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IMARA MARCHED DOWN THE ROAD WHILE a gut-wrenching fury filled her body. The only footsteps heavier than hers were Abe’s.
“This is why I wanted to stop Santini while we were in the catacombs,” he said through his teeth. “I thought the taggers would stop after she was gone. But your friend Siluk was right. They’re continuing the work without her.”
Husani picked up a shard of glass from the street and chucked it into a wall. “We already have Sef to deal with. How are we supposed to deal with another power-hungry murderer?”
“Who cares about that?” Edrice shouted as she plunged forward. “Aida is dead.” Edrice lowered her head. “She never even got to see our headquarters.”
Abe turned away with a sniff. Imara reached out to comfort him, but before her hand raised more than a few centimeters, a shock buzzed through her ring. She instinctively flicked her hand at the gentle flutter. She tapped her ring on, and the gold numbers flooded her hologram screen once again. “My ring is glitching,” she said.
Another shock buzzed through her ring, but this time it felt much stronger than a flutter. Her heart raced as she remembered the drones. Could Takara have done something more to her ring than just steal the speech?
She scrolled through her hologram screen, searching for a way to stop the golden numbers. They rounded a corner, and Husani nearly toppled over a girl with long, silky black hair. He reached for her forearm to steady himself, but she shoved him away and aimed a gun.
Edrice gasped and curled herself into a ball at the edge of the alley.
“Stay back!” the girl shouted.
“Hey,” Abe said, not staring at the girl, but at the gun. A stun gun.
She jabbed the gun toward him, but he simply plucked it from her hand. “This is my stun gun. Where did you get this?”
Without waiting for an order, Husani grabbed the girl and held her hands behind her back. She struggled against him, but Husani held tight.
Forgetting her ring for a moment, Imara looked at the girl’s face. The long, silky black hair reminded her of Takara, but soon, the memory of another face filled her mind.
“This is the stun gun we lost in the catacombs,” Abe said as he ran his finger over the serial number.
“Keiko?” Imara asked, staring at the girl. This was the very same girl Imara met only minutes before Naki and the others were kidnapped by the Judge. Keiko had been bullying a boy and would have pushed him with a hover cart if Imara hadn’t stepped in. Keiko had been jealous then, but watching her body language now, she only looked afraid and far from dangerous. Imara shook her head and said, “Husani, let her go.”
Husani and Edrice seemed to relax at Imara’s words, but Abe only glared.
“No,” Abe said, holding the stun gun in front of her. “This is the gun the taggers stole from us inside the catacombs. They were the last ones to have it.”
Imara blinked at the gun but then looked at Keiko with an expression she hoped was comforting. “Where did you get this?” Just as she asked, another zing of electricity shot through her hand.
Keiko’s gaze immediately fell on Imara’s hologram screen, which still showed nothing but a stream of golden numbers.
“Hey,” Abe said. “Answer the question.”
Keiko glared at Husani as she pulled away from him. “It’s a long story.”
Husani let her go, but reached for her hair. “You kind of look like this murderous tagger we saw on the news.”
You mean Takara?” Keiko said as she slapped Husani’s hand away. “Are you just saying that because I’m Japanese like her? We all look alike to you?”
“No,” Husani said, waving his hands through the air. “I didn’t mean it like that. I love the global culture we have now.”
Keiko nudged an empty take-out container on the ground with her toe. With her eyes on the ground she muttered, “I’m kidding. Takara is my mother, and we do look alike.”
“WHAT?” Husani yelled as he stepped back.
“Abe, stun her,” Edrice said, cowering against the alley wall.
The black-haired girl hissed and sent the take-out container soaring. “It’s not like I want her to be my mother. I’m even half Egyptian, but apparently my genes thought it would be hilarious to make me look exactly like my mother, who I hate. And nothing like my father, who is literally the best.”
Before anyone could respond, another shock shot out of Imara’s ring. This one was powerful enough that it tightened all the muscles in her hand and forearm.
“My ring,” she said looking at Abe. “It’s shocking me. I think Takara did something when she synced with me earlier.”
