by C J Benjamin
She left me grasping at the air and I nearly lost my balance. I was stunned. I spun around looking confused.
“What? Where . . .”
“Over here,” came Jovi’s sing-songy voice, followed by a fit of giggles.
I looked up to see her doubled over, laughing at me.
“Okay, I get it now.” I smiled up at her.
I reached out and grabbed a leaf myself, morfing and landed on the branch just below her. I saw the shock wash over her face for a moment, before it was replaced by a big grin as she grabbed a passing leaf and vanished again, leaving a trail of laughter behind her.
And just like that, the game was on!
We played for hours. It was so much fun. Everyone took a turn at being ‘it’. I don’t know which I liked more, hiding or seeking! Journey complained that there was never a winner. Sparrow and Jovi were so fast and light on their feet that Eja exclaimed they would be the winners if we had one. This just fueled Journey’s desire for a rematch. Nova and I morfed together for a while and gave each other sly smiles between the falling leaves. This always ended up distracting me and getting me caught, but I didn’t mind. I collided with Remi at one point and instantly felt awkward. I had hoped we’d left that mistaken kiss in the cave where it belonged, but it had apparently followed us here. I even found myself watching Jemma in awe at one point in the game. She was having fun, and laughing. She seemed so different. So normal. Almost like we could actually have a chance at getting along. My mother’s words echoed in my head. ‘Give Jemma a chance.’
“Okay, Mom. I’ll try,” I said to myself gathering up the courage to morf over to Jemma.
When I landed, Jemma wasn’t where I’d last seen her. I looked around, thinking I must have miscalculated, but then I spotted her below me. She must have morfed away when I was morfing toward her. I was about to call to her, but then I noticed that she was on the same branch as someone else. Nova. She snuck up on him and grabbed him from behind. The two of them laughed and playfully knocked at each other. I felt my jealous heart ice over!
The sounds of their laughter made me want to vomit! I’d seen Jemma look at boys that way before and I didn’t like it. One thing I knew about her, was that she always got what she wanted.
“NO!” I cried involuntarily, and they both looked up.
“Hey, Tippy!” Nova called to me. “Come over here! We’re—”
But I didn’t wait to hear the rest of his sentence. I wanted to get away from them. I couldn’t look at Jemma and Nova for another second. I grabbed a leaf and just wished it to carry me away. When I landed, I found I was on the highest reaching branches of the tree. The view from up here was astonishing, but it did little to diminish the image of Nova and Jemma flirting. It had been burned into my brain.
12
My mind and my heart began an internal battle with each other.
How could he? How could he betray me like that? With Jemma!
He didn’t do anything. He was just talking to her, just having fun playing a game like everyone else.
But he knows how I feel about her.
She’s your sister and Nova didn’t do anything wrong.
That’s right, Jemma’s the one who was chasing after him! I can’t trust her! I’ll never trust her!
But your mother asked you to. You should give her a chance! She was being so nice to you. She probably doesn’t even know you like Nova.
“Ahhh!” I screamed in frustration. “Why does she have to like the same boy as me?”
“Tippy! There you are!” came Nova’s voice.
I whirled around ready to rip into him, but I lost my footing and nearly fell. Nova’s strong arms came to my rescue again!
“Whoa! Tippy! Take it easy. You okay? Are you still feeling a little woozy from your fall?” Nova asked with genuine concern, nodding to the bandage on my head.
I had forgotten it was still there and felt instantly self-conscious. I reached up to tear it off furiously.
“No, I’m fine,” I said indignantly. “You just startled me.”
“Good,” he said and he let go of my shoulders, but surprised me when he slipped his hand around mine.
Nova is holding my hand! It made my mind go a bit fuzzy, but then I remembered I was mad at him.
Not his fault, echoed the voice in my head. “Shut up!” I muttered.
“What?” Nova asked.
“Nothing. I’m just deciding whether or not I’m mad at you.”
“Mad at me?” he asked sounding incredulous. “I should be the one who’s mad at you!”
“What?” I exclaimed. Now he was just fueling the fire. What could he possibly be mad at me for?
