Emergent

by Natasha Brown

  Batukhan settled at the edge of the water and sat in the pose he always resorted to when talking with Chance when he was agitated. Very calmly, he responded, “I am an open book to you, young Chance. Please ask me what you wish to know.”

  Chance removed his backpack and pulled out something to snack on. “Tell me about Lifen. How do you know her?”

  Might as well get to the point. He wanted to know if Ana was in danger and if he should be concerned. Plus, he was sick and tired of people keeping secrets from him. He didn’t like being left in the dark—it was time to take control of the situation.

  A sorrowful expression flashed across Batukhan’s face and he closed his eyes. “I know the pain of being separated from your love.”

  “And that would be Lifen, I’m guessing?”

  “It is best I start at the beginning of this story.” Batukhan flipped a tiny pebble into the small basin. He watched the ripples multiply and lap against the soil rim. “Long ago, over eight hundred years back, I was a soldier in Genghis Khan’s army. Our numbers were not overwhelming, but we were strong and had a cunning leader to guide us. After he united the Mongolian tribes, he led us in an invasion of the western Xia province, and with some persistence, we overtook the capital. The emperor, having no support from the neighboring Jin dynasty, submitted to the Mongol reign and became a vassal state. To show his loyalty to his new ruler, the emperor gave his daughter, Chaka, to Genghis for marriage. Chaka had her own maid to tend to her needs.”

  Chance’s curiosity was overwhelming, and the intensity of it surprised him. Remain silent and he will reveal more.

  “I was a messenger in Genghis Khan’s army and we remained in the capital city for some time before moving on to the next campaign. I had just come into service as a young man, and everything was new and exciting. I was proud to aid our great empire. As focused as I was on my future with Khan’s army, I could not help but be distracted with Lifen’s beauty and grace. I do not think she noticed me from any other soldier that roamed the Mongol camp. But while going about my duties one day, something happened that was quite a surprise to me. I discovered my abilities for the first time. It happened quite suddenly and without warning.

  “Before I continue, I should give you further knowledge about my culture. You see, Genghis and many of my people believed in Tengerism. We believe everything has a spirit: the water, animals, plants and even these rocks beneath us. Shamans are masters of the spirit world. It is said that they can take on animal form while they are doing spirit work. I had no knowledge of my family being shamans because my relatives made no mention of it. You see, after a young age I was raised by my mother’s family, since my parents were killed in one of the nomadic tribe attacks, and they never spoke of my father’s ancestors to me.”

  “Tell me about the first time you shifted,” Chance prompted. The cultural information was already oddly familiar to him.

  Batukhan paused to study Chance and then continued speaking, his eyes never leaving his face. “My first time was while I was just leaving Khan’s tent to take a message to one of his generals stationed outside of the capital city. I was passing by Princess Chaka’s tent, which was empty. She had a small dog and while I passed by the threshold, the creature ran out and followed me. I collected it to return it and that was when I shifted for the first time . . . and it was then that Lifen returned to retrieve something for the princess.”

  For the first time through his storytelling, Batukhan smiled. “It was not humorous, but now in retrospect, I find it so. Lifen knew my secret and she kept it dutifully, though she owed me nothing. I think my heart became hers in that moment. Things were so simple for a while, but as I have learned, nothing stays this way for long. She and the princess were left at the city instead of being taken to the next military campaign, since Khan rarely slowed his movement throughout the east. For years, when I came to the city with messages for the emperor, she would prowl away with me in secret. She loved to watch me shapeshift and learn about my abilities.”

  “So what happened? Lifen’s a shapeshifter too. That doesn’t explain how she got her powers and why, if you were so in love, you aren’t with her now?”

  Chance realized he was only a few feet away from Batukhan now. He’d inadvertently crept steadily forward the entire time his travel partner had been telling his story. From the look he was giving Chance, he was fully aware of his movement around the water basin.

