Strength

by Angela B. Macala-Guajardo

  The kitchen was dark and empty, the TV off, and the top of Grandma’s grey head protruded over the back of the couch. Roxie tiptoed inside and called to her grandmother, who didn’t stir. Roxie took off her sneakers and socks and set them by the door, then padded over to the couch. She checked behind her when she heard the back door click shut. Aerigo was taking in his new surroundings with his pack hanging in one hand. “Just put your stuff by the table.”

  Tucker, their tabby cat, was curled up in Grandma’s lap. He raised his head and gave Roxie a bleary-eyed look.

  “Hey, Tucker,” Roxie whispered. “Go back to sleep.” The cat replied with a yawn, then curled back up, tucking his nose under one furry wrist, and started purring. Roxie called to her grandmother again, who continued sleeping. She put a hand on Grandma’s shoulder and the old woman woke with a start, scaring Tucker off her lap. The cat slipped under the coffee table and out the other side, and proceeded to study both ladies.

  Grandma pressed a hand over her sternum. “Goodness gracious, you scared me!”

  “Sorry, Grandma. At least I made it back home in one piece.”

  “And for that I’m grateful. Did you find what you were looking for this time?” Grandma got to her feet and readjusted her bathrobe.

  “Yep. You were right. I’m not an alien.”

  “Ah, you finally believe me.”

  “I’m an Aigis.” Roxie tried to sort out the revelation about not being human, but her sluggish brain wasn’t in the mood to make any more sense of it. She still felt human and looked the same, so what did it matter that she was an Aigis? She kept seeing pictures of the ultrasounds in her head.

  Grandma went from sleepy to serious. She gazed into Roxie’s eyes, then looked a little lower. “Whose shirt is that and what happened to yours?” she said as if she already knew the answer.

  Roxie winced and braced herself for an incoming scolding. “Mine kind of got ripped up and someone named Aerigo gave me one of his to wear.”

  “Aerigo?” Grandma said in disbelief.

  “Don’t tell me you know him?”

  “Yes. No!”

  Aerigo stood close to Roxie as Grandma’s eyes went livid. “Ma’am, I—”

  “Get out of my house!”

  Aerigo put up his hands and took a couple of steps back. “I mean you no harm,” he said, his voice calm.

  “Out!”

  “Grandma,” Roxie said, “don’t make him leave. His eyes glow too.”

  “I don’t care!” Then to Aerigo, “I don’t want you to ever return.”

  Tucker meowed loud enough to get all three of them to look at him. Arms still up, Aerigo took a step closer, looking at the cat with a raised eyebrow.

  “Baku?” he said, unsure.

  “Tucker,” both women corrected in unison. Roxie recognized the other name but couldn’t remember who that person was or what Aerigo had said about him. She squeezed past Grandma and plopped onto the couch, feeling like her legs had no strength left in them.

  “Are you okay, Rox?” Grandma asked.

  “Yeah. Just tired,” she said and yawned. “And really confused.” She sunk into the plush cushioning, closed her eyes, and fought the urge to sleep.

  Grandma said, “I’m sorry, Aerigo. You don’t have to leave.” She took a seat next to Roxie, sitting on the edge of the cushion. “I do owe you some explaining but first I want to hear about what happened to you and your shirt.”

  Relieved to not be getting another lecture, Roxie summarized how she met Aerigo, the strange drink he gave her, and their encounter with Daio. Aerigo reassured both ladies that they should be out of immediate danger.

  “I don’t understand this Daio character,” Grandma said. “What does he want?”

  Roxie had been about to fall asleep, but her grandmother’s question piqued her curiosity. “Yeah, what does he want and what does he know? He made me feel like he thinks I’m some sort of secret weapon.”

  Aerigo said, “You do have quite the task before you but you’re not a secret weapon.”

  “But what does he think you’re going to teach me?” Roxie asked softly. “He said I was supposed to be a threat or something.”

  “You are a threat to his agenda, but not necessarily in a violent sense.”

  “What do you mean?” She closed her eyes but Aerigo’s voice kept her conscious.

