Spy Games, page 9
"Actually, she's done a great job of staying on top of things. You should be proud of her."
"I'm always proud of her," Phage snapped. "Sorry, didn't mean that. See, this is another reason not to get into such a state. No patience."
I took Phage's hand and led her slowly and carefully up the garden, past the still trolls, then into the comparatively cool kitchen.
"Hi Mum," growled Jen. She had her back to us, her shoulders were hunched up near her ears, and her head was bowed forward as she nevertheless flipped the switch on the kettle.
"Jen, I'm so sorry. It was a terrible thing to have done and I apologize. Will you forgive me? Soph says you've done a great job of the chores and looking after yourself, but that's absolutely no excuse."
"You left me alone for days. Both of you. Dad had his birthday, and his note, and I worried you'd never wake up and then he'd die. I was scared of the rioters, too. They've been causing chaos. People are rioting in the streets, protesting about the lack of food, and all the shops are getting smashed up and people are looting and killing each other and there are loads of reports of houses being broken into and people being attacked for the food and stuff and you left me alone."
I'd thought Jen had it together now, but it clearly wasn't the case. She crumpled to a squat position and just remained there, shoulders shaking as she sobbed her little heart out.
Phage and I exchanged a worried glance then I nodded for her to go to Jen. She dashed over and knelt so she could hug her tightly and rock her gently like when she was a youngster. But she wasn't a baby any longer, and yet she wasn't an adult either. She was young, delicate, and vulnerable. I felt like absolute shit all over again.
"I'm fine," growled Jen as she shook Phage off then scrambled to her feet and moved away.
Phage looked up from the floor, aghast. "Won't you forgive me? I promise it won't happen again."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Jen rubbed at her red eyes, then brushed her hair back from her face and watched stonily while Phage got up and moved back beside me. She studied us both, clearly undecided how to handle this, and then she shook her head, coughed to clear her throat, and told us both, "Sorry, I thought I was over it after having it out with Dad. Maybe not. But I'm fine. Really, I am. Now, do you want coffee?"
"Oh, yes please," gushed Phage, her shoulders relaxing a little. "So much."
"Shall I make it?" I asked.
"I'll do it." Jen stiffened; she wanted to be nice, but wasn't sure if she should be.
Woofer came in and slunk over to Phage so she stroked his head absentmindedly, not saying a word. He could clearly sense the bad atmosphere so soon left again. He was a delicate soul and hated any kind of argument. Same as we all did.
Jen made a point of stirring our drinks loudly and for a gratingly long time. Phage grit her teeth and bore it in silence. I tried not to smile. Things were on the right track if she was just being a moody teenager.
As Jen placed the mugs on the table, the doorbell rang.
Relieved, I sprang to my feet and said, "I'll get it."
"No, I will." Jen gave me the daggers, like we hadn't already had the day to make up, then stomped off to go answer the door.
"Probably Job or Shae," I told Phage.
"It always is," she mumbled, surprised by Jen's reaction and the animosity.
"She'll be fine in a while. I had the same treatment earlier."
"Soph, we've never done anything like this before."
"I blame the Brewer."
"No, we only have ourselves to blame."
Jen screamed from the other end of the house.
TWATS IN THE HOUSE
"Move it!" shouted a man. I heard an oomph, following by a bang, then Jen screamed again.
Phage and I were out into the hallway in a frantic moment, weapons drawn, calm overtaking us both even as cortisol levels and adrenaline pumped ferociously.
"Let her go right now," I ordered, as a tall man with lank mousy hair and a tanned face kicked the door closed behind him.
"I ain't doing shit. Shift, all of you, or the knife at this pretty thing's throat is gonna cut deep. You hear me? Move!"
Jen nodded carefully, telling us to do as he said, but already I could feel the whispers emanating from her.
"Jen, no," said Phage, eyes pleading. "Let me and your father deal with this."
Jen was undecided for a moment, and her shifting whispers gathered momentum, cooling the air, then they broke apart into unseen fragments that nevertheless sent a chill down my spine. Whatever she'd been planning on doing, it would not have been pretty.
