‘How many were there?’
‘Four.’
‘Oh man. They’re not what they seem. Ebony, danger is coming.’
‘Could you be any more dramatic?’
She’s not taking me seriously. ‘OK, your life is in danger, and by staying with Amber’s family you’re putting them in danger too. Is that dramatic enough for you?’
‘We’re just talking about a few birds.’
‘Except these birds are not just birds. What they were doing last night was spying on you.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’
‘They report to the one who orchestrated your abduction. He made sure you were raised in the valley. Where he lives the air is too toxic. But now that Thane has found you, when he finds out he’s going to come and take you away again, this time for good.’
‘The one you’re talking about wouldn’t happen to be called Zavier, would he?’
‘Who? No. You haven’t met this dude. Believe me, you’d know it if you did.’
She doesn’t say anything for a long time.
‘Ebony, Thane has information about who you really are. Will you just hear him out?’
An Aracal suddenly swoops down and perches at the top end of our wooden table. A couple of girls sitting up that end scream, and the big bird, with its oily-black feathers, sharp clawed feet, long pointed beak and bright blue irises, sort of hops down the length of the table, making a mess of all the lunches. Everyone scrabbles to stand back, and as more people spot the bird, more screams erupt. With all the commotion, the Aracal flies up and perches on a window ledge.
Amber yanks on my shoulder. ‘Are you done yet?’
‘You mean talking?’
‘I mean scaring Ebony. She couldn’t sleep last night after talking to you and your cousin.’
I tug on Ebony’s arm. ‘Walk with me.’ She hesitates. The Aracal has thrown her. ‘Please.’
She nods, giving me a small smile, and my gut quivers, just like the first time we met. If only she wasn’t the angel Thane is adamant she is. Ebony is a beautiful girl, and when she’s cheerful it’s like everyone around her gets a breath of fresh air.
We stroll to the front of the school and sit on a vacant bench outside the admin office. ‘I’m sorry if I ruined your lunch,’ I tell her.
‘You didn’t ruin anything. That bird did. They must have nests nearby they’re protecting.’
‘That’s not what’s going on here.’
She peers at me with pleading eyes. ‘Can we not talk about the bird?’
To deny her would be impossible. ‘OK.’ Amber’s angry face comes to mind. ‘So what’s with your friend? Why is she so aggressive towards me?’
Ebony glances down at her lap. ‘Ever since the fire she’s been protective, like a big sister.’
‘I get it, she’s a good friend, watching out for you and all that, but does she have to be so anti-me? I’m not your enemy.’
‘I’ll talk to her. I’ll ask her to be nicer to you.’
‘Well, not too nice, if you don’t mind. I don’t want her getting the wrong idea.’
She smiles. ‘No, we wouldn’t want that.’ Drawing in a deep breath, she unwinds just a little.
‘You know, under different circumstances you and I – we – could have been …’ I offer her my hand.
She takes it in hers. ‘I feel something too, Jordan, but I’m not sure it’s what you’d like it to be.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You know how I said Amber feels protective towards me since the fire?’ I nod, and she says, ‘Well, that’s sort of how I feel about you.’
‘Protective?’
‘I don’t know why. It’s hard to explain.’
We sit quietly for a minute before she deftly changes the subject. ‘He’s not really your cousin, is he?’
‘Nope.’
‘How long have you known him?’
‘A few weeks.’
‘That’s all? How can you trust someone you’ve known for only a few weeks?’
I shrug. I don’t want to tell her the whole story. She’d trust Thane even less if she knew the deal he struck with me in the operating theatre. ‘Some people are like that. You only have to know Thane a short time to realise he’s on the good side.’
‘That might be the case, but you know how he asked me to come and live at his house?’
‘Yeah, so you’ll be safe. He wants to pick you up after school today.’
She glances across the paved footpath to the green fields beyond. I give her all the time she needs. It’s a big decision, and she has to make the right one.
