I took a sip. It was herbal tea, a blend that imitated the flavor of coffee without the caffeine which I couldn’t handle on such emotionally taxing days. Matthew knew I wasn’t back to my old self yet.
“I’m not jealous,” I said, looking at the swirling tea leaves. “I’m happy for Daphne. And I’m happy for Blaze, and I’m happy for you.”
I felt his attention condensing. “Blaze?”
I nodded, staring at the small whirlpool in my teacup. “He came back for a while. Said he missed it here.”
“And…?”
I looked up at Matthew. “He has a girlfriend.”
“Blaze??” Matthew gasped.
He was so surprised, I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s how I reacted. But with less coffee in my mouth.”
“Is he happy?”
“I think so.”
“Good. He deserves to be happy.” Matthew took another sip.
I recounted my entire conversation with Blaze, mentioning Lee only in brief. In return, Matthew told me that the girl who spent the night at his apartment was Sherry, the cop we met after the murder.
“I saw her at the hospital and offered to buy her coffee with my staff discount,” he said, and sipped the last of his coffee. “Then we went out for a drink, and then…”
“And then…” I said, parroting his voice.
“It wasn’t like that. We talked. She’s… very different from anyone I know. Her life is different.” A sliver of softness lurked beneath the feelings he was radiating.
“Just talked?” I asked, trying to keep the surprise from seeping into my voice.
Matthew nodded. “About her life. About the rallies she had attended. She’s trying to set up a special task force to help protect you guys.”
“Great. Basically twenty-four-hour surveillance,” I said, scowling.
“It’s for your own good. You do get that, don’t you?” Matthew placed his empty mug on the floor next to him. “What else can they do?”
“How about increasing their presence at the rallies?” I couldn’t help but raise my voice. “So that next time Daphne and I march–”
“Next time?” Matthew interrupted me, his body stiffening.
“What I meant was…” My thoughts were racing, trying to find another way to complete the sentence.
“What you meant is that you’re going to march in the next rally, even though you promised me.”
“No, no at all.” I immediately backtracked. “Once everything calms down, then we’ll march…” It was too late.
“Are you trying to get killed?” he asked, his voice a deep growl. “Because if you are, there are some great pills I can prescribe. It’ll be a hell of a lot faster.”
“I’m not trying to get killed.” I tried to keep my voice down.
“You promised,” he said, and stood up. “You promised me you’d stop. So I wouldn’t have to be scared out of my mind.”
I stood up in front of him. “You don’t have to be scared at all. I told you, we’ll wait until–”
“Enough! Stop lying to me.” He pounded his chest. “Me. You’re lying to me. Right now. To my face.”
His feelings were swirling around me. I didn’t smooth them out. I had never touched Matthew. Not since I realized I could manipulate people’s feelings.
Matthew’s hands balled into fists. “Don’t you get that I’m worried about you?”
“I can feel how much you worry about me,” I said.
“Then stop marching.” He had lowered his voice, but the rage still rang out. “It would at least make Mom a little less miserable.”
I was going to reply when my phone rang.
“Take the call,” Matthew blurted and folded his arms across his chest.
It was Aurora. “You didn’t text me back, and it’s getting close. It’s only an introductory meeting. Mostly splashers, you know what the class of’97 is like, not much diversity to speak of, and…”
“I’m a bit busy,” I interrupted her. “Is it urgent?”
There was a lengthy silence on the other end of the line, and I heard Forrest whispering in the background, “Ask him.”
“Ask me what?”
Matthew’s anger was washing over me in such giant waves that I barely managed to ignore it.
After another moment, Aurora said, “We’re having a circle, behind the shelter on Hashmonaim Street, you know.”
I hummed in response.
“We could use the backup of a psychic. We only have two, and they’re young.”
“I’m at my brother’s,” I said.
Matthew arched his eyebrows.
“Yoyo,” I whispered to him.
