Guardians (16 page)

“What I meant is you got somebody snooping around. Downstairs.”

There was a moment before Gideon replied. “Who?”

“Don't know. He got away.”

The two boys were alone in Gideon's tiled office. Trey was inspecting his own clothes for any trace of the rat's blood or gore. Mostly, though, he wanted to avoid the other boy's eyes because he was a bad liar. He didn't lie often—he didn't have to, at least not about missing his target, for he rarely did. But the gunman didn't kill small children. That was the only rule he had and no one needed to know it.
Let Gideon think he had failed,
Trey thought.

“Got away?” Gideon's voice was sharp. “How that happen?”

Trey shrugged again. “Like everything else in this life. No reason.”

Gideon turned away. But what he said next surprised Trey.

“Esther up to something.”

Puzzled, Trey could only nod. He had heard Gideon talk about this girl before, whoever she was; he seemed to blame her for everything bad that happened. Trey had been rejected by his share of females before; he merely moved on to the next, for there were always more. He couldn't understand the boy's obsession with one person or his inability to let go.

“She aim to destroy me.” Gideon had turned back to face him, although he seemed to be speaking to himself. “Ain't happy with what she got. She try to squeeze me out.”

Trey located a fleck of dirt on his sleeve; he had to use his
fingernail to work it loose. He suspected that Gideon was going to ask him to do something, something that had to do with this girl Esther.
Avenging a broken heart seemed a foolish waste of his skills,
Trey thought. But Gideon was the boss, and so Trey would do whatever he wanted.

“You want me to get rid of her?” he said at last.

Gideon shook his head. “Not now,” he said. “Maybe later. But right now, she too important. People like what she do upstairs. I hear it.” Gideon thought for a minute. “Just get her to stop spying. Lean on her. Use your little gun, if you got to.”

Trey considered this. He figured Gideon was exaggerating the situation. Still, this Esther obviously had spirit. Most girls could be undone by a smile or a few sweet words; maybe this one would be a challenge.

“I got a better way,” he said. “Girls like me.” He winked, but Gideon didn't smile. The gunman sighed; the boy was all business, no fun.

“Maybe this Esther lonely, I mean,” Trey said. “Maybe she need a boy to take her mind off her worries.”

“And that boy would be you?”

Trey shrugged. Gideon's eyes swept up and down Trey's body in a way that made him feel odd. Yet Trey realized there was only calculation in it, as if he were a piece of jewelry or clothing to be priced.

“You tell me stuff about her,” Trey said, “and I carry the facts in case I need them. Like my . . . little gun.”

He smirked, but Gideon's expression was serious. “I know plenty about her.” Trey let the other boy speak: Esther had a
mutant child. Her partner had left her for another girl. There were other details that he dutifully noted. When Gideon was finally finished, Trey noticed that Gideon was out of breath and red in the face.

“We good?” the boy in white asked.

“Yeah,” Gideon said.

“Then it settled.”

But Trey wasn't finished.
When people wanted things,
he thought,
they were at your mercy
. He smiled now, his teeth gleaming.

“But it's gonna cost you,” he said, “extra.”

Esther sat on the top step of the dark staircase, Kai in her lap.

It had been a while since she had had time alone with her son. Sarah was in their room, tucked up in her crib. The rest of those needing her care were at long last asleep. There wasn't a sound in the entire District; everyone was gone or settled for the night. Esther hadn't even felt the need to bring a torch with her. She and the boy rested in the stillness, which seemed peaceful and unending.

She heard something before she saw it.

Someone had entered the stairwell far below. Alert, Esther peered through the darkness, all of her senses straining; after a few moments, she saw the distant flicker of light throwing deep shadows. As whatever it was approached, she saw that it was pale and moved in a deliberate way.

For a shocked second, Esther thought of Pilot, Aras's dog.
Had the animal returned?

As the shape grew nearer, it became more distinct. As
Esther's eyes adjusted, she realized it was no dog but a boy she had never seen before. He was a little older than she was, seventeen she guessed, and dressed all in white, which gave off a soft glow by the light of the candle he held. When he rounded the final landing and saw her, he stopped as if expecting to find her there.

