by Chant, Zoe
“There’s more of them,” Callan said. “A lot more.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. The more Euan looked, the more alicorns he saw, sailing across the sky with impossible grace and beauty. He assumed they were Tassos and Aleta’s allies – the ones who’d been rounding up the rogue alicorns while Tassos and Aleta themselves had been explaining what the hell had been going on.
They converged above the ferry, swirling in the air on their angel wings. They seemed to be communicating with each other, Euan guessed, from the way their heads tossed and bowed.
“What’re they going to do?” he asked, not really thinking anyone would answer.
“I wish I knew,” Delilah replied, her voice sounding a little awe-struck as she watched them. “Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to give up my alicorn powers. Then perhaps I could have eavesdropped.”
Whatever the alicorns were discussing, it didn’t take them too long to come to a decision. In a flurry of feathers and luminescence, they began to spread out across the night sky. The lead alicorn – Euan thought it might be Tassos, but he couldn’t be sure – gave a final toss of its head, and then, a warm, golden glow began to emanate from the alicorns’ horns, spreading out across the sky.
“Wait – I understand. They’re using their powers to make everyone forget what they saw,” Hector said, sounding as if he didn’t quite like the idea. “They’re removing the monster from the memories of the people in the city.”
Euan frowned – of course they were. It seemed obvious now. But he had to agree with Hector – he wasn’t quite sure he liked the idea of the alicorns erasing people’s memories of the creature like that. It seemed… manipulative. He wished Tassos and Aleta had told them first what they’d been planning – but nothing he’d seen of them had made him think they were the kind to consult with others before making a decision, especially anyone who wasn’t an alicorn.
There’s not a lot I can do now, he thought grimly, looking up. The blanket of golden light had descended over the city skyline, drifting down over the buildings before dissipating into the darkness. Slowly, the alicorns broke from the line formation they had taken up, their wings flapping slowly, as if they were tired.
Alicorn powers take a lot of energy to use, Euan remembered. Even older, more experienced alicorns find them draining.
Two of the alicorns dropped down onto the deck in front of them, quickly taking the shape of Tassos and Aleta. Just as Euan had suspected they would, they looked pale and drawn, as if casting their spell had used up a great deal of their energy.
“It is done,” Tassos all but gasped, as he swayed slightly on his feet. “No human in the city will have any memory of what they have witnessed this night.”
“No human?” Euan asked.
“Erasing the memories of shifters is… much harder,” Aleta explained. “And besides, we wouldn’t want to accidentally erase any other knowledge about shifters, or who they are. We have left the memories of any shifters in the city completely intact. They will remember what they saw – I hope they can be trusted to keep the secret.”
“I wish you’d asked us before you did this,” Hector said, sounding grim. “Making a decision like that without –”
“If you have a better suggestion as to how we could ensure the beast’s safety – and the humans’ – then I’d like to hear it,” Aleta said haughtily. “What else could we have done? You know this was the only way. The beast is the only one of its kind left in the world. Would you endanger it for the sake of your conscience?”
Euan didn’t like it, but he had to admit – he wasn’t certain he could think of another way. Perhaps Tassos and Aleta had been overbearing and rude about it, but unfortunately, they were also at least somewhat right.
“Fine,” Hector admitted, a little grudgingly. “But what do they think happened to the Opera House then? It just did that?”
“We have suggested to them that it was the work of a freak weather occurrence,” Tassos said.
Behind him, Euan could hear Trent murmuring, “Oh my God, that was totally my idea!”
“We must be off – we must take Lev and Alisa back to face justice,” Aleta said. But then, she hesitated. “There is just one more thing we wish to know.”
“What’s that?” Hector asked.
“The child – Ruby,” Tassos said. “Is she well? She expressed her strong desire to remain with you when we last saw her. Against our better judgment, we allowed it. But we have been able to sense her happiness, even from where we have hidden ourselves. Is she well?”
