by Indie Gantz
What? What did you do? I ask, but my brother ignores me. Instead, he returns Avias’ smile and gives him a small nod. They continue to look only at each other, seemingly ignorant to anyone else’s presence.
Tirigan? What is it? I try again, but still, I get nothing in return. I have to wait what feels like forever before Tirigan finally turns away from Avias and looks at me instead, smiling proudly. There’s so much happiness in his eyes I can’t help but smile too. Seriously, what just happened?
Tirigan shrugs slightly then turns his gaze back to Avias.
I opened my mind to Avias.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Brute & Glob
You...“What?!” I reply excitedly, already trying to dampen my enthusiasm so as not to embarrass my already red-cheeked brother. “That’s amazing!”
“Yes,” Avias agrees breathlessly, his eyes still on Tirigan. “Amazing.”
Suddenly, a new voice calls out from behind me, and Avias’ focus turns abruptly. His eyes widen a great deal, then purposely settle.
“What’s this?” the voice asks harshly.
I turn sharply to face the new arrival and find a brute of a young man, all thick torso and long legs. I haven’t seen him before, but something about his stance and general unpleasant greeting puts me on edge. He has a small group of people with him, a girl with bright pink hair and a boy with a large nose and purple bangs, neither of whom I recognize. Along with them is another boy, and him I recognize immediately. Calor’s sandy blonde hair catches the afternoon sun, setting it alight.
Avias steps up in front of me and Tirigan, while Oleander jogs up from behind us to join him.
Oleander speaks first, a kind but wary smile on his face. “Afternoon! Care to join us in a game?”
“Not on your life,” the girl replies, flicking her hair and rolling her eyes. “Come on, Luc, I’ve got better things to do than hang out with these losers.”
The biggest boy, the one who spoke first, raises his hand slightly. “Now hold on, Rose.” He takes a step forward and Avias does the same.
What is happening? Why does he look so antagonistic?
Avias’ shoulder’s jump, but he shakes off the initial shock of the mental intrusion quickly. He glances over his shoulder at Tirigan, communicating privately with him, and then Tirigan nods. My brother looks to me as if I should be agreeing as well.
What? What did he say? I ask him.
You didn’t hear him?
No. We can’t talk through you, Tirigan.
Tirigan nods in acknowledgment, but it’s obvious he’s forgotten this fact, which irritates him and secretly amuses me.
Yes, of course, Tirigan recovers. The bigger one is named Luc. He is a notorious bully, but is mostly harmless. Avias suggests we say nothing, and they will eventually go away. It is best not to provoke them.
Bo comes up behind us then, pulling the crown off of her head. “Come for another round then Cal? I bet Avias—”
“Bo.” Avias’ voice is soft but so stern it cuts her off immediately.
“We don’t want to keep you.” Oleander’s forced pleasantry floats easily through the air. “If you have more interesting items on your agenda today, we can always catch up another time.”
“You think you’re somethin’ else. Don’t you?” Luc spits. The girl and the boy with the big nose scoff openly at Oleander’s suggestion, but Cal looks more worried than anything else.
“Come on Luc, let’s just go,” Cal urges, his voice soft and his hand on the bigger boy’s bicep.
“Pipe down, little brother,” Luc barks, pushing Cal’s hand away. “I got a question I need answered.” He steps closer, his eyes wandering around the grove I’d forgotten existed. Gulping audibly, a cold sweat collects at my brow.
“Don’t hurt yourself thinking too hard, Luc,” Bo quips confidently, a feat I’d be incapable of accomplishing at the moment. I’ve never encountered a person so inherently angry that they seem to exist solely to harass others.
The tension in Oleander’s neck and shoulders grows tighter, and I try to focus on not giving anything about us away. Besides, of course, the forbidden mini forest screaming out our guilt.
Luc moves forward, pushing through our little group and glancing up at the trees. “You know, I’ve seen these before. In a book.”
“You can read?” Bo ribs. “Congratulations! Your dad must be so proud.”
