Kai

 

After a terrible night’s sleep, I was filled with a restless and irritable kind of energy. One punctured with yawns and accompanied by a headache. It was a little after sunrise and I was training in the small gym under the house.

Usually, I loved the early morning grind, waking up my body with weight-lifting and boxing, then a good long run, but today I wasn’t in the mood.

There was a hollowness to the day and to my chest. Overhead, the sky was a pale gray and the air was cool. Frustrated, I tried to focus on hurling punches at the bag, but it wasn’t working. Nothing was. Everything was dull and unsatisfying.

Groaning, I threw away my gloves and sat down on the ground, trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

Isla.

Laying back on the sand-caked stones, I closed my eyes, trying to quell those kinds of thoughts. She couldn’t stay. She was leaving.

Now that the week was over, it felt like the blink of an eye. And somehow, I’d gotten accustomed to Isla being around. I liked watching her shyness melt away and then come back again. The play of pinks on her cheeks. Her determination to coax Zuku into letting her pet him. Frowning ferociously as she tried to stand up on the board. Cracking a sly joke and getting me to laugh. Making a mess as she sketched at her desk – wait when had it become her desk?

Geez, Kai. Accept it. It what it is.

But the hollow feeling only grew.

I wouldn't want her to stay, anyways. If she did, she'd eventually figure out I was only pretending to be casual and cool, whereas, in reality, I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Especially after yesterday. I’d tossed and turned all night, vacillating between rage at the TLO and worry for Isla’s wellbeing, to remembering the warmth of her skin against mine. Swallowing hard, I tried to shove that memory away, but now the scent of her was pulling at me.

A dusky kind of scent mixed with a note of vanilla. Underneath that, the faint smell of pencils, paints, and paper. I could smell it now.

“What are you doing?” Isla asked from directly overhead.

Eyes flying open, I saw she was peering down at me in confusion, her curls falling forward and eyes dancing. I grinned stupidly and she raised an eyebrow at me.

“Cool down?” I hopped up and began brushing myself off. “You’re up early.”

Isla seemed momentarily distracted, then clasped her hands in front of her. “Oh, right. Did you want breakfast? I was gonna just make it, but I thought I’d ask first. It would be a kind of thanks, from me to you.” Now she began to play with her hair. “Well?”

I didn’t answer for a moment. Isla was wearing a long, patterned skirt and a very flattering top, the sleeves slipping off her shoulders. With her wavy hair and bare feet, she looked even more like a beach goddess than before.

“Kai?” Isla looked faintly concerned. “You okay?”

“Yes,” I said. “Tired. You don’t have to make me breakfast.”

“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But I want to.”

“Um, okay,” I said. “We’re running low on supplies, so you can keep it simple.”

Clapping her hands, Isla beamed and took off in a swirl of colors, the sun catching the light off her skirt as she vanished around the corner. And the selfish wish that she stay rooted itself even more in me and wouldn’t budge.

After rushing through the shower and getting dressed, I saw Isla had set up the table on the porch and tried not to wince.

“Hey, I hope this is okay,” she said, poking her head in and waving me out. “You never come out here and it seems like such a waste.” Stepping out, I watched as she sat herself down and glanced out at the beach, smiling a little.

“Just one of those things,” I murmured, sitting down stiffly.

I couldn’t tell her that this had been my mother’s favorite spot and even ten years later, it was a struggle to come out here and remember. Something Mom would have gently scolded me for.

“I’m gonna miss this place,” Isla suddenly said with a sigh and I started in surprise, staring at her as all the ghosts of the past melted away. “What?” She asked after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m surprised.” I was dazed. “I thought you hated…it.”

“It was a little jarring at first, well okay, it was like waking up on another planet.” Isla sipped her coffee and studied the horizon. “But you were right,” she said in a cheerful tone. “Once I accepted it, I kind of fell in love. This place gets a hold of you somehow.”

"Uh-oh," I said with a laugh. "You better watch out. I've known people to visit Hawaii once and then move back two months later.” I shook my head. “It absolutely gets a hold of you.”

“Wait, you know people who live here?” Isla asked. “You leave this place?”

I began to laugh. “Uh, yes, Isla. What did you think I was some intrepid hermit? How would I get food? Or pay for things? I have a job, although it’s the off-season now, so I’m kind of enjoying these few weeks before I really need to find something else to do.”

I didn’t mention that I had both savings and a trust fund that said I didn’t have to work a damn day in my life, but that would have involved a long and unwieldy conversation about the Weslark family along with the politics of the SoA.

