The Crossing Point

by August Arrea

  Max of course couldn’t help give Kairo one last ribbing. “Good going Kairo. Maybe when you manage to work your way back to 2005 you can find my favorite pair of sunglasses I misplaced. Of course I might be dead of old age by the time you work your way that far back.”

  But as he spoke, Max suddenly without seemingly knowing it began rubbing his stomach with one hand while doing the same to the top of his head at the same time. It was only when he noticed the snickering in the room was now turned to him did he realize what was happening. Naturally we all looked to Leos, who had been noticeably quiet on his bed with his eyes fixed on Max with an intense look of concentration. Leos’ Grace is Bending and it was obvious he was getting the hang of his new-found talent. He was also tackled by Max for his humorous efforts.

  Max is the only one of all the Shrikes who is lucky enough to have two Graces: Cloaking and Summoning. While I personally would have favored Cloaking, he seemed much more drawn to the other power and spent most of the night huddled over his desk trying to make the water inside a glass move and dance at his whim. With nothing but steady concentration and the subtlest of direction given by his forefinger, as Zuriel had shown him, he managed eventually to sculpt the water into a mini spout and make it rise out of the glass which was pretty impressive, though not as much as making the water shape itself into the image of an angel like Gotham demonstrated while sitting on the bank of the River on our way to Havenhid.

  Easily the most entertained any of us were tonight was watching Ethan. Much to his disappointment, his Grace was also Cloaking, which was not as Jedi-like as the Grace of Bending which he had hoped for. More than once we were near tears from laughing so hard while watching him attempt to take on his first shape. Even Mist looked on somewhat baffled from where she lay on the floor. More than an hour passed with Ethan sitting in his chair and staring straight ahead looking like he was suffering from severe constipation. Actually, it was more like he had been given the role as the world’s first pregnant man trying to push forth new life into the world.

  With tears in his eyes from laughing so hard, Max finally asked Ethan what shape he was trying to transform into. A lion, Ethan answered, which made Max remark quite humorously, “I think you’re going to have to push a whole lot harder,” which made all of us laugh all the more much to Ethan’s annoyance. Kairo then suggested he try something a little less ambitious and more closely tied to his character.

  Like what? Ethan asked waiting for another barb to be shot his way.

  A chipmunk, Leos was quick to chime in.

  Despite all the funning, I could see as I quietly looked on where Ethan was getting caught up and having trouble, and very seriously I told him he was doing it all wrong. Ethan and the others looked at me in unison as if wondering how could I possibly have a clue. Fair enough. But even though I was Graceless, according to the Blackstone, I still made it a point to pay attention to Zuriel’s instruction during class in case it was true what he said that I might just be a late bloomer.

  I put aside my journal and went and sat directly across from Ethan. I told him he was only concentrating on the physical appearance of the form he was trying to take. How I knew that to be true I had no idea, but I did. To make a successful transformation, I told him, he had to fixate on becoming the entire essence of the animal he wished to transform into, not just its physical shape. Ethan stared at me with a blank, confused look and I told him I would try and help him through it. Taking hold of his hands in mine, I had him focus on my eyes and the words I spoke as if I was a traveling gypsy conducting some kind of circus tent seance. Ethan had been working on changing into a lion so I began describing the animal as best as I could. First physically, and then in ways in which lions are known to move and act and be. Then I told Ethan to imagine himself a lion and what it must be like inhabiting a lion skin and peering out at the world through lion eyes. We did this for some time and before long, as I continued to talk him along, I noticed a strange look slowly make its way across Ethan’s face.

  “Your eyes…” he mumbled under his breath.

  It was then I felt a strange churning inside me. I glanced down at my hands clutching Ethan’s and I saw them begin to change in front of my eyes. My fingers began to retreat and shrink from sight and my hands grew bigger and paw-like. Then there were my arms; they began sprouting yellow-blond fur. I instantly panicked while at the same time falling to the floor. I must have blacked out after that because the next thing I knew Kairo, Leos and Max were kneeling over me helping me come to. I immediately looked myself over beginning with my hands and they appeared normal to me. My fingers were back and the fur was gone.