"What do you want?" I asked, keeping Bone Slicer, that dirty spy bastard, hidden. I glanced to Phage. She was concealing her weapon too.
"No fucking questions. What is wrong with you people? This your daughter, eh? Then get into the goddamn kitchen and stop screwing around!" The intruder grinned, then rubbed at his long beard awkwardly with the hand that had been holding Jen's hair back to expose her neck. It was a strange time to do such a thing, but he was so cocky and sure of himself he must have figured the knife at her throat was enough.
It wasn't.
Jen elbowed him in the solar plexus, then flung her head back and split his nose before grabbing his knife arm with both hands and biting down so hard she tore a chunk of blond-haired forearm clean off then spat it out.
With a roar, the intruder charged Jen and flung her into the wall, cracking the mirror above the chaos of our boots and coats.
Phage and I dashed forward, mostly getting in each other's way, then pulled up short as the wild-eyed idiot pinned Jen to the wall with his left hand whilst pushing the knife edge hard enough against her flushed neck to produce a trickle of blood.
"Fuck, you bitch." He quickly smashed the hilt of the oversized, show-off knife hard at her temple. Jen's eyes rolled up for a second and her legs would probably have given way if she wasn't still pinned against the wall. "You bit my bloody arm!"
"Let her go right now or you'll never get out of here alive," I growled, knowing it was best to wait before acting, as he was riled and the knife could go through Jen's throat like butter.
"Oh, sure, why don't I do just that?" he laughed. "Are you fucking dumb? Now, into the kitchen, both of you. If she tries anything again, she's dead." He glared at Jen and asked, "Understand?"
"They'll kill you if I don't," she hissed, eyes hard, breathing already under control.
"What is wrong with you all? You can see this knife, can't you? Are you all a bunch of fucking retards, is that it?"
"My, I bet you have so many friends with such witty repartee, don't you?" chided Phage, shifting into a subtle fighting stance perfect for covering a lot of ground the moment she saw the opportunity.
"Move it. Now!" He tightened his grip on Jen's throat, then dragged her from the wall and steered her towards us, giving us no choice but to back up into the kitchen.
Phage and I moved cautiously, giving ourselves time to plan, but this would run on instinct, taking an opportunity as it arose. Phage trembled, clearly suppressing any morph that would see her lose control and risk Jen's life.
"Sit over there," the soon-to-be-dead guy ordered, nodding at the chairs on the other side of the table so he'd have some space.
"What do you want?" I asked him, doing my best lame acting and letting my hands shake and my voice waver.
"I want whatever you got," he spat, glaring at me like he thought it was intimidating. Maybe it was to others, but it merely let me know this guy had done this plenty of times before.
"You aren't hungry, at least you don't look it, and we don't have money as who does these days, so what is it?"
"Food, I want your food. And your tech. You know the deal. Everyone's starving out there, and I can't get no new technology." He dragged a chair out with his foot, then forced Jen into it before he moved the knife from her throat and took a tight hold of her hair from behind, pulling her head back until she gasped.
"None of us are starving," I told him. "Sure, we're hungry, or have to put up with the basics, but you aren't even wearing a belt."
He looked at his clean jeans, still with fold lines down the sides; he'd probably stolen them too. "Yeah, because I take what I want, not hide away like you bunch of cowards. I bet you've got loads stashed away, right? Look at you all, playing happy fucking families." He laughed as he scanned the kitchen, eyes lingering on the coffee, the eggs, the tablet on the counter, and the phones too. He licked his lips, then said, "Oh boy, I hit the jackpot. And you made coffee too? How sweet."
Cocky as you like, he sneered, then swapped the knife into the hand holding Jen and reached out to grab a still-steaming mug of coffee.
Phage and I morphed at exactly the same moment, coming up behind him. As we did so, I caught sight of Jen for a split-second on the side of the table we'd just been on. But there was no time to pause, or consider that our daughter had just morphed, as our knives were already coming down on the back of the shocked guy's neck.