Abe’s eyes flitted between Imara and Keiko, trying to decide which one needed more attention. But then, another jolt ran up her arm so strong, she gasped.
“I can fix it,” Keiko said.
“No,” Abe said glaring at her.
Keiko glared back. “My mother made the virus that’s doing that. I spent a lot of my childhood trying to stop viruses like that. My mother forced me to do it so she could learn how to make the viruses even more unstoppable. But I know her style.”
Abe gave Keiko a long sideways glance before he turned to Imara. “How do you know this girl? Can we trust her?”
Keiko stood up on her toes and pushed her chin out. “How do I know I can trust you?” she asked. “I don’t like your face very much.”
“Feisty, huh?” Husani said with a chuckle. “I’ve always liked a feisty girl.”
Edrice rolled her eyes, still curled into a corner of the alley. “You like any girl.”
Another jolt went through Imara’s arm, and she threw her hand toward Keiko. “Fix it,” she said. “And while you’re doing it, tell us how you got this stun gun.”
Keiko started tapping on the hologram screen and said, “Basically, my dad and I ran into the taggers when they were on their way back to the catacombs to kill you guys. And...” She shrugged. “We stopped them. After the fight, I stole the gun. I didn’t know it was yours. I thought it belonged to the taggers.”
“But why are you in Cairo?” Imara asked again.
Keiko sighed. “We were trying to get away from my mother.”
Another shock came out from Imara’s ring, this one sending a jolt up to her shoulder.
Keiko’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “Hang on. I almost got it.” A moment later, she hissed at the screen. “She wrote this in Japanese.”
“Don’t you know Japanese?” Husani asked.
“No.”
Imara shuddered, and Keiko quickly said, “Don’t worry, I can still fix it. I’m almost there.”
“Why don’t you know Japanese?” Husani asked.
“Because,” Keiko said. “They only teach English, the global language, in schools now, and unfortunately, my mother only taught me things that would help her, not things that would help me.”
Just then, another shock started, but Keiko tapped the screen, and it died, stopping the shock before it went up Imara’s arm. “Better?” Keiko asked.
Imara shook out her hand and looked at her hologram screen, which was back to normal. “Much better.”
Husani took the opportunity to step closer to Keiko. “You said your dad is Egyptian though, so do you know Arabic?”
Keiko rolled her eyes. “My dear mother said Arabic is inferior to Japanese and wouldn’t let my dad teach it to me. But she wouldn’t teach me Japanese either because she never had time. So now I know nothing about my heritage on either side, but at least I know English. Who cares if we all forget our native languages, right?”
“You think it’s stupid that we have a global language? You don’t like the global culture?” Edrice asked, finally braving to leave her spot in the corner of the alley.
“No, it’s not that,” Keiko said. “I love the global culture. Travel has never been faster or cheaper. But I guess with any change, there are good and bad things about it. I’m just sad I don’t know anything about my heritage.”
Husani took another step toward Keiko until there was less than a footstep between them. With a smirk he asked, “You don’t know anything about Egypt?”
Keiko raised an eyebrow, but didn’t step away from him, even though his shoulder had brushed up against her. “Do you always ask this many questions?”
He hooked his arm around her elbow and said, “Only when I’m talking to someone as beautiful as you. If you need a tutor, I’d be happy to teach you a few things about Egypt.”
Edrice snorted and rolled her eyes.
“Can we trust her?” Abe asked, focused more on Keiko now that Imara’s ring was working properly.
“Yes,” Imara said. She thought it best not to explain, but based on the body language Keiko exhibited when talking about her mom, it was obvious she’d been hurt in much more than the normal ways by her mother.
“Well then,” Husani said, running his fingers over Keiko’s hair. “Welcome to the club. If you need a job, we’re hiring.” He tilted his head. “On second thought, if you work with us I won’t be able to flirt with you, and that would be a tragedy.”
Keiko grimaced. “I’m only sixteen, and the global working age is eighteen.”
“Even better,” Husani said as he took in a not-so-subtle sniff of her hair. “Just promise you’ll come to our headquarters every once in awhile for those lessons on Egyptian culture. What’s your hila?”
