Jason hesitated outside Sinastar's room before he knocked the door.

The latter had retired to his room soon after they watched the video with Des and the others, and none of them tried to stop him. The identity of one who helped Satara escape from the station surrounded them both like fog but the Agents didn't press either of them for an explanation. Saytarnia doesn't give a crap about people seeing her. I bet she walked in there and actually ran off with Satara this time without a second thought.

“Come in,” said Sinastar from inside the room.

Jason entered and closed the door behind him. “Sorry. Were you meditating?”

I shoulda done that too after that video. Sinastar sat on the bed with his legs crossed, hands raised as if he were about to make Jason invisible again. Satara had done exactly the same thing to protect him from the bullets at the clinic. Neither of them had been able to protect her from the police.

“Yes.” He lowered his hands but his back remained straight despite the barely visible discomfort in his posture. “And assessing the damage.”

“Damage? Oh.” Jason hesitated between the chair and the bed until Sinastar's expectant stare drew him closer. He bent to receive the Tribe greeting. “How's it looking?”

“It's better than I expected but –” Sinastar flexed his fingers experimentally as he withdrew them and a light blue plume winked in and out of existence between them. “– I'll need more time.”

“Judy said you were drained or something.” The implications of what he had just witnessed threatened to steal the strength from his knees. He sat down. “She seems to know a bit about zai.”

“She's studying it in return for helping me. She's always been interested in chi.”

“Oh okay. So back in the clinic, with those guys, that was –” Jason swallowed his nervousness. It was the first time he had been alone with Sin since he regained consciousness. “– you transformed, right? Was it on purpose?”

“It was the only way I could protect you both.” Sinastar rubbed a thumb across his knuckles. “Though you all protected me in the end.”

“Yeah, and what?” Jason shrugged. “You've saved our backsides so many times. S'bout time we paid you back.”

Sinastar offered him a small smile but didn't appear pleased.

“When – when Tara switched, did she look like that too?” The thought occurred to him only a second before he asked. He tried to picture it but the potent question in Sinastar's stare distracted him. “I mean – I just thought it'd be kinda cool if she did.”

And does it hurt like it does in the movies? Tara was crying back then. He had been both annoyed and relieved that he hadn't needed to comfort her himself.

“Not exactly,” he replied, gaze lowered. “Hers looks more like a wolf.”

“Oh right. Makes sense.” Jason cleared his throat and finally faced the conversation they left behind in the surveillance room. “Why d'you think Tara ran off again?”

“Her foster family was coming to get her,” he replied at once. “She knew that would put them in danger.”

“Still. Running around outside without you is even more dangerous for her, ain't it?” He bit his lower lip. “You really think Saytarnia helped her get out?”

“It's definitely a possibility we shouldn't overlook.”

“But wouldn't we have heard something about a random psycho – uh – about a woman breaking into the station by now?” Jason hoped his weak grin would distract Sinastar from the near insult. You don't diss your friend's girl, no matter what. “Didn't Des say Latoya already went there? They woulda told her if something like that happened, right?”

“I believe they would. If they were aware of it at the time.”

“Or if they remember?” He tried to pick his words carefully. “Like I did?”

Sinastar stopped rubbing his wrists. It seemed to be a new habit. “What did you remember?”

“Can Saytarnia mess with your head too? With zai, I mean. Not like everyone else does.” Jason laughed under his breath. “Or has she got other powers we don't know about?”

“I'm sure she has many powers we don't know about,” said Sinastar with a blade-like smile.

“Great. Now I feel better,” grumbled Jason.

His companion didn't say anything for a moment. “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

“If we were back home, I would've told you to check the park.” He shrugged and the truth burned in his stomach. “But we've never been here before.”

“She has,” said Sinastar softly.

“What?”

“Melissa's house is right next to that fam- to Satara's old house.” He spoke slowly, giving Jason time to pick up on what he wasn't saying. “Where she lived with the Cunninghams.”

