by Indie Gantz
Kor’s already pensive brow grows deeper. He stares at my outstretched hand with the note inside for a long moment before he finally accepts it from me.
Kor unfolds it slowly, almost painfully so, and runs a strong hand over his jaw as he reads. The way his fingers drag through the scruff of his facial hair looks almost compulsory, like a habit when feeling overwhelmed. I can’t be sure that he’s feeling that way, but I can’t imagine him feeling much else.
When he lowers the note and looks between us, there’s a shell-shocked look in his eyes. I don’t blame him, he was just asked by his dead childhood friend to bring two strangers home with him.
“She, uh... wrote this before she died?” Kor asks, sounding unconvinced.
“Apparently,” I say back, shrugging. “Our father wasn’t very present, being sick most of our lives, and we lived remotely. We haven’t had a proper education about our elements or anything. Calla must have known if our father ever died that we would need someone to help us.” I hope it sounds better out loud than it does in my head, because to me it sounds just as contrived as it actually is. Kor doesn’t respond, and I keep flapping my mouth because that’s what I do when I’m nervous. “She trusted you to teach us, to take care of us if anything ever happened to our father. I mean, I know we are old enough to take care of ourselves, but we barely have control over our elements, let alone have enough knowledge to take the Collective Assessment exam in a few years. I know it’s a lot to ask, and we don’t-”
Charlie, that’s enough. Tirigan cuts in, a stern look on his face. If you keep talking, he will never let us come home with him.
I scoff and give Tirigan a dirty look.
“Twins?” Kor says, motioning between us.
“Um, yeah,” I say hesitantly.
“Right.” Kor takes in a long breath, and then lets it out in a rush. He places the note on the ground in front of me. “You’ll have to excuse my less than exorbitant reaction. Please don’t take offense.” He settles into the grass further and pulls at the zipper of his leather jacket. “It’s just, I haven’t heard from Calla…” He pauses and looks up to the sky, his eyes searching for something. “I guess I’m having a really hard time understanding why she would send you to me.”
“In the letter she left for us she said that you two didn’t leave things well between you,” I say carefully, gauging his reaction.
He snorts as if to agree. His eyes dart between us, and then he sucks in a quick breath. “No, I dare say we didn’t.” He looks back down to the grass and starts to mimic Tirigan, who’s plucking grass blades up one by one and floating them in the air.
“I’m sorry to hear that she died,” Kor offers. “It must have been difficult growing up without her.”
I nod, trying my best to assume the character I’m supposed to be playing. “We had our father, but he took her death very hard. He was never the same after, and well...” I trail off, hoping to come off like someone who doesn’t want to talk about their hardships rather than someone who can’t remember exactly what she’s supposed to say. “He died just a few months ago,” I continue. “We don’t have anyone else. We traveled a lot before my father got too sick, and like I said before, we lived pretty far from civilization.” I reach around to my backpack again and pull out the necklace. “She left this as well, told us to give it to you.”
When I pull out the necklace, Kor’s jaw drops, and his eyes get noticeably wider. The blades of grass he had dancing alongside Tirigan’s fall back to the ground. He holds out his hand for me to place the necklace in his palm.
“It was a gift,” he says after a moment, his voice catching slightly. “For her sixteenth birthday.” He fingers the stone in the middle, delicately brushing his nail across it. “That was mine.”
“Your stone?” I ask, looking at the stone more closely. I’m not certain, because so many stones and crystals look alike, but it looks like a diamond “Did you cast into it?”
“Yes.” Kor says, holding it up to the light and letting the sun bounce off it. There’s a question in his eyes, but all he says is, “I’m surprised she kept it.”
“It obviously meant something to her,” I reply cautiously. “She never used whatever cast was placed inside.” I feel bad for pushing him, but I also want him to remember how much she meant to him. At least, I’m hoping she meant something to him, so that maybe we have a shot at getting more information.
“Hmm,” Kor hums, letting his gaze fall away from the necklace and settling back on me. He places it in the dirt in front of him and shrugs softly. “You can keep it, then. It doesn’t mean much to me anymore.”
