by Day Leitao
Alessa shrugged. “As you wish.”
That said, all Karina carried back was a parcel with the pajamas and underwear. Alessa was still quiet, and Karina tried to make some conversation, “Were you in the army as well?”
The girl widened her eyes as if the question had been outrageous. “Me? No.”
“I thought… Cause you know how to fight, and you know Sian and all.”
“I’m a hired—” She paused. “Bodyguard. It pays to protect people.”
“So that’s what you’re doing with me?”
“I thought it was obvious.”
A little, maybe. “So you’re not his friend; he hired you.”
“A bit of both, let’s say.”
“What do you think about him?”
“I’m not supposed to think anything, only keep you safe.”
Karina sighed. She was hoping she would get some clue on how much she could trust Sian.
Alessa said, “I’ll tell you what. I’m among the best. If he chose me to protect you, it says something, doesn’t it?”
“I guess.”
Sure, it said something, but what? Karina didn’t insist because she didn’t want to keep asking questions. Perhaps she should be wondering why she was in this city, following a girl she didn’t know, on a plan she wasn’t sure about, for a guy who lived in another dimension and didn’t even like her.
When they got back to Karina’s room, Alessa kept her company all the time, even when Karina took a bath. That explained why Sian had chosen a girl for the job. Alessa was for the most part quiet, almost as if afraid to say something wrong. Maybe they wouldn’t be friends. They ate downstairs, at that place where Karina had eaten at night. It was indeed a restaurant. This time, the food was weird rice and some chicken and vegetables, not anything like what she’d had in the morning.
Later, Alessa taught Karina a board game that was similar to chess because it had pieces with different movements, but the board was round, and there were only four different types of pieces, three of each. They were called hearts, powers, minds, and matters. The movements didn’t match the names much, as hearts were the most powerful pieces. As Alessa explained it, Karina noticed that she could use the same technique she did with chess, which was to visualize her movements and her opponents’, and base her actions on outcomes her adversary wouldn’t predict. It worked; Karina won her second match. And her third. She started to think Alessa was a very poor player. On the fourth match, as Karina was winning again, the girl puffed and stared.
“Are you sure you’d never played this before?”
“I’ve played chess, but it’s different.”
Alessa looked down, and mumbled, “Maybe not that much.”
They continued playing. Alessa’s pieces were all cornered, and it was just a matter of time for Karina to win. This was getting predictable. And Sian, where was he? The sun was setting, and he was nowhere to be found. Karina wanted to ask Alessa, but she was afraid that the girl would tell him about it, and what conclusions he’d come to.
After a while, Karina got really anxious, afraid that something had happened to him, so she decided to ask, “Any idea where Sian might be?”
Alessa stared attentively at her board. “I think he’s in his bedroom.”
That was it? He just left her with a random girl in order to spend time alone? And he got another bedroom for himself? Karina was disappointed, but she should have known better. “Oh. Okay then.”
“Do you want to talk to him?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“He told me to call him if you needed him.”
Karina shrugged. “I don’t need him.”
Alessa chuckled. “You sure don’t.” Her tone didn’t sound sarcastic. She continued, “Listen, do you want to go down to the Junction? People are coming. It’s going to be fun.” She sounded excited for the first time.
“Is it a party?”
“Well, sort of. It’s a party every night.”
“Can I go? Isn’t it dangerous?”
Alessa winked. “I’m with you. There’s no danger. And if you hadn’t been allowed to go, I’d refused the job.”
A party! Not only any party, but a party in Whyland. That sounded fun and exciting.
10
The Junction
Alessa led them downstairs to that restaurant, but it was mostly empty. Karina feared that the party would be there, but thankfully no, as Alessa opened a metal door leading to a tunnel with what looked like grey concrete walls. Light came from a row of candelabra on one side. They were not wax candles, but metal sticks with an orange light on top. The tunnel led to a huge empty hall with wide circular columns. Because it was so huge and empty, for a moment Karina feared that she was being led to a trap, but Alessa seemed trustworthy. Well, Sian trusted her. And why did Karina trust Sian again? Maybe because he’d have no reason to keep her as a hostage or anything.
They entered a narrower tunnel, leading to a room with some tables where a few people played hearts and matters. The room led to a balcony, facing a huge u-shaped hall encircled by seven levels of balconies with tables. There were curtains on the back of the hall, covering what Karina assumed would be a stage. A few people occupied tables here and there.
Alessa seemed to notice that Karina was looking around. “It’s still early,” she said. “But that way we can get a good table. You know you can order whatever you want, right?”
“I don’t know the drinks here. I guess… Some juice?”
“Juice?” Alessa sounded underwhelmed.
“Maybe a really good one?”
“No alcohol?”
Karina laughed. It was funny to realize that people in other dimensions also drank. Well, to be fair they had a lot of similar food, similar furniture, similar clothes. Maybe they were not so far apart, or maybe those things were common in human societies. Anyway, she was in a strange place where she didn’t know anyone, so she wouldn’t want to drink even if she were older. “No. But you can have it.”
