The Rocket Girl's Tale, page 4
Still, I’m getting out of here.
“Loretta, can I use your washroom?”
“Is no problem. You know where?”
“Yes, upstairs. I remember.”
“You hurry. When you come back, I arrange meeting.”
“Thank you, Loretta. I’ll think about it.”
Reiki got up and walked to the door marked women. The dark-haired man in the back followed her every move with his eyes. The door blocked him off, but it felt like his gaze accompanied Reiki to the top of the stairs.
The lights were out, but Reiki found the dressing room by the red glow of the front sign. She saw the fire escape outside the window and pushed the coffee table over to it. When Reiki picked up the magazines to put them aside, they left coffee rings behind. She grimaced. Forget resurfacing that table; Loretta needed to push it to the curbside and hope someone absconded with it during the night.
“Why I need new table?” she asked aloud in a mimicry of Loretta’s North Rionite accent. “This one do job. Is good enough, neh?”
Oh, Loretta. You’re a second mom in so many ways.
Reiki stopped to trade shoes with Loretta. These heels were already killing her feet, and she could pick them up in a few days. The tennis shoes she slid on were a hideous companion to her dress, but the closet held no practical clothes that fit. Satisfied that she could at least run if she needed to, Reiki slipped out the window and closed it behind her. She descended to street level and fled the alley.
Thanks to the change in footwear, Reiki covered a lot of distance and widened her head start on the man. She figured she would have ten or fifteen minutes before he realized she was gone and came out to investigate. Plenty of time to get off the streets.
Her mind went back to Jude as she walked. Proposing to her at a boxing match. Words failed to describe how she felt about that. Kajo, her high school sweetheart, had dumped her stone cold and refused to listen to her many reasons for getting back, but even he wasn’t that thoughtless.
Reiki glanced back to the towers of the fortress wistfully when she reached an intersection. After four years of her teenage life spent pining for him, Kajo had gone on to become Namika. As ruler of their demesne, he had no time for her foolishness. And Reiki, having recognized it as that, had thrown herself at Jude in the hopes of forgetting him.
Except, she had to admit, the Jude plan had not worked out.
Tomorrow morning I have to face Jude and tell him we’re done forever. A clean break and no more getting back.
Motion caught her eye. Not physical motion, but a change in heat patterns. All the way down the wet flagstone street, Reiki saw her footprints in rainbow colours. Red where she stood now, yellows farther out where they had cooled. And blue in the far distance, fading to obscurity.
The red glow of heat leaked out from between two buildings. It was man-sized, and at rest for now. But since Reiki hadn’t seen it in approaching, it must have arrived from behind.
The man from the Trog, no doubt. Reiki bet she could follow his footprints right back to the door. Just to make sure, Reiki hurried along and took a couple of turns. Her shadowy stalker copied every one.
Reiki chanced across a police box as she walked. It was closed up, and no lights shone in the windows. Whoever was in charge of manning the one-storey office was off on errands or walking a beat. She thought better of waiting around and moved on.
If they think I have something worthwhile to tell the authorities, they’ll shoot me and have done with.
The Naldine overpass loomed ahead over a roundabout, lights forming a ten storey crochet hook in the night sky. Squat electric lampposts dotted the final roundabout before the foot of the access, and a horse-drawn cart was the only vehicle in sight. A city worker laboured behind the cart to clear snow from the roadside.
She crossed the roundabout, by-passed the access, and walked along the stone embankment that formed a canal for the Salthan River. The water level ran about a body-length below the street level at this time of year. Stairs carried Reiki to a small ledge at which rowboats could moor. The ledge would be submerged come spring, when the system carried more water. For now, Reiki could pass, only getting the toes of her shoes wet at the edge of an abyss of black water.
This place would be perfect as long as Reiki’s stalker made the mistake of following her. And from the sound of scuffling from the street, she thought she might get a lucky break.
He came in at a hasty run, panting as he skidded to a stop. He probably thought he’d lost her. So much the better.
As he charged down the stairs to the lower walkway, Reiki held out her hand and concentrated on all moisture she could reach with her mind’s eye.
At her command, the damp stairs went icy. Caught off-balance, the man slipped and fell. He landed in a confused heap of limbs at the base of the lowest step.
Reiki froze the river water in a circle around him. Stalagmites of ice exploded in a ring, and water crawled up their spines to knit into a cylindrical wall. Veins of impurities within the ice glowed an eerie blue light that filled the canal. The ice began to sublimate on contact with air, so that a fog curled out from it and poured out over the thin walkway.
The man clambered to his feet and rubbed what would likely be a bruised backside. He grumbled an oath and stumbled blindly before noticing he was trapped. He locked gazes with Reiki.
“Wait, Miss!”
Oh, now he wants to talk?
Reiki walked onto the surface of the water. Everywhere she stepped, ice crystalized and spread out enough to support her weight. Before long, she had a cantilever-style bridge, though it was quickly overrun by the heavy mist that curled up past her ankles.
“I’m not here to harm you, miss. I was sent to protect you.”
