Trinity

Chapter 6

Sarah

The next Saturday, the twelfth of February, heralded the commencement of the 2000 school Quidditch and Powerball seasons. The first round draw had been posted in the Atitjere common room that morning - in no time at all, it became the main topic of conversation at breakfast.

"Basically, we're on a twenty-four round roster," Kali explained to Taylor and I. "We play each of the opposing House teams nine times - eight times during the regular season, and again in the quarter finals. Today..." She examined her copy of the draw. "Atitjere plays Nyapari in Quidditch, and tomorrow in Powerball. Kalkaringi and Tanami are playing Powerball today and Quidditch tomorrow - we only have one Quidditch pitch and one Powerball pitch, so rostering can be sort of tricky." She took a bite of her toast. "Usually the finals take place at the end of Term 2, but it's a bit different this year. The Powerball finals are in the spring break, seeing as it got moved forward a few weeks because of the Olympics, and the Quidditch finals are at the beginning of October, so that we can have the inter-school tournament during the holidays."

"I just have one question, about Powerball," I said. "What exactly about it makes it so different from football?"

"Well, first..." Taylor slid the jar of peanut butter down the table to Seth. "You know how in soccer, goals are only worth one point?" I nodded. "They're worth five points in our game. Second, we can use our powers. Like for instance, I'm an empath, so if I want to distract the other team I can 'gather' the feelings of my teammates and hurl them at the opposition. And third, the positions that were carried over from soccer are more or less ceremonial. They only really matter during tryouts." He shrugged. "That, and they also come in handy if an elemental takes the option of playing in the Muggle leagues. Not that it happens very often, mind you."

"So it's basically just one great big free-for-all."

"More or less." He grinned. "And it's a shitload of fun."

At the conclusion of breakfast, Mrs. Richards stood up from her seat at the staff table, tapping a spoon against the rim of her glass. "Students, may I have your attention please?" she called out, and a hush descended over the dining hall. "Thank you. Now, as I know you are all well aware, our school Quidditch and Powerball seasons begin today; today is also the first open weekend of the school year. Those of you wishing to go into Alice Springs, and who haven't received a detention this week, should assemble in the front hall at ten o'clock; Portkeys into Alice Springs will be leaving from the front of the school every five minutes - those of you in possession of your Apparating licences may leave when ready. Those of you who are playing on your House teams today should meet at your respective pitches at nine-thirty - everyone else, you may wander over to the pitches at your leisure after inspection."

"I'd better go get ready," Kali said. She crammed the rest of her toast in her mouth and started chewing furiously. "Can't be late today," she added after she had swallowed.

"She's the Seeker on the House Quidditch team," Miriam explained to Taylor and I. "Not to mention she's the captain; she does a really good job of it, too." She finished off her cornflakes and lifted her bowl to her mouth to drain the milk. "Anyway, I want to get the jump on anyone who thinks it'd be funny to hog the bathroom this morning - meet you upstairs."

"Yeah," Taylor answered without looking up from his breakfast.

Taylor made to get up not five minutes later, and I latched onto the sleeve of his T-shirt before he'd managed to fully stand up. "I need to talk to you," I muttered.

"About what?"

I nodded to Miriam's retreating figure. "She's our sister. I saw it last Saturday."

"Are you sure?" Taylor asked, sitting back down in his seat and turning to look at me. "It'd be a disaster if you were wrong."

"Who's the Precognitionist here, Taylor?" I asked. "I am never wrong. Miriam Kennedy is our sister - I saw it clear as day."

"Okay, okay, no need to go off at me," he said, hands raised as if in defence. "I believe you. Now how do we tell Miriam?"

I shrugged. "No idea, to tell you the truth. We can figure that out later, though; right now we'd better get upstairs."

After inspection, Miriam, Taylor and I headed over to the school Quidditch pitch, decked out in our House colours; Miriam carried a flag over one shoulder and a folded sheet of light blue cloth that I guessed to be a banner under her other arm. I hadn't seen many people heading toward the front hall of the school, so it was safe to say that most of the school had decided to watch their House teams play. "We all usually sit on the right-hand side of the pitch," Miriam explained as neared the pitch. "It's better that way, seeing as whenever Tanami's the opposing team some of their supporters like hurling fireballs at us - we can just drench them." She chuckled. "But it's also because if we're scattered, we can't be heard. So if we're grouped together, the players can hear us down here in the stands."

