Shadowchild

Chapter Twenty, Keys

Perce stood beside her, head bowed, silent.

"Do you even believe she is wrong?"

He said nothing. Bennie knew he had no idea what to say.

"You know what, I think I want to go back with Sean after all," Bennie said, suddenly in a hurry to just get away from the sad stranger that had replaced the Uncle Perce she thought she knew. "Thanks for walking with me but I'm going to fly back with him instead of taking the teleporters."

Bennie turned back up the street to Aila's, calling Sean to meet her there, leaving Perce still standing, speechless, on the sidewalk.

***

Bennie stayed home all the next day and night, as much out of anger as sickness from the injury. She told her mom it was probably something she ate, promised her that she wouldn't miss her first day of school, and persuaded her not to call the doctor for at least 24 hours. Bennie knew they wouldn't find anything (Aila was thorough and had magic on her side) and she didn't want a clean bill of health, despite her obvious discomfort, to arouse her mom's suspicions.

She got online later that evening to talk to her friends, and felt a pang when Sean sent her an instant message.

LiamSF7: Heyo, what happened?

Bennie ignored him and continued to talk to her other friends. Sean should know by now that they couldn't get any privacy on this screen name, which was why she created the other one.

He kept sending her instant messages, nevertheless, so she finally responded.

BenJ09: Sean, it's not a good time.

LiamSF7: Better than some. Perce told me you were upset but he didn't tell me why. I was worried that you were hurt worse than we knew.

BenJ09: No, have a sick stomach but I'm recovering. I'm really not in the mood to talk about it right now, ok?

LiamSF7: ok, but you know I'm around.

BenJ09: Ok.

Honestly, Bennie was curious as to why Perce had told Sean anything. He never really talked to her about Gemini or Sean, but then he probably didn't have people secretly following them.

So what makes me so special? Bennie thought, irate. If I knew what it was...

Bennie scratched an itch on her shoulder, and stopped. She pulled the sleeve back from her other shoulder and looked at the mark she'd found after being hit by the lightning.

It was still there, clear as ever. No amount of sunshine had evened out her skin tone.

Perce has this tattooed on his finger. Maybe it's something dangerous to Reyortsed that he wants destroyed.

Or maybe, Bennie thought miserably, it's dangerous to us.

Bennie turned back to her computer.

BenJ09: Sean?

LiamSF7: Yo.

BenJ09: don't go anywhere.

LiamSF7: Ok.

Bennie made excuses to her friends, signed out of her account and switched to her secret one before messaging Sean again:

Shadowchild7: Do you know what the tattoo on Perce's finger means, by any chance?

LiamSF7: Do you?

Shadowchild7: No, I'd not be asking if I did.

LiamSF7: I'm really not sure. I asked him before and he said a long time ago his friend gave him that tattoo himself one night.

Shadowchild7: So it's just a silly "I woke up and didn't remember how I got it" thing?

LiamSF7: That's what I assumed, but he wasn't very forthcoming with details.

LiamSF7: Why?

Shadowchild7: I don't know, I was just curious.

LiamSF7: Ben-jay, you didn't just get online to ask me about a tattoo.

Shadowchild7: No, I didn't.

LiamSF7: So Talk :-P

Shadowchild7: Well, don't mention this to anyone--Perce already knows, but I have a mark from where the lightning hit me that looks exactly like that tattoo.

Shadowchild7: So I wanted to know if it had something to do with why I'm being followed by the mage who helped me and Peter.

LiamSF7: Who-what?

Shadowchild7: Yeah, Perce didn't deny it. And since I can't find a reason why I'd need a bodyguard I figured it had something to do with this mark thing.

LiamSF7: Did you ask him?

Shadowchild7: Like you said, he wasn't very forthcoming with details. I didn't figure out the mark thing until just now. I'd all but forgotten I had it.

LiamSF7: Well, we missed you at practice. Perce said you were going through the "Maybe I shouldn't be doing this phase" and that you were pretty upset.

Shadowchild7: phase?

LiamSF7: Yeah. Just about every Guardian has a moment or two when they think they'll just abandon their abilities. Only problem is when they try they find the powers tend to come back to haunt them. In other words, don't try just for the sake of time.

Shadowchild7: Huh. I'm surprised Perce didn't try telling me that. >:(

LiamSF7: Well, no offense, but who listens when they're mad?

Shadowchild7: True.

LiamSF7: You know he really does care about you. About all of us. He was so down tonight.

Shadowchild7: Are you trying to make me feel bad?

LiamSF7: Yes. lol j/k

Shadowchild7: Well it's working. I love you guys, you know. Last night aside I get along better with Perce than I do my mom. He's kind of filling in for my dad, I think, though why now and not ten years ago when he died I'm still not sure. Mom probably drove him off. Hah!

LiamSF7: I feel the same way about him. My dad is useless. Never paid child support, and left me and my mom with nothing, just vanished. But Perce really in a way took over when he showed up. The Guardians really are my extended family; they even gave my mom charms so she could come through the portals to Pelanca, and another one that enables her to understand all the languages, since without Guardian powers she doesn't have that universal translation ability.

Shadowchild7: That's cool. I think they were considering it for Sarah too.

LiamSF7: If they don't right away they probably will after things calm down. Speaking of, you say you think you're involved in this, and you and Perce have the same mark, and he knew your dad. Do you think your dad gave him the tattoo?

Shadowchild7: At this point nothing would surprise me. I already know my dad's death was probably not the accident I was told. I'll keep harassing Perce until I get some answers.

LiamSF7: Well you have to come to practice! I want to know now too!

Shadowchild7: Will do, when my stomach stops hurting. Lol

After Bennie signed off a while later she thought more about how Perce and her dad knew each other. How long had they been friends, did they meet before they were Guardians, and what link her dad may have had to the strange mark she and Perce shared.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put these clues together and Perce knows it. He has to talk. I just hope this insanity doesn't kill anyone else before I get the answers I need, or even after that for that matter.