That’s not a good sign. I prepare for rejection as Kor regards us both.
“Well, my house has already picked up a stray, might as well add two more.” I barely register what is said, but Tirigan’s mouth is already pulling into a pleased smile. “You’ll be the ones to tell Avias and Ollie they’re bunking up, though,” Kor says, rising to his feet and brushing off his pants. “I have a feeling Avias will have a few choice words about that.”
“Wait,” I say, putting my hands up. I’m having trouble keeping up with the direction of this conversation. “Are you… You’re really going to do this?” I say incredulously, not even believing our luck. “You’re really taking us home with you?”
“That’s what Calla wanted me to do, isn’t it?” Kor asks back, eyebrows raised.
“Well, yes, but-”
“Is that what you two want?” He looks between us, and Tirigan nods easily.
“Yes,” I whisper. Finding my voice again, I continue, “I just didn’t think it would be that easy. I mean, you don’t even know us.”
“I know Calla,” Kor explains simply. “Or at least I used to, and if she told you to find me and trusted me to take care of you, then that’s what I’m going to do.” He shrugs as he says it, like he just agreed to dinner and a movie, rather than bringing two strange teenagers home with him.
“What about Vi? Won’t she be upset? Maybe you should talk to her first,” I press for some reason. I can’t seem to accept how easy this was.
“Are you kidding? That woman would invite an entire orphanage into the house if Bo let her.” Kor waves off my concern and starts walking back towards the festival, Tirigan and I close on his heels.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Be Whatever You Want To Be
We find our new adoptive family at a large picnic table eating dinner. The toddler that sat atop Kor’s shoulders before, now sits on top of the table, eating rice and beans while the rest of the family sits around it. The young boy, the one I saw with Vi at the booth earlier, has finished already by the time we join them and is running in circles, chanting something about Bo and her scarves. Everyone else chats happily while they eat their dinner. It’s a perfect picture, an ideal family moment.
What if they don’t accept us?
Tirigan walks beside me, his shoulders square and his head tall. He doesn’t look as worried as I feel. Kor has, I’m sure they will too. If they don’t, they don’t. We aren’t here to make friends, Charlie. We are here to find our mother.
Right, okay.
As Kor approaches, he darts after the small boy and picks him up in his arms, raising him over his head. The boy shrieks and laughs, and the rest of the table’s occupants smile at the scene.
“Has anyone seen Robin?” Kor asks the table, the toddler giggling through a mouthful of black beans. “I saw him here a moment ago, but now I just can’t seem to place him!”
“Papa!” The toddler on the table points to her big brother and laughs again. “There! Robbie there!”
“What’s that, Cyra?” Kor leans over slightly, Robin still high in the air, clutched in Kor’s hands and laughing. “Where did you say he was?”
“Let me down!” The little boy shrieks, kicking his legs in the air. “I’m going to fly away!”
“You can’t fly you silly thing,” Bo says, clucking her tongue and biting into a piece of bread.
“You’re Gyan, not Aérasian.”
The little boy closes his eyes and juts his hands out as if he were flying already. “I can be whatever I want to be, Bo.”
Kor proceeds to run around the table, still with Robin above his head. The rest of the group has sobered some after looking back to Tirigan and I, probably remembering the awkwardness from before.
“Sooo...” Bo starts off, looking between us. “What dirty secrets were you hiding from us earlier?”
“Bo,” Vi chastises, shaking her head at her daughter. “Tact, darling.”
“Oh come on,” Bo says back, her eyes going to her older brother for support. “That scene back there was positively barking. Was it not?”
Avias stares back at his sister for a moment, before turning his gaze to us. “That’s one way of describing it.”
Oleander says nothing, just looks between us a few times with a kind expression on his face. He’s obviously more willing to just wait and see what we have to say rather than pushing us to answer questions.
Kor comes around the table again, Robin making propeller noises above his head. He unceremoniously drops him in Vi’s lap, softening his fall with a wave of his hand.
