Shared Skies (9 page)

“
You misbegotten waste of
energy,” cursed Kaley. Swiftly bringing the weapon up with both
hands, she fired at his stomach. The gun jumped upwards with a
sharp crack, the man staggered but didn't fall. “Take that
unfortunate human somewhere else to die and when you are returned
to Or’ka, tell your masters we have Gaiah and she’s safe. None of
your tricks worked to stop her getting to us.”

The man smiled hideously through his broken
mouth, the blood glistening darkly down his face, “I've no master.
I’m one of the Five and we’re nearly there, we nearly have it
perfected. No melding’s spawn will stop us.”

“
If you thought that was
true, you wouldn't be here tonight trying to kill Gaiah.” Kaley
spat out the retort and turned her attention to Alasdair, who was
stirring on the ground. The intruder's clothes were dripping blood,
soaking down his trousers and trailing on the ground as he shuffled
from sight.

Gaiah’s legs wouldn't
support her; she collapsed trembling into the wooden armchair. She
wanted to throw up, and much as she was scared and worried about
her grandfather, she just couldn't get her legs to move. “For
Christ’s sake!”
I can't believe this. I'm
sitting in a picture-book house, the sight and smell of a delicious
meal all around me and my grandmother has just shot someone outside
the kitchen window! When the hell did I go through the looking
glass?

She sat in the chair
fighting off nausea. She was vaguely aware of Kaley helping
Alasdair past the kitchen and into the bathroom.
Okay Gaiah, get a grip, either all this is real
or you’re mad, locked up somewhere dribbling and hallucinating. If
it’s real, well, Alasdair and Kaley aren’t bad people, they’d never
do anything wrong–although shooting someone does rather seem to
fall into that category.

Her black humour seemed to give her strength
and she got to her feet just as Alasdair appeared at the kitchen
door. He looked pale and worried, but apart from the blood on his
sweater he seemed unhurt. Gaiah couldn't believe her eyes.

“
Have you got super
healing powers?”

He smiled. “No, not really. If I had such a
violent accident on Gaiana, I probably would have to spend time in
a curing centre, but our Earth forms do respond quickly to Gaianan
energy focused on healing.”

“
So, why didn't Mr.
Attacker guy do the same?”

“
Because he wasn't in his
Earthways form, he was inhabiting a human.”

Gaiah flopped back down into the chair. It
looked as if a whole new level of weird was about to be added to
what she had already discovered.

Alasdair made three mugs of hot chocolate
and generously added some Glenmorangie whisky to two of them. The
sounds of scrubbing and hosing carried in from outside. Gaiah
thought of what her grandmother was doing.

“
Oh, God. How
gross.”

“
Here, drink this,” said
Alasdair.

She gulped, and the hot, sweet chocolate
warmed its way inside her, heating and soothing. They sipped in
silence; there were no coherent thoughts in her mind at this
moment. She looked up as Kaley came in, her hair escaping from its
plait and her face flushed, her cotton trousers and white jumper
stained and splattered with...

Stop! Gaiah didn't even want to think about
it, so she wrapped her hands tightly around the 'I love Inverness'
mug, and drained the cooling chocolate.

“
Is there any normal way
of explaining any of this?” she asked hopefully.

Alasdair smiled ruefully. “No, and we’re not
even going to try!”

Gaiah looked at them in amazement. “What?!
That’s a biiiith…I mean...a bitch...a...a bit...oh…whaat?” And her
voice slurred into silence. Alasdair and Kaley were moving to catch
her when her legs became useless and she collapsed into their arms.
They carried her into her room, which had been considerately
reconstructed at almost twice the size as the last time she lived
there. She hazily felt them lay her on a bed, carefully remove her
boots and socks and pull the thick, squishy quilt well up over her
shoulders.

“
Let’s leave the light on
and the door open, just in case she wakes in a panic,” Kaley's
whispered voice carried.

Alasdair's voice came faint and wavery.
“There’s no way that’s going to happen, after the dose I gave her,
she’s out for twelve hours exactly–she won’t stir ‘til nine
tomorrow.”

“
She looks so like Nia.
It's difficult, isn't it?” Kaley spoke gently.

