Chapter 8

I quickly realized that there were two sides of Labuan; I hadn’t been able to see before, since I had been so focused on my magic. Immediately outside of the naval base was a civilian district. The traffic inched along as dozens of busses loaded and unloaded their passengers, which gave me a chance to take in the sights. Thank goodness; I needed something to take my mind off my recent shock.

The neon signs that lit the night promised a hundred services in what I thought looked like Chinese.

“This looks like a refugee district,” I said. That was the norm in the places I had lived; the local government would settle survivors of the Horde in separate neighborhoods with their countrymen. “This must be a Little China, then.”

Zack shook his head. “Labuan isn’t especially large, so we don’t have separate districts like you would see in old London. They built some housing on the quick and cheap, and it was first come, first serve.”

“Oh, the signs threw me off,” I said.

“We’ve always had a lot of Chinese people around here,” he replied. “This whole part of the world has always been in the middle of trade routes, so we’ve always been pretty diverse.”

I nodded. The buildings looked like the same rushed construction you saw all over the free world, but you would occasionally see a structure built with more care and beauty that looked like a pre-Horde building. However, the streets were dominated row upon row of featureless, concrete cubes, just like I had seen at Fort Flamel and the naval base.

Then we hit the tourist district. The underlying buildings weren’t any more beautiful, but they were festooned with decorations and showed a greater care. The Chinese signs were joined by Malaysian, English, Japanese, French, and a variety of Eastern scripts I didn’t recognize at all. It seemed that no matter where you were from, you were bound to find somebody you could understand. The signs promised sumptuous meals, one-of-a-kind museums, arcades, and a few less reputable services that I won’t repeat here.

I gaped as we drove up to a skyscraper that housed the hotel, which billed itself as the Jewel of the Sea. It proudly stood above its neighbors, and I realized it was one of the buildings I had seen from the airport. It was by far the best-maintained building I had seen since I arrived. There are definitely perks to being on the Wizard Corps’ dole.

“You must be feeling better,” said Zack. “The rain stopped.”

“I think the sky ran out of raindrops.” My eyes weren’t entirely dry, but I forced my feelings under the surface.

The inside of the Jewel was as immaculate as the outside, and things were bustling. The clientele milling about looked like a mix of executives and government officials, with even a few wizards in uniforms like mine. Finally, I wasn’t overdressed.

The rooms didn’t disappoint either, though I saw the first signs of economizing. The pre-Horde world had been based on using things until they were a bit grungy, and then tossing them out. The military could still work like that sometimes, but the only reason I’d had new clothes growing up was that none of my older brothers had hand-me-downs that fit me. So, nothing in the hotel suite was new, exactly; anything made of cloth bore patches, and they all had threadbare areas that looked like they were on the road to patching.

“Can’t believe he’s gone,” said Zack, taking me out of my thoughts about the upholstery.

“You didn’t know, either?”

He shook his head, sitting down on a couch in the corner. “I knew we were after the fabricata and they had brought in some weather wizard who’d gone down in a plane crash, but I didn’t put two and two together. I should have known it would be some Cooper or another.”

Oh God, he looked like I felt. I put my own feelings on the backburner for the moment, joining him on the couch. “I’m sorry, Zakariah. I forgot to think about how you’d feel about this.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” he said, a lone tear tracing down his cheek. “This isn’t about me. He was your brother.”

“Maybe it shouldn’t be about me,” I said. “I don’t want to wallow. He was your friend, too.”

“He was, and I was making fun of him before! I met up with my best mate’s little sister, and we just took turns teasing him.”

“We didn’t know,” I said, wishing Zack hadn’t reminded me. It did remind me that I owed my parents a talking too, though, since I suspected I should have known.

Zack shot up to his feet. “Are you hungry?”

I suddenly remembered I hadn’t had a bite all day. I’d been too nervous to even think about food. “Absolutely.”

“This place is supposed to have a fantastic restaurant, and we can charge the tab to the League.” He picked up his own suitcase from where he’d left it at the foot of my bed. “Get changed, and we’ll go celebrate Albert in style.”

“It’s a date. I may be a little bit; I have a call to make.”

Once he was gone, I surveyed my wardrobe. I had packed light, but I was able to piece together something presentable from my Wizard Corps uniform and the other clothes on hand. Thankfully we had gone to a warmer climate, like I had expected. O’Connor had said I would have a chance to work on my tan. I chose an open button-up shirt, tank top, mini-skirt, and the black leggings from my uniform. I knew that I’d turn some heads. I wondered if Zack would notice? I wouldn’t mind that one bit.

I had to put aside romantic thoughts, though. There was one piece of the ensemble I added regretfully. The heavy magic disruptor on my ankle would stop Stormbringer from going wild, or rather, keep me from casting magic at all. It weighed a good two kilos, but I was used to the lopsided weight. It’s how I slept, after all, and I couldn’t trust my control without access to a magical battery to bleed off my reserves. I especially didn’t think I’d be able to keep it together in what came next.

It took me a few minutes to work up my courage, but I forced myself to call home. I used my laptop and not my phone; I’d want to see them on the bigger screen.

“Rose, dear!” I’d never say it out loud, but I thought Mum looked like me through a funhouse mirror. I think she’s the one who inspired my running habit. “Glad to see you’re safe. Did you just land?”

I could read between the lines. “No, but I’ve been in a meeting.”

“You should have sent a text, at least,” she chided. “You had us worried.”

My eye twitched. I had them worried? “Is Dad around?”

“Yes, we were just having some lunch. I’ll go fetch him.”

“Thanks, Mum.” I’d almost called her Meredith to show my displeasure, but there was no cause to be rude.

“Richard!” I could just hear Mum’s voice in the next room. “Stop watching the game, Rose is calling.”

