Part 4 (1/2)

'So ...' I say. Elecktra turns to me and the smile dies from her face. 'Talk to me about the magic,' I finish.

Elecktra casts her eyes down to the sandwich maker. Her grip tightens on the bench. Then she looks up and stares straight at me so I can see myself reflected in the cool brown waters of her eyes.

'My new magic is proving harder to control than I thought. Like when I get excited, my feet lift off the ground. Not to mention this new cross-eyed thing that is sooo not attractive. But when I do it, I can make stuff move. It actually feels good to say these things out loud.' She runs her hands through her hair, making her bangles rattle. 'I thought having powers was uncool. But I've changed my mind. Powers rock! Why not be the most powerful chick you can be?'

The sun casts streaks across the bench and the steam from the sandwich maker turns to smoke. Lecky releases the lid and slides out the sandwiches with a spatula. The cheese pillows out of the pita bread like lava.

'd.a.m.n, we pulled them out too soon,' she says. 'They're not crusty enough. They taste better burnt.'

I help Lecky to place the sandwiches on a plate, then we slice them into little triangles. I take a long deep breath.

'What's wrong?' she asks.

I hold my breath and shove her out of the way, then I exhale fire out of my nostrils to toast the sandwiches a little bit more. Elecktra says nothing. She stares at the sandwiches that are now darker around the crusts, just the way she likes it. She approaches the bench cautiously and picks up a triangle. Without taking her eyes off me, she bites into a corner, then chews athletically.

'You have magic too?' she asks, her mouth dripping with cheese.

'Yes,' I say.

Lecky swallows. 'Are we ninjas like Mum?'

'I think you're turning ninja,' I say.

'How would you know?'

'Jackson told me about the legend of the White Warrior who has the power to control the elements. But the warrior's powers were taken from them when they were a baby and stored in a set of scrolls.' Elecktra picks up another toasted sandwich and slathers it in organic ketchup. 'Stay with me,' I tell her. She refocuses on me.

'Warrior needs scrolls,' she says. 'What's this got to do with moi?'

'Well, Jackson trained me up to be a ninja so I could transport to another realm, the Cemetery of Warriors.'

'Another realm?' She laughs. 'And you make fun of my magic cape?'

'Yes, another realm. Where it's an endless night and the moon is green and there is death everywhere,' I say. 'But if you fight your way through the dead masters, the White Warrior shows themself to you.'

Elecktra puts down the sandwich. I can tell she's thinking because she is twisting her hair and pivoting on her heels. 'And you know all this because?'

'I fought the dead masters,' I say.

'And did you meet the White Wizard?' she asks. I've never seen Elecktra this interested in me. I don't know why I feel so nervous about telling her my true ident.i.ty. She's my sister. I should be able to tell her anything. But what if she splashes it across Facebook or tells everyone at school, what if they think I'm even more of a weirdo? What if being different makes me Gate Two forever? Elecktra is impatient and stamps her foot. 'Did you meet him or not?'

'We met,' I say. 'I am the White Warrior.'

Elecktra's eyes narrow. She walks slowly around the kitchen island, one complete lap, then stops a mere whisker from my face. She stares into my eyes, deep into the tunnels of my thoughts, and for a moment it feels as though she can hear what I'm thinking.

'You're telling me that you are the White Warrior. From the legend. The dude who can control the elements?' She looks at the charcoal crusts of the sandwiches, burnt from my fire breathing. She takes up her sandwich and bites into it again, chewing on a thought, then jumps onto the bench and swings her legs like a kid. 'Details,' she says. 'I need to know everything.'

I tell her about the warriors, the fights, Hero. I tell her everything in hopes it will help her transition to ninja. If she can know what to expect, maybe it won't be as difficult or scary for her.

'That monk sounds feral,' she says.

'I know. By the time the Apache showed up, I was ready to give up, but seeing Mum's face -'

Elecktra cuts me off. 'Mum was there?'

