Depth

by Emily Thompson

  “I recognized her instantly, of course. But I never expected her to be in trouble when I finally met her. That’s been rather a shock, if I’m honest.”

  “How’s that?” Twist asked carefully. Jonas so rarely spoke openly about his visions that Twist feared he’d stop short and leave Twist with even more questions.

  Jonas took a sip of rum before he answered. “In the vision, I saw her happy. Really, truly, blissfully happy.”

  “Oh,” Twist muttered, confused.

  “I saw her looking at me,” Jonas went on, apparently able to continue the tale more easily now that he’d started. “She’ll be just about to cry from joy, and her whole being will be humming with it. It’ll make her look positively angelic. She’ll take my hand,” he said, glancing to his own hand, “and say, ‘Thank you, Jonas.’”

  “Thank you? Thank you for what?”

  “I have no idea,” Jonas said on the breath of a laugh. “But whatever I’m going to do, it’s going to make her the happiest woman on the planet.”

  Twist took a moment to process this information while the fog in his mind smoothed. “So you saw a vision of Kima, very happy, when you were a child?”

  Jonas nodded.

  “Then,” Twist went on, still confused, “if it’s a happy moment, why does it make you unhappy to talk about it?”

  Jonas glanced at him sheepishly. “There I go being obvious again.”

  “I can’t help but notice, any more than you can with me,” Twist reminded him.

  “I guess not,” Jonas said with a sigh. He seemed to brace himself, as if preparing for battle. “Well, it was the night after…you know…I mean, Ara and Howell and I moved in with Mama and the gypsies the next day.”

  Twist silently filled in the missing information with ease. Jonas meant to say that he’d seen the vision of Kima on the night after his parents had died in a house fire—the night after his life had changed forever.

  “Anyway,” Jonas went on, “I was feeling pretty damn terrible. I thought everything that had happened was my fault. I didn’t even know if I could have done something to stop it.” He paused for a sigh. “I wasn’t talking to anyone, and I sure as hell wasn’t looking at anyone. Back then I didn’t know that I’d only see death in a person’s eyes, so I wasn’t even opening my eyes at all if I didn’t absolutely have to.”

  Twist listened as ice grew in the buzzing at his neck and Jonas’s eyes turned pewter.

  “And then,” Jonas said, smiling slightly, the cold lifting, “out of nowhere, my eyes shut tight, I get this vision of a woman I’d never seen before. And she’s not dying. She’s happy. Happier than anyone I’d ever seen. And whatever it was that made her that happy was clearly something I had done. That vision was so bright, so full of life, that it really helped me to recover from…everything. I mean, no matter how bad things were, I knew that one good thing was out there ahead of me.”

  Twist smiled as he listened, relieved to see his friend’s spirit brighten as he spoke. He could only imagine how profound that happy vision had been on a young and tormented Jonas. Kima’s joy had become a beacon for him, leading him through the blackest moments of his life.

  “Then it’s no wonder you treat her the way you do,” Twist observed.

  Jonas went quiet again for a moment. “But now that she’s in my life, her life is awful. I never expected that. I’ve only seen her happy in my visions. I want to help, but I don’t know how. I can’t imagine what I’m going to do to make her as happy as she was in my vision.”

  Twist nodded, wishing he had advice to give. Even if he wasn’t likely to admit it, Twist could now see how hard it was on Jonas to see Kima upset and unhappy.

  “Well, you do seem to be helping a lot already,” Twist offered, giving Jonas’s shoulder a supportive pat.

  “Yeah?” Jonas asked, not looking convinced.

  “The only times I see her smile are because of something you’ve done.”

  Jonas’s eyes went slightly blue, and the fog in Twist’s Sight went a bit brighter, but Jonas didn’t otherwise respond. Twist felt relieved to find a very comfortable warmth in the buzz at his neck now. He silently began to wonder if some part of Jonas didn’t actually enjoy sharing these tender secrets with someone else. It must be a terrible burden to guard them all the time, after all.

  “Another?” Jonas asked, gesturing with his empty glass.

  “Why not?” Twist said, before swallowing the last of his own drink.

