by Sharon Sant
‘There’s the boys at home too,’ she faltered, ‘I had to bribe Alfie to look after Tom last night as it is, I doubt my money will stretch to the school run as well.’
‘Don’t go yet; give me just five more minutes?’
Five minutes of him was more tempting than she could say, but she dragged herself back to reality. ‘What time is it?’
‘Too early for you to go,’ he said slyly.
‘Seriously, what time?’
He flicked on the lamp, making Ellen screw her eyes up against the glare. ‘Five-thirty,’ he said looking at the bedside clock.
‘I really have to go.’
Jacob saw that even his most beseeching look would be wasted. He sighed. ‘I’ll walk with you.’
‘I should think so,’ she smiled reaching for her jacket.
The road was bathed in the orange glow of streetlights, the breath of the town held in deserted silence as it awaited the dawn. Jacob pulled the door gently closed as Ellen walked out in front and waited on the path for him. He had left his parents still sleeping in the armchairs. They would probably wake with cricked necks, but he could fix them, and their admonishments were a small price to pay for the time it had allowed him to be with Ellen.
Ellen shivered and he folded an arm round her, drawing her in. The night sky was bright and clear and a frost was forming on the glass of cars that would have commuters scraping and cursing in a couple of hours.
‘You’re cold.’
‘A little bit,’ she said, nestling closer as they began to walk.
‘Want me to warm you up?’
‘I don’t think so,’ she laughed.
He grinned. ‘Not like that, like this…’ He waved his hand in a vague circle around them. Immediately, they were enveloped by a warm, protective bubble.
‘You’re a very handy person to know.’ Ellen giggled.
‘I like to think so,’ Jacob replied. ‘Although if I did this in broad daylight I might just cause a riot.’
‘Yeah, probably best to keep this close to your chest,’ Ellen agreed.
They continued on in easy silence, Jacob content with the feel of her close to him, the smell of her on his skin. There was calm in his head too, for the first time in a long time. It felt strange, but the absence of communication from Astrae brought a sense of peace that he had not experienced since his powers had first been unlocked by Dae. Despite his concern over the situation, it was a peace he could easily get used to.
‘So, I suppose we’re an item now?’ he said, finally breaking the quiet.
‘Don’t say it like that.’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘Don’t give me hope, Jake, where there can’t be any.’
‘Of course there’s hope,’ he replied gently. ‘There’s always hope.’
‘Not for us. We both know that you’ll go back to Astrae sooner or later. One way or another, you’ll have no choice.’
They lapsed into silence again. Ellen had spoken the facts plainly and there was no reply that he could give that wouldn’t sound empty. But there was no bitterness, only a new melancholy that somehow brought them closer together. Ellen leaned into his shoulder and they walked close in step, almost as one.
Finally, they reached Ellen’s gate.
‘Will I see you in the morning?’ Jacob asked.
‘This is the morning, Jake.’
He forced a bright smile. ‘Later in the morning, then?’
‘Yeah, you will.’ She reached to kiss him, a brief, sad thing that spoke of sorrows to come.
As she turned to open the gate, he pulled her back to hold her once more. Then he let go and watched as she walked the path, never looking back, let herself into the house, and closed the door softly behind her.
Maggie was waiting at the other side of Jacob’s front door when he got back.
‘Where have you been? We were worried sick.’
‘Mum, you know where I’ve been… I’ve taken Ellen home.’
Maggie pulled him into a trembling hug. ‘Just tell us before you go next time.’
‘You were asleep, I didn’t want to wake you,’ he replied, extracting himself gently from her grip. He held her at arm’s length and studied her carefully. ‘Mum, you can’t let what happened take over your life.’
‘I know that, it’s just… well, you’re our son…’
Jacob put his arm around her. He suddenly realised how fragile she had become. ‘Is Dad still up?’ he asked, guiding her to the sitting room.
‘He’s making a drink. He wanted to wait for you to come back before heading up to bed.’
Phil was in the kitchen filling the kettle when Jacob and Maggie appeared.
