“Good,” Jax said, heading upstairs with me. “Turns out you were right. It was a UTI and the doctor took care of it with some antibiotics. I was on my way to check her vitals.” When we reached the second floor I sped ahead of him and knocked on Ms. Kazuya’s door. I knew he had to grab equipment at the nurses station before seeing her; I might be able to tell her about my dreams before he arrived.
The lock clicked and Ms. Kazuya gingerly opened the door. When she saw me she beamed.
“Your aquatic rainboots,” she said. “You always manage to make us smile with that rain gear.” Here was the Ms. Kazuya I knew. I crossed her foyer as she welcomed me in, then found my barstool at the counter. I typically sat there while she made green tea and seaweed salads. Just like our ritual, she began to boil water in an old kettle while the rain outside splattered against her window. “What’s on your mind?” She asked. Her voice was soft as vanilla. Like one of those meditation gurus.
“Remember the nightmares?” My voice shook a little as the teapot screeched. Paintings of cherry blossoms and rural mountaintops with kanji decorated the room. A shrine for her parents was in the den. Sometimes during the afternoons, I’d kneel and pray with her. I’d hoped that things wouldn’t change after I told her. Part of me was worried that they would. “Well, I’ve been sleeping… to face my fears. To face Aza,” I took a deep breath. “You’ll probably think I’ve turned into a larger walnut than I am already. But I promise that I’m telling you the truth about what’s happening. I honestly need to tell somebody or my insides will implode, ooze out every orifice, and ruin your beautiful jade carpet.” She cracked a small grin, and nodded for me to proceed.
So I told her all about it. Nightworld: the prison oasis. “Every day I wake up in my bed, wondering if I imagined it all. But then I take a look at the mark on my wrist and realize that I’m not. I’m existing in two realities.” My head was resting in my hands at this point, elbows up on the granite countertop. I felt a gentle touch on my head. Another hand, more timidly, graced my upper back. I peeked through my fingers and saw Ms. Kazuya stretching her arm over to me from the stove. The aroma of jasmine and honey filled the air between us. Her other hand was on the granite counter. Hold on— who was on my back?
I jolted sideways and the touch withdrew. Jax leaned against the pantry awkwardly and scratched his arm with a stethoscope. Oh wonderful. I could just picture all of the new names he’d call me now: Walnut Express, Lady of the Nightworld, Bee Beast Tamer.
“You both left the door open,” he finally said, turning to leave.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” I said. “Jax, promise me.”
He looked at me with a sad expression. With a nod, he placed a hand on the doorframe. “Just wake up from those dreams, okay?” He said. “I’ll come back later to check your vitals, Ms. Kazuya.”
At the counter, Ms. Kazuya mixed sugar and vinegar into a bowl and whisked them together. “It sounds like your nightmare is becoming more like a dream,” she said quietly. I flipped her words over, like strands of seaweed tossed in sweet dressing.
“I guess you’re right. Now I… look forward to sleeping.”
“Be on guard, usagi,” she warned, passing me a plate of salad. “Don’t forget which one is real and which one is fiction.”
I called Mauricio and Clover to meet up at a coffee shop. As I was a little early, I bought my chai tea and slipped into a booth. This was something I had to do now, before I lost the courage. Aza, please help me fight on both fronts now.
When they arrived, my friends sat across from me with food and coffee. They offered me nervous smiles. I fingered my tea-string, shifting my weight towards one hip. “I’m really sorry,” I said, “for everything. If it’s still okay, I’d like to go to Falconbridge with you two.” Relief swept over their faces.
Clover stretched her arm across the table, gesturing for us to join her. Once our hands were stacked, she said: “Everyone’s forgiven.”
Mauricio began to unwrap his turkey sandwich, then glanced uncertainly at me and Clover. “Will my eating this offend you two?” He asked earnestly. Clover and I swapped smirks.
“Let’s make a deal,” Clover started. “You don’t tell us what to eat—”
“And we won’t tell you what to eat,” I said, blowing the steam from my tea.
He gave us the thumbs up before taking a bite. “So here’s how we’ll do this,” he said, mid-chew. “Tomorrow we’ll go to Falconbridge and start the Lifespan interviews. Mom will be off the property by twelve. She’s got a meeting thirty minutes later.”
I bit my lip. “Mauricio, what if the scientists don’t want us there?”
He swallowed loudly. “Oh come on. What PhD doesn’t love students?” Behind him was a strange painting: a mug volcano erupting coffee beans and creamer drips, The Bitter End was written in smoke near the top. For some reason, it knotted my stomach.
Chapter 12
***
Once I Awakened, I looked around the castle for Hakim. He was pacing in the front yard. From a window, I watched as Queen Piria darted close to his face, and after a few moments, she flew skyward. “Hakim,” I hollered, racing outside. “Your pupil is ready. Let’s start.”
He came down on one knee, dark circles under his orange eyes. “Char,” he said with a sad smile. “Let’s talk first.” Hakim lifted me up on his leg. “I have been meditating and prophesying a great deal. It is clear that God wants you to train elsewhere.”
“But I want to train with you,” I pressed, tugging his arm fur.
