The Family - Volume 2

Chapter 5

Sitting in my seat on the train, I quietly watched the scenery pass before my eyes. We must have been on our way to our destination for several hours by now, and I was already getting tired of sitting still. Zoé had dozed off next to me, much to my relief. I thought she was never going to stop whining, but I guess you get tired of talking nonsense as long as you breathe.
We were currently crossing a vast field that stretched as far as the eye could see, and night was slowly beginning to arrive. I was sure to fall asleep soon too.
Our trip to Italy - for that's where we were going, to Rome to be precise - had been prepared at the last minute. Even yesterday morning, I'd never imagined we'd be on our way so early. Emma must have booked the tickets to go there at the last minute, as she preferred to use "magic-free" means to go unnoticed. So she'd found an old train whose journey took almost a whole day, sitting on uncomfortable, cramped seats. She had also removed our bracelets so that we could freely use our powers. When she'd given us the tickets before we left, she'd seemed less than reassured by the composition of our duo, but Emma said nothing, letting us go and keeping her prejudices.
I'd had time to hurry back home and pack, then set off early in the morning to meet Zoé at the station. I thought she was going to miss the train, but somehow she managed to catch up with me thirty seconds before it left. We'd hardly been together a second and I'd already had a huge urge to get rid of her, I really didn't know how I'd manage to put up with her for the whole trip.
Of course, I'd had all the rules about being careful about what I did and who I crossed paths with, given to me by my parents before I left. Even after all these years, they didn't dare let me go for more than a few days, and after what I'd put them through, that was understandable. Anyway, I'd made it clear that I'd be on my guard. Although they didn't seem very reassured, I managed to leave.
I was just starting to doze off when a thud echoed in my head and startled me.
- Joy. How's it going?
It was Lia, no wonder she was contacting me, on the one hand she had to know most of what was going on, so my mission, and on the other my family certainly wanted to know how I was doing.
- I was doing very well before you made me go into cardiac arrest. Why would I do that?
- Very funny, Joy. No, it's just to see how you're doing. You know, everyone here is worried sick about you.
- Lia, I don't blame you for being worried about me, but I've only been gone a day. And you're not that worried about it, when I think it's much more dangerous.
- Of course I do. Stop talking nonsense for five seconds, will you?
- No, I guess Zoé's debilitating illness is rubbing off on me.
- Can you stand her?
- When she's asleep she's not much of a threat, but when she's awake I often want to slap her. Otherwise, I just get on with it.
Lia didn't respond to my remark, but I assumed she must be sighing.
- I understand," she said, "I'll tell everyone you're doing fine.
- Thank you, Lia. Good night, Lia!
- You too, Joy!
I thought Lia had cut off the exchange of thoughts, but she added one last thing:
- Please take care of yourself and don't take any rash risks.
- I'm not stupid...
With these warm words, our exchange came to an end.
I was about to doze off when something else came along to stop me. A man in his late thirties, dressed in the traditional garb of a train attendant, approached us.
- Tickets please, ladies," said the ticket inspector as he came up to us.
I slapped Zoé to wake her up, even if it was more to take it out on her than anything else. She opened her eyes and growled.
- Do you want me to beat the shit out of you, Joy? Don't wake me up when I'm sleeping!
- Sorry princess, but you've got to get your ticket out.
She continued to grumble, but following my lead, she took out her ticket and handed it to the ticket inspector, who had remained patient.
Once the man had left, Zoé turned to me.
- Don't ever wake me up again! And don't you dare touch me even once or I'll make you regret it!

I didn't even try to respond to his provocation and preferred to keep quiet as I continued to doze off.

⭐

I was awakened at dawn by the sun already shining in the sky. I was filled with aches and pains from head to toe and stretched - as much as I could in the narrow space of the seats - to relieve my body.
I looked out of the train window at the scenery, which was magnificent. In the distance I could see the imposing structure of the Colosseum, of which only a good half remained, and in the distance I briefly saw part of what I thought was the Pantheon. I then managed to locate the Vatican as well as St. Peter's Basilica and a dozen other basilicas.
Someone gave me a blow, preventing me from continuing my contemplation of the city, and of course it was Zoé.
- Take your big head off the glass. For one thing, you'll get it dirty, and for another, I'd rather see the scenery than your face.
- I'll smash her head against the glass and she'll see how it feels," I mumbled.
- What did you say?" questioned Zoé.
- Nothing interesting...
- Ah... That's the same as usual then.
I clenched my fists to stop myself from smacking her. This mission was vital in Emma's eyes and I wasn't about to let her down, she'd asked us to get along, at least during the trip; it certainly wasn't my emotions that were going to get the better of me right now.
- Don't you want to save your criticism for later? We're on a mission and you still find a way to play the perfect daughter without worrying about what might happen to us.
Suddenly, Zoé took on a serious air that I wasn't used to and that didn't suit her very well...
- On the contrary, I think I'm taking this assignment a lot more seriously than you are. First of all, we mustn't mention any words that have anything to do with our "secret", for our own safety and in case anyone eavesdrops on us. So saying "mission" on your part wasn't very clever, especially if we were being spied on.
I couldn't answer that, because for once Zoé was right and it wouldn't do to contradict her. I preferred to change the subject.
- Is there a change in the compass?
The compass in question was an object that looked like a compass and had the same attributes, with a few exceptions. The only difference was that, instead of pointing north, the arrow showed the major sources of magic: it was a magic detector. Obviously, it had been set so that our respective flashes would not cause any interference. Theoretically, the boy we were looking for was the only person in Rome at the moment, according to the magic readings taken in the area. Of course, this was just a theory, but if all went well, the compass should lead us to him, and if it started waving all over the place, we'd have to start worrying.
Zoé pulled the magic detector from her pocket and studied it quickly.
- The arrow is finally starting to move," she observed, "so at least one member of The Family is here.