Chapter 9

It was entrancing. Saric couldn't believe the cafeteria had been changed so radically in only a few hours, but somehow, it had become a dance room. Paper snowflakes dangled from the ceiling, and pictures of familiar winter scenes covered the usually barren walls. The lighting had been designed perfectly, hovering at something between candlelight and the light of a fireplace, and evoking images of both. Cloth covered tables ringed most of the room, with refreshments waiting on each.

The man of the hour was, without question, Dennis. He had entered the room with a girl on each arm. Never mind that those in the know were aware that one of the girls was Tara, and that Dennis had asked her to the dance with Cassandra's blessings, to try to cheer her up a bit. Dennis had privately told the group that Tara was well aware that he had about as much romantic interest in her as he did in Kentaro, though she had been told in much gentler words, but an evening of fun might be therapeutic for her, regardless of that.

Kentaro made quite an impression, himself. Everyone at the party was well attired, but Kentaro was unique among them. He looked magnificent in a formal kimono, and his date certainly didn't seem to be complaining.

"Are you going to stand there, staring at your friends all day, or may I have this dance?" Elaine asked.

Elaine, as usual, was the most beautiful girl at the party. She had always had a flare for the dramatic, but tonight, she had truly outdone herself. Her dress was a beautiful thing of emerald green, with gold trim. The green of the dress was a perfect match for the color of her eyes. As usual, she had put on a few inches, a couple of bust sizes, and a hairstyle that would have given a barber a fit trying to emulate. Her crowning glory, however, was just that, a crown. Or at least a tiara. The silver of the tiara added new depths to her already radiant hair.

Saric smiled and offered her his hand. As they stepped out onto the dance floor proper, he couldn't help but think that either nothing had happened at Mr. Wentworth's house, or Elaine deserved more credit as an actress. The group had agreed not to speak of their suspicions at school, where they might be overheard, but Elaine had gone through the day so completely normally. She must not have found anything, he decided.

Just as the two were beginning to dance, an amazing thing happened. It started to snow. Inside the building. None of the snowflakes reached the students below, however. Each snowflake vanished as it came to a height of about seven feet above the ground. The effect was stunning.

Saric was only aware of one person who could make it snow. Using a twirl in the dance as an excuse to look around, he spotted Tara. There was a small smile on her face. Maybe she wasn't quite as depressed as everyone thought. Or maybe the night out really was doing her some good. Dennis was dancing with Cassandra at the time, but Saric was sure he would alternate between the two. One young man had literally turned green with envy when he saw Dennis come in. The oddities of Gifts were endless.

Saric was suddenly assailed by the scent of roses. Apparently, Sonya Brown had decided to wait until the first dance was well underway before adding the finishing touch to the decorations. White roses had suddenly bloomed from flower vases on each of the tables. The roses branched out, vines lengthening around the backs and legs of the tables. It was a beautiful sight, arranged carefully in such a way that people could still get to the food and drink without pricking their fingers on thorns.

As predicted, Dennis switched partners at the end of the first dance, and continued alternating throughout the evening. For the most part, Saric stayed with Elaine, but near the end of the event, Kentaro asked Elaine for a dance. Saric used the opportunity to get to know his date, Lily, a little better. She seemed to have a quip for every occasion, and Saric found her to be quite amusing. She also possessed an incredible sense of self-esteem that bordered on arrogance, without quite becoming such.

The song ended, she and Saric politely bade one another adieu, and Saric went to find another partner. Elaine was currently dancing with Dennis, while Kentaro had paired off with Cassandra. Saric decided to ask Tara onto the floor. She seemed slightly hesitant, but she agreed to a dance.

"I like the snow," Saric smiled, "It's a lovely effect, without the problems associated with the normal version."

"Thanks. Dennis suggested it. Keeping it going is making me a bit tired, but I think it's worth the effort. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it."

"You seem to be feeling a bit better."

"A bit. It still hurts, though."

