by Kalyn Crowe
Leyla's scroll flashed into the room. "I saw it! It folded around her like water. Then resealed the same way."
"I noticed the seal wasn't all six Anima either. It didn't have Form."
Eda handed Leyla, and then me, a steaming mug. "I wonder why?" She turned to Conrad. "You should have been there."
"I explained why I couldn't." He hunched over and stared at the floor. "Bora needs answers, and for once, I agree with her."
I sipped the floral and mint tea. "Did Philomena work with anyone else on the Chimeras?"
My sudden change in the topic got Conrad's attention in a snap. He smoothed his beard. "Not that I know of."
"She mentioned." I couldn't admit she was guilty, or what I was yet. "Her notes said someone took an interest in them after they completed the twelve."
He cocked his head ever so slightly. "The Theocratic Council gave the go-ahead on the project. It could be anyone on it. It has fifty members."
I didn't reply.
He frowned. "You're worried this proves Philomena's heresy?"
He saw through me. Conrad was the High Hunter, after all. "Yes." I held the mug in both hands and let its heat seep into my fingers.
Eda knelt beside me and took one hand in hers. "Take some time. We can speak more tonight or tomorrow morning."
"All right."
Leyla took Kepi and me upstairs. She scurried to straighten out the pillow floor bed.
"You don't need to do that."
She finished and said, "I know, and the same for you, about what you found in the office." She sighed. "If you had found something to help us, you would have shared it." With a little head shake, she focused and said, "I'll be here, regardless." She held my shoulder and smiled at Kepi, who sat on her bed. "We'll find a way through this." She let go, and the words faded into new ones. "Have a nap. I'll get dinner going for later."
"No, eggs, please." I rubbed my forehead. "Sorry, just."
Her scroll lit brightly. "No, eggs." She smiled again and left.
I crawled under the blanket. I loved this pillow bed and this house.
Even Kepi seemed right at home.
It held comfort and some forgiveness, safety. Maybe a real home created those things. I wouldn't know, I was always scared, no matter where I went. At least, before here.
Still, sleep didn't come. The day circled over and over in my mind.
Why make a Chimera look so much like a person? Thirteen didn't. She had feathers like Kepi, but dark as an Abyssite's scales.
I turned over.
A feather the size I found in the office meant Thirteen must have been the size of an Abyssite. Let alone the tremendous feather in my dream. A little girl as her twin made no sense. "Was I just leftovers?"
Kepi curled up on my hair and closed her eyes.
✽✽✽
I woke in the small hours of the night. There was only the sound of Leyla asleep up on the bed.
I missed dinner altogether, and my stomach squirmed for food. So I slipped from the blankets.
Kepi raised her head from a different pillow.
I motioned for her to follow, and she scooted along the floor. We ventured into the silence of the downstairs.
To my surprise, an elegant shadow sat at the kitchen table. "Eda?"
"Good evening, Mere. Would you like something to drink?"
My stomach called out again.
"And something to eat?" She chuckled.
I sat across from her with Kepi on my shoulder.
She handed me a mug and a plate of cheese and crackers. She sat back down with her drink and a carafe.
"Thank you." I sipped what I figured for tea. It tasted sweet and burned, but it wasn't hot enough for that. "What is this?"
"Water, spices, cream, butter." She sipped her drink. "And rum." She smiled. "It is good for times like this." She took another drink. "Moderation, of course."
I tried to smile back.
"Would you like anything else?"
"No, it's great." I paused and took another sip. "Can I ask you about something your family did for my mother?"
"Of course."
I tapped the side of my cup. "Earlier, I didn't mention I found my mother's journal from the Chimera project."
She nodded and waited.
"It's mostly her notes, but part of it is personal. My mother mentioned that your family made her a pendant. It was only a single line."
Eda sipped her drink. "The charm which helped you with the seal?"
"That's what I'm thinking. Do you know how your family made it?"