Phage stabbed the left, I took the right. Blood spurted, but we were far from done. I slid my knife slowly into his kidney as I whispered, "You picked the wrong family today."
Phage, beyond incensed, began to shift into her ferocious alter ego but shook it off as her whispers came crashing into the room like the house was crumbling around us.
"You bastard! I'll twist you into frayed rope."
Whispers darkened the room, a crushing weight that rushed at the screaming man as he collapsed.
"Jen, turn away," I told her, then grabbed his hair, pulled back his head, and slammed Bone Slicer through his Adam's apple and out through the back of his neck.
But the whispers didn't abate, and Phage was lost to her magic. Her hair whipped around her neck as the silent words coalesced into dark, ethereal matter as menacing as anything I'd witnessed her mother conjure.
"Phage, it's done," I shouted as loud as I could, but she was lost to her role as mother and protector of her little girl. This guy clearly had to suffer.
Phage slapped her hands into the heavy air around her and the wisps of energy direct from the Necroverse obeyed. A howling wind crashed at us like a storm against a harbor wall as she twisted her fingers and wrists this way and that in rapid succession, causing a corresponding reaction to the corpse dancing in the air before us like a puppet on invisible strings.
Bones cracked, limbs dislocated, legs bent forward, his head twisted fully around, and with a final grunt the whole sorry mess spun and rotated as the limbs tied themselves around each other in knots until what remained was little but a savage reminder that you do not mess with a Necromother.
The whispers died on the gentle breeze, then all was still.
Phage was gasping for air, Jen was still facing the counter, so I nodded to Phage and grabbed the waistband of the gnarly corpse and dragged it outside.
It was a pleasant evening by now, perfect for a bonfire down by Sanctuary 2. Tyr did like to practice his fire breathing, especially on something still warm. I loved this time of day when we were lucky enough for the sun to be behind a soft, fluffy haze of happy cirrus. What a beautiful, crazy world this was.
Releasing the mess of tortured limbs, I stared down at the head of the idiot who dared try to disrupt our home life. It was half hidden by his arm wrapped around his neck like a noose. What a dickhead.
Peace that I hadn't felt for some time enveloped me like Phage on a cold winter's night. Warm, inviting, loving. All thought drifted away, leaving me gasping with pleasure. I was aware of my surroundings, of the trees swaying almost imperceptibly on a gentle wash of a breeze, of the animals and their myriad voices, and I even caught the tang of Tyr from far down the land and high up on Sanctuary.
"Be still, my friend. I have something for you."
"Tyr know. Tyr sees Soph and best friends Jen and Phage. Was bad man. Tyr will burn soon."
"Yes, Tyr will burn soon," I told him, then came back to the stillness I felt inside.
This fellow human was dead. We had killed him. We did what we had to. And then we did more than that because of who we were, what we were. What we will always be.
For we were Necro, and I knew that I should be ashamed for what I'd done and what Phage had done, but I wasn't. I didn't quiver and quake and question why this stillness had come over me, this sense of being at peace and free of thought, because this was my nature, my spiritual side, and at times like this I welcomed the emptiness with open arms. The chance to be free of worry and stress. And yet I knew it was wrong, that I should find this calm within in other ways, but accepted that because of what I was, the life I'd lived, it came at such moments and I'd be a fool to deny it right when I needed it most.
The pleasure was brief, but it reminded me there was more to the world than over-thinking and dwelling on aspects of life I was unable to change. It let me acknowledge there was acceptance and silence to be had behind the veil of endless chatter and whirling thoughts that did nothing but send me spiraling dangerously low and into self-pity when I should be thankful for all I had.
Centered, calm, and beyond concerned for my daughter, I kicked the bastard at my feet in the head, then turned around and walked back into the kitchen to check my baby girl was alright.
"Are you both okay?" I asked from the doorway.
Phage had her arms wrapped around Jen, and was whispering something to her as I entered the kitchen. They released each other as I moved closer. Bone Slicer sang with happiness from his holster, happy to be back doing what he, and I, did best.
