Exiling myself to the North Pole, like Frankenstein’s monster did when he found his effect on others too much of a burden, seemed a very attractive idea.
In answer to this stray notion, Alex projected a picture of him and me sitting in an igloo side by side.
I’m sorry.
Don’t be.
He was awful.
He was worried sick. Believe me, an excessively concerned parent is better than the kind I’ve got.
We had reached the punts again.
Let’s sit in one of them, suggested Alex.
They’re locked up.
And that’s a problem?
Alex went first, then beckoned me to follow once he’d done his thing. He handed me into the punt with a sweet little bow. There were no cushions and it was a bit damp under the seat, but it felt good just to sit for a moment, bobbing gently on the Cam. The lights of a pub spilled onto the water, early Christmas decorations sparkling in the window. The clamour of people shouting to make themselves heard at the bar reached us like the roar of a distant battle. Down where we were in the shadows, it was quiet. I could hear the trickle of a stream joining the main channel, the slap and slop of water hitting the side of the punt. Rocking the boat, Alex sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, his strength offered for my support.
‘Better?’
I rested my head on him. ‘Yes.’
‘Maybe next time I should see him alone—use my gift to straighten things out.’
‘He wouldn’t ever trust you if he realized what you were doing.’
‘I guess not.’ Alex tapped his free hand on his knee in irritation. ‘The one guy in the world I care most about impressing and I can’t do what I’m good at doing.’
‘You don’t need that—you shouldn’t need to use your gift. He’ll have to accept you for what you are, not what you make him think you are.’
‘And what’s that? A boy with no background and a skill he hates? Yeah, sure he’ll like me.’
His irony hurt. ‘Please, don’t. It feels like you’re drilling my teeth when you say something meaning the opposite.’
‘Sorry. I forgot for a moment.’ He puffed out a breath of pure frustration. ‘This isn’t easy, is it?’
‘Did you think it would be?’
‘I didn’t think at all. I didn’t expect you in my life.’
I was feeling exhausted and ready to weep but I hated that he might think he was matched with an emotional wreck. ‘Could we just drop the subject, Alex? Think about something else?’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean for us to sit here going over what happened. I wanted to spend a few moments at peace. Just you and me.’
Things felt right when we stopped struggling. Our togetherness needed no excusing or questioning; it just was. I was beginning to see that this was the heart of a soulfinder bond.
After five minutes of calm had flowed past like the water in the river, I was ready to be optimistic.
‘You’ll win him over,’ I said. ‘You’re amazing, and kind, and caring—when he sees what I see, he’ll be happy for me.’
Alex dropped a kiss on the top of my head. ‘I hope so, Misty. I’ve never wanted anything so much as you in my life and he is a big part of your world.’
I pulled away so I could look him in the eyes. ‘Yes, he’s important, but Alex, you are too. It won’t come to this but if I had to choose between you, you’d win.’
He looked a little confused. ‘No one has ever put me first. Never.’
‘Well, now they do. I do. So get used to it.’ I leaned in for a kiss.
‘Oh, I could very quickly get used to that.’ He smiled and brushed a thumb over my lips, coaxing them apart. He then put his mouth to mine.
Even though my life was right in the middle of its biggest ever Misty moment, Summer and Angel had to return to their homes on Sunday. Angel had thought up some pretty inventive excuses, hoping to be allowed to stay, but her mum wasn’t buying it and Angel was given her marching orders. Summer knew better than to ask at her home for a favour and had already texted that she was on her way. Alex and I accompanied them to see them catch their train. This wasn’t something I usually did when they visited—I just waved them off on the bus to the station—so Angel claimed we were behaving like the sheriffs running her out of town. Alex agreed, teasing her that this town wasn’t big enough for the both of them, then he pretended to twirl his imaginary pistols. I fell just a little more in love with him for that; Angel adored someone making fun of her.
Ticket purchased, Summer gave me a hug, promising that my dad would come round.
