Peril

by Joss Stirling

  Sorry. Phone was out of charge and I was busking in town. See you at my flat in an hour?

  He wondered if he should reply to Ade and Lee but decided against it. He had said he was cutting ties with them. If he did respond then he might have to explain where he had been and he was done being answerable to them.

  Jenny’s reply zipped back into his inbox. You pillock: you forgot all about me, didn’t you? I’ve had to throw myself on Ade’s mercy or be shivering on your doorstep. Some Christmas Greeting that is!

  I love you too, sister.

  Kel knew he was on shaky ground. He hadn’t even thought to get her a present but the shops were pulling down the shutters for the holiday. Better to be on time, he decided. He could take Jenny out as her gift.

  I’m not going back to that dump you call home. Come meet me at Ade’s.

  I’m not welcome there.

  That’s not what Ade says.

  I mean I don’t want to go there.

  Too bad. If you want to see me, you’ll come and fetch me from somewhere civilized. If I go back to your area I’ll probably get mugged.

  You’re a bodyguard, sis. You eat bad guys for breakfast.

  I’m off duty.

  Kel shook his head. His big sister was immovable when she got an idea lodged in her head. OK. But we’re not staying at Ade’s house.

  It felt extremely unnerving to ring on the bell of the place that he used to think of as home. The guys had dressed it up for Christmas, strings of solar lights looped through the trees and along the eaves. A drunk-looking blowup Santa lurched in his sleigh on the lawn. Rudolph with a bright red nose glowed with perky tee-total enthusiasm. The gate buzzed. Kel crunched up the gravel path, preparing what he would say when the door opened.

  Swanny threw the door wide. ‘So the prodigal returns.’

  Kel shook his head. ‘Thanks, Swanny, but I’m just here to see my sister.’

  His smile dimmed. ‘Come in then if it won’t kill you.’

  Leaving the guitar in the foyer, Kel followed Swanny into the kitchen. His mind ran a replay of the tasering incident, burning out any guilt he might have felt. His sister was sitting with Ade in the breakfast nook, heads together conspiratorially.

  ‘Hey, Jenny, you're looking great!’ Kel held out his arms to give her a hug, waiting for her to come to him. A few inches short of his height, she had a trim figure topped off with a mass of curly blonde hair. Normally that was tied up in a no nonsense bun but, considering herself off duty, it tumbled around her shoulders.

  ‘Hey yourself, squiggle. Go on: show me.’ She pulled up his sleeve.

  ‘You’d have to get me angry first.’ He brushed it back down.

  ‘I guess that wouldn’t be difficult seeing how you’ve gone all rebellious on us. Puberty—tough time for Perilous.’ She patted his arm.

  Kel didn’t like the dismissal of his stance on Meri as a byproduct of teenage hormones. ‘It’s more than that, and you know it.’

  She clapped her hands over her mouth. ‘Oops: I promised Dad not to get on your case, though you deserve a kick up the butt for being so damn stubborn.’

  Kel imagined turning around and walking straight back out. He could get to Meri on the last train if he left now. ‘Is this how it’s going to be? I’ve had enough arguments about this to last a lifetime. Jenny, nice to see you. Why don’t you stay here with Ade and Co? They do a good turkey. I’ll see you around.’

  She poked him in the chest. ‘You don’t have to be so dramatic. I came to see you. Ade and the guys are fine in their way—’

  Ade bowed. ‘Why, thank you.’

  ‘But you’re family. Let’s go to the pub and celebrate.’

  ‘Celebrate what?’ asked Kel flatly. He didn’t feel like there was much to cheer now he got a sense of her opinion on his stance.

  ‘Your flare-out, of course. Tradition says the older siblings have to buy their little brothers a drink when they’re promoted to the big girls and boys league.’

  ‘If you’re heading out, you’ll need this.’ Swanny brought her her coat, holding it out so she could slip into the sleeves.

  ‘Thanks, Swanny.’ Her smiled edged into flirtatious when dealing with Ade’s chief of staff.

  ‘See you later, Jenny. I’ll get one of the lads to make up a room for you.’

  Ade walked to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers. ‘There’s plenty of food for tomorrow if you want to crash here tonight and join us, Kel.’

