Keith was sitting quietly, not letting on which of his selves was home. The primary Keith had reluctantly given Jamie back the Great Edmondo's cloak and its hidden tricks. He had asked if Dr Shade needed an assistant, and started shuttling through selves when Jamie told him he really needed a new drummer. Now, despite what he'd said, he wasn't sure. Being Dr Shade meant something, and came with a lot of baggage. He half-thought Vron was only with him because of who his Dad was. These people kept calling him 'Junior Shade', 'Young Dr Shade' or 'the New Dr Shade'. Perhaps he should take them seriously. He was already a veteran of the Winter War, if something over inside two days counted as a war.
Like Dad, he wasn't much of a joiner. He couldn't see himself putting a tie on to get into some fusty old club. But he played well with others. How randomly had his vanload of raw recruits been assembled? Even Sewell Head, now lost to Leech, had come in handy. Maybe, he'd found his new band. Susan, Gene and Keith all had Talents. Perhaps the old hippie with the ringlets and the 'tache could take the odd guest guitar solo. One thing was for certain, they wouldn't sign with a Derek Leech label.
In the house, the lights went off, and the garden was dark. Jamie didn't mind the dark. From now on, he owned it.
'Catriona's gone to bed,' said Richard.
Gene, another night person, stretched out on the grass, as if sunning herself in shadows.
'Some of us never sleep,' she said. 'Someone has to watch out for the world. Or we might lose it.'
'We're not going to let that happen,' said Richard.
THE END
