Seeking Crystal by Joss Stirling
We reached the boundary fence: tall and forbidding, it looked as if the suffering serfs of the Count of Monte Baldo had laid the stones centuries ago.
Er, Yves.
What’s the matter?
You’ve never seen me in the gym classes at school.
‘Zed, cupcake here needs a boost.’
‘Cupcake?’ I was going to murder Xav.
‘Sorry. Xav’s been going on and on about you, it’s kind of hard to shift his voice from my head.’
Right on cue, I heard Xav launch his message to me like a meteor falling into my personal atmosphere.
Where the hell are you, cupcake? You were supposed to be safe on the helicopter.
His voice was so loud with outrage I stumbled.
‘You OK, Crystal?’ asked Zed, taking my arm.
‘Xav is not pleased with me.’
‘Tell him to butt out. We’re rescuing ourselves here.’ Zed yanked the rope they’d thrown over the stone wall to check it was still secure.
Count the seats, Xav. It was me or Will and you. How is he?
Working on him now. We’re using Steve’s Winnebago dressing room as our ER. Bullet caught him high on the right shoulder.
Concentrate on that. I’ll be out of here shortly.
Uriel, Victor, and Trace emerged from the trees, coming from a slightly different direction to the one we had taken. Now we were all gathered, Zed swarmed up the rope and dropped down out of sight. This was going to be so humiliating. I was slowing everyone down.
‘You next, Crystal,’ said Trace, doubtless wondering why I was staring at the rope as if it were a python dangling before my eyes.
I jumped, hauled myself a few metres up, felt my arms give and I dropped back to the ground. I tried again and this time only succeeded in banging against the wall like an incompetent bell ringer lifted off the floor by her rope.
‘I’m sorry: I can’t do it. I’ve never aspired to be an action hero, never developed the upper body strength for more than lifting my coffee cup.’
Trace climbed the rope as nimbly as a monkey. ‘Vick, tie the rope around her.’
Sweet of them not to tease as I was hauled up the side like a sack of potatoes. Tears of fury at my own incompetence stung my eyes but I was too annoyed to allow them to fall. I swiped them away instead.
‘Sorry,’ I muttered when I reached the top.
‘It’s OK, Crystal.’ Trace untied the rope and threw it back down to the next brother. ‘Can you manage now?’
I swallowed as I glanced at the hefty drop. Fortunately the snow had piled up against the wall so there was a soft landing. ‘Sure. I’m a ninja. Just didn’t want to embarrass you all.’ Doing an ungainly bottom shuffle on the ledge, I took the rope leading over the other way and half-fell half-let myself down. I landed with a jolt on my butt in the snow. Zed plucked me out of my hole and gave me a hug.
‘Ninja, hey?’
‘You heard that?’
‘We all heard that. Must tell Xav.’
‘I’ll kill you if you tell him how I let you down.’
‘You haven’t let us down, Crystal. You’re doing fine.’
His brothers dropped lightly beside us—each elegant landing a reproach for all those PE lessons I’d avoided. All six of us were now gathered outside the castle grounds and I began to feel a little less anxious.
‘Dad says Will’s going to be OK,’ Trace reported. ‘Lily’s taking him to hospital by road—Xav’s with them—and Dad’s taking the girls to the villa with Steve. Asks us to meet him there.’
The car was parked just down the track, hidden behind a tangle of brambles. We piled in. I had to practically sit on Trace’s lap to fit. Uriel reversed and headed back to the main mountain road.
‘Phee looked OK, didn’t she?’ Yves asked his brothers.
‘Yes, they were all fine—on the surface at least,’ confirmed Uriel.
‘Sky can sure fight,’ added Victor admiringly. ‘She wasn’t going to let me encourage her to fall sleep when she didn’t want to.’
‘Probably saw your colours—knew you were fibbing when you said you just wanted to check she didn’t have a fever.’ Zed tapped the window beside him restlessly, itching to get back to her.
Victor shrugged. ‘That sleep message works best when I can touch someone’s forehead.’
