Sister Cities

Part 26: Jinx (7 Years Ago)

I've got no business praying

I'm finished being good

Now I can finally be okay in not the way I thought I should

________________________________________________________________________________

The scar-faced man holds my hand and walks me home.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"My sister calls me Powder. But it's not my name."

"What is, then?"

Why did you leave me?

"Jinx," I say.

Some of his allies have scattered, and some are walking behind and in front of us. The streets are empty otherwise. Everyone will have seen my monkey bomb and they probably got scared.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Silco."

It's familiar. I know Vander didn't like him. And I know he's the one who started everything tonight. But I'm the one who ended everything, so I don't mind holding his hand.

When we get to the Last Drop, his friends have the door open, and Silco comes to the water pump with me and helps me wash my face. There's a bruise forming on my cheek.

"Get some sleep," he says.

I watch the direction his foot turns and I grab his wrist. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"Don't leave. Stay here."

His eyes move to my hands. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

It's vague. I don't like vague. But I don't want to run him off, so I go to our room and close the door and fall into bed.

The next time I perceive anything, it's a trickle of dirty light from the stairs, and then it's Silco's voice talking to someone else's.

I sneak up and peek. It's morning, and I see him, so he kept his word. The other person is Vander's friend Sevika, whose shoulder is covered in bandages because she doesn't have an arm. It's probably because of my bomb.

"It's a fine place to operate from," Silco is saying.

"Yeah. Sure. But you can't be serious about the girl."

"She's extremely bright. She could prove invaluable."

"She's a child."

Silco turns around and starts poking through the bottles behind the bar. "And so, she cannot survive on her own."

"Keeping her alive will involve more than feeding her and giving her a bed. Children need to be cared for."

"Then I shall care for her."

"You?"

"Is there a problem?"

Sevika's quiet for a second. "No."

"Then it's settled. Deliver the message and bring back anyone who's not accounted for."

I wait until the door closes behind Sevika to come out. Silco whirls around, snatching up a blade, but relaxes when he sees me.

"Clever girl," he says. "How do you feel about the proposed arrangement?"

I'm speechless with relief until something flashes in the corner of my eye. I don't know what it is, but it's pink, and suddenly I feel like fainting. "Violet."