by Kira Stüssy
“What about when I went shopping with Caspian and Iris?”
Ash grinned, “I may have been lurking behind fruit carts and old people.”
“That’s just wrong.”
He shrugged, “Got to uphold my duties. So what’s wrong?”
“Yes, why are your eyes leaking?” Erion snickered.
I was so annoyed with the both of them, I would happily have punched them straight in the face had I the energy to do so. “Caspian and Iris are furious with me. I needed air.”
“Shall I reason with them?”
“No, thanks though.”
Ash set his warm hand on my shoulder and tugged slightly, urging me to stop. I did. I spun and faced the two of them; Erion with his sky blue eyes and shaggy blond hair and Ash with his black eyes and dark features. They were light and dark, so strikingly contrasting and beautiful.
“Mirabelle,” Ash offered me his most earnest look but after our earlier encounter, I simply could not believe it, “what will make you feel better?”
What would make me feel better? I took my eyes off of them momentarily and gazed up at the lovely Nostosian stars. Here, nights were always cloudless and always beautiful. So much magic and mystery and intrigue awaited wherever you tread. But I was tired, tired of hearing voices and seeing colors everywhere. Tired of not knowing, tired of trying to please others and find warmth that didn’t exist. I realized then what I wanted so desperately that my heart ached just to think about it.
“I want to go home.”
*
“You didn’t have to be so mean.”
Caspian continued to stare unseeingly at the spot where Mira had stood before fleeing the room with her face in her hands. He looked down and saw Iris’s wide lavender eyes gazing up at him. He sighed and brought her onto his lap. She snuggled against him and wrapped her skinny arms around his neck. It wasn’t until he heard her snore that he knew she had fallen asleep.
Caspian carefully carried her downstairs into her bedroom. He gently laid her down across her little bed that was covered with the hand sewn dolls the palace staff and constructed just for her. He stood by her bedside for a second, acknowledging her sweet innocence. It was easy to forget her age since she often acted older. With older siblings, it is normal for the younger to act more mature. But when Iris slept, she appeared to be just like any other ten year old kid.
He closed the door as quietly as he could, trying not to wake her. He took a step back, away from the doorway and bumped into something. Scratch that: someone. Caspian whirled around to apologize and instantly wished he could find a hole and hide in it forever.
“You’re kind of a klutz.” Laurel Wilmot noted as she faced Caspian with her arms crossed. Caspian tried not to think about the spaghetti strap shirt and pajama shorts she wore. Or how crazy green her eyes were. Or….
Stop it, Caspian. BIG no.
“My bad.” He mumbled and started to walk down the hall.
“It’s fine. What are you doing in the girl’s wing anyways? Are you a perv or something?”
“What? No! My sister fell asleep upstairs so I brought her to her room.”
She nodded, “That makes sense. You don’t really seem like the perv type. But you never know, they say it’s always the ones you least expect.”
“Yeah, okay. Night.”
“Are you in a hurry or something?”
He sighed, “No, I guess I’m not.”
“Well, have you seen my brother? He said he had to talk to Ash but I just checked Ash’s room and they weren’t there.”
“Nope. Sorry.”
She nodded again, her eyes still harsh as always but now with a tinge of worry. Caspian lowered his guard a little, “Want me to help you find them? I’m pretty sure Mira ran outside, maybe they went with her? They take their Guardian duties pretty seriously.”
Laurel looked up at Caspian and gave a small smile, “Thanks, I’d appreciate it.” His heart dropped.
“No problem.”
And they walked out into the star filled sky.
*
Ash, Erion and I stood on top of Center Hill, preparing to create a portal.
“This is a terrible idea.” Erion said for the umpteenth time.
“Shut your trap and open the portal, please.” Ash replied pleasantly.