The three of us found seats nearest to the sidelines and sat down; Miriam handed Taylor the banner and the two of them unfolded it, charming it to stick to the front of the barrier that ran the full circumference of the pitch. It was of a massive dark brown platypus, the House emblem, with the words 'ATITJERE FOR THE CUP', painted in dark blue, encircling the platypus. "I made this in Grade Seven," Miriam said, tapping the top of the barrier that was covered by her banner. She raised her flag high and started waving it back and forth in the air - it featured another platypus, this time on a royal blue background; somehow, she had charmed the platypus to move when the flag was waved.

It wasn't long before the stands were completely filled. It was the perfect day for Quidditch - the sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, and a light breeze was blowing. Not too hot, not too cold - just right. Across the pitch in the commentator's booth, one of the Grade Twelve students was preparing to begin their commentating duties.

"G'day everyone, and welcome to the first Quidditch match of the 2000 school year - today, we have Atitjere up against Nyapari." A roar went up when the teams were named. "I'm Christine Mathers, and I will be your commentator this fine February morning."

"Get on with it!" someone yelled, their voice amplified by - I guessed - an Amplifying Charm.

"As you wish, Your Highness," Christine quipped. "Let's get this underway - for Atitjere, all flying on the just-released Phoenix Flyer broomsticks, we have Isaac Mason" a royal-blue blur zipped out from the tunnel in the opposite side of the pitch "Drew Miers" another blur shot out onto the pitch "Daniel Smith, Karyn Clarkson" two more blurs zipped out "Rebecca Simpson, Leah Anders" another two blurs made their entrance "and last, but most certainly not least - the one, the only, our captain and illustrious Seeker..."

"Miss Mathers!" Mrs. Chatham scolded. I guessed that Christine was in Atitjere House from the way Mrs. Chatham had spoken.

"Sorry Mrs. Chatham!" Christine let out a quiet snicker. "Kali Miller!" she finished. The final player flew out onto the pitch, and a cheer went up from the Atitjere supporters. "Now please welcome the Nyaparians onto the field - Simone Hall, Deana Fletcher, David Green, Luisa Cantalejo, Mark Carden, Vanessa Viduka and Shawn Monaghan!" As Christine spoke, a series of seven forest green blurs shot out onto the pitch.

"This is going to be fucking awesome," Miriam said happily. "I was watching the Atitjere team practicing on Wednesday, and they've definitely got a few tricks up their sleeves."

"Like what?" I asked.

"You'll see. Just answer me this - ever seen the Wollongong Shimmy performed in a game?"

"The what?" Taylor and I asked simultaneously.

"Apparently not." Miriam chuckled. "It's a Chaser move that the Wollongong Warriors are famous for. It's a bit hard to explain - you're better off watching it. Let's just say that the Nyaparians ain't gonna know what's hit them until it's too late."

"And they're off!" Christine shouted, and the fourteen players, along with the referee (who I recognised as Miss Ronavuso, the flying instructor and Taylor's trainer), shot into the air. "Atitjere takes first possession, and Clarkson takes off up the pitch - she passes it, and it's intercepted by Viduka - Viduka passes to Carden, Carden passes it - Simpson intercepts and takes off - she scores! Ten-nil to Atitjere!"

A resounding cheer went up. "Go Becca!" Miriam yelled, waving her flag back and forth.

The match continued, and by the time the first half hour was up Atitjere was ahead seventy points to thirty. Atitjere had just taken possession when Karyn Clarkson, flanked by her fellow Chasers, shot off up the pitch, moving in a zigzag formation. It looked as if they were arrowing directly for the Nyaparian Chasers, who scattered, leaving the way clear for Karyn to score a goal. Another resounding cheer sounded from the royal-blue-clad students.

"Eighty-thirty to Atitjere!" Christine shouted. "That was a fantastic performance of the Wollongong Shimmy by the Atitjerean Chasers!"

Within moments, a royal-blue blur came rocketing toward the pitch from high in the sky, speeding after the Snitch - Kali had spotted it. It wasn't long before she had caught up to it, and she snatched it right out of the sky.

"Kali Miller catches the Snitch!" Christine shouted. "Atitjere wins, two hundred and thirty points to thirty!" Beside me, Miriam let out an ear-piercing shriek, and I jammed my fingers in my ears.

"How fucking awesome was that?" Miriam asked happily as we left the stadium. "You guys up to going into Alice Springs? I need to go pay my piano teacher a visit, but maybe you guys might like to have a look around Larapinta Square."

