by M S C Barnes
“Zach,” Seb hissed at him, but Zach was already leaping up the stairs three at a time — thankfully, silently.
Still feeling rather sick, and inexplicably tired, Seb tiptoed up after him. Reaching the landing, with Alice at his shoulder, he followed the sound of Zach’s mumbled voice to Aiden’s bedroom. Aiden was just stepping into the en-suite to take a shower and Zach was telling him off for wasting time.
“But my feet and legs are covered in mud,” Aiden protested. “I have to get clean.”
“Don’t see why. Just get dressed over it. No-one’ll know.” Zach flounced onto Aiden’s bed.
The bedroom, festooned with flamers, was cosy. Helen had put a huge Christmas tree in one corner for Aiden. It was far too big for the room and dominated it, spreading its decorated branches half way to the bed. Zach noticed several chocolate baubles hanging from them.
“You don’t mind do you Aiden?” he asked. Without waiting to hear the answer, he leant across and unhooked one.
“Help yourself,” Aiden said, smiling. “I really won’t be long.”
They heard the sound of the shower as Aiden turned it on next door and Seb joined Zach on the bed, shaking his head as his friend offered him a chocolate bell.
“No thanks,” he said. He didn’t even want to think about food.
Zach shrugged and stuffed the chocolate in his mouth. “Should have gone to your place really,” he said. “Aiden could have borrowed your clothes and Lily could have got us some proper food.”
“How are they doing with my mum?” Seb asked Alice.
“Scarlet got her back to sleep and she’s been asking where we all are,” Alice answered, watching Zach pull another chocolate from the tree.
“Bet she’s missing me,” Zach laughed, kicking his boots off and leaning back against the headboard.
Zach and Scarlet had a volatile, love-hate relationship and you could never tell how Scarlet felt about Zach from one minute to the next.
“Bet she’s not,” Alice chuckled.
“Ask her if we can come there,” Zach said, not put off.
“She says we should. She doesn’t know where we’ve been or what we’ve all been up to.” Her words continued directly into Seb’s head, repeated through Alice with all the intonation and impression of Scarlet’s actual voice. “And you are excluding me! You’re having all the fun, while I’m babysitting The Taz and Mum.” She sounded huffy.
“Get her,” Zach laughed again as Aiden, wrapped in a towel, returned to the room.
Zach’s laughter stopped instantly, and they all jumped, as there was a gentle knock on the door.
“Aiden? You okay?” Helen called.
Zach, dragging Seb, bowled past Aiden into the en-suite, which amused Alice, who hovered above the bed, chuckling at them.
“Oh, uh. I’m fine,” Aiden shouted. “Just getting dressed. I’ll be down in a moment.”
“I’ve got your toast here. Thought you’d prefer to have it in bed.”
“I’ve got no clothes on!” Aiden shouted in a panicked voice as the door handle began to move. From outside Helen giggled.
“Okay. I’ll leave the tray here. If you need anything else, let me know. I’ll be in my study working for a while yet.”
There was a slight chinking sound and then footsteps. After a few moments Zach emerged from the bathroom and walked straight to the door. He pressed his ear against it, listening, and then opened it.
“Yay,” he said and brought in the tray Helen had left. “She obviously thinks you have the appetite of a horse.” He looked at the pile of toast on the plate. “Which is just as well, cos I do.” He put the tray on the bed and took a slice. “There’s easily enough here for three.” He took a huge bite and sat back on the bed, offering the plate to Seb who, looking at it, felt queasy and shook his head.
“No thanks,” he said. “Reading that soul, it — Well, I feel sick.”
Aiden, having slipped some clothes on, took a slice of toast and the cup of tea and perched beside Zach.
“You did well though Seb — dealing with it,” he said. “You managed to read it and send it without needing Aelfric; which is good isn’t it?”