‘Surprised Mom let you get away with it,’ said Uriel. ‘She hasn’t fallen for that since you were ten.’
‘Yeah, but she didn’t remember, did she? Didn’t know any of us.’
No one had anything to say to that.
The road wound to the right, coming in sight of the fork in the road. A police car was parked across, blocking our exit, blue lights flashing against the sentinel pine trees.
‘Suggestions?’ asked Uriel lightly. ‘Vick?’
Victor shook his head. ‘Can’t manipulate their minds. Too many—and it wouldn’t be right. They’re just doing their job.’
‘Then we stop and talk politely.’ Uriel slowed. ‘Things not to mention, guys: our girls, Steve and Lily, anything to do with the castle. We’ve just been for a moonlit drive.’
A policeman stood in the centre of the road and raised his hand. Uriel wound down his window as he drew alongside.
‘Problem, officer?’
Yes, there certainly was a problem, as the man explained in rapid-fire Italian as his colleagues surrounded the car, me as his translator. They were all to get out and consider themselves under arrest. No, he wasn’t impressed by Victor’s and Trace’s law enforcement credentials: this was Italy not America. No, we were not to talk to each other. The only phone call we would be allowed now would be to our lawyers.
So he didn’t know about telepathy then.
The charges? Breaking and entering the contessa’s castle. Assaulting her staff. Arson.
Lined up along the side of the vehicles we were patted down. No weapons or even a match were discovered. One by one the brothers were handcuffed and put in the back of a police van. I was left standing on the roadside. I could see that the Benedicts were far from happy to leave me alone with Italian police officers.
‘What about me?’ I asked the man in charge, a hard-faced public servant who looked sincerely tired of dealing with out-of-control tourists, the main source of crime in this holiday destination.
‘You, signorina? You are not under arrest.’ He signalled for the van doors to be closed. ‘Those men we know about but the contessa said nothing about a young female being present at the time of the break-in.’
It would be foolish in the extreme to talk myself into being arrested. ‘Where are you taking them?’
‘My police station is not big enough for so many. I expect they’ll be transferred to Verona in the morning. You can call the station at eight when the office staff go on duty. I would like you to come in and give us a statement. They will tell you then where your friends have been taken.’ He headed for his vehicle, leaving me alone with our car. The keys were still in the ignition where Uriel had left them.
‘But, signor, I can’t drive!’
He looked sorely tempted to abandon me there. ‘Officer Fari will drive you down to the station and park the vehicle there. You can send someone to collect it in the morning.’
I could feel Yves tapping on my mind, having worked out how to reverse the mental pathway I had built to him.
I’m OK. I assured him. One of the policemen is driving me back to Malcesine. Worry about yourselves.
I’ll tell Dad what’s happened. You tell Xav, OK?
OK. Not a conversation I was looking forward to.
Just tell him not to do anything stupid, like get arrested alongside us. He needs to stick with Will.
There was a spurt of radio noise from the officer’s receiver. I deciphered the message amid the static. I think it’s too late. The contessa knew they’d be heading to a hospital. Xav’s been picked up already. Lily and Will are continuing to the hospital under guard.
Yves swore. Any
No one has mentioned him—or Steve. If they thought a Hollywood star was under suspicion, surely that’d be flying across the airwaves? I think the contessa is just not interested in him—like she disregards me.
I suppose we should be grateful for that. We’ll see you soon as we raise bail. Do your best with the girls.
‘Ready to go, signorina?’ Officer Fari, a man in his early twenties and more disposed to be friendly than his boss, had noticed my ‘out to lunch’ expression.
I ran my fingers over my forehead. ‘Sorry. I’ve had a bit of a shock.’
He nodded. ‘Let’s get you home then.’
I climbed in the passenger side and watched him familiarize himself with the controls. We slowly set off after the police car. The van had long since departed.
‘What were you doing out here, signorina?’ the officer asked. The implication was why was a nice girl like me hanging out with five suspicious characters?
‘Just taking in the sights. One of them is my future brother-in-law.’ Xav, are you all right?
