by Indie Gantz
“Why? It’s my power,” Kor argues calmly.
Another man steps forward. Distorted facial features. Chromosomal abnormality. His chest, groin, and knees covered in black leather. Battles on his knees often. Needs proximity to the Earth. Weak. No hair. Eyes, emerald green and glowing. Barefoot and littered in every color elemental stone except green. Gyan.
“You will do as commanded, or you will be forced to fall to your knees in compliance.” His voice does not match his apparent fragility. It is cavernously deep.
Kor does not startle to this, and instead, he hands the woman his stone.
“Apologies.” I can see the corners of Kor’s cheeks lift. Smiling. Disarming his opponents. His mind reaches for mine.
Open mind: Kor.
Avias first. Then Oleander. Then Cal.
Close mind.
Open mind: Avias
Go.
Close mind.
Avias shifts slightly, then squares his shoulders and steps forward confidently. Bo takes his place in our makeshift line.
Open mind: Charlie.
After Avias, send Oleander, then Calor after him.
Okay. Do you really think we should be letting them fight for us?
How do you suggest we stop them?
I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right though. Bo is only fifteen.
I do not believe Kor intends to let her fight.
How will he stop her?
Instead of answering, I shrug slightly. I do not know how Kor intends to keep Bo from battling, but I know he will.
Close mind.
I can feel Charlie pushing at my mind, but I know her intention is to argue more, and I have no interest in that. I want to focus on what is right before us.
Avias has reached the woman holding open the bag and is declaring and casting into the stone he took from the bag. When he is finished, he steps a few feet away and to Kor’s right. Oleander steps up next, leaving my side and joining Kor and Avias fifteen meters ahead of us. He too declares his element and casts into a stone. There is an unfamiliar shake to his voice, but it is not fear that rattles him, it is fierce determination. Admirable.
When Oleander flanks Kor on the other side, Calor moves up to take his turn. I can still feel waves of illness pulsing through him, but he is in control of himself. Whatever is ailing him, it could be a liability.
As Calor finishes his cast and hands his stone back to the woman, many eyes fall to me. Before I have a chance to react, the door to the driver’s side of Kor’s vehicle opens suddenly, and Bo is thrust through the air and inside the vehicle, the door slamming shut after her. The hostile group of Téssera are startled by this development, and two of them step forward to join the other three already in front. Angry Néroian. Bored Aérasian.
Bo is too stunned by her removal from the battlefield to do anything immediate. Kor’s mind pushes at mine to open.
Open mind: Kor.
Get ready.
How do you suggest we keep Bo-
I will handle that.
Close mind.
As if summoned to do so, Bo frantically begins to try and open the door. It does not budge. Her lighter is out as she attempts to cast her way out of the car. Nothing happens; the flame of her lighter is extinguished. She is safely secured in the vehicle.
The rest of us prepare for battle.
Day Seven: Charlie
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Pascal’s Two Men
The world feels like it’s spinning, but Oleander is still right next to me, walking slowly. Despite barely being able to see straight, I keep pace with him.
What did he just say? Tirigan asks, only slightly alarmed.
That I don’t have to hide who I am.
What was the context of his statement?
I don’t know how to answer that. I feel like I’m going to throw up. What could Oleander mean by that? What could this—
“I know why you don’t have any Eidikos stones to trade,” Oleander says carefully, not at all threatening in his tone. His hands are in his pockets and he’s looking down at his feet as we walk, as if it is he who has something to hide. “And it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
I want to run. I can’t. I can’t seem to get my legs to move faster than the snail’s pace Oleander has set for us. Tirigan turns his head slightly so he can hear our conversation, his anxiety rising steadily. It’s not quite the blaring siren mine seems to be approaching, but it’s getting there.
When I don’t respond, Oleander keeps going, his deep voice low enough not to be easily overheard.
“The way I grew up, I never had anyone to teach me how to cast Eidikos’ either. It wasn’t until I met Avias and then later moved in with his family, that I got a good education on my element.”
