by Dee, Maria
“Ah, Nicholas. I was just on my way to the admissions office. Would you care to join me?”
“Alright,” he chuckled redirecting him in the opposite direction. “Don’t worry. It took me a while to acclimate to this world, let alone this campus.”
“I’ll manage,” he replied, snootily, “Approximately, when did you start to become familiarized with this world?”
Nicholas silently chuckled, “Give it time, Edric. After all, you’ve been dead for a while.”
“Hmm…it has been a while. Tell me Nicholas, what is it that you do here?”
“I’m a teaching assistant, working on my masters.”
“Excellent. And my brother?” he pried.
“Orion came on his own accord…but I was here first,” he replied, guardedly.
“I too will follow in your lead,” he said smugly. He walked with his hands interlaced behind his back. “Instead, I think I shall become a doctor of philosophy or a physicist. I quite enjoyed my studies as a boy.”
“You sure about that?” Nicholas raised his brow. “That’s a lot of work to take on from your…hiatus.”
“I feel more alive than ever. I’m ready for anything,” he proclaimed.
“Suit yourself,” he said, indifferently. “With an open portal, and all things gone a rye, I’m not sure if we’ll need a cover any longer.”
Edric sighed, placing a hand on Nicholas’ shoulder, “You can tell me, brother.”
“Tell you what?” he sneered, furrowing his brow.
“How much longer are we going to keep up this charade?” Edric whispered, continuing, “Your secrets—I know them. What you’ve done to me, and the powers you keep hidden from all the others.”
“You don’t know anything, brother,” he growled.
“Don’t fret. I have a few secrets of my own,” he smirked, “Xenia as well.”
“She told you?”
“She didn’t have to.”
Nicholas was visibly infuriated. He paced back and forth, pausing in front of Edric, “If you tell anyone, I’ll send you back again—that’s a promise.”
“You thought I had forgotten…that my memory would be marred somehow over, what felt like, a millennium—surprise. It’s not.”
“I hoped…for your sake.”
Edric laughed, entertained by the notion. “You don’t stand a chance, brother. I’m older and stronger than you. Back off or I’ll launch you fifty feet in front of all these people.”
Nicholas didn’t move, calling Edric’s bluff. They stood in an impasse.
“Very well,” Edric grinned, tilting his head back and pressing his eyelids together. He stirred the air in an instant uproar before the unthinkable happened.
All’s fair
The wind careened like wild fire as Nicholas and Edric exchanged heated looks. Between them, she stood holding a pink fluttering file folder.
“What’s up with this crazy weather?” she asked, fixing her disheveled hair. She gazed at Edric, asking, “Did you get something in your eye?”
Edric shook his head, grounding himself.
“Marla, have you met, Edric?” Nicholas introduced, saved by the person he had least expected.
“This morning, actually. We rode to school together. He’s staying with Xenia,” she revealed.
“What? I mean, right…how could I forget?” he glared at Edric, who was still transitioning back, evident by the bright swirl of blue and black in his eyes.
“Your eyes, they look stunning in this light. Almost like a swirl,” she said, moving in for closer inspection.
“It must be a reflection. It’s awfully bright out today,” he said, quickly blinking a few times before backing away. “Nice seeing you again, Marla. I have to go see about a potential job opening.”
“Later,” she dismissed, aloof. Her attention veered to Nicholas. “Just the guy I’ve been looking for. I need your help with the annual carnival hosted by Winters College. Since I’ve volunteered to help, I’m responsible for hiring a fortune teller. You know, the whole smoke in glass and tarot cards kinda thing,” she said, playfully fluttering her fingers about. “I need four good-looking guys to volunteer for the dunk bowl. So far, I’ve got Landon and you—hope that’s okay,” she flashed an optimistic grin.
“I don’t know, Marla. What would I have to do?” he asked, fair-minded in light of the situation.
