“Right, Dad would have a coronary. You know how he is about education.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, no formal education until the sixteenth century, before that he was an uneducated soldier with limited means,” Aidan said in a bored tone. “It’s just in another life Vienna would’ve happened this year.”
“I’m sorry, Aidan. But it’s not your only offer. What about Germany?”
“I have to graduate first. I know the Cologne University of Music is just as good, but it’s two years away.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad you’re not going yet. It’s too damn far. I’m not ready.”
“I know. How will I ever get by without you there to irritate me?” He smiled in a way he only did for Sasha. She was irritating as hell, but they were as close as two adopted siblings could be.
“You’ll be so busy, you’ll hardly notice I’m not there with you,” Sasha said.
“That’s highly unlikely. It will be far too quiet.”
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” she whispered. “Two months without even a phone call.”
“I’m sorry, sis.”
“It was a lousy summer.” Sasha leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry about Quinn.” Things had fallen apart for them again while he was gone.
“For some reason, it just never seems to work for us. We’re just better as friends.”
“I really missed you, Sash.”
“Listen, I know it’s harder for you than the rest of us, but maybe this year will be different?” She nudged him playfully.
“Maybe it will.” He draped his arm across her shoulders, ignoring the ripple of tension she didn’t often show.
~~~
TWO
Allie:
“You from Wellington?” The question caught Allie off guard. Most people just ignored her. Even now, as she stood on the crowded ferryboat, there was a visible radius of emptiness around her.
Allie glanced helplessly after her dad’s retreating figure. Carson had gone to find food since they still had several hours before they would reach the docks at Wellington Harbor on North Island. Carson was her buffer. He always diffused these horrifyingly awkward situations.
“Yeah, we moved there almost two years ago.” Allie stared over the boy’s shoulder at the icy blue waters of Cook Straight. Avoiding eye contact was a nervous habit she’d adopted over the past few years. She didn’t do well with people—boys especially. These things always started with an initial harmless interaction. Just like now with his response to her unique features; the vibrant red hair that shimmered like fire in the sun, her intense but weird green eyes that were slightly tilted, giving her a hint of the exotic, the smattering of freckles, the voluptuous figure, blah, blah, blah. Then came his flustered reaction when he took a step too close. Some nervous chatter would follow as he grew increasingly uncomfortable and then he’d look for a quick escape or make up some excuse to be anywhere else.
“Where do you go to school?” He leaned against the railing beside her. She saw the way he hesitated, like he’d already changed his mind about approaching her. But this boy was more intrigued with her than most. He was intimidated, but fascinated at the same time. The realization came to her as clearly as a thought and it left her unsettled. For as much time as she spent alone, Allie was a good judge of character. Probably a result of a life of observation without much participation. But there were times when her unusually strong intuition actually scared her.
“St. Catherine’s.” Allie shifted her gaze down to her boots. Another nervous habit.
“Hey, I go to St. Patrick’s!”
And this is exactly why I go to the all girls’ school.
“I’m Ethan.” He reached to shake her hand.
Oh, you don’t want to do that, Ethan.
“I’m Allie.” She took his hand with a timid smile, but her smiles never worked. As soon as his trembling fingertips grasped hers, he pulled away like she’d branded him with her touch.
“Nice meeting you.” He shoved his hands back into his coat pockets as he inched away.
“You too.” She cast her eyes back down to her shuffling feet. Forging new friendships just never worked out for her, and somewhere along the way, she stopped trying. Most of the time she was happiest when left to her own devices.
“Maybe I’ll see you around after school sometime. St. Pat’s is just across the park.” Ethan’s tone was polite, but she knew he just wanted to bail.
“Yeah, sure.” Allie nodded.
“I-uh, have to get back to my friends. We’re uh-docking soon, you know.” And with that, Ethan turned and fled.
“Have a nice afternoon.” She watched his quick retreat. They were adrift in the Tasman Sea, somewhere between North and South Island of New Zealand. They wouldn’t dock for hours yet.
~~~
“I’ve got pizza!” Carson called across the deck. “Let’s get out of this cold wind!”
“Great! I’m starving,” Allie said.
“Nice try, kid. You okay? I saw you with that boy.”
“I’m fine, Dad.” Allie sighed as they ducked into the heated lounge room to grab one of the last empty tables. “Better now.” She took a huge bite of gooey, cheesy pizza. She felt like she should be more upset by these things, but now that it was over, she was just relieved.
“It won’t always be like that.”
“I know.”
“There’s not a thing wrong with you, honey.”
“I’m weird, Dad. I just don’t know how to talk to people.”
“Weird’s not a bad thing. And give the guy some credit. When I was his age, I tripped over my own tongue when I first met your mother. Couldn’t string a coherent sentence together, but I eventually found my voice and look at us now.”
“Boring old married couple?”
“Boring? I still learn something new about your mom everyday.”
“You two are perfect together.”
“You’ll find that too someday.”
“I’d be happy with just a few friends, Dad. I’m only fifteen.”
“Same age I was when I met your mom.”
