Ventus by Jonathan Dakin
Chapter Twenty
As I crept along the corridor, I heard her voice echoing through the closed door. It was odd, all these late night phone calls. I thought that she had broken up with Robin. Maybe the attack had forced her to realise that she did love him all along. I smiled, happily. I wanted her to be happy, for once. She deserved it. After all she had done for us, she deserved a good man to look after her and protect her. I did too. Or at least, I wanted a good man, I didn’t necessarily deserve one. But all women do, I think. And a good man is hard to find.
I lie awake at night, dreaming about the man who will one day make me fall head over heels in love with him. He’s got to be charming, and kind, and loving, and generous, and handsome and dashing, and of course, dreamy. He has to be a typical Disney Prince Charming. A man who would dash off into the sunset with his sword raised high in the air, to slay the dragon for you: his one true love.
Of course all of my friends think that I’m delusional. And stupid. They say that men like that don’t exist anymore, that all men want is… you know. And if you don’t give them what they want, then you’ll end up with nothing. But I know that isn’t true. I know that there are nice, normal, decent men out there, and I know that there is definitely one for me.
I was now outside Aura’s bedroom door. As I raised my arm to knock against the cold steel, my dark shadow rose up from the floor. I jumped, thinking that it was an attacker, and then laughed at myself when I realised what it was. Ever since the ‘battle’ as Niyol called it, I seemed to be scared of everything. I didn’t like walking alone, eating alone, reading alone. I was petrified. Every time I closed my eyes to sleep I saw the dead stare of the men and women who had attacked us glare back at me. It was as if they were haunting me. Niyol said it was guilt, and that I shouldn’t feel guilty for killing anyone, because they were trying to kill us. The truth was, I didn’t feel guilty. I hadn’t killed anyone, not that I was aware of. Hurling people away from me was self-defence, and I had made sure that when they landed they hadn’t been critically injured. Most of the time I had just stood there, fending people off with the wind shield I had created. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, and that is why I felt so terrible. I had seen my brother and sister do what I couldn’t, and it made me afraid of them. They were now killers: murderers. And yes, they had done it to protect themselves and their siblings, but they had still done it. They had taken the most precious thing in the world from many different people, and there was nothing they could do to give it back.
Another part of me wished that I had been gutsy enough to do what was necessary. I remember standing frozen in fear while watching Aura being viciously beaten, unable to do anything. I had just stood there, watching. I was pathetic, and it disgusted me. I couldn’t even protect my own sister, but I had no problem protecting myself. I was a horrible, selfish person.
The corridor was long and dark, and I was beginning to feel even more afraid. I didn’t want to sleep by myself, so I had come back to Aura’s. She had let me spend the past few nights with her, so that I wouldn’t have nightmares. Luckily for me, Aura never laughed at me, or derided me, or belittled me. She was kind, when she wanted to be. Recently she had been a really good older sister, and I was glad. I had always looked up to her and respected her. She was beautiful and confident and intelligent. Everyone admired and adored her. Most of the time, I didn’t mind her taking the spotlight, because I didn’t really want it. I never pushed myself forward, because I know that in life only very few people can be the star of the show, and I wasn’t. I was best being a supporting role, and I enjoyed it. I like encouraging people. I like telling people how special they were. I like making people feel happy. Everyone deserves to be loved, and nurtured. There are too many negative people in the world: people who try to pull you down and destroy you. Those people are insecure, and they too are crying out for some affection and attention. And it is my job to give it to them. I build others up; I don’t tear them down. Sure, it’s hard not to feel resentful, at times, being in Aura’s shadow, but that’s just the way it goes. I can either support her or destroy her, so I might as well make peace with the whole issue, since I love her so much.
I finally plucked up the courage to knock on the door. It rattled as my knuckles knocked against it, and I immediately withdrew my hand from the freezing metal. Aura’s voice dropped into a whisper, and then I heard another voice, and my eyes opened widely. Could Niyol be in there with her? If so, that was strange. Niyol and Aura didn’t get on too well, mainly because they both vied for the power position, which they thought only one of them could have. I had always gotten on well with Niyol, but as we grew up we had grown apart. Even though I knew that was mostly down to that fact that we were different genders, I always felt badly about it, knowing that there was more I could do to fix our ailing relationship. I was determined that the discovery of our powers would, as a family, pull us together, and help us all to be the best of friends. Not because we had to be, but because we wanted to be.
