Matt Archer: Blade's Edge (6 page)

I turned on Mom. “He’s out trying to keep the country safe and you made him leave? Damn it, Mom! Why? Why would you do that to us?”

“Don’t you dare question me,” Mom said. “You have no idea what we went through or how agonizing that decision was for us.”

“Maybe about as agonizing as thinking my dad didn’t give a crap about me for my whole freaking life?” I shouted. “Or wondering what I did to make him leave before I was even born?”

“Matt, it wasn’t like that,” Uncle Mike said, sounding tired.

“No? Then what happened?” I pointed at my mother, who’d risen from the recliner with her fists clenched. “Was it because she was too weak to handle the stress?”

I drew in a shocked breath as soon as the words left my mouth. Mamie let out a horrified squeak and the room crackled with tension. Without a saying a thing, Mom stalked toward me, hand raised to slap my face.

Julie, moving in a blur, reached Mom first and grabbed her arm. “Dani, let it go. He’s just upset and said something without thinking. Let it go.”

Aunt Julie’s voice was completely calm and Mom’s arm relaxed. She took a step back, her chest heaving as she gulped down air. The stark silence that followed was broken only by Mamie’s hiccupped sobs and Mom stared at me, a pained expression contorting her face. She’d never struck me before, not even when I’d deserved it. I stared back, my mouth hanging open, still pissed and unsure if I should yell or start smashing furniture or fall at her feet to apologize.

Aunt Julie put her hands on Mom’s shoulders and steered her into the kitchen. Mike watched them go. Mamie cried even harder while Brent rocked her back and forth. He looked up at me, a mixture of pity and hatred in his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to Mom.” His glare deepened into something really ugly. “No, wait, I can. You’ve always acted like being the youngest gave you a right to do whatever you want and to Hell with the rest of us. You’re nothing but a selfish bastard.”

I lunged at him. “You son of a—”

Mike leapt off the love seat, grabbed both of my arms and marched me out the front door. He looked more angry than he ever had, even more than when I’d gotten into a fight at school last year. Without a word, he pushed me down the sidewalk to the park at the end of the block. It was empty, the swings swaying in the chill winter wind. A few wan-looking leaves fluttered off the aspen tree planted by the monkey bars and icicles dripped off the slide. Perfect place for a knock-down, drag-out fight.

“Brent didn’t mean it, Matt.” Purple-faced, Mike picked up a fallen branch and snapped it. “He’s in shock.”

“He called me a selfish bastard for being the youngest, and you blame it on shock? What planet are you on, Uncle Mike?” Neither of us had coats, but I was too pissed to be cold and I paced to keep my blood flowing hot.

“This from the kid who just called his mother weak in front of her entire family?” Mike growled. “You’re not in a position to criticize your brother.”

I crossed my arms to keep from punching the metal swing set. “Maybe I said something stupid in the heat of the moment, but did you even hear what Brent said, that I didn’t care about the rest of the family? That’s complete crap and you know it! Brent’s always resented me, for being the ‘baby,’ even though he was always bigger and faster and more talented. I bet he was glad to finally have an excuse to say it outright.”

Mike closed his eyes. “You don’t know that. Sibling rivalry is a weird thing. Brent’s just really messed up right now. We never told you or Mamie, but Brent was the apple of your dad’s eye. Of the three of you, he’s the only one who truly lost his dad. You and Mamie were too young to remember him, but Erik left a hole in Brent’s life. If I were you, I’d give Brent the benefit of the doubt.”

“And if he keeps saying I’m too self-centered to care about Mom or Mamie?” I asked. If Mike thought I’d just let this go, he was an idiot.

“Then you can kick his ass, and say I told you it was okay,” Mike said. “Just don’t kill him.”

He wasn’t kidding.

“Fine. What about Mom?”

“For starters, you had no right to talk to your mother that way. Do you have any idea what she went through? What she and Erik sacrificed for you? Everything we did, every lie we told, was to protect you kids. Erik wanted it this way. Better for you to think he abandoned you than live in a constant state of anxiety, or be in danger from people who want him dead,” Mike said. “Of all people, I’d expect you to understand that. And now Dani has to go through it again, but it’s worse—it’s her baby out there.”

I swallowed some of my rage, trying to see it from his side. I’d never win if I argued, that much I knew. But it also explained why Mike had been so against telling Mom about my job. “Because now she has the burden of knowing.”

