The Stolen Child (42 page)

“Practice,” Ilona said.

“Right, practice.  You just woke up one day and decided to be a total badass.”

The woman shrugged, and picked up a towel.  Rachael looked down at her hands, her knuckles raw and stinging, even through the bindings.
 

“
I wish I was strong like you,” she said, quietly.  “No one ever gives you shit or nothing.  All I do is run.”
 

Ilona watched her for a moment, with a thoughtful expression.

“
I didn't just wake up one day and decide,” she said.   “
Someone...
Someone
hurt m
e.  
I promised myself I would never let it happen again.  I
never
choose to be the way I am, Rachael.”

Ilona paused, still watching her with a look of intense curiosity.

“But then, I suppose neither did you,” she said.  Then, as if nothing had happened, she began to undo the wrappings on her hands.  The look of curiosity was gone, replaced by the same vaguely disinterested expression she always wore.

“This time tomorrow?” Ilona said, without looking up.  Her voice was so carefully devoid of emotion that they might has well have been talking about nothing more important than the weather.  So Rachael just nodded.  There seemed to be nothing else to say.

She found Arsha in the mess.  Breakfast seemed to have come and gone.  The girl was sitting with
half a
cinnamon roll
on her plate and a full cup of tea by her hand.  She seemed to have lost all interest in her food.

Rachael set herself down across the table.  Arsha made no sign of having noticed her.  Rachael waited patiently as Arsha drank her tea and picked at her
half finished roll
.  Finally the girl emptied her cup and made to stand.

“Where are you going
then
?” Rachael said.

Arsha gave her a cold look.

“Why do you care?”

“Look,” Rachael said, tersely, “this i
s
stupid.  I'm stupid, you're stupid, and this whole thing is stupid, so can we just stop it?”

Arsha said nothing, but she stayed seated.

“I don't know how to stop being... Me,” Rachael continued.  “I get that I'm pretty much the last person in the world anyone would want to hang around with, but right now, I figured you could do with a friend.  And I figured I owe you that.”

For a while Arsha just stared down at her plate.  The girl's hands were clenched tight, knuckles pale.

“I know this really sucks for you,” Rachael said.  “And I can't change that, any more than I can do anything about where I am right now.  But I wish I could, because you don't deserve this.  You're probably the nicest person I've ever known in my life, and it's not fair that you should have to deal with all this when you never did nothing to deserve it.”

She waited, her words exhausted, for some sign of response from Arsha.  At first the girl said nothing, but slowly her hands unclenched.  Then Rachael heard a strange sound, like rapid breathing, and the girl's shoulders began to shake.  It took a moment to realise that Arsha was crying.  Tears rolled down the girls cheeks, splashing onto her plate.

Rachael's
throat felt dry.  
Her words were all gone
.  Slowly,
she
reached across the table and placed her hand over Arsha's.  
R
eflexively, the girl's
fingers
closed around hers.

They sat that way for some time, until Arsha's tears stopped and
the
girl wiped her eyes dry, sniffling quietly.

“I'm sorry.  For being mad at you,”
s
he said with an apologetic smile.

“I'm sorry for making you mad,” Rachael replied, returning the smile.

“Thank
you,
” Arsha whispered.

“Any time,” Rachael said.

It was well past midnight, the sky outside velvet black and studded with pinpricks of silver,
when Arsha found herself standing outside the door to Rachael's bedroom
.  
She tapped lightly, for a second time.  She almost jumped when the door opened.  Rachael was wearing a dressing gown over her nightie, and a look of confused surprise.
 

“
Hey, what's up?”
 

“Can I come in?”
Arsha said, glancing up and down the corridor, reassuring herself that no one else was up.
 

“
Yeah, course.
”

Arsha slipped inside,
as Rachael closed the door and dropped back down onto her bed.
 

“What's up?”

“There's something I need to tell you,” Arsha said, biting her lip.

“About what?”
Rachael said.
 

“About... About how this all started.  Everything that happened, I mean.”

“Like, the stuff with me and your dad, and all?”

Arsha nodded.

“Did... Did my dad tell you why he came looking for you?”

“Sort of.  Said it was the right thing to do or whatever.”

Arsha paused for a moment, biting her lip.
 

“That's not the whole story,”
she said.
  “There's some stuff that he couldn't tell you... But I think I should.  I think you need to know.”

“Know what?”

“In our world, there are people who... We call them
S
eers.  They can see the future, in a way.  It's like, glimpses, and jumbled up stuff.  Dreams.”

After a moment
Rachael nodded,
as if the idea wasn't so surprising
.

“That's why my dad came to find you.  One of these
S
eers... She shared a prediction with him.  A dream that she'd had.  They're not supposed to... In fact it's... It's a really bad thing.  I mean, really, really bad.  If anyone ever found out...  
That's why he couldn't tell you.  To protect her.
”

“
Right.  But he could tell you?” Rachael said, raising an eyebrow.
 

“Not exactly...”
Arsha paused again.
  “I kind of listened in.”

Rachael
looked
surprised, and just a little impressed.

“The point is, this prediction... It was about the Seed... But it was also about me and you.  She saw us both standing together, in the middle of London... We were holding hands, she said.  There was a boy with us... She talked about him being made of smoke and shadows...”

“
Justin.”
 

Arsha nodded.
 

“
I think so.  There was a bunch of other stuff, that didn't really make a lot of sense... But she said something about a choice.  And about our hands being wrapped up in red string.”
 

“
Red string?”
 

“
Yeah.  It didn't really make a lot of sense to me either, but since then I've been reading some stuff... My dad's library has a lot of books about Fate and stuff.  He doesn't let me read that stuff normally, but with all that's happening, he's been pretty distracted, and after we did the ritual to talk to you...  I got looking into what red string might mean, if it was something to do with magic, or Fate.”
 

