The Enemy Beside Me + The Liar Beside Me (Book 1 and 2)

Chapter 9

HE SWEARS UNDER HIS BREATH as an earthworm slithers across his boot. Alasdair checks over his shoulder to see if anyone's watching him. When he finds that everyone is busy with their businesses, he kicks it off. He's not frightened of earthworms; he just finds them disgusting, the same way he feels about snakes.

'Weird creatures,' he mumbles. A loud round of shrieking from the girls catches his attention. Thinking that Declan is pranking them again, he goes over them only to find out that Declan isn't here and the girls themselves are tossing dirt at each other. 'Weird creatures,' he says.

Where's Declan anyway? He needs someone strong enough to help him carry the buckets of fertiliser.

He goes to the boys and inquires about Declan's whereabouts. They say the last time they saw him, he was with the grade nine students, helping them whilst also pulling jokes on them. He gives his thanks.

As expected, when he gets to the field filled with the younger students, Declan isn't there, nor is Eien, but it doesn't matter since he can feel the former's energy. They're nearby.

The energy has no physical form. And yet, in Alasdair's mind, he can see them: floating in the air. Sometimes they're like smoke or clouds, but with Declan, it's an ice bridge. So he crosses slowly. Because of Declan's immense power, Alasdair has to focus ten times more than he normally does. He has to plod carefully, or he might slip and lose his contact.

It's no wonder why it takes him a minute to spot them, even though they are not that far from the rest of the class. Declan helps Eien dig whilst the small boy places the seeds down and overlays them with the earth.

Part of him tells him he shouldn't announce his presence, so he ducks behind a post. He silently hopes that the ringing in his ear won't hinder him today.

'I know it's a big deal, but you don't have to feel guilty about it,' Declan says.

'I know, but if only I were more experienced, if only I had mastered this... thing, I could've saved her.'

Her? Who? Alasdair doesn't know anything about Eien and the people who surround him. Except for them, of course. It has only been a day since Watanabe began his investigation into Eien. So far, nothing stands out, aside from the fact that Uchiyama Eien has faked his age.

Alasdair, on the other hand, refuses to see the younger as a child.

Then he recalls what Jaxon looked like this morning. The blond tried his best, but it wasn't convincing. So someone close to Jaxon has recently died, and Eien feels guilty about it.

'It's not your fault,' Declan repeats. 'You can keep blaming yourself, but what's done is done. Oh, I can help with your emotions. I mean, I'm no healer like you, but I can heal emotionally.'

'No offence, but you do not heal. You do, however, manipulate emotions.'

'Eh. Same thing.'

'No, not really. Ouch.' If he weren't hiding, Alasdair would have laughed at how Eien expresses pain.

'What?'

'I accidentally cut myself with this shard of glass.'

'Who left it there? Stupid.' Me, stupid, Alasdair answers mentally. Then he corrects himself, Watanabe. 'Heal yourself, all right? Don't tell me... you still haven't learnt how to do that?' Eien doesn't answer. He must have shaken his head as Declan continues with, 'What? It's been years.'

Eien can't heal himself? That makes sense. Every gift has limitations. Alasdair's only works against living things. If, hypothetically, someone was about to shoot him, he'd have to act fast. He'd have to eliminate the person behind the gun before they could pull the trigger.

He leaves them alone. An idea is born.

* * * *

'I'm sorry, but you want me to do what?' Watanabe grimaces as though by doing that, Alasdair would change his mind. There is still dirt stuck in his hair. It's understandable why he's irritated: He had turned into a worm and pushed the piece of glass in Eien's direction. 'Do you absolutely believe this is a good idea?'

He nods, smiling at the passers-by. 'We have to be careful. Remember that Declan doesn't fully trust us.'

'And?'

'I know.' He cuts off the dead leaves. 'I've found out something else about Uchiyama.'

Watanabe snorts. 'You are too obsessed.'

'I'm going to ignore that,' he says.'I want you to investigate his gift's boundaries and his potential.'

'Is that why you asked me to be a worm? Yamato Alasdair, I have no time for this.'

'I didn't say you have to observe him twenty-four-seven. When you have got the time, is what I'm saying.' The dubiety in Watanabe's face tells him he'll have to do better than that. 'Plus, if Father discovers vital information from your research, he'll be pleased.'

The older's eyes widen. Jackpot. 'Do you think Yamato-sama will?'

'Of course. Father values every bit of useful data.'

'Have you told Yamato-sama what I have found out about Uchiyama?'

Alasdair nods. It's a lie. He has yet to tell his father everything or anything at all.

Watanabe sucks his lower lip, his eyebrows scrunched. 'I don't know. I don't feel comfortable spying on a child.'

'He's not a child.'

'He is.'

'He's a gift wielder. He had stopped being a child as soon as he got his gift,' Alasdair says with conviction.

'But do you see how Evans and Anderson treat him?'

He chuckles. 'Are you scared of Jaxon and Declan?'

He presumes Watanabe will refute his accusation. But he guesses everyone can be inconstant once in a while. 'I'm not afraid of Anderson. He can freeze me and drown me all he wants, and I can escape from his traps. That's what I do. I've never been the aggressor. But Jaxon? Now, we've never seen him use it, but fire is fire. If he burns me, there's no escape next time. I only got lucky because...'

Alasdair knows the older isn't done yet, so he waits as he swings the dead leaves in his hands.

'Don't tell me you've forgotten about that fire that burnt the citizens of Kisekirei? No one survived, not even my friend. And he was as good at escaping as me.'

He agrees that The Burning of Kisekirei was tragic. He was a little boy when the news broke that over one thousand residents had been decimated. Watanabe, who was visiting his best friend, was the sole survivor.

'They said it was a natural cause, but I know the truth. I saw it with my own eyes. It was too sudden and too powerful. Even if they say a defective line caused it, I doubt it.'

Alasdair stands calmly, remembering Watanabe's story. He will never forget the moment he saw his best friend cry for the very first time.

He heard Watanabe confess how afraid he was to be incinerated, which is why he stays away as much as possible from flames. Watanabe never uses gas when he's cooking. And even then, he doesn't let himself be alone when he's in the kitchen.

'But that was years ago, when you didn't know how to turn into a Pompeii worm.'

'I'll think about it,' Watanabe says, his eyes turning green. When he blinks, his eyes change back to their natural dark brown colour. 'I am aware that there is no way it was Jaxon. He was too young when it happened. I know it was a fully grown man. Besides, anyone could be pyrokinetic. It's not a unique gift. But still, I have to be wary. I will get back to you once I've decided.'