"I'd imagine that's only to be expected. Still, I hope you recover as soon as possible."

"Thanks. My father is dead, you know."

"That was sudden. My condolences."

"Apparently, the Arrowhead court found him guilty of... well, you know. I wasn't even informed of the trial until it was already over. They called Mr. Conner to the stand to determine his character, and ended up offering him an alternative between life in prison or death. He chose death."

"How does that make you feel?"

"To be honest, guilty. I still feel like it's my fault he died, and I also feel like I should be mourning him, but really, all I can feel is relief. Isn't that terrible? I can't even mourn my own father. I know, he did some terrible things, but he wasn't always like that."

"While it's probably only natural that you feel some sense of guilt, take my word for it, nothing that happened was your fault. Your father chose his own path. As for mourning him, it sounds to me like the man who was your father died a long time ago. I wouldn't be surprised if, looking back on your life, you find that you did mourn him at some point."

"Maybe. Still, this isn't a subject with a lot of promise for cheer. I understand Dennis is going over to your house tomorrow. I hope you guys have fun."

"I imagine we will. We're actually getting together to discuss a little project we're doing for school, but hopefully that won't take too long."

"Oh? What kind of project?"

"Elaine was assigned an essay at the beginning of the year, and wants to pump us for information," Saric lied glibly, "I'm not sure why she thinks we can help, but the four of us agreed to do what we could for each other when it came to dealing with those awful essays."

"I'm glad I didn't test in to the 'above category five' list. It sounds like a nightmare."

"It can be unpleasant. And we still haven't figured out why he doesn't call it category six."

"Probably because above category five means that you got one hundred percent on the test, so it was unable to measure your limits. You might be just slightly more advanced than the test, or you may be light years beyond it."

Saric blinked, and revised upward his estimation of Tara's intelligence.

"Are you sure you didn't test into above category five?" he asked, a bit amused.

"After seeing the kind of work he gave you guys? Absolutely. I intentionally answered one of the questions incorrectly."

"I thought you weren't prepared to be skipped up a grade."

"In most subjects, I'm not. I read a lot, though, and I have a very good memory. Some instinctive understanding of English is only to be expected."

"Well, it's good that you've got an edge there, at least. Remember, when it comes to any of the other subjects, our offer of help still stands."

"Thanks. I've taken enough of your time, though, and it looks like your date would like to have you back," Tara nodded towards Elaine.

Saric smiled and bade Tara good evening, walking back to where Elaine was waiting. The two of them stayed at the party until it closed. It had been a good night for both of them, but even Elaine was feeling weary by the end of the evening. Saric had never been so glad to see his bed.

"You want to take me flying?"

Dennis chuckled. Tara seemed genuinely shocked by the idea. He wondered what it was about people that made them so nervous about something so wonderful.

"I've got to be at Saric's house later this morning, but there should be time for a quick flight."

"But Dennis, it's snowing out there!"

"So wear a coat. We don't have time for a protracted flight, anyway."

"There are times when I think you might be just a little too fond of flying."

"Let's see if you still say that after your first flight."

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"I suppose I would, if you're that adamant about it, but it's something you really should experience."

"Oh, alright. How do we do this, anyway?"

"First, let's go outside. Mother distinctly forbade me from flying in the house after I broke her favorite vase."

Tara smiled at the mental image, knowing Dennis had done no such thing. Her good humor lasted until they got outside. The snowflakes were the size of quarters.

"Are you sure you should be flying in weather like this?"

"The snow may be thick, but it's falling straight down. There's not even a hint of wind."

"Will you be able to see?"

"Well enough."

"Somehow, that statement doesn't fill me with confidence."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. And the more time we stand around talking, the less time we've got to spend in the air."

Tara nodded, apparently finally giving up on the idea of getting out of the flight, and Dennis grasped her firmly, flapping his wings and reaching out with his mind. It was hard to believe how far he had come in a few months. Flying was now something he could almost do in his sleep.

