The day finally came, and everyone was on edge. All four older brothers were home by noon, but their father worked his full shift, not walking in the door until well after seven. He looked angry and tired, not a lot different than usual but Jay prayed to whoever would listen that his father would keep his temper in check.

Jay watched from the living room window, posting himself there after dinner. Mr. Avery arrived exactly at nine in a black car. His driver let him out one side and a skeletally thin man emerged from the other.

Mr. Avery looked exactly as Jay remembered him: moonlight white skin, slicked back blonde hair and eyes the color of a cold winter sky. He looked tired again, though, as he had when he had first approached Jay. Glittery touches of tasteful jewelry flickered in the streetlight outside their home as he approached their door.

The other man, the suspected Scout, was taller than even Jay. His hands were bony, and his face was gaunt. While Mr. Avery was dressed grandly, but normally, the scout wore a heavy black cloak, the hem traced in thin golden filigree. It looked out of place in the middle of summer in a tiny town in Indiana. Jay also saw him carrying a leather bag, much like a doctor from the 1800’s might have brought to a house-call. It immediately made Jay’s imagination run wild with what could be inside.

Mr. Avery knocked loudly, and Jay leapt up to answer. He felt that he would need to bridge the gap between the two sides of this arrangement. He was glad for a role to perform because waiting in the wings would have made him antsy.

“Mr. Avery. Come on in.” he stood aside and held his hand out.

“James. This is my associate,” Avery stopped and looked up at the man behind him.

“Mr. Ulrich.” The other man’s voice was deep and had an accent that Jay had never heard before but he thought it sounded German. Mr. Avery smiled a lightless smile.

“Mr. Ulrich, this is Jay, the finder.” Mr. Avery pointed a creamy white hand at Jay and Mr. Ulrich nodded. “Where is your family?”

“They’re in the kitchen, waiting for you.” Jay led the way and found his parents and the youngest at the table. The twins flanked the back door, their arms crossed, looking like absurd guards. Indie, out of bed for the first time that day, was sitting on Rat’s small stool near the sink. When Jay and the guests entered the room, it felt full and overcrowded.

“That’s my mother, Dora. My father, James.” Jay pointed. He skipped over Rat and pointed at the twins. “Joe and Ben.” Then he indicated Indie near the floor. “Indiana.” Finally, he landed on the youngest and introduced him.

“So glad to meet you all.” Mr. Avery said in what sounded like genuine pleasure. “This is Mr. Ulrich.” A ripple of nods made its way around the cramped kitchen.

“Would you like something to drink?” Jay’s mother asked and he could tell that she was trying her best to hide her anxiety with hospitality.

“That’s very kind of you, but we really are here on official business. In fact…” Mr. Avery motioned for Mr. Ulrich to set his bag down on the kitchen table. He pulled a packet of papers from a side pocket of the bag, neatly folded in thirds.

“This is your contract, stating that you allow us to test your son for any of the qualities we are looking for, up to and including taking a small blood sample for analysis.” Mr. Ulrich explained, carefully enunciating his words in his accented voice. He saw a few startled glances and smiled. “It’s common for people to have traits that we can detect. We might be able to tell you more about him if we analyse his blood.”

“You will need to sign with my pen.” Mr. Avery withdrew a long black stick with a golden nib. Jay recognised it as a fountain pen. He handed the pen first to his mother, who looked down at the thick paper, and frowned.

“I can’t read this.” She looked up at Mr. Ulrich and her frown deepened. He merely smiled again.

“It is in Latin. It merely says what I told you: you give consent to have your youngest tested for special traits.” He gestured to the paper again. Jay watched his mother hesitate and then sign her name with a quick scratch. The ink was dark red, thick and seeped into the paper slowly. It shone wetly on the paper for a minute before becoming a matte brownish-red.

“Ouch!” His mother dropped the pen and sucked on her finger. On the hand where she had signed, her pointer finger had a bright red dot that was slowly forming a droplet of ruby blood.

“Oh, do be careful. It’s a very sharp pen. I’m sorry.” Mr. Avery took out his silken handkerchief and passed it to Jay’s mother. She wiped her finger off and then stuck it in her mouth.

Jay’s father now had the pen in his hand. He looked once around the room, his eyes landing on Jay last, who only met his father’s stare and refused to look away. Then his father looked back down at the paper and replaced the pen. He hesitated again and looked up to Mr. Avery.

“The money?” he demanded curtly.

“Ah, yes. Here it is.” Mr. Avery took out a stack of money from his breast pocket. It looked to Jay like a lot less money than he had been given for his finder’s fee, the money that his father now had. “It’s the same amount as before but in one-hundred-dollar bills.” Mr. Avery said, meeting Jay’s eyes, who was reminded that Avery could read his thoughts as good as or better than his own brother could.

He narrowed his eyes, suddenly seeing that Mr. Avery had deliberately given Jay his own sum in smaller bills to make it seem like a more impressive amount of money. He had depended on Jay’s destitution to blind him. Jay let the anger inside wash over him once, a hot flash of fire in his gut that made him shift uncomfortably.

