Finding Sky (14 page)

‘We just can. It’s like why do you have blue eyes?’

The question fell like an ice cube down my neck. ‘I guess I must have inherited them from my birth parents, but I wouldn’t know, would I? They dumped me.’

‘Sorry, that was stupid of me. I saw something about that in your memories.’

‘Sally and Simon couldn’t have children so took me on when everyone else thought I was too disturbed for adoption. I didn’t really speak for four years until they rescued me. They had the patience to coax me out of my shell.’

‘They’re special people.’

‘Yes, they are.’

‘In the most important respect, they’re your real parents now—I can see things from them in you.’

‘Like what?’

‘You’re as nice as your mom about people and that stubbornness, that’s from your dad.’

‘Good.’ I liked the idea of inheriting Simon’s grit. ‘He’s a Yorkshireman. He’ll be pleased to hear it’s catching.’

‘You shouldn’t be scared of what you inherited from your biological parents. I can’t see anything to be ashamed of when I look at you.’

‘Just don’t look too hard.’ I crossed my arms.

‘I guess one of them at least must have been a savant.’ He snagged a curl and twirled it playfully. ‘My family comes from savants on both sides. Dad’s people are part Ute—that’s a Native American tribe. Mom says she has gypsies and all sorts in her bloodline. Dash of Irish somewhere along the way and a big dose of Mexico. I’d say we were doomed from birth.’

‘That’s how it works?’

‘Yeah. My parents are both key players in the Savant Network—it’s a kind of world-wide web for those of us with a gift. Mom’s gift helps check those who join, making sure they are in it for the right reasons.’

‘So bad guys need not apply?’

He shook his head. ‘Not that they’d want to. The Net is about using our gift for the benefit of others. We keep ourselves secret so we can live as near to normal lives as possible, but that doesn’t stop us helping where we can.’

‘And you really think I’m a savant too?’

‘Yeah I do.’

‘But I can’t move things.’

‘Have you tried?’

‘Well, no. I wouldn’t know what to do. I thought I saw stuff once—aura, I suppose you’d call them—but I don’t any more.’ Not that I’d admit, anyway.

We sat for a while, hand in hand, gazing out of the window. The skies were thick with iron-grey clouds. Snow began to fall, thick and fast, gusts of wind driving it horizontal before letting it drop back to a gentle downward progress.

‘I think this is it,’ said Zed. ‘The first proper snow. I’d love to be able to teach you to ski but it’s not safe for you to be with me out there.’

‘I suppose it wouldn’t be a good idea.’

‘You should get Tina to take you out: she’s pretty good.’

‘I might do that. But she’ll laugh at me.’

‘Yeah, she will.’ He was doing it again—reading the future.

‘Then again nothing can be as humiliating as the skeleton suit.’

‘Don’t knock the suit. I’m preserving that and gonna beg you to wear it on special occasions.’

I kicked myself. I really mustn’t fall in love with this guy, but I wanted to curl up and tuck myself inside him, never to leave him. ‘Will you teach me to shield? I don’t want your family reading every thought that crosses my mind.’

He put an arm round me. ‘No, we wouldn’t want that. I catch some of them sometimes, you know. I like the one where you …’ He whispered the rest in my ear, causing me to die of embarrassment.

‘Shields—I need shields,’ I said when my cheeks stopped burning.

He laughed. ‘OK. The technique is simple but it just takes practice. It’s best to use visualization. Imagine building walls, putting yourself inside them, keeping the emotions, ideas, thoughts safe behind the barriers.’

‘What kind of wall?’

‘It’s your wall; you decide.’

I closed my eyes and recalled the wallpaper of my bedroom. Turquoise.

‘That’s good.’

‘You can see what I’m seeing?’

‘An echo. When someone’s shielded I see a shadow, a blank. Yours is a pale blue colour.’

‘My bedroom walls.’

‘Yeah, that’s good. Safe, familiar. When you throw that up between you and anyone listening, they should find it hard to get behind it. But it takes work—and we all forget from time to time.’

‘The savant working for the shooter—has he let his shield drop?’

Zed shook his head. ‘That’s why we know he’s good—powerful. Either that or he’s long gone, but we doubt it.’