Seb couldn’t respond. Standing by the Christmas tree, he was desperately trying not to recall the visions he had seen in the soul reading, they made him feel so ill. In spite of his efforts, though, he found his thoughts continually returning to them. Downcast and disturbed, he suddenly wished Pace were there; he missed the comfort of the wolf’s presence. Strangely, as that thought crossed his mind, a small cloud of hazy, fuzziness appeared on the bed beside Aiden. Curious, Seb stared at it and instantly it solidified into the form of a cat — a sleek, black house cat which was curled up, apparently sleeping. Now, as if noticing it was being watched, the cat woke, lifted its head and turned its yellow eyes on Seb. Uncurling itself, it stood, stretched and then leapt into his arms.
“Woah!” Seb hadn’t expected it, and exclaimed aloud. Aiden and Zach looked up at him.
“What Seb? You gonna puke?” Zach asked, pulling the tray towards himself and leaning over it to cover it. Then he noticed that Seb was holding his arms out, away from his body. Looking puzzled he asked slowly, “What are you doing?”
As the cat curled itself up on his folded right arm, Seb took his left hand away and reflected flamer-light onto it, making it visible to the others.
“Well that’s not normal,” Zach said. “Where’d that come from?”
“It just appeared,” Seb said, stroking the animal. Its sleek fur was soft to the touch, though its body was cold and as it began to purr, Seb found himself relaxing.
Aiden put a hand out to touch the cat, then instantly recoiled.
“It’s cold.” His eyes widened.
Alice laughed. “It’s a totem, Aiden. What did you expect?” he said.
Aiden didn’t move to touch the cat again, he just watched it as its tail flicked up and down and it snuggled closer in to Seb. “I’ve read about those.” He glanced at a pile of books on his bedside table.
“Mm, well we haven’t,” Zach said, then grinned. “Go on, you know you want to tell all, Aiden.”
Now Aiden reached towards the cat again and it raised its head to his hand, purring more loudly. “Animals aren’t like humans and Dryads,” he explained, smiling. “They don’t have souls as we would recognise them, that live forever and return time and again to live new lives. They do, however, have an essence, or spirit, that can live on after their bodies have died, if they feel a particularly strong bond with a human or a place. When that happens, their spirit remains in this reality and they become something called a ‘totem’, or spirit helper.” He looked at Seb. “Not sure why this one has come to you though, Seb. What were you thinking, before it appeared?”
“I was feeling unsettled — and sad I suppose,” Seb said, and as he saw Zach and Aiden stiffen in alarm, he quickly added, “Not that sort of sad. Not like the attacker tracking me sad. Just upset, from reading that last soul.” They relaxed. “And I,” he paused, looking sheepish, “Well, I was missing the comfort of having Pace around.”
Aiden smiled. “Well, that’s what totems do. When you need something, courage, protection, luck, comfort — things like that, if you call on spirit totems, they will come to you. They all have different strengths. I am guessing this one is for comfort.” He stroked the cat again.
Seb felt much calmer now, all thoughts of the disgusting and disturbing things he had seen were gone.
“Maybe we should get one for Scarlet?” Zach suggested. “Are there ones for bad tempers?” He flopped back on the bed and put his hands behind his head, grinning.
“She is bad tempered at the moment,” Alice said, frowning. “She’s still going on about having to stay at hers and not being here with us.”
“I don’t think it’s any more interesting here than there.” Zach chuckled. “Okay, so we’ve got a cat totem. But other than that, not a lot happening. Tell her that.”
“
Shouldn’t have,” Alice said after a moment. “She’s demanding to come and see the cat now.”
“Knew she would.” Zach’s grin widened. “I’m going to have a kip. Wake me up if you need me.” He closed his eyes.
Aiden had finished his cup of tea and placed the plate and cup back on the tray.
“I’ll take this back downstairs so that Helen doesn’t need to come up and get it,” he said and, carrying the tray, left the room quietly.
Zach was already snoring gently and the cat had closed its eyes and appeared to be asleep too. Still stroking it, Seb looked at Alice who was smiling at him.
“Aiden was right, you did well with that soul.” Alice’s smile grew. “You managed it okay, didn’t you?”
“Only because you helped,” Seb said quietly. “If you hadn’t shown me all those other memories, I’d have banished it.”