  ‘I’m certainly staying here. Has to be said, little brother, that your place is unsanitary.’ Jenny wrapped a red scarf around her neck, freeing her hair from the back.

  It was probably a good idea for her to stay at Ade’s as Kel only had the one miserable room and single bed but it still felt like Jenny showing to the others that she was siding against him.

  ‘We can’t all afford the Ritz, Jen. Thanks, Ade, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to spend the day here tomorrow. Jenny might like that though.’

  Pausing in levering off the bottle cap, Ade scowled. ‘You’re not seeing her, are you?’

  The kitchen went silent. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who ‘her’ was.

  ‘That’s none of your business.’

  ‘It’s exactly my business.’

  Jenny stepped between them and laid a hand on Ade’s shoulder. ‘Chill, OK, Ade? Let me talk to my brother.’

  Ade took a swig. ‘Sorry. Yes, you’re right. No point running this argument again.’

  Jenny hooked her arm through Kel’s. ‘Come on then.’

  Relieved to be out of there, Kel bent to pick up his guitar as they passed through the hallway.

  ‘Oh, leave that old thing here, Kel. I don’t want you carrying that all night. People will think we’re the entertainment. You can collect it when you drop me off.’

  Reluctantly, Kel left it leaning against the wall in the hallway. ‘But I’m not staying.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. Message received. Cheer up: it’s Christmas not a funeral!’

  13

  Kel took his sister to an old pub on the High Street, one he had visited many times for Sunday lunch with Ade and always loved for its unchanging charm. Such lost-in-the-past places were doubly popular as they helped people forget the world outside with its jerky slide into worsening climate change. With low oak beams, wreaths of evergreens and open fires, it felt a festive place to spend Christmas Eve. The main room was packed with people wearing Santa hats but he knew the owner and so, after a brief wait, was waved through to a quieter spot near the back in one of the old style booths upholstered in dark red leather. He watched his sister battle her way to the counter brandishing a twenty pound note over her head. Her killer combination of blonde hair, charm and surprising muscle shortened the wait to be served and she returned carrying two glasses of champagne. She set the drinks on the table between them.

  ‘Cheers, Kel. Seriously, I’m really proud of you: a spiral like Dad and me. It’s good to see it carrying on down the family line.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  She nudged him with her toe. ‘You don’t sound that happy. Don’t you feel proud?’

  ‘I suppose I do. It’s just got so mixed up with the rest. You heard how it happened?’

  Jenny nodded.

  ‘She was so scared. It must’ve been like walking in to find Grandma had turned into a wolf.’

  ‘You’re talking about her, aren’t you? The Tean girl. Yeah, it’s a major cock-up all round. Dad’s really worried about you.’

  ‘I expect he is.’

  ‘He thinks you’re throwing it all away for a crush.’

  ‘It’s more complicated than that.’

  ‘Even so, you’re going this far because you’ve fallen for the girl and I have to ask you, without all this, how long would those feelings last normally? A few weeks? A couple of months? That’s how long relationships usually last at your age.’

  Jenny made it sound as though she was decades, not just a few years, older t
han him. ‘You don’t get it, do you, Jen? Even if I didn’t love her, I’d still think what they are doing was well out of order—that the Perilous are wrong to hunt her.’

  ‘The “L” word? Damn. I was hoping it hadn’t got to that stage.’

  He didn’t return her wry smile. ‘Do you think they’re right? To put out a capture order on a girl who did nothing but be born a Tean? She’s not threatened us, not done anything but try to live quietly away from our notice.’

  ‘I can’t believe you’ve already forgotten what happened to our mother. The Tean’s a danger to us, Kel.’

  ‘How? She’s put hands on me and I’ve not been harmed.’

  Jenny sipped her champagne. ‘I thought you hadn’t seen her since your flare-out? When did she do this?’

  Annoyed at his mistake, Kel waved it off. ‘That doesn’t matter.’

  ‘It does. If you know where she is, it’s your duty to report it.’

  ‘No, I resigned so I’m no longer under that obligation.’

  ‘They won’t hurt her if they catch her peacefully, you realize that?’

