The Gift of Volkeye

by Marque Strickland

  “You like it? His name is ‘DyNavah.’ ”

  “He’s from what’s his name’s stories, isn’t he? …That PoisonTongue guy!”

  Asha nodded.

  “Lyn reads those…I haven’t gotten around to them yet. You’re amazing, Asha. I wish Dad was here to see it.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll see it soon, because if he doesn’t get his ass down here in the next several days, he knows I’ll have to whack him upside his head! …And you can tell him that I said so!”

  They all laughed. Then Khye looked out the window, realizing that the hours were slipping away from him.

  “Blast, I gotta’ get going. I have to run into Mashyuvah and get Lynnie’s birthday present.

  “Really? What are you looking for?”

  “Well, I wanted something fantasy related, because she’s so into those types of stories.”

  Asha frowned, trying to remember if she’d thrown it away. She went digging around and found that she hadn’t. She went inside a wooden chest in the corner and unwrapped a miniature version of the large sculpture on the table.

  “Here, give this to her,” Asha said. “This is my mock up. Take it…I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”

  “Whoa, thanks!”

  Khyeryn observed the mini sculpture—it matched the large one down to the last detail. The only difference with the one he held was that DyNavah’s cloak was painted blue, as opposed to red in the big one.

  “You’re very welcome, love.”

  Curious, Khyeryn looked around the room, knowing that Asha had more than just one hobby.

  “Any new guns?”

  “No, not this time, dear. I’ve been too busy with the new sculpture.”

  As in love with Asha as Zynathian was this was one aspect of her persona that he could’ve done without. Besides being a sculptress, she was an armour and weaponsmith, specializing in guns and explosives. Unbeknownst to her, there was no soul in the whole of Elum that could match her ability. Zynathian, however, wasn’t as naive about her talent as she was. From the first moment that she showed him her work, he knew that (in an unsettling sense) Asha, too, was a genius.

  She made a good living off her weapons sales and combat training in Rhameeryla, as most of her neighbours were stocking up for their imaginary revolution against Phyllamon Xyecah. Thinking that the town’s people lacked the conviction of their words, Asha trained them merely to quell their insecurity. However, she made sure to keep her own gunmanship up to par.

  Khyeryn smiled at Asha. “My father doesn’t like your guns, does he?”

  “It’s not the guns themselves that he has a problem with. It’s the fact that if danger ever came in the direction of someone I love, rather than running, I’d more than likely blow that danger’s head off. Zynathian doesn’t want violence around me, that’s all.” She sighed with affection.

  “I don’t blame him. You could get hurt or worse, and what would the world do without one of its greatest souls?”

  Asha smiled.

  “Thank you, hon,” she said and kissed his forehead. “You better take Lynnie’s present and scoot. I promise not to say anything, but no more leaving the house without permission…and definitely not without Lyn Sha! You hear me, boy? You know the rule!”

  Beware the bald man with the unibrow! How could he forget it? He’d been reciting it since he was able to talk.

  “Yes, Mother.” Khyeryn smiled, shaking his head.

  He grabbed the sculpture, padded it with several pieces of fluffy cloth that Asha gave him, and stuffed it in his canvas sack. Khyeryn wrapped himself up again then ran and hugged Asha.

  “I’ll see you soon, okay…and if you hear from Teshunua, tell him that I miss him and to contact us as soon as he gets back.”

  “Okay, Khye. Be good.”

  “Come on, butthead…I’ll walk you out,” Bahzee said, grabbing her coat.

  When they opened the door, a frigid gust of wind blew inside, and Asha waved, running to take cover from the wind.

  “Sorry, Mom,” Bahzee said, pulling the door shut.

  It had gotten very cold over the last few hours. The air howled and wisped through the trees of the forest, and the clouds were so dark, Mother Nature looked as if she was about to raise hell.

  Bahzee and Khyeryn stood amazed at the eeriness of the day. To two people, who’d just come from the inside of a home filled with love and warmth, the elements that they met upon opening the door seemed quite strange. Anyone superstitious would’ve said that the mood of the day was a perfect complement to the horrible cascade of events that would manifest over the next five minutes.

