by Mazhar, S
“What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing Aaron’s flushed face.
“Dunno,” Aaron croaked. “Think I got the flu.”
“The flu?” Rose frowned. She got out of bed and came to his side. Holding a hand against his fevered brow, she tutted. “I told you to change out of your wet clothes.”
“I did,” Aaron protested.
“Yeah, after you stood around chatting to Ella,” Rose scolded. She seemed to feel bad almost immediately. “I’ll ask Mother Mary to make some chicken broth. It’s really good if you have a cold or the flu.”
Aaron’s stomach clenched as he remembered his mum’s chicken broth. She used to make it for him, without fail, any time he was feeling poorly. It always cheered him up. The memory made his eyes burn.
“Yeah,” he muttered, forcing himself to speak past the tightening of his throat. “Cool, thanks.”
Rose left the room, and half an hour later Sam woke up. He went through the same routine as Rose: asking Aaron what was wrong and chastised him for staying in wet clothes too long before promising to take care of him.
“You got changed the same time as me,” Aaron argued. “How come you didn’t catch a cold?”
“I’m stronger than you,” Sam teased. “You’re just a little baby.”
“Sod off.” Aaron said.
Sam only laughed before heading to the door. “I’ll bring you some orange juice. It’ll fix you right up.”
“Orange juice?” Aaron asked.
“It’s really good when you’re sick,” Sam assured him. “I’ll just run to the Stove.”
Aaron was left on his own. He lay quietly, trying to ignore his thumping headache. He wondered if Armana would be able to get rid of his headache. Maybe she could take away his fever or cold or whatever it was he was suffering from too.
A gentle knock on his door made Aaron look around. He found a smirking Kyran leaning against the open door, hands tucked into his pockets.
“Morning,” he said in greeting.
Aaron groaned in response.
“Feeling good I see,” Kyran said.
“What do you want?” Aaron asked. He had very little patience left in him to be antagonised.
“Just wanted to see how you’re coping.”
Aaron looked at him with a furrowed brow and bloodshot eyes. “Coping?” he asked. “With what?”
“The full moon,” Kyran replied. “It’s the day of the full moon, and judging by that completely stupid look on your face, I’m guessing you have no idea what that means.”
Aaron didn’t say anything.
“You know what the moon is?” Kyran asked.
“Yes,” Aaron hissed. “I know what the bloody moon is!”
“Good. What does it do?” Kyran asked.
“I’m not in the mood for a science test right now,” Aaron said, reaching up to massage his forehead. “Leave me alone.”
“Gladly,” Kyran replied, “but after you answer my question.” His voice steeled, making Aaron open his eyes and look over at him. “What does the moon do?” Kyran repeated.
Aaron sighed. “Lots of things,” he replied. “Raises tides and affects the earth’s solar orbit and rotational speed.”
“Well done.” Kyran grinned. “Now, wanna take a guess what the moon does to mages?”
“Dunno.”
“Obviously,” Kyran said. “Try and work it out. If the moon can rise the tide, what do you think it can do to mages and their power?”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed as he tried to figure it out, but his fevered state didn’t help his flailing concentration. “I...I don’t know,” he said.
“Do you know what the full moon does to humans?” Kyran asked.
“Yes,” Aaron replied tersely. “Nothing! It doesn’t do anything to humans.”
“Wrong answer,” Kyran said. “You know, it’s a disgrace. You’ve lived your whole life with humans and you still know so little about them.” He smirked at Aaron’s glare. “The moon doesn’t only pull on oceans,” he said. “On nights of the full moon, the gravitational pull makes the blood rise to the brain, making some humans downright crazy.” He looked rather happy at Aaron’s stunned expression. “Now, think about that and apply it to mages.”
Aaron swallowed painfully as realisation dawned on him. “The powers,” he said quietly. “The moon pulls our powers.”