“Got quite the mouth on you, girl,” Luc snarls. The statement makes me feel raw, like he’s exposed a piece of something not meant for him.
Avias must agree because he steps forward and fixes Luc with a glare. “You were saying?”
Luc stares between them for a few more seconds, then glances back to the trees.
“These don’t belong here. How the hell did you get these to sprout up, huh? They’re practically extinct.” There’s a hint of fear in his voice, like perhaps he already knows the answer.
He suspects something.
He doesn’t know. Most Tésseras aren’t even aware of the Anunnaki’s existence or even the possibility of our existence. I highly doubt this beast of a thing would be knowledgeable in the subject.
That makes sense, but there’s still something about Luc’s tone that tells me he isn’t as ignorant as I’d hope.
Oleander, our knight in shining armor, steps forward with his arms extended. “I don’t know if you know this Luc, but uh, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” He looks uncharacteristically roguish, his teeth showing through his smile as he leans closer to Luc and stage whispers to him. “We can do magic.”
Oleander then puts his pointer finger to his lips, as if to shush the bigger boy and keep him from spreading word, and then gives Luc an authoritative glare. “Now, be sure to keep that to yourself, wouldn’t want the locals finding out.”
Luc growls. He actually lets out a sound I can only describe as a growl. He lunges for Oleander, and my hand flies up before I even know what I’m doing.
Luc’s suddenly suspended in his pursuit, his body stuck in the air I’ve thickened around him. It doesn’t last very long. The air sizzles and pops around the large boy while his eyes glow orange.
He’s burning the air up around him, making it thinner, Tirigan informs me unnecessarily.
Yes, Tirigan. I can see that.
Seconds later, Luc’s moving again, though not at full speed like he was before. He catches himself and stops, giving me the once over.
Oleander takes another step forward, outstretching his hands towards Luc. “Listen, we don’t want any trouble. All right? Let’s just call it a day.”
“Yeah, Luc.” Cal moves carefully between us rather than pushing his way through like his brother. “Dad’s making pie. Let’s go see if—” Avias makes a snorting noise, and Cal rounds on him. “What? You have a problem with pie now?”
Avias sneers at him. “I take no issue with your choice in nourishment. It’s just fitting that’s what you would be most concerned with right now.”
Tirigan has a puzzled expression on his face as he watches the exchange. I don’t think he’s worked out the nature of Avias and Cal’s relationship.
“Oh yeah, I get it,” Calor laughs, but it isn’t genuine. “Us commoners get too much enjoyment out of food right? A nobleman such as yourself wouldn’t waste your time on anything that isn’t polysyllabic.”
Calor takes a step forward, locking eyes with Avias and nearly meeting him chest to chest.
“You mean to imply that I think I’m superior to you?” Avias says hotly, the other skirmish between Oleander and Luc all but forgotten now.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. You think you’re better than me, better than everyone. Ever since—” Cal cuts himself off abruptly. His eyebrows raise in alarm for a microsecond before he snaps his mouth shut and takes a deep breath. After a moment, he opens his eyes again and stares Avias down.
“You know what? I’m not going to do this with you today, Ave.” His voice carries mor
e emotion than it did before. “Come on, Luc.” He pointedly looks Avias up and down before continuing. “It’s not worth it.”
“I’m not finished here,” Luc answers back calmly, and then he turns on me. A second later, I’m staring down a ball of fire, one that threatens to take my head off if I don’t deflect it quickly.
Maybe if it was Tirigan he’d do something different, something cleverer, so as not to expose himself, but the only thing I can think to do is pull water from the nearest tree and throw it in the direction of the fireball. It extinguishes in a harsh hissing sound.
And then… silence.
Charlie, what did you do?! Tirigan’s frantic, rightfully so, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. I invoked Aéras when I stopped Luc from attacking Oleander, and now I’ve just invoked Néro. We’re really and truly screwed.
I’m sorry, I panicked!
