by C. M. Kane
She had intended to ask her mother if she could stop the lessons, but Jason had started joining in to try to help her. Her mother having a new, far more adept pupil, had then switched to teaching him everything she knew.
Tae had never begrudged Jason the looks he’d inherited. Although she thought of herself as reasonably pretty, Jason was both beautiful and exotic. He had inherited their mother’s Chinese–Italian looks and, they had discovered, was a natural at his mother’s craft. He was smooth and beguiling, even while uttering the most outlandish lines. He was graceful and attentive, where Tae looked uncomfortable and sullen. He could also sing quite well, while the few times she had tried, she’d sounded very similar to a dying screech owl.
Her mother had quickly dropped trying to teach her, despite the fact that Tae actually liked singing. Soon they were more Jason’s lessons than hers and, although she still got the kissing and sex lessons, she was fine with it. She continued to watch the river as she mulled over her failure with her mother’s lessons, she knew she had been disappointed in her. C’mon, Tae, there’s no point in worrying about it now, it’s too hot and you’re too damn tired. Exams are over, you’re nearly finished school, there’s nothing more to worry about anymore, it’s time to kick back and relax a bit. She told herself sternly as she shut her eyes and let herself drift.
The next moment she was being violently shaken awake. Soola was looking down at her, fear sparking in her brown eyes. ‘Tae wake up. For all the gods’ sakes, please!’
Tae sat up blinking in confusion. She was usually a light sleeper but, between staying up late with Jason and her studying, not to mention jogging out to the Snell’s farm twice a week to swap their families spare vegetables for the Snell’s spare eggs, she was exhausted. She rubbed her eyes, trying to focus. ‘What the hell, Soola?’
Soola stopped shaking her. ‘Tae something bad has happened. When we were halfway home I realized I’d left my com-pad on Miss Bayfour’s desk, the one you gave me, so I ran back to get it. Luckily I took a shortcut and cut through the alley behind the factory or I’d be dead now.’
A finger of dread gripped Tae and her body stiffened.
‘I saw a jumper at the back of the school, one of those black ones the WLE warriors fly around in. It was sort of hidden behind that big willow tree so no-one could see it, anyway I snuck around to the window to listen to what was happening, it was too high to see inside. I mean, I just thought maybe Miss Bayfour was having an affair or something, but two men were there, I could hear their voices. They were asking Miss Bayfour about computer assignments and her pupils. They got a seating plan off of her and she started crying, Tae. She kept asking them what she’d done, but they didn’t answer her. Then I heard a loud crack, like a branch snapping, then everything was silent, not long after that they left.’ Tae frowned listening in growing horror as she tried to make sense of what Soola was telling her.
‘I was so scared they’d see me so I just kind of froze in the bush. I caught a glimpse of them though, they were definitely Thalien. I saw their weird bony ears. I just stayed where I was, I was too scared to move until their jumper left.’ She took a deep shuddering breath. ‘I went inside and she was … Miss Bayfour was …’ Sobbing now, Soola’s breath caught in her throat until she was hiccoughing. ‘Tae,’ she choked out, ‘she was dead! Her head was at a strange angle and she was beside her chair like she’d been standing on it and had fallen wrong. But she didn’t Tae, she didn’t fall. They killed her, I heard them. I know what that crack was, it was her, Tae. It was Miss Bayfour dying, I saw her Tae, her eyes were open, and she was just staring.’ Soola’s hands flew to her mouth as if trying to stop her hysterical rush of words, her voice lowered. ‘Why, Tae? Why would warriors do that? I was too frightened to call anyone, I thought they might come after me if they knew I’d seen them. Please, Tae, help me, I don’t know what to do!
Tae’s mind was racing as she jumped to her feet. ‘Go home and say nothing to anyone Soola.’ Soola went to grab her hand but Tae was already moving. ‘Please, Soola. Trust me. I’ll come see you as soon as I can.’ And then she took off running.