"Yeah, why not?" Taylor said. "I wouldn't mind getting out of this place." I nodded my agreement.

"Awesome. I'll meet you guys in the front hall in, say, fifteen minutes?" Taylor and I nodded. "Oh, and you might want to dress casually - we have to walk all the way from the town outskirts to get there. It's a bit too hot for robes, anyway."

Approximately a quarter of an hour later, the three of us met in the front hall of the castle, dressed in whatever summer-appropriate clothes we had been able to dig up. Taylor and I both wore shorts, T-shirts and sandals, our wands and wallets shoved into our pockets; I wore a light blue Weird Sisters T-shirt that I had bought the previous summer after the band's concert on Salisbury Plain, while Taylor's dark green shirt featured a moving graphic of a Chinese Fireball dragon. Miriam wore a long dark blue sleeveless dress, a wide-brimmed straw hat, and what looked suspiciously like a pair of silver ballet slippers on her feet. A small denim shoulder bag with a long strap and a glittery, multicoloured butterfly on a lower corner was slung over her shoulder.

"Ready to go?" Miriam asked.

"I hate Portkeys," Taylor complained as the three of us walked through the front hall, towards the massive double doors to the world outside. "Isn't there a better way of getting there?"

"Unless you have your Apparating licence, then no," Miriam replied. "I don't like Portkeys much either. But I'll be able to get my licence this year, thank goodness."

We stepped out onto the front porch and walked down the stairs to where one of the teachers, Mrs. Sinclair, stood, a clipboard and quill in hand. "Names?" she asked, quill poised to write.

"Sarah Abernathy."

"Taylor Chambers."

"Miriam Kennedy."

The three of us spoke in quick succession, and Mrs. Sinclair ticked three names off her list. She took an empty inkbottle from one of the pockets of her robes and tapped it with her wand. "Portus," she incanted, and the inkbottle glowed blue for the briefest of moments. "It will reactivate at precisely four o'clock," she said. "Make sure that all three of you meet up before then, otherwise it will be rather difficult for you to return here."

"Yes Mrs. Sinclair," Miriam said as she took the Portkey in hand; Taylor and I quickly touched a finger each to it, and I felt the all-too-familiar - and vaguely unpleasant - feeling of a hook being pulled somewhere in the region of my stomach, right before the school grounds blinked out of view.

* * *

Taylor

The oppressive heat slammed into me the instant my feet slammed into the ground. "Now I see why you told us to dress like this," I said, pulling the collar of my T-shirt away from my neck. "Either of you got a rubber band I can borrow?" Sarah dug in a pocket of her shorts and pulled out a bright blue rubber band, and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said as I pulled my hair back into a low ponytail at the nape of my neck, leaving my rat-tail loose.

"Why isn't it like this up at the school?" Sarah asked as the three of us started walking. "The heat, I mean."

Miriam took her hat off and fanned herself with the brim, before putting it back on. "One of the elemental powers is weather control, right? Well, it's Mr. Hensley's job - he's the head of Kalkaringi House - to keep as much of the desert from affecting us as possible. It'd be pretty uncomfortable to be stuck in the castle otherwise. It's actually part of powers training for the Grade Twelve students in Kalkaringi to work on maintaining the grounds - their biggest responsibility is to make it rain when the gardens need watering. My sister will be dragged into it, kicking and screaming most likely, when she gets there. She's in Grade Eight at the moment."

The three of us walked through the streets of Alice Springs, talking aimlessly about anything and everything, until we came to Hartley Street. "This is the Yeperenye Centre," Miriam explained, pointing to the shopping complex that was situated across the street. "I'll show you guys how to get to the Square, then I have to go see my piano teacher. I'll meet you guys out the front of Desert Oasis at around twelve-thirty." Miriam quickly looked both ways along the street before stepping out onto the asphalt and crossing to the opposite kerb, Sarah and I hot on her heels.

"And Desert Oasis is what, exactly?" I asked as the three of us entered the shopping complex.

Miriam took her hat off, shrank it, and tucked it into her bag. "A café," she replied. "Now where is it..." She stopped walking, her dress swirling around her ankles, and took a look around. "This way," she said, and set off once more, down a side corridor, Sarah and I following closely behind. Right at the end was a door marked 'Staff Only'. "It's right through this door," she explained, her hand on the doorknob. "Desert Oasis is right across the Square from the entrance, behind the fountain. I'll see you guys soon." Sarah and I nodded, and Miriam headed back down the corridor.