Kyran slowly nodded. “On the day and night of the full moon, our powers are drained from us,” he explained. “It makes us weak, ill, unable to fight. Never wondered how it’s always on the nights of the full moon that the crime rates in the human realm are at their highest?” he asked. “It’s because the mages are at their weakest on these nights. We can’t be there to protect the humans and every demon in this universe knows that. They come out in full force, knowing no mage can stop them, not when the full moon is out.”
“So there’s going to be attacks in the human realm tonight?” Aaron asked, horrified.
“Most definitely,” Kyran replied.
“We can’t do anything about it?” Aaron asked.
“Can you get out of bed?” Kyran asked.
Aaron glared at him. “You seem to be doing okay,” he said, his tone accusatory.
Kyran grinned. “I’m stronger than you,” he said. “You’re just a little baby.”
Aaron gaped at him.
“The walls are very thin.” Kyran said in explanation. “And mages have excellent hearing.”
***
It turned out that Kyran was right. All the mages were ill today – every single one. Sam and Rose, who had gone out to get some soup and juice for Aaron, found that no one was well enough to do any chores. The Stove was unoccupied. The orchard was deserted. The farmland was left to its own devices. The only ones not in their beds, groaning and moaning about headaches and fatigue, were Sam, Rose and – strange as it was – Jason Burns.
“How come you’re not ill?” Sam asked, managing to make the question sound like an accusation.
“Is only the mages tha’ get ill,” Jason said, setting out the table with the soup Mary had prepared the night before. “I ain’t a mage now, am I?”
“You’re not a mage?” Rose asked, surprised. “So what are you?”
Jason stopped to look over at them, before shaking his head, chuckling loudly. “Cannae yeh tell?” he asked. “Am a human.”
“Human?” Sam was stunned. “You’re a...a Shattered?”
“Aye,” he said, a little quietly, his eyes dark even in the sunlight. “I came ’ere aboot twen’y years ago.” He shrugged. “Ended up stayin’ forever.”
***
The day and night of the full moon passed. Aaron, begrudgingly, spent most of it in bed, under Rose’s insistence. When he awoke the following morning, he felt light-headed but otherwise fine. His headache was gone, as were the aches and pains in his body. He emerged from his cottage feeling weary and tired, but no longer ill. He tilted his face up, warming it in the sun’s bright rays. It felt good to be out in the sun again.
A bright flash signalled the opening of the Gate, and Aaron looked over to see Kyran walk down the path. Aaron hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning. Aaron had figured Kyran was resting in his room, like other mages. Kyran’s head was lowered, hands tucked into his pockets and he walked at a slower than normal pace. It seemed as if he was drifting along, lost in his thoughts.
“There you are!”
Ella’s sharp cry snapped Kyran out of his daydream and he blinked at the enraged girl charging up to him.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Ella snapped. A hard shove accompanied her question.
Kyran looked perplexed. “Excuse me?”
“You did the same thing last month,” Ella said. “You know going off on your own on the full moon is the single most stupid thing you could do.”
Kyran screwed up his face in annoyance and waved a hand at her. “I don’t need a lecture.” He began to walk away.
“Agreed – you need a kick up the
backside!” Ella followed after him. “You do realise going out of a safe zone on the one day you’re vulnerable is not the brightest idea?” she asked. “Especially as all the demons on this freaking planet are out looking for idiotic mages that would do exactly that.”
Kyran sighed, bowing his head in defeat. “I told you, Ella, I have to go.”
“It’s risky and stupid.”
“It’s my family,” Kyran said quietly. “And I don’t have a lot of it left.” He met her grey eyes. “And if they want to be together on the nights we are at our weakest, then...” He shrugged. “I have to honour that.”
Ella fell quiet, but her hard stare never left him. “Bring them here.”
“They won’t come,” Kyran said. Then with a small smirk he added, “Too damn proud, not to mention stubborn.”
Ella smiled a little, shaking her head at him. “No surprise. They’re related to you.”
