by J. D. Hale
“It’s not crazy for me. This is just my everyday life – jetting from planet to planet, training, and,” I said, looking at my perfectly manicured nails, “keeping up appearances.”
He chuckled, “You’re awfully good at that. You now know all about me, but I still hardly know anything about you.”
“Well, what do you want to know? I’ve had a full life, and there’s a lot to know.” I said to him, gauging his reaction. He seemed intrigued by my somewhat mysterious answer.
“I was actually wondering…can you really move things with your mind? My friends and I have been debating it ever since we watched this documentary on you last year, talking about how you could break every bone in someone’s body without touching them.” He told me quickly.
I tried to avoid the question, suddenly embarrassed. That particular skill was one I preferred to keep a secret; if everyone suddenly knew it would completely obliterate the element of surprise that I was so fond of.
But it was clear he wouldn’t leave without an answer. So, I concentrated on the box of diamonds sitting on my desk, and, using my mind, thrust it toward Ross. Then, when he looked confused, I spoke, “Is that answer enough for you?”
“You did that?” He whispered in disbelief.
“And you could, too,” I replied, “with enough training. I’ve been practicing since I was ten, and now I can do anything from starting fires to snapping metal.”
“That’s amazing. I’m not so sure it’s actually possible for humans to do, well, that.” He told me, almost enviously.
“It’s possible. I’m half human, aren’t I? Everyone has different levels of psychic capacity, and both you and Iesleen show very high will power, a sure-fire sign that you’ll easily master the skills of telekinesis.” I shrugged, figuring he should already know that.
“I’m not so sure about that.” He confessed, “I don’t know if I have the…mental strength of that kind of thing.”
“We’ll find out when we get to Neolis.”
June 25th 11:48 am
Loco, Neolis
We stepped out of the Condor after I had finally fallen asleep for a few hours. Bleary eyed, I was suddenly shocked awake from the cold of Saize’s sister planet, Neolis. We arrived on the top of a mountain covered in snow, glittering under the bright sun. The snow hardly ever melted here. Wind whipped my hair, tossing it around my hair and ripping it out of the clip. I couldn’t help but sigh as the black clip thundered down the snowy mountain. The sky was gray and it looked like there would be sleet.
I saw the mountain lodge, the newest of all the Dunham estates – one I hadn’t even seen yet. My mother had spent years designing the place and I would be the first to test it out. There were great glass windows set into wood so dark it was almost black. The windows were massive diagonal crosses, showing the upper four floors of the house. The house scaled up the mountain, huge, glass covered staircases stretched the space between floors. I was excited to see what my mother had been planning for this place.
We walked throughout the house, taking in each room. There was a whole floor entirely dedicated to fighting, I excitedly found out. The top floor held a room full of priceless weapons that my mother had collected through her whole life. There were two sparring rooms, one for guns and explosives, and another for hand-on-hand and simple weaponry.
On the third floor were six bedrooms, each themed to my mother’s favorite places. There were adjacent bathrooms and closets to each suit. The floor directly below had a huge kitchen, manned, just like a real lodge, by staff members at buffets. Also on that floor was a huge indoor pool and hot tub, with a waterfall that filtered the pool. It was all just how my mother would want it.
All other floors included a full size dining room, modern lounge with the amenities that would make any classic teenager swoon, a gym, and a showroom for my mother’s stolen and favorite artifacts.
June 25th 2:30 pm
Dunham Mountain Lodge, Loco, Neolis
“I am, whether you can tell or not, extremely prepared for anything and everything the universe decides to throw at me today.” I said to Iesleen and Ross during their first training session, “Can either of you tell me why that is?”
Though I’d had only two real teachers in my life, I couldn’t help but feel like one as I lectured our new accomplices. Rowan, Ross, and Iesleen sat on one of three training mats in the large white room as I spoke.
“It’s because you’re an intergalactic badass-slash-hottie hell bent on destroying you enemies.” Ross said seriously.
