by Linda Palmer
Chapter Five
A Long Lost Brother
I actually slept Friday night but had a crazy dream about unicorns, of all things, running free across a field. I didn't remember many details when I woke up on Saturday, just an overpowering sense of homecoming and incredible relief.
I didn't feel all that joyful when I realized I still lived at Pringle's. In fact, the second I opened my eyes, everything came back in a rush, and my stomach knotted with dread. Had my subliminal suggestion worked on Matilda? And what about Kenny? How would he feel this morning?
Thankfully, my head wasn't hurting anymore, though there were a few unanswered questions knocking around inside it. Why would that Rocc dude say he was my brother? Who was M'jorca, and how had he found out where we lived? More important, what did he want from us?
And last, but not least, what about those voices? Those scary, intrusive voices that violated me to the core?
In thirty minutes, I had answers to a couple of my worries. Matilda treated me no differently than she treated any other kid at breakfast, which meant she didn't remember last night. As for Kenny, well, every time I turned his way, I found him watching me, a sure sign he remembered enough to think I was a witch or something.
When I saw Matt for the first time, I nearly choked on my Frosted Flakes. A black eye! Matt had a black eye. I realized Matilda had not noticed yet. Relieved, I focused on Matt again. Not surprisingly he kept his face averted, but he still managed to give our secret gotta-talk signal—digging a finger into his right ear—and waited for my nod of acknowledgement. The trick would be finding a spare minute since our Saturdays usually consisted of back-to-back, segregated chores. I could only hope that after lunch would be soon enough for him.
The morning flew by, a blur of dirty laundry, dusty mops, and lemon-scented furniture oil. Matilda ran a tight ship, and though a disgusting slob personally, the wannabe drill sergeant inside her demanded the house be kept white-glove neat at all times. I figured she did this to fool Children's Services and the caseworkers who sometimes dropped in unexpectedly, not to mention Priscilla Pringle, the generous patroness who'd given the house to the county years ago. Matilda really groveled whenever she showed up, probably out of fear the woman would find out that her random cash donations went to Bingo and beer.
Outside, the boys raked and burned autumn leaves, weeded the flowerbeds, and picked up trash tossed from the windows of passing cars. During carnival time they could count on a lot of that since the fairgrounds lay just a few miles down the busy road.
A late lunch consisted of the usual tomato soup, prepared by me and Ashley. She wore layered T-shirts today. I knew the black one underneath had Diva written on it in rhinestones. The Fason twins, who were thirteen years old, made tuna sandwiches. Temporary residents of Pringle's thanks to their mom's drug problems, they did as told without complaint, something I couldn't say about anyone else. But Ashley, noticeably tired and out of sorts, didn't grumble today, and I had my own distractions. So no one talked during meal prep.
A mandatory two-hour rest time followed the meal, during which the younger kids napped. Teen residents could pretty much do as they pleased then, so around one o'clock I headed outside in hopes of finding Matt. I located him easily enough, sitting on the front porch, but Kenny and his pal, John, sat nearby, messing with their respective fishing poles and making a private conversation impossible.
I stood in silence for a moment, listening to Matt tease the guys about the pond beside the nuclear plant just a few miles away from Pringle's.
"You can cook up what fish you catch and offer them to Mad Matilda." He grinned mischievously. "Maybe all that radiation will make her glow in the dark so we can see her sneaking up on us."
"Sounds like a plan." John pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up on his long nose.
"Um, Matt?" I kept my eye on Kenny, who hadn't even cracked a smile. "Can you help me for a second? The dryer door won't stay shut."
"Sure." Matt got to his feet and casually leapt off the porch to fall in step behind me. A small storage shed at the rear of the youth home housed the washer and dryer. This time of day, we could probably be alone there for a minute or two.
"Does it hurt?" I asked the moment we rounded the corner of the house. I tried to touch the bruise. Matt ducked away.
"Heck yeah. And you know Mad Matilda's gonna flip when she notices." Nothing angered our wannabe sergeant more than fighting.
"Maybe we can put some make-up on it."
"Not happening."
"But—"
"I'll think up something to tell her." He stepped into the shed, not bothering to flip on the light. The afternoon sunshine streamed through the window and landed in a perfect square on the floor, throwing the corners of the room into contrasting darkness. Tiny particles of dust drifted aimlessly in the beam. The air smelled strongly of washing powder. "Like I ran into a door or poked myself in the eye with the rake or—"
"Needlessly hurt yourself attacking us when we're only here to help?" From the shadows stepped M'jorca.
I squealed; Matt yelped. Both of us lunged for the door even as Rocc moved into view and slammed it shut. Matt jumped in front of me and backed awkwardly away from the two men, who now stood side by side, blocking the only exit.
"Take one step, and I'll have to hurt you." Matt balled his hands into a fist, all the time still crowding me. I sprawled backwards into a giant plastic laundry basket full of clean towels.
A bottle of bleach teetered off the washer and bounced on my head. "Ow!"
Matt whirled to see what happened. Rocc and M'jorca leapt forward with cries of what actually sounded like alarm. I quickly grabbed the half-empty container of bleach and threw it as hard as I could at the magician. It ricocheted harmlessly off his chest.
"Are you hurt?" Rocc shouldered his way past Matt and offered his help.
That simple question stunned me and Matt, too, from the look of him. We both gaped at Rocc, who stood mere inches from the basket, his hand extended. I stole a moment to assess the stranger, taking quick note of his medium height, muscular build, and short brown hair.
