by Indie Gantz
“Why do you think she left?” I ask instead, wanting to hear his ideas so they distract me from the truth.
Kor shrugs. “We weren’t enough. Her family. Her friends. Me. None of it was enough for her.” He seems to catch his nearly bitter tone and gives me a half smile. “Your mother was a wildly free individual, Charlie. No one could tie her down.”
“Funny, I wouldn’t think taking care of your family qualifies as being tied down.”
“It’s all right to be mad at her, Charlie,” Kor tells me. “The fact that she created you doesn’t make her infallible. I’m not saying you should hold ill-will against your mother, because even I don’t do that anymore. However, it’s never good to assume perfection.”
That resonates with me. Despite the lies I’m spinning to Kor, the perfect bubble around my mother has popped. She lied to me my entire life. It’s becoming obvious that I never really knew her at all.
“I cannot assume that everything worked out for the best, as I don’t have the power to look into alternate timelines, but I do know that I’m happy in this one,” Kor continues. “Your mother seems to have found happiness before she died as well.” He falters slightly. “Of course, I can’t speak for your mother’s family. I didn’t keep in contact after I left, right after your grandmother’s passing.”
“What made you go?” I ask, pushing down my feelings of betrayal at my mother missing my grandmother’s death.
For Anunnaki, death is a celebration of life. It’s a grand, day-long affair. Everyone who ever knew the deceased comes and pays their respects to the surviving relatives, and several ceremonies take place throughout the day. In the end, the deceased’s body is burned to ash, and then the ashes are spread over the dead person’s favorite locations. To miss the death ritual of a friend or family member is completely unheard of. Of course, we never had any friends or family members, so Tirigan and I have never gone to one, but I’ve read about them.
“I left for a combination of reasons. Pacoa’s emotional climate, my own family squabbles,” Kor replies solemnly. “But also, I finally realized Calla was never coming back. I couldn’t stay there, too many memories. Letting go is difficult if a piece of you is still connected.”
“That makes sense,” I reply hesitantly. It’s odd to be having such an intimate conversation with someone I just met a couple weeks ago.
There’s a rock on the side of the path, half buried under dirt and weeds, but it stands out to me. It’s translucent and devoid of color, somewhat familiar too. I bend down to pick it up and put it in my pocket.
“And then you met Vi?” I ask, purposely adding some manufactured cheer into my voice.
Kor nods with a smile. “A walking miracle.”
“She’s really kind,” I agree with a smile. “You guys are great together.”
Kor chuckles softly. He looks off into the distance, his eyes less focused. “It’s ironic really, that I should find someone to love me in spite of... well, in spite of everything.”
I almost comment on Kor’s odd statement, despite not yet knowing what I want to say, but I’m distracted by the rock I’ve just placed in my jean’s pocket. It feels like it’s pulsing against my thigh. I stop walking as I take it out and examine it more closely.
“Do you know what kind of rock this is?” I ask Kor. He bends towards me and looks into the stone.
“Quartz,” he says after a moment, and then he narrows his eyes at me. “You should already know that, though.” When I avoid his gaze and don’t say anything, Kor continues. “Quartz crystals are versatile blanks for Gyans. I’m surprised you haven’t seen one before.”
I think quickly. “Well, I- I mean with my mother gone and my father sick… and you know, we were on the road all the time. Plus there weren’t a lot of stones near the jungle. I mean there were some, of course, but not a lot. It wasn’t exactly easy to find the ones we needed. I’m sure we could’ve if we tried but…” I’m rambling. For some reason I’m finding it increasingly difficult to lie to this man.
“Hmm,” Kor hums thoughtfully, obviously thinking carefully over my rant. “You know, come to think of it, I’ve never seen a casted Quartz. Oleander is prone to using Jade or Jasper.” He pulls the crystal from my sweating palm and looks at it closely before offering it back to me. “Do you mind? I’d love to see what it looks like.”
