04 Last

by Lynnie Purcell

  “Marcus is clever…” Daniel said with a sigh.

  “So he knows about me?” I asked. “That I’m descended from Farrah?”

  “It would appear so,” Daniel said.

  “How did he figure it out?” I asked. “I wasn’t even born yet…my grandfather wasn’t even born yet.”

  “It is possible it took him many years to discover the truth,” the historian said.

  “Maybe your grandfather’s book holds an explanation,” Daniel suggested.

  “What? Do you think Marcus made a confession to my grandfather? I don’t think Marcus is the type to confess such a thing to someone he didn’t intend on killing.”

  “No, but we might be able to read between the lines,” Daniel said. “Maybe your grandfather knew something without knowing he knew.”

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “Might I make a suggestion?” the historian asked.

  “Yes, of course,” Daniel said.

  “I would like to make amends for telling Marcus about you… I will help Clare gain control of her talent.” Her gaze turned to me. “It is something you want, correct?”

  “Yeah, of course,” I said. “But how can you train me to be…less human?”

  “Not less human,” the historian said. “But certainly more Watcher.”

  “Will that help point us in the right direction?” Daniel asked. “Not to be rude, but we have to operate as if Marcus will be making his move soon.”

  “Marcus will wait to make his move, the move you fear” the historian said.

  “For what?” I asked.

  The historian smiled but did not answer. The smile was strange – I was not sure if it was because she was not certain or because she was very certain.

  “Your abilities are growing as you approach your birthday. I believe it is best you learn to master them before then…” the historian said.

  “What happens then?” I asked.

  The question had been burning in my mind for some time. How would I change on my birthday…or would I change?

  “What happens to all Watchers…” the historian said. “You will come in to your birthright.”

  “I thought my birthday didn’t mean the same thing as the others…” I said.

  “Oh, it means more, much more,” the historian said.

  “Thanks for saying that as daunting as possible…” I said.

  The historian looked at Daniel and me with a knowing eye – it was a look that suggested she knew exactly what we were thinking. Perhaps she did – perhaps seeing our history had given her an insight into our brains no one else shared.

  “I understand you will want to talk about this between yourselves…and the friends you have waiting to hear from you. My offer to give you what knowledge I can stands,” she said.

  “If I do get…uh, ‘trained,’ will my friends be able to stay here, too? They won’t want to be left behind,” I said. “They get quite cranky about that.”

  The historian nodded once at my question.

  “They are welcome to stay in the town, but you two are the only ones who may come in to my home. I do not wish to read everyone’s history…it is a darker burden than you think.”

  “That’s fair,” Daniel said.

  Daniel pulled me away from the historian and out of the vaulted room. Daniel knew he wasn’t out of earshot of the historian, but he didn’t care. His question was more important than who was listening.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  “World peace,” I said. “And a day at the beach without worry…whichever comes first.”

  “Will you be serious?”

  “No,” I said.

  “Clare…” he sighed.

  I looked over my shoulder at the entrance of the historian’s ‘house.’ Her offer was confusing. I wasn’t sure if she was offering because she really felt indebted or if she had another reason. People were always offering me something with an ulterior motive in mind. It was impossible to trust anyone, where trust hadn’t already been earned. Some days even that was difficult. The story she had shared only served to confuse me further. She had held the answers to why I was strange; she had always held them. It was strange to know that she had been out there all along; she knew something so personal about my past, yet we had never met. It was stranger still that I suddenly trusted her so completely.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Yes, you’ll be serious…or yes…yes?” Daniel asked.

  “How, in any way, does your question provide clarity?” I asked.

  He rolled his eyes and waited patiently for me to answer. I knew his tactic and I knew that it would work. He was more patient than I was. I gave in.

  “Yes, I think we should stay…long enough to see if her ‘training’ is legitimate,” I said.

  “It will be…it is,” Daniel quickly said.

  There was no doubt in his voice. His certainty was telling.

  “I think you totally have a warrior’s crush on her,” I said.

  “A warrior’s crush?” he asked.

  “You know, idolizing her because she is such a legend,” I explained.

  “That’s absolutely not true,” Daniel said.

  He looked away and started fumbling in his pockets for his phone. His hands were uncertain as he hurried to get his distraction out of his pocket. I had never seen him look so self-conscious. My teasing was not as far off the mark as I had thought.

  “Then why you do look like you’re blushing?” I asked.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

  “For a world-class liar, that was awfully transparent,” I said.

  Daniel made a face and pushed speed dial. He waited for the other person to pick up the phone without acknowledging my reply. He had a brief conversation with Reaper. I sensed Reapers’ relief and heard Alex asking questions in the background as they talked. Daniel hung up and turned to me.

  “They’re going to meet us at the road,” Daniel said.

  “I know. I heard.”

  “We should go meet them,” he added, still awkward.

  “Yep…”

  We walked down the stairs and down the narrow space between the two buildings. As we walked, I kept my eye on Daniel. He felt my eyes on the back of his neck.

