Chapter 9
Jonah
Cate closed her eyes as the world spun. Fireworks pierced her eyelids like a thousand hot needles as she hovered in a dark void. She tensed, knowing what to expect this time. Smack! Cold, hard metal smashed into the base of her spine. As she hurtled through the darkness the burning started. Boiling blood had nothing on this new pain. She wanted to claw her skin open and release the fire from of her body. If she fainted she would escape the excruciating pain. Her brain remained defiantly clear and focused on not letting her lose consciousness. The pain was bigger and she was more aware this time. Someone kill me now! PLEASE!
She landed spread eagled on the ground. The damp grass sent shivers down her spine, but soothed her burning cheek. She spat out the grass and dirt that somehow ended up in her mouth.
“It gets worse before it gets better.” Austin helped her up. “Watch your thoughts. Think before you, well...think.”
She tugged her arm a few times, trying to escape the death grip Austin had on her. “If you’re rifling through my brain with your little Time-Jedi tricks, stop it.” At this rate she wouldn’t have a brain to rifle through, it was taking such a beating.
“I can’t read your mind, happy?”
She was light years away from happy. “How do you travel through time like that?”
“It’s a combination of magic and science. Your body dematerialises–”
“No! You look like you’ve stepped from one room to another.” She smoothed her hair and removed a few stands of grass. “I look like I’ve be pulled through a tornado.”
He chuckled as he plucked random plant matter from her hair. His broad shoulders blocked the sun, which outlined him with its silver glow. As his hand ran over her hair, tingles shimmered over her scalp.
She swatted his hand away. “I can do it.”
“I’ve been surfing for longer than you’ve been alive.” He dropped his hand. “It takes practice.”
“What, so now you’re a century old, immortal, magical time traveller who’s frozen forever at sixteen?”
“Whoa! Big leap there. I’m nineteen, but I’ve been Timesurfing since before I could walk. My mum, who is an immortal, hid out in a different time each week until I was five. She had a relationship that went bad.”
“Your mother’s an immortal?”
“Keep up. I’m off. Eve’s headed this way from cheer practice. ETA, two minutes.”
“But we’ve been gone for ages.”
“Perks of time travel. Spend as long as you want in my present—only lose a few minutes in your present. That’s my past.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got that. When you were talking to Naitanui before, who did you think I was?”
“The magic won’t let me say.” Austin’s impish grin frustrated her. He pushed all her buttons so effortlessly with his infectious boyish charm and the promise of an uncomplicated good time.
“You know I’m going to tell Eve everything?”
Austin shrugged. “It’s you risking the frontal lobotomy. Naitanui!” He flickered and disappeared.
“Hey you!” Eve half skipped and half ran across the grass.
“How was cheerleading?” Cate asked, already knowing the answer.
“Funny, you.” Eve prodded Cate with her toe.
“I want to know. Did you have fun?”
“Now you’re just being weird.” Eve grimaced. “There is nothing I am more likely to not be doing than cheerleading.”
“But you’re still head girl?”
“They can’t revoke my head girl badge for a continued commitment to not being a cheerleader.”
Eve was oblivious to ever being at cheerleading practice. Rafe had altered everyone’s memories. “Do I look different to you?” Cate asked.
“Different how?”
“In any way?”
Eve tugged a packet of chocolate biscuits from her canvas backpack. “No. You’re acting very strangely.”
“I’ve had the weirdest day ever. If I don’t tell someone, I think my brain’s going to implode.”
“There’s a nasty visual.”
“I’m serious.”
“Hit me with it.” Eve plonked cross-legged on the ground and looked up expectantly. “Can you hurry? I’m getting a damp butt.”
As much as she wanted to blurt everything from the bomb at the bus stop to bringing Brittany back from the dead, she needed Eve to believe her more. After contemplating how much to censor the events of the past few days, she went exclusively with the altered time line today and her trip to the future with Austin. The rest she could weave in when, or if, Eve was onboard.
Eve never broke eye contact as Cate explained her day from renovated house and overnight popularity to her fiery trip with Austin.
“Well?” Cate pushed.
Eve chewed her lip and held up her hand. “I need a minute or so more.”
As each minute ticked by, Cate’s anxiety ratcheted higher.
“I always expected time travellers to arrive in a burst of lightning. Naked and crouched in the terminator pose, like Arnold Schwarzenegger,” Eve said finally.
The story sounded far-fetched even to Cate, and she’d lived through it. “So you don’t believe me?”
“I want to believe you.”
“But?”