  What the heck happened? I asked trying not to sound as panicked as I felt.

  “You were turning into a lion, that’s what happened,” Kairo said.

  Of course I didn’t believe it and immediately turned a suspicious gaze to Leos. After all, he had been having quite the jolly time goofing on Max earlier by making him scratch himself and perform silly gestures without realizing it. It only made sense he decided to have some fun with me by making me hallucinate what I saw and believe I had somehow turned into a lion. But he denied it. Vigorously. And Max defended him, with equal vigor.

  You turned into a lion, he said, beaming his big smile as though it was he who had performed the feat. “Not all the way, and it was only for a second until you freaked out. But it was definitely a lion.”

  Ethan remained in his seat looking as though he had just come face to face with a—well, lion. He said as I was coaching him on what to concentrate on he saw the image of a lion emerge from the pupils of my eyes right before I started to morph. But how? I asked my roommates, as well as myself, when the Blackstone only a few hours earlier couldn’t read a Grace within me. No one seemed to have an answer, except for Max.

  Maybe, he suggested, you’ve bloomed.

  ~~~

  The walk to Lions Bite the next morning was far lengthier than Jacob imagined it would be. Maybe it was because it led in the direction of the falls whose immense size somehow made it seem as if the mountain cliffs from which it spilled stood much closer to Havenhid than they really did. More likely it was because of the whispering chatter coming from some of the other boys walking a close distance behind Jacob which pricked his ears.

  There seemed to be an increasing curiosity about Jacob amongst a certain number of his fellow Nephilim. It had followed him—along with inquisitive stares—since the moment he first stepped foot in the Hall of Light. Jacob had hoped over the coming days it would have gradually ceased once the newness of his presence had faded. After all, what could anyone possibly find so interesting or intriguing about himself? Certainly, the pair of curving humps protruding behind his shoulders, which had become more noticeable beneath the cover of his shirt, couldn’t be the source of amusement as they had to the kids in Cain’s Corner. Here in Eden, they all shared the same sameness as well as the defects that came with it. Yet the more he pondered it, the more he found himself revisited by the same uncomfortable self-conscious feelings he carried when he was back at school. And while he did his best to ignore the looks he felt directed his way, the whispering was a bit more difficult. One thing about Nephilim ears; they had a tendency to hear everything.

  “So, did you talk to Zuriel yet?” asked Ethan.

  “About what?” Jacob replied while continuing to peer over his shoulder at the group of whispering boys.

  “About what happened last night…you know, your lion-changing act.”

  “Oh that…yeah, I told him about it earlier this morning.”

  “And?” pressed Kairo as if he were struggling to extract a tooth from Jacob’s mouth.

  “And we went back to the Crescent Scar for another try with the Blackstone,” said Jacob.

  “AND?” Kairo, Leos and Ethan inquired in unison.

  “And nothing,” answered Jacob, trying not to sound as downbeat as he felt. “The same thing happened as yesterday morning; the Blackstone circled m
e a bunch of times and then cast itself in the same spot as before.”

  “Weird,” muttered Kairo. “What did Zuriel say to explain what we all saw happen then?”

  “Not much,” said Jacob. “Just that we’d have to keep trying until the Blackstone finally sensed my Grace.”

  ~~~

  It was an impressive thing to look up and behold when Jacob and the other Shrikes found themselves at the foot of the mountain where the waterfall rained down; even frighteningly so. The power from the thunderous cataract was so tremendous it made the ground tremble noticeably beneath their feet, and the rumbling roar which came from deep within the watery curtain drowned out all other sound. A cloud of mist billowed forth at the base of the cliff like a thin marine fog clinging to the shoreline, bathing everything in a surreal haze. Through the cool, gray wetness the boys passed when they had finished marveling at this marvel of nature and continued on to a stone bridge leading the way across the River.