“From what?” she asked as she formed stairs of ice so she could climb back to street level. The inside of the man’s prison was too smooth to climb. Her stalker was trapped until he could use a sharp object to chisel his way free, or until morning, when the fire department might chance by and lower him a ladder.
“From the city. You needed help. I’ve been sent.”
Yeah right. Some help he was, following me like that.
“They should have sent someone to protect you from me,” said Reiki. She crossed the last step of ice and regained the city streets.
The glow from her psychothermic shift faded, and darkness once again became master of the recesses of the canal. Reiki walked away and left her stalker down there.
The only sound that followed her was the stranger’s howl of despair.
CHAPTER 05
HOME
[*** Seven Years Ago ***]
“This will be dangerous,” said Kajo. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.”
Reiki nodded her understanding. At thirteen years of age, danger still meant thrill. Terms like cardiac arrest and system shock were foreign concepts best left to biology class.
Kajo gestured at the door of the school’s storage room, and the surrounding bricks stitched themselves over the frame.
“Sealed to lock in sound,” he explained. “And it’s five minutes to Still-Hour, so there won’t be anyone to hear. You can scream if it helps.”
“I won’t scream,” said Reiki.
But she did when the burning started. Cells disintegrated or were transplanted. Root cells were reprogrammed and ripped from deep bone marrow. Despite Kajo using his powers to dull her pain nerves, Reiki had the feeling of passing through an oven.
He told her afterwards that she’d spent a minute clinically dead while he sang to her heart in a desperate bid to coax life back into her body. Reiki didn’t remember that part. She remembered everything else from that point on. Every last second, every detail. Backwards, forwards, there seemed to be nothing she couldn’t recall if she put her mind to it.
As for the cryokinesis, Reiki was certain she’d always had it, though the night of her transformation had brought it into focus. Telepathically, she was useless. A battery of connections she was told. Other telepaths could make connections through her head like a switchboard, but Reiki herself could neither project nor receive a single thought.
The burning pain of a transforming body made way to fire, followed by blue arctic ice. It was the only way Reiki had been able to cope–by mentally crawling into a cold place. Ice made way to dreams of flying in warm skies, then falling…
Reiki started awake. Sunlight streamed through her apartment windows, and she was sprawled across the sofa in her street clothes.
Alerted by her stirring, Mister Kittles jumped onto the backrest and mewed impatiently. Reiki set a hand out to pet him, but instead of responding with a purr, he used a paw to bat her hand.
“Calm down, Kittles. I’ll feed you soon enough,” she said.
She stumbled to the bathroom. On the mirror, Reiki found a note tacked on by a magnet.
‘Dropped by to see if you got your acceptance. I’ll look you up tomorrow.–Mother.’ said the note in scribbled Hillvalian printing.
Ah, yes. Her friends and parents would be waiting for the news. With any luck, the world would come to an abrupt end before Reiki had to face that ordeal.
Jude was right about one thing: Reiki needed to burn the Academy’s rejection letter and get it out of her life. And somewhere along the line, she had to solve the whole ring situation. She was going to have to tell a rich, impatient, upper-class male that she wasn’t that into him. Things could only get ugly from there.
However, Mister Kittles started head-butting her shin. Reiki hurried into the kitchen to feed him.
The kitchen was done in a bare-bones design with an island type counter that divided her open-concept apartment. In the living room, Reiki’s five shelves were so overloaded in books that two of them leaned on the other three for support.
Reiki walked through the living room to reach the front door. She had to step over her replica astronomical sextant that pinned one tip of an unrolled starmap. Pens, pencils, slide-rule–they all formed a treacherous field of objects to slip on. New mail littered the floor by the mail-slot in the door.
“This place is a mess, huh, Mister Kittles?” Reiki opened the front door, picked up the bottle of milk that awaited her outside, and turned for the kitchen, allowing the door to swing shut behind her.
As Reiki stepped over the stream of mail, the upcoming announcement ceremony came to mind. Professor Uru had put together a dinner-dance for the presentation of the acceptees. It was scheduled for this very night, which put it in the middle of the liberation efforts for Graal, but Reiki knew the rocket would not wait. Not even for a war.
Mister Kittles cried plaintively and rubbed up against Reiki’s shin. She fetched a saucer and poured milk in it for him, then tossed a second dollop into a saucepan so she could start cornmeal porridge. While she stirred the pot, Reiki thought about the invitation.
Of course, she had to attend. Janan and her other classmates deserved her congratulations. But who would be Reiki’s plus-one now that things with Jude were on a downer?
Maybe I’ve judged him too harshly. After all, he does want to marry me when he has all those rich girls competing for his attention.
Reiki was also consciously aware that she needed his strength to get her through the announcement ceremony. Easy to overlook some of his rougher tendencies when she was like this.
As if summoned, there was a knock on the door, followed by Jude’s voice.
“Reiki, you in there? Open up.”
She froze, unsure what to do. The sound of the key in the lock decided for her. She had omitted to relatch the chain when she’d fetched the milk. Blasted oversight on her part.
The door swung open, and in came Jude. He wore a shirt under an unbuttoned jacket, and the curious lump over his breast told Reiki he had already replaced his stolen pistol. He smelled of the citrus shampoo she had once been so fond of. And there was jauntiness to his stride. The betting on the big fight must have gone well.
