Isabelle mirrored Mikah’s movements. “Does it normally feel like you’re cutting something… just when you move the blade?” Isabelle asked.
“Not usually,” Mikah said. “Try going a little faster. Both of you, hold onto that focus.”
Mikah changed his pattern to a simple circle. Isabelle followed. The faster she moved, the more resistance I felt.
Suddenly, a bright light followed the path. It felt like the blade was literally ripping through the air, cutting its way through reality itself. A heat passed from the blade through the hilt. Not enough that it burned, but I could feel it. A rush of wind passed through the hole Isabelle had cut in midair.
“What is happening!” Isabelle shouted.
“I’m not sure,” Mikah said, releasing his blade and taking hold of our hands, stopping the path that Isabelle had cut. When the energies dissipated, I looked through the hole. It was as if we’d cut our way into another world. I saw luscious greens, a flourishing forest. The wind that blew through the hole smelled sweet, clean and pure.
“Incredible,” Mikah said.
What is this place?
“I know what we’re looking at,” Isabelle said. “We’ve cut a gateway into Annwn… into Guinee.”
“The realm of the Loa?” Mikah asked.
“Amongst other things,” Isabelle said. “I’ve been there in spirit. It’s where my power comes from.”
I felt Mikah lower his hand to our waist… Isabelle turned her cheek toward his…
“It’s beautiful,” Mikah said.
“I agree. It’s an incredible place.”
“Not Guinee,” Mikah clarified. “You. Your spirit.”
I felt a heat rush across our face as Isabelle turned her cheek closer toward Mikah’s parting lips.
No, don’t do it…
I felt our lips collide awkwardly—two inexperienced kissers. And there was an odd taste. Ugh. Cherry Chapstick? I kissed a geek… and I didn’t like it!
“Ew!” I shouted, suddenly recognizing that I’d reclaimed my voice.
Mikah pushed himself away in shock. “I’m sorry… I didn’t think…”
I felt the blade dissipate from my hand, and the portal I’d cut into the ether faded with it. I looked back at Mikah. “I can see, I can sense everything when Isabelle has the reins. Next time remember that you need my consent, too.”
Mikah grimaced. I could tell he felt awful about it, even though he and Isabelle clearly had mutual feelings for each other. I had to remind myself that he’s just a guy… and it wasn’t like there were rules for what constitutes consent when dealing with someone who’s soul-bound with another person.
“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have jumped on you. It’s not like most guys are used to dealing with my… situation.” I suddenly felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to my cranium. I dropped to my knees in pain, the world around me turning into a blur.
“The headache,” Mikah said. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I just need a place to lay down… a dark place…”
Chapter Thirteen
My head throbbed as I stared at the popcorn-textured ceiling of Oggie’s office. I was moderately impressed that Mikah had mustered the strength to carry me down the hall and up a flight of stairs, all the way from the gymnasium. I mean, he couldn’t weigh much more than me. Lifting one’s own body weight, no matter how you look at it, is all kinds of impressive. He was sneaky strong.
Isabelle hadn’t spoken once since she’d kissed Mikah. I wasn’t entirely sure if she was just avoiding the topic or if she was graciously allowing me to convalesce. She usually left me well enough alone during the span of these migraines. Typically, she’d release a little of her healing magica to take the edge off the pain. This time, though, she hadn’t. I suppose she thought it unwise to let her magica flow here… when there’s no telling who might sense it, or what they might do with it.
I rubbed my eyes.
“Feeling any better?” Oggie asked, reclining back on his desk chair with a drawn-out squeak.
“A little,” I said. “It’s faded enough that I’m not entirely useless now, anyway.”
“We should probably talk about what happened today.”
“I know, I probably shouldn’t have let Isabelle—”
“It’s not that,” Oggie interrupted. “I’m talking about your soul blade. Mikah says it cut through the veil.”
I nodded. “I think it cut a portal into Guinee.”
“It makes sense… your blade was forged by three elementals who together formed a dragon. Dragons were the original guardians of the veil. The gatekeepers, if you will, before there were any gatekeepers.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if we should try and go through the gateway or not.”
“From what Mikah said, the gateway you cut seemed to open into the garden groves. That’s fortunate. But unless you can learn to control where and, in a sense, when these gateways open, using them could be risky.”
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Guinee exists outside the fabrics of time and space.”
“So there’s no time, there?”
“There is time there… in a sense. But the timeline in Guinee is not tied to this one.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“It means that if you go there, if you can’t control exactly where and when you’re forging these gates, you won’t be able to control the time on Earth you return.”
“So you’re saying I could end up in the past?” I asked.
“The past… the future… you could find yourself in a nest with dinosaur eggs or just as easily find yourself on Earth billions of years later, after the death of the sun itself.”
“Well, that would suck.”
“Not for long. You probably wouldn’t survive on that Earth long enough to even escape back to Guinee.”
“So my blade is crazy powerful, but it’s basically useless.”
