1 Ripples in the Pond
Ripple Breedlove sat on the hard chair in her smelly, dirty kitchen. The brown wallpaper was peeling off the wall, the only things on the worktops were a crisp multipack and a tiny camping stove. There was a bare table, which needed rolled up paper under three legs to stop it from falling over, never mind wobbling. Two broken, hard chairs were the only forms of seating in her house, besides the toilet. She was eating a pack o crisps, wondering how the hell her life had come to this.
She hadn't been born 'Ripple Breedlove'. She'd been born Rachel Moore, but now she felt so separate from that girl she'd renamed herself. After all, Rachel Moore had been a happy, middle class human who dreamed of being a model. Ripple Breedlove was a depressed, poverty-stricken witch who dreamed of having enough food to get through next week. It had all begun when Joseph Breedlove had arrived at her school. They'd hit it off straight away, and within a month they were a definite item. Rachel had loved him. It felt like every time she saw him, she was flying.
Then he'd broken up with her. "I just think we're too close, you know? I don't want to get serious."
"Why?" she'd wailed. "I thought you loved me."
"It's because I love you we have to break up." He'd snapped. "I *can't* love you."
Strangely enough, she'd learnt the truth from Circle Daybreak. Their agent, Crystal Jira, had told her that he was a witch. She'd been very convincing. After all, Crystal was a vampire. ~The truth is~ Ripple thought. ~I *wanted* to believe. I wanted the world to be special. And look where it got me.~
Crystal had told her plenty of other things. She was a special agent dedicated to finding lost witches. She wasn't human. She was a witch, and related in some way to Joseph to top it all. She had tried to ignore her heritage at first. But Joseph wouldn't let it rest. He'd insisted he loved her, and now he knew the truth they could be together. Rachel couldn't believe that. So she ran.
She'd packed a bag one night, and left a note for her parents. And she'd simply wandered around, dossing on the streets for a while. She'd ended up in the Black Flowers estate by following a vampire home. Now she lived right in the heart of it, and there was no way out without a pass. And as Ripple was a witch who couldn't use her powers, the chances of her getting one were millions to one.
***
Ripple snapped out of her trance. There was no point worrying about the past, she couldn't change it. She slipped on her jacket and went outside. She walked a lot. She had nothing else to do, after all. The only way she made any money was selling information to Circle Daybreak. She had become one of them, she didn't know why. But most of them were in a blissful state of denial. They thought they could win, that good would always triumph over evil. She knew this wasn't true. A quote drifted into her mind: 'The good ended happily, the bad ended unhappily, that is what fiction means.' Oscar Wilde, she thought vaguely. She stepped into the Green Dragon. Odd. Neil wasn't there. He usually was. A girl was sat in his usual place, looking seriously agitated.
When Ripple stepped in, the girl waved her over. "Are you Ripple Breedlove?" She asked.
"Who's asking?"
"Jemima Webb. Code word: Valiant mouse."
Ripple nodded. Why the code word was so stupid, she had no idea. "Where's Neil?" she asked. "He usually meets me here."
Jemima looked at her oddly. "They found him dead yesterday evening. Some bastard had just ripped his throat out. We're working on it."
Ripple went into efficient spy mode. "I'll find out who it was. I have a vague idea. Some guy was in here last night, an assassin from out there." She gestured her hands, indicating the world outside the estate. "He won't know that Daybreak killers usually end up mysteriously dead a few days later. I'll ask around."
Jemima nodded. "Right. I'll be here tomorrow night. See you then." She slipped out. Ripple carried on staring at the door. She could only wait. She waited for two hours, barely moving. Eventually, they arrived. Gareth Barker and Kim Fawkes. They looked oddly strained. She got up. "You wouldn't have happened to have encountered any assassin's lately, would you?" she hissed in Kim's ear.
Kim looked around. "Anita got one last night. Now clear off, Breedlove, before I stick a knife in your gut." Ripple took the hint and left. That had been easy. Now for stage two. She found the Watchman on duty. It was Ralph, a werewolf. Good, she knew him, but he didn't know her. "Hey you," she said. He looked up. "Yeah, you. You see a vampire wander into the Daybreak quarter last night, possibly dragging a human with brown hair and blue eyes?"
He looked slightly surprised. "Uh, yeah." He said. "'Bout nine o'clock. Why?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Oh, just wondering. Night." She wandered away. Ripple was a good spy. She didn't have to try. She wasn't *memorable*. She doubted if Sora Keller, the leader of CD in the Black Flowers, would look at her twice if she saw her in the street. She would be able to question Ralph again, and he wouldn't remember her. No tricks. No magic. Just good old fashioned nobodyness.
