Unfaded (35 page)

             
“Good,” she said. “I get to sit next to Seito.”

             
My friends were safe for another night and all I had to do now was deal with a bunch of moody Unfaded.

             
“I think we should call Rafferty,” Lina said. “He can...”

             
“No,” Micah cut her off.

             
“Let me finish. He can help.”

             
“No,” Micah said again.

             
“I don’t think we have to go that far,” Kian said. “We’re only dealing with Anique and Sobek. They’re screw ups. Come on, they’re not old enough to actually do any damage. They’re children, hardly a thousand years between them. No offense, Seito.”

             
“None taken.”

             
“They did last time.” This came from Lina.

             
“They had help,” Kian snapped. “I was outnumbered.”

             
“The girl still died.” Lina continued to file her nails. The scratching from the emery board was the only sound in the room.

             
“No one is going to die.” Kian snapped.

             
“If you say so.” Lina said.

             
I sat in the middle of all of it, trying hard not to be hurt by the words as they were tossed about the room. They were discussing me as if I wasn’t there, as if I was a dog they needed to protect. No one even bothered to ask what I was thinking or feeling. In their eyes, I wasn’t experienced enough to have an opinion. It’s not like I had to do much, except live or die. It wasn’t very reassuring.

             
“We kill them,” Lina said. “We find them and quietly dispose of them.”

             
“No,” Micah said. “Kian and I aren’t assassins. We don’t work that way.”

             
“I work that way,” Lina said. “Does it really matter if you just happen to witness it? Why not just turn your back like you always do.”

             
“Don’t you dare say that.” This came from Kian. “Micah has done more to help Mai than you could do in a thousand years.”

             
“She keeps dying!”

             
Micah was on his feet in an instant with Kian by his side. Lina stood up and she must have weighed more than the two of them together. She was the type of lady that never had trouble holding her own. I gave Seito a helpless look. He opened one of his eyes half an inch and then closed it again. He wasn’t going to be much help. Give him a few human girls and he’d talk like there was no tomorrow. Ask him to interfere in Unfaded conflict and he refused to say a word.

             
Neutral was annoying.

             
Someone was going to have to end the insanity. Sighing, I stood up. “Stop it,” I said. “This sort of talk isn’t going to solve a bloody thing. I’m here now, I’m alive so far, and we need to stop blaming others for what happened. Stop acting like children and sit down.”

             
They all looked at me in surprise.

             
“I mean it,” I warned.

             
Micah took a seat. So did Kian. Lina opened her mouth to argue, thought about it, sat down, and returned to filing her nails.

             
“That’s better,” I said and I joined Kian on the bed again.

             
“We need to come up with a reasonable solution,” Micah said.

             
“Killing sounds reasonable.”

             
“No. And will you stop that. That damn noise is driving me crazy.”

             
Lina waved her nails at Micah but at least she placed the emery board on the bed.

             
It continued on like this for the next hour. I was getting sleepy. I couldn’t stop myself from yawning. I wasn’t the only one who found the back and forth banter tiring. At one point I was positive Seito fell asleep. Finally Kian shook his head in frustration.

             
“Why don’t we ask Mai what she wants?”

             
I was too surprised to answer. I honestly thought they’d all forgotten I was there.

             
“They aren’t going to go away on their own, are they?” I asked.

             
No one answered. That was pretty obvious.

             
“They will eventually call for help,” Lina said. “They’ll contact the council and more Unfaded will show. More competent Unfaded.”

             
“What happens then?”

             
“We run,” Kian said. “Don’t look surprised, you knew from the beginning that it would probably come down to that.”

             
“Why can’t we talk to the council?” I asked. “Can’t we plead our case?”

             
“Oh, honey, they haven’t listened for five thousand years,” Lina said. “What makes you think they’ll listen now?”

             
She had a point.

             
“I want to learn how to fight,” I repeated again. “If I can learn to defend myself at least I’ll have a better chance.”

             
Kian nodded. “We’ll start training tomorrow morning.”

             
“I’ll help,” Seito said. The statue finally came back to life.

             
“I don’t know what to say then,” I said. “I agree with Kian. If we hunt them down then we’re no better than them. However, if they want to attack I don’t think we should hold back. I mean, all’s fair when it comes to battle, right?”

             
“It’s not that simple,” Micah said. “People die in battle. Both sides. Innocent’s too.”

             
I thought of all the people that could be in danger if we didn’t take action. All the people I loved. I didn’t want to disagree with Kian but I didn’t want to see my family and friends killed off one by one. I didn’t know if Anique and Sobek might not be so considerate. They hadn’t had much luck so far. They might start seeking revenge.

             
“What about my friends and family?” I finally decided to ask the question that had been on my mind since the beginning. “Will they go after them?”

             
“No.” Kian said at once.

