Over My Head (Wildlings) (7 page)

But if this old cousin's as powerful as Chaingang says he is, we need some serious intel before we go after him. First of all, we have to find out what his weaknesses are, and why he doesn't want any other Wildlings to know what he's up to. And we need to know why he wants Josh dead. Maybe some of the other elder cousins see Josh as some kind of chosen one, but killing Josh doesn't change the fact that there are all these other Wildlings running around out there—myself included.

So what's this guy going to do, just saying he
could
have Josh killed? Is he planning to kill everybody else next?

It's hard holding this new secret close to my chest as I'm walking home with Josh and Des. The pair of them are in such a good mood, laughing and joking. It's almost like old times. I'd so much rather just relax along with them for real instead of having to pretend. But neither of them seems to pick up on what I'm feeling.

"So, dude," Des says when we get to my house. "How much longer are you grounded?"

"Through the weekend. Five more days until I'm free."

 "Bummer."

Especially since I need to get out and find Auntie Min as soon as I can. But I only nod in response.

"I know," I say. "First thing Monday morning, I'm hitting the waves."

"Can you have anybody over?" Josh asks.

"I suppose if you wanted to pray with us it would be okay."

Des's eyes go big. "Oh, come on. Seriously? I know your mom's big on the whole religion thing but …"

His voice trails off when he sees me grinning.

"Gotcha,
dude
," I tell him. Then I turn to Josh. "It's probably not a good idea just yet. Seeing you is just going to remind her why she grounded me."

"And then she might add on a few days," he says.

"Probably not, but why take chances? I'm going crazy stuck at home day after day."

Josh looks sympathetic. "See you tomorrow, then."

Des lifts his hand for a fist bump, then dances back as I fake him out and try to punch him in the chest instead.

"Later," I tell them, grinning.

I start for the house and they head off to Des's place. When I get to my door, I pause and turn around. They're still laughing as I watch them get to the end of the block and turn the corner. This is going to be hard. The sooner I get a better idea as to what's going on, the better. I am
not
going to keep this from Josh any longer than I have to—I don't care what Chaingang thinks.

Chaingang. Just thinking his name makes me remember that kiss.

No, I correct myself. If I'm going to go there, I have to call him Theo. When I think about kissing him, everything else just fades to background noise. I know I'm being stupid. Being with Theo isn't something I could ever make work. But I'd still like to kiss him again.

Mamá's in the kitchen making salsa. The air is filled with the scent of cilantro, chopped peppers and spices. I have to smile. She might want us to be good gringas, but that doesn't stop her from cooking the same traditional food she always has. Or from setting up her shrine to the saints in a corner of the living room. My stepfather doesn't mind. He loves Mamá's cooking, and I think he sees the religious artifacts more as art than objects of worship.

That makes me think of how different he and Mamá seemed when they first met, but they still made it work. Except he didn't have to give anything up. Mamá's the one who moved from the barrio to be with him. That's how it would have to be if Theo and I hooked up. I'd have to go to him—to the gang life.

"What's the matter?" Mamá asks.

I try to hide the guilt I'm feeling. "What makes you think something's the matter?"

"I'm your mother—how could I not know? What is it?"

"You mean besides being stuck in the house day after day?"

"Do we really need to have this discussion again?" she asks.

I shake my head.

"No, Mamá," I say because I know it's what she wants to hear. "But you asked me what was wrong. It's okay. I know I have to learn my lesson."

But that night I sneak out of the house again—not for another clandestine meeting with Theo, which is what I'd prefer, but to track down Auntie Min. My stepdad went to bed after the evening news, just as he always does, and Mamá followed not long after. I wait until my Wildling ears hear the steady breathing that tells me they're asleep before I finally slip outside.

It's not as late as it was when I went to meet Theo last night, but it's almost as quiet. The sound of the ocean calls to me over that of the distant traffic. I stand for a long moment, drinking in the dark stillness, my nostrils flaring. Then I remember this elder Wildling who wants Josh dead and I wonder where he is. Following Theo? Watching Josh? Watching me?

