by Jaz Johnson
“How do I know you won’t go to your people’s authorities? I am staying with you for Saphora’s protection until I am sure you can be trusted. But also for yours.”
“My protection?”
“Yes. I am not sure if Tebias will be back. But if he attempts to contact us again, I have a feeling he will be coming for you.”
Saphora looked towards Hydra with a grimace.
“For him?”
“Yes. Because he is human, the task of killing him would be relatively easy,” Hydra started. Maverick scoffed.
“Oh gee, thanks.”
“He may end up trying to use him as a way to get you to agree to offer yourself.”
Maverick stayed quiet as he tried to contain his child-like giddiness at the mentioning that he may be important to Saphora. He looked slightly to his left, trying his best to hide the beginnings of a smile. Especially because of the fact that he had just heard his life could possibly be in danger. But somehow, the thought of dying because of Saphora’s attachment to him seemed to trump the actual feat of dying.
“I don’t know. He seemed pretty strong to me …” Saphora denied. Hydra smiled.
“That is only because you are inexperienced, Saphora. Sure, back home he would prove to be a challenge, but here? Once I train you, you will-“
“Train me to do what, exactly? Just what do you think I’m capable of doing? If you have already forgotten, I wasn’t even able to protect myself, let alone Maverick. What makes you think that I’m going to be able to do anything?” Saphora lashed out, turning her body towards Hydra as the car turned left. Hydra waited a moment, waiting to be sure she was done before responding.
“You are the daughter of a Kiran and a guardian. Your power, once honed, will be greater than any other being on Athena.”
“What makes my parents so special? Who are they, to assume such a power from me? Just because they are royal?”
“No, it is not –“ Saphora raised her hand, shaking her head, and Hydra obediently silenced herself. Though she may not have fully accepted the roll currently, Saphora was in fact the heir to the throne, and Hydra would not disrespect her home with disobedience.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Why would I be so different? I understand here on Earth, but why on Athena, where almost everyone also has powers? What am I, a mutant there too?”
“Saphora, please.”
“Come on, Saphora. Give her a break,” Maverick cut in. Turning her attention to Maverick, Saphora protested.
“And what about you, huh? You’re okay with possibly being hunted down because of me? Shouldn’t you hate me? Don’t you want to go to the police and tell them everything you saw? Get some cash reward or something?”
“What, and have you hate me in return? I would never do something like that. And even if I considered it, I doubt water goddess over here would allow me to even get near a phone.”
Saphora’s eyes squinted in confusion as she shook her head.
“How are you so calm about this, of all people? You could die, you know. We both could, if what she’s saying is true.”
Maverick shrugged. He was never really one to fear death. It was unavoidable. He was just wrapped around the fact that this meant that Saphora couldn’t avoid him. Not with Hydra demanding that she stay in proximity to him. And hearing that she would be around Saphora, he concluded that she was his ticket to getting closer to Saphora.
“We all die at some point. It’s not really a big deal.”
“Not a big deal. So you’re okay dying at the hands of some fire wielding alien man?”
“Well no, but …” Maverick glanced up at the rearview mirror to get a glimpse of the silent Hydra. “But with my body guard over here, I figure she’s my ticket to getting to be around you.”
Saphora mouth slowly fell agape as they pulled up in front of her house. After all that, even that near death experience, he had the nerve to be excited about spending time with her. She couldn’t believe it. Was he completely daft? Her cheeks flushed when he finally took his eyes off the road to turn his head and look at her with a grin. She scoffed as her face burned and turned away, shoving the door open after unbuckling her seatbelt.
“I’ve never heard something so stupid in my entire life,” Saphora scolded, turning around and closing the door. Maverick rolled down the window, leaning over to look up at her. “If you don’t stop being so stupid, you’re going to get yourself killed!” she shouted, standing straight. Looking through the window at Hydra. “If anything happens to him, I’ll never forgive you!”
Maverick looked on, watching her open the door to her house, turn around to get a glimpse at them, then quickly turn back around and walk in, slamming the door behind her. It took a moment for her words to register in his mind before the grin started to tug at the corners of his lips. Hydra looked from the closed door of the house to the rather goofy looking Maverick with a look of slight concern.
“She’s right, you know,” she spoke up, making Maverick come to, and sit back in his seat, rolling the window back up.
“About what?”
“You are a little stupid.”
“Saphora?” Fran called out from the kitchen. Saphora had her back against the front door, which she was slowly slumping down. Fran walked out from the room, trying to get her towel-covered hand into the opening of a glass she was cleaning. But before she could make it into the living room, Saphora was rushing her way upstairs to her room, trying to avoid letting Fran see her singed clothing. She didn’t want to talk about another encounter with Tebias. That would only start more arguments that she knew she couldn’t win. Closing the door behind her to her room, she kicked off her shoes while pulling off her jacket, taking off her shirt, and tossing them into her closet. Doing the same for her jeans, she then walked into her closet, and rushed to find something to throw on as Fran called up the stairs.
