Kami Cursed (Dragon and Phoenix)

by Julianne Price

  One of the other guys snatched it and began a game of toss with his friend. I refused to look at the poor little bunny. Sean looked confused. “Sorry. I just thought… you might like it.”

  I laughed with the other girls and he turned red. “I’m not a kid. I don’t like that kind of stuff.” But I did. I wanted to snatch it away from the boys. I turned and walked away, feeling guilty and wishing we could just go home already.

  When we finally pulled up to my house, there was a bike on the sidewalk and Ryuu was sitting on the porch, watching the clouds drift by with an unnatural sort of concentration. “Hey, isn’t that that kid you’re always hanging out with?”

  Sean again. If only I had a roll of duct tape. Okay, so maybe I was still holding a small grudge from years ago, when I’d told off him and a bunch of his friends for bullying Ryuu on the way to school. When I thought of it, I still wanted to smack him upside the head.

  Andrea’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror but she didn’t comment. One of the other girls- LeeAnne I think it was- frowned at me. “Why does he follow you around like that? He’s so freaky…doesn’t it creep you out?”

  The sun glinted off Ryuu’s dark hair as he stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting. I knew he spent a lot of time outside, but his skin was pure white. “He’s not freaky,” I said defensively. “He’s my best friend.”

  Andrea sighed. “They grew up together.” She shrugged.

  One of the boys nudged Sean. “No wonder she acts like a little kid if she hangs out with little boys all the time.”

  I pulled my bags across my lap and grabbed the door handle, wanting to escape. “Thanks Andrea. Uh… see you around.” I flung the door open and scrambled out, sure that everyone would be talking about me and laughing the minute the door closed. I didn’t watch them pull away.

  Ryuu grinned at me, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners. “Your dad said you should be back soon.”

  I went inside and Ryuu followed. He watched me toss my bag on my bed and stand there staring at it.

  “So what’d you get? Did you have fun?” He sounded genuinely interested.

  I flopped across the bed and put my arm over my eyes with a groan.

  “That much fun, huh?” Ryuu didn’t sound too upset about it. I think he was happy I’d had a horrible time. The bed sagged as he sat beside me and started riffling through my bag. He pulled out a purple tank-top with a cat on the front and a headband with a silk flower on it.

  His mouth quivered as he brandished the headband. “Wow. You really suck at being seventeen. I think I saw a little kindergarten girl with one of these yesterday.”

  I swatted at him and sat up, snatching my things and stuffing them and the bag under my bed. “Shut up.”

  He grinned at me and ruffled my hair. I glared at him. Tears welled up and I dashed them away with the back of my hand.

  “Ah…Kit, don’t cry,” he patted my head again and I pushed his hand away.

  “Everything’s just all wrong. I don’t get them- the other people at school. I just can’t think the way they do. Nothing makes sense.”

  He stood and tugged at my hand. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home. I have a surprise for you.” It was strange to see the reserved kid looking so happy. I was instantly suspicious.

  “Is this about curses?” The last time he’d been so ecstatic, I’d made Wonderland explode.

  He laughed. “No. Not this time.”

  Ryuu dragged me out to the garage and presented me with my mom’s old bike. “Your dad helped me.” He pushed his hair back and glanced from me to the bike, biting his lip anxiously. “You used to like to ride bikes, so we fixed it up.”

  The bike had been cleaned and all the parts were shiny with oil. It had new tires and a new helmet hung from the handlebars. “Do you want to go ride at the park?”

  I felt myself grinning before I even realized how happy I was. “Sure,” I glanced down at my ballet flats and grimaced. “Just let me go put real shoes on.”

  I followed Ryuu to the park and onto the mountain bike trails that wound through the woods, letting the horrors of the day slip away. I flew over tree roots and hills and little jumps like I’d just done this yesterday, even though I hadn’t ridden since I was fourteen.

  Ryuu laughed at my antics as I slid to a halt to miss a sapling, startling a pair of deer from the underbrush. We sat there panting as we watched them leap over a fallen tree and disappear from sight.