It takes me much longer than it should to figure out what he’s talking about. He wants me to cast into the Quartz. Theoretically, I should be able to do this. If I can control all four elements, I should be able to cast all of them too, as long as I have the right kind of stone. Calla explained it to us in her letter. I just have to focus my energy, and some of the Earth’s power should channel through me and into the stone. Simple as that.
“Um, sure,” I answer as casually as I can manage, taking the stone out of Kor’s hand. He eyes me warily, like he’s trying to find the missing piece of a puzzle.
Just think Earth. Think Earth and I will cast Earth.
I repeat it like mantra, over and over again, as I close my eyes and hold the stone tightly between my palms. Earth. Earth. Earth. Earth. Earth. Feeling my power transferring, I have a quick jolt of excitement that it’s working. It feels like my hands are tingling, like the muscles inside had fallen asleep and are now coming alive again. After a moment, the feeling disappears and I’m left holding the stone between my palms.
I realize as soon as I open my eyes that this was probably a huge mistake. What if I didn’t cast the right color? They’ve seen me invoke Earth; they think that’s my element. If I cast another element into the Quartz, what will he say? It isn’t possible, is it? To cast one element into the stone used for another element?
I’m sure every one of my thoughts can be read in the crease of my brow and the thinly pressed line of my lips, but when I look at Kor he seems more concerned than anything else.
“Okay then,” I say slowly, preparing myself for the next step. “Here.”
I push my hand forward; the stone nestled between the fingers and palm of my right hand, still out of sight. Probably another mistake on my part. I should have looked at it first, that way I’d have a chance to think of a lie if needed. Too late now.
Now, Kor is reaching for the stone, forcibly pulling my fingers back because they’re apparently unwilling to move on their own. I see the glow between my fingers before I can register what’s happening.
“What…?” Kor questions absently, staring into my hand as I try to remember how to breathe. The quartz isn’t green. It’s purple, illuminating my hand in a soft glow that instantly reminds me of the stones my mother used to wear around her neck.
I have only a second to think.
I run.
CHAPTER FIVE
Everyone Else is Already Taken
The shock in Kor’s eyes plays on repeat as I run away from him. It’s like an old movie reel, a constant loop of cautious surprise.
I don’t get much of a head start. Kor’s footsteps pound loudly behind me at an incredible speed. I’m being chased, but I haven’t been caught yet. I’m either faster than him, or Kor is holding back.
Running up the stairs of the back porch, I telepathically shout for my brother. Tirigan!
“Charlie, wait!” Kor yells from the back yard “Please, Charlie!” Kor pleads again, much closer now. I fling open the door to the house before I even reach it, and it slams behind me as I rush inside.
Tirigan! We have to run! He knows! We have to—
The back door opens. Whipping around to face Kor, the only thing I can think to do is push him away from me. I focus my energy and concentrate on forcing his body away from mine, but Kor puts his hands up and pushes back against my assault, not violently, just enough to thwart my attempts to move his body. I feel like I’m pushing against a steel wall, his power too strong for me to even gain an inch.
When I release my cast, it’s with great reluctance. I’m out of breath and nearly out of energy, but Kor barely looks winded. I
can feel myself recharging quickly, though. I’ll be able to try again in a second. I search out Tirigan’s mind once more, but I can’t find him.
“Where’s my brother?” I command.
“He isn’t here, love,” Vi’s quiet voice comes from behind me. I spin around with arms raised in a show of strength I have yet to fully regain. “Gone to the market with Avias.”
My legs carry me forward before I can think it through, bringing me toward the front of the house, but I’m stopped by a sharp pull at my back. Kor has me held in some sort of thickened air stasis. I try to move my arms and legs, but it’s too difficult. It’s like I’m sledging through wet concrete.
“Please, wait,” Kor says from behind me. “You’re in no danger here.”
“Please let me go,” I request carefully, not able to turn around and face him, but hoping Kor hears the desperation in my voice.
