"Of course. It's maki-e, a technique that layers gold and silver powders in the tree sap that forms the lacquer." Mrs. Jenkins watched as I ran my fingers over the surface.

It almost seemed as if the surface was responding to my touch, in the same way there'd be a slight quiver when I'd run my hand along Pepper's flank. I looked at Mrs. Jenkins. "It feels like it's alive."

"You feel that?" Her eyes widened. "It is rare that anyone notices. The lacquer continually interacts with its environment. The greatest maki-e artisans knew their work would live forever. You are very sensitive to life." She blinked and then turned away. "I am the last healer in my family. Wei has no desire to learn-she is more interested in getting bumps and bruises than fixing them."

"Are there other healers?"

"A few, but they must practice in secret. The Governing Council insists that people rely on conventional forms of medicine. Disease and pain are big business. Media makes a fortune advertising cures, all the while filling people's minds with fear of the very diseases the doctors claim to heal, which causes the very illnesses people are afraid of getting. It's a vicious cycle that lines the pockets of health care providers and drug companies."

While we were talking she'd taken three squat stone jars out of the cabinet, uncovering each and smelling the contents.

"This will do." She took a small amount of greenish cream from one of the jars and mixed it in the palm of her hand with a dab of yellow from another. Even with her butterfly touch, I winced as she applied it to my cheek.

"Have you heard from Mr. Jenkins?" I asked. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, he is fine. He will be home tonight."

I could see where Wei had gotten her self-control. I would have been at the door, waiting, pacing. But Mrs. Jenkins continued to tend to me in the same slow and gentle manner as she had done before I'd mentioned her husband.

She took a small amount of cream from the third jar and put it on the fingertips of my right hand. "Massage this on your lips. I'll send some home with you. Mix everything as I did and apply before bedtime and when you get up in the morning."

"What are these creams?"

"Arnica and goldenseal; the lip balm is my own special recipe." She cupped my good cheek in her palm. "Maybe you should become my apprentice." Wiping her hands, she closed the chest. "Let's go tell Wei about her father."

At the same time as we entered the living room, Mr. Jenkins walked in the front door.

"Dad!" Wei ran into his arms and held him tight.

When she finally let him go, he turned around in a circle. "See, no bullet holes, no neutralizing ray singes, no bruises ..." It was then he caught sight of me. "Good Lord! What happened to you? Jade, have you ...?"

"Yes, dear. The full treatment; she will be fine in a few days."

"What happened?"

"Ed kidnapped her. She managed to get away." Wei dropped her voice. "I'm afraid I let this happen. I was there, but I-"

"It was my fault," I protested. "I thought-"

"There's no blame, girls." Mrs. Jenkins interjected. "We have lessons; we learn. Let me get you the salve to take with you."

"Dad, Ed stole Nina's FeLS contract," Wei said.

Mr. Jenkins glanced at me, then back at Wei. "Don't worry. I'll look into it. But now is not the time. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic," he said to me, "but there are several things that need my immediate attention. You still have a while before you turn sixteen, right?"

I nodded. "December tenth."

"Still a couple of weeks away. Good. And your school is not set to have the Choosing until after Holiday Day, which gives us even more time. Wei will see that you get home safely, and I'll be sure you have protection." He disappeared behind a set of ornate pocket doors.

"Don't worry, Nina," Wei said. "Dad always keeps his word."

Mrs. Jenkins returned with three smaller versions of the stone jars that held her medicines. Kissing my good cheek, she whispered, "You will be fine."

At that moment, I wasn't so sure.

XXXVII.

Early Thursday morning, I was in the kitchen with Gran.

"Your face looks so much better," she said. "Mrs. Jenkins's salves must be the reason it's healing so quickly."

It felt better, too. The swelling had gone down considerably and my left cheek had changed from the initial dark purple to that horrible greenish yellow that bruises turn when they are healing. My fear was subsiding a little, too. There had been no sign of Ed since the day he kidnapped me; no PAV calls either. Although I kept a constant lookout for him just in case "Your sixteenth is less than two weeks away," Gran said. "I've made the appointment. Shots first, then the tattoo."

"I don't think I'm ready."

"You know the law, hon. There's nothing I can do." She put her arm around me.

I sighed, letting my head sink onto her shoulder.

Dee appeared in the doorway. "What's going on? Are you okay, Nina?"

I straightened up quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about turning sixteen."