“Where she – what?” Jason stopped himself from standing up and placed a hand against his forehead. “Is that why she was acting extra weird as soon as we got there? Did she live next door to Melissa or something?”

He remembered her sudden shut down almost as soon as they got Sinastar to safety. Maybe even before that. The increase in tension. How she had revealed secrets to Melissa in that out of character way.

“Not next door but her house isn't far from the Cunninghams'.”

Oh crap. What if she was having flashbacks and stuff, and I didn't even realise? Fresh panic and self loathing welled up inside him. What does a flashback even look like?

“Then do you think she's –?”

“I think she'd know the police would expect her to go there.” For once, he sounded inconvenienced by his cousin's intelligence. “She wouldn't make it that easy for them to catch her again.”

“Did she know anyone else around there before everything went to crap?” demanded Jason. “Did she have any friends or anything? Was she –? ”

Was I just about to ask if she was normal back then? Jeez.

“I don't know but I doubt the Cunninghams would have let her out of sight for very long.” The edge in his tone sounded a little too close to the voice of the person who protected them in Judy's clinic.

Jason laughed hollowly and resisted the urge to push his chair away from the bed. “Did she go to school there? Where did she stay after Saytarnia did them in?”

“She was fostered. By more than one family.” Sinastar's face tightened as if he had taken little Satara by the hand and walked her up to the front door of each house himself. “She went to school too, as far as I know.”

“Maybe she's at one of their houses then?” Hope floated around his thoughts like dust motes. “D'you know where they live? Or if they're still there? We should tell Des to send his guys and check.”

“Normally I don't think she'd try to find any of them but it's worth a try.”

“Why?” Jason frowned. “Were they crappy?”

“I don't know all the details.”

“Did they hurt her?” The specks of hope dropped like pebbles, replaced by the punching bag in the training hall.

“They didn't keep her,” said Sinastar, dialling down his barely veiled malignancy.

“She wouldn't go back to them then.” Jason sighed and rubbed his face. “Even if she needs to.”

“Can you think of anywhere else she might've gone?”

“She's already been to the station. Didn't they take her to the hospital or anything after they found the Cunninghams? To make sure she was all right?”

Sinastar nodded and some of the bleakness left his gaze. Huh? Did I actually say something handy for once?

“I'll ask Des to check that hospital and all of those other places too. Even if she's not there herself, she might've left messages instead.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Unless she thinks that'll get her caught again.

“How would she –?” A soft knock on the door interrupted him and his skin prickled even before Ken called through it.

“Sinja? It's me, Ken.”

“Come in,” said Sinastar.

The door opened to reveal Jason's least favourite person.

“What're you doing here?” he grumbled.

The youngest Agent lifted a tray of refreshments and a new jug of water in response, then walked over to the bedside table.

“Jason, could you find Des and ask him to come here when he can?” said Sinastar.

“I can message him,” said Ken instantly. “If that's easier?”

But Sinastar never asked him to do anything unless it was absolutely necessary and Jason couldn't ignore the feeling that he was missing several pieces of a huge puzzle.

“Nah, I got it.” He stood up. “Where d'you reckon he'll be?”

“He should be in his office,” said Ken.

“I take it he's stopped training in the afternoon then?” asked Sinastar.

The two stared at each other for too long. Just as Jason experienced the gross feeling of being a third wheel, Ken offered a smile wide enough to flattened his eyes without showing his teeth.

“He could be in the gym too,” he said, nodding at Jason.

“Okay.” Jason tried not to look back as he left the room, failed, and waved at Sinastar to cover up the fact. “Want me to get you anything?”

The latter shook his head and thanked him. He closed the door and his stomach went cold as if he had just walked away from a baby sitting on the edge of a cliff.

Which of them is the baby though?