Oh by all the gods no, Jason! She had been using his seat when she’d accessed the file on Loki. She knew why they were here, because of her! Her mind continued to scream at her as she ran. What if they had a disguised tracker on the Loki archives? I’m so damn stupid! I didn’t even think of that. They would have tracked it back to the school’s mainframe and from there straight to Jason’s desk. Please no, not Jase! She pushed herself hard, sprinting as fast as she could, leaping over ditches and letting low branches slap her face. She never slowed, fear drove her harder than any pain ever could.
Her lungs felt as if they were near bursting and her leg muscles burnt in protest as she sprinted for home. By the time she arrived at her house the last of the sun’s rays were slowly disappearing. Master Brohan’s training kicked in as she came to a stop beside her neighbor’s fence. She hesitated a moment before taking in her surroundings more intently as she tried to slow her breathing. Her neat wooden house with its tin roof and wide shady front verandah sat in the last of the days fading sunlight. Two magpies walked around the front lawn in search of food, burying their beaks every now and then into the grass. They took no notice of her as she walked slowly forward, carefully surveying everything, looking for the one thing that might be out of place that could forewarn her to danger. Somewhere to her left a cicada started to sing noisily, she flinched slightly at the sudden noise before she quickly resumed concentrating on what she could see and hear.
Everything looked the same as when she had left this morning, but she knew she had to be careful. No-one bar her mother and Jason would be home yet as both the neighbors worked in the same chemical factory as her father, and both lived alone. Only vacant pastures greeted her from across the street, she looked around, there was no sign of a jumper, but she knew it could be secreted anywhere nearby. She ducked low and approached the house cautiously.
Silence. Nothing stirred.
A strangling sense of urgency ran through her, she suppressed her instinctual urge to charge into the house immediately, being killed wouldn’t help Jason or her mother if something was wrong. She peeked through the window to their small lounge noting its contents, she knew instantly some of their possessions were gone. A stab of fear threatened her self control as she looked more closely, her mother’s two prized vases were missing. They had been given to her parents as a wedding gift from Tae’s grandparents. Both were treasured and quite valuable, she knew her mother would never have let anyone take them.
She crept around to the window of her parents’ bedroom. The dresser was open, its draws empty, as if someone had packed in a hurry. She then headed to the back door and peeked in quickly. When it looked and sounded clear she eased the door open and slipped inside, moving silently to the sink where she picked up three knives. She put the two smallest in her back pocket, not the safest move she knew, but if she needed them they’d be with-in quick reach. She kept the sharpest, an eight inch carving knife, in her hand. Moving cautiously up the hallway she opened the door to Jason’s bedroom. The doors to his small built in wardrobe were open and it was completely bare.
Her mind was reeling, she backed away before going to her own room. It was exactly as she had left it. She returned to her parents’ room for a better look and saw that only her mother’s things were gone, and her jewelry case was missing.
It was then that she knew what had happened. To an outsider it would look like her mother had taken off with Jason, taking some of the more valuable items with her, and leaving Tae behind with her father. Such a convenient lie, and one that she knew immediately would go unquestioned in their little community.
Everyone knew her father was a drunk and her mother, Kresley, was still a beautiful woman, a talented ex-pleasure giver who had married an ungrateful fool. Yes, everyone would accept the lie and gossip knowingly that it had only been a matter of time before something like t
his happened. Of course she’d take the boy, after all, Tae had always been a little strange.
‘Damn it.’ She whispered, she didn’t know why her mother had continued to stay with her father, but she knew with all of her heart that she would never leave her, or split Jason and herself up. Jason was the light to her dark. Her mother would never be so cruel.
No, she castigated herself, they‘re gone and Miss Bayfour is dead, because of me. This is fall-out from searching the WLE’s restricted files. They’re gone because of my own stupidity, my own arrogance in thinking I was so clever, that I was untouchable! Cursing herself silently she wandered back to Jason’s room, dropping her knives she slid down the wall to sit on her haunches, just as tears began to flow unchecked down her face.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been there when her father came home. She heard his drunken muttering as he came in the back door. She listened numbly as he crashed through the house to his bedroom. The yell of mingled shock and rage was quickly followed by his charging into Jason’s bedroom where he found her.
