by Kim Cormack
Amar answered her thought, “It’s ten in the morning but we’re not usually big on schedules around here. Today we are though, for various reasons. Our three Ankh are already in the in-between having some much-needed bonding time. They don’t know you’re coming so their response will be authentic.”
As they devoured their meals Lexy randomly teased, “So, you don’t have a lecture prepared then?”
Amar chuckled before giving the perfect response, “Why? I’d be wasting my time.”
He was a smart guy. He totally would be wasting his time. When they finished, they all placed their empty trays back on the cart and followed Amar back to the room they’d used for travel to the in-between only the day before. As they strolled down the marble floored hallway, Kayn heard rapid quickly paced footsteps as two giggling children raced down the hall. Why were there children here?
Their immortal host responded to her thoughts, “The Aries group headquarters for this continent is beneath this complex. The employee’s families also live here. I love having little ones around. I know you probably have a lot of questions. You can ask them when you return.”
The sight of playing children lifted the weight on her heart and breathed life into the now ornamental organ. She missed the joyful sounds that only children made. The tiny beings would rarely be in her life path now unless it was a Correction. The thought of having to snuff out a light like theirs for the greater good still felt like the one thing she could never do...even as a Dragon. Her thoughts drifted to the reincarnation of her brother. Matty was with the Aries Group. They’d keep him safe until the age of his Correction but after that, it was all up to him. She recalled the feeling of his reincarnations tiny arms wrapped around her and she shook her head. What was she doing to herself? She couldn’t think about these things. They would only make her weak. Did Amar know about the children they’d found in that town? The children Abaddon was keeping. Their eyes met and she suspected Markus had told him. For the first time, she realised they wanted the same things. She had been thinking logically about Samid but when it came to the love of one’s family logic didn’t apply. Amar wanted his son to have a chance at survival just as she needed Matty to have the same opportunity. If the reincarnation of her brother grew up to be a self-important asshat she wouldn’t want that any less.
Amar looped his arm through hers allowing the others to walk in ahead as he whispered, “I know where your brother is being kept and if you help me, I vow to help you.”
“I can’t guarantee Samid’s survival,” Kayn replied.
“I know you can’t but at least now, there’s a modicum of hope. I need to fix the mess I’ve made. I have three unprepared Ankh. I fear I’ve robbed them of their chance at survival,” Amar explained.
She wanted to promise Amar the moon as she stared into his intense chocolate brown eyes. Kayn gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’ll do our best,” she affirmed as they entered the room. Waiting for their arrival were six of Amar’s Ankh. They must be the Healer back up. Sucks to be them. Kayn smiled as she wandered over to stand by Zach.
Sensing her inner turmoil, her Handler took her hand and whispered, “I guess it’s Dragon time. Promise you’ll come back.”
“Always,” she whispered. She winked at Zach while lovingly squeezing his hand. The sight of the ancient ornately engraved tombs always caused her heart to swell with the knowledge that they’d been granted this privilege. A sense of faith washed over her as the four, trouble causing North American Ankh climbed into the one open tomb.
Amar announced, “We have four Healers to operate the tombs and two Ankh to use as an energy source for when your murderous shenanigans weaken them. Let’s bond these three so they have a shot at making it out of the Testing.”
They all gave each other a look and smiled as the lid ground shut sealing them inside.
A female voice from outside of the tomb said, “Please don’t puke in there.”
Oh no. They were all hung over. “Please tell me, everyone remembered to take that pill with breakfast,” Lexy proclaimed.
“I forgot to take it,” Zach whispered.
Lexy maneuvered over Grey and gave Zach a good punch on the arm.
“Ouch! Come on! I didn’t know we’d be doing this,” Zach complained.
Grey mumbled, “If you upchuck on me, I’ll kick your ass.”