As his feet left the ground, Dennis felt the now familiar rush of joy that came with being airborne. He gained altitude quickly, but settled for a lower soaring elevation than he normally used. It was snowing, after all.

About ten minutes into the flight, Tara surprised him.

With no warning, Dennis began to lose his grip on her. It felt as though she had somehow invoked her Gift to summon water in a way that made her very hard to keep hold of. To his horror, Dennis realized she intended for him to drop her. And she was going to succeed.

Dennis tensed himself for a dive. There was no way she could fall faster than he could dive. If she intended to commit suicide, she was going to have to find a way that did not involve him.

Finally, Tara struggled free of his grip and began falling towards the ground. But after a few feet, she stopped. She pushed her hands against the air as though against a solid surface, using it to regain her feet. Smiling, she stomped on the empty air, convinced that it would support her weight.

"I was right. Thanks for taking me for the flight, Dennis, but it seems I can defy gravity on my own. Sorry for scaring you like that, I just figured it out, and it was much easier to test my idea in midair than it would have been on the ground. I also didn't think you'd do me the favor of dropping me upon request."

Dennis hovered in the air, speechless.

"You risked falling to your death to test out a guess?" he finally managed to ask.

"No. I risked falling to the ground to test out a hypothesis. I knew that you'd be able to catch me, and besides, I knew I could slow my descent through the air enough to have a safe landing. I just wasn't sure if I had enough strength to make the air behave as a solid."

Dennis shook his head. If this was what Tara was like when she wasn't depressed, she was going to make him go gray before he reached the age of twenty. Still, he couldn't help but admire her having the chutzpah to go through with such a crazy scheme.

"Well, it was getting close to time to get home anyway," Dennis sighed, letting more than a hint of exasperation show in his voice, "Can you make it back on your own?"

"Easily, but I think I'll stay up here a while longer. You're right: it is invigorating to fly under one's own power."

"Have fun. I'll be at Saric's house."

Dennis felt he had been a bit abrupt with Tara as he flew off, but really, she had gotten off lightly. He intended to have some choice words with her when they were next on the ground, but looking at his watch, he realized that he was already running a little late for the meeting, and didn't have time to tell her just how far from amused he was at her stunt, however impressive it had been.

Elaine looked around. The group had decided to meet in Saric's room. Saric had waved her to a chair when she had first entered. He, Kentaro and Dennis were currently seated opposite her on the bed.

"So, did you find out anything interesting?" Saric asked.

"You might say that. It seems we were right to be suspicious. Wentworth is planning to take over the town."

"Judging by your tone, I'm guessing you aren't talking about gathering public support and winning the next mayoral election."

Elaine nodded, and then continued, "The timing was perfect. I got there just as he was beginning to give orders to one of his men. He called the man lieutenant. I'm not sure if you've heard, but the school district is hosting a grand tournament of Gifts after finals. Every Gifted student in the system will be allowed to enter, and the prize is to become a teacher's assistant next year in Gift Development, instead of having to be part of the standard community service program. The first few rounds will have a lot of matches going on at once. Wentworth plans to throw a few monkey wrenches into those matches and cause a disaster that requires Sparkweaver to come deal with it. In the chaos, someone supposedly trying to help bring the situation under control will "accidentally" kill Sparkweaver. Most of the other people in town who possess powerful Gifts are also supposed to die. Then Wentworth and his allies plan to step in and declare themselves the new government."

"Barbaric! How can he do that? He'd have to kill dozens of people, and dozens more will die in the chaos, if the disaster is as big as it sounds," Dennis replied, aghast.

"I believe the term you use in America is 'psychopath'," Kentaro answered.

"Actually, they call it antisocial personality disorder these days," Saric corrected.

"It really doesn't matter what euphemism they're using for it. He seems to have a bad combination of charisma, good acting ability, and a complete lack of empathy for his fellow man. The important thing is, how do we stop him?"

"Why not just tell Sparkweaver and let him deal with it?" Dennis asked.

