Looking for Lucy Jo

by Suzy Turner

  ‘No, Lucy Jo, you shouldn’t see this.’ Lana tried to hold her back.

  ‘No, Lana,’ she cried. ‘She was my friend.’ Lucy Jo collapsed to the floor and cried her little heart out.

  ‘L…u…cy… J…o?’

  The little girl lifted her head up slowly. ‘Kim?’ she said. ‘You’re alive!’ she squealed, jumping and running towards her.

  Lana smiled and picked up her sister. ‘Calm down. She’s very weak. Let’s not get too excited. Okay?’

  Lucy Jo nodded and then put her arms around Lana and squeezed tight. ‘I missed you.’

  Tears began to roll down Lana’s face. ‘I missed you too, I missed you too.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ‘Do you think she’s going to be okay?’ Lana asked Emma as they stood looking out the window of the Praxos villa.

  ‘I don’t know. I hope so.’

  They stood watching the young woman, who was wrapped in a blanket on a sun lounger, staring out at the magnificent view beyond. She’d barely said a word since they’d brought her back.

  ‘I’m going to speak to her. I’ll take her some tea.’ Emma quietly placed a cup of green tea beside Kimberly and sat down on the chair next to her with another.

  Kimberly smiled. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘That’s okay. How are you feeling?’

  She waited a moment before saying anything. ‘Alright, I guess. Still a bit weak, I suppose.’

  ‘Why did you do it?’

  Kimberly looked at the floor. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

  ‘Try me.’

  But she just let out a deep sigh. ‘How’s Archie?’

  ‘He’s still sleeping, but the doctor says he’s going to be just fine. He was lucky that Stan missed all his vital organs. It’ll probably be a while until he’s back to normal, though.’

  Kimberly nodded.

  ‘Kimberly, you can trust us. You know that, right?’

  The young woman turned to look at Emma. ‘Yes, I do. I just… I don’t know. I feel so helpless, now.’

  ‘Why? You helped us get Lucy Jo back.’

  ‘I also helped take her in the first place.’

  ‘Yes, but only to protect her. We understand that.’

  ‘You don’t understand why I…’

  ‘Why you what?’

  Kimberly sighed again and reached out for her tea. Taking a sip, she held her breath for a second.

  ‘Careful, it’s hot.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You can talk to me, Kimberly.’

  ‘Please, call me Kim.’

  ‘Kim. You can talk to me. You can talk to all of us here.’

  She nodded. ‘I know. I’m sorry, I…’

  Emma waited patiently, saying nothing.

  ‘The reason I’m with Archie, it’s not what you think.’

  ‘No?’

  Kim shook her head. ‘Revenge.’

  ‘Revenge?’ asked Emma.

  Kim nodded. ‘When I was five years old, my sister was killed. She was my twin.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Kim.’

  ‘She was murdered.’

  ‘God, that’s awful.’

  ‘And my parents died a few years ago, too.’

  ‘Oh no.’

  ‘But it’s all connected.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I believe that that...that family killed them all.’

  Emma gasped. ‘When you say ‘that family’, who do you mean?’

  ‘Sophokles, the Sophokles family.’

  ‘Sthenelaus? Archie? Stan?’

  ‘I know Archie had nothing to do with it, now. But yes,’ she nodded, ‘that’s why I started dating him. I wanted to try and get into his family so I could get revenge. But then I…I… fell in love with him.’

  ‘Oh Kim,’ Emma whispered.

  A lone tear rolled down Kim’s cheek as she nodded. ‘And then we got all caught up with you and your family and well, you know the rest.’

  ‘Does Archie know?’

  ‘What? About why we’re together? Of course not. How can I tell him that?’

  Emma sat back and looked out at the view. ‘It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?’

  Kim nodded.

  ‘Maybe Archie deserves to know, to see the bigger picture,’ Emma said, using her arms to point ahead of her. ‘From what I understand about him, Kim, is that he is nothing like his family. That he would rather have nothing to do with them.’

  ‘I think you’re right. But how would he take it? Knowing that I got close to him so that I could kill his father?’

  Emma gasped.