  “Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked.

  “I was just thinking,” I said.

  “About the back of my head?” he asked.

  “It’s one of the nicest back parts of a head I’ve ever seen,” I said.

  I rolled around the question in my head. It was difficult to admit it – not only because I was still coming to terms with it. I was afraid what he thought.

  “I was just wondering what you thought about what she said. You didn’t say,” I said.

  “About your history, you mean?” he asked.

  “No, her lemon meringue pie recipe,” I said dryly. “Yes, my history.”

  “I think that we finally have answers,” he said, ignoring my sarcasm.

  “That’s…vague,” I said.

  He was silent as we threaded our way back to the dirt road. We were careful to stay on the left side, to avoid the bombs. I took his silence as the worst kind. His words were confirmation of my reason to fear.

  “I’m worried,” he admitted.

  “Oh…” I said in a small voice.

  He turned as we passed the last of the mines. He fidgeted as he looked at me. He could see my worry around his own, but he didn’t try to reach out and comfort me. His worry was king.

  “I’m worried what it means. It feels as if your future is even more uncertain now that we know the truth. I know why Marcus wants you…you’re destined to be the greatest Watcher in history. If he had control over you somehow…” Daniel shook his head to clear the thought. “And I’m worried that…”

  He didn’t finish. He looked embarrassed even to think what he was thinking.

  “What?” I asked.

  He sighed at the question
and crossed his arms, so he would stop fidgeting. His words were precise as if he thought saying them precisely would somehow make them easier.

  “I’m worried that a gap is forming between us. I never thought…I mean…your history is…wow…and mine is…I’ll always be like this. This is the most powerful I will ever be…and…”

  Daniel ran a hand through his hair and tried to find the words to say what he was trying to say.

  “The most powerful Watcher of all time…” he repeated.

  I understood what he was trying to say. He thought I would surpass him and ultimately outgrow him. He connected my abilities to my love of him – being more powerful meant I would stop seeing him however he thought I saw him. He didn’t understand. Despite his years of watching people and protecting them, he was still limited by the very human emotion of doubt. I stepped closer to him, looking him directly in the eyes. I wanted him to understand there was no doubt in my mind.

  “I love you,” I said. “I don’t care about everything else you think might come between us. That will never change, no matter the future.”

  “Isn’t it you who said we had to be equal? What happens when your talent, your brain so far surpasses mine that I look as boring as most Watchers find humans?” he asked.

  “You love me as a human,” I said. “Why can’t I do the same in reverse?”

  “I don’t know if I would have ever called you a human, exactly…” Daniel said. “You were always special.”

  My half smile was full of doubt.

  “Awww…”

  The voice was unexpected. It broke the tension between us. I leaned around Daniel and saw the others on the road. Alex was smiling at us, while the others were looking around at the town with curious expressions on their faces. Serenity, for one, looked as if she had never seen anything so interesting in her life. Her gold eyes kept searching the buildings and I knew it wasn’t a curiosity for architecture that motivated her search. She was looking for the historian.

  “Are you guys gonna kiss, too?” Alex continued.

  “Please don’t,” Spider said.

  “What did you find out?” Alex asked.

  “A lot,” I said.

  “Wanna share?” she asked.

  I shrugged without answering. Alex accepted my shrug – for now. She knew she would get the truth from me eventually. She could probably also tell that I didn’t feel like talking about it quite yet. It was still too raw.

  Sara looked at Reaper. “Do I need to stay?” she asked. “Or should I go back to the ship?”

  “You can go back. I’ll call if I need you. Tell River to call if she needs anything and to keep our people as mobile as possible.”

  “She knows what to do,” Sara said. “Probably because you’ve already told her five or six times.”

  Reaper nodded at the reminder. Sara waved goodbye and disappeared. Alex had stopped staring at me and was taking in the sights of the abandoned town.

  “Reaper said we were going to stay here, is that true?” Alex asked.

  “For a while,” I said. “I mean, you guys could stay at the ship until…”

  “Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Alex said. “We don’t have to stay…blah, blah, blah.” She pointed at a building that looked mostly intact. “I call dibs.”

  “You can’t call dibs on an abandoned town,” Spider said.

  “Sure, you can,” Alex said. “I just did.”

  Spider pointed to another building next to hers. It was in similar good shape.

  “Then I call dibs on that one,” Spider said.

  “Neither of you call dibs on either,” Reaper said firmly. “We stay together, in a building we can control who comes and goes…just in case.” He eyed the charred bodies that the others either had chosen to ignore or hadn’t noticed. “It’s obvious this town gets visitors.” Reaper walked in a complete circle. “Spread out and find a building that can hold all of us and that will support a fire for warmth. My guess is that it gets cold here at night.”

  Alex made a face at his demanding tone. She ignored his command and kept her place on the road. The others did as he asked. Spider was first, making sure to check out of the buildings before the others, in case there was treasure years of exposure to the elements and scavengers had missed. Alex stepped close when the others were gone.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m…fine,” I said.

