Nightmare

'Not right now,' Kendi said. 'I’m okay. A little shaky, but okay. I don’t need a therapist-or a counselor.'

'Kendi, you can’t-' Mother Ara halted and pressed her lips together at the expression on Kendi’s face. 'All right. We’ll discuss it later. Like I said, do what you like for now. Go to class if you feel up to it, or stay at my house for the day.'

With Ben. Kendi scratched his ear. Maybe being left out wouldn’t be so bad after all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Even a gift can be poison.

— Daniel Vik

Ben was waiting when Kendi arrived at his and Ara’s house. 'Well?' he asked without preamble.

'I found a clue,' Kendi said eagerly, and told him what had gone on. Even though Inspector Tan had told him not to talk about the investigation, he didn’t think the prohibition included Ben. Ben’s blue eyes went wider and wider as Kendi spoke, and he found himself embellishing on some of the details. His chest swelled and he felt like a hero, as if he had caught the murderer instead of just finding a potential clue.

They were on the living room sofa. Kendi had pulled his long legs up and he felt rather like a grasshopper. Ben sat cross-legged next to him. He wore black sweats and white socks. The weather had grown heavy and moist, and there was a faint electric charge in the air. Black-bottomed clouds were visible through the windows. Kendi was glad of an excuse to stay indoors. It wouldn’t be much fun changing classes in the rain. Although water falling from the sky had been a rarity for him in Australia, it had been all too common on Giselle Blanc’s frog farm, and most of the time he and the other slaves had been forced to continue working in it. Rain was no longer fun or a novelty.

'It must’ve been creepy,' Ben said. 'I wish I could have gone.'

Kendi laughed. 'I got creeped out a couple times,' he admitted. 'I kept expecting to find a dead body or something.' He scratched his nose and gave Ben a sidelong glance. His red hair gleamed softly in the lamplight and a light scattering of freckles gave his face a boyish look. He was shorter than Kendi, and stockier. It made him come across as solid and immovable, unlike the ever-shifting, always-changing Dream.

Kendi shifted position to sit cross-legged like Ben. Their knees almost touched, and Kendi could feel Ben’s body heat. A coppery taste filled his mouth. Pup and Pitr, he thought. Remember Pup and Pitr. He made himself lean casually back against the rear of the couch.

'So what have you been doing while I was gone?' Kendi asked.

'Working out.' Ben pantomimed lifting weights.

'Getting some definition?'

Ben flushed slightly. 'A little. See?' He rolled up his sleeve, displaying a solid arm just as a heavy sheet of rain crashed against the window. Ben dropped his arm and looked nervously at the ceiling. It sounded like someone had dropped thousands of marbles on the roof.

'Don’t like storms?' Kendi said.

'No,' Ben said shortly. 'It’s stupid, I guess, but-'

Thunder smashed through the room loud as a cannon. Ben jumped sideways and ended up half-tangled with Kendi. They struggled for a moment, and Kendi was intensely aware of Ben’s warm body against his own. After a moment, they separated.

'Sorry,' Ben said sheepishly. His eyes, bluer than deep pools of water, didn’t leave Kendi’s face. 'Thunder always does that to me.'

'Yeah.' Kendi’s voice was thick. 'That was a big one.'

Ben’s eyes stayed on Kendi’s, and Kendi didn’t want to look away. His heart beat fast as the raindrops. Was he reading this right? Or was he wrong again, like he had been with Pitr and with Pup? He wanted to know, yet he didn’t. Slowly, Kendi’s hand crept toward Ben’s.

Someone pounded on the front door. Ben jerked back and jumped to his feet. 'Who the hell?'

Kendi sat up. Ben hurried to the foyer as the pounding continued. Kendi sighed. It was for the best. So far Kendi had fallen twice for someone who wasn’t interested. This was probably a third time. He should put Ben out of his mind. He should-

Ben came back into the living room leading a dripping Dorna, Jeren, Willa, and Kite. They were laughing, even Willa, and Dorna’s eyes sparkled with merriment.

'You got any towels?' Jeren asked.

Ben nodded and trotted out of the room. Kendi got up. 'What the hell are you guys doing here?'

Kite shook himself like a dog. His shaggy, dark hair flung water droplets in all directions. 'We’re looking for you. You haven’t been in your room lately, and we thought you might be here.'

'Why didn’t you just call instead of running out in the rain?'

'It wasn’t raining when we left,' Dorna said. 'Where have you been?'

Kendi opened his mouth to tell them about the investigation, then remembered Inspector Tan’s warning. 'Studying with Mother Ara,' he said instead. 'Tutoring. You know.'

Ben came back with an armload of towels and distributed them about the room. Jeren made brrrrrrrr noises as he dried his hair, and it stood out in brown spikes. The scar around his left eye stood out sharply against his skin. Willa dried herself with quiet efficiency and handed the towel back to Ben with a soft 'Thank you.' Dorna wrapped hers around her hair like a turban and Kite dropped his around his neck.

'We wanted to know if you wanted to play Hide and Seek,' Dorna said.

Kendi shot a look at the window. Water sheeted down the pane in a solid gray mass. 'Uh-'

'Not outside, dummy,' Kite said. 'In the Dream.'

'Oh.' Kendi looked at Ben. 'I-'

'It’ll be great!' Jeren enthused, stepping forward and blocking Ben from Kendi’s view. 'Dorna said it’s great practice, and we all need the damn hours. Whoever’s It gets to choose the landscape.'

'And we’re going to play for money,' Kite said. 'Whoever’s It has to pay five freemarks to the first person to touch home base, and anyone who gets tagged has to pay It five freemarks.'

It sounded like fun and Kendi found himself caught up in the enthusiasm. It would also take his mind off the fact that Ara and Tan were out there investigating Vera Cheel’s house and he wasn’t.

'Sounds great!' he said. 'Let’s-' Then he noticed Ben again. He was standing in the doorway to the hall, several wet towels in his hand. Ben wasn’t Silent, which meant he couldn’t play. Kendi hesitated. 'Hey, maybe we should do something else. I mean, you know, something we can all do.'

'No,' Ben said in a neutral voice. 'Go ahead. I should finish my workout anyway. You can use the living room.'

'Hey, thanks Ben,' Jeren said before Kendi could respond. He turned his back on Ben and brandished a red dermospray. 'Everyone got theirs?'

Kendi produced his own from his pocket, then shot a guilty glance at the doorway. Maybe he should back out, go do something with Ben. But Ben was already gone. Kendi stood there, torn.

'Just got mine refilled before I hooked up with you guys,' Dorna said. 'I’ve been out of drugs for two days now, and I kept forgetting to go back.'

'Drat it,' Willa muttered. 'I’ve only got one dose left after this one. I’ll have to go to the dispensary in the morning. I hope it stops raining by then.'

Jeren thumped his dermospray, then turned to Kendi. 'Here, let me.' He snatched Kendi’s spray and pressed it against Kendi’s arm before he could say anything. The familiar thump sounded as it shoved the drug under Kendi’s skin. Willa and Kite followed suit.

'Uh, thanks,' Kendi said. 'I guess we better get into position.'