by Mazhar, S
Ella laughed, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Her small top bared her midriff, exposing her tattoo. Her shorts showed Aaron that he was right: the tattoo did indeed continue down her leg, stopping just above her knee. Seeing it this close, Aaron realised the tattoo was an intricate design of a vine with fully blossomed water lilies growing down it.
“Aww, poor little Sammy,” Ella teased and walked past them.
Sam glared at her as she walked away, then turned to face Aaron with a broad, gleeful grin – one Aaron hadn’t seen in a while. “She called me Sammy.”
“You hate being called Sammy,” Aaron pointed out. It was partly why him and Rose called Sam that, just to rile him.
“Not by her,” Sam said, turning back to gaze at Ella.
Aaron looked over at her too, watching as she filled a plate with grapes, melon and a selection of berries. His eyes widened as an idea formed in his mind.
“Come on, Sam,” he said and hurried towards the table.
“What are you doing?” Sam demanded, but Aaron just waved a hand at him, gesturing for him to follow.
“Ella?” Aaron came to her side.
“What?” Ella asked, working her way down the table and filling her plate.
Aaron followed behind her. “I wanted to ask you something.”
Ella snorted. “Really? What a surprise,” she quipped. “What is it, Sir Asks-a-lot?”
“It’s a little personal,” Aaron said. “But I was wondering, what’s your surname?”
Ella stopped, her serving of cherries halted mid-air. She turned to look at Aaron. “Why?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just curious,” Aaron replied.
Ella silently studied him before facing the table again and depositing the cherries onto her plate. “Afton,” she replied. “Ella Afton.”
Aaron turned to Sam with a grin. He had been right.
“Why so curious about my name, Adams?” Ella asked.
“No reason,” Aaron replied.
“You trying to figure out the Elemental generations?” she asked, turning around with a grin. “Don’t look so shocked,” she chastised. “You’re rubbish at being sly.”
“I...I wasn’t...” Aaron started.
“It’s alright,” Ella said. “I know you’re curious about this realm.” She snorted at her own words. “Hell, more than curious.” She picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth. Chewing slowly, she looked Aaron up and down. “How’d you find out about the Elementals?”
“Scott called me an Elemental,” Aaron replied. “And there are a few books lying around about certain families.”
Ella smiled. “Ah, the book store. Good for you.” She picked up another two grapes and chewed them slowly, warm grey eyes fixed on Aaron. “Reading’s good for you. Make sure you do plenty of it.”
“I will,” Aaron replied. “But there are some things you can’t find in books.”
“Then you’re reading the wrong ones,” Ella replied with a smirk. She shrugged and went back to her plate, picking up strawberries this time. “To answer you fully: yeah, I’m an Afton. I have the power of Water.”
“Does that mean you can only control the element of Water?” Aaron asked. “You can’t use any of the other elements?”
“Oh, I can use them, just not as well as Water.” Ella smirked. “I can use Earth, Air and Fire but only the basics; but with Water, I can do anything. I can control every facet of it: its form, its temperature, its viscosity, you name it.”
“Complete power,” Aaron murmured. “Pretty self-explanatory,” he said under his breath. “What about other mages?” he asked. “The ones who aren’t Elementals? Can they use all four powers but not in depth? Just the basics?”
“Hey.” Ella smiled. “You’re starting to get it. Normal mages can use all four powers but only to an extent. They don’t have the ability to take complete control. Elementals, however, can use all four powers but possess the ability to control and use one Elemental power to its full potential.” Her gaze picked up someone beyond Aaron and it made her smile. “I’m an Afton, so my power is Water,” she said. “You’re an Adams so your power is Earth.” She smirked. “And Skyler is an Avira, the only one, actually. You can guess his power.”
“Air,” Aaron answered, remembering the way Skyler had thrown him across the street, bruising his back so badly he could barely walk. “He has the power of Air.”
“Good job, Captain Obvious.” Skyler’s gruff voice came from behind Aaron. “Now, move, before I make you fly again.”
