Shared Skies (18 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

There was no chance to tell Kaley anything.
She was completely preoccupied with the news that Gorand and his
family were shifting Earthways in a day or so, and were going to
spend a few nights with them. She was determined to make the visit
perfect and had been shopping. Her cheeks were red and her hair
escaped from its plait in long tendrils. She almost buried the
girls beneath the overflow of shopping bags from the boot of the
car.

Gaiah was more than happy to allow a
discussion of bolognese versus chicken kiev and lasagne versus
steak pie to occupy them all the way home. Kaley ended the
conversation with a decision to make everything.

This meant Renny and Gaiah were put to
chopping, peeling, crushing and slicing the minute they got home.
Gaiah found it therapeutic. A local radio station burbled in the
background. Kaley issued constant instructions and Renny questioned
them all. Her mind was free to roam. Not so much roam, she noted,
but spiral in ever-decreasing circles, as she mulled things over.
Nothing made any sense. Gaiah knew, from Renny's reproachful looks,
that she felt they should tell Kaley about the weirdness in school
today. Gaiah was still trying not to think of any of it.

Things were boiling, frying, baking and
soaking when Alasdair shimmered into view. “Can I borrow Gaiah for
a minute? I want to show her something. It’s a stunningly beautiful
sunset at home. I won’t keep her long. I promise.”

Gaiah looked up from her chopping board with
surprise.

“
Wow. I'd love to
go.”

She washed her hands and Kaley kissed her as
she went past. “I’d love to go and see it too, but I can’t leave
all this stuff. I’m sure Renny and I will manage for a while. Just
don’t get carried away and stay all night.”

“
No problem,” promised
Alasdair, as he took Gaiah’s hand. They shifted to Gaiana, to the
same huge hall as before. Even from here it was obviously a
spectacular evening. The hall glowed in a haze of orange and pink.
“Let’s get a hover, quickly.” Alasdair held his hand up to a pad on
the wall. With a hum, the wall parted. Out slid a smooth, white,
wheel-less vehicle shaped like a giant, slightly flattened, egg.
Alasdair rested his hand on the door at his side. It swung open and
he sat in. “Hurry Gaiah, we don’t have much time.”

Gaiah copied him with a tentative touch to
the passenger door. It opened without a sound. She slid into the
shiny, low seat. There was no steering wheel, just a keyboard on
which Alasdair was typing.

“
Open top I think, for the
full experience.” Alasdair said. The roof parted in the middle and
slid down into the doors. The car purred, and they headed for the
far wall. “Compressed air,” said Alasdair. As if that would explain
everything.

The colours got stronger as they drew near
the wall. There was no exit apparent, as they gathered speed. Gaiah
frowned across at Alasdair. “Grandpa?”

“
Don’t worry. Energy
sensitive walls. They sense the negative charge from us and of
course, this forces atoms to part.”

Gaiah had no intention of questioning him.
One second they were in the hall, the next they were outside.
Gaiah’s shock at this maneuver immediately disappeared at the sight
of rolling green hills, patterned with white roads, all bathed in a
shimmering cerise light. Her mouth opened in a smile so wide she
felt it stretch her cheek, and her eyes darted from side to side,
trying to take in everything.

Alasdair took Gaiah’s hand and watched her
reaction with delight, as the hover took them up a winding road,
leaving the arrivals hall behind in the distance. Alasdair stopped
the hover just below the crest of one of the higher hills. “Okay,
we’re just in time to catch the end of it.”

They stepped out on to lush, springy grass
and strode to the crest. The land fell away to form a huge natural
amphitheatre; an enormous sloping semi-circle leading down to a
wide stage of shining, white stone that opened into the embrace of
the sea and sky. Alasdair spread his arms. “We call this area ‘Tres
Lumen’. It’s our meeting place. Used for celebrations and
commemorations. It’s also the most magnificent view of the
interplay of light from the three worlds.”

The air shone. The fresh smell of trees,
flowers, grass, and sea was a heady mixture. But it was the sky
that took her breath away.

She had seen movies of Earth’s tropical
sunsets, but they faded to a sepia copy in comparison to this. The
sky was painted with vivid lines of pulsating crimson and feathery
wisps of rose. Gilded purple clouds floated across a palette of
incalculable colours.

