by Jim Johnson
I bit my lip and smacked one fist into my other palm. “I hate it when you’re right.”
He smiled. “I know, it happens so rarely.”
I shook my head. “Stop.” I mulled it over. “You know I’m not happy with Miss Chin these days. I think she’s been holding stuff back from us, and I still think she’s somehow responsible for our grandparents’s memory loss.”
Malcolm crossed his arms. “So, let’s go to her and just ask her direct. Get it all out in the open. Tell her what we suspect and what’s been happening and then see if she can help us.”
I gnawed at my lip. “And if she says no?”
Malcolm shrugged. “Then we either go back to Bello and ask for help, or we arm up and dive into the Holding and go after the Spinner ourselves.”
He grinned. “If nothing else, we can go out like Butch and Sundance.”
I stared at him and shook my head. “I think I kinda prefer Bonnie and Clyde.”
He snorted again. “Or maybe, just maybe…we figure out a way through it together.”
I looked up into his eyes, amazed all over again at the changes he’d undergone since we were first Awakened. I reached up and patted him on the shoulder. “Damn, Malcolm. You’re not that thug in the Ravens parka I met several months ago.”
He shot me a sidelong grin. “And you’re not the aimless little white girl I met, either.”
I was about to offer a retort, but a little idea had just struck me. “Hey…do you still have that ten dollar bill? The one Cubes gave you?”
Malcolm’s mood darkened precipitously. “I do still have it, yeah. Not on me, though. I left it at home.” He wiped his hands on his shirt. “I’m uncomfortable carrying it around. I don’t like being reminded that it carries a ‘geist inside it.”
I reached behind the shop counter and grabbed the spare store key from under the register, and then turned off the store lights. In the dim lighting filtering in through the windows from the setting sun and the street lights outside, I led Malcolm through the store and out the front door. I locked up and then pushed the key into the mail slot next to the door.
Malcolm raised an eyebrow and glanced at me. “Not planning on coming back here?”
I shrugged. “We can come back any time, through the Veil. I just don’t see the need to keep the key.” I started walking toward the closest bus stop. “Besides, Bonita tends to lose her shop key. Better that she have the extra when she needs it.”
“Should we text her or call her to tell her it’s there?”
I shook my head as we walked through the lightly populated streets. “I’ve done this a few times before. She’ll know I was at the store and put the key there.”
We got to the bus stop and I sat down. “We have a couple minutes before the bus is likely to arrive. How do you want to handle the visit with Miss Chin?”
He shot me another raised eyebrow. “You think we should go now?”
I met his eyes and then looked away, watching a family exit the Dairy Godmother, the source of the best homemade custard ever. “I do. You’re right, Malcolm. I haven’t been entirely honest with her, and she deserves that much. Especially if we’re going to ask her to risk her life to help us defeat the Spinner.”
I sighed. “I just don’t know how we’re going to explain Bello to her. She’s had her questions about him for a while and I’ve mostly avoided them.”
Malcolm leaned against one of the small glass walls of the bus stop. “I imagine she’ll take it in stride.” He shrugged. “Besides, Miss Chin and Bello could be best friends, for all we know.”
I shook my head. “Or dire enemies. Who knows?”
We mulled on our issues in silence after that, and after about five minutes of mindless people watching and gathering up ley threads, the bus arrived and we got on board.
We just as quickly got off the bus when the encounter with the driver made us realize that neither of us had left Bello’s agency building with wallets or money or cards. They’d been lost somewhere along the way.
I glanced at the bus stop, and then shook my head and started walking. Miss Chin’s house was actually just a couple miles from downtown Del Rey, so walking would have to do.
I glanced at Malcolm as we walked. “If I’d have been smart, I would have taken cab fare or bus fare out of Bonita’s petty cash and paid her back later.”
Malcolm shrugged. “It’s all right. If I recall, Miss Chin isn’t that far away.”