“Plenty of reasons!”
“Name one! And get out of my head, Nova! I hate when you read my thoughts.”
“I’m trying not to but your mind is practically screaming at me!”
“Ah, you make me crazy!” I yelled.
“Ditto!” he said but the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly, threatening to dazzle me with his gorgeous smile and I knew his heart wasn’t really in this fight.
“Don’t smile at me!” I scolded, losing steam for the fight myself.
“Why?” he asked with his full, dazzling smile taunting me now.
“Because, you just drive me crazy sometimes.”
“Ditto,” he said with a smirk.
“And stop saying ditto.”
He just nodded and grinned. I sighed. It was useless to fight with him. His charm flustered me and my pounding heart always drowned out whatever nonsense my brain was cooking up as an argument.
Nova was still holding my hand, which didn’t make it any easier to stay mad at him.
“Why are you mad at me?” I asked him in a calmer voice.
“Because you drive me crazy.”
“How?” I demanded, realizing I sounded childish as soon as the words passed my lips.
“Because I’m always worried sick about you! You storm off, you fall into caves! Twice! You almost drown and then almost break your neck trying to climb out of the cave! You need to be careful, Tippy. A lot of people are depending on you. We can’t have our Eva maimed or worse.”
I sighed. It was true. I seemed to be a magnet for trouble lately.
“Ok, I’ll try to be more careful. But I guess we’ll just have to agree to live with driving each other crazy every once in a while, because I don’t set out to do foolish things, you know? ”
Nova laughed and looked into my eyes, my pale skin reflecting brightly off his deep green irises.
“Tippy, I think it’s pretty obvious that you drive me crazy in a good way.” He pulled me closer and whispered into my ear. “I’m crazy about you.”
I closed my eyes as his lips closed on mine, losing myself in the perfectness of his kiss.
Meanwhile, below us, Jemma was ‘it’. She was cheerfully morfing from branch to branch, chasing after the others. She smiled to herself when she landed silently below Remi. He had his back to her and hadn’t heard her approach. She narrowed her eyes and artfully coiled her muscles, readying herself like a tarcat about to pounce on unsuspecting prey. She was just reaching out to grab a leaf when something peculiar caught her eye. A single glistening tear on Remi’s cheek reflected the moonlight from the flurry of falling leaves. Jemma paused, watching him intently. He was looking up and when she followed his gaze, she saw what upset him. Two figures, barely visible among the swirling leaves, were entwined in an intimate kiss. She looked back at Remi just in time to see him morf off of his perch and disappear from sight.
Jemma gazed back up at Nova and her sister, lost in their embrace. A tiny seed began to take root in the pit of her stomach. She tried to choke it back, but it burned hot and jealous nonetheless. Having lost her appetite for morf tag, she closed her slender fingers tightly around a spinning leaf, pulverizing it in her palm, as she disappeared from the tree as well.
13
My heart swelled as Nova embraced me atop the Bellamor
f tree. I could barely tear my eyes from his to soak up the breathtaking view of the rising sun he pointed out. Dawn was breaking, illuminating the forest, bathing it in light and warmth. From this height, I could just make out the glistening shoreline of the surrounding sea, revealing how far inland we truly were. I was happy to stay like this forever, oblivious to the rest of the world, wrapped in Nova’s arms. It seemed my problems couldn’t follow me when I was perched so high. I wasn’t the Eva, I wasn’t an orphan, I wasn’t a long-lost sister, I wasn’t a fugitive . . . I was just a girl, as close to heaven as she’d ever felt. I nestled in closer to Nova, wanting to hang onto this feeling forever. But as the clouds evaporated in the hot sunlight, so did my reverie. I could feel the perfect moment slipping away and I think Nova could too. He pulled away from me ever so slightly, so he could look down at me with his stunning smile.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s a new day, Tippy. We have lots to do.”
“We do?” I questioned. “Like what?”
“Well for starters, I think we need to get you cleaned up,” he smirked.