“Nothing too crazy, of course. You’d be sitting on a little board and if someone were to actually hit the target, which they rarely do, you’d be sunk in water. You have to be shirtless too. It’s for charity,” she whispered, patting his shoulder. “Pleeeeease do it. I can’t find anyone else.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe,” he furrowed his brow, dubious.
“It’d be a lot more fun to sink your TA than a random student,” she explained, sheepishly.
“And it’s for charity?” he sighed, conceding.
“Yay! Do you think you could ask two of your friends, preferably other TA’s?”
“I have just the perfect guys in mind,” he said, grinning ear to ear.
“Fabulous. I can’t wait for this carnival. I think Xenia really needs a good ol’ fashion carnival—something to cheer her up.”
“How’s she been lately?” he asked, troubled.
“She seems to be a little more preoccupied and on edge lately—any idea why?” she asked, concerned.
“She mentioned a small case of insomnia. Lack of sleep can really pull a number on you,” he smiled awkwardly.
“I hope that’s all it is,” she said, sighing heavily. “I’ll text you the details of the event. Thanks again, Nicholas.”
“Sure,” he nodded politely.
Marla strolled off in a chipper mood, while Nicholas scanned his surroundings, artfully. He couldn’t sense me at first but as I neared him, five feet away, he called me out.
“My my. You’re getting better at shielding yourself, Xenia,” he said, turning to face me. “Practice makes perfect, or so I’ve heard,” I said, leaning in for a hug.
“My favorite part of the day.” He burrowed his face between my neck and hair.
“I love our campus run-ins,” I revealed demurely. His soft, full lips grazed my neck, following the angle of my jaw where he planted a chaste kiss against my flushed cheek.
“They’re not so random any more, not when you track me like you just did,” he whispered impressed.
“It’s kinda stalkerish, huh?” I muttered.
“Illegal is what it is, but I’ve been known to break the law myself,” he said, with a wicked grin. “Our sacred laws of course.”
Diplozoes had laws? I already knew Nyxta tried rebellious diplos, but I wondered if there was a rapid guide on Diplozoe law, for reference sake.
“Edric is doing some stalking of his own it seems,” I revealed, on a side note. Everywhere I looked now, there he was.
“Admissions is that way?” Edric asked, pointing as he walked past us disorderly. I nodded, steering him in the exact direction.
“Now I could do without him on my tail,” Nicholas scorned.
“Oh? But I meant Orion in your case.”
“Well, they’re brothers after all,” he muttered dismissively. “At least Orion is useful to us. Which brings me to some good news. He may have a lead to temporarily seal the portal.”
“Really? That’s amazing! What is it?” I asked, impatiently.
“He didn’t reveal much. We had a brief exchange of words but he said he’d be in touch.”
“This is our only lead and it rests in the hands of Orion. Dear God,” I uttered in antipathy.
“Has Kiran dug anything up?” he asked, shiftily.
“He’s been pretty scarce since Corlissa…” I grimaced, pau
sing mid thought.
Nicholas twirled a strand of my hair between his fingers, while his cool, well-defined grey eyes embarked into the depths of my own, however falling short of my fragment—something unusual. “She didn’t seem very sisterly at the summoning,” he said, shedding light on the obvious. His hand entangled in my hair as his fingers grasped the back of my scalp, gently massaging.
I struggled to breathe, fighting to finish my train of thought. “It was a stressful situation and then being reunited with his sister on top of it all, I can’t imagine what he went through.”
“That’s rough,” he said, changing topics again. His gentle hand untangled, distancing itself. Why’d he stop? What did I do? “Have the others approached you?” he asked, recoiling.
“I met Viola—the source of my restless nights,” I cringed.
“Hmm, we need to find you a new source,” his enticed lips sharpened into a devilish grin. My face paled at the thought. Oh Nicholas, you have no idea. “Ah. Yes, the eyes. With the open portal, she must be searing quite readily.”