“You’re my friend. If you’re sick, I want to help you.”
“I’m not sick.”
Eve pinched the bridge of her nose. “I have always thought I was destined for bigger things. And I pride myself on being extremely open minded. If you are making this up, you’re beyond help and I’ll lose you to a psychiatric ward forever. Better to keep you around as long as I can. I’ll keep notes. That way my million dollar book deal can pay your future medical bills, which, let’s face it, might be substantial.”
While Eve couldn’t hide her anxiousness, she had taken this better than Cate could ever have imagined.
“So a quick recap.” Eve ticked off each item on her fingers as she said it. “You have confirmed Austin, Rose, and Rafe are Time...what were they again?”
“Timesurfers,” Cate said. “Jonah too. But he’s from a different group.”
“So there are different Timesurfer gangs to be in. You travelled to the future with Austin, and it’s been suggested you are a Timesurfer—”
“Quite a special one,” Cate broke in.
Eve rolled her eyes. “And that is supported by the fact only you see the alternate time lines each morning which are revealed when history resets at midnight.”
“That’s it in a nutshell.” The healing thing she kept to herself. “And Naitanui’s Timesurfers protect history from magical manipulation.”
“And why is everyone so interested in you? What makes you special?”
“No idea. My true identity and historical path are apparently being cloaked by powerful ancient magic.”
“Of course they are.” Eve laughed. “I can’t believe we had no friends yesterday. You, maybe, but I’m a delightful person. Who would I want to play me in the book to movie adaptation? This is all kinds of exciting. It could be awesome.”
***
Cate elbowed the blue front door open. “I’m home,” she yelled, spraying droplets of chocolate everywhere. Hearing voices from the kitchen, she motioned Eve to follow.
Eve’s eyes swept over the newly decorated lounge room. “It looks the same to me.”
“Only I can see the changes—it should look the same to you. You’re not a Timesurfer.”
“So weird!” Eve muttered. “My brain has always been far superior to yours. Maybe I’m too clever to be a Timesurfer.”
Cate ignored her.
“Hi, honey. Hey, Eve.” Her mother stood at the sink, dressed in black training clothes. She pulled a knife from her leg strap and twirled it through her fingers. She diced the carrots on the chopping block with ninja speed and returned the knife into her leg holder, all the while smiling and maintaining eye contact with them. Her mother not losing a finger while she cooked was a modern day miracle.
“Evie!” the three teenage boys scattered around the new kitchen bench chorused. Balthazar’s buzz cut, Melchior’s shaggy blonde hair, and Gaspar’s scarlet curls were familiar sights around the house. They were students from Winthrop, her mum’s school for kids with anger management issues and criminal records, or “detention centre” for short. When her mother said jump, these three asked how high.
“Are you staying for dinner, Eve?”
“Thanks, but no, Mrs. Zetrom.”
Her mum gave Eve a stern look. “Eve, what do I always say? Please call me Emme.”
“Sorry, Emme. Mum’s demanded my presence tonight.” Eve rolled her eyes. “Family bonding time.”
“I applaud your mother.” Her mum grabbed a serrated knife from her arm strap, pointing the curved tip toward Eve. “I insist we sit down to dinner as a family as often as possible. There’s no better way to keep in touch with a teenager’s life. It’s so moment to moment.”
“Sure it is.” Cate opened the shiny new refrigerator door. “Anything to eat?”
“All that sugar so late in the day.” Her mum tut-tutted at the empty packet of biscuits in Eve’s hand. “Do not think of touching the trifle.”
“There’s no trifle in there.” Cate shouldered the refrigerator door shut and chomped into a chicken drumstick.
Her mum groaned. “Your brother is having a sleepover; everyone took something for dinner. Xavier should have taken that chicken you’re inhaling. He’s taken the trifle instead.”
“But that was my birthday trifle.” Xavier was dead when Cate got hold of him.
“I’ll make another trifle,” her mum said. “Have you ever missed out?”
“Well...no,” Cate grumbled.
“I rest my case,” her mum stated. “I trust you had a fight free day today. No more of Zach’s blood was spilled, and you didn’t break any bones in other people’s bodies?”
Eve snickered and Cate glared at her.
“What?” Eve said. “That’s funny. It never gets old, even after all these years.”
Well, Cate thought, technically I did have a fight free day. I also brought a cheerleader back to life, went on a trip to the future, and discovered I’m a magical Timesurfer. “Do you have to ask me that every day after school?”
“Apparently, I do. I checked on Zach last night, as I promised his parents I would while they are away. Why would you punch him again?”
