"Are you OK, Sky?"

It was after school and I was sitting in my room, staring at the blue ceiling.

"Zed? Where are you?" I caught an image of her looking out the window and seeing a deserted street and an empty apple tree.

"At home. Do you want to come over?"

"How did you. . . ? No wait: how are you talking like this, so far apart?"

"We just can. Do you want to come?"

Sit at home or brave Zed's family?

"Mum's in Denver. Yves's at some Young Einstein of the Year convention. It's just me, Dad and Xav."

"OK, I'll come over. You're up by the cable car, right?" I got a mental image of the cable car.

"No! I don't want you out alone – it's getting dark. I'll come get you."

"I'm not afraid of the dark." She thought stubbornly.

"I am. Humour me." And I cut off, not giving her a chance to reply. Ten minutes later, I cruised up to her front door. She ran towards me, still putting her jacket on, and jumped into the jeep, her face flushed from the short run.

"You must have broken every traffic law to get here so fast!" she huffed, but she looked pleased.

"I was already on the way when I called in." I shot her a smooth smile, hiding my lie easily. I had almost been in three crashes on the way here, but I didn't mind – all the sooner the sooner to be with Sky. Anyway, it was easier to lie in person than in your head.

"You think that's calling in?" I started driving off and back into town "You could use a cell phone like other people."

"The reception's bad out here – too many mountains."

"That's the only reason?"

"No." My lips twitched in a smile "It brings you, well, closer."

I'll have to think about that one. "Do you talk to anyone else this way?"

"My family. We've the lowest phone bills in the valley." Sky laughed. It tinkled sweetly, like everything else about her, and I found myself wanting to laugh too.

"Can you talk to your brothers in Denver?" she pressed curiously. I put my arm over the back of her seat, brushing her neck with my fingers.

"Why all the questions?"

"Sorry to break it to you, Zed, but this is not exactly normal."

"It is for us." I turned into the road leading up to the house "I'm going to pull over."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong. I doubt if we'll have a chance to be alone when we arrive at the house so I just wanted to kiss you." Sky moved back a little.

"Zed, is this real? You wanting to be with me?" I unfastened her seatbelt for her.

"It most definitely is. You are everything I want. Everything I need." Oh, when will she hear the truth in my words?

"I still don't understand." I rested my head against hers, drinking in the scent of her.

"I know you don't." I said patiently "I'm trying to give you all the time you need, let you get to know me enough so you trust me, trust this." Who knew a few weeks of cold ignorance would come to this? Me begging for her trust while she mulled us over. I tried to hold onto my frustration, but I knew it couldn't. Not with Sky. She mattered too much for me to be angry at.

"And the kissing?" ah, she had me there. She could always find my weak points.

"I have to admit that's for me." I chuckled "I'm selfish that way." We got out and walked up to the house. Dad met us outside in his overalls and a tool box.

"There you are, Zed." Said Dad, wiping his hands on a greasy rag "I saw you coming."

"Dad!" I hissed annoyedly. No bed of roses indeed.

"You know we can't control these things unless we concentrate. You forgot to shield. Sky, nice to see you again. I don't think we were properly introduced: I'm Saul Benedict." Xav chose that time to jog round the corner.

"Hi!" he grinned and waved.

"Not you too," I groaned.

"Why?"

"Dad saw Sky and me."

"Innocent." He raised his hands in surrender "I wasn't anywhere near your mind, though I can guess what went on." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Don't go there," I warned growlingly.

"What does he mean, about being 'near your mind'?" interrupted Sky suspiciously. All three of us turned silent awkward.

"Were you talking to him when we were driving?" she seemed pissed.

"Not exactly."

"She know about that?" Dad said in a low voice – only Xav and I could hear the warning in it – "How come?" I shrugged.

"It just happened. You heard what Mum said about her – she's a bridge. It's hard not to step over."

"My son talk to you in your mind, Sky?" to me, Dad said it in the same way a normal Dad would say 'my son knock you up, Sky?'. It seemed too private and personal a question to ask.

"Um. . ." she sensed the privacy of the question too "maybe."

"You've not told anyone else?"

"Well, no. It sounds a bit screwy."

Dad looked relieved.

"We'd prefer people not to know about it so I'd really appreciate it if you kept it to yourself."

"Fine by me."