Oh.
Oh.
I hope the huge sigh of relief wasn’t as audible as it seemed to be.
“Really?” I question, trying to hide my enthusiasm at our topic. A really good excuse for not having Eidikos stones was basically just dumped in my lap, and I can’t help but be thrilled by it.
“Yeah,” Oleander says back, smiling gently. “It’s all right, you know? We’ll help you guys get up to speed. It’s not a problem.”
“Oh, um, thank you,” I reply, genuinely grateful for his offer. Tirigan and I will need to be sure we actually can cast into any of the stones before we start practicing in front of other people. It’ll be incredibly suspicious if we can’t even do a simple cast. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Are you kidding?” Oleander laughs. “Avias will probably jump for joy when he learns you need help. He loves showing off. Of course, he probably thinks of it as ‘educating,’ but we all know the truth.”
I laugh with him, and Tirigan chuckles quietly ahead of us.
“You know, you’re not exactly out of hearing range, Oleander,” Avias says, not looking back at us.
“My mistake, Avias.” Oleander holds his hands up in defense, but continues to wear a mischievous smile.
Avias mumbles something quietly to Tirigan, whose eyebrows rise quickly before he’s barking out a sound I’ve never heard before. It’s a lot higher pitched than his usual laugh, and his whole body doubles over as it escapes. I kick up some dirt between us, while Oleander gives me an amused, but questioning glance.
No joke in the world is worth all of that.
As I keep trying to tell you Charlie, you’re not that funny.
Oh, and Avias is? You don’t even know him.
Tirigan shifts slightly as we approach Vi’s booth, dropping back behind Avias and coming to his other side so I can step in next to him.
You don’t have to know someone very well to think their joke is funny.
Well, what was the joke?
If he’d wanted you to hear it, he would have said it louder.
I scoff out loud and frown at Tirigan, shaking my head. Tirigan is unaffected by my annoyance, as he usually is. He follows Avias’ lead to Vi’s booth just as a woman leaves with a new bracelet around her wrist.
“Well? What’d you bring back?” Vi asks, dropping a few stones in a box under the counter.
Avias reaches into his bag, pulling out one of the green stones he just traded. “For you,” he says, handing the stone to her.
“What’s this?”
“A biotin infuser,” Avias replies. “I know you’ve been worrying about your skin getting too-”
“Oh, you silly boy!” Vi turns the stone over in her hand, grinning. “Who taught you to be so thoughtful, huh? Can’t be havin' that, can we?”
I can’t help but feel enamored with their dynamic. It reminds me a lot of how my mother and I interact, playful and loving at the same time. My heart hurts thinking about her.
“I was able to get the man to throw me a few extras, just by asking for too much,” Oleander calls to Kor. He’s folding scarves and placing them into a box. “Sucker.”
Kor nods in approval. “Ah, well done, Oleander. You’ve come
so far.” He gives Bo a pointed look and gestures towards Vi. “And you, Bo? What gruesome, death-inducing stone did you purchase?”
“Oh, don’t add fuel to Mum’s ridiculous fire,” Bo shoots back, shaking her head. She places her traded stones on the counter and pushes them towards her mother. “Just a bit of flight. I promise.”
Vi picks up the stones and inspects them. “Avias could have cast these for you.”
“His flight Eidikos’ don’t last more than a few seconds. These will last longer.”
“Excuse you,” Avias balks, no real threat in his voice.
Bo sends him a leveling stare. “Are you going to argue?”
“Well, no,” he replies, disgruntled. “But was there really a need to broadcast my shortcomings like that?”
“Yes.” Bo’s voice is flat, and she turns back to Vi when Avias shoots her a dirty look. “Have many of my cuffs sold?”
“Yes, they’re doing well,” Vi answers proudly. “At least when I can keep them off of Robin long enough to get them on the table.”