“Yes,” he snapped. “And you acting like an ungrateful five-year-old didn’t help defuse the situation. You didn’t have the full picture, sure, and I’d be mad about that, too. But the mission hangs in the balance. You aren’t eighteen. Forget about joining the team full time. If Dani refuses to give her permission, we’ll have to put you on inactive status until you become a legal adult.” He turned to me, real fear sparking in his brown eyes. “You and your knife, out of the field for more than two years? We’d be overrun!”

“She was gonna find out sometime, Uncle Mike,” I said, making no attempt to sound reasonable. I’d tried to tell him and the colonel both that we needed to talk to Mom for months. They hadn’t listened and here we were. My only options now were to convince her to let me stay on the team, or turn my back on my family and sue for emancipation.

My anger turned to icy fear. I had the papers in my desk. I never even told Mamie that I’d looked into emancipation because I worried it’d hurt her. And if I was really honest, the idea made me feel sick inside. Becoming legally separated from my family just so I could fight monsters wasn’t something I wanted to do. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to.

“This was bound to happen,” I said quietly.

“I know, I know.” Mike dropped the last pieces of his mangled tree branch. “But try to see this from her side of things. Her brother enlisted her youngest child into the Green Berets without asking.”

Mike was right; I’d known it in my gut all along. But she’d lied, too. Even knowing what I’d put her through, I still felt totally betrayed that she’d kept Dad a secret all these years. Yeah, she had a right to be pissed with me. I had a right to be pissed with her, too, but I’d have to back down—at least for now—if I wanted to stay on the team.

“So now what?” I asked, each word punctuated by a puff of steam in the chilly air. “Mom’s hysterical. Mamie is, too. Brent wishes he didn’t know me. Do we go back and sort this out, or can we leave the country until everyone calms down?”

“They just need something else to think about, something better. Let’s go home and see if we can fix the damage.” Mike took off for the house and I followed more slowly, not sure I was ready to see everyone.

Brent hadn’t moved in the ten minutes we’d been gone. He was still sitting on our couch, staring at the fireplace. He didn’t say anything when we walked by, but he clenched his fists. I started his way, planning to ask him if he’d like to step outside. Mike gripped my shoulder and pushed me toward the kitchen.

Mamie and Mom huddled together at the kitchen table, nursing cups of tea. Badass Aunt Julie stood at the counter, reading the back of a brownie mix box with a confused look on her face. Like my uncle, Aunt Julie wasn’t much for the domestic stuff but she probably knew that tea and chocolate would do wonders for the tear-fest going on in the kitchen.

Then Uncle Mike trumped Aunt Julie.

He pulled out a chair and scooted in close to Mom. With a gentle hand, he made her turn her head to look at him. “The secrets have to stop now.”

Her eyes filled with tears and she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Seems like I’ve been on the outside of one myself.”

Mike patted her arm. “Dani, we lied. For that, I’m incredibly sorry. We thought it would be easier for you—”

Mom jerked away. “Oh, that’s nice. You’ve been dragging my son all over the world, according to Julie. But you didn’t want to tell me, to protect me she says. Well, I think it was so I wouldn’t have the option of saying no. What a load of bull—”

“Here’s the thing,” Mike said, cutting her off. “I didn’t understand before, what kind of position we put you in. In the last month, I’ve started to get it. What we did was despicable.” He put his hand over hers. “Now that I have a kid of my own on the way—”

Mom’s eyes went wide. “What was that?”

I stared at him, too. “Yeah, man, what was that?”

Mike glanced at Julie, who smiled. He smiled back and said, “Call the newspapers. I’m going to be a dad at the ripe old age of thirty-nine. Poor baby.”

Julie laughed. “You’ll be a great dad and you know it.” She sat down next to Mom. “I’m due around the fourth of July.”

I had to hand it to Mike. His ability to deflect a serious situation with other, equally important news was masterful. Though this wasn’t the first time he’d done it, it was probably the most effective. Mom threw her arms around Julie and Mamie rushed to join them.

While they continued to hug and cry, Mike wandered into the living room to talk to Brent. Momentarily forgotten, I went upstairs to my room. Mike could tell Mom about the mission. Even better, Julie could. It’d be hard for Mom to argue with a pregnant lady who said I had to save the world for her niece or nephew. I sank down on my bed and stretched out. My legs hung off the end. I probably needed a new mattress, but I didn’t think I could handle anymore change.

Burying my face in my pillow, I couldn’t decide how I felt about anything. Happy that Dad was alive? Pissed that I didn’t know anything about him? Thrilled to finally have a cousin? Dad was an orphan, Mom only had Mike, and my Tannen grandparents were dead and gone. My family had always been small, but in the space of an hour, I had regained a father and added a cousin.

