MOMENTUM

by Imogen Rose

  I hadn’t. Not that I remembered, anyway. Well, apart from this recent run-in with Raj and the whole Wanderer thing. That was kind of way out there. So I guessed he was right, even with me not remembering whatever he was talking about.

  Dad’s eyes flickered with regret. “We can’t go back to how things were a year ago. Our lives seem to have become entwined with yours, and it’s a separation we can no longer maintain. Everything being equal, I would have liked to have a longer time to prepare myself to take over from you, but I consider myself ready. I was trained for this job for years. What I still need to learn, I can learn from you. I am ready, Dad.”

  A lone teardrop slid down Granddad’s cheek. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. He was clearly too choked up to speak.

  Dad went over and put his arms around him, clasping him close. “It’s going to be fine.”

  Granddad nodded and blew his nose into a large handkerchief he hurriedly extracted from his pants pocket. “Okay,” he said in a raspy tone. “Let’s go and break the news to your mom. Then we have to convene with the rest of the council to get their approval, which will just be a formality. Then Alfred will introduce you to the London Faction. Now that is something that didn’t come up in your training, and I will have to explain. I can do that while we wait for the council.”

  He turned to look at David and me. “Children, you won’t be able to accompany us to the council meeting; it’s a closed affair. You can stay down here with Bruno or head back upstairs to the others.”

  The thought of listening to Trina drone on upstairs didn’t fill me with glee. Neither did the idea of being stuck in the basement with Bruno. However with Bruno, we would be closer to the action here and would get any news faster. David nodded in agreement, obviously reading my thoughts again. I hadn’t even noticed that our knees were slightly touching. As soon as I did, a surge of excitement shot through me. I felt myself turning red, while David muffled a snicker. I elbowed him.

  “Arizona?” Dad asked, with a flicker of amusement.

  “We’ll stay with Bruno. How long will you be?”

  “Not too long,” Granddad replied. He walked us back to the family room.

  Bruno must have heard us because I heard the television turn off abruptly and, by the time we entered the room, he was clearly pretending to be engrossed reading. He stood and bowed to Granddad.

  “Bruno, could you entertain Arizona and David while I discuss business with my son? How’s your father, by the way?”

  “No change, he’s still in bed staring vacantly at the ceiling. I’ve been going in to give him his meals. He doesn’t stir while I’m there, but the plates are empty when I go back for them. So he’s eating, which I’m happy about. I doubt he will be up anytime soon.” He gazed at Granddad meaningfully. Then he looked over at Dad. “I’m not ready. I have school to finish and–”

  Granddad interrupted. “Don’t worry about that, Bruno. Take care of my guests. We are going to wake Amadea and then talk to the rest of the council. We may be a little while. Please don’t leave the basement.” With that, he walked away with Dad, who seemed consumed in thought.

  “So? What do you guys want to do? There’s not a lot of exciting stuff down here, as you can probably guess,” Bruno said apologetically.

  I flopped down on one of the armchairs. “Got any grub? I’m starving. Aren’t you, David?”

  He’d taken a seat opposite the television and was fiddling with the controls. “Yep. Food would be good. What’s the protocol, Bruno? Do you have a kitchen?”

  “I’ll get the housekeeper to bring something through.”

  “Finna?” I asked.

  “No, we have our own down here–Mandy.”

  “How many of you are down here?” The place was big enough to house a small village.

  “I don’t think I’m allowed to say.” Bruno looked uneasy, scratching his wrist. “Security and all that.”

  “Yeah, no worries. We get it. So, how about some food?”

  “Do you want snacks or a proper dinner? Mandy served Thai food earlier.”

  “Oh, that sounds good. I can eat just about anything covered in peanut sauce, even broccoli. Sound good, David?”

  David had switched on the TV and was busy chuckling.

  “What are you watching?”

  “Little Britain. Come watch, it’s a trip.”

  “Go ahead,” Bruno said. “I’ll see what I can do about food. In the meantime, there are some snacks and whatever drinks you can think of behind that bar in the corner.”