  Sure enough, Twist and Jonas learned at breakfast the next morning that someone had scheduled a Sight circle for noon that day.

  “I heard that most of the ship is planning to attend,” Tasha said with glee as she buttered her toast.

  She and the others sat together at one end of a long table in the dining hall, which was once again filled to bursting with hungry people. Twist and Jonas, sitting across the table from each other, shared a knowing glance.

  “What’s a Sight circle?” Kima asked before taking a sip of her tea.

  “Jonas, you be quiet,” Tasha snapped before he said a word.

  “Steady on!” Jonas grumbled.

  “A Sight circle,” Tasha explained sweetly to Kima, “is a meeting of Sighted people, with an aim at mutual understanding and collaboration.”

  “Oh…” Kima toned, glancing at Jonas as if for confirmation.

  “Apparently, my opinion isn’t important,” Jonas responded to Kima, keeping his eyes well clear of hers.

  “Your opinion is biased,” Tasha clarified. “I adore Sight circles. I’ve made very good friends through them, and I’ve learned a great deal. I’m only sorry that you can’t gain the same benefits as I have.”

  “I hate them too,” Twist mentioned to Kima.

  Kima laughed lightly at his candor but then stopped the moment Tasha looked to her sadly.

  “Then, you don’t want to go this time, dear?” Myra asked him. “It’s just that Tasha says they can be so good for you.”

  Twist silently recalled that Myra hadn’t been there at the Sight circle he’d attended, in San Francisco. She hadn’t seen him become so violently uncomfortable when faced with the others’ invasive questions that he’d gotten up and run out the door.

  “No, thank you,” Twist replied. “Jonas says I’m not allowed.”

  “Damn straight,” Jonas said. “Niko, old chap, what are you going to do while the weirdos have their club meeting? The non-Sighted aren’t typically invited, you know.”

  “I thought I might use the opportunity to break into the generator room and figure out what’s fueling this ship,” Niko answered.

  “Oh goodness,” Tasha said with a gasp. “You aren’t really, are you?”

  “Most people, Aden included, will be distracted.”

  “I like the way you think,” Jonas said, grinning. “And I’ll bet you could use a couple of lookouts, couldn’t you?”

  “Well, I don’t know…” Niko said with a rare, albeit slight, smile. “I usually work best alone.”

  “Oh, please, Niko,” Twist said, mocking desperation. “Be a good sport. I want to touch the engine.”

  Niko chuckled and gave a shrug.

  Tasha shook her head sadly. “Jonas, I’m really starting to think you are a bad influence on Niko. You’ve already corrupted Twist.”

  “You’re just jealous,” Jonas said smugly. “I represent rebellion. Everyone knows it’s always more fun to be rebellious than proper.”

  “Good point,” Kima agreed, smirking.

  “Yes, it rather is,” Tasha said with a reluctant nod. “The actions of impulse are always more attractive than those of wisdom.”

  “Wisdom is for old men and epitaphs,” Jonas countered.

  Tasha shot him a disappointed glance but apparently decided to end her argument there rather than slip any further into Jonas’s irreverent logic. She then changed the subject to something frivolous, allowing the rest of the meal to take on a pleasant atmosphere. Twist encouraged this approach, simply happ
y that she and Jonas had stopped bickering. While he agreed more strongly with Tasha’s point of view on wisdom and rebellion, he knew better than to take her side.

  “Is it just me,” Jonas began, “or was Tasha more fun the last time we saw her?”

  Myra, Kima, Niko, and Twist all walked with him, heading toward the back of the ship and the locked doors that they believed might lead into the engine room.

  “Maybe you’ve gotten too accustomed to having Skye around instead of Tasha,” Twist offered.

  “Ah, Skye,” Jonas said with a warm smile and a pleased note in his voice. “Now there’s a woman who knows how to have a good time.”

  “Didn’t you always say she was too reckless?” Twist asked.

  “Oh, certainly,” Jonas replied. “But that makes her entertaining. Not like some cold, ineffable pillar of decorum.”

  “Oh, Tasha’s not that bad,” Myra countered, swatting at Jonas with her fingertips. “She’s just a sophisticated lady.”

