The Kuthun (6 page)

I groan and turn my face into the pillow as I wake from another dream, this one so vivid that I can feel the residue it has left behind. I know now that the kuthun is central to everything that is happening and that the other beings involved play a significant role in whatever is about to go down.

‘Great! Mr. Dodgy eyes is out there, that makes me feel so much better,’ I grumble, throwing off the covers. I get out of bed, at least feeling rested, relieved that there weren’t any bad dreams about Mum.

On the way to the bathroom I walk past the kuthun. It emanates a pulse that vibrates through my body causing the hairs on my arms to rise. I deliberately ignore it, fighting off the urge to pick it up, to feel its power once again. I forge past it and close the bathroom door shut behind me.

As I’m getting dressed I hear a knock at the front door. Who would be here at this time in the morning?

I hear my aunt’s voice. ‘Oh, good morning officer.’ Her tone reveals her alarm.

Officer! What are the police doing here? I throw on the rest of my school uniform as quickly as possible and head downstairs.

As I get to the bottom step I sit down and see two policemen standing in the front doorway. One is big and burly and reminds me of a Rottweiler. His eyes are alert as they fall on me and he nods in my direction. The other is more slender with downward sloped eyes and protruding ears, reminding me of a sausage dog. What an odd pair
.

‘Good morning, Mrs. Olsen,’ sausage says. ‘My name is Constable Talbot.’ He gestures to Rottweiler. ‘This is Constable Rickson. We’re sorry to bother you ma’am but we’ve had a few reports in the last couple of days of strange sightings.’

‘Oh. Strange how?’ Aunt Lily asks.

Talbot frowns. ‘An unknown man has been seen near the high school and his presence has unnerved a few people. Mr. Phillips, the school groundsman, saw him for a second time yesterday and started to walk over to him to find out what he was doing. As he was getting closer this person took off into the wood.’

‘Oh my! I’m sorry but I’m unsure as to why you are here?’ Aunt Lily’s suspicions are raised.

I can feel the hairs on my neck begin to prickle with unease. Where is Uncle Jo? As if on cue he and Magi enter the back door in the kitchen, his heavy boots echoing against the wooden floor. As they move into the entryway Uncle Jo stops dead in his tracks, his face hardening as he takes in the scene. In one quick motion he is by Aunt Lily’s side.

‘What is going on here?’ Uncle Jo demands, his hand finds its way to the small of my aunt’s back.

The policemen can obviously feel his concern as they take a step back. Their reaction is probably due to the fact that his aura has actually changed from a deep green to a bright purple in the last few seconds—indicating he is on edge and ready to defend his territory if need be.

‘Sir, as we were just explaining to your wife here, there have been unusual sightings of a man lurking around the high school outer grounds. No-one knows who he is, and we are just asking if anyone has seen him or had any other sightings that we need to be aware of?’ he cautiously replies.

Uncle Jo leans his hand against the door frame. His other hand doesn’t leave my aunt’s back. ‘At the school you say. No, we haven’t seen anything unusual have we?’ He looks back at me and I shake my head.

Rickson is leering at me. His inability to speak is starting to irritate me and I don’t think Magi likes it either as I can feel her growl low in her throat.

‘A quick question though?’ Uncle Jo has his interrogative stare going on. This should be good. ‘You’ve both come out here early in the morning to ask us if we’ve seen anything suspicious, but yet you’re indicating that we shouldn’t be concerned. Although for you both to be here this early, and by the way in which you are holding yourselves, especially Silent Steve back there,’ he jerks his head towards Rickson, ‘there obviously is cause for concern, am I right?’ Rickson backs off slightly. Talbot starts to respond but my uncle cuts him off. ‘And are you questioning everyone from the high school or just us? As that would be strange, don’t you think?’ Uncle Jo is standing taller now, his large frame filling the doorway. He gently pushes Aunt Lily behind him.

Talbot notices the change in position and I see his body shift nervously. I smirk, interested to see what Talbot does now, especially seeing as my uncle has at least five inches and forty pounds of muscle on him. Rickson sees my expression and scowls slightly.

Talbot looks at Uncle Jo and takes a moment to gather himself. He raises his hand in submission. ‘Sir, please don’t get upset. We didn’t want to alarm you unnecessarily. We have also had a couple of accounts out this way as well. Specifically near your property and two others.’