"You don't have a problem with it?" he asked carefully.

"Yes," she looked at me with a smile in her eyes "but I'm more worried when Zed seems to know what I'm thinking before I do."

"Yes, we all feel that way around Zed. He never did buy the Santa-down-the-chimney story when he was small. But you learn to live with it." We entered the house. So far, well, not so good, but things could be worse.

"Wow." Sky said when she got inside and saw the utility room, stacked with skiing gear.

"Yes, we are serious about our skiing, though Zed prefers board." Dad said with a fond smile.

"Public enemy number one," said Xav, pretending to shoot me.

"Boarders and skiers don't get on?"asked Sky confusedly.

"Not all the time," admitted Dad "you ski?"

Me? Ski? You must be joking!

"You don't?" I asked, seeing the answer in her mind.

"England isn't exactly known for its powder snow." She tried to defend herself.

"Dad, we have an emergency. Intensive lessons starting from the first fall."

"You bet." Dad nodded seriously.

"I don't think I'll be very good at it." I looked at Dad. I saw Sky falling over a lot, and sent Dad and Xav a flash of a cold-looking Sky, tangled in ski gear.

"Yeah, right." Snorted Xav. Sky looked suspicious.

"What is it you're doing?"

"Just looking ahead, Sky." Said dad "Come into the kitchen. Karla's left pizza for us." Dad took charge, as usual when Mum was gone, and set about making a salad, and, stupidly, put me in charge of the pizza, claiming even I couldn't ruin it.

"His problem is that he sees the pizza already burnt and can't be bothered to change things." Xav told Sky, sitting down and putting his legs up on the seat next to him"How's this one going to be?" he called to me.

"This is going to be the best ever," I replied confidently, shoving the pizza in the oven. It was true; but that didn't mean the pizza would turn out well.

"So, Sky, how you finding school? Other students a pain in the butt, I bet?" Xav said while throwing a pretzel at me.

"It's OK. Bit different from what I'm used to." She admitted. I caught quick-fire snippets in her mind, memories from her London school; large student body, a navy blue uniform with smart matching blazers, homework planners and teachers that called you by your Christian name, not your surname. It suddenly struck me how much Sky had needed to adapt just to fit in here, while also struggling to handle my soulfinder crap.

"Yeah, but Wrickenridge is way better than lots of high schools. Most kids go on to do what they want after." Xav was saying, reasonable as ever.

"What about you? I was told you're good at slalom. Olympic standard good." Sky was eager to remove herself from the spotlight.

Xav shrugged, but inside I winced. Xav wanted to be an Olympic athlete, but we all knew it probably wasn't going to happen.

"Could be – but I don't think I'll take it that far."

"Is it because you can see yourself failing and can't be bothered to change it?" Sky shot back mock-sympathetically.

"Ouch!" whooped Xav "Hey, Zed, your girl has a mean streak. Getting back at me for ribbing you about your cooking."

"Good for her." I nodded at Sky approvingly "Don't listen to any of his bull, Sky. I can cook."

"Yeah, like Sky can ski."

Oh, it was on. I looked to the fruit bowl and honed in on a lemon sitting serenely at the front. With a little force, I had it hurtling across the room and hitting Xav in the nose. Sky jumped.

"What the – !" Sky shrieked like a pigeon had flown into the window.

"Zed!" warned Dad "We've a guest."

"You've got, like, a poltergeist or something?" she sounded half-hopeful.

"Yeah, or something." Xav rubbed his nose and looked daggers at me.

"Is anyone going to explain that?"

"Not me. What were we talking about before I was so rudely interrupted by a flying citrus?" Xav threw the lemon back at me; I stopped it in mid-air and let it drop gracefully back into the fruit bowl "Butt-head."

"Um. . . we were talking about skiing." I could feel Sky's eyes on me but I just whistled innocently and wiped down the surfaces.

"Oh yeah. Well, I don't think I'll go the professional skier route. Got too much else I want to do with my life."

"I can imagine." She sounded sceptical, but she let it slide. Everyone in the room recognised the excuse for what it was.

"I'm stopping as Colorado junior champion and retiring undefeated."

"And never lets us forget it." I drawled. We both mentally reached for the lemon and, because of the energy dragging it from side to side, it exploded in a splatter of citrus.

"Boys!" Dad yelled and rapped on the counter for attention.

