by Indie Gantz
“Honestly, Bo, I’d think your comedic talents would have brought you far, far away from here by now. Perhaps you should see to that?” Seconds later, the table jumps as Avias cries out and clutches at his knee.
“All right you two,” Vi chastizes, taking a bowl from me and passing it to Oleander. “Although, Bo does make a good point, Avias.” She gives her son a leveling look. Avias’ face reddens immediately.
“Thank you,” Oleander says, receiving his stew. “Smells lovely, Charlie. A specialty of yours?”
Tirigan grunts beside him, and I fix my brother with my most withering stare.
“Yes, but some are unappreciative of my culinary talents.” I hand Tirigan his bowls. “As if you could do any better.”
“Not a cook then, are you?” Oleander asks my brother, talking into his bowl as he takes his first bite. “No shame in that, but I love it. It’s rather calming, mincing carrots and kneading dough.” He smiles at me after chewing through a potato. “This is wonderful, Charlie.”
“Thanks,” I reply with a sigh. “It’s not much. Traveling around all the time, my mom ended up just growing her own portable garden. I mostly just know how to cook with vegetables.”
“Her thumb was quite green,” Kor jumps in. “If I remember correctly.” When I meet his eye, we share a fond look for Calla.
After everyone has their bowls and has begun eating, I sit down and dig in too.
“The little ones asleep for the night?” I ask.
“Oh yes,” Vi answers. “The match was a big outin’ for ‘em. Poor things were asleep before their little heads hit the pillow.”
“That’s good,” I reply absently, already thinking about my own pillow for the night. The day’s been long, what with the game and the fight after. “Don’t think I’ll last much longer either.”
Avias spoke of stargazing this evening. Tirigan throws the thought out to me.
My eyebrows rise. You don’t need me for that.
Yes, well, I just thought— His thought cuts off abruptly as he shakes his head at Avias.
“Can you not talk to both of us at the same time?” I ask aloud to a suddenly confused room. It doesn’t take anyone more than a second to figure out what I’m talking about though, and soon Oleander and Bo are deep in discussion over the game.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize he was speaking to you first,” Avias apologizes graciously. “You’re very good at isolating your thoughts, Tirigan.”
As covertly as possible, I take in my brother and Avias’ close proximity and the familiarity in the way they interact. Avias is very careful not to accidentally brush against Tirigan, and Tirigan seems to reward that behavior with occasional smiles and a relaxed posture.
Despite his arguments, it’s going to be very difficult for Tirigan to leave Avias. He seems to have taken our conversation in the jungle to heart, because I’ve never seen Tirigan interact so familiarly with someone who wasn’t me or our parents. Which, all right, he hasn’t really had the opportunity before now, but I seriously doubt he would have taken a shining to the check-out lady in the supermarket if given the chance. I also doubt he would have attacked Luc for anyone else. Something about Avias is different.
Maybe you should start thinking about distancing yourself a bit, Tirigan. The thought is out and sent to my brother before I can think better of it.
He abruptly stops eating to stare at me. Whiplash.
What? I ask, eyes narrowing.
Whiplash, Tirigan repeats. A direct contradiction of that which has been put forth prior.
Again… I sigh loudly and half the table looks in my direction. I pretend to yawn. What?
When a familiar look of disappointment contorts my brother’s face, my jaw clenches with irritation.
You’re constantly vacillating between wanting me to make friends and keeping my distance.
You have to find a balance, Tir. I’m glad you were listening and that you’re trying, but it’s going to be harder to leave if you get much closer.
Tirigan brings another bite of stew to his mouth, avoiding eye contact. He’s obviously trying to hide the fact that we are speaking again. When the time comes, I will go with you. Don’t confuse familiarity for emotional attachment.
That’s what I’m saying, Tirigan. I think the time is... well, now.
This time he stops eating and places his spoon on the table next to his bowl. As I said before, we have a location, but nothing else. We don’t know what Porter’s ultimate goal is, nor do we know if he has any additional information that could help us.