  Batukhan’s face darkened. “War. We were separated by war and the choices I made and my selfishness. I’m sorry, I find myself growing thirsty from all of my talking. If you can forgive the needs of an old shifter, I will tell you more about my shameful past later. It would be nice to cross the border by nightfall, do you not agree?” Without waiting for an answer, Batukhan shifted into a dog and began to lap at the water.

  Without warning, the all-too-familiar sensation of a memory washed over Chance. He grew anxious. One of the last ones he’d experienced was more than painful. Reliving the death of Balam’s wife from her killer’s perspective was enough to rattle anyone. He’d take another one of his grandfather Niyol’s memories of life on his ranch in Montana any day.

  A smell overcame him. Something was burning. It was similar to the aroma of a campfire, but it also reminded him of burnt hair, a very offensive and recognizable fragrance. Chance’s surroundings came into view, although his periphery was fuzzy, like looking through the bottom of a glass.

  He was standing at the edge of a forest. The trees were unfamiliar to him. It didn’t look like the jungle in the Yucatán or the timberlands of Idaho. He had never set foot in this place before. The land sloped down into a valley covered with grass and a large fortress, partially obscured by smoke and mountain.

  Shouts rang out in a different language, but he knew what they were saying. “It has fallen! Xia will be ours!”

  Soldiers ran ahead of him. They wore intricate coats tied with leather belts and cone-shaped helmets covered their heads. Black mustaches and trimmed beards decorated many men’s chins. Their round faces closely resembled Batukhan’s features.

  Chance looked down at his bloodied hands and cuffs. His stomach turned over at the sight of it. What now?

  A dog whined and he swayed on his feet. The disorienting sensation lifted and he realized he was staring at his own hands. They were dirty but not saturated with blood. Batukhan barked at him and Chance waved him off, taking his time to shift. He didn’t know what he’d just seen, but it had frightened him.

  Ana moved her dinner around her plate. She didn’t feel much like eating. Her body was starved for protein since she’d burned so much energy earlier, but she’d lost her appetite.

  After shapeshifting lessons Ana had been heartily congratulated by Derek, but the others practically ignored her. Jordan had given her a flat “congrats” and proceeded to draw Lifen’s attention to his latest accomplishment, although Ryan hadn’t even looked at her. She was ecstatic about taking bird form for the first time but was not at all pleased it had been by accident. It also appeared her success had come at a price. From what she gathered, Ryan hadn’t been successful at taking on his new reptile form. She seemed to have a ready friend in Derek, but she’d blown it today with the others. It wasn’t as if she even liked Ryan that much, but she knew she’d inadvertently hurt him, and that she couldn’t live with.

  “Pass the dressing, Jordan,” Ryan said.

  Ana watched Jordan reach out of his way to take it from in front of Ana and pass it to Ryan. Outside of a few comments directed to each other, dinner had remained eerily quiet.

  Lifen lifted her cup to her lips and broke the silence with a question. “How was your first day, Ana? I hope you’re finding yourself at home here.”

  How was she supposed to answer? After her long stay in Mexico and the traumatizing events that led to her quick departure, all she really wanted was to go home to her mom and sister. To hide out in her small, dark room that looked out into the evergreens. All today had really sh
own her was that she had a long way to go in controlling her powers. As long as she was having failures, she couldn’t truly celebrate her accomplishments.

  “Such a long pause,” Lifen said, surprising Ana. “That doesn’t bode well.”

  She hadn’t realized she’d taken so long to respond.

  “You’ve been great. I’ve learned so much already and it’s only been a day. It’s beautiful here, it’s just . . .”

  “You are homesick and frustrated. Many of my students have experienced the same thing.”

  Ana shrugged and nodded, not wanting to speak just yet since her cheek had begun to quiver and talking would just break the dam she’d carefully built up through the day.

  Ryan shook his head and muttered. “What a rough life.”

  All she wanted to do was go to her room and be alone, but before she could move Derek cleared his throat. “So, Ana,” he asked, “what do you do in your free time?”