“Hang on!” she called back, pulling out a pair of sweats. Looking down to pull up those sweats, Saphora froze. Something on her thigh caught her attention. She squinted, her right hand letting go of the top of the sweats to graze over her skin. Something was off with the tone of her flesh. Her eyes widened when she recognized the odd colour to be the patterns that she knew to be on her back. In a fit of panic and curiosity, she turned herself around, turning her back to the full-sized mirror on the back of the door to her closet. The markings had spread. They were now covering the entirety of her back, as well as crawling down her right buttock to wrap around her right leg, stopping midway down her thigh. Her right hand trailed around her leg, as her body twisted in her observation.
“What’s happening to me …” she breathed, as she turned around to see if the markings had spread to her front, aside from her leg. To her relief, they hadn’t. But she wasn’t exactly sure why it was relieving. Perhaps because they were unknown. But thinking about it, she couldn’t exactly name a reason to be fearful of them. She just wanted to know what it was, and why it was spreading.
“Saphora?” Fran called out again, coming up the stairs. Saphora swore under her breath as she ducked down to pull the sweats up and tug at the draw string before rushing to grab any shirt she could find. Pulling out a white tee shirt, she made the change, walking out of the closet and closing the door behind her in time for Fran to knock on her door. She didn’t wait for a response when she opened her door and walked in. “Saphora?” she asked again. Saphora nodded, pushing her hair back from her face as she raised her head to look at Fran.
“Hey, Fran. Sorry. I just,” she sighed. “Really wanted to change into some comfortable clothing. Long day.” Fran started a nod, her mother instincts ringing loud and clear. She looked over Saphora’s body, searching for anything that may have been hidden under her clothing, but found nothing.
“You got a ride home?” Saphora looked at her in question. “From that car that just drove away?” Fran crossed her arms, and leaned against the door frame. With a heavy sigh, Saphora nodded, and slowly walked over to her bed to
sit down on it.
“Yeah, Fran. I got a ride.”
“From who?”
“A friend.”
“A friend.”
“Yeah?” Saphora looked up at her. “I’m allowed to have friends, aren’t I?”
“Well of course you are, sweetheart. But I would like to know them too.”
“Why? I’m like twenty something.” Fran’s head dipped down in slight laughter as she pushed off the doorframe and moved her hands to her hips.
“Yes, but I would still like to know them. I’m in my forties and you know my friends. Plus,” she said, going over to sit next to her on the bed. “While I may not be your mother, I do see you as my daughter, and I think I have a right to know … your friends, don’t you think?”
“I guess. Just … Maybe when I know them a little better?”
“Better? You got into a car with someone you hardly know?” Fran asked, tilting her head sardonically. Saphora tilted her head back and groaned.
“Fran. Don’t you think I would be able to handle myself if something happened?”
“I suppose. I just want you to be careful, okay? I don’t want any more phone calls. Okay? No more surprises.”
Saphora paused, taking those words into consideration. Her eyes lowered. The hope she had of one day being able to tell Fan everything, and still be accepted was spiraling fast. Things were already on edge between them. There was no way Saphora could assume everything was going to end up going smoothly. So she bit the bullet, and forced herself to agree, silently preparing for the drift that would undoubtedly take place.
“Yeah, no more surprises.”
Fran smiled, patting her hand against Saphora’s back.
“I’m going to uh, go to bed, okay?”
“Okay … Well I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to head to work.”
“The dragon is coming Wednesday, right?”
“Wednesday or Thursday. It depends on the weather,” Fran answered with excitement. Saphora attempted to smile at her response.
“It should be exciting. Make sure it’s comfortable. You don’t want to piss off the dragon.”
“Right. Don’t want it burning down the place,” Fran laughed, standing up and leaning over Saphora to kiss her forehead. “Alright, sweetie. Get some rest.”
Saphora reached her hand out to take Fran’s wrist before she walked away.
“Wait,” she stammered. “Did uh, did the police say anything? About the tree … Did they find anything?”
“They took what they found back to their lab. They’re going to call us when they’ve got some answers.”
“They didn’t tell you what they found?” Saphora asked, a little confused as to why that would be.
Fran shook her head. Saphora let go of her wrist as her eyes darted about. She thought about the gun. It flew from Tebias’ hand. She couldn’t help but wonder if the gun had remained lost in the woods, or if Tebias had retrieved it. It wasn’t with him during the second encounter that she could remember. But he could have had it stashed somewhere else, for all she knew. Paranoia was just creeping in. The thought of the police finding a weapon like that was enough to unnerve her. Finding something unworldly like that could lead them to wonder just how unworldly Saphora was.
“Why?” Fran finally asked.
“I was just wondering … What about Lupin? Did you talk to him after?”
“Yes. He still expects to see you on Monday.” Saphora was silent. “You’re going.” Again, Saphora remained quiet, and Fran tilted her head down, looking for a sign that she understood her. Remembering the conversation she had with him, she didn’t know what the consequence would be if she didn’t go. Thinking about what he said … she felt threatened to go. She wanted to do something about it. But what? Fran cleared her throat, getting Saphora to look up at her.
“Yeah,” she finally answered.
“Good. That all?”