“There you are. Why didn’t you open?”
“You didn’t give me a chance.”
Jude walked around the island to join her in the kitchen and smiled. “Hey, look. On the way home last night, I got you something.”
He tossed a handful of gold-wrapped Selanese coconut chocolates on the counter and leaned beside them so his hair covered one eye. Such a cheater he was. He knew very well she loved that type of candy.
Reiki took a deep breath and forced herself to focus on the problem.
“Jude, I’m going to need that key back.”
He slapped himself on the forehead. “Of course. You lost your key. How’d you get in, anyway?”
“I made a stick out of ice and used my protractor to carve it. I remember what the key looked like and all.”
“Right, right. I’ll go have a new copy cut.”
“No, no. I need that key back.”
Jude looked puzzled when she pointed at his pants pocket. She decided to be clearer.
“Sorry, Jude. I’m breaking up with you.”
“What? Why would you do that? Everything’s going great.”
“No, no. This just isn’t working out.”
Jude looked shocked for a moment. Then his eyebrows went up, and he smiled.
“I get it. Marriage is a big step. You’re nervous. Overwhelmed, right?”
“It’s not that at–”
“What’s that smell?” Jude tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Are you burning your breakfast again?”
“Shades!” Reiki stirred at the pot but it was too late. Charcoal at the bottom. She set the pot aside and turned back.
“Jude, I–”
“No, Reiki. No need to apologize. I forgive you. I don’t blame you for making a scene back there. If anything, I deserved it.”
Reiki sighed. This break up was getting more convoluted instead of simple.
“I just need my key back,” said Reiki. “You’re…”
An asshole? An inconsiderate jerk? What name could she pick that would leave it irrefutably clear, yet not get him all defensive?
“Go ahead, Reiki.”
“We’re not right for each other.”
Okay. So she’d just wimped out. Stars forgive her.
Jude stretched out his arms to hug her. “Don’t be silly–”
“I mean it, Jude. We’re through. Give me back my key and leave.”
He stared at her a long time, and Reiki put on her best ‘I-mean-it’ face. He hesitated a moment longer, then nodded and lowered his arms.
“I get it. You’re upset. You need space.”
He was following the ritual. They’d broken up so many times, it was practically a script.
“The key, Jude.”
He fished in his pants pocket wordlessly. The crushing and awkward silence was broken only by the jingle of keys as he removed hers from the set. Reiki remembered one of them usually started crying at this point.
Please, let it not be me this time.
“Guess, I’m going, then.” Jude ambled to the door. He set his hand on the doorknob and turned as he used the other hand to clear his hair from his face. “I’ll be back on the weekend. We’ll work it out. We always do.”
Reiki shook her head. “No, Jude. This is good-bye forever.”
He mouthed the words ‘I love you’ and slipped out the door. Reiki followed him and relatched the chain. She leaned against the door and tried to force her mind to relax. Jude. Accountant. Breakup. A marriage proposal. Announcement ceremony. The concepts all danced in her head and threatened to overwhelm her.
As if pulled by puppet strings, Reiki retreated to her room to cry it out.
CHAPTER 06
DINNER
City lights scrolled past the window of the Lansdale as Arthur studied his date.
Xandri was an unusual sight by any comparison to the women back home. Her dress, already a blinding shade of yellow, was banded in a crimson red sash with white sigils scrawled all over it. Brown was likely her natural hair colour, but she had it in hot pink tonight. Along with expensive contacts that made her eyes an unnatural bright green.
“You’ll remember to spell my name with an X, won’t you?” she asked.
“Absolutely, Xandri,” said Arthur. He took up her hand and kissed it. Strong hands, at least. Probably related to her harp, which was stored in the trunk. Her hair brushed her shoulder when she tilted her head at him, a serious look in her eyes. Her face was painted so heavily that Arthur doubted she could smile if she wanted to.
“Please don’t forget,” said Xandri. “There’s already a Sandra, a Sandri, and a Chandri in my neighbourhood, and I’d hate for anything addressed to me to land in the wrong lap.”
Arthur guffawed at her cheeky assertion. “Ha, and what makes you suspect there would be anything from me in the mail?”
A hummingbird would be jealous of the rate she batted those eyelashes. “Forgive little Xandri for assuming on the grace and zeal of Master Galenden.”
Arthur sighed and looked out the opposite window to hide his grimace. This escort was worse than a paid sycophant. Still, if she kept Iliara off his back, she was worth every penny of the five gold a night she was costing him.
At least he wouldn’t need her services for the overnight because he still had that address from the blonde woman at the previous night’s auction. Eric had driven Arthur by that manor earlier today, and Arthur had spotted clinging vines on the eastern wall. He was good enough at climbing that he would have a warm bed for the night.
“We’re almost to the fortress now, Master. Have you been inside before?”
Where did this master bit come from? Arthur shook his head.
“It’s quite lovely from inside,” continued Xandri. “All majestic and artsy. But I’ve only ever been to the concert lounge once. They don’t normally allow commoners– er… us to the upper floors.”
