knew I was right. She slowly looked away and muttered, “I hate being little. I wish I was a destroyer like you.”
“No you don’t.”
I picked Alia up and carried her to her bed. Tucking her in, I reflected that life was full of unfairness. Alia and I already knew that of course, but sometimes we just forgot and needed to be reminded.
“You’ll feel better in the morning, Alia,” I told her gently.
My sister suddenly sat up and threw her arms around my neck. “I love you, Addy.”
I gently pushed her back into her bed. “I love you too, Alia. Now get some sleep.”
Changing into my nightclothes and slipping into my bed, I telekinetically flipped off the room light. Heavily resting my head on my pillow, I silently stared up at the ceiling until I could hear Alia’s soft snores coming from her bed. My sister had a habit of telepathically murmuring incoherently into my head as she slept, and when that started, I finally felt calm enough to close my own eyes and try to get to sleep. Between convincing Cindy to allow Terry and me on Guardian missions and apologizing to Alia for yet another broken promise, I hadn’t even realized how wound up I was feeling about what I had just committed myself to.
Someday soon, I would be following Terry into the psionic war.
Chapter 3: Double-Wild-born
I caught Terry in the hall the next morning before breakfast and briefly explained to her how my sister was feeling. To avoid adding add fuel to the fire, I begged Terry not to talk about our future Guardian missions in front of Alia. Terry took a different view of the matter.
“Your sister wants to be a part of this, Adrian,” countered Terry. “Of course she can’t join us, but if it were entirely up to me, I’d let her come. The least you can do is keep her in the loop.”
I thought about that for a moment, and said, “You know, Terry, you might be right for once.”
“Of course I’m right!” snapped Terry. “You’re the only one who doesn’t like adventures, Addy .”
Terry only ever used my baby name to mock me. I scowled at her.
“I’ll tell you what,” Terry said brightly, “I already know Mr. Simms pretty well. He wants to talk to you, Adrian, not me. Why don’t you take Alia in my place for dinner tonight so she can get to know him too? That way, Alia won’t be left in the dark.”
I nodded. “Alright.”
We told Alia over breakfast. She was delighted with the idea, and Cindy seemed to regard it favorably as well.
It being a Sunday, and a sunny one at that, at Cindy’s suggestion, all four of us went out to the park together to toss a Frisbee and have an afternoon picnic. We set our picnic mat in the same secluded clearing where I had taught Alia to fly her kite. Cindy was still being hounded by a team of dark-suited Guardian Knights wherever she went, but she ordered her security guards to stay well away as we ate and played. None of us talked about Mr. Simms or the Knights or possible upcoming missions. It was just a time to enjoy each other’s company.
Mr. Simms lived in a different building from ours, and just before our 6pm dinner, Terry walked Alia and me over to an identical forty-story tower on the other side of the park from New Haven One.
We stopped in front of the lobby entrance and Terry explained, “This is New Haven Four, which is also owned outright by the Guardians. Mr. Simms lives on the eleventh floor, in number three. You’ve only got five minutes to six o’clock, so you had better get jogging. Have fun, okay, Alia?”
Alia gave Terry a toothy smile. Bidding Terry goodbye, I took my sister’s hand and quick-marched us into the building. Lobby security apparently knew our faces here too, because no one stopped us as we headed to the elevator.
I let Alia ring the doorbell of 1103, and the door was answered by a tall, muscular man with wide shoulders and a bushy black beard. He looked a bit older than Mr. Baker, and reminded me of a grizzly bear.
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“No you don’t.”
I picked Alia up and carried her to her bed. Tucking her in, I reflected that life was full of unfairness. Alia and I already knew that of course, but sometimes we just forgot and needed to be reminded.
“You’ll feel better in the morning, Alia,” I told her gently.
My sister suddenly sat up and threw her arms around my neck. “I love you, Addy.”
I gently pushed her back into her bed. “I love you too, Alia. Now get some sleep.”
Changing into my nightclothes and slipping into my bed, I telekinetically flipped off the room light. Heavily resting my head on my pillow, I silently stared up at the ceiling until I could hear Alia’s soft snores coming from her bed. My sister had a habit of telepathically murmuring incoherently into my head as she slept, and when that started, I finally felt calm enough to close my own eyes and try to get to sleep. Between convincing Cindy to allow Terry and me on Guardian missions and apologizing to Alia for yet another broken promise, I hadn’t even realized how wound up I was feeling about what I had just committed myself to.
Someday soon, I would be following Terry into the psionic war.
Chapter 3: Double-Wild-born
I caught Terry in the hall the next morning before breakfast and briefly explained to her how my sister was feeling. To avoid adding add fuel to the fire, I begged Terry not to talk about our future Guardian missions in front of Alia. Terry took a different view of the matter.
“Your sister wants to be a part of this, Adrian,” countered Terry. “Of course she can’t join us, but if it were entirely up to me, I’d let her come. The least you can do is keep her in the loop.”
I thought about that for a moment, and said, “You know, Terry, you might be right for once.”
“Of course I’m right!” snapped Terry. “You’re the only one who doesn’t like adventures, Addy .”
Terry only ever used my baby name to mock me. I scowled at her.
“I’ll tell you what,” Terry said brightly, “I already know Mr. Simms pretty well. He wants to talk to you, Adrian, not me. Why don’t you take Alia in my place for dinner tonight so she can get to know him too? That way, Alia won’t be left in the dark.”
I nodded. “Alright.”
We told Alia over breakfast. She was delighted with the idea, and Cindy seemed to regard it favorably as well.
It being a Sunday, and a sunny one at that, at Cindy’s suggestion, all four of us went out to the park together to toss a Frisbee and have an afternoon picnic. We set our picnic mat in the same secluded clearing where I had taught Alia to fly her kite. Cindy was still being hounded by a team of dark-suited Guardian Knights wherever she went, but she ordered her security guards to stay well away as we ate and played. None of us talked about Mr. Simms or the Knights or possible upcoming missions. It was just a time to enjoy each other’s company.
Mr. Simms lived in a different building from ours, and just before our 6pm dinner, Terry walked Alia and me over to an identical forty-story tower on the other side of the park from New Haven One.
We stopped in front of the lobby entrance and Terry explained, “This is New Haven Four, which is also owned outright by the Guardians. Mr. Simms lives on the eleventh floor, in number three. You’ve only got five minutes to six o’clock, so you had better get jogging. Have fun, okay, Alia?”
Alia gave Terry a toothy smile. Bidding Terry goodbye, I took my sister’s hand and quick-marched us into the building. Lobby security apparently knew our faces here too, because no one stopped us as we headed to the elevator.
I let Alia ring the doorbell of 1103, and the door was answered by a tall, muscular man with wide shoulders and a bushy black beard. He looked a bit older than Mr. Baker, and reminded me of a grizzly bear.
Most
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