"Sorry," we both dutifully intoned. Xav got up to clean the mess.

"No explanation, right?" These Benedicts confuse me, but boy are they funny.

"Nope, not from me." Xav chuckled, waving the rag at me "He's going to tell you. Later." He made a sudden dash for the oven "Sheesh, Zed, you've let it burn! I thought you said this was going thought you said this was going to be the best yet." He dumped the blackened pizza on the side.

"It is. Only singed. I'm improving." I sniffed the pizza. Xav was making mountains out of mole hills – again. He hit me round the head with the oven gloves.

"What's the use of being a know-it-all when you can't even cook a pizza?"

"I ask myself that every day," I mock-sighed and started cutting the pizza.


After dinner, I caught Sky and tugged her outside, telling her we were going for a walk in the woods.

"Xav's got clear-up duty as I cooked so we're free," I told her, taking her hand in mine as she zipped up her jacket.

"Cooked? Is that what you did?" she laughed.

"Ok. Charred." I led her out the back door "Up or down?" I asked, gesturing to the ski slope.

Best get the worst over with "Up first."

"Good choice. I've a favourite place I want to show you." We took the slope slowly, winding around trees in silence.

"Snow doesn't stay lower down till around Thanksgiving." I said as we walked. I resisted tabbing in on Sky's thoughts, but I got the tenor without even trying. Fondness. Interest. Curiosity. But, there it was, lurking in the background. Doubt. Too many contradictions, one person saying one thing and another saying the opposite. Which was to be trusted?

"I should've thought," Sky grumbled, kicking the snow off her flimsy valley shoes.

"My sight isn't much help for practical stuff like that – sorry. Shoulda told you to bring boots."

He's a strange boy sometimes. "So, what powers do you think you have, aside from the telepathy thing?"

"Various, but mainly I can see the future." I paused at a beautiful spot where the snow was perfect and undisturbed "Wanna make an angel?"

"You go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

"Come on – I know you're going to." I teased, waving my arms and legs to make an angel-shape.

"Because you can see?" was that a challenge in her voice?

"No, because I'm gunna do this." I sat up quickly and dragged her down beside me before she could react. She squeaked as she fell, then, giving in with a sign, started to make a perfect little angel, the stars of the night shining in her big, bright eyes. For me, this was a perfect place, full of perfect, beautiful things; not the least of which was the creature beside me.

"So what can you see?" she asked, not looking at me. I wanted to say 'you'. Because she was all I could see - even when I looked away, she crowded my vision and filled my head. You. You, baby. But I knew what she was really getting at, so answered her question like a good little boy.

"Not everything and not all the time. I can't 'see' my family's future, or only rarely. We're too close – there's too much interference, too many variables."

"Do they do the same thing?"

"Only Mum, thankfully," I sat up, brushing now from my elbows "The rest have other gifts."

"You've seen my future? The premonition?"

I rubbed a hand over my face. I didn't want to think of that, not then, not in all this peace.

"Maybe. But if I tell you exactly what I saw, I might change or be the reason it happens – I can't know for sure. My sight gets more precise the closer I am to an event. I only know with any certainty something is going to happen a second or two before it does. Yet it can go really wrong. That's what happened in the raft – by interfering I helped cause what I was trying to stop."

"So you won't tell me if I'm going to be a good skier?" She teased. I shook my head and tapped her forehead.

"No, not even that."

"Good, I think I'd prefer not to know."

Silence fell. The trees rustled around us. The shadows had deepened considerbly since we set out, but I couldn't bear to leave yet – it was too soft and simple here. I couldn't go back to my world of secrets and powers yet.

"What's it like?" she whispered "How can you bear knowing so much?" if I can know so little about my past, about myself, how can he know so much about the future? I got up and pulled Sky to her feet.

"Most days, it's a curse. I know what people are going to say – how the film will end – what the score's going to be. My brothers don't really understand, or don't want to think, what it's like. We've all got our own gifts to handle." I could feel Sky's sympathy, but I didn't want to hear it. I had heard it all before. What I didn't expect was the understanding that emanated from her in thick, warm waves.

"This is all too weird." I slung my arm round her, tugging her closer to me.