Kyran grinned at her, but it was missing its usual charm. Aaron watched Kyran walk to his cottage, noting the aura of sadness about him, until he disappeared behind the blue door.
***
Salvador quickly fell back into its usual routine, with mages going off to work in the orchard or the farmland and the Hunters training in the ring, to get back into shape after spending so many days recovering from the Q-Zone hunt and the effects of the full moon.
Aaron and Sam were back in the orchard, hard at work, while Rose spent her days at the Stove. Unlike the boys, Rose wasn’t progressively getting better at the chores. If anything, she seemed to be going in the opposite direction. Since she walked into the Stove this morning, nothing had gone her way. It was only midday and she had broken two plates, tipped over a bucket of milk and cracked a teapot while pouring hot water into it. All in all, a very bad start to the day.
By dinnertime, Rose had had enough. And so, it seemed, had Mary. She politely asked Rose to take a break and go to sit at the table. As Rose sat with her head in her hands, Aaron and Sam arrived, grinning in satisfaction from completing another day’s work. Rose told Sam and Aaron about her horrible day.
“Why are you such a klutz?” Sam asked.
Rose glared at him.
“Way to be sensitive,” Aaron whispered across the table, before turning to Rose. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone has days like that.”
Rose shook her head. “I can’t get anything right,” she said. “Everything I touch ends up either breaking or burning.”
“You’re just not a kitchen person,” Sam said.
Rose turned to him, mouth thinned and eyes narrowed.
“What?” Sam asked. “I’m trying to help.”
“Then stop,” Aaron suggested. “I think you need a break, Rose. Take a few days off.”
Rose shook her head. “I barely do anything in the Stove,” she said, sounding miserable. “Just peel potatoes or wash vegetables.” She shrugged. “How can I ask for a break when that’s all I do?”
“Why don’t come with us to the orchard?” Sam suggested. “There’s nothing you can break or burn there.”
Rose whacked him on the arm.
“You had that coming,” Aaron told him.
“Damn, what’s wrong with you?” Sam asked, rubbing his arm. “You need some chocolate or something. That’ll cheer you up.” Then added under his breath, “And weaken those violent tendencies.”
“Oh, chocolate,” Rose moaned. “I could kill for some chocolate.”
“Happy place, Rose,” Sam teased. “Go to your happy place, quick.”
Rose raised a fist this time, aiming a punch, but Sam quickly pulled her hand down, smiling apologetically at her.
“I’m only teasing,” he said. “What’s up with you today?”
“I’m not in the mood.” Rose pulled herself free from Sam’s grip.
All the way through dinner, Rose’s mood seemed to get darker. By the time tea and coffee was served, Aaron couldn’t take any more of Rose’s miserable look. He got up and hurried over to Mary’s side as she handed out steaming mugs.
“Mary?”
“Yes, Aaron?”
“Do you have any chocolate?”
Mary paused, frowning. “Chocolate?” she asked. “You mean hot chocolate?”
Aaron looked back at Rose, who was watching him. Slowly, she shook her head.
“No,” Aaron replied, turning back to Mary. “Chocolate. As in a bar of chocolate.”
“A bar?” Mary looked really confused. “Sorry, Aaron. I’ve never heard of bars of chocolate,” she said.
“Leave it, Aaron,” Rose called, shaking her head. “It’s fine.”
Aaron could see it wasn’t. Her shoulders were already lifted, hands balled into fists and brown eyes slowly glistening. Mary stepped towards her, realising Aaron was asking on her behalf.
“I can make you some hot cocoa.” she tempted.
“I don’t want hot cocoa,” Rose said, visibly struggling to remain calm. “I don’t want to drink chocolate. I want to eat it!”
“Rose?” Sam reached out to hold on to his sister. “Calm down.”
“No!” Rose pulled herself free, and shot to her feet. “I’m sick of this!” she cried. “I’m sick of keeping quiet! I don’t want to keep quiet any more. I don’t want to bite back my words. I don’t want to peel potatoes day in and out!”