“Mozel Tov!” He says with a wide smile. “It’s a boy!” He then turns to Tirigan and I, and gestures towards me. “And a girl.”
Everyone but Vi looks incredibly confused by his declaration. She actually looks surprised, like maybe she understood the exact meaning of Kor’s strange announcement.
“Come again?” Avias says politely, one eyebrow quirked as he puts his fork down.
Kor looks between us, maybe looking for some sort of sign that we would want to be the ones to share the news, but neither of us make any move to do so. Tirigan’s mind is closed at the moment and I have absolutely no idea what I would say. Besides, news like this should come from their father, not their new, potentially unwanted house guests.
Kor smiles when neither of us says anything and looks back to his family. “Charlie and Tirigan need a home,” he finally explains, eyes staying on Vi now. “I’ve offered them ours.” Vi smiles at that and immediately looks like she could cry. That seems to satisfy Kor, who then moves on to his children. “What say you, brood?”
I risk a look at the three teenagers at the table, who are now looking at us with wide eyes and slack jaws.
“Um,” Bo starts. “How’d this happen exactly?”
She’s looking between us suspiciously, and I don’t blame her. Everything about this is strange. The first person we speak to when we get to the festival happens to be Kor’s wife. Then we spend half a day with his children, still having no clue about their relation to him. Then we meet Kor, ask him to take us home with him and he says yes. Nothing about this makes sense and yet it’s happening.
“I grew up with their mother,” Kor explains. “She died and asked me to take them in. They came here to find me.” Kor shrugs. “Can’t very well turn them away now, can we?”
“No, I suppose not,” Avias says cautiously, eyes on Tirigan. “And our meeting earlier... just happenstance?”
“Yes,” Tirigan says quickly. “We did not know who you were.”
“No,” I jump in. “We had no idea you were Kor’s children. If we had known, we would have said something. I promise, we weren’t trying to keep anything from you.”
“You’re just that lucky then?” Bo asks, her tone unconvinced.
“I wouldn’t call them lucky,” Kor interjects, after finding a seat next to Vi and beckoning us forward. “Theirs isn’t a happy story.”
I sit down next to Oleander while Tirigan takes up next to the edge, across from Kor and Vi.
“Well, I think it’s an unexpected, but incredibly welcome surprise,” Oleander says over his bowl of greens. “The more the merrier!”
“Here, here,” Vi says, raising her cup of water. “Honestly, Charlie, Tirigan, I’m thrilled to have you with us. I love a full house.” She looks down the table expectantly at Bo, who still looks a little unsettled by the situation. Bo stares back at her mother, unperturbed, but eventually relents.
“Yeah, all right,” Bo says with a breath. “I don’t mean any harm. It’s just strange is all. If you need a place to live, mine’s as good as any other.”
“Aw, how sweet,” Kor teases. He picks some food off of Vi’s plate and offers it to Robin, who’s still seated in his mother’s lap. The boy flicks the food off the fork with his fingers.
“Yes,” Avias says to us. “You are welcome, of course.”
“Thank you,” I reply, looking down at my hands. “We really appreciate you taking us in.”
“Happy to do it, love,” Vi chimes, her tone slightly strained as she tries to convince Robin to eat some of his dinner. Cyra, their youngest daughter, still sits in the middle of the table, but is now entertaining herself by funneling water out of nearby cups and mixing it into her dinner bowl.
“Why don’t you grab yourself some dinner? There are plates over at the other end of the table, and a couple different things to choose from.”
“Thank you,” I say again, rising from the table with Tirigan. “That sounds great.” I’m not that hungry, but I need to do something to distract myself. I’m relieved that we have basically been welcomed in with open arms, but I feel horrible that we’re lying to everyone.
I hate lying; it’s in my blood to hate it. The Anunnaki see very little reason to lie and seldom engage in deception. I know we have to lie. I know that telling the whole truth would be a very bad idea for a multitude of reasons, but this family seems to be a very good one. Guilt rips through me as I fill my plate with food I probably won’t do anything but pick at.