  She stared incredulously at him. Besides crushing other shifters hope, Ana thought sarcastically to herself. Wasn’t it just best to end the dinner before she did something else to upset someone, including herself? Ana took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. He was only trying to help. “Well, I love stargazing. It’s kinda my thing. It relaxes me when I’m stressed or sad.”

  “Maybe you need to pick up the hobby, Ryan.” Derek grimaced coldly and braced his hand next to his plate.

  Ryan stood up and said with a snarl, “Shut up, man. Stay out of it.”

  Lifen watched everything in silence and turned to Ryan with a peaceful expression.

  “The great lesson of patience can be a hard one, but it is rewarding. It is said that Chinese bamboo is very unique and special. The farmer must plant and tend to it diligently, season after season, irrigating and fertilizing the plant even when it looks no different year after year. To look at it you would think it was dormant and there is no reward for the labor. After persisting for four years, on the fifth year, the bamboo grows over eighty feet high in one season. You may wonder how this is so, when for so long the plant appears unchanged. But to be able to allow for such abundant growth, the bamboo must first send out its roots to be able to support itself. This is the same with shapeshifting. No matter how much you might want to grow, it is more important to lay the groundwork before you start expanding, so you do not fall down.

  “Ryan, I think it may be wise for you to calm down and find your center. The feelings you are experiencing are normal, but you must be mindful of your actions. I cannot train someone who is not willing to remain in control of himself. Take your food away and meet me in the meditation room.”

  Ryan glared at both Ana and Derek and then dropped his chin to his chest when addressing Lifen. “Yes, Lifen.”

  All eyes were on him as he turned and left the room. Ana noticed her heartbeat had elevated and closed her eyes to calm herself.

  “Some need more help than others,” Lifen commented with a sigh. “So, Ana, you enjoy stargazing. Are you familiar with astrology too?”

  “Um, not as much. I just like the stars themselves. I’ve learned about different constellations though. I think it’s fascinating how different cultures have different stories for the same constellations.”

  “It is similar to shapeshifting. So many stories . . .”

  Lifen set her fork down and stood gracefully. The boys got to their feet and Ana joined them.

  “I must go assist Ryan. Ana, if you would like me to show you a special place for your stargazing, I can take you at eight o’clock.”

  Ana thought about sitting alone in her room and shrugged, deciding stargazing would be a preferable choice right now. Maybe it would make her feel better. “That’d be great. Thank you.”

  After Lifen left, Jordan picked up her dirty plate as well as his and paused to address Derek. “Your turn to do the dishes.”

  His eyes were dull and his shoulders slumped, which was more pronounced on his lanky frame. Ana observed him leave and muttered to Derek. “Boy, I really did everything wrong today. I made Ryan feel like a failure and Jordan clearly thinks he’s not the favorite anymore. I honestly didn’t mean to . . .”

  “Hey, don’t freak. Ryan’s moody all the time and Jordan could use an ego check. But what about me? You didn’t mention how hurt I am that you didn’t thank me for the pony ride.” Derek smirked and started gathering all the food dishes.

  Ana chuckled. “Wow, that was inconsiderate of me. Do I owe you a quarter or something? Here, let me help you with that.”

  They carried the dinner left-overs into the kitchen and Ana opened the dishwasher. Derek put away the food while she rinsed and scrubbed the dirty dishes.

  “Seriously though. Don’t worry about the guys. They have their own baggage and you can’t help that. Anyone can see you’re not trying to rub it in their faces. And c’mon—you’re different, and awesome. You’re like Lifen, and you’re new, so you’re her focus. Can’t help that. They’ll come around, or not—whatever. You focus on your job—continuing to rock the shifter world.”

  Ana locked the dishwasher and leaned against the counter. “Thanks, Derek. Ever wished that your life was easy? Like, just once?”

  “I know the feeling.”

  “Well, I’d better get ready for Lifen. As much as I don’t want to ruffle feathers, I really don’t want to miss out on some stargazing. I could really use a night under the stars. I’ve been feeling weird, like I’ve changed in some way and I just need to . . .”

