Heirs of Avalon

by Alica Mckenna Johnson

  “Earth magic. Shamash and Aya said the person was probably using Earth-based magic, which is why I didn’t sense them,” I said.

  He nodded. “Okay. I’ll call Philip and see if he knows anything.”

  Grinning, I thought of Philip’s salt and pepper Mohawk. A year ago when I turned fifteen, I was drawn to the San Francisco Circus Center, Philip was the first Child of Fire I met. We still kept in contact. He helped research and acted as our contact for the other Children of Fire groups. He was also Michael’s brother. “Will you ask him about Avalon too?” I asked.

  “Yes, of course.” Gavin knelt in front of me looking me over. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Gavin hugged me, lifting me off the chair. “I was terrified. Please tell me right away if you feel even a little bit off.”

  “I will,” I promised.

  “Is everything okay?” Anali asked, standing in the doorway. Her copper skin looked chalky, but she smiled and her eyes were bright.

  “Yes, I’m fine. How are you?” I asked.

  “I think I’m done throwing up for the day,” Anali said.

  Miu walked over and touched Anali’s arm. Miu’s eyes fluttered and closed, and she began to glow a little. “Everything feels fine. From what my powers can tell me, you need something to eat and drink.”

  “Well, then, I should get you some breakfast,” Gavin said, squeezing my shoulder as he stood up.

  “I want samosas, and lassi, but I’m not sure if I want plain or rose, and peanut butter and chocolate fudge ice cream.”

  Miu and I frowned and turned to look at Gavin who stared at his wife. “Um, sure, whatever you want.”

  Okay, that sounded a bit odd for someone who just threw up. Shouldn’t she have toast, or plain crackers or something?

  “Come on, let’s go back to the room and I’ll call room service,” Gavin said.

  “Wonder what they have planned for your birthday,” Miu said as we sat to finish our breakfast.

  I thought for a moment. “Probably going out to dinner, if Anali is feeling well enough. I’m not holding out for anything special, they have so much going on.”

  Miu nodded. “I am sure they will do something fun for your birthday.”

  Maybe, but I wasn’t counting on it. “It doesn’t matter. I mean at the group homes I got a cake and a gift or two.”

  “Well, not this birthday,” Miu said. “I have a wonderful party planned, food, decorations, the club, the whole circus will be there.”

  “Little Sister,” Kayin said. He wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back breathing in his spicy scent, feeling relaxed and safe.

  “Hey, Big Brother. How are you doing?”

  He snorted. “Better than you. Can you perform today?” He stepped back and pulled juggling balls from his pocket.

  My eyes narrowed. Kayin only obsessively juggled when he felt stressed. I would have to make time to talk to him alone. “Yes. I’ll need a good warm-up but I should be fine.”

  “And a shower,” Sasha said giving his bangs a little toss. The obedient red-streaked honey blond locks fell perfectly into place.

  I stuck my tongue at him. Of course I would shower.

  “Is Taliesin okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, he’s fine. He didn’t have a bad reaction to what happened,” Miu said.

  “He seemed fine at yoga and breakfast this morning,” said Kayin.

  Sasha chuckled. “Yes, we heard all about your friend, Ramsey, in great detail.”

  “Is he evil?” Kayin asked. “Taliesin seemed to think he’s evil.”

  “Who?” Shin asked.

  Was everyone going to invade my room while I looked like crap?

  “Ramsey, apparently. Taliesin doesn’t like him,” Miu said.

  “They didn’t even really meet. They both rushed over to me when I started feeling the gnome, and then they got me out of there.”

  “And Ramsey wouldn’t let you go,” Kayin added.

  “Yes,” Sasha said. “Even though Taliesin knows you better.”

  “And obviously the one who could help you,” Kayin finished.

  My face burned with embarrassment. “I hate all of you.”

  They all smiled at me. I shifted in my seat and looked away. “Oh, Sasha,” I said with a perfectly good reason to change the topic. “Hampton Court—the tree I’m supposed to talk to is a hamadryad at Hampton Court.”