They were jostled around as the tomb shifted to lock with the one beside it. Please don’t puke on me Zach. Please. She closed her eyes as the humming strobing luminescent light grew in brightness until it was overwhelming to her senses. Even though Kayn was fully prepared for it, her stomach lurched as they were catapulted into oblivion. Grey released an excited hoot as they began spinning with the stomach churning velocity of a carnival ride for a little longer than usual. She could hear Zach’s muffled dry heaving beside her as the tomb abruptly paused. Oh crap. Don’t you puke on me Zach. They all held their breath except for her Handler, who was valiantly trying to stop himself from tossing his cookies. While knowing Zach was hanging on by a thin thread, they awaited the vomit inducing final descent that turned even the strongest stomachs. With a wave of nausea for everyone, the four plummeted into the in-between. In seconds, the tomb vanished and they were free falling into the utopia between life and death. The wind was whipping her hair around making it difficult to see as Kayn fell through the dampness of the clouds until she could see the sand of the endless desert rapidly approaching. They all slowed themselves and landed gracefully, crouching in the warm inviting sand. They rose to stand beneath the backdrop of a flaming crimson sunset. It felt different. She’d always had this sense of belonging but now she felt powerfully connected to each grain of sand beneath her feet. Was Lexy experiencing the same thing? Kayn turned her head, saw Lexy’s serene smile and knew she was...
Grey gave Zach a brotherly pat on the back and teased, “Next time just take the pill.”
Zach was about to reply, when a flash of blinding light took them all by surprise. Strolling through the endless desert towards them was Frost. Oh, thank God. She needed to talk to him. Kayn was about to rush into his arms fully prepared to spit out a thousand apologies when his form shifted to Grey.
Their confused sandy blonde-haired companion Grey, stared down his doppelganger and quipped, “Who is this asshole?”
The form shifted again and became Lily with her shimmering silky raven tresses flowing behind her and her hips hypnotizing sway. It almost made them forget what they were there for. As not Lily came closer, she started to laugh. The pitch of her giggling lowered until Lily morphed into her shenanigan loving genetic sire Seth. Out of every immortal in existence, why did her father have to be this idiot?
Lexy glanced at Grey and whispered, “That’s Seth.”
Grey appeared to be taken aback by the Guardian’s behaviour as he announced, “Welcome! Welcome!” Seth reached out to shake Grey’s hand. It was obvious that Grey had mixed feelings about taking it but he did. Lexy opted out and Seth didn’t push her. Instead, the trickster Guardian marched over to Zach, greeted him and declared, “I can’t wait for the show. I was most impressed with the last one.”
How was she supposed to feel about having a parental figure with little to no redeeming qualities? Seth extended his hand and Kayn took it rather apprehensively.
The Guardian leaned in and whispered, “I apologize for not being available when you came to see me but I did observe the training you did with those four Ankh and my dear, it was brutal. I felt so close to you.”
Was she supposed to say something? Why bother. Kayn removed her hand from his as she enquired, “Are you just here for the show? Or do you have something you’d like to say to us?”
“Do you have something you need me to say?” Seth questioned as he glanced down at the sand, grinning at the strategically placed seashell.
None of them were about to fall for that old trick.
Lexy glared at Seth with venomous distaste as she grilled, “Why didn’t you
save me? I was only eleven-years-old.”
He answered emotionlessly, “I put you there. I was making a Dragon.”
Shocked by his admission, the fiery crimson-haired immortal spat back, “I was eleven-years-old!”
“You not only survived your initial Correction but you kicked everyone’s asses that came at you. You were a fighting machine. You are something very special,” Seth sparred intrigued by her fury.
Lexy stepped back, abruptly spun around and marched away from the group as she mumbled under her breath, “You’re a piece of shit.”
Kayn slowly shook her head at Seth and then followed Lexy without giving him the opportunity to say anything else. She didn’t really understand what her sister was talking about but she knew it must have been something horrible to have her harbouring a grudge after all this time. She was forced to jog to catch up with Grey and Zach right behind her. They disappeared in a flash of light and found themselves strolling through an overgrown field.
Kayn grabbed Lexy’s arm to slow her down as she asserted, “Stop. Just for a second. Why are we running away?”
“We are not running anywhere,” Lexy curtly responded. “We are ending a conversation with someone who isn’t worth another word.”
Grey looked stricken as he urged, “Drop it Brighton. I’ve got this. We’ll meet up with you guys after we’ve had a chance to talk it out.”