A thought nagged at me, enough that I stopped walking at the next intersection. “Hang on. It’s a couple miles to Miss Chin’s house, but less than ten blocks to my house.”
Malcolm frowned. “You mean the group house that Bello said is off-limits? That house?”
I shot him a look that should have peeled his skin, but seemed to have no apparent effect. “Yes, that house. It’s partly mine, and Abbie’s, and everyone else’s. There’s…some stuff I’d like to pick up from there and now seems as good at time as any.”
Malcolm frowned, apparently deep in thought. “I don’t know, Rachel. Can you tell me what exactly we’re going there for? I don’t think it’s the best use of our time.”
I bit my lip, debating whether to confide in him completely. Given the circumstances, now seemed as good a time as any.
I took a deep breath, let it out in a whoosh, and then gestured toward the spot on the bench next to me. “I think you should sit down.”
He shot me another ‘oh really?’ look but did sit down and cross his arms. He leaned toward me. “Okay, I’m sitting. What’s so important at your old house that you’re proposing we walk into a heavily guarded agency crime scene?”
I took another breath, and then committed. “A few odds and ends if they survived the investigation, but more importantly…the stuff in my safe underneath my bed.”
Malcolm focused on my face, seeking out…something. Truth, perhaps. “I didn’t know you had a safe.”
It was my turn to snort. “I think you’ve only been in my bedroom that one time, right before I passed out from fighting the Spinner.”
He nodded. “So, what’s in the safe?”
I sighed, reluctant and yet relieved that I’d be able to unload this piece of stress I’d been carrying around. “Money, Malcolm. A lot of it.”
Both his eyebrows shot up. “Really? How much? Where did it come from?”
I raised a hand to stop his questions. “A lot. More than I know, anyway. It’s mostly some cash I socked away from our moving jobs and Bonita’s sort-of salary to me, but there’s also a small box full of gold coins dating back to the eighteenth century.”
He stared at me. I fancied I could see dollar signs dancing in his eyes. He asked, “Where did you get some old gold coins? Grandpa?”
I crossed my arms across my chest. “No, from Charity. Turns out you can hide stuff in the Holding, if you’re clever.”
“Huh. Damn. Learn something new every day.” He gestured for me to lead on. “Let’s go get your stash, then.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
WE DISCUSSED STRATEGY ON THE WAY to my house, though without knowing who exactly might be there, we eventually decided that just being prepared would have to be good enough. We spent the rest of the walk gathering up ley threads and charging up our internal batteries.
By the time we reached the fence surrounding the backyard, we were about as ready as we were going to be. It was after eight, and the sun had gone down. The moon was out on this clear, hot night, and the house was dark save for a light on in the kitchen. I couldn’t see anyone in there, though that didn’t necessarily mean that no one was in the house.
Malcolm stared at the house along with me, then shot me a glance. “How do you want to do this? Sneak in the back or head around to the front?”
“Hang on,” I whispered. I closed my eyes and hit my Sight, stretching out through the ley to try and detect anyone in or near the house.
After a few moments of scanning, I broke it off, frustrated. “If there’s a
nyone in there, they’re shielded through the etherics. I can’t pick anyone up.”
“And you’re sure you want to go in there? If you tell me where the safe is and what the combination is, I can get the money for you.”
I frowned at him. “Why shouldn’t I go?”
He shrugged. “Just thinking about you. You haven’t been back here since the attack. I didn’t want you to, you know…get upset.”
I gnawed on my lip but then shook my head. I took hold of his closest bicep and squeezed. “Thanks for thinking of me, Malcolm.”
I let go and focused on the house. “I think I’ll be okay. We go inside, up the stairs, into the bedroom, grab the money, and then we get out as soon as possible. I won’t linger.”
He nodded. “All right. Do we need to worry about any weird etheric traps or alarms? I don’t know what Bello and his people are capable of.”
I frowned. “Good call. Let me check.” I focused on my Sight again and spread several sensors threads forward to check out the house. I didn’t find anything and didn’t sense a ward anywhere around the house. The back door had police tape across it, and I suspected the front door did as well.