Footsteps approached the door. They were heavy and rigid. The door handle turned and the door burst open, a gust of wind pulling my long hair along with it. The man who was at least a head and shoulder taller than me stared down, smiling in embarrassment.
“Excuse me,” he muttered. I stepped backward, allowing him to sneak past me. As soon as he began down the corridor, he straightened up and began to walk like a soldier again, and soon he had disappeared. I turned back to the doorway and saw Aura. She leaned against the metal door, grinning widely.
“Still having nightmares?” She asked me tenderly. I nodded. “You want to sleep in here again?” I smiled, pleadingly. She beamed. “Come on!” I rushed inside, and she closed the door behind me.
I ran across the little room and threw myself onto the bed. It groaned loudly as the mattress jiggled up and down.
“Don’t do that!” she scolded, “What will happen if you break it?” I shrugged. No matter what situation we found ourselves, Aura couldn’t help being mother hen. It comforted me to know that at least something within this whole mess was still normal.
“I’m so light! I’m not going to break the bed!”
Aura began across the room.
“It’s hard to believe that you are eighteen years old! You still act like a ten year old!”
I sighed. I knew that some of my behaviours were seen by other people as ‘immature’, but I didn’t really care. I was a sensitive person, and I enjoyed being this way. In every other way I was completely mature: I was polite, I knew how to communicate with others correctly, I obeyed the rules, I could organise myself… and all the rest of it. But when I was with my family, the people I loved and trusted the most in the whole world, I could act how I wanted to. And when I was scared, I wanted to sleep in my big sister’s bed. I never had a mother to comfort me, so I guess this was my way of feeling secure. And Aura didn’t mind.
She sat down at the end of the bed.
“This bed really isn’t big enough for two…” she started.
“I know,” I replied innocently, “but we can fit!”
She grinned, showing her wonderfully inviting smile. “I know we can! It’s like when we were kids: having slumber parties with our teddy bears!”
I giggled. “I used to love doing that!”
“Me too!”
I looked towards the door, indicating towards it with my eyes. “Although I see that you have replaced our teddies with something else…”
She laughed, slapping me lightly on the leg.
“You are so naughty!”
“What exactly were you doing with him?” I asked, intrigued.
“Oh stop it!” She chuckled, “We were just… getting to know each other better.”
I grimaced. “You need to be careful,” I warned her.
“I’ve only just met him,” she began defensively, “give me some credit! And by the way, I’m not having this conversation with you, Seffy! You’re still my little sister, and talk
“He’s very handsome,” I added, trying to change the subject slightly. I thought about his dark brown skin, his short black hair, and his excellent bone structure. He looked like he had just walked out of a magazine.
“Yes he is,” Aura gushed, “and he’s and excellent kisser!”
I gasped in shock and then laughed playfully. She giggled back.
“What’s his name?”
“Timothy.”
“That’s a nice name!”
“He’s been working with the Elementus Populas for about a year now. Before that he was in the British Army. He joined when he was sixteen and then worked his way up into some kind of special branch. He said he can’t really talk about it, but he did say that because he proved himself he was selected for another very special and sensitively secretive mission: this one!”
I turned my nose up in disgust.
“We’re a mission? How creepy is that?”
“It’s not creepy, it’s kind of cool!”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I don’t like knowing that the government is keeping tabs on us, and that everyone is aware of our existence, just waiting for us to announce ourselves to the world. They’re only interested in us because they want to use us.”
“Stop being so sensitive,” Aura rebuked, “You’re meant to be the upbeat sibling.”
I looked at her, staring into her sparkling green eyes, knowing that my eyes would be exactly the same colour, at exactly the same time.
“I miss Dad,” I admitted, miserably.
She put her hand on my shoulder and stroked it gently. “So do I.” She then pulled me closer, and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her as securely as I could. I smiled, knowing that, tonight, I wouldn’t have any nightmares.