The Soulkeepers (17 page)

"Ask the water for a weapon," she
barked.

All at once, her eyes turned vicious and her
lips pulled back from her teeth like an animal. She wielded the
staff in her hands, her feet set wide. Dr. Silva could be scary
when she wanted to be.

He searched the hum of the water and
pretended Malini was standing behind him. The staff was the threat.
He concentrated, searching the hum for the best weapon, something
to defend her from the staff.

The water sprayed into his hand in a steady
stream that filled his grip. As he tightened his fist, he was
surprised to feel resistance. Never taking his eyes off Dr. Silva,
he lifted the water from the ground; only it was no longer water
but a broadsword of solid ice. The double-sided blade glinted in
the afternoon light, as hard and sharp as steel. It was three feet
long and perfectly balanced in his hand.

Jacob wondered how it was possible that the
ice wasn't freezing his palm or melting in the sun. But there
wasn't time to think about it much. Dr. Silva's staff came around
toward his head. The ice sword circled and made contact, gouging
the wood. She spun and thrust the staff under her arm toward his
gut. He swept the sword downward, blocking the staff.

The movement was much faster than humanly
possible. It was as if the sword was anticipating his direction.
Each time the blade made contact with the staff, he instinctively
knew how to counter the attack. She parried, and he advanced. The
battle went on until Jacob was covered in sweat and thankful for
the cold hilt of his weapon.

Then, with lightning speed, Dr. Silva
slashed the staff down toward the top of his head. Jacob's sword
responded, flying upward in an arc. Only this time the water melted
and reformed around the wood. He completed the circle, allowing
gravity to help drive the blade around, and wrenched the staff from
Dr. Silva's hands.

She stared at her empty fingers, surprise
brightening her eyes.

"Congratulations, Horseman," she said. "You
have won your first battle."

She bowed formally. Her hands spread to the
sides in a gesture as ancient and out of place as a medieval knight
jousting on a city street. Jacob was as sure as he'd ever been that
she was not human. But he'd given up on asking her what she was.
The truth was it didn't matter; she was the only hope he had of
getting his life back.

Birthday

"Did you ever think we would make it through
this year?" Malini asked. Jacob followed her through the double
doors of Paris High School, exhausted from a full week of final
exams.

"No, not really," he said. Between Dane, Dr.
Silva, and Katrina, he was happy to survive most days. The year
seemed a lot to ask for.

"I guess it could've been worse."

"How exactly?"

Malini stopped walking and looked at
him.

"Flesh eating spiders. There could've been
spiders." Malini always did know just what to say. "So, how do you
think you did?"

"You first," he deflected.

"Unless I absolutely bombed that one,
straight A's." She grinned. "Second year in a row. How about
you?"

"I didn't do as well as you, but I passed
everything," he said, embarrassed. He hadn't felt much like
studying with everything else going on, and eked by with three B's
and two C's.

"Oh, come on. Tell me," Malini said, as they
walked toward the Launders' shop.

"Not a chance."

He kissed her lightly on the cheek. Grades
aside, nothing made him happier than knowing they had three months
free from Dane Michaels and his posse. Even better, the graduation
party last weekend for Katrina was a happy reminder that she would
be gone at the end of August.

"Admit it, you actually miss school during
the summer, don't you?" he asked Malini.

"Sometimes. But you know what I won't miss?"
She beamed at him.

"What?"

"Walking. You turn sixteen in a week don't
you?"

"Yes, I do. And, I suppose once I can drive
you'll want to mooch rides off of me."

"When you can drive? How about now?" She
leapt onto his back.

He carried her piggyback style halfway to
McNaulty's.

* * * * *

With his
16
^th
birthday just around the corner, Jacob practiced driving
every spare minute. John came along on trips into town, but since
the Laudners lived in the country he also practiced alone on the
back roads where there wasn't any traffic. By the time June
9
^th
rolled around, Jacob was sure he was ready.