I don't sense anyone nearby, but Theo told me the man moves like a ghost, so he could be anywhere. I hate that. With my otter hidden under my skin, the dark of the night is one of the few times I feel completely free. I know I can shift to her sleek form and back again, and no one's the wiser. But the idea that someone might be out here spying on me creeps me out. At least when the FBI were skulking around, I could always tell where they were. But this guy … he could be anywhere and I wouldn't know.

I move into the deeper shadows of the palm trees at the back of the yard and wait there awhile, weighing and measuring the night around me. I sift the air for scents, identifying each one before moving on to the next. I listen past the sound of the waves for anything that's even remotely out of place.

I can't hear or smell anything out of the ordinary. There's nothing moving. So finally I set off for the highway, keeping to unlit back streets where I can run at full speed and no one's going to notice a girl moving almost as fast as a car would in this neighbourhood.

It doesn't take me long to reach the overpass where Auntie Min has her camp. I slow down when I'm about a block away so that I can saunter casually through the makeshift village of cardboard shelters and trash. When I first came here, the other animal people wouldn't look at me, except with suspicion. Now it's only the homeless humans who ignore my presence. The cousins nod, some of them even smile. I don't see anyone who matches the description that Theo gave me. The real welcome comes when I reach the old sofa where Auntie Min is sitting.

I know now that her animal shape is some huge kind of moth, but she always reminds me more of a big old turtle or elephant that's been around forever. She looks about a hundred, but I'm not fooled into thinking she's some frail old bag lady. She's probably the most powerful of the elder cousins in this area, connected to the land and respected by the whole community. Why she lives like a homeless person, I have no idea.

She's propped up in the corner of her battered sofa. Lifting a hand when she sees me, her brown wrinkles deepen as her whole face smiles. She pats a cushion on the sofa beside her.

"Look who's finally come by to visit this old lady," she says. "I was sure it wouldn't take this long."

Back when we were rescuing Josh from ValentiCorp, Auntie Min had offered to fill me in on the history of our people—Wildlings, cousins, the first people, whatever you want to call them—and I'd been wanting to take her up on it ever since. I'd felt a strong connection with her, and known right away that there was so much she could teach me. The trouble is, after I stayed out all that night, Mamá laid down stricter rules about where I can go and what I can do.

"I couldn't get away," I tell Auntie Min, "because I'm grounded."

She smiles. "Being grounded is a good thing. It emphasizes the connections we all share with the land and each other."

"Not that kind of grounded. My parents won't let me leave the house, except to go to school and visit my dad."

"That hardly seems fair. Does she not know the part you played in rescuing Josh?"

"She doesn't even know I'm a Wildling. I'm grounded for staying out all night."

"I see."

A sympathetic look crosses her face before her eyes brighten once more.

"Still, you're here now," she says. "What about this 'grounding' you were given?"

"I snuck out. I'm just so tired of being cooped up."

Auntie Min nods. "Of course. And it keeps you away from the grasshopper mouse, too, doesn't it?"

I can feel the flush rise up my neck until my cheeks are burning.

"How—how do you know about that?"

She laughs. "Oh, little otter. I know all the gossip of this land. If the birds don't tell me, then the little lizards will."

I see this as the perfect opportunity to turn the conversation away from personal embarrassment to what I really came for.

"So all the cousins answer to you?" I ask.

"It sounds so formal when you put it like that. The little cousins give me their respect and, in return, I help them with the various troubles that vex their lives."

"What do you mean when you say 'little cousins'?"

She shrugs. "We are all of equal stature in the eyes of the Thunders, but in the day-to-day goings-on of the world, some of the elder clans walk a little taller. But only because we have been here for that much longer."

"You mean cousins like Tomás and Cory?"

She smiles. "Cory comes from an elder clan, but he's still a pup. Tomás, however, is another matter. He has been a guiding force in the lands north of us for many many years."

"I guess you must know all the local elders," I say.

