Sword Play (17 page)

He was taller and stronger than me. I could out-fence him in organized fencing, but he was waving a killing weapon and all I had was a chunk of wood. If only I could grab one of the rapiers or axes, then I’d have a chance. But he blocked my way to the rack of weapons.

Don’t allow fear to cloud your sensibilities,
Opal’s voice rang in my ears.

“Help me!” I told her. “Get someone!”

I’m unable to communicate with others, as you well know. I would suggest lowering your head
…
right now.

I ducked. Swoosh! Tony sword sliced above my shoulder. I heard him swear and saw that his swing was so hard, he lost control of the weapon and it sailed over a haystack, landing out of his reach. I was a better fencer than he was. If I could get the sword, he wouldn’t have a chance against me. I could cut him down until he couldn’t come after me again.

But as I scrambled after the fallen weapon, I heard Opal shout in my head,
No! Abandon your anger and pay heed to your common sense. Naught ever comes of violence. Leave the weapon of war and go forth in defense.

As confusing as that sounded, I must be getting used to Opal’s riddles. Because I knew exactly what she meant. And in that split second of decision, instead of going for the weapon and fighting until blood spilled, I lifted my wooden shield and flung it with all my strength at Tony.

I heard him cry out, but I didn’t stick around.

I took off running and didn’t stop screaming until I found help.

The police showed up and had plenty of questions, but Brianne told me to go fence for Foils and offered to talk with them first. All the fight was out of her. I think she just wanted it over.

So a much smaller group of Foils gave the fencing demonstration. Despite my shaky efforts, it was a good show. At least that’s what Manny and Thorn told me afterwards while we were waiting at the police station. They’d come for support, which I really appreciated. I hadn’t seen Dominic, and had begun to think I’d imagined him—until I was putting my equipment away and found a note tucked into my bag.

Sabine,

Sorry I didn’t watch you fence. I know you did great—you’re really good at everything. I admire that and think about you a lot.

I’m going after the fourth charm. Could take a few days or a week
…

Keep watch on Nona—she’s not doing well.

It was simply signed “D.”

I stared at the note, rereading his “I admire that and think about you a lot,” wondering what he meant by it. Did he care about me the way I suspected I cared about him? If there really was something between us, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Josh was flaking out on me anyway, so maybe it was time to end things. But I’d have to wait for Dominic to return to find out his feelings.

Until then I’d put my heart on hold.

My romantic life might be a mess and Nona was getting worse, but at least I’d done what Kip wanted. I still wasn’t sure which girl he’d asked me to help—Leanna, Aileen, or Brianne—but I’d done my best to help them all.

And maybe that’s what Kip wanted all along.

***

I’d like to say that my forcing Brianne to tell the truth led to our becoming close friends again. Only that didn’t happen.

After the competition we were hustled off to the police station, and she wouldn’t even look at me. Maybe she felt I’d betrayed her, and I was okay with that, knowing her bruises, inside and out, would take a long time to heal.

I was still too numbed by everything to take it all in. I was also completely exhausted from fighting Tony and answering a barrage of questions. Because I was a minor, I needed a parent present and I chose Dad. He was a lawyer, after all, and I could count on him not to overreact like Mom.

When he arrived at the police station, he showed concern but remained calm and he treated me like an adult, asking questions until he was sure he understood the situation. The police weren’t as interested in me once they found out Tony’s role in Kip’s death and saw Brianne’s bruises.

Dad slipped his arm around me and led me to his car.

“You okay?” Dad asked gently as he started up the engine.

“Yeah. Thanks for coming.”

“Hey, you’re my special girl. I’m always here for you.”

“Not lately,” I said before I could stop myself. I didn’t mean to dredge out bitter feelings now, not after he just helped me.

But he didn’t take offense; he reached over to squeeze my hand. “I’m sorry honey. It’s not you. It’s me.”

“And Mom?” I questioned.

He glanced in the rearview mirror, then over at me. “Yes. We’re having some problems, but we’ll get through this. No worries, okay?”

I smiled at him, and nodded. Being with my father made me feel like a little girl again—safe and protected. But then I thought how he was seldom home and Mom and the girls had such full schedules. Independent study was harder than I expected, and lonely. I wanted to go home … with Nona.

Before I lost my courage, I explained to Dad how I felt and asked if I could move back. “Nona needs me … and I need to be with her.”

“I understand and I think you should move back, too,” he said after a long moment. He didn’t grill me with questions, but merely gave me a tender look and said he’d talk it over with Mom. “It won’t be easy convincing her,” he added. “I’m not her favorite person right now.”

“You’re mine,” I said, reaching across to squeeze his hand.

Then he turned on the radio, his favorite oldies station, and hummed along as I closed my eyes and let all my problems roll away.

A sharp musical tone chirped and my eyes snapped open.

“Just my phone,” Dad murmured, keeping his gaze ahead on traffic while he reached for his phone.

“Yes? I can’t talk now,” I heard him say in a sharp tone that startled me. Then he was quiet, listening for a long time. “No. I can’t … You don’t understand … Are you sure?”

Energy in the car changed. Dad’s aura sparked with fierce energy. Whoever was on the phone was giving him bad news. I knew this instinctively. I even knew that it was a woman, someone close to his age whom he knew well, but was a stranger to me.

“All right! I’ll be there!” he snapped. Then he flipped his phone shut and glanced over at me. I kept my eyes closed, sensing that I’d learn more if I pretended to be asleep.

He made a sudden jerk of the wheel and spun around, tires screeching as he changed directions. I tensed, no longer feeling safe and protected.

Where were we going?

I squinted out of the corner of my eyes, noting Dad’s serious expression and how he kept glancing over at me anxiously. Something was definitely worrying him—which worried me.

Then we were slowing down, bumping over an uneven road, then curving into a neighborhood where I glimpsed large, overgrown trees closing in over the narrow road. The car stopped.

Dad glanced at me again, then exhaled as if relieved I was asleep.

He stepped out of the car and walked towards a single-story L-shaped yellow house with sagging gutters, a dry lawn of weeds, and faded wood siding.

The door of the house burst open and a woman with long, dry, reddish gray hair and wide hips in a stight leather mini-skirt rushed out to greet him. She had this exhausted look of relief on her face, as if her house was burning and a fireman had just showed up to put out the flames.

She met him on the grass, leaned close, and slipped her arm comfortably around his waist. He didn’t push her away, letting her lean on him as if he belonged to her. Her expression was grim, but the way she touched him was too familiar, and something ugly and jealous snarled in me.

Then the door opened again and a girl rushed out of the house so fast that all I could see was long, flaming red hair. I had the sense that she was a few years older than me. She flew down the steps, pushed the woman aside, and flung her arms around my father’s neck.

“I knew you’d come!” the girl cried out. “I really need you, Daddy!”

My world slowed and froze to a stop.

Daddy.

She called
my
father “Daddy.”

Then she turned in my direction and I saw her face clearly.

My hands flew to my mouth.

Ohmygod.

This couldn’t be real. Except for the red hair, she looked just like me.

Linda Joy Singleton lives in northern California. She has two grown children and a wonderfully supportive husband who loves to travel with her in search of unusual stories.

Lin
da Joy Singleton is the author of more than twenty-five books, including the series Regeneration
, My Sister the Ghost, Cheer Squad,
and, also from Llewellyn,
Strange Encounters.