But she doesn’t. I can tell before she opens her mouth that she’s not coming. ‘Tell him I need more time.’
‘But, Ebony, this is really important. Don’t you want to know the truth?’
‘I do, but …’ She shakes her head. ‘Sorry, I just don’t trust him.’
No! ‘Ebony, you’re making a mistake.’
‘Well, it’s my mistake to make.’
Shit! She’s digging her heels in. ‘So, how long does it take?’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Before you can trust someone?’
She shrugs. ‘Depends on the someone, but more than twenty-four hours.’
I have to keep trying. ‘Is there anything I can say or do to change your mind?’
‘Not today.’
‘How long do you need?’
She shrugs again. ‘I don’t know. At least a week. Why? Is he going somewhere?’
No, but you might be! How do I get through to her without freaking her out? Thane is relying on me. My own future is relying on me.
Leah and Ivy round the corner and bear down on us. Since Danny is behind the girls, we return to the table, where Ebony’s friends are cleaning up after the bird trod over their food.
I spend the rest of lunch trying to convince Ebony to change her mind. I look for her between biology and maths. I sneak out early so I can be standing outside the door of her last class. I’m getting desperate and she can tell. But she still won’t budge. ‘Go home, Jordan. Tell Nathaneal I’ll let him know when I’m ready.’
34
Ebony
Jordan is persistent, like his life depends on me doing what Nathaneal wants. Strange. I don’t know these two guys well enough yet, but they’re certainly intriguing. I’m starting to feel a connection between my life and theirs, but that so doesn’t mean I’m ready to move in with them.
If only I could talk to Mum and Dad. Every day it seems my life grows more complicated. It burns me not knowing where they are, if they’re hurt, or even if they’re alive any more. And lately I feel as if they’ve abandoned me. It’s silly because, logically, I know they would be here if they could.
We’re getting the bus home today since Dawn has some errands to run. I pack my bag with my homework books and hang around the seniors’ lockers for Amber to turn up. I’m surprised she’s not here already. She had gym last period, a class I now avoid like the plague. Running into me is like running into a wall, so they tell me. It’s all part of keeping a low profile, though lately that’s been impossible.
Minutes pass and I start thinking maybe I misheard and we’re meeting at the bus bay just outside the school gates. The corridor is emptying out fast now, with only a straggler or two left. It’s a good thing our bus is the last to arrive and the last to leave.
A senior boy from my physics class, Josh Corbin, walks up to a locker two down from mine and starts emptying it out into a gym bag. He notices I’m watching and looks across at me with a grim smile. ‘Hi, Ebony,’ he says, while dragging out the dregs of a locker I know is not his, but belonged to Adam Skinner, the boy who tried to kill Jordan. Finishing, he slams the locker door shut, zips the bag closed and hooks it over his muscular left shoulder. ‘That’s it, then. The last of Adam Skinner’s belongings are now gone from Cedar Oakes High School.’
‘If you’re trying to draw some kind of compassionate
response out of me, sorry, Josh, that’s not going to happen. I hope your friend rots in a prison cell for the rest of his life.’
He leans on the locker with an amused look on his face, one dark eyebrow arched higher than the other. ‘That’s harsh.’
‘D’you think? After what he did?’
He glances away as if he’s having a moment of conscience, which he should since he was there on that night too. ‘Yeah, well, he’s sorry about that night. He wasn’t in a good head-space. He did something stupid and now he has to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.’
‘It’s called justice.’
‘He had a big future ahead of him that’s ruined now.’
‘Maybe he should have thought about that before he shoved that glass bottle into Jordan Blake and scarred him for life.’
More angry than I can remember feeling in a long time, I turn around and start walking to the exit doors.
The sounds of his heavy footsteps behind me make me groan. I speed up my walking pace, but it only makes him break into a jog. ‘Hey, wait up.’ He catches up at the exit doors. ‘You walk fast for a girl.’
‘Maybe you’re not as fast a runner as you think – for a boy.’
