Breathing Air

by Emily James Taylor

  “Yes. We don’t need to take anyone with us right now, but I need an idea before we meet with Jerome Travis.” Nolan sucks in a breath at my statement.

  “Why are we meeting the head of Osiris?’ Nolan questions as he sits down next to me.

  “He’s my uncle, apparently. My dad said he would probably help us.” Leaning into him, I breathe deeply, taking in his beachy scent. The warmth from his body seeps into me as he wraps his arms around me. Nolan runs his fingers along my neck, turning me on. It takes everything I have to resist feeling him up. We have more important things to worry about. At least that’s what I’m trying to tell myself.

  “Oh that’s right, one of Tobias’ partners is Jerome’s sister.” I straighten up and Emmanuel sits down across from us. “I’ll make an announcement letting everyone know that they can join us or not. I’ll go to Osiris with you guys.”

  “You’re joining us?” I lean forward, shocked. “I thought there was nothing that we could do to change your mind?” I hope my face isn’t giving away how happy I am to hear that.

  “I was eight years old the last time I was on Earth,” he answers me. “This gives me the chance to go back and do what I always wanted, it helps that you two want to accomplish the same thing. Horus needs to go and after Osiris helps us, we can fix that party as well.” So much for being ecstatic that he was going to join us. That lasted all of two seconds.We’re just a means to an end for him. Maybe that moment I felt with him earlier really meant nothing.

  “Great. Make all the arrangements you need to make. I think the sooner we leave the better.” Emmanuel gets up to go get the ball rolling and I give him a small wave with a big grin on my face. I don’t want him to think that I’m disappointed. Maybe if he comes with us, he’ll change his mind about joining our quint. Wait. You know what? Screw that. We don’t need him, I love the chemistry I have with Kevin and Nolan. I don’t have to add him just because he’s supposed to be our additional partner. He’ll be hanging around us anyway so our powers will still be stronger. We have another guy out there anyway, so until we find him, I don’t need to worry about it.

  “You seem to be thinking about a lot. Anything you want to get out of your system?” Nolan whispers in my ear. While I was musing over everything, I didn’t realize how close Nolan had slid over to me.

  “I honestly thought a few weeks ago that you would be the partner I would have the most difficulty with. Now it seems you’re the only one in my corner.” I tell him truthfully.

  He pulls me into him so my back is against him and wraps his arms around me. Staring out over the market, I watch the lingering few people mulling over their choices for produce. It’s died down since this morning. I hope these people aren’t just here to get the gossip from watching Nolan and me.

  “Was I really that difficult?” His warm breath tickles my ear and I suppress the shiver that runs down my spine.

  “Well after we got passed the whole, ‘oh no, I did some bad things before you came along’ aspect, you still were a complete control freak.” I’m thankful my voice comes out steady. “Well, you still kind of are since you made all the arrangements on what we were going to do today. But at least you’ve accepted that quality about yourself and try to let me be. Honestly, you did great accepting what I wanted last night when Emmanuel’s guards were going to put the cuffs on you.” He lets out a soft laugh remembering the scene from last night. “Now we have Kevin completely against us and Emmanuel can’t bring himself to want this.”

  “Oh, Adaline,” he growls, “he wants you. Everyone can see that since he can’t stop himself from staring at you every time you’re around. I think he’s been alone so long that he doesn’t know how to let people in. But he’ll eventually let you close to him, it’s only a matter of time. Trust me, that guy just doesn't want to let anyone down. He’s going to be great to have around, I can already tell.” Nolan sounds so sure. That’s one worry taken care of.

  “Oh well, I did walk in on you guys deep in conversation. He’s your new best friend,” I joke, changing my voice to try to sound like him but his face falls flat. “Nolan, seriously, I was joking.”

  “I know, it’s just Kevin’s always been my best bud. Which I know sounds kind of childish when I say that. Honestly, I expect to be close with all our new partners. It just reminded me of him sitting at the house all alone. I just wish I could get through to him right now.”

