Kay found a place to park near Alek’s apartment and we set off on foot. Nell’s head was tilted so far back I thought she might tip over as she looked at all the tall buildings around us.
“There’s some good arcades around here,” Kay said. “I have a group of friends that hang out and play games after classes. You guys should come sometime. I’ll beat your asses in Struggle Fighter any day.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said distractedly.
Nell was walking uncomfortably close to me, occasionally bumping my arm with hers. She had gotten cleaned up, her fingernails were clean of dirt and her hair had been somewhat tamed, although there was one stubborn tuft near the front that had remained standing tall. I wasn’t sure if she was being this close on purpose or if she just didn’t understand personal space.
Nell looked across the street, her head following a car as it passed by. “There’s no one in that car,” she said, surprised.
The windows were heavily tinted so I couldn’t tell, but I saw the logo of a musical note that vaguely looked like a car silhouette and nodded. “It’s an automated one. Artificial intelligence drives it with, uh, sensors and stuff.”
Kay’s eyes widened. “You could tell there wasn’t anyone in there? So cool!”
I felt a little wiggle of satisfaction in my head and Nell perked up. “I can sense anything living in my range,” she said proudly.
“Woah. Even bugs?” Kay asked.
Nell’s expression faltered. “Sorta. I can’t really tell what’s what unless I touch it with my Shaping. They’re just different sized blobs to my sixth sense. I can tell a person from a plant, but that’s about it.”
“Here it is,” Kay said, stopping in front of a skinny apartment building that looked like it was being slowly squeezed inwards by the two large buildings on either side of it. Kay gave us a sidelong look. “You both sure about this? I haven’t seen Alek in years and he wasn’t the nicest person to begin with.”
Nell took a step forward and I felt her desire for retribution ignite inside me. “I need answers. I still don’t know why they kept me captive. If this Alek person knows anything about how Shaping works, it’ll be worth it.”
I was a little more hesitant after what Kay had said about Alek throwing someone through a window. Nell seemed to recognize this and looked at me seriously. “Don’t worry, Nick. If he gets violent, I’ll handle it.”
That was ominous. It didn’t help that I could literally feel her sincerity mixed with a kind of coldness I didn’t recognize.
Despite that statement, Kay led the way into the apartment building. I wrinkled my nose as the air from the inside wafted out. The smell of cigarettes had saturated the interior, no doubt these walls would never smell like anything else. The lights were dim as we walked down the hallway and the paint was chipped in several places. I could hear someone coughing up a lung inside one of the apartments.
We weren’t in the nicest part of the city, but it was still surprising to see this level of poverty when Sillwood was heralded as such a city of progress. Sillwood had always been excellent at turning the public eye away from its ugly parts. Forget the Old Town, look at all the innovative tech companies that have headquarters here! Don’t worry about the crime, just enjoy the revelries of the entertainment district! But the ugly parts remained and every time someone fell through the cracks, due to addiction or gambling debt or worse, the decay spread a little further.
Kay stopped in front of an apartment and pressed the buzzer. After a pause with no response, she leaned on the button with a smug expression. The bell rung loudly inside the apartment. Eventually there was a clatter from inside and footsteps thudding closer. The door swung open and a man with reddened, bleary eyes glared at us.
“Hui s’gory. Are you trying to make me deaf!?” he shouted. “What do you want?”
Kay eyed him coolly. “Just checking to make sure it works.”
The man stared at Claire for a second, his face slowly moving from anger to disbelief. “Kay? Is that you?”
“It is I,” Kay said.
Alek beamed and moved to hug her and Kay backed up to avoid it. “No thanks, you reek of alcohol.”
The man’s eyes darted between the three of us. “So good to see you, Kay.”
“Sure. It’s been a while.”
Alek lowered his arms. “I never got the chance to apologize for Helen,” he said, pronouncing the name with a Russian ‘kh’ sound. “She can be a bit vengeful.”
Kay raised an eyebrow and I noticed her fist clenching. “A bit?”
Alek was oblivious. “Yeah. Anyway that was ages ago, I’m sure you’ve forgotte-mph.” Kay slugged Alek in the face before he could finish the thought and he reeled backwards, collapsing into his apartment.
Kay stepped over him and into the apartment. Nell and I watched as Alek groaned and slowly picked himself up. Kay had gone to his freezer and found an icepack.
“I thought you might hit me for saying that,” Alek said, his cheek red and swollen.
“And yet you said it anyway. Never were good at keeping your mouth shut, huh,” Kay said as she held the icepack on her knuckles.