There’s also a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that says this was all way too easy and that something definitely isn’t right. I force a smile when I sit back down at the table.
Tirigan sits next to me, an ear of corn in his hands. He gives me a sideways glance that shows he’s thinking along the same lines.
I don’t like lying to these people.
Consider the consequences. That should stifle your guilt.
I find his response overly simplified and annoying, so I kick him under the table. His face screws up the way it does whenever he’s touched without permission, but he kicks back just as hard. Bo notices and laughs.
“Oh, these two are just as bad as we are, Ave.” She throws a piece of her chicken at her brother. “Might give us a run for our money.”
“How about we just let them win this one, yes?” Avias replies back, picking through his meal. He eyes Tirigan carefully from across the table until my brother looks up and meets his gaze. “So, Tirigan, what element are you?”
Tirigan clears his throat awkwardly, which makes me want to laugh a little, but I suppress it and give him some silent encouragement.
Small talk is a necessary evil. Just focus and you’ll be fine.
“Aéras,” Tirigan finally says. “Same as you.”
“Brilliant,” Avias enthuses. “Maybe we can trade secrets.” There’s a whisper of a smile on Avias’ lips. I look between him and my brother for a moment before I turn my attention to Oleander.
“Kor mentioned that you live with them as well,” I say, steering him towards a conversation that should be easily navigated.
Oleander has a mouthful of food, but he nods enthusiastically as he chews. “Yes. Took me in just before we all moved across the pond.” It’s the same phrase Vi used earlier, but I don’t have the slightest idea what it means. I still nod my head like I do. “My mother got herself into a bit of trouble, and my father was nothing but a wanker. I was always over at Avias’ place when we were home from school. We went to school north of London-“
“Because they’re obnoxiously smart and can’t be homeschooled like the rest of us,” Bo cuts in. Oleander smiles and rustles Bo’s hair from across the table.
“Don’t let her convince you she isn’t just as smart as we are. That’s when she strikes.” Oleander says
, throwing a tomato across the table at Bo. “Anyway, one break Vi just showed me to the spare bedroom and told me to stay. My father didn’t even call to see if I was coming home.” There is a sad look in his eyes, but he pushes a smile to his lips anyway. “Worked out for the best, though, didn’t it? I get to live with my best mate and some pretty fantastic adoptive parents.”
“That it then?” Bo challenges, throwing some of her food back at him.
“Oh,” Oleander replies with a laugh. “And, of course, the little sister I never knew I wanted.”
Bo doesn’t seem pleased with his response. “I am not your sister Oleander Bois Dentelle. Can it with that rubbish.” She goes back to her food with a begrudged expression. Oleander just sighs.
“You adore me, stop pretending otherwise.” He turns back to me and smiles. “She’s a tough nut to crack, but I reckon you’ll be fast friends.”
Bo makes no sign of hearing Oleander, so I give an appreciative nod.
“I hope so.”
◆◆◆
After Dinner, Vi and Kor take Cyra back to their booth, and Tirigan decides to join them. The rest of us take Robin to watch some more of the matches. I try to stay behind with Tirigan when he says he isn’t up for dealing with the crowd again, since I don’t like the idea of being separated, but Tirigan refuses. He all but forces me to join the others, claiming he doesn’t need a babysitter.
It’s not as if I don’t trust Kor and his family. I do, despite how little we know them. Calla trusted Kor enough to send us to him, so that says a lot about him too. But still, there’s a big difference between trusting them with our care and education, and trusting them with our secret. Leaving Tirigan alone feels dangerous, but my brother is very stubborn, and I do enjoy the matches, just as Tirigan argued I would.
At one point during the mock battles, a Néroian forms a shield out of water, which proves to be nearly impossible to penetrate while she wields it. The woman can’t keep the cast going more than a few minutes, though, and is too tired to continue fighting the rest of the match. She’s bested quickly after her shield falls.