by Indie Gantz
“We can form more hydrogen bonds in water, which removes a considerable amount of energy. This makes the water temperature decrease. The energy that is removed can then be transferred through a Néroian and into another cast. This skill is very useful to us.”
“I’m sorry,” I admit reluctantly. “I don’t really understand what you mean.”
“Basically, freezin’ water is a great way to find excess energy for Néroians,” Vi explains, not at all bothered by my ignorance. “But you need a Fotiá Eidikós stone to start the process.”
I nod, because that does make sense. If energy is released when hydrogen bonds are formed, then that energy can be transferred to be used elsewhere.
Vi concentrates her gaze on the cup of water while holding the Fotiá stone in her other hand. The fiery red color of the stone slowly dims as the cup ices over. Vi sucks in a shuttering breath and then a geyser of water comes spouting out from behind her. It flies several šēpusi into the air; so far up, I can barely see where it stops. Tirigan would say ‘a dozen meters’ rather than ‘several šēpusi’, but I’m still attached to the Anunnaki measurement system.
“Normally, pushin’ water that far up, directly against the force of gravity, would be tirin’ for me,” Vi explains. “But with the added energy I received from the formation of the hydrogen bonds during the freezing process, I can sustain this cast much longer than usual.” Vi stops and looks between us. “Is this all makin’ sense?”
I sigh and shrug. “In theory, yeah. I mean, I know all of this on paper, but in reality? How do you remember all of it enough to use it correctly?”
“Practice,” Vi smiles. “Why don’t you two put on the suits I left in your room, and then meet me back out here. Some things are better learned through doin’. Yeah?”
Tirigan nods quickly and practically runs inside to change, leaving me to follow behind less enthusiastically. It’s not as if I don’t want to learn or practice these things, it’s just that I don’t really see how freezing a cup of water is going to help us find Calla. It’s cool and everything, but is it really useful?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Terminal Velocity
When we’re both back outside, we find the geyser gone and Vi standing on the surface of the water. I blink a few times to be sure of what I’m seeing and then smile in appreciation. That could be useful.
Does this mean Jesus was Néroian?
I laugh at my brother’s joke, and Tirigan’s lips actually twitch into a satisfied smile before he heads off toward the pool.
“I’m going to take the little one inside for a snack,” Oleander tells us, walking towards the house with Cyra cradled to his chest, despite her wet body. His floral button down shirt is soaked in the front, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He smiles down at Cyra as he walks her inside, tickling her tummy and laughing with her when she squeals happily.
Turning back slightly, Oleander gives me a departing smile and wishes me luck.
“Thanks,” I reply, sighing. “I may need it.”
“You’ll do great. Don’t sell yourself short. I’ll be back in a bit.” He winks then turns away.
When I eventually turn back to the pool, I find Tirigan already inside with Vi, who’s still standing above it. I have to jump up to pull myself over the edge, but it doesn’t take me but a few seconds to join them both in the water. It’s cool, but not enough to bring on a chill. After a few moments of Tirigan and me looking up at her in wonder, Vi’s body slowly descends back into the water.
“Surface tension,” Vi begins. “It’s what allows me to stand on top of the water, rather than fallin’ through it. As I said before, the cohesion of the water molecules allows them to stick together, right? So, if I increase that cohesion, increase their need to stick together and strengthenin’ their connection, I can construct a very strong surface. This can be used as I just showed you, or if you’re focused and powerful enough, as a shield.” She flicks her wrist slightly and a wall of water comes up between Vi and us, creating a barrier. I can just barely see the outline of her body on the other side, but it’s not very detailed.
“Try to push through,” Vi instructs. Tirigan and I share a dubious look before I push a closed fist out quickly, trying to punch through the wall of water. Even though she called it a shield, I don’t imagine it’s strong enough to withstand a jab with all my strength behind it.
The moment my fist makes contact, pain erupts from my knuckles to my wrist. Crying out, I pull my hand back, cradling my newly bloodied hand against my chest. Tirigan’s eyebrows raise, obviously impressed by the fortitude of Vi’s shield, before looking down at my hand with concern.
I grimace as I inspect the damage. The skin above my knuckles is torn in a few places and the entire hand aches. Something’s probably broken.
Tirigan, however, obviously grows bored of my injury as it no longer holds his attention. He furrows his brows together in concentration, eyes on the shield. Summoning his energy, my brother pushes both hands outward, not touching the shield but visibly exerting some kind of force against it. The water shield bends just the slightest bit inward but remains standing between us. Tirigan lowers his hands, and a second later the shield falls, revealing an out of breath and sweating Vi.
“Very good, Tirigan,” Vi pants, noticeably weaker now. “I had some trouble keeping her up against your cast. I’ve been invoking all mornin’, so I’m gettin’ a bit knackered.” Her eyes fall to my injury. Her pleased expression pulls into a frown. “You tried to punch your way through, Charlie?”
“You said—”
“Sweetheart, you essentially just tried to punch your way through a steel wall.” Vi chuckles softly and moves closer to me, holding out her hand in the hopes that I’ll let her inspect mine. I relent and put my bleeding hand into hers. She pulls it up closer to her face and sighs. “Know your limits, Charlie. Not just with your powers, but with your body as well.” She releases my hand, and I pull it back to myself quickly, embarrassed. “Well, go on then, heal it up. We’ve got more learnin’ to do.”