“You don’t have to,” Aaron said, stepping towards her. “You don’t have to work if you don’t want to, Rose. You can do what you want.”
“What I want?” Rose repeated angrily. “What I want? All I want is a freaking bar of chocolate!” she cried. “And I can’t even get that!” She stepped back when Sam tried to hold on to her. “No! Let me go!” She pushed him back, staggering away from the table, not caring that every eye was on her. “You know what I want? I want my room, with my things in it,” she said. “I want to eat at my kitchen table, not out in the street!” Tears slid out of her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. “I want to go home,” she said, her voice breaking. “I just...I just want to go home.”
Sam stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his sister, holding her close as she wept.
“Sam, I want to go home.” Her words were muffled against his chest, but everyone heard her nonetheless. “Please, I just...I want to go home.”
Aaron watched her, feeling his blood run cold with guilt. He pushed the remorse aside. He wasn’t going to let self-recrimination stop him from comforting his friends. He walked over to them and Rose pulled herself out of her brother’s arms, hugging Aaron tightly.
“I want to go home, Aaron,” she sobbed.
“I know,” Aaron whispered in her ear, at a loss of what else he could say. “I know, Rose. I know.”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Kyran get up from the table and walk away.
***
“You feeling better?” Aaron asked.
Rose nodded, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks with the end of her sleeve. Sam and Aaron had taken Rose away from the table and to the closest place they could to give her some privacy – the Stove.
“What happened to you, Rose?” Sam asked, eyes crinkled in concern and face pale at the sight of his sister in tears.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I just lost it.” She rubbed at her cheeks again. “It all just...came pouring out.”
Aaron held on to her hand. “I’m so sorry, Rose,” he said, guilt thick in his voice.
Rose shook her head before leaning back to rest it against the wall. “Don’t, Aaron,” she said. “Don’t apologise. You know none of this is your fault.” She closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh. “I really made a scene out there, didn’t I?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sam said. “Who cares what a bunch of mages think?”
But Rose was shaking her head again, eyes tightening in a grimace. “God, I bit off Mary’s head,” she said, opening her eyes to look over at Sam. “And for what? Because somehow it’s her fault this stupid world doesn’t ha
ve chocolate?” She shook her head. “I need to apologise to her.”
She made to get up, but Sam and Aaron stopped her.
“Why are you going to say sorry?” Sam asked.
“You have every right to get upset,” Aaron said.
“Maybe,” Rose said. “But I shouldn’t be taking it out on others. It’s not their fault.”
Rose stood up and opened the door, walking into the warm night, Sam and Aaron following behind her. Mary and the other helpers were busy gathering the dishes and cleaning up the table.
“Mother Mary,” Rose started, her voice rough and hoarse from crying. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I...I don’t know what came over me,” she said honestly. “I just got so angry and I know it was a stupid, ridiculous thing to get upset over, but...” She trailed off. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
Mary smiled at her. “It’s okay, Rose.” She nodded. “It was bound to happen, sooner or later.”
“What?” Rose asked, frowning. “What was going to happen?”
Mary’s smile dropped at the corners of her mouth, but she continued staring at her with a softened gaze. “You crashed,” she said. “It happens.” She nodded in a placated manner. “When humans first come to this realm, they’re shaken up – some in denial and others in shock. They spend a few days here in Salvador before they’re taken to different cities in this realm. They are integrated into our world. Slowly, the realisation dawns on them that they are here indefinitely. There’s no going back.” She reached out to cup Rose’s face. “It’s not easy to admit that your life has changed forever. That you can never return to your former life,” she said quietly. “When people eventually realise that, they have a breakdown of some sort.” Her hand lowered from Rose’s cheek to her shoulder. “Mages aren’t all that different either. Some of us go through the same thing. We lose our family and are brought here to Salvador. Some of us stay, others move to different cities and attempt to start over.” She tilted her head to the side, looking at Rose through glistening eyes. “We crash too, Rose.”
