by M. Street
On top of everything else, I had to find a way to protect my childhood buddy. The emeralds, pearls, and ivory swirled, twirling in the mesh bag. My body was changing due to the rooting pregnancy. My emotions were charged with storms of high-powered lightning. The rushes rendered me a strapped-in passenger, driving me to dizzying heights amplifying everything.
“Eli cannot deny the infant birth corroborates the start of a new reign,” Dev said.
“That is too much to think about.” I returned to his arms and chest. “If I’m responsible for Josh getting hurt I’ll crack.”
“You aren’t responsible for the actions of a tyrant. What is happening to Josh is incredible and beautiful. It would be celebrated in a sane world.” Dev laced his words with lofty, transcending feelings. “We don’t need to worry yet. He is too important to Eli for multiple reasons. Josh’s birth is most likely being kept a well-guarded secret. You are public knowledge now. Matures, Arbitri or otherwise, cannot deny the connection between you and the change in the light. If everyone acknowledged what they witnessed and felt, Eli’s reign would fall.”
Something in Dev’s words stroked my intuition, sending chills inside my head. I held Dev’s wrist so he could touch my beating hope. The force caused him to jump. All the races coming together was the only way to bring life back into this world. Somehow, I needed to change timeworn prejudices and centuries-old atrocities.
“I need to find Ahnah.” Tingling welled up from my intuition. I didn’t know exactly why or how, but I knew she could help trigger a revolution. The Cetacite queen was our best bet to getting Safe back and flushing out the informant.
“Do you think you could locate her?” Dev asked hopefully, knowing Eli and the Arbitri could not.
“It’s time to try. I’m not sure why, but everything depends on it,” I said, rubbing where I felt the embryos with ultrasound precision. Charlie’s eyes twitched in deep REM, drawing my attention.
“Is Sam here?” I asked softly. With the babies implanting in my uterine walls, I knew time was not on our side. Nature was about to take over. It was a matter of hours before Eli would begin to feel the draw from his light to the twins.
“I cannot feel him through his mask, but I can smell him,” Dev said confidently. “He’s about a ten-minute walk north of here, reigning over his kingdom.” Dev grinned strangely, sure of his scents.
Anxiousness reverberated through me as I walked over to Charlie. Leaving him in a stranger’s care was unbearable. Regret for getting him involved aged me. “Charlie, wake up.” I tousled his hair, like I always did.
My little brother perked up quickly. “Are we going home now?” Charlie stretched, unknowingly sending daggers into my heart.
“Not quite yet.” I knelt down to his eye level. “We are going to see an old, cool friend of Dev’s. His name is Sam, Sam Walsh.” I took his hand, keeping him awake. “You are going to stay with him for a while. Dev and I are going look for Ahnah.”
“The orca queen? The ones that have a nickel aura and yellow backlit eyes?” Charlie asked, sitting up on superhero curiosity.
“Yes. She can help us stay safe and stop the Arbitri,” I said making sure to keep above water for his sake. “Then we can all go home together.”
“How long are you going to be gone?” Charlie asked, puckering his face.
“I’ll check in with you every day,” I promised.
“I don’t know if …” Dev stopped, feeling my tightening emotional grip on his impending objection.
“Why can’t I come with you?” Charlie asked slowly. The prolonged length began to sink in. The rolling trembles in his light felt like a thousand-foot wave crashing in.
“I’m not strong enough to leap you. I pass out, leaving you a sitting duck,” I explained. Charlie frowned, flicking his aura. He was tired and jet-lagged from the instant travels. “Hey, I’m getting stronger every day. I’ll be able to piggyback you soon.” I banked on my future hopes, kidding myself. I would have to exceed Eli’s banks in order to leap an infant child without blacking out.
“At least you get to hang out with a Vampacoti. None of your friends can say that,” I offered, trying to spin his mood.
Charlie looked to Dev. “Can he turn into a black-and-white sabertooth too?” he asked, nibbling at the bait.
“A very big lynx, actually,” Dev confirmed intriguingly, kneeling down next to me. “His long, pointy ears and goatee whiskers form tail fins on his face. And his tail is unusual. It’s short and thick like a tree trunk. Although soft and furry, it’s capable of knocking a car out of Miller Park. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Charlie sat up straight, being lured by the super-cat.