“Reed? It would really help if you could make it,” Aurora pleaded. “You’re just what we need. I don’t trust anyone else…”
“You mean you couldn’t get hold of anyone else.”
“I really do need you,” she said quietly.
Matthew was still angry at me, and still worried. What he needed was a reminder that I could fend for myself. It had been a long time since he joined me at a circle. “Want to tag along?”
Curiosity rippled through the wave of his anger. He shrugged and remained silent.
I lifted the phone back to my ear and said, “I’m coming with my brother.”
Aurora whispered something to Forrest, and then said, “Look…”
My hands were sweating. All I wanted was to take a shower, get to the café, finish my shift and be done with this day. I didn’t want to volunteer in another of Aurora’s little projects, I didn’t want Matthew to be angry at me anymore, and I didn’t want a stranger in my house. If Aurora didn’t let me bring Matthew, I’d just say I wasn’t coming and go home. I might even maneuver Oleander into leaving Daphne alone for a bit.
“He’s one of us. For real,” I said, raising my voice.
Matthew’s anger started to abate. I didn’t know if it was because of his curiosity, or what I had said to Aurora.
“Fine, come. Both of you,” Aurora finally said, and hung up.
I put the phone back in my pocket. “Let’s go.”
After a twenty-minute walk we found ourselves standing on a side street in a part of town I preferred not to visit after dark. Scavengers were rummaging through the dumpsters, dragging shopping carts brimming with empty bottles and cans, old clothes and scraps of cardboard. Two moodies were standing on the curb, scantily dressed in purple. They didn’t need to hold a sign saying ‘Memory Dissipators,’ their purple miniskirts were enough of a signal for the drivers who slowed down when they passed by. I extended my consciousness towards them. One was completely blurry. The other was clear and sharp and she looked up once she sensed me. She sent me rejection and withdrawal. I left her alone. When I wandered even farther, I could feel a third girl, slightly hazy, sending a bolt of passion to someone. I immediately withdrew.
I put out my feelers and poked around for the circle. There was a faint trail of sorcery, leading to a yard between two buildings, the passage blocked by broken pieces of furniture, empty cardboard boxes and trash.
I took a step forward. Matthew was rooted to his spot, wearing a perplexed expression. I tugged his hand. “Come.”
Behind the makeshift barrier we found a group sitting in the backyard, a few on the ground, some on folding chairs. I could guess each one’s element by where they had chosen to sit. I knew only Aurora and Forrest, both with their backs to me. There were five teens of various elements, all huddled together, all looking up at Aurora with adoration. I skimmed through each one’s consciousness, picking up the familiar fear. Word on the street was that the Sons of Simeons’ psyches were calm and free of anxiety. Not that there was any real chance of finding them here, among us. And yet, I was used to checking.
One of the girls was tossing fireballs into the circle, while Aurora, sitting beside her, levitated them. I thought about how Blaze used to make little fireballs and scorch my notebooks when he got bored watching me do my homework. I stopped the w
ave of longing. He was with someone else now, and it had been years; I had to focus on the here and now and not wallow in the past.
I felt my way to the moody. She was a girl with purple hair that faded into pink at the tips. She was standing on the sidelines and turned to me the moment I sent her a short wave. Three others turned and looked up when she approached us.
I drew my middle finger to my temple. The moody skimmed through me. I assumed she had heard the same rumors I had. I felt resistance and rage bubbling under a thin film of fear, yet her expression was one of indifference. Chewing a pink wad of gum, she blew a bubble and popped it.
Aurora stood up and turned to me. Her glasses looked different. Forrest brushed his hand through his hair. His shirt sported dark underarm stains.
They all extended their hands, each with their associated gesture. There were two short pebbles; one fair-skinned, the other dark. Even their clothes were in contrasting colors. Three pyros – two men and the girl bouncing fireballs. Apart from Forrest there were two other splashers. Including Aurora, there were five airheads. I didn’t recognize any of the adults. Probably new Yoyo volunteers who joined long after I’d quit.