‘I told you he wouldn’t have gone far,’ Phil said as he reached for an extra mug.
‘Yes, but anything could have happened to him while he was wandering the streets alone in the middle of the night,’ she insisted.
Jacob sighed and dropped onto a seat at the table. ‘Mum, Dad… I think we need to talk.’
‘Sounds serious.’ Phil ambled over to the table with a bleary smile and took a seat across from him.
‘Not so much serious,’ Jacob began slowly, ‘but what I’m going to say might take some believing.’
Maggie exchanged a glance with Phil as she joined them at the table.
‘Why don’t you try us?’ Phil put a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. ‘After what we’ve seen over the past few months, you’d be surprised what we can believe.’
Jacob ran a hand through his hair and exhaled. His parents watched him, patient expectancy on their faces. Despite what he had told Ellen earlier, fatigue was beginning to bite. But this was a tale that needed telling, and he was running out of time.
‘You remember the day I asked you about my past and you told me about the box I had been found in?’ Jacob glanced at Maggie and she nodded. ‘Now I’m going to tell you who left the box there…’
Seventeen: Family Ties
‘Well, that kinda trumps the whole coming out of the closet conversation,’ Ellen remarked dryly. ‘How did they take it?’
‘As well as any two rational thinking people can take the news that their son is not actually human, I suppose.’ Jacob joined her on the bed and lay with his hands behind his head. ‘Although, they weren’t too impressed when they figured out I hadn’t actually been to New Zealand at all.’
Ellen smiled. ‘I’ll bet. What did they say?’
‘That they felt like a couple of idiots and that I was never to do that again. Felt like I was getting a right telling off, like I was ten again.’
She nudged him. ‘So you should. I told you it would come back to bite you.’
‘Yeah, Little-Miss-Cant-Be-Wrong. Doesn’t it get tiring being smart about everything?’
‘Nope.’
He grinned up at her.
‘I suppose it’s a relief, in a way,’ she said.
‘It means no more awkward lies, so from that point of view it is. The hardest bit was explaining that I’ll have to go back. Mum flipped her lid.’
Ellen nuzzled down and draped her arm across him. The winter sun sliced through the window and bathed the room in a clean lemon light. Resting her head on his chest, she could hear the solid beat of his heart.
‘Have there been any developments on that front?’
‘No contact, if that’s what you mean; nothing from Astrae or Alex.’
‘I can’t say I’m sorry, to be honest.’
‘If I was honest,’ Jacob replied softly, ‘right now, I’m not sorry either.’ She lifted her face to his and he kissed her. ‘I know I have to go… but I don’t feel ready just yet.’ He kissed her again - her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, ending with a lingering pressure on her lips.
She seemed to take a moment to reorder her thoughts before she spoke again. ‘How are you going to get back to Astrae? You still don’t do the fading thing, right?’
‘That again,’ he laughed. ‘You and Luca are obsessed with that.
’
‘But seriously,’ she said, her voice still drowsy, ‘if you can’t get there under your own steam and they don’t know you’re awake, how are you going to get back?’
Jacob considered what she had said. ‘That’s a very good question, Miss Richards.’
‘One of us has to be logical.’
He flipped himself up onto an elbow. ‘Logical, eh? Let’s see how logical you are when I do this…’ He began to cover her face in tiny kisses that made her giggle hysterically.
‘Stop it,’ she squealed, trying to catch her breath.
He drew back with a huge grin. ‘You were saying?’
‘That’s cheating,’ she pouted. ‘I’m logical when you’re not doing stuff to me.’
‘Ah, but that’s the problem… I like doing stuff to you.’ This time his fingers found the soles of her bare feet and he started to tickle her as she fell onto her back and wriggled and kicked, laughing until she could barely breathe.
‘Say I’m cleverer than you and I’ll stop.’
‘You are, you’re cleverer than me,’ she squeaked. ‘Just stop it!’
He let go and studied her with a smile fixed to his face. Her wild hair was spread across the pillow, her cheeks touched by a pink blush and her eyes bright.