  ‘Yes, that was my plan. I wanted to kill him.’

  ‘Do you still want to?’

  ‘Every single day.’

  ‘But could you?’

  Kim shrugged.

  ‘I don’t think so. I’ve seen you with Lucy Jo. You have too much love in here,’ Emma said, pressing her hand against her heart. ‘A person like that can’t kill, Kim.’

  Kim began to cry, her body shuddering under the weight of her burden.

  ‘Oh Kim,’ Emma said, moving over to hold her.

  After a few moments, Kim lifted her head up. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

  They sat in silence for a while longer before Emma moved back onto her chair and they drank their tea.

  ‘You’re a Watcher, aren’t you?’

  Emma glanced sideways. ‘What do you know about Watchers?’

  ‘A lot. Drake told me about you.’

  ‘Drake, your brother?’

  She pulled a face. ‘He’s not my brother. My parents adopted him. I think they adopted him for a reason.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘My parents spent years trying to find out who murdered my sister. That’s when they found out about the supernatural world, and they knew their only way in was to adopt one. Drake should have been a Watcher, but he went down the wrong road and became a Skull. I know all about you guys.’

  Emma raised her eyebrows.

  ‘But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.’

  ‘So that’s why you wrote the note, back at that tacky villa?’

  She nodded. ‘I knew you wouldn’t be far behind. Itwas super tacky, wasn’t it?’

  Emma grinned. ‘It was horrendous!’ She laughed, before whispering, ‘Thank you for keeping Lucy Jo safe.’

  ‘She’s a special little girl. I’m just really, really glad that she doesn’t remember half of it.’

  ‘We’re lucky to have Almerinda and her sister with us.’

  ‘They’re amazing, those two. Can you imagine what would have happened if Sthenelaus had found them first, though?’

  ‘Let’s not even think about that.’ Emma grimaced.

  ‘Is Archie a Skull too, then, Kim?’

  Kim thought about it for a while and shrugged. ‘No. The Skulls are all evil and Archie isn’t evil. Yeah he has a temper sometimes, but he’s a good guy.’

  ‘Does he a have a tattoo?’

  ‘Yeah, but there’s no skull, if that’s what you’re asking.’

  ‘Is there an eye?’

  ‘It’s kind of a weird one really, there’s nothing much, just a few wavy lines around an empty space.’

  ‘That’s weird. Maybe he’s somewhere in the middle. Does he have any powers?’

  ‘I’ve never seen them, but I heard Stan mention something about him being able to hover—not fly, just hover—or something like that. But we don’t really talk about it. He doesn’t like to talk about his family and I guess that’s all connected, isn’t it?’

  Emma nodded. ‘I guess so.’

  The door opened and Lana appeared. ‘Hey, Kimberly.’

  ‘Kim, please,’ she smiled.

  ‘Kim, Archie’s awake. He’s asking for you.’ Lana smiled.

  Kim’s eyes grew wide. ‘What am I going to say?’ She turned to Emma.

  ‘The truth?’

  ‘Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.’

  E
mma stood and helped her up. ‘You’ll be fine. Do you want me to come with you?’

  Kim shook her head. ‘No, I can do this on my own. I guess I have to. I owe it to him, right?’

  Emma nodded.

  oOo

  About twenty minutes after Kim walked into the room where Archie was resting, the whole building seemed to shake for a few moments.

  ‘Is it an earthquake?’ asked Lana as she hurried to the nearest table and crouched underneath it.

  ‘Nope, not an earthquake,’ said Theodore who had arrived shortly after Kim had gone to see Archie.

  ‘How do you know?’ she asked, when he leaned forward to help her to her feet again.

  ‘No seismic activity—not today, anyway,’ he said touching his head.

  ‘Oh, okay,’ Lana replied, confused.

  ‘Thanks for coming, Theo. I believe Archie will need some kind of pain relief. We’ll wait until Kim has had a chance to talk to him though,’ said Eleanor.

  Theodore nodded and sat down.

  ‘If it wasn’t an earthquake, then what was it?’ Lana asked.

  Theo turned to look at her and shrugged. ‘Somebody’s powers, I guess.’

