Beauty In The Chaos

by M. Street

  “The Canites are over this range,” I explained, sensing their closeness through the mountains. Lifting Dev and a snoozing Charlie into the air, I banked us through valleys in the upper Canadian Rockies. Centering on the copper call, I placed us down at the base of a sheer mountain.

  “This is the place,” I said to Dev, not sensing any movement or seeing any copper light. “They were here recently.” Dev sniffed, unmasking, breaking the charm on Charlie to wholly engage the surroundings. His mounting apprehension easily transferred to me. Dev was perpetually suspicious.

  “Where are we?” Charlie asked, yawning off the sedation charm. I cast a dome around us.

  “We’re in Canada. You’re going to meet more Canites,” I replied, relying on my confidence. Charlie perked up, dashing his eyes from place to place, attempting to pierce the night with infant eyes for the fairy-tale wolves. Dev spun around, focusing on a field of closed buttercups polka dotting the ground like vivid, sky blue lollipops.

  Incredibly, a three-foot chunk of rocky earth the size of a tennis court lifted, parting as though an enormous tornado shelter were stashed far below. A bright navy blue from the exposed earth beamed into the starry sky. A small, slender woman of wise age with braids upon braids of long gray hair emerged from below. She was grandmotherly, dressed like a Viking queen. Her skin was moonlight pale, accentuating her winter blue eyes backlit with an orange rivaling the intensity of the Pacific aura. From the moment I basked in her maternal copper light, I recognized Zeta.

  “My lady. Thank you for coming,” she addressed me with rippling copper. Seven massive silent wolves appeared out of nowhere, surrounding us. I was glad Charlie could not see them hidden in the shadows.

  “Zeta.” I took a step to hug the great warrior that had faithfully watched over me in my sleep in the Black Forest, but Dev abruptly stepped in front of me. I looked to his eyes for explanation, picking up overtones of protective secrecy.

  “I see your mask is complete. And the infant child?” Zeta asked, swirling her aura in amazement. She knew the risks involving Charlie. Her maternal worry resonated loudly, trumping my royal standing.

  “Raven didn’t tell you?” I asked in turn.

  “We have not heard from Raven in over twenty-four hours.” Pensiveness vibrated through her copper. “Nor have we heard from Jeremiah since the Congo operation.”

  The fresh loss of Miguel flowed heavy in all of us. A thin breeze brushed through my hair, catching Zeta’s undivided attention. Her nostrils flared beyond human capacity, accentuating her fixed watch over me. Questions hung off every one of her blonde, sickle eyelashes and swarms of light bees zinged around her head.

  “Let’s get under cover.” She broke the curious moment, proceeding down the subterranean stairs.

  “Follow me,” I told Charlie, generating dense light from my body so he could see. We followed Zeta down two flights of carved stone steps into a large receiving room. The curved walls and floors were earthen, bathing everything in the underground cave sea blue.

  Five Canites stood still in the room, rippling salutations. Their emotional states were heightened and primed for battle. “Lights,” Zeta ordered. Recessed floor lights lit the underground cave for Charlie like a spaceship. Without Jeremiah, Dev’s apprehension rose in the tense belly of the Canite camp.

  “Haruz!” I shouted upon seeing my old friend wobble into the room. He walked with a whittled pine limb for a cane, still healing from the Congo hit. Dev and Zeta followed me dragging Charlie over to Raven’s faithful guard.

  “Princess.” He lowered his head, rippling his frazzled copper in respect. Dev and Haruz nodded friendly fighter salutations. Haruz grumbled eyeing up Charlie.

  “Please stop.” I dismissed the formalities. “How are you feeling?” I asked, wanting so badly to donate my light to him. I held off for Dev, keeping my pregnancy undisclosed.

  “Still shaky on two feet, but not on four.” He grimaced, crinkling his wrinkled face into a smile. “Your mask is complete. I’m glad something good came out of it,” he said mournfully.

  “I’m so sorry about Miguel.” My mask damned my surging sorrow. “And for you getting hurt.”

  “I will fight again,” he said confidently, dismissing fault. I picked up a silent current of worry clanging through his private copper.

  “Raven is missing?” I asked, mystified.