  “She’s boring,” Jonas grumbled.

  Kima laughed quietly, her smile hidden behind a hand.

  Before Myra could continue her defense of her friend, a voice from behind hurriedly called out to them. Twist and the others glanced back to find Aden and a few of the porters hurrying closer. Aden wiped at his brow and appeared out of breath.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” he said, still panting. “I was worried I wouldn’t find you at all. You people sure like a ramble, don’t you?”

  “Is something wrong?” Myra asked.

  “Well,” Aden began, having composed himself and put on a polite smile while his men stood quietly at his side, apparently waiting for orders, “the Sight circle is nearly about to start, and here we are, all the way down on the first level.”

  “You’d best get a move on, then,” Jonas said.

  Aden looked at him and Twist worriedly. “Tasha was right, then? You two weren’t planning to come?”

  “Nope,” Jonas said bluntly. “Thanks anyway. Have fun.”

  “Nonsense,” Aden said. “You must come along. Your two Sights are the rarest on board. I’m sure the others will have loads to talk with you about.”

  Twist’s heartbeat sped up with anxiety at the thought of such an interrogation.

  “Sorry, but no,” Jonas said firmly. “Twist and I don’t go to Sight circles.”

  “Then I insist you come with me to this one,” Aden said, his tone firm as well. “There will be nearly two hundred Sights in attendance, and I’ll simply not let you two miss such a rare experience. Why, I’ve already told some of the attendees about your Sights, and they are all quite eager to meet you.”

  “You really shouldn’t have done that,” Jonas said coldly. “Now you’ve got to let them down.”

  “Twist, come now, you’re a reasonable man,” Aden said imploringly. “Can’t you help me convince Jonas to stop being stubborn?”

  “As far as I’m aware,” Twist responded, “nothing in the universe can make Jonas stop being stubborn.”

  “Hear, hear!” Jonas concurred.

  Aden frowned at each of them in turn, clearly struggling to come up with another argument. Then, his gray gaze touched on Myra.

  “Myra!” he said, as if her presence were suddenly akin to a heroic rescue. “You care deeply for Twist. You want only the best for him, don’t you?”

  Startled, Myra nodded, wide eyed.

  “Then please explain to him that attending circles and learning and sharing with other Sighted people is wildly beneficial. This one in particular can give Twist more confidence and better control over his skills and also give him a much-needed sense of community. I am absolutely certain that attending this circle will do wonders for him.”

  “Holy hell,” Jonas grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Myra, you’re not actually going to buy any of that propaganda, are you?”

  Myra looked between Jonas and Aden, at a loss of what to do.

  “Here now,” Twist said sternly to Aden. He placed a hand on Myra’s shoulder. Her anxiety and confusion flooded into his mind from the touch, but Twist pushed it away to hold his own thoughts clear. “Aden, you’re frightening my darling bride. I’d like you to leave her entirely out of this.”

  Aden looked back at him, clearly calculating. “She wants what’s best for you. Jonas just wants his own way.”

  “That’s uncalled for!” Jonas growled. “How the hell do you know what’s best for anyone?”

  “It’s my profession to know,” Aden answered. “Now honestly, you’re both being childish. Come with me, or I’ll treat you like children and ask these gentlemen to drag you along.”

  The porters looked squarely at Twist and Jonas, clearly ready to do whatever Aden asked of them. Fright tingled up Twist’s spine to think that they might actually lay hands on him. Jonas leveled a string of curses at Aden that made Myra, Niko, and Kima gasp. Aden’s expression darkened, as did those of his men, but none responded.

  “Aden, you wouldn’t dare,” Twist declared forcefully, hoping that his aggression would mask his fear. “You know what that would do to me.”

  Aden crossed his arms and stared back at Twist, immovable. “You’re a guest on my ship, in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly everyone on this ship will follow any order I give, without question. I want you at that circle. You’re coming along, in whichever way you choose.”

  “Sir, I think this is a mistake,” Niko mentioned softly.

  Twist jerked at the sound of his voice, having nearly forgotten that he was there at all.

