The Kuthun (10 page)

She clears her throat—one of the many human reactions I can’t understand her performing now that she’s dead. ‘You just seem…calm is all.’

I cross my arms in defence. ‘So you think I should be losing it?’

She shakes her head gently. ‘Of course not, it’s just that—’

I interrupt her. ‘Ama, look. I know this is happening okay. I get it. My whole life has been built around this moment. I just…I just can’t control it. I can’t make it all go away. And everyone I love seems to be involved somehow.’ My voice cracks. ‘I don’t want this! I want it to end and I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.’ Tears fall down my face.

She moves towards me and wraps me in her arms. ‘It’s alright, Elena. You don’t have to have all the answers.’ She strokes my hair and I bury myself into her neck.

I sob, letting all my pent up feelings go. When I can’t cry anymore I pull away.

She cups my face. ‘You listen to me, Elena Cole. You can do this. You can defeat this curse and live a good life, but you have to be brave. Do you hear me? You have to find the courage.’

I nod lightly.

She releases me and takes a step back. ‘Good.’ Her eyes wander over my face. ‘Well, I better get started. I have Elders to see.’ She smiles and plants a kiss on my forehead. ‘I love you, Elena,’ she whispers, as she fades into nothing.

‘I love you too, Ama,’ I say, hoping that she can find the information we need so desperately.

I am troubled by how quickly everything is moving. Was this what it was like for Mum in her last days? I am tormented by the disturbing images that my mind conjures up. Tears blur my vision again and I bite my tongue to keep them from falling.

I catch movement out the window and see that Magi is sniffing the area where the male entity was standing only a short while ago. She is padding back and forth trying to pick up his scent, and by the look of it she isn’t having much luck.

I stay sitting and staring out the window, lost in my own private thoughts. I don’t even notice when I fall off to sleep.

I wake to the sound of my phone ringing. I get up
groggily, wondering how long I’ve been out, and rummage through my bag for it.

‘Hello,’ I answer, still half asleep.

‘Hey, E. Did I wake you?’ Phoebe asks.

‘No, that’s okay, I had to get up anyway.’ I yawn. ‘What’s up?’

‘Mum, Tom and I are heading to Walden’s tonight for dinner and wanted to know if you wanted to join us?’

I could use a good distraction
.
Not to mention the fact that I don’t think I’ve eaten much in the last couple of days. ‘That sounds good. Let me just check with Uncle Jo first and I’ll ring you back.’

‘Cool, peace out!’ she says, hanging up the phone.

I plod downstairs and walk into the kitchen. Aunt Lily is busy baking cupcakes for her annual women’s day charity event tomorrow. Last year she only just missed out on being crowned cupcake heaven champion behind Marjory Rudermaker. This year, she is on a mission to win.

She looks up as I walk in, a smudge of flour on her cheek. ‘Hello there, stranger.’ She would have heard all the commotion earlier but with her usual grace and tact she doesn’t say anything. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ she asks.

As I walk towards her I have a flash back of cooking in the kitchen with Mum. We used to make pancakes together every Saturday morning. My heart aches for her.

I give her a hug and she hugs me back. ‘Are you okay, Ellie?’ she asks gently.

I nod. There is nothing I can say. If anyone could understand it would be my uncle and aunt. They know what it feels like to lose your parents. I gently pull away and ask, ‘Is Uncle Jo about?’

Her blue eyes flicker across my face with worry. ‘He’s in the shed. Can you tell him to come in soon for dinner please?’

‘Sure.’ I feel her gaze on me as I head out the back door.

I reach the shed, which is more like a huge barn. The worn wooded exterior and large double folding doors give the farm a rustic charm. The inside is full of cars, tractors and tools of all shapes and sizes, and sitting centre stage is Uncle Jo’s pride and joy—an old nineteen sixty-five Harley Davidson Panhead motorbike. He loves that bike. Apparently his father, my grandfather, had one just like it.

Must be nice to have at least some good memories of your father. I never met mine.

Inside I can hear music playing. It sounds like some old rock band from the seventies. ‘Knock, Knock!’ I yell over the din.