I hear murmurs and gasps from Luc’s gang behind me, but I don’t turn to face them. Luc and Cal are staring at me with wide eyes, Cal occasionally flicking his gaze to Avias, who wears an expression similar to Tirigan’s.
Then, Oleander’s hand fills my own and gives it a gentle squeeze. I don’t know where Bo is at the moment and that bothers me a great deal.
“How...” Luc begins, trailing off as he gives me a once over. He’s looking for Eidikós stones. Something that would explain how I could manage to invoke both elements. “That’s... not... you couldn’t have…”
“What did I tell you, Luc? Magic!” Oleander teases him again. He’s obviously trying for a light tone, but he’s failing miserably.
Luc shakes his head and points at me viciously. “NO! She invoked Aéras to stop me before and now she’s Néroian? That’s impossible! She can’t invoke two. She can’t! No one can!”
“She didn’t,” Avias says casually, walking to my other side. “She invoked Aéras for both, didn’t you?”
He looks at me expectantly, so I nod in response.
“No, she—” Luc tries again but Avias stops him.
“I taught her that one myself, invoking Aéras to pull water out of organic objects. It’s quite difficult, but Charlie here’s a natural.” He puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
He’s a genius, Tirigan enthuses. A bloody genius.
I snort at Tirigan’s chosen adjective, throwing him an amused look. But then Luc is walking toward us, his pace slow but intimidating none the less.
“I know what I saw.” He keeps his voice haunting, his eyes hard on mine. I do everything in my power to keep his gaze, hoping to appear unaffected.
“Right then,” Oleander’s voice comes from above me. He’s pulling my hand, silently urging me to step away. I follow him. “I guess I should return these before we head back, yes?”
He glances around the grove and gives me a quick and calculated look. I nod, understanding his intention.
“Go and fetch our ball, will you, love?” Oleander asks.
I do as Oleander suggested, jogging over to the first tree I brought up and finding the ball under it. Oleander bends down and brings his hands to the ground, closing his eyes as if concentrating immensely, as I bend down at the same time. I look as though I’m merely picking up the ball, but I place my other hand on the earth behind it. I summon all of my strength and push it down the trees, returning them to the earth as the ground shakes around us. It takes less than a minute, and when I open my eyes, everyone’s still watching Oleander. Everyone except Calor. The Fotián’s wide eyes are on me.
“Got it,” I say, trying to sound breezy as I rejoin the group.
Bo stands beside Oleander, shooing Luc away with her hands, as Avias and Tirigan have a silent conversation of their own.
Oleander reaches for the ball and gives me a smile.
“Thank you! You ready to head back?” He says it brightly, as if there’s no cause for concern.
“Yep,” I reply just as easily, looking over to my brother for confirmation. He nods once, but goes back to ‘speaking’ with Avias right after. Cal stares at them with an odd expression, and Tirigan seems to notice and comment on it, because Avias turns around and stares right back.
“Must be going then,” Avias says to Cal smoothly. “Do enjoy your pie, Calor.”
We all turn towards the hill, leaving our aggressors looking stunned and out of sorts. It doesn’t seem possible that they’re letting us go without a fight. It makes me wonder what Luc’s thinking. Does he know what I am and is just too afraid to fight me? If he does know, it won’t be long before he figures out about Tirigan, too, and I can’t have that.
Do you think we should worry?
Tirigan walks ahead of me. He shrugs his shoulders, but doesn’t look back. I can’t be sure. You will need to stick to Aéras when we are in public now.
Yes, I know. I... I’m sorry. I messed up.
Tirigan stops and turns around, and Avias stops along with him. Bo lags behind us, dribbling the ball on her knees as she walks around us and up the hill.
“Whatever it is, maybe you should wait to talk about it until we get home,” Oleander suggests softly from beside me. We all chance a glance back down the hill and find the group still standing there, staring up at us. “Prying eyes and all.”
“Right,” I agree quietly. “Sorry.” I duck my head and start walking again. Tirigan walks beside me and purposely brushes his pinky finger against mine. Thanks.