  Jalum, awake and impatient now, gave a loud squawk in the kids’ direction, which they understood as “Hello…it’s nice to see you, Baz, but Khyeryn and I really need to get moving! Get your ass over here, boy!”

  Knowing that Jalum was serious whenever he gave orders, they didn’t make light of his mandate and quickly said their goodbyes. However, as they hugged and kissed, they had no idea that another pair of eyes besides Asha’s was watching them. An overwhelming amount of jealousy swelled within a certain person.

  Khyeryn walked to Jalum and put the sack containing Lyn Sha’s gift inside of a pouch attached to Jay’s saddle. He mounted Jalum and waved to Bahzee, then, in one bound, the two of them were soaring above the trees.

  As Bahzee watched them disappear, her hair carried on wildly in the furious wind, landing over her eyes as the elements settled a moment. Upon clearing her line of sight, she discovered that she had company—a most unwelcome visitor, who’d been hiding behind a tree.

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. My goodness, is there no escaping him?

  “What do you want, Felix?”

  Bahzee looked over at the window and noticed that Asha was watching, undoubtedly worried to death. Knowing that her mother was probably armed, she took care to not give her any reason to come out firing.

  (Inside, Asha released the safety of the weapon in her hands.)

  “What do I want? I want you to stop cheating on me, you lousy whore! Who in the blazing fires of hell was that?” Felix pointed at the sky.

  Bahzee began to crack her knuckles—a nervous habit she had whenever her temper fired up.

  Please don’t hit him…please don’t hit him…please don’t hit him. Like Khyeryn said, it won’t bring anything good. Don’t knock the crap out of him, Baz, please! You’re strong—you can resist this. Even though you could do it with such ease…even though he more than deserves it, do NOT whip his ass! …And for the sake of all that is holy, please don’t KILL him!

  While Bahzee silently meditated, eyes closed, she couldn’t help but wonder who the hell this fool was to question her relationships with other males? Did this arrogant, murdering buffoon actually believe that he could win her heart? How so?

  I don’t think that he shall ever succeed by calling me a ‘lousy whore!’

  “That’s none of your business,” she said, turning her nose in the air.

  “Everything is my business when it has to do with my girl!”

  At this, Bahzee finally let loose of her opinion, as she just couldn’t help it.

  “Oh, Felix, get a clue! You’re an ugly…I’m sorry, hideous…self-absorbed, spoiled, little brat! I don’t like you! Even if you where the most beautiful thing on earth, I would still hate you after you threw a temper tantrum and kicked my cat, because I refused to kiss you! I despise you! Not now, nor will I ever be your girl! Now would you please let me be!”

  Bahzee stood her ground, awaiting his next move.

  Felix glared incredulously at his soon-to-be-slapped girlfriend.

  “You don’t mean that. Take it back,” he ordered.

  “I’m not taking back anything! This ends now.”

  “Nothing is ending. Now apologize!”

  “Felix, although your looks are much less than aesthetically pleasing, my dislike of you has nothing to do with that. It’s just that you’re the most vile, repugn
ant being on the face of the planet, and I loathe the fact that I’m even breathing the same air as you…murderer!”

  Felix’s bottom lip quivered. He hadn’t heard anything past the words “vile” and “repugnant.”

  Clearly she’s blind! How can this bitch—this little snotty whore—not realize how magnificent I am?

  Felix thought that Bahzee must’ve had very bad eyesight indeed to not see what a prize she was passing up. It drove him crazy, and he reacted.

  “You teasing, little peasant slut!”

  He cocked his arm back and aimed for her face. The impact would be explosive, and if she was lucky he might only hit her once.

  However, something unexpected occurred. His fist did impact something, but not her face. Felix was shocked to find that he hit nothing except an open palm that was firm as concrete. It held his fist in a powerful, unyielding grip and began crushing every bone within. Felix was screaming bloody murder.

  He snatched his hand away from her and looked down to find his fingers were red and swollen, sitting in awkward positions. Bahzee then lunged for Felix, grabbing him by his hair and slinging him up against a tree.

