Seeking Crystal by Joss Stirling
True. Still, I loved watching Yves work. I’d never seen his power at play before. He smiled at Lily, his dark eyes glittering with mischief. The fireball shaped itself into a flower—tall and thin with a trumpet mouth that spat out tiny sparkles. A fire-lily.
‘For you,’ he said, presenting it to her, letting it hover above his palm.
‘I’m convinced—I’m convinced!’ Lily ducked behind me.
Yves laughed and let the fire go out. All that was left was the faint scent of smoke like the aftermath of a sparkler.
Steve shook his head. ‘How did you do that? I’ve never seen a special effect like it.’
‘Not special effects.’ Zed stepped forward. ‘It is the power of the mind over natural energy.’ The fruit bowl lifted up from the table and began spinning like a flying saucer. Zed directed it towards Steve. The oranges and bananas floated out and began circling the bowl like planets around the sun.
Steve stared very hard at the display, trying to work out how it was done.
‘It’s real: not a trick,’ confirmed Saul. ‘Put the bowl down, Zed.’
I could tell by Zed’s expression that he would love to hit Steve over the head with the fruit until he was convinced. Everything in him was crying out to hurry up and save Sky, but this had to be done step by step. We needed a helicopter and our best hope was to get Steve on our side. He would pull more weight with the crew than anyone else. The bowl settled back on the table, the fruit dropping gently in, piece by piece.
Steve lifted up the bowl and then set it back down. ‘No wires. Wow. OK. I believe you now. You have awesome powers.’
‘But you can see why we don’t advertise them to everyone. It would be like you publishing your phone number so any fan can ring you night or day,’ said Victor.
‘Yeah, I get that too. So this old witch has your women in a fortress, done some weird hypnotism thing on their minds and you need a helicopter?’
‘Yes, that’s it exactly.’
Steve looked to Lily. ‘Am I crazy? I’m thinking of helping these lunatics.’
‘I believe them, Steve.’ Lily rubbed her hands together. ‘It’s new territory for me too but I agree that we should do what we can.’
‘We would be really grateful.’ Excited by this breakthrough, I squeezed Xav’s hand. He returned the pressure. ‘We can’t waste any time with going through official channels—she’s done so much damage already.’
Steve gave me an assessing look. ‘So what do you do, Crystal, with your mind powers?’
‘I … er … find things.’
He didn’t look very impressed by that. I think he would have preferred to find he had been linked, albeit briefly, with someone who blew stuff up or made them fly in the air.
‘And your boyfriend there?’
‘I heal.’
‘Useful. I’d like to know more about this Savant business. You sound like handy friends to have on your side.’
‘But right now we need you on ours,’ reminded Victor. ‘Helicopter?’
Steve dug his phone out of his jacket pocket. ‘Consider it sorted.’
‘Can you persuade the pilot?’
‘Won’t be a problem.’
Victor got up. ‘I could help—if you hit a snag.’
‘I won’t. You see, you are looking at your pilot. I have the licence and five years’ experience.’ He winked at me. ‘Got tired of falling short of the action hero image so decided to go make it real.’
A banana bobbed up out of the bowl on a collision course with the back of Steve’s head.
‘Xav!’ cautioned Will.
The banana flipped over and settled in Xav’s hand like a gun.
‘He really, really bugs me,’ he muttered to me.
I snatched the piece of fruit, peeled it and stuffed the end in Xav’s mouth. ‘But just at the moment, he’s our new best friend so play nicely.’
‘So what’s the plan?’ Steve hunched over the map of the area Victor had produced.
‘We are working on guesses here as our intelligence from inside the castle is just what Dad and Crystal saw today,’ Victor admitted. ‘She has our girls but not locked up as they don’t know they are prisoners.’
‘So the plan is to go in, fetch and get away fast,’ said Steve, studying the terrain.
‘Yes, but she has her fortress wrapped up pretty tight.’
