by Sacha Black
We arrive in the West just as the sun sinks below the horizon and the rich pinks turn to navy and gray as night falls.
Bo, who’s been quiet the entire trip, takes my arms as we get off the train at Luna City central station and holds me back. I give her the ‘is everything okay?’ look, but she shakes a nod at me; I’m not sure if it means yes or no.
“You two go ahead,” I say to Trey and Kato. “I’ve got gossip to tell Bo. Very boring girl stuff.”
They shrug and walk off ahead of us, down the platform, and out the exit toward the city center.
“Okay,” I say, taking Bo’s arm, “fess up, what’s wrong? Is it you and Kato still?”
“No,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Things are getting better. I mean, he’s not totally off the hook yet. But, well…”
“He’s Kato?” I say.
“Exactly. Even when you want to, how long can you actually be mad at Trey for? It’s bloody impossible because of the Binding.”
I know what she means; the pull of the magic Binding our souls together makes being cross with him hard. The need, the longing, the completeness: it’s systemic.
“So what is wrong?”
She gives me a hard look. “Okay, but no judging,” she says, chewing her bright red lipstick pout.
“When do I ever judge?”
“Yeah,” she says, “but you’re not going to like it.”
“Okay,” I say, her tight expression giving me the first flicker of unease in my gut. We walk down a sandstone pavement and turn left. The streets become dense with bungalows. Luna City reminds me of the houses from the human fairytales Father used to read me as a child. Either side of the street, cottages with thatched roofs and window boxes overflow with budding flowers. The road itself is cobbled and made of the same sandstone as the pavement and the bungalows.
Luna station is a mile or so inland, and while the ocean is just out of sight, there’s no mistaking it’s nearby. The air is cut with enough salt to chaff the cheeks. Peppering the pavement are enchanted street lights that, as the last of the daylight disappears, wink to life. They’re green, the Sorcerers’ State color, and cast an eerie glow over the pavement that makes you want to check over your shoulder.
“I want to meet my real father,” Bo says, as lines appear in her forehead.
“Well, that’s a great idea. Why were you worried I’d judge?”
She glances at Trey and Kato several feet ahead of us and lowers her voice to a whisper, “Because I think Aurora is the only one who can tell me where he is.”
“Oh,” I say, my eyebrow hitching up a notch. Now she has my attention. I can’t say I’m surprised she wants to meet him; I’d want to too given everything that’s happened.
During the summer, Bo discovered that the man who brought her up, Israel Dark, wasn’t her biological father. It’s the reason her blood is poisonous to anyone who touches it. Maddison, her mother, made a blood oath with Aurora, the banished Mermaid Queen, in exchange for some magic that would protect her Unbalanced baby, the baby that turned out to be Cassian.
Bo is the result of that oath. In exchange for the ancient Mermaid magic Aurora gave her, Maddison had to bear a female child. The catch was that it couldn’t be Israel’s daughter. Aurora wanted a female Mermaid heir, which meant Maddison had to have a child with Aurora’s son. We still don’t know why Aurora wanted Bo and given she turned out to be a Shifter, we might never know. But we also haven’t found out where Bo’s real father is.
"What about Israel?" I say as we turn right and down a narrow path at the back of two rows of bungalows.
"I know, I know,” she says, “I feel awful because I still can’t bring myself to tell him I know.”
“Well, don’t you think you should?”
“Honestly? I don’t think he needs the added stress. Mom’s been more than a little fragile since Victor...”
We both fall silent. I’m sure she’s lost in the same turmoil I am. The guilt for killing someone in her family, mixed the knowledge that you had no choice, and the worry that maybe, this time, your best friend hasn’t forgiven you.
“I’m sor…” I say, softly.
“Don’t,” she says, “it’s hard enough bearing the weight of what we’ve done. Let’s not make each other feel any guiltier.”
“Okay,” I say, squeezing her arm, “…So, Aurora? Really though? I mean, do you have a death wish?”