His father nodded, took the bundle of money and signed the contract. He too cut himself on the pen and sucked on his finger. Jay felt the atmosphere in the room change immediately into a business-like attitude.

“I will need the child to sit with me and the rest of you must be out of his sight behind him.” Mr. Ulrich said, and he rearranged the room to his liking. The boy now sat in a chair at the table with his back to the middle of the kitchen and his face toward the living room. Everyone else, Jay and Mr. Avery included, were instructed to huddle together behind him, as far back from the table as they could comfortably be.

“I will make silent eye contact with you and you will tap the child’s shoulder one time and return to your place. Child, you will now tell me who is touching your shoulder, without looking.” Mr. Ulrich locked eyes first with Toe, who tapped the boy’s left shoulder.

“Toe. He and Two are lefties and always choose left,” the boy said confidently.

“How do you know which twin it was?” Mr. Ulrich quizzed.

“Toe feels different than Two. I dunno.” The boy frowned, showing that he was unsure how to explain it. “Toe is blue and Two is green. Toe is dots but Two is stripes. Just different.” Mr. Ulrich nodded and looked up again, this time making eye contact with the other twin. Two tapped him on the right shoulder.

“Two.” Mr. Ulrich nodded and looked up again. Jay’s mother stepped forward, careful to not let her cotton skirt rustle. She touched her son’s left shoulder and back up.

“Momma.” The boy said, smiling. “She is gentle, like lightness and sunshine.” Ulrich looked at another family member and Jay stepped forward. He touched his brother softly and backed up quickly.

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“Jay,” the boy said succinctly. Mr. Ulrich looked up again, looking at Indie. Before he could even move, however, the boy smiled.

“You looked at Indie.” Mr. Ulrich looked at the boy and then glanced at Mr. Avery.

“Why do you think that?” the Scout asked the boy.

“Because I can hear Indie thinkin’. He’s harder than everyone else to shut out sometimes, but I don’t mind because he is my best friend and he hardly thinks mean things about anyone. He’s sick right now, that’s my fault, but that’s why you’re here. To help keep Indie safe.” The boy stopped to catch his breath.

“So, you have a special bond with your brother.” Mr. Ulrich stated. It was not a question. “How did you make him sick?” The boy immediately looked sad and guilty.

“I dunno how to explain it.” He turned and looked at Jay. “Jay said it was because I was takin’ from Indie things that Indie don’t got to give. I dunno what that means, though.” Ulrich looked askance at Jay, who nodded.

“I felt it when he was doin’ his things, but I fought it off. The twins said they felt it before, too,” Jay explained. Mr. Ulrich only nodded.

“This is not uncommon in siblings, however usually that means that all the siblings involved are also gifted. What traits do you possess?” he asked Indie who looked stunned. He shook his head.

“Nothin’. I just feel it when Rat does his tricks. The more he does them, the sicker I feel and then I pass out. Last time, it felt like something had squeezed my head until my nose popped. I bled all over the place. I still ain’t feelin’ great and that was going on a week ago now.” Jay saw his little brother hang his head as Indie talked.

“He knows how to leech? How is that even possible?” Mr. Avery demanded of his colleague in surprise. Mr. Ulrich merely shook his head in uncertainty.

“The next test is easy. You will tell me each image I think of. I’m going to change them faster and faster until you can’t keep up. You say stop when I have passed that threshold.” The boy nodded in understanding.

“Cat. Dog. Fish. Chicken. Pan. Spoon. Orange. The color green. Seven cows. Bird with rainbow feathers. Red, a lot of red. Just red, now. I don’t see nothin’ but red,” the boy recited. Jay had not felt anything when he had used his tricks. He was getting better.

“Excellent. I tricked you, and you caught it. That’s very good. There was nothing in those images but red.” Mr. Ulrich smiled at the boy and nodded. “You’re clever.” The boy beamed back.

“Now, child, are you able to make things disappear?” Mr. Ulrich inquired. The boy nodded. “Good, I would like you to do that.” He set a silver cube on the kitchen table. The boy reached his hand out for it and Ulrich stopped him. “With your mind, only.” The boy nodded again.

Jay felt the pull immediately. It was a soft tugging and pressure on his mind. He looked to Indie whose knees were now trembling.

“Wait!” the boy shouted and turned in his chair. “I’m sorry, Indie. I forgot to shut you out. I’ve been practicin’.” He turned back to the cube and closed his eyes. Jay felt the pull much stronger this time and his hands started to tremble. Next to him, Mr. Avery stiffened.

“Stop.” Mr. Ulrich instructed. Jay felt the pull slither off him. “You cannot take from your brothers to hide this. Use your own strength.” The boy screwed his face up and drew in his breath.

The cube immediately glowed and disappeared.

“If you touch the item, you are able to do this without borrowing so much from those around you?” Ulrich inquired. The boy nodded.

“It’s harder to push that special part of me out without touching things.” He admitted. He felt ashamed for some reason.