"I am uncertain." She watched the steam rise. "The answer perhaps coincides with the disks?"
"Sybil seemed to think so." An Attuned needed merely hold the disk for it to empower their spoken invocations. But the charm spoke when I held it, almost like it invoked, not me. "Actually." I paused. "I think it might relate to the Chimeras' creation."
She smiled. "That is sound. I have my brother's notes but not my sister's. I will review those for a mention of this piece."
"They let you keep his notes?"
She smiled. "They questioned me before I stole them."
I managed a half-grin. Something in my strange bones urged me to trust Eda. "Did your brother ever mention more Chimeras in the works? Beyond the twelve."
"No. Our families used Apexial blood only in the final pair. It was an attempt to craft a more intelligent, trainable, creature."
I took a long drink and set my cup aside. "And what is, supposedly, the most intelligent creature?"
Her eyes widened, but her mouth stayed steady. "Dare I say the most trainable, too." She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Eleven and twelve were a test before the real final pair then." She absently rotated a lens on her necklace in her fingers and almost laughed. "Then Philomena was the one who spread the rumors of your father."
I cradled my cup. "To make sure people thought she got pregnant."
Eda looked calm, almost peaceful, like things finally made more sense. She not only knew my secret but accepted it.
"I just can't believe I'm one of them."
She adjusted her necklace. "The concept of a 'them' is interesting. Many people watch a flock of birds fly and think of it as one being. As soon as a single bird changes their direction, the mind regards it separately. As an individual from the group, from them." She took a drink.
I waited.
"We do not fully understand why the bird chose to fly away or if it will return. Even the bird may not know."
I said, "So it's wrong to assume anything?"
"At times, yes, others no. Our minds try to simplify our world, lest it overwhelm us. Each of us will fly with different flocks in our lives. Even then, we must remember we are always of no common fate with anyone else, whether it is in those times of company or the more lonely moments. Our paths are our own."
"But isn't that true of everyone, then?"
She grinned. "It is strange that our universal commonality is that we are always individuals."
I pulled my hair off my shoulders and remembered something. "Philomena said that fourteen, or I, was empty."
"It seems no longer."
"How can you tell? What did she mean?"
She paused with a thoughtful expression. "As I understand it, a Chimera is an empty vessel when made. They live but are not alive. The chicks they created were as breathing statues. Do you understand?"
I took a moment. "So the Chimeras need something to, well, make them think?"
"Yes. A soul."
Kepi cooed like she intended to interrupt Eda. She leaned forward and bobbed her head.
We both looked, and she blinked back.
Eda said, "Or at least the majority of one as my brother described it. All the other Chimera's bodies received chicken spirits. Except for the twelfth, she received a canine soul." She squinted one eye and tilted her head at Kepi.
She didn't 'coo.'
I said, "But?"
Eda half grinned. "This is
something I am unsure of the motivation for, at least I was, or maybe still am. My brother noted that the more complex soul proved more difficult for my sister to affix to the body."
"Affix? You mean imbue a soul?"
"Yes." She lowered her gaze. "My sister, the Apexist, could move a soul from a dying body and place it in another. Just as she would use a freely given Anima invocation from another invoker to create an imbuement."
"In this case, 'freely given' meant because they could no longer hold onto the soul themselves," I said.
"Yes. This interaction with death is an interesting hidden dark side of Apexist ability."
"So, if your sister imbued the Chimeras, how do they trace to a Formist?"
"Not as an imbuement, but a creature. Where does this lead you?"
I tightened my lips, then said, "Sybil said the charm held part of my mother's Attunement, she didn't call it an imbuement. Isn't that the same thing as the Chimeras?"
Eda slowly grew a wide smile. "I would say so."
"And she traced me. She wasn't the first, of course. I must read as human to Formists."
"So they could hide something in the Chimeras. Perhaps they omitted many details in their notes."
