The Fandom(12)

‘That wasn’t Julia,’ I say. ‘That was Rose. The Rose.’

She’s never seen the film – no wonder she’s so confused.

‘Julia? Who the hell is Julia?’ Saskia shoves Katie into the wall again.

‘Get off me.’ Katie bucks and rears, but she’s no match for Saskia.

‘What she means is, she looked like a friend of ours,’ I say. ‘Katie was just trying to warn her.’

‘Warn her!’ Saskia shouts. ‘She didn’t need warning. She would have been fine if it weren’t for you. And all of them condemned Imps, we could have saved ’em. We were meant to save ’em.’ Her voice wavers. ‘They all hanged cos of you.’

‘You don’t know that,’ Alice says, her face struggling to hide the lie.

Saskia looks at Alice as if seeing her for the first time. She releases Katie and sidles over to her, lifting a piece of her golden hair. Slowly, she turns it in her fingers. ‘You look like one of them.’ She says the word them like it tastes bad.

Alice stands, statue-like and rigid. Only her nostrils move, flaring slightly as she takes a trembling breath.

‘I said . . . you look like one of them.’ Saskia yanks the lock of hair and I hear it tear from Alice’s scalp.

Alice yelps, her hand flying to the sight of pain. ‘One of who?’ she says, her voice indignant, pretending like she doesn’t know. But she just looks foolish, leaning against the crumbling wall in her minidress like a model in an urban photoshoot. We watch the strands of golden hair drift through the air and settle on the paving slabs.

‘Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you. Right now.’ Saskia taps her belt, and for the first time, I notice the rusted handle of a knife protruding from beneath the leather. ‘Just stick you in the belly and watch the Gem blood drain out of you.’

Alice turns this chalky, white colour.

I try to speak, try to intervene, but my mouth feels like it’s gummed up and my legs won’t move.

‘I think there’s been enough blood today.’ Matthew lays a hand on Saskia’s arm.

She flinches as though unused to touch. ‘Gem blood don’t count.’

‘I’m not a Gem,’ Alice says.

‘Oh yeah?’ Saskia grabs Alice’s silver bag and empties the contents on the floor. A lip gloss, a stick of gum, a Radley purse, a compact with a picture of a dragonfly on the back, and an iPhone. Saskia scoops up the phone and turns it in her fingers. The screen illuminates as she catches it with her thumb. ‘What the hell is this, then? You think Imps have shit like this?’

‘It’s just a phone.’ Alice raises her hand like she may try to grab it, but changes her mind at the last minute.

Saskia frowns. ‘Any more shit like this? Or do I need to strip search the lot of you?’

Reluctantly, we dig into our pockets and hand over our possessions. Wallets, phones, lip balms. I didn’t think I could feel any more vulnerable, but without my phone, my emergency taxi money and my family photograph, I feel completely naked. I think we all do, our arms folding across our chests, protecting our organs – our hearts.

But Saskia doesn’t seem to care. She rams them into Alice’s bag, the stitches pulled tight at the seams. ‘This looks like Gem stuff to me.’

‘I’m not a Gem,’ Alice repeats.

‘She’s not,’ Nate says. He uses his I’ve just had an idea voice, and it comes out strong. His arms unfold and his chest seems to rise.

Saskia turns to him, raising her knife so quickly that I barely register the movement. ‘Shut it, young ’un.’

Nate watches the blade, but his voice stays strong. ‘She’s a spy, for the Imps. We use her cos she looks like a Gem.’

I can’t help feeling a little put out. I’m the older sibling, I should have the ideas and the strong voice. Alice was right, I am lacking in the imagination department.

Saskia starts to laugh. ‘Bollocks!’

Matthew looks at Nate, his eyes large with sympathy. ‘There ain’t no spies we don’t know about.’

‘That’s not true,’ Nate says. ‘Ask Thorn.’

Saskia’s brow furrows. ‘Here, how do you know about Thorn?’

Nate doesn’t even pause. ‘I work for him. We all do.’

‘Nate,’ I hiss. But Katie silences me with a look which says, Trust him.

‘Why else would she run after us?’ he says. ‘She ain’t stupid you know, she knew running into the city were suicide, but she had to get back to Rebel Headquarters.’

I notice with a pang of pride that Nate has flattened his vowels to sound more Imp-like. And I’m ashamed to admit I never thought of using my knowledge of the canon to our advantage. We know many rebel secrets – we’ve watched them and read them and discussed them in detail for the past two years. I have to remind myself he’s only fourteen sometimes.

‘Yeah?’ Saskia looks unnerved now, her purple birthmark crinkling around the corners. ‘So where’s Rebel Headquarters then, smartarse?’

‘Don’t tell them.’ Katie cuts in, clearly enjoying the shift in power. ‘They may not be rebels, they may just be trying to find out.’

Saskia and Matthew throw their heads back and laugh, revealing their grimy throats and the brown of their molars. It’s the first time I’ve seen them smile, and it’s like only their mouths remember how.