Tirigan offers me a small smile in return then takes off after Avias, who has jogged ahead with Bo and gone over the hill already. Oleander stays with me, nudging my shoulder with his.
“It’s going to be all right, you know.” His hands make their way into his pockets as he smiles down at me. “Luc is not very bright. I doubt he’ll think much of this later.”
I give him a weak smile and nod, but I can’t help the prickling sensation on the back of my neck. Curious, I turn back one last time. Most of Luc’s group is walking off in the opposite direction but not Calor. He’s still standing in the middle of the field, eyes hard and unwavering, watching me.
This could be a problem.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Entropy
“Alright then, let’s have it,” Avias implores impatiently.
He sits on my bed, his back resting against the wall and his feet outstretched along the bed, while Oleander sits at the end of the bed with his legs crossed. From my place at the desk, I can see both them and Tirigan, who’s sitting in the lotus position in the middle of his own bed. Bo went into town with her parents and young siblings soon after we returned from the field. Today’s the day we receive Collection rations for the week.
“How do we even know this will work?” I ask, rubbing my sweaty hands against my jeans.
You did it before.
“You’ve done it before,” Avias echoes Tirigan. “Just concentrate and do what you did when you cast into the stone my father gave you.”
“Why don’t you do it?” I ask defensively, passing the empty quartz stone to Tirigan.
Without pause, my brother stands up and reaches over to pull the stone from my hand. Fine. I don’t know why you are stalling. It does nothing to help us.
“I’m not stalling! I was just—”
“Oh, there now, Charlie,” Oleander says with a wry smile. “You had your chance.” He turns his eyes on my brother and nods at him. “Have at it, Tirigan.”
I huff indignantly, crossing my arms over my chest like a child. Tirigan raises an eyebrow at me, but I just roll my eyes.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” I press.
In response, Tirigan raises his hand up with the stone laying flat in his palm. He doesn’t close his eyes but narrows them down at the stone.
Obvious waves of tension roll off of his body. I can feel his power, his focus, as he concentrates. The feeling pulls my body to the edge of my seat. It’s not long before the stone glows purple.
“Well done.” Avias congratulates, swinging his legs over the side of the
bed and standing. “May I?”
He holds out his hand and Tirigan drops the stone into it. The Aérasian brings the glowing stone close to his face, inspecting it as he turns it over a few times in his hand.
“Looks like a normal cast, aside from its unusual color.” He pauses and looks down at Tirigan, a flirtatious smirk playing at his lips. “Matches your natural eye color.”
Blush rises to Tirigan’s golden brown cheeks. He ducks his head and looks down at his hands, but I can see his lips form into a tiny smile. When he raises his head again, Avias is back to looking at the stone.
“Well,” Avias holds the stone back out to my brother, who pulls it from his fingers. “Let’s see what it does.”
Tirigan looks to me. Care to—
“No, you casted it,” I answer simply. “Go ahead.”
Tirigan nods, but then turns abruptly to Avias, as if he’s just said something to him. Avias smiles softly at Tirigan, and it’s only then that I realize they’re having a conversation of their own again. That will take some getting used to.
I’ve always been the interpreter, the only one Tirigan trusted with his thoughts. Now he’s let Avias in, and while I’m glad my brother has opened himself up to someone besides me, I worry about what this could mean for Tirigan when we have to leave.
“All right, enough of that,” Oleander interrupts with unusual impatience. He drums his fingers loudly on the desk next to his spot on the bed. “I want to see what’s inside!”
Tirigan startles, his face growing slightly red again before turning his eyes back to the stone in his hand. He holds it out so that we can see the stone clearly
I haven’t a clue what he’s thinking. I don’t even know how I would go about invoking the cast in the stone since we have no idea what it is or where our power comes from.
Our power doesn’t come from one element. We have access to all of them. On top of that, we have our Anunnaki blood which contains the regenerative power all Anunnaki are born with. How are we supposed to know where our power ultimately comes from?