“I’m not saying that,” Oggie said, pinching at the stubble on his chin. “It could be incredibly useful, if we can figure out how to control it. The dragons knew how to navigate the veil, how to pass from one timeline to the next.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said.
“I realize that time travel is a bit of a mind fuck,” Oggie said.
“It’s not that… but think about it. If the dragons could navigate the timelines so well, how did they ever disappear? Wouldn’t they see it coming, from having traveled into the future, and then went back to make sure that it didn’t happen?”
“Unless they wanted to disappear,” Oggie said. “And dragons were the guardians of the timeline. Their very purpose was to ensure that it not be altered, that man not travel to and fro and mess with Bondye’s plans.”
“Bondye?”
“It’s what we call God, in Voodoo. Other people have different names for him, or her, or whatever.”
“I take it you don’t know much about this Bondye?”
“None of us do,” Oggie said as he sighed. “Only Dumballah ever met him.”
“This Dumballah is another Loa?”
Oggie nodded. “He was the only one of us who was there when Bondye created the Earth. But he’s also incredibly difficult to find. I haven’t seen him in centuries. Even then, I couldn’t really talk to him. He spoke… but it’s like when he talked, he was on some other plane. Dumballah is either a complete idiot, or he’s so wise that he’s beyond what our feeble minds can even begin to comprehend. And I sincerely doubt he’s an idiot. In fact, there’s only one human I’ve ever known to have summoned him effectively.”
“Marie Laveau?” I asked.
“Indeed,” Oggie said as he grabbed a cool washcloth from a bucket beneath his desk, rung it out, and pressed it to my forehead. “How’s that headache?”
I wasn’t sure if I found his attentions and care insanely attractive… or patronizing. It was a bit of both.
“It’s imp
roving,” I said. “Much better, thanks.”
“Good,” Oggie said. “Tomorrow we’ll try to summon the blade while you remain in charge. Only this time, I want to be there. We’ll attempt it in our morning session.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?” I asked. “I mean, if I’m opening these portals, what if something else finds its way through and I can’t stop it?”
“That’s why I want to be there,” Oggie said. “It’s also why it’s urgent that you learn to master the blade. Think of it this way. If you can open a portal to Guinee, then it might be used to vanquish any unsavory spirits or Loa from Earth.”
“But if I have that power,” I said as I thought through the consequences of this ability out loud, “won’t all the Loa, even the good ones, see me as a potential threat?”
Oggie bit his thumbnail, as if he was pondering the thought. “You’re right. It’s a risk.”
“So I should probably keep my soul blade well sheathed in the ether?”
Oggie nodded. “We need to try and figure out what else you might be able to do with this blade. Three elementals in one… it’s unprecedented. But typically when more than one elemental forge to form a blade, there is an ability that results from the combination of elements, but with enough focus, the abilities associated with each element should be available, too.”
“And what do these elementals do? Like, what abilities usually come with earth, fire, and wind?”
“With earth comes great strength,” Oggie said, grinning widely. “It’s precisely how Mikah was able to carry you here so easily.”
“That makes sense,” I said, even less intrigued than I had been by what kind of physique might be hidden beneath his plaids and corduroys. Clearly, his strength didn’t come from any kind of exercise.
“The powers of fire and wind are more predictable. A fire-infused blade will burn as it cuts, which if channeled properly can cauterize any wound it makes. It also allows one to manipulate fire, more generally. It’s the element I use most frequently.”
“When your testicles get cold?” I asked.
Oggie grinned. “I’ve been using that line for centuries.”
“Still waiting for laughs?”
“I suppose. I find it hilarious. Someone else will, eventually.”
“And what about air?” I asked.
“An air-infused blade comes with extra force. A single swipe of the blade can knock out an army by the sheer force it generates.”
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s impressive.”
“But I’ve yet to have an initiate with an air-infused soul blade who managed to maximize the blade’s ability. It’s the most difficult element to master, mostly because air itself is difficult to perceive. Focusing on air… most people find that challenging.”
“Isn’t there a water elemental, too?” I asked.
Oggie nodded. “That particular element, however, does not tend to manifest with my aspect. There is another Loa whose aspect is tied to that ability.”
“I’m guessing this Loa is not affiliated with the Academy?”
“Not directly,” Oggie said. “Though he supports our efforts. He simply refuses to bestow his aspect as liberally as Academy practice requires. I’m sure you’ll learn all about it in your History of the Loa course.”
I sighed. “These classes…”
“What, they’re boring?”
“You don’t even know!” I exclaimed. “Not that the information isn’t fascinating… in fact, I do find it fascinating.”
“What do you find so fascinating?” Oggie asked.
“It takes a lot of skill to take such interesting topics and make them dull. I mean, these Hougans and Mambos… do they have the aspect of some Loa who governs boredom? I can’t think of any other explanation. It’s supernatural how boring they are.”
Oggie slapped his knee, laughing. It was a cliché gesture… so cliché that I found it endearing. “They are awful, aren’t they?”
Chapter Fourteen
“Girl, what did you do?” Pauli asked, his expression uncharacteristically stern, his voice hushed.