  Though never having thrown a punch in her life, she did so with speed, power, and grace. Her fist connected with Felix’s nose, and there was a loud crunch as his blood leapt about in disarray, landing upon the frost-covered surroundings. With another blow came an explosion of pain in Felix’s jaw. He wouldn’t be able to chew any food for some time.

  Bahzee hit him again, and again, and again. Felix’s entire body was being tenderized like raw meat. Finally, with his face being a bloody mess, obviously having had enough, Bahzee stopped and stared at him.

  “You really don’t remember me, do you Felix?” she cried furiously. “You don’t recall the little crippled girl, whose life you used to make a living hell? What about Nhad, do you remember him? Do you remember the bike you wanted and what happened that night after you found that you couldn’t have it? You killed my best friend, you bastard!”

  Felix, exhausted and in pain from receiving the first beating he’d taken since ‘the black boy in the forest,’ was astonished at her claim. He had no idea that when he saw Bahzee shopping with her mother one day in Mune Ju that she was someone from his past. He recalled following them home that day, harbouring a terrible lust for Bahzee, for he’d never seen anything beautiful as she.

  How can this be? She wasn’t gorgeous, was she? And she was deformed—confined to a chair! …What in the blazes!

  

  Meanwhile, Asha waited to do her part. At first, she’d been hopeful that Felix would become frustrated with Bahzee and just leave, pouting. At this age, he’d obviously be too embarrassed to ask his father to claim a woman for him, so Asha suspected that Felix would’ve kept the incident secret.

  However, having his ass beaten while being pinned to a tree was something else entirely. Even if, by some miracle, Felix wanted to keep the incident a secret, his appearance would give him away, so Phyllamon would find out regardless…

  ...And the results will be catastrophic for Rhameeryla! Asha thought, shivering with unease.

  But what if Felix never made it home? At least Phyllamon would have no idea where to look for him, thus awarding them time. She then made her nauseating decision.

  I have to kill him!

  

  As he slowly regained his breath, chest heaving, Felix tightly gripped the handful of dirt that he’d scooped up. He was still contemplating what Bahzee had said, mentally revisiting the bike incident.

  I never received the pleasure of killing that stingy shit, but he did die because of me!

  There was great peace of mind that accompanied this thought, and although he was now missing some teeth this didn’t prevent him from displaying a wicked grin. Felix’s smile pierced Bahzee to the bone, and he spat a mouthful of blood in her face.

  Bahzee sobbed, trembling with fury, as Felix leaned in, whispering.

  “Yes, I killed him…just as I will your little boyfriend! You cannot possibly understand the type of pain I’m going to put him through. This will be worse than the boy with the hoverbike…much worse!”

  Seized with horror of anything happening to Khyeryn, Bahzee let out a shrill cry that echoed throughout the forest. Her hand shot out, grasping his neck, and she ground her teeth together, scowling, as she attempted to crush the life from him.

  Although Bahzee didn’t notice right away, she suddenly looked down and noticed that Felix’s feet were dangling over three feet in the air! Never having tested her strength before outside of common exercise, she was stricken with awe at her gift. Then Felix caught her off guard.

  “Cheating bitch!” He hurled the ball of dirt into Bahzee’s eyes.

  She dropped him, and he quickly limped his way to a large nest of bushes.

  Bahzee grimaced as she went to the ground, blind and in pain. She knew her mother would be on the way out the door at the sight of this.

  “Mom, don’t let him leave, he’s going after Kh—”

  The sound of the shots drowned out Bahzee and the engine on the hoverbike. Felix darted out of the shrubbery, followed by a mild explosion of fire and forest debris, which lingered only a moment. Asha, intent on killing him, only managed to take the tip of Felix’s nose off before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. However, she kept firing in hopes of hitting something vital.

  ...Boom Boom Boom Boom…click, click, click…

  Dammit!

  She was out of bullets and knew that she hadn’t hit anything. Angry at herself for grabbing the first pistol she saw (which unfortunately hadn’t been a laser-powered weapon), she ran to Bahzee, who was still recovering.