"That's so cool." She took a rapido off the counter and started drawing an XVI on her wrist.

"Stop it!" I grabbed the pen and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"You'd better get going," Gran said. "You don't want to be late."

Dee scooted out the door in front of me. Her reaction was still on my mind as we exited the elport. I'd never looked forward to turning sixteen, not even when I was Dee's age. Mostly because of the way sixteens act when they can finally have sex without concern about what anyone will say. Then, after seeing that sex vid Ed had left at our house, I was positive I didn't ever want to do that. Now, with all the things I'd been finding out lately, I dreaded it even more. Not just for myself, but for girls like Joan and for Sandy and, eventually, for Dee.

And then there was Sal. I loved being close to him, kissing him. I got a warm feeling just thinking of his lips on mine.

"How come you don't want to turn sixteen, Nina?" Dee suddenly asked. "All my friends' older sisters have sex, some even did it before they turned sixteen." She jutted her chin in an I-told-you-so manner.

"Is that so, Miss Encyclopedia? You know if you get pregnant before you're sixteen, you can't keep the baby."

She wrinkled her nose. "I wouldn't have an abortion."

"Not your choice. If you were paying attention in class, you'd know that before they're sixteen, girls don't have choices. Even after you turn, guys get to make the decision about babies, if they want to."

At Dee's age I hadn't had a clue what sex was really about. Not like I was an expert now, but back then it seemed gross and funny. Mostly Sandy and I had snickered and told jokes about it. Now there was Sal, and I wasn't quite as sure about my feelings on the subject.

We boarded the number 33 and made our way to the back.

"Why isn't it my choice?"

Dee wasn't going to give up this conversation. So I explained. "If you're sixteen, the baby's father has a say, if he wants to. And that's just part of being sixteen, Dee; it's not all about sex."

"How come it's called 'sex-teen,' then? All the verts tell you how popular you'll be if you dress and act so boys want to have sex with you. What else is there about it?"

"It's about control, Dee." The memory of that afternoon at Rita's crossed my mind-I didn't have any control then. In that moment, Sal's kisses and my response to them were all that had mattered to me. Even now, my body involuntarily tingled at the thought of his hands on my skin. Had we not stopped, I was sure that I would have gone further, maybe even had sex with him. I ignored the memory as best I could and continued: "The tattoo-it's a way for anyone to tell that you're sixteen. You're considered an adult then ..."

Obviously bored with my explanation, Dee fiddled with her PAV and curled her feet up under her. "So are you going to have sex with Sal when you turn sixteen?"

"Of course not." I folded my arms across my chest and stared up the aisle, thinking about that day at Rita's again. I wondered if my body was listening to my words.

XXXVIII.

"I'm not ready." I stared out the window of Wei's living room, where I'd ended up after dropping Dee back at home after school. Dee had been complaining about a sore throat, so I had a free afternoon.

"It's not so bad. The thistle tattoo took a lot longer and hurt more."

"It's not the pain I'm worried about. It's all the pressure that comes along with being sixteen, and with this whole FeLS thing ... I don't think I can do it. I thought it was bad enough before, just not being able to talk to your family for two years, but now? Wei, what if Ed does what he said? What if I get chosen and I don't end up in the safe group?" I looked to her for reassurance.

"Remember, they won't be choosing until after Holiday Day," Wei said. "I know Dad will have figured out some way to get your contract by then."

"I hope so." I took hold of her arm and studied her thistle tattoo. "You know, I love this design. It's more ultra than ultra."

Wei laughed. "When I turned, I wanted it to be for me, not just a government brand. I was the first Creative to do anything like this. The school authorities called in government people to make sure it was all legal. It's ridiculous how the GC tells us we have freedom of speech and expression when we really don't."

"What will you do when the XVI starts fading?" The tattoos started deteriorating after about three years and were supposed to be completely gone in five, although mostly they just turned a sickly shade of pale green.

"The guy who did this is going to tattoo another thistle over the XVI when I turn twenty-one."

Wei pointed out a tiny scar behind her right ear. "I got my GPS taken out, too. It amazes me how many girls, and even some guys, keep theirs. Dad says the government gets Media to run stories that keep us scared about could happen and then tells us that by keeping the GPS implanted they can keep us safe. Mom calls it passive brainwashing. It's a bunch of crap. What it really means is that the government can track you wherever and whenever they want."

I touched mine, wondering if it was a little traitor. "That could be how Ed found me that day," I said.