‘I can see that. How close do you want me to get with the helicopter? The noise is going to give us away.’
Will tapped the map. ‘I think your pals making movie magic are doing us a favour in that department. Her guards will have got used to the overflight of helicopters setting up the stunt. We can count on them thinking it is just another test. They won’t get worried until you put it down right by the front door.’
Steve nodded. ‘It might be a good idea to do a couple of dummy runs so if they do look the first time, I can do the “hey I’m a movie star” thing, give them a wave and go on my way. It might annoy them but aside from a phone call to the director, they won’t retaliate.’
Saul rubbed his chin. I could tell he was using his gift to sense in what degree of danger we were putting Steve. ‘That’s an excellent thought, Mr Hughes. Where’s your helicopter?’
‘On set. I’m not expected to be in it for the close ups until tomorrow. They’ve got a location camp established on a stretch of flat land near the top of the road. The scene involves me being at the controls, then handing them over to Jessie, my co-star, and jumping out of the door. I’m doing all but the jump.’
‘Then what?’ asked Xav, his interest snagged by something Steve had said.
‘Then I ski down the slope fighting the villains. The stunt guys do that too. They’re shooting that next week.’
‘Dad … ’ Xav began.
‘No, Xav.’ Saul shook his head. ‘Too dangerous.’
All the Benedicts seemed to understand what Xav had in mind but I had no clue. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Problem is that, even if we break into the castle grounds, we still have to get close enough to get inside the walls.’ Xav pointed to the satellite image of the fortress. ‘See that sweet little slope there: it goes all the way down the side of the crag?’
‘What? The garden you mean?’
‘In summer yes; just now you said it is a snow slope full of obstacles—statues, trees, ponds—ending in the … well, just ending.’
‘Yes, in a sheer drop—not as severe as up by the fortress I grant you—but a suicidal jump.’
‘It’s OK: I’ll have plenty of time to pull up before I reach that. I can go hide in that copse, then circle back to help you guys.’
‘If you’re still alive.’ Zed batted his brother over the head.
‘Why on earth would you want to do that?’ I asked aghast.
‘He is making himself bait. If he draws enough guards out after him, the rest of us can sneak inside by the back door.’
‘If the place has a back door,’ said Steve. I had to agree: it didn’t look likely.
‘It will have because we’ll make one: rope over the wall in a dark corner.’ Trace pointed to the north-eastern battlement.
No way did I want Xav to be quarry for a bunch of gun-toting guards. ‘Can’t we come up with another distraction? Blow something up?’ I looked to Yves.
‘I could but I wouldn’t want to risk harming our girls. We don’t know exactly where in the fortress they are or how they will react to a crisis in their dazed state. And it would tell the contessa that we had come back to get them.’
Xav nuzzled the top of my head. ‘Don’t worry, darlin’, I move fast on skis. They don’t have a hope of catching me.’
‘Faster than a bullet? I think not.’
‘I won’t give them a chance to get off a shot. Besides, I was thinking to present myself to them more like an idiot wanting to get in their face—a drunken friend of our movie star here—skiing through the garden for a dare. I’m hoping they’ll just want to thump me, not shoot me.’
??
?I’d say you’ve got that character down word perfect, seeing how you act that way all the time,’ grumbled Victor.
‘It could work,’ agreed Steve, really getting into the spirit of the idea. ‘If you hang out of the helicopter as I buzz their roof, you can shout and jeer—you know the kind of thing. I can fly drunk, no problem.’ He must have seen my face. ‘Pretend drunk, honey: I never drink and fly.’
‘And while you crazy boys are doing all this, what are the rest of us doing?’ asked Lily.
‘Steve waits for the signal that we’ve got the girls, then lands on the turning circle. He then ferries the girls to the set,’ said Trace, ‘while we make our way back to our vehicles. A clean get-away is key. We’ll need some drivers, maybe two vehicles with the engines running, up on set where he keeps the helicopter. We’ll have to move fast and get clear of the area as I doubt the local authorities will look kindly on our invasion and I’d prefer not to spend the rest of the night explaining it to them.’