  It was much later when we finally returned to the paved paths of the park. We parked our bikes and went to sit on the swings, lazily drifting back and forth and laughing with spent adrenaline. I was happy, I realized. Way more happy and at ease than I had been at the mall. Ryuu didn’t care if my hair was messed up or I was covered with sweat. He laughed at me as I leaned over and squirted my water bottle on my head to cool off.

  “Why can’t I just be a kid again?” I used the hem of my shirt to wipe my face.

  Ryuu grew serious, falling into that stillness that everyone else found so creepy. “I don’t know.”

  “I just want to be your age again,” I whined.

  Ryuu’s dark eyes met mine. “Don’t worry,” he said seriously. “I’m older than you are anyway.”

  I laughed. “Oh, yeah. Totally.”

  He shook his head, making his hair glint in the afternoon sun. “No, really. Fumio says… I’m an old soul.”

  I stared at him, my laughter fading. “Old soul?”

  He nodded, one corner of his wide mouth lifting in a wry smile. “Reincarnation, you know? A lot of cultures believe in it. In Japan it’s nothing shocking for people to tell stories about so and so who is the reincarnation of some historical figure.” He shrugged. “Just stories mostly.”

  I blinked at him. “You mean you believe in past lives and that kind of stuff?”

  Our swings had slowed to a stop and he stared at me for a minute. I could almost believe it just then- that someone much older was looking out from Ryuu’s eyes. I thought of the long-haired man in my dreams and shivered.

  “Don’t you?” His soft voice was serious and he was studying my face intently. I didn’t know what to say.

  Then Ryuu laughed and he was just Ryuu again. “Well, I do.” He gestured grandly. “I bet I was something really cool. Like a warrior or-”

  “A priest.” I don’t know why I said it. It kind of just popped out. The man in my dreams seemed holy somehow, but not gentle like the monks at the temple. “I bet you were a warrior-priest. And you could do magic.”

  Ryuu just looked at me.

  I laughed at the startled expression on his face. I’d only been joking. “Wow, I’m really tired. I’m not even making sense anymore. Let’s go home.”

  We stood and headed back to our bikes and I shivered a little with a sudden chill. For just a minute there I thought I saw something silvery out of the corner of my eye, coiling around me. But I blinked and the sensation was gone.

  “Hey, earth to Kit- you coming?” Ryuu was waiting for me at the bikes. I shook myself and went to join him.

  *****

  Ryuu stepped out of the Library, shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun. He turned left and started walking down the street, his heavy backpack slung over one shoulder. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps before he paused to slip his other arm into the strap as well, putting the pack on more securely, and zipping up one of the loose outside pockets.

  A sleek, shiny gray car with tinted windows came to a halt at the intersection behind him. Ryuu’s dark eyes scanned the little shops and businesses lining the street. It was a row line of buildings. The nearest alley, which would allow him to cut across to the next street over, was six or seven buildings down. He shifted from foot to foot, preparing to run for it.

  The car ghosted up to the curb, but Ryuu suddenly lost interest in running away. He could feel something from inside the car. Curiosity got the better of him and he stayed where he was, standing awkwardly in the middle of the sid
ewalk, while a man exited the backseat of the car.

  He was an old man, and he moved with a slow grace. Ryuu’s eyes traveled over him briefly, then settled on the faint silvery aura that surrounded the man. The stranger approached Ryuu with a wry half smile on his face, as if he knew exactly what Ryuu was staring at.

  “Excuse me young man,” he said in a smooth voice not suited to his age. “I need something from that store down there,” he pointed down the sidewalk to the next block. “I was wondering if you would help an old man cross the street?” He winked. “I’m not as spry as I used to be.”

  Ryuu stared back at him for a moment, putting all the force he could into the gaze that usually made people cringe. The old man simply looked back, a patient expression on his face. Giving it up with bad grace, Ryuu turned and began walking in the direction the man had indicated. The old man fell into step beside him without difficulty.

  “You’ve been following me around a lot lately,” Ryuu said directly.