Colours that languidly entwined and mingled
and merged in the vast expanse of sky. Where rays of sun were still
coming through, they were shafts of sparkling gold, turning passing
clouds into iridescent multi-coloured banners.

Gaiah and Alasdair weren’t the only people
at the top of the hill to watch. There were dozens of hovers parked
nearby. Families were standing engrossed, their faces shining in
the changing light. There must have been at least a hundred more
people spread out through the amphitheatre.

“
It’s always beautiful,
but sometimes it’s mind-bogglingly magical.” Alasdair was smiling
at Gaiah. This was her land too. The realization filled her with
joy. This peace and beauty, these lovely people–she felt totally
part of it. A couple wearing matching turquoise Gaianan clothes
stood close by.

The woman smiled at them. “Isn’t it
wonderful? Makes you glad to be alive and grateful to be Gaianan,
doesn’t it?”

Despite all that had been happening, Gaiah
agreed with them. Nature’s work of art was being completed for the
day. The sun cleaned its brushes with a final vivid burst of
energy, leaving a signature of orange and gold across the darkening
horizon and the crowd broke into spontaneous applause. “There are
several places on Earth, you know, where they applaud the evening
sun in the same way.”

Alasdair glanced at his watch and jumped.
“The time! Quick, quick. Oh, my Powers! Quarter of a Gaianan hour.
Kaley will de-energize us.” They ran back to the hover. Gaiah
twisted in her seat the whole way back, keeping her eyes fixed on
the sky lights which were still leaving traces of their sensational
performance.

As they passed through the wall again Gaiah
said, “Thank you so much, that was...it was so…incredible. I’ve
never– “ she caught herself and laughed. “Well, of course I
haven’t, have I?”

Alasdair laughed too. “It is just a Gaianan
sunset, I know, but its magnificence says so much about what Gaiana
is. Obviously, we grow up with it, and as a child you take
everything for granted, but one day you suddenly see this marvel
that surrounds us, and are awestruck.” They got out of the hover
which returned itself to the wall.

Gaiah looked at their joined hands as
Alasdair prepared to shift them both. “Will you show me how to
shift on my own?”

“
Oh, yes, of course. It
takes a lot of practice and a completely different understanding of
the world than the one you have at the moment, but it
is
one of our priorities
for you.” As they spoke, Alasdair shifted them Earthways and they
shimmered guiltily, into an empty, dark kitchen.

A warm hum from the Rayburn and a soft
splashing from the dishwasher were the only sounds in a kitchen
rich with the smells of garlic and tomatoes. The wooden table
gleamed in the soft glow of the hall light, and the school lunches
for tomorrow were sitting reproachfully in the middle of it.
Alasdair whispered, “It’s very late. Go straight to bed and I’ll
see you in the morning.” He kissed Gaiah, who said, “Thank you
again, Grandpa. I’ll never forget it.” And they tiptoed to bed.

Despite the late night, Gaiah was up and
showered before Kaley and Renny. She was still elated by the visit
to Gaiana. Apart from being a magical introduction to her own
world, it meant she hadn’t spent the night worrying about Graeme
and Neal. “What time did you two shift Earthways last night?”

Kaley asked with a smile.

Gaiah grinned. “Oh, not too late.” Gaiah had
no idea how she felt about seeing Graeme and Neal today, after
their lunacy of yesterday. But as she had economics and history
first, she didn’t have to face them.

In maths class, Neal’s seat was empty, but
Graeme was in his usual place at the back. He smiled at her
sheepishly as she went to her seat. Donald was in his place too,
but he just nodded at her. As soon as the bell went for break,
Donald stood. “I’m off to help Cassie in the art room.” And he
fled.

Before Gaiah could stand up, Graeme was at
her desk.

“
God! Gaiah, I was such a
dick yesterday. Neal and I were complete idiots. I feel really
embarrassed. Honestly. Help me, Renny! Tell her–don’t I look like
the sorriest guy you have ever seen?”