Erion sighed and rolled his eyes but trekked to the middle of the hill and placed the small marble on the ground and quickly scooted back to stand next to us again. Just as it had back in the middle of the woods a few weeks ago, the marble exploded into a huge glowing blue sphere with a surface that shifted and changed like mist. Ash entwined his hand with mine and I nodded, confused by his mixed signals but unwilling to dwell on it then. Without hesitation, the three of us took off at a run and charged through the portal.
Although I distinctly remember my first time traveling via portal, the mental preparation hardly eased the twisting and pulling sensation that came along with spinning in between dimensions. I wanted to scream but all sound was lost in the void. We turned and twirled disarmingly. It felt like an eternity before a light blinded my eyes. All of a sudden I was no longer floating but falling. I hit the ground audibly, fairly certain my butt bone would be sore for about week. Two other thumps beside me indicated that Ash and Erion had made it safely.
Sort of.
“Holy crap!” Erion shouted angrily, as he pushed Ash off from on top of him, “I swear you make sure to fall on top of me every single time.”
“But mate,” Ash smirked devilishly, “you and I both know that nobody has control over their body where portals are concerned.”
“I really despise you sometimes.”
“Awh, love you too, but now is not the time for mushy gushy feelings! We only have about an hour before the Legion realizes we’ve gone missing.”
“Or my brother.” I grumbled.
“Yes, he is also a potential problem. So, who are the two humans you wished to visit?”
“Kelsey and Danny,” I smiled as I said the names of my two best friends, “And I want to check in on my mom and Bram.”
Erion nodded and looked around, “Where are we?”
It was the first place I had thought of when I pictured ‘home’. The various planted flowers lit up the garden even in the darkness of night. The stars were shadowed over by the clouds. The salty sea air brushed against my skin and hair with its pleasant scent. The smell of burnt rolls wafted through the breeze, bringing a huge grin to my face. The small house before us regally perched old but proud.
“This is my house.”
*
Caspian and Laurel walked down the stone path through the Elemental village when they saw the blue light.
“What is that?” Caspian said, shielding his eyes from the light with his hand.
“It’s a portal,” Laurel whispered, and she started to run towards it, “It’s coming from Center Hill! C’mon!”
“You want to go to the portal? What if they’re bad guys from the rival country or…I dunno…aliens?”
“Oh, give me a break. Let’s go check it out. It could be my brother!”
They raced down the path all the way to the hill.
It only took them a minute or two to reach Center Hill, but to Caspian’s aching lungs it felt much, much further. The blue light still shone brightly, originating from somewhere on top of the hill. Caspian, now that they were closer, easily recognized the portal since it was how he had traveled in order to reach Nostos a few weeks ago when Laurel and a couple of other Legion members knocked on his door.
“You have got to be joking.” Laurel groaned.
Caspian just had to turn his head slightly to the right to see what she was yelling about. Mira, Ash, and Erion all faced the portal. Ash and Mira looked at one another before holding hands and the three of them jumped through the portal. Caspian called out to them but they were already gone.
“They’re insane!” Laurel exclaimed into the dark night air. She grabbed both sides of her he
ad and yanked at her hair in frustration. She kicked and stomped at the grass at the base of the hill and Caspian could only watch in slightly terrified wonder. When she finally calmed down, she sighed in exasperation and sat down.
“We should go after them.” Caspian suggested.
She looked up at him with weary eyes, “We don’t have a portal. Erion only just received a high enough rank to get one and I’m well below him. That’s the fastest way to get to where they’re going. Not to mention, we don’t even know where they went!”
“So there’s another way to travel between dimensions?”
“Yeah, but it’s way slower and less accurate. It could take hours to get to them.”
“What is it?”
She glanced at him curiously and said, “We fly.”
“Fly?” He looked over her shoulder at the shimmering green Knowledge, “I didn’t know we could do that.”
“It’s highly discouraged in public, safety precautions with beginners and whatnot. Easier if everyone just stays on the ground.”
Caspian didn’t really understand the reasoning behind the rule, but he was far too entranced by the idea that he could fly with the pair of wings attached to his spine (never thought he would say that) to think much of it.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“Woah there. First of all, you have no clue what you’re doing. And second, we don’t even know where they went!”