“People don’t marry their high school sweethearts anymore.”
“Well, we spent years and years apart when college led us in different directions. It was incredible luck that we found each other again, but the time apart was essential for us. We got to figure out who we were as individuals before we reconnected and picked up right where we left off. I’ve never stopped thanking my old college professor for bringing us together again to teach at the same university.”
“Well, I’m lucky you two happened to be in South Africa at just the right time to adopt me. The way you guys hop around the globe, it’s a friggin’ miracle you ever found me.”
“And a fortunate day that was for all of us. Your sister took one look at you and refused to put you down. We had to take you home after that. You were nothing but crazy red hair and big green eyes.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Allie smiled.
“For what?”
“Making me feel better.”
“I was an awkward kid, Allie. Trust me, it will get better. I know it’s harder because we move so much, but I would love to see you try. You’ve given up and that kills me.”
“I like my alone time. I mean, it would be nice to have some friends to hang out with occasionally, but I’m okay by myself. I like my own company and I think I do a pretty good job of keeping myself entertained.”
“You’re an introvert, like me. You don’t rely on other people for your happiness. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need people.”
“I know. I just need to find the right kind of people, I guess.”
“You think she’ll remember we’re coming home today?” Carson asked, steering them away from the sensitive subject.
“Who, Mom? No way. She’ll be sitting at her messy desk covered in old teabags with no food in the house.”
“And havin
g the time of her life working on her research without interruption.” He and Allie had spent the last week on a ski trip to Aoraki Mount Cook on South Island, while Allie was on holiday from school.
“You think she finished?” Allie asked. Lily stayed behind at their home along the Rona bay on North Island to work on her latest research project with her grad students from Victoria University. Something about cataloguing the events that shaped prehistoric New Zealand. Lily found the project exciting, but Allie’s eyes tended to glaze over whenever her mom talked about her work.
“Probably not.”
Allie breathed a sigh of relief. That project was the thing that kept them in New Zealand. When Lily finished, they would likely move again. She knew she could handle the change. She always did. It was just so much easier to stay where they were. But it would be Carson’s turn to take the next assignment. And Allie, like her sister Joscelin before her, would tag along for the ride.
Allie felt it coming—another big change. She wouldn’t be surprised this time.
~~~
“Almost home!” Carson drove past the Days Bay ferry at the Eastbourne docks. “I’ve enjoyed our trip, but I missed your mom.”
“Me too.” The weeklong ski trip was nice. Allie always enjoyed these trips with her dad. She just wasn’t sure it was enough anymore. Lately, she spent a lot of time watching other kids her age, longing to participate. She just didn’t know how to breach the gap between her and the rest of the world.
“We’ll probably have to go out for dinner if we want to eat actual food.” Carson drove through their neighborhood to their shabby little beach bungalow on the corner. It was white and yellow with an acid green door and of all the places they’d lived, it felt the most like home.
Carson reached for his phone as he made the final turn to park on the street.
“Who’s that?” Allie felt a strange shiver setting her hair on end. She recognized the young woman standing on their front porch, but Allie knew she’d never seen her before. The woman moved quickly down the steps, retreating to her car. She was so angry, afraid and confused all at once. Allie had sensed such things before, but this time it was intense. Like she could actually feel the woman’s frustrations.
“Dad, who is that?” She was tall, with her dark hair pulled severely back from her beautiful face. There was something familiar about the way she moved, graceful and fluid, like she was comfortable with her height and slender limbs. Halfway to her car, she turned to stare at Allie in surprise.
How can I know someone I’ve never met?
“That’s just one of Lil’s grad students,” Carson said as he turned the car around. “I think we’ve seen her at the house before.”
Her father was lying. Allie would have remembered this woman.
“Your mother wants us to pick up dinner.” He headed toward the neighborhood market.
Allie turned to stare at the woman standing in the middle of the street. She met her cold, gray eyes and felt a stab of fear tingle along her spine.
She came here searching for something and didn’t find the answers. Allie felt an overwhelming desire to connect with her, but something about this woman was dangerous.
“Come on, Allie.” Carson hopped out of the car at the market. “Mom wants fresh salmon.”
“Coming, Dad.” Allie swallowed the questions rising in her throat. Carson didn’t want her to meet that woman, and she knew better than to ask why.
~~~
THREE
Aidan:
“Parry!” Greggory McBrien commanded as Aidan countered his advance. “Botta dritta.” He spoke the forms in Italian, wanting to see a straightforward attack and thrust. Aidan complied, but he hated this technical aspect of his training.
“Again! And do not lead with your dagger,” Gregg drawled in his soft Scottish brogue. “Your dagger is always—”
“I know, I know! It’s a second line of defense, never the first.” Aidan returned to guard, checking his stance before he attempted a seconda, a swift cut and thrust with his rapier blade at a precise forty-five degree angle.
I’d rather just beat the snot out of something than deal with all this accuracy bullshit.
“If you know, then why do you keep doing it?”