             
“I agree,” Lina said which had to be a first. “If they wanted to, they’d have all ready done that.”

             
“It’s not their style,” Kian said. “Remember, they want to save humans. They have no real desire to kill them.”

             
“But you said they killed my family before.”

             
“It wasn’t Anique and Sobek. Other Unfaded might not be so picky but they are. I know them well. They’re stalling right now. Trying to tire us out. When they attack, it will be only you.”

             
I was relieved to hear that. Well, about as relieved as I was going to get at this point.

             
“If they disappear will that be it? Will I be safe?”

             
“For the time being,” Lina said. “This town is pretty far north. I can’t imagine too many will come looking for you out here. We’ve got some spies in the council. We could always drop some hints that you’re in Mexico or Europe.”

             
“That might work for a while,” Kian said. “But her powers are getting stronger. Soon it’ll be more obvious. They’ll start to sense her.”

             
Lina nodded.

             
“This is hopeless,” I said.

             
“No, just one hell of a challenge,” Lina said. “But we’re all here to help. It’s better than nothing.”

             
“Is this ever going to end?” I asked.

             
“Sure it will,” Kian said. “It’ll end when you prove to the council that you’re not a threat.”

             
“Or you end up destroying humanity.” Lina said. “Either way, we win.”

                                                        *              *              *

              Kian drove me home with Lina and Micah following. They were going to take the night shift to make sure no one attacked while I slept. I wondered who was going to save them from each other.

              “Bend your knees. No, not like that. Like this.”

             
Kian stepped forward, holding a bamboo pole in his right hand, his knees spread apart and bent at different angles. I was trying to mimic his movement and not doing a very good job. I kept losing my balance. It was an unnatural stance and my leg muscles strained when I tried to hold the position.

             
It was Saturday morning and I was getting my first lesson in self defence. We were in the parking lot of Ehnita Falls where Kian and I had our picnic lunch. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

             
It was the perfect place for a lesson. The day was sunny and bright, the snow was melting and there was no one around for miles. The mountains loomed in the distance with their snow covered peaks and green pine trees. We’d discarded our winter jackets on the picnic table and stepped out onto the lake where there was plenty of room to practice. Plenty of snow to soften our falls too, which I was steadily realising, was a big part of the learning process.

             
“Ok,” Kian said. “I’m going to lunge for you again. Remember, step to the right, leg out, and forward momentum. You need to keep me moving in order to throw me down. And really try this time, don’t worry about hurting me.”

             
I bent my knees the way he’d shown me and waited. It must have been an amusing sight. My sweats were covered in snow and I was thankful I’d thought to wear a pair of yoga pants underneath. At least this way I would manage to keep warm. Kian was fine, there wasn’t a flake on his entire body. I was the only one who kept taking the dumps into the snow banks. Seito was fine too. He watched from the sidelines, offering a bit of advice now and then.

             
“Keep your arms out. It’ll give you better balance. Not quite like that. You’re defending yourself, not trying to take flight.”

             
So far I wasn’t a very good student.

             
Kian lunged and I stepped to the right, forgetting to stick my foot out to trip him. He caught my hands and spun me around, pushing my arm up behind my back and effortlessly capturing and forcing me to my knees. It was over in a matter of seconds.

             
“I really suck at this,” I said.

             
“Nah, you’re fine. Just need lots of practice.”

             
We lined up again and he lunged. This time I managed to get my leg out while I stepped to the right. He simply jumped over my leg and went for my hands again. I was so surprised, I didn’t even try to resist as he pulled me down to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time.

             
“No fair,” I complained as he pulled me back up. “I put out my foot.”

             
“Yeah, like an elephant. You need to be quicker.”

             
“Easy for you to say.”

             
“You’ll get it,” Seito said as he came over to join us. Bending down, he picked up one of the bamboo poles lying on the ground. “Now step back and watch the pros.”

             
I moved over to the picnic table and sat down as the boys took their positions. They both held a pole and Seito was showing off by lazily spinning his around like a giant baton. Kian made the first move, bringing his weapon down in a sweeping blow. Seito jumped backwards, blocking the attack, and soon they were moving back and forth across the ice in a display that would probably terrify most humans. The constant clacking of the poles echoed across the lake, sending birds flying from the trees. Try as I might, I could barely keep track of the poles as they swished through the air. It was like watching a martial arts movie on fast forward. They were both masters at what they were doing.

             
Kian lost. He miscalculated a move and Seito had him looking up at the sky in no time. I was secretly thrilled to see his entire back covered in snow. It was a great form of revenge.

             
They continued to spar for a while and eventually both of them were covered in the white stuff. When they came back to the table to join me, they were puffing and sweating in unison. Kian’s hair was covered in ice and he shook it all over my lap. Laughing, I pushed him away.