Could it be the person watching me the other day? The dream I had this morning runs through my mind. Mr. Dodgy eyes perhaps?

‘Where
specifically
out here?’ Uncle Jo presses.

‘Well, a couple of ladies were driving along the main pass through here yesterday and saw a man standing near the trees across from the Campbell’s place.’

I stand up quickly. ‘Phoebe’s house!’ They all look in my direction.

‘It’s okay, Ellie. She’s fine.’ Uncle Jo reassures me with his trust-me voice.

I decide I don’t want to hear any more so I make my way into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. I can still hear them talking out near the doorway but I’ve heard enough. Whatever is going on, it is happening fast. There can only be one reason for this.

The Venator is here.

My heart races, fear and anger intermingling with one another, causing my magic to ignite within me. I feel my skin getting hotter and my palms begin to sweat. Within seconds the air around me builds, causing the teacups to swing on their hooks and the drawers to shudder violently.

Magi sticks her wet nose into my hand and the sensation jolts me back to the present.
I’m projecting my power again
. I reach for my locket and within a few seconds my breathing settles and the sound dies down around me.

The front door closes and my aunt and uncle whisper a few words to one another before their footsteps move towards the kitchen. I’m busy making tea when they enter.

Aunt Lily comes up behind me and gently touches my shoulder. ‘Are you alright, Ellie?’

Her hand is trembling and a wave of sadness courses through me. She shouldn’t have to feel scared. This is all my fault.

I force a smile. ‘I’m fine, Aunt Lily. Are you okay?’

She nods and glances back at Uncle Jo sitting at the table. ‘I’ll leave you two to it.’ She pats my shoulder again before walking out.

I carry my mug over to the counter. Uncle Jo’s eyes follow my every move. ‘You may as well get it out. I know you’re thinking it,’ I say, knowing we’ve both come to the same conclusion about what really brought those police to our door.

‘Ellie, this is getting serious.’ He moves to sit opposite me. ‘It has to be
him
,’ he says, his fist clenching against the benchtop.

‘I’m more worried about Phoebe right now.’

‘Phoebe! Didn’t you hear what I just said?’ He frowns.

‘Yes, I heard you. The big bad Venator is here,’ I reply sarcastically.

He crosses his arms slowly. ‘Really? Sarcasm at a time like this? You’ve been hanging around with Phoebe for too long.’

‘Right! And I want to
keep
hanging out with Phoebe. So is she in danger or not, Uncle Jo?’

‘No,’ he says adamantly. ‘Out of all the chaos that has occurred in the past, nobody who wasn’t directly involved has been harmed. He was obviously tracking you.’ He leans forward. ‘Do you think it was the person you felt by the roadside yesterday?’

‘I thought about that. It just doesn’t feel right though. The person, or thing, that was watching me had a powerful supernatural energy to it. And one thing we know for sure is that Venators don’t have those powers. They’re just human.’

Thank God for that!

‘Right, well I have a few things to do.’ He stands up quickly.

‘But I thought you were just about to give me the grown up speech about not talking to strangers?’

He shakes his head in mock disgust and I smile. Pointing a finger at me he says, ‘Do not do anything stupid, understand?’

I feign shock at his accusation. ‘Of course not, Uncle Jo. Scouts honour!’ I place a hand over my heart and force a smug smile.

A smirk lifts the corners of his mouth. ‘Just behave, and stay away from the oval.’

I promise him I will and finish off my tea in brooding silence.

I can’t believe how fast everything is happening. Last week I was trying to eradicate pimples from my chin with Windex, which Phoebe guaranteed me would work—my chin still smells like glass cleaner—and today I am being hunted by my bloodlines’ arch-enemy. ‘You couldn’t write about it,’ I say, putting my mug in the sink and making my way upstairs. Magi’s ears perk up and she cocks her head curiously.

I grab my books and jacket from upstairs and peer over at the kuthun. If it really does contain all that power then leaving it here would be a mistake. I grab a tissue on a hunch that if the kuthun isn’t being specifically held within my hand, then I won’t teleport.
Here goes nothing.
I wrap the tissue around the charm and hold my breath. Nothing happens. I head back downstairs and nearly topple over Aunt Lily.

