Free Shared Skies by Josephine O Brien Page A

able to, when I spoke to
him on the phone. I told him it was okay to send you here, and he
should keep working. I can’t help him create, and he lost his
extraordinary ability when he lost Nia, but he’s still a very
talented artist.”
    “ And the
policewoman?”
    “ Yes. She took some time
to encognate. Doing it down the phone takes a lot more energy. Your
father was easy enough because I know him so well. But Bryant is a
zealous and thorough woman. I had to do quite a bit of work there.”
Kaley smiled at the memory but a shadow crossed her face. “I do
feel bad for asking her to bring you up here, poor
woman.”
    Gaiah nodded. ”She was really nice, I hope
she’s okay.” She looked at Kaley. She could hardly believe she was
having a conversation about ‘suggesting at’ people. This was
brilliant. “So I suppose you encognated the idea of an open day
too, as a focus for getting me up here”?
    “ Oh no. That was all
Patterson’s doing. She’s very keen on the idea of student
participation. She runs that at the start of every
year.”
    “ You know, any time I
tried suggesting...well, encognating, it just seemed to make
trouble when I was younger, and when I was older, I felt as if I
was cheating or something. It never made me feel good.”
    Alasdair had started to make dinner while
they talked. “We’ll show you how to guard your thoughts," he said,
“so you’re not encognating random ideas at passing strangers. It’s
not difficult, just a sequence of thoughts to go through before you
encognate someone. Very quickly your brain gets used to this and
won’t encognate unless this pattern is completed first.” He was
beating eggs when suddenly he stopped; there was a noise outside
the window. Kaley and Alasdair jumped.
    “ Surely not,” Kaley
whispered.
    “ Stay here.” Alasdair ran
to the door.
    It could be a dog, a cat, or even a fox or
deer up here, but surely nothing threatening enough to warrant
those expressions?
    Gaiah watched her grandmother’s anxious
face.“I’ll just go and help.” Gaiah started for the door.
    “ No! No,” Kaley’s voice
rasped in an urgent whisper. “Just wait.” Alasdair had gone out the
front door and around the side to the kitchen.
    Gaiah ran to the window and pulled the
curtains open. Warm kitchen light flooded out into the courtyard
and illuminated Alasdair, who was looking over the low wall into
the garden. A figure darted through the dark towards him.
    “ Grandpa!” She banged on
the window. “Look out!”
    Alasdair turned as the shape lunged and
tackled Alasdair to the ground. They grappled and rolled across the
cobbled courtyard to just under the window. Her grandfather’s fists
smashed into the attacker's face with such force she actually saw
teeth flying and the man choke on blood from his battered nose. It
didn't stop the attacker. He lurched to his feet. Alasdair picked
himself up from the ground, as he straightened the assailant kicked
him violently in the stomach.
    Alasdair doubled over, the man’s fist caught
him under the chin, rocking him upwards and backwards so that he
crashed, poleaxed to the ground.
    “ Grandma! Do something!”
shrieked Gaiah. But her grandmother wasn't in the kitchen; she was
standing in the courtyard pointing a gun. Even in her panic, Gaiah
registered another level of shock, at her grandmother, holding a
gun with such ease. Its dull metal looked menacing in her hand. The
tall, thickset intruder took a step forward.
    “ You misbegotten waste of
energy,” cursed Kaley. Swiftly bringing the weapon up with both
hands, she fired at his stomach. The gun jumped upwards with a
sharp crack, the man staggered but didn't fall. “Take that
unfortunate human somewhere else to die and when you are returned
to Or’ka, tell your masters we have Gaiah and she’s safe. None of
your tricks worked to stop her getting to us.”
    The man smiled hideously through his broken
mouth, the blood glistening darkly down his face, “I've no