"There aren't many of us to know. At any given time, there are no more than a half-dozen at best in this area. Most of us tend to keep to ourselves and don't get involved in human affairs."

"I think I saw an elder the other day," I say, hoping she won't be able to tell that I'm lying to her. "He was this really tall guy wearing dark suit pants and jacket, but no shirt or shoes. He was pale-skinned, too, which I thought was weird since most of the older cousins I've seen so far are dark. And though I got a major vibe from him, I couldn't tell what his animal shape is."

"That comes with time and practice," Auntie Min says, but I can tell she's intrigued. "Where did you see this man?" she asks.

I make a vague wave with my hand.

"Down south," I say. "Around Tiki Bay. All the hardcore surfers go there and I thought maybe he liked to ride the waves, too."

"Hmm."

"Do you know him?"

"I'm not sure," she says. "From your description, it sounds like Vincenzo of the Condor Clan, but that doesn't make sense. He has no love for the five-fingered beings. Truth is, he doesn't much care for his own people, either. You're more likely to find him in the middle of the Mohave or some other desolate place. And I think that I would have known if he were in Santa Feliz." She gives me a sharp look. "If you see him again, keep your distance. He has a special distaste for Wildlings and would be a formidable enemy."

"So these condors are pretty badass?"

Auntie Min shakes her head. "Don't mistake individuals for their clans. Yes, the people of the Condor Clan can be fearsome, but Vincenzo is something else again. He is one of the oldest and most powerful cousins I have met, and easily the most angry about our current state of affairs."

"You mean because he got outted," I say. "I don't mean just him," I add, "but all of you, now that the world knows about the Wildlings …"

Auntie Min sighs. "Yes, he faces the same risk of exposure that we all do. For an old cousin like him, that's an uncomfortable possibility. He's walked hidden among the five-fingered beings for centuries and would prefer to keep it that way. But most of us have seen how the wind blows. Better we introduce ourselves in our own time than be discovered and considered as yet one more threat to the security of the five-fingered beings.

"Which reminds me," she goes on, "have you spoken to Josh?"

"Sure. I see him at school every day."

"Could you tell him that I would like to speak to him?"

I nod. "But don't hold your breath. He's not ready to be your poster boy. He's just trying to keep his head down and get on with his life."

"Unfortunately, that choice might no longer be in his hands. As soon as he became a Wildling, destiny began making its own plans for him."

I know this spiel, and thankfully, she doesn't bother to repeat it. Josh is from the Mountain Lion Clan, one of the oldest and most respected of the cousin clans, which means the other cousins will listen to him. From the human perspective, he's a good kid with a mixed-race background. Some of the elder cousins like Auntie Min and Tomás think that makes him a perfect candidate to be their public face when they come out to the rest of the world. They need a friendly, uncomplicated kid like Josh to defuse the potential fallout when the world actually realizes what's what.

At the moment, everybody believes this is just something happening to kids in Santa Feliz. They have no idea that the animal people originate from the beginning of time and have been living hidden among them since day one. They also don't know about the pristine parallel world that exists side by side with the one we live in. Only the cousins do, and until we came along, only they had access to it.

Somehow, I don't think the cousins plan to share that information any time soon.

"I'll tell him," is all I say.

Auntie Min nods. Then she cocks her head and studies me for a long moment.

"What?" I finally have to ask.

"There was always a strong connection between you and Josh," she says, "and I was curious as to whether it had been broken. Now I see it is still there, but Theo is entwined in the pattern as well—much more than he was before."

"You can read the future?"

She laughs. "Of course not. But I can read patterns. I read it in the land and I read it in how we all interact with one another upon it. Everything is connected. But there are always surprises, even for one such as I, with all my centuries behind me. I find it interesting that you've chosen the grasshopper mouse over the mountain lion."

"I didn't say that."

"But you're with Theo."

I don't know how to explain the confusing mix of subterfuge and genuine emotion that's running through me right now. And even if I wanted to try, I couldn't. Not without giving away how Theo and I are trying to deal with this threat to Josh's life in a way that doesn't involve any of the other animal people.