Devour

Chapter 19 - Errol

Pasch's feud with his mum is not short lived. He flat out hides under the bed screaming, refusing to go and visit her. All Cora can get out of him is that he thinks she'll be disappointed once she gets to know him. I don't buy that. You don't rally two of your stupid ass siblings to have a cake bake off at two fucking am if you're emotionally insecure. Cora tends to agree with me though she's sweet so she doesn't like writing him off as just being a stubborn asshole, which he is. No, I know there's more to it than that. I think it's mostly on the mum's side and in turn Pasch doesn't want to tell us 'cause he's embarrassed or something like that.

Trick of it is, he gets monthly visitations with her now. Except he's refused to go to the last one. She agreed she didn't want a repeat scene as it would only upset everyone and didn't do much good. So Miss Wakley asked if she could have a meeting with just myself and Cora as we'd had the most hand in raising him, to get an idea of the cause of his behavior and what we can do. The Council was all for that as it distinctly did not involve legal action for lack of visitations.

Cora and I, who wanted to question her anyway, were for it of course. Also it meant, by regulation, Beale had to be brought in to watch the other kids. I was all for that as I'd like his thoughts on her. He's a bit older than me and his telepathy is a bit more refined, I think. Cora agreed that a second opinion couldn't hurt. 

Also the kids absolutely love his visits mostly because he spends the whole time playing head games with the handlers using the kids as his evil little minions. When we got back from taking Pasch to London the last time every single handler was missing their left sock. I still have no idea why or where the socks went. The other reason Cora likes his coming is Nel adores it and we both agree it's good for her to get practice with a telepath who isn't me.

Yeah anyway that doesn't happen because the Council isn't so fond of asking France for help with their naughty little telepaths. What are we to do then?

"I will make sure you don't have cake for a month if you do something idiotic put your hand down Pasch you know damn well what something idiotic is therefore it's safest if you just don't do anything," I say, addressing my neat row of children, who are in their little matching uniforms, standing in order of height. I made them do that. Cora thinks they look sweet. I think they look like a group of hooligans waiting to do something rotten with the exclusion of Dax.

"This isn't a game, it is the actual Council headquarters there's no question of whether or not something you do would be reported to them, we're physically right here, got it?" Cora asks.

"I want to stay in the bus," Pasch, the tallest mind you, tries to walk back out of the room. I push him back to his seat.

"Dax, make sure he doesn't---"

"I know, do something stupid," Dax says, resignedly.

"Sorry, we always make you do that, don't we? That's not good for your development, watch him do something stupid, take pictures," Cora says, handing him a phone.

"I'm in charge of the phone, though?"

"Yeah 'cause I trust you not to break it," Cora says.

"Are you done?" Mason is tired of watching us say goodbye to the children. Who have to sit in the waiting room in the Council headquarters, in London. It's very exciting for them. They'll screw up. I just know it.

I don't honestly blame them; let's face it I screwed up loads when I was their age. And older. But hell. They need to just be all right for this. It's for Pasch's sake that we figure out why he and his mother are so incompatible. But from the children's perspective they FINALLY got to come all the way to the big city, in a windowless van, only to be marched in a boring building and told to sit and stay. That's rough on small children.