“Have you got a better idea?” She cocks her head at me.
“Well, no.” I’m quiet for a bit, trying to think of a better suggestion. When I can’t, I say, “Have you got any idea where she is? It’s a pretty big ocean out there, and she’s been banished for like a million years. I’ve never even heard of a report of a Mermaid sighting; it could take years to find her. Let alone your father.”
“I know. But I want to try anyway,” she says, looking at me.
“Is asking your mom out the question?”
“It isn’t. At least it’s not if you have a death wish.”
I laugh, “Then I guess old CogNews records are a good place to start looking for sightings and maybe a trip to Aurora’s cove for a spot of fishing? Unless you or Kato know some ancient Siren that has a good memory?”
Her eyes pop wide as I say Kato’s name, her jaw flexing, as I realize just how loud I said his name.
“What’s that about me?” Kato says, turning around. I wince an apology at Bo.
“Nothing,” Bo says, smiling sweetly at him.
“Beatrice Dark, how long have you been my betrothed? You think those lashes are going to work on me?”
“They did last night.”
“That’s it. Stop it. Neither of you say another word,” I say, pretending to cover my ears.
Kato laughs and wraps his arm around Bo’s shoulder, “Seriously though, I heard my name.”
Bo glances at me, but this time, I’m on his side, “I think you should tell him.”
She glares at me, then sighs, resigning herself to confessing.
“Fine. But just so we’re clear, you’re not stopping me from looking.”
“Looking for what?”
“Aurora.”
Kato and Trey stop dead in the middle of the pavement. “Have you lost your mind, Bo?” Kato says, his face turning a deep shade of red.
“See, Eden? This is why I didn’t want to tell him.” She shakes him off and stalks ahead. Kato runs after her as she bellows, “You’ve got two options, Kato: get out of my way, or help me prepare.”
Trey glances from them to me and opens his mouth, but I cut him off, “Before you start, I know you’re going to say you don’t want me going out there either because it’s far too dangerous. But seriously, what would you rather? Bo crossing a deadly ocean totally alone?”
His mouth closes, and he folds his arms, staring at me, “Well, when you put it like that, you make it sound so appealing.”
“Maybe not the best description, I admit. But I can’t let her do this alone.”
He’s silent; I can tell from his expression this won’t be the last time we discuss it.
I understand his hesitance; there’s a long history of war between the Sirens and Aurora’s Mermaids.
Aurora was banished to the ocean when centuries ago, she waged war against the Siren Queen, Karva. Mermaids and Sirens are closely related, and Aurora thought she deserved to rule over both. Karva thought different. A brutal and bloody war raged. Karva won, so the First Fallon banished Aurora, and no one’s seen a Mermaid since. But Karva’s win came at a grave cost to the Balance. Thousands of lives were lost, including her own, and the ruptures in the Balance took decades to heal, mostly because Aurora, in a fit of rage, continued to slay any Siren that dared to cross the ocean. One of Trey and Kato’s ancestors put a ban on any Siren entering the ocean, and that was that. No more dead Sirens, and the Balance eventually healed. I’ve always wondered why there isn’t more written about it in our history books.
Bo slows until she’s back at my side
, and I lean in to whisper, “What did you expect? This is Aurora we’re talking about. It’s only right you tell him though. If anything happened to us while we were hunting her, it’s not like they can come and help us.”
“Us?” Bo mouths at me.
I glance at Trey’s back, but he’s not paying attention. Anything could happen, and if neither Trey nor Kato can go, then I guess it has to be me.
We stop outside a dark green door to one of the tiniest cottages on Herb Street. Kato’s shaking with fury. The door to the Libra Legion safe house opens. “We’ll talk about this later, Beatrice,” he growls.
Bo and I look at each other. Her neck is pink, and she’s shaking as much as Kato is.
Trey glances at me, but I gesture for him to go in. Once he’s out of sight, I turn to Bo."Okay,” I say.
“Okay? As in, okay you approve?”