Aaron turned to face Skyler. He had seen for himself how horribly disfigured the Lycan fight had left Skyler – three deep gashes, going diagonally from Skyler’s left ear across his nose and lips, down to the bottom of his right cheek. So when Aaron saw him now, he was more than surprised to find no gashes or even half-healed cuts. There wasn’t a single mark, not even a faint one, anywhere on Skyler’s face. He looked the same as always: perfectly unblemished skin, shocking blue eyes and platinum blond hair. Aaron was gaping at him. There was no way Skyler could have been healed this soon, and there was no way those kinds of wounds could disappear without leaving scars.
Skyler cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowed.
“What’s with the intense staring?” he asked.
“You...You’re healed?” Aaron said.
“Yeah?” Skyler prompted. “And?”
“I saw you...Your face,” Aaron said. “It was all...cut up. How did you heal so fast?”
“It’s been three days, genius,” Skyler said, pushing past him to go to the table. “How long did you think it was going to take?”
“But...your wounds looked really bad,” Aaron said. “I thought you would be scarred for life.”
Skyler shared a look with Ella before shaking his head in annoyance. “I’m too tired for this crap.” He took Ella’s plate from her and walked away, back to his cottage.
“You’re welcome!” Ella called after him. “Jerk.”
“Did Armana heal him?” Aaron asked, turning back to Ella.
“Yeah,” Ella replied distractedly, still glaring at Skyler’s retreating form. She picked up another plate and started filling it.
“Wow,” Aaron said. “She’s really good. Really, really good.”
“Alright, Aaron,” Sam said, giving him a look. “Calm down.”
“No, Sam, you didn’t seen him,” Aaron said. “His face was all torn up. He had these cuts right across his face.” Aaron let out a breath in amazement. “But now there’s nothing left behind, not even a faint scar.”
“Oh for Heaven’s sake!” Ella turned around. “Mages don’t scar, idiot!”
Aaron stared at her. “What?”
“Mages,” Ella said. “We don’t scar.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Aaron said.
“With everything you’ve seen so far you find this ridiculous?” Sam asked.
“We get hurt, like everything else in this universe,” Ella said. “But when we heal, it leaves behind nothing. No marks, no scars, nothing.”
Aaron couldn’t wrap his mind around that. It seemed too preposterous. They might be mages, but they were still half human, and humans scarred.
“It sounds too strange to be true,” he said.
“Again, this you’re having trouble with?” Sam asked.
“Have you ever been hurt?” Ella asked Aaron. “Ever fallen off your bike? Scraped your knees, cut open your flesh? Anything?”
“Yeah,” Aaron replied, “of course I have.” When Matthews pushed him in the school grounds one time, he cut open his palms and knees pretty bad.
“Did it leave behind a scar?” Ella asked.
Aaron shifted from one foot to the other. “Dunno,” he mumbled.
“You don’t know if you have any scars, Adams?”
“I don’t spend a lot of time examining my knees,” Aaron replied.
Ella smirked. “Have a look now,” she said. “Take a good look at yourself. Find me one, just o
ne tiny little scar, a blemish whatsoever anywhere on your body.”
Her eyes trailed his bare chest, prompting Aaron to look down at himself. His skin was smooth, not a mark of any kind in sight, and flawless – just like it always had been.
“Mages don’t scar,” Ella repeated slowly, but her voice had gone quieter. She looked down at her tattoo, her fingers gently traced the lily above her navel. When she looked up at Aaron, her eyes were glistening. “We choose what scars to wear.”
***
After dinner that evening, Aaron and the twins stayed at the table, talking with Ava and Alan, gleaning as much information as they could about Elementals and the war between mages and demons.
Aaron saw a few of the kitchen staff carrying baskets of vegetables into the Stove while Mary stood at the door, hurrying them in.
“What’s Mary doing?” he asked. “We’ve already had dinner.”
“She’s getting the soup on,” Alan said.
“Soup?” Aaron asked. “At this hour?”
“It’s for tomorrow,” Alan replied.
Aaron thought it was strange to start preparing for soup the night before, but he didn’t give it much more thought. He went back to his discussion about underage Hunters and their recovery period after a Q-Zone kill.