"I'm fine," said Jen, foot tapping while she nibbled at her lower lip.
"Me too," said Phage, sounding and looking calm and together. She frowned, clearly going through something similar to me. Knowing it wasn't exactly right, that her concern for Jen should ensure there was no peace to be had yet.
"What happened?" asked Jen. "Did you both kill him?"
"We did," replied Phage softly.
"Good. He deserved it. I can't believe I was so dumb. After all my training, everything you guys have taught me, and I still let a pathetic, weak stranger get the better of me and nearly kill me. Me! So dumb."
"Hey, don't talk like that," I told her. "Chances are, the same thing would have happened if any of us opened the door. You don't expect things like that to happen, so you aren't prepared."
"You always say to expect the unexpected, and always be prepared," Jen told me.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't always work out like that. Hardly ever. You did great, amazing in fact. You have some moves on you now. Training is one thing, real life quite another. I'm proud of you."
"Me too." Phage stroked Jen's hair and smiled at our shaken daughter who was coping much better than I'd expected.
"Your whispers were powerful," Phage told her. "Very impressive."
"But you made me stop."
"Only because we didn't want you to have to deal with what would come after."
"What it feels like to kill, you mean? I'm going to find out soon enough anyway, aren't I?"
"Yes, but that's different," I told her, then looked to Phage to help me out.
"We don't want you to carry that weight unless absolutely necessary," Phage said.
"But it was necessary then."
"No, it wasn't," I told her. "Because we were here to ensure you didn't have that burden to bear. We will always help when we can. Always."
"I could have done it," insisted Jen, fists bunched. "I knew I could. Felt it. My whispers are powerful enough and I had him. I felt good, great in fact. Calm, and able to cope. Sure, I was scared, but I somehow knew I had the situation under control too. Is that right, or wrong? I don't know if I should be scared of how I felt, or go with it."
"It's how we are. How we've tried to help you be. To stay focused and in control whatever the situation. Even when you let go of that control it's a purposeful act. You decide to unleash the wild side of yourself. You don't let it happen without your permission. Understand?"
"I think I do. I never did before, but now, after that, I actually get it. Thanks for looking out for me. Shall I do us another coffee?" Jen turned back to the kettle and grabbed it to fill it under the tap, then switched it on and poured away the cold drinks to make fresh ones.
We had one of the weirdest cuppas I'd ever had, and there had been plenty of weird ones over the years.
TIDYING UP
I placed my empty mug on the scrubbed pine table and sighed quietly. The caffeine had kicked in, the bitter aftertaste of the peculiar new coffee not exactly disagreeable, just different, not quite right. I didn't like different, I liked things to remain the same. Safe, secure, familiar.
"Okay, I'm going to say it. That was all incredibly weird, right? Us sitting here drinking our coffee after what just happened. Jen being attacked, us killing that guy, him outside all messed up. Why aren't either of you saying anything about it? Jen, how come you aren't freaking out and giving us grief? And did you morph for the first time? Phage, why haven't you been complaining about—"
"I never complain."
"—the fact Jen was ready to use whispers you and your mother taught her to kill someone? And how come she even knows such whispers? You never told me things had progressed that far, and I'd like to know exactly what she's learned. Jen, has Peth been teaching you things she shouldn't be? She hasn't got you involved in her mad scheme selling potions, has she? I told you that is strictly off-limits. And Phage, have you spoken to her about that? I guess you must have, but you haven't said."
"I'll go first," said Phage. "Mother and I have taught Jen basic whispers only. Nothing fancy, and nothing too dangerous yet, but she's evidently smart enough to work out things for herself, and as we all know, it basically boils down to intent. To how well you link to the Necroverse. She's more connected than any of us were at her age, so my guess is she followed her training and stayed calm, so could harness the energy."
"Yup," said a smug Jen, hands linked behind her head, leaning back in her chair with a smile on her face like this wasn't odd at all.