‘I drive. I can do that.’ Lily rubbed her upper arms, nervous already.
‘Are you sure? I mean, you could stay back here and keep out of it.’
‘I want to help. I think it would be worse waiting to hear the sirens and besides someone from the movie needs to be there in case your presence is questioned by the security guards.’
‘Thanks. That would be great.’
‘I will stay with Lily,’ volunteered Saul, though with regret. ‘I think my best wall climbing days are behind me and I know I can trust you to bring your mother out for me.’
I curled up against Xav as they tossed plans to and fro, feeling more than a bit useless.
‘This is madness,’ I whispered. ‘You’ve all gone crazy. You sound like you are plotting one of Steve’s movies, not a rescue in the real world. I don’t want you to do this.’
He was silent for a moment, no doubt weighing up how best to answer me without causing one of our bust ups.
‘You’re worried about me?’
‘Of course! About all of you.’
‘You said it yourself: this is the real world, not an action movie. The guards won’t start firing real bullets at a little provocation. They’ll get pissed with me, chase me maybe, but I’m really good on skis: I’ll be gone before they have a chance to strap theirs on. As for the team breaking in, again, if they get caught, they are far more likely to get arrested than harmed.’
‘But the contessa has really strong powers. What’s to stop her turning on them?’
‘They’re prepared. They’ll keep up their mental shields, which is something you girls did not have a chance to do.’
‘I did—I think that’s why I was OK. She bowled me over but didn’t get inside. I always have shields up—part of surviving in a family of Savants doing telepathy when you can’t participate.’
‘And I’m extremely thankful that you did.’ He bent his head to the curve where my neck met my shoulder, just resting there, breathing in the scent of hair and skin.
‘What shall I do while you lot are breaking in? I can’t drive—can’t ski.’
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of persuading you to stay here?’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘OK. I thought not.’
‘I want to stay near you.’
‘You could keep Steve company in the helicopter, which would free one of us up to join the rescue. Trace, Zed, and Yves will fetch their girls; Uriel will carry Mom; we need Will and Victor to protect their backs. That way you could be our link—I can send you messages from the others through our bond and you’ll know how we are getting on.’
I liked the sound of that: it meant I’d be close enough to help if they ran into trouble. ‘OK. I can live with that plan.’
‘Hey, guys, Crystal is going to be in the helicopter, keeping Steve in the loop.’
Mr Benedict looked as though he would much rather keep me away from the danger zone but the others all swiftly agreed to the plan.
‘Is there anything we’ve forgotten?’ Yves asked as Uriel and Will went ahead to gather their coats and gear from the villa.
‘Probably,’ said Zed, but he didn’t seem too bothered. He was so desperate that fussing over little details just annoyed him. ‘Let’s stop talking and get going.’
I elected to join Steve and Lily in their vehicle for the drive up the mountain, which naturally meant Xav came too. It was late. The temperature had plummeted to well below zero. I was grateful for the down-filled jacket Lily had dug out of wardrobe for me. She had kitted me out so that I could pass as Steve’s glamorous sidekick if anyone had binoculars trained on the helicopter, hence the shades and designer ski wear.
‘Do the crew stay up on set all night?’ I asked, wondering how many people we were going to have to talk our way past.
‘Some are billeted in a nearby chalet,’ explained Steve, ‘but most come down to Malcesine for the evening. Only the security guards will still be there. There’s too much equipment to leave without someone to look after it.’ He negotiated the icy roads with skill, bolstering my faith in his claim to be a decent pilot. In an odd way, I’d say he was enjoying doing something real rather than an act of screen heroism. The pinewoods either side of us were eerily empty—dense shadows under the branches choking off other life. A little higher and the snow began, counteracting nightfall with the glow from the white surface.