  “Ah,” Sasha nodded. “I kept seeing the image of a pig on a tennis court. I suppose that was the note I made for myself so I wouldn’t forget.”

  “You are so weird,” Miu said.

  I smiled and finished my breakfast as Miu and Sasha began to bicker.

  * * *

  My shoulder ached. During the matinee I almost slipped and wrenched my shoulder trying to straighten up. Kayin, as always, created a steady and strong foundation, and his support helped me right myself. The crowd clapped, thinking we had performed some amazing feat of strength. When really I was lucky, very, very lucky that I didn’t fall on my face. Miu left with Taliesin right after we had signed programs, and I was waiting for her to return and heal my shoulder.

  “Can I help at all?” Kayin asked.

  “No thanks,” I said, leaning back on the old couch. “If any of the others find out I’m hurt, then I can’t have Miu fix me. How could I explain my rapid healing?”

  Kayin nodded. “Did you get enough to eat?”

  Some of us didn’t bother to go back to the hotel between matinee and evening performances, and Michael would order in food.

  “I’m fine,” I said. “I noticed your admirer was back.”

  Kayin sighed and sat next to me. “I don’t like how he looks at me.”

  “Neither does Shin.”

  Warm happiness mixed with prickly anxiety washed over me. “No, he doesn’t. Do you think it’s okay?”

  “That Shin doesn’t like some guy staring at you?”

  “That I like that he doesn't like some guy staring at me.”

  I blinked, trying sort that out. “Oh, well yes. It feels nice when people want to take care of us and keep us safe.”

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Big Brother, you don’t have to do anything. Take your time figuring things out.”

  Kayin sighed and lay his head on my good shoulder. “What if he moves on? What if he finds someone else?”

  “Maybe that fact that you’re worried about those things is the answer,” I said.

  Kayin’s sadness took my breath away. “I fear I will lose my family if I do. How am I supposed to choose?”

  “I wish I knew. But what if your father would understand? What if he accepted you? What if you could have everything you want?”

  “What if I lose everything trying to find out?”

  I held his hand. “I’ll be here no matter what happens.”

  “I don’t think I have ever felt so scared or confused,” Kayin said. “Even when I was kicked out of my village and a few days later I was in New York, I felt more numb than scared.”

  “I think the scary part is before you act; before you make a choice. After that, things are in motion, and the what-ifs bopping around your head are quieter,” I said. “At least that’s what my mom wrote in her journal, and her advice seems to work for me.”

  “Tell me, what advice did your mom give you?”

  “We worry about and fear what isn’t happening. We fear the unknown and the possibilities more than what is happening right in front of us. We fear if we go water skiing that we’ll fall. If we fall, we fear that we have broken our leg. If we break our leg, we fear we’ll have to have surgery. And on, and on, and on. Live in the now and you will do away with so much fear and worry. Live with purpose, strength, and love,” I recited.

  “Easier said than done,” Kayin said.

  I laughed. “Of course. Isn't everything?”

  “I am here to save the day,” Miu announced as she came around the corner.r />
  “Thank goodness,” I sighed, sitting forward so she could put her hands on my shoulder.

  Miu hummed and opened her connection to Akasha. Heat surrounded my shoulder. “You wrenched your shoulder pretty bad. Let’s see what I can do. Even if I heal the muscles, they might be too weak to perform again today.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said.

  Kayin snorted. “You are such a brat.”

  “I’m not fixing you if you re-injure yourself,” Miu said. She sent hot healing Phoenix energy into my shoulder, and the tension and pain melted away.

  “Of course,” I said knowing that when I slept I usually spent at least some time in Akasha, and my many time great grandparents would heal me.

  “Forty-five minutes,” Nyota called out, walking the hall backstage. “There are people in the house now.”

  Her field generator protected us but only when we weren’t actively using our powers.

  “Almost done,” Miu said. A short burst of energy and she took her hands away. “Okay, there you go.”