We could go, and then Kor could send us a message with more information once he hears back from Porter. Listen, I mapped out—
You’ve been planning this without me? Tirigan accuses, obviously angry now.
If you weren’t so busy with Avias, you probably would have been home to help, I reply coldly.
Tirigan stands up abruptly and all conversation is cut off. The kitchen falls into silence. There’s no hiding our discussion now.
“Tirigan?” Avias looks up at him with concern.
“This was always the plan, Tirigan,” I say aloud. I stand up too, speaking forcefully but with care. “Just put everything else aside for a second and really think about this. Every moment we spend here is a moment we aren’t looking for Calla.”
You are not being reasonable. We do not have enough—
“You’re the one always telling me to think with my head and not my heart. This is why we are here. To find our mother!” I look down at the faces staring up at me in confusion, lowering my voice. “I’m not saying I don’t want to stay, I’m just saying that we need to find our mother. You don’t know how much it means to me, the way you’ve all accepted us and let us—”
“Charlie, dear,” Vi interrupts, her voice soft and her smile kind. “Do me a favor, yeah?”
I furrow my brows in confusion but nod nonetheless.
“Do shut up about all this.” Her voice is so sweet it takes me a second to register her words. Just as I’m about to protest, she continues. “We all know you want to find your mother, and we want to do whatever we can to help you.”
Kor nods in agreement. “Say the word. We’re with you.”
My brain short circuits. Tirigan looks equally confused across from me.
“Uh... What?” I stammer out, eloquent as always.
“If you think we’d let you go out there alone, you’re not as bright as I thought,” Oleander joins in, smiling up at me.
I walk away from the table and start pacing in the living room. Multiple pairs of footsteps trail behind me. This can’t happen. I can’t let this happen.
“Charlie,” Kor says first, his voice patient. “You have to let your friends help you. This will be impossible on your own.”
“Yes,” Oleander agrees, coming up beside me and placing his hand on my shoulder. The reservation I’ve caught in his eyes over the last week is completely gone now. He looks down at me like he trusts me completely. “You’d be lost without us.”
“No,” I reply sharply, liking everything I’m hearing but knowing it doesn’t matter. “I can’t let you put yourselves at risk like this. I can’t expect you to just drop everything and put yourselves in danger for us.” I turn and face him, pulling his hand off my shoulder and placing it back by his side. “You don’t need to do this.”
Oleander’s shoulders slump slightly as a look of painful rejection pulls at his face. It makes me falter for a second, seeing him this way, the light in his eyes dulling significantly.
“I don’t mean to…” I stop. I don’t want Oleander to see this as a personal rejection, but maybe if he does see it that way, he’ll let me go. “I’m sorry,” is all I manage to say, letting unspoken words slip to the floor.
“Well bugger that,” Bo argues from the doorway of the living room. “I’m not about to let you make a choice for me.” She steps forward, sending a careful glance to her parents before setting her eyes on me. “If you’re goin’ on som
e kind of adventure, you can bet your blankets I’m goin’ with you.”
Avias stands up straighter then, a suddenly prideful set to his shoulders. “Yes, I concur. Although, I don’t share the blanket sentiment.” He gives his sister a sideways glance. She just smiles widely back at him.
“Right then.” Bo bounces towards me. “So, when do we leave?”
“Hold on,” I reply placing both hands up and looking over to Tirigan for help. We can’t let them come with us. We have no idea what we’re walking into.
Tirigan looks at me with a thoughtful expression. Their presence could prove useful, Charlie. It will be incredibly difficult to do this on our own.
Are you really willing to risk their lives though? I ask him, wondering if he realizes the danger we’d be putting them in. We aren’t supposed to exist, Tirigan. We’re part alien, living on this side of the world illegally. What if we say the wrong thing, meet the wrong people? Do you like the idea of getting this family in trouble because of our secret?
Tirigan’s face takes on a more ashen quality. He shakes his head slightly. No, of course not.