‘They’ll try again?’

‘We think so. We hope so, because now we are expecting them, we have a chance of catching them, and they might roll over on the mole in the FBI. But knowing what’s in the wind, you be extra careful, promise?’ He ran his finger lightly over the back of my hand, sending a shiver down my spine.

‘I promise.’

‘I’m keeping you a secret, even from my family. You’re too precious to risk anywhere near this mess.’

Tina couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting Zed to teach me to ski. ‘You’ve got one of the best skiers in the district as a boyfriend—and I’m still angry with you for not telling me the truth about that, by the way—and you ask me to teach you?’

‘That’s right.’ I picked up a scraper and helped her clear the snow off her car windscreen in the school parking lot.

‘Why?’

‘Because according to Zed you totally rock on the slopes yourself. You’re my Obi Wan and I am your faithful apprentice.’

She preened with pleasure at the praise. ‘Thanks. I didn’t think he noticed girls like me.’

‘He’s not what you think. He’s not as unapproachable as he seems. He’s just got this … this problem with relaxing around people.’ And he’s stressed out half the time witnessing major crimes for the FBI, but she didn’t need to know that part. ‘And our parents aren’t too keen we spend time together—not since we ended up at the police station.’

‘Oh my God, it’s like
West Side Story
!’

I didn’t think that very accurate. If my memory of the musical was any good, I don’t think either of them was pursued by assassins with extra-sensory perception.

‘Fine, I’ll teach you,’ continued Tina. ‘Besides, there’s only so many times a girl wants to fall on her butt in front of the boy she’s out to impress.’

Actually, she had a point. Perhaps it would be better to learn from her.

‘Wisdom you speak, Obi Tina.’

She laughed. ‘None of that—I’m the one who gets to speak backwards—no, we’re both wrong—that’s the little green guy, Yoda.’

I slapped my forehead. ‘You’re right. So I just get to pout and act badly when you try and teach me anything.’

‘Try channelling Luke rather than Annakin—the outcome is better. I’ll take you Sunday morning if you like, after church. We finish about eleven so I’ll pick you up at quarter past.’

‘Great.’

‘Got any gear?’

‘No. What do I need?’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll bring you my old suit—I grew out of it years ago. You can hire skis at the sports store.’

‘I can’t wait.’

‘Think you’re going to be a natural?’

‘Um.’

‘Sure you are. Feel the force, Sky.’

I wasn’t a natural skier—not by a long way. But I was a natural at falling over. My balance needed a lot of work. I’d been compared to Bambi before but today I felt like him when he first gets up on his hooves, legs slipping in all directions.

‘Don’t you sometimes have those daydreams,’ I panted, spitting out snow after my most recent face plant, ‘where you try something new and find yourself to be an undiscovered talent?’

Tina patted my back consolingly. ‘All the time.’

‘It’s just not happening here.’

We were still at the foot of the nursery slopes. I could see the cable car doing good business taking the more experienced skiers up to the peak, Xav manning the ticket booth. It was a perfect day for skiing—sky pale blue, snow glistening with seductive promise, the heights beckoning. The mountains were at their most benign, Old Man Weather in his chair, rocking gently, no nasty changes of mood in mind.

Tina caught the direction of my gaze. ‘Zed’s probably up top. Mr Benedict pays the boys to work the weekend shift.’

At least he wasn’t here to see my failure. I was providing Xav with enough entertainment as it was.

‘OK, let’s go again. Remember, Sky, it’s just your first lesson.’

I watched with a sensation of despair as a little four year old whizzed by on mini skis. She wasn’t even using sticks.

‘You can’t compare yourself to them. They don’t have so far to fall and are indestructible at that age. Once more. Yeah, that’s it. Keep the skis parallel. No, no, don’t let them spread!’

‘Ouch.’ My thighs were screaming protests as I nearly did the splits.

‘That was good—better.’

‘Better than what?’

‘Better than the time before. Had enough for today?’

‘Oh yes.’

‘Would you mind if I went up to do a run down?’

‘Of course not.’

‘You could come too.’

‘You are joking?’

‘You could take the cable car back again. You might like the view from the top.’