I instantly remembered how tattered my uniform looked and laughed. “Didn’t you know this is the new look? All the orphans are dressing this way now,” I said holding out a shredded shirttail.
Nova laughed whole-heartedly and said sarcastically, “Well, who am I to object to the Eva.” He tore his shirt to match mine and we both laughed, joking as we started to make our way out of the tree.
Our journey down the tree was a bit slower now that morf tag was over. Without the magic leaves to transport us we had to climb down the old fashion way. I could have used my powers and bounded down like Sparrow had taught me to, but Nova didn’t share that power so I hung back with him. Truthfully, I was enjoying the extra time with him as we climbed down the tree.
“So, how did you end up in this tree anyway?” I asked.
“We met Jovi the first day we got here and she said she had a secret for us. She brought us out here and showed us how to play morf tag. She’s a sweet kid. I think she was trying to impress us. Apparently she plays with a few of the other younger Betos, but she said they’re not supposed to. These trees are sacred.”
“So they’re not poisonous?”
“No. Their leaves have magical powers that the Betos use to transport themselves throughout the forest. That thing about them being poisonous was just a myth they created to protect the trees so that they wouldn’t get cut down and harvested by the locals.”
I was about to ask another question when we were interrupted by a shrill cry, followed by two streaking balls of fur.
“What was that?” I said, jumping out of their path in surprise.
“Quin,” replied Nova with a smile.
“What’s a Quin?” I asked.
“She’s my wex,” Jovi called breathlessly, as she vaulted past me, hot on their trail.
I turned to Nova in confusion and he smiled and grabbed my hand. “Come on,” he said. “Niv will appreciate you coming to his rescue.”
We followed the chattering commotion down the tree to the forest floor where the others had gathered. I dropped to the ground just in time to get caught between Niv, Quin and the tree. They circled each other furiously around and around the massive trunk. I couldn’t tell who was chasing who, but they were darting between my legs and making enough noise to wake up the whole forest.
“Niv!” I shouted. “NIV! Come here!”
He jumped into my arms and unfortunately so did Quin, introducing me firsthand to what a wex was. I landed sprawled out on the ground again. I was being showered in sloppy kisses that were occasionally mixed with a nip.
“Hey!” I howled. “Stop! Quin! Someone call her off of me,” I laughed.
Although she was small, she was strong, and so wiggly that I couldn’t properly grab a hold of her. I finally lifted her off my chest and held her away from my face to get a better look at her. Her tongue lolled out and she panted, out of breath but clearly not out of energy as she squirmed in my grip. Niv squeaked his protest from below.
“Shhh, Niv. It’s okay.”
I turned my attention back to Quin. Her black eyes sparkled with mischief as she tried to nip at me when my face got close to hers. I swallowed warily when I got a closer look at her wickedly sharp teeth. They were white and delicate, but they could have torn my skin easily. I stared at her as she wagged her tail merrily, still squirming her long body and stretching out her tongue, from her narrow snout trying to reach me. She was a conundrum: her sinister teeth didn’t seem to fit her playful personality. I surveyed the rest of her as I put her down. She was covered in curly chestnut and black fur. It was soft and gave a deceptively large appearance to her light frame. She was still raring to go when her paws made contact with the earth. She went straight to Niv, who backed away from her, bristling his fur, clearly done with their game of chase. I scooped him up just as Jovi grabbed the wex.
“Quin!” she squealed as she caught her breath. “Bad Quin! I told you to leave Niv alone.”
She turned to me. “I’m really sorry, Geneva. I told Quin to stop bothering Niv, but she’s so playful, she can’t help herself. Every time he runs, she thinks he’s playing. I’m still training her,” she beamed proudly.
“Oh, that’s okay,” I stammered. “She’s yours?” I asked.
“Yes! She’s the fastest in the whole litter and she’s so pretty, isn’t she?” Jovi crooned as Quin wiggled out of her grasp again.
Quin obviously wanted to play. She shook the small girl’s grasp and darted to the side, crouched down on her front paws, rear haunches coiled and ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. She bobbed and weaved a few times before Jovi was able to leap onto her wily wex, spoiling Quin’s fun.