  “Yes, I cannot sense her,” Haruz said helplessly, like he couldn’t feel his legs.

  “I saw Raven leave Oak Creek before I leapt away with Charlie,” I recounted to Zeta and Haruz. They both perked at the new information. “She and Ozwald were in—”

  “Ozwald?” Haruz accused, cranking his old eyes wider.

  “Yes, although not together, they were both in Oak Creek. They both bet I would eventually return for Charlie.” I sighed at my predictability. Suspicion raced through Dev, Haruz, and Zeta, derailing my train of thought.

  “When was this?” Zeta asked anxiously.

  I added up the time. “About a day ago.”

  Haruz and Zeta locked eyes, communicating disturbing feelings through their copper. The Canites in the room sneered as if incriminating clues were uncovered concerning Raven’s disappearance.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked, disagreeing with the masses. “Ozwald helped save me in Oak Creek. Maybe Raven is with Jeremiah?”

  “Jeremiah is on a quest after the loss of Miguel,” Zeta stated concisely. As much as she tried to shield it, the soreness in her heart reflected in mine. “It’s a Canite custom after an intimate loss.” I leaned into Dev for support.

  “Let’s call Ozwald to see what he knows.” My simple solution stirred a commotion.

  “No,” Dev said, igniting my offense.

  “Why not? You said you could make a call without the receiver knowing where you physically are.”

  “It’s too risky.” Dev hesitated, pleading with me on our private connection.

  “Might not be a bad idea,” Haruz grumbled. He was mixed with fatherly fear and guilt over the missing princess.

  “Please.” I put my hand on Dev’s wrist, conveying my honest wishes.

  “I don’t believe this is a good idea.” Reluctantly, Dev pulled out his crystal, making adjustments to the metallic base. “He will only be able to see Piper and me,” he told Zeta and Haruz before tapping the crystal, bringing the device to life. It blanked rapidly in a series of gold tones.

  Within seconds, Sabina and Luja holographically appeared before us instead of Ozwald. They both were considerably aged.

  “Whoa,” Charlie exclaimed at the realness of the Avians. I was happy to see them both. Luja reminded me of Josh emanating metallic light from his infant aura. I had to find out what was happening to him.

  “Oh, Piper, I’m glad you are safe,” the Avian queen said, relieved yet troubled.

  “Your mask is complete,” Luja picked up immediately.

  “Is Ozwald with you?” Dev asked mechanically, dismissing with formalities.

  Sabina’s porcelain white face reddened, holding something heated back. “No. We don’t know where he is.” Her worry warbled her silky-smooth voice.

  “He was in Oak Creek yesterday,” I said, growing concerned.

  “What?” Sabina interjected.

  “You didn’t know he was there looking for me?” I asked. “If it wasn’t for him and Raven, I’d be in Eli’s hands.” The earth shook violently at the same time I spoke my unwanted brother’s name. Two-story cracks crept up the walls of the Canite cave. I sandwiched Charlie in between Dev and me, sensing the closeness of the Arbitri who were suddenly here to end our lives.

  Screams of death rang wrenchingly loud and cringingly clear in the copper valence of the Canites, thrusting me into terror. The massive wolves above were getting picked off systematically in rapid succession. Eli and his gang of Guardians somehow had found us. Their high-pitched rage filled my head like air raid sirens. Thankfully, my mind shifted out of fear and into autopilot. Far inside
me, engines ignited, blasting a safeguard for the Canites, Charlie, Dev, and most poignantly, for the lives I harbored.

  “What is happening?” Sabina got out before Dev hung up.

  “Head for the escape tunnels!” Zeta yelled. “Haruz, take the pack. Use the south exit.” She fired off commands. “We’ll take the north passages. The princess must survive,” Zeta implored, grabbing my wrist. Before she touched me, she knew I was pregnant. Her protection intensified over me as if I were her pup.

  Haruz and the Canite pack formulated into snarling wolves, sounding like a straining gravel crusher. Without hesitation, the pack of six giant wolves thundered down the corridor, disappearing in a flash.

  Another blast shook the earth, denting the massive doors above. Charlie riddled the air with fear, holding onto me for dear life. Dev enchanted my little brother to sleep before I could ask. Rocks and clumps of dirt rained down in the destruction.