  “Are you all right, Baz?”

  The tears and dirt had left little globs of mud on Bahzee’s face. She was still dazed a bit, rubbing her eyes.

  Asha shook her violently this time. “Are you alright?!”

  “Yes, Mama, I’m fine,” she said, with a final wipe of her eyes.

  Bahzee looked to the ground and found two of Felix’s teeth, suddenly recalling lifting him into the air without any strain! Then she knew. Bahzee had no clue what Zynathian had done to her body, but she was positive now that instead of just knocking Felix’s teeth out, she could’ve taken his entire head off!

  “We have to go! Get packed now…we only have a few hours, at most!”

  Asha got off her knees and started towards the house. Bahzee yelled after her.

  “Mama, where are we going?”

  “The Igloo!”

  Asha ran inside.

  The Igloo was several thousand miles southwest of Rhameeryla in an area that no soul ever ventured unless they happened to stumble upon it while passing through on a long journey. It was a great idea, but the only problem was that the weather was quite deadly.

  Having no known population or businesses, none of the territory had ever been plotted on maps or even given names. In fact, there were few in existence (besides the Volkeyes and their extended family) that knew anything about the Igloo and its surroundings.

  Bahzee got up and started inside.

  But how will we get a message to the family, letting them know where we are? she wondered.

  Her blood ran cold. Bahzee then cursed the fact that they lived in the sky, but forgot that Rhameeryla had no communication lines, so she couldn’t call anyway. That was the whole point of the town being a secret.

  Bahzee suddenly thought of Teshunua, exhaling in relief at the fact that he was not due back from his trip for several more days.

  It’s possible that Phyllamon will miss him! …But heaven help those who are still here tonight!

  “Mom, I’ll leave a letter on Teshunua’s mantelpiece, letting him know where we’re going. Then I’ll run and warn some of the others…the word will spread amongst them.”

  Asha’s panicking voice echoed from her bedroom.

  “Do it now!”

  VIII

  Beautiful Eyes

/>   1

  Although Bahzee was intimidated about using the ‘L word,’ her feelings for Teshunua actually did run that deep. He was a sixteen-year-old black boy, very tall with short hair. He, in an unconscious reciprocation, felt the same for Bahzee, and he’d done so since the day he met her.

  Teshunua was a virgin who’d never even had a crush on a girl before he laid eyes on Bahzee. He was fourteen then. Bahzee was twelve and still crippled.

  One day, near four months after she and her mother arrived to Rhameeryla, Bahzee was wandering in the woods. She accidentally hovered her chair into a thick nest of red berry bushes, and one of her wheels got caught…

  2

  “Dammit to hell! Blast!” Bahzee groaned, hoping to be able to get enough power to launch herself out of the bushes. She squirmed about in her seat, becoming more and more frustrated as the heavy branches would not loosen their grip.

  In tears now, Bahzee cried out.

  “Heeeeeeeelp!”

  Her voice echoed in and out of the crevices of the forest.

  Bahzee slumped in her seat with despair and was suddenly struck with the horrid idea that her mother wouldn’t find her until long after nightfall, when the wolves or the forest trolls had already dined upon her body.

  If those beasts don’t get me, the cold of the night will. By the time I’m found, I’ll be suffering from brain fever, pneumonia, or some god-awful, incurable disease!

  As she went to cry for help once more, Bahzee heard a voice, carried by the wind.

  “Where are you?” it said.

  Bahzee hesitated a moment in hopes that she was not just hearing things out of desperation. Then she replied.

  “I’m here…stuck in some bushes! Can you hear my engine?”

  She gave the hoverchair a nice loud rev and waited for a reply from what she hoped was not her imagination.

  “I hear it, I’m coming!”

  Bahzee sighed with relief. After a moment or so, she her heard him getting closer. Then a voice spoke from behind.

  “Got yourself in a little fix, huh?” it said, laughing.

  “It’s not funny!”

  “Sorry, sorry. I’ll have you out in second.”