‘So tell me about this Savant world you are part of—how many of you are there?’ Steve asked.
‘More than you’d think.’ Xav took up the conversation. ‘We keep ourselves to ourselves as much as possible as we have gifts that many people would want.’
‘Yeah, like you and healing. You could make a fortune.’
Xav stiffened slightly next to me, acting like a cat with his fur rubbed the wrong way. ‘I suppose, but it’s not about money—or shouldn’t be. The reason we keep quiet is that there’s too much need and not enough of us to go round. I can’t heal everyone so I have to make my own path, do the good that comes my way rather than exhaust myself on a futile attempt to cure the world.’
Steve met Xav’s eyes in the driver’s mirror. ‘You know, the more I hear, the more it does sound like my life. My position gives me power and I have to be careful how I use it. I can only say “yes” to so many good causes or I’d never have time to live. Sounds harsh, but you have to strike a balance.’
Lily checked the map. ‘Next left, Steve.’
‘Yeah, I know. I’ve driven this a few times.’
‘Still I wouldn’t mind a gift like yours,’ Lily told Xav. ‘It must feel great to be able to make a difference—save lives, cure cancer.’
‘Not sure I could go that far—it takes a lot of energy to do a healing and a disease like that is an energy-eater.’ Xav was in a sombre mood, not replying with a joke as he normally would. None of us could stop being worried about what had happened to Karla, Diamond, Sky, and Phoenix and that was making him uncharacteristically reflective. ‘But the thing is, Lily, though we divide the world up into those with Savant gifts and those without, that isn’t really true. You have a gift too—to make things. It’s just as worthwhile in its own way.’
Lily turned in her seat to grin at him. ‘Aw, thanks. I knew I liked you.’
‘It’s the Savants who think their skills absolve them from normal rules, such as the difference between right and wrong, that you have to worry about.’
‘Like your contessa?’
‘Exactly like her—and her son and the other guys we had arrested in London. They have a loose confederation carving up the world into their spheres of influence like they had the right to do so. I’m proud we stopped them.’
‘I just hope your ladies aren’t paying the price for that,’ commented Steve.
The rescue team peeled off at the fork in the road. They were going to stash the vehicle out of sight and go into the grounds through the fence, finding a spot, thanks to Will’s gift, where security was least vigilant. Saul followed our car up
to the location. The snow-glow lit up the helicopter pad even though evening had fallen in the valley of the Lake. The company had rented a large car park meant for weekend skiers and sectioned it off as hard standing for the production vehicles and aircraft. It was a good thing we had Steve and Lily with us, as the security guards were understandably reluctant to let a convoy of two vehicles invade their patch so late.
‘Hey, guys, how’s it going?’ Steve said breezily.
‘All quiet, Mr Hughes,’ said the chief guard warily.
‘I’ve just come up to take my friends for a spin in my helicopter. Just going to do some preflight checks—don’t let us take you away from your other duties.’
‘I wasn’t told about this, sir.’ The guard checked his schedule.
‘It’s not official. And it is my helicopter.’ Steve let his smile fade, reminding the man subtly just who the mega star here was.
The guard backed down. ‘OK, Mr Hughes. It was sprayed with de-icer before the techies left but go carefully now.’
‘I intend to.’
Barrier removed to let us through, we drove past the location vehicles to the helipad and parked.
‘You brought your own helicopter all the way from the States?’ asked Xav.
Steve rubbed his hands together, feeling the nip in the air now the door was open. ‘No. I rented it so I could get about without the hassle. Don’t worry: it’s the same as the one I fly back home.’ He strode over to the smallest of the three helicopters, a black Gazelle according to the writing on the tail. Relishing the association with the top box office draw, the hire company had given it a paint job especially for their celebrity client: ‘Steve’ in large letters down the fuselage. Hmm, subtle.
‘Is he for real?’ Xav muttered. ‘I can’t compete with that.’
