Free Resistance by Allana Kephart, Melissa Simmons Page B

downplay things.
    We start walking towards home and after a few minutes
of silence, Aodhan asks, “Have you thought of talking to Fi about
him?”
    I laugh bitterly. “Uh, no — I can’t imagine that
would go over very well. He’s the only person in the world she’s
ever considered a friend…I don’t know if I can take that away from
her.”
    “I think you should talk to her, Eir. Fi would rather
hear something like that from you and you know it. And you’re right
about him, there’s just something off.” I grunt to let him know I
heard him. I have no desire to talk about this anymore, and I’m
grateful when Aodhan allows us to walk on in companionable silence.
I do my best to let the fresh air clear my head of all the worries
I’m hoarding inside and continue trudging along the familiar
sidewalks.
    We’re around the corner from my house when he laughs
quietly and says, “Did you see Fi take a swipe at Sean?”
    “No! She tried to hit him? What happened?” I ask. I’m
suddenly feeling loads better.
    “She saw you leave and he said something about her
being careless and then mentioned your mom.” Aodhan pauses, as most
people do when they accidentally bring up my parents, but then
rushes on. “Dad had to get between them to break it up. She looked
ready to kill.”
    I throw my head back and laugh when I imagine Fi
trying to take a swing at that hulking idiot, Sean. “Your dad had
to get between them?” I sputter; finding the image of my uncle
having to restrain my very petite sister from venting her
frustration on our burly cousin hilarious. “Oh, thank you for that
— you’ve made my night so much better.” He claps me on the shoulder
and chuckles as he heads for his back door. I look over at him and
the laughter dies in my throat. “Thanks for coming after me, A. I
appreciate you easing Fi’s mind.” Aodhan nods silently and raises a
hand to me in farewell.
    My house is dark, which means my sister is still
dealing with people at the school and I’m glad for the quiet time.
I know she’ll want to talk when she returns, and I’m not ready to
have the conversation I know I have to with her yet. So I’m really
hoping I can at least pretend to be asleep by the time she gets
back. Plus she’ll have that faery, Flint to deal with. That should
buy me at least a few more minutes. I’m more than a little
intrigued by his presence here and looking forward to talking to
him at some point. I have a feeling that his arrival means good
things for us.
    I can’t explain how I know things sometimes; whether
it’s what people are feeling, what’s going to happen or if someone
just lied to me — I just know. There is a feeling in my gut that
has yet to steer me in the wrong direction. It tells me when
someone lies, or even something as mundane as letting me know which
path to take to avoid guards when I sneak out at night after Fi is
asleep. It’s very handy most of the time. There is also a voice in
my head that tells me things from time to time. Luckily the voice
is my own, so I didn’t automatically think I was insane when it
first started whispering to me about the future and all the things
I’m ‘supposed’ to do in it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t freak out
and try to ignore it at first.
    It took seeing my sister almost fall to her death to
make me a believer in my abilities. We were in one of the old music
stores where downtown used to be on one of our many adventures
outside the walls of the city. We used to sneak out together
whenever we had the chance and go exploring the old businesses that
peppered the city in its heyday. We were looking through the vinyl
collection in the store and Fi saw Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The
Cure up high on a dusty shelf. I wasn’t nearly as tall as I am now
and couldn’t help, though in my defense I did offer her a boost.
She scoffed though, and because she’s Fi, she decided to climb up
and get it herself. As soon as the words left her lips I knew