Soul Mates

Chapter 5

She traced the bump that the Soulmate Searcher made on her wrist intensively. As her finger swirled around the oval-shaped watch, her peripheral vision saw that Andrew had snapped his head up, as though he heard something. Piper removed her finger from her wrist and focussed her hearing. Now she too could hear footsteps approaching their door.

The footsteps came to a stop and the door opened, revealing the lady named Brenda and her mother and father. They looked excited about something, and she intended to find out. Andrew gave her a warning look, but she shot out of her seat out of spite, and then began to speak.

"What's going on? Why are we in this rat's nest of tunnels and why the hell have we been waiting here for an hour and forty-five minutes trying to formulate some feasible situation as to why we have been locked up while the adults conclude their meeting?"

Brenda looked at her, and Piper could tell that she was a little surprised. She doubted that anyone else in this place had ever spoken to her like that. Come to think of it, she had never spoken like that herself until now. Perhaps she had not been this angry before.

Andrew slowly closed his hand around her wrist and gently pulled her back onto the plush couch. She sat, her eyes still boring into the 3 people standing at the door, her arms crossed, her heart pulsating. There was a heavy silence that pushed on them all like a black cloud that wouldn't drift away.

Almost fifteen minutes ensued of Andrew staring into his hands, Piper fuming and nervous, her mom and dad looking at each other unsure what to disclose, and Brenda staring at all of them with something that was either respect or pure anger. Finally her mom broke the silence.

"I will answer your questions. Your father and I met at this agency, Tajni, while we were both working as active undercover spies. Our roles have become less consistent since we had you, but we have continued to work.

We did not tell you because we wanted you to have a normal life before you could be dragged into this world. You see, my grandmother was a very talented spy in Tajni's service, and she was admired by everyone who was working there at the time. All her descendants, including you two, share her special abilities. Fame among the Tajni community would lead you away from any sense of normality you could ever hope for."

Piper was steaming. "I had no life! You saw! All I did was read books because I wanted to be immersed in a world other than my own, and you're telling me there was a real one the whole time! What are we supposed to do now? Leave every shred of our old life behind and join you you in the secret spy business?"

Her dad looked sadly at her. "I'm sorry Pipes, but we didn't know your abilities would set you apart from everyone else at such a young age."

"My abilities? I have no talent!"

"Oh yes you do. No one could beat you at gym class, because your agility and power are natural to you. Your intelligence is not tested nearly enough, but it is apparent in your schoolwork. And you excel at code-breaking, though you don't know it yet."

Emotions and thoughts and feelings and ideas came swishing into her mind all at once, overpowering any reason or logic that might have been there. She felt she was so crammed with this newfound knowledge she was going to burst. Her mom opened her mouth to speak again, but she couldn't take any more in.

All the anger drained from her, she asked her mother weakly, "'Mom? Can we stop for today? I don't think I can absorb any more." Closing her mouth, her mom clicked her tongue and said, "Of course, sweetie. I know it is a lot to take in. We will continue talking with Andrew and he can fill you in later." Piper nodded wearily and Brenda led her to a separate room that featured a soft, fluffy bed with goose-feather pillows, a mini fridge and candy bar in the corner, and a luxury bathroom on the other side. All Piper saw was the bed.

Brenda smiled. She had a nice smile. "Go ahead. Sleep."

Piper fell onto the bed and was in a dreamless oblivion before her head hit the pillow.