Discovered (The Shalean Moon) Page 9

  “I’m sorry Rach, Brios has explained a lot of things to me; including about this Struan person. I’ve let you down.”

  Eh? I must be hearing things.

  “Pardon? Dad, are you in shock? You have never ever let me down. For Go… er, goodness sake.”

  He smiled; a sad smile that gave her goose bumps. “Well, I didn’t tell you much about your mum, and I should have.”

  Oh for goodness sake, wallowing or what?

  “Dad,” Rach said firmly, “you told me what I needed to know when I asked. Don’t beat yourself up over it. We have done—and still are doing—fine. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.” She glared at Brios who held his hands up in a ‘who? Not me!’ gesture.

  “So, how about stopping the ‘woe is me’ act, and tell me what you want me to know?”

  Her dad laughed.

  ‘You look like a fierce hamster.’

  Not the best compliment a boy had ever given her.

  ‘Oh gee, thank you. Do you get red-haired hamsters?’

  ‘No idea, I didn’t know you got red leopards, but it seems you do.’

  ‘Huh? What on earth are you on about?’

  ‘Oh nothing, listen to your dad.’

  “Right,” her dad was saying, “I guess that’s the best idea. Well …”

  Brios groaned and fell to the floor.

  ‘Bri? Bri? Sense to me!’

  He was just lying there, his eyes were closed, his color was still good, but he wasn’t moving.

  “Dad?” Rach was frantic. “Dad? Dad, what’s wrong with him? Dad, you have to do something.” She was touching Brios’s cheek and rubbing his hand trying to get him to respond.

  Horrified, she watched her dad check Brios over and then put him into the recovery position, just as she vaguely remembered Brios doing for her.

  ‘Bri? Can you sense this? Oh please, please sense it?’

  Nothing—no flicker of an eyelid, no groan, no movement.

  “Dad,” She was crying now, “is he alive?

  Her dad looked worried.

  “He’s alive, but I have no idea what’s happened. We’ll wait for a while, and then I’ll call a doctor.”

  ‘No doctor Rach, no doctor. I’m fine, just listen … I’ll sleep…be fine… Lis… Sept … pl…’

  ‘Bri? Bri?’

  No response—nothing at all.

  “Dad, he’s er tired.” It was all she could think of on short notice. Her dad just stared at her; she tried again.

  “Um, he told me these things happen sometimes, and he just needs to rest, really. It just scared me because I’d forgotten he told me it sometimes happens. Um, like when he’s overtired.” Her dad was looking at her skeptically.

  No wonder, Rach thought, liar, liar, pants on fire. Twice in one day, I’ll have a nose like Pinocchio if I’m not careful.

  What if something terrible was going on and she was saying the wrong thing? She wished someone was there to help her. She thought of Leira.

  ‘Leira, if you can help me, please let me know. Brios has collapsed.’

  ‘Suddenly, like someone flipped a switch?’

  ‘Yeah, is he okay? Do I need to panic?’

  ‘Nope, it’s something that happens when too many people are projecting to him. Not us, but elders, rogues and such. It’s how his body keeps them out.’

  ‘Rogues? Oh, never mind, explain another time. What do I do?’

  ‘Let him sleep.’

  Right; and what if it were to happen when he was driving or something? It was scary.

  She didn’t project that—or she thought she hadn’t.

  ‘It doesn’t happen like that. It’s a way of keeping him, and now I guess you, safe.’

  Rach decided she’d think about that later.

  “Can you just put him on the bed, Dad, and let him sleep? I can get upstairs by myself. I think I’ll just go to bed.”

  If someone from this Sept thingy contacts me, I want to be by myself, especially now.

  ‘That’s good Rach. Thank you.’

  She watched her dad take Brios upstairs to the guest bedroom and followed until she reached the landing.

  “Good night Dad.” She heard his answer as she moved into her room and sat on her bed. She was sore, tired and worried; not the best combination to help her sleep.

  She guessed she’d better try. She was too tired even to get into her P.J.’s; she figured it wouldn’t matter just this once if she kept her jeans on and just wrapped herself in her duvet. She’d shower in the morning. There was no negotiating on teeth cleaning—that was a necessity.