Ripple shoved her hands in he pockets. She was wearing a tattered pair of khaki pants, a t-shirt, a thick jumper and an ancient cagoule. She kept her head down. She didn't know where she was going. She was just walking. She covered the whole east quarter in a matter of minutes. Then she went north, looking at the beautiful mansions of the rich Night Worlders, wondering hat kind of food they were all eating. She was starving.
She wasn't really looking where she was going, when she crashed into someone and fell over. "Watch where you're going, she yelled, annoyed. "Sorry," came a male voice which sounded oddly familiar. She looked up. The speaker was quite tall. It was too dark to see his face. He reached out a hand to pull her up. As their hands touched, Rachel woke up again inside Ripple. It was Joseph. And he seemed to be reaching into her soul. He pulled her up.
"Rachel," he said gently. "What are you doing here?"
Ripple felt lost for words. "It's Ripple now." She murmured. "Ripple Breedlove."
"oh." He said. He didn't seem to know what to say. "Rache—Ripple, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up your life. I'll go if you want me to."
"I don't." she said. Ripple realised she was crying. She sat down on the pavement. She started to cry. "And I don't want you to call me Ripple, either. Don't leave me, Joe. Take me home."
He pulled her up again. Sparks flew. ~Oh, god.~ *Rachel* thought. ~All this time, and my soulmate was under my nose.~
/Is that what you think we are?\ She could hear his voice in her head. It was coming through her hand, shooting up her arm and into her head.
/Yes\ she replied. /I love you, Joe.\
"What are we going to do?" he asked aloud. "I'm with Circle Daybreak now." Rachel laughed. "So am I."
"Then you can come to my house." Joseph said firmly.
Rachel suddenly felt shy. "Where do you live?"
"In the Daybreak quarter." He said. "I know it's not the nicest place in the world, but it's where we're needed. What do you do for Daybreak?"
"I'm a spy." She stopped suddenly. "Wait. What are you doing here?"
"I was sent to look for you. Well, to look for Ripple Breedlove. I didn't realise she was really Rachel. I suppose rightfully you are a Breedlove. Do you think this counts as incest?"
"I hope not." Rachel murmured, and kissed him in the street, not caring if anyone saw.
He grabbed her hand. "Come on." He said mischievously. He began to run, dragging her along behind her. She grinned and ran with him, truly happy for the first time in two years.
~I'm not going to give up spying.~ she thought. ~But we'll do it together now.~
And together the ran into the night.
Ripple Breedlove sat on the hard chair in her smelly, dirty kitchen. The brown wallpaper was peeling off the wall, the only things on the worktops were a crisp multipack and a tiny camping stove. There was a bare table, which needed rolled up paper under three legs to stop it from falling over, never mind wobbling. Two broken, hard chairs were the only forms of seating in her house, besides the toilet. She was eating a pack o crisps, wondering how the hell her life had come to this.
She hadn't been born 'Ripple Breedlove'. She'd been born Rachel Moore, but now she felt so separate from that girl she'd renamed herself. After all, Rachel Moore had been a happy, middle class human who dreamed of being a model. Ripple Breedlove was a depressed, poverty-stricken witch who dreamed of having enough food to get through next week. It had all begun when Joseph Breedlove had arrived at her school. They'd hit it off straight away, and within a month they were a definite item. Rachel had loved him. It felt like every time she saw him, she was flying.
Then he'd broken up with her. "I just think we're too close, you know? I don't want to get serious."
"Why?" she'd wailed. "I thought you loved me."
"It's because I love you we have to break up." He'd snapped. "I *can't* love you."
Strangely enough, she'd learnt the truth from Circle Daybreak. Their agent, Crystal Jira, had told her that he was a witch. She'd been very convincing. After all, Crystal was a vampire. ~The truth is~ Ripple thought. ~I *wanted* to believe. I wanted the world to be special. And look where it got me.~
Crystal had told her plenty of other things. She was a special agent dedicated to finding lost witches. She wasn't human. She was a witch, and related in some way to Joseph to top it all. She had tried to ignore her heritage at first. But Joseph wouldn't let it rest. He'd insisted he loved her, and now he knew the truth they could be together. Rachel couldn't believe that. So she ran.
She'd packed a bag one night, and left a note for her parents. And she'd simply wandered around, dossing on the streets for a while. She'd ended up in the Black Flowers estate by following a vampire home. Now she lived right in the heart of it, and there was no way out without a pass. And as Ripple was a witch who couldn't use her powers, the chances of her getting one were millions to one.