No. I felt rather than heard his cursing. They wouldn’t let me stay with Will. Apparently I’m under arrest for assaulting the contessa’s guards. They are taking me to join my brothers. What about you?
Not under arrest—not yet. A policeman is driving me down the mountain and then I’m going to meet up with your dad. Yves is confident you’ll all make bail but I’m not so sure. The contessa is a powerful person round here.
Know any good lawyers?
I’ll get on to it.
What would help most is getting our girls back. None of this makes sense unless they can testify that they were kidnapped.
I suddenly felt immeasurably drained. Would this horrible day never end?
Not so horrible. You found me, remember?
Yeah, and you’re ending it in jail. Way to go, soulfinder.
Love you too.
How was that a declaration of love?
Wasn’t it? I could feel that Xav was amused, despite everything. You can’t hide the fact that you care what happens to me.
Of course I care!
See. Love you too.
OK fine, you’re right. I love you, you infuriating menace who promised me that he would come back. I warned you that I’d kill you if you didn’t.
I look forward to it.
I don’t want to spend the best part of my life visiting you in jail.
Crystal, there ain’t no jail that can hold the Benedicts when we put our minds to it.
Nor do I want to spend it on the run from the law.
Aw, you, me, obscure tropical island: what’s not to like? He projected a picture of him in Hawaiian print shorts and me in a grass skirt and a strategically placed garland of flowers. I could feel my cheeks heat.
Xav!
What? he asked all too innocently.
You’re embarrassing me, you muppet!
I can’t help your imagination, darlin’.
I shot back a picture of me, fully clothed, placing a boot on his rear and propelling him into a rock pool.
Yeah, that could work for me too.
The boy was … what was that word my old teachers loved? Incorrigible.
Why, thank you, fair maiden. I take that as a compliment.
‘Are you sure you are all right, signorina?’ asked the officer, perplexed by my silence.
‘Fine. Just upset.’ Got to go, Xav. My driver is getting suspicious.
Speak soon. Over and out.
‘Don’t worry: if they’ve done nothing wrong, they’ll soon be free,’ said Officer Fari cheerfully. ‘I can’t see my chief wanting to keep so many American visitors locked up. Not good for tourism and, in this financial climate, I can’t see that being popular with the local authorities.’
He was a kind man, this officer. ‘Thanks. I’ll hope for the best then.’
‘Then again, if they are guilty, you might want to keep your distance.’ He turned into the police car park. ‘You wouldn’t want to find yourself dragged into a tussle with the contessa in the courts. Her cousin is the chief prosecutor around here.’
With that sobering assessment, I hurried back to the villa we had spent so little time in that afternoon. The lights were blazing, confirming that Saul and Steve had already arrived back, hopefully still with the girls. I rang the bell. Saul answered and at first said nothing, just pulled me into a wonderful, all-encompassing hug.
I realized then how much I missed my father, but an embrace from Saul was not a bad substitute.
‘Is everything OK here?’ I asked, struggling with the sense of loss like a pedestrian controlling an umbrella on a windy day. I couldn’t let my emotions go metaphorically inside out—not now.
‘As well as can be expected. Come on in.’ He stood back. I took off my jacket and boots and entered the living room. Karla, Diamond, Sky, and Phoenix sat in a little group up one end; Steve hovered by the door in case they made a break for freedom. I wondered what was going through his head. His life was doubtless strange, what with being a movie star, but I would bet he had never spent a night like this before.
‘Crystal’s back,’ Saul said with forced cheerfulness.
Diamond’s eyes turned to me, chillingly cold. ‘We met this afternoon, I believe.’
I nodded. It hurt to feel her utter rejection of me but I knew she wasn’t to blame.
Karla stood up, placing herself in front of the other three, mother bear protecting her cubs. ‘I don’t know what you think you are doing, Mr Bennett … ’
A muscle in Saul’s cheek ticked, the only sign he betrayed of his pain. ‘Karla, I’m Mr Benedict. You are Mrs Benedict. You’re my wife.’
She waved that away. ‘I don’t know what planet you are living on, Mr Benedict, but I demand you let us go immediately. We were enjoying such a lovely weekend with our friend, the contessa. I can’t imagine what possessed you to carry us out unconscious! I’ll be reporting you to the police.’