Kayn remained behind with Zach as Grey and Lexy disappeared in a luminescent flash of light. She glanced at Zach and questioned, “What do you think that was all about?”
“Nothing good,” he answered.
They exchanged knowing looks while standing there staring at the empty field. Kayn said, “It looks like we have some personal time. Where do you want to go?”
Zach grinned, held out his hand and stated, “I know where we should go. Trust me?”
“Always,” Kayn replied as she took Zach’s hand. They vanished from the field in a strobe of dazzling light and reappeared on a gorgeous white sand beach. She’d been here with Frost. She’d been actively avoiding thoughts of him. This place wasn’t going to help that endeavour. She was about to think herself up a drink when Zach beat her the punch by handing her a Pina Colada with a tiny decorative dragon printed umbrella in it and a pink curly straw. Funny. Kayn grinned as she made herself comfortable by sprawling out in the warm inviting sand on her tummy with the drink in front of her. For some reason, this reminded her of being a child at the beach with her family. Well, the laying on her belly in the sand part, not the alcoholic beverage in front of her. She inched closer to sip from her curly straw. She loved drinking out of straws. The weirder the better. Matt and Lexy had too. Her mind hit pause. Theoretically, Lexy was still here. The thought didn’t upset her anymore or make her feel a sense of loss. It now made her feel whole. Complete as a person. A tiny black hopping sand bug bounced past her. It was the real moments like this that always blew her mind in the in-between. Kayn peered up at Zach. He was also watching the bug as it skipped its way across the sand. She apologized, “I’m sorry, I got us in trouble and we had to leave. Haley was pretty into you at the end of the night.”
Zach quietly replied, “Don’t worry about it. That was never going to happen.”
Intrigued by his answer, she enquired, “Why wouldn’t it?”
Zach completely dodged her question, “On the bright side, we get to spend a few months together figuring out this whole Dragon Handler thing with Lexy and Grey. We haven’t really had much time to do that, it could be fun.” He took a sip of his drink and turned to lay on his back as he stared up at the now brilliant paint like splashes of blue in the sky.
Kayn grinned and teased, “Smooth dodge there, my friend,” as she did the same.
He sparred, “I’ll tell you everything when and if there’s something to tell. I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Kayn rebutted as she stared up at the vibrant splotches of blue above while running her fingertips through the warm silky sand. She found herself wishing there were clouds so they could guess what they looked like. Her memory flashed back to a vision of her and Kevin watching the clouds after school. She blinked, willing the thoughts to disappear. As she opened her eyes, Zach was poised above her with sunlight framing his face like a halo. Once again, her memory fed her a vision of Kevin on that day at the track when she’d first seen him again after he’d been taken by Triad. She sat up and exhaled. As she did, she noticed they were now sitting in a field full of purple clover. This wasn’t helpful. She plucked a clover out of the earth and stared at it. She’d made quite the mess of things.
Zach shimmied up beside her, took the small flower from her hand and questioned, “Kevin gave you one of these at the banquet, didn’t he?”
“He did,” Kayn replied. “He thought I’d need proof that he’d completely regained his memories.”
“That upset you so you tossed him over a balcony?” her Handler cautiously enquired.
“Basically,” she answered, while fully realizing how insane it sounded.
With his curiosity peaked, Zach asked, “Why did Lexy kill Stephanie?”
“Why wouldn’t she? Stephanie was pushing her buttons and we were told the rules didn’t apply to us anymore,” Kayn quickly responded.
“By Seth,” Zach clarified with a smirk.
“I see your point there,” Kayn laughed as she plucked another flower from the ground. She tugged one of its small thin tasty ended petals off.
Zach playfully slapped it out of her fingers and scolded, “Quit kicking yourself.” He got up, offered her his hand and announced, “Let’s have some fun.”
Kayn took his hand as she saucily teased, “Why Zachary, whatever do have in mind?”
“Zachariah,” he corrected. He gave her a light-hearted shove. “I even know your last name.”
Kayn laughed as she gave him a retaliatory push and sparred, “Only because it’s my nickname.”
“Point taken,” Zach admitted as he laced his finger through hers and added, “It’s better if we hold hands until we know where we’re going. I don’t want to spend the rest of the day searching for you.”
