Symbiosis (Scintillate Series Book 2)

by Karen Tjebben

  Me? “What do you mean?”

  Zoe brought her eyebrows together and then relaxed them. “Griffins are protectors of the innocent. They are guardians. It’s just doing its job. Don’t get in the way.” She pulled on my arm again and pried me from my observation spot.

  “Wait. We’re not even going to see what happens?”

  “It’ll either rip those two apart, or they’ll run with their snake tails between their legs. Either way it’s a win for us.”

  The griffin bellowed so loudly that I had to cover my ears. It rose up on its hind feet and captured one of the cerberi in its talons. Its wings enclosed around the cerberus’s body. A yelp filled the air and then suddenly stopped as the griffin’s beak disappeared behind its wings. As the griffin moved its head back in our direction, the cerberus’s head flew through the air like a bloody basketball. The other cerberus raced off into the woods.

  The griffin turned toward us and dropped the dead cerberus’s body on the ground before us, like a cat that leaves a mouse as a gift. The beautiful white feathered neck of the griffin was splattered with blood, and where the cerberus’s headless body had gushed blood, the griffin’s magnificent golden coat was now rust-colored. The griffin beat its wings and created a breeze that sent the stench of sulfuric blood in our direction. The griffin bobbed its head, and then took off with a gentle squawk.

  “Wow,” I whispered, amazed at the speed at which the griffin killed the cerberus.

  “Wow?” Zoe looked at me and then the headless cerberus at our feet. “That’s not what Nick or Alex is going to say.” She slowly drew her fingers across her forehead. “I guess we have to tell them. Seeing a griffin is a big deal. We can’t pretend this didn’t happen because the next time you see a griffin, they’ll know it’s not your first time. Then we’ll have problems.”

  “What’s the big deal?”

  “I wasn’t here with you when you were attacked. That’s the big deal.”

  “Pfft, you’re right.” I stared at the cerberus. The long, lean body still looked dangerous. The sharp claws could easily slice through flesh. “Let’s leave that part out. They leave plenty out when they deal with me and it has to do with my life. I don’t feel bad for not telling them the whole truth. They do that to me every day.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “The way they look at me. First, they still talk in code to each other. Second, Alex still thinks he has a chance with me. Third, Nick is trying to protect Alex’s feelings, like he’s trying to give Alex time to accept our relationship. What’s that about?” I grimaced. “They hide so much from me that I don’t even know where to begin.” Plus I’m dreaming about Nick, Alex, and Sarah, which I’m definitely keeping a secret. If they knew about those dreams, there would truly be an uproar in our little angelic family. “Every girl needs her secrets.”

  “Okay,” Zoe agreed. “We’ll tell them about the griffin and the cerberi fighting, but I was with you the whole time. We were never separated.”

  “Agreed. We were running, attacked by cerberi, and then rescued by a griffin.”

  “Perfect. And Kate… don’t run off again.”

  I nodded my head and rolled my eyes. For someone who was supposedly super powerful, I sure didn’t have much authority over the decisions in my life.

  “Come on. Let’s go home,” Zoe said.

  “Do we need to do anything with this?” I pointed to the cerberus’s dead body.

  “No. Scavengers will take care of it.” She brushed the toe of her shoe through the dirt. “You’d be surprised how quickly they can dispose of a body.”

  “Oh. What about the bones?”

  Zoe smiled and took a deep breath. “Osotos take care of the bones.”

  “Osotos?”

  Her cheeks brightened as she laughed. “You’re probably going to think it’s gross, but they’re actually pretty cute.”

  “Oh no.” I shook my head.

  “An osoto is a little mammal, about the size of a cat. They travel in packs. When they stumble upon bones, they regurgitate on them in order to break the bone down. Then they eat the softened bone. Their bodies take the nutrients and minerals from the bone and absorb it into their own bodies. It’s actually a cool way to recycle and keep the environment clean.”