“Rose?” Dad came into view, all smiles. He was the opposite of Mum, tall and gangly, with high cheekbones. “There you are.” His expression became sterner. “We thought you’d call hours ago. You were worrying your mother, y’know.”

“Don’t be like that, Richard,” said Mum.

I forced a smile to my face. I missed them sometimes, but I could do without the guilt and nagging. “Sorry, Dad, they didn’t give me a chance. How are things in Belfast?”

“Same as always,” said Mum, appearing next to Dad. “Nice enough, but crowded. Can’t say I care for the government housing; it was too hot a few months back, and now it’s getting chilly.”

“It beats the alternative, Meredith,” said Dad, disapprovingly. “So, how’s wherever-you-are? Can you say?”

I had to think about that. “They didn’t exactly say I couldn’t, but they said to keep everything I heard in my meeting a secret. I can say it’s warm.”

“Oh, that’s sounds lovely,” cooed Mum. “Go get some sun for the both of us, then.”

“Make sure you get some suntan lotion; you know how you burn,” added Dad.

“I know, I will,” I said. They’re just concerned about you, Rose. They don’t think they’re nagging.

We chatted on like that for a while. It was easy to get back into our normal habits; catching up on what my cousins were up to, how things were going on Grandpa’s sheep ranch in New Zealand, the usual.

I don’t know how long we went on like that, but eventually, Dad said, “Well, it’s getting late where you’re at. Whatever the Corps has you doing for them, you’ll want to get your shuteye.”

“Dad…”

“What is it, sweetheart?” asked Mum. I almost wanted to let it drop and just end things on a high note. Maybe I could find out the truth later?

No, I told myself. If I didn’t do it now, I’d never work up the courage.

“Have you heard from Albert lately?” I asked. “He hasn’t called me back for a while. I’m starting to get concerned.”

“Albert?” The color left Dad’s cheeks. He knew. “Yeah, he’s still in the hospital after that accident.”

“He fell down some stairs, right?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s it,” said Mum. “I swear, he’s always in some sort of trouble.” There was a hitch in her voice. “I wouldn’t worry about it. You focus on your job, princess.”’

My heart raced. They knew. I couldn’t believe they lied right to my face! A friendly-fire incident, my arse!

An audible pop echoed in my hotel room, followed by a sharp pain in my ankle. The magic disruptor did its job; it wasn’t pleasant, but I wouldn’t show up in the weather reports.

I was still in a stormy mood, though. “Where do you two get off, not telling me?”

“Not telling you what?” asked Dad.

I stomped my foot, needing some way to channel my anger. “About Albert and the plane crash! You can stop lying; the Corps told me all about it.”

They exchanged a worried look, before Mum spoke up. “Now dear, this hasn’t been easy on any of us…”

“Yes, but you knew! I had to have a stranger tell me!” My hand flew to my mouth as my mind raced at a mile a minute. “Did I miss the funeral? Did he even get one?”

“We had a little memorial online,” said Dad. “You’re deployed all over the map on your missions, we couldn’t get everyone together. There wasn’t a body, so we got a marker in one of the military graveyards around here. It’s a lovely view.”

“I wouldn’t know,” I growled. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You know how you get when you’re upset,” said Mum, holding up her hands in what I’m sure she thought was a soothing gesture. “You had your exams and the War Games coming up, and we wanted to wait until you were done. That was going to decide what classes you got into for your second year, and you seemed so proud to be moving out of remedial classes. You didn’t need the distraction.”

“That covers right after the exams,” I snapped. “What’s your next excuse?”

“Rose Elizabeth Cooper,” said my dad, his voice rising, “we both know darned well why we kept it from you. You were off at Fort Flamel, and we didn’t want you washing them out to sea! Now apologize to your mother for the way you’re talking to her!”

“No need for that.” Mum piped up. “I get why you’re cross with us, but it was for your own good. You’re so sensitive, princess, and you seemed to be doing so well.” A few tears ran down her cheeks.

“Washing them out to sea?” I winced again as the disruptor brought Stormbringer to heel again. “I’m dealing with my magic! That’s why I went off to that school!”

“You weren’t ready,” said Dad, crossing his arms across his chest. “I had Jack pull some strings and make sure you didn’t have handle it until you were ready.”

“That isn’t for you to decide,” I said. “I’m an adult! Don’t treat me like a little girl!”

“An adult? Yes, an adult who came asking us for pocket money for her trip,” said Dad. “An adult who didn’t go to school in Iceland because her magic scared her, who got caught drinking with that Soren fellow, destroyed a bar with a temper tantrum, and then got shuttled off to Japan because it was the last place that’d take her.”

I staggered back. Everything he had said was totally right. “That isn’t fair,” I said. “That was ages ago.”

“Try six months,” said Dad. “If that bar hadn’t had good insurance, we’d have been ruined.”

“I’m so much better now! That’s why I’m off at that great school. You had no right to keep that from me. Albert was the youngest besides me. I love you all, but he was my best friend in the family, and I can’t believe he’s…” I trailed off, my eyes filling with tears.

“Richard, don’t—” Mum grabbed Dad’s arm.

He was on a roll, though. “Maybe we did wrong, but you’re a bomb waiting to go off at any moment. You can’t blame us for waiting for the right time.”

“I can, actually,” I said, leaning in for my mouse. “Mum was right before, I do have a big day tomorrow. Good night.”

“Rose, don’t you—”

I couldn’t help but smirk. That was the most satisfying hang-up ever.

The good cheer didn’t last long. They thought so little of me. I was still their little girl. Just then, I wanted to run out of the hotel and never look back.

However, I didn’t want to punish Zack for Dad’s temper. He didn’t deserve it, and if Mum and Dad wanted to shut me out, then he was the best person to reminisce about Albert with.