“He is capable of casting incredibly potent zombie spells. It’s quite funny.” Dev translated brain-dampening spells to kid lingo.
“Let’s go meet Sam,” I suggested eagerly, looking at Dev to let Charlie think unobserved.
“Ok.” Charlie sat up, taking the line. Dev and I stood up. He felt my reprieve and enjoyment in the transient, little victories.
“Wait.” Dev stopped us heading to the door. “The Arbitri have traps all over the city. Stay away from any cameras or cell phones that can capture your face for recognition.” I morphed my shorts into pants and grew my intricate laced camisole into a sickled hoody that shadowed most of my face.
Both Charlie and I fixated on Dev, who was noticeably changing with the powers of a race chameleon. His forever chestnut brown eyes faded to a washed-out denim, more inspiring than a noon-day sky. The onyx rivers of black in his hair lightened to a wheat, ash blond. I felt the melanin in his skin invert, paling his warm mocha skin into frosted porcelain. He looked like Ozwald’s better-looking brother. This incantation of Dev made me realize that I loved him for the things I couldn’t see. I loved him for the life behind his color and form.
“The show is over.” Dev huffed the reveal away. The concentration required to hold his form felt like a bad sunburn. “They’ll be looking for us together so I’ll walk with Charlie. Follow us at least a block behind. We are going about six hundred meters north of here to the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary.” His emotions drained moving into combat mode.
We walked out the hospital room door. Dev snapped his fingers breaking a small charm that had been holding a nurse just outside our door under his will. She looked around like she had woken from a dream. Walking outside raised the charge underneath the cloak of my mask. I had never cared for being inside, but now all buildings felt like cages.
The pull of the sun overtook the push of the rays in the late hour, drawing long shadows. Dev wore a baseball hat and kept his hand on Charlie’s back. I forced myself not to follow as they broke away from me.
The soul of Rome draped across the sky like a raspberry beret. Waves of warping disorientation hit me, watching what was left of my life stroll away. I leaned against an old stone building, breathing fast, straining from not running after Dev and Charlie. I was changing again, but this time I knew why. My body and heart didn’t care I was hiding in my thoughts; nature was preparing me for motherhood. New sections of my brain came to life, sparking first time paths. Like a tossed about chemistry set, my entire body was in a state of flux. Even my light flowed with a touchable, flowering texture.
Perspectives shifted beneath my feet, sinking in high proof shots of emotions. I glimpsed but not yet grasped the ways my life would never be the same. Being so incredibly in love with Dev was still magically new. I’d fallen in love with him in wonderful, unimagined ways. Dreams of relishing him played constantly in my head. Lifting those lofty sentiments higher, making me bigger, was my heart filled with another kind of love, the kind I only knew through receiving: motherly. Now I felt the joy of giving the purest white pink, ever-flowing and unconditional love.
I pushed off, hiding my face well within the drape of the hood like a night creature. Wearing the mask for long periods of time wasn’t going to be easy. Being pregnant amplified the dampening drag. I listened to D
ev distract Charlie with foreign facts about the area, keeping at a touristy pace. Charlie stopped abruptly, taking in a fountain of turtles. Dev got him moving again by pointing at a gelato stand. Dev and I kept our serrated senses sharpened, knowing any infant we passed could be a masked mature.
Dev and Charlie stopped at a newspaper stand on the edge of a park. By Dev’s excitement erupting inside me, I knew he had found Sam. I approached, feasting on never-before-seen natural and supernatural phenomena.
This was no ordinary park. The entire block was fifteen feet lower than the adjoining sidewalks and streets. There were no people walking among the patches of grasses and weathered Roman ruins of pillars, steps, and tumbled blocks; there were only cats! I detected a hundred and thirty-nine cats in the recessed city block. Working the newspaper stand on the edge of the park sat an old Italian man in a wheelchair. He looked destitute with torn clothes, dirty face, and spindly, atrophied legs. Despite his worn and weathered appearance, his infant aura was magnificent. Bright, rich greens mingled with reflective lake blues, generating the most tranquil vibes I had ever felt. The extreme juxtaposition redefined judging a book based on the cover.