  ‘So?’

  ‘If it comes to a struggle, things might get out of hand.’

  A party of Santas broke into a rendition of ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland’, singing along to the digital jukebox. Kel wished they’d shut up; he was far from ‘happy tonight’ in his particular wonderland.

  ‘Jenny, she’s only a few inches over five feet and has no training.’

  ‘But she’s Tean. The hunters will be scared to touch her.’

  ‘Then they should leave her the hell alone!’ He fisted his hands and bent his head to rest on them. ‘Really, Jenny? Is this really what we’ve become?’

  ‘We’ve always been like this. It’s you who’ve changed.’

  ‘Then the rest of you need to change too, because, I swear if any of you harm her, I’ll bring you all down, so help me God.’

  ‘Calm down. I don’t want to hurt her, I’m just trying to make you see that you aren’t doing what’s best for her if you carry on this path. If you really cared about the girl you’d make sure this ended peacefully.’

  ‘Meaning?’

  ‘A quiet pick up off the street, a conversation, a binding agreement that she’d not harm any Perilous, some kind of isolation from the rest of us. It would be best in fact if you did it as she wouldn’t be so terrified. There’d be terms to be discussed, but I think we’d be able to find something we can all live with.’

  ‘You do? What exactly?’

  Jenny shrugged, for the first time in the conversation looking uncomfortable. ‘I don’t know. I’m the muscle, remember, not the politician. Dad thinks she could have a place in some kind of exile away from any Perilous.’

  ‘Oh yeah, his idea of a cage without bars and no life to call her own. Very merciful.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound too bad. Better than spending her time on the run, always looking over her shoulder. She must feel very lonely.’

  ‘She feels what we’ve made her feel, Jen. We’re the problem here, not her.’

  ‘Are you sure about that? Because from where I’m sitting, it seems as there’s only one person stopping her negotiating a peace with us and that would be you.’

  ‘If it is peace they are talking about, then I’d be all over it, but you know it’s not. It’s surrender. They want to send her like Napoleon to some sort of Elba. The last Tean standing.’

  ‘Elba’s better than a coffin.’

  ‘There it is: the death threat again. And you expect her to negotiate peace?’

  ‘Oh, Kel, it’s not just about her though. I’m worried for you.’ She reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘How long do you think Dad and I can keep backing you on this?’

  ‘Backing me? Did I miss the moment you said, “Hey, little brother, I really admire your respect for the human rights of an innocent girl”?’

  Jenny gave a huff of disgust. ‘Yes, we’ve been backing you, peabrain. We’ve been telling Osun and Ade to give you time. We’ve promised that your family loyalty, your loyalty to the ruling family, to being a Perilous, will reassert itself.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t? If I can’t be what you want, can’t think the way you approve?’

  ‘I don’t know, Kel. I’m hoping I won’t have to answer that. As far as we know for sure, you’ve not broken any of our laws.’ From Jenny’s doubtful expression, however, it appeared that she guessed he had been fraternising with enemy but would prefer not to know the details. ‘I don’t want it to come to the point where you have to choose between us and that girl and we have to choose between you and our duty.’

  ‘I think we both know what you’ll decide if it comes to that, don’t we? Merry Christmas, Jenny.’ He clinked his glass ironically against hers.

  Returning Jenny to Ade’s, Kel walked in on a party in the clubroom, which had already spilled over into the kitchen. Ade had invited friends from school to celebrate and the music was blaring from open windows. Kel found it hard to disentangle himself from classmates who were unable to understand why he was no longer living in such prime digs. Most concluded he had to be crazy to prefer a grotty room to this mansion with only the minimum of adult supervision. He guessed Ade had put them up to it as another twist in his ‘Get Kel back in the fold’ campaign.

  Sadie, when she could be separated from lip-lock with Lee, grilled him without a shred on subtlety as to whether he’d been in contact with Meri. Kel was aware that his old friends were listening in on his answers, standing oh so casually just at his back.

  ‘No, she hasn’t replied to my texts,’ he said truthfully. He felt no need to mention that he’d spent last night sleeping beside her.

