by Marc Mulero
“Hope that’s not what Ilfrid is involved in…” Eres thought aloud.
“He seems alright despite his quirky ways.” Windel let a comforting hand slide down his shoulder. “Hey Dee, what happens if they can’t pay?”
She cleared her throat. “Then you become part of the staff, for a long time I imagine.”
“Yikes. I wouldn’t want to work beside the Sindus,” Windel said while eyeing the waiter who’d been taken care of them this whole time.
She then gestured to a table she thought would be a good fit. He returned the lowest bow imaginable, snapped his fingers, and with the swipe of a dirtied tablecloth and the billowing of a new one floating down, seats were pulled out for them to sit. She was a natural at acting the part of a big shot, which sent that familiar pang in Eres’ gut, both because he felt it should be him leading the crew, and because he was attracted to her confidence.
“Okay Ohndee, you sit there facing the Rizal Annex, so you can let us know if you see anyone important from your past that we should note. I’ll face Ozgulo.”
“And I’ll be looking at your pretty faces?” Windel asked cheerfully.
“Exactly.” Eres was stern. “Joodah… what did that bastard have to say?”
“After all the laughing you mean? Guess he was masking the shock that I would walk up to him amid all of his Eplon goons.”
“Got that right.” Dee snarled while keeping eyes forward on the wealthy.
“Don’t be racist.”
“You should’ve seen him though, Eres. He’s gained rank since we last dealt with him, for sure. He was the center of a large brigade.”
“Of course. His findings, through me, led to the capture of the most nefarious esper Ingora has ever known. Of course Seren would reward him. Proctor Wudon…” he trailed off, flashes of his experiences sifted through his mind like shuffled cards, landing on his father, “if I ever get the chance, I’ll gut Seren like a fish.”
“Eres!” Both girls shouted.
“What? You wouldn’t?”
“Just so unlike you,” Windel said.
“Hmph. Well, what did he say? Out with it.”
“Nothing! What did you think, he would reveal his master plans to his enemy? He was dancing around my questions with a fake smile, asking how you were, if we-” She forced a cough and changed the subject. “But I did notice that he was alerted to someone when he showed up. Tall, hooded, completely obscured behind the cloak. A flamboyant shadow. But something important was transpiring. I could feel it.”
“I noticed him too!” Eres recalled. “Seren may have glanced in his direction now that I think about it.”
“WHAT?!” Windel slapped the table. Wide Sindus eyes slowly turned to her.
Scolding looks came her way, so she screamed in a whisper.
“Seren Night?”
“He plucked me to sit with him… knows I’m a Dawn, knows I’m a Way.” Eres’ eye twitched with concern. “I never felt more exposed in my life… like some supernatural detective was picking apart my every move.”
“How else do you think one could track down so many espers?” Dee chimed in, looking away from the crowd to join them. “To be honest, if he wasn’t a murderer, I would probably side with him. Asking questions and challenging the norm is always the way.”
“Not this again…” Eres rolled his eyes.
Windel gasped loudly, not knowing this debate had transpired before. “W-what do you mean, would side with him? He’s the reason Eres’ father is d-”
“I said if he wasn’t a murderer! You have to look past that, always. Deconstruct motive, remove action, understand what causes it. Didn’t your parents teach you any of this growing up?”
The two Umboros exchanged a look, half angry, half considering.
“No,” Eres finally spoke, “they didn’t. And I think I can speak for Windel too. We do understand respect though, that claiming our ancestors were blind for their entire lifetimes and writing them off like some dumb animals because you want to flip the table, is juvenile.”
Windel’s eyes widened as she straightened in her seat, not wanting any part of this fight.
“Yeah well, chasing blindly is so much worse. Listen to me – have you even considered why Seren might be doing this? Or in your mind, is evil just plain old evil that must be wiped clean?”
Silence.
“If you don’t consider, if you don’t try to understand, you’re stupid. And I’m not name-calling. I mean wholeheartedly that you are uninformed and ill-equipped to track down and best the man who you’ve traveled all this way for.”
“Fine, Dee. What do you think?”