Alessa sighed. “I’m working, remember?”
Karina winked and tapped her shoulder. “We can be boring together.”
Alessa laughed. The girl got a big jar with a sweet, colorful drink. It had stripes with colors, like some liquids that don’t mix with each other. They poured it on the glasses. Karina stirred the drink and watched the colors dance, mix, form shapes, then slowly go back to their stripes. But there was no oil. Karina thought that maybe there were different densities of food coloring or something. It was silly and childish, but fun.
People started coming in. Very few women wore pants. They had different styles of dresses, from long and puffy to tight and short skirts. Men wore pants and tunics like the ones from the army, but in different colors, some wore more elaborate suits. A guy wore a long black skirt. That was neat. Without makeup, in clothes that would have looked fierce on Alessa, Karina felt a bit odd. The girl was at ease, though.
Down in the hall, a band started to play. They had six musicians playing string instruments, which looked like harps, but varied from high to low frequencies. One of them was used for percussion. The music sounded messy or confusing at first, like some very improvisational jazz, but after a few seconds, Karina got used to it, and it sounded pleasing, dreamy, and almost hypnotic. There were groups of people dancing in front of the band with large, erratic movements, looking so free, daring, and bold. Alessa looked down at the people and their movement, eyes wide, as if eager to join them.
“You can go there,” Karina said.
Alessa jerked her head. “Wanna come?”
Karina laughed. “No way.” It was neat watching the people dance, but Karina herself wasn’t a dancer even in her own dimension and would be too shy for those bold moves.
Alessa shrugged. “Then we stay.”
Karina looked around, wondering about something else. “Any chance Sian might come here?”
Alessa smiled. Karina didn’t like what the girl implied with that smile. Kar
ina was just eager to see her friend. It was normal. She would do the same with Zoe back home. Right?
The girl said, “He’ll definitely come—unless he’s in the secret area.”
So there was a secret area to which Karina wasn’t invited. Awesome. She looked down. “I see.”
“Oh, no, there’s no fun there. If he’s there, it’s boring meetings. No girls there either. Sure, there might be girls, but friends, you know? I mean, he wouldn’t—”
“Alessa, I’m just asking about Sian cause he’s my only friend here. This is the second time you’re implying something that’s just not true. I don’t even know what you’re going to tell him.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t say that your eyes light up whenever I mention his name.”
Karina felt her face getting hot. “Cause he’s my friend. I agreed to accompany him, not a bodyguard. He never said, ‘come to Whyland, I’ll leave you with a random girl while I go partying on my own.’”
Alessa shook her head. “No, no. That’s what I meant. The secret rooms are not for partying, they’re for meetings. If he’s there, it’s for boring business.” She sat back and looked at Karina. “So you’re not from here. I thought you dressed too weird. Where are you from?”
“I don’t think I’m supposed to answer that.” Not because it was some big secret, but because it was weird, and mostly because Karina was annoyed.
“Sure. And I’m not supposed to ask. It’s just…” She got close to Karina and whispered in her ear. “Are you from Arlenia?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s a neighboring kingdom. I’ve heard they might attack us. I thought maybe you were a princess or something. I know Sian is up to something, but I don’t know what.”
“There might be a war soon and people are partying?”
“One more reason to party harder. But really, not everyone knows how serious the situation is. They think it’s a threat, but I know better.”
“And what does this have to do with Sian?”
Alessa again whispered in her ear, “Apparently nothing, if you’re not from there.”
Okay, now Karina was curious, and she had information to bargain. “Do you want to know where I’m from? I can tell you everything you want if you tell me what you know.”
“No. Sian might be able to hear us.”
“You sound almost as if you are afraid of him.”
Alessa stared at Karina as if offended. “Not afraid. But that doesn’t mean I’d cross him for no reason.”
“He hasn’t been around for a while, has he?”
“A few months. Some people thought he was dead. But there he is, alive.”
Karina looked up.
Alessa said, “I said it as an expression.”
“Oh.”
Alessa sighed. “I was kidding about telling you everything. I was just curious about where you were from, but it’s none of my business.” She looked down for a while, then turned to Karina. “Wanna play?”
“Maybe. What do I get if I do?”
Alessa had a half smile and nodded. “Let’s do this: if you win, I’ll answer whatever you want.”
Karina scoffed. “Easy. And if I lose?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“That’s not fair.”
Alessa was already getting up. “Didn’t you say it was easy? I’d much rather you won anyway.”
They went to that other room with the hearts and matters tables. Alessa whispered on some people’s ears. The girl was up to something, and only then Karina realized she wasn’t going to play against Alessa. Karina was placed in front of a lady with a bob cut hairstyle and lace gloves.