  Max could see Jacob was distracted by something behind him as he kept peering back over his shoulder. It was only when Max followed the direction of Jacob’s gaze that he noticed a group of boys walking not too far behind them trading discreet whispers amongst themselves. It was obvious it was becoming a growing source of annoyance to Jacob.

  “Do yourself a favor and ignore them,” said Max. “They’re just being a bunch of gossipy shielas flapping their gums over the Furphy of the day.”

  “Say what again? Ethan inquired like someone thrown a calculous problem when trying to decode some of Max’s down-home expressions.

  “I think he said they’re just a bunch of Chatty Cathys who have nothing better to do than whisper nonsense about other people,” answered Kairo.

  “I’d just like to know what their problem is with me?” grumbled Jacob.

  “You’re the new kid. They’re just curious,” said Leos who was walking on the other side of Jacob.

  “New? I showed up here a few days after the rest of you; a week tops. How am I new?”

  “It’s not when you showed up, but who you showed up with,” said Max.

  “Gotham? What’s he got to do with anything?”

  “For starters, he’s a Fallen. There’s always been a strange mythical fascination surrounding them, and most of us have never met one face to face.”

  “Never trust a Fallen! That’s what I remember being told growing up,” said Leos. “They’re good-for-nothing traitors to the Light.”

  “You have to expect it’s going to cause some tongues to wag wondering how it is you came to be brought to Eden by one,” said Max.

  “I already explained it to you. Anyone who wishes to make more of it than what it is can do so…to my face!” Jacob exclaimed angrily before turning on Leos with a defensive snarl. “As for being a traitor, Gotham explained to me how it is he came to be marked and it was anything but traitorous on his part.”

  “And you believed him?” replied Leos with a chortle of skepticism.

  Before Jacob could open his mouth to answer, Ethan, who was walking ahead of the trio with Kairo glanced back over his shoulder. “I think it might be a good idea if you told him the rest.”

  “Quiet you!” Max snapped. “Now’s not the time.”

  “Tell me what?” Jacob inquired.

  “He’s going to hear about it eventually,” said Ethan. “I think it would be better he heard it from one of us.”

  Jacob watched an uneasy exchange of glances suddenly being traded amongst his friends, which only stirred an uncomfortable feeling inside himself.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s about the last time Gotham was here in Eden,” Max began to explain with some reluctance while making sure to keep his voice low should any uninvited ears attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. “It was way back before any of us were born; much less an idea. He brought his own son here.”

  “Yeah I know…David…so?”

  “Then you know what happened to David?”

  Jacob nodded. “Unfortunately, he died.”

  “I’ll say it was unfortunate,” said Max. “But do you know how he died?”

  Jacob was quiet for a moment. The only thing he ever heard about it came from his grandmother right before he left Cain’s Corner, and then in only the vague and nebulous terms of a “dark plague.” Jacob had assumed David had the ill fortune of an untimely illness or some unfortunate accident, though the unanswered question had always lingered in the back of his mind, a question he never seemed able to bring up to Gotham.

  “He was killed,” Leos exclaimed abruptly, bringing a shocked look to Jacob.

  “Killed? You mean by a Fury?”

  It made sense. After all, if there was anything denoting a dark plague, it would be the Furies.

  “Guess again,” answered Leos. “Try skewered at the end of a sword by his own father, the Fallen Gotham.”

  Jacob’s feet came to an abrupt halt.

  “I don’t believe you,” he said with a mix of horror and disgust on his face; disgust that his so-called friends could make up such a vicious untruth. “It’s a filthy lie!”

  As he stood angrily staring them down with his fists clenched ready to fight he saw the sincerity frozen in the eyes looking back at him in such a melancholy manner from having to reveal something so ugly, and he knew they were telling him the truth. Or at least what they believed to be the truth, whatever the reason.