  I burst out laughing. “You can share that nugget of wisdom tomorrow in biology. Please tell me that they at least wait until the creature is dead before they begin barfing all over it. I don’t want to be passed out and have some overly-zealous, neat-freak osotos barf all over me and start consuming my body.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. The flesh has usually been picked over by vultures by the time osotos are interested in it.”

  “Good to know.” I took a final look at the cerberus, glad it was his body and not mine that was going to be picked over by vultures and then eaten by cute, little osotos.

  We ran back through the woods. It felt good to go so fast. The air breezed over my skin and cooled me before I could work up a sweat. We made it back to the portal in no time.

  “I want to try to go back by myself,” I said. “I think I can do it.”

  “Go for it.” Zoe extended her hand towards the portal.

  I inhaled and focused on the shimmering beads of energy floating before me. I stepped through them and back into my regular dimension. Jordan Lake reflected the clouds and regular loblolly pine trees surrounded the lake. The intense beauty of the other dimension was gone.

  Zoe stepped up beside me. “Congratulations. You did it by yourself.”

  “My powers are growing.”

  “For sure. You outran me earlier, or was that lost on you?” Zoe eyed me suspiciously.

  I smiled, delighted she’d confirmed what I’d already hoped to be true. “I wasn’t sure.” I shrugged. “I guess I’m fast.”

  “Fast is an understatement.”

  11. Aftermath

  My toothbrush flew into my hands. Telekinesis rocks! A girl could get used to this. I gripped the handle and pressed the button. While the toothbrush hummed, I flipped my hand towards the laundry basket and my dirty clothes flew up from the floor and sailed into the basket. Talk about multitasking. I spit and wiped my mouth as I looked around for something else to levitate. Having this kind of power in a flick of the wrist was addictive. The wash cloth sailed around the basin to clean away the grime and then levitated to the bathtub to dry.

  I stopped short as I entered my bedroom. Alex sat on the chair beside my bed. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I heard about today.” Alex stood up and stepped closer to me. “Zoe told me about the griffin.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty amazing.” What else did she say? How much should I say?

  “So, tell me about it.” Alex brushed his hand along the side of my arm. Was he trying to distract me with his touch? “I want to hear what you thought,” he said.

  I think you’re trying to get information out of me because you don’t trust Zoe’s intel. “The griffin was magnificent… and scary.” I swallowed hard as I tried to decide how much to say. “We really didn’t stick around long to see it.”

  “But you saw it kill the cerberus.” Peace flowed from Alex as his fingers wrapped around my hand and he led me towards the bed. Was he trying to manipulate me? Get me to tell him the truth? “How do you feel about that? You’re not really used to all this death.”

  “Hmm. That’s true.” I bit into my lower lip as I looked at the way our fingers entwined. How many times had his fingers entwined with Sarah’s? The back of my knees hit the mattress and I plopped onto my bed. “I don’t know.” I looked into Alex’s eyes and remembered how he’d looked at Sarah in my dreams, so lovingly. Now he seemed to stare into my eyes, searching for some clue. “I guess I was relieved when the griffin showed up. Part of me felt guilty for running away, leaving the griffin to fight my battle, but another part of me was glad I could get to safety.” It was starting to feel too warm in here and I didn’t want him to
feel my sweaty hands. I pulled my hands free from his grasp and rubbed my palms across my legs. I folded my legs so that I sat on my feet. “When I saw the cerberus’s head fly through the air, I was glad. I was happy that I wouldn’t be attacked by it again. You know, one less bad guy to kill a good guy.”

  Alex nodded. His lips formed the tiniest smile. “I understand completely. Pretty soon you won’t have to run. You won’t have to rely on others to save you. You’ll actually be saving them.” Alex gripped my knee and squeezed. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered at his touch. Why did he have to be so appealing and understanding? “You’re lucky the griffin showed up.” His voice was smooth and deep. “She could probably fight off one cerberus but two is harder. One distracts while the other attacks.”

  “Alex, it really wasn’t a big deal.” This was my fault. I convinced her to take me to the other side and then I ran away.

  “Really? Is that why a griffin showed up? I’m not naïve. Zoe tried to play it off as if she was with you the whole time, but I know better. You ran off again, didn’t you?”