“Okay, as in, I’ll help you find your father even if it takes a decade. Which frankly, I think it will.”
Her shoulders sag, and she pulls me into a hug, “Friends always…”
“And forever Balanced,” I say, finishing her sentence buried in her shoulder. We enter the green door after the boys, and it creaks shut behind us. A flash of orange hair and pointy ears tells me Hermia shut it.
“Hermia,” I say brightly, as she double bolts the door and twists several cogs attached to a metal bolt. She digs her hand into her navy First Fallon uniform jacket and throws a sparkling grey substance at the door.
“Eden,” she says, still looking at the door. She tuts and throws another fistful of the powder at the door. When nothing happens, she swears under her breath and kicks the green wood, which groans in response. The cogs finally turn and the seal slides over the frame.
“Piece of Elf shit,” she grumbles, giving the door a last kick for good measure. She turns to us. “Now, where was I…?”
We’re in an empty room save for a single table in the middle; it’s just like the safe house in the Keepers School grounds that Arden took us to over the summer. I assume this safe house is the same; what you see above ground is just a façade. The real safe house is underground.
“After me,” she says, leading us to the center of the room where the table is. Next to it on the floor, is a hatch. She picks up a glass from the small table, swallows down the drop of liquid left in it then glowers at the glass.
“Hurry up,” she says, “I need another drink.”
Once the hatch is sealed, the house is soundproof, magic proof, and just about everything proof. We climb down the ladder, Bo first, followed by Kato, then me, and last, Trey. Once Hermia seals the hatch, she leads us into this evening’s meeting room. It’s a spacious but dim room. The walls are made of a tatty dark wood and chipped green paint. Dusty paintings dot the walls, and the floor is filled with old wooden stools and tables. The floorboards groan and creak as you step over them; if they’re as old as the room looks, I’m surprised they don’t snap underfoot. At one end of the room is a small stage, and at the other is a bar with optics hanging on the wall and beer pumps along the front.
“We’re in an underground pub?”
“My favorite kind of place,” Hermia says, pulling me to the side. “Have you told him yet?” she says under her breath. Wild orange curls bounce around her face like arrows, which combined with the fiery look she’s giving me, make me wriggle under her glare.
“Eden. I mean it. You tell him or I will. I practically raised that boy. And I get that you’re family now too, and even though I agree with you that he needs to confront this, we shouldn’t be keeping it secret. You have to tell him. The longer you leave it, the worse it will be.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I will tell him, I promise.”
“You better.”
“I swear on the Balance…”
She rolls her eyes at me, “Just don’t take forever.”
“Can you tell me what the issue is finding her?” I say, changing the subject.
Hermia ducks either side of me, checking who’s around us, then scruffs my shirt and pulls me down to her level, “I don’t think she has an essence.”
“What? What do you mean? How is that possible?”
“I have no idea, but essences are how I track people. The magical fingerprint is so unique, that once I find it, I can use it to track a person. But I’m certain the reason I can’t find her, is that she doesn’t have one. It’s like… It’s like she stripped herself of her essence and made herself human. You’re going to have to ask Cassian where she is. I don’t think I can help you.”
Disappointment and frustration flood my chest. I really don’t want to involve anyone in this when I haven’t told Trey.
“Drink?” Trey says, interrupting us.
“I’ll get them,” Hermia says, abandoning us as fast as she can for the bar. She clambers up a stool and slams her glass on the bar.
“Same again,” she says to the barman, then glares at me and nods her head violently at Trey. Subtle.
“What have you done to Hermia? And why does she look like she’s going to crack her neck?” Trey says.
“Long story.” And not one I’m going to tell you today, I add silently.
I spot Nyx’s jet black spiky hair in the corner of the room as she leans onto her arms and rests on the table, staring at her pint. Titus rubs her back, and my chest tightens. She looks exhausted.
“I’ll be with Nyx and Titus,” I say, and leave Trey to help Hermia with drinks.