“Tirigan agrees with me,” I announce carefully, avoiding his eyes as the room erupts into chaos.
Avias and Oleander begin arguing with each other over the best way to convince us. Kor and Vi make excellent and emotional points about Tirigan and I being part of their family, and that family sticks together. I want so badly to accept their offer, and am teetering on doing just that, but then Bo cuts in with a sound argument of her own.
“You can’t make this decision for us, you know. If I want to go to Cali, I’ll just bloody follow you on me own.” She has her arms crossed and her hip out. “You’re actin’ like a right fool, you know that, right?” She takes a pointed glance at Oleander, who still looks like I just kicked his favorite Dahlia blossom.
The look on his face combined with the fierceness of Bo’s assertion forces me to stop and think. It’s hard to do, what with the arguing going on around me, but I push all the raging words, thoughts, and emotions away and focus only on my own.
Maybe Bo’s right. Maybe they all are.
Who am I to make this decision for them? If they want to go, I can’t really stop them, can I? Our father didn’t do much to try and stop us. He respected our decision to try and find our mother, something I know was incredibly difficult for him to do. He respected us as individuals and understood that an informed choice belongs to the one who makes it, not those who either reap the rewards or suffer the consequences of that choice.
A sudden knock at the door pulls me back to the room, only to find that it’s gone completely silent again.
Kor’s the first to move, removing his hands from Vi’s waist and walking swiftly to look through the window beside the door. His head pops up abruptly, his eyes immediately darting to Avias.
“It’s Calor.” Kor’s tone has a note of confusion, but there’s familiarity there as well, as if he’s announced the boy’s presence a hundred times before.
“What?” Avias asks from behind me, walking slowly towards the door. “I don’t want to see him.”
“Normally, I’d get rid of him for you, Avias, but after what happened at the game, I think maybe you should—” Kor encourages patiently, but Avias cuts him off with a noise I’ve never heard him make. It’s very similar to the one Bo makes when her younger brother steals her favorite scarves.
“Fine,” Avias says after taking a moment to compose himself. He walks towards the door slowly and opens it even slower.
“Avias.” I can’t see him, but Cal’s voice is strained, an obvious breathlessness to it that can only come from physical strain. “I need… I have to tell you something.”
Avias’ chest noticeably deflates. Even from behind I can tell how affected he is by what he’s seeing. After a moment, I hear him ask, “What’s this about?”
“I’m not here for...” Cal says, then trails off and begins again a moment later, this time his voice no more than a whisper. I can barely make out the words. “Can I please come in?”
Avias hesitates, but I can tell by the way his foot is angling behind him that he intends to open the door. When he does, he turns back towards us, leaving the door open for Cal to walk through on his own.
Avias takes his place next to Tirigan and then crosses his arms. As Cal moves through the threshold, he sends Kor an awkward wave, and Kor mimics the action with a half smile.
When I’m finally able to get a good look at the Fotián, I suck in a quick breath of surprise. I expect to see the swollen nose that’s begun to bruise, courtesy of Avias’ ball throwing skills, but there’s also a large red mark near his eye and a cut on his lip that still bleeds.
“Well,” Avias says softly. “What is it you’ve come to tell me?”
Cal shakes his head.
“Not just you, all of you.” He turns slightly so he can make eye contact with the rest of us. My heart begins to hammer in my chest as his eyes finally land on mine.
“I-I’m sorry,” he says to me then turns to my brother. “I tried to stop him. I promise, I … I tried.”
“Who?” Vi asks.
“Luc,” Cal replies in a rush. “He used an Eidikós to listen to you after our fight on the field. He heard you on the pitch after the game. He heard what you said.”
I feel Tirigan’s mind go wild. He’s running through every word spoken between us and calculating how it can be used against us. I can’t think at all. I’ve gone numb, the shock of Cal’s revelation pushing me out of my body, out of this moment.
“And you just let him—” Avias starts to question Cal, but the blonde boy interrupts him.