  I grabbed a couple of bottles of water and made myself comfortable next to David. I watched him watch the TV. He was totally engrossed, his facial expressions matching his quickly changing emotions in response to whatever he was watching. He laughed most of the time, and I decided that he looked hottest when he was beaming. His broody look wasn’t to be sniffed at, though; that, too, brought fluttery feelings to my stomach. I looked over at his fingers resting casually by his thigh and impulsively leaned and brushed my fingers over them.

  David’s expression turned serious as he looked down and watched my fingers glide over his. I felt a hot surge through my body, and I was unable to stop myself from slipping my fingers through his and pulling myself toward him. Once close to him, I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. He raised his eyebrows at me as I turned and put my hand around his neck, drawing him to me. He smelled good, a mix of peppermint and something else I couldn’t quite identify.

  “Poppet,” he whispered hoarsely. “Don’t.”

  I was mortified. Don’t? I extracted myself instantly and stomped over to the furthest couch I could find. What was I thinking? How could I have been so forward? I shook my head, flushing as I looked up and saw that he’d followed me.

  “I’m sorry. Total lapse of judgment. Please don’t be mad at me.” I felt a lump in my throat.

  His eyes flickered in amusement, sending a wave of annoyance through me. “This is not funny! I am so embarrassed. Don’t make it any worse.”

  “I won’t. Forget about it.”

  Thankfully, Bruno waltzed back into the room looking pleased with himself. “Follow me!”

  We did, into a dining room, which had been set up for dinner. I sat down and tucked in, as did David. Halfway through our Thai meal, I heard footsteps approaching, and Gramadea appeared in the doorway, closely followed by Dad and Granddad.

  She strode in and engulfed me in her arms. “Arizona, I’m so relieved to see you. I am so sorry that we weren’t able to protect you better.”

  I didn’t want to say that it was okay; it wasn’t. So I just hugged her, instead. It wasn’t her fault that the Sigma-W security stank.

  “Mr. Darley, how did it go?” David queried softly.

  “It was a formality, like my dad said. Now we need to get to work, and the first order of business will be to find and rescue Harry and Kellan. I also need Ella brought here for safety.”

  “You need to do something before we can get to that,” Granddad said firmly.

  “No, that is my first priority,” Dad said defiantly.

  “Listen to your father.” Gramadea’s voice was hard and unyielding. She glared at Dad until he backed down.

  “What?” he asked almost sullenly.

  I laughed inside. Now he knew what it felt like….

  Granddad cleared his throat, clearly exasperated. “Like I mentioned before, there is a large part of your duties that you are unaware of. It’s in fact what will take up most of your working hours and more.” He sighed. “I have informed Alfred of our change in leadership–”

  “Is he a Sigma-W, too?” I asked. “Or a Wanderer?”

  “Um, neither, my dear. Rupert, you need to come with me to see him right now, I’ll explain on the way.”

  “Okay. But only if I can get back to business after that, and you have to promise not to micro-manage me.”

  Granddad snorted. “Hah! I have no intentions of doing that. As soon as you’ve talked to Alfred, your mom and I
are going on vacation. For a long time. No more Sigma-W for us, isn’t that right?” he asked, beaming at Gramadea.

  “After we find Harry and Kellan. Until then, we must stay and help out. But not to micro-manage, as you put it, dear Rupert. You are such a funny boy at times.” She ran her fingers through his hair, shaking it out vigorously. “Now, go with your dad and meet Alfred.”

  “How long is this going to take?” Dad asked.

  “I’m hoping that it won’t be too long, but I can never tell with Alfred. Let’s be on our way.”

  “Where’s the rest of the council?” Bruno asked, once they had left.

  “They’re in the conference room. They asked me to have you meet them there,” Gramadea said.

  Once Bruno left, we were alone with Gramadea–apart from Cleopatra who snored soundly in the corner. Gramadea turned serious, asking us both to sit down. “Arizona, your father is now the leader–the king–of the Sigma-Ws.”

  I nodded.