I grinned, pleased that Tina was coming round to Zed going out with me. She had dropped her dire warnings, decreasing the threat level to ‘yellow alert’ rather than ‘crisis’. ‘I might just do that.’

 

Skis on our shoulders, we trudged to the queue for the lift. Xav’s eyes widened when he saw me at the kiosk. He shot a panicked look at Tina.

‘Sky, sweetheart, don’t you think it’s a bit early to take a run from the top?’ he asked.

‘No, I feel just in the mood.’ I suppressed my grin.

‘Tina, you need to talk her out of this. She could kill herself.’

‘Don’t sweat it, Xav. She thinks she has undiscovered talent.’

He covered the ticket with his hand. ‘Not selling you one, Sky.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘For heaven’s sake, Xav, I’m not completely stupid. I’m just going up for the ride. Tina’s the one who’s going to ski down.’

He laughed with relief. ‘Great. No charge then. But just to be sure, I’ll look after your skis.’

Tina flashed her season ticket and we climbed into the car. The view was spectacular. We hung over the roof of the Benedict house for a second then set off up the cable, brushing the tops of the firs until they too plunged away and we were swinging across a gorge. Below us antlike skiers zipped to and fro, making the whole business look so easy. Ten minutes later we got out at the station at the top. Zed was busy loading the car to go down—there were only a few sightseers like me so it wouldn’t take long.

‘Grab a coffee.’ Tina nudged me towards the concession stand. ‘I’ll meet you back by the bottom of the cable car in half an hour.’

‘OK. Have fun.’

Settling her feet in her skis, she propelled herself off the start of the black run.

‘A coffee with milk and a doughnut please,’ I asked the shiny faced man at the stall.

‘Not skiing, hon?’ he asked, handing over my pastry in a white bag.

‘First time on skis. I’m rubbish.’

He laughed. ‘So am I. That’s why I stick to serving coffee.’

‘How much?’

‘On the house—to celebrate your first experience of skiing.’

‘Thanks.’

Zed jogged up behind and scooped me round the waist, lifting me in the air, forcing a squeak from me. ‘How’s it going?’

‘I’m crap at skiing.’

‘Yeah, I thought you might be.’ He spun me round. ‘I’ve only a minute until the next car arrives, just enough to steal a bite of whatever you’ve got in there.’

‘This your girl, Zed?’ asked the stallholder.

‘Yeah, José.’

‘Why is it all the best ones are always taken? Ah well.’ He passed over a Styrofoam cup and winked at me.

Zed took me back to his cabin at the head of the cable car. We could hear the creak and groan of the wheels running the lift. I studied Zed’s face as he checked something on the control panel—the width of his shoulders as he reached to make an adjustment to the display, the muscles in his arms flexing. I hadn’t got before why my friends spent so much time admiring boys in my old school; now I completely joined that party. Was this gorgeous guy really mine? It was hard to believe I had been so lucky.

‘How do you know where the car is?’ I asked as Zed absentmindedly took a bite out of the doughnut. ‘Hey!’

He laughed, holding the bag out of my reach, and pointed to a display. There was a series of lights counting down as the cars went over points. ‘That shows me I’ve four minutes.’

Jumping, I grabbed the doughnut back and licked at the jam.

‘Sweet tooth?’

‘You’ve noticed?’

‘The hot chocolate with everything was a bit of a clue.’

I took a bite then handed it back. ‘You can finish it.’

He wolfed it down then took a slurp of coffee. ‘Ugh! Milk. I should’ve guessed. I need something to take the taste away.’ He tapped his chin, one eye on the monitor. ‘I know!’ He bent down and nibbled at my lips. I felt my body shift, a strange heaviness that urged me to hang on tightly to him or collapse in a heap at his feet. He gave a hum of pleasure and deepened the kiss.

We were interrupted by the arrival of the next batch of skiers. Unfortunately they consisted mainly of kids from high school who banged on the door and whistled when they saw what was going on in the cabin.

‘Here, Zed, stop making out and let us out!’ yelled a girl from my science class.

‘Down, boy!’ barked a guy from senior year.