I burrowed closer to his warmth. ‘I wouldn’t try. He lives in a world of fictional heroes—that’s who he’s trying to keep up with; I like mine to be a bit more down to earth.’
‘That’s a relief. Come on, I think he’s ready.’
We got out of the car and joined the others by the Gazelle. I could feel the telepathic messages passing so kept my distance from Mr Benedict.
‘For you,’ he said, presenting it to her, letting it hover above his palm.
‘I’m convinced—I’m convinced!’ Lily ducked behind me.
Yves laughed and let the fire go out. All that was left was the faint scent of smoke like the aftermath of a sparkler.
Steve shook his head. ‘How did you do that? I’ve never seen a special effect like it.’
‘Not special effects.’ Zed stepped forward. ‘It is the power of the mind over natural energy.’ The fruit bowl lifted up from the table and began spinning like a flying saucer. Zed directed it towards Steve. The oranges and bananas floated out and began circling the bowl like planets around the sun.
Steve stared very hard at the display, trying to work out how it was done.
‘It’s real: not a trick,’ confirmed Saul. ‘Put the bowl down, Zed.’
I could tell by Zed’s expression that he would love to hit Steve over the head with the fruit until he was convinced. Everything in him was crying out to hurry up and save Sky, but this had to be done step by step. We needed a helicopter and our best hope was to get Steve on our side. He would pull more weight with the crew than anyone else. The bowl settled back on the table, the fruit dropping gently in, piece by piece.
Steve lifted up the bowl and then set it back down. ‘No wires. Wow. OK. I believe you now. You have awesome powers.’
‘But you can see why we don’t advertise them to everyone. It would be like you publishing your phone number so any fan can ring you night or day,’ said Victor.
‘Yeah, I get that too. So this old witch has your women in a fortress, done some weird hypnotism thing on their minds and you need a helicopter?’
‘Yes, that’s it exactly.’
Steve looked to Lily. ‘Am I crazy? I’m thinking of helping these lunatics.’
‘I believe them, Steve.’ Lily rubbed her hands together. ‘It’s new territory for me too but I agree that we should do what we can.’
‘We would be really grateful.’ Excited by this breakthrough, I squeezed Xav’s hand. He returned the pressure. ‘We can’t waste any time with going through official channels—she’s done so much damage already.’
Steve gave me an assessing look. ‘So what do you do, Crystal, with your mind powers?’
‘I … er … find things.’
He didn’t look very impressed by that. I think he would have preferred to find he had been linked, albeit briefly, with someone who blew stuff up or made them fly in the air.
‘And your boyfriend there?’
‘I heal.’
‘Useful. I’d like to know more about this Savant business. You sound like handy friends to have on your side.’
‘But right now we need you on ours,’ reminded Victor. ‘Helicopter?’
Steve dug his phone out of his jacket pocket. ‘Consider it sorted.’
‘Can you persuade the pilot?’
‘Won’t be a problem.’
Victor got up. ‘I could help—if you hit a snag.’
‘I won’t. You see, you are looking at your pilot. I have the licence and five years’ experience.’ He winked at me. ‘Got tired of falling short of the action hero image so decided to go make it real.’
A banana bobbed up out of the bowl on a collision course with the back of Steve’s head.
‘Xav!’ cautioned Will.
The banana flipped over and settled in Xav’s hand like a gun.
‘He really, really bugs me,’ he muttered to me.
I snatched the piece of fruit, peeled it and stuffed the end in Xav’s mouth. ‘But just at the moment, he’s our new best friend so play nicely.’
‘So what’s the plan?’ Steve hunched over the map of the area Victor had produced.
‘We are working on guesses here as our intelligence from inside the castle is just what Dad and Crystal saw today,’ Victor admitted. ‘She has our girls but not locked up as they don’t know they are prisoners.’
‘So the plan is to go in, fetch and get away fast,’ said Steve, studying the terrain.