But Caspian grinned knowingly, “Actually,” he remarked, realizing that the only place Mira would want to be after a fight like the one they just had involved a small town with a big ocean, “I think I know exactly where they went.”
*
“This is your house?” Ash stared up at the little cottage with an unimpressed curl of the lip.
“Yep.”
“It’s…quaint.”
“Well, not everyone can live in a magical palace.”
“That’s fair.”
I wanted to run up to the house, fling open the door, and find my mom so I could give her the biggest hug ever.
But then reality struck like a vengeful bolt of lightning.
My eyes crossed over the deck and the memories flooded like a tsunami and there would be no escaping them. I could practically see Hank’s dead body sprawled across the wooden planks, Rezza’s collapsed form fallen in the yard, and Wiley’s white hot fury as he lunged to take me away. I remembered being dragged across town and then knocked out with what I now know to be a Cast. Images of the hooded man taking my blood while I was held captive in the small white room, fled into my mind. As all of these pictures showcased themselves involuntarily in my brain, I couldn’t help but give a small whimper. I took a step back.
Erion suddenly took up my full view, his wide blue eyes the only thing I could see, “Mira? What’s going on? Don’t you want to go inside?”
I shook my head.
A warm hand rested on my shoulder and Ash spoke softly and comfortingly, making me want to slap him for being so emotionally confusing, “You don’t have to do this now. Would you prefer to see your friends first?”
I nodded.
“Where do they live?”
With a shaky breath, I managed to rip my eyes from the front porch, cutting off the stream of memories. Thankful to be rid of them, I trotted down the street with the boys on either side of me. Despite the bone chilling experiences I had endured in these surrounding streets, I still felt strangely safe and at home here. Even though my mom had always insisted on moving around a lot, Lincoln City was by far my favorite location. I loved the small-town ambiance, the powerful Pacific Ocean, and, of course, the people.
We crept along the side of the vacant asphalt streets. Ash and Erion held their wooden knives up by their faces as a precaution, but I eventually told them to at least keep them down by their waists so they didn’t scare the neighbors.
It didn’t take long to reach Kelsey’s house considering the size of the town, nothing was too far away. I led them up the front steps of her green Cape Cod style house. A light illuminated her bedroom window so I knew she was still awake. Shadows danced in the warm light, indicating that someone accompanied her in the room. Her mom or dad? The yellow light poured from her window, casting a sliver of its grace upon me. Even with only the small amount of luminescence, I felt my spirits lifting and a strange strengthening sensation surged through me, increasing my confidence in that I was, in fact, a light Knowledge. Who cared what Ash said anyways?
We reached her doorway and I knocked on the wood, my fist visibly shaking as I did so. I couldn’t decide whether I was more excited or nervous to see my best friend. Part of me wanted to run away but a larger fraction of myself desperately needed to stay, to see her after going so long without her support. Although we had moved from city to city and I always met new people, Kelsey was the first real friend I’ve ever truly had. Muffled footsteps sounded, making their way to the front door.
“Miss Mirabelle?” Ash whispered in my ear, “A thought has just occurred to me.”
I found it difficult to listen to Ash when I knew that at any moment I would be reunited with Kelsey again. But I humored him, “Yeah?”
“Is this friend of yours accustomed to seeing a Knowledge?”
“Of course not. Why…?”
Erion moaned, “Oh you have got to be kidding me. We are idiots.”
It clicked. I looked up over my shoulder in horror at the wing-like Knowledge that shone faintly in the darkness of the night. I still wore a short, summery Elemental dress with an open back from earlier. My Knowledge totally and fully exposed. The door creaked open and a girl’s voice warily said, “Who’s there?”
Kelsey.
“Oh crap.”