He laughs and, annoyingly, follows me all the way outside the gates to the bus bay. It feels wrong because I know he drives a car to school. My instinct says he’s following me. I look around for Amber, but still can’t see her anywhere. Even the bus appears to be running late today, which is a good thing, I guess, considering Amber is too.
Beside me, not towering, but still taller by a centimetre or two, Josh clears his throat.
‘Why are you hanging around me? Do you want something?’
‘I’m waiting for a friend to pick me up. My car’s out of action.’
‘Oh. Sorry.’
A sleek silver car, low to the ground, with windows tinted so dark it’s impossible to see inside, swings into the bus bay and stops in front of us. Looking uncomfortable suddenly, Josh opens the rear door. While he throws his backpack and the gym bag inside, I catch a glimpse of his friend Damien Hall sitting in the front passenger seat.
It’s such a relief to see Josh get in the car that I feel lighter, like I could skip along the footpath or something just as silly. He waves as he closes the door and, feeling generous and friendly, I wave back.
But then the driver gets out and instinctively I step back. Wearing jeans and a black pullover, this boy stands taller than Josh, with coal-black hair, grey eyes and an air of superiority. ‘What are you doing here? You should be locked up.’
Adam Skinner casually glances at his watch. ‘I was released into my mother’s custody until the hearing,’ he says. ‘But don’t worry, I won’t be coming back to school any time soon.’
‘You shouldn’t be here now.’ I cast a wide look over my shoulder at the school buildings, then up to the car park and back to the bus bay, but still can’t see any sign of Amber. She would not have gone home without me. Something must have happened.
The bus finally arrives, pulling up right behind Skinner’s car, its doors flinging open. But I’m not getting in without Amber.
‘Amber’s fine now,’ Skinner says, revelling in the surprise on my face. He seems in no hurry to leave; nor does he look concerned someone will see him just outside the school grounds.
‘What do you mean?’
‘She lost her grip when climbing rope in gym class, landed hard on her right hand, tore a ligament in her wrist and had to get bandaged by the nurse. She’ll be here in time to catch the bus.’
‘How do you know? Were you there? Were you watching?’
He swings his head around so that he’s looking directly at me. For a mere fraction of a second his irises flash with light. ‘No, I wasn’t there, I’m forbidden to enter school grounds, but I was the one who made her fall.’
From inside the car, sniggering noises float out the windows, and for reasons unknown, I believe Skinner when he says he made Amber fall. His eyebrows lift. ‘Smart girl. But then, I knew you had to be, or why else?’
Skinner is freaking me out. I want to ask, ‘Why else what?’ but I’m not sure I’d like the answer. It feels as if he’s reading my mind, but that’s impossible. ‘What’s going on here?’ I ask him, but he doesn’t answer. I decide to direct my question to Josh, but Amber’s footsteps run up behind me and I forget everything except getting on that bus before it takes off without us.
‘There you are,’ she calls out breathlessly, running out the gate and over to where I’m standing between the bus and the silver car. Her right wrist is wrapped in a white bandage. ‘Thank God – I thought you might have gone home with Jordan and his cousin.’
She arrives in a flurry and immediately begins dragging me towards the open bus doors, then notices the boy next to me. ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were talking to Adam Skinner!’ Her eyes widen at me and she whispers, ‘What are you doing, hon?’
‘Hello, Amber, nice to see you too. How’s that wrist doing? Nasty fall you had. You’re lucky you didn’t hurt more than just your hand.’
‘OK, thanks,’ she says with eyes still wider than normal. Pinching me, she adds, ‘Our bus isn’t going to wait much longer.’
‘I’m just glad you made it,’ I whisper. ‘Let’s go home.’
As I start to turn to leave, Skinner wraps his long fingers around my arm. They feel cold through my sleeve, almost unnaturally so. ‘I know this is none of my business, but, um, I heard you’re spending a lot of time with Jordan Blake.’
I’m on the defensive instantly. ‘Why is that any concern of yours? He stopped being your business when you tried to murder him.’