My phone beeped on my nightstand and I reached for it wearily, not sure I was fit company for anybody, even via text. Messages from Ella and Will, asking where I was. I texted back that I was home safe, but tired, and would call them tomorrow.

Dizzy from the questions and trashed with jet-lag, I burrowed under the covers. Maybe everyone would work out my life for me while I slept.

Chapter Six

“M
att?” Someone shook my shoulder.
“Wake-up, sweetheart.”

Mom’s voice was calm, but insistent. I rolled over, groaning as my back popped in five places. “‘Time is it?”

“Nine-thirty. You’ve been asleep most of the day. You need to eat something and talk to me a while. Then I’ll let you go back to bed and sleep for twelve hours if you want.” She flicked on my lamp.

“I need a shower first.” My stomach growled. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate. “Food sounds good, though.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen. Mamie and Brent are out, and Mike and Julie went to his loft downtown, so it’ll just be us.” She gave me a tentative half-hug, then left me alone.

I took my time with the shower, wishing the spray of water held some answers for me. All it did was wake me up, so I dried off and went to my room to dress, wondering what else I could do to stall the inevitable because I wasn’t sure I was ready to have it out with Mom.

The knife vibrated in its metal box loudly enough that I heard it through my closet door.

“This is all your fault, you know,” I muttered. “Why don’t you go down there to talk to Mom, and I’ll head back to bed.”

The box shuddered more violently.
Don’t be a coward.

“Grrr.” But the knife-spirit was right. We’d kept Mom out of the loop for more than a year. I could’ve been killed at any point, and she had no idea. As much as it hurt to find out that she’d lied to me all these years, Uncle Mike and I had been wrong. It was time to own up.

I came downstairs, intentionally creaking the fifth step so she’d know I was on my way. Her office on my left, bounded by the coat closet and the stairway, was cluttered with file boxes and briefs. We’d dropped this bombshell on her right in the middle of trial prep. I felt a stab of guilt. Could things be worse?

As I walked through the living room to the kitchen, the smell of bacon frying nearly sent me running for the table, but I maintained my cool.

I stopped short of the stove, unsure of what to do. “Um, what’s on the menu?”

“I’m making you breakfast for dinner. You always love that.” Mom turned to smile at me, her eyes crinkled in sad way. Her spatula dripped a little bacon grease on the mat in front of the stove. “Pancakes are already done, just waiting on the bacon, then I’ll make you eggs. Three, or four?”

“Three’ll be good. Thanks.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, bending down to rest my chin on her shoulder. Hard to believe that a year ago I’d been shorter than her, but now I was seven inches taller. Everything was changing so fast.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

She leaned against me, shoulders shaking. How strange for me to be comforting her instead of the other way around. I let her cry a minute, until the bacon turned black, filling the kitchen with smoke.

Mom’s wiped her eyes and threw the mess in the sink. “That was the last of the bacon.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. We were so pitiful. “That’s okay. Pancakes with peanut butter will be just fine.”

After I put together a seven-cake stack for myself, Mom took her usual place at the head of the kitchen table. I sat next to her, in Mamie’s seat. She let me eat in silence until I’d scraped up the last of the peanut butter mixed with syrup from my plate.

“While you were sleeping, Mike and Julie explained the mission. About your…duty to this team. It was hard for me to believe that monsters exist, but Mike said he’d rather not show me any pictures.”

“I’m totally with him on that. It’s bad enough that he and I have to see them,” I said.

“And I hate that you’ve had to see things like that, when you’re still so young, but if you’ve been chosen….” Mom smoothed the table runner with her fingers. “Can I see it? The knife?”

Surprised, I nodded. “Be back in a sec.”

I headed upstairs wondering why she wanted to see it. Once in my room, I pulled my buddy out of its lockbox, hopeful for the first time today. “You gonna behave?”

Always
.

That was doubtful, but I brought my knife downstairs to the table anyway and unsheathed it. Mom’s eyes widened. I’d forgotten what kind of effect it had when you first saw it. It was a regal weapon; lethal but beautiful. Jorge had mastered his craft in this blade—the last he forged. The white bone handle gleamed with a dull glow under the kitchen chandelier. The blade itself, wide and slightly curved at the tip, didn’t have a spot of tarnish on it. My friendly spirit kept the blade sharpened to perfection, no maintenance required.