Burn Bright

‘You gonna go to this meeting?’ asked Suki through a mouthful of streaky bacon and red chilli beans.

The pair had taken seats at the table furthest from the refectory curtain. While they’d piled food on their plates at the servery, the White Wings had drifted out, following Kero and Krista-belle, leaving only a handful of newbies at the tables. Though they were still getting curious glances from them, at least Charlonge had stopped hovering.

Retra nodded. She’d chosen a bowl of sweetened meal and some wisp bread. The bread melted on her tongue like buttery air. She glanced over at the servery looking for the uther. By concentrating hard, she could see it scraping egg-mash from one silvery dish to another. Did they do the cooking, she wondered? She imagined the dough in their thin, grey, prehensile fingers and felt a little squeamish.

‘So who’s Joel?’ Suki was still asking questions.

Retra hesitated.

‘Come on, I told you about Liam and our blood pact,’ said Suki.

Retra glanced around. There was no one close enough to hear their conversation. It went against all her Seal instincts to tell Suki more about Joel, but Kristabelle and Kero knew of him now. Suki had been nothing but kind to her and Retra liked the way she spoke her mind. Envied it, in fact.

‘He’s my brother,’ she whispered.

‘Oh?’ Suki chewed for a bit. ‘Well, I guess that’s happened before. Sisters following brothers here, and the other way around. My sister is a shicka. I wouldn’t follow her to the end of the road.’

Retra raised her eyebrows.

‘A stay-at-home type. Likes to cook and grow high-country lavender,’ Suki finished.

Retra wanted to explain to Suki that she hadn’t followed Joel here to be part of Ixion, but to convince him to go somewhere else. But even Suki’s forthrightness and honesty couldn’t convince her to share that. ‘Other sisters following their brothers?. I suppose so.’

Suki slapped her head in mock exasperation. ‘You gotta start talking less stiff. You sound so old. Like my Granna. It’s “I guess so”, not “I sup-pose so”.’

Retra smiled. ‘I suppose it is.’

They both laughed.

For Suki the sound came out easy and naturally. For Retra it was like opening the door of a cage that had been closed for too long; an uncertain, rusty sound.

Suki whacked her on the back as if she was choking.

And then they laughed more.

Until Charlonge appeared at their table.

The tension still played through the supervisor’s body. Retra could see it in her stiff shoulders and neck. ‘What were the White Wings saying to you?’

Retra stared at her bowl but Suki spoke up.

‘They just wanted to thank Retra for helping Kristabelle out. And they asked us to join the Wings.’

Retra wished Suki would be quiet and stop telling Charlonge everything. But it wasn’t in the Stra’ha girl’s nature to be silent.

Charlonge drew a chair back and sat down with them. She folded her hands inside the long sleeves of her dress. ‘That wouldn’t be wise.’

Her counsel made Retra curious even though she had no plans to join the Wings. ‘Why not? It seems like a place to belong. As good as another,’ she said softly. It was the truth. There was something alluring in the way they banded together.

‘Ixion is a place of freedom and expression. The White Wings and the others impose their own rules. Why would you want that? Especially coming from a province like Grave. Besides, the Ripers only tolerate the gangs, but they don’t approve of them. You will attract more attention to yourself by joining one. It seems you have done enough to be monitored already.’

Retra thought of the warden at home in Grave. ‘What happens when you’re monitored?’

‘The Ripers watch you. Everywhere you go. Everywhere.’

As if hearing Charlonge, Forlorn entered the refectory, his sweeping gaze pausing to linger on them.

Charlonge got to her feet again. ‘Brand won’t forget what you did,’ she whispered. ‘Be careful.’ She moved to another table and sat down with the girls Retra had seen in the dressing room earlier.

‘She’s right about one thing,’ said Suki. ‘Brand is scary – all those scars and things. It might be safer being part of the Wings.’

Retra didn’t answer.

‘Oh, well,’ said Suki, stuffing the last of the bacon in her mouth, ‘it’s still a few hours until Early-Eve. While we’re waiting, let’s go out. I heard that the guy you fancy is playing at Club Abraxas. Markes, isn’t it?’

‘I don’t fancy him,’ said Retra quickly.

Suki scraped the last of her bacon through her sauce. ‘Yeah, right.’