"Well, here goes nothing..." Sarah said quietly, and she opened the door.

Larapinta Square looked like a village green, which I supposed had more than likely been the intention of its designers. A ring of cobblestones surrounded a square of green grass, in the middle of which was a fountain that looked like it had been hewn from sandstone. The statue that stood in the bowl of the fountain was a witch, a wizard and what looked to me like an Aboriginal, their hands clasped together. Water flowed from the wands that the witch and wizard held, and from the pointed tip of the Aboriginal's spear. Shopfronts lined the edges of the square - a cauldron shop, an apothecary, a wand store, a bookstore, a stationery store and a toy store, among others.

"It's ten-thirty now," Sarah said, checking her watch, "so that gives us about two hours before Miriam shows up." She looked up at me. "What do you want to do? Split up?"

I shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. It's just this damn heat..." Sarah started giggling. "What are you laughing at?"

"Your shirt," Sarah replied; she let out a less-than-ladylike snort of laughter. "That poor dragon..."

A little confused, I pulled my T-shirt off over my head, flipped it over and held it up in my line of sight. The dragon on my shirtfront had its eyes half-closed and its long tongue sticking out not unlike a dog's, small puffs of smoke issuing from its nostrils. From the looks of it, it seemed that I wasn't the only one being affected by the heat.

"It's not that funny," I said as I went to pull my shirt back on.

The two of us spent the next couple of hours exploring the stores that populated the Square. I spent most of that time wandering between Alchemy Music, The Ink And Quill and Dead Heart Sports, while Sarah spent quite a bit of time popping in and out of Dragonstar Designs and Little Indulgences. By the time Miriam met up with us, our wallets were somewhat lighter; Sarah carried a large bag of jellybeans, and was studiously hunting through it with one hand, while I had spent quite a bit of money on a new set of coloured inks.

"This place is amazing," I said as we entered the café and found seats near the back. "I never imagined that there would be something like this practically in the middle of the desert."

"Most people don't," Miriam said. She hitched her dress up as she took her seat, hanging her bag from its strap over the back of her chair. "This is my treat, by the way - order anything you want. I assure you that I can afford it."

"But-" Sarah protested.

"Ah ah ah," Miriam said, holding up her right hand. "I can afford it. I live in Sydney for Merlin's sake - anyone who lives there has to be well-off, Muggle or otherwise. Now come on, pick something, and don't worry about the cost; you can pay me back later if you like, but it's completely unnecessary. And after lunch, I'm going to introduce the two of you to the wonders of Aussie junk food." Her gaze snapped to Sarah, who was still digging through her bag of jellybeans. "Though it seems you've already initiated yourself," she said evenly.

"I like jellybeans - can you blame me?"

Miriam chuckled. "No, I guess not." She picked up her menu and started scanning it.

Miriam kept her promise. As soon as we had finished lunch - all three of us had ordered lasagne - she led us into Little Indulgences. "This, my friends, is quite possibly the best sweet shop outside of Sydney," she said, clapping a hand on each of our shoulders as she stood behind us. "Their chocolate is to die for, and that's saying something. Their fudge isn't half bad either - the chocolate-peppermint one is the best."

"What do you usually get?" I asked as I started exploring.

"A little bit of everything, really," Miriam replied. "You do know what's in those, don't you?" she asked upon seeing Sarah starting to head for the display of Fizzing Whizbees.

"Of course I do," Sarah called back over her shoulder.

"And yet she still eats them," Miriam chuckled. She pivoted slowly on her right foot, looking around the shop, before heading straight over to where the Chocolate Frogs were shelved.

"What's in them?" I asked as I followed her, referring to the Fizzing Whizbees.

"Billywig stingers," she replied.

I blinked. I'd read something about that in my copy of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them back in sixth grade. "They put insects in candy here?"

"Yep." Miriam looked over her shoulder at me and grinned, looking positively feral.

"Gross!"

She laughed. "Oh, lighten up. They're nice; they'll make you float for a couple of hours, though."

When three-thirty rolled around, the three of us started heading back to the world outside. "You guys go on ahead," Miriam said as she turned back around and headed toward Alchemy Music. "I just need to go pick something up."

"Don't take too long!" I called after her. "We have to be back by four!"