  I rolled my shoulder; the pain was gone. “Awesome, thanks.”

  Miu stood. “Go warm up, and be honest. If the muscle isn’t weak, perform. I need a quick nap and some candy before I can go on.”

  * * *

  I watched the crowd—they didn’t take their eyes from Shin and the other Chinese pole performers. The audience gasped in unison as their lust and amazement began to fill the theater. Rolling my shoulder, I tried to figure out what to do. My shoulder felt weak. I completed the warm-up but used my right arm more than my left. With focus I could use both my arms equally but there was a difference in strength. I felt pretty sure I could get through the routine, but my shoulder would hurt after. Hopefully, I would dream and my shoulder would heal.

  I wish Gavin and Anali were here to talk to. I wasn’t sure what to do, and my mom’s journal didn’t have advice for this one. I mean there's trusting your instincts, and listening to yourself, but right now my body, heart, and mind weren’t agreeing.

  “Ready to go on, Sapphire?”

  “Of course, Michael.”

  “Do you know what my Phoenix gift is?” he asked.

  My brow furrowed. “No, I’ve never thought about it.”

  He placed a hand on my shoulder his thumb pressing into the joint. I gasped as my arm fell limp. “I can tell when people lie.”

  Rude! “Okay so here’s the problem, I wrenched my shoulder during the matinee, and Miu took off before I could get her help. She fixed my shoulder about an hour ago, but it’s still weak. I think I can do all my parts and get through the show. But I’m not sure, and I don’t know how to tell,” I said in one breath.

  “Sapphire, I appreciate you wanting to go on, but if your shoulder is hurt like this, statue isn’t safe for you or Kayin.”

  Okay, using Kayin against me isn’t fair. “I don’t want Kayin to get hurt.”

  “I don’t want either of you to get hurt. You can do stilts and jump rope but not statue,” Michael said.

  My stomach sank. “Okay I’m sorry.”

  Michael patting my injured shoulder. “Injuries happen. The important thing is to tell me.” He sighed and stepped closer to me. “I haven’t said anything but an aerial artist died yesterday while performing in Quebec. Her partner didn’t tell anyone his wrist was hurt. She trusted him to hold her and he couldn’t. She fell twenty feet and broke her neck. Please don’t hide any injuries, weaknesses, or concerns from me. There are much more important things than performing.”

  “That is awful, I can’t imagine. The poor man.” I felt nauseated. I knew we could get hurt, but dead?

  “The whole troupe is devastated, and many of them are blaming themselves for not knowing.” Michael shook his head. “What’s so upsetting is this accident was completely preventable. Sometimes they’re not, but this one was. Go tell Kayin and the others.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Michael.”

  I found Kayin standing next to a sweaty, grinning Shin.

  “Hey, Kayin. Michael said I couldn’t do statue, that my shoulder is too weak. I’m sorry.”

  “Little Sister, don’t worry.” Kayin wrapped an arm around me and gave me a hug. “I’m sure you’ll be fine for tomorrow.”

  “Can you do stilts and jump rope?” Shin asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, Michael said I could.”

  “I guess this means everything has moved up in the schedule,” Shin said.

  Crap. “I’ll go tell Nyota,” I said.

  “I saw her head stage right. I’ll go stage left and tell everyone,” Kayin said.

  “Okay thanks,” I said.

  “I’ll check the green room in the back,” Shin offered.

  I felt like I was letting everyone down. I felt even worse as people said how they understood, not to worry, and they hoped I felt better tomorrow. Cold guilt settled in my stomach at me with every word of sympathy. I knew the same injury I had would have taken them a week or more to heal.

  Nyota hung by her knees from a bar rewiring something. Her dreadlocks hung down looking like Medusa's’ snakes. “Nyota.”

  “Hey, Sapphire, what’s up?”

  “I can’t do statute today; I tweaked my shoulder.”

  Nyota pulled herself up and started speaking into her walkie-talkie. “Statue has been cut, queue up lighting and sound for the clowns.”

  “I’m going to check this way and let people know.”