<><><><><>

The uncharacteristically territorial question thinned the air in his lungs and Ken stopped arranging the small plate of biscuits as Sinastar subtly removed Jason from the room. He straightened the mug of ginger tea but couldn't meet the other's gaze as he allowed the younger guy to cut off his escape route.

“Should I move it closer?” He gestured at the bedside table already half over the mattress.

“No, thank you.” Sinastar's voice had changed now that they were alone, more distant but also less formal, and he rubbed at his wrist.

“If you need anything else, just call.” He glanced at the other's thumb as it massaged a specific point close to the Shen Men point, also known as the Spirit Gate. One of the main points on the Heart meridian. “I can get you one of our watches if you want. It can do just a much as the phone and it's less trouble to carry around.”

“That's okay.” Sinastar seemed to be waiting for something. “Thank you, Ken.”

“No problem.” He stopped himself from bowing.

The elder of the two spoke again before he could politely excuse himself. “Do the Agents know who you are?”

“I'm not sure what you mean, Sinja.” He tried to laugh softly but it came out fragmented and tried not to look at the door.

“You don't have to hide something I've already seen, Ken.” The statement sounded like an order.

So he let the smile drop off his face, straightened his back, and lowered his gaze from his senior's face. “I'm sorry. It won't happen again.”

“I'd like an answer, not an apology.” The wording seemed harsh but his soft tone hadn't changed.

A fact that stung like bug bites beneath his clothes.

“They don't,” he murmured.

“Does Des?”

Sinastar wasn't just listening to his voice but to the rhythm of his breathing. Wasn't just watching his face but detecting every minute twitch along the lines of his body as well as his micro-expressions. Wasn't interpreting his words and actions with the mind of an old friend but with the calculations of an opponent instead. If I make one wrong move, say one thing wrong, who knows what he'll do. Sinastar's severely depleted zai levels did nothing to ease his rapid pulse.

“If he knows anything about me, it won't be because I told him.” Ken placed a hand to his chest and bowed, Tribe-style. “I promise.”

“I see.” Withheld judgement layered his cool tone. “When did you join them?”

“The Agents? About five years ago,” he replied.

“So you joined right after I left?” Sinastar straightened up further and only the momentary dullness of his stare betrayed the extent of his efforts.

Is he trying to intimidate me? Ken crossed his arms behind him and stifled the urge to gulp air. There's no need for him to try so hard.

“I did,” he replied as the other responded with a nod instead of a bow. Is it because he doesn't acknowledge me? Because he's in too much pain? Or perhaps he doesn't trust me enough to lower his head?

Ken couldn't blame him. Something had happened to the White Tiger Clan after he left and he knew Saytarnia had something to do with it. Which meant Satara had something to do with it too. He wondered if the rest of the clan had gone missing as well. Or if they had left the island to search for her. But it wouldn't have made sense to move the whole clan away from their protected home, especially the ordinary villagers.

His informant hadn't been willing to part with any comforting details so as that chapter of his life came to an end he forced himself to close the book. All he had been told was that he was in more danger now and he needed to work harder if he wanted to protect himself. And he would never be able to go back home. For the second time. He hadn't expected to open that book again. Not like this.

“Who sent you?” Blood fuelled Sinastar's question but Ken wasn't sure who exactly it belonged to.

“I'm so sorry but that's classified.” He winced inwardly.

“You seem to have spent a lot of time around Des?” It didn't sound like a question.

More like an admonition for an indiscretion he had yet to identify. He considered dropping to his knees and bowing until Sinastar trusted him but a scream from the back of his skull reminded him that he was in no position to lower his own head. I don't know if he played a part in whatever happened to the clan. For all I know, he could still be on Saytarnia's side. Like he always was.

“Only because I remind him of you. Apparently,” he replied with a meek smile devoid of the bitterness that usually accompanied such an admission.

He waited for Sinastar's quiet fury or some hint that the other would punish him for his impertinence. Or a sign that the interrogation wasn't over. Sinastar relaxed slightly against the headboard and stared at him. Not as if he were afraid to blink but to remind Ken that the few extra years he had lived weighed a lot.

