Evanescent

by Carlyle Labuschagne

  “I had to, you must believe that,” he said in low whispers.

  I studied Dad’s sunken shoulders, his shifting eyes. “I was wondering why Thandiwe was able to make it this far.” I suddenly knew.

  Dad’s shoulders slumped further forward in defeat.

  “You can’t save them all,” I told him.

  “Would you accept that answer?” He cleared his throat, a smile playing behind a haggard face.

  There was more. “Why can’t Anaya heal you, Dad?” Everyone had noticed his limp.

  “I don’t want her to.”

  “What?” I was shocked, and he was being ridiculous.

  “She is going to need it more.”

  “You know something?” I queried, studying him.

  “No, just call it a feeling.” He turned, hiding his face from me.

  He looked at my leg but I, of course, had healed the very moment Ava was out of my honing range.

  I stared up at him. “You are not coming with me this time.” I was adamant.

  “I was wondering how long it would take you to make that offer,” he said on a smirk.

  “You just needed to tell me Dad. You don’t owe us anything.”

  “Would you have told me?” he teased.

  “Stop that,” I joked. “Those antics won’t work on me.”

  Dad and I both looked to the clearing skies, listening to the mass crush of feet through hidden paths as Zulu warriors gathered.

  “Dad, the power of sustaining this shield, it’s going to kill you.” I looked back at the glimmer dome over the Zulu village.

  “You would do the same to save so many.”

  We found ourselves in the grain fields, or what was left of them, when it suddenly hit us all as we gawked at the disaster. The crops in the Zulu lands and no doubt in the city, were ruined. Soon the Council would attack the small Minoan village, taking out their food supplies and holding them hostage into obedience, them being the holders of any and all nutritional resources. The Zulu village could not possibly have stockpiled for more than a few weeks during the small amount of warning they had, thus leaving the entire planet at the mercy of the Council. The timing of the attacks were perfect.

  The girls stood beside us, watching in horror and a mixture of awe of what might be our final hour, fear rode our veins in waves as troops went through the rippling, glossy surface of the traveling mirror. We had found a way to expand its surface to accommodate our masses, but this meant the mirror was made weaker, and had to be turned off for a while once we crossed over; the surge of energy too much, which would cause the entire thing to overheat and melt down. This would be the first time we actually tested the upgraded version, not even sure if it would work or come back on, once we passed through. There were now two mirrors on that moon, one Enoch and his father had replicated that stood in one of the towers in his fortress; the other, the accompanying one we were about to enter, stood behind the dunes and mountains of golden sand, our original landing point behind the green lake. Father had filled me in that the hidden moon had been a guard post for Poseidon once, and that its location behind so many dust clouds was exactly why we had never known about it. I spared one last glance around as the last of the troops headed in. We had to time our entry just right for our designated troops to go through the correct ‘tunnel’, at the right time. If they entered and slipped into Enoch’s replica – some would probably not make it to the other side due to the surface area being too small. Anaya came to see Maya off, who we unfortunately had to revive and take with us; her blood tie to her sister had found her before, and we had to use it now. I was not pleased about the idea of taking Maya with us just moments after she had woken from her fragile state. She had gone through enough. But, using a blocking spell to rid her of whatever plagued her mind was working – for now. I had enough to worry about but knew Maya was strong, always had been, and of late my connection to Ava was a dangerous one. With Rion and Robert assigned as Maya’s personal bodyguards, I hoped it was enough to keep her safe. Maya took her long hair and tied it in a pony. Her eyes caught mine and she smiled – barely, but what intrigued me was the shimmer of the silver band around her wrist. Ava had the same gauntlet on her arm. The two pieces of jewelry belonged to the first Pure sisters, and kept safe until the time had come when it was needed. In battle, the gauntlet acted as a talisman to the wearers and as Ava was now the overseer of all the ancient pieces, we were hoping this, too, would make the sisters’ connection stronger. I hoped it would be activated soon. Dave gave me a slight shove toward the mirror as its surface iced over. We counted exactly 30 seconds between crossovers. Maya’s diamond pendant glowed when she neared the mirror, a sign of the connection between all things that belonged to the ancients. The potency of its magic was the reason Anaya had found a way to lift her from the dark spell. The white radiance lit the gray air around us as Maya held the correct entrance path. I looked to David and Rob, weapons sparkling in the twilight hour. The mirror came alive, the radiance reflecting off weapons and silver eyes. Twirling a blade in my hand, I thought back to our collected glimpses of our battle ahead. Dad had his feelings, Nomsa hers, and Thandiwe had some visions. Once again, the dark cloud of her vision plagued me. My hands shook with anger and anticipation as the last of the Zulu troops crossed over. Greg turned, and Shane smiled eagerly. Bongi adjusted his short handled spear, or assagai, as he watched the last of his warriors disappear. We sent Willard and Tatos with Shane and Greg as our frontline leaders. Willard let out a sharp breath as the cold, crystal hardness of the rippling mirror’s surface took him and transported him to the other side.