  “To put it simply: Daio, his master and their allies want people to die. Baku, many others, and myself don’t want this to happen. We need your help to save lives.”

  Roxie’s mouth barely formed the words “sounds complicated,” and then she passed out.

  ***

  Aerigo drew closer and put a hand on Roxie’s forehead, evaluating her energies again. Her skin was hot to the touch, but it felt like change; not illness. “She shouldn’t wake up anytime soon. She’s changing into a proper Aigis.”

  “She’ll be able to do everything she’s supposed to soon?”

  “Correct.”

  “Is it safe to move her? We need to talk but I don’t want to disturb her sleep.”

  Aerigo scooped Roxie into his arms. “Where to?”

  The old woman led him across the living room, down a flight of stairs and into a typical teenage girl’s bedroom. The walls were covered with movie posters, pictures of scenery and people, and a couple of stuffed bookcases. In one corner of the room hung a net overflowing with stuffed animals. Below it was a twin bed neatly made. Aerigo laid Roxie on the comforter of striped pinks and reds with stars, hearts, spirals, and wavy lines all over it. Grandma took the throw blanket from the foot of the bed and covered Roxie from the shoulders down, then kissed her granddaughter’s forehead.

  “So you’ve come already,” she said softly, sorrowful.

  “Yes. It can’t be helped.” Aerigo felt both grateful and saddened by Grandma’s foreknowledge. Grateful because his arrival was less of a shock, yet saddened because no amount of warning would make the family parting any easier to accept.

  “Don’t you think she’s a little young?”

  “What did Baku tell you about Rox?”

  “Come.”

  Aerigo followed Grandma back upstairs and took a seat at the kitchen table when she gestured to it.

  “I’m making some herbal tea. Do you want any?”

  “Please.”

  Grandma filled up a teakettle and set it on the gas stove, then walked around the counter and down the hall. A moment later she returned and set a folded piece of paper on the table. “One morning, when Roxie was still a newborn, I went to her crib and found her holding an envelope in one tiny hand. I couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for how the letter got there, much less without disturbing a baby.” Grandma retrieved two ceramic mugs from a hanging cabinet and set them by the stovetop. “If you’ve seen enough of the world around us, you’ll understand that magic isn’t a reasonable explanation.” She retrieved a couple of tea bags from another cabinet and deposited one in each mug.

  Aerigo gave her a comprehending nod. “I’ve been to quite a few worlds. Some have magic; some don’t, like yours. It’s just the way things are.”

  “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read the letter. I didn’t know whether to believe it or not until Roxie’s eyes started glowing. After that I had no reason left to doubt its validity. I’ve kept the letter secret from Roxie for fear of scaring her. It seemed like the right thing to let her grow up in ignorance of her fate. Now that you’re here, my choice seems to be no less cruel than the alternative.”

  Aerigo pulled the beige paper closer. The note was old. Every fold was boldly defined, yet no rips or crumple marks aged the note. He opened it and began reading what he recognized as Baku’s simple handwriting:

  Dear Eve-

  I give you my condolences for your son and daughter-in-law. The gift of your granddaughter has come at a heavy price I didn’t expect. My name is Baku and I apologize, but it’s too early to explain who I am and how I know about your family. I won�
��t be able to meet you in person for some time but I need to grace you with some knowledge about your granddaughter.

  Roxie is special. She’s something more than human: an Aigis. She’s still your blood, however she possesses abilities no one else on Earth has, yet she won’t be able to exercise any of them, except one: her eyes can glow in response to fear, anger or sadness, but that trait won’t develop until age five. Hopefully this heads-up will spare you from any shock. The rest of her powers will be made available to her one day, when a man with glowing eyes like hers comes.

  That man is named Aerigo and, in addition to restoring all of her natural abilities with a tonic I’ll give him, he’ll come to collect Roxie shortly after she reaches adulthood. Her destiny will inexorably carry her beyond Earth to other corners of the universe.