Dressed in faded jeans and a T-shirt, he could've been anyone and no one. His eyes captured me, however, and seconds stretched into a minute while I stared into them, mesmerized. The exact same shade as mine right down to the copper flecks, they truly windowed his soul, and what I saw of it calmed me. I put my hand in Rocc's and let him lift me out of the laundry basket.
"Leah!" Matt's eyes widened with confusion and fear. He started towards me, only to have his way blocked by M'jorca.
"It's okay." I warded off Matt with an extended hand. "I think he really is my brother."
"You remember me?" Rocc was clearly excited.
"No. But I can see we have the same eyes."
"What about Jor?" Rocc pointed to M'jorca. "Do you remember him?"
Jor. I'd heard that name before…but when? "You mean him? How could I forget last night?"
"No, from before that. From Balmythra."
I glanced at Matt. He appeared to be as baffled as I felt. "Come again?"
Jor placed a hand on Rocc's shoulder. "She isn’t ready."
Rocc shook it off. "Look at him closely. Please."
Unable to help myself, I reluctantly focused on the guy Rocc had called Jor. I saw exactly what I expected to see: stringy dark hair, wild eyebrows, handlebar mustache, and piercing black eyes. "I don't remember him from anywhere."
Jor cleared his throat, an oddly nervous sound. "She was only six when it happened. The Stream must've damaged her memory."
"So she's been here this whole time without any memories of her family?" Rocc hung his head, visibly distressed. "I should've come with her."
"You were needed at home. We did what we had to do to save her, Rocc. You know that."
Rocc didn't seem comforted. "Maybe if you removed your disguise—"
He was in disguise?
Jor shook his head. "There's no time. We have to get her to Bal
mythra now."
"Whoa. Stop. And a big fat time out." I made a referee's T in the air and glanced from one to the other of the three males staring at me in startled silence. "Save me? What do you mean 'save' me?"
"It's a complicated story." Rocc now seemed sad. "And your memory loss will make it even harder to understand."
"Not to mention that we're flat out of time." Matt inched his head toward the door, grabbing me by the wrist as he passed. "Matilda's probably put out an APB on us already."
"I know...." I let Matt lead me the few steps to the exit before I dug in my heels and spun around to face my so-called brother. "How do you spell your name?"
He blinked, and then gave me a half smile, an expression that lit up his eyes again and made him look very young. "R-O-C-C."
So I was right. "And what did you call me last night?"
"Alleana. Your name is Alleana M’Orrean. You're two years younger than me and Jor."
I ignored that last bit. "I go by Leah here. L-E-A-H. And this is Matt."
"That's M-A-T-T, jack-o. Now can we please get outta here?" Matt tightened his hold on my wrist and tugged hard.
Rocc grabbed my other wrist. "We have to talk. You're in grave danger."
"What kind?" Matt asked even as I twisted free of both guys.
I clamped my hands over my ears. "Don't answer that; I don't want to know...at least not right now. My brain's about to explode. Maybe I can sneak out again tonight without getting caught and—"
"Are you kidding me?" Matt threw his hands up in disbelief. "Surely you're not buying this."
"Maybe."
Matt snorted his exasperation with me. "These guys could be anyone, Leah. Pervs...pimps...psychos." He flung open the door and started to step into the sunlight right outside. I stopped him.
"Or a big brother just trying to take you home." Though Rocc spoke softly, his words hit me hard.
Groaning under the weight of my mental overload, I moved toward the open door where Matt waited.
"Alleana, Leah, please—" Jor pleaded with me.
I stopped and glanced back just in time to see him toss off his black robe to reveal clothing as ordinary as Rocc’s. Unfortunately, his face and hair still set him apart.
"I'd think that learning who you are is more important than remaining here with your beloved." Jor's words sounded oddly muffled since he spoke through the fingers he now pressed to his upper lip. When he lowered his hand an instant later, the mustache had vanished.
My eyes popped open wide. "M-my what?"
"Boyfriend." Jor altered his eyebrows with a simple touch, and then swept his hands over his hair.
Stunned to discover I now locked gazes with a blue-eyed brunette Ashley would definitely call yummy, I grabbed Matt's arm. "You've got to see this." He ignored me.
Rocc tried to explain. "We sensed the powerful bond between the two of you yesterday. Since we now know Matt has noble blood and is worthy, we understand how you feel about him."
What? My head began to pound exactly as it had the night before. As for Matt, his face flushed bright red, proof that he'd heard the conversation though he continued to stare outside.
"Leah! Kenny and John are headed our way." His warning snapped me from my daze. He sounded really agitated and, looking back, motioned for me to hurry. "Would you come on? Kenny probably thinks we’re smoking weed or something. And no matter what he said last night about not wanting to make trouble, I wouldn’t put it past him to spill his guts to Matilda."
I rushed forward only to stumble to a halt when the room began to spin and the guys blurred into what was becoming a familiar gray haze.
Jor was wrong to think we would not follow him.
He has certainly been a help to us, but we may have to destroy him yet.
Indeed. His skills are legendary. I believe we could have learned much in time.
And if he resisted, persuading him would have been entertaining…
Not those voices again! Now disoriented and dizzy, I placed a hand on the washing machine to steady myself. I struggled to squeeze out the four intruders as I had twice before. But it didn't work this time.
Take her now?
Yes, now!
Someone grabbed my wrist.