  “Well tonight when we head back, maybe we can talk him into going with us to Osiris. I don’t want him here alone.” At least, I hope we can.

  “We won’t leave Kevin here, okay? He’s coming with us even if I have to drag him by his arm the whole way.” He turns my head up towards his by placing his fingers under my chin. “We got this, Adaline.” He pecks my lips with his. He pulls away just an inch and lingers there waiting to see if I will kiss him back. Reaching my hand up, I pull him down to me for a deeper kiss. Everything else may be going completely horrible, but Nolan makes it seem like that’s perfectly okay. I pull away from him.

  “Nolan I have a question that’s been eating away at me,” I say quietly, getting up. He follows me up and drapes his left arm around me.

  “Fire away,” he responds.

  “How did I not know Emmanuel was my partner when I was younger?” I ask, genuinely curious. “I would have thought nothing of it because I stopped aging recently but then I remembered Naomi saying she meet her guys when she was twelve.”

  “Well, we do stop aging when we reach between eighteen and twenty-one. But we come into our powers around eleven or twelve,” he answers and an odd sense of relief at this knowledge floods me. “You’ve had to the ability to portal for a while, you just never knew you could. That’s why we leave home around that age, so when our powers start manifesting themselves, we can learn to control it and also find our partners. While our powers are weaker before we stop aging, they grow stronger after. Of course, we are at our strongest when our whole quad or quint is formed. You were still too young to know Emmanuel was one of your partners when you last saw him. I really want to ask him how much his powers have evolved with us around now. I was actually pretty good in school with mine without a nucleus but I did have some control issues sometimes.”

  “Hmm,” I mumble, pondering everything he said. “Sorry, I never really asked you more about your time at school. We talked about our families a little and awkward encounters with the opposite sex when we were younger. You and Kevin being cuddle buddies.” He lets out a small laugh when I mention the last bit. “But while I was trying to wrap my head around everything, I didn't really ask all the questions I needed to for me or about you. Was school really difficult?”

  “It was hard being one of the only ones without a nucleus in our grade. When your quad or quint is complete, the control you need is there. I was still one of the top in our class though. I was trying to win over my father at that time so I put a lot of effort into it but I was still a disappointment to him. When you’re not rewarded with a nucleus in our society, you’re viewed as a pariah. But none of that matters now.” He squishes me back against his side and I kiss him on his cheek. Sighing, I rest my head on his shoulder. I love how comfortable I am with him.

  “It’s okay love, I promise,” Nolan reassures me. I nod, which just makes it look like I’m trying to bury my head in his shoulder. “We still have time to learn about each other and about yourself. There’s no rush.” He presses a light kiss against my forehead. “I like having moments like this with you,” he admits. I grin up at him. “Now I’m going to go see Mrs. Georgie to see if there’s any supplies we can take with us. Why don’t we pick this up when we get back to the house tonight, hmm?”

  “I’ll think about it,” I wink at him as he pulls away from me.

  Everyone gathers in the open field I used to play in as a child. Back then, everything was so simple. I would lay in the purple grass for hours, letting the day pass me by. Jordan comes to stand by my side, Mrs. Georgie is already there. I asked
him to spread the word for a meeting tonight. Jordan’s been my best mate for years. He came to Alt-Earth when he was twelve and had a hard time learning to control his powers.

  Jordan never met his nucleus at school and Osiris was planning to kick him out so they wouldn't have to deal with him. When he arrived here, his nucleus, Matt, sought him out along with their partner Rachel. Everyone here continued to have patience with him even when he would accidentally destroy something. That, along with the help of his partners, made it easier for him to learn control. They are the closest to a complete quad out of anyone else here.

  When Horus and Osiris split, it made it harder for partners to find each other. I’m sure with us hiding out here, it’s made it even worse for quads to form over the years. Yet here I am with three people offering to complete me and I’m turning away from it. Most everyone here would be mad if they knew what I was doing. As far as they know, I’m happy about my situation and I am trying to get to know them.