‘When?’ he demanded.
She raised her head and looked up at him. ‘I don’t know. They were gone when I got here.’ A fresh wave of sobbing overtook her and she looked away, ashamed of showing weakness to a man who had never wanted her. She could feel her father’s eyes on her as she tried to hide her tears. She felt him slide down the wall beside her, and strangely her tears eased. He reached out hesitantly and took her hand in his much larger one, and there they sat, both lost in their own thoughts as their grief and pain mingled. Tonight they were father and daughter for the first time in Tae’s living memory.
She realized vaguely that tonight was her time to grieve. Tomorrow she would have no time for tears or girlish dreams of the future. No, tomorrow she would begin to make amends for her foolish mistake. No bodies and no blood meant there was still a good chance they were alive but, more than that, the link she shared with her twin brother told her so. She could feel it in every fiber of her being. Besides, it would have been far easier to arrange a little accident, perhaps a house fire, if they had wanted to kill Jason and her mother. No, they were still alive and out there somewhere, and that meant only one thing.
Someone, somewhere, was going to pay for what they had done. Somehow, someway, Tae was going to get her family back.
CHAPTER 3
She awoke in Jason’s bed just before sunrise. She had a vague recollection of her father picking her up and very gently laying her on it the night before. He had spread Jason’s light quilt over her, engulfing her in her brothers comforting scent, then he had left her to sleep as exhaustion had finally overtaken her.
Fresh horror and grief immediately threatened to overwhelm her as memories of what had occurred returned in a rush, she pushed her emotions down ruthlessly, they were a luxury she could no longer afford. She needed to be practical, she had to work out what had happened to her mother and Jason while she still had time. Who took them and where were they now? And how in all the gods’ names would she find out? Relying on her father for anything was far too risky, she’d spent far too many years in the shadow of his overt dislike to bring herself to trust him with any plans she might make.
Peeking into the WLE system again was definitely not an option, beside which, she doubted they would put anything in their files anyway. There certainly wouldn’t be a neon sign with an arrow saying, Tae Rames’ Missing Family Information This Way! No, she was sure the information wouldn’t be in the WLE’s general knowledge bank. She also knew no officials she could ask for help, her teacher was dead and Master Brohan had been retired from active duty for years. Brohan had to be around seventy by now, and realistically, how could he help her anyway?
If she went to the authorities and started crying kidnap, and spouting wild ideas she knew she wouldn’t be believed by anyone. Besides, doing that would only serve to attract the notice of who-ever had done this in the first place, and that could cause them to harm Jase and her mum prematurely. No, she needed to keep a low profile, their lives might depend on it. Whoever had taken them needed to think their ruse had been believed by everyone, including her. She had to be patient and plan carefully, regardless of how much she chafed to do something right now.
She traipsed into the kitchen where she warmed some cocoa in a cup and sat at the table to think. If it’s one of the gods that’s behind all of this, what can I do? How the hell am I supposed to fight a god? She slapped her hand down on the table in frustration, then stilled. How do I fight a god? Her eyes widened in comprehension. With another god of course!
The only way to get a gods direct help was by petitioning a High Priest at the local temple for a god’s benevolence, which sure as hell wasn’t going to work. The way her luck was rolling she’d petition the very god who’d started all this crap in the first place. But, if there were a god involved in her brother’s and mother’s disappearance, then she needed a god of her own to get them back. Her rational mind quickly went through scenarios until it finally settled on the most viable option. As Tae had no idea which god or gods were involved, then there was really only one alternative left. She needed to find the one god she knew with absolute certainty wasn’t mixed up in any of this. She needed to find and free Loki. But to do that she needed to get to the volcano where he was trapped, and the only way to get to it was to enter the Island. She closed her eyes as her gut clenched in fear.
Shit!
Her father entered the kitchen as she sat in shock trying to come to terms with her revelation. He hesitated at the door for a moment then walked over and turned the coffee pot on. She looked at him briefly, but he stood studiously ignoring her as he usually did, his back stiff, presenting her with no doubt that last night was an anomaly, and one that would never happen again. Why was she even surprised?