‘OK, OK,’ replied Zed, dropping me back on my feet. He looked pleased rather than embarrassed while my face was exploring all the possibilities in the red spectrum.

Once the skiers were off to their chosen runs, I stayed with Zed for another ten minutes then caught the car down the hill.

‘Thanks for coming up,’ Zed said, closing the door behind me. ‘You’ve still got a bit of sugar on your lip.’ He brushed a tender kiss over my mouth, then tugged my jacket straight.

‘Hmm, I think I’ll have to visit you again. It appears that the cable car is going to be more my thing than skiing.’

‘Take care.’

‘I’ll try. You take care too.’

Tina persisted with my lessons to the point that, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, I could trundle down the nursery run without falling over until I reached the bottom.

‘Woo-hoo!’ She did a little dance on the spot as I made it. ‘Jedi knights watch out!’

I struggled off the skis. ‘I don’t think I’m much of a threat to the Empire just yet.’

‘It’s a start—don’t knock it.’ She picked up her own skis. This Sunday was much cloudier than the first time out on the slopes, the top of the lift obscured from view, the weather in a sullen mood. We queued up for the lift to find Saul on the desk.

‘Hi, Tina, Sky.’ He let Tina through the turnstile but it didn’t click for me. Saul was holding me back. ‘No point you going up today, Sky. Xav’s on duty. I gave Zed the day off to go boarding.’

‘Oh, OK.’

The cable car was about to leave. Tina gave me a wave. ‘Wait here. I won’t take long skiing down. Weather’s too horrid to hang about.’

I moved out of the way. The last of the queue filed inside.

‘We can’t keep you and Zed apart, can we?’ Saul said, coming to sit beside me on a bench in the waiting area as the car began its journey up the hill.

‘Seems that way.’ I scuffed at the snow. I had an odd feeling that Saul was suspicious of me.

‘We don’t want anything to happen to either of you.’ He stretched out his long legs, the gesture reminding me of his son.

‘I know. It’s been quiet, hasn’t it?’

‘Yes, it has. We don’t know what to think. I’d like to believe that the threat has gone away but my mind tells me different.’

‘They’re lying low?’

‘That’s my guess. I’m sorry you got caught up in this. These people know that if they get one member of my family, they weaken all of us.’ His profile looked noble staring out at the mountains, expression resolute. I sensed Saul belonged to the landscape around us in a way few residents did; he was in tune with it, part of the melody. MountainMan—standing as a barrier between his family and danger. ‘Victor doesn’t think they mind who they hurt,’ he continued, ‘just as long as the rest of us are so crippled emotionally that we can’t function as a team. I’ve got everyone on lockdown, not just Zed. But we can’t keep on like this. Our job’s tough and our boys need to be free to let off steam, to forget. They can’t if they’re not allowed to act natural.’

‘I know about the lockdown, Zed told me. But isn’t he a bit exposed out here snowboarding? And Xav’s up the mountain on his own.’

Saul brushed at the leg seam of his jeans, flicking away a speck of dirt. ‘Don’t worry about the boys. We’ve got security in place. Now we know the savant’s using shielding, we know what we’re looking for. That time in the woods, well, I suppose you could say we were caught with our pants down. Not again. And you, you’re being careful?’

‘I am. I don’t go out on my own. Sally and Simon know to be wary of people we don’t recognize.’

‘Good. Don’t let your guard down.’ We sat in silence for a few moments, unspoken words hanging between us.

‘Zed’s told you, hasn’t he?’

He reached out and squeezed my hand. ‘Karla and I know. And we couldn’t be more pleased. We couldn’t help but notice that something momentous had happened to our son. For your sake, for Zed, for the others, we think he’s right to keep it a secret until this is resolved.’

‘The others?’

‘Sky, I don’t think you understand just what you’re getting yourself into here. You are now Zed’s number one priority, just as Karla is mine. Seeing him find that will be tough on the others. It will seem unfair, him being the youngest, that his soulfinder just fell into his lap while the others still have to look for theirs. They’ll be delighted for him, but they wouldn’t be human if they weren’t jealous.’

‘I don’t want to create problems for your family.’

He patted the back of my hand. ‘I know. Just give us time to get through this and they will look forward to welcoming you as one of us.’