“That’s not what I meant, Seb. The decision to banish, or send to rest, is yours alone. What I meant was that you didn’t need Aelfric to help, to step in and deal with it. You managed it by yourself. That’s great isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.” Seb frowned. “I nearly didn’t though,” he mumbled. “If you and Zach hadn’t pulled me back to reality I’d have messed up again.”
“But that’s why you have a group Seb. We’re all here to help. This isn’t just on you.”
“I’m glad,” Seb said, his heart sinking, “Because we have to go.” His palm was, once more, aching.
As though sensing the rise in Seb’s anxiety the cat sat up and rubbed its head under his chin, purring loudly. Seb didn’t want to put it down, but knew he had to, so he placed it gently on the bed. The creature meowed and stared at him, its yellow eyes reflecting the lights from the Christmas tree.
“Got to go I’m afraid,” he said to it.
It meowed again and then turning, pounced on Zach’s face. He bolted upright, leaping off the bed. The cat jumped off him and, landing sure-footedly on the bed, sat, tail flicking, watching him.
“Control your beastie Seb,” Zach said, annoyed.
“We’ve got to go Zach,” Alice explained.
“Already again?” he sounded surprised, but grabbed his boots and slipped them on. “Where’s Aiden?”
“Took the tray downstairs,” Seb said, looking around the room. “Alice can you call him back up? We need a doorway.”
As Alice nodded, Zach grabbed Seb’s arm.
“That’ll take too long. Let’s go down and find him.” He pulled Seb towards the door, grabbing the coat Aiden had discarded on the end of the bed, as he went.
They tiptoed down the stairs but as they reached half way, Seb could see Helen, sat at her desk in the study. Fortunately, her back was to the open door. Zach, ahead of him, was looking across but still dragging Seb, by the arm, down the stairs.
“Alice, tell Zach we should go back up!” Seb said silently to Alice.
Zach now shook his head. Grinning, he put his finger to his lips.
“Ssh,”he said, taking another step down. The stair creaked and Helen turned, calling to Aiden over her shoulder.
“You all done —” her words stopped as she saw the boys. She stood and marched towards them. “If you’re trying to burgle me, I have nothing. As you can see, I am not the wealthiest of people. And you lads should be ashamed of yourselves. Imagine this was your family’s house. How dare you invade peoples’ homes and steal from them? Shocking!” Her voice was harsh and her eyes flashed with anger.
Aiden emerged from the kitchen looking horrified and Helen immediately stepped around and pushed him behind her back, protecting him. He stuck his head out from behind her.
“Helen,” he said, tugging her sleeve. “Those aren’t burglars; they’re Zach and Seb.”
Helen’s mouth dropped open and then she closed it and, setting her jaw firmly, frowned up at them.
“Mm. And you boys are tiptoeing around my house at gone midnight because?” She crossed her arms. No-one had an answer. Seb racked his brain for a suitable explanation but could come up with nothing.
Helen turned to Aiden who was bright red in the face and Seb was shocked to see how much that made his freckles sparkle. Helen obviously noticed.
“Have you got make up on Aiden?” He blushed even more. Checking herself, Helen shook her head. “Oh, I mean, it doesn’t matter if you have. You don’t need to explain that.” She turned back to Zach and Seb. “But you do need to explain what is going on with your friends here.”
“We haven’t got time for this Alice,” Seb said in his mind. His palm was hurting quite badly now and he needed to go.
“I don’t know what to suggest.” Alice flitted over to hover beside Helen, shrugging. “You can’t tell a human soul any of this.”
Helen’s head tilted in Alice’s direction momentarily and her frown deepened.
Suddenly Zach rushed down the stairs and grabbed her by the hand.
