Sleight of Hand

Chapter 5

Kurtis picked up the last two cards they'd laid out to release. One was Alyakim—his long-time assistant and protégé—and the other was Aivilo. He took the plastic coverings off and dropped them in the box. Muttering encour­agements to the cards, he flung them into the air. With two more flashes of light, the girls were sprawled out in the tall grass. Faster than Kurtis could comprehend, Trebor was kneeling next to Aivilo.

Kurtis made his way to Alyakim. She also looked the same as he remembered: a stark-white mass of tight curls, warm and dark skin, black leather jacket and pants. But she, too, was covered in the grime of war. Kurtis remembered that day, when the war had taken a wrong turn, and Alyakim had told him to flee before the Mage got to him. It pained him to recall.

She stirred, and Kurtis said, "Alyakim."

Upon hearing her name, Alyakim squinted her eyes open.

"Wha...?" she said, barely above a whisper. "Where am I?" she asked, her gray eyes staring up at the cloudy sky. It was almost like a reflection.

More clouds had gathered since they'd first started releas­ing the Superhumans, and it looked as if the rain was about to come.

"At my house," Kurtis said, and she trained her eyes on him.

"Kurtis?" she asked, and her eyes widened. "Why do you look so much older than I remember? And you have a beard?"

She tried to sit up, and Kurtis propped her up so she didn't collapse.

"What happened?" she asked urgently.

"Calm down, Alyakim. I'll explain everything later, but right now we need to get you all resting."

He helped her up, and slung an arm around his shoul­ders. Suddenly, Trebor's voice rang out.

"Kurtis!"

Kurtis turned his head in the direction of the sound. Trebor was still kneeling beside Aivilo, and his fingers were resting under her nose. On his face was a mask of alarm.

"Something's wrong... She's not breathing!"

Kurtis studied her face. Though Aivilo was naturally fair-skinned, her complexion was sickly and paper-white. Kurtis, still supporting Alyakim, made his way over.

"What do we do?" Trebor asked, looking up at Kurtis desperately.

"Bring her inside," Kurtis answered, starting toward his house.

Kurtis could tell Trebor was about to argue, so Kurtis said, "Trust me, Trebor. Have I ever led you astray?"

The boy didn't say anything. When he heard rustling behind him, he knew Trebor was picking Aivilo up.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Trebor growled as he matched Kurtis's pace.

Trebor's normal glower was what Kurtis saw on his stu­dent's face, but underneath the façade, Trebor's eyes were tight with worry.

They made their way inside Kurtis's house just as the first few raindrops started to fall, and found the group of Superhumans huddled around in the living room. Some slouched on the sofa and chairs, and a few found spots to sit on the ground and lean against the wall. Sierra and Tom stood rigidly in one corner, staring at all the Superhumans in the room in disbelief.

When Trebor and Kurtis came through the door, there was an uproar. The Superhumans all started asking quest-ions at once, and when they spotted Aivilo, there were shouts of, "Is she okay?!" and "What's wrong with her?!"

Kurtis yelled, "Quiet! Give them some space!"

The Superhumans backed off, settling back in their cho­sen areas. Kurtis sat Alyakim down in a vacant chair, and motioned for Trebor to come further into the room. He did, clutching Aivilo tightly.