I follow Vi’s gaze to the little boy. He’s dancing behind the booth in the sunlight, waving around scarves with arms covered in bracelets.
“Ugh, that little twerp,” Bo gripes, heading to the back of the booth to deal with her little brother. He runs off, shrieking wildly as Bo chases after him. The rest of the group laughs at the scene, and even Tirigan has a small hint of a smile on his lips, but I can’t manage to join them.
It would be too easy to let all of the fear and uncertainty go and just assimilate myself into this family. So far, they’re proving to be a wonderful group of people and watching a scene like this, where everyone is joking around and happily teasing one another, it’s reminiscent of the life Tirigan and I lived with John and Calla. It’s painful to watch this family live so happily while our family is so broken.
We don’t know if Calla is alive. We don’t know if Kor can help us find her. We don’t even know if we’ll ever see our father again. We can’t be sure of anything.
This family’s story is so different from ours. There is no looming threat to expose them for half-breeds. There is no plot to separate parents from children. They don’t have to hide who they are from anyone, and they have so much trust they are willing to accept complete strangers into their homes. They aren’t victims of their parent’s deceitfulness. Their story isn’t sensational or dangerous. No. Their story is completely normal.
I’ve never felt so jealous in my life.
Bo finally catches up to her little brother and wrestles him to the ground, taking the bracelets off his arm as she does. As much as I wish I could trade lives with Bo right now, hoping for it won’t make it true. That is not my life or my story, and this is not my family.
I let out a shaky, unhappy sigh. Everyone else is distracted by Bo and Robin or with conversations of their own. No one notices how upset I am amidst this happy scene.
The isolating moment makes me aware of something else, too. I’m starting to feel more like the villain of this story instead of the victim.
◆◆◆
We spend the rest of the day watching matches, listening to Kor’s band a second time, and buying more clothes for Tirigan and I to bring back to Pacoa with us. I manage to sneak away for a few minutes to buy a variety of blank stones so Tirigan and I can practice casting into them, and we also pick up advanced books on each of our public elements.
Today’s matches were no less interesting than the ones we had seen so far. Téssera with impeccable control over their elements battled it out for five minutes at a time, ending in a winner by submission or a draw. The ties were just as exciting as the matches with winners, because it usually occurred when the battling Téssera were equally matched.
There was a Fotián who could ignite a ring of fire around the girl he battled, just close enough to her body to make her clothes smoke. The girl, while not able to put out the fire, invoked the earth element and built a wall out of dirt between them, blocking the Fotián’s line of sight. He couldn’t keep his fire ring burning, and the match ended in a draw.
One of the most impressive wins involved a Néroian just putting her hand up and twisting it slightly while her opponent, an Aérasian, started coughing up water, her eyes practically bugging out of her head. The Aérasian yielded immediately, and the Néroian twisted her hand back. The Aérasian started to breathe normally again after a vicious coughing spell. It was frightening, but our friends assured us how absolute the yielding rule is. If someone yields, the opponent must remove the cast immediately. If someone doesn’t have the power to counteract a cast, then they should yield. Knowing your limits and your own powers seems to be crucial in this sport.
By the time we make it back to the campsite at the end of the day, the small children are already asleep in their tents. Oleander, Avias, and Bo make a case to move our tent onto their campsite, so as to save time in the morning when we have to catch the train. Tirigan and I agree to do so, but only after a minor telepathic argument where I promise not to let my nightmares burn the campsite down. I still don’t see how I’m supposed to control that, but I’m counting on Tirigan waking me up before anything serious happens again.
Everyone chats around the fire for a while after we set our tent up, until slowly people start trickling off to bed. Tirigan was practically already asleep when he left a few moments ago, and I almost followed him, but I didn’t want to miss the chance to talk to Kor.
Eventually, it’s just me, Avias, and Kor, our faces illuminated by the fire and my heart thudding in my chest. I can hear Oleander snoring from his and Avias’ tent while Avias throws imaginary daggers at the source of the sound.