  Jordan clears his throat next to me, bringing me back to the present. Shaking my head, I push thoughts of my possible romantic life to the side for now. I nod, acknowledging some of the people milling around and step forward.

  “Thank you for taking time out of your day to meet me here,” I begin, projecting my voice to be heard. A hush settles over those assembled. “I have some news and I also need to ask for your help.”

  Murmurs ripple amongst them, but it’s hushed quickly. Matt steps forward from the crowd with interest, Rachel by his side gives me an encouraging smile. “As you all know Tobias’ daughter, Adaline, has returned and she is also my nucleus.” A few gasps and exchanged glances among the people gathered force me to pause for a second as they absorb the news.

  “She came here to escape Thomas and the rest of Horus. She has also learned that some of her friends have been arrested by them. She not only wants to rescue them but also take down Horus as a whole. I support her decision and would like to take this opportunity as well for personal reasons. We plan to leave tomorrow to ask for help from Osiris. I’m going to leave Mrs. Georgie and Jordan in charge while I’m gone. I would like for all of you to take the time while I am gone to decide if you want to help us or not. I feel like Horus should have been taking care of a long time ago but I would understand if many of you don’t feel the same way. You all have made a home here and I don’t want to mess that up for anyone who is happy with the way things are. Thank you all for hearing me out and I hope you all can understand why I must do this. Dismissed.”

  Turning, I start to walk back to my house, I stop short when a deep voice stops me. “Where’s the signup sheet?” Hamish, the butcher, calls out. Looking over my shoulder, I find the whole crowd still standing there.

  “Are you sure you don’t need time to think about it?” I ask.

  Hamish shakes his head. “If we win, it means we can finally go home, there’s nothing else to think about. Let’s finish this fight we started a long time ago.” A few others murmur their agreement as well. As a majority of our people start to crowd around Hamish, I spot a small number of couples lingering in the back, with solemn looks on their faces. I nod my head over at Jordan and subtly point in their directions. Ever the smart man, he grabs Mrs. Georgie’s arm and heads their way.

  The majority of the crowd around Hamish are older individuals who still have partners on Earth and the younger ones who are hopeful to find their nucleus. Excited voices shout question after question at me and I try to answer them the best I can. It’s hard to stay focused on them when my eyes keep wandering to the small group of couples in the back. My heart breaks for them. They are the ones who settled, accepted that they wouldn’t find their partners. A few even have children. If things change here, they’re the ones who will be affected the most. I was surprised to see them here tonight to begin with, apparently there’s no love as powerful as the one with a Heart’s Center. Trying to calm myself down, I squeeze my hands into fists. Adaline’s beautiful face pops into my mind’s eye and all the connections I have with her. I don’t know how much longer I can keep fighting with my heart to stay away from her. But how can I stay around her with this guilty conscience either?

  “Okay, honey,” Dad says warmly, “all you need to do is think about the tear you are leaving behind when you portal. Just imagine it being closed completely, where it can’t ever be opened again.” Really that’s all I need to do? Man, if I would have known sooner we wouldn’t still be here.

  I’m trying my best to keep my smart mouth comments to myself since my dad is trying to be helpful but it’s starting to get a tad bit frustrating. I’ve been opening and closing portals for what seems like hours and I still can’t help but leave a tiny trace that someone could follow if they had the power to manipulate Aether. In other words, I suck.

  “How did you create the portal that night you were escaping Horus?” he asks softly. “I checked when I heard you did it and there wasn’t a single trace. At least you didn’t lead Thomas here. What did you do differently that night?”

  I close the tear I was working on quickly and sweep the sweat away from my brow with my fingers. “I just wished us somewhere safe,” I answer, plopping down on the grass. “I didn’t even do it how I practiced, with a specific destination in mind.” I fall to my back, defeated.

  My dad stands over me with his arm outstretched to pull me back up. “That’s it!” he exclaims excitedly.

  “What’s it?” I ask curious as my hand up for him to grab and steady myself as he pulls me back up to my feet.