The meadow was alive with buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies as he towed her through the grass while searching the ground. He appeared to be looking for something. Zach chuckled as he knelt, picked up a seashell and pitched it off into the field ahead. A towering wall of water appeared in the distance.
Kayn beamed as she sweetly said, “Awe, love monkey. You shouldn’t have.” The towering tsunami started to move and they began to flee. Trees, bushes and long heavy grass broke through the soil and rapidly rose to a full forest ahead. Zach must have thought of an escape. As they raced for the edge of the woods, she called out, “There’s no cliff for the water to flow over!”
“I didn’t think that far ahead,” he yelled back.
Kayn stopped running and so did Zach. They stood there holding hands, prepared to face their temporary demise with dignity. They squeezed their eyes shut. Zach was probably dreading the sensation of mind altering agony as the wave crushed them like ants on the sidewalk but she wanted the pain, it made her feel alive. When nothing happened, they opened their eyes. The towering wall of water had stopped moving only a few feet away. It was so enormous it appeared to attach to the sky above. This was new...Curious, Kayn stepped closer and just as she reached out to touch the massive wall of water it disappeared, revealing Lexy and Grey causally strolling through the field in their direction.
Lexy hollered, “We know where they are! Let’s get to work!”
Kayn squeezed her Handler’s hand before letting it go. They were worried about her attachment to Zach but she wasn’t the least bit concerned. Something in his mannerisms reminded her of the mortal version of Kevin, the boy that was her best friend. Perhaps that was why he’d been chosen as Kevin’s replacement. Zach took off ahead of her and the two Handler’s wandered away together having an animated conversation that she wasn’t a part of.
Kayn smiled at Lexy as she approached. If someone had told her Lexy was her sister when they’d first met, she would have never believed it. She saw it now though, in her smile. This had been the craziest couple of years. She’d lost her life and then gained these incredible things she’d never thought possible. Coming to the in-between was a gift. It was exquisitely beautiful. She’d never seen it rain. Kayn looked up at the sky as raindrops began trickling from above, speckling her face with moisture.
Grey marched back to the girls and sighed, “Alright, which one of you thought of rain?”
“It was me. Am I bad?” Kayn admitted as she wandered through the moist grass alongside Lexy. The air smelled of summer rain.
“Come on Brighton,” Zach scolded. “This is unnecessary and yes, you’ve seen it rain here before. Remember when these two were chasing us through the forest with bows before our Testing?”
She’d forgotten about that... Whoops.
Lexy touched Grey’s shoulder as she teased, “Suck it up princess. You won’t melt.”
Grey yanked Lexy against him and sparred, “Fine, we’ll dance in it then.”
They began swaying as Lexy laughed, “There’s no music.”
Grey twirled Lexy around and pulled her back against him as he teased, “Suck it up buttercup.”
Music began, seemingly piped in from the dark clouds above. Grey dipped Lexy with a fluidity of movement that could only be gained by knowing your partner intimately. They were joyful in each other’s arms. It struck her as unfair that Grey couldn’t see what everyone else could...They belonged together. Her sister had been doing this one-sided romantic dance for too long. She needed to wake up in the morning next to the man she loved with the knowledge that her feelings were returned. She could never have that with Grey if his memories of their intimacy continued to be erased before dawn’s first light. It was sad though. Their bond was so beautiful. Frost leapt to mind. She felt a pang of insecurity, knowing that even though they had something truly wonderful, their relationship would always come with serious complications. She understood how Frost’s ability worked because she’d siphoned it with her Conduit ability, tasted it and kept it. She had a feeling it was the easiest ability for her to summon up because it had also been her twins gift, back when Chloe was Chloe and not a part of her. Her twin hadn’t been able to control it and in her experience thus far, neither could she. Neither could Frost. She knew this. They’d assured each other they’d be emotionally faithful but if she really thought about it, he’d never promised her any more than that. Kayn picked a buttercup and stared at it, recalling a memory of Chloe’s. She’d needed more time with Frost before they separated. More time to wrap her mind around what they meant. What they were... Their abrupt split was entirely her fault. She was concerned about the way they’d left things but they had literally forever to figure it out.