  “Don’t have to explain. Go get ready and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Thanks, Derek.” Ana left him in the kitchen and went to get on warmer clothing. Wherever Lifen was taking her, she was ready to assume it wasn’t indoors.

  While she waited for eight o’clock, she used the candle to practice her energy work in the living room, getting no further than she had that morning. Time slipped by and before she knew it, Lifen’s voice filtered through the open space. “Are you ready, Ana?”

  “Oh, yes. Sorry, hold on.” She blew out the flame and stood up, letting the blood circulate in her legs before joining her mentor near the front entry. “Where are we going? How many layers do I need?”

  “You are dressed fine. We are not going outdoors—not into the freezing cold before you are more familiar with regulating your core temperature. I have a special space upstairs that should meet your stargazing needs.”

  Lifen walked down the hallway to her room and opened it up. Ana hadn’t seen the interior of the bedroom yet and peeked in curiously. It was similar to her guest space, although it was larger and there was more art on the walls. A particularly large-framed illustration hung on the wall and caught her eye. Two colorful birds faced each other and an array of tail feathers circled down into an arch.

  “People in the West refer to it as the Chinese phoenix, but to my people the male is the feng and the female, huang. Together they are the fenghuang. They represent the union of yin and yang—two opposites coming together. The different colors of its tail feathers represent the five virtues: charity, honesty, knowledge, faithfulness and propriety. Its body represents the six celestial bodies. The head is the sky, its eyes are the sun, its back the moon, its strong wings carry the wind, the feet are the earth and its tail the planets. I look on it every day . . .” Lifen’s delicate fingers touched the glass and she wore a melancholy expression.

  “It’s beautiful. Is it a shapeshifting form?” Ana asked, thinking of the thunderbird.

  Lifen laid her hands flat over her stomach and brushed them downward, as if to wipe away dust or dirt, but there was none that Ana could see. Her flowing dress was just as pristine as it was when she woke Ana early that morning.

  “It is a form that has been seen in many lands, but I have never been fortunate enough to meet a shifter with the ability. Come this way.”

  Lifen led Ana to the end of the room and across from what appeared to be her bathroom. She slid open a rice paper door and motioned Ana to fol
low her. Inside, a circular stairwell rose straight up through the ceiling to another level. Ana followed Lifen, curious to see what she’d find.

  A room, if you could call it that, was encapsulated with glass, similar to a lighthouse. It spanned about eight feet in either direction and meditation pillows were stacked on the reed mat flooring.

  “Wow. This is yours?” Ana asked and tilted her head back to stare out the glass ceiling and at the stars above.

  “Yes, I had the roof built at an angle so snow wouldn’t collect on it. I come here to meditate privately. This is where I was when you visited me in your dreams.”

  “Oh.” Ana stepped forward, touched the cool glass, and a blossom of condensation fogged it over from her warm breath. Two-thirds of the sky was visible from Lifen’s perch and the lake shone at the foot of the mountain in the moonlight.

  “Would you like a pillow to sit on?”

  Lifen had set a cushion on the floor and curled her legs into the meditation pose. She held one out to Ana, who accepted it and placed hers beside her mentor’s. As soon as she was settled, Ana tried to find star clusters that were familiar.

  “I don’t see Orion from here. The eastern sky is blocked by the side of the mountain. Polaris is just below the horizon, and I can see most of the Litter Dipper, but the handle is hiding. It might rise enough in a little bit.”

  “You know a lot about the stars.”

  “More than some, but my favorites are hiding. You hear so much about Roman and Greek constellations, but what about from where you grew up?” Ana realized that she didn’t actually know where Lifen was from. She’d never asked.

  “In China the stars are arranged very differently. From the center point, the North Star, the sky is split into four symbols and each of those creatures guards their quadrant of the sky. The azure dragon protects the east, the vermillion bird the south, the white tiger the west and the black turtle secures the north. Each symbol is partitioned into seven mansions and they’re used to track the moon’s movement.”