  “Do you hear how sick and insane that sounds to even suggest?” asked Jacob. “First of all, why would he even do something like that?”

  “What reason could any father have to justify killing their own son?” said Kairo.

  “It’s one of the great mysteries Nephilim have debated in Havenhid since it happened,” said Ethan.

  Max stepped forward and gave Jacob’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

  “For all we know, it may not even be true,” he said, though with not much conviction. “We’re just sharing with you what’s long been passed around as truth. Even the Guides have never spoken about it—at least outside themselves.”

  A hush followed, suddenly, when the whispering group of boys who had been walking behind caught up to them. They lagged at first in passing as if to catch a morsel of what looked to be a heated discussion taking place. The cool unwelcoming glares which turned on them in unison and silently dared them to linger one minute more instantly quickened their steps.

  “So that’s what all the whispering is about,” muttered Jacob as he watched them hurry on up ahead with the rest of the group.

  “For once, Ethan was right. We figured if you didn’t know you’d want to before hearing it from someone else,” said Max. “Havenhid has a way of revealing all things you wish would remain secret. Or so we’ve been told.”

  They continued on with the weight of the revelation hanging over Jacob like a dark storm cloud. No one spoke a word the rest of the way.

  ~~~

  Just as they reached the top of a grassy slope further on and wondered how much farther they would have to walk, they came upon a large open clearing. In the center of the clearing was a large, round structure of stone.

  “Is that it?” someone asked.

  “What else could it be?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.”

  Even though it was the first time any of the boys had laid eyes on Lions Bite, it was clear from the awestruck looks on their faces it was not what they had been expecting, or maybe even imagined. At first glance—and even after studying it awhile—it appeared as an ancient ruin; the forgotten remnants of a long-lost civilization which the wear of time had neither the strength or will to erase from existence. Truth be told, how exactly Lions Bite came to be held more mystery to the approaching band of boys than the rise of Stonehenge or the pyramids of Egypt. It looked to be something that had always been in existence, the product of nature’s hand rather than that of man or, more likely, angel.

  As the boys made their way closer, the structure became more impressive and
awesome in its size. The towering walls were formed by numerous massive slabs of uncut stone standing uniformly at a severe slant like a ring of giant dominoes in simultaneous mid-fall yet stopping short of coming into contact with the stone slab it leaned towards. There was no sign of craftsmanship from a single chisel or piece of machinery, and it was clear its construction was not guided by the logic of modern architecture or even basic physics. It made walking between the columns an unnerving experience, at best. Not only could one not escape feeling instantly diminutive and insignificant, each towering slab of rock stirred an uneasy questioning of whether it would choose at that untimely moment when walking by it to finish its crushing fall to the ground.

  Clinging, flowering vines snaked their way in great numbers across the stone furry with jade-colored moss. Their vibrant blossoms filled the air with succulently sweet and pleasant fragrances inviting the sniffing noses through two more rings of stone slanting opposite the other within the outer wall. The curious formation led the way to a large oval-shaped open space paved in green grass. It felt to the boys as if they had stepped into the middle of a large arena like those which had once served as ancient racetracks for thundering chariot races, or bloody playgrounds for sword-wielding gladiators to entertain the Roman masses.

  As the Nephilim circled around looking for some sign of how this peculiar place ended up with the name it was given, they each felt very much the eery emptiness surrounding them. They were not alone, however. Damiel, in fact, had been patiently awaiting the group. Out of sight, he stood quietly watching high atop one of the stone columns. It was only when he spread wide his wings and leapt forward into the air did the boys catch sight of his presence, but only in the telling shadow revealed by the sun burning high above as it glided across the arena floor. By then it was too late. In a flash of lightning-quick movements, the boys were stunned by a series of striking blows. It knocked them clean off their feet, one by one, and when they glanced around looking somewhat dazed at what had attacked them from out of the blue they found Damiel standing in the middle of the fallen group with his right foot resting on the chest of one of the boys firmly pinning him to the ground.