Jovi snuggled Quin tightly to her chest and was showered with a frenzy of nips and sloppy kisses. I couldn’t help but smile at them. Jovi’s zest was contagious. Her smile lit up her whole face as she came closer to let me get a better look at Quin.
“Want to hold her?” Jovi asked.
“Oh, no thanks. She looks happy with you. Besides, I’ve got my hands full with Niv here.”
Niv snorted his disapproval when Quin came closer before departing to the safety of my shoulder bag.
“So, she’s a wex?” I questioned.
“That’s right. She’s my very own wex. Pretty great, huh?”
“I’ve never seen one before,” I admitted to the barefoot, brown-eyed girl.
“You haven’t?” she exclaimed, her earnest eyes growing even larger with disbelief. “Why not?”
“Well, I don’t know. I guess because I grew up in an orphanage and we weren’t allowed to have pets.”
“That sounds horrible,” she frowned.
Jovi’s eyes welled up like chocolate saucers ready to overflow. I was afraid the petite Beto girl would start to cry.
“It wasn’t all bad,” I quickly reassured her. “I got to have Niv. I just had to keep him a secret.”
She didn’t look convinced, so I asked her to tell me more about Quin and wexes to change the subject. That instantly perked her up.
“My family breeds them. They’re distant relatives of the canidae family. Us Betos use them to help us hunt. They’re very fast and cunning. Quin is one of four kits from our last litter. She’s the only girl and no one wanted her. Can you believe that?” Jovi asked looking shocked. “Everyone always wants the boys,” she said, shaking her head. “Anyway, I knew Quin was the one for me. She’s so fast and brave and has no trouble bossing the other kits around. She’s going to be a pack leader when I get her all trained!” she boasted proudly.
I smiled down at Jovi as she rambled on about Quin and the history of wexes. Her big brown eyes brightly sparkled as she crooned on about Quin. She stroked the jittery wex in her tiny arms as she spoke, occasionally pausing to scold her and pull strands of her tangled brown hair out of Quin’s mouth. She sure knew a lot for such a youngster. She was a bright, confident young girl,
full of enthusiasm. I liked her instantly.
Jovi was just starting another Quin story, when Sparrow walked over to me.
“Hey, Sparrow.” I beamed when she walked up. “You’ve met Jovi and Quin, I presume?”
“I have,” she said, smiling at Jovi. “How’s Quin today? Staying out of trouble?”
“Sort of . . .” Jovi replied shyly.
“Do you mind if I talk to Geneva for a moment?” she asked Jovi.
“Oh, sure. I’m going to go find Quin some water. I’ll see you back at camp.”
We watched Jovi skip away from us and I couldn’t help but smile. Sparrow pulled my attention back to her. “Geneva, I have something of yours,” she said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Here, I kept this safe for you,” she said, pulling my magic journal from her shoulder bag and handing it to me.
“Thanks, Sparrow.”
I was glad to have it back. It held all the details of the amazing events that had changed my life over the past year. Sparrow had taught me a charm to make the pages blank to anyone but myself. I felt instant relief having it back in my hands.
“I knew you’d want it. I took care of Niv too while you were recovering. It mostly consisted of keeping Quin from chasing him and eating all his food.”
“Ha-ha. Well thank you for taking care of him. That Quin seems like a handful.”
We both laughed.
“She is a handful,” Sparrow said grinning, “but she’s sweet.”
“So, how long was I out?” I asked Sparrow.
“Not too long . . . about a week?”
“A WEEK?” I shouted.
“Well yes. You were pretty banged up, you know?” Sparrow said bossily.
Then she proceeded to fill me in on what happened and how we’d ended up at the Beto camp.
“I had my hands full trying to heal you in the cave. Luckily I think your Echo power kicked in and started magnifying my healing powers. Eja got word to the Betos and they sent help to get us out of the cave. Once we brought you back to their camp, the chief and Vida, his top Truiet medicine woman, worked on healing you. They dressed your wounds and gave you a potion to help you sleep so that your body would have time to heal.”