I duck as a thunderous crash erupts in the kitchen. Every cupboard and drawer explodes open. Elecktra laughs, still swinging her legs. How did she do that? I'm wedged between two sets of drawers that have slammed out like sets of stairs. The cupboard doors creak on their hinges. Elecktra seems to have more power when she feels strong emotion. I could never do that. Why can't I do that?

'Elecktra! Don't do that!' I say, still crouched. Lucky I'm short and fast. I was nearly squished between the drawers like toast.

'But it's so much fun,' Elecktra says.

I slam the drawers closed. 'I think Mum knew I was going to reclaim my powers and was trying to stop me,' I say, closing more cupboards around us. I side kick the fridge doors closed, then spin back kick the microwave shut. Elecktra raises one eyebrow. She may be able to make things move with thoughts, but I know she can't kick like that. To do so, she'd need to train and she's always been lazy when it comes to training.

'Of course Mum would be there for you,' Lecky says. 'Two ninjas in a ninja pod. Then there's me. I look different, all uncoordinated, not like you two with your ninja zip. She's always there for you.'

I jump front kick the china cupboard closed above me. 'What are you talking about?'

Lecky stings me with a look. 'You're her favourite. Always have been,' she says.

'Have you ever thought that maybe Mum dyes her hair blonde to look more like you?' I snap.

Elecktra kicks her heels into the bench and jumps off. 'You've always thought you were special because of that stupid cat mark on your foot,' she says.

'It's a tiger. And it's the mark that proves I'm the White Warrior. It's in the legend,' I say. She wants to fight, but I'm not falling for that. 'Look, I know it's tough. I freaked out when my ninja powers came in. I didn't have anyone to talk to and was so confused.'

'Confused?' Lecky scoffs. 'I'm not freaking out - well, not any more - because I deserve these powers. It's elecktrafying! I always knew one day my magic would take off.'

'But it's not magic, it's ninja. And aren't you worried that your powers are different to mine?'

Elecktra stares at me blankly. 'So what if you can control the weather. Whoopee.'

'I can control wind, earth, fire, water and invisibility,' I say. 'But you can only move stuff with your mind.'

'And when I get really excited my feet lift off the ground,' she adds. 'See?' She pushes her arms down and rises into the air so that the tips of her toes balance on the kitchen counter and her head bobs against the mattress secured to the ceiling. Mum and Art must already know about Elecktra's powers. They never interfere too much with us kids; Mum believes in taking responsibility for your destiny. This is okay if you know what your destiny is meant to be, like Summer at school who tells everyone she meets that she wants to invent a range of floral breath fresheners when she grows up, but harder if, like me, you're not sure what your future holds. Or have to wait for your ninja stars to align.

Elecktra levitates for a moment, twirls, then floats back to the ground. 'You're the White Warrior so of course your powers are going to be different to mine,' she muses. 'Maybe the ninja G.o.d doesn't create all ninjas equal.'

She has a point. Perhaps all ninjas do have different powers and already I've seen varying degrees of skill in Mum, Jackson and Sabo's students. Sabo, my instructor, does Taekwondo, which is totally different again. But something about Lecky's powers is unnerving. They tug at me deep in the gut, in the same place the burning fire starts. A place of no control and no turning back. The lair of instinct. Why would Lecky's powers flair up my instincts? Shouldn't I recognise her powers on a deep biological level that binds us not only as sisters, but also as part of the ninja clan?

Elecktra waltzes around the kitchen, having abandoned her toasted cheese sandwiches in a hunt for something else to eat. I take a bite of one of her triangles, but it is so soaked in sauce it tastes foul.

'So are you going to talk to Mum or not?' I ask.

Elecktra begins to make herself a cup of coffee. She is the last person in the world who needs caffeine. She takes some rice milk out of the fridge for what she and her friends have coined a 'Long Brown' - a long black coffee with a dash of milk. Apparently flat whites have too many kilojoules.

'Nope. Don't want her trying to control me.' She looks up at the ceiling covered with mattresses. 'She'll want to give me lessons and training. And I'm already the best.' She shrugs.