  “It won’t take another hit,” Zeta said looking up. “Follow me!” she howled, formulating into the blonde beast. There were no second chances with the closeness of the Arbitri. I wrapped Charlie in belts of light, lifting into the air. Dev kissed me quickly, flooding me with torrents of loving resolve before formulating into a growling cat.

  Zeta fired down a corridor facing north. Just as Dev and I followed, multiple violent explosions from above smashed into the Canite cave. I raised my hands flying down the narrow tunnel, shielding us from the shock wave and the earth slamming down. Our fight-or-flight responses went into hyperdrive, easily keeping pace with Zeta’s incredible speed.

  The massive blonde wolf launched into the air, effortlessly smashing through a thick wall of vegetation covering the end of the tunnel. My internal compass put us on the other side of the mountain ridge. Zeta formulated midair, landing human. Bright platinum spheres rose from behind the mountains like shooting stars. “Leaping is your only chance,” she said fatalistically. “I’ll draw them away to give you more time.”

  “No!” I pleaded, feeling her willingness.

  Zeta smiled peacefully, priming her copper aura. “Bring us out of the darkness.”

  She formulated into the great blonde wolf, screaming away through the pines of the valley floor. Dev formulated human to hold me back from going after her. Three Guardians swooshed down the ridge after the copper spark sailing away.

  “We have to go before it’s too late.” The desperation in Dev’s grip shook me back. I wrapped Charlie in copious layers of light, preparing to leap us. A dome and high-powered bolts fired off in the distance where the brave Canite mother ran. Hideous sensations jabbed me from multiple directions, distracting my focus. Eli, flanked by seven Guardians, crested the mountaintop as I felt Zeta’s light jarringly snuff out.

  Dev broke the spell on Charlie, releasing his glittering silver into the air. He colored a magnificent and majestic pink, proclaiming his love for me with a chillingly selfless grit. My love, my world, and the father of my children fired off toward Eli before I could scream.

  Eli flew toward me, drawing charge for bolts of mass destruction. The Guardians at his sides began funneling light for multiple trapping domes. Charlie woke up, frightened and flailing from disorientation. Driven by the potential loss of life and love I could not survive, I blanketed Charlie in light thick enough for leaping an infant child. I kicked into high gear, hurling after the gallant silver light headed to most certain destruction.

  Just as my blood brother blasted lethal light and before the imprisoning domes fell on us, I lassoed the black-and-white sabertooth. Holding onto my real brother, I cut open a leap point, whipping the pink cascades up then down. The super drain of leaping Charlie hit me head-on before we cannonballed into the white fourth dimension.

  Fighting tooth and nail to stay conscious, I centered on the portal extracting us back into time. Not knowing if we got away without any Guardians following, I spliced us back into the third dimension. I had never been to Rome, which made the distressed landing that much more risky. The area was a well-known Arbitri hotspot, but it was our only chance of staying alive.

  With my last drop of perception, I rested Charlie and Dev gently on the banks of the Tiber River as I smashed into the water at an insane speed.

  32

  Sam and the Cat Sanctuary

  M

  y eyelids felt like they had been welded shut with heavy metals, hindering my gains into awareness. The last thing I remember was successfully landing Dev and Charlie on brilliant grasses near an arched bridge before slamming into the sparkling, concrete water of the Tiber River. I was so spent from leaping Charlie that my shell did not keep me waterproof. The ambush on the Canite cave hit so hard and fast, leaving loss that would take years to scar over. Zeta’s benevolent presence didn’t surround me like the others we had lost. Instead, her motherly spirit flowed inside me.

  My hands lay on my stomach, protecting the life preparing to take hold. I moaned, tearing to burst my eyes open to see if we had made a clean getaway. By the intensity of Dev’s love rushing into me, I knew he was wonderfully close.

  “We’re ok.” Dev pressed his face against mine, kissing my cheek. He bathed me in gratefulness, turning my tears into a river. I knew he wasn’t just talking about us and Charlie. He put his arm around me, placing his hand over mine, sending pink and protection to me and the twins. His words rinsed me in relief for him and Charlie, but the loss of Canite lives opened my already raw wounds wider.