“He asked for it.” Damn her mother and her good neighbourly deeds. “That was last night, not today, and I wasn’t fighting per se. It was one punch. I didn’t even break any bones. A nose is made of cartilage.”
The “do not split hairs with me” glare from her mother made Cate cringe. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Guy’s a loser! I say well done, you,” Balthazar called from the table, where he was using a paring knife to peel a green apple. He never tired of trying to remove the skin in an unbroken piece.
Her mum sent him a fierce look. “You don’t have a track record of making the best choices, Balthazar. Have you boys finished with your vegetables?”
“These snow peas are top and tailed.” At twenty, Balthazar was the oldest of the three and a real man mountain. His eyes were the brightest sea green, and his brown hair was never more than a half an inch long.
Gaspar crunched an enormous bite from an apple Balthazar had finished peeling. “Broccoli chopped,” he spluttered through his mouthful.
Melchior waved a green, leafy vegetable. “I’ve chopped the end off whatever this is.”
“Must have been a challenge, Mel,” Eve winked. “Any energy left for training?”
“I’ve got energy for anything you want, baby!” Melchior leered at Eve. His shaggy blonde hair, intense green eyes, and chiselled jaw made him a favourite with the girls. His eighteenth birthday party last year proved that.
Gaspar, the youngest of the three at sixteen, piped up. “There’s no way she’d choose you when she could have me.” He was gangly after growing a foot last summer. His scarlet curls bounced as he nodded vigorously. “Come on, Eve—tell Mel I’m right.” His brown eyes stood out against his pale skin, which freckled instead of tanning.
“Neither of you are my type.” Eve grinned affectionately. “I see you too much; I know you too well. You’re like my brothers.”
“Stop hitting on my friend.” Cate slammed the refrigerator door as she retrieved another piece of chicken. “It’s creepy. Mum, make them stop.”
“Everyone, outside and warm up,” her mum barked.
Cate deliberated how to tell her mum about Jonah. “Zach’s cousin is coming over. He’s apparently some Grand Master in the making.”
“Dude have a name?” Balthazar asked.
“Jonah.” Eve and Cate chorused.
A knife clattered into the sink as her mum yelped.
“Are you cut?” Cate asked.
Her mum held her pointer finger for Cate to see. “False alarm. Jonah’s welcome. Never hesitate to bring a friend home. Suit up and join us.” Her mum opened the back door and bowed before heading out. The three boys stood around the bench, eyes averted.
Sunlight glinted on the knife blade in the sink. A single red tinged droplet slid off the knife and into the sink. It looked like blood. She could be jumping to conclusions though. It could be tomato, or tomato paste, or that disgusting red drink Balthazar downed each day before he trained. That would be it. Her mum had no reason to lie.
“I’m off.” Eve headed to the front door.
A sizzling ball of yellow in the sky, the sun prepared to disappear. “I’ll get one of Mum’s misfits to walk you home. SOMEONE! Come and walk Eve home,” she bellowed over her shoulder. A flurry of pushing and shoving followed, just as Cate’s 6:00 p.m. reminder alarm went off.
“Settle. Kettle.” Gaspar appeared around the corner. “There might be someone back in Australia who didn’t hear you. I’ll be your protector this evening.” He offered Eve his arm. “It would be my pleasure to escort you home.”
Cate trudged up the stairs, texting as she peeled her school uniform off.
CATE: “HOME”
PIP: “? YOUR DAY?”
CATE: “FINE”
PIP: “HOT GUY HEADED UP FRONT PATH. NEW BOYFRIEND?”
CATE: “NOPE”
PIP: “TOO BAD”
She deleted the conversation. Her socks were stained red from the dirt at the Break, and there was a grass stain across the right shoulder of her shirt. She let her hair down from her bun and clipped in her rainbow hair extensions. There was one for every colour tae kwon do belt she’d passed, plus pink and purple ones because they were pretty.
As she stepped into her white cotton training pants, she contemplated how to begin a conversation with her mum about Brittany. “So, Mum, today I brought a dead cheerleader back to life.” Too direct. She pulled on her white tank top and tied her crossover. The doorbell sounded. Jonah was here!
Her heart sprinted. There was no time to be paralysed by the fear of possible death. This was her opportunity to find out more about the Timesurfers. Carpe diem. She raced from her room and leapt over the banister, thrilled when she stuck the six-foot drop landing.
“Impressive.” Jonah slouched against the open front door with Balthazar. Her heart continued to beat double time. She was careful to keep Balthazar between herself and Jonah.