I smiled, and Iesleen rolled her eyes, “Don’t be a doofus, RJ. The reason Kairee has so much respect is because she-”
“has a vast knowledge of all weapons, an IQ higher than even mine, and the cunning and wits to pull it all together.” Ross cut her off, and I grinned again.
“All true.” I replied, “But the real reason is that I’ve been trained in, well, everything since I was able to walk and talk. You two have a month to learn how to fight well enough to beat me in a fight, blend in with Saizian society, and generally get used to the lifestyle of a criminal.” I told them, “So, this is your first fighting lesson – weapons.”
I beckoned for them to stand up and follow me down the hall to the weapon rack. When we were there, I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of weapons in the lodge. There were even more than in my mansion on Saize. Ross took them in with delight, able to name some, and Iesleen gaped at all the swords and daggers with awe.
Ross was particularly determined to impress me by naming a lot of the classic Saizian weapons. Let’s just say I was underwhelmed because for every weapon he could name, there were ten that I could. There was one particular dagger-like weapon that Ross named immediately that I couldn’t.
The weapon was a beautiful silver dagger, wavy and lethal. The handle was carved with intricate spirals and whorls, mesmerizing to look at for too long. At the bottom of a hilt sat a sharp, glistening, brilliant yellow gem. It was Saize’s national gem – a sainda. But, even with all the deductions I could make from its appearance, the name of that specific weapon eluded me.
“It’s a classic cryse, the weapon of choice of Jayan Halag, the eighth Saizian Prime Minister. He was the reason they outlawed Prime Minister’s carrying weapons, because he was always attacking his enemies instead of talking to them. The people elected him due to his courage and the fact that he was a man of the people, like Andrew Jackson. He was the first Prime Minister to have a bodyguard.” Ross rambled off Saizian facts like a walking talking encyclopedia.
“Now that’s impressive,” I told him excitedly. It was nice to know that at least some humans, even if it was only the extreme minority of them, knew about Saizian culture.
“I know it is.” He smirked.
“So, are you two wimps ready to start training?” I asked sarcastically.
“And excited!” Iesleen piped in.
“You really shouldn’t be.” I told them solemnly, “You two need to know that I’m not afraid to slice you open and break your bones. Rowan and I will bring you within an inch of your life to teach you a lesson. So, who wants to be the guinea pig?”
Ross jumped up, only a moment before Iesleen.
“Alright, Ross, get ready. Hand-on-hand first, weapons later.” I pulled off my black blazer and threw it to my brother, “I’ll even take off my heels so you won’t get impaled.”
“Thanks,” He replied as I pulled off my extra-spiky heels, and, just to scare him, thrust them at the drywall. They stuck a few inches into it and stayed there.
I smiled.
“Alright, come at me.”
He threw a fairly hard, mostly coordinated punch at my ribs.
“Too slow.” I grabbed his fist, and, fast as lighting, whipped him around, leaving him dazed. In just a moment, I punched him in the chest and held my clawed hands, tense, against his neck, “Don’t leave your guard open like that. Every moment, you have to be ready for the next move. Try again.”
This
time, he tried to punch me in the neck, too lightly to be a real jab. I jumped up, anticipating his kick to my knee-cap. As he tried to kick, I dropped down and grabbed his ankles out from under him, snapping him onto the floor. “Too obvious. Feints should look like real moves, so that your opponent falls for them.”
He struggled to get back up, staggering as he got to his feet. I felt almost bad for him, and offered him my hand in truce. But, the second he had a firm grip on my hand, he yanked me back, and I heard a dull thud as my arm popped out of its socket. I preformed an old trick and grabbed his long hair with my other hand, yanking his head back. Holding my long, perfect nails against his throat yet again, I relaxed a bit. “Your moves have to be fast, unanticipated, harsh, and show no mercy. Rowan, come here.” I commanded, “Ross, sit down.”