***
Ripple snapped out of her trance. There was no point worrying about the past, she couldn't change it. She slipped on her jacket and went outside. She walked a lot. She had nothing else to do, after all. The only way she made any money was selling information to Circle Daybreak. She had become one of them, she didn't know why. But most of them were in a blissful state of denial. They thought they could win, that good would always triumph over evil. She knew this wasn't true. A quote drifted into her mind: 'The good ended happily, the bad ended unhappily, that is what fiction means.' Oscar Wilde, she thought vaguely. She stepped into the Green Dragon. Odd. Neil wasn't there. He usually was. A girl was sat in his usual place, looking seriously agitated.
When Ripple stepped in, the girl waved her over. "Are you Ripple Breedlove?" She asked.
"Who's asking?"
"Jemima Webb. Code word: Valiant mouse."
Ripple nodded. Why the code word was so stupid, she had no idea. "Where's Neil?" she asked. "He usually meets me here."
Jemima looked at her oddly. "They found him dead yesterday evening. Some bastard had just ripped his throat out. We're working on it."
Ripple went into efficient spy mode. "I'll find out who it was. I have a vague idea. Some guy was in here last night, an assassin from out there." She gestured her hands, indicating the world outside the estate. "He won't know that Daybreak killers usually end up mysteriously dead a few days later. I'll ask around."
Jemima nodded. "Right. I'll be here tomorrow night. See you then." She slipped out. Ripple carried on staring at the door. She could only wait. She waited for two hours, barely moving. Eventually, they arrived. Gareth Barker and Kim Fawkes. They looked oddly strained. She got up. "You wouldn't have happened to have encountered any assassin's lately, would you?" she hissed in Kim's ear.
Kim looked around. "Anita got one last night. Now clear off, Breedlove, before I stick a knife in your gut." Ripple took the hint and left. That had been easy. Now for stage two. She found the Watchman on duty. It was Ralph, a werewolf. Good, she knew him, but he didn't know her. "Hey you," she said. He looked up. "Yeah, you. You see a vampire wander into the Daybreak quarter last night, possibly dragging a human with brown hair and blue eyes?"
He looked slightly surprised. "Uh, yeah." He said. "'Bout nine o'clock. Why?" his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Oh, just wondering. Night." She wandered away. Ripple was a good spy. She didn't have to try. She wasn't *memorable*. She doubted if Sora Keller, the leader of CD in the Black Flowers, would look at her twice if she saw her in the street. She would be able to question Ralph again, and he wouldn't remember her. No tricks. No magic. Just good old fashioned nobodyness.
Ripple shoved her hands in he pockets. She was wearing a tattered pair of khaki pants, a t-shirt, a thick jumper and an ancient cagoule. She kept her head down. She didn't know where she was going. She was just walking. She covered the whole east quarter in a matter of minutes. Then she went north, looking at the beautiful mansions of the rich Night Worlders, wondering hat kind of food they were all eating. She was starving.
She wasn't really looking where she was going, when she crashed into someone and fell over. "Watch where you're going, she yelled, annoyed. "Sorry," came a male voice which sounded oddly familiar. She looked up. The speaker was quite tall. It was too dark to see his face. He reached out a hand to pull her up. As their hands touched, Rachel woke up again inside Ripple. It was Joseph. And he seemed to be reaching into her soul. He pulled her up.
"Rachel," he said gently. "What are you doing here?"
Ripple felt lost for words. "It's Ripple now." She murmured. "Ripple Breedlove."
"oh." He said. He didn't seem to know what to say. "Rache—Ripple, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up your life. I'll go if you want me to."
"I don't." she said. Ripple realised she was crying. She sat down on the pavement. She started to cry. "And I don't want you to call me Ripple, either. Don't leave me, Joe. Take me home."
He pulled her up again. Sparks flew. ~Oh, god.~ *Rachel* thought. ~All this time, and my soulmate was under my nose.~
/Is that what you think we are?\ She could hear his voice in her head. It was coming through her hand, shooting up her arm and into her head.
/Yes\ she replied. /I love you, Joe.\
"What are we going to do?" he asked aloud. "I'm with Circle Daybreak now." Rachel laughed. "So am I."
"Then you can come to my house." Joseph said firmly.
Rachel suddenly felt shy. "Where do you live?"
"In the Daybreak quarter." He said. "I know it's not the nicest place in the world, but it's where we're needed. What do you do for Daybreak?"
"I'm a spy." She stopped suddenly. "Wait. What are you doing here?"
"I was sent to look for you. Well, to look for Ripple Breedlove. I didn't realise she was really Rachel. I suppose rightfully you are a Breedlove. Do you think this counts as incest?"
"I hope not." Rachel murmured, and kissed him in the street, not caring if anyone saw.
He grabbed her hand. "Come on." He said mischievously. He began to run, dragging her along behind her. She grinned and ran with him, truly happy for the first time in two years.
~I'm not going to give up spying.~ she thought. ~But we'll do it together now.~
And together the ran into the night.