  ‘There’s a Watcher here that can do that?’ she asked Eleanor, intrigued.

  Eleanor shook her head. ‘Not one of ours.’

  Suddenly Kim rushed down the corridor and into the living room. ‘Erm… Eleanor?’

  ‘Yes, Kimberly. Is everything alright?’

  ‘Erm, I’m not sure. I think Archie just made the earth move.’

  Lana chuckled.

  ‘No, I didn’t mean…’ Kimberly blushed.

  ‘Just ignore her,’ Eleanor said, shaking her head. ‘What happened, dear?’

  ‘I was telling him the truth about me.’ She turned to look for Emma, who was sitting at the dining table with Diarmuid. Emma smiled reassuringly. ‘Then he went a little red in the face and it felt like an earthquake, and when his colour went back to normal it stopped.’

  ‘Oh, in that case, I’d better come and have a look. Theo, please come too.’

  ‘Emma? Have you got a minute?’ asked Kim.

  ‘Sure,’ Emma said, as she got up and walked towards her.

  ‘I told him. Apart from the whole earthquake thing, I think he took it pretty well. Will you come in and see him? He wants to speak to you.’

  ‘To me?’

  Kim nodded.

  As they walked into the room, they found Eleanor leaning over Archie, inspecting his eyes. She was talking to him very quietly. He nodded a few times, looking embarrassed, and sat up. She helped him lean forward slightly before she walked around the other side of the bed.

  The girls followed her and Kim gasped. ‘Archie!’

  ‘What? What is it?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s your tattoo. It’s changed.’

  ‘What do you mean, changed?’

  ‘It’s got a big eye on it. Oh and look… there’s some words. Bono Malum Superate. What does that mean? ‘ Kim asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

  Eleanor grinned and told him to lie back down before Theo took Archie’s hands in his.

  ‘Erm, what’s he doing?’ Archie asked warily.

  Eleanor smiled. ‘He’s just administering some pain relief. Trust me, you’ll feel much better when he’s finished.’

  ‘Eleanor, what does it mean?’ Kim asked again.

  Smiling, she said, ‘Bono Malum Superate – Overcome Evil with Good. Welcome to the Watchers, Archie.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  With everything that had happened over the past week, there was much need for rest and relaxation, and so Arabella invited everyone to spend the rest of their Christmas holidays at the Praxos villa in Monchique. And that included Audrey and Greg, who had finally been told the truth about the girls and the academy that they attended in London. Even Scott had been invited, but he’d been devastated when his mother had declined because they had a family wedding to attend instead.

  After a particularly tearful reunion with little Lucy Jo, both Audrey and Greg had spent several minutes hugging Emma and Lana.

  ‘I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk about all of this before, but I just want you to know that I always knew you were special. Since that day you arrived on our doorstep, I just knew there was something… something different about you both,’ Audrey said proudly.

  ‘Are you… erm, are you okay with it, Mum?’ asked Lana.

  Audrey took a moment to answer and then slowly nodded. ‘It’s taking some time to sink in and I know that I will never be able to accept that you will often be put in danger, but there’s little I can do about that. I love you both dearly, and the fact that you’re a little different from the rest of us means nothing. You’re still my girls,’ she said, hugging them even tighter. ‘I’m just sorry you weren’t able to share it with us before all this happened.’

  ‘I’m sorry too, Mum,’ Emma whispered. ‘But you know now.’

  Audrey nodded just before Greg grinned. ‘Me too,’ he sang. ‘My sisters have got special powers,’ he said, beaming.

  The girls laughed and ruffled his hair.

  ‘You know what? I think you’ve grown since we last saw you.’

  ‘Aw c’mon, I’m thirteen, not six,’ he said pushing away from her. ‘So, are you going to show me, or what?’

  ‘Show you what?’ Lana asked, her lips turning upwards. ‘There’s nothing to show.’

  ‘Aw c’mon, please. I wanna see.’

  ‘Come on, Greg, get in the car. Your sisters can’t do anything out in public. You must understand that. It’s very important that what they can do is kept a secret. Do you understand?’ Patrick asked as he pushed him into the vehicle before shutting the door behind him.