  My geographical sense put us in the middle of the Tiber River in Rome as planned, but the strange surroundings made me wonder.

  “Where are we exactly?” I asked sitting up, scanning the direction in which I felt Charlie. Dev was lying next to me in a hospital bed. He felt my internal concern for everybody. Charlie was curled up in a recliner under heavy spools of dream flies. His white light showed fatigue from being on the run. Despite being masked and drained, my wits rapidly came online. Dev was masked, holding a weak spell of spinning gears, circling his right wrist.

  “We are in a hospital, the Ospedale Fatebenefratelli,” Dev answered in a perfect Italian accent. “You almost drowned.” He dropped his anger, holding back the loss of what almost happened. “This was the safest place to hide while you recovered from leaping Charlie. This city is teaming with Arbitri, but matures do not like hospitals.”

  Dev parted the coiled red hair draping my face. “Thank you for trusting me. This is best for Charlie and us.”

  Dev knew why I had chosen Rome, a most unsafe place, to run to during an ambush. I remembered his trusted Vampacoti friend Sam Walsh resided here. I shuddered, knowing I could not keep Charlie safe. I was too big of a target with too many guns aiming at me to have him near. A welling of worry from Dev roped my full attention. “That was too close,” he said.

  “Yeah, I don’t know how they found us,” I said, perplexed. “Maybe Eli can feel me now?”

  “Not through your mask.” Dev went calm, prowling far down his mind’s trail. “They came seconds after we contacted the Avians.” Any unity nurtured in the Black Forest was withering. Despite my total love and devotion for Dev, I disagreed with his critical stance over Sabina and the Avians. I was sad he couldn’t see them with my soul.

  “You said the crystal could not give our location,” I said. Bringing up the Avian queen reminded me of Luja and my mind full of questions for the golden scientist. “Where could Ozwald be? I saw him leave Oak Creek with Raven.”

  Concern over Josh and his metallic metamorphosis was creeping in priority. My intuition chimed in when I thought about him. The clear connection I had with him made him more like a brother than my longtime drummer friend.

  I struggled of the bed, stretching into the air using light to support my fatigued limbs. Flashes spun around my head trying to word a request I knew would come with strong opposition. “We need to call Sabina and Luja again,” I stated plainly.

  “What! Why?” Dev jumped upright, emphatically saying no at the same time. His exploding blood pressur
e puffed up his lower lip.

  “When I was in Oak Creek, the Arbitri were not only watching Charlie, but Josh as well,” I explained.

  “What? Your bandmate?” Dev asked, thrown off course by my impetus. Having been my cat since birth, he knew all the intimate players from my first life.

  “Yes. Josh Hanson. I saw him and Lisa down at the lake. Besides the two of them being crazy in love, Josh had metallic light stemming from his seven chakras. It has to be the reason I can pick him up so loud and clear. Am I related to him?” I wondered, knowing he was more than an infant. Like my dad’s sister, Theia, maybe Josh was a cousin I didn’t know about.

  “No, Josh really is just your infant friend. No mature lineage in his light …” Dev trailed off in speculation. “What you described is the start of an infant spontaneously emerging into maturity, but I would have to see him to confirm. There hasn’t been an evolutionary birth in centuries. Not since Eli grew stronger than Esther.” Thinking bees darted around the top of his head. “To date, there is no known way to predict who will transform or when a birth will happen. Your birth and Josh’s proximity to you must have played a major role.”

  Dev loosely tried to cover his happy restlessness over the miraculous situation. “You are a catalyst for all of light. A spring is underway. It is undeniable.” His hope amplified and he placed his hand on my face, kissing me softly, then firmly. I ran through his love like a sprinkler on a summer day, shivering despite the heavy heat.

  “What frequency was he?” Dev asked, coming back to the matter.

  “I couldn’t tell,” I replied.

  “Ah, so he has just started showing. It might be months before we know.” Dev rubbed his forehead.

  “Why are you worried?” I asked, feeling his inward turmoil through our masks.

  “He is in danger,” Dev answered reluctantly, keeping his hands on me to quash my steep climb of angst over Josh’s welfare.