“So, um,” I start awkwardly, looking to the older man over the flames. “You still live in the town where you and my mother grew up?” It doesn’t sound smooth or even remotely casual, but I don’t really care. Kor has to know that I want to learn about my mother, considering he thinks she died when I was too young to really know her.
“Yep. After picking up a wife and a couple kids, and making a few of my own, I decided to bring them back home. My father was ill, and we needed to get out of New Cardiff anyway.” Kor shrugs, his expression obviously holding back something else. “It’s been good for them, though. Some of the offspring were getting to be a bit snobby.” He nods his head in Avias’ direction and Avias sighs before replying.
“Subtlety is not your forte.”
“Never claimed it to be.” Kor flashes him a smile.
“So, Avias and Bo... you aren’t...” I lead him, not sure if I understood his words correctly.
“No, he isn’t our biological father,” Avias cuts in. “No, our father was a horrible excuse for a man. My mother left him when I was about Robin’s age.”
“Oh,” I say back awkwardly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s no bother.” Avias shrugs. “Bo and I are certainly better off now than we would have been had our mother stayed with the tosser.”
“Aw, so sweet,” Kor says with a smile. “Sing my praises, why don’t you?”
Avias and I share a laugh.
“So, when did you go to New Cardiff?” I ask Kor, wondering how I can bring this conversation back to Pacoa and Calla. I’m also wondering where in the world New Cardiff is. I make a mental note to find a map of the northern hemisphere as soon as possible.
“After I took my collective assessment. About a year after your mother... left.” The pause is pregnant, like he intended to say one thing but went with another instead. “They sent me there to work with the Eastern High Coven’s solar energy research team. I met Vi at a gala the High Coven throws every year. She was there on her ex-husbands arm, and I made it my duty to befriend her. She looked like she needed a friend.”
“That’s good of you,” I reply back. “How long did you know each other before you got together?”
“A couple years,” Kor answers. “We really were friends first. I was privy to the way her ex trea
ted her and her children. One day, she admitted she wanted out, and I helped her accomplish that. We stayed friends and then, after a while, we weren’t just friends anymore.”
“I’m glad it worked out for you both,” I sigh, turning my gaze to Avias. He’s poking the fire with a long stick. “Oleander mentioned that the High Coven didn’t want you to go back to Pacoa. Why is that?”
Avias jumps in. “He was their best. He was supposed to just train and bring back his knowledge to the states, but then they wanted to keep him for themselves.” His smile has a proud glint to it.
“But I couldn’t be bought,” Kor replies as he stands. “I’m absolutely sick with righteousness.” I feel panicky as Kor stretches, obviously intending to go to bed. There’s more I want to ask, more I want to know. “I’m off, children. Don’t let the tents burn down.” He says into his yawn, and then turns away.
“Goodnight,” I manage to get out, disappointment coating the word. Kor stops in his tracks and after a moment’s pause, turns back around.
“I know you have a lot question for me, Charlie. I’m happy to answer them, but I think those conversations are going to take longer than a fireside chit-chat, don’t you agree?” I nod, because he’s right. I don’t want hasty answers, and I want time to come up with the right questions. There is no rush tonight; we’re going home with them tomorrow. “Okay, good. Goodnight,” Kor says again, turning around and heading for his tent. “If one of you manage to get Ollie to shut up tonight, I’ll let you sit and mock everyone else while we clean up the campsite tomorrow morning.”
“My best silencer cast only lasts ten minutes,” Avias replies to his father’s back. “You can silence him much easier than I can.”
Kor stops again, his back still facing us. He turns his head in the direction of Avias and Oleander’s tent then waves his hand in the air. The snoring stops.
“I’ve bought you half an hour. I’d recommend trying to fall asleep before times up. And be prepared for the morning mockery.”
Avias lets out an appreciative sigh. “Yes, fine. Thank you, father.”