Sitting on the counter of the stand next to the physically challenged man was a well-fed, orange tabby cat with a distinctive M fur pattern on his forehead. The feline flicked his tail, ignoring the people streaming by. He held his eyes half shut, acting like he reluctantly owned all of Rome. He smelled wonderful, like fresh-cut wood. The robust, statuesque male stood out from the wisps of feral cats dashing around as though the park were getting shelled.
Dev spoke perfect Italian to the infant man, exchanging pleasantries, but his focus was placed on the orange cat. By the way the cat moved his eyes and head, as well as the fiery orange opals embedded in his fancy collar, the domestic cat was anything but ordinary. The tabby meowed feistily at Dev, atypically standing on his hind legs, lowering his head before jumping to the ground.
The fat feline trotted fast to the entrance of the cat sanctuary. Dev turned around toward me, drawing me in the last couple feet with his eyes. “Is that Sam?” I asked Dev for confirmation. We walked down stone stairs into the park, passing a “no entry” sign in multiple languages.
“Yes,” Dev acknowledged, keeping his ears, eyes, and nose in motion. He stayed cool in his morphed blond and blue outside, but his insides climbed in apprehension.
All the cats in the park stopped uncannily. They turned toward the orange tabby entering the gates of the green like a king had arrived. A uniformed guard sprang into action in reaction to Dev, Charlie, and me coming down the stairs into the restricted area. His aura rose in redness.
The orange tabby kicked off his collar with his paw, revealing a silver coat around his fur. The Vampacoti studied me intensely before hissing a weak spell at the guard, returning him to his post. The cat extended his back legs, bursting into wide rings of burning silver, formulating into a tall, thickset man.
“Wow,” Charlie exclaimed, witnessing the transformation from domestic cat to towering man.
Sam Walsh stood six feet, six inches tall and tipped the scale toward three hundred pounds. His wild, twisted hair remained vibrant orange, sporting lamb-chop sideburns that grew into his bright handlebar mustache. Powder blue eyes backlit with violet shined through his squinting orange-lashed lids. He looked and sounded like a leprechaun on steroids.
“I almost didn’t recognize you!” Sam bellowed in an Irish accent, rushing over to Dev. “It’s so very good to see you. It’s been over five centuries!” Sam’s silver was magnetic, drawing me to his favor. The loud and large man induced friendship at first sight. His aura crackled with excitement that only a true reunion could elicit.
Dev twitched, coloring back to his natural appearance in a snap. Charlie came to my side as Dev and Sam embraced warmly. Dev was masked, but I felt the yellow and pink flowing through him that Sam displayed openly.
“I owe you much explanation, but time is not on our side,” Dev said humbly, looking into my eyes, representing both of us.
“I heard you were back. You were with the queen all this time? Involved with the Guardian princess?” Sam asked, sounding like he didn’t believe any of what was true. One thing was for sure: word traveled fast in the mature world.
“Yes. That sums up my last several centuries,” Dev answered, moving onto business. “I must be fast. I have a great favor to ask, my friend.”
Sam heard Dev but remained motionless, his attention adhered squarely on me.
“Hello, Sam. I’m Piper,” I said, reaching out my arms for him. The weight of responsibility for involving him was once again all on me. Dev inserted himself between us, taking Sam’s embrace. Dev’s attempt to keep my pregnancy undisclosed was awkward.
“My lady,” Sam said, bewildered, rippling his silver wildly. I effortlessly read his boisterous state through my mask. He definitely knew who I was, churning with feelings of disbelief, promise, and uncertainty. Although his demeanor was large and in charge, the core of his being painfully reminded me of Safe. They shared the same sweetness that only comes from a seasoned, soft soul. My captured Guardian protector’s life was sure to fall further in question when the pregnancy became exposed.
Dev picked up Sam’s mask of shimmering orange opals, handing it to Sam. “We must be careful.”
“Yes, of course.” Sam secured the collar around his wrist, extinguishing his smelted silvery aura. “I’m sorry to stare, Princess,” he said, not blinking, “but I didn’t think you were possible. When I heard about you and you,” he turned to Dev, “I didn’t think twice because I thought it was surely fake.”