“You think they’d be showering me with gifts after I apparently reunited everyone. Instead, they’re trying to drive me insane—what gives?”
“This is them being friendly. It could be worse, trust me,” he cautioned, suddenly appearing taking us both by surprise.
Nicholas nodded in salutation to Kiran. I slapped his arm, annoyed by his trickery. Who knows what else he had listened in on without us knowing.
“As it turns out, you’re not the only one holding Endeca back,” Kiran said, raising his brow.
“That’s a relief,” I sighed, confused, “You mean Daisy?”
“No. Corlissa is…dead. Without her, we can’t unite Endeca,” he explained, somberly.
“But she was at the grand summoning,” Nicholas remarked, confused.
“Whatever has inhabited her body is thriving off of our union,” he said, visibly bothered.
“Could she be an E-SOM spy?” I asked.
“Not likely. Nyxta would’ve been able to detect something as fishy as that,” he clarified continuing, “This thing that’s possessed my sister’s body must be very old.”
“It must predate Nyxta even,” said Nicholas, his eyes wide with wonderment. “It can’t be…”
“What’s wrong, Nicholas?” I asked, petrified. An alarmed Kiran stood by me, and I placed a hand on his shoulder, bracing for the unknown.
“It’s been right in front of our eyes this whole time,” he muttered, dazed, “I know what’s inhabited Corlissa.”
“What is it? Tell me!” A hostile Kiran shouted, on edge.
“E prote. It’s in the scripture. She, the enlightened one, is to come forth upon the ascension in the sacred vessel…Corlissa must be it,” he stuttered in disbelief.
“The first will bring forth the new age of awakening,” Kiran translated in recollection.
“What’s the new age?” I asked, waiting in limbo. Both Kiran’s and Nicholas’s disturbed expression mirrored one another’s.
“A mass transition…evolution,” Kiran explained, his eyes faraway.
I seized the horror that overcame their faces. All I could think about was how pointless it was of me to try and salvage any normalcy when sooner than later, life would no longer be normal for anyone.
“Can’t this be a good thing? I mean, if everyone evolves, there’d be no reason for us to live in secrecy. We’d all be the same,” I spoke in a higher pitch, once more, hopeful.
“You’re not grasping the entire picture, Xenia. We’ve evolved over centuries. These humans would evolve radically. We can’t foresee the end result, especially something of this magnitude. They could very well die during the process due to the surge of energy and complex molecular changes,” Kiran explained, keenly.
“We could possibly be facing extinction of the human race,” Nicholas added, astounded.
“This is way over my head. We need to speak to Orion, on our terms, and find out what he knows about a temporary seal.”
“I’ll bring an ancient volume on the ascension that I salvaged long ago—it might be of use to us,” Nicholas added, mystified.
“I’ve got to run, but let’s VT later tonight? Maybe we could pop by Orion’s and catch him off his rocker,” I proposed, preemptively.
“That’d be best. The less Orion knows, the better,” Kiran said, worriedly.
“Same goes for your house guest, Xenia,” Nicholas derided.
My jaw dropped and my cheeks flushed by his unexpected caveat. I looked away, sheepishly. It’s not like I didn’t expect him to find out but his threatening tone was surprising—foreign even. I cleared my dry throat, contributing what I could.
“Orion has volumes of ancient scripture and texts in his study. There may be more for us to research there,” I added, without consideration.
Nicholas snorted, looking up from his Cyclopod. “Spend a lot of time there?”
“Not really, but I recall seeing his study,” I whispered, shyly. My phone beeped twice, signaling a text message from Calliope.
Calliope: Lunch? Meet me at the student center?
Xenia: OK! B there soon
“I’ve got to go,” I said, motioning to my phone, “Lunch date.”
We each walked away, parting like traces of spilt water from a broken glass. Could you blame us? Who wouldn’t be fazed by something as serious as evolution or extinction?