"I know!" she yelled back. "Just go; I'll meet you outside!"

Sarah and I glanced at one another, and we both shrugged. I figured that Miriam knew what she was doing - if she didn't get back in time, there was always the option of me slowing things down if I decided it was warranted. It was a last resort, however - I disliked messing with time more than was necessary.

"Well, that was fun," Sarah commented as we left the Square and re-entered the Yeperenye Centre.

"Yeah," I agreed. "About time we got out of school; I was starting to get some serious cabin fever."

"So what are you going to do for the rest of today?"

I shrugged. "I've got a team practice from four-thirty till six, then I suppose I'll do some homework. We've got our first game tomorrow morning."

"Oh, that's right," Sarah remembered.

We reached the place where the Portkey had deposited us that morning, and while Sarah conjured up a patch of daisies and set to work making a daisy chain, I sat off to one side and hummed to myself; in almost no time at all, I started singing quietly.

"Sinne Fianna Fáil...atá fé gheall ag Éirinn...buíon dár slua...thar toinn do ráinig chugainn...fé mhóid bheith saor...seantír ár sinsear feasta...ní fhágfar fén tiorán ná fén tráill...anocht a théam sa bhearna bhaoil...le gean ar Ghaeil chun báis nó saoil...le gunna scréach fé lámhach na bpiléar...seo libh canaidh Amhrán na bhFiann..."

"What're you singing?" Sarah asked without looking up from her work.

"Irish national anthem," I replied. "One of the guys in my dorm at school is of Irish descent; he taught it to me after he found out that I speak fluent Gaelic."

Sarah looked up, and our gazes met; she nodded and smiled. "It sounds lovely."

"Maybe I'll teach it to you one day."

"I'd like that."

Barely five minutes later, Miriam appeared, her hat pulled down low over her eyes. She had the Portkey in hand. "Just in time," she said as she got within earshot. She was right - one glance at my watch showed the time as being two minutes to four o'clock. "Come on, not all of us can fiddle with time - and even then it's not going to reactivate this damn thing once it goes off." She gave the Portkey a shake.

Sarah and I didn't need to be told twice. We scrambled to our feet and touched a finger each to the Portkey, barely seconds before it activated.

Back over at the school, Miriam handed in the Portkey, and the two of us raced up to Atitjere Tower; Sarah had wandered toward the library as soon as we had landed. We had precisely fifteen minutes to get down to the Powerball pitch for one last practice before tomorrow's match. That was mostly my fault, being that we normally had half an hour - I had made the mistake, in Dominic's view, of letting loose my frustrations in Slovenian during yesterday's practice session. Ordinarily that wouldn't have been a problem, but the fact that one of my teammates spoke a little Slovenian was.

"We're all here then?" Dominic asked as Miriam and I bolted onto the sidelines of the pitch. "Good. Now, I'm sure we all know why we're here early," he continued, and ten pairs of eyes focused squarely on me.

"I can't help it!" I said in my defence.

Dominic merely grinned. "Actually, Taylor, the fact that you're a Speaker is going to work to our advantage this season. That was part of the reason I picked you for the team. How many languages do you speak?"

I did a quick mental count. "One hundred and sixty-five, not including the various forms of sign language and Braille."

"Really?" he asked, and I nodded. He let out a soft whistle of awe. "All right, this is what we're going to do. Having each of you learn the translations of Taylor's little multilingual outbursts is pretty much a waste of everyone's time - it would take us years. Which is why we're going to cast Translation Charms on ourselves before each practice and each match. Danya here" he nodded to a slight-looking black-haired girl "is pretty good at Translation Charms, and she has graciously agreed to not only teach us how to cast the charm, but also to tune it to whatever language Taylor decides he's going to speak during a match."

"Isn't that cheating?" a red-haired girl asked.

"Technically, yes. But we're not using it to cheat, are we?" Dominic turned to Danya. "You have the floor, Miss Farrugia."

Danya nodded and stood up, pulling the hem of her shirt down over the waistband of her shorts. "The incantation is Dissero," she said. "Normally you'd say the incantation followed by whatever language you wanted to translate, but as we all witnessed yesterday, Taylor can be pretty unpredictable. So to give us a wider spectrum, we're going to say Disseromulti - Dissero is the standard Translation Charm, and the suffix -multi implies that we want to be able to understand what he's saying whenever he says it."