"Wentworth is a snake," Elaine answered, "From what I overheard, he's already planned for the eventuality that Sparkweaver finds out. He has enough allies to thwart any accusation we might make against him. Sparkweaver isn't going to order a full scale, Gift aided investigation because the four of us ask him to. If it turned out that we were making things up, it would be a huge insult to Wentworth."

"Besides," Saric added, "Would you trust the instigator and leader of a strike, and their two closest friends, when it came to making accusations against the head of the school system? Wentworth would shoot down anything we threw at him without even breaking a sweat if we went about it that way. And then he'd know that we're aware of his plan. I don't think I'd want to put any large sums on our life expectancy at that point."

"We can't just wait for it to happen."

"Wentworth is recruiting allies," Elaine said, grimacing, "I recommend we do the same. We'll have to be careful, though. We don't know who he's already convinced."

"I think we can count on my older brother, Djoser," Saric replied, "He warned me about Wentworth a while ago. Said he was immature."

"That's a start. It's probably best if we don't bring our parents in on this. If one of them decided to go public, there wouldn't be much we could do to stop them, and the end result would probably be pretty much the same." Elaine commented.

"What about Tara? We could certainly use her Gift in this venture," Kentaro asked.

"Absolutely out of the question," Dennis stated flatly, "This morning, she did something that tells me she's still quite childish. I don't think we can depend on her over the long haul. If it looks like things are about to get ugly, and they probably will sooner or later, we can bring her in then."

"What else can we do?" Elaine asked.

"Let's start a list of priorities."

"Should I get a pencil and paper?"

"And leave written evidence?"

"Point taken. We've already agreed that we can't do this alone. Item one is to increase our numbers. I vote that we refrain from bringing anyone in without the whole group agreeing to it beforehand. Any objections?"

No one objected, and Elaine continued.

"Item two is to get more information. We need to know who is involved, what, specifically, they'll be doing, when the critical moments will arrive, where we need to be to neutralize them, and how to go about doing that."

"You left out why," Dennis quipped.

"If I need to tell you why, you've been sleeping through this meeting," Elaine snapped.

"What I meant was, we should find out why Wentworth's people support him. If we can undermine his support, his plan is more likely to fail."

"Good point. I guess that would make item three an attempt to compromise his group. We need to try and get his supporters to abandon him, stymie his attempts to increase his numbers, and, if possible, establish a double agent."

"It hardly needs to be said," Saric commented, "But item four should be to avoid discovery at all costs. If we're found out, at worst, we're dead, at best, our options are reduced to one: an immediate frontal assault against an enemy we don't know, who is prepared for our arrival."

"Right."

"We must also take care that we do not succeed too well. If our adversary finds his plan completely ruined, he will abandon it and try something else. Ideally, he must think his plan is working, only to have it collapse around him at the crucial moment," Kentaro added.

"So we need to act normally, and keep doing those little errands he sends us off on."

"I found out more about those, too," Elaine said, a sour expression on her face, "We've been cementing alliances and providing him with airtight alibis."

"Doesn't that mean that we can figure out who at least some of his people are?" Saric asked.

"Probably," Elaine replied, "But he has a lot of people, and most of them know very little about his plans. Only his lieutenants get the whole story, I think."

"If Wentworth is as sneaky as you say, even they probably don't get the entire thing," Saric pointed out.

"Probably not. Can anyone else think of anything that we can do, or anyone that we can add to the group?"

"I'd like to suggest that we add Anne Lesadd, at the very end of the mission," Dennis advised, "From what you've told me, she can't keep a secret, but if we get her to reveal all the messy details right at the last moment, Wentworth won't have time to backtrack or talk his way out of things."

"Good idea. For that matter, any diviner we can get on our side would be a major asset."

"You'll probably end up doing a lot of spying, Elaine. Did you run in to any trouble on Thursday?" Saric asked.

"Not really. I did suffer a rather nasty scare, though."

"Oh?"