“Maybe because a crazy Scot is trying to make a pair of boots out of my hide?” He shot his father a roguish grin. He loved sparring with Gregg, both with weapons and with words.
“Concentrate, son. Keep your lead weapon up and give me a counter with a stocatta lunga, followed by a reversó, and finish with a tondo with your dagger.”
Aidan went through the motions of the counter attack with a quick lunge and a low thrust under Gregg’s larger broadsword and actually managed to nick him. He quickly flicked the blade of his seventeenth century Italian rapier in a left to right sweeping motion, followed by a horizontal slashing cut of his dagger. Gregg easily parried his moves before they each returned to guard.
“Not too bad, but your forms could be stronger. Why is it when you’re bouting with Quinn or Sasha, you seem to have your head completely in the game, but when we focus on forms and precision, you fall apart?”
“I don’t know,” Aidan said. “I guess when we’re just messing around it feels more like fun and I don’t have to think about it, but as soon as you start studying my every move it feels like work.”
“Aye, you’re over-thinking it, son. Eventually you’ll fall into perfect formation when you hear the words, and it will feel more natural. It just takes practice and patience, of which you have very little.”
“Yeah, but a day off every once in a while might also do the trick.” Aidan reluctantly adjusted his stance to continue.
“You’ll have time for that when you’re older. This period of your life is vitally important to your survival. Aidan, I—”
“You need some new stories, Da.”
“Give me ten more minutes and we’ll finish up with a chat.” Gregg lunged his attack. Aidan quickly moved to reprise, blocking the huge broadsword with his dagger.
“Do not lead with your dagger!”
“I know!” Aidan growled as he launched into a counter attack. Something happened as he gave himself over to the fight. His focus narrowed and only his next move mattered. The sound of his father’s voice faded, except for his booming commands for the forms he expected Aidan to follow. Aidan fell into those forms without a thought. As he moved, he was nothing more than muscle, sword and sweat. His body reacted with perfect precision, his power burning hot in his chest. He’d entered some sort of elevated state of mind where nothing else existed beyond the fight. He was brawn and reaction. Something new was emerging and it scared the hell out of him.
I need to tell Jin about this. Aidan’s progress was something he felt more comfortable discussing with his mentor, Jin Jing, but he wasn’t certain how to explain this new development. He felt like a machine with little emotion—empty and methodical. But one thing was certain, whatever this trance-thing was, Aidan was sheer perfection!
“Excellent!” Gregg lowered his weapon and Aidan had to resist the urge to take out his enemy when his guard was down.
Da’s not your enemy, idiot! Get a grip!
“You’re not so bad yourself, old man.” Aidan forced himself to act normal.
Do you even know what normal is? In the seven months since his Awakening, he’d changed so much he didn’t really know who he was anymore.
“You alright, son? Your eyes are blazing. It’s good that you can embrace your power when you fight. Not many can do that and maintain control. Even fewer at your age. But I don’t want you relying on it. If you were cut off—”
“I know. I need to be able to perform just as well without the advantage my power gives me,” Aidan said nervously. He was having trouble reining this thing in.
“How was your first day back?” Gregg moved to stow his weapon in the glass cabinet along the wall. He showed no indication that he realized what was going on with his son, but Aidan knew
it was almost impossible to hide anything from Gregg. He always seemed to know. But he was also good at giving his children the space they needed to figure things out with their mentors.
“The usual,” he said as the sensation finally passed. “Lots of pretense, forced smiles and mindless chatter about inconsequential things. The flood of all their suffering was more than I anticipated. It was a lot harder this time now that I’m manifested.” He dropped wearily onto the padded bench and grabbed a towel to mop the sweat from his face.
“You will adapt to your gift, son. You just have to give it time. You’ll not always feel so much. As you get older, you’ll learn to protect yourself from their pain.”
“I just wish I could skip to that part.”
“High school was difficult for Darius too, but it got easier after he went on to college. He did better with more freedom. You’re a lot like your brother in that respect.”
“I think I’m just tired, Da. I can’t help but feel like I need an escape.”
“I know how important your music is to you, Aidan. And I’m well aware that your studies with the conservatory in Vienna would’ve happened this year. But you understand, don’t you?”
“Of course. I know Vienna could never happen, but it’s such an incredible school.”
“So is Cologne.”
“You’re right, and two years is not an eternity,” Aidan admitted.
“I know you’ve had a difficult year, but we have to stay one step ahead. The power you own is vast and you’re progressing rapidly. The time you’ve had to heal has been a setback in your training. But you’re back on your feet now, so you know what that means.”
“More training?” Aidan felt the familiar panic clench his chest. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take.
“Your seventeenth birthday is less than six months away. You’ll be experiencing a great deal of progress in the coming months and we have to make sure we’re constantly testing your limits.”
“So what’s the plan?” Aidan sighed in resignation.
“You’ll begin meeting with Jin for a two hour session before school, three times a week. You will also extend your weekly sessions with everyone by one hour. You need more time with all of your teachers.”
Emerge: The Judgment: (Book 2) Page 32