“It’s never more than three days,” Alan explained. “Usually they can recover quicker than that, but this time they were up against Lycans.” He gave a little shudder. “Those things are the nastiest of all demons.”
“Are Lycans really all that common?” Sam asked.
“Very common,” Alan said. “You wouldn’t know it. Lycans walk both realms. You never know who is a Lycan.”
“Except on the nights of the full moon,” Sam pointed out. “You’d know then.”
“Not even then,” Alan said, with a shake of his head. “Lycans aren’t werewolves. They don’t have to turn when it’s the full moon. They can if they want to, but they’re not forced to.”
“Lycans aren’t werewolves?” Rose asked, surprised. “I thought it was just another name for werewolves.”
“Werewolves are dogs,” Ava said. “Lycans...” She paused. “They’re demons.” There was something in her voice, a pain so bright that Aaron felt it pierce his heart.
“You’ve come across Lycans?” he asked, even though a part of him already knew the answer.
Ava nodded, her blue eyes glistening. “My family was killed by Lycans,” she said. “I saw it, watched it happen.”
“Ava,” Rose gasped. “I’m so sorry.”
“How did you escape from them?” Sam asked.
“I didn’t,” Ava replied. “I was only ten when it happened. My mum...” She choked on the word, forcing herself to go on. “She tried to fight, to keep the Lycans away from me and my brother.” Her eyes glazed as she recounted the memory. “She couldn’t stop the beast, not for long. It went for my brother after it...it finished with her. I still remember it, how it attacked him, tore him apart.” She closed her eyes and a tear dropped down her cheek. Aaron had the unbearable urge to wipe it away. He forced himself to stay where he was, his hands clenched into fists by his side.
“I’m so sorry, Ava,” Sam said.
Ava sniffed and wiped at her cheek. “It’s okay,” she said.
“How did you get away?” Aaron asked.
“Ella arrived with a group of Hunters,” she replied. “She was only thirteen then, but she saved my life. She brought me here to Salvador, and ever since then she’s been looking out for me.”
Aaron understood why Ava had tied the black thread onto Ella’s arm. She was the Hunter who saved Ava’s life. That was their special bond.
“Ella was hunting when she was thirteen?” Sam asked incredulously.
“Most Hunters start when they’re thirteen,” Alan answered.
“But isn’t that too young?” Rose asked.
“Maybe years ago, when Hunters had to be of age,” Alan replied. “But nowadays you can start hunting the moment your core wakes up.” He dropped his voice lower. “I reckon we don’t have a choice any more. The way things are going...” He scrunched up his face. “It’s a case of all hands on deck, and maybe, just maybe, we might make it through.”
“How come you don’t go hunting?” Aaron asked.
Alan looked surprised. “Me?” He shook his head. “I don’t have the stomach for it. Can’t handle a gun.” He shrugged. “Thought about being a Lurker, like my old man, but I don’t know. Maybe one day.” He fished out a small ring – a simple gold band, like a wedding ring. Etched on the inside was Aric’s mark and a simple circle with the letter K inside. Aaron figured it stood for ‘Kings’, Alan’s surname.
“I use this sometimes,” Alan said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “When I miss him too much. I use the ring to see him. To see what he was like.” He puffed out his chest and smiled. “Imagine myself in his Lurker uniform. Makes me feel good. I imagine when I become a Lurker, the others will point at me and say, ‘There goes Kings’ little lad, looking just like his dad.’” He smiled. “It gets me through most days.”
Rose was staring at the ring. “Sorry, Alan, but did you say you use the ring to see your dad?”
Alan nodded. “Yeah, I use the flesh memories.”
“Flesh what?” Sam asked.
“Flesh memories,” Alan repeated, then seemingly remembered their lack of knowledge for all things mage. He quickly continued, “Sorry. Flesh memories are snippets of moments, stored on items mages have touched or used. Like, this is my dad’s ring.” He held it up. “He used to wear it, so it’s touched his flesh. Anything that my dad did while wearing the ring, a snippet of that event is stored on the ring. When I touch it, I can see the memory in my mind.”
