

  James had made enormous progress. It was easy for him now. To capture that feeling, all he had to do was think of Aureole, and that, surprisingly, was no effort at all. He tightened his grip on her and flew up until the meadow was lost among the tiny trees and the whole countryside was a patchwork of little green squares. Some clouds were hanging lazily just above them, so he took her even higher. Aureole let out a gleeful laugh, as they darted in and out of the white wisps. The air was a lot colder up here and the moisture stuck to their faces more readily, but neither seemed to care. James pointed out a spot that he thought was Gran’s house. Later, he told Aureole he was sure he had seen Norbit Moon’s bare bottom glinting in the setting sun.

  ‘You just have to practise those landings a bit more,’ said Aureole, rubbing her neck as they walked back to Gran’s cottage.

  James was limping slightly. ‘Yeah, sorry about that,’ he said. ‘Guess I lost concentration.’

  By the time they arrived back, Gran was in the middle of cooking dinner. Thankfully, she had changed out of her nightie into something more suitable, but was still wearing her bunny slippers; James and Aureole politely ignored them.

  ‘You’re just in time,’ she said, turning the sausages over in the frying pan. ‘How’d you like the town, dear?’

  ‘It was lovely,’ said Aureole, flashing James a smile.

  ‘Small, I know. But it does have a charm to it,’ said Gran. ‘Did James take you to that little meadow in the woodland forest?’

  The two froze.

  ‘How’d you know about the meadow?’ said James slowly.

  His grandmother’s eyes went a bit dreamy. ‘Your grandfather used to take me there all the time, when we were young. We’d lie on our backs and stare up at the sky for hours. He’d tell me all about the different clouds, and how to tell when it was going to rain . . .’ She trailed off, lost in the moment. James heard Aureole let out a little sigh and it took him a big effort not to laugh.

  After dinner, while Aureole was chatting to Gran (probably about mushy stuff ), James used his grandmother’s computer to research Adelaide’s black market scene, but came up with nothing. The black market didn’t advertise on the internet – not as “the black market”, anyway. He sat, shoulders slumped, for a few moments and then typed in “meteorites for sale”. ‘Yes,’ he whispered and pumped his fist in the air. Scrolling through the heap of possibilities, he narrowed it down to the two most likely places, then printed off their addresses and went to find Aureole. They’d have to leave when Gran was asleep. He didn’t want her asking questions, and he wasn’t sure she’d let them go by themselves. Besides, he wasn’t going to get his grandmother involved in something that could turn out to be dangerous. He just hoped she wouldn’t be too upset.

  Lyndoch, South Australia

  Sleeping in the hopper had certain advantages. It was well insulated and the seat reclined and moulded to the body, making it reasonably comfortable, though a little cramped. But Cirro still found it difficult to nod off. The fact that there was a ticking time bomb somewhere out there haunted him. Nevertheless, he lay there with his eyes closed, waiting for morning, which was a long time coming.

  Cirro stepped from the hopper’s warm interior into the cold forest where he had hidden the hopper. The sun had not yet made an appearance, but the darkness no longer stretched to the horizon. He put his hands in his pockets and strolled through the woods and into the sleepy town of Lyndoch. The street he sought was only a short walk from the edge of town. When he arrived at the green picket gate, the house was still, but he noticed a light on around the back. He remembered seeing a little lane at the end of the street that he presumed accessed the rear of the property and decided to enter that way. When he reached the backyard, he paused and peered over the paling fence. The kitchen light was on, but he couldn’t see anyone through the window. Still in bed, he guessed. He opened the back gate slowly, minimising the obligatory squeak, and stepped through, closing it behind him.

  It was still too dark to see clearly, but from his memory of the satellite image there was a small woodshed, a garage and what remained of a veggie garden. Cautiously, he made his way across the yard to the shed and tested the door. It wasn’t locked. He went inside, positioned a chopping block so that he could watch the house through a crack in the door and sat down to wait.

  FIFTY
-SIX

  Gaudy’s Jewellery Shop, Adelaide, South Australia

  Wilson stretched and yawned loudly, making a sound that could only be described as a melodic yodel, which went on and on and on. Erebus swivelled in his seat and gazed at him. Wilson grinned widely from the back seat of the station wagon. ‘Like it?’ he said. ‘I call that the musical yawn.’

  ‘Seriously?’ replied Erebus. He glanced at Collins sitting in the front passenger’s seat, and thought he caught Collins’s lips twitch ever so slightly.