"The first word I heard Wentworth say clearly was my name. I thought for sure that I'd been made, but it turned out he was only telling his newest subordinate that I'd be by later in the evening."

"That does sound rather unsettling."

"Fortunately no harm came of it."

"Is there anything we can do over the break?"

"I can do a bit of spying, but I'm not sure how much good it'll do, with what I've currently got to go on. You guys should try to find out what you can about non-classified subjects, like the tournament. Precise dates, location, estimated number of competitors, anything you can learn. Also, Saric, you may want to consider running for the ASB once school is back in session. That'll put you in more intimate contact with Wentworth, and he might let something slip. At the least, he'll probably ask you for more favors."

"That would make sense," Saric agreed.

"Given your part in getting rid of Roe, it should be an easy win," Dennis smiled.

"If that is all, might I suggest that we become more closely acquainted with the denizens of Saric's stream?" Kentaro suggested.

No one disagreed, and the four were soon on their way outside, armed with fishing poles, the prospect of fresh meat strong enough motivation for all of them to ignore the swirling snows.

It was absolutely freezing. Saric couldn't believe how much the temperature had dropped since the day before. While there had been a rather impressive snowstorm, it hadn't been painful to breathe then. Still, a fairly large portion of the town restocked food supplies either every Sunday or every other Sunday, so the sight of a steady stream of pedestrians was relatively unsurprising. Saric was using the trip to restock as an excuse to be out and mingling. Odds of running into a teacher at the distribution center were fairly high, and Djoser had been only too glad to relinquish the chore, especially given the weather conditions.

It was times like this that Saric wished that his family lived a little closer to the center of town.

The cold weather urged Saric into a faster pace, and he soon found himself jogging, both to warm himself up, and to shorten the time until he was back in a heated building. The large, empty basket he was carrying bobbed and swayed in time to his movements. Saric was almost startled when he realized he had arrived at the distribution center. It was a large, unadorned building that had probably been a warehouse before Genesis. The insulation had been improved, and, while the inside wasn't exactly toasty, it was at least something to break the force of the wind.

The inside of the distribution center closely resembled the produce section of a supermarket. In the back, a large sign gave thanks to Sonya Brown and Jack Rando for supplying the town with food. While the sign honored both parties equally, Rando's dumplings were given only two small stands at the back of the store. There the dough-like substance sat, kept in a reusable container and lumped into five, ten or fifteen pound blobs. Rando, far from being bitter, had reportedly been vastly relieved when Arrowhead had found someone else to provide food.

Saric scanned the place quickly, looking for familiar faces. It took him only a few moments to spot Mrs. Taggert, over by the apples. He made his way over to her, stopping briefly to grab a head of lettuce and a few hot peppers. She noticed him before he had a chance to greet her, however.

"Good morning, Saric. How are you?"

"Aside from being about half frozen, I'm doing quite well, Mrs. Taggert, and yourself?"

"About the same. It is rather a bad day to go shopping," she sympathized, using the informal term for visiting the distribution center.

"Still, I'm glad to have run into you. I heard an interesting rumor a few days back, and I've been meaning to ask someone about it."

"Oh?"

"From what I heard, there's going to be some kind of grand tournament of Gifts around the end of the school year. Is there any truth to that?"

"Yes. We're planning to start the day after finals are over. It was Mr. Cameron's idea. He thought that it would be a good way to end the school year."

"It sounds like it should be quite an event. How many people do you think are going to compete?"

"Well, as I recall, we have somewhere around two thousand students who will be eligible. From what Mr. Cameron's told me about how much people have enjoyed his smaller scale tournaments, I'd expect a pretty high turnout. Probably about ninety percent."

"Eighteen hundred students, all competing at once? Where are you going to put them all?"

"They won't all be competing at once. We're planning on having the competition take place at the high school. I think the plan called for two rows of ten competition rings, with stands for the audience in the middle. The tournament will be spread out over several days, needless to say."

"I don't envy Mr. Cameron, having to police twenty matches at once to make sure nobody gets hurt."

