“Are you all right?” A woman bent beside her.
Jewel gathered her breath and pushed herself to her feet. “I think so.” Her knees were on fire, and her back ached. Someone had pushed her. “Thanks.”
The woman straightened, too. “That might have been nasty.” She inspected Jewel. “You should sit down. Have a coffee. You look shaken.”
“I didn’t bring any money. Anyway, it’s okay. I live nearby.”
“Well, if you’re sure.”
“Thanks.” Jewel wished the well-meaning woman would leave so she could take stock of the damage to her person. A few people had paused to see what had happened, and a wave of embarrassment swept over her. She gritted her teeth.
The woman shook her head. She reached in her pocket and handed Jewel some coins. “Get a drink. You look really pale.” She walked off before Jewel could protest.
Examining the money, Jewel limped back towards the coffee shop. Her benefactor was right.
A man loomed in front of her, so close his features blurred. Her already pounding heart sped up. She retreated until her back met the plate glass of the café window.
“Lila?” The voice was tentative, and she focussed her gaze on him. Her eyes narrowed. The strange tramp-like figure who’d haunted her steps for the past few days swayed in front of her. Shorter than she’d imagined and slightly built, his body was swamped by the tweed overcoat.
“What do you want?” She made an effort to sound assertive. “Why have you been following me?” She pushed herself away from the window.
“He did it deliberately.”
“What?”
“That boy. Pushed you into the road.”
“What boy?”
The man looked around. “He’s gone.”
“You’ve been following me,” Jewel repeated. “Did you—”
“I pulled you back.”
“Why? Why are you following me?”
“You’re Lila?” The man retreated as she stepped forward. “Aren’t you Lila Redcar?”
Jewel opened her mouth, couldn’t think what to say, and closed it again. She shook her head. “No.”
The man took another step backwards, and his mouth drooped. He looked as though his mind wasn’t completely switched on. “You must be. Your aura—”
“What do you want with Lila?” Jewel followed him as he moved backwards. He stepped off the pavement, and a cyclist swerved, swearing as he avoided him.
“Be careful.” Jewel took a nervous breath.
“I know her.” The man stood in the road, face blank for a second. He made an obvious effort to gather his thoughts. “She knows me. I need to talk to someone who knows me.” A car sped up the road, and he sidestepped back onto the pavement, slowly drifting along the street. Jewel followed him.
“Who are you?” She caught him up and studied his face. Something about it looked familiar.
“I don’t remember.” The man paused, brow furrowed. “I don’t remember a lot of things. But I’ve some names in my head. Lila is one of them. Maybe she can tell me who I am. If I can find her.”
“Wait.” Jewel thought hard. She wasn’t going to lead a stranger to Lila, but maybe she could bring Lila to him. “Why did you call me Lila?”
“You look like her.” He squinted. “I think. Or what she should look like. I don’t know.” He scuffed the pavement with his trainer.
“I know a Lila.”
The man’s head jerked up again, vague blue eyes sharpening with interest.
“If you wait here, I’ll get her.”
“I don’t know. Is it safe?” He edged into the shadow of the café.
“I’ll only be ten minutes. Stay here.” Jewel whirled round, ready to run back up the hill, and bumped into Rann. “What—”
“I followed you.” He folded his arms and dared her to complain. Jewel saved it for later.
“Wait here. Make yourself useful. This man thinks he knows Lila. Don’t let him wander off. I said I’d get her.”
“Wait. What . . .?”
Jewel didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She backed away, checking that Rann understood her request.
Rann studied the stranger, who shuffled backwards as Rann’s stare bored into him. “Who—”
“I don’t know. Neither does he. Make sure he stays put. Just wait. I won’t be long.” She dodged past Rann and jogged back up the hill, conscious of his stare on her back.
“Who is this man?” Lykos drew himself up, his posture imperious. “Lila? You should stay here. I’ll go and talk to him.” He grasped Lila’s arm and tried to push her back onto the sofa.
Lila pulled away and rose to her feet. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t think so.”
Jewel flicked her fringe out of her eyes. “Why don’t both of you come?”
“Me too.” Maya scrambled off the other sofa, and Jewel heaved a deep breath.
“Come on.” She hoped the stranger wasn’t shy. Or scared of crowds.
The whole lot of them trooped down the hill to the High Street, which still teemed with shoppers, lunchers, and general passers-by. She could see no sign of Rann or the stranger.
Jewel looked up and down the road, with a growing nervousness. What happened to them?
“In the café.” Maya pointed through the window. Rann and the stranger sat at one of the window tables, large mugs in front of them. They appeared to be deep in conversation, but Rann looked up and waved upon seeing Jewel.
Lila drew in a short breath, choked, and clutched Lykos’s arm.
He frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”
“That’s . . .” Her voice faded, and she gulped.