  “Twist and Jonas,” Niko went on, “can be formidable when properly motivated.”

  “So can I,” Aden responded, not taking his eyes off of Twist. “Choose now, Twist. Will you be belligerent over something trivial and risk losing my friendship and all of the benefits of it? Or will you be reasonable and continue to enjoy your freedom and comfort aboard my ship?”

  Twist stared back at Aden silently while his mind raced around the man’s implications. If he refused to attend the stupid Sight circle, Aden might not only get his men to physically drag him there—and in so doing bombard Twist’s Sight with painful and damaging visions of whatever wrongs these men had ever endured—but he might also withdraw his hospitality. Would Aden confine him to his room or go so far as to toss Twist into the ship’s brig for the rest of the trip to Atlantis?

  And what about his friends? Aden had ceased negotiating with Jonas at all. After all, Myra, Jonas, and Kima were only really on board to please Twist. Would his punishment fall on them as well? It had been a long time since Twist had seen this cold, unfriendly light in Aden’s eyes. They had met as adversaries, but Twist had believed that they had both slowly grown into honest friendship. Thinking back, Twist now realized that he had never openly opposed Aden on anything since they had first called their truce.

  With a chilling sense of dread, Twist suddenly understood that Aden had never changed at all. It was just an act: a way to get what he wanted with the least resistance. As long as Twist didn’t oppose him and did whatever he asked, Aden would play at being an ally. But clearly, it would only take one disobedient act to make him drop his mask for a more potent weapon.

  Myra looked to Twist in horror, clearly shocked by this revelation of Aden’s character. Beside him, Twist felt Jonas’s rage smolder behind his grim silence. Even Kima appeared unnerved but remained quiet and watchful. Niko seemed only saddened and disappointed. Twist looked back to Aden and pulled himself put to his full height, stilled his frame, emptied his features of emotion, and glared back at Aden with the coldest gaze he could muster.

  “After you, Captain,” Twist said, while whatever alliance they had once built between them shattered into dust.

  Aden seemed pleased when he turned to lead them wordlessly away.

  Though unspoken, it had been perfectly clear that Aden only wanted Twist and Jonas to join him. And so the others were left behind on the walkway without even a word of good-bye. Twist knew with a cold weight in his che
st that Myra would worry for him, but—with porters following close and Aden clearly displeased—he could do nothing to calm her now. He would have to rely on Kima and Niko to see to her until he could return.

  When Twist, Jonas, and Aden arrived at the lounge, they found the place packed to bursting with people. The crowd hummed with conversation and obvious excitement. Men and women struggled to hear and be heard over the din, even while standing in such tightly clustered groups. Twist felt lightheaded at the sight of the horrendously crowded space and reached out to the railing at the top of the stairs to steady himself.

  Jonas took a firm hold of Twist’s shoulders, his concern wafting into Twist’s mind with the chilly white fog. The gesture steadied Twist immediately, and he nodded gratefully to Jonas. Noticing none of this, Aden spoke hurriedly to one of his porters. Even at such at close proximity to them, Twist couldn’t pick out a single word he said.

  The porter then moved away, vanishing into the crowds, while another two remained just behind Twist and Jonas as if watching for any attempt at escape. Aden appeared to wait patiently for a moment, smiling amiably around at the crowd and waving on occasion when others noticed him. Suddenly, a motion to the right drew Twist’s attention. A circular metal sheet was being moved into view, just below the level of the floor, in the opening between the two helical staircases.

  This sheet stopped in the center of the opening, apparently being held aloft by mechanical arms. It then rose to create a platform directly below the apex of the huge glass dome. Another porter handed Aden a silver megaphone. Aden took it and then hopped the small gap and alighted onto the platform with ease. He lifted the megaphone, and his voice rang out in a resounding tone that echoed off of the glass around them.

  “Hello, fellow Sights!” he called to the crowd, which broke into an uproar of applause and cheers.

  Every face turned to him with excitement. Aden stood, waiting patiently until the sound died into expectant silence. He placed the megaphone at his feet and called out again in his natural voice. “Can you hear me all right without this thing?”