  Bearing all that in mind, I’m asking you to take on guardianship of Roxie until that day arrives. You’re a strong, wise person, Eve. I need you to impress your strength and wisdom upon your granddaughter. Earth isn’t the world Roxie was supposed to be born on (which is why she won’t be able to exercise all her abilities from birth), but you’ll be an excellent caretaker and teacher. I have faith you’ll do well.

  I would also like to let you know that Roxie is destined to do great things, so the parting should be a proud moment. Acknowledge your achievements and be proud of yourself, as well as Roxie. And acknowledge Roxie’s ability to make a positive difference in the universe.

  Roxie’s destiny does possess a heavy element of danger. It will be a difficult journey. The universe’s peace is being threatened. Already things have begun to fall apart and I have been forced into a position where I can do little to salvage the situation. All you and I can do is hope she’ll be up for the task when the time comes, for time is running out. But never give up hope. We all need to have faith that Roxie and Aerigo can protect us all. I have as much faith in their abilities as I do in your ability to be a good guardian.

  Take care. And remember: be strong. Have faith.

  -Baku

  Aerigo folded the note and set it on the table. “He didn’t really tell you anything.”

  “No, nothing specific,” Grandma poured two mugs of tea and brought them to the table. “But enough to help me get by, I guess. I still think Roxie is too young for you to take her away though.”

  “The sooner she starts, the better. She has a lot of learning ahead.” He accepted his mug and Grandma sat down.

  “I know.”

  Hopefully he had enough time for all of Roxie’s crucial lessons. He had no clue how long they had before Nexus the next phase of his plans. The fact that Daio was interfering had to be an indicator that Nexus was almost ready. “I’ll take good care of her for you.”

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me.” She sipped at her tea and took a deep breath. “If there’s any way I can be of assistance before you both leave, let me know.”

  “There is, but it can wait until morning.”

  Chapter 3

  Roxie was sitting at the kitchen table, asleep and with her face hovering over an open carton of melting ice cream. Her head drooped forward, looking for the pillow that wasn’t there, and she planted her face right in the carton. The soggy siding gave out and Roxie woke as her nose clogged up with melted ice cream.

  She sat upright and snorted and coughed, then wiped her face and felt something slimy. She looked at her hand. It was coated in cookie dough ice cream. What the heck? She wiped her face again, feeling a layer of cold slime all over her cheeks. She ran her other hand through her hair. Thick locks had been clumped together and her hair stuck to her fingers. She let out a cry of disgust and surged to her feet, the back of her knees knocking the chair out of the way.

  There was a crash of wood on hollow metal. The chair she’d just been sitting on lay on its back in front of the stove sitting on the other side of the kitchen. Roxie blinked.

  “Rox, what was that?” said a male voice from the living room.

  It took her a moment to recognize the muscular man peering over the back of the couch. It was Aerigo, the only other person she’d met who had glowing eyes. She lunged for the kitchen sink, realizing how gross and ridiculous she must look, hid her head in the basin and turned the water on. “I’ve got ice cream in my hair,” she said peevishly. “What do you think?” She began rinsing off.

  Aerigo rose from the couch and a door opened down the hall.

  “Who put me at the kitchen table?”

  “You don’t remember? You put yourself there.”

  Roxie looked up, her hair dripping into the sink. Why the heck would I do that? A large empty bowl sat on the table, with flecks of red clinging to its sides, then became aware of the scent of Italian dressing. A half-empty bottle of the stuff stood next to the bowl. There also was an empty loaf pan with streaks of ketchup and meat loaf crumbs in it, and a Heinz bottle nearby. A gallon of apple cider with maybe an inch of it left was on the table as well, however she didn’t see a cup anywhere. Finally, the red half-gallon of cookie dough ice cream lay on its side, the opening facing her and copious amounts of ice cream spilling edge of the table like a wimpy Niagara Falls. There’s no way I ate all that. Roxie wrung out her hair, then grabbed the carton and plopped it in the garbage under the sink, dripping ice cream all over the floor in the process. She unrolled an arm’s length of paper towels and began mopping up the sticky mess.

  Aerigo grabbed some paper towels and helped wipe up the floor.