He arrived ten minutes before The Department
of Motor Vehicles opened and shifted restlessly in front of the
door until a squirrely looking man with greasy red hair let him in.
Since he was first in line, the man sat him down in front of a fat
computer terminal. Jacob worked through each question slowly,
relieved when he passed with only two incorrect. Then another man
with a potbelly and a grey mustache called his name for the driving
portion. He tested Jacob in a small hatchback, far more
maneuverable than his uncle's truck. The grey mustache wrinkled
with the man's smile when he told Jacob he'd passed with a perfect
score.

"Let's see it boy!" John said, pulling the
drivers license from his fingers.

"Finally, freedom! You won't have to drive
me around anymore," he said.

"Well, I didn't really mind, Jacob but I can
see why you'd be excited to have some freedom. You've worked hard
these last couple months to pay off your debt and to learn to
drive. I'm proud of you, not just for earning this but for
adjusting as well as you have."

Jacob smiled and picked the license from
John's fingers. Of course, he hadn't really adjusted. He'd just
decided to be patient. He planned to go back home to Oahu as soon
as Dr. Silva could find his mom. But John didn't need to know about
that until it happened. The sad part was that he actually liked his
uncle. Jacob wasn't sure when exactly it had happened but he'd
started to care about him. He would miss John and the closeness
that he felt to his dad when he was around.

"So, I don't think it's too early for your
birthday present, do you?" An ear-to-ear grin lit up John's pale
face.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Jacob
replied.

"No I didn't—but I did anyway."

He followed John out into the parking lot
where his uncle stood in front of the big blue truck looking like
his head could explode with joy at any moment.

"Happy Birthday, Jacob!" he said slapping
Big Blue.

"Thanks," he replied, wondering what his
gift would be.

"This is it," John said, "I'm giving you Big
Blue!"

"No way!"

"Your Aunt has been on me for years to get a
new truck and now I have an excuse to do it. She's all yours."

"John, this is awesome! Thank you, thank you
so much." Jacob was so excited he allowed John to hug him and
actually hugged him back a little. He caught the keys that John
threw his way and crawled behind the wheel. John climbed in on the
passenger's side.

"Guess what?" John said, as they pulled out
and headed for home.

"What?"

"I've got something else for you. One more
surprise."

"You've got to be kidding. What else could
there be?"

"When you first got here Jacob, I promised
you that we would fix up that room for you. I think it's time."

Jacob swerved, and John reached over to
correct the wheel.

"Easy now, you don't want to lose that thing
on your first day driving. Drop me off at home and then go pick out
some paint and things downtown at Johnson's Hardware. Doug and Judy
will charge it to my account. Heck, take your girlfriend with you.
I'm sure she'll be as excited as you are that you're driving.
Anyway, I'll get started painting tomorrow while you're working
with Abigail. That way it'll have overnight to air out."

"John, this is the best. I don't know what
to say. This is more than I ever expected."

"You're more than I ever expected. I wish
things were different with your ma, but I'm happy we've had this
chance to get to know each other. That's the blessing in it."

Jacob said nothing but the words were a
two-fisted punch to the gut. He didn't believe in blessings and he
wasn't happy to be in Paris. But he didn't want to hurt John's
feelings by saying so, because he was happy he'd gotten to know
John, too. So he kept his mouth shut and his eyes on the road.

* * * * *

Malini couldn't wait to help Jacob shop. She
babbled endlessly about how much fun they'd have this summer, now
that he had a car, and how cool his room was going to be. But the
initial excitement he'd felt about the car and his new room gave
way to anxious contemplation about the future. Tomorrow, he would
meet the medicine woman.

Every day here, every moment, he grew more
attached to John and Malini. If the medicine woman knew where his
mother was, what would happen then? How would he leave them? And,
what about when he found his mom? The apartment belonged to someone
else now. Where would they live?