"Why don't you give us a demonstration?" Dominic said, and Danya grinned; she was clearly in her element. She found her wand, touched it to her throat and spoke the incantation.

"Disseromulti." She put her wand down again. "Now Taylor, say something - anything you want. Swear a blue streak if you want - the only other Speaker in this country is a lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, and therefore I'm the only one here who can understand you."

I grinned. Standing up, I faced Danya and reeled off a load of Norwegian. "Vess du fan ikke kan oppfør dæ årntli så ska æ stapp høue ditt opp i ræva di, så kan du sett dær, aleina i mørtna, å prat mannskit me dæ sjøl."

Danya burst out laughing. "That is one hell of an insult," she said.

I winked. "I got plenty more where that came from." I grinned again - this was more fun than I imagined. "Le réalité et toi, vous ne vous entendez pas, n'est-ce pas?"

"What did he say?" Dominic asked, sounding impatient.

"Well, first..." Danya stepped up beside me and faced the rest of the team. "He said, in Norwegian..." She coughed. "'If you can't fucking behave properly then I will stuff your head up your arse, so you can sit there, alone in the darkness, and talk shit to yourself.' He followed that, in French, with 'Reality and you don't get on, do they?'"

Everyone sat there in stunned silence, before bursting out laughing. "That was brilliant," Dominic said. "All right you lot, Translation Charms first, then we'll get down to practice."

* * *

Miriam

I paced the length of the Atitjere locker room the next morning, the spikes on my cleats making soft thudding sounds on the carpet. All but one of my fellow teammates were sitting around on wooden benches or on the floor, talking to one another in hushed voices, or staring into space. Dominic sat on a trestle table that had been set up in the middle of the room, tossing a soccer ball into the air over and over again.

The door opened and Taylor entered the locker room, pulling a pair of fingerless gloves onto his hands as he walked. We all wore them during games and practice - they helped us to control our powers better. "Hey," I said softly, and he looked at me. He gave me a small smile. "You feeling okay?"

He nodded. "I'm okay," he replied. He pulled a rubber band from around his left wrist and tied his hair back, before picking up a black backpack from the floor near the door and digging through it. "Or at least, I will be when we get out there." He found what he was looking for - his shin guards, cleats and socks - and sat down on the floor.

The door opened again, and Mrs. Chatham stuck her head in. "Five minutes, everyone," she told us.

"Thanks Mrs. Chatham," Dominic said, and our Head of House left. He stood up, dusting off his uniform, and cleared his throat. We all looked over at him. "All right you lot, listen up! In five minutes we will be out on that pitch, and by Merlin we are going to do Atitjere House proud. Yes, we won the league last year, but it wasn't by much. This year, not only do we have one of the best Powerball teams this school has seen in years, but we have a player from one of the best American youth squads on our side." He looked over at Taylor, who blushed a wonderful shade of crimson. "We are therefore quite capable, providing that we all work together, of pounding anyone who opposes us into the ground!" We all cheered. "Right - gloves on, cast your Translation Charms like Danya taught us, and let's go."

Five minutes later, we stood in a semicircle on the pitch, facing the members of the Nyapari House team, who were decked out in emerald green, looking rather menacing. Two of the boys had spiked black leather wristbands strapped around their hands over their gloves. The referee and Potions teacher, Mr. Kinnimont, stood in the middle of our circle, whistle in one hand, wand in the other, and the game ball tucked under his arm. The ball used in Powerball looked like an ordinary Muggle soccer ball, but at the same time it was rather different. The major difference was that any ball used in Powerball was charmed in such a way that it couldn't be picked up while in play. During a match, it could only be handled by the keeper, the referee and by any player who was throwing the ball in from the sidelines.

"I want a fair and clean game from each and every one of you," Mr. Kinnimont said. "Lees and Mathison, I realise that I shouldn't be saying this, but as long as you keep your hands away from the opposing players we'll have no problems." Dominic and the captain of Nyapari, Piper Collins, stepped forward and shook hands, and the rest of us fanned out into our positions. Mr. Kinnimont blew his whistle and the game started, Nyapari taking first possession.

"Nom de dieu de bordel de merde!" I heard Taylor yell over the roar of the crowd, and he pelted off up the pitch after Piper. He sent a bolt of scarlet lightning hurtling toward a member of Nyapari when she got too close to him, and she retaliated by giving him the finger. His response? "Senta em cima e brinka de elevador," snarled in her general direction. I held back a giggle; he certainly knew how to put that particular power to use. He quickly caught up with Piper, cutting in front of her and kicking the ball away. And it wasn't long before he became the match's first casualty.