“I have questions too,” said Ken after several heartbeats. Sinastar dipped his head almost reluctantly and the former leapt at the chance as if it were an opening in the middle of a fight. “It's been years since I left h- the country. I never went back.”

“I know.”

He knows? But he can't have been there all this time, otherwise he wouldn't have met Des and the others.

“Clearly you found Satara in that time.”

“I wasn't the only one,” said Sinastar as if he were being questioned at gun point.

“Saytarnia found her first, didn't she?” asked Ken quietly. He did the maths and the answer disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. “Is that why you think they're – you think she helped Satara escape from the police today?”

“I don't know if it was her yet.” Sinastar deflected the question as though it were a kunai.

“Isn't that a good thing?” He slowed his speech. “Saytarnia wanted to find her all this time. Why didn't you all go back to – back home together?”

Even though they were safe from prying ears in the room, he couldn't bring himself to say Chirean out loud. Sinastar's gaze flitted away but returned quickly. Had he blinked, Ken would have missed it.

“A lot has happened since you left,” he said softly. “What do you know already?”

“I heard something happened to our – to the clan.” His hushed slip up boomed in the silence.

“You heard?” Sinastar read his stiff features and didn't press him for an explanation. “The clan isn't around any more.”

Not around? Though he maintained the iron casing around his expression, Ken couldn't control his sudden discreet shiver nor the rise of his hair across his skin.

“What do you mean by that?” He reaching for a dying spark. “Did they go somewhere?”

“There's no clan to go back to any more, Ken.” The past rolled like tumultuous waves beyond the window of Sinastar's eyes. Ken tried not to squint, unsure of whether he could handle even a glimpse of his memories. “They're all dead.”

“Why? How?” He shook his head and the temperature dropped behind his breast bone. The wall brushed against his shoulder blades and he couldn't remember stepping back. “How did that happen?”

For a moment, he was sure Sinastar would throw his words – Des' words – back at his face. Instead he searched Ken's eyes, his expression, his body, and the latter abruptly realised how very alone he was. As if he had been locked in the room without his usual protective gear. It was a rare but familiar feeling that stole his breath, igniting his sympathetic nervous system. A fact he had to hide from the other occupant to avoid making things worse.

Sinastar lowered his voice. “They were killed.”

Killed? By who? But the darkness behind his eyes turned empty and Ken knew only one person capable of stealing the quiet light that had always been there.

“Was it –?” The name stuck in his throat as if it would summon the warrior herself and neither of them were prepared to deal with her unexpected presence.

He kept his gaze on the other's face so it couldn't flit to all four corners of the room. After a long moment, Sinastar averted his eyes briefly and nodded.

“She –?” Shock crushed the rest of Ken's question.

“– attacked the clan.” Sinastar looked like he wanted to close his eyes but chose to stare unblinkingly at Ken instead. “Satara and I are the only ones left.”

The invisible ground between their minds split as if it had been struck by a sudden earthquake. I'm not part of the clan. It looks like I never was. Not to him. He tried to identify the heaviness in his lungs. Is this disappointment? Anger? Am I hurt?

“But she wouldn't –” The half hearted statement sliced the fraying line that connected them.

“She did.” The absolute certainly in Sinastar's voice answered his next question.

He asked it anyway. “You were there?”

Saytarnia's cousin didn't answer aloud. He didn't have to. The admission rolled down his throat and the limited sunlight reflected off the ice throughout his expression. Ken tried to picture how it had all gone down. Had she gone through them all, one by one, family by family? Slaughtered them in their sleep? Both methods didn't match his memories of the cold yet loyal girl from a country so far away. One that had become his home and the place his thoughts always returned when unsettled.

Did the clan attack her together? How did she take them all out? She was one of the most deadly people he knew but even she would have struggled to defeat all of the White Tiger Clan warriors. It didn't make sense for her to attack the people she was duty and blood bound to protect.