The last one was a thin teen in cargo pants and a face riddled with acne. He raised his hand and brought his pinky to his forehead. A damus. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. Damuses who weren’t Daphne always made me nervous. It felt like they knew me too well. Better than I knew myself.
We were all waiting for a signal from the moody. Aurora nudged her, and she jolted. “I confirm he is of pure intentions.”
Taking a step forward, Aurora said, “Welcome. Blessed be he who joins the circle.”
We were in Tel Aviv, in the middle of summer, sweating and breathing in the humidity, standing behind piles of junk. The buses were honking nearby, spewing clouds of soot into the air, but those words were echoes of a faraway era. These were our rituals, and for a moment I experienced Matthew as an unwelcome outsider. An unacceptable distraction.
“Blessed be thy invitation.” I tried to utter the ancient words with the accurate intonation. I took a step forward.
“Will your kin bear witness to the circle?” Aurora motioned towards Matthew with a sweeping gesture.
Rejection cut through me from the direction of one of the sorcerers I’d never met. I didn’t get the chance to examine it more deeply before it disappeared.
It felt silly, saying the ritualistic words to Matthew. The same person who used to throw ketchup-drenched French fries at me when we were kids. But noblesse oblige. I turned to him and reached out my hand. “The circle summons you to bear witness.”
“Am I supposed to take your hand?” he asked. The last time he had observed a circle was years ago, and back then there were only six of us and we didn’t bother to say more than the bare minimum.
I nodded. Matthew took my hand. His grip was steady. He was used to holding a scalpel in much more stressful situations. I led him to the edge of the yard, to a spot from which he’d be able to watch us at a safe remove.
“Thanks for coming,” Aurora whispered to me once I left Matthew behind and came back to the circle. “I was getting worried that we’d have to settle for something less challenging for them. They’re so frightened.”
“Good. They should be frightened.” Traces of Matthew’s anger had seeped into my voice. “They’re trying to murder us.”
Aurora held my arm and stopped me. “You need a refresher on supporting teens?”
She was right. I blocked Matthew and tapped into the compassion I always had for our young ones. “Sorry.”
Aurora shrugged. “It’s OK. We’re all nervous. You must be feeling it more than any of us.”
“You’ve been talking to Daphne.”
“I know what the rallies do to you guys without having to ask,” she said, straightening her glasses.
You guys. Once again that imperceptible line between elementalists and psychics. But I knew she meant no harm, and I couldn’t be angry with her. I looked into her eyes and asked, “Are those new glasses?”
“An old pair. My new ones got broken in the rally.”
“A pyro?”
“Someone just stepped on them.”
“You should start wearing contacts.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Forrest said, suddenly standing behind Aurora with his hand on her shoulder. “Ready?”
Forrest introduced me to the group. A few of the teens exchanged whispers. One of the pebbles fixed me a stare. I stared back, and she lowered her gaze, blushing. I wondered what they had heard about me. It had been years since I last served as a counselor at Yoyo. By now the kids from my last group had already completed their military service.
The elementalists stood in a group before me. The first time I participated in a mock battle was in the military. Daphne and I fought together against every elementalist on the base. There were more than fifty of them, and they still complained that they were outnumbered.
The moody stood next to me, and the damus slightly behind us. Her name was Gaia and his name was Guy. You didn’t have to be a moody to sense how much they liked each other. Guy blushed every time he looked at her, and her expression softened when she thought no one was looking. Gaia considered me with her gaze. “Do you even remember how to fight?”
I rolled up my sleeve, exposing the fresh scar. It was still pink, shiny with newly formed skin. I waited until I could feel her pain dissolve, then rolled my sleeve back down. “Anything else you want to ask?”
Gaia blew a pink bubblegum bubble and popped it. “Bring it on.”
“Follow me.” I pulled a few of her feelings in my direction and felt her incorporating herself into me. Not fully, that would be impolite. She only sent me her aggression. Guy cleared his throat behind me. I felt his nerves grating.
