Ripped Apart: Quantum Twins – Adventures On Two Worlds Read Online Free PDF Page B

of persuading, Discriminators had eventually allowed Tazii to see the make-believe violence in Azurii KiddyKartoons. But this, this was real, human to human. He had been stunned to witness that. And now real, human blood!
    The other boy drew back his leg to kick BlueBoy. LilacGirl grabbed the attacker’s arm. He swung around aiming a punch at her face. BigBoy stepped in between, his mouth working, red anger flaring in his aura. Pushing the girl away, he grabbed the boy’s arm, spun him around and kicked him hard. He fell down into the snow. Out of the corner of his eye Qwelby saw LilacGirl fall on top of BlueBoy who had been getting up, bearing him back into the deep snow.
    BigBoy walked across to where the first attacker was still lying in the snow. With lots of angry red still flaring through his aura, he kicked him to get up, then turned and kicked the other one.
    Qwelby could see from their energy fields that the two boys in the snow were not badly hurt, but there were strong, dirty yellow streaks of cowardice running through their auras. They got up looking shamefaced. Qwelby did not understand why BigBoy was angry with them. From the gestures, it had seemed as if it had been BigBoy who had told one of the others to take the girl’s hat. Punishment for their failure? What a weird world!
    By the time Qwelby thought to look around, BlueBoy and LilacGirl were almost out of sight, holding hands as they walked downhill. He smiled, thinking that was nice, yet puzzling. Their energy fields were showing soft pinks and pale greens. They liked one another. But he was sure from his energy sensing that had not been present when the girl had arrived. They looked about the same age as himself and Tullia, so too young to be interested in each other.
Ah, but, Azurii. . They live shorter lives so grow up quicker than we do. I can’t imagine being interested in a girl.
    He felt dizzy, hollow, was he fainting?
    *
    Tullia had become concerned as her twin had gone very cold. She knew it was a sign of travel in the seventh dimension. But was still unable to believe that he had gone without any preparation as Lellia had always said that wasn’t possible. She remained there looking through the window with an arm around him. The window was misting up from their breath. With her free arm she wiped it away.
    Taking her twin’s weight as the window closed and he sagged against her, she spoke to cover up her relief that he had returned from wherever.
    ‘LAIM boy,’ she said, but without the usual bite in her voice. Standing for “Look After Idiot Male”, it was what she and her friend Tamina used for Qwelby and Wrenden when they had got themselves into a mess by being stupid.
    Qwelby shook his head. ‘Not my fault, Kaigii. Not this time. I was just looking. Then I was in the snowman.’
    As she helped him sit down, she could see his eyes twirling fast, the purple shot through with vivid splashes of red and orange.
    ‘Out of your body?’
    ‘Dragons Breath! But it was exciting,’ he added.
    Before she could ask him about it, the lantern hummed and the window reappeared. They saw the desert again. They were too tired by everything that had happened to get up and look closely. Slowly their minds asked why, as they were looking up at a picture, they seemed to be looking down on a scene that was outside.
    Qwelby was aware that his twin had gone very still. Mentally he felt for her. She was not there. And she was cold. The cold of having left her body! Tenderly, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to lean against him. It felt good. However much they competed, underneath it all they were one.
    *
    Tullia was high up above the ground, as though looking through the window at the same desert. But there was no window and a different group of people. Expanding her energy field she was vividly aware of everything that was taking place and, just as in a dreamstate, understood what was happening.
    Several dark-skinned women wearing little