"Yeah, I get that. But I need you to understand. You see, Sky, it's like, I dunno, I suppose a bit like being in a lift with a muzak. It's playing away in the background but you don't notice until you pay attention. From time to time, I get a sudden trumpet burst of things. Scenes play out. I don't always know the people or understand what they mean. Not until later anyway. I may try and stop things but they usually happen in a way I didn't anticipate. I try and block it out – I can for a time – but once I forget it comes back."

"You bloody cheater!" Sky cried after a pause and elbowed me in the ribs "No wonder you are unbeatable when you pitch or kick goals!"

"Yeah, it does have that added benefit." I smirked at her, more than willing to point out the obvious "Helped you out, didn't it?" the triumph in her eyes faded.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. I sacrificed my perfect goal scoring record for you."

"Hardly – you scored, like, twenty or something." She snorted.

"No, really. What are people gunna remember about that match? That I scored loads or you saved that one? I'm never gunna live it down." I sighed hard-sufferingly and shook my head in shame.

"Idiot." She hit me round the head, laughing. I laughed with her – how could I not? A Bambi look-alike had just hit me round the head.

"That's done it. I'll have to distract you before you hit me a second time." I leant forwards to kiss her - but a sudden flash in my mind sent me lunging, knocking Sky over backwards. The tree behind us splintered from the bullet that had been aimed at Sky's head. Too close – why didn't I see it? I dragged Sky behind a fallen tree trunk, sheltering her with my body, and swore.

"This isn't supposed to be happening!" I hissed.

"Get off me!" she yelped in panic "What was that?" she struggled to get away.

"Stay down." I warned and swore again "Someone took a shot at us. I'm getting Dad and Xav." I sent my mind away, searching for the pinpoints of light that were the two family members I had to hand. Two out of nine - where was everyone when I needed them?!

"Dad, Xav!" I yelled at them as loud as I could, and immediately had their attention "Someone's shooting at Sky and me – we're in the small clearing near to bottom of the slope." I sent them a mental image of us, cowering in the trunk, and our surroundings.

"We're right there – stay sheltered, and keep Sky safe." Dad punched back and was gone. Crack! A second shot hit the trunk not far from our heads.

"We've got to move!" I slid off Sky "Roll out the other side of the trunk and run for the big pine over there."

"Why don't we just shout to tell them that they're shooting at humans?" she suggested, but the quaver in her voice told me she already knew my answer.

"He's not hunting animals, Sky: he's after us. Go!" she wriggled under the trunk, scrambled to her feet and ran. I raced after her. We were almost there when the third shot went off. I could see where it was headed and tacked Sky to the ground, but my elbow accidentally hitting her face as we crashed to the ground.

"We're almost there – hang in there." Came Xav's voice in my head, and I saw them near our clearing.

"Damn. Sorry," I whispered "Saw that one almost too late again."

"Better stunned than dead." She replied. Her eye was already red.

"Yeah. But I'm still sorry. Just stay still. Dad and Xav are hunting our hunter now."

"I think there's more than one."

"What?" I peeked up to look at her face "How do you know?"

"I don't know. I just feel them there." No point in questioning a savant's instinct.

"Dad – Sky says she thinks there's two of them. She says she feels it."

"Gotcha, Zed."

"Dad? Be careful. These guys don't look the type to take prisoners."

"Will do, Zed. I'm more worried about you and Sky right now."

"We're fine – just get here fast, and don't rule out the possibility of a trap."

"I've told them to be careful." I told Sky, still sheltering her with my body – if one of us had to be shot, I'd rather it was me "It could be a trap to lure him out. We've got to get back to the house. There's a stream just over that ridge. If we get there, we can stay hidden and circle back. OK?"

"OK." She said, her voice shaking "How do we get to it?" she swallowed hard and looked at the ridge, measuring how far it was with her eyes, but her ears were ready to hear my plan.

"You're amazing, Sky." I smiled grimly, wishing she wouldn't have to be amazing while a gun was trained on our heads "Most people would have lost it by now. We crawl – make like lizards. I'll go first." Here it was – the ultimate test of trust. I slithered out and dropped over the ridge, praying that Sky was as brave as she looked. I heard a scuffle overhead and Sky dropped down, rolled, and stopped beside me.

"This way." I told her and wriggled off, hearing her shuffle behind me.


Dun dun duuhhhh! cliff-hanger! what will happen next? well, we all know what happens, but how will Zed take it? stay tun for more. . . .