‘Yes, but she has her fortress wrapped up pretty tight.’
‘I can see that. How close do you want me to get with the helicopter? The noise is going to give us away.’
Will tapped the map. ‘I think your pals making movie magic are doing us a favour in that department. Her guards will have got used to the overflight of helicopters setting up the stunt. We can count on them thinking it is just another test. They won’t get worried until you put it down right by the front door.’
Steve nodded. ‘It might be a good idea to do a couple of dummy runs so if they do look the first time, I can do the “hey I’m a movie star” thing, give them a wave and go on my way. It might annoy them but aside from a phone call to the director, they won’t retaliate.’
Saul rubbed his chin. I could tell he was using his gift to sense in what degree of danger we were putting Steve. ‘That’s an excellent thought, Mr Hughes. Where’s your helicopter?’
‘On set. I’m not expected to be in it for the close ups until tomorrow. They’ve got a location camp established on a stretch of flat land near the top of the road. The scene involves me being at the controls, then handing them over to Jessie, my co-star, and jumping out of the door. I’m doing all but the jump.’
‘Then what?’ asked Xav, his interest snagged by something Steve had said.
‘Then I ski down the slope fighting the villains. The stunt guys do that too. They’re shooting that next week.’
‘Dad … ’ Xav began.
‘No, Xav.’ Saul shook his head. ‘Too dangerous.’
All the Benedicts seemed to understand what Xav had in mind but I had no clue. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Problem is that, even if we break into the castle grounds, we still have to get close enough to get inside the walls.’ Xav pointed to the satellite image of the fortress. ‘See that sweet little slope there: it goes all the way down the side of the crag?’
‘What? The garden you mean?’
‘In summer yes; just now you said it is a snow slope full of obstacles—statues, trees, ponds—ending in the … well, just ending.’
‘Yes, in a sheer drop—not as severe as up by the fortress I grant you—but a suicidal jump.’
‘It’s OK: I’ll have plenty of time to pull up before I reach that. I can go hide in that copse, then circle back to help you guys.’
‘If you’re still alive.’ Zed batted his brother over the head.
‘Why on earth would you want to do that?’ I asked aghast.
‘He is making himself bait. If he draws enough guards out after him, the rest of us can sneak inside by the back door.’
‘If the place has a back door,’ said Steve. I had to agree: it didn’t look likely.
‘It will have because we’ll make one: rope over the wall in a dark corner.’ Trace pointed to the north-eastern battlement.
No way did I want Xav to be quarry for a bunch of gun-toting guards. ‘Can’t we come up with another distraction? Blow something up?’ I looked to Yves.
‘I could but I wouldn’t want to risk harming our girls. We don’t know exactly where in the fortress they are or how they will react to a crisis in their dazed state. And it would tell the contessa that we had come back to get them.’
Xav nuzzled the top of my head. ‘Don’t worry, darlin’, I move fast on skis. They don’t have a hope of catching me.’
‘Faster than a bullet? I think not.’
‘I won’t give them a chance to get off a shot. Besides, I was thinking to present myself to them more like an idiot wanting to get in their face—a drunken friend of our movie star here—skiing through the garden for a dare. I’m hoping they’ll just want to thump me, not shoot me.’
??
‘It could work,’ agreed Steve, really getting into the spirit of the idea. ‘If you hang out of the helicopter as I buzz their roof, you can shout and jeer—you know the kind of thing. I can fly drunk, no problem.’ He must have seen my face. ‘Pretend drunk, honey: I never drink and fly.’
‘And while you crazy boys are doing all this, what are the rest of us doing?’ asked Lily.
‘Steve waits for the signal that we’ve got the girls, then lands on the turning circle. He then ferries the girls to the set,’ said Trace, ‘while we make our way back to our vehicles. A clean get-away is key. We’ll need some drivers, maybe two vehicles with the engines running, up on set where he keeps the helicopter. We’ll have to move fast and get clear of the area as I doubt the local authorities will look kindly on our invasion and I’d prefer not to spend the rest of the night explaining it to them.’