  I sat frozen on the bed. He’d see right through a lie, so I said nothing.

  “Kate,” Alex leaned closer, “you have to be careful. You’re still vulnerable. Running away… taking off your necklace.” Alex’s fingers left a warm trail on my skin as he traced the chain around my neck. “You’re too precious to put yourself in danger.”

  I pushed his hand away from my necklace. “Don’t be mad,” I whispered. Alex wound his fingers around my hand. I couldn’t pull away from him. His patience and compassion continued to win me over. I tried to control myself around him, but I couldn’t. The pull was too strong. My heart raced as I thought about him and Sarah. The curiosity was killing me. What happened to her? Maybe that was why he was always so concerned about me. Maybe he was hyper-vigilant because he knew Asteri could die. Maybe the burden of one death was all he could bear.

  “Mad isn’t the right word,” Alex said softly. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

  “Nothing is going to happen to me.”

  “That’s the plan.” Alex pulled a black bead chain from under his shirt and lifted it over his head. In his palm he cradled a small, hooked-shaped knife. “This is for you.” He pulled the blade out of the sheath.

  I took the knife and slipped my fingers into the rectangular finger space and gripped the handle with my thumb.

  “It’s called a Talon. See how it’s shaped. It’s short, curved, and very dangerous. That knife is almost impossible to drop. See how your hand fits into the handle. It almost becomes one with your body.”

  “Yeah.” Once I slipped my fingers into the open space around the handle, the blade almost felt like an extension of my hand.

  “That design makes it almost impossible to drop it, even when it gets wet,” he added.

  “Wet?”

  Alex’s forehead wrinkled, and then he relaxed. “Sometimes things get messy.”

  Messy… blood. The overhead light glinted off the razor-sharp edge. Was this for real? Was Alex arming me? I’d never carried weapons before. Dad had taken us to firing ranges. He thought we should know how to fire handguns, but I didn’t carry a weapon. How did this happen? How did I transition from levitating scarves and toothbrushes to carrying weapons? I pressed my fingertip against the sharp point of the knife until my skin discolored under the pressure.

  “Be careful.” Alex handed me the sheath. “There’s a clip on the sheath. You can attach it to your clothes or wear it around your neck.” He held up the black bead chain. “It’s a breakaway chain, in case it gets caught on something. You don’t need to worry about getting strangled with it.”

  Strangled? That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. “Does Zoe wear one of these?”

  “We all do. They’re light, easily concealable and accessible. You’ll need to practice retrieving it from the sheath at different locations on your body. Zoe keeps hers tucked under her bra.”

  “I can’t wear this to school. What happens if I get caught with it?”

  “Don’t wear it anywhere you aren’t supposed to have weapons. You’re not ready for that. You don’t have the skills to get past the detectors or brainwash the people who might catch you. But you should wear it when you go to the other side or run around the lake. You don’t know when you’ll need it.”

  I slipped the Talon back into the sheath. “What are these for?” I asked as my fingers grazed over the smooth rivets along the edge of the sheath.

  “Use them to attach the Talon to your clothes. You don’t have to rely on the clip.” Alex pointed to the clip on the sheath. “This really is a practical knife for you. It should get your started.”

  “Great.” I sighed and turned the knife over in my hands. It weighed almost nothing, but in some ways the weight was suffocating. It altered my world. This knife transitioned me from being a fledgling protected by others to one who was responsible for herself. “Alex, I don’t even know how to use a knife.”

  “Obviously the down side is your attacker will be close, but it will buy you some time. You jab, slice, and poke. Just aim for points of weakness, like the eyes or throat. Go for veins or arteries. Just inflict as much damage as possible.”

  “Inflict damage,” I repeated softly.

  “You need to be prepared next time. You won’t always have someone there to protect you.”

  I chuckled softly as I ran my fingers along the black breakaway chain.

  “What’s so funny?” Alex asked.

  “A few months ago I had no worries,” I said with a shrug. “Now I have to carry weapons for protection. It’s just surreal. Being an Asteri is incredible, but it’s also terrifying.”