  The old man chuckled. “Yes,” he didn’t seem ashamed.

  “What do you want?”

  “In my day,” the old man sighed, “children respected their elders. Young folk these days are so rude.” He glanced sideways at Ryuu. “I’m sure you don’t speak to your Obaasan that way.”

  Ryuu stopped walking and spun to face the man. “You’re right; I don’t speak to my grandmother that way. I don’t speak to her at all.”

  The old man nodded thoughtfully. “I thought not. If she had anything to do with you, she would be raising you up to be the man you should be, not letting you grow up here, so far from your heritage.”

  Ryuu rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He had often wondered if what he could do ran in his family- and if so, why they had abandoned him. But his mother’s family had never cared for him. When he was orphaned, he was left alone with his flighty aunt, thousands of miles away from the rest of his family.

  If they preferred to pretend he didn’t exist, he would just return the favor. But who was this old man, and how did he know anything about Ryuu or his grandmother? “What do you want?”

  The old man lost his playful façade and they continued across the street toward the store he had pointed out- an old consignment shop that was more trash than treasure. “I simply wanted to let you know that you are not alone, even if you might think so. I know what you can do. And I would like to help you develop those powers of yours.”

  Ryuu shook his head immediately. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The old man snorted. It was funny to hear such an undignified sound coming from such a dignified person. “Oh don’t you? Well, that really is too bad. I think we could help each other.”

  Ryuu glanced at the man, watching his aura wax and wane. “I don’t think so,” he said resolutely. He had dealt with this affliction by himself for fifteen years. He wasn’t about to start asking for help now. Especially from strangers who knew more about him than they should. Besides, he wasn’t so young and naive as to think they didn’t want anything from him in return for their “help.” The thing that lived inside him was getting restless. He was ready for this conversation to end.

  “Well,” he said, opening the shop door for the old man. “You’ve made it across the street. Maybe next time you should have your driver help you.”

  The old man paused on the sidewalk, showing no indication of entering the store. Ryuu continued blithely. “In my day,” he said mockingly, “elders didn’t lie to their children. I hope you find what you’re looking for in there.” He glanced wryly at the interior of the dusty old shop.

  Then Ryuu turned and left the old man standing on the threshold, shaking with silent laughter. He took a winding route home, through the park and up and down a few side streets. It was stupid, since he was sure they already knew where he lived.

  Anger and defiance made his steps quicker than usual, and he was home before he realized it. Who was that old man? The thing in his stomach twisted and writhed like a giant snake, and it wasn’t calm until Kit stopped by to hang out and complain about the amount of homework her teachers were giving her.

  Guilt rose up in him as he studied the nasty, yellowing bruise that covered one whole side of her face, and he wondered if he was wrong in refusing the old man’s help.

  Chapter 12

  I opened the door on Saturday morning, blinking sleep from my eyes and still clad in my flannel pajama pants and a baggy Avengers t-shirt. I was half-expecting the visitor to be Dad. It would be just like him to have forgotten something and locked himself out. I stared in surprise at the middle-aged woman standing on the stoop. She was wearing a long wool coat against the chill of the winter morning. Grey dress slacks and pointy-toed boots peeked out from beneath the hem.

  “Can I help you?” I thought maybe she’d gotten the wrong house. Either that or she was selling something.

  She held out a gloved hand and gave me a smile from her tired, lined face. Her eyes traveled over the right side of my face, now a lovely mottled yellowy-purple, but she didn’t comment on it. She had an air about her that I didn’t care for- as if a kid with a face covered in bruises wasn’t anything new to her. “Hello,” she said, friendly enough. “Are you Katherine Callahan?”

  I nodded and shook her hand briefly, then crossed my arms over my chest. It was cold out here, and I just wanted her to do her Jehovah’s Witness pitch and be on her way.

  “My name is Marci,” she said, pulling out a little plastic ID from her coat pocket and handing it to me to examine. “I’m a social worker from Child Protective Services. Is your dad home?”