‘Sorry, Aunt Lily. I’m late for school,’ I say a little puffed. ‘Could you please put the charm on my necklace for me?’ I ask her, knowing that she is safe from time travel.

She smiles. ‘Sure.’ She grabs the charm out of the tissue in my hand and attaches it to my necklace. As it touches my skin I wonder if it will do anything. It doesn’t. It must only work if I connect with it directly through touch. My hunch was right. I wonder what I do when I teleport then? Do I blink out into nothing? Does my body freeze in place?
I am pondering these questions when I see that Aunt Lily has stepped back gingerly and is watching me.

‘Ellie, you are…really glowing today,’ she says, her eyes taking in my face and the area around my body with interest.

My aura must be super-charged. I head towards the door. ‘Am I? It must be an after birthday glow.’ I grab my bag, avoiding her gaze. ‘I’ll see you this afternoon,’ I say a little too chirpily as I head out the door.

I notice Uncle Jo has moved Billie from where I left her yesterday. As I’m looking for her the sound of tyres on gravel sounds out behind me and I turn to find Uncle Jo driving towards me in his pick-up truck, or
The Beast
as we call it. He eases up beside me and rolls down the window.

‘Need a lift?’ he asks.

I smile hesitantly, a little deflated that I wouldn’t be able to ride my bike today, but also understanding that he’s gone into protective mode. ‘Sure, why not.’ I hop in, noticing that Magi is already in the back tray panting away.

‘So I’ve been thinking,’ he says, taking on a more serious tone. ‘I’ll be driving you to and from school from now on, and when we get there Magi and I will be having a look around the grounds.’ He puts his hand up to silence me, knowing that I am about to resist that particular idea. ‘I have already cleared it with Principal Walters. I offered to look around for safety purposes, and he is aware of my background, so he was happy to oblige. I do not want you to head outside any further than the oval, Ellie. No matter what, okay?’ His tone implies that he’s not really asking.

I’ve taken up a sulking position in the passenger seat—arms folded, head looking out of the window, and eyes hooded at the thought of everyone knowing my uncle and little doggy are checking things out. I can just imagine Milly Fanny Face loving that!

‘Now don’t be like that,’ he notes, taking in my reaction. ‘This is how it has to be. We cannot let our guards down. Not even for a second.’

I know he has a point but I still don’t like it. I sigh in frustration. ‘Ugh, fine! But can you please be discreet and try not to patrol too close to the school,’ I plead, knowing full well this is going to backfire somehow.

‘Scouts honour,’ he replies, while grinning like a madman.

I decide to get over myself for a moment. ‘Are we picking Phoebe up?’

‘Yep. I’ve already rung her mum, who is quite disturbed at the thought of someone lurking around, so she was more than happy to have me pick Phoebe up from now on as well.’

I let my nerves relax a little. ‘Okay, I like that idea at least.’

We pull into Phoebe’s driveway and honk the horn. A few minutes later she is tumbling out the door, trying to force everything into her bag at once. Uncle Jo gets out so Phoebe can slide into the bench seat next to me.

‘Good morning,’ she says flustered, as she shuffles in beside me. Phoebe’s mum is standing at the front door, worry strewn across her face.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Uncle Jo says. He walks over to talk with Mrs. Campbell. I see him touch her shoulder in reassurance, she nods and they exchange a few words. Her face becomes calmer. He has always had a gift of making people feel at ease.

‘Hey, Phoebs, how’s things?’ I say, turning my attention back to her.

Phoebe is fumbling around trying to get comfortable. She has a shoelace undone, her hair is a messy ball of golden locks and she looks like she just woke up. She is the only person I know that can be both alluring and fascinating at the same time, and yet appear so unglued. It also doesn’t seem to make a difference to the opposite sex either, as she’s never short of male attention.

‘Good, aside from the fact that the police were at our house this morning, letting us know that
creepsville
has been skulking around.’

I chuckle. ‘I know what you mean. We had them at ours too.’

Uncle Jo walks back over to the truck and we set off for school.

He drops us off at the gate and as we are walking inside I see him round the bend, heading towards the back car park. Knowing Magi and Uncle Jo are out there patrolling actually does make me feel better.

The day passes slowly. Morning classes consist of economics and maths. As I’m staring out the window of the maths room I see the outline of a man and a black dog walking through the long grass that surrounds the oval tree line—Uncle Jo and Magi.