“It’s my fault. I am really, really sorry. I am so rubbish at my school work and my mum’s been giving me such a hard time. I persuaded Seb to come with me here, and we got Aiden to let us in, cos he’s going to help me with my homework project. He didn’t want to do it and I know we have to go now. I guess I’ll just have to face the music with my mum in the morning when she finds out I’ve still not finished it.” He looked slyly at Helen. “It was a pants subject anyway. Something about the healing properties of trees and plants and such like. A real dry old subject.” He bent his head, lifted Helen’s hand and kissed it. “I am sorry, my lady. We’ll be off.” He let go of her hand and walked towards the front door. “And just so you know, it was Seb who tracked the mud up your stairs. I told him to take his boots off, but he wouldn’t. Got verrucas he said. Shame there’s not a plant remedy for that.”
Seb’s shoulders drooped and he hung his head. Trust Zach. Always over the top. Though he did wonder if Helen would think the story plausible. To his surprise, as he looked up, Helen was smiling.
“Well, don’t be so hasty. I am disappointed Aiden,” she turned to him, “that you did this behind my back.”
“He didn’t,” Zach called. “He didn’t even know we were coming until we were outside, throwing stones at his window. My fault. Still, we’ll be off now. There’s a night bus from the end of your road.” He pulled the door open and the wintry wind blasted along the hallway.
Helen walked over and closed the door. “You’re not going out in this. And you’re not catching a bus anywhere. Anything could happen to you.”
Feeling the pain in his palm growing, Seb was frustrated. Although he appreciated Zach trying to provide an excuse, they were now trapped. He wondered if it would have been better that Helen still believed they were burglars. At least they could have run out of the house and moved on.
“We really do have to go,” Seb said, walking down the stairs. “Really. I should never have come. I am sorry. We’ll go.” He looked imploringly at Aiden and pointed at his left hand. “Alice, tell Aiden I need him to find me a door outside.” He continued communicating silently with his twin.
Aiden shrugged helplessly.
“He says his tin’s in the coat pocket,” Alice relayed Aiden’s message back. “He’s asking you to play along with him now.”
Aiden approached the door. “I think Helen’s right. You two can’t go back out in this.” He took the coat from Zach. “Helen, I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you they were here. I was just surprised and didn’t know what to do. Now they are here though, can they stay the night? There’s room on the floor in my bedroom?”
Helen smiled. “No harm done, and that makes perfect sense,” she said. “I’ll get some bedding and then we can talk about how we are going to contact their parents,” she said.
“Okay, we’ll be upstairs.” Aiden pulled Zach away from the door and waved for Seb to go back up.
“Some food would be nice,” Zach suggested as he traipsed up the stairs.
“Zach!” Aiden was astounded. “You just ate all that toast.�
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“Oh, he did? I was surprised you finished it so quickly Aiden. That explains it.” Helen laughed. “I’ll get you some more then,” she said. “Up you go. Oh, and Seb.”
He turned to her. “Yes?”
“The best thing for a verruca is time. Leave them alone and they go away by themselves, eventually. But if you want to speed the process up, apple cider vinegar will do the trick. Zach, plant remedies will never be a dry old subject.” She smiled at him. “Aiden and I can help you with your project in the morning, if your mother agrees to your staying.”
“Well that’s really good of you my lady,” Zach said. “Can we have soup with the toast?” He grinned cheekily and she laughed out loud.
“Tomato do you?”
“I want to live here Aiden,” he said.
Following Aiden and Zach up the stairs, Seb was miserable.
“I really do have to go,” he mumbled.
“I have an idea,” Aiden said, getting his tin from the coat pocket as they entered his room. “I’ll find a door for you —there must be one upstairs somewhere —and you and Zach can go through with Alice. I’ll stay here. When Helen comes up I’ll tell her you are getting washed.” He nodded towards the en suite. Opening the tin, he stared into it, then turned and pointed at the Christmas tree. “Great, there’s a door there,” he said. “You’ll have to deal with the soul without me. You only really need Zach and Alice anyway,” he smiled at Seb.
Seb would have argued but his hand was throbbing so much now he didn’t have time.
“Let Alice know when Helen has been and gone and I’ll bring you through Aiden. I need you too,” he said.
He waved his hand at the Christmas tree, using the light from the flamers around them to illuminate it. The door appeared and Zach, pulling his staff from his pocket, opened it and stepped through.
Another Meeting