“Evening.”

Esther nodded, not responding, Kai stirring a bit in her arms. The boy had a strange white streak in his hair, too.

“I'm Trey,” he said, and climbed to the top.

“Esther.” The boy was nodding even as she spoke. He fumbled in his pocket and drew something out. It took her a moment to identify it in the flickering shadows: It was the round tin of the lemon drops she had once tried to get for Kai.

“Care for one?”

“I don't have enough glass.” Esther was surprised to find she was still annoyed.

“It don't cost you nothing. It's mine.” He opened and offered the tin. When she didn't touch it, he reached in and placed a piece of candy into her hand. The brief touch was startling; his slender fingers were unexpectedly soft. “Actually, that ain't true. It's yours.”

As he handed her the round can, he smiled, and Esther had to admit, he was handsome when he did it. She found herself smiling, too, even though she didn't want to; she still didn't know who this boy was or what he wanted. Neither accepting nor rejecting the gift, she placed it on the step below her, the child stirring in her arms. Kai had woken up, although she
wasn't as annoyed by this as she normally would be.

“What are you doing up here?” she asked.

“Stretching my legs. I get restless sometimes, downstairs.”

“You work for Gideon?”

“If he's the one who hired me. Stiff boy? Never smiles?”

“That's him.” Esther laughed now; it felt like forever since she had done so. This stranger who had emerged from the dark seemed like someone from a dream. Maybe he was. In any case, for a moment at least, she relaxed.

“I sell things. Like this.” He indicated the tin. “And this. Watch.”

Trey dripped hot wax on the landing and stuck the candle in it. Then he took something from his breast pocket and held it out. Esther examined it: It was a small metal rabbit, with a tiny white knob that protruded from its side.

By now, Kai was wide-awake. “What's that?”

Smiling, Esther held the boy away. “We've seen toy rabbits before.”

“But not like this one.” Trey twisted the button, which made a faint clicking sound. Then he leaned forward and set it on the ground. To Esther's amazement, the metal animal scurried forward a few steps, paused, and then jumped in the air. It spun in a circle, ran in a new direction, then leaped again.

Kai stared at the vision, openmouthed, then lunged at the toy. “Give me!”

Although Esther held him back, Trey picked up the rabbit, crouched down, and presented it to the boy. Kai squealed with delight, then proceeded to examine it with both hands.

“Are you sure?” Esther asked. She, too, was enchanted, although she managed to keep a straight face.

Trey shrugged. “He can have it.”

There was silence for a while, as Esther assessed him. Then she asked, “How come you wear white?” It was an impertinent question, yet she found she didn't care.

“Maybe I'm a ghost,” he said, and smiled, his teeth white, too. When he saw Esther's quizzical expression, he grew serious. “I'm just passing through,” he said. “Had a little trouble. I'm trying to leave it behind. Ain't easy.”

“What kind of trouble?”
This Trey encouraged openness,
Esther thought. She was asking him questions she would normally keep to herself.

“With a girl.” He shrugged, looking off. “She run away with someone else. Bad feeling here.” He thumped his chest once, to illustrate. “Don't seem to go away no matter how far I go.”

Esther was surprised to hear this. It was odd that such a confident—even arrogant-seeming—boy had the same problem she had. Kai was reaching out for Trey, and she had to rein him in.

“I know how you feel,” she said.

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“That's hard to believe, pretty girl like you.”

Esther blushed. “It's true, anyhow.”

“He must have been crazy.”

Esther didn't know how to answer. Brooding about Aras seemed silly now, in the face of so much true suffering, seeing
what she did each day. Still, in the quiet hallway, with no one else around to provide perspective, she felt the pain again. Knowing this boy had gone through something similar helped.

“You mind?” He indicated the stair beside her. Esther made room and he sat down, stretching his long legs in front of him.