‘Jordan and I go back a long way. He’s a good guy at heart, a really good bloke, but he’s keeping bad company these days.’
‘Is this your idea of a warning?’
‘When I was locked up, I heard some things about this so-called cousin of his.’
I want to ignore him. Every bone in my body urges me to shut my ears and keep walking. But I stop, promising myself it’s just for a moment. ‘What things?’
‘He’s not what he appears. He’s dangerous. Be careful around him.’
‘Why should I believe you?’ I ask, peeling his fingers from my arm. ‘You tried to kill Jordan. It stands to reason you would hate his cousin too.’
His voice turns hard and his fingers close around my arm again, and no matter how much I try, I can’t force them off. ‘That’s your prerogative,’ he says. ‘Just don’t let the cousin get too close to you. He’s bad news.’
He finally releases my arm and Amber and I climb on board the bus just as it starts to inch forward. Relieved, we plonk ourselves down beside each other. My encounter with Adam Skinner has left a bitter taste in my mouth.
And I can’t stop rubbing my arm where his fingers closed around it. Though they were cold, my arm feels hot where he touched it. I lift my shirtsleeve and stifle a gasp at the five-finger burn mark that’s already starting to heal itself.
All the way home I try not to think about my encounter with Skinner or his dire warning to stay away from Nathaneal. He admitted to making Amber fall and causing her torn ligament. But no one could do that. I glance at my burn once more. No one should be able to do that either.
35
Jordan
Thane doesn’t take the news well. When I get home, I go straight up to my room to give him time to chill and work out his next move. He calls me down when dinner is ready and hands me a plate of dry seeds and salad veggies doused in a vinegary-smelling dressing.
‘You’ve outdone yourself tonight, dude,’ I murmur to myself, not caring how easily he hears everything. ‘But, man, I can’t believe I’m supposed to eat this! Ahaaa! I get it.’ I point the plate at him. ‘This is punishment, right?’
He ignores my question in favour of one of his own, ‘Jordan, did you try –’
But I cut him off, ‘Dude, I tried everything! She’s just not ready to move in with
you!’ I shrug. ‘I’m disappointed too. The quality of my future life depends on helping you get your angel home, so why wouldn’t I try my hardest?’
‘I’m not questioning your loyalty, Jordan.’
‘I’ll work on her every day at school. I promise. You can reassure your fiancée it won’t be long before she has you home for good.’
He looks uncomfortable. ‘About that …’
I throw up my hand. ‘I know, I know, you don’t like to talk about your private life. Relax.’
But then Thane, with his fork midway between his plate and his mouth, tilts his head to the side, frowning. I know this look: he’s picking up a distant sound, trying to figure it out. He gets up and walks straight out the front door. I follow and find him looking up at the northern sky.
‘What is it? Can you hear something?’
He says, ‘Birds.’
‘Birds? Like more Aracals?’
‘No, real birds.’ He points towards the horizon. ‘You should be able to see them soon.’
‘The birds?’
‘Yes, Jordan. Many thousands of them.’
‘You’re kidding!’
‘I assure you, I’m not kidding.’
The sky is darkening and the first stars will be showing soon.
He goes still, like unbelievably, supernaturally still. A stricken look spreads across his face like a passing shadow, his eyes are wider, his mouth slightly agape.
‘Dude, you’re scaring me. What is it?’
He doesn’t answer, and that’s when I see them – thousands and thousands of birds. I get a shiver as I watch the sky disappear behind a vast blanket of beating wings.
‘Why are they heading towards Antarctica with autumn only just started?’
He doesn’t respond. Then one blink and he’s gone. I catch a glimpse of him passing through the front door. I run after him but he’s already at the top of the stairs. ‘Hey! What’s going on? You’re scaring me again.’
‘We have to bring Ebony here.’
‘Thane, she won’t come.’
‘No, I mean to the monastery.’
I groan. She’s going to want to go there about as much as she wants to come here.