‘But I don’t know about that yet. I’m only just getting used to Zed; I’ve not thought of anything beyond the next few weeks.’

Saul gave a knowing smile. ‘You mustn’t worry, Sky, all will fall into place in its own time. You haven’t factored in that it’s God and nature working this; you’ll feel what you need to feel when you’re ready.’

I hoped he was right. My feelings for Zed were deepening, but they weren’t yet enough to think in terms of a for ever commitment, which is what they were expecting. I knew myself well enough to realize I’d back off big time if anyone forced the issue. So far, Zed seemed to understand that, but how long would his patience last?

I was really disappointed that I didn’t see Zed that afternoon, despite hanging out at the end of the runs. Tina came down first, feeling pretty steamed over a boarder who had almost collided with her on the slopes.

‘Not Zed?’ I asked anxiously.

‘No, just an idiot with an inflated ego and no brains, otherwise known as Nelson. He was trying to impress me.’ She threw her gear in the back of her car. ‘Ready to go home?’

‘Yeah, thanks. So he’s not persuaded you yet?’

She paused at the driver’s side door. ‘Of what? That we are perfect for each other? Pur-lease!’

OK: that didn’t sound hopeful but I recognized a snit when I saw one and knew better than to try to advance his case when she was in this mood. I slipped into the passenger seat. She turned the ignition and the car took several tries to catch.

‘Jeez. Sounds bad. It was working fine this morning.’ She thrust into reverse. ‘Heap of junk.’

‘So I take it favourite brother is demoted?’

‘You bet.’

We puttered back into town with the unnerving sensation that the car was about to stall on us every time she slowed for a junction.

‘Ready to get out and push?’ she joked darkly.

We got as far as Main Street when the electrics gave up on us.

‘Tina, I think you’d best take this to the garage.’

‘Yeah, I’m getting that message too.’ She swung onto the forecourt of the Wrickenridge gas station. Only the pumps were open; the workshops closed for the weekend. Kingsley the mechanic was on duty at the till and came out when hearing an engine in distress.

‘Pop the lid, honey,’ he told Tina. He peered inside and scratched his head. ‘Sounds like the alternator’s gone.’

That made it much clearer—not.

He must have noticed our blank expressions. ‘It charges the battery. Without it, the power drains and you get this.’ He gestured to the car.

‘A dead car.’ Tina kicked the tyre.

‘Temporarily dead car—it’s not fatal. I’ll fix it for you tomorrow.’

‘Thanks, Kingsley.’

‘I’ll push it into the workshop. It’ll be safe enough to leave your gear in the trunk.’

Passing over the car into Kingsley’s capable hands, we were left without a ride.

‘Well, that blows,’ huffed Tina.

I knew the cure for that. ‘Buy you a triple chocolate chip muffin?’

She perked up immediately. ‘Just what I need. You’re a good friend, Sky.’

We had a quick bite in the café. I managed to talk her out of her indignation against Nelson, pointing out that he was only over-eager, not malicious, in his attempts to gain her attention.

‘I suppose, but sometimes he acts like a big baby,’ she grumbled. ‘Why can’t he just grow up?’

‘Maybe he’s just on a steep learning curve.’

She smirked. ‘Hey, who’s Yoda now?’

I assumed my best wrinkled old man expression. ‘Nelson, kind he is; chance you must give him.’

She burst into laughter. ‘Get out of here. Yoda so does not have an English accent!’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Other than that you’re saying I’m a dead ringer?’

‘If the shoe fits.’

‘Sheesh, I hate tall girls.’

Outside the café we had to go our separate ways. It was getting dark. Streetlights on Main stuttered on, making it seem even darker in the shadows.

‘Thanks for the lesson and sorry about your car.’ I zipped up my jacket.

‘These things happen. I’ll have to see if I can put some extra hours in at the store to pay for the repairs. See you later.’

I dug in my pocket for my mobile to tell Sally and Simon I was heading home.

‘Hi, Sally? Tina’s had car trouble. I’m walking from Main Street.’

I could hear the sound of tinny music in the background as Sally’s voice came through. ‘Not on your own?’