‘You don’t know that,’ I whispered so Alex wouldn’t hear. Fortunately he was busy putting a make-believe Stetson on Angel’s head.
‘No, but it stands to reason. Look on the bright side: you’ve caught yourself a good one in Alex and you’ve plenty of time to convince your dad you’re serious about each other.’
‘Thanks, Summer. You’re always so sensible. I wish you ran the world.’
Angel broke away from Alex and tweaked the end of my scarf. ‘I’m so jealous. I think I’m going to have to learn to hate you.’
‘Don’t envy me. It’s not all sweetness and light in Devon Central.’
‘Yeah, your dad. But come on, girl, you’ve got Alex as your soulfinder! I bet mine is going to turn out some geeky bloke with pimples who spends all his life in his bedroom hacking into the Pentagon.’
I gave her a hug. ‘Fate would not be so cruel.’
‘You sure?’
‘Even if he were ultra geeky you’d learn to love him as he is.’
‘Oh brother,’ groaned Angel, ‘is that how this soulfinder thing works? Chemistry overrules good sense? Come on, Summer, let’s go before I get too depressed to move.’
Alex put his arm around me while we waved them through the ticket barrier, a little comforting touch that said far more than words.
‘I like your friends,’ he said as we turned to leave.
‘That’s a good start. I like yours too.’
Alex’s phone pinged. He checked the message. ‘Tarryn wants me back immediately.’
I flinched as a pigeon crossing the station concourse flew too close. ‘But I thought your next debate wasn’t until this evening?’
‘It is—and we’ve got a practice after lunch—but I thought I’d have a few free hours before then. I’m not ready to leave you yet. Do you want to come with me to see what she wants?’
My parents had asked to see me for lunch on my own—Dad’s request—but I had some time before then. ‘OK. She probably just wants to keep an eye on you with that weirdo journalist on the prowl. And none of us should be wandering about alone.’ I remembered Uriel’s warning. I’d passed it on to Summer and Angel but hadn’t had a moment to tell Alex with all the upset the night before. ‘Uriel said the serial killer goes for savants with certain skills, and that you fit the profile.’
Alex rolled his shoulders, betraying how tense he really felt. ‘Tarryn took me aside and told me the same thing.’
‘So, you’re taking care?’
He stopped in front of me. ‘Misty, when will there be time for a serial killer to lure me away? I’ve got my soulfinder to worry about now.’ He ran the back of his fingers over my cheek.
Tarryn had asked Alex to meet her at a teashop on King’s Parade. Cambridge’s knot of narrow streets open out here to a marketplace and green verge in front of King’s and the Senate House. It’s a traditional meeting place and great for people-watching. I liked just wandering around, guessing who everyone was and their story for being here. Tarryn had secured a table at the window of the tea room where she could observe the ebbs and flows of tourists, but as the sky was a threatening steel grey behind the clotted-cream pinnacles of King’s College Chapel, people weren’t lingering.
‘Sorry to interrupt your morning,’ she said, making room for us by shifting her seat along to the one by the glass. ‘I know how special these early days are.’
r />
Uriel arrived hot on our heels, summoned by telepathy from his room in the college just down the road.
‘Hi, guys, how was last night?’ he asked.
‘Horrible,’ I said, taking the seat Tarryn had just vacated. I pushed her coffee along in front of her.
That tripped him up. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘My dad is feeling his distance from all things savant at the moment.’
‘I guess it’s not unreasonable for him to take it that way. We’re quite a lot to handle.’
‘Is that why you wanted to see me?’ asked Alex.
Tarryn rubbed her index finger on the leather cover of her phone. ‘It’s not about Misty’s family, no.’
Uriel met her eyes. Some rapid communication passed between them. ‘I’ll get the drinks. Coffee?’
‘I’ll have a tea, please,’ I said.
‘Americano for me.’ Alex took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair at the head of the table next to me. ‘OK, Miss Coetzee, what’s this about?’