Rowan immediately came to my side.
“Alright,” I said, “watch how Rowan and I fight. One move at a time, okay?”
Rowan nodded. He threw a flat handed jab at my side, what would have been a solid blow if he didn’t stop directly before impact so that I could explain it, “Rowan went for one of the only places I wasn’t blocking, and put in a lot of force.”
I began narrating every point in our fight as it was happening. He flung his foot at my knee cap, but I jumped up and crushed his it under mine. But, he still came back strong. He shot his fist out and cracked my shoulder blade. I gritted my teeth and elbowed him in the neck. He gagged, and I used his moment of weakness to grab both his wrists and flip him onto his back.
“Iesleen, come here. I have faith in you.”
Rowan sat down, and immediately started talking to Ross.
I smiled at the thought of Rowan actually getting along with someone.
“Boys, why don’t you two fight…over there,” I suggested, and they left Iesleen and I.
“I take it you’re more coordinated than Ross?” I asked sarcastically.
“Always have been. I’m already a fairly good fighter, and I’m strong…or at least stronger than most people I know.” She took an impressive fighting stance.
“Come at me whenever you’re ready.” I said.
I waited for only a moment.
She punched me straight in the stomach and I almost doubled over due to the sheer force of it. I groaned, but still managed to kick in her knee, and she fell to the ground. In utter strength, Iesleen jumped back up to elbow me right where Rowan had cracked my shoulder. Wincing, I fought back with a barrage of excruciating punches to her stomach. My fists almost bounced off her muscled stomach, but then I took advantage of what was her automatic weak spot. I jabbed my index finger into the pressure point next to her neck. She was on the ground in a moment, pressed down by intense pain. I left her on her knees.
“I’m impressed. I’ve never seen anybody fight that well on their first run at me.” I told her, almost awestruck.
She shrugged modestly, “I do take over ten physically demanding extra-curriculars at my school.”
It went on like that for another few hours and I emerged battered, but still undefeated.
June 25th 4:15 pm
Dunham Mountain Lodge, Loco, Neolis
Later, just before sundown, I went back to my room. My room was themed to one of my personal favorite places – the New Zealand cliffs of Earth. There was a brilliant painting of the view from the top, looking down on the crystal ocean. Simply being in there made me think of Cal, and, inevitably, Salah.
A wave of emotion hit me with a ton of bricks. My heart seized up and jumped into my throat and my eyes stung with heat. Burning tears slid down my cheeks, almost stinging where they hit my arm. Sobs racked out of my chest, so loud that the entire planet must have been crying with me. I tried hard to make the steel wall in my brain fall down and shut out the emotion, but I couldn’t. My body shuddered with every tear I shed, as if an earthquake was setting off inside of my heart.
And then a knock on the door snapped be back.
I immediately smudged the tear tracks off my face and tried to breathe normally.
The door creaked open and I stood to meet my twin.
“I noticed something…strange today.” Rowan said ominously.
“What is it?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. Row shut the door behind him – with his mind, as usual – and looked me straight in the eye.
“When Cal killed Salah, what exactly happened?” He said the words as if the rest of our lives would change with my answer. And, knowing my brother, they probably would.
I had been living over the scene a hundred times, and I relayed it to my brother.
“There was a woman with him?” Rowan was suddenly quiet and, if I didn’t know better, afraid.
“I think it was his mother. Why does that matter?”
“Kairee, you might want to sit down for this.”
When he told me, I almost had a heart attack.
June 26th 7:35 am
Dunham Mountain Lodge, Loco, Neolis
“Concentrate.” I commanded.
Ross, Iesleen and I were in a dimply lit closet, performing mental exercises. Iesleen wore a blue, feathery fedora that made me smile every time I saw it. Today, Ross wore a T-shirt that said ‘Cereal Killer,’ with a picture of a bleeding cereal box.