“Give me my cube back, but put it in my hand this time, not on the table.” Jay could tell that this was supposed to be different by how Mr. Ulrich laid his hand out flat before him. His brother looked up shyly at the gaunt man.

“I ain’t never gived something before, only taken it out with my own hands.” He confessed.

“Try your best but remember to not take from your brothers.” Ulrich urged.

Jay felt a slight dizziness touch his head and then back up like whatever had touched him had been stung.

“Sorry, Jay,” muttered his brother. The boy’s face scrunched up again and he drew in his breath. He raised his tiny hand and held his open palm up over Ulrich’s outstretched hand. A light began to grow between their hands and then the cube appeared in Ulrich’s hand, covered in frost.

Ulrich cried in surprise and flung the cube from him but caught it in his other hand. Where the cube had laid in his flat palm, a perfect square was burned black. A trail of black tracked down the heel of his hand to his wrist.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ulrich! I didn’t know that would hurt you!” The boy began to cry as he looked at the burnt mark on the man’s hand, now smoking. Ulrich merely shook his head dismissively and opened his leather bag. He pulled out an opaque metallic syringe and plunged it dramatically into his forearm. He depressed the plunger and extracted the needle. The veiny blackness eased back up his palm until all that was left was a faint square where the cube had landed.

“That’s quite alright. You gave me a startle, that’s all.” Mr. Ulrich explained. Jay saw that he was visibly shaken and struggling to rein in his stirred anxiety.

“Now, this next test is…” Mr. Ulrich stopped and glanced at Mr. Avery who nodded once. “It’s uncomfortable.” The boy’s already too-wide eyes got even wider.

“Are you gonna put that needle in my arm?” He gestured to the curious syringe that Ulrich had replaced in his leather bag.

“No. I’m going to make things disappear, but I am going to borrow from you. Resist me if you can.” He put various objects on the table between them from his bag; the cube, a pencil, strange looking coins, a stunning ring gemmed with a huge emerald colored stone.

“I can do that.” Jay was uncomfortable with the smile in his voice, his confidence bordered on arrogance.

“I will not give you a warning.” Mr. Ulrich said and then drew in a deep breath. The items began glowing and winking out of sight, one after another. Jay watched his smallest brother’s body immediately begin to tremble, his head wobbling drunkenly. Ulrich’s eyes widened briefly and then he set his mouth in a determined grimace. The kitchen was immediately airless, the heaviness of the power between the two at the table filling all the possible places in the room. An animalistic scream tore through the child’s body and suddenly the air in the room felt as cold as a January morning. Jay’s breath blew out in puffs and chills set in immediately.

“Enough.” Mr. Avery said between clenched teeth. He seemed to be the only person in the room relatively unaffected by the ice-cold air, his breath invisible as he spoke. “He will hurt himself, Mr. Ulrich. Or us.”

“That was very impressive, child.” Ulrich was clearly having a hard time keeping his countenance, but Jay caught a surprised but pleased expression flit across his face before he composed it into careful neutrality.

“Anything else, Mr. Ulrich?” Avery asked, clearly ready to be done. His counterpart nodded.

“I would like to analyse your blood.” He addressed the child directly and it sounded like he was asking for permission.

“Will it hurt?” Jay’s baby brother asked, reminding them all that even if he was other-worldly, he was still a five-year-old boy afraid of pain.

“Have you ever pricked your finger on one of your mother’s sewing needles?” Ulrich asked him.

“’Course, but it doesn’t really hurt, just sorta like a surprise.”

“Just the same. Though, maybe less of a surprise since you are expecting it.” He drew out a silver needle that did look very much like one of their mother’s sewing needles and a capped glass tube already half filled with clear liquid. Mr. Ulrich held out his large, thin hand for the boy’s tiny one and turned it over. He carefully pressed the tip of the needle to his finger and Jay heard his brother give a little gasp. The man drew the needle down, opening a small wound. The needle was lifted, and then Mr. Ulrich opened the tube. The boy’s finger was held over the tube and squeezed until the color drained from the tip of it and a large red drop formed. It dripped into the vial and Ulrich released his hand.

The boy didn’t ask for a cloth to wipe his finger, he didn’t ask for a bandage. Instead, he closed his eyes and held his hand to his chest. As he did this, Ulrich looked up from the tube he was shaking and stared at him. Mr. Avery caught sight of his colleague’s face and walked around the table to see what the boy was doing. Both men stared at the boy and the shock was too great to hide effectively.

“Let me see your hand.” Mr. Avery demanded. The boy opened his eyes and held out his hand slowly, shaking. Avery turned it over and looked at the back and then again to the palm. “Spectacular,” he breathed.

Jay felt himself fill with both excitement and dread, finally manifesting as a kind of anxious anger. His brother had clearly passed their tests and now Jay knew they would be making his parents an offer. He wondered if his parents would be given an opportunity to counter, because Jay was sure as he was standing that they could get more out of this transaction than even he could dream.