Tarryn folded her hands together, briefly stilling her nervous fidgeting. ‘I got an email this morning from someone who claims to know you.’
Alex’s puzzlement grew. ‘Who?’
‘That’s the odd thing. He says he knows you from when you were little and only found out recently where you were living. He’s in England on business, saw the reports in a magazine feature that you were part of the debate team in the final, so dropped me a line asking if he could meet you.’
I was instantly suspicious. ‘You can’t just let strangers get in to see Alex. What if he’s the guy stalking savants and killing them?’
Tarryn rearranged the spoon on her saucer. ‘I know that, Misty, which is why I suggested meeting here—in a neutral zone with Uriel and me present. And you’re a nice bonus too. You’ll be able to tell us if he is what he claims to be.’
‘But still, we don’t know him! Now’s not the time to take risks!’
‘No. But if he’s speaking the truth, he’s very far from a stranger. He’s family. Alex, that’s what I’m trying to tell you: he says he’s your uncle.’
Alex took a moment to absorb that bombshell. With perfect timing, Uriel came back with our drinks.
‘Here you are.’ He put a black coffee in front of Alex and a dinky white teapot by my place. ‘I took the gamble of getting some cakes.’
Alex hadn’t really heard Uriel’s remarks; he was still stuck on Tarryn’s announcement. ‘How can I have an uncle?’
‘The usual way.’ Tarryn smiled wryly. ‘He says he is your father’s brother. His name is Johan du Plessis.’
Alex scratched his fingers up and down his forearm, a kind of anxious clutching movement. I reached out to still his hand but he moved out of the way, nerves raw. ‘Why hasn’t he contacted me until today?’
Tarryn glanced over Alex’s shoulder.
‘Is he coming here?’ I asked. I wanted to be with Alex in this but things were moving too quickly and I had to meet my parents.
‘Yes. I said he should be here at eleven.’ It was five-to now. ‘He doesn’t have long before he goes on to his next meeting in another city so I thought it best to make an arrangement rather than lose this chance. Did I do the right thing, Alex? I had to think fast.’
Alex cradled his drink in his palms. ‘Yes, thanks. I wouldn’t want to miss a chance of meeting him.’
You OK? I asked.
Alex had gone silent, not reaching out to me with telepathy as he had been doing since Friday. I wondered what was going on in his head, feeling a new distance yawn between us. At the back of my mind, I remembered how I had let him support me over my dad; it seemed this wasn’t a two-way street when it came to his uncle.
Don’t be unreasonable, Misty. Give the guy a break, my sensible side whispered.
‘I don’t know much apart from what he said in his email,’ continued Tarryn, ‘but you should know, Alex, that he’s a savant. He said that was why he didn’t know where you were. His brother had cut him off, much as he did you, and Johan had no idea they had not taken you with them when they went to Argentina. They’ve moved around since then. It was quite by chance, through a business contact in America who knows them, that he learned that his brother’s family had no boy of your age at home. He then started looking for you separately.’
‘I … this is quite a lot to take in,’ Alex admitted.
‘I know: first you find Misty and now it looks like you’ve got family set to walk back into your life. We’ll forgive you for being confused.’
The bell over the shop door rang. Sensing something momentous was about to happen, we all looked round. Johan du Plessis; it had to be. He even looked a little like Alex: tall and square-jawed, same hairline and eyebrows; he carried with him that air of family resemblance that’s definitely there but hard to put a finger on, something to do with expression and the way he held himself. However, there were clear differences: his skin was very closely shaved, reminding me of the slightly waxy surface of soapstone. He gave the impression of length—long neck, arms, tapering fingers; even his nose was thin and long—how Alex might be if put through a stretching machine. His brown eyes swept the tea room and fixed on our table. His face broke into a delighted smile.