“Well, I did wonder,” she said. Isla’s lips pursed. “Does that mean the trail back there does lead away from here?”

She’d found it the other day and I’d told her it went into the jungle. But now I nodded, giving her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. White lie.”

“Mhmm,” Isla said and continued to eat.

There were a few minutes of companionable silence as we both ate and then I commented, "This is good. Thank you."

She gave me a superior smile. “You’re welcome.”

“So, Isla,” I started to ask.

But then a cool, amused voice interrupted us. “Don’t you two look cozy.”

Isla made a surprised sound and I turned to see Piper in the doorway, smirking with her hands on her hips. For once she wasn't in a pantsuit but jean shorts and a tank top. She looked almost normal and more like our mom than ever, except that her hair was in a tight bun. But her dark brown skin and bright blue eyes like the summer sky were all Mom.

“You’re here early,” I said dryly, unable to keep a note of resentment out of my voice.

My sister’s smirk grew and I saw a knowing amusement come into her eyes. But before either of us could say anything, Isla suddenly let out a squeal and was running towards Piper.

“Piper!" She was hugging my sister tightly and to my shock, Piper hugged her back. "What are you doing here?" Then Isla stepped back and stared at Piper, then at me. "Of course, that's why Kai looked familiar. He's your brother!" She shook her head. "Kai, why didn't you tell me?"

“You two know each other?” I asked, stupefied. “Piper, what?”

“It’s wonderful to see you, Isla. You look good,” Piper said, giving her a familiar look of big sister affection. “And yeah, this dummy is my brother. Listen, I know you have a million questions, but can you give us a second?”

The happy look was fading off of Isla’s face. “Are you the Director?” she asked sharply.

“I am,” Piper said calmly.

“What the hell?” Isla folded her arms. “And you couldn’t tell me? I thought we were friends, Piper.” I snorted at that and both girls glared at me. “What is going on?”

“Let me just talk to Kai and I’ll tell you, okay?” Piper’s voice was oddly gentle.

Irritation and anger flashed across Isla’s face, but she jerked her head in a nod and vanished inside. Piper sighed and gestured for me to follow her. We went down to the beach in silence.

It hit me as Piper turned to me with a defiant expression. “This is off-book,” I said.

Her expression became even more defiant and she said in a haughty tone, “Everything SoA does is off the books.”

“So, this is like double off the books.” I grinned. “Piper Weslark, breaking the rules. What a day to be alive. Why didn’t you tell me before? I’d have agreed much more quickly.”

Piper scowled. “That’s exactly why.”

"No, it's not," I said, eyeing her. "Or it's not the whole reason. What's going on? You okay?”

She let out a long sigh and glanced back the house. Suddenly I realized Piper looked tired, her shoulders bent as though the load she carried was getting to her.

But this was Piper. Nothing got to her.

“I didn’t think you cared, Kai,” Piper said in a bored tone.

“Oh, trust me, I don’t,” I retorted.

Silence stretched out between us, filled with the ashes of old and bitter fights we’d had over the past few years. On top of the typical sibling rivalry and Piper’s obscene need to be both right and in charge, we’d always been opposites.

If Piper put the A+ in type A, I was turning the letter B sideways to wear as a pair of goofy glasses or a bra. The only thing we’d ever had in common was our love of sports, especially surfing.

When I looked back at her, Piper was glaring at the sky. She was a blaze of fire and light, my sister, but she was also a perfectionist. Impatient, bossy, and intent on saving the world.

Meanwhile, I knew I was more like water, lying still unless some external force whipped me up. I could be too easy-going, content to leave the world as it was.

In other words, to people like Piper, lazy.

“I think I figured out who was responsible for creating the liability,” Piper said slowly. My heart began to pound in my chest and my fists clenched. All of the anger at TLO came back in a rush, pulsing like an angry, living thing inside of me. After all the time that had passed, I hadn’t let it go.

“Who?” I asked, ready to go and crush them into oblivion.

“A member of the Council of Five,” Piper said, her eyes serious and sad.

The ground seemed unsteady and I put a hand to my head. “Are you… If that’s true, that means…” No, that can’t be right, that can’t be true…

“He could expose SoA. Maybe more. So far, I don’t think he has, though. After all, the Five are given limited information on purpose. Only Dad and Henrietta are the SoA liaisons who know me.”

I sat down on the sand as this washed over me. Everything we’d been through and the snake who’d caused it was someone in our own midst. Someone we trusted.

But of course, it was. How else…

“Does Dad know?” I asked abruptly.

