Sarah tightened her ponytail as she sat at the table across from me. She had showered and dressed in the clothes that was mysteriously appeared by the couch over night and looked ready to face the day running off of three hours of sleep and two cups of really strong tea Caster Daniel had delivered "coincidentally" first thing in the morning - Caster Daniel, who avoided getting up before noon at all costs, had suddenly had an urge to be up at dawn, making tea. Yeah, an urge named Alay.
My name is Jake. Most superheroes lead double lives - one normal, one saving the world. I lead three - one more or less normal, one saving the world, and one training to protect it. Of my family, only my mom and dad know that I'm a Weapon Trainee - Tom doesn't know, Rachel doesn't know, and neither do her sisters or my aunt. Rachel's dad is a Weapon, or at least was, until he moved. Rachel was a good Weapon Trainee candidate, but she was so focused on gymnastics that her dad didn't want to take her from it. Now she's got other things to deal with and hasn't really talked to her dad in a few months. That's one of the biggest rules with Weapons and Casters - the parents have to instigate it for the children and make sure the children know absolutely everything about what they're getting into. On the flip-side, when you tell an eleven-year-old that you want to start training them to be a superhero, you aren't going to get much resistance.
"This is going to be a very interesting day," commented Sarah idly, as she tied her shoe. I nodded as my mom set a cup of Caster Daniel's tea in front of me.
"I know you don't like more things that come from Dan, but drink it," she said firmly. I gave a quick nod and didn't argue. You just don't argue with that tone. It's the 'I'm-the-mother-dang-it' tone, the scary one.
"Thank you for letting me stay on such short notice," said Sarah. "I have not exactly told my foster family about my reason for coming and to arrive home at such an hour in the morning would have caused questions." Something about her statement nagged at my mind, but to hell if I had enough useable brain at that moment to figure out what it was. I focused on my tea as Sarah tied her other shoe and downed a third cup of Daniel's tea. "Let us hope Healer Caster Daniel's tea can keep me awake through History - how can your teachers be so boring?"
"Because they aren't wielding a blunt object," I explained. "Trust me, I figured that a while ago. Weapon Teachers make lessons interesting by threatening your life - regular academic teachers don't have that privilege." She grinned and giggled.
"Makes sense," she said, standing. I gulped down the last of leafy tasting tea and followed her to the front door. Her backpack was next to mine, sitting in the entry way of my house, with a strange silver necklace resting in top. Sarah scooped it up and gave it a once over because knotting the broken chain around her neck. The silver pendentant fell to rest just above the collar of her black shirt and was a contrast to her entire black outfit - it wasn't exactly hard to tell what Alay's favorite color was, now was it?
"Hey, Jake, can I talk to you for a second?" Both of us straightened and Sarah's guard went up even as I had to struggle to put up mine. It was still hard to imagine my brother as the enemy…
"Sure, Tom," I answered, putting on my best little brother front. Tom opened his mouth to say something, then paused to look Sarah over.
"I don't think we've met." Sarah shook her head and offered her hand to shake.
"My name is Sarah," she told him. "I am in Jake's class at school." My brother shook her hand, even as she stiffened slightly.
"I'm Tom, Jake's brother - obviously, since I'm standing in his living room in my pajamas." Sarah laughed, making my brother - and me - smile. She had a nice laugh and she seemed completely relaxed when she laughed.
"That would explain it," she said, nodding and grinning. "Jake, I will wait outside, jaia? So you and your brother may talk?"
"No, no, that's all right," insisted Tom. "I was just going to ask him to come to Friday night's meeting of The Sharing - some of the teacher-coordinators are throwing a Welcome Back to School party and we're going to discuss the overall plane for the upcoming year. You should come too, Sarah. We have a lot of fun." Sarah's eyes didn't cloud over, didn't darken, just remained the same cool blue as she gave a toss of her ponytail. She had the Weapon mask down to a science and nothing could break it.
"I have heard of The Sharing," she said calmly. "Many, many good things, in fact, but I have been so busy learning everything I can to fit in around here that I have not had time to make a meeting." It's easy to lie to a Yeerk, even easier when lying is a part of your training. Tom bought her story, hook, line, and sinker, and nodded sympathetically.
"Well, if you're not busy Friday night, come on over and check it out. Maybe you could bring this idiot along as well." He gave me a good natured slug on the arm, which I returned, keeping in check the fact that I was probably twice as strong as he was. Living multiple lives can be a real pain in the butt because you're always making sure one secret doesn't reveal another and so on.