He isn’t a bad person. Kor’s goodness radiates from him, but even good people make hard and fast judgments sometimes, especially when they are faced with things they don’t understand.
Vi moves to stand between me and the door. “Why don’t we have a cuppa? Talk this through a bit.” Her voice is soothing, calm. Too calm.
“Tea?” I ask, my confused curiosity taking over in the moment.
“Come now, love, you mustn’t work yourself up like this,” Vi soothes with a wave of her hand. “Tis nothin’ to fret about, promise.”
“How can you know...?” I think about my phrasing and opt for something a little more ambiguous. “What do you mean?”
The cast keeping me in place begins to lessen. My eyes dart for the door.
“You agree to stay for a cup of tea and not run off, and we’ll promise to let you go afterwards. If you still want to,” Kor offers from behind me. When I don’t respond, too wrapped up in my own fear, he continues, “You have nothing to be afraid of, Charlie.”
Part of me wants to point out that I have no reason to trust that, but the life I’ve lived in this home over the last two weeks reminds me otherwise. This family has been nothing but accepting of us so far. They’ve invited us into their home and into their lives with very little information to go on. If I’m going to give anyone a chance, it should be them. I don’t have to admit to anything, but I can at least do as they ask. It only seems fair. It also doesn’t seem like I have a choice.
I nod in agreement, and the rest of the binding cast holding me in place immediately slips away.
“Good,” Vi says simply, placing her hand on my upper arm and steering me towards the kitchen. “What do you fancy? Jasmine, Black, or Green?”
“Um, Green,” I reply absently, suddenly aware of how incredibly short the walk to the kitchen table is.
When I first came here, the house seemed so large in comparison to the trailer I grew up in. It felt just as loved and lived in, but there was definitely more space than I was used to. Now, heading towards an unknown fate, the walls feel like they’re closing in on me.
“Just have a seat there, dear. I’ll put a pot on,” Vi says softly. Kor takes the seat opposite of the one Vi points out to me, but keeps his eyes on my hands.
“I wasn’t… I’m not going to—” I cut myself off, betrayed by Kor’s obvious apprehension. “I won’t do anything,” I finally get out, hoping to ease whatever anxiety Kor seems to be feeling.
He startles at my words, immediately fixing his expression and posture to be more casual. “I’m not concerned,” he lies, a small but genuine smile on his face.
Part of me wonders if it’s a bad idea to appease Kor’s fears. Maybe I should be trying to intimidate them both. Maybe I should be acting like I’m capable of anything. If they’re afraid of me, it could offer me a certain level of protection.
We wait at the table in silence, listening to Vi boil water and pour it into three cups. A clock ticks in the background and birds chirp loudly outside. I throw another call out to Tirigan, just in case he’s in range, but I hear nothing in return. After another minute of uncomfortable silence, Vi comes over with three steaming cups of tea.
“There now. Drink up. Settle some of those nerves.”
It dawns on me a moment too late that perhaps the tea is laced with something poisonous and this whole ‘have a cup of tea and talk’ scene, was all part of the master plan to kill me. But after my first sip tastes normal, and I’m not rendered unconscious, I take another sip, and then set the cup down on its saucer.
“Now,” Vi begins, regarding me for a second before locking eyes with her husband. “What’s all this about?”
The way she asks her question sounds so odd, like she’s some sort of counselor mediating an argument between children. As if she didn’t walk in on her partner engaging in a physical altercation with a teenage girl.
“Um,” I begin, but finish there because I absolutely will not give anything away if I don’t have to. Instead of continuing, I set my gaze back on my tea and take another sip, keeping my eyes down the whole time.
Kor pulls the now glowing purple Quartz out of his pocket. A lump forms in my throat as he places it in the middle of the table. Shame, embarrassment, and fear threaten to spill out of me.
I watch for Vi’s reaction. She stares at the stone a moment, obviously interested but also visibly bemused. She sips her tea and looks up at me through her lashes.
“It’s purple,” she states impishly.