‘You know when I just said you were cleverer than me?’ she asked impishly. His eyebrow raised in a questioning response. ‘I lied…’ she giggled.
He rolled over to attack again when they were interrupted by a tap at the door.
Jacob mussed his hair and tried to straighten his rumpled shirt while Ellen leapt from the bed, smoothing down her clothes. Jacob got up to open the door and found his dad at the other side, his expression one of mild amusement. ‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’
Jacob gave his dad a sheepish grin. ‘We were just talking.’
His dad nodded in a slow, deliberate movement. ‘Talking? So, can Luca join in the talking? He’s downstairs.’
‘We’ll be right there.’
Phil disappeared, leaving Jacob and Ellen to exchange embarrassed glances before bursting into laughter.
‘We’d better go down,’ Ellen chided, trying to be serious.
‘We will,’ Jacob said, pulling her close again. ‘In a minute or three.’
Luca bit back a smirk as Jacob and Ellen joined him at the kitchen table. Maggie had just made Luca a cup of tea and put a slice of carrot cake in front of him. Despite going to bed for a nap after their early morning discussion, she still looked exhausted.
‘This cake’s lovely, Mrs L,’ Luca said through a mouthful of crumbs. ‘Did you make it?’
Maggie gave a weary sigh. ‘Sadly, no, it’s Sainsbury’s finest pretend home-made. I was going to do a banana loaf for Jacob later but I’m not sure I’m up to it today.’ She dragged a bucket of soapy water from the sink and made towards the kitchen door.
‘Want me to carry that somewhere?’ Luca asked, starting up from his chair.
She waved away the offer. ‘I’m fine, drink your tea,’ she said as she lugged it out.
Luca sat down again and turned his attention to Jacob and Ellen. ‘What’s with you two and phones? I’ve been calling you.’
Ellen blushed. ‘Sorry, I kinda forgot to check.’
‘Me too,’ Jacob replied. ‘We’ve had a lot to discuss.’
Luca nearly choked as he erupted into a crumb-laden guffaw. ‘I’m sure you have. I bet you’re worn out with all that discussing.’
Jacob laughed and Ellen looked slightly offended.
‘We have been talking about stuff,’ she insisted.
Luca held up a hand. ‘I believe you… of course I do.’ He grinned. ‘I’m just surprised you managed to fit any talking in…’
Ellen smacked his arm but she was smiling. ‘Shut up, Valvona.’
‘So… what time did you go home last night, Ell?’ Luca asked with mock innocence. ‘Or didn’t you go home?’
‘Of course I went home. I’ve only been back here for an hour or so.’ She looked at Jacob. ‘Some of us don’t have the energy to stay up all night.’
‘I wouldn’t have stayed up, to be honest, but by the time I got back from walking you home and then talking to Mum and Dad, there didn’t seem much point in going to bed.’
‘I bet you’re knackered,’ Luca observed.
‘I’m alright. I’ll get a nap later, maybe.’
‘Jake spilled the beans to his mum and dad about Astrae,’ Ellen told Luca as she leaned across the table and stole a corner of his cake.
His eyes widened. ‘Seriously? That must have been some conversation. No wonder your mum looks stressed this morning.’
‘Yeah, I think it’s still sinking in. She’s rushing around like mad cleaning stuff. I think it’s her way of not having to deal with it. Dad seems a bit more chilled, but even he’s buried himself in figures for work.’
Luca mused on this new information. ‘So, did you tell them about going back?’
‘I did sort of mention it. But Ellen just reminded me that while the Council can’t get in touch with me, it looks like I won’t be going anywhere for a while.’
‘Are you going to try to contact them?’
Jacob stole a glance at Ellen. ‘I suppose I should.’
‘Should we be worried about what Makash is doing with Alex?’ Luca asked.
Jacob hesitated. ‘Probably,’ he replied, deciding that his friends might be better off prepared for the likely possibility that Makash was plotting something. ‘The problem is, I don’t know what, how or when.’
‘If they are still together, where do you think they might be?’ Ellen asked.