  “Right…Remember my talent of reading people?” Alex asked.

  I sighed. I told her an abbreviated version of what the historian had told me. She looked dumbfounded, while Daniel looked worried all over again. It was as if hearing it twice had reaffirmed his right to doubt.

  “Lorian and Darian were your family?” Alex asked her face totally shocked at the idea.

  “Yes…sort of,” I said.

  “There’s no way,” Alex said. “You are too different from them!”

  “I’ve been told the historian doesn’t lie,” I said.

  “That must be what your grandfather meant,” she said. “He was talking about a gigantic find. Maybe he discovered your family is pretty much royalty.”

  “Daniel thinks it would be a good idea if we read the rest of my grandfather’s entries,” I said. “He seems to think we might be able to read in between the lines.”

  “You are lucky I think ahead,” she said. “Spider!”

  “What?!” he called back.

  “Give me your bag!” she called.

  “I’m busy!”

  “Spider! Now!” Alex demanded.

  “Alright, alright…no need to shout,” Spider said.

  Spider appeared from behind the school. He had a bag around his shoulders I hadn’t noticed. I wasn’t sure where he had picked it up, but it had obviously been before we left the ship, as Alex took the bag and pulled out my grandfather’s book.

  “You owe me, doll,” Spider said to her. “That thing is heavy.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Alex said. “Go back to robbing from ghosts, or whatever you were doing.”

  Spider rolled his eyes and disappeared back around the building. Alex turned to me and held the book out.

  “Did you sneak in to my room and take it?” I asked.

  Alex shrugged once at the question. “I walked in.”

  I took the book and tucked it under my arm. Then I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. My talk with Eli rose to mind; a talk I wasn’t sure I should share. Alex was my best friend, but some secrets weren’t meant to be shared – not when they would cause more problems than there already were.

  The feeling that everything was changing with the truths I had learned, I walked with Alex and Daniel to find a place for them to stay while I trained with one of the world’s most notorious Watchers.

  Chapter 10

  Reaper picked out an old farmhouse that was mostly intact, save for a small hole in the roof. He reclaimed old wood from another structure to patch it. He looked excited at the prospect of doing the repairs – it was probably because there wasn’t much else for them to do.

  All of us spent the evening at the house helping clean it out. The historian didn’t come down to visit, and we didn’t try to see her again. I would see her again soon enough. She would know what the repairs meant.

  Serenity and Eli kept an aura of separation as they helped clean out their own space away from the other rooms. But Jackson, Daniel, Spider, and Alex made for good company. They talked, laughed, and filled the air with the unmistakable sounds of humanity. Margaret helped Reaper with the roof repair, her skill with a hammer unmatched.

  I was helping Spider and Alex move out a molded chair when it happened.

  A blinding pain filled my head. I saw white. Then color. The color shifted to a scene. It was the single most horrifying thing I had ever seen. My friends were lying around the abandoned farmhouse. They were dead, their bodies as lifeless as the town. They stared back at me, accusing me with their eyes. The panic at seeing them dead was overwhelming. I felt my whole world tea
r apart.

  Join me…I can prevent suffering, pain. We can rule the world together, a warm, feline voice said in my head.

  A hand touched me on my shoulder. It brought me out of the waking nightmare. The blinding pain remained, though. It was difficult to open my eyes. When I managed, I saw Alex looking at me in concern. Spider was behind her, looking as if he was prepared to run for help.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

  I shook my head to clear the vision.

  “Nothing…” I said.

  “Did you just lie to me?” she asked.

  “No?” I asked.

  “You were on the ground, cringing and acting like your head was about to explode and all you’ve got is ‘nothing’?” Alex asked me.

  I stood up and gently dropped her hand from my arm.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said.

  “Clare…” she started to say.

  I wasn’t up to her analyzing me. I wasn’t up to much after such a dramatic vision. I waved a brief goodbye and walked away as fast as I could. Spider and Alex stared after me as I walked, but neither followed me. I sensed their worry, but I wasn’t up to alleviating it. I was tired of alleviating everyone else’s worry.

  I went off the main path, knowing the others would find me if I stayed on the main path, and headed for the mountain. I didn’t go toward the historian’s cave, as I didn’t want to see her either. I walked through a large field of tall grass until I came to a small trail that looked like a trail for game. I followed the trail and hiked up a rocky mountain. The trail didn’t go all the way up the mountain, but it did go to a rocky overhang. I sat down on the edge of the overhang and looked out over the impressive landscape. A cold wind pounded against my senses. It was the loudest sound in the world. It brought perspective. I sighed as the vision swam in front of my eyes again. Why did I keep seeing the world torn to pieces?

  “A vision?” a voice asked.

  I turned and saw the historian behind me. I hadn’t heard her approach but she must have made some noise on the trail…I was just too distracted to hear. My problems had outweighed my abilities.