  ‘That sucks.’ The little Christmas tree baubles hanging from her earlobes bobbed in sympathy. ‘She barely tells me anything when she does contact me. Just says she’s OK so I suppose she is. Any idea where she’s gone? She hasn’t sent me her address like she promised and refuses to meet up.’

  ‘No idea. I got the sense she wanted to get away from the area so maybe she’ll never come back. Maybe she’d moved on, new friends, new crowd, you know?’

  ‘Then I’ll just have to keep on trying. I don’t let friends go so easily. I know she has enemies but neither of us would do anything to endanger her, would we?’

  ‘Leaving her alone might be what she needs from us,’ cautioned Kel, wishing Lee wasn’t circling sharklike just behind Sadie.

  ‘I guess. Hey, you, come for a dance?’ Sadie spun round and snagged the front of Lee’s shirt.

  ‘Yeah, baby.’ Lee’s eyes met Kel over Sadie’s head, expression cold. Kel sent a brief thank you to Meri’s lucky star that she hadn’t trusted Sadie with her address. He’d have to warn her that Lee was getting close to her comp-punk friend.

  Leaving the party as soon as he could wriggle out of further conversations, Kel found it was no comfort to be back in his flat. The sheets needed washing, the house arctic, the mess in the shared kitchen grown worse over the few days he’d been away as someone had had a party there too and not cleared up. Lying looking up at the ceiling, sleep eluding him, Kel struggled to keep off the slide into despair even though he could feel himself tottering on the top. Everyone in the Perilous world he cared about, the people who knew him best, were all convinced he was wrong. At the pub, Jenny had kept circling back to the fact that he was being unkind to Meri by leaving her out there as a target. Like a terrier on the scent, Jenny had scratched away at his most vulnerable spot. He wished he could contact Meri instantly to ask her opinion but there was no safe way of doing that.

  ‘I’m going crazy. I’ve got to talk to her somehow,’ he told the water stain on the plasterwork. Turning the light back on, he got out a piece of paper and started to write.

  Dear Meri….

  Meri spent Christmas morning going to every church service she could find locally so she could be with other people. Singing her way through favourite carols, surrounded by excited families and quieter
adults who like her had come alone, she kept her spirits up by imagining Kel having a fun time with his sister, tucking in to a big meal, perhaps going skating or for a walk like she had planned for them if he had been able to stay. As long as he was enjoying himself then that made her lonely day worth it. At the last service in a flood-damaged part of Wapping, she was invited to help out at a dinner for the homeless, which was all too appropriate and at least meant she had something to fill the blank hours. Wearing a purple paper crown, she served carrots and brussels, poured custard on pudding from the hatch in the church hall, and generally tried to give the impression of someone having a good time. By the end she had half persuaded herself she was.

  She got back to the hostel to find a long message from Theo. He had uploaded a video of Saddiq, Valerie and himself taken during lunch. They had talked to her as if she were there, even reading out her joke from her cracker—a touch that made her cry a little. The twist of homesickness was like a physical pain in her stomach.

  In her reply, she sent a message broaching the idea of meeting up at New Year as Kel had suggested. Theo’s reply was instantaneous. He must have been waiting by the computer for her to get in touch.

  Absolutely brilliant idea. We’ll all come so if there’s any trouble we’ll see them off. Are you having an OK day?

  It’s fine. Helped with a homeless lunch.

  Well done. I’ve got your present waiting for you. I’ll bring that too.

  I haven't got round to getting you anything. What would you like?

  You back home. But as I can’t have that, it will be gift enough just to see you on 31st. Keep out of trouble till then.

  Meri ended the conversation and opened up a browser to search up more about the Tean sympathizers, following in Kel’s tracks. She’d purposely been leaving that news about an inheritance alone; but now, with nothing else to distract her, she made herself consider it. Money would be useful. It could help protect her, wrap her up in layers of security that the Perilous would find hard to penetrate. But as for the rest—the people looking to her for leadership—that was probably just Francis Frobisher getting over-enthusiastic. You could only have a leader if you had a cause and supporters. Beyond survival, she couldn’t think what that would be. She was dismally ignorant about her own people. Two letters from her parents was the sum total of her knowledge.