The shame of my own arrogance dissipates quickly into delight at not having to hide this side of myself anymore. I push my injured hand below the water and concentrate on healing myself. A few moments later, I bring it above the surface and hold it up for inspection.
“Good as new,” I announce.
Tirigan isn’t paying attention. He’s working on pulling a water shield up in front of himself. The water lifts up and builds a barrier, but when Vi lifts her hand up to it, she is able to poke her finger through.
“That won’t hold back anythin’ but an inflated ball, I’m ‘fraid,” Vi says. “Concentrate on forcin’ the molecules together, amplifyin’ their cohesive property.”
Tirigan’s mouth purses with irritation, but he nods and focuses so hard on the water shield that his body shakes. This time when Vi tries to push her finger through, she’s unable to.
“Good,” Vi commends. “I don’t know if I’d trust it to stop a bullet, but it’s certainly an improvement.” Tirigan lets out a breath and his body relaxes. The water shield falls. “All right you two, the next things I am going to talk to you about are very dangerous. I need both of your words that you won’t be practicin’ these types of casts without my oversight. Yes?”
“Yes,” Tirigan and I both respond instantly, our interest piqued.
At least until the back door opens and pulls our attention away from Vi again. Avias stands on the porch with a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other. He writes down a few notes then sits in a chair to watch our lesson.
Vi clears her throat to get our attention, giving us a stern look before continuing.
“We’re about to get into a bit of chemistry, so pay attention and just know that you don’t have to get it all right now. It’ll become second nature eventually.” We both nod and Vi continues. “All right, well, as you know, water that’s taken directly from the earth is never just water. In addition to hydrogen and oxygen, water fr
om the earth contains numerous charged ions. Do you know what that means?”
Tirigan is probably salivating over the chance to show off now that we have an audience, so I jump in with an answer before him. “It means that a molecule has either gained or lost electrons and has a net electric charge.”
“Yes,” Vi nods and grins approvingly. “Very good.”
I give Tirigan a smug smile when he rolls his eyes.
“So, what does this knowledge tell us about water and electricity?” Vi asks, eyes on Tirigan, giving him a chance to do what I beat him to a moment ago.
“Water containing charged ions is a conductor of electricity,” Tirigan answers, his prosody slightly off. His speech has gotten a lot better since he began speaking out loud, but there is definitely still room for improvement. “If a source of electricity is introduced to water, it will seek out oppositely charged ions to connect with, effectively creating an electric current in the water.”
“Yes.” Vi grins again. “I know you haven’t had your lesson with Bo yet, but I hope you’ve both studied up on Fotiá enough to understand that powerful Fotiáns can pull energy directly from the sun, essentially making them able to electrify anything. With that power at your disposal, you need to be aware of water’s electrical conductivity so as not to accidentally electrocute yourselves or others. Understand?” We both nod quickly. “Obviously, we won’t be practicing this; it’s just something you need to be conscious of.”
“Right, got it,” I reply. “Don’t fry myself in a lightning bath. Check.”
“Good,” Vi responds, only honoring my quip with a quick smirk. “Let’s move on to—” The back door opens again, and Oleander walks down and off porch steps, stopping at the edge of the pool.
“—pressure. Perfect timing, Ollie!” Oleander finishes for her. He gives us one of his award winning smiles.
“Do me a favor and punch a hole in this clay wall of yours, Ollie,” Vi requests politely. Her voice shakes slightly.
Oleander eyes her carefully for a moment. I think he’s about to refuse, but when Vi raises an eyebrow reproachfully, he nods and sets his sights on the side of the pool. Saving my curiosity over Oleander’s initial reluctance for another time, I lean over the edge to watch a small cylinder of clay push its way out of the wall. A second later, water begins to leak its way out in a steady stream.
“Thank you,” Vi says to him. “And a target if you please?”
Oleander, again, takes a moment before agreeing. It’s obvious he’s questioning Vi’s plan, but a soft ‘Oleander’ from Vi has him turning away from the pool in compliance. The ground beneath the clay pool vibrates, lets out a soft grumble of effort, and soon a boulder rises up through the ground. Tirigan and I look on in interest as Oleander guides the boulder, placing it a few šēpusi away from the leaking hole in the pool.
“Water is incompressible,” Vi continues once Oleander has finished his task and walks back to the porch. He stands next to Avias and joins him in watching our lesson. “If you put a straw in a bag of water and squeeze the bag, the water will not compress, it will shoot through the straw. Yes?”
“Yes,” Tirigan and I both confirm.
“This is an extremely useful, yet dangerous, property. By pushing water through a small opening, you are essentially creating a weapon. For example...” Vi moves closer to the hole in the pool wall. “Ollie, a little support here?” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, her shoulders rising significantly as Oleander comes to stand beside the clay wall again. He angles his body away from the hole, but places his hands on either side of it.