"What color are you thinking?" Malini said,
handing him an assortment of cardboard paint swatches. They stood
before a rack of thousands of two-inch color cards competing for
their attention. He'd never known there were so many colors to
choose from.

"I'm not sure. Not pink. How about
black?"

"Too dark. It would look like a cave."

"What do you think then?"

Malini shifted the swatches between her
fingers: deep burgundy, rich mahogany, dark greens and blues.
"Don't get angry at me because I know you don't like to talk about
it but ever since that day with Dane and the water…I just think
blue." She held up a dark grayish blue color called "stormy
sea".

He took the swatch from her hand. The color
was not something he'd have picked for himself but it gave him a
calm feeling.

"It's perfect," he said, in a voice barely
above a whisper. He moved closer to her. "I had no idea what I
wanted until just now. This is exactly it. You know me better than
I do."

He was inches from her now, taking in the
sweet genuineness that was only Malini's. His words were true and
not just about the paint. It was at that moment that he decided he
wouldn't leave her behind. One way or another he would find a way
to keep her with him.

"What do we do next? Does the paint come in
this color?"

"No, they have to mix it."

"How do they do that?"

"Just trust me," she said, lifting the card
from his fingers. "I'll get it."

"You're amazing, Malini," Jacob said.

"Don't you forget it," she replied.

She cast a sassy grin over her shoulder as
she moved toward the paint counter.

Red Stones For
Manioc

With all of the
preparations made, Jacob jogged across the street to Dr. Silva's
house the afternoon of June 10
^th
. He'd barely slept the
night before thinking about their journey. Tonight he would finally
know for sure what happened to his mom.

In his heart, he felt sure she was still
alive. He didn't have the sort of peace or finality he did with his
dad's death. But as he crossed through the wrought iron gate into
Dr. Silva's backyard, he wondered if that was because there hadn't
been a funeral or a body to see. There was no proof she was dead.
If she were alive, what he learned in Peru would be the key to
saving her. But he also knew that it was equally likely his
greatest fear might be revealed. If his instincts were nothing more
than wishful thinking, he might find out she was dead.

As planned Dr. Silva met him at the mouth of
the maple orchard.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. Her lips
lifted on one side of her face to reveal the quirky half smile he
was sure could stop the hearts of most men. Since the day he'd had
tea with her, she hadn't affected him like she used to, so he still
had his senses about him as he trudged through the maple leaves
towards her.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

Dr. Silva handed him a safari helmet with
mosquito netting and then coated him in a thick fog of bug
repellant. From her shoulder, she removed a canteen on a long
leather strap.

"Put it around your neck and shoulder so
that it travels with you."

"What is it?"

"Tea. Just in case."

"In case of what? Early Peruvian tea time?"
he laughed.

"It has medicinal properties," she said.

The pieces clicked together within Jacob's
mind just as they approached the privet. Dr. Silva had told him her
specialty was horticulture, and John had said that her plants were
used to make drugs. Now she was admitting that the tea had
"medicinal properties."

"That first day I was here…you drugged me!
That's why I told you all of those things!"

"Now, now, I merely gave you something to
help you relax," she said. "Anyway, it was for the best. I had to
know enough about you to make sure you were ready."

Jacob wondered what other means she'd used
without his permission to attain her goals. He crossed his arms
over his chest as they entered the back garden. As he covered his
nose to pass the corpse plants, he couldn't help but think that Dr.
Silva had been pulling his strings from the very beginning. She
wasn't human, that was for sure, and she'd never been honest with
him about who or what she was. He'd trusted her because he'd had no
choice. While he trotted over the stone path and walked the sandy
meadow trail, he realized trusting Dr. Silva might not be an
all-together wise thing to do. In fact, by the time he reached
Oswald, Jacob was jumpy with suspicion about Dr. Silva's motives
and sure this trip was a bad idea. But there was no turning back
now, not with the hope of finding his mother so near at hand.