"C'mon Lewis, please?" Aji begged, clasping her hands in front of her with all the innocent theatrics her seven years had endowed her with. "Just a few minutes. I'll go to sleep, promise."

Lewis crossed his arms in an effort to stand his ground. "You know house rules. Besides, I can't do that for you much longer anyway."

"So do it nowwwww. When I'm eight you can't anymore." She pushed her lower lip out, blinking large, sea-blue eyes sadly.

Groaning, Lewis threw up his hands and left the room, returning momentarily with a oddly shaped black case. "You're lucky Mom's working late tonight. Kay's downstairs, so we have to be quiet, ok?"

Aji grinned, pulling the covers up to her chin as Lewis unlocked the case. He glanced over at her, frowning. "Hey, wait a minute, what's that?"

Aji gulped, pulling the sheets up higher. He'd seen. "Nothing."

Her tiny, clenched fists were no match for Lewis' massive hands, and he pried the sheets from her fists. "Scratches? Bruises? Aji, you got in another fight."

Aji crossed her arms, sullen. "Said stuff 'bout Mom an' Dad. An' me an' Kay."

"Like what?" Lewis took her arm, inspecting the scratches.

"Called us zebras, asked why we don't have stripes since our parents're different, and then called us stupid 'cause we don't go to school."

Lewis' jaw worked, but the corners of his mouth turned up anyway. "Eh, they're idiots. They don't know what you learn at home. Besides, they wouldn't be calling you a zebra if they knew you'd be flying in a year."

Aji beamed at him. "You gonna come watch me?"

" 'Course I will. Think I'd miss your first flight? But listen, no more fights. Next time, just walk away and cool down before you come out swinging. Can you give that a shot for me?"

Nodding, Aji watched him pull the violin out of its case, setting the end under his chin and flourishing the bow. He set it against the strings ever so lightly, drawing them across the tiniest bit.

The strings shivered, the faint squeak sending chills down her spine. He would make so little of it, say it was barely any kind of melody, that he could do much better if he could be louder. But he played it small for her, so she could hear music before it got too dangerous. Nobody else trusted her enough to let her hear music.

"I'm gonna miss your music," she sighed, laying her head back on the pillow.

He pulled the bow away from the violin, lifting her chin with the tip of it. "Hey. You've got a solid memory, yeah? No holes in your head. Remember the music when I don't get to play it for you anymore. You can play it yourself in your head."

"You gonna play music for the new baby too when she's born?" Aji mumbled, her eyelids drifting closed.

"Of course I am. Everyone needs music sometime in their life. And you're gonna be a good big sister, aren't you?"

Aji grinned sleepily. "You bet. I'm gonna be best big sister, like you're best big brother."

….

Kay pressed her hands flat against the tabletop to keep them from trembling. The metal was cold and smooth against her skin. Aji's chain clinked against it as she scratched under the metal bands on her wrists. The stench of steel permeated the air in the square little room, recycled several times through the same vents. Dad sat on her right, his head bowed over steepled fingers.

"Where's Mom?" Aji broke the silence, eyes trained on the empty space on the other side of Dad.

"Your mother couldn't make it." Dad didn't lift his head. "So Kay and I are here to discuss what happened and how we move forward. Obviously we'll need to get a lawyer, but before we even get to that part-"

"Forget it." Aji crossed her arms. "I don't need to talk. I don't want to talk. This is pointless, so you might as well leave."

Dad paused, then tried again. "I understand you disagree with the family decision about Arthur, but this isn't the way to handle it. Look where you are, look what you could have done. You don't want to go down this road, Aji."

Aji leaned forward. "First of all, like hell it was a family decision. Dulcie can barely wipe her own nose, and we all know you're on Mom's leash."

Kay's hand flew to Dad's arm as he stiffened. Aji continued. "So really, this was a Mom-and-Kay decision, and the rest of us got dragged along. Second, you don't know what I want if you think that's true. I want Kingsmen six feet under or scattered to the wind, and I will get it one way or another." She raised her voice. "Hear that, cops? I want Kingsmen dead."

This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Less than a month ago they'd lost Lewis, and now Aji was tearing the hole in their family wider. Every word her sister spoke unravelled the threads even more, and Kay couldn't stitch fast enough. "He wouldn't want this, Aji. You know what Lewis would say."

Aji's eyes narrowed. "Cool down before going in swinging? Great advice, sis, just one problem. Lewis isn't here. So we don't actually know if he would have said that or not."

"He never would have hurt Arthur!" Kay said. "He wouldn't hurt anybody! He wasn't some half-cocked vigilante."

Aji tilted her head back, eyes slitted. "I don't want to see you here again. If Dad has to visit, fine. If Mom has to visit, fine. But it's obvious where your loyalties are, and seeing you is making me sick." She pushed her chair back, standing. "Visiting time's over. I don't want a lawyer, so don't bother. Unless you're going to pull that legal guardian right crap, but I won't cooperate. There's only one way to get what I want, and it won't be through the law."

"Aji." Dad's voice was soft enough to put a pause in Aji's retreat. "Please don't do this. We can still work this out. We can take what's left and make something good out of it." He stood slowly, reaching a hand out to her. "You're not the only one who misses him."

For a moment, Aji stared at his hand. Her lips parted slightly, trembling. She swallowed, squaring her jaw and turning away. Dad's arm dropped back to his side, and he dropped back into his seat.

An officer met Aji at the door, escorting her from the room. A few moments later, another entered to lead them out. Kay held Dad's arm as he trudged next to her, his eyebrows drawn close together.

Dulcie ran up to meet them in the waiting room, her new hairclips reflecting rainbow dots all over the wall. She tugged on Dad's arm anxiously.

Dad shook his head. "No, Dulcie. I'm sorry. Aji's not coming today."

Dulcie turned a look of disbelief on Kay that sliced deep.

There's nothing I can do. Don't look at me like that.

"We should go home and check on Mom." Kay cleared her throat, checking her phone. She'd put it on silent for the visit, but she hoped Mom had answered a text. Any of the ten texts. She hadn't come out of the master bedroom since the phone call from Juvenile Hall.

Missed call. Mom?

She checked the phone log. Vivi had left a message. Sighing, she put the phone to her ear.

"Kay. We need you. Right now. Squire's a wreck, and I'm about to rip someone a new tuna Triscuit. I'll text you the address of our hotel. Find a way here. I don't care how. We need to talk. It's. About. Your. Brother."

"Why now?" Kay groaned, flipping over to her texts. "Dad, I have to go. Vivi and Arthur need me, Vivi says it's an emergency."

"Where are they? How are you going to get to them?"

"I don't know. Walk maybe?" She checked the address on Maps. "Or not…"

Dad reached up to the collar of his shirt, fidgeting with the buttons as he contemplated the floor. Abruptly, he took Dulcie by the hand and headed for the exit. "Come, Kay. I'll drive you."

Kay blinked, hurrying after him. "Thanks, Dad. But you don't have to, I can get a bus over."

"No, I need to speak with them. Aji's right, a lawyer isn't going to be able to help us at this point. But they might."