"He can come, so long as he does not assume it is a date," teased Sarah, making a face. I swear, she really picked up on Marco's sense of cruel humor as she picked up on his English (or lack of) skills.
"I wouldn't date you if you were the last girl on Earth," I shot back defensively. Sarah has this natural ability to make you want to… I don't know, fight back. It's just the way she is.
"Ah, don't listen to him," said Tom. "He's still in the "girls have cooties" stage, aren't ya, bro?" He laughed and Sarah laughed too, but I knew - I knew I was going to have explain "cooties" to her on the way to the bus.
We finally left the house fifteen minutes later, having talked to Tom some more, then been interuppted by my dad, on the phone, saying that Daniel wanted us both after school, immediately, at his house. Of course he did. We had just discovered another Weapon and I also figured that there would be some profuse apologies to be had, mostly by Daniel's kids. Don't get me wrong, I like Kayden, Reinaen, and Anya well enough well, but, collectively, they have the common sense of stoned mule. Don't ask me what a stoned mule is - it's a Marco phrase. And my sort-of cousins have done more stupid things to date then I can count, all of them with at least two of them in on the act. Daniel has done a great job raising them by himself, but, at the same time, they're all trouble. Sometimes, I think Aunt Jo had the right idea when she packed up and left…
"I feel like going home." Sarah paused to yawn as we passed under a large willow tree. "My head is a great deal of pain right now and I just feel…. tired."
"Exhaustion will do that to you," I said, shrugging. "But today is no where near over. We still need to call an unplanned meeting for this afternoon." I feared that meeting, the meeting where more things would be added onto our already full plates. But, more then that, I feared Rachel's wrath when she found out I knew such a great (and, to her, probably wonderful) thing and hadn't told her yet, especially since her dad was involved.
Oh, yay, a meeting. Sounds fun. Sarah started walking again and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. I am not being childish, protested Tobias. You scared the hell out of me last night!
Good morning, Tobias, I said calmly. Lay off her a little, okay? She isn't feeling well.
Jake, for all I care, she could be the walking wounded. She knew all she had to do was call out in human-to-morph thought speak and, most likely, someone would have been around! She stopped, glared into a small clump of decorative trees and started walking again. No, what you need is a kick in the ass! I stifled a laugh - this was actually very amusing, listening to Tobias lay into Sarah. I had never heard Tobias get really angry at someone, but he was pissed at Sarah. All right, look, yes, I knew. You tend to notice things when all you have to do during the is fly around and do surveillence. I knew there were people like Weapons and Casters, and etc, but I didn't say anything to you because this is you we're talking about - you would have rushed blindly into their ranks and instantly given them free range to join in with us, regardless of whether we knew they were free or not.
"Nerai,na lina reca!" hollered Sarah loudly, before I could grab her arm. She glared at me, but what ever she had been ready to yell outloud was instead yelled at him silently. I frowned as she relaxed slightly, but still glowered furisously - was I imagining it or was her skin slightly flushed? She certainly felt warm, but then, I didn't grab most girls, or people in general for that matter.
Tobias, let it go. We've all learned some- wait a minute. Realization dawns at strange times. You knew?
I did, Jake, and I should have said something, at least, to you, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. I felt stupid telling you I had been spying on your parents, and then, on Caster Daniel and his brood. But I wanted to make sure that no one had any clue about our other doings…
"That, and you were bored," muttered Sarah hotly. "Aenkith-shena-reca-ratia…"
I'm not even going to dignify that with a response, answered Tobias with an undertone of anger. I knew enough Teslahani to know what she had called him revolved around 'gods damned', 'bird', and several words I won't translate. She was not amused by Tobias and I can't say I was either - he had been sneaking around, spying on my family, spying on me. I felt… distrusted. Lied to, on top of that, and it wasn't a nice feeling.
"Na nera mura, hitai na marph mura," murmured Sarah. "'You listen to shadow, and you will become shadow'."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Dig yourself in too deep and it's gonna bite ya' in the ass." I had only barely sensed Alay's presence before she was right in between me and Sarah, keeping pace as if she had been walking with us the whole time. "Good morning, itala, Trainee. I trust you both slept well, because today's gonna be one helluva day." She grinned cheerfully at me and I wondered, briefly, at what point in time my life had taken such a turn. And what I had done to deserve it.