“…Yes,” Hector said, sounding mildly surprised. “If you sensed her happiness, then surely you’d know that?”
“Sometimes I wonder if it was wishful thinking on our part,” Tassos said. “We hoped it was true. She is alone here – but we know she is being well cared for. We must thank you for that.”
“It’s no problem,” Hector said, still looking and sounding as if he was surprised. “She’s… well, she’s Ruby. There’s no other word I can use to describe her. She’s one in a million. One in infinity. I’ve never felt luckier in my life than when I’m spending time with her and Myrtle.”
“Ahh yes, Myrtle. I hope she is also well,” Tassos said. “She is another exceptional human woman.”
His eyes drifted to Delilah, and Euan was almost overcome with the desire to put his hand on Delilah’s shoulder, while telling Tassos And don’t you forget it – but in the end, he was able to confine himself to just putting his hand on Delilah’s shoulder.
“We will go now. We have a long journey, and not much time or energy to make it on,” Aleta said. “Goodbye. Until, perhaps, the next time we meet.”
Together, Tassos and Aleta shifted back into their alicorn forms and took to the sky – this time a little unsteadily, and without so much grace. Euan watched them until they disappeared into the night sky, and then let out a long, deep breath. Perhaps Tassos and Aleta had helped to save them – but he had to admit, he was kind of glad to see the back of them.
“Well. I suppose we should get back to dry land, and see if what they told us about erasing everyone’s memory is really true,” Callan said after a long moment of silence.
“Yeah,” Trent said. “I cannot believe they stole my idea about saying it was a freak weather occurrence.”
“I can’t believe they wanted to,” Hector shot back.
“Well, this is going to take a little… processing,” Delilah said, as Euan eased her down onto a bench, while Trent headed to the bridge to take the ferry back to the quay. “I mean… my God. What have I seen? What have I done?”
“I know,” Euan said. And he agreed with her. There were so many things he knew he’d have to sort through – and a very, very long report to write.
He had his lion back. Quickly, he checked it was still there, not quite daring to believe he’d find it when he looked for it – but there it was, quiet and complacent in the knowledge that their mate was safe.
What else do we need to know? it asked him, sensing his confusion. What else do we need to know, aside from that our mate is safe, and by our side? What else could possibly be important compared to that?
And for now, Euan thought as he felt Delilah’s warmth by his side, he was forced to agree with it.
The ferry chugged through the night, before Trent began pulling it up alongside the quay. Euan could only assume the silence meant the others were lost in their own thoughts about where to go from here, and what to do with the knowledge that, even for shifters, there were things in the world they couldn’t explain, and didn’t understand.
“Aw, man,” Rhys suddenly said from where he stood by the railing. He raised his hands to his head, shaking it. “I totally didn’t get to use my harpoon gun.”
Chapter 19
“Experts say it was a freak weather occurrence, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in hundreds of years, that was responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of damage to the iconic Sydney Opera House, and the sinki
ng of one luxury yacht worth twenty-three million dollars. While this price tag may seem high, authorities say with the number of boats moored around the quay things could have been even worse for the –”
Ugh.
Sitting in the Agency break room, Delilah quickly switched off the morning news report. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Tassos, Aleta and their alicorn friends having used their powers to erase almost all memory of the truth of what had happened a few days earlier.
She didn’t like having this much responsibility. In some ways, she kind of wished her own memories had been erased as well – though in others, she knew she’d always be grateful that she still had them.
She’d never considered before that she might empathize with a giant water monster – but then, there was pretty much nothing about this situation she’d ever considered before.
And really, what other solution was there?
As much as it sat uncomfortably in her gut, Delilah knew that if the people of Sydney had known about the monster, there was no way it would ever be allowed to rest. People would demand it be hunted down, searched for, and destroyed.
The thought sent a shudder through her. Having seen into its mind, seen its pain and confusion, she knew she never could have lived with that. But no one would have listened to her – they would’ve just called her crazy.