‘I drive. I can do that.’ Lily rubbed her upper arms, nervous already.
‘Are you sure? I mean, you could stay back here and keep out of it.’
‘I want to help. I think it would be worse waiting to hear the sirens and besides someone from the movie needs to be there in case your presence is questioned by the security guards.’
‘Thanks. That would be great.’
‘I will stay with Lily,’ volunteered Saul, though with regret. ‘I think my best wall climbing days are behind me and I know I can trust you to bring your mother out for me.’
I curled up against Xav as they tossed plans to and fro, feeling more than a bit useless.
‘This is madness,’ I whispered. ‘You’ve all gone crazy. You sound like you are plotting one of Steve’s movies, not a rescue in the real world. I don’t want you to do this.’
He was silent for a moment, no doubt weighing up how best to answer me without causing one of our bust ups.
‘You’re worried about me?’
‘Of course! About all of you.’
‘You said it yourself: this is the real world, not an action movie. The guards won’t start firing real bullets at a little provocation. They’ll get pissed with me, chase me maybe, but I’m really good on skis: I’ll be gone before they have a chance to strap theirs on. As for the team breaking in, again, if they get caught, they are far more likely to get arrested than harmed.’
‘But the contessa has really strong powers. What’s to stop her turning on them?’
‘They’re prepared. They’ll keep up their mental shields, which is something you girls did not have a chance to do.’
‘I did—I think that’s why I was OK. She bowled me over but didn’t get inside. I always have shields up—part of surviving in a family of Savants doing telepathy when you can’t participate.’
‘And I’m extremely thankful that you did.’ He bent his head to the curve where my neck met my shoulder, just resting there, breathing in the scent of hair and skin.
‘What shall I do while you lot are breaking in? I can’t drive—can’t ski.’
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance of persuading you to stay here?’
‘Yeah, right.’
‘OK. I thought not.’
‘I want to stay near you.’
‘You could keep Steve company in the helicopter, which would free one of us up to join the rescue. Trace, Zed, and Yves will fetch their girls; Uriel will carry Mom; we need Will and Victor to protect their backs. That way you could be our link—I can send you messages from the others through our bond and you’ll know how we are getting on.’
I liked the sound of that: it meant I’d be close enough to help if they ran into trouble. ‘OK. I can live with that plan.’
‘Hey, guys, Crystal is going to be in the helicopter, keeping Steve in the loop.’
Mr Benedict looked as though he would much rather keep me away from the danger zone but the others all swiftly agreed to the plan.
‘Is there anything we’ve forgotten?’ Yves asked as Uriel and Will went ahead to gather their coats and gear from the villa.
‘Probably,’ said Zed, but he didn’t seem too bothered. He was so desperate that fussing over little details just annoyed him. ‘Let’s stop talking and get going.’
I elected to join Steve and Lily in their vehicle for the drive up the mountain, which naturally meant Xav came too. It was late. The temperature had plummeted to well below zero. I was grateful for the down-filled jacket Lily had dug out of wardrobe for me. She had kitted me out so that I could pass as Steve’s glamorous sidekick if anyone had binoculars trained on the helicopter, hence the shades and designer ski wear.
‘Do the crew stay up on set all night?’ I asked, wondering how many people we were going to have to talk our way past.
‘Some are billeted in a nearby chalet,’ explained Steve, ‘but most come down to Malcesine for the evening. Only the security guards will still be there. There’s too much equipment to leave without someone to look after it.’ He negotiated the icy roads with skill, bolstering my faith in his claim to be a decent pilot. In an odd way, I’d say he was enjoying doing something real rather than an act of screen heroism. The pinewoods either side of us were eerily empty—dense shadows under the branches choking off other life. A little higher and the snow began, counteracting nightfall with the glow from the white surface.