  ‘Yeah,’ continued Wilson. ‘I just chanced upon it one day, an’ after that . . . well, I just couldn’t go back. I mean, who wants a borin’ monotone yawn when you can have a musical one?’

  Erebus returned to gazing at a little store across the street that normally one would hardly notice. It was closed at the moment, but a man and woman stood out the front, the man in a neat pinstriped suit, and the woman in a matching short skirt and blouse.

  ‘I don’t see why we have to be here so early, Erebus,’ Wilson grumbled. ‘Besides, I thought you said we were gonna break ’n enter.’

  ‘First, we need to do surveillance,’ replied Erebus. ‘Just like the Akwatronics job.’

  The man cursed, fumbled his keys and dropped them as he went to open the shop. Instead of reaching down to pick them up, he looked at the woman, who muttered something and then bent down to pick them up off the pavement. In unison, Erebus and Collins tilted their heads, four eyes following her every move.

  Wilson noticed their admiration. ‘Yeah, I like the old-fashioned concertina security doors too. They remind me of those old lifts that you used to hop into, then you’d pull the concertina closed, but you could still see all the floors as you went up. Don’t see many of them anymore,’ he said wistfully.

  ‘Yeah . . .’ said Erebus in a distant voice. ‘Nice doors.’ As the next few hours passed, a few customers came and went but there was nothing out of the ordinary to spark conversation. That was, until one particular woman arrived.

  ‘She looks like she’s goin’ to the Royal Opera,’ Wilson commented.

  The woman wore gold jewellery practically dripping off her. She paused outside the shop entrance and opened her handbag. To Erebus’s surprise, a Chihuahua, also covered in gold finery, poked its head out. ‘That’s just wrong on so many levels,’ he said.

  ‘How about we forget the SAFFIRE and just relieve that woman of her trinkets?’ Wilson whispered in Collins’s ear.

  ‘We’re not common thieves,’ said Erebus.

  ‘You might not be, but I am,’ said Wilson. ‘How’d you think I got in gaol in the first place?’

  ‘You tried to steal a plasma screen TV,’ replied Erebus.

  ‘Yeah, that’s right,’ said Wilson.

  ‘From your mother,’ continued Erebus.

  ‘Yeah, but I didn’t know it was hers,’ protested Wilson.

  ‘She was watching it at the time,’ said Erebus.

  ‘Yeah, but . . . I didn’t know it was me mum. She’s always changin’ her hair and her address without telling me.’

  ‘I wonder why?’ drawled Erebus.

  Wilson gave a hurt sniff and said, ‘Collins’s mum’s just as bad.’

  ‘Really?’ said Erebus, looking at Collins.

  Collins gave a grunt and then folded his arms and looked away.

  ‘He don’t like to talk about it. Bit of a delicate subject,’ said Wilson in a loud whisper. ‘So, what about you? Did your mum lead you to a life of crime?’

  Erebus avoided Wilson’s gaze in the mirror. ‘My mother died years ago,’ he said.

  ‘Sorry to hear that,’ replied Wilson.

  The car fell silent, each man’s thoughts turning to his mother. And then a faint crunching sound began to echo in the cabin; Collins was eating cereal from a box.

  ‘What’s so important about this SAFFIRE anyhow, Erebus?’ asked Wilson, offering Collins a small carton of milk that had been left in the car since yesterday.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Erebus. He noticed the man in the neat, pinstriped suit coming out of the store.

  They watched as the man took out his fob watch, looked at the time and then walked down the footpath.

  ‘I’m going to go in and have a look around,’ said Erebus when the man was out of sight.

  ‘Why do you get to go in?’ objected Wilson. ‘I’m just as bored.’

  Erebus removed the keys from the ignition, and glanced at Wilson in the mirror. ‘Do I have to spell it out for you?’

  ‘You’re just gonna chat up that woman in the short skirt,’ said Wilson, folding his arms.

  ‘No,’ corrected Erebus with a smile. ‘I’m not just going to chat up that woman in the short skirt. With any luck, I’m going to obtain useful information in the process.’

  ‘Why can’t I do it?’ said Wilson.

  ‘You explain it to him, Collins,’ said Erebus, then opened the car door and stepped out onto the road. He straightened his Armani blazer, smoothing out the creases, leaned in the car window. ‘Keep an eye out,’ he said, then looked at Wilson. ‘And don’t play with any of the dials while I’m gone; they’re hard to replace.’

  ‘Serves you right for having an old car,’ muttered Wilson. ‘I miss the BMW.’