Sam turned to Charlie, who was leaning into me. “And who do we have here?” he asked.
“I’m Charlie,” Charlie said, wonderfully unfazed by the hugeness of the supernatural stranger. “Piper’s brother.”
Sam nodded at me. “Yes, Esther put you in infant care to hide you,” he said, acknowledging Mom’s clever sacrifice.
“That’s the favor we desperately need,” I said, paving the way for our request. “We need to hide my brother.” I put my hands on Charlie’s shoulders.
“We’ve narrowly escaped the Arbitri several times,” Dev said seriously.
“I’m impressed you’ve escaped once.” Sam scratched his head.
“I can’t leap with Charlie more than once without passing out.” I took a step closer to Sam, preparing to plead if necessary. “He is not safe with us.” My voice trembled, talking over my mask.
“Even masked, the Arbitri keep finding us. There is evidence of a double agent, and secrecy is of the utmost importance. No one can be trusted,” Dev said ominously.
“Of course,” Sam said, perplexed by the precarious situation. I knew Dev was right about Sam; I could feel his germinating concern and genuine desire to help behind his mask. Sam’s heart was bigger than his stature and more vibrant than his orange hair.
“I am at your service, Princess.” Sam lowered his head. “It is no secret I oppose Junjari and her fabricated Vampacoti monarchy.” His voice carried tired disdain. “Anything I can do to bring about change is my pleasure and duty.”
Dev held my hand, touching my welling of relief from Sam’s support.
“I’ll need to be briefed to ensure the protection of the infant. Follow me.”
We went to the corner of the cat sanctuary, entering a chamber underneath the streets behind a secret wall.
“We’ll be secure here. No one except the cats knows this place exists,” Sam said surely.
Dev and I recounted our story from the start of my conception, filling Sam in on the details. We talked for hours until we reached the present moment, carefully omitting the lives inside me. Sam and Charlie sat captive, wowed by the far-out tale filled with way too many close calls. I fell deeper in love with Dev, reliving our beginning. Remembering how his dreamy voice danced on my eardrums for the first time caused me to flush. I kept a hand over my belly and the other on Dev, tethering our hear
ts and future together.
Time sped with the quickness of light. Dev and Sam strategized while Charlie and I joked around, playing with the cats congregating around me. I made sure to keep part of my attention on the brewing plans. Sam had great respect for Dev, easily shifting back into pride collaboration. We agreed that Sam should take Charlie into the country away from the city’s center. With all the museums, matures were swarming like moths to a flame. I loved learning more about Dev from his longtime ally, finding out that his favorite piece of art was here in Rome. I couldn’t wait for the liberated day when we could share Bernini’s sculpture of Apollo chasing Daphne together at the Galleria Borghese.
Sam, like Dev, accused Sabina and the Avians of deception. He wasn’t keen when it came to the Canites either. The deep and longstanding divisions among the races made it impossible for them to see what was keeping Eli in his throne. It wasn’t his uncontestable power; it was his ability to keep severed and separated what was intrinsically one.
“Lastly,” Dev said seriously, “Valbeth has been helping me.”
“What?” Sam shouted, startling Charlie. “She stands on Eli’s court.” He quieted but surged with surprise contorting his face.
“Yes,” Dev said proudly. “I contacted Valbeth when Piper matured. Like you, she was more than happy to help. She had been close to my mother and never accepted Junjari as queen. Her keenness keeps her employed regardless of the side.”
“I would have never guessed,” Sam said, dazed by the longstanding secret.
“Unfortunately, she has gone silent.” Dev’s worry over Valbeth had fermented into fear. “She saved us in Tahiti procuring pearls for Piper’s mask.” Dev clenched his jaw. “I haven’t heard from her since. I thought I picked up her scent here in Rome, but it was too faint to be sure.”
“I haven’t seen her in decades.” Sam gazed away, parsing through his memories.
“If you see or hear anything about her, please contact me,” Dev said. “The night is here. Time to move.” Dev initiated our departure, sending my heart into a tumble over leaving Charlie. Even though he’d be in good hands, the guilt from involving him tore me into pieces.