  “The first time is always the scariest,” Robert said.

  20 seconds.

  Anaya hugged us goodbye, and I felt the unsettled beat of her heart as she came closer.

  “We will take good care of Maya, I assure you.” I hugged her back as tightly as she had me; she was like a big sister to us all, and we had always been in this together. Her bottom lip quivered, unsure if she should stay. Unsure if any of us would make it back. In this battle, every life, every moment was Evanescent. I looked back to Dave with a hard glare, reinforcing the need to win this battle and get back to our family. If Enoch was working with the Council, he had given my true identity away, traded our secrets for something he needed. I was sure they had supplied him with the necessary requirements to accomplish his droid army, but there had to be something more they were after – together, a mutual purpose. I knew how both parties worked, what made them tick, but I also knew that they would betray another for what they wanted, and those wants were fickle. I smirked to myself – their weaknesses were many. Greed was an easy thing to predict. Especially if I had felt its powerful claws before. Could one be greedy for someone? I was. Yeah, and look where it go us. It might have started the downward spiral of all of this. I might even have started her change too soon, greed was what I counted on right now.

  10 seconds.

  “Yeah,” Dave said smugly. “I can already taste it.” He meant the approaching victory. My posse and I, together with the Truth Seekers, had worked for many Poseidon cycles to get to this point. It was never easy to hide my identity from the Council, especially if you had a rep like I did. Until recently, I was sure the Keepers thought me a fictitious character. How could I, by any means – in any lifetime, have penetrated their defenses, influenced their subjects and found Ava before they did? How could I have swayed so many? Simple. I was right under their rotten noses all that time. I was responsible for getting the general on our side. I was guilty of getting my friends off the meds supplied by the Council, the ‘good hormones’, which in reality were controlling substances. It was no easy task, I assure you. But I was a product of broken blood, my influences were no match. Once Dave had come around it had been much easier to get the others, and the general, to see things the way that they actually were. My thoughts touched everything that had brought us to that moment.

  “All we have been through, I promise, hasn’
t been for nothing,” I reiterated, holding Dave’s head to mine, our foreheads touching. A little heart to heart on the battlefield made for good motivation.

  “We did good boys!” Robert called out to us, shaking out his arms.

  “You boys about ready, talked away the nerves then?” Bongi chipped in.

  Tatos laughed. “Humans, you should see them sometimes.”

  Robert shot Tatos a look.

  “Especially this one.” Tatos pushed Rob playfully.

  “You’re just jealous,” he piped back.

  Tatos snorted.

