Bone himself was not sure what he was. He hoped that finding others similar to him might help him to discover himself. All he knew was that Mohserran had not been human, and that non-human blood ran in his own veins. His abilities to slip through shadows, his Greyness—the talent or affliction that his dear lost mother had called his sleek—was something to do with Mohserran.

If only he’d had a chance to ask questions of that strange creature.

Once or twice when he’d tracked down troubled, dangerous Kin, he’d had the feeling that they knew so much more about themselves than they let on. Once, he’d caught and bound a man responsible for several deaths in rural communities across the north-east, his teeth sharp, his eyes strange. Before letting him go, Bone had taken those few quiet minutes to talk to him about what he might be.

The man had not spoken a word, but he smiled as Bone spoke, like an adult listening to a child’s innocent, naive take on the world.

Whoever, whatever, wherever the Kin were, if they knew of Bone and his mission, they seemed content to leave him alone. He was helping them, after all.

At the forefront of the government’s attempts to find living Kin, he was best placed to ensure they were never found.

He left his current home and headed towards Longford without a single regret. He would probably never return to this place, and even though he had lived here for three years, he had amassed little. Material wealth meant nothing to him. He had money in the bank, and sometimes he used it for his own pleasure. On occasion he worried that he was not really living, but drifting through and past life, letting reality pass him by while he reached for errant shadows. Sometimes he grabbed on, more often he did not.

Out on the street, he felt as apart from things as ever. A few people smiled or nodded at him, and he returned the gesture, but most passed by without a glance, as if they didn’t see him at all.

6

6

Lilou wanted Sammi to sit up front while Angela drove, but the girl insisted she take the back seat. Lilou thought it was because she wanted her and Angela to talk, but less than an hour away from the cabin she looked back and saw Sammi stretched out asleep.

“Is that all they do?” Lilou asked.

“All who do?”

“Teenagers. Sleep. Is that it?”

“Long time since you were a teenager,” Angela said.

Lilou sighed. She’d once feared that she would spend a lifetime chipping away at the barrier between her and Angela, but a familiarity had grown between them. They sat in silence for a while, and at least it was comfortable. They weren’t like strangers looking for something in common, but more like friends who no longer had anything to say.