"That won't be a problem. Mr. Wentworth has selected several capable men and women to judge the competitions. Their Gifts will allow them to intercede if necessary."

Saric carefully concealed a smile. He hadn't expected to hit pay dirt so easily. Mrs. Taggert startled him slightly by asking a question of her own.

"So, why all this curiosity about the tournament? I take it you're planning to enter, but the tournament won't begin for another six months."

"My Gift is of a rather indirect nature, as I'm sure you're aware," Saric responded, after thinking a few moments to find a reply "And, since I will be starting off at a disadvantage in an outright competition versus those whose Gifts tend to produce more immediate results, I feel that I should do what I can to level the playing field. If I know more about how things will be set up, that gives me more time to prepare, and think of ways to put my Gift to best use."

"I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck. Much as I've enjoyed talking with you, though, I'm afraid I still have quite a bit to do today."

"I understand. As cold as it is today, I won't be happy until I'm back under my own roof, with about fifteen blankets piled on top of me," Saric smiled.

"I wish you a fast trip back home, Saric. Happy Holidays."

"Thanks. Happy Holidays."

Saric paused briefly to consider the meeting he and his friends had just had. The group had met and discussed their findings, but there had been little to report, aside from what Saric had learned about the tournament. Elaine and Dennis had teamed up and done a bit of surveillance, trying to find out where Wentworth went and whom he spoke with, but the man had proven surprisingly difficult to track. Kentaro had only slightly better luck, using his position as mail carrier to find out who Wentworth was corresponding with in writing, and what he and those who were writing to him had to say. All he had managed to dig up was a set of Christmas cards, but he felt that the names attached to those cards might be telling. Community service during break was voluntary, but several teachers had offered extra credit to those who continued with it.

Saric had also explained the situation to Djoser. To his surprise, Djoser had already been working on finding out more about Wentworth. He had stumbled upon a meeting between the superintendent and Sparkweaver. Sensing that the two did not wish to be disturbed, he had made himself unobtrusive, and gone unnoticed. What had drawn Djoser's concern was fairly simple: while Wentworth was the soul of courtesy to Sparkweaver's face, the calculating look he had given the mayor when Sparkweaver had turned away had been chilling. That had been enough to send Djoser to one of his numerous friends. The girl in question was Gifted with selective empathy. When Djoser asked her about the superintendent, she had shuddered and told him that she made very certain to close her empathic link whenever he was around. She couldn't get anything specific out of him, for some unknown reason, but the feedback that did work its way through to her made her physically ill.

Djoser hadn't been able to find anything else out, but once Saric had told him about Wentworth's ambitions, he had promised to see what he could do. Djoser himself wasn't observant enough to be a very good investigator, but thanks to his Gift of charm, he had literally hundreds of friends. A few carefully worded questions, he reasoned, might produce results.

Saric was rewarded for his distraction with a mouth full of snow. Elaine laughed and dove behind a tree, narrowly avoiding a snowball Kentaro had tossed at her in retaliation.

"Saric, you should pay more attention," Kentaro commented, "It is hardly a snowball fight if you stand there and let members of the other team hit you."

Saric nodded, silently berating himself for letting his attention wander. After the meeting had broken up, the group had agreed to a snowball fight to relieve some tension. Saric and Kentaro had paired off against Dennis and Elaine. The idea was to have two teams of roughly equal power. Kentaro refused to use his Gift, but his speed and accuracy, gained from his extensive training in martial arts, made that rather irrelevant. Dennis and Elaine operated under no such restrictions. Dennis used his ability to fly to attempt to strafe the two from a safe distance, but he had quickly learned that Kentaro could throw a snowball surprisingly far, and that, with his wings spread, he made a rather large target. He had settled into a routine of flying higher to lower Kentaro's accuracy, but his own accuracy had suffered as a result. The trips down to the ground to restock his ammo didn't help him, either. Elaine simply shimmered into an unusually strong and agile form.