  All the better to eat you my dear, she said to herself as she put paste on her brush and began to cover her teeth with even strokes.

  The clean minty taste refreshed her. She took one last look at herself in the mirror. A leopard grinned back at her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Rach gasped as her heart leaped into her mouth. She turned around so fast her hair swung out and only just missed the leopard, which gave a warning growl.

  Your fault, fur ball. Oops, maybe that’s not the best way to make friends and influence people—er, leopards. Shoot, what is it with all this creeping about?

  ‘You will come with me.’

  Eh? No way, I don’t willingly go into nightmares.

  ‘No nightmare, it is your destiny. You are not safe here. You must come with us.’

  How many hallucinations was she going to have for goodness sake? No matter, she wasn’t going to listen to a stupid voice.

  ‘Get lost.’

  Oh sheesh, now I’m answering my imagination.

  She shook her head, making her hair fly all over the place.

  There was a muted growl as the beast padded nearer. She fancied she could hear the click of its claws on the parquet flooring.

  It better not scratch it! That flooring was only put down for her a few months ago. Oh for heaven’s sake, Rach, get real; there’s nothing here. She stared in the mirror again. Stupid mirror!

  Rach spun round, expecting to see her bed and wardrobe, and nothing else.

  Oh shi…oot, changed

  It was still there. It wasn’t really scary looking—well, not really.

  Ha, Rach, who are you trying to kid?

  ‘Daughter of Dorias, you are in danger. You must come with us.’

  ‘Nope.’

  If ever a growl could show frustration, Rach thought, that one did. Now she was enjoying herself. She figured if dreams were interactive she might as well stick up for herself.

  ‘This is not a dream, this is your destiny. You will come with me; with us.’

  ‘I’ve heard that one before—nope.’

  ‘You will—I command it.’

  ‘Command away, it won’t do you any good.’

  ‘Come!’

  ‘I’m getting bored—nope.’

  This was getting tedious.

  What next?

  She shut her eyes; she bet that when she opened them she’d just see her bedroom.

  When she opened her eyes the leopard was still there; big, furry, with its spots bright and bold. Like a big version of the furry toy she’d had when she was a baby; the toy that was still on her bed at home.

  ‘Go with them.’

  If only she could stuff her fingers in her ears and sing na, na, na, na, na like she did when she was a kid! But these voices were in her head, and she didn’t think it would work somehow.

  ‘It won’t. They are waiting.’

  Now she was sure she must have hit her head. From what she could remember, that sounded like her mum.

  ‘It is me. Go with them. They won’t hurt you, I promise. It may seem as if that’s their intention, but believe me it isn’t. I took my future and ruined someone else’s. He needs to see I did the right thing. Only you can do it, Rach. Only you hold the answer. You need to go with them to put the past to rest and secure the future; their future, your future, and Brios’s future.’’

  ‘Mum?’

 
; It couldn’t be her mum, her mum was dead. She told herself she was reading too much into this, but it didn’t stop her from still hoping to see if she sensed any more. There were so many things she’d like to say, to ask. Not in the least, what she was doing with the Rogues?

  ‘Not the Rogues. I’m in the wind, the earth, the sky. I’m watching over you Rach. Now is the time to let you know. You hold the key to peace and understanding, you hold the key…’

  She waited, but that was it. Her mum was gone.

  The leopard looked at her patiently. She wished she knew what was going on. Was it a he or a she? She wasn’t going to look down and check.

  ‘Er, thank you, but no. I think I’ll wait until I speak to my dad and Brios. Now, perhaps you could get out of my mind, room, dreams or whatever? Please?’

  She felt something touch her on the shoulder; a hairy something.

  Oh for heaven’s sake, not another hairy paw?

  She looked. Yup, bo—ring!

  ‘Look, give up. I’m not going anywhere. For all I know you might be in cahoots with that slimy Struan Scott. So bog off and let me get to bed.’

  If growls show anger, but quietly—that was one angry growl. The leopard snarled and gave Rach a great view of its teeth—its big teeth. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to antagonize it after all. But then this was a dream, and anything could happen in dreams— couldn’t it?