‘Miss Coetzee?’ He offered Tarryn his hand, which she shook. He put down his briefcase and held out both arms to Alex in a ‘would you look at that’ gesture. ‘And this has to be Alex! Gracious me, you are the image of Roger when he was your age.’ Johan’s voice had a light South African accent, pleasant on the ear.
Alex got up and shook hands. ‘Pleased to meet you, Mr du Plessis.’
‘Call me Johan. Uncle Johan, if you can manage it. I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to finally meet you after all these years. I only saw you once when you were a baby before Roger barred to door to me. I feel like I am finally getting some family back.’
Uriel looked to me, still suspicious of the stranger. I nodded. Every word he spoke registered as true.
He is telling you the truth, Alex, I told my soulfinder.
Alex barely waited for my confirmation. Thanks. ‘I didn’t know about you at all, sir.’
‘Really? When did your parents leave you?’
‘When I was three.’
‘So young? Then forgive me for not trying harder to discover what they had done with you. It never entered even my wildest dream that Miriam would leave you; she was such a devoted mother. I take it you’re one of us?’
Alex nodded.
Johan gave him a proud smile. ‘Of course you are. I can see it in you. My brother never accepted my gift. I didn’t realize he passed it on to a child. And a very welcome surprise that is too.’ He glanced over to the serving counter. ‘I’ll just get a drink and join you.’
Uriel stood. ‘Please, let me get it. You take my seat. Coffee?’
‘Oh, that’s very kind of you, Mr … ?’
‘Benedict, Uriel Benedict.’
Johan’s eyes widened. ‘Not one of the Colorado Benedicts?’
‘That’s us.’
‘I’ve heard of you and your brothers. A very interesting family.’
‘Interesting is one name for us. How do you take your coffee?’
‘Black.’ He glanced down at our drinks. ‘Like my nephew, it seems.’
Johan sat down next to Alex and opposite me. His gaze now slid to my face. ‘And who are you, young lady? Another Benedict?’
‘Afraid not. I’m Misty Devon.’
Alex took my hand so our clasped fingers lay on the table between us. I was relieved he wanted to acknowledge me after the gap that had opened up. ‘She’s my soulfinder. We’ve just met.’
Johan shook his head, eyes sweeping me with renewed interest. ‘Well, well. Clearly there is a huge amount for me to learn about you, Alex. I hardly know where to start. Tell me all about yourself: your gift, your school, your friends.’
I was grateful to Johan for giving Alex the excuse to talk about hi
mself. We had begun to swap life histories but I had not had a chance to sit and hear it told like a story from the beginning.
‘After my parents left me, I couldn’t be adopted as my legal status was under question. The authorities weren’t even sure if I had been abandoned—it was that confused. I was placed with some foster families—good people. Really I would’ve been happy to be adopted by any of them but the social services couldn’t make up their minds. I’d told them some garbled tale that my parents had run away from the devil—I guess that’s how they saw me. The authorities were still pursuing my parents to ask for an explanation but they’d done a good job covering their tracks.’
Johan sipped his coffee and winced. ‘Need some sugar in that.’ He dropped in two rough-cut lumps from the bowl. ‘But they knew your name. I wonder why they didn’t contact me?’
‘Good point. I don’t know. They couldn’t trace my origins—all the documents hidden or destroyed; my past took a lot of deciphering and much of it remains a mystery. Clearly, I never mentioned you as I had no recollection of family. I guess I have no grandparents alive?’
‘Not on my side. They died when I was a teenager, both quite suddenly. I think Roger was never the same after that. I don’t know much about Miriam’s family. I wasn’t invited to the wedding. So what happened when you went to senior school?’
‘I got a scholarship from a savant foundation to board at the International College in Cape Town. I was lucky to find Miss Coetzee had just joined the staff and she’s been helping me ever since.’
‘So you’ve been happy?’
‘I have. I’ve got good friends and had a great education so I haven’t done too badly.’
‘I’m pleased. It would have made it so much worse to have found the last thirteen years had been a misery for you. So what’s your gift?’