Uncle Jo is bent over his bench, hammering away at something. His foot is tapping to the beat. I decide not to sneak up on him as he may wield the hammer into my skull, so I yell again, ‘Uncle Jo!’

He stops and turns. ‘Hey there. Everything good?’ He lowers the volume of his music.

‘Yeah. I suppose I should be asking you the same thing,’ I say, remembering how he stormed out earlier.

He leans against the bench, stretching out his long legs. ‘Ah, sorry about that. I just felt really frustrated at the whole thing.’

I nod. ‘I know, it’s okay. I feel the same sometimes.’

He wipes his hands together. ‘So, what can I do for you?’

‘Um, Phoebs just rang and was wondering whether I could go to dinner with her and her mum tonight?’ I ask, hoping he’ll let me out for a bit.

He takes his time considering all options. ‘I don’t see why not.’ I feel a
“but”
coming on. ‘But how about we all go together and then I won’t have to stalk you?’ He raises his eyebrows in question.

And there it is!
My shoulders sag. ‘Ugh, do you have to? I know I need to be careful but this is just dinner at Walden’s,’ I complain, starting to feel like some sort of prisoner that needs to be monitored at all times.

He gets serious for a second. ‘Ellie, we’ve been through this. The Venator could strike at any moment, and now this…other person, or thing, or whatever he is, is hanging about. I can’t let you go alone.’ He shakes his head. ‘I’m sorry.’

I know he’s right. I just can’t risk it. There is too much is at stake. I feel it in my bones.

I nod reluctantly. ‘Okay.’ A thought pops into my head. ‘Um, about that other person thingy. I’ve been thinking about him and, this may sound crazy, but I really don’t believe he is here to hurt me. In fact…I think he might be trying to help me,’ I say.

‘Why do you think that?’ he asks curiously.

‘Well, I know how his power felt at the roadside, and while it unnerved me I didn’t actually feel threatened, just observed. Then in my dream I saw him standing off to one side and again I didn’t feel scared. But when I saw the Venator’s eyes peering at me in the dream I did feel fear. So I know the difference between the two.’ I start to pace the room, which is something I always do when I am processing information. ‘But when he was by the fence earlier, my powers seemed to converge with the kuthun somehow. I don’t fully understand it, but it’s as if he was able to channel his energy into mine.’ I bite my lip, waiting for him to respond. He is unmoving.

Everything is starting to make more sense as I am talking through my thoughts out loud, so I keep going. ‘How many people do you know that A, could penetrate our defences that we have around the property, and B, converge with my powers like that?’ A surprising thought occurs to me and I take a moment to process the possibility. ‘Unless they were connected to our bloodline in some way!’ I exclaim, startled that I may have hit something important on the head. ‘Think about it, Uncle Jo. This person has powerful magic that is evident in his presence and in that staff he carries, which by the way is engraved with symbols in what looks to be Egyptian hieroglyphics and—’

He interrupts my pacing suddenly. ‘What did you say?’ He frowns.

‘Uh, I said hieroglyphics?’ I shrug. I may have left out some minor details.

He is staring past me, deep in thought. ‘Ellie, you could be right. I’m not saying you are for sure, but when I said earlier that I researched our bloodline back through history, I was able to connect pieces of our genealogy back to Ancient Egypt.’ He shakes his head. ‘I wasn’t able to be certain, as there was no hard evidence, no matter how hard I tried to find some, but you could call it a hunch.’

‘So, our bloodline could go back that far you think?’ I ask. ‘Whoa. That would be mind-blowing.’

We both pause, letting this new development sink in.

‘So this person, let’s call him “The Watcher” for now, is obviously not of physical form. I mean he definitely doesn’t dress like anyone I’ve seen and he appears to be able to be in many places at once with the click of his fingers. He must be channelling from beyond, but how?’ I ask this last question more to myself.

Uncle Jo comes to stand before me. ‘I don’t know how. We need more information. Let’s hope Amaris can help on that front.’