Trey couldn't help it; he kept looking at Esther. He had expected another kind of person: if not the diabolical schemer Gideon had described, then someone bold and experienced. Instead, he found a girl who was sincere, direct, and self-possessed. She didn't flirt, nor did she wear artificial colors on her face or tight clothing that showed off her body. In fact, Esther almost looked like a boy at first, with her slim frame and short, tousled hair. Yet she was pretty in a way that made you want to glance at her twice. It made Trey feel funny about what Gideon had accused her of, and the lies he was about to tell her.

Kai escaped Esther's embrace and moved into Trey's lap. Trey let the boy crawl on him, not minding, even enjoying it. Kai grabbed his nose; Trey made a monster face and growled. The boy squealed; Trey laughed. Then Kai settled into a ball in his arms and fell asleep again. Trey rocked him.

Esther studied his profile as the little boy began to get drowsy.
There was something about Trey that was utterly appealing
, she thought.
Small children didn't like just anybody, after all
.

“Was she pretty, your girl?” she asked.

“Oh yeah. I thought so.” He waited. “But maybe it wouldn't have worked out anyway.”

“You can't know that.”

Trey had to shake off his feelings about Esther. He was about to speak the false words he had prepared and needed to keep a clear head. “True. But it's what I tell myself. See, my girl was a . . . well, what some people call a mutant.” He swallowed hard, aware of her eyes on his face. “Maybe that shock you. But I loved her the same as if she was a norm. Others didn't like the . . . you know, the marks on her. The tattoos and such. To me, that's ugly thinking. But people do what they do.”

Esther said nothing, only listened. But the smile froze on her face and she could feel her spine tense up. Trey wasn't looking at her; he was peering into the darkness.

“Anyhow, we had a hard time. So maybe it for the best. She went off with one of her own kind. Can't say as I blame her, but still.”

“What was her name?”

Trey paused and bit his lip before answering. “Lavie.”

Esther watched her son, as he lay in the boy's arms. She had an impulse to take him back but didn't obey it. Then she glanced down to Trey's crossed legs and his idly swinging sneaker.

She saw what looked like a small weapon strapped to his ankle. Then, on the step near it, the round candy tin had some lettering on it, along with a faded picture of fruit. Esther squinted to see. It read
LAVIE
.

“I better go,” she said quickly, and stood.

“Something wrong?” Trey glanced up at her, a flash of concern in his eyes.
As if,
Esther thought,
he was afraid he had made a
mistake
. She opened her arms, gesturing for her son.

“Maybe,” she said.

Trey glanced down and saw the container. He grunted and kicked it, lightly, to the side, cursing himself for his blunder. He hadn't been able to use lazy charm and cheap tricks against this girl; Esther was too smart, too observant. He surprised himself by his next thought:
And maybe that was a good thing
.

“Look, I . . . ,” he began, and stopped. The door in the landing above them creaked open and both of them glanced up, blinking in the unexpected light that spilled down on them.

Skar stood, holding a torch overhead. “I am sorry,” she said. “But Sarah is crying and we did not know where you were.” Her lavender eyes held Esther's for a second, then flickered over to the boy.

Without a word, she stepped closer to her friend, as if for protection.

“The boy—now?” Although her voice was firm, Esther's outstretched hands had begun to shake.

“Hold on.” The light had awakened Kai, who squirmed in the boy's arms. Trey retrieved the tin and took out a piece of candy, which he gave to him.

Esther brought her arms down, slowly. The hair was standing up on the back of her neck, and her body trembled with the desire to run.
Had Trey been sent by Gideon?
If so, then Gideon had surely told Trey what to say to her. She shuddered at the thought that she had been so nearly taken in.

Even so, she was struck by the boy's actions. He still held
her child and was now stroking his head with what looked like true gentleness.

“That's a good little fellow,” he whispered. Trey hoisted Kai up under the arms. Before he could place him on his feet, Esther reached forward and seized him, holding him close.

“Good night,” Trey said. He was gazing at her, a faint smile on his face.

Esther's nerves were still jangled. She thought of the boy's lies and the gun he kept by his ankle. Yet his expression was soft, as if he were about to apologize.
Had everything he'd said and done been insincere and duplicitous?
Suddenly, Esther didn't think so. But she put the feeling aside.