He used his free paw to hug me. “What we want often contradicts the divine plan,” he explained. “The Czar is coming for you now.”
I pushed myself away from his embrace. “No,” I whispered, with louder words bubbling in my throat. “I won’t go.”
He placed me back on the ground. “You must think beyond yourself,” he said. “Renezen is becoming more dangerous to us. Let him train you, and learn his secrets. We will correspond with you from his castle—”
“But you’re the strongest Waker here,” I protested, holding back tears. “Why can’t you stop him?” He dug into a mound of snow beside us, revealing an icicle necklace. Hakim clasped it around my neck.
“There are some things only you can do,” he said. “Here is your trinket from me.”
I gripped the chain and stepped away from him, heat in my throat. “I don’t need these if I already have my powers.” It was beyond tempting to rip this thing off my neck. I had enough power to do that, right?
As if reading my mind, he gently placed his paw over my hand. “You must earn your Seal,” Hakim said. “And you must fight the Czar.” While unfastening my Rooter, his words became hollow: “I will no longer protect you.”
Wide-eyed, I reverted back to the nine-year-old version of me: the girl who was broken by abandonment. With all my strength, I fled from the castle premises, winding up in the middle of a snow desert. The smell of woodsmoke clung to the air and snow drifts blinded me as I walked. It didn’t matter where I was going. All I needed was a place to hide.
“What are you doing down there?” Aza had found me under the bathroom sink once.
“Tunneling to LoveLand,” I said, pig-tailed, and curled up in a ball. Our parents were yelling in the next room over.
Aza squeezed in beside me. “That sounds like an exciting hideout,” she said.
“Anywhere’s better than here.”
Aza scooped me up in her lap, arms wrapped around my waist. She began humming a familiar tune. We started singing together: “This is our family, where you can be you. On good days and bad days, we are here for you…”
Alone in the arctic wilderness, I started to hear her. Aza…. singing. It was so faint, but undeniable. I headed towards the voice. And though my path felt circular, I made it to its source: a body of icy water. The singing was clear, pretty sounds without distinct words. Lowering to my knees, I inched closer to the water’s edge.
Instead of my reflection,
I found the outline of another face. It was the water woman I’d seen before. Her lips stopped moving at the sight of me. Without her song, an eeriness gripped my heart. She stretched out her hands, skin liquid sinew beyond the surface, and pulled me towards the water with jarring force.
In the same moment, a Seawall Waker leapt out of the water and thrust me backwards onto land. A spear was pressed to my throat. Czar Renezezn walked into the clearing, arms crossed. He crouched down in front of me.
“The calf is without her bull,” he said with a smirk. “This should go smoothly then.”
At his remark, I snapped out of my pity party. I had relied heavily on Hakim. Without him, I was unprotected… because I couldn’t protect myself. I fisted a handful of snow. Where did my resolve go?
At the Czar’s command, I stood up with his guard. Before the third step, I wheeled around and rushed at Renezen with strikes. He held his hand up to the guard, and then dodged me right and left. Like Hakim, his actions looked effortless. This time, however, my intent wasn’t to land a hit.
At the water’s edge, the Czar teetered backwards. His blue eye grew larger and met my steady gaze. For some reason, it kind of bothered me that amidst the polar sparring, he was the only one that stayed dry. But he managed to correct his balance without a splash, and then set a hand on his forehead, breathing heavily. I concealed a laugh. At the very least, I shook him up. Maybe he was hydrophobic. In swift movements, the Seawall guard bound my wrists and ankles with seaweed. When the Czar recovered from his scare, he added a bark-like wrap to my arm. “Only territory leaders can remove Rooters,” he said. “So don’t get any ideas.” After I was hoisted on the white dragon’s back, we rode silently to Seawall.
My castle living quarters was definitely not what I was expecting. I was given my own bedchamber. The canopy bed had a threaded shell overhang. Elegant furniture decorated the other spaces; the pieces were made of polished coral. Set out on the bed was a long dress. The fabric was soft, silver and printed with fish-scales. Jeez, this place was— “Fit for royalty,” the Czar declared by my entrance, strolling in. “Here, that is what you are now.” He perched atop my vanity table. “So this is the agreement. You train with me. You do something for me. Then I’ll let you leave with the trinket.”
“And the information to save my sister?”
He smiled smugly. “All that you’ll need.” With a sigh, I gingerly extended my hand to him. The Czar raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“Let’s shake on it.”
“What?”
I laughed at him in disbelief. “To make a promise, you shake hands,” I explained slowly.
He regarded my gesture with reproach. The Czar alighted from my vanity and stalked off towards the hallway. “Let’s not,” he said. “Meet my guard in the courtyard. Your training clothes are in the closet.” My what? With apprehensive fingers, I opened the doors to a daintily carved bureau. There were folded shorts, pants, and loose fitting tops with modest covering. Oh thank God. I half expected this thing to be full of bikini armor.