No. It wasn’t. After everything she had just been told? That was nowhere near the amount of questions that she wanted to ask her. It wasn’t anywhere near the amount of things she wanted to talk about. She had too much to tell, without knowing how. Too many secrets, without enough reasons. Answers to questions she could never explain. And she knew that with each thing that she kept from her, they would fall further apart. But what could she do? Take that leap of faith and hope that she would remain the woman she loved? What hurt her the most, was the fact that she doubted that possibility.
“Yeah … Night, Fran,” she said, standing up and walking over to the side of her bed, pulling her blanket back as she did.
Fran smiled, and left the room, closing the door behind her. Saphora sighed, dropping the blanket and falling face-first across her bed. Just what was she going to do about Lupin? Would he really give all her information to the police? Just what kind of information did he have? She didn’t know, and that scared her. What if he had known everything this entire time? What if he had been following her? Her eyes widened. What if he knew her parents? She rolled over to lay on her back. What if he really did know everything? About everything? About Athena? About Tebias. Hydra. Saphora sat up in her bed. But if he did, wouldn’t he have already gone to the police? Information should like that would probably land Lupin enough money to retire immediately. So why didn’t he?
But who is to say that anyone would believe him if he did? Maybe he didn’t have the facts that he needed to prove whatever theory he had. But what could that be?
********
“Hydra was able to reach Saphora in time. She saved her and her friend from Tebias,” Mishka, Artemis’ guardian, informed Vida, as she watched her in her throne. Vida sighed, nodding in relief as her hand reached up to rest against her forehead.
“Oh, thank goodness – wait. Friend?” she questioned, her head turning, and her eyes focusing on Mishka. Sheepishly nodding, Mishka answered.
“Yes … She was with him at the house she landed in when Tebias –“
“He?” Vida asked more discerned. “What he? There’s a he?” she asked, standing. Her head tilted as her voice dropped from the graceful tone of a queen, to that of a skeptical mother. “What was she doing with this he at the house? Who is he?” she asked, walking towards Mishka, who took a wary step back.
“I – I don’t know, M’lady. Artemis just told me –“
“Where is Artemis?” she asked, foolishly looking around the room for her.
“She’s in the watch tower. She was …”
“Probably trying to foresee another event,” Vida sighed. “She’s been doing so much for me … I don’t know where I would be without her,” she smiled, easing her gaze towards Mishka. “Thank you for delivering the message, Mishka. You’ve served her well. But I need to talk to her about this … he,” she said, starting her way out of her chambers. But Mishka rushed up to hold her a little longer.
“Should I tell her you’re looking for her, M’lady?” Mishka offered. Vida smiled, resting her hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Thank you, but you’ve done enough. I can still manage to move around my own castle,” she laughed softly.
Flames engulfed the surroundings of the library in her vision. Her eyes stung in attempt to stay open to see what was being presented to her. From the cracking window of the library she could see the blazing sun. Large wings of fire spread out over the majority of the library, burning everything they came into contact with. She heard the screeching of a beast, making her ears ring before the edges of her vision seemed to burn away, narrowing until all that was left was darkness.
Inhaling sharply, Artemis brought her hand to her chest to grip at her clothing, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Her lashes fluttered as she worked to regain her breath, her frame trembling. Her eyes, full of remorse, gazed out of the window of the watchtower as her hand shook around the fabric of her silk ivory blouse.
“Oh god …” she breathed with a slight shake of her head. “Enya.”
“Artemis?” Vida called out. Sh
e could be heard climbing the stairs of the watchtower. “Artemis, are you up here? Answer me,” Vida demanded, coming closer to the doorway of the room. Finally hearing her call, Artemis turned around in somewhat of an alarm.
“Y-Yes, Vida! I am here!” she called back, getting quieter as she saw Vida come around the corner of the hallway. Vida sighed in slight exhaustion as she walked into the room, finally able to drop the front of her gown.
“Goodness, Artemis. Why didn’t you answer me when I first called?” she huffed, flattening her hand against the top of her head to ensure that nothing was out of place. Artemis bowed in apology, her hands folded at her thighs.
“Forgive me. I didn’t hear you,” she said, as Vida moved to sit in one of the seats in the room.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop bowing to me? It’s bothersome.”
“As many times as I tell you that it’s disrespectful not to,” Artemis said with a smile, as she stood back up.
“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve known each other since birth.”
“With all due respect, so has the rest of the kingdom,” she pointed out, making her way to the set beside Vida. Vida rolled her eyes.
“Does the kingdom know my favorite colour?”
“That’s not the point.”
“You’re right,” Vida said, clearing her throat. “The point is, I’m here, and I need to talk to you.” A knot formed in the pit of Artemis’ stomach. Could she somehow know what she had just seen?
“About?” Artemis almost choked.
“About Saphora.”
Artemis sighed in relief, her body relaxing.
“Oh, yes. She’s fine. Hydra was able to get there in time. I had told Mishka to – “
“Yes, she gave me your message. But she couldn’t answer the questions I had.” Artemis shook her head slightly.
“About?”
“About this boy that she was supposedly with.” Artemis’ face flattened out, and she leaned back a bit as her expression slowly morphed into that of disbelief.