  “I remember falling asleep on the couch, and that’s about it.”

  “What was that loud bang?” Grandma asked. She stood on the other side of the counter with her hands folded over her chest, clinging to her bathrobe to her as if she were cold.

  Roxie looked at the upturned chair and wished she could explain how it’d sailed across the kitchen. Grandma followed her gaze and furrowed her brows. Roxie made one last pass with her wad of paper towels and deposited them in the garbage, then made a fist, bumped off the faucet, then turned for the chair.

  She flinched and stopped when she heard something light and metallic bounce around in the sink. It was the faucet handle.

  “Crap!” Roxie fumbled for a way to put the hand back on.

  “Be gentle!” Aerigo said.

  “I was!” Roxie said, exasperated. She’d shut off the faucet with her fist a zillion times before.

  “Gentler.”

  “I was,” she said. What? Does he want me to pretend the sink is made of glass? Rox held in the frustrated sigh that wanted out.

  “Let’s just finish cleaning up and I’ll explain what happened to you.”

  Aerigo and Roxie cleaned up the table and floor, and returned the possessed chair to its place as Grandma headed to the basement to turn off the water so she could fix the faucet. Within two minutes the kitchen was clean and fixed, the faucet handle needing no more than to be snapped back on. All three took a seat at the table.

  Aerigo said, “Rox, you don’t remember leaving your room last night?”

  She thought a moment, trying to be honest with herself. “I don’t even remember going into my room. How did I end up in this chair?” She tapped the tabletop with a finger. “To my knowledge I don’t sleepwalk.”

  “No, you never did that growing up,” Grandma said.

  “You came up the basement stairs and seated yourself after gathering all that food,” Aerigo said. “From what I could tell you’ve gone under some major physical changes and you unconsciously took in the energy you needed to complete the transformation.”

  “I look different?”

  “Not really,” Grandma said.

  Roxie rushed to the hall bathroom and examined her face, which looked the same as yesterday, though her expression more scrutinizing. She shut off the bathroom light and returned to the table. “I don’t look any different.”

  “That’s not the changes I meant,” Aerigo said. “You now have all your natural abilities and have the capacity to use magic.”

  “Re
ally? What can I do?” The water rose flashed through her mind. Hopefully she had the capacity for more than just neat tricks.

  “Quite a bit. I’ll be teaching you as fast as you can learn it.”

  “Like what? Are my eyes magic?”

  “Our eyes are a physical trait; not a magical one, which is why they could glow before I gave you that liquid last night.”

  Roxie felt disappointed that she’d never been using magic every time her eyes glowed. “So what’s my first lesson?”

  “To learn how to be gentle,” Aerigo said.

  “Sounds boring.”

  “It’s crucial to your training, unless you want to be a living hazard.”

  “Hazard?” Aerigo’s comment put Roxie on the defensive. Adults were always in such a hurry to not trust teenagers.

  “You’re very powerful now. You must learn to control your powers before you exert them.”

  Roxie was reminded of her hopelessly boring drivers ed. class. The teacher and driver’s manual preached safety, safety, safety, and more safety. She labeled both the teacher and manual a pair of paranoid lunatics. “I already am careful,” she insisted.

  “You already broke the faucet.”

  “It’s already fixed!”

  “Rox!” Grandma snapped.

  Roxie bowed her head. “Sorry. Waking up with ice cream in your hair isn’t a fun way to start your day.”

  “Just mind your manners. Would you like some tea?” Grandma headed to the stove.

  “Yes, please.” Roxie kept silent while her grandmother put on water to boil and set up three mugs, each with their own milk and tea bag. Roxie said to Aerigo, “Did I really eat all that?”

  “I watched you eat it,” he said. “I tried talking to you but you never responded.”

  “I don’t remember any of it,” Roxie said, frowning. Aerigo’s eyes and tone of voice convinced Roxie that he was telling the truth, but she couldn’t wrap her head around having eaten so much food. She also didn’t like not remembering things she’d done. It was as if life had gone on without letting her know. She felt robbed of memories that were rightfully hers. “I don’t like this.”