And maybe they would’ve been right, Delilah thought with a sigh, standing up and leaving the break room.
Never mind trying to explain the giant water creature didn’t mean them any harm – they’d call her crazy if she tried to describe the scene in front of her now!
Delilah smiled as she looked at it. Rosie was sitting at one of the conference tables, her legs swinging in the too-high chair, her head bent down over the piece of paper in front of her, a light blue pencil in her hand, her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth in concentration.
On the table in front of her, Ruby was prancing up and down, her hooves tapping on the table, her tail and mane swishing proudly.
“Ruby, you have to keep still,” Rosie told her after a moment. “How can I draw you if you keep jumping around?”
“Meee-eeh!” Ruby said – but she sounded a little sorry, and she did stop capering across the table with quite so much enthusiasm.
“How’s things going in here, you two?” Delilah asked, coming to stand by Rosie’s side.
Rosie sighed heavily. “It’s okay. Ruby won’t keep still, but I think it’s coming out all right. Not as good as the horse you drew for Emma at her party, though.”
“Well, we’ll see about that,” Delilah said. “May I see it?”
Rosie leaned back, showing Delilah the paper in front of her. Since Ruby’s coat was a snowy, silvery white, Rosie had drawn her in light blue and gray, rearing up on her back legs, her delicately feathered wings spread wide. Her horn shone, her tail and mane swept back elegantly. It captured Ruby’s spirit perfectly.
“Well, I think it looks beautiful,” Delilah said. “And I’m sure Emma will love it – it’ll have pride of place in her collection.”
“I didn’t get her anything for her birthday,” Rosie said, subdued. “I should have, but I didn’t think of it. I thought the party was enough, and she wouldn’t want anything from me. But when she said she was going to start collecting pictures of unicorns and things, I thought I could draw her one, just for her. So it’d be all special.”
“It’s a beautiful gift, Rosie-posy,” Delilah said, meaning it. “I’m sure she’ll love it. As you said, it’s a special one, just for her. You made it with her in mind.” Delilah grinned, looking up at Ruby. “And you had a very special model.”
“Mee-eeh!” Ruby tossed her head as if in agreeance.
“And you’re lucky – this model only needs to get paid in pureed apple,” Delilah said, laughing.
She hadn’t been sure how many other memories Tassos and Aleta might have erased, along with all knowledge of the water creature. The thought that Rosie might not remember Ruby after she’d been so enchanted with her had hurt her heart, but she knew she didn’t have much choice but to accept it if that’s what had happened. But then, yesterday afternoon when she’d been eating gelati with Rosie after work, her niece had looked up at her and hesitantly asked, Aunty Dela, do you think I could meet up with Ruby again? and Delilah had almost dropped her spoon in surprise and delight.
“Anyway, if you’re all done, it’s time to get you back to your mum’s,” Delilah said. “So put whatever finishing touches on it you need, and then we should get out of here.”
Rosie nodded. “Okay. I just need a minute.”
She took a pink pencil, and began carefully writing To Emma – Happy Birthday!!!!! across the top of the page. Smiling, Delilah left her to it.
Euan was waiting for her when she left the meeting room, arms crossed over his chest. Delilah’s heart flooded with warmth as she looked at him – of course, he’d been the one she’d spoken to first about whether Rosie could see Ruby again, and Euan had spoken to Hector about bringing Ruby into the office.
“Thanks so much for talking Hector into this,” Delilah said, wrapping her arms lightly around Euan’s waist, watching Rosie as she put the finishing touches on her picture as Ruby danced on the table in front of her. “It really means a lot, both to me and to Rosie.”
“It was no problem,” Euan told her. “He didn’t need much convincing. I think he’d like for Ruby to have a few friends, though obviously it’s hard for her, the way things are. It’s not easy finding people you have things in common with when you’re a baby alicorn who has to be… well, mostly a secret, I guess.”