“Yes...” I reply hesitantly, more a question than an agreement.
“You cast that, did you?”
“I, uh, I—” I want to lie, but Kor is sitting right here. I obviously won’t get away with anything less than the truth.
“She did,” Kor says for me. “Then she ran away.”
“I’m sure your reaction had nothin’ to do with that,” Vi accuses somewhat harshly, giving Kor a displeased glare.
“I’m sorry,” Kor replies, raising his hands. “It was the first time I—” His eyes flick to me abruptly then back to his wife. “A little warning about the color would’ve been nice.”
“I didn’t know about the color.” Vi shrugs as if her words make a kind of sense that, well, don’t. Vi seems completely unconcerned with what she’s seeing and hearing, and that leaves me feeling far more anxious than I had moments before.
“What is this?” I manage to get out. “What are you—”
“Darlin’,” Vi interrupts. “I told you, you have nothin’ to fear in this house. We already know who you are.”
“You... what?” I stutter, my heart rate picking up exponentially and feeling like it’s going to beat right up my throat and out my mouth.
“Not everythin’, of course, but I learned quite a bit from my bastard of an ex, and Kor...” She eyes her partner for a moment, then shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “Well, he should’ve been far more prepared for your stone castin’ than he was.”
“Wait,” I say, much louder than I intend to. “You know? When… how long?”
“Well, yes dear,” Vi responds. “Almost immediately.”
“Excuse me?” I push myself up from the table and the chair comes toppling down behind me. The tea sloshes in our cups, but I barely notice. My world is crumbling again.
“Calm down, Charlie,” Kor requests patiently. “We didn’t want to scare you off by telling you what we thought we knew, especially if we were wrong.”
My breathing is coming hard and fast. I feel like I’m about to pass out. Everything is blurry. My chest hurts. Aches.
Every time I think I have a handle on what’s happening around me, my feet get knocked out from under me again. Everything is constantly changing now, moving, moving faster than I can keep up with. Nothing was ever new under the Anunnaki sun, but absolutely everything is new under this one. The Téssera sun. The one that doesn’t burn as harshly, but still manages to leave its mark.
Kor raises a hand, drawing my attention. His eyes concentrate on my chest for just a moment, and then I’m breathing easier, slower. The ache begins to lessen.
> “Thank you,” I say softly, focusing on each breath as it comes in and goes out. Kor gives me a smile and nods.
“Anytime.” He looks at Vi for a second, hesitation in his expression, before seeming to commit to his thought and turning back to me. “You know, you could do that for yourself.”
“What? Stop myself from hyperventilating?”
“You do have the power to invoke all four elements, do you not?” He asks it cautiously, not as if he doesn’t know the answer, but as if he’s afraid to push me.
“What do you think you know?” I ask instead of answering, just barely noticing that my chair has been placed back underneath me before I sit down.
“Draq, the man I was with before Kor, was the ambitious sort, always tryin’ to earn his place at the head table,” Vi begins, gesturing with the hand that doesn’t hold her cup. “He spent his time rubbin’ elbows and smudgin’ up his nose, fallin’ all over himself to impress the High Coven. He maneuvered himself into a spot on one of their advisory committees the year Avias was born.” Vi pushes my tea towards me. I pick it up and take a sip. “Draq learned some information there, some very powerful information.” She takes a sip of her own tea and spares Kor a glance before turning back to me. “He was an ugly drunk. Abusive and just an utter wanker, really, but when he drank, he yapped.” She leans over to me slightly and raises her eyebrows. “All manner of dirty secrets would pour out of that man’s mouth. Affairs, threats of war, even his own preference for all sorts of unsavory things.” Kor snickers at that, and my eyes float between the two until Vi starts talking again. “One night, he stumbles home from who knows where, rattlin’ on about immortal aliens that live on the bottom half of Earth.”
My eyes go wide, and my heart probably skips a few beats, but Vi doesn’t seem to notice.