Vi’s hands disappear below the surface of the pool, palms forward and directly in front of the hole. After a few more long breaths, her body tenses and the water around us shifts minutely. Then, my attention is immediately drawn to the boulder as an explosion echoes around the backyard. The water that was once just a small stream from the pool is now a harsh torrent that barrels so quickly into the boulder that rock pieces fly in all directions.
I am so fascinated by the sheer force of her power that I don’t notice when Vi’s body wavers.
It’s only when the violent water stream stops and returns to its slow and steady state that I realize what’s happening. Vi’s eyes are fluttering shut, her legs have given out.
“Vi!” I move quickly through the water and catch her before she sinks completely under.
“Thanks, love,” she mumbles tiredly. “I could use a rest I think.”
“Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea,” I reply, slightly bewildered. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, I look over to Tirigan who appears just as concerned as I feel. “Do you always get drained so quickly?”
Vi doesn’t open her eyes, but she manages to pull a tiny smile to her lips. “Not a problem you two will have to worry about,” Vi whispers.
“Yeah, I guess not,” I respond, frowning. Avias and Oleander are already waiting to receive her, saying nothing as they take Vi from me. They help her up and over the wall, their expressions resigned, as if they expected this to happen. My concern grows.
I watch them steady her on the other side of the pool, while Tirigan pulls himself out of the water and jumps to the ground.
“There’s some books on the biological uses of water,” Vi’s tired voice comes from between Avias and Oleander’s arms. She stands with their help, but looks as if she might collapse any moment. “I expect you two to stud up on your own since… we didn’t get to it… today. I’ll give a little... quiz...”
Vi’s eyes slowly roll back into her head, her body slumps, and she loses consciousness.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When a Triangle Becomes a Square
Once Oleander and Avias have moved Vi’s exhausted body inside, I join Tirigan at the boulder Oleander had raised. There’s a perfect circular hole blasted straight through the rock where the water drilled into it. Tirigan traces the edges of the hole with his finger.
Vi passed out.
Tirigan pauses in his ministrations, but does not look away from the rock. Interesting.
I don’t think that’s the way you’re supposed to respond to people blacking out.
How would you know?
I roll my eyes at his challenge and lean my weight against the boulder. “I wonder if that happens a lot. Passing out from exhaustion after powerful casts like that.”
Perhaps.
“Oleander and Avias seemed a little concerned. Maybe this has happened before.”
Tirigan finally allows his finger to pull away from the rock, and his hand falls to his side as he turns to look at me. It’s odd that she grew powerless so quickly.
How do you know it’s odd? We don’t really know much about the longevity of typical Téssera powers. Besides, the book says that performing major casts will drain your energy faster.
The scale doesn’t seem accurate. Vi actually lost consciousness.
I shrug. “Who knows? I’m sure if there was something to worry about, they’d tell us.”
Perhaps. Tirigan turns back towards the boulder and eyes the damage from Vi’s water assault again.
“It's crazy that water can rip a hole through solid rock,” I say absently.
Tirigan nods and hums thoughtfully. Indeed.
The back door opens. Tirigan and I both turn to see Avias coming toward us with his small satchel strapped across his chest.
“I’m going to go open up the shop for Mum. Would you like to join me?”
We learned quickly after arriving that Vi owns a store in town where she sells the clothing and accessories she, Bo, and Oleander make. The store itself is more for personal enjoyment than for the Collective, but Vi lit up excitedly when she spoke of the rare casting stones people have traded for her wares.
She used to work in irrigation when they lived in New Cardiff, but there wasn’t additional need for that in Pacoa. Instead, Vi gained permission to do what she wanted. Just since we’ve been here, she’s made a collection of items, every piece un
iquely different and completely beautiful.
“Sure,” I answer, not only because I’m happy to help out, but also because I’m itching to get out of the house. We haven’t done much exploring since coming to Pacoa, what with the shock of our secret getting out and now with studying all of the time. Despite how upset I am with her, I’m eager to be in the same space my mother was when she was growing up. See what she saw. Live how she lived.
“Is Vi going to be all right?” I ask him.
Avias gives me a quick, thin smile. “She’ll pull through.” He averts his gaze to Tirigan, and it’s immediately obvious that Avias doesn’t want to talk about his mother’s health. “What about you, Tirigan? Do you want to go into town?”
Tirigan nods instead of answering.
“All right then,” Avias replies, gesturing towards the front yard. “After you.”
◆◆◆
We walk with Avias through the wooded area in front of his house and along the narrow path that leads into the small town. We don’t speak much besides Avias occasionally gesturing towards points of interest on our journey. As we approach the town, the road narrows slightly and a paved sidewalk replaces the dirt pathway.
On either side of the road, there are small buildings, all connected and each with a different colorful sign with the shop’s name on it. There are specialty food shops and bookstores; a healer’s clinic and a store that sells various forms of glass. I see a sign for a mail service of some kind and an Eidikós stone trading shop.
Avias breaks the silence after we pass the first few small brick buildings on the street.
“Bo’s already at the shop. It was her turn to open, but I have a feeling she’ll take your presence there as an excuse to bugger off early.”
“We’re happy to help out if she wants the day off,” I respond. “I figure we owe her for the lesson she’ll give us later this week.”