Chapter 14
Quick as a flash, Ash and Erion each grabbed a wing of my Knowledge and folded it onto my back, holding it in place at the door flew open. Right about then, I cursed being a girl Elemental with a Knowledge that didn’t tuck onto my spine neatly like Ash and Erion’s did. When she fully swung the door open to see who could be calling so late, Kelsey stood with a shell-shocked expression that quickly morphed into exultation. She stepped forward to hug me but the three of us scooted back in simultaneous panic.
“Sorry...uh...my back hurts.”
She looked confused and a little hurt, but a huge smile lit up her pretty features, “Mira, where have you been? You and Cas practically fell off the face of the planet.”
“Something like that.”
Her short blond hair perfectly mussed as always and her makeup done without flaw. She tapped her foot repeatedly, her energy bubbling up and unable to be contained during such mundane conversation. She twirled her hair around her pointer finger and continued to grin.
“Seriously though, where did you go? And don’t try to sell me that ‘uncle in Portland’ crap that your mom told me ‘cause I’m not buying it.”
“Uh…”
“And who are your friends?” She peeked over my shoulder at Ash and Erion who both offered goofy and awkward grins in return. I rolled my eyes while she gave them each a flirty wave.
Of course, Ash answered before I got the chance, “Hello, this here is my good pal Erion who is extremely hot and very single. I asked him out and he said no. But you could give it a shot.”
I, even though I’d been exposed to Ash’s strange antics for weeks now, was rendered speechless. Kelsey, on the other hand, has always been much quicker with words and said, “You’re not lying about the hot part.”
“I’m uncomfortable.” Erion commented.
“And I,” Ash bowed as low as he possibly could while still holding my Knowledge to my back, “am Ash the Magnificent…or Glorious. We’re still deciding. And your Mirabelle has fallen deeply in love with me and I can’t seem to get her to leave me alone. I thought you could possibly help with my situation?”
He winked at me but his eyes held no emotion, reminding me that he was still punishing himself for burning me back in the Arc
hives. I just smacked my forehead and groaned.
“Kels,” I wanted so badly to embrace her, “I know things have been weird lately, and I’m going to need to leave again soon but…”
“You’re leaving?!”
“I have to…” But I never finished my sentence.
I could hear the sound of a twig snapping in the trees surrounding her house. I cocked my head to where the noise came from and a moment later two shadowy figures stepped out of the darkness about five-hundred feet out and started walking towards Kelsey’s house. Flashbacks of Rezza and Wiley creeping towards my front porch on that dreaded birthday revisited my thoughts and I involuntarily shuddered.
How I heard the twig, I’m not sure. My stress level rose considerably when the two intimidating figures were skulking towards Kelsey’s house and I seemed to be the only one who noticed. I knew they were far away, but somehow I could see them like the darkness was no barrier. I knew I had stellar vision and hearing, but this seemed...abnormal.
“Guys…” I nodded shakily towards the figures. Ash and Erion suddenly both had their stick knives in hand and their eyebrows furrowed in preparation.
“Mirabelle, I need you to take Kelsey indoors and lock every window, door, and whatever other openings there are.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened when she saw their weapons, “Whoa there.”
“Get inside. They’ll be on us any second now.” Erion urged. He just about let go of my Knowledge but I panicked and stayed still.
Ash read my face and set his jaw, “Mirabelle, she is your best friend, right?” I nodded. “Well, I really need you inside. You have yet to master any power and the only one you have figured out needs light and it seems that is limited right now.”
So he did believe I’m a light Knowledge. A unidentifiable warmth flooded my veins.
“I can’t just hide while you risk your neck.”
“You’re keeping your friend safe. That is just as important.”
“If you let go, she’ll see.”
His black eyes flashed orange, “If you keep everything pent up inside, once things get shaken up you’ll explode. You need someone to vent your secrets to lessen the pressure. That way, once someone comes around and rattles your world, you have that sturdy rock to cling to. That’s what best mates are for; they’re your rock to hold on to when things get rough.” He glanced over at Erion who snorted softly but offered a genuine smile regardless. “So, do you trust her?”