“Let’s go back to headquarters,” Abe said. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do about the taggers, if anything. Maybe Sef will get rid of them for us.”
Imara fell into step beside Abe, itching to take his hand, but figured this wasn’t the time.
“I’m a sound seer,” Keiko said after Husani poked her.
“Fresh,” he replied. “I’m a time feeler, and Edrice has photographic memory. Abe and Imara are both mashimo.”
“Mashimo?” Keiko asked, giving Imara a sideways glance.
Luckily, Imara was spared from having to explain when Husani asked, “You got any weird hobbies because of your hila?”
“I play the violin,” Keiko said with a shrug. “Which is not weird, but I do have perfect pitch because I can see sound waves.”
Husani wolf whistled. “I’ve always loved a lady who plays music.”
Edrice smacked Husani so hard his shoulder reeled back. “You love anyone with two eyes and a mouth. And maybe you’d compromise a little bit on the eye thing.” She turned to Keiko with a much gentler expression. “That is interesting about the violin. Are you in an orchestra at school?”
Keiko’s body wilted. She looked down at the ground, sticking her thumbs into her pockets. “No. My violin is stuck at my old hila school. I’m not a student there anymore, so I can’t get in and get my stuff. The owner is being a jerk about it.”
“Abe can help with that,” Imara said.
“Can I?” Abe asked.
She let out a soft chuckle. “Unfortunately, your dad is the jerk owner Keiko is talking about. Keiko was the one at the graduation party who pushed the cart at that tagger boy.”
Abe stopped in the middle of the road and his jaw dropped. He stood still for several seconds, and then looked at Keiko with all new eyes. “You’re the reason Imara and I met,” he said. He rubbed his chin in thought. “My dad is coming to visit in a few days. I’ll ask him to bring your stuff with him. But before that, why don’t you tell us everything you know about Takara.”
* * *
ABE SAT AT HIS DESK, trying not to stare at the door where Imara had left mere minutes ago. He was supposed to be on his way to Kenya with her right now, but that plan died with the drone attack. A million and one problems had just arisen thanks to Takara. There were already rumors about groups of Sef’s gangsters who had joined the taggers. He knew Imara understood, but he still felt guilty.
“Is Imara really mashimo?” Keiko asked suddenly. “I thought she was a truth seer.”
He clenched his jaw and stared at his desk, not sure if he could explain without punching something. Luckily, Edrice saved him.
“Do you ever watch the news?” Edrice asked.
“I hate the news,” Keiko said with a glare. “My mother is on it way too much.”
Edrice raised an eyebrow, but let it fall a moment later. “Do either of you know what happened in the catacombs? Keiko, I understand, but Husani? Didn’t you bother checking the news feeds to see what Abe was doing that whole time? Didn’t you ever wonder what could possibly be so important to him that he would leave us for five days without any warning?”
Husani shrugged. “Oh come on, it was for his dad. Abe would drop anything for his dad, no matter what the cost.”
“What happened?” Keiko asked. “I mean, I know a little. I saw this one recap where they said Imara was a talented truth seer, and she killed the Judge. But then the music got all depressing, and I stopped watching.”
Husani cocked his head to the side. “But she’s not a truth seer. She’s mashimo.”
“She didn’t kill the Judge,” Abe said, jumping to his feet.
They all started as if they had forgotten he was there. He curled his hands into fists and glared. “The Judge killed herself, even after Imara tried to save her. And Imara’s not technically mashimo. She...” His fist curled tighter, but they were all staring at him now. No matter how much it hurt, he had to finish. At least Imara wasn’t here to say it herself.
Abe gulped. “Imara jumped through an eraserfall in order to save us. She sacrificed everything to stop the Judge from tagging.”
Husani looked mystified, but it was nothing to the expression of pure horror that covered Keiko’s face.
“Eraserfall?” she whispered.
Abe nodded, trying to regain his composure. “Imara gave up her hila to fight against the taggers. We owe it to her to stop them once and for all.”