Alessa watched them from a distance. In fact, quite a few people stood around them. It didn’t matter. Karina focused only on the pieces and the board. Facing a new adversary was a challenge in any game, just because it’s harder to understand their style and their plan. A good strategy was always to let them win the first match, then use the knowledge for the following ones. But Karina didn’t have that advantage now. She had to focus on what was happening right there and then. And right there, the woman made a fatal mistake. Yes, she’d only see it ten moves later, but the mistake was made. Indeed, a few moments later, Karina won. That game really wasn’t difficult. The woman looked as if she’d eaten something rotten. Alessa grinned. People stared at Karina with wide eyes.
Karina smiled and leaned back. “Who’s next?”
A good-looking guy with blue eyes and black hair sat at the table, but Alessa pulled Karina. “We’d better go back to the main room.”
“What’s wrong?” Karina whispered.
“Nothing. But we want to go back, right?”
That was weird, but the girl was weird anyway. She got the impression that Alessa didn’t want Karina to play against that guy.
They sat back at the table. The band had stopped playing. Karina stared at her juice while she figured what question to ask, and how to ask it without giving a wrong impression. When she looked up, she saw Alessa staring downstairs to a corner where a girl was talking to a man. They seemed to be arguing.
“Do you know them?” Karina asked.
“That’s my sister. And her ex.” The tension was clear in her voice.
“You want to go talk to her?”
Alessa sighed. “I’m supposed to be with you.”
“I could go with you.”
“Maybe.”
Karina watched as the man pulled Alessa’s sister through a door. He didn’t seem aggressive or anything. What worried Karina was the panicked look on Alessa’s face.
Karina got up. “We can follow them.”
Alessa said, “I will. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Karina sat back down. There was something commanding and powerful in Alessa, and there was something dangerous to whatever was happening to her sister. In less than six seconds Alessa was downstairs, rushing through the same door from which her sister had left. Karina hoped everything would be fine while she stared at her juice. She was thinking she’d like something to eat, but she didn’t know how to order or what to order. At this point, Karina could smell the alcohol coming from other tables. Downstairs, a multitude of people she had never seen, dressed in different styles.
A male voice startled her. “You don’t belong here.”
Karina looked back and saw the guy with dark blue eyes and black hair who’d wanted to play against her before.
Karina smiled. “I’m not a table or a bottle, so I definitely don’t.”
He laughed. “Can I sit?”
“My friend—” He had already sat on Alessa’s place. Why ask, then? “Did anybody send you or something?”
He tilted his head. “No. But I didn’t want to leave you sitting on your own.”
Okay. Confession time. The guy was really good looking. Had Karina not been worried about other things she would think this was her lucky day. But she was thinking about Alessa and wondering where Sian was. She just wasn’t in the mood for that kind of talk at that moment.
“Aliamos, but you can call me Liam,” he said.
“I’m Karina.”
At this moment, on the corner of her eye, she caught someone downstairs looking at her. Sian. When she turned, he was no longer there. Maybe she’d imagined him.
“You’re distracted,” Liam said.
“I’m looking for my friend.”
“I can be your friend. Is this your first time in Siphoria?”
“Not really.” That was sort of true.
“Even if you’ve been here before, I could show you around if you want. There are always new things to see.” He moved his eyes down and up, back to her eyes. “And do.”
Karina just shrugged. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “That’s a yes then?”
Of course not. She’d said it just to be polite. “No. I’m leaving soon.”
Karina looked to her left side. She was sure she’d seen Sian, this time on the fl
oor she was. Or else she was imagining things. In that multitude of people, it was easy to get confused.
“I’m sorry then,” he said. “You’re still distracted. Is it someone else you’re waiting for?”
Perhaps he could help her. Why hadn’t she considered this before? “Do you know Sian?”
The color left the young man’s face. “You mean Sian Keen? The former general’s son?”
Karina didn’t like to remember whose son he was, but it was true. The guy’s reaction was weird, though. “Yes.”
His eyes widened. “You.” He looked away. “I’m sorry,” he said as he got up. “I thought you were someone else. My apologies.”
The guy left. This place and these people were getting weirder by the minute. The odd juice should have tipped her off. She stirred it and watched its forms, wondering what was happening to Alessa, and if her sister was all right. She also thought Sian was the rudest person on Earth, assuming they were on Earth, for leaving her alone for hours, considering he was the only person she knew there. Perhaps she should return to her room, but she doubted she’d even know the way back. Plus, she would be alone, and that was what she wasn’t supposed to do.
The chair beside her moved. She looked up, thinking it was Liam again. It was Sian. As annoyed as she was at him, she couldn’t help but smile.
11
Lights
Sian was smirking, as usual. “Enjoying your company?”
“Of course not. You left me alone.”
The smirk was gone. He looked around. “Where’s Alessa?”
“She had something. Her sister. Please don’t be upset at her. I’m sure she’ll be right back.”
“Wow, what has she been telling you? Did she tip you off on the torture chamber for subordinates who disrespect me?”
“No, but she seemed concerned.”
“She was probably concerned about you because I told her you were in danger. That’s all. But I’m here.”