“No. I tried to stop him. I tried to warn you what he was doing, but he knocked me out before I could get a sound out.” Cal still breathes heavily, but I have a feeling it has more to do with emotion than physical exertion at this point.
“I do remember...” Bo inserts, breaking her silence. “I thought I saw somethin’ at the top of the hill, but I got distracted, and when I looked back there was nothin’ there.”
“I was running,” Cal replies, nodding. “I tried to get close enough so you could hear me, but I didn’t make it.” He shakes his head then, a genuine look of regret on his face. “You have to run. I heard him telling my father what you are. They’re going to come for you.”
“Who?” I bark out, instantly more aware. Oleander jumps slightly at my forceful command. “Who’s coming for us?”
“The High Coven’s enforcement unit.” Cal says it like it’s a no brainer, but I’m still trying to keep up with the turn of events, trying to make sense of it all. When everyone in the room just stares at him in shock, Cal lets out a loud breath and shouts. “Luc told my father, the head of the EU. They’ve got to be gearing up right now to find you!”
My heart feels like it stutters to a full stop, and then a few things happen all at once.
Kor rushes up the stairs to the second level of the house, and a lot of sounds emanate from whatever he’s doing up there. Avias and Oleander turn to Tirigan and I both, saying at the same time, ‘I’m coming with you!’ And Vi tells Bo that she isn’t allowed to go.
“I’m nearly sixteen!” Bo yells, then runs up the stairs, presumably to argue her case to Kor. What her case is, I haven’t a clue, because I’m still reeling from Oleander’s statement. His hands are on my upper arms, and he’s looking down at me with an incredible amount of determination.
“Please let me be there for you,” he says softly. “I want to help.”
All I can do is nod, despite everything I said before. I know it’s too dangerous, that I should stick to the original plan, but now that things are happening so quickly, I can’t find it within myself to fight anymore.
Tirigan seems to be having the exact same argument with Avias, both of them silently shaking their heads and gesturing wildly. Finally, Avias shouts, “I don’t care! You aren’t going anywhere without me!”
My brother’s eyes widen
comically at that, but then he blinks furiously and nods his head slowly.
Avias only nods once, both hands on his hips and a triumphant look on his face. “Good. Glad that’s settled.”
I spare a glance for Cal, who’s staring at Tirigan and Avias’ exchange with an unreadable expression. It occurs to me then that he too is in danger now. His father and brother will figure out that he warned us when we aren’t here when they come for us.
I take a step towards him and hope my instincts about him are correct. “You’re going to have to come too. You know that, right?”
Cal freezes, apparently having not considering his own fate until just this moment. His face goes completely pale, even his freckles seem to grow lighter. I take another step closer to him, holding my hand out to catch him in case he passes out.
“What?” Avias asks sharply. “What are you talking about?”
I turn abruptly and point my finger into Avias’ chest.
“Cal just risked everything to warn us. He turned his back on his family to save us, Avias. He’s coming with us whether you like it or not!” I’m surprised by my own show of strength, and by the looks of it, Avias is too.
He takes a step back and stares at me for a moment, before locking eyes with Cal. They seem to have a conversation of their own in the three seconds they look at each other. Eventually Avias grits his teeth. “Fine.”
“Don’t lay out the red carpet or anything,” Cal says under his breath.
“Not helping,” I murmur, giving Cal a quick elbow to his ribs.
I’m about to ask what we should do next, when Kor comes bounding down the stairs, three bags in his hands and Bo arguing behind him.
“Enough, Bo!” Kor yells, his voice booming through the entire house in a way that would send chills down the spines of even the most hardened criminals. I immediately wish not to ever experience it again.
He walks straight to Vi, who has an austere expression on her face. “She’s a baby, Kori. Don’t even think about-”
“She isn’t a child anymore, Vi.” With his voice low and calm once more, Kor drops the bags and lifts a gentle hand to Vi’s face. “And she won’t be alone. I’m going with them.”