  “I wish I could go with you, sounds like a fun battle lies ahead.” Anaya shook our hands, a gesture she had learned from me, the bowing thing was getting a little old. Besides, now that they were not hiding from the Council, I suppose they could act a little more ‘human’. Take for instance Dad’s sudden change in appearance. I had no idea he still owned the clothes he had worn in his time on Earth. He’d preserved them well under his purple Minoan caftan. Thank goodness denim and leather had stood the test of time, fashion wise, or I’d have had to crush his feelings by telling him he dressed like a dork. We all kept our eyes on Father and Anaya as we took our final steps. Beads of sweat had dappled Anaya’s entire body. She had turned and headed back to be with Thandiwe in her final moments. Minoans could adapt easily to outrageous weather, their kind had outlived many planets. So, there was only one reason she was sweating, she was nervous – very.

  Tatos smiled. “It’s being near him.” He cocked his head toward Dave, implying Anaya had feelings for Dave.

  “Ah, you saw that.” I grinned.

  “What?” Dave played all innocent.

  “Let’s make it back, and you will find out.” Tatos played along.

  “Shhhh,” Maya said, concentrating on dividing the paths through the mirror.

  It was a huge risk to take, but necessary to throw Enoch off. We all entered at the same portal opening, only we were delivered to two separate spots. My nerves burned. I had no idea what awaited us in that tower, we could very well be walking into a trap. I smirked to myself. Any trap he had planned was breakable by me. I had nothing to fear. Then why did I have such an unsettling hole in the pit of my stomach? My drive was warning me but I had no need, nor the time to listen. Maya grabbed my hand and smiled at me, blue eyes so much like her sister’s in shape and essence.

  1 second.

  We all blew out a huge breath. The last of our frontlines; Tatos, Bongi, Willard, Shane and Greg, disappeared into the ripple of the silver mirror. As the waves faded, the sky reflected back dark clouds moving rapidly above us – another storm was heading over the village. I hoped Dad was strong enough to keep the shield going.

  “It’s going to be fine,” she said, laying her head on my shoulder. “I won’t leave your side.”

  “Good.” I patted her head.

  “We will find her,” she assured me.

  “I know.”

  Anaya had obviously gotten her up to speed.

  “You sure you’re up for this?”

  She snorted. “She would do it for me.”

  “She would,” I repeated.

  She grabbed Rion’s free hand. David and Robert stood closer and the intensity of the moment, the burn from summoning courage, glowed in our eyes.

  Facing our fading reflections, we all drew in as much air as we could into our lungs, like we were getting ready to descend deep underwater – as the quick journey to the other side was exactly like that – being underwater, deep beneath the cold, dark surface where the pressure of dark matter could deflate your lungs and pop blood vessels if you lingered too long in the emptiness of time and space. I never got used to the feeling of this ancient teleportation device. The instant our skin touched its silver surface, it was akin to being cut by burning ice. And, once more than an arm penetrated the wormhole there was no turning back, the force was like being sucked into a high-powered vacuum. Just as it felt like every single fiber and thought was about to explode or freeze over, we emerged on the other side. It took a moment to regain one’s senses, but once we got to the other side, I was relieved we had all made it. That feeling was short-lived though, because we were not in the tower as I had hoped. I also hoped the other four trailing behind us would not be the ones delivered to that tower. I fiddled with my inhaling device, hoping we didn’t stay longer than what we had planned. Our inhaler would last us each an extra day. We all turned to look over the oceans of golden sand and high-rising, white ruins of the guard towers in the far distance behind us. Ahead of us, the gray, looming, stoned fortress protruded like an ugly poisoned growth.

  “Damn,” Dave mumbled, overlooking huge golden waves of sand.

  Maya looked around, seeming a bit startled.

  “You okay?” Rion held her.

  “It feels strange being back here, not remembering much, but the feeling of being here is present,” she tried to explain looking into his eyes.

  “Are your gauntlets working?” I asked her.

  She turned out of Rion’s arms, and looked down at the stones set in her silver bracelets. A trio of different gems marking the trifecta in spells to an object; protecting, binding and locating, were etched in Eteocretan all around the surface of the gauntlet.

  She shook her head. “No, but I know she is near.”

  “Can you feel her, or...”