I glanced at Malcolm. “Seems to be free of any etheric weirdness. I think we’re safe to go in.”
He nodded. “You know, we could have just used a rift in the Veil to slip into your bedroom and out again.”
I stared at him. “We could have, yeah, but I really needed the walk. I’ve got too much excess energy and walking helps.” I grinned. “Besides, I was planning to use a rift to get from here to Branchwood. Neither of us have a car available to us right now, and I’m not taking a bus when I’m loaded down with gold coins.”
He grinned. “Fair enough.”
I glanced once more at the kitchen windows. Still didn’t see any movement, so I stood up out of my crouch and hurried over to the back door. The back porch boards creaked with my steps, but I got to the back door without any issues.
I waved toward Malcolm and he hurried across the back lawn and joined me on the porch.
I disconnected the police tape from the door and let it slough to the ground. I tried the door knob, but it was locked. “Crap. I don’t have my keys.”
Malcolm reached out and grabbed the door knob. “Hang on.” I sensed him focus his will and stab several ley threads into the door. After a few moments of silent effort, I heard the tumblers shift and then the knob turned under his hand. He pushed open the door and gave me a grin.
“After you.”
I stared at him. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
He shrugged. “A little independent training.”
I shook my head. “I knew I liked you for a reason. Come on.”
I listened at the door but didn’t hear anything, so I pushed open the door and led the way into the house. I moved past the kitchen counter and table quickly, not wanting to linger any longer than necessary.
Malcolm followed along behind, careful not to touch anything. I led the way to the staircase, and peered up into the darkness. Most of the window shades must have been drawn or the bedroom doors closed, because there wasn’t much ambient light up there.
“I’m switching to Sight, Malcolm. It’s too dark for me to see, otherwise.”
He nodded and I felt the subtle shift in his connection to the ley. I focused up the stairs, seeing the world in a literally different light. This house wasn’t connected to the ley grid at all, so the walls and furnishings were dark and devoid of power. I shifted the ley threads and changed my Sight so that everything was outlined in electric blue threads.
I led the way up the stairs, moving quick. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out on my forehead and my heart was hammering in my chest. If we were to get caught now, we’d have to fight our way out.
I reached the top of the stairs and peered down the hallway. All the doors were open—bathroom, closet, and the two bedrooms. All the doorways were dark, which suggested that all the blinds over the various windows were closed. I guessed Bello’s agents had wanted to work without anyone looking into the house.
I glanced at Malcolm and he nodded for me to continue on. I crept down the hallway, trying to step around the creaky parts of the floor, but not entirely succeeding.
I looked into the bedroom I had shared with Abbie, and my breath caught in my throat.
Miss Chin was in the room, sitting cross-legged, hovering about a foot above the floor. Through my Sight, I saw a thin bubble of light surrounding her, a warding sphere.
A quick glanced showed me the rest of the room was still a wreck, though someone had removed all the pages from Charity’s journal that had been stuck in the wall.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I shouted, forgetting myself for a moment. I was pissed that I hadn’t detected her or her ward.
Miss Chin rotated in the air to face us, and then opened her eyes. “You two have been busy. Come in and sit down.”
I gathered some ley threads and shook my head. “No. We’re here for a few things and then we’re leaving.”
Miss Chin lowered herself to the floor. “No. You’re going to come in here and sit.”
I felt a wave through the ley, like an unseen hand pushing me in the back and a powerful will pressing down on my own. I couldn’t recall feeling that pressure on my shields before, and didn’t like it at all.
So I pushed back. With the ley threads in hand and some of my own battery juice backing it up, I shot out a pulse of etheric energy toward Miss Chin.
The blast hit her ward sphere straight on, but the energies coursed around the ward and smacked into the surfaces around her, rattling the walls and window.
Malcolm cried out, “What are you doing?” He grabbed my shoulder, but I pushed him off, hard, and then pushed another pulse of force toward Miss Chin.