“Why?” he breathed. “Why did she do that?”

“For Satara,” said Sinastar, digging his thumbnail into his wrist again.

That makes even less sense. Didn't she need their help to find her sister? Unless -

“They stopped looking for her?” he guessed. Did they give up? Weren't they worried about the rest of their kids? Sinastar dipped his head. “What about the Dragons? And the Phoenixes?”

“They were still around when I left them.” Sinastar caught himself before he said something else. A thought rippled across his features too quick to identify. “So you really didn't know anything?”

“It seems someone like me didn't need to know.” A stressed smile curled his lips. Why didn't they go back if the rest of the Tribe is still there? “Do you really think they're together now?”

“Satara probably doesn't trust her,” said Sinastar.

Like you do. Like I did. Both statements shook like a house built upon chipboard. Do I trust her? More importantly, do I trust him?

“If she was, where would Saytarnia take her?” Ken tried not to let the name shake him and waited but Sinastar only shook his head. “She wouldn't go back to Chirean, would she? After what she – what happened with the clan. Even if they accepted Satara, the Tribe would never let her come back home.”

Sinastar frowned faintly and Ken realised he had mentioned a painful truth the other guy might not have been ready to hear out loud.

“She'll know that too so she must have another plan,” he persisted, fingers twisted into the back of his shirt. “Another place to keep Satara safe.”

She wouldn't send her back to Chirean alone. Maybe with Sinastar but then she's only just found her again. She wouldn't let her go straight away – No. Previous information invaded his thoughts. He said he didn't find her first so why is all of this happening now? Why didn't she take Satara with her the first time she found her? Why did the Cunninghams steal her from Chirean in the first place? And how did she end up with him? He steadied his breathing. What isn't he telling me?

“You're right but I can't work out where that is. Not on my own.” Sinastar stopped massaging his wrists and briefly interlaced his fingers over his lap. “We're too few to be scattered, Ken.”

We? The question must have echoed across his features since Sinastar seemed to see it without looking up.

“Satara's not here right now so there's only two of us at the moment.” He lifted his gaze to Ken's face. “I'd like you to form a trio with us.”

Two? But you said you and Satara were the only ones left? For one ridiculous second, he believed the lack of zai had meddled with the other's mathematical abilities. He can't mean – Sinastar's fingers sliding through red hair, followed by a haughty expression seated uncomfortably on a distinctly non Asian face leapt to mind but Sinastar was watching him and waiting for an answer.

“What for?” he asked, softening the query with a muted smile. “To find Satara?”

“Not just her.” Sinastar's eyes narrowed.

“And if we find them both?” If he was going to join Saytarnia, they would have gone back to Chirean already. Or he'd know where she is now at least. He wouldn't need my help.

“Then we'll have two options. Reunion or revenge.” Both seemed to hurt him in different ways.

“You'd fight her?” He couldn't dust the surprise from his voice in time but kept his features blank.

“Only if I have to.”

What would make you have to? She already killed the clan because they abandoned Satara. Would you really try to take her away from Saytarnia after you saw what happened to them? The urge to meditate shifted like cold sludge at the back of his mind. I'm missing too many pages from this story but I won't find them by staying out of this.

He stepped away from the wall. “Do you think you would win?”

“Not alone.” Sinastar's head tilted to the right.

If I join him, will that put me up against Saytarnia? The insanity of it hurt his teeth. But if I don't, that'll put me up against him instead, won't it? He moved closer to the bed and placed his fist against his other palm, last three fingers raised.

“Three can surpass one,” he murmured, bowing deeply.

Sinastar placed a hand over his and flattened his fingers instead of his hair.

“We are few but united we can become strong.” He lifted his other hand and a small plume of fire as vividly blue as Saytarnia's eyes whirled unsteadily above his palm, illuminating his strained but satisfied smile.

“United, we will be stronger.”