  ‘Grown up Shalean, this is no dream; this is reality.’

  “Look,” Rach spoke patiently, her voice raised in the hope her dad or Brios might hear and come and see what was happening. She didn’t want to shout for them, and let this—whatever it was—know what she was doing, just in case she was really screwing up. However, she really hoped one of them would turn up.

  What the heck is going on anyway? Why aren’t I screaming at the top of my lungs? Maybe I should?

  She opened her mouth and felt a hand. She tried to see who the hand belonged to, but she couldn’t see anything; it was as if someone had put a curtain around her. She tried to bite the hand and all she got was a mouthful of fur. So, was it a hand, or a paw?

  Rach began to struggle. No way was this going to happen—nightmare or reality. She was not going anywhere with anything; but it seemed she didn’t have a choice. She felt herself lifted and then before she had time to blink, let alone shout, she was moving.

  ***

  ‘Brios?’

  ‘Brios?’

  Something was wrong. Leira was calling him.

  ‘Leira? How did you reach me?’

  ‘Oh never mind that, where’s Rach?’

  ‘She’s in bed, why? I did my collapse thing, so we’ve all gone to bed. I’ll tell her everything tomorrow. Her dad agrees.’

  ‘It might be too late, check on her. Donny’s been sending weird messages to me. Please go and check on her.’

  ‘Okay, okay, keep your fur on.’

  He sat up and swung his legs out of bed. He was still really shaky, but at least his brain wasn’t being bombarded anymore. These faints, for want of a better word, were both a nuisance and a protection. He just wished he’d got a bit more warning this time. Usually he knew how things were shaping up and could get to bed.

  He wasn’t sure whether to wake Rach’s dad or not, but decided he didn’t want to risk him thinking he was sneaking in on his daughter. Luckily, his Shalean sense showed him which door to knock on.

  “Hmmph?”

  “Mr. Connor? It’s Brios, can you come with me to check on Rach please? We need to see if she’s all right, and I don’t want to go in without you.”

  There was a mutter, a thump and the door opened.

  “What do you mean?” Her dad was standing there with rumpled hair, yawning. He’d obviously woken him up.

  “Look, you know about sensing right?” Brios asked urgently and watched her dad nod, “well Leira has just projected to me saying she thinks Rach may be in danger. She said we need to check on her.” No way was he going to say ‘I’ not ‘we’.

  “Why?” Rach’s dad seemed confused, but he was moving as he spoke.

  “I don’t know, she just thought she might be in danger. My friend Donny has been sending Leira weird messages.”

  Rach’s dad opened her bedroom door. “She was right, where is she?” The room was empty.

  Brios looked at the bed, its duvet was un-creased.

  So she didn’t even get to bed.

  He sniffed. At least one Shalean had been here, if not two; neither of them were Rach. It was nothing to do with his dad, or he would have known.

  Rogue Shaleans! He tried to detect Struan’s presence; but felt nothing.

  “I don’t know, and Leira didn’t know. Will you accept that I need to project?”

  He received a nod. “Just do it. I always knew something like this would happen. It wasn’t enough for them to take Dorias, they have to mess with Rach as well.” His voice was angry. “Why? What has she ever done to any of you?”

  “She’s done nothing, apart from hitting one miserable specimen in the balls with her school bag; and that was needed. Look, I don’t really think it’s about you and her mum. It’s to do with me; I know she’s the one.” Mr. Connor looked startled.

  “Ah, are you sure? She’s only fifteen.” His face showed that he knew Brios was serious. “Er, what’s the bag in the balls scenario?”

  Brios nodded. “I’ll explain the bag bit later, but am I sure? Yes. One day, Rach permitting, it’ll happen. As for our ages —my mum and dad were the same as Rach and I when they knew; even though they did nothing formal until they’d both been to university. I’ll be the same, and as you know, in the end it will be up to Rach. Now I’m going to try and get answers.”

  Her dad nodded. “I’ll go and get dressed.”

  Brios waited until he was alone. He took a deep breath.

  ‘Leira? She’s gone. Is dad there?’

  ‘I’m here Bri. What’s wrong?’