Ross’s intelligent face was twisted, his eyebrows knit together in deep focus, obviously trying to move the pen I had set in front of him with his mind. Iesleen was hardly trying to move her pencil, but it was waving back and forth. She dropped it from an inch, and then she lost wind, gasping for breath. I knew the kind of concentration it takes to move things on your first try.
“Iesleen, go rest. Great job.” I told her.
She nodded wearily and walked out of the room.
“Come on, Ross.” I whispered, inching closer to his face, “Focus.”
“I’m trying, Kairee!” He exclaimed, exasperated, “I just don’t think I can do it.”
“I’m going to ask you a question.” I told him, thinking of the most uncommon trivia question in America, to test his vast mental capabilities, “When you answer, concentrate on the pen, okay?”
He nodded.
“What’s the capital of Liechtenstein?” I asked, naming one of the smallest countries on his home planet.
His answer was immediate.
“Vaduz.” He replied effortlessly. When he thought of the answer, the pen jumped into the air. I smiled, happy that my thought process was correct.
“Just like me.” I told him, “When you find something deep in your brain, when that spark lights, your will jumps. It’s like when you’re at a trivia tournament, and you feel confident when they tell you the answer’s right.”
“I don’t understand,” He replied, confused.
“When you stuff all those facts into your brain and then spew them out again, your brain waves spike, and so does your psychic ability. So, if you want to move things using telekinesis, all you have to do is increase brain productivity.” I explained.
“How do I do that?” He pondered, the wheels clearly turning in his brain.
“Well, contact your strongest emotions – love, hate, and fear. I recommend channeling something you love – a girlfriend, a dear relative, or maybe a puppy?” I suggested with a laugh. He thought for a moment.
“Got it.” He grinned, and I got the strange feeling he wasn’t thinking of a puppy.
“Now, think of that and concentrate on moving the pen,” I advised.
He squinted hard at the pen. It took a few moments, but then he lifted it with his mind a foot into the air, and I was immensely impressed. When I started training, I could hardly move a paper-clip a centimeter high.
“Amazing,” I whispered in awe.
He was hardly breaking a sweat, and beaming like a kid in a candy store.
“I have something I need you to do for me, okay?” I told him almost ominously.
“Okay?” He said, perplexed, “Why me, though?”
“I need a brilliant liar with a rich knowledge of Saizian his
tory that can pass as a completely normal person. It’s the most critical role in the theft. The strategist interprets the maps, figures the puzzles out, and convinces all the guards that we’re good. And I want you to do it.” I told him.
His eyes widened, and he nodded fervently, “I’d be honored.”
“Good, because I have some things for you to looks at, bur first I need you to do some thing with me – just the two of us.” I said.
His eyes widened further, and it almost looked like he was blushing, but it was hard to tell in the dark “What do you mean?”
I got right next to him so that when I spoke, anyone trying to hear wouldn’t.
“Don’t get too excited now. We have to sneak out of the lodge and to Saize, to the Saizian National Archives. Without anyone seeing us.” I whispered, making sure that nobody would overhear.
“That sounds dangerous.” His voice was as soft as mine.
“That’s how I like to do things. You need some real-live action, not just training.” I explained.
“Then…why aren’t we bringing Iesleen?” He asked.
“I need to bring you – and only you – with me because I need someone who’s good at working the system – literally. I’ve only requested twenty minutes in the Archives, so after that, they’ll send guards after us. I’ll take care of them if you can find the information we need. If we brought Rowan and Iesleen, I would be too distracted trying to control them to concentrate. I need someone who knows about Saize and can find information in the vastest library in the universe quickly.” I told him, “And that person is you, Ross.”
He turned red, “Thanks. I try to be adept at my abilities when it comes to…working the system.”
“You seem nervous.” I smirked.
“Is there anyone you don’t make nervous?” He chuckled, “I can’t help that the most beautifully dangerous girl in the universe makes me…admittedly a little tense.”