‘Probably a long way from here,’ Jacob said. ‘I should think he has designs on Astrae - after all, that’s what he wanted me for. I just hope Alex is strong enough to resist him.’
‘If she’s anything like her brother, she will be.’ Ellen touched Jacob’s hand lightly.
‘I’m not sure we’re very alike at all,’ Jacob mused, staring into space. ‘And I can’t deny that I’m worried about what will happen if the Council refuse to accept her as Watcher, which is likely, unless they’re quite certain I’m dead.’
‘But you’re not dead.’ Ellen shuddered slightly as flashes of her dream returned to her. She drove them out of her mind.
‘I’m sure I will be if Makash gets his way,’ Jacob said simply.
‘Did you feel it?’ Alex asked Makash uncertainly.
He nodded shortly. ‘He has returned to consciousness. Sooner or later he will find a way to contact the Council. We must act.’
Alex’s breathing suddenly became shallow. Now that the moment had come, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to go through with it. Makash noted her discomfort.
‘You are not having second thoughts?’
‘Of course not, it’s just… well, now he’s awake, chaos has been halted. He can keep order again, can’t he? Where will my place be now?’
‘Regardless of his recovery, Astrae needs a new order. And you are the one to bring it.’
‘I’m sure they wouldn’t see it that way. They have their Watcher and their Successor again,’ she argued lamely.
After a brief time of feeling that her life finally had purpose, she felt cast adrift again, not belonging or mattering to anyone. Despite her conviction that saving the Successor had been the right thing to do, she now faced the stinging irony that in doing so, she had ensured her own rejection by Astrae, now and for ever.
‘They do not know they have their Watcher again yet. Which is why we must act now.’ He moved closer, staring intently at her. ‘Concentrate and find him.’
Alex didn’t need to concentrate to find him; she already knew where he was. He was at home, surrounded by the people he cared for. She suspected a cynical test of her loyalty - Makash would have known it too - he would be drawn to Jacob as she was. It would be easy to swoop down now and crush them all. But her quarrel was with Jacob, not them, and she had to find a way to stop that from
happening. Her thoughts strayed to the cliff top of her dream. This was where she would meet him, she felt certain, as though some force bigger than them both was drawing them to that place and time. And, somehow, if she was going to prevent a mass slaughter, she had to make sure he got there.
Jacob leaned over the sink and splashed himself. His eyes were grey and his hands unsteady as he reached for the towel. The dream had been so vivid he could be in no doubt that it meant something. And he had a suspicion that it was the dream Ellen had been so unwilling, almost frightened, to share with him. He screwed his face in concentration, trying to bring back the details of the landscape he had seen, certain that it was somewhere known to him. If there was an answer to the riddle he was living right now, he was gradually becoming convinced that he would find it there.
The house was dark and silent as he padded across the landing to his bedroom. He climbed back into bed, pulled the sheets up over his shoulders and turned on his side. His bedroom curtains were open, as they often were at night, and the white points of the stars blazed in the velvet blanket of a clear sky. The sight took him back to the night when his new life as Ioh had first begun. Despite all the pain he had endured since then, there was an odd sort of fondness in the memory. Without that singular event, his path through life would have been so different, he would have been so much less than he was now.
Finally deciding that sleep wasn’t going to come, he flicked on the lamp and pulled his laptop from a cupboard, wiping a fine layer of dust off it. He hadn’t used it since he had first gone in search of Alex. Though it was hazy, he was sure he had felt her presence in his mind while he was sleeping. Hers was another life that depended on him. And, perhaps, if his dream meant anything, his would also depend on her. The one thing he was certain of was that the truth would be revealed soon.
Plugging in the charger, he booted up the machine. As he already lived within a short drive of the sea, the search for the location of his dream, he decided, should probably start close to home. He dredged the details back from the depths of his consciousness: the single-striped lighthouse - that had to be significant - the shape of the coastline, the types of grass and rocks, the brightly coloured huts grouped at the cliff edge. He decided it was almost certainly British. Loading the search engine page, he typed in British lighthouses and began to pore over the images on the screen.