  Nodding, Greg turned to look at Emma, staring for a moment.

  ‘What?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing.’

  She laughed and let her head fall to one side, staring back. ‘Really?’

  ‘I’m just looking to see if youlook any different.’

  ‘What? You mean now that you know the truth?’

  He nodded.

  ‘And?’

  Shrugging his shoulders he said, ‘You look exactly the same.’

  oOo

  Delighted to have the family back together again, and everyone safe and sound, the girls began to enjoy themselves at the party the following afternoon. It was to celebrate so many things: the return of Lucy Jo; the ‘arrival’ of the new Watcher. Archie; Almerinda’s reunion with her long lost sister; the girls no longer having to hide their true selves from their family. There was much to celebrate, and they were very happy to see the arrival of Sonia, who had finally mastered the art of walking on crutches.

  ‘Sonia!’ squealed Emma from the indoor swimming pool, where she’d spent the past hour with Diarmuid and some of her other classmates, just being silly in the water.

  ‘Hello, everyone,’ Sonia whispered, smiling.

  As Emma jumped out of the water, Greg stood open-mouthed. ‘I wish I could do that. That is wicked.’

  She ruffled his hair as she walked past, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself, before stopping in front of the younger girl. ‘How are you? How’s your leg?’

  ‘Better, now that I can walk with these.’ Sonia smiled. ‘I’m very happy you found your sister. You must be so relieved.’

  ‘I can’t describe the feeling—we’re so happy, Sonia. Come on, let’s get a drink and sit down.’

  Sonia nodded and followed until they found a bench in the garden, looking out over the rest of the Algarve.

  ‘Aren’t you cold?’ she asked, shivering a little in her coat.

  Emma wrapped the towel around her a little more tightly, but shook her head. ‘I can warm myself easily enough.’

  Sonia raised her eyebrows and Emma shrugged. ‘Just one of my… abilities. Speaking of which, how is yours going?’

  Sonia raised her eyebrows again.

  ‘The invisibility thin
g? Are you getting any closer to being able to control it?’

  ‘Oh that? Yes, I’ve been having lessons with my father every day and I’m much better now,’ she smiled.

  ‘That’s fantastic. Where is your dad? Is he coming?’ she said, looking around at all the people pottering around.

  ‘Yes, he dropped me off first. He’s just gone to pick up his sister.’

  ‘He has a sister?’

  ‘Yes, my auntie is wonderful. I love her very much.’

  Emma smiled. ‘Is she a Watcher too?’

  Sonia grinned. ‘A very special one.’

  ‘Cool.’

  ‘You’ll like her. She should be here soon.’

  ‘I’m sure I will. What about your step-mother? Isn’t she coming?’

  Sonia rolled her eyes.

  ‘You don’t like her very much, do you?’

  ‘She’s okay, I guess. She’s just a bit…’ she shrugged, ‘normal.’

  Emma laughed. ‘Normal?’

  Sonia bit her bottom lip and nodded.

  ‘Is that why you’re not keen on her?’

  She shrugged again.

  ‘We all need some normal in our lives, to balance out all this craziness.’

  ‘Yes, I guess so. I just wish…’

  ‘That your mother was still here?’

  Sonia nodded.

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘My stepmother is nice… She treats us well, she’s an amazing cook, and I think she loves me but…’

  ‘I’m sure she does. You see that woman over there, with the long light brown wavy hair?’ Emma asked pointing.

  Sonia nodded.

  ‘That’s Audrey Morgan. She’s my mum—not my real mum, obviously. She and Patrick, who you’ve already met, adopted Lana and me when we were babies. That crazy kid over there?’ she pointed, ‘That’s Greg—he’s my brother—and there’s Lucy Jo, who he won’t leave alone.’

  Sonia grinned. ‘They look like a really cool family.’

  ‘They are totally cool and they are totally normal. I don’t know what we would be like without them. You understand?’

  Sonia looked a little ashamed and nodded. ‘Totally.’

  Emma put her arm around her and squeezed.

  ‘You’re like a psychologist or something,’ Sonia laughed.

  ‘If that’s a compliment, I’ll take it.’