On the wall facing the front door a huge family portrait hung in a heavy, dark wood frame. Silver moved us forward in the room to get a closer look. The overhead light created a glare on the glass until we were about a foot away so my twin stopped. James had never shared a memory of his parents with me. Their mother was willowy like Kara with straight medium brown hair, hazel eyes and a serene happy face that reflected an Asian-Anglo heritage. It was hard to tell from the picture since they were all sitting, but it looked like their father was over six feet tall. His thick almost black hair was combed neatly but it had a look of being barely contained. Green eyes the same shocking green as his sons with a slightly more pronounced epicanthic fold stared at us. The James of today was almost a carbon copy of his father.
Our observation moved to the younger versions of Kara and James frozen in time behind the glass. They looked mutinous, as if a family photo had been the last thing they’d wanted to do that day. James was a toothpick of about ten, so that would make Kara eight. Fine dark hair bound up in pigtails with bows, our friend had the appearance of a doll with delicate smooth skin and a babyish face.
Behind us Kara made a polite sound in her throat. “I’m gonna go wash up and change. You’re welcome to look through my closet and see if you can find a new shirt.”
James voice came from the kitchen. “Don’t use all the hot water.”
Kara turned on a dime to face off with her older brother. “Nag.”
“Water hog.”
She turned back to us and grabbed our coat sleeve, dragging us toward the hall. Her bedroom was the first on the right. When Kara opened her closet Silver literally spat in a rush to get the surprised words out of our mouth. “What the hell, woman! How are we supposed to find anything in that mess…I don’t even know how you closed the dang thing.”
T-shirts, sparkly rhinestone-decorated plunging tops, jeans, dresses, skirts and pretty much any article of clothing you could imagine was squished together on the small single rod in her closet. Some items looked to be knocked from their respective hangers and wedged in place. The shoes on the floor were a jumbled mountain of footwear and just glancing at the surface I couldn’t find a single matched pair.
Kara chewed her upper lip. “Okay, maybe we’ll look in a drawer then.”
Her chest of drawers looked exactly like the one I used to have in my old room. A scratch beside one of the knobs on the top left revealed it was our old furniture. Silver scanned the rest of the furnishings and the bedside table looked familiar, not to mention the bed itself which had a different comforter but was the same size as our old one. “This is weird…did Maggs give you all of Cass’s furniture?”
Kara looked around her digs as if she was seeing them for the first time. “Gerome not Maggie. I forgot all about where everything came from. What…is it creepy or déjà vuey?”
Silver was thinking along the same lines and we weren’t about to voice our conclusions. When a Bender thought of a place to ‘port they first pictured it in their mind. What if Kara’s room had drawn Shiva because it was the closest approximation to ours? What if our uncle’s small act of kindness had started the ball of our friend’s torture and mind/body rape rolling? None of us had known when Silver and I left for Axsa about the rules of Bending. Kal had, but if you grew up with an ability like teleportation, you wouldn’t always remember that others still didn’t know the basics.
We realized Kara was staring and Silver raised a hand awkwardly. “It’s not creepy, you’re good. I have a question to ask though. More of a favor really…do you think Cass and I can stay with y’all until we get our own place?”
Her laugh was forced and tense but at least it was a start. “If James has anything to say about it you’ll be sleeping in his room.” Kara bent to open a drawer of startlingly neat rows of perfectly square t-shirts with band logos and cartoon characters.
It felt like our eyebrows crawled almost to our hairline.
Kara laughed again but this time it was more natural. “James does the laundry and puts away anything that goes in a drawer. I have to hang up my own stuff…he won’t touch my closet.” One of the precisely folded shirts had The Pink Panther screen printed on the black knit with a quote in white: “Let me bring you up to speed…we know nothing. You are now up to speed.”
Silver reached out and snatched the soft cotton apparel out with glee. “Perfect!”
I mumbled, “Obviously I’ll be the one speaking with the police today…”
Kara opened another drawer to pull out some undergarments but we noticed those were a huge jumble. Maybe James was too squeamish to fold his sister’s undergarments? Without saying anything out loud our friend pulled out another matching set and tossed them our direction. They were bright red, lacey and it was seriously doubtful the bra provided much support. She sighed when we failed to catch them and they fluttered to land on top of our boots.
“I’m going to shower. I know we’re in a hurry, I won’t take long. Change or whatever in here…mi casa es su casa.”
With that she went out the door and closed it with a quiet snick. Silver bent at the waist and picked up the red barely there items. They didn’t feel as scratchy as they looked but the back was missing on the panties and I didn’t relish picking a string out of our crack. I could feel Silver winding up for a good round of jokes at my expense.
I cut her off at the pass. “Don’t even. I’m not wearing those. Put ‘em back.”
Out loud Silver commented, “I don’t think Kara thought that all the way through…the idea of you being seduced in James’ own sister’s lingerie is a little squicky.”
“Ya think?”
The pipes hummed in the walls as Kara started her shower and we switched out our button up shirt for the clean short sleeve pullover. At least with the short sleeves maybe we’d be cooler with our jacket on. So… no new undies, socks or pants, but, at least we felt a little fresher. A shower would have been nice but there wasn’t time. Toothpaste or some mouthwash sounded like heaven right now.