  “Think about keeping everyone with you safe after you pick a destination,” he answers with a warm smile. “Don’t focus on closing completely till after you think of that. The powers we manifest work differently with each person controlling them. Your brain is focusing on closing the portal. I think it will work better for you if you think of keeping everyone going through your portal safe. Try again.”

  I roll my eyes before I close them. Letting out a deep, frustrated breath, I shake my hands to keep them from cramping up. I open my eyes back up and think of the Atlantic Ocean. I picture a map in my head and I try to pinpoint a spot in the middle of the ocean directly between New York State and Great Britain. Bringing my hands up, I picture a tear forming that leads me directly to the middle of the ocean. As the tear stretches out and becomes bigger, I can already smell the saltwater and see the beautiful blue water rippling and reflecting the sunlight. The sky is a crisp, light blue. Man, it looks strange against the bright green sky on this planet. As I peer into the portal I’ve created, I picture us, me and my dad, safely through it and swimming in cold waters. I would have picked a spot where we could spend a day at the beach like I’ve always wanted to, but he told me to pick somewhere no one would see the opening that leads here. Satisfied, I slowly raise my hands again and wave them above each crack in the opening to close it up.

  Dad steps forward and brings his arms out to try to trace and reopen the portal I created, even just a smidgen to see where I had gone. So far, it’s been easy for him to see inside a little. But amazingly, I watch as he tries to trace my portal with almost a constipated look on his face. With his arms outstretched, beads of sweat form on his forehead but nothing happens. I let out a small giggle. Man, I’m exhausted because laughter just pours out of me and I can’t seem to stop it.

  Finally. As I bend over a little trying to control myself, applause comes from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I find Emmanuel standing there. My father slaps my back softly and grins at him. “See, I told you,” he announces with pride in his voice. “Looks like you really don’t need me to make sure Thomas won’t trace the portals. She has this.” My eyes bounce back and forth between them, feeling annoyance swell in my chest. This practice session wasn’t because my dad wanted to help me improve, it was because Emmanuel had concerns that I wouldn’t be able to keep us from being tracked. Crossing my arms over my chest, I count to twenty in my head in an attempt to calm down.

  “Adaline, come o
n don’t get mad.” Emmanuel pleads. You know, his deep voice isn’t that sexy when he’s chiding me. “I just wanted to make sure no one can follow us back here, especially if you’re going to make a huge portal that might send a bunch of people from Osiris here. I’m still concerned about that by the way. I’m responsible for the safety of this place and the people here. Maybe we shouldn’t bring them back in case everything doesn’t go as we want.”

  “I guess I can see your reasoning,” I relent, dropping my arms. That’s the nicest response he’s going to get out of me. I turn my attention towards my dad, hoping Emmanuel will just walk off but my dad just winks at me and walks away. Seriously? I don’t want to be left alone with him.

  “Look, I know you’re powerful,” Emmanuel says, coming to stand in front of me. He still maintains his distance, though “This isn’t me questioning any of that, it’s just that you’re still learning and a lot of people could get hurt if anything goes wrong,” I look up at him and just nod as I chew on the inside of my lip. I freaking know. I’m not mad that he is taking caution for his people, I just want to be included along with them. I really have become open to a relationship with multiple guys. It shouldn’t bother me that he does not want to be involved. I mean, I do have two other guys but it really feels like I’m missing out on something. Maybe, just maybe, I can figure out a way to make him feel that, to find out he is missing something too.

  “So, how long were you watching us?” I ask, trying to find out how many of my failed attempts at sealing my portals he’s witnessed.

  “Not that long really, I saw you open one and close it and it looked like you were going to give up. I was about to walk over but then your dad pulled you back on your feet.” At least he didn’t see the 34 times I tired before now.

  “Oh. So does an Air Elemental actually have any pointers for an Aether?” I take a step towards him with my arms crossed and a satisfied look on my face. I hope my sarcasm really came across, but then again he doesn’t really know me that well.