  ‘Rach has gone.’

  ‘Gone where? What d’you mean?’

  ‘Hell, I don’t know. All we know is she’s not in the house. Leira projected to me something about weird messages from Donny.’ He ran his hand through his hair. ‘It’s Rogues, not Struan, any ideas?’

  There was silence.

  ‘No not yet. Wait there and don’t do anything until I get back to you; and what’s this about Struan?’

  ‘Ask Leira.’

  There was a growl. ‘Oh, I will. Our God’s and us.’

  Brio knew his dad used the words to remind him of his role. He repeated the words, and turned as Rach’s dad came back into the room. He really must get used to thinking of him as Tony. To say Mr. Connor, or think of him as Rach’s dad was a mouthful.

  “Find out anything?” It seemed as if Tony was accepting him and his Shalean heritage.

  “Dad says wait until he contacts us. He’s got no idea what’s happening yet.”

  “Rogues?”

  So Tony knew about Rogues, those Shaleans who banded together to cause mayhem and grief; championing various grievances, whether real or imagined.

  Brios nodded. “It seems so.”

  “They killed Dorias you know, Rach’s mum. I told Rach it was in an accident, but, it wasn’t. They killed her—because she married me.”

  “What?”

  Tony nodded. “She was a future Matriarch, I was human. Not an acceptable mix.”

  Brios could see that.

  “Does Rach know about the Matriarch stuff? Or that it was anything but an accident?”

  Tony shook his head.

  Brios suddenly heard Rach in his head; her voice was angry. ‘You’re lying. I don’t believe you. My mum was killed in a car crash. My dad is so not like that. Go away, piss off, and leave me alone. Who the heck d’you think you are anyway? Dressing up, it’s not even Halloween. All this crap you’re talking; that’s all it is, a load of rubbish. Now take those stupid furry costumes off; own up to who you are, and why you’re being so stupid; and leave m
e alone. Go on; show me those silly grinning faces under those masks. Gah, and stop making me say stupid.’

  Rach continued. ‘And if you really are leopards, well for goodness sake act like them! Don’t go around sneaking into bedrooms, or trying to scare me. Go back to where you belong, and leave me alone. Oh, just you wait ‘til my dad and Brios get here!’

  “Um, I hate to say this, but I think she does now.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Welcome to la-la land; duh, what a load of twerps. All dressed up like leopards.

  They growled as they moved around her in the tiny overheated room. Curtains covered the windows, and there was no furniture except a spindly looking sofa against one wall. Rach thought it looked like it was being held up by the wall, and one puff—or growl—would make it collapse.

  ‘Rach, they aren’t dressed up. It’s real, your heritage, that’s my gift to you. Unfortunately, it’s coming here like this, now. Trust in yourself, trust Brios. Only you can overcome their evil.

  Her mum’s voice again. If she was honest, strange though it seemed, she knew deep down there were no costumes; no scary—or silly—masks. This was real. She was somewhere surrounded by wild animals, and getting madder by the minute.

  ‘Mum? Mum, can you sense this? Shoot, mum, there’s so much I need to ask you. Please, please answer.’ She waited, but sensed nothing. Around her, pairs of eyes were watchful and waiting.

  What right do they have to mess with me, whether this is my heritage or not? More than that, they hurt Leira and Brios; to say nothing of how dad must be worrying.

  The room felt as stuffy as hell, and it was making her feel sick and headachy. She broke out in a cold sweat. Being shut up in these tiny confines did nothing to squash her claustrophobia; that was something she had suffered from ever since she accidentally shut herself in a cupboard when she was tiny.

  The room seemed to close in on her; she was sure something rotten was in it. She hoped it was just mold and not a dead animal—or worse, a person. It burned her sinuses when she tried to take a deep calming breath.

  Stupid, stupid Rach, it’s okay, she tried to tell herself, Brios will come—he has to. Think; don’t be stup ... Argh!

  Not only had they reduced her to a gibbering idiot, they had her saying the same word over and over again; she hated doing that. She and her dad often had contests to see who could introduce a new word into their conversation; know what it meant and use it in the proper context. They had her using stupid.