  Erebus glanced up and down the street, waited for a white sedan to drive by and then strode across to the other side and into the little shop. A tiny bell jangled on a string above the door. The young woman with the short skirt was standing behind the counter carefully rearranging some diamond rings on display.

  Erebus ran his fingers through his cropped hair and then said in his most charming voice, ‘Morning.’

  ‘Good morning, sir,’ she replied with a smile. ‘How may I help you?’

  Erebus strolled over to the counter and, casually removing his sunglasses, glanced down at the display cabinet in front of him. ‘Oh, just browsing,’ he said, returning her smile.

  ‘For you sir . . . or your wife?’ asked the young woman, suddenly sounding a little breathless.

  Erebus gently chuckled. ‘Oh no, I’m not married,’ he said.

  ‘A girlfriend?’ suggested the young woman.

  ‘Not yet,’ said Erebus, chuckling again.

  ‘Well then, sir, maybe I can be of some assistance.’

  Erebus’s bright green eyes fixed on hers. ‘I’m sure you can,’ he said softly.

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  Adelaide, South Australia

  James felt as if he’d just completed a four-hour maths test or something just as draining. Every part of his body ached, including his brain – no, especially his brain. After leaving Gran a note, taking a map and a bottle of water, they’d sneaked out in the early morning, before the first rays of light. And then, once he’d got his bearings, they’d flown towards Adelaide, only stopping twice for a rest. A strong westerly had buffeted them for most of the journey, and it had taken all of James’s concentration and mental stamina to stay in the air. Having to stay in touch with your feelings for that long really takes it out of a guy.

  James, standing on the footpath in one of Adelaide’s classier commercial streets, peered in an antique shop’s window. It specialised in the rare and bizarre, and was first on his shortlist of possibilities. He couldn’t help noticing how expensive everything looked. On display were a full-size Egyptian sarcophagus, a couple of giant Chinese dragon vases, and a suit of armour holding a mace. He could only imagine what else was inside the shop. With any luck, the SAFFIRE.

  ‘Are we going in, or did you just want us to look at the shop from the outside?’ said Aureole, nudging him.

  ‘After you,’ mumbled James. He opened the door and waited for Aureole to go first. He felt nervous around expensive things, not quite trusting himself to keep his hands off them.

  They were the only two customers and Aureole headed straight for the counter. James hung back, his eyes widening at all the amazing objects: a T-Rex tooth the size of his arm; an hourglass where the sand fell upwards; a mosquito
perfectly preserved in amber; and the swimming togs of someone named Harold Holt, among other strange things. Clearly, the SAFFIRE would fit right in.

  ‘None of these things have price tags,’ he said, turning a gold spyglass over in his hands and then extending it to its full length and putting it to his eye.

  ‘That spyglass you’re so imprudently playing with is worth over $10,000. It was originally owned by Sir Joseph Banks,’ came a woman’s voice from behind him.

  James spun around, still holding the spyglass to his eye, nearly knocking over a carved wooden statue of an African fertility god.

  Aureole and the woman gasped.

  ‘James, put it down!’ said Aureole.

  James handed the spyglass to the woman, who was glaring down her long, thin nose at him. ‘What do you children want?’ she said coldly and then added, as her eyes shot up and down, ‘By the looks of you, you don’t have any money.’

  ‘I’m terribly sorry about my . . . friend,’ said Aureole. ‘We’re looking for a specific item.’

  The woman raised an eyebrow and continued to stare down at them, finally saying in a long drawl, ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes. I believe a Japanese sailor by the name of Mr Watanabe sold it to you a few days ago.’

  The woman gave a sniff air and then turned and walked back to the counter. ‘Sorry. Nobody by that name has sold me anything.’

  ‘Maybe he used another name,’ suggested James.

  The woman glared at him again, her lips curling.

  ‘Nobody of that description has been in here,’ she said. ‘Now leave before I call the police.’

  At the mention of the police, James and Aureole started for the door. The last thing James wanted was to be back in cuffs. But just before he exited the shop he turned around and said, ‘I wouldn’t buy anything from your shop anyway. Especially when you sell items like that!’ He pointed to a large ivory tusk with miniature elephants carved along its length. ‘Disgraceful!’ he cried, storming out.

  ‘You showed her,’ laughed Aureole, sidestepping a fire hydrant as they hurried up the road.

  James kept glowering for a few moments but then couldn’t help giving a little chuckle. ‘Do you think she was lying?’ he said, looking serious again.