We wandered out of Kara’s room into the hall holding our dirty shirt loosely by our side. The laundry room was in the same place so we tossed our shirt in the washer for the next load then wandered back down the hall to find James in the kitchen at the sink brushing his teeth. He spit and held up a bright green bottle of wintergreen Listerine in our general direction as he continued to brush vigorously. The black ‘x’ from Hazards was a faded ghost on his skin.
I took a big swig and swished the liquid antiseptic fire around our mouth, grimacing as it burned out the multitude of bacteria from our gums and tongue. James turned on the tap and rinsed our spit down the drain before handing over a clean rag from a drawer next to the sink to wipe off our mouth. He set it down on the stainless steel edge when we didn’t hurry to take it. The cool water felt good as I took the opportunity to fade our own marks with soap. It would have been heaven on Earth to take a shower.
From around his toothbrush James asked, “What’s the plan?”
After our hands were dry Silver tossed the used rag on the counter and paused for thought. “I guess we could get sympathy if we admit it was a rescue mission and tell them Kara was a victim but since she looked willing that’s out. Plus, the idea of her going through a trial makes us shudder. You got any ideas?”
“We can blame your extra strength when you hit Shiva on adrenaline maybe?” James leaned over to spit.
“It would be less complicated if we could just ‘out’ ourselves.” Silver tapped out a beat on the sink edge, impatient.
James stood. “Um…no. You’ve got the Tribunal coming up in about twenty-four hours. Do you really think another transgression should be added to the list?”
The tapping ceased. “At this point I’m almost past caring about the Council.”
I intervened before they started arguing and wasted even more time. “Why don’t we just adlib? They may supply their own theories. I’ve got questions of my own for them, like why were two off duty co
ps conveniently at Hazards that night? Maybe Shiva was already under surveillance.”
From the hall the bathroom door opened and clouds of steam dissipated into the warm air. Kara stood in her underwear vigorously toweling her hair dry. “It’s because he’s up to his neck in meth production. The police are starting to put the pieces together from different dealers they’ve snagged. Shiva’s got heat coming his way but unless he dies in a shootout I don’t see what good catching the attention of the authorities does us. He’d just ‘port out of his cell to become one of America’s most wanted.”
We both watched Kara closely for any sign of a breakdown but her demeanor was militantly casual as she strolled away without waiting for a rejoinder. Her door shut with only the barest click.
“Okay, Cass, I’m with you. Let’s find out their theory if we can and then adlib into it.” James turned on the tap again and scooped a handful of water into his mouth with some loud sucking noises then spit into the sink.
While he dried his face with the rag we’d left on the counter his eyes caught our shirt.
His nose wrinkled. “Seriously, you’re wearing that?”
Silver ignored the remark and I wandered away into their living room to sit on the futon couch, testing its firmness. We turned our head and my twin chose to answer his question with a question. “So is it alright if we stay with you and Kara for now? Cass needs somewhere to sleep and it would make us both feel better if we all stayed close…for an emergency.”
We could sense movement and the rustle of cloth as James walked closer. The air pressure changed as his hand rose to pull on our ponytail.
Words too casual, he said, “Sure.”
I turned, yanking our bound hair out of his grip, flashing an annoyed half smile. James opened his mouth to speak but Kara’s door opened and she speed walked into the living room as if the almost nonexistent shorts she had on were on fire and flopped down into one of the adjacent bean bag chairs.
In a flat tone that brooked no argument James said, “Go change your shorts, Kara.”
She jerked as if stung. “What? Why? These are totally in style…short shorts are in and it’s freakin’ hot outside!”
James lifted his chin and looked down his straight nose. “They may be ‘in style’ but they aren’t suitable for talking to the police. Your ass is hangin’ out the back and I won’t even mention the front. Go. Change. Now.”
She sprawled out further in the bean bag, scooting her butt side to side to really get entrenched. “Make me.”
The layered tank tops she wore didn’t cover her bra straps either but I figured James was picking his battles.
Inwardly Silver said, “I think she’s afraid to be alone. That was a faster shower and change than even we could’ve accomplished and I consider us pretty damn low maintenance. It was probably worthy to be noted in Guinness for someone as into clothes as she is. Kara didn’t even do her hair or put on makeup.”
I conceded the point to Silver and really looked at our mutinous friend. Her eyes were pinched around the edges and she was fidgeting in little twitchy jerks from the top of her soggy ponytail to the exposed toes on her sandaled feet. Each movement was cleverly disguised as having a purpose.
Silver took over our mouth to say, “Hey, we’ll go with you, Mighty Mouth. James says we should change our shirt, too. No need to get your panties in a twist.”
Kara threw her head back dramatically to stare at the ceiling and groan, “Allllllright. Geeze.”
I pushed us up to stand and strode over to grab an out flung arm by the wrist and pull her to her feet with a mild burst of strength. It felt liberating to know our power reserves were full to bursting.