Delilah laughed softly. “I think Rosie understands the importance of secrets,” she said, thinking back to how hurt Rosie had been when her friend Amanda had shared around the secret she’d told her. “Anyway, I think she’s grateful to have Ruby as a friend too. She’s a quiet kid – maybe Ruby is a good kind of friend for her right now.”
They looked up as they heard Rosie laughing from inside the meeting room, and saw Ruby flittering about the room before landing on a light fitting, prancing up and down and sending dust scattering down over the room.
“Hm. We should probably clean up there,” Euan remarked. He looked back down at Delilah. “It’s not really my business I guess, but how’d things go with Jenny?”
“She and Rosie had a long talk, I think,” Delilah said. “Obviously running off like that was something Rosie never should have done, and I’m sure she knows that. But I think Jenny understands now that Rosie needs her own space. She’s not an extravert like Jenny and Emma are, so she needs a break from those kinds of big parties Jenny loves. So I think they understand each other a little better now, and Jenny won’t be quite so insistent Rosie’s there for every minute of every event. And she won’t try to make Rosie pose for pics on her blog if she doesn’t want to. And Rosie, in turn, will tell Jenny when she feels crowded, instead of disappearing into the ether and giving everyone a heart attack.”
Euan nodded. “Sounds good. And Rosie has you to back her up if she feels like she can’t say what she wants to say.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” Delilah said softly. She remembered being a shy, awkward adolescent herself, with a lot of thoughts but no words to express them. It’d always been easier in the end to let Jenny talk her into all sorts of stuff she didn’t really want to do, like the dance performance, or having a big party on her sixteenth birthday so Jenny could organize it, or doing little plays and things for their parents and their friends.
Later, once she’d been older, Delilah had known what to say to tell Jenny she preferred to stay in her room and paint than go out to a party or event, or to the shopping center to look at boys. But when she’d been twelve, she’d had no chance.
Hopefully Rosie will feel more like she can speak up for herself, Delilah thought as she watched Rosie carefully folding her drawing. And I think Jenny is a little more inclined to listen.
Rosie emerged from t
he meeting room, her drawing in one hand, and Ruby perched on her other arm, silvery eyes alert, tail swishing.
“Mee-eeh?” she said, in a tone of inquiry.
“I think someone heard me say the magic words of pureed apple,” Delilah said, laughing. “Come on – let’s get Ruby back to her dad, and drive Rosie home. You have a gift to give to your sister, after all.”
* * *
“Oh, Delilah! Euan! Come on in!” Jenny said, her million-megawatt smile meeting them as she opened her front door. “Did you have a nice afternoon with your aunty, Rosie?”
Rosie nodded happily. “Yeah. I got my present done.”
“Well, that’s gorgeous,” Jenny told her as she led the three of them inside. “I’d like to see it, but I think Emma should be the first person you show it to – she’s just in the garden with Jasper and Genevieve. How about you go give it to her now?”
Rosie smiled, before skipping her way through the house and out to the massive sliding glass doors that led to Jenny’s yard – through them, Delilah could see Emma playing on the lawn with Jasper, the Labrador, and Genevieve, Emma and Rosie’s au pair. Rosie joined them after a moment, making all three of them sit on the grass in front of her before she revealed her present to Emma. If Emma’s reaction – jumping up and clapping her hands together – was any indication, she absolutely loved it.
“I need to thank you again for finding her,” Jenny said as she watched them through the doors. “I never thought she’d do anything like that.” She paused, shaking her head. “No, I didn’t realize I’d upset her so much. I just thought… well, you know, to me, parties are so fun. I thought she was just sulking in her room.”
“Well, if you ever want some insight, I can do my best,” Delilah said. “I can’t promise I can explain a teenager’s feelings, but I remember how I felt at parties sometimes and how I just wanted to get away. But she shouldn’t have run off.”
Jenny sighed. “No, but I suppose I could have tried harder to listen to her. I’ll do my best – it just seems so weird to me. Who doesn’t love a party?”