"Miriam!" Dominic yelled as play ground to a halt. "Get your arse over here!" He waved at me, then crouched down beside Taylor's huddled form; Taylor had his head between his knees. A few metres away, Mr. Kinnimont was chewing out one of the Nyapari team members - not surprisingly, it was one of the boys who wore the spiked wristbands around their hands.

"That was a gross display of misconduct, Mr. Lees!" Mr. Kinnimont thundered. "I am putting you on report for deliberately injuring a member of the opposition. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Mr. Kinnimont nodded, then raised his wand and sent up a shower of gold sparks. "Hayes, get your team-mate off the pitch," he said to Dominic. Dominic did so, helping Taylor to his feet and walking him off the pitch, calling a request for a time-out over his shoulder as he walked. I sprinted over to the sidelines, and skidded to a halt as a wave of excruciating pain washed over me.

"Dominic, I know what you want me to do," I said, fighting the urge to run off, figuratively speaking, with my tail between my legs. "And I can't; he's projecting like crazy."

"What do you mean, 'projecting'?" Dominic asked.

"He's an empath, Dominic. And like anyone in a situation like this, he has absolutely no control over his empathy - he's forcing everyone around him to feel his pain. Except for you, by the looks of it. I'm not an empath, so I can't block it out."

Comprehension dawned on Dominic's face. "Oh..."

"Exactly. Didn't you say you were an empath? A few years ago, when I got on the team, you had me tell you what my powers were, and then you told me what yours were." Dominic nodded. "I need you to calm him down for me. I can't get anywhere near him while he's like this. Once he's stopped projecting, I can heal him."

Dominic nodded again and set to work. "So what exactly happened?" I asked, watching as Taylor visibly began to relax. Dominic really was quite good at this.

"Jordan Lees socked Taylor in the face," Dominic replied, his eyes closed. "Really dug in those spikes of his."

I winced. "Ouch."

"No shit Sherlock," Taylor mumbled. "Hurry up Dominic..."

"Did he break anything?" I asked. Taylor pointed gingerly to his right cheek, and I winced again.

"Okay, I'm finished," Dominic said, and I took a tentative step forward. I could still feel pain radiating off of Taylor in waves, but it was bearable. I knelt down before him and helped him to sit up straight.

"Just relax," I told him. "I know what I'm doing." Dominic yanked Taylor's hand away from his face, revealing it to be bruised and somewhat swollen. "This won't hurt," I promised. "If it does...well, you can bite me or something." I took my right glove off and blew on my fingertips, then held my hand against Taylor's face. He let out a quiet whimper, and I pulled my hand back slightly. "Sorry." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and let my healing power flow from my fingertips. As I worked, I could sense his broken cheekbone knitting back together beneath my hand, the swelling and bruising subsiding. When I could no longer feel that he was in pain, I pulled back.

"Are you quite finished?" Taylor asked, sounding rather bored. I opened my eyes to see him grinning at me. "Because I'd like to get back out there if that's okay with you."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm done."

"Good." He hauled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. "Who was it that punched me, anyway?"

"His name's Jordan Lees," Dominic replied as he stood up. "He's over there, the one with black spiky hair." He pointed to the huddle of Nyapari students.

Taylor gave both of us a very cheeky grin. "Excuse me." He walked over to where the opposition was. "Re kele-tzi!" he yelled. They all turned around, even though I knew they would have had no idea what Taylor had even said. "Over here, Jordan," he added, putting emphasis on the other boy's first name.

"What do you want?" Jordan asked. He ran his left hand over the back of his right, over the spikes.

"Je moet mij niet dissen. I can do things to you that would make your head spin." He formed a ball of red lightning above the palm of his left hand and spun it lazily. "Fuck with me again, and you will regret it." He dispelled the lightning ball and cocked an eyebrow. "Come on you guys."

"What was that all about?" I asked as we took up our positions on the pitch once more.

"Just a little something I like to call bluffing," Taylor replied easily.

"That was a bluff?" I asked incredulously. He nodded, grinning, and tightened the straps on his gloves. "You're insane."

"I know." He gave me one last cheeky smile and took a couple of deep breaths. "Thanks for this, by the way." He indicated his face.

"Anything for a friend," I said, and he nodded. Anything for a friend, indeed.