“Dad helped me figure it out,” Piper said with a note of pride in her voice. She sat down across from me, her legs crossed and her spine straight. “But we’re still not sure.”

“I get it,” I murmured.

In our world, one hidden away and filled with shadows and whispers, peeling back the mask of another was almost impossible. We were own secret-keepers. The best.

After all, we were shifters. We knew what it was to wear a mask every day.

“So, now we’re not only protecting shifters Kai but the Shifters of Anubis. All of our movements have to be careful. Precise. It’s tied our hands,” Piper’s voice was a whisper.

Shifters of Anubis was a group dedicated to protecting and watching over the world of shifters. Humans who were born with the ability to shift into an animal at will and had a heightened set of senses. They were stronger and faster than the average human, some able to manipulate elements or wield great power. But there were rules and conventions – all in place to keep our people safe.

Part of that was the order of the Shifters of Anubis.

Yet even with this secret world, the order was a secret.

Its origins stretch back thousands of years. And a stringent set of rules and practices had been handed down over those decades. In a way, we could be considered both superheroes and vigilantes. The latter was a label I was familiar with, having a tendency to break the rules.

I had a million more questions, but I swallowed them as I looked at my sister. The most pressing ones had to be asked now.

“What the hell does Isla have to do with all of this? And how do you know her?”

Piper made a face. “She’s a good friend. I couldn’t… TLO has been extremely clever and covert the last few years, Kai. To the point where I thought maybe you’d scared them off. Then we received word about Isla. From Dad. He’d come across her name while he was gathering intel–”

“Wait, Dad is back in the field?” I interrupted.

“Not exactly,” Piper said. “He’s still the SoA liaison, but when he can help, he does. And once he found out about Isla, we realized TLO had resurfaced. Hunter was back and people were vanishing. But we couldn’t do it like we had before – not without running the risk of exposing SoA.

“So, I took a different approach. I became friends with Isla after they stopped stalking her and planted the tracker in her wrist. That was about eight months ago.

“The Five was in disarray about the TLO. As we still don’t have proof and Hunter still has protection–” Her lips twisted. “They told us to stand down. People were vanishing and they said to stand down. It was despicable.” Piper lifted her chin. “But we don’t answer to them, do we?”

I grinned at my sister and she grinned back. “No, we don’t.”

“Getting Isla out was not only important because she was my friend, but because I suspected she was unusual for some reason. Special to the TLO. After all, she was the only name Dad found. Why is that?” Piper’s brow furrowed. “And now, they are hunting for her like you wouldn’t believe.”

"That's why she's with me," I said slowly. "You couldn't put her up in another safehouse because those are all known to the Five. It had to be a complete secret."

“And there’s no one I trust more than you, Kai.”

“Except yourself,” I pointed out. “And Balt.”

“Don’t be obnoxious when I’m trying to compliment you, little brother,” Piper said, kicking me lightly in the knee. “But I am sorry, I wanted to say that, too.”

“What? You’re apologizing, Piper?” I asked, bemused. “Why?”

“For putting you in this position, Kai.” She glanced over at the house. “I can’t imagine it was easy having Isla here, confused and upset. Nor did I want to bring you back to LA. I knew it would bring back memories and I know how much you must miss working for–”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” I said quickly.

Piper looked pained, but nodded and stood up. Extending her hand, she pulled me to my feet and gave me a quick hug. “You’re such a good man, Kai,” she said with a sigh.

“Why do you have to say it like it’s a bad thing, then?” I asked, grinning as we fell into step.

“Because it means I have to worry that much more about you,” Piper retorted.

As we got closer to the bungalow, something occurred to me and I stopped my sister. “You didn’t tell me – when’s Isla’s birthday?” I asked.

“A month and a half from today,” Piper answered.

“Piper!” I half-exclaimed, half-groaned. “What are you going to tell her?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Piper said serenely, grinning to herself.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I told her she could go home today. Or that she could go somewhere else at least. We both know she’s stuck here with me. Isla’s not gonna be happy.”

“Leave that to me. Not only will Isla be happy with it, she’s going to choose to stay here.” Piper replied and then grinned into my dumbstruck face. “Wow, you really don’t see it?”

“See what?” I asked. Piper shrugged and kept walking, then vaulted up the stairs. “See what?” I shouted. But my sister ignored me and walked into the house.

I raked my hands through my hair, trying to quell the fiery conga line going through my veins. But I couldn’t help it, I was pretty damn pleased Isla wasn’t going anywhere.

Hopefully, she would be too.