Alek sat on a lawn chair across from us while the three of us sat on the only couch.
Alek looked to be in his early thirties, which meant that he had been in a band with Kay when she was a minor and he was an adult. His hair was bleached blond and gelled into short spikes that were flattened on one side of his head from sleeping on it. Tattoos of interlocking chain links ran down his broad shoulders to his hands. Each ring of the chain looked a little different, some were round and others geometric, with sharp corners.
I looked around the apartment. Beer cans and bottles were left discarded on the floor. An electric guitar leaned on the door leading to the balcony. A few records were hung decoratively on the wall next to a music player.
Alek gestured to Nell and I. “Not going to introduce me?”
Kay grinned. “I figured I’d wait until your head stopped spinning.”
Alek looked like he was about to say something snide back, then he thought better of it. “It’s stopped.”
I extended a hand to shake. Alek took it and shook. “I’m Nick. This is Nell.”
I tried to withdraw my hand, but Alek’s grip tightened as he smiled wide. “Alliteration. Sounds like a good duet band.”
I broke eye contact, trying to tug free. Satisfied with his strange display of dominance, Alek released me.
Kay rolled her eyes at Alek. “Let’s get to the point. These two are like you and Helen. To use your terminology, a Witch and a Wolf.”
Alek’s face remained blank, but his eyes darted around the room as if looking for an exit. “Whatever freaky shit you’re on about, it has nothing to do with me.”
“You’re lying,” Nell said.
Alek eyed her uncomfortably. “You don’t know shit about me, suka.”
“Alek,” Kay warned. “You owe me. What Helen did was fucked up.”
Alek sighed and leaned back in the chair. “What do you want from me? I’ve got my own problems to deal with.”
“Tell us what you know about Shaping,” Nell said.
Alek lolled his head back. “You first. How am I supposed to know how much you know?”
“Shapeshifting is real,” I said. “Or Shaping, I guess. Some people can Shape others, some people can Shape their own body. There’s some sort of substance that can Shape too.”
Alek raised his head and studied me for a moment, then nodded. “That’s all true.”
“Do all Witches and Wolves come in pairs?” I asked.
Alek rose up and went to the fridge. “Can’t say for sure, no one ever properly explained it to me, but I’ve heard of Witches who bonded with more than one Wolf.”
“How many of us are in the city?” Nell asked.
Alek shrugged, falling back into the chair with a beer in hand. “There was one other pair I knew about. The Witch died a long time ago. The Wolf is still around. How long ago did the two of you bond?”
I looked at Nell. “Over a decade ago,” she answered.
Alek paused, then sat up and seemed to look at the two of us in a new light, beer forgotten in his hand. “No shit? That’s the longest I’ve heard of. Here I was thinking you were fledglings.”
“Why does it matter?” I asked in a guarded tone.
“Shaping is like a muscle. You get stronger at it, the longer you use it.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said. “but I’m very new at this, less than a month since I started Shaping.” I could feel Kay’s eyes on me, no doubt wanting to ask for a demonstration. The more I realized how cool she was, the less I wanted to show off how scary my body was.
Alek’s finger tapped his knee, then pointed to Nell. “Hmm. But you are strong, da?”
Nell raised her chin as if daring him to think otherwise.
Whatever Alek was considering, I felt uneasy about it.
He leaned forward and I smelled his sour breath. “I’m a Wolf, so I can’t help much on that side of things. But Helen and I have been Shaping for seven years, so I do know some stuff. I can show you a thing or two about being a Wolf.” Then he rolled his neck and stood up. “But I gotta go to work. Text me when you’re free and we can work out a meeting place.”
Kay’s raised her eyebrows. “You have a job?”
Alek grinned and strummed the air.
Kay groaned. “You still play? Don’t tell me you haven’t rebranded since then.”
“Fervent Remorse is going strong, baby.” Alek said. Then his expression clouded over. “Well, it used to. Hey, Kay…”
“What?”
Alek spoke in a low, somber tone. “You… haven’t heard from Helen, have you?”
Kay narrowed her eyes. “Why the fuck would I have heard from her? What, you guys break up?” She pulled a feigned expression of remorse. “I’m soooooo sorry. I don’t know what you could have done to deserve that.”
Alek stared at the beer in his hand. “Of course. Forget I asked. Listen,” he turned to me. “Why don’t we meet in the old trainyard by the edge of town? No cameras there. No one will see us.”
I looked away, wanting to get a break from the powerful stench of this apartment. “Fine. We’ll see you there tomorrow.”