  “Something like that.” Her disappointment in her gaze matched mine. Why had the ancient gauntlets and weapons not activated when near Ava? It should have by now. The last signs of the prophecy were upon us. Planet Poseidon was raging back to life, our powers strengthening, the hidden moon, the dark army...

  There was an unmistaken tiny shudder in the traveling mirror, the tremor beneath our feet; the gate was being opened from the other side, and I had a feeling it was from the tower inside the fortress. I pushed Maya behind me. Robert pulled out a knife, and Dave cocked his gun. It gleamed in the faint light as the mirror took on a glow. Robert and I stood ready to break Enoch’s neck the minute he surfaced. I grabbed at the figure emerging through the mirror before it had even completely materialized. A shriek dampened my spike of adrenalin.

  “Ava!” Maya shouted.

  I pulled her out of the headlock and pulled her so hard into me, I was certain I was about to crush her. Emotion broke my resolve. I could have cried, so powerful was the feeling. All eyes were on us as my hunger for her turned to a frenzy of anger inside me. I couldn’t think straight, so I pushed her aside, twirled her around to make sure she was real; that she was there and I wasn’t hallucinating.

  “It’s me,” she said.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  She gave no answer. “How could you let him get to you again?” I pushed.

  Maya pulled her by her arm, searching her eyes. “Ava?”

  Ava wrapped her arms around Maya. “You’re okay. I was so worried.”

  “How did you get here?” Robert interjected. He knew something was off, we all did. It was just too much of a coincidence that she was there practically at the exact moment we came through.

  “I have no idea.” She pulled a strand of hair from her mouth.

  “That, too, is a little convenient, don’t you think?” David started, suspecting something was off about her, too.

  “Look, I don’t know what you guys are on about, but we need to get to Arriana.”

  Everyone gasped. I searched her face, knew when she was lying, and she had been since the first time we came back from this moon. I was mad at her, wanted to shake her from the obvious spell she was under. The evidence was clear in the glossy stare of her eyes. She was living in some dream world, and I wanted to know why – why was she hiding behind the Shadowing disease? What was its plan for us?

  “Ava.” My chest felt like imploding, seeing her so out of it – I could have prevented it, it was my fault I was losing her all over again. All the signs had been there earlier, but the denial and fear of loss was obviously blinding. I had nev
er felt so pathetic. With her, I had no idea how to calm the storm I was chasing. But I would do anything I needed to, to get her back. I scraped my hair back and my palms came away sweaty. She had no idea what she was doing to me. I wanted her so bad, but it might have been too late. I had missed my door of opportunity. I felt like kicking myself. She stood before me. She looked different in the soft golden hues of the moon somehow. Moving closer to her, her eyes pinned to mine, I ran my hands through her long hair. I loved it when it was untied like that. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek in my palm. I moved even closer, not caring that this was such an awkward moment for those around us. I would never hold back with her ever again. I tasted what we could have, and I would never let it scare me again. She was my truth. When I held her face to mine, her scent infuriated me, it was too much to contain. The bliss of my touch drawing back the afflictions of the Shadowing disease within her was a wonderful sight, but I wished I could feel it as my skin touched hers. I rested my head against hers.

  Her mind spoke to mine, and I was not even trying. “I am sorry.” But clearly, she pushed me. I was not reading her at all, so that promise I had kept – but the one promise I had broken – was promising her that I would stay away. I breathed in her scent harshly, desperately not wanting to hear the words spilling out. I already knew.

  “For what?” I asked into her hair, my hand trembled holding her so close.

  Maya was suddenly beside us, staring at me in shock, or was it horror?

  Before Ava could respond, Maya pulled us apart and shoved her. Her feet heavy in the thick sand, taking her to the ground.

  “Hey!” I tried to pull Maya back, but Rion was already standing between the two of us.

  “Here we go again,” Robert joked, referring to the earlier brawl at the general’s place.

  Ava jumped up, much faster than I anticipated. I held her back as she lunged forward. Robert was right, they were about to go at each other again.

  “What’s with you Maya?” I asked.