“You need to be more selective of who you invite over,” Balthazar said with a ferocious glare at Jonah. “This one has trouble written all over him.”
“Like I care what you think.” Cate’s voice was full of attitude. Messing with Balthazar was one of her most favourite things to do. She was also over people telling her what to do and think.
“Bite me! Bring your suitor in and introduce him. I’m going to get a front row seat for his meet and greet.” Balthazar swaggered down the hall.
“Permission to enter?” Jonah leaned through the doorway, one arm resting on each side.
Her bravado flickered, but she steeled herself. No more being the victim. She poked his chest hard with her finger. “Not so fast.”
He leaned against the doorframe, relaxed, confident, and tall. His unruly hair and beautiful face gave him the perfect grimy-to-gorgeous ratio.
“So word is you’re a Timesurfer with the evil Mortez?”
“Someone’s had an enlightening afternoon. Evil is a bit harsh.”
“I travelled through time to the future and had a very informative conversation with Naitanui and his Timesurfers. I think evil fits perfectly. You tried to kill me. Twice, if you count the bomb and the near strangulation.”
“Let it go. The bomb was never about you. I disarmed it as soon as I realised you were in the kill zone.”
“Then you promptly attempted to strangle me.”
“I already explained I was only pretending to strangle you.”
“I suppose you’ve some amazingly complex reason you pretended to strangle me?”
He shrugged and sighed. “I had hoped it would save you from being discovered by Naitanui’s Timesurfers and all the palaver guaranteed to follow.” The genuine regret and sadness that clouded Jonah’s face was unexpected.
“They don’t know who I am.”
“Powerful, ancient cloaking magic can do that.”
Magic was not her friend at the moment. “But you do. You knew about my migraines and my favourite dessert. What’s the story?”
“I’m not having this conversation standing in your front door. Permission to enter?” He drummed his fingers against the doorframe.
This could end very badly. But she also really wanted to find out what the hell was going on. She sighed. No guts. No glory. “Fine!” Against her better judgment she let him in. “Don’t blame me if this is a trap and you end up dead.”
“I’m confident I can hold my own should this be a trap.”
“Cate!” her mother hollered from the backyard.
“I’m not finished with this discussion.” She ushered him through the house, careful to keep him in front of her and at a safe distance. He stepped back to let her through the kitchen doorway, and she hesitated. The last thing she wanted was to have her back to him. She jumped as his fingers brushed her shoulder.
“Don’t be scared,” he said.
“I’m not.” She forced a smile. “Don’t ever touch me again without my permission.”
“Understood. I apologise.” He pushed the door open, careful to avoid touching her.
For a microsecond, her mind flashed to the moment those long, tapered fingers were around her throat. Here, surrounded by her mum and the boys, she couldn’t be safer. Her blind terror at the sight of Jonah had been replaced by intrigue. He knew her in the future and she kind of felt drawn to him. Like their souls recognised one another. She cringed inwardly at even thinking such a lame thought.
“Don’t worry, mothers are my specialty.”
He had misunderstood her hesitation. She bowed and entered the backyard. “You don’t know my mother. Hey, Mum. This is...this is Zach’s cousin, Jonah.”
Balthazar and Melchior thrust out their chests and assumed the alpha male stance, arms folded with feet planted wide, to stare down Jonah.
“Jonah,” her mother said with her best principal smile. Cate breathed a small sigh of relief at how excellent her mum was at dealing with weird and unexpected.
Jonah inclined his head and shook her mother’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am. I’m honoured to be invited into your home.”
There was an old world charm about Jonah, which was so...manly. Balthazar coughed and mumbled something that sounded like “loser” or “tosser,” which earned him a glare from Cate and a lazy grin from Jonah.
“Boys,” her mother warned, holding a hand toward Balthazar and Melchior, shuffling behind her. There was a weird vibe between Jonah and the boys. Particularly Balthazar.
Cate was extremely unperceptive, so for her to notice something was off between Jonah and Balthazar, it had to be big.
“You have some training gear with you?” her mother asked.
Jonah nodded and tapped the leather duffel bag over his shoulder.
Her mother appraised Jonah. “I have zero tolerance for insubordinate behaviour. My time. My do-jang. My rules. No exceptions.”
“Always.” Jonah murmured something as he sauntered passed the boys. Their eyes flashed with...well...and again she was extremely unperceptive, but it looked like amusement.
Her mum rolled her eyes, but her mouth twitched as if she was holding back a smile. What was Cate missing?