Kara gave an abrupt squeak then recovered to lead the way into her room. She pulled a random summery dress from a hanger then dragged it over her wet hair before unbuttoning the offending shorts and wiggling them down to her ankles. The discarded item of clothing ended up kicked into her closet.
We started toward the hall and Kara fake coughed and motioned vaguely in the area of our chest. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Silver canted our mouth sideways over our teeth. “Nope.”
Her eyebrows morphed into primitive bird wings. “That’s not fair! I changed, you cheater.”
My twin widened our mouth to expose teeth. “Never said we were going to change our shirt…only said James wanted us to.”
“I don’t remember you being this sneaky, Dynamite. You wound me.” Kara threw the back of her hand against her forehead and gripped the bodice of her dress as if fatally shot in the chest.
Silver and I thought back to all the hard lessons we’d learned dealing with Kal. The ‘man’ had never pulled any punches with us and managed to just barely skirt an outright lie but say the truth at the same time. Every conceivable cliché about devil dealing applied to our mentor and pretty much any other Axsian you might strike a bargain with. Perhaps they were the root of those human parables. Evidence certainly pointed to their interference if you looked into Earth’s past, whether they would cop to it or not.
Silver said, “We’re wasting time, Mighty Mouth. Are you up for this?”
Kara flipped an emotional switch and dropped her arms to her sides then thought better of it and crossed them over her petite breasts before answering, “I’ll be okay.”
She couldn’t hold our gaze for more than a few seconds before shrugging indifferently and scrutinizing the floorboards.
Inside, Silver was torn. She wanted to offer comfort but she didn’t think it was what Kara needed right now. I happened to agree.
We turned away and headed back into the living room to find James standing impatiently by the door, tapping a foot. Whether it was his show of impatience or another of our gut feelings, my twin and I could feel an imaginary timer rapidly counting down to something. Maybe it was nothing, but events seemed to run on an accelerated timetable any time my sister and I got involved. We tended to be the strike of lightning that started a forest fire.
Silver thought back at me, “Yes, but the soil is always richer after the older growth is burned down. We pave the way, Sister, that’s all.”
“True enough, Silver. I only wish creation didn’t sometimes require destruction.”
Kara was clumping along behind us and James noted her change of attire with a relieved lightening of his features then frowned again when he saw ours wasn’t any different. Silver pulled our lips into a smile so wide and cheerful it felt as if the skin at the corners of our mouth might split.
For some strange reason my imagination grabbed that and visualized rips in our cheeks all the way back to our ears and what our exposed bloody teeth would look like as our tongue wiggled behind them. I blinked to clear my mind.
Silver thought our way, “What the hell is up with you right now?”
Shaken, I said, “Something feels wrong. Everything’s slightly off kilter. It’s like the world is flat but still trying to roll. We’re not catching on to something we should be, Silver.”
Irritation bloomed as Silver advised, “I already said that earlier and you logically piffed it away. If we’re both getting that vibe then let’s just watch, listen and think. What other option is there, Cass?”
Kara interrupted the internal argument. “You’re better at not betraying you’re talking to anyone in your head, Cass, but there’s still a little weirdness going on. Try not to look like you’re on drugs in front of the police.”
Silver croaked out, “Duly noted.”
James swallowed a half bark of amusement but looked a question our way before opening the door and leading us onto the porch. The day’s heat was building, creating a marked difference between standing in the shade of the house or exposing flesh to the semi-stunning radiation of the sun. Triple digits were a definite possibility. Our coat had to stay on though so we’d just have to deal with it. We’d never touched a straight vanilla human before and neither of us had a clue if they could be affected by our ability.
I planted mental feet. “Riiiiight…no. That just proves it should be me in the driver’s seat during this little interlude.”
The weather was actually quite nice so other Weavers were out enjoying the clear sky, strolling idly between houses. A breeze traipsed through the compounds buildings like an unrolled spool of ribbon, cool and impossible to grasp. It hadn’t rained recently so the ground was hard packed desiccated earth and what grass carpeted the surrounding yards was dried brown and brittle looking. Only the weeds stood proudly here and there with their purple and yellow flowers adding a dash of color to the arid blah.
Over to the left a group of people stood clumped around the shaded area of a house. At first it just looked like they were shooting the breeze. I noticed one person blur into the center and then back out to the edge of the group again then another followed suit. Swindell, James’ companion from the gym, watched us approach with a distinctly displeased expression. The tall curvy redhead swatted at a shorter, darker companion to grab her focus from whatever diversion in the center of the circle was consuming their attention. A rattling sound grew louder as we closed the gap causing James to put on a burst of speed and leave us in the dust.
Our enhanced vision picked out a rope-like shape as it hovered gracefully then lunged forward at the crowd to tag a distracted Swindell on her calf. Her scream cut the air at the exact same time James grabbed the snake by the tail and cracked it like a lion tamer with a whip, causing the head to sail off through the air and smack an onlooker on the chest before bouncing off to blend into the tall dead grass. Absently we identified the markings on the serpent’s back; Family Viperidae, Subfamily Crotalinae, Genus Crotalus…a prairie rattlesnake.
VECTOR (The Weaver Series Book 3) Page 15