“What?” The air throbbed with Lykos’s worry, and he radiated impatience. “You don’t have to—”
“Do you know him?” Jewel spoke at the same time.
“That looks like my father.”
As Jewel watched, her colour faded, and she sagged against Lykos, using his body for support.
He wrapped his arm round her. “Are you sure?”
Lila chewed her lower lip, and her forehead wrinkled. “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “No. He’s thinner. Grayer. I’m not sure. I think so.”
“Come on.” Maya pushed past Lykos and nudged the door of the café with her hip. “Let’s go in. Find out what’s going on.”
“Are you all right?” Lykos studied Lila. “Would you rather—”
“No. We should go in.” Her voice shook, but she followed Maya, heading into the café, with Lykos hovering protectively behind her.
Jewel stayed on the pavement, wondering if she should join them, or whether she would be an unwelcome intruder. Her stalker was Fergal. Maya’s father, Lila’s father, and probably her father. Rann looked up as Maya arrived at the table. He squinted through the window, eyes scanning the street until they rested on Jewel, hovering outside. He rose to his feet and edged past the tables. Jewel didn’t move until he appeared on the pavement.
“Are you just going to stand there?”
“No.” She still made no effort to move, and Rann grabbed her hand. “But I feel like an intruder.”
“Come on.”
“I didn’t know who he was.” She resisted the tug on her hand. “I wouldn’t have brought Lila like that if I’d known. I’d have warned her first.”
Rann cupped her face in one large hand.
She poked at the pavement with the toe of her new boot. “Honestly. I would.”
“Jewel.” He shook his head and pulled her inside.
Maya had already appropriated Rann’s vacated seat, and Lila and Lykos stood together by the side of the table. Rann let go of Jewel’s hand and pulled a couple of chairs from the next booth. He pushed Jewel into one and sat in t
he other.
“Lykos?” He raised his voice, and Lykos dragged his attention away from Lila. “Sit down. You’re looming.”
Lykos frowned but hooked a chair out, pulling Lila onto his knee as he sat on it.
No one said anything for a moment then Maya opened her mouth. She’d never been one to let a silence develop into discomfort. “I—” Her words were cut off by the soft voice of her older sister.
“I’m Lila.”
“Yes.” The stranger’s blue eyes squinted at her. “I know you.” His face screwed up in confusion.
“I’m your daughter.” Lila grasped Lykos’s hand.
“Daughter?”
“Yes.” She waited. “Don’t you remember?”
“I . . .” The stranger picked up his mug and peered at the contents. “I don’t remember who I am.” He put the mug down again. “I’m your father? So who—”
“I’m Lila Redcar. Your name is Fergal Redcar.”
“Fergal? Yes. That sounds right. No one’s called me that for a long time.” He winced and clasped his head. “It hurts to remember.”
Lila winced in sympathy. “Where have you been?” She leaned towards him. “For nearly thirty years?”
“Thirty years? Has it been that long?” He rubbed his forehead.
“Twenty-seven.” Maya interjected. “I’m twenty-seven.”
Fergal gave her a puzzled glance. “You look like . . .” His eyes moved over her face. “But she’s dead. They told me that.”
Maya shrugged.
“My sister. Maya. She looks like our mother.” Lila touched the back of Fergal’s hand with one finger. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know where I’ve been. Not exactly.” Fergal closed his eyes, hiding a flash of sorrow. “When I try to remember, I get a headache. But the last two days, I’ve seen glimpses. Things are coming back.” He opened his eyes again and nodded at Lila. “I remember you. I saw your friend and remembered you.”
Jewel glanced at Lila and shook her head slightly. She didn’t think this was the right time to tell him that he had yet another daughter. She wondered if he knew his wife had died twenty years ago. She thought that might have been whom he’d referred to when he’d recognised Maya.
Lykos tipped Lila off his lap, headed to the counter, and came back with a tray of drinks. The scent of chocolate reached Jewel’s nostrils, and she realised her legs still trembled. Shock from her earlier fall. Why did someone try to push me under a lorry? Who could it have been?
Lykos handed a mug to Lila and waved at everyone else to help themselves. “Drink it,” he told her. “It’ll help.”
Lila sipped the drink, while still examining her father through her eyelashes. Her hands shook, and Lykos took the drink back. Lila chewed on her index finger until Lykos captured her hand in his. She gave him an uncertain look. Lila always knew what to do. Or at least she always gave that impression. The older woman had never let her dearth of magical talent stop her from doing what she thought right, but right now she radiated confusion.
Fergal spoke, this time to Lykos. “Should I know you?” The question could have been aggressive, but it just sounded plaintive.
“No.” Lykos sat down again, lifting Lila back into position. “I’m Lila’s lover, partner.” He paused. “Husband.”
Fergal examined Lila again.
“I met Lykos ten years ago.” Her voice had stopped shaking, and she told her father about the kidnappings and people trafficking she’d been involved in.
He stared into space. “Maya?”
