Raggy Maggie (11 page)

Mrs Milton was fine too, if the mystery man was to be believed. I wasn’t sure what to make of him yet, and I hoped I’d get a chance to ask him some questions. I didn’t think he was lying to me, though, and even though she was a bit of a battleaxe, it was good to know the headmistress was safe.

So that left only Billy. When we’d taken Lilly home I’d asked her mum if Billy was in. She said he wasn’t, but as we walked away I spotted his bedroom curtains twitch. For just a moment I saw him there through the gap, glaring down at me. The curtains shifted again, and Billy vanished behind them once more.

I knew he was in bad shape physically, and probably worse shape mentally. He needed help. Despite everything that had happened between us, I hoped he’d be OK.

My sheets felt cold as I slipped under my duvet. I tucked
my knees up near my chest and snuggled in. There was no pain in my stomach now. I’d peeked beneath the dressing an hour or so after Mum had put it on, and the wound just wasn’t there any more. The power inside me felt back under control now. I could feel it buzzing inside me, eager to be put to use.

Too
eager. My abilities may have repaired my injuries, but they were dangerous. For a short while today they had turned me into someone else. Someone I didn’t like. I decided there and then I would never use them again.

‘I’m going to offer you one last chance.’ The voice came from over near my door. I sat up in bed and saw my dad standing in the corner of the room. ‘Join me and all this can stop.’ He walked over and sat on the end of the bed. I watched him, too shocked to speak.

‘You nearly died today,’ he continued. ‘Your mother nearly died.’

‘And whose fault was that?’ I spat.

‘I never wanted you or your mother hurt,’ he said. ‘I just wanted you to live up to your potential. Caddie strayed from the plan. Don’t blame me.’

‘None of this would have happened if you hadn’t sent her.’

My dad sighed. ‘It doesn’t have to be like this, Kyle,’ he said, his voice soft and soothing. ‘We can all be together. Working together. Side by side.’

‘Working together to take over the world,’ I pointed out.

‘Not
taking over
the world,’ he said. ‘Reshaping it. Making it new. Making it
better.’
He reached over and stroked my hair. His hand felt warm. It felt good. I hated him for it. ‘We’d be a family,’ he smiled. ‘Isn’t that what you always wanted? You’d have a mum
and
a dad.’

‘I’ve got a family,’ I said, not even bothering to disguise the croak in my voice. I shuffled back in my bed and his hand fell away from me. ‘It’s single-parent.’

His face darkened and for a moment I thought he was
going to make a lunge for me. Instead he just nodded.

‘Very well,’ he said, standing up. ‘That was my last offer. Everything that happens next – every terrible thing that happens to you and your mum and everyone you have ever cared about – is your fault, boy.
Yours.’
He pulled himself up to his full, impressive height. ‘What do you say to
that?’

I felt my skin tingle with electricity. The power soared and swam through my insides, flowing smoothly, like the workings of a perfectly balanced machine. My abilities were growing. They wouldn’t take over next time, I would make sure. I could control them. I could make them do
anything.

‘Good luck,’ I told him. And then I yawned, turned over, and happily surrendered to the welcoming arms of sleep.

First published in paperback in Great Britain by
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2010

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