Although I knew the remaining three exclusive members wouldn’t threaten me in public domain, I still felt on edge. It was a hard feeling to shake and I was feeling it quite often since the summoning. My nerve endings were on fire and my vision was blurred, and on occasion, I was overcome by dizzy spells. All of which I had to mask, as best as I could, from my dear friends and parents. I didn’t want anything to change for them, for them to view me in a way that wasn’t the real me. The Xenia they had known for nineteen years—the Xenia I had known myself as. As long as my loved ones stayed in the dark, I could salvage the life I knew. Why should the walls crumble when my life was only just beginning? If the walls crumbled, it’d be a catastrophe. I couldn’t live with myself if that ever happened. I was hoping for a miracle to work in my favor.
Instantly, I felt a heavy arm around my shoulder and my heart stopped.
“What’s goin’ on, Z?” Landon asked. Ever since he and Marla started dating, he’d been in the best of spirits.
“You know, the usual,” I said, imitating a smile. “I’m excited for the carnival actually. Can’t wait to dunk your ass like a hundred times.”
“A hundred tries is how many times it’ll take for you to even dunk me once, if you’re lucky,” he muddled.
“If I were you, I’d bring a few towels. You’re gonna need them,” I beamed at the prospects. I was never one to shy away from a challenge, for the most part.
Landon mocked an open mouthed silent laugh.
“There’ll be plenty of guys to dunk, Xenia,” Marla said, caressing Landon’s arm. He embraced her first before she swiftly climbed onto his back for a piggy back ride.
My phone beeped twice—it was a VT from Calliope.
Walking a tad late. See you bitches soon
“Did she just replace running with walking?” Landon asked, bemused.
“Yeah. Cal officially hates running and refuses to even say the word,” I chuckled.
“So she gets to rephrase common expressions and expects that everyone else will be cool with it?” he asked, in disbelief. “Because I’m not. And since I’m already speaking in this high register, I’d like to ask why it is that only us guys are being objectified at the dunk tank?”
“To spare ourselves the lame pickup lines from guys,” Marla replied, diligently.
“I bet I can get you wet,” I said, in demonstration.
“When they should really be saying, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be quick and over before you know it,” Marla added, giggling.
Landon snickered like an immature teenager, “Wet.”
“Really? That’s all you got from this?” Marla snapped.
“Whaaaaat? I’m a guy. I fixate on whatever my…” he paused, looking down, “imagination likes.”
Marla shot him a disapproving look.
“It’s a guy thing. There’s too much X and not enough Y here—where’s Nicholas?”
“He’s busy with work.”
“Hey, that’s what you get for dating a TA—I’m just saying,” he jeered.
I rolled my eyes, walking toward the cafeteria. I joined the annoyingly long line. “Feeling for some Thai today.” The smell of food was making my mouth water.
As I awaited my turn, I felt a cold breeze pass through me, sending me shivers from head to toe. I had felt this before—someone was watching me. I looked around the perimeter casually so as not to scare the perpetrator away. I looked through the crowd of students on the main floor and no one, out of the ordinary, stood out. I carefully dropped my wallet, bending down to grab it, while craning my neck. On the terrace stood a tall, gaunt shadow of a man leaning over a rail, his forearms dangled. He stared vehemently, cracking a smile after sensing my instant alarm. He quickly turned, veering out of sight.
“Excuse me, can you hold my spot? I’ll be right back,” I anxiously asked a guy who stood behind me and he politely nodded.
I ran up the stairs frantically pursuing a shadow of a man. Which one was he? Maybe he was a figment of my imagination. With no sight of the mysterious, lanky man, this did not hold credence to my sanity whatsoever.
I returned to the line to find I had lost my spot. Shit.
“Sorry,” said my spot holder, shrugging his shoulders indifferently as he walked past me, biting into a spring roll. I sighed, lining up once again in a much longer line. Marla came to join me with her food in tow.
“Yummy,” I said, snagging a few fries and quickly devouring them.