‘So tell me about this Savant world you are part of—how many of you are there?’ Steve asked.
‘More than you’d think.’ Xav took up the conversation. ‘We keep ourselves to ourselves as much as possible as we have gifts that many people would want.’
‘Yeah, like you and healing. You could make a fortune.’
Xav stiffened slightly next to me, acting like a cat with his fur rubbed the wrong way. ‘I suppose, but it’s not about money—or shouldn’t be. The reason we keep quiet is that there’s too much need and not enough of us to go round. I can’t heal everyone so I have to make my own path, do the good that comes my way rather than exhaust myself on a futile attempt to cure the world.’
Steve met Xav’s eyes in the driver’s mirror. ‘You know, the more I hear, the more it does sound like my life. My position gives me power and I have to be careful how I use it. I can only say “yes” to so many good causes or I’d never have time to live. Sounds harsh, but you have to strike a balance.’
Lily checked the map. ‘Next left, Steve.’
‘Yeah, I know. I’ve driven this a few times.’
‘Still I wouldn’t mind a gift like yours,’ Lily told Xav. ‘It must feel great to be able to make a difference—save lives, cure cancer.’
‘Not sure I could go that far—it takes a lot of energy to do a healing and a disease like that is an energy-eater.’ Xav was in a sombre mood, not replying with a joke as he normally would. None of us could stop being worried about what had happened to Karla, Diamond, Sky, and Phoenix and that was making him uncharacteristically reflective. ‘But the thing is, Lily, though we divide the world up into those with Savant gifts and those without, that isn’t really true. You have a gift too—to make things. It’s just as worthwhile in its own way.’
Lily turned in her seat to grin at him. ‘Aw, thanks. I knew I liked you.’
‘It’s the Savants who think their skills absolve them from normal rules, such as the difference between right and wrong, that you have to worry about.’
‘Like your contessa?’
‘Exactly like her—and her son and the other guys we had arrested in London. They have a loose confederation carving up the world into their spheres of influence like they had the right to do so. I’m proud we stopped them.’
‘I just hope your ladies aren’t paying the price for that,’ commented Steve.
The rescue team peeled off at the fork in the road. They were going to stash the vehicle out of sight and go into the grounds through the fence, finding a spot, thanks to Will’s gift, where security was least vigilant. Saul followed our car up
‘Hey, guys, how’s it going?’ Steve said breezily.
‘All quiet, Mr Hughes,’ said the chief guard warily.
‘I’ve just come up to take my friends for a spin in my helicopter. Just going to do some preflight checks—don’t let us take you away from your other duties.’
‘I wasn’t told about this, sir.’ The guard checked his schedule.
‘It’s not official. And it is my helicopter.’ Steve let his smile fade, reminding the man subtly just who the mega star here was.
The guard backed down. ‘OK, Mr Hughes. It was sprayed with de-icer before the techies left but go carefully now.’
‘I intend to.’
Barrier removed to let us through, we drove past the location vehicles to the helipad and parked.
‘You brought your own helicopter all the way from the States?’ asked Xav.
Steve rubbed his hands together, feeling the nip in the air now the door was open. ‘No. I rented it so I could get about without the hassle. Don’t worry: it’s the same as the one I fly back home.’ He strode over to the smallest of the three helicopters, a black Gazelle according to the writing on the tail. Relishing the association with the top box office draw, the hire company had given it a paint job especially for their celebrity client: ‘Steve’ in large letters down the fuselage. Hmm, subtle.
‘Is he for real?’ Xav muttered. ‘I can’t compete with that.’
I burrowed closer to his warmth. ‘I wouldn’t try. He lives in a world of fictional heroes—that’s who he’s trying to keep up with; I like mine to be a bit more down to earth.’
‘That’s a relief. Come on, I think he’s ready.’
We got out of the car and joined the others by the Gazelle. I could feel the telepathic messages passing so kept my distance from Mr Benedict.