“Can all mages use flesh memories?” Aaron asked.
“As far as I know,” Alan replied.
“Is it only you that can see your father’s memories or can any mage see it?” Aaron asked.
“Anyone can see it,” Alan said, then somewhat reluctantly, he held the ring out to him.
Aaron reached over and took it.
Nothing happened.
“Did you see anything?” Sam asked, breathless with anticipation.
Aaron shook his head.
“You have unlock it,” Alan said. “It doesn’t work by just touching it.”
“What do I unlock?” Aaron asked.
“The memory,” Alan replied.
“How?” Aaron asked.
Alan looked lost. “You...you have to pick the memory.” He gestured to the ring. “Like...you have to....You imagine it and then...you...” He paused. “I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve been doing it for years, so it’s like second nature to me.”
Aaron handed the ring back with disappointment sitting heavily in the pit of his stomach.
***
Aaron and the twins made their way upstairs to their rooms. Sam and Rose climbed the stairs at once, eager to get to their beds after another tiring day. Aaron was trailing behind them when Kyran walked out of the living room. Aaron turned to see Kyran lock the front door, securing the cottage for the night.
Aaron wondered if Kyran would maybe, perhaps, help him. He had seen plenty of moments in his dreams where Kyran was guiding him. But he had also seen one particular dream where Kyran blatantly refused to help him. He gave himself a mental shake. The dreams were not real, and neither were they going to be. Mages weren’t seers. At least, he hoped not.
Kyran turned from the door and stopped at the sight of Aaron just standing there at the stairs, staring at him.
“What?” he asked, being rather short with him.
Aaron ignored it. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering,” he said, “if you could help me with something.”
Kyran’s eyes widened, his eyebrows raised. “What?”
“I need to figure something out.” Aaron turned away from the stairs and faced him. “But I can’t work out how to do it. Could you help me?”
Kyran looked completely thrown. “What did I do that made you think this is okay?”
“Just...listen, please.” Aaron came down the steps and walked forward. “I was talking to Alan and he told me about flesh memories.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, I was wondering, how do you unlock a memory?”
Kyran paused, watching him with curiosity. “What memory are you after?”
Slowly, Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter his mum had left him. It had been in his pocket when he got hit with the lake water. As a result, it was now damaged, with the ink smudged in various places. That in itself didn’t upset Aaron. He had read it so many times, he knew the words by heart. He held the crinkled paper up.
“My mum and dad left this for me,” he explained. “Since they obviously touched the letter, I wanted to see the memory attached to it.” Aaron hoped if he could figure out how flesh memories worked, he might be able to see what happened the night his parents left. What they said and did when they wrote the letter.
Kyran stared at him. “Why would you think I would help you?” he asked.
Aaron actually had no good answer. He shrugged. “I dunno. I just reckoned you would.”
Kyran breathed out a sigh and closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Alright,” he said and looked at Aaron, gesturing to the letter. “Hold on to it with both hands.”
Aaron grasped it tightly, his heart somersaulting with excitement.
“Take a deep breath in,” Kyran instructed.
Aaron pulled in a breath and slowly let it out.
“Close your eyes.”
Aaron did.
“Ready?” Kyran asked.
“Yeah.” Aaron nodded.
“Now say out loud, ‘Immababoonsass’.”
“Imma baboons a–” Aaron stopped and opened his eyes to glare at Kyran.
Kyran grinned, winked and pushed past him, going upstairs.
“Baboon’s ass,” Aaron called after him
16
The Full Moon
The next morning Aaron awoke feeling downright miserable. His body was sore and heavy. A headache bloomed just behind his eyes. His fingertips were tingly, suffering from pins and needles. He forced his eyes open and looked around the room. Sam and Rose were still sleeping, their soft snores breaking the silence of the room. Aaron tried to sit up but his stomach rolled. He felt feverish, his skin hot and clammy. His body protested to even the thought of getting up. Aaron just lay there, groaning softly at the way his body ached. It was an hour before Rose awoke.