I dipped into my power to see what had happened to her soulfinder bond. It was like the mind of the butler all over again; everything that made her unique was spinning around like a mad carousel, or perhaps in this state, a swarm of bees. I couldn’t penetrate that cloud, couldn’t get near to see if the essence remained within the cloud.
‘Mr Benedict.’ Diamond stepped forward past Karla. I could feel she was exerting her peace-making powers on us. ‘I’m not sure what drove you to do what you did, but surely you can see this is wrong? We would appreciate it if you would just step away from the door and let us go.’
I slumped in a chair, fighting off despair. My power compared to the contessa’s was like a fly going into battle against Godzilla. ‘Go where, Di? The contessa is nothing to you. I’m your sister. We share a flat in Venice, remember? Do you mean to go there?’
Diamond looked at me as if I were a puzzle she couldn’t solve. ‘Sorry? A flat? In Venice? I know I have a flat inherited from my grandmother, but I don’t remember you.’
‘Yes, our nonna.’ Something clung on to the wreck of her mind. ‘So what about Mum? Silver, Steel, Topaz, Peter, and Opal? Your nieces are currently making themselves sick with excitement because they are expecting to be your bridesmaids at your wedding to Trace next weekend. If you don’t believe me, phone Misty.’
‘Misty?’
‘Your niece. She’s fifteen and she wouldn’t lie to you as her gift means she has to tell the truth.’
‘I remember Misty but she’s only little. I can’t be getting married. I have no idea what you are talking about. Stop it, stop it!’ Diamond put her hands over her ears and sat down on the settee.
Steve put a comforting hand on my shoulder. ‘It’s no good, Crystal: they really can’t recall anything about the people in their lives, not from the last few years at least. Saul’s been talking to them since they woke up and got nothing but this.’ He gestured to the defensive postures of the four women. Putting myself in their shoes, I guess I knew why they were like that: t
But their powers were still functioning. That gave us a chink in their armour that we could use.
‘OK, let’s try this.’ A little energy returned to me as I grasped my new strategy. ‘Sky, you can sense a fib by watching my colours. Is that right?’
Sky nodded, her blue eyes suspicious. Good for you, girl, I thought. I don’t want you to trust me; I want you to trust yourself.
‘Watch everything I say. Phoenix, you can glimpse my thoughts?’
Phoenix glanced at Sky. ‘I can. How do you know?’
‘We’ve talked before but you don’t have access to that memory. That’s not important right now. Without doing your time-stopping thing, just see what I’m saying. Will you do that?’
Phoenix gave a curt nod.
‘OK, here goes. Your minds have been tampered with by the contessa.’ I held an image of the disastrous end to the hen party in my head. ‘Is what I am saying true?’
Sky bit her lip. ‘You believe it.’
That would do. ‘Diamond is my sister.’ I thought of all the years we had together, images of her playing with me as a little girl and her, the glamorous older sister; our recent history of flat sharing. ‘Phee, am I right?’
‘Yes, I can see she’s been part of your past.’ Phoenix folded her arms across her chest, brow wrinkled in thought.
Sky took Diamond’s hand. ‘She is your sister. She’s not lying.’
OK. That was the easy part. ‘Do you know what a soulfinder is?’
‘Of course,’ said Diamond. ‘We are all Savants.’ She was now looking at me with a kind of aching desire in her eyes to remember me, willing the barriers in her mind to fall.
‘So am I. So is Saul.’
‘And Mr Hughes here?’ Karla pointed to Steve. ‘I suppose he’s one too?’
‘No.’ Just a superstar. ‘He’s … our friend.’
Steve held up his hand. ‘Ma’am, I haven’t known these guys long but I can say that they are good people. Please trust them. That old witch up the mountain has screwed with your minds.’
‘Thanks, Steve. Now, please try to follow this very carefully. You were taken because you are the soulfinders of the Benedict men. The contessa wanted revenge for your part in the arrest and disgrace of her son in London earlier this year.’