I sipped my drink. "Probably. Philomena did mention that eleven didn't take to something called the post-formation process. I'm assuming that's what we're talking about."
"Yes, and my brother said the same. Eleven still lives like the other ten, somewhat, flat if you pardon the term." She again played with a lens on her long chain. "He explained that the addition of Apexial blood created a more balanced body, one to hold a more complex personality, even more trainable."
"Hence the dog soul in the twelfth?" I asked.
"That is correct. Tilly, as we call her. Eleven did not retain such a trait, nor does she have the same feathers on her head. So we can surmise all the Apexial went into Tilly."
"Philomena noted there was an imbalance but didn't say if it was on purpose. Do you think she intended it?"
"Perhaps. Tilly is delightful and more intelligent. Much like Kepi. Whether or not an error, this occurrence explains many things."
Kepi cocked her head.
Eda said, "It illustrates why all six Animas exist in a human. It may also explain Anima Attunement. The balance of Anima might cause the body to channel in certain ways."
"But some people can't use Anima." I considered how intuitive Eda was. "At least not as society understands it."
She chuckled. "That is true. Just as some materials, although useful in other ways, can not hold an imbuement. Our bodies are simply vessels. Conduits, perhaps."
"Which could explain why an Attunement follows bloodlines. Except, I don't have a bloodline."
"No, and yes. Perhaps Philomena used her blood to ensure your body would Attune to Weaving. If she did, it might explain why you and the charm are connected."
I nodded. "That makes sense, but how did I get a soul? She said she needed help to complete Thirteen, but not for me."
"I do not know." She filled her mug from the carafe and raised a brow at me.
I pushed my cup forward.
She filled it. "You mention this, Thirteen, as you call her. I know of no human sister for you." She set the carafe down. "What is more, the Chimera pairs can function differently. Tilly and eleven also tell us this."
"Thirteen is different, at least physically."
"Is it possible she has other powers as well then?"
I hadn't thought she might have an Anima Attunement, too.
Eda said, "It sounds like someone else imbued Thirteen with her soul in the absence of my family. Something your mother couldn't do on her own. Philomena was instrumental in finishing a Chimera pair physically. The stitching together of the Anima within the body. Their design."
"The ability to hold a soul."
"Yes." Eda smiled. "If I were to guess, you two complement one another."
"Or we are like eleven and twelve, a mismatch."
"Perhaps, Thirteen may simply be a monster," Eda said playfully.
I thought about the feather and the question from my dream.
Eda touched my hand. "You do not think so."
"No, Thirteen might look like a monster but isn't one."
"A beautiful creature if I know your mother at all. Also, she is your mother. You seem to doubt by the way you refer to her now by name when before you did not."
I rotated my mug on the table. "Even if Philomena used her blood, she didn't give birth to me. I don't even look like her. Didn't she have dark hair?"
"Does any of this matter?" She said with a warm voice. "Blood is easy. It takes much less effort to create a child for most people. You are truly born of her effort, ingenuity, and perhaps greatest, her sacrifice. Even if you consider yourself adopted, all this still stands." She finished her drink. "I wonder if you are also my niece, then?"
I smiled. "More than I'm Conrad's." I gulped my drink. "I should meet them, the other Chimeras. Maybe, I don't know; I could think of something, somehow."
Kepi cooed and stepped to the table, then twirled in a circle.
Eda said, "It would seem you should." With a soft sigh, she stood. "Get some more sleep. I will make arrangements for you to meet the other Chimera."
"What do I tell Leyla?" I hadn't moved to go back upstairs yet.
"Trust she will understand," Eda paused, "and so too would Conrad."
I sighed.
Kepi lowered her ears and watched.
Eda walked toward her room and added, "Kepi, cheer up, Odion will be there."
Kepi perked her ears and tapped her feet on the table.
I scratched her head. "How could I have forgotten? I bet he will be so happy to see you."
She cocked her head.