“
Yes, but it's also
wonderful.”

“
Poor girl! That was an
awful experience for her. I was hoping she’d have more time to
assimilate things before being faced with the horror of the
Or’kans.” The words reached Gaiah's ears but she couldn't get them
to make sense. Alasdair sighed. “Yes, we have to tell her
everything tomorrow. However, I think we can all sleep safely now,
if that was indeed one of the Five we sent back. No-one else will
be shifting Earthways from Or’ka now.”

Gaiah gave up trying to hear or understand,
and allowed herself to slide into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Chapter Seven

“
Gaiah, Gaiah, come on
wake up!” Kaley’s voice finally got through to Gaiah. She struggled
upright in bed.

“
What? What happened? Oh
God! Was last night real? How did I get to…I don’t…The hot
chocolate? You didn't...did you?” Gaiah found her voice slow and
thick, her tongue felt too large in a parched mouth. She raked her
fingers through her hair, and squinted at Kaley, who stood in the
doorway. Her bright orange apron was a cheerful splash of colour in
the dimly-lit room.

She nodded at Gaiah with a remorseful smile.
“Yes, I'm afraid we did. A harmless but effective sleeping draught.
Thanks to that, you've now had a solid twelve hours. Have a shower
to help you wake up. We’ll talk then. I’m putting on the coffee.”
She didn't wait for an answer.

A hot shower helped clear
Gaiah's head, but her thoughts still whirled.
What the hell was that all about last night? Had she actually
seen her grandmother shoot someone, outside in their back
yard?
She waited for a wave of revulsion
and shock that should follow such a thought. But to her amazement
she felt quite calm, as if she already understood something about
it. In fact, what she mostly felt now was hunger. However, they
definitely owed her an explanation. She pulled on a long-sleeved,
black t-shirt and black leggings, added a square-necked green shift
dress, some soft black ankle boots and she was ready. For the
second morning in a row she was heading to demand answers from her
grandparents. She shook her head.
Yesterday’s answers hadn’t exactly made things clearer, what
on Earth were today’s going to bring?
She
strode into the kitchen.

The same warm, welcoming kitchen as always.
Alasdair turned from unloading the dishwasher and gave her a
tentative smile. Kaley put a tray of hot croissants on the large,
wooden table. Their buttery, vanilla smell filled the room. She
crossed the room and took Gaiah’s face in her hands

“
Gaiah, my darling, we’re
so sorry about last night. It was the last thing we wanted. How are
you feeling?”

“
Well, I feel far better
than I should, given what I saw! I have to admit, you probably did
the right thing. I'd never have slept. What on earth was it all
about?”

Alasdair followed over and hugged his
granddaughter. She rested her cheek against his soft cotton shirt
and found the fresh, slightly citrusy scent strangely familiar and
comforting. She was so happy to be here with them after all this
time.

Alasdair looked down at her and echoed her
thoughts. “It’s wonderful to have you here, my dear. We've missed
you so much. Let’s just have breakfast first, then we'll deal with
last night, okay?”

Kaley put big, wide colourful cups and
saucers on the table. “There’s no cup too big for breakfast
coffee,” she said with a smile “Come and sit down.”

Gaiah thought she should be freaking. But
she wasn't. It should have been impossible to sit normally and have
breakfast, but it wasn't. Somehow she knew there was a good reason
behind it all. Anyhow, despite everything, she trusted them. And
the coffee smelt extraordinarily good. They sat on well-padded
comfortable chairs pulled around the kitchen table. The grey
Scottish sky drifted across the tops of the trees outside.

Kaley’s croissants were delicious. They
dipped them in the coffee and chatted about Gaiah’s life before the
move to London. “Do you remember the tree-house we built in the
woods?” Kaley asked, smiling.

Gaiah frowned slightly and shook her head.
“No, I don't think so.”

“
What? After all my work?”
spluttered Alasdair. “You can't have forgotten how you wanted a
separate kitchen?”

“
Oh, God! Sorry, that must
have been difficult. I hope you ignored me.”

“
Of course he didn't.”
Kaley looked fondly across the table at Alasdair. “He made it, out
of real Earth wood, with real Earth nails.”