“What are you talking about?” I asked as I tossed my backpack under my bunk. Then I saw it. A small envelope resting on my pillow. Unfortunately, it wasn’t accompanied by chocolate mints and bath-towel animals.
My surname was written on it in an ornate script: “Miss Mulledy”
“What, do you think I’m in trouble? This looks like an invitation or something.”
“An invitation to the principal’s office, honey!”
I shrugged. I’d expected that Papa Legba would want to meet with me at some point.
“Doesn’t he meet with all students eventually?” I asked.
“Hell if I know, I started here same day as you. But if that was the case, wouldn’t everyone get an invitation? He’d post a schedule or something. You wouldn’t be the only one.”
I grinned as Pauli continued whispering with such aggression that he might as well have been shouting. I looked across the dormitory and was greeted by a shit-eating grin splitting Nico’s pompous face.
“Everyone can hear you, Pauli.”
“I know,” he said, continuing to speak in the same manner. “But this way of talking emphasizes the seriousness of what’s at stake!”
“You really should have majored in theater performance,” I said.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Pauli asked, sounding indignant. “He’s gay, must be a theater major…”
I shook my head. “Relax. It has nothing to do with you being gay. It’s because you’re so dramatic.”
Pauli’s face relaxed, as if he had just dismounted his high horse. “Well maybe you have a point. It certainly would be more fitting than snakes.”
“But maybe not more fitting than rainbows… just saying.”
“See, there you go stereotyping again!” Pauli said, inflecting his voice in such a way that made it clear he was feigning indigence over my comment.
I grinned, noticing that Nico had put on his headphones, a strategy I’d already seen him use more than once to drown out Pauli. For once, I couldn’t exactly blame him. I love Pauli, but he’s a nonstop chatterbox, and having to share one open dormitory with him would be annoying to almost anyone who belongs to the human population. Ellie, however, didn’t seem to mind. She was buried in one of her romance novels—at least that’s what I assumed it was due to the fact that her book featured a bare-chested man on its cover…
“Where’s Sauron?” I asked Pauli, noticing she was the only one absent.
“Probably taking a shit. Hell if I know where she is.”
“Just wondered, dude,” I said, reclining on my bed and opening the envelope I’d received. I retrieved what looked, in fact, to be a typical sort of invitation. It was a plain white piece of card stock, trimmed in golden flake and folded in half.
I opened it up and read it to myself:
Miss Mulledy,
I think it’s time we become better acquainted. Please meet me in my office upon receipt.
Cordially,
Papa Legba
“Well, looks like he wants to meet me right away.”
Pauli’s eyes widened as he bit his thumbnail. “It can’t wait… you must be in some serious shit.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t know that,” I said. In truth, I suspected he’d somehow found out about today’s actions in the gymnasium. Certainly, Oggie wouldn’t have told him. I don’t think Mikah would have either. Were there cameras in there? I didn’t see any. But tech these days is so small, a camera could be hidden almost anywhere. Not to mention, magic is real.
I stood up to leave, almost chuckling on account of the grim expression that had settled into Pauli’s face as he watched me leave the dormitory. It was like he thought I was on my way to my own execution or something.
“Isabelle, you there?” I whispered, as I made my way down the hall.
Mmmhmm…
“Headache is gone. You can start tal
king.”
What is there to say?
“You feel guilty, don’t you… for kissing Mikah.”
More like a hypocrite.
She had a point. She’d often complained if I kissed boys, or did anything more than that, without her consent. She had to feel it, so I kind of understood.
“It’s not a big deal,” I said. “A bit gross, I admit… and he’s not my type.”
Which is why I shouldn’t have done it.
“Because you admit he’s gross?”
No… because I’ll never be able to be with him anyway.
I took a deep breath. Isabelle had never really articulated any resentment regarding our situation. But I had to admit, she had a point. The girl deserves to find love as much as anyone else, but sharing a body—one that I’m in control of most of the time—didn’t really afford her much of a chance.
I took a deep breath.
“If we can just figure out how to treat these headaches, maybe I can allow you to take the reins more often. You know, give you a chance to date.”
You’d always be there… always experiencing it with me. It would never be just me.
“Look, I’m a big girl… I can handle it. I’ll just try to tune it out. Maybe I’ll figure out a way to go to sleep. I mean, you can sleep sometimes when I’m awake.”
That’s not what I’m talking about…
“Then what do you mean?”
If I have a boyfriend, even if you let me take control, you’ll feel everything. It will be like you’re kissing my boyfriend…
“You’re jealous?” I asked. “That’s why you’re worried?”
Isabelle didn’t respond immediately. I suspected she was trying to sort out the legitimacy of her own feelings.
Yeah… I guess I am.
I’d never thought about it that way. Perhaps because I’d never had any genuine feelings for a boy. A lot of primal attractions, some mild infatuation, at times. But I’d never really been in love. And as little time as we’d actually spent with Mikah, I was pretty sure she wasn’t either.
“Isabelle, we barely know him. You can’t possibly be in love with him.”
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