  “It will mean a lot of changes. However, I’m sure he’ll aim to disrupt your life as little as possible. You do realize that you are Sigma-W royalty? In a way, you have been for a long time, but it will now become more mixed in with your everyday life. You, Ella, and Harry will have to adjust quite a bit while maintaining normality on the outside.”

  “I’ll still be able to go to my high school and hang out with my friends, right?”

  “Yes, it may be complicated at times but, for the most part, it should be fine.”

  “I wonder how Mom will cope with it. Does she even know about Wanderers?” I guessed she must since Dad was one, but it was strange that she hadn’t mentioned it.

  “She knows,” Gramadea replied simply. “It took her a while to accept us; she doesn’t believe in the paranormal.”

  I snorted. The paranormal? Of course she didn’t, who did? Wanderers weren’t exactly paranormals, though, were they?

  “We sort of are,” David mused softly. I realized that he was sitting close enough so that we were slightly touching shoulders.

  “Sort of?”

  “Yes, let’s just leave it at that,” Gramadea said with an edge in her tone. “Olivia had a hard time believing that we could travel through time and dimensions. However, she has finally accepted what she has seen for herself. I think she will cope just fine now. She will have to make some adjustments, as Rupert is now the leader, as will all of you. He is going to be very busy, especially in the beginning.”

  “Is Mom going to be a queen then?” I almost snickered. Not that I couldn’t imagine Mom waltzing about in a crown; it would be second nature to her, just like Ella... and me. However, the thought of her sitting around on a throne wielding a scepter made me giggle. Then a wave of sadness engulfed me as the image of her lying in a hospital bed flashed in my mind. She had to wake up soon. She just had to.

  “Yes and no,” Gramadea replied. “It’s actually a very interesting question. We haven’t had a king married to a non Sigma-W before, though I guess that will happen more and more in the future. I was the queen of the Sigma-W; I ruled alongside Spencer. Your mother won’t be able to do that. So, she will be Rupert’s queen, but not queen of the Sigma-W.”

  “So will you still be the queen of the Sigma-W?” David asked.

  “Oh, no! I want to enjoy my retirement with Spencer now. It came sooner than we had anticipated, but we will take advantage of that.”

  “Yes, I’m really looking forward to it,” Granddad agreed, coming into the room and planting a kiss on Gramadea’s forehead. “But first we must get the boys back.”

  “How did the meeting with Alfred go, Rupert?”

  “It was interesting to say the least,” Dad replied, looking bewildered. “I wasn’t quite expecting that. I’m not sure what to think. The good thing is that Alfred has access to people who he is convinced can heal Olivia. It may just be mumbo–”

  “Trust me, it isn’t,” Gramadea said sternly. “Alfred is a very powerful man.”

  “Yes, I gathered that. Very dangerous, too.”

  Eight hours was all it had taken to form a plan and get everyone organized. Once the Sigma-W got going, they were a well-oiled machine, each part functioning in perfect harmony with the others. I wasn’t part of that engine; neither was David or the other Wanderers. We sat on the sidelines, silently observing as Dad changed from a laid-back, guitar-playing, family man to a leader, a king. He suddenly appeared taller, his demeanor more rigid and formal. He even spoke differently–not to me, but to the other Sigma-Ws. Everyone looked up to him with respect, and he acted as if it was his right. There was no doubt he’d been born to lead.

  I had thought at first that he might resist all the social stuff to do with his new position and be more avant-garde in his approach, but that was clearly not the case. He’d even put on the Sigma-W pendant that Gramadea gave him, seeming silently thrilled with it.

  The conference room had been declared the situation room, and that was where Dad had holed up to strategize. David and I hung out in the family room watching endless reruns on TV. Cleo had made herself comfy on the couch with me after I asked her to come over for a boggsy-woggsy. It meant there was no space next to me on the sofa for David, but that was fine with me. At least he could rest easy, sure that I wouldn’t pounce on him or anything.

  “David, you have a new girlfriend, don’t you?” It was the only thing that made sense. Why else would he act so distant? He must have met someone in the year I had forgotten. Maybe she was a friend of mine–I hoped not.