I leaned against the ridge of the fountain while I waited in the courtyard. It was adorned with multicolored jewels that I knew were gifts from the Earth Earl. I touched the smooth metal of my armlet fondly. But a chill came over me as I recalled my post-gift memories of KuKave. Water gushed over my head and brought me to the present moment. Nez extracted a hand from the fountain. Gold lace ribbons lassoed the water, drawing it upwards like dripping latticework.
“Show off,” I muttered, wringing out my hair.
Payback, he clarified. For flooding the castle.
“Like fixing a leak is overly taxing for you.”
More words dribbled obnoxiously close to my face. Today you’re learning Kibo— the martial arts of the Seawall territory. Powers weren’t allowed. This appeared to be a communal caveat in Nightworld. Nez taught me a few self defense moves and stance positions first. Then we practiced in full-fledged combat, weaving around giant herb gardens and sinewy trees. Nez said the objective of Kibo was to arrest your opponent to the point of exhaustion. He succeeded after five minutes.
Before my meeting with the Czar, the amazons prepared a bath for me in the tub room. It was a breathtaking place. The circular pool was wide and sank into the floor. Beside it, instead of a wall, was an exposed waterfall. I swam over and bathed inside of the open falls. A few brightly colored fish jumped out and plopped into my tub. They nipped at my toes and wove around my legs. Jeez, was I banged up. Had these fish ever seen a Waker with so many scrapes and bruises? Once again, I’d have to wrap myself like a mummy in Reality to hide them. I released a sigh, sinking deeper into the warm water. Did I mention there were emerald jars of lavender in here? For the first time since I’d been in Nightworld, I found a place to relax.
He was already at the gazebo when I stepped past the double doors. Prompted by my presence, the Czar spoke out towards the waterfalls. “This training time is strictly devoted to honing your light abilities,” he said. “Martial arts use, even in combination with your powers, is prohibited. Understood?”
I crossed my arms, rocking towards one hip. “Got it.”
The Czar gestured for me to join him, so I walked into the gazebo. We stood on opposite sides, taking in different views of the sea. For a minute or so, it was kind of nice. Peaceful, even. Then without warning, he pressed a staple-gun like device to my shoulder blade. I jolted sideways in alarm, holding my arm. Well this explained the racerback dress. “Please tell me that was a flu shot.”
“That was a security measure,” he said, pocketing the device. “An Intent Monitor. It gauges your state of mind. If you so much as think of harming me, or my allies, it deactivates your light powers.” He patted the monitor. “Only I can reactivate them.”
“And here I thought you were beginning to trust me,” I quipped.
The Czar shook his head, glancing at a watch in his other pocket. “Trusting my hostage,” he said. “I’ve never tried that. But it sounds like a foolproof plan.” With a wave of his cloak, the Czar returned to his spot in the gazebo. “We’ll begin next time. My servant will escort you to your room now.” On cue, an amazon opened the double doors, in wait for me. Rubbing my sore shoulder, I crossed the landing to go with her.
After pulling on my nightgown, I heard a rapping sound at my window. Queen Piria soared in the moment it was opened. She plopped down on my bedspread. “Long diztance travel iz a beazt,” she whined on her back.
I leaned over her tiny body. “It’s so good to see you,” I said.
In response, Queen Piria buzzed up and nuzzled my cheek. “I can’t ztay long,” she said. “We are zorry it had to be thiz way. But the Zar was zending zcouts to capzure zou.”
I looked over at my lavish living quarters. “I’m… actually liking this more than I thought I would,” I admitted. At this, her buzzing stopped. She landed on my nose. I saw two of her.
“Bee careful,” she warned. “Remember, zou are training and getting zour trinket, but zou are alzo zpying on the Czar.”
I pointed to the chip implant on my back. “Pretty sure he’s spying on me,” I said. She fluttered over to examine it. “He put this on me today. To make sure I behave. But to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing makes me self-destruct with the push of a button.”
“It iz an Intent Monitor,” she clarified. “Az he zaid. Nothing more.” Was this supposed to make it less weird?
“So how exactly do I spy on the Ninja King?”
Queen Piria returned to my nose. “Get cloze to him,” she said. “And be zure to wander around thiz place for clues.”
I considered this and sat down on my bed. “The wandering is no problem,” I said. “But it’d be easier to cozy up to a porcupine than to the Czar.”
“There is one Zeawall Waker who will help zou here,” she said, flitting back to the window. She landed on the sill. “Hiz name is Zeph. The Zhaman who livez in the ziggurat temple, behind the courtyard.” Oh good, Ceph. I
liked him.
“I zhall vizit you often,” she continued. “Tell me what zou learn. Hakim, Jeba, Earth Earl, and I will zupport zou along the way.” And with a wave, Queen Piria left me.
***
Chapter 13
“Mauricio, are you sure about this?” I was wearing his oversized high school jersey, sunglasses, and a ballcap. Clover tucked in a few of my hair strands while we sat outside the Falconbridge gate.
“No one will recognize you,” he reassured. “Now focus.” He pointed to a young woman sitting on the lawn. She had a book in her lap and dark curly hair spilled over the pages. Clover called over to her and she approached us, cradling the book in her arms. A pretty teenager with brown skin, her eyes were dark like cardamom seeds. She looked skeptically at us and raised her chin.
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