That one was deflected just like the first, and again the walls rattled. Miss Chin held up her hands toward me, and her warding sphere increased in size, and its green swirls increased in strength.
“You do not want to fight me, girl.”
“Then get out of my head! I’m not going to do what you tell me to! I can feel your order in my head.”
Miss Chin stared at me. “You’ve grown strong, Rachel. This is good, even if inconvenient for me now.”
I balled up my fists and let the etherics build up inside me. I couldn’t generate fire like Malcolm, but I sure could throw some huge power at Miss Chin, maybe wear her down.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass how much I’ve inconvenienced you. Why are you in my house?”
She raised a thin eyebrow. “I might ask you two the same question.”
I fumed. “I live here!”
She shook her head. “Not any more.”
My eyes widened and, in a rage, I lifted my hands and pushed everything I had at Miss Chin, uncorking a couple months’ worth of frustrations and anger about her right at her.
Her warding sphere took the blast full on again, but this time she was bodily pushed back several feet, the ward sliding her across the room and crashing into the wall behind her.
She let out a ‘whoof’ of surprise when her back hit the wall. The warding sphere around her flickered, but then stabilized.
Holy crap. I’d just attacked Miss Chin. I stared at my hands and then focused on her again.
Malcolm again grabbed my arm. “Rachel! This is pointless! Miss Chin isn’t your enemy. Save your strength for the Spinner.”
I kept my eyes on Miss Chin, who was staring at me with eyes sadder than I can remember. “Fine. I’ve got to ask you a question, though, Miss Chin. It’s been eating at me for months.”
She raised that damned thin eyebrow again and folded her hands in front of her as her ward sphere resumed its original shape and hue. “And what is that?”
My hands balled up into fists again. “Why did you screw with my grandpa’s memory?”
Malcolm shot a glance at me and then toward Miss Chin. In a more mild voice than I had managed,
he added, “And my grandma, I guess.”
Miss Chin pursed her lips. “Ah, yes.” She sighed. “I should have suspected you’d grow strong enough to sense something had happened.”
“Of course I noticed! My grandpa hasn’t been the same since that night at Branchwood. Did you go there after the fight?”
She simply nodded. I was kinda surprised she was just…so open about it.
She said, “I doubt you’ll understand or want to understand right now, Rachel, but as a Warden, it’s part of my duty to protect mundanes from the reality of the etherics, the Holding, and the ley threads. There are things in this world that most people cannot, or do not, want to face.”
I shook my head. “I know all that already! Grandpa had been directly involved in the fight, though. He and some of the other residents even helped me and Malcolm against the Spinner! He’d already been exposed to the etherics and the magic. Why take that from him?”
Miss Chin raised a hand, palm out toward me. “Please understand, Rachel. It was for his protection, and yours, and others besides. Branchwood had already been breached by the Spinner. Your grandpa was a target—he could have easily been a target again, either by the Spinner or by someone even more powerful.”
Malcolm held up a hand. “Hang on. Someone more powerful?”
Miss Chin dropped one of her patented withering looks on him. “Please. Don’t pretend to be so ignorant. You know there are more powerful practitioners out there. The Spinner has strength, yes, and is clearly unhinged. But he is a sideshow, at best.”
I blinked a couple times, processing that one. “Uh…what?” Yeah, real good, Rachel. Come out looking stupid again.
Miss Chin gestured toward the room around us. “The people investigating the crimes perpetrated here. They’re strong in the etherics. I was aware of an organization working in the area, though I have not yet directly encountered any of them.”
I frowned. “But how is that possible? You’ve been here for years, and as far as I know, they’ve been here for years. Wouldn’t you have detected each other at some point?”
She shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s hard to know what you don’t know, and it’s hard to look for something you’re not looking to find. Most of my work has been focused on the ley and the Veil and keeping people safe. And training strong-willed Awakened individuals.” She offered a slight smile.