All at once the world was ablaze; a wall of fire stood between us and the elementalists, the flames flaring when the airheads threw oxygen into it. The earth split beneath my feet and filled with thick mud. The pebbles and splashers were working together. If we moved, we’d slip. It was an interesting tactic.
Gaia held her breath. I felt her panic. The splashers linked their arms together behind the screen of fire.
Behind us, Guy was moving between futures, keeping the elements they were casting at us at bay. The fire didn’t touch us. He was young, and not as good as Daphne. She could move so that we wouldn’t even feel the heat. He only managed to keep the fire from scorching us. My and Gaia’s job was to neutralize the other sorcerers.
The force swirled around me, and it took serious effort to penetrate it. Maneuvering sorcerers was much more complicated than maneuvering normies. I could feel the headache coming on. It wasn’t the kind that would pass within a few hours, like after a shift at the Sinkhole.
I fumbled my way out and led Gaia with me. I showed her where to push on the other consciousnesses, making sure to avoid touching Matthew’s. I knew his psyche inside out. Gaia’s hesitation read loud and clear; I sent her an irritated wave and pulled her in my direction again. There was no time for decorum. The other side had given its consent, and we had a job to perform.
The pebbles crumbled the earth beneath me. I tripped, and Gaia pulled me back up. They were smart enough to direct their attacks at me and not her. Hail reigned down. Guy groaned, intercepting it. Gaia’s hesitation dissipated, making way for anger. Childish, petty, but enough to drive her into action. We pressed all the elementalists’ fear buttons, increasing the insecurity inherent in some, and the confusion in others. A rivulet of joy flowed from Gaia to me. I wondered whether it was the first time she allowed herself to let loose like that.
Our opponents tried their best to fight, hurling everything they had at us, but their power was dwindling. Something wet hit my face. The splashers must have put some serious effort into their attempt to create rain in the middle of the summer. The air was heavy with humidity, which the pyros’ fire was supposed to evaporate.
/> Their impossible effort was our opportunity to break through the wall. We projected our combined consciousness, planting nausea, dizziness and headaches inside them.
The fire dissipated and the mud underneath our feet hardened. Four people were crouching on the ground in front of us, throwing up. A pebble was lying on her back with her eyes closed. I felt her lightheadedness. Forrest nodded at us, and I returned the gesture with a small bow.
“Wow,” Guy said.
Gaia looked at me, panting. Her relief washed over me, as well as a little of the expected headache. I blocked her out. My temples were throbbing.
She chewed her bubblegum. “I thought the famous Reed Katz would be a little less–”
“Scarred?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Old.” She popped a pink bubble and smirked.
I smiled at her, overcome with nostalgia. The young faces. The transformation of young individuals into a tight, empowering group. No. I wouldn’t be volunteering again. “You can come over,” one of the splashers called out to Matthew. “We’re done.”
I expected him to join me, but instead he ran towards the back of the group of elementalists, where some were still doubled over, vomiting, and the pebble was prostrated on the ground, breathing slowly with her eyes closed. He leaned over her, held her wrist and spoke to her quietly.
I approached them and crouched next to Matthew.
“You did this?” he asked, staring at me with his jaw clenched. “It was part of consensual battle.”
“Can you stop it?”
Forrest came and knelt by the other side of the pebble. “No.” Matthew looked at him.
“Moodies don’t maneuver sorcerers,” Forrest said. I nodded in affirmation.
“You maneuvered her,” Matthew said, “you maneuvered all of them.” He gestured at the group.
“It was part of a consensual battle,” I reiterated. “If I did it now, it would be…” I searched for the right word. Immoral? Obscene?
“It’s simply not done,” Forrest completed my sentence. “Thanks for looking out for us. We know what we’re getting into when we take on psychics.”
Matthew turned to me again. “Did you win?”
The Heart of the Circle Page 6