  He looked up, his eyes shifty, feet shuffling uncomfortably. He half-nodded, making sure to look away from me.

  “Tell me about her.” I kept my voice as neutral as possible. I braced myself, hugging Cleo.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “How did you meet her? Does she go to our school?” Now that would really suck.

  His lips curved into a smile, and his eyes gleamed. Boy, he must really like her! “She took one look at me and ran away, so I chased her. Then she fell. That’s how we met.”

  “And? Does she go to our school? What’s her name? Spill! I want to know everything.”

  Trina totally killed my quest for answers by stomping into the family room close behind Finna. She shot us a poisonous glare as soon as she saw us.

  “Where the hell is your father? He promised me!”

  “Address her properly,” David snarled.

  The rest of the Wanderers–Inez, Javier, Lars and Morena–had entered and were watching in rapt attention.

  Trina’s lips curled into a snarly smirk, her eyes meeting David’s glare head on. “Phffft!” Then she suddenly turned to me and performed an exaggerated curtsey, almost causing me to snort.

  “Your most wonderful beauuutiful Highness, where can I find your father, the exile?” She mocked.

  I decided to ignore her little fit. “He’s in the situation room.”

  “Situation room?”

  “Come with me, I’ll take you.” I stood up.

  “Are you sure, Arizona?” David narrowed his eyes.

  “Yeah. Dad did promise her. I’ll be right back.”

  Trina followed with Cleo closely behind, baring her teeth whenever she glanced at her. I retraced my steps to the conference room. This place was a labyrinth of corridors and little offshoot hallways. I really only managed to find it by the increasing volume of chatter.

  “Dad!” I shouted to get his attention over the surrounding noise.

  He looked up, his eyes softening when he saw me. Then his eyes moved to Trina. His face instantly turned into a mask of stoic indifference, but he stood and walked over to us.

  “Trina?”

  “Don’t Trina me! You know why I’m here. Where’s your father? Did you tell him about our deal?”

  “No, that wasn’t necessary. I’m glad you are here now. We need you to get straight back to work. We have a lot to do.”

  “You mean I’ve got my old job back?” Her eyes gleamed with hope. “How the
devil did you talk your father into that?”

  “Like I said, it wasn’t necessary. I’m in charge now.”

  Trina gaped at him. “In charge? Flying goose eggs! You in charge?” She burst into a fit of chuckles and snorts.

  We waited for her to calm down, and then Dad looked at her sternly. I’d have to get used to the formal side of him.

  “Trina, are you quite done now? I won’t tolerate any insolence or insubordination. Even a glimpse of that and you will be back in exile. I hope it won’t come to that because you are the most skilled librarian we’ve ever had. The current librarian has agreed to assist you, but you must treat him with respect. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir. I mean Your Highness,” she replied solemnly.

  “Go to that table over there, the one that Bruno is by. He’ll get you back into the swing of things.”

  With her face a mask of serenity, she walked over to Bruno.

  “Sure you can handle her, Dad? She’s quite the prima donna.” I snorted.

  “I’m sure. I’ve had plenty of practice with you and Ella.” He laughed.

  I winced. I guessed he had, but we were in no way as bad as Trina. I rolled my eyes.

  “Rolling your eyes at the king?”

  “Dad!”

  “Just joking. We’re nearly done in here, just fine-tuning the plan. Are the Wanderers in the family room?”

  “Yes.”

  “Go back there and rest up. I’ll come and get you when we’re ready.”

  “But, Dad! I want to stay here with you. I can help.”

  “Hon, no. Everyone is very busy. You can’t stay.”

  Hurt, I turned and walked away. He didn’t have to say it. I couldn’t stay because I wasn’t a Sigma-W. I would never be. Never-ever because I wasn’t his biological daughter. I felt a lump rise in my throat, and I fought to keep my tears from spewing out.

  The whole issue about not being Dad’s biological daughter had never been a problem before. In this world, it mattered. I felt incomplete and insignificant. By the time I went back into the family room, I had lost the battle to contain my tears, and they were flowing down my face.