Matt Archer: Blade's Edge by Kendra C. Highley Page A

started upstairs for a shower, but as soon as I hit the landing, Mamie rounded the corner, glasses askew and her brown pigtails flying behind her. It didn’t matter that she was a junior in high school—she’d worn pigtails every day since first grade, and that was the end of the discussion. She was a creature of habit, in addition to being brilliant. One of her more endearing qualities.
    Her eyes scanned me with the precision of an MRI machine and landed on the bandage just visible under the sleeve of my t-shirt. She frowned. “You didn’t tell us you got hurt on the trip.”
    “We were a little preoccupied when I got home,” I said. “Don’t worry. It’s just a scratch.”
    “I’m glad it’s nothing too serious.” She adjusted her glasses. “How’s the rest of the team?”
    “Few minor injuries. Johnson got his nose broken.”
    “Poor Wendell,” Mamie said. “Tell him to get well soon for me, okay?”
    Only she could get away with calling Lieutenant Johnson by his first name. I grunted out a laugh. Mamie could probably get Schmitz to tell her his first name, too. “Will do.”
    “Hey, Library Girl, quit blocking the hall. I have a plane to catch.”
    Brent stood behind us, arms crossed over his wide chest. A wisp of the knife-spirit’s displeasure wound through my mind and I suddenly felt the urge to beat the crap out of my brother.
    Uneasy the spirit might start something, I whispered, “Stop it!”
    “Stop what?” Brent asked. “It’s not your hall. Move aside. Mom’s waiting downstairs to take me to the airport.”
    He made to shove past us, and I flung out my arm to block the way. Or, more accurately, the knife-spirit flung out my arm. “Apologize to Mamie for calling her names,” I growled, then blinked because I hadn’t planned on saying anything. Did the knife-spirit spit those words out of my mouth? Oh, God, this was bad.
    Brent’s eyebrows shot up so far I thought they might launch off his face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I’m not getting into this now.” He looked at Mamie over my shoulder. “Darling sister, I’m so sorry for being a jerk and calling you Library Girl. Now, a little help with…,” he gestured at me, “whatever this is?”
    “Matt?” Mamie asked. “What’s going on?”
    The knife-spirit released my arm and I pressed my back against the wall, hoping it wouldn’t do anything else to make me look crazy this morning. “Uh, just feeling a little overprotective of my sister, I guess.”
    Brent grunted. “Get in line.” He nodded to Mamie. “I told her if any frat guys make a move on her next year, I’m coming down to Missoula to bust heads. You’re welcome to join me. We’re both big enough to make an impression they won’t forget.”
    “Frat guys?” I asked, looking between them. “What frat guys?”
    “You didn’t know?” Brent rolled his eyes. “Well, if you’d been home instead of gallivanting around the world with your little knife, you would’ve heard the news.” He shoved past me and clomped down the stairs, muttering, “And they think I’m a jerk?”
    I thought briefly about chasing him into the backyard for a throw-down, but the mystery of Mamie’s “news” got the better of me. “What’s he talking about? Why’d he mention Missoula?”
    Mamie sighed quietly. “So you know I’ve been taking extra classes.”
    I nodded. My sister actually took summer school for fun. Freaky, but she did.
    “Okay,” she said, then took a deep breath. “I’m going to graduate early. This spring.”
    I was about to say how great that was when I realized what she meant. “Wait…you’re leaving for college next fall? But you’re only a junior.”
    “Technically I’m a senior now. If I take an extra class in the spring, I’ll have the credits I need to graduate. And there’s more.” She smiled sadly. “My test scores are high enough that the University of Montana has offered me a full scholarship.”
    “Wow,” I