I agree and decide to leave this conversation unfinished for now. ‘I’ll go and ring Phoebe back and see if we can make it a group affair. You better tell Aunt Lily though as she sent me out to tell you that dinner is ready soon.’ I walk out the shed and back towards the house, looking out across the farm as I go. Magi hasn’t come back yet. I hope she’s alright.

I walk back inside and ring Phoebe, telling her we’ll pick them up in thirty minutes. As I put the phone down I hear Uncle Jo enter behind me.

‘All confirmed?’ he asks, as he strides inside, being careful not to tread dirt on the floor.

‘Yep. I told them we would pick them up in thirty minutes.’

‘Good. Better get ready then.’

Twenty minutes later we are dressed and ready to leave. Magi has returned and is sulking by the fireplace. I guess she didn’t have any success in tracking down The Watcher.

We drive over and pick up the Campbells and head to Walden’s Steakhouse. Inside, the atmosphere is busy. The kitchen at the back is firing out orders and the bell tings every time a meal is ready. Wooden tables and chairs fill the large eating area where waiters in white and black uniforms are serving customers and delivering food. The lights are clear but not too bright, and plants are hanging from the rafters creating an atmosphere of home-style friendly hospitality. I smile, feeling normal for a minute.

‘Let’s get to our table people, I’m starved!’ says Phoebe, as she follows the hostess to a large table on the other side of the room. We see a few people from school on the way through and Phoebe and I smile and wave. The eyes from a nearby table of boys ogle Phoebe as she passes. She gives them a wink and I chuckle at her confidence.

Slowly my worries are leaving me and I just want to enjoy tonight. You never know, it could be my last. The thought disturbs me.
It can’t end like this
.

Uncle Jo’s request for our table doesn’t go unnoticed by me—it is positioned near the exit. He’s always thinking a few steps ahead. We sit down and get comfortable and the waiter comes to take our orders.

‘Me first,’ says Phoebe. ‘I’ll have the chicken schnitzel with curly fries and vegetables please. And can I have the gravy on the side and a serving of garlic bread as well.’ She places the menu down and sits back gleefully waiting for her food to be delivered. She really is happier when food is around.

The waiter nods and moves on to the rest of the table before returning to the kitchen.

Uncle Jo and Aunt Lily are busy talking with Phoebe’s mum about the upcoming women’s day and other local events happening around town. Tom is happily playing his DS. Uncle Jo says something funny and Phoebe’s mum throws her head back in laughter.

‘It’s nice to see your mum laughing,’ I say.

Phoebe is watching her quietly and she smiles. ‘Yeah it is. Doesn’t happen very often these days that’s for sure,’ she says sadly, fixing up her napkin in a display of discomfort.

Phoebe’s dad works away in the mines and only comes back once every few weeks. Her mum and dad are going through some marriage problems at the moment and it hasn’t been easy on the family, especially Phoebe.

I go to grab her hand and out of the corner of my eye I see a young man walking past the kitchen, carrying a large bucket of dirty plates. His biceps are bulging under the weight and for some reason I can’t help but think he looks familiar.

Phoebe follows my gaze. ‘Hey, perve! Checking out the new kitchen boy are we?’ She nudges me with her elbow.

I blush. ‘Get off, Phoebs. I was just thinking that he looked familiar, that’s all.’

Unlike Phoebe I’ve never really been too interested in boys. I’ve had male friends and have gone on a couple of friendly dates, but my life is not exactly normal. He would need to be someone just as
unique
as myself to even begin to understand my world. And taking into account my family history of single Cole women I don’t hold out much hope in the “successful relationship” department.

Phoebe chuckles. ‘Well you couldn’t have seen him before as he only got here a couple of weeks ago I think. At least, that’s what I was told. Anyway you would know if you ran into a spunk like that. Just check out his glutes.’ She gives me a cheeky look and I can’t help but laugh.

The waiter delivers our food and it distracts Phoebe from giving me a hard time about my non-existent love life. As everyone is busy eating I look around the table. My favourite people in the whole world are sitting at this table. The only one missing is Magi. Uncle Jo looks at me and smiles.