  Something unpleasant twisted in my stomach. “No, you just missed him. He had a meeting this morning. He’ll probably be gone for a few hours.” Dad’s editor had come to Michigan to visit some family, and since he and Dad were old friends, they had planned to have breakfast together and talk about his new manuscript. It had been a long time since Dad had produced anything worthwhile, but hopefully that phase was coming to an end.

  The woman, Marci, tilted her head considering. “Well, I had hoped to talk to him, but I can come back.”

  I handed her the ID and she slipped it back into her pocket. “Do you mind if I come in and ask you a few questions while I’m here?”

  I glanced behind me. The house wasn’t too messy. Dad and I had been on a cleaning spree this week and he had helped me clean the place up with something like his usual spark and vigor. “Um…I guess that’s okay.”

  I stepped back and let her inside. I wouldn’t have let a stranger in as a rule, but she seemed legit. I took her coat and hung it on a hook just inside the door. Her light blue eyes traveled over her surroundings, evaluating and cataloguing. “How about you show me around a little bit, then we’ll chat.” Her smile was genuine, though a bit forced.

  I shrugged and led her into the house. She peeked into the living room with its worn, but clean, furniture; I showed her my room, the spare room, and bathroom. Then I took her past the kitchen. She paused to peek in there, and I remembered my manners.

  “Do you want something to drink? I think Dad used up all the coffee this morning, but there’s tea and juice.”

  She followed me into the kitchen. “No thank you.”

  Her eyes drifted around as I poured myself some orange juice. I turned to find her surveying the pile of white garbage bags stacked by the garage door. Crap. That looked messy. I took a sip of my orange juice, not yet panicking. Then I saw her frown and I remembered just what was in those bags.

  The unmistakable shape of cans could be seen, and a bit of label was visible here and there where the plastic was stretched to its limit. Marci glanced at me. “Are those all beer cans?”

  I nervously rubbed the back of one slippered foot on my opposite calf. “Uh, some of them, yeah.” I think she knew I was lying though. All of the bags- all five of them- were stuffed to the limit with nothing but beer cans. They’d been in a big box in the garage, and I’d helped Dad pack them all
up in preparation for returning them to the store. They were empties from a long time ago. Dad had been sober for quite some time now, and hadn’t done much serious drinking since I came home from the hospital. I tried to tell the Marci woman as much, but I could tell she didn’t believe me.

  I finally gave up trying. “Let’s go to the living room,” I said in exasperation, just wanting to get away from the incriminating white bags.

  I perched on the couch and cradled my orange juice like it was some sort of magical substance. Marci took one of the armchairs and rummaged around in her briefcase. She came up with a yellow notepad and a cheap pen. She scribbled away as she talked. “How often does your Dad drink?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “I told you, he doesn’t drink anymore. It’s been a long time- a couple months at least- since he even had one beer.”

  She nodded and looked up from her scribbling. Her eyes traveled over the right side of my face, then to my hands, which I kept resolutely glued to the cup. “Can you tell me how you got hurt?” Her face was filled with that tired sadness again, and I realized what conclusions she was drawing.

  “I can tell you,” I said calmly. “If you’re thinking my dad hurt me, then you’re wrong! Dad would never hurt me.” I held out a blistered hand for her examination. “I was playing around in the kitchen the other day and I grabbed a hot pan without thinking. It slipped when I was pulling it out of the oven and I just didn’t think and grabbed it.” I’d had lots of time to think of a good excuse for my injuries since my meeting with Dr. Laura.

  Marci scribbled a bit more and then looked at me again. “And your face, honey?”

  I swallowed. “I fell. I’m super clumsy. You probably know about my medical records?” At Marci’s nod, I rushed on. “Well, this whole being seventeen thing is new, so I trip and stumble and make a mess of things all the time.” I was hoping for some sympathy, to make her want to believe me. I couldn’t tell from the expression in those blue eyes if it was working or not.

  “It’s really embarrassing,” I said, looking down. “I was chasing after my friend- he lives next door, he’ll tell you if you want- and I tripped and fell face first into a tree.”