Renny gave a small smile. This seemed to be
enough encouragement for Graeme. He accompanied them to the
canteen, pleading for forgiveness. They sat at a table by the
window. Graeme sat between them, in the middle of the bench.
Abruptly he turned his back on Renny, straddled the bench and
picked up Gaiah’s hand. “Right! Now, what about us? Where are we
going? What would you like to do? Let’s decide.”

Gaiah tried to take her hand back. A casual,
get-to-know-you date would be one thing. But this insistence was
putting her off. She tugged her hand back. Renny was leaning around
Graeme, giving Gaiah a ‘what the hell is happening’ look. Gaiah
scowled, she was being pressurized into a conversation she wasn't
ready to have. “Look Graeme…I…erm…Look, I'd just like to forget
about this weekend…I mean, I’d like to get to know you and
everything, but I'd like to take things slowly and…y’know, like
Neal said, do things as a group or something...and kind of…see how
we get on?”

He stared at her.” What? Are you joking? Do
what Neal says?”

Gaiah sighed. “No! It’s not that. It’s
just–”

Graeme broke in. “It is Neal, isn’t it? You
fancy him, don’t you? Well, that’s never going to happen!” He stood
up abruptly and stormed off without looking at Gaiah again.

“
Wow. Psycho!” Renny said
as she watched him leave.

Gaiah seethed.
God damn him! How dare he? Bloody hell, that was
ridiculous!

Renny spread her hands. “I don’t get what
any of that was about.” They looked at each other, lost for words.
The bell told them break was over, and as they headed to a double
study period, they decided that whatever the problem between Neal
and Graeme was, it had to be far bigger than a dispute over a girl.
Gaiah sat and stared at an open book for the entire study time,
still trying to get a handle on what was happening and what it all
meant.

She heaved a sigh of
relief when the last bell of the day sounded. On the way out, Gaiah
stopped to get her history books from her locker. When she opened
it, her heart skipped a beat; a folded sheet of paper lay on top of
her pile of books.
What now?
Keeping her hands inside in the locker, she
opened it.

Gaiah, PLEASE meet me
tomorrow at 10. I’ll wait for you at the second wooden gate in the
lane behind school. PLEASE come. I really need to talk to
you.

Neal

She hastily folded it into her books, closed
her locker and joined Renny, who was leaning against her own
locker, waiting patiently.

Gaiah’s feeling of things spiraling out of
her control made her monosyllabic on the way home. Kaley said this
unusual behaviour was probably due to the late night in Gaiana. So,
after dinner, she only allowed the girls an hour or two of
‘suggesting’ practice. Then she appeared with hot chocolate and
instructions for an early night. Gaiah looked suspiciously at the
hot chocolate, and then at Kaley.

Kaley laughed. “Oh Energies, no, Gaiah, how
could you even think such a thing? That's only for
emergencies!”

Renny’s look of confusion made them both
laugh and Gaiah headed to bed with a smile on her face.

Once in bed though, her
mind began to spin.
Why does Neal want to
talk to me? Has my encognation actually worked? Is he responding or
is he going to try and break free of his Or’kan controller to talk
to me?
She had to find out.
Or is he setting a trap?
This last thought sent a shiver of fear through her. Was she
wise to do this? Should she slip into Renny’s room and discuss it
with her? No, she already knew what Renny would say and she didn’t
want to hear it.

Next morning, there was such a thick mist
they could only see a few metres in front of the car as they drove
to school. Gaiah had put a thick polo neck jumper on over a warm
t-shirt, but was still cold. “God! I really hate this weather. It’s
so depressing, nothing looks right. We’d be better off staying in
bed today.”

She knew she was just looking for an excuse
not to make any decision; not about meeting Neal, nor about telling
Renny. She was in a bad mood and this weather wasn’t helping. By
half past ten, her stomach was in knots and she felt shaky. She had
to do something. Even making no decision was a type of
decision.

Not turning up would mean she’d never know
what he wanted to say. The thought of him waiting for an hour in
this dreary mist made her feel bad. Almost without thinking, she
tore a page from her note-book scribbled a few lines, got to her
feet and said, “Excuse me Mrs. Kane, I need to go to the bathroom,
please.” As she stood, she dropped the note on Renny’s desk.

Will you follow me in
about ten minutes, please? To the lane behind the school. Sorry
about this!