Arden smiles and gestures for me to come over, but before I can talk to him, Nyx’s face beams at me, “Eden.”
I lean down and embrace her. She squeezes me far too tight, and I have to pull myself out of her arms. Titus leans over and kisses my head, patting me on the back.
“Hope the first few days have been good,” Titus says. “Now the new train is refurbished, I’m going to be jobless without you toing and froing from the East.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I will come home soon. I promise. But with all these meetings and academy work, I’ve been so busy.”
Nyx turns away, her lip quivering, and it makes my chest ache. I don’t want to hurt her or leave her to pick up all my Fallon duties. But being at home still hurts without my parents there.
“Okay,” I say. “I promise to come back for the long holiday weekend.”
She sits up, her vertical green cat-eyes bright and wet, “Really?”
“Really. If Titus has an opening in his schedule to come and get me, that is.”
He smiles, “I’ll have to check.”
Nyx gives him a jab, “Oh stop that. Of course he’ll come and get you. I’ll plan the entire weekend. It will be fantastic. I’ll make sure you’re not too overwhelmed with business, and we’ll have that welcome home ball I’ve been threatening you with.”
Before I can protest, Trey brings the drinks over, without Hermia, I note, and Kato and Bo take seats on the table next to us. Bo sits closest to me. Israel nods to me from a few tables away. Maddison, sat next to him, gives me a weak smile. While she’s being civil, she hasn’t forgiven me for what happened with Victor, and I don’t think she ever will.
The rest of the faces, apart from Arden’s, I don’t recognize. Cassian and Ren enter the pub. Cassian joins Israel and Maddison, but Ren’s swept into Arden’s open arms, and a strange dance of stiff bodied shuffling ensues. As if they don’t quite know how to hug each other. She disentangles herself to give him a pat on the back. That’s weird.
Someone closes the door, signaling for the room to fall silent. Cassian waves, Ren barely manages a curt nod before turning back to the conversation she was having with him. I squint at her; there’s a dark smudge around her eye, covered in far too much concealer. I nudge Bo’s leg and flick my eyes to Ren. But she shrugs like nothing’s wrong.
“Has she got a black eye?” I whisper under my breath.
Bo looks over her shoulder and then stares at me with wide eyes, “Yeah, you’re right. Weird.”
Before I can contemplate
it further, Arden takes a mug and perches on the front of the stage “Welcome, Libras and new recruits,” he says, and takes a sip of whatever is in his tankard. He winces, blows out some air, which makes his handlebar mustache quiver, and takes another smaller sip. He’s wearing his usual green sorcery robes, although he has a new wand belt cinching him in. “It’s an informal one tonight, folks. A general catch up, discussion of next steps, and a social to welcome our potential new recruits and a chance for them to ask questions. On the tables are information packs. I’d ask that you read through them here, and leave them in the pub. Before we start, does anyone have any other business?”
I pick up the top sheet and scan it. It has information explaining the Libra’s goal – to end the First Fallon’s reign, as well as their values, which include: minimizing casualties, avoiding unnecessary risk, and ensuring they have an evidence base before acting. I hesitate, wondering what the rebel group’s values are. I scan the sheet again, unsure if I agree with these principles or how the Libras want to fight this war. Isn’t part of war about taking risks? Aren’t there always casualties?
I stand up. “I do,” I say, answering Arden’s question, and the room turns to me.
“Eden, please,” Arden says, gesturing for me to take his place. He slides into one of the more comfortable fabric chairs, the arms frayed with puffs of stuffing hanging out.
I hop on the stage and clear my throat, “I have information on the rebels who attacked the Council a couple of weeks ago. It appears they might not be our enemies.”
There are a few puzzled looks exchanged across the room.
“But they attacked the Council,” Israel says.
“I know. But I think that’s because they don’t know about the Libra Legion and what you’re trying to do. I have a source that says they’re comprised of a group of people whose Bindings are faulty. Some of them weren’t Bound to their intended Potential; others have Bindings that just don’t work.”