✽✽✽
In the late morning, Conrad returned from the High Hall. He and Eda discussed something in heated whispers at the table.
Leyla seemed happy to leave them to it. We sat in the living room with two bowls of oatmeal and grape jam.
She said in her silent gold letters, "They're talking about disks and the Chimeras."
I wasn't sure what to say.
She pursed her lips and looked up. Then she lifted her finger. "Did Eda tell you she's close to something in the reliquary?"
"Not more than her mention yesterday morning."
"I think it's something big."
Conrad came in from the kitchen. "I arranged to meet Gunnar at the stables. Kat will be along and give the tour, and Leyla?"
She sat up straight.
"You know the way there and back?"
She nodded with her hand.
"Good." He looped his thumbs in his belt. "Gunnar and I will see to the hunt for Ansgar and talk about these sick people." He tried not to study me.
In turn, I tried not to burst into explanation and excuses. I set the bowl in my lap. "Conrad, I'm not going to the stables so I can avoid you."
He came over and took a knee by my chair. "I know. Listen, whatever you found, we'll make sense of, and Eda already told me." He paused.
I nearly dropped my oatmeal.
"She said you have a theory that the Chimeras and disks share a creation process. That's lead enough, but I have to find Ansgar."
I relaxed a little. "Or Bora will have us all in for questions we can't answer."
"That's right. In my absence, I've asked for the stables to be clear. Fewer questions with fewer eyes. I already reported that Kat would sweep for potential security threats there."
"The Chimeras?"
Eda crossed her arms and sighed.
He stood with a huff. "This morning, I received a report that a few of the sanctioned egg buyers have gone missing. It could be nothing. Probably is just a coincidence."
I gulped down another mouthful. "Rhys worried blame would come to the Chimeras. Am I just making it worse?"
"No. This way, we can clear the Chimeras and follow your lead," he said.
I suddenly wasn't hung
ry. I said, "I suppose."
He walked to the door and slipped on his hat. "Use the signal spires at any sign of trouble."
"She will be all right," said Eda. "Weavers are quite dangerous creatures."
I felt myself sit a little taller.
✽✽✽
Nothing on the wind gave any hint we neared a stable of any size. Let alone one which housed the entirety of the Order’s cavalry, work, and farm animals.
Instead, the sudden openness of the skyline and Kepi’s stir in the bag told me we were close.
Around a bend, the walkway sloped downhill. Below, a blanket of lime-colored grass filled an expansive plateau. Set in all the green stood a massive gray-walled barn.
A wrought fence of bars and arches stood at least twice my height and traveled the field's perimeter. We stood at its grand gate.
Conrad rung a built-in bell.
In only a few moments, Gunnar appeared from a door set near the end of the closest barn wing. He held it open for Kat and Rhys, who guided Gunnar's horse in full barding and Order caparison. They approached the gate.
Conrad straightened his coat. “Good morning.”
Gunnar dipped his head.
Rhys followed suit.
“Good morning, Conrad, girls.” Kat smiled. “I hear we get to spend some time with the animals today.”
Gunnar unlocked the gate, and we stepped aside. “If they want to ride the horses, that’s fine.” He looked at Conrad. “I don’t like that you asked me to release the stable hands today. Why the private show?”
“Eda felt it best.” Conrad shot Gunnar a forced smile. "I need to look out for our nieces."
He studied Conrad in turn and said, “I check my people.”
Conrad sighed. “Did you send them away for the afternoon or not?”
“I did, but I don’t want those girls near anything but the horses.”
I said, “Why not?”
A strange noise, like the wind's howl, came across the fields. It originated from behind a peculiar, large hedge in the distance.
Gunnar clenched his jaw and glanced over his shoulder. “Because.” He turned back. “I set the rules here.”
I looked from the hedge to Rhys.
He gave me the slightest nod.
I took a step toward Gunnar. “I think my uncle outranks you. Doesn’t that apply, no matter where we are?”