  Nyota gave me a thumbs up and flipped down again, talking as she worked on the wires.

  I should have talked to Michael earlier. I’m such an idiot.

  After confessing my failure to everyone I could find, I went over to my area and got ready for stilts.

  The piano piece that signaled silks began. Using a chair I carefully heaved myself up, and checked to make sure my floor-length skirt wasn’t tangled up. I slid my fingers into the poi loops and held the LED balls in my hands as I straightened the cords between them and the loops. I peeked out at the audience. Sasha and Taliesin unwrapped down the silks, then stopped, hanging inches above the floor. The audience, gasped, cheered and clapped. I smiled as the warm emotions flooded the theater.

  Sharp cold anger stabbed through. I gasped at its intensity. What the hell? I scanned the audience, but couldn’t see anyone glaring at the stage. Maybe what I felt was something else entirely?

  Taking a deep breath I tried to filter out the positive emotions and focused on the anger. I shivered as I tapped into the anger. I followed it to the balcony. It was one person, and he was very angry. I don’t think he wanted to hurt anyone. I opened my empathy up, and a small little tendril of emotion caught my attention. There was desire, but not sexual, and excitement, but there was a dark edge to it.

  My eyes widened, and I stepped away from the curtain. There were people in the audience who wanted Taliesin and Sasha to fall. They saw them performing these difficult and beautiful routines and someone out there wanted them to hurt themselves. I wrapped my arms around myself. How could people think like that?

  I walked over to my spot and waved at Kayin to get his attention. He was juggling off in the corner wearing the black muscle shirt for his part in the jump rope routine.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Someone in the audience is very angry. I’m not even sure if the anger is directed at Taliesin and Sasha or some other person but I felt it and …” I shivered, the feeling of people hoping they would fall still attached to me. I couldn’t say it out loud, and the anger felt more active than those jerks wanting my friends hurt.

  Kayin nodded. “I’ll tell Michael, Taliesin, and Sasha when they get done.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I turned on the light in my poi, let go of them, and made sure the strings were straight as the piano piece finished up. The glowing green balls hung down by my knees. We walked in time to the beat of the drums in the piece of Afro-Caribbean music we performed to.

  I walked out, looking out into the sea of faces, wondering which ones were h
oping for my friends to be hurt. In fact, I was so focused on finding them I missed the cue to start spinning the poi. Damn it. Taking a breath, I focused on the other spinners and matched their movements, my poi making green circles of light in the air. Tonight was turning into a special kind of crazy.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I was being used as protection again. Taliesin wrapped his arm around my waist as a group of young women gushed about how fabulous he was. Lust, admiration, and desire filled the room like cloying sweet perfume. The anger and fear I felt earlier cut through the other emotions like needles being thrown at me. I searched the crowd again. A distinguished couple stood near the windows. He looked out into the night, his back straight, shoulders broad, and his long brown hair touched the top of his collar. The slender woman, her honey blond hair twisted into a tidy bun looked up. Her round gray eyes widened as she saw me looking at her. Turning, she hid from me.

  Something wasn’t right. Kayin, Shin, and Taliesin seemed fine. Sasha and Miu couldn’t see the couple because an interesting modern sculpture blocked their view. None of the other performers seemed upset or tense. I couldn’t feel anything other than anger and worry coming from them, or at least from their general direction, but nothing evil. Of course, I didn’t feel anything evil last night at the gala either.

  I wish I had my phone so I could text Gavin.

  “Do you still feel the anger?” Taliesin asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, I think it’s coming from that couple, but I’m not sure.”

  “Don’t worry, we’re almost done,” he said.

  I didn’t want to say anything about what I felt, but I had to. “I need to talk to you, in private.”

  Taliesin frowned. “Tonight?”

  I shook my head. “No, not tonight, but tomorrow?”

  “Sure, are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, I just need to talk to you about something I felt tonight,” I smiled, hoping to reassure him.

  Taliesin arched an eyebrow at me then turned to sign a program.