“
Yes, and real Gaianan
blood, sweat and tears.” Alasdair smiled back.

Kaley stood, “I have something you'll want
to see.” She pulled a small leather folder from the pocket of her
apron and handed it to Gaiah.

Gaiah's eyes filled with tears as she looked
at a photo of the beautiful, glowing face of her mother. Nia was
smiling at the camera as she tenderly cradled Gaiah. Andrew,
grinning proudly, was standing next to them–one arm around Nia's
shoulders, the other reached across to rest his hand on the pink
bundle that was Gaiah. Gaiah’s baby hand clutched her mother’s
finger. Alasdair and Kaley stood behind them, beaming out of the
family photo with their arms around each other.

Kaley shared a packet of tissues with them,
as she spoke about the fun they’d had the day that photo was taken.
There was much more to tell. Alasdair and Kaley casually held hands
across the table as they reminisced. They finished each other’s
sentences and smiled before the other got to the punch-line of a
story. Gaiah mostly just watched them and listened; it was as if
little bits of her were fitting in place like a jigsaw. However,
the question was still waiting to be asked. Finally Gaiah said,
“About last night?”

Alasdair abruptly scraped his chair back and
stood up. “Damn energy-wasting Or’kans! We hoped, because of the
roundabout way we got you up here, they wouldn't have noticed. But
it’s clear from trail of disasters on your way here that someone
was trying to interfere. We Gaianans have always thwarted Or’kan
plans to control Earth. And you, as a melding's child, pose the
greatest threat possible.”

Gaiah bit her cheek to keep from smiling.
This seemed too absurd, surely they were joking? “I’m a threat? I
didn't even know these people existed.”

Kaley shook her head. “Doesn't matter. You
can be sure they know about you now. In all our long history, there
have been very few children born to melded couples that developed
Gaianan powers. Stories relate that those that did, had phenomenal
powers and appeared at times of great change or danger. I’m sorry,
but basically, last night was an attempt to kill you. Luckily for
us, he was working on his own. But he will have shifted to Or’ka
and told them you’re here. Don’t worry, we have a plan to help
protect you.”

Gaiah sighed and spread her hands. “I just
don’t know what to say. This is beyond weird. It doesn't make any
sense to me; none of it does, to be honest.”

Kaley nodded. “We didn't think this would be
easy for you, Gaiah. You just need to take it in, a bit at a time,
and the whole picture will become clearer. We will introduce you to
Gorand, our spokesman. He’s going to explain it all in detail, but
now…”

Kaley looked at the clock, ticking quietly
on the wall. “I guess we better head to the school for the open
day. I promised the principal we’d be there.”

Deep crow’s feet crinkled around Alasdair’s
eyes as he grinned at Gaiah. “Ha! Which is worse, sitting here
talking assassins or going to school? I’ll bring the car around.”
Suddenly he was gone and Kaley was bustling around, getting ready
to leave.

This school visit did not fill Gaiah with
joy. She wasn't finished with the topic of last night and all it
implied. But she didn't think she either wanted or was going to get
more information at the moment. Anyway, this at least was going to
be just a quick visit and she was going to be there with her
grandparents. That thought made her smile; doing anything at a
school with her own family at her side was going to be a first.

Gaiah had always been alone at any school
event she couldn't avoid. Andrew had never turned up to anything.
On these occasions, Gaiah usually skulked in a corner with a ‘leave
me alone, I think this is all crap anyway’ face on until she could
leave. She was actually looking forward to this.

They drove along the damp country roads and
she almost forgot the horror of last night as Alasdair and Kaley
chatted and joked. Alasdair was a huge fan of the Earthway's ‘knock
knock’ jokes. For some reason this struck Gaiah as hilariously
absurd and the more he told them, the more she laughed. Finally
when he got to his favourite one,

“
Knock, knock.”

“
Who’s there?”

“
Little old
lady.”

“
Little old lady
who?”

“
Wow! I didn't know you
could yodel!”

Gaiah was almost crying with laughter. They
soon arrived at the high school and followed a straggle of people
into a big assembly hall. Gaiah scanned the room quickly, just in
case the guys from yesterday were there. They weren't.