Shadowchild

Chapter Thirteen, Secrets

"I'm so gone!" Bennie said, "I live 3 hours from the Gulf Coast and I haven't seen sand in over four years!"

"We'll put that on the agenda," Sean said, "The Gulf serves a purpose for sun and sea when you can't get somewhere better, but Pelanca's beaches rival the Caribbean. Plus all the pretty ladies—oh excuse me, Gem."

Gem didn't even look up from the necklace she was examining at the kiosk. "Lemur!" she said.

"Oh! You never did explain that myth to me," Bennie said. "So what's 'Lemur' mean?"

The only response she got back was laughter, but it cut short when they noticed several groups of Guardians running and shouting.

"Whoa! Marek!" Perce shouted into the air, "What the hell happened?"

"It's him," The winged man Bennie had seen soared above the growing crowd.

God, that's awesome, and I'm jealous, Bennie thought.

"He sent some trouble makers through a Rend in Texas. We could use your help if you can spare it."

"Texas?" Bennie panicked, "Perce, do you think...?"

"It's too early to tell yet, I have to go with them," Perce said.

"We're going too, then," Sean said firmly, but Perce shook is head.

"I need you all to go straight to Aila's and stay there."

"Perce!"

"Sean, you understand this isn't the right time, and you're the only one out of you three with any battle experience and so you have to take care of them! Please don't argue with me."

Perce seemed way too worried for any normal skirmish.

"Perce," her voice sounded small. He smiled at her.

"I'll stay out of trouble," Perce said, "But right now you need to get to Aila and stay out of trouble too. She'll take care of you guys while I'm gone."

"Perce—" Gem said, but Perce had already vanished into the masses. Sean, clearly unhappy, took charge.

"Well, we heard him, let's get out of here."

***

Bennie felt all the more worried by how livid Aila got when she learned Perce had run off. She went on muttering for two very long hours about Perce having bigger responsibilities. She checked in on the three of them repeatedly and gave them some strange food Bennie had never eaten before, but would have found tasty had she not been sick with worry.

As the third hour passed since they had arrived at Aila's Bennie began to get very scared, and Gem noticed.

"He'll be fine, Bennie. Perce has been in worse," she said, but Bennie knew she only half believed what she was saying.

They sat in silence after that for a long time. Bennie rubbed her shoulder.

"You've been doing that a lot since we got here," Sean said. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"I don't know," Bennie said, drawing her arm away. "I didn't know I was doing it."

"Let me have a look," Aila said, "Just for the sake of having something to do." She gently pushed Bennie's collar back off her shoulder next to her collarbone. She stopped, looking very awkward suddenly.

"Sean, Gemini, would you go out and see if anything is happening outside? Don't go too far."

After the two had gone with confused looks on their faces, Aila gently traced her finger over Bennie's strange new mark. "That came with the lightning strike, no?"