Chapter 5
December 2009
“On New Year’s Eve we’ll all meet up with Randolph in Scotland, he’s already agreed,” Ruth announces calmly to the five younger family members gathered in Rupert’s and Natalie’s apartment. Natalie’s mouth drops open.
“Already? What’s the hurry?” she protests. Ruth’s beautiful mouth tightens.
“Why should we wait? I found Greg months ago, you all know him and he’s ready.” Now Will and Rupert are gaping at the girl as well.
“He knows? You told him, without us?” Enraged, Will shakes his head. He’s already participated in a selection process several times and it’s an unwritten law that all the family members should be present when they tell a candidate what it’s all about. It’s always been that way. Ruth shrugs and stares at her new Louboutins.
“Why not? Is there a law against it?” she counters stubbornly.
“Well, no, but that’s not the way it’s done!” Will grumbles.
“Bullshit!” interrupts Natalie. “You just want to force him on our family, don’t you? No matter what.” Angrily she jumps up and stamps her foot. Rupert takes her arm and tries to calm her down but she shrugs his hand off.
“Calm down, Natalie. Randolph has the final vote and we don’t know if he’ll agree anyway. It’s all up to him really.” Natalie’s eyes narrow like a cat’s.
“Wrong, every one of us has to agree, and I certainly won’t.” Ruth stares at the younger girl and the room’s temperature drops.
“You mean, you’ll veto Greg?” Natalie bites her lower lip. She knows her mouth has run away with her like it so often does. There are several prerequisites a new candidate has to fulficlass="underline" his shadow has to be the one in the camera obscura, but that’s really just the final step. He has to be born under a comet, and Greg was, that’s a fact. And the vote has to be unanimous. Only then could he turn into a being like all of them: an Arash.
Natalie knows she can block Greg, something nobody has ever done before, because unsuitable candidates always dropped out during the selection process. Or so she was told. That would make Ruth hate her and their deteriorating relationship would affect the whole family. Natalie and Ruth are the only girls in the family and have been firm friends ever since Natalie became an Arash. And what bothers her most, does she as the youngest Arash really have the foresight and intuition to decide who should join the family? She doesn’t think so herself, if she is completely honest. She’s still very impulsive and spontaneous, as she was as a human being.
“Natalie?” Will prompts her now. She’s aware of the others looking at her, waiting for her answer.
“No,” she whispers. “If Randolph agrees, I will too.” She would have to rely on his experience although she wishes for a different outcome. A triumphant smile tugs at Ruth’s mouth. Now it’s almost assured that she’s won. She glances at Cassius who is sprawled on one of the sofas. He should have disagreed and blocked Greg. Then she’d have been more than happy about it. A small sign of jealousy and Ruth would have dropped the other guy instantly. But Cassius doesn’t even seem to listen, his eyes droop sleepily, face looks bored.
“Why are you so dead set against Greg?” Rupert asks his sister. Normally she gets along with everybody and he’s puzzled by her fierce antagonism. It couldn’t be jealousy, could it? But the toned Greg is not really her type, Natalie usually prefers smaller guys. Natalie stiffens. Why can’t they stop interrogating her? Suddenly she wants to tell them her secret, yell at them that she’s found a candidate too. Or at least she thinks so but it’s still just a feeling, some kind of intuition, not a fact. Natalie hasn’t even talked to the person yet. She’s only watched them, afraid of making a mistake. This is her first shadow hunt after all. But after what she witnessed last weekend she’s surer than ever that this person is the right one. The others wouldn’t believe who it is. But she can’t tell them yet, first she has to verify the facts, and fast, before it’s too late. So what should she reply?
“I don’t know,” she stutters. “I just don’t think he fits in with us.” She can hear how lame her words sound.
“I assume you’re drawing from your deep well of experience,” Ruth smirks at her. Natalie’s small hands clench and she turns away, otherwise she’d lose it.
“Just leave me alone!” she hisses and disappears into her bedroom. If there was any justice Randolph would make the right decision. And she would not go to Scotland, no way. She has urgent plans now, first of all to make contact with her candidate. And she has to talk to somebody about it, somebody with more experience than herself. She would tell him the truth, or at least part of the truth, actually a rather small part. Natalie closes her eyes and concentrates. “Augustus, can I come to see you?”
Chapter 6
December 2009
The key doesn’t fit anywhere in my parents’ house. I tried it the same day I found it. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out what it would lock, or rather what it would unlock, but without success. It isn’t even a bank vault key, I already asked, those look completely different. I’m absolutely sure that the key will lead me to the mysterious ring mentioned in my mum’s letter but I’m at my wit’s end. I’ve read the letter again and again in case I missed something, a clue, anything. My mum wanted me to look for that ring, didn’t she? Otherwise why would she have mentioned it?
The other clue, the isle of the orchids, was an easy one. When I googled it, the name “Lanyu” came up immediately, a tiny volcanic island off the south-east coast of Taiwan. Its name Lanyu translates as isle of orchids but it still remains a mystery because my mum had never been there. “Did you ever go to Asia with Mum?” I asked my father one evening although I knew that it was very unlikely. My father’s favourite holiday destination was Cornwall. Predictably he reacted as if I’d lost my mind. Then he got suspicious, wanting to know why I would ask such a thing.
“Well, there’s an orchid island there, and as she studied botany, I thought, maybe…” I stuttered. Gaining information inconspicuously and discreetly was not the way I operated.
“When will you finally stop asking about your mother!” he huffed, exasperated, confirming my decision not to tell him about the letter and the key. But I was back where I started and still had no idea what the letter, the key and the ring were all about. I just can’t stop thinking about it, although I keep going round in circles, it’s like an obsession. In the evenings I stare out of the window looking for my satellite star. Usually it’s hidden behind clouds but tonight it’s clearly visible again. Its light suffuses the trees with a bluish, glittering radiance, transforming them into something from another universe. Their long, black shadows are eerie in the unnatural brightness. Suddenly something moves on the ground below, a pale spot dancing in the moonlight. I smile because it’s one of the silvery cats and its eyes are glowing as brightly as my star.
“Where did you find these lovely presents?” Sophie exclaims, examining her new turquoise earrings in the candlelight. My family is gathered in the living room, around the Christmas tree, surrounded by discarded wrapping paper and burning candles. There’s a smell of turkey and beeswax but I can’t concentrate. My eyes keep darting back to the book shelves. The book, the key, the ring. “Livia?” Sophie prompts me.
“Oh, here and there,” I mutter evasively. I definitely don’t want to admit that I bought the supposedly Victorian earrings, my stepmother’s pearl brooch and my father’s silver hip flask on eBay. Probably it was all made in China but I don’t really care. The presents look good and my family is overjoyed.