The Unthinkable.

6. The Call-Girl.

My brain was so overloaded that my emotions and expression went blank. Seth got up from his seat and turned on the extractor fan above the cooker. He pulled a box of Marlboro Gold from his pocket and lit one for himself, blowing the smoke into the fan.
"Innovation at it's finest." Will nodded. In a feeble attempt to ignore the thoughts that were battling for attention in my head, I had began to focus on stupid details. One of Seth's front teeth was ever so slightly crooked, with a chip missing from it which accentuated the misalignment. I remembered how it'd happened. Said memory made it's way into the spotlight. I was eight years old, and Alika had stayed over after school. Back then she was one of the happiest kids I'd ever met. Anyway, Seth had a girl round and was trying to impress her by climbing on the roof. He wasn't looking where he was stepping, and put his foot into a lump of moss which slipped straight out from underneath him, and he went skidding down the roof. He managed to steady himself and went to crawl back through the window, clearly shaken by his "near death experience". It was at that moment that our mother, upon hearing the noise, flung open the window and caught him in the face with it. The girl, myself, and Alika were in hysterics, my mother was panicking and apologising while still trying to berate him for climbing on the roof. It was one of my favourite memories of Seth. The mortified look on his face as he realised the girl was laughing at him was beyond funny.

"Ath!" Seth said loudly in my ear. I was startled out of the daze I'd slipped into.
"Sorry..."
"You still with us?"
"Yeah."
The chiming of a ringtone exploded from somebody's pocket.
"Do excuse me." Alika said quickly, holding the device to her ear. She stood in the hallway, her voice unable to be heard through the closed door.
"As I was saying; We should try and figure out where this mark comes from. I've not seen this exact one before, but I recognise the shapes used. It's definitely a branding of ownership." Seth continued.
"Who on earth would brand a kid?" I asked with an edge to my voice.
"You'd be surprised." Will said ominously. Nobody could continue because three of the elementals came in through the door, Leo managing to create a raucous to challenge that of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.
Ren sat down on the couch beside me so softly that I didn't even notice his presence until he spoke.
"I think somebody should- ahem- check on your blue friend." He said awkwardly, shifting in his seat. 
"Oh God. What's he done now?" Will laughed.
"He went into Kesia's room and the door's locked..." 
I snorted into the back of my hand in amusement. 
"Won't be having any of that in this gaff... Not without protection." Leo said between fits of cackling.
Everybody descended into laughter, even Genevieve and Ren allowed themselves the benefit of humour. 
"Christ... You and Seth look so alike." Will said after the noise died down.
"What do you mean?" I pried, with judgemental eyes.
"You pull the same face when you laugh. That thing you do with the apples of your cheeks and the squinty eyes." 
"Except everything else is different." I said bluntly.
"Not really... You look like you could be twins." Genevieve chimed in.
I stared at Seth and pondered Will's statement. Did we really look that similar? It made almost no sense- How could my brother and I share so many features, yet have absolutely nothing in common with our other sister? 
"Speaking of siblings, would you want to see our sister? Or even our parents?" I asked suddenly.
"I- Uh-" 
"Well?" 
"It'd be a poor choice. I want to, but for them to find out about magic as well... The consequences could only be those most dire." 
My eyes narrowed, cold and unforgiving. Piercing deep into Seth's.
"Our sister can probably do magic. Could you imagine her if she got her hands on some of that power?"
My shoulders dropped and the tension released itself from me. I understood what he meant. If he could do magic, then so could our sister, and our father. 
"Does that mean dad can do it too?" 
"More than likely, yes." 
"What about dad's siblings?" 
"He doesn't have any as far as I know. Have you ever met an aunt or uncle on his side of the family?"
I hadn't. 
Alika chose a good time to come back into the sitting room.
"That was a long phone call." Will observed.
"It was indeed." Alika agreed.
"Anything interesting?" I asked.
"An acquaintance of mine says she saw some strange white figures last night." Alika responded.
"Any details?" Seth pressed.
"She spotted them near Guildford at around eleven o'clock last night. Saw them slinking around in the shadows from her bedroom window." 
"So what now?" Will said.
"Looks like we have another visit to make."