So much for a family break-through, she thought with a bitter pang that was quickly beaten down. No. This is easier. This is what I’m used to. This is the one reaction I know I can handle. She stood up, ignoring him in turn, just as she remembered her promise from yesterday afternoon.
Crap! Soola! She hurried to her bedroom, she had people to see and plans to make. She dressed quickly in her favorite shorts and a loose t-shirt, along with her new black training boots. She combed her shoulder length hair roughly with her fingers, and tied it back with a band as she was hurrying out the front door.
It was going to be another warm day even though summer was finally beginning to wane. She jogged across the empty paddock opposite her home, jumped the fence, and headed towards the main street. It was far too early for most people to be up and about, but already there was something in the air, a sense that something wasn’t right. Colin Jeffries, the town’s baker, stood out the front of his store talking to Master Brohan. From the looks on their faces Tae knew exactly what they were discussing. She increased her pace and jogged past them on the other side of the road, keeping her head down and pretending not to notice them. She felt rather than saw Brohan look at her, thankfully he didn’t call out to her. She hurried on, turning left at the next corner which took her into the ‘Bacchus District.’ Named after the god of indulgence, it was where two town bars, an old dance hall that also served as the local picture theatre, and the House of Aphrodite were situated.
She slipped down the narrow alley beside the ancient painted brick building that passed as a House of Pleasure. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of stale vomit and urine. It seemed to be emanating from a shapeless lump curled up next to a yellow dog. Tae wasn’t sure who it was, but the dog looked like Raider, old Mr. Willard’s retriever, so she guessed Mr. Willard must be the lump. The man must have been on one heck of a bender last night if he was still here.
She reached the back gate of the Pleasure House and let herself in. The yard wasn’t in much better condition than the alley. Loosened bricks that had once been the border for a garden lay scattered near the wall of the house, the garden itself was so overgrown with weeds that the only flowers she reco
gnized were two long dead rose bushes that sat behind an old pond. The dirty red paint on the building itself was peeling away from the bricks in long thin ribbons, as if it were tired of the effort it took to stay attached to something so undeserving.
Tae used the spare key Soola had given her for emergencies and entered. Her nostrils wrinkling at the smell of sex, it permeated the air as she passed the two working rooms nearest the door. She supposed it was ingrained into the very bricks themselves by now this place was so old. She continued quickly down the corridor past the communal laundry and bathroom. She tiptoed past the other private living area, trying not to disturb Valaria the other resident pleasure giver. Satisfied that no-one was about she hurried past the open kitchen, heading straight for a door a little further on, when she reached it she knocked softly. The door opened almost immediately and Soola and her mother hurried her inside. Margarete Teshan, Soola’s mother, looked at Tae with both fear and determination.
‘Before you say anything Tae I know something has happened,’ she began. ‘Soola won’t tell me what, but I know it’s something bad. I’m not a fool, Tae, I can see the fear in her eyes. Just because I work in this gods-forsaken hole doesn’t mean I’m not in tune with my daughter’s feelings. Now please, tell me.’ She stared at Tae with a determined look waiting for a response.
Soola stood beside her mother with an equally determined look on her face, her mouth set in a mulish line. Tae looked at Margarete steadily. She may once have been a very attractive woman, but when she was pregnant with Soola she and her husband had been in an accident. A kangaroo had jumped in front of their car causing her husband Solomon to lose control, he’d swerved and left the road crashing into a small tree. One of the twin solar batteries in their small darter had exploded on impact, setting the small car alight. Margarete had managed to crawl out just as a passing motorist stopped, but Solomon had been trapped in the car and hadn’t made it. Margarete had gone into labor while being transported to hospital, losing consciousness before delivery. Three days later she’d woken to a new daughter, a dead husband, and the side of her face, neck, arm and part of her chest burnt so badly that her skin looked melted in places. The hospital had done what they could for her burns, but the damage was simply too extensive to fix without help from the gods, who would have had to transport her onto one of their ships to repair the burns. They had refused the request of the doctors, so Margarete had no other option but to live as she now was.