  Alex slowly nodded. “No worries. Pretty soon everything will make sense and the fear will subside.” He placed his hand on mine.

  “Really? The fear goes away?”

  “It doesn’t go away, but it changes,” he said. “You use it to your advantage. The fear becomes your ally. You turn it into the need for justice, a desire to right the wrongs, to punish evil.”

  Was that what I felt the day I threw the Dolum off of me? Was my fear my ally, or was it something else inside of me that gave me the power to save myself? I pulled my hand free of Alex’s grasp and said, “You should go. It’s getting late.”

  “You’re right.” Alex stood and opened the window. Cold air flooded the room. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams,” he said, and he stepped onto the roof of the screened porch.

  “Good night,” I said. I shut the window and locked it. He swiped his hand over the sensor, rearming the alarm. I inhaled deeply and slipped the Talon around my neck. Now I wore two pieces of armament: my necklace, which cloaked my scintillating glow, and my Talon, which would help fight off predators. Hopefully I wouldn’t need to use the Talon.

  I turned off the bedroom light and slipped under the covers. Dreams soon found me.

  12. Stained

  The breeze toyed with Sarah’s hair. She skillfully laced up her bodice as her eyes remained fixed on Alex. He lay on the tiger skin with one arm behind his head and one hand on his stomach. “You should get up,” she said.

  “The night is still young,” Alex replied. “I am enjoying myself right here.” He winked and ran his hand over Sarah’s leg.

  “Yes, but we have work to do.” Sarah stood and smoothed out her skirt.

  “There is always work to do. You need to take time to enjoy yourself.”

  “We just did that,” Sarah said, tossing Alex his shirt. “You always do your best to distract me.” She smiled and picked up her quiver. The arrows jostled as she slung it over her shoulder.

  Alex slipped the shirt over his head and eased his arms through the sleeves. “It was more fun taking it off.”

  “It always is.” She gave him a flirtatious grin and raised an eyebrow. “We should head back to the bonfire. If Hayden is there, I will try to convince her to come with us.” Sarah slipped her fing
ers through her tousled hair. “She must notice that things are changing. Something must be different. I will just have to figure out what it is and focus on that. If she believes us, she may come willingly.”

  “You play a dangerous game.” Alex stood and fastened his sword belt around his waist. “Molloy will not like your presence at the bonfire. He will most certainly not like you talking with Hayden.”

  “Like it or not, I must do it.” Sarah picked up her bow. “Pleasing Molloy is not my goal.” Sarah fastened her zebra skin cloak around her shoulders. “I have a responsibility to Hayden. She is our top priority. She cannot defend herself.”

  “True. I will watch from the woods. If I know Nikolas, he will be there too.” Alex picked up the tiger skin cloak and snapped it in the air. Dust and dirt leapt from the cloak and slowly floated to the ground.

  “Yes, Nikolas is most assuredly watching Hayden.” Sarah stepped quietly over the fallen brush that covered the woods. “The poor girl does not know what challenges face her.”

  “You mean with Nikolas or with her new life?” Alex adjusted his cloak around his shoulders.

  “Both.” Sarah gave a little chuckle. “Nikolas is for sure persistent, but there is none more honorable.”

  “Save me,” Alex interrupted, a broad smile on his face.

  “Yes, my love. Save you.” Sarah ran her hand down his back. “But I meant the new life that awaits her. Everything is about to change. Her old life is over.”

  “We have all gone through it.” Alex’s footsteps mirrored Sarah’s. “She will survive. We will help her.”

  “Yes,” Sarah looked at Alex, her smile gone and her eyes serious. “As Asteri it is our job to make sure she transitions safely. Her survival is important.” Night animals chirruped and hooted around them. Reflective eyes looked quickly at them and then darted away.

  “Of that there is no doubt. Hayden must survive this attack.” Alex chuckled. “Perhaps she will even find Nikolas attractive.”

  Sarah laughed softly. “That would be nice. It is time for him to stop grieving. He needs to love again.”