"I thought that, too, but Dad doesn't think so. He doubts a Chooser would have access to the government's tracking systems."

I hoped she was right. He'd found me somehow. "Maybe he's given up. It's been almost two weeks."

"Don't let down your guard." I could tell she wasn't convinced. I wasn't either.

"Can I see it again?" I asked.

Wei turned her wrist over and I admired the thistle tattoo. Deep pink flowers and gray-green leaves circled the obligatory XVI and fanned around to the other side of her arm. There they met and snaked up the back of her hand toward her fingers. A thistle in full bloom took up the majority of the skin. The leaves continued up her knuckles and spelled out free, one letter per finger.

"Was it really expensive?" As if I didn't already know the answer.

"Not so much. There's a guy who does these for ..." She hesitated. "You know, this is a special symbol."

"What do you mean?"

"In ancient times, in Scotland, there were secret knights that guarded the true king. They were called the Order of the Thistle. The thistle is a symbol of danger and protection."

"The Order of the Thistle. Sounds serious. Are you-" My PAV alarm interrupted. "I've gotta go. Gran and Pops have an appointment at the doctor's for Pops's leg. I have to watch Dee."

"I'll walk you to the bus stop."

"No, don't. I haven't seen any suspicious trannies lately. And it makes me feel like such a baby whenever anyone purposely walks me somewhere, especially in the middle of the day."

"Are you sure? Dad thinks I should stick close to you."

"I'm sure. It's only two blocks."

Wei let me go, but only after we made a quick contingency plan-I would dash into the little boutique by the trans stop and pretend to be sick if Ed should happen to appear on either of those two blocks; but it wasn't necessary. When I got to the apartment, I flopped down on the floor with Dee and watched some anime with her. Shortly before Gran and Pops were due back, Sal came over.

"I wish we had a porch to sit on," he whispered to me. "I'd like it to be just you and me for a while." His breath tickled my neck and I felt it down to my toes.

"Me, too."

We could've gone to my room, but Dee would be able to hear anything we said, or if we laughed. And then she'd come see what we were doing. Not that I planned on doing anything, but I didn't want her to see me and Sal kissing. And I was sure kissing was going to happen no matter where we ended up.

I glanced at the time. Sal and I could go sit somewhere for a while and be together. Dee was wrapped up in her show and wasn't going anywhere.

"DeeDee, Sal and I are going across to the river oasis. Gran and Pops will be home in a minute. Don't answer the door or your PAV unless you know who it is. And if it's Ed, don't talk to him. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." She didn't even look up from the AV.

"I mean it, Dee. Promise?"

"I promise! Be quiet, I can't hear." She waved her hand at us. "Go already."

A minute later we were at the elport. Sal twined his fingers in mine. "You sure she'll be okay?"

"Remember, Ed's not after her," I said. "It's me he wants."

"I suppose that's true." He tickled the inside of my palm with his finger. It gave me chills, the good kind.

"And Ed hasn't called her since the wreck," I said. "Besides, she knows not to open the door to anyone. She's almost twelve. Ginnie left me alone sometimes when I was eleven."

"But you were exceptional, right?" His eyes were twinkling.

"Right." I smiled at him. But I wasn't feeling as lighthearted as I wished. I had something on my mind, and I needed to get it out, before it started eating away at me. As soon as we reached the DZ oasis, I said, "My sixteenth is coming up real soon."

"It's a lot bigger deal for a girl than for a guy."

"I know. I wanted to tell you ... let you know ... something ..." I felt like a huge glob of nut butter was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I was terrified that whatever I said would come out wrong.

"What?" He bent over and kissed me, warming me to the tips of my toes. "What about sixteen?"

"I don't want you to think that just because I'm sixteen ... and because of what happened ... you know ... at your aunt Rita's ..." I shouldn't have mentioned that, because when I did, I wasn't sure about the truth of what I wanted to say next. This wasn't going at all like I'd hoped. Sal was so close and his kisses sent summer running through my veins. Before I got lost there, I blurted out, "I don't want to have sex."

The minute the words were out, I knew they were a lie. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about that afternoon on Rita's porch. When I lay in bed at night I could almost feel Sal's hands on my bare skin and I wanted them there again. Not just around my waist either. Thinking about this made it difficult to breathe.

"Who said anything about having sex?" His voice was husky and he was kissing my neck. "I just want to be close to you. Kissing you. Touching you."