“Yes?” Maya jerked to attention, but Fergal addressed Lila.
“My daughter?”
“Yes. My sister.” Lila sounded patient as she repeated herself.
“I don’t remember.” His gaze drifted to Maya and away again.
“We’ve never met,” Maya said. “You disappeared before I was born. Don’t you remember anything?”
“Bits and pieces. More every day.” Fergal’s eyes sharpened and lit up with a residue of intelligence. “I hope it will all come back soon. I think it will. Hurts my head, though, trying to put it all together.”
“Why don’t we go back to the flat and see what we can work out between us?” Maya sounded more tentative than Jewel had ever heard her. “Lila must remember some things, and we’ve heard stories. We can compare information.”
Jewel intercepted a glance between Rann and Lila.
“Not everything now.” Lila chewed on her finger. “Later maybe. We’ll have to talk about it, but wait a little. If it gives you a headache, you should be careful. Take things slowly.”
Fergal gave them a puzzled look but stood up when the others did.
“Okay to come back home and talk to us? Just a little?” Maya was uncharacteristically tentative, but Fergal nodded.
Jewel and Rann trailed behind the others as they made their way up the hill.
“Are you all right?” Rann took Jewel’s arm. “He told me you almost fell under a car. Said he stopped you.”
“I—”
“Are you sure he didn’t push you?”
“I don’t think so. Someone did, but I don’t think it was him.” Jewel tried hard to remember, but it had happened so quickly. “Anyway, why should he?”
“I’ll be watching him.” Rann’s voice echoed with the rumble of thunder. He put his arm round Jewel’s shoulders. “You’re shivering.”
“I’m fine. Just a bit shaken.”
Rann’s arm tightened.
Chapter 20
Jewel and Rann entered the sitting room to find Maya and Lila sitting on one sofa with Fergal opposite. Lykos hovered behind Lila, his hands resting on the back of the sofa, his legs apart—a picture of protectiveness.
Jewel looked round the room and then sat down on the arm of her sister’s sofa. Rann joined Lykos behind the sofa, his demeanour just as threatening. Poor Fergal.
Fergal resembled an interview candidate in front of a human resources panel. He sat on the edge of the sofa, still wearing his oversized coat. It hung open, revealing knees pressed close together, hands wedged between them.
“What do you remember?” Lila asked.
“I came here by boat.” Fergal looked up at the ceiling. “To London, I mean. I was somewhere warm before. I escaped.”
“Do you know where you were?” Lila asked. “Where you escaped from?”
Fergal grimaced.
“If it’s hurting . . .”
Fergal shook his head, eyes on his knees. “It doesn’t matter. I remember being afraid, and desperate to leave the place I was in. I felt ill. I knew I’d been used in some way. Cursed or spelled. I can remember recognising the feel of powerful magic.” His voice shook. “I’m remembering more every day. I can sense the truth. It’s almost there.”
“Why did you come to London?”
“I had to. Something called to me. I knew I had to come here. It’s taken a few months.”
“You remembered me, though?” Lila’s voice was gentle and encouraging.
“Your name.” Fergal blinked. “I remembered Philippa first.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. I looked for her. I asked in an herbal shop in Camden.”
“She’s—”
“I know.” Fergal interrupted, his eyes flashing up at her. “The woman in the shop remembered her.” A shadow crossed his face. “I couldn’t . . .” He took a deep breath. “It was a while before I remembered your name, but I knew I should look for you.”
Fergal and Lila stared at each other, obviously remembering Philippa.
“Then I saw your friend.” He nodded in Jewel’s direction. “I don’t know why, but I thought she was you.” He studied Jewel. “I don’t understand it. You look a little alike, b
ut I remember Lila as a child. She was eleven. I remember.” He narrowed his eyes as he inspected Lila. “You’ve grown up, but you still look like you. She looks like you as well.”
“Do you remember Kara?” Lila watched him with her empath’s face.
Fergal flinched. “Yes.”
“And . . .?”
“She was the coven leader when I lived here,” he said. “She was a scary woman.” A visible shiver ran through his thin frame. “Efficient. Cold, but efficient.”
“Do you—”
“Is she still the leader?”
“For the present.” Lila said.
“I’m Kara’s daughter.” Jewel’s voice intruded into the momentary silence, and Lila gave her a warning glance.
“Ah.” Fergal shrugged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“She is scary,” Jewel said. “I hadn’t seen her for nine years until this week.”
“Do you remember leaving London all those years ago?” Lila continued with her questions. “Why you left?”
“Not really.” Fergal sounded frustrated. “It was all a bit of a fog. I was at home. Then I wasn’t. The first thing I remember about that time is being in a room in a warm place. As a prisoner. I think.”
“But you escaped?” Maya leant forward.
“Yes. There was some sort of uproar, and I had a moment of lucidity and went.”
Children of Poseidon: Rann Page 22