“
And?”
 

“
Well, I found this thing, in one of these books.  I was looking at stuff about the Herdlands, because Milima said that they still do real fatework out there.  And there's this ritual they do, where two people join themselves together.  They call it blood-binding.  It's a way of tying your Fates together.  Connecting yourself to someone else, permanently.”
 

“
Like, blood brothers, right?  You cut your hands and stuff?” Rachael said.  Arsha blinked at the girl in surprise.
 

“
Yeah, that's right.  How did you know?”
 

“
It's just, like, one of them things from stories and stuff, y'know?  Like, a couple of kids from my block done it because they thought it would make em well gangster and all, but then one of them, his hand went all manky, because they done it with a piece of glass.”
 

“
Well, I guess it's the same sort of thing, but, you know, we'll be careful to disinfect the knife and clean the wounds properly so we don't have to worry about stuff getting infected.  They really did it with a piece of glass?” Arsha said, looking at
the girl incredulously.
 

Rachael just shrugged.
 

“
That's so stupid.”
 

As Arsha shook her head in despair, she saw Rachael's expression shift.
 

“
Wait, hold up...” Rachael said.  “So you actually want to do this?”
 

Arsha looked down, her fingers tangling together, as her stomach suddenly twisted around on itself.
 

“
I mean, we're sort of sisters already, right?” she mumbled.  “With my dad adopting you.  But it seems kind of sad that it was just some pieces of paper and stuff, and I thought this would make it real, you know?  And that stuff in the prediction about red thread and all... I think this is what she meant.  That we were supposed to do this.”
 

To her surprise, Rachael laughed.
 

“
Oh my God, you're actually serious.  I can't believe you're actually serious.”
 

“
Fates, do you have to?” Arsha snapped.  “Yeah, I am serious.”  
Falling back onto her bed, Rachael kicked her feet up against the wall, still smirking.
 

“
God, if you only knew.  If knew anything about me, you'd get what a joke this is.  Trust me, I'm not the sort of person you'd ever want as family.”
 

Arsha stared at her, fuming at the girl's smug expression.  Rachael just shook her head.  Barely able to contain herself, Arsha leapt to her feet and turned away.  Fists balled at her
sides, she stared at the door, willing herself to just open it and storm out.
 

“
What's the deal?” she heard Rachael say.  “Why's this so important to you anyhow?”
 

She wheeled around, fists still clenched, feeling the words burst out of her mouth.
 

“
Because they're going to take you away!”
 

For a moment they both stared at each other in stunned silence.
 

“
They're going to take you away,” Arsha continued, the words pouring out of her in a flood, “the Guild, or Manindra, or someone, they're going to take my dad and they're going to take you, and I can't stop it, and you're going to be alone, and I know you can take it, I know you're not scared and you'll make it through because you're the strongest person I've ever met... You're stronger than I could ever be...”
 

Breathless, Arsha felt her head spinning.  Her eyes were blurry, and she could feel tears running down her cheeks.
 

“
But you shouldn't have to.  You shouldn't have to go through all this, and you shouldn't have to be alone.  No one should have to be alone.”
 

Her chest heaving, Arsha finally realised that Rachael was staring at her, eyes wide with astonishment.
 

“
Of course I'm scared,” Rachael said, quietly.  “Jesus, Arsh, I'm terrified.  It's like, every time I think I have something to hold onto, it all changes again.  Like everything I'm reaching out for keeps getting snatched away from me, and I'm just falling.  
I'm falling, and I don't even know when I'll hit the bottom.”
 

Rachael stared at the floor, chewing her lip as Arsha looked on in silence, too stunned to think of anything to say.
 

“
I can't figure you out,” Rachael whispered.  “You're always so nice to me, and I gave you so many reasons not to be.  I don't get it.  I don't get why you care.  Why any of what happens to me should matter to you.  I don't know why you'd ever want to do this.”
 

“
I'm sorry,” Arsha said.  “I guess I can't really explain it either.  I like you.  You're smart, and you're funny, and I feel happy when I'm with you.  You're such an amazing person, and you don't deserve everything you've been through.  Isn't that enough?”
 

Rachael said nothing, her eyes still fixed on the floor.
 

“
I'm not trying to force you,” Arsha said, gently, reaching out to brush a hand across the girl's shoulder.  “Whatever you decide, I'm going to be here for you.  No matter what.”
 

When Rachael looked up again, there were tears in the girl's eyes.  Sniffing, she wiped a sleeve across her face.
 

“
Alright.  I'll do it.”
 

“
Are you sure?”
 

Slowly, Rachael smiled, her cheeks glistening with tear tracks.
 

“
Yeah.  I'm in.”
 

For a moment they just smiled at each other.
 

“But I can't promise I'll be much cop as a big sister, OK?” Rachael said.

“
Big sister?  Where'd you get that idea?  I'm the older one,
remember?” Arsha said, laughing.
 

“
Oh, what, by like six months?  That doesn't count,” Rachael said, with an obviously feigned look of incredulity.  Arsha smiled and stuck her tongue out.
 

“
Oh, it so does.”
 

“
Yeah?  Well if I'm gonna be the little sister, you know that means I get to annoy the heck out of you all the time, right?” Rachael said.
 

“
My goodness,” Arsha said, smirking, “however will you manage that?”
 

Rachael laughed.
 

“
Alright.  You win,” the girl said, still smiling.  “You know you can be a real brat sometimes, right?”
 

“
You're damn right,” Arsha said, sticking out her tongue again.  “I'm an only child.  I'm good at getting what I want.”
 

Rachael's smile faded.