She took a long breath to dispel her frustration. “That it’s not just innate curiosity that sent him down such an extreme path. My dad used to track down enemies to the Swul nation, and behind every extremist, there was a motive deeper than ‘insanity.’ There was always a rational catalyst. Whether their parents were murdered in war by Swuls, lost a child from Sado camp as a result of our peoples’ harsh conditioning... always something. I’m suggesting here, with Seren, perhaps he found something out about the Skrols that’s not so black and white. Maybe something happened to him. You even said you were always with one foot in the dark.”
“But I have an esper, Ohndee,” he said quietly, “I’ve seen into the past – memories of old – of my forerunners. They’re good, steadfast, noble, bearers of this secret. And it’s proper. From what I can see, they all inherited in good faith, chosen by their predecessors who thought they should be the recipients. It’s Seren who’s running around with a guillotine personalized for each Skrol and Herald’s head.”
“Doesn’t change the simple fact.”
“What’s that?”
“That you’re focusing on how bad he is, not his motive. You will never best him like that. Windel told me how powerful he was, how intimidating. And now you’re telling me he’s a genius too. How else do you fight that but to peel back the layers and find what makes him tick?”
Eres felt for the fresh wounds on his chest, his finger sending a dull ache into a scratchy burn. A reminder, an indicator that she was right about one thing - he couldn’t beat him in combat, not even with all three of them attacking at once. He needed an edge.
“Eres,” Windel said delicately, “what do you plan to do if you do figure out how to beat him? What will you do with all of those espers? I mean, have you even met the Alliance? How do you know they’re as good as you say?”
“My fata wouldn’t have given his life if the pieces weren’t already in place for me to succeed. Even if backed into a corner, he would have continued running until the end of time, until he was ready. He set up the Alliance, trusted Ilfrid. Even if it’s a shot in the dark, there’s a way for me to win… I know it. But so far, all I’ve done is fail.
“Dee’s right. I was stupid enough to think Seren was playing on our level. He’s not. Umus tou. He saw right through me, and now I’m endangering everything that my fata had set up for me. If I stopped now, it would mean his death was in vain.” He gripped the table with his fingertips.
Windel exchanged a look with Dee before grasping for his hand. “We’re with you. I dropped everything to see this through.”
Dee dropped a kiss on his cheek. “I don’t very much like your attachments to tradition, but I do like you.”
Eres could almost feel the smile next to his face.
“I think, what I’m going to do when we win, is leave the espers with Masarian Bo, the Judicator… let him decide. Back when I was in the jungle with Ohndee, I investigated his claims through my esper. Turns out he’s difficult, bizarre, but true. If the Alliance is worthy like my ooma and fata believe… then he would know.”
“See!” Dee slapped his shoulder. “You are capable of not being as thick as that Moragos-Field out there, right? It’s a great idea.” She leaned back in her chair. “You’ve vetted him with your own eyes.”
“So what’s next?” Windel said.
&nb
sp; “To ask - no, demand - from Ilfrid how many espers are left. How many really stand with the Alliance at this point? If many, then we devise a plan to lure Seren in and attack him together, risky as that may be. If few, then I’m going to protect my ooma by going on the offensive.”
“Your ooma?” Ohndee asked.
“She has my mota’s esper. Either way,” his eyes darted between them, “I’ll need help.”
Silent nods reassured him.
“As soon as we’re out of here, I’ll be taking a deep dive into mine to find memories of Seren, to learn about him, discover a weakness. That’s what I’m going to do.”
They continued talking for hours without even realizing it, deciphering how Seren may have amassed such a following. What did he promise them? Was knowledge of the secret enough to condone the massacre of a Kor? So many questions.
It was finally dark outside. Not from sporadic clouds that swirled to block three suns, but from two spheres rotating in tandem to mark the evening.
And truly, they would’ve kept talking for hours more if they hadn’t heard the entrance platform nearby lock into place. It seemed a weird time to be joining the party. Gamblers looking for a game, maybe?
Eres had the best view, and his face twisted immediately, like he’d been kicked in the gut.
It was a familiar face, yet older. Handsome. His black hair still rustled over part of his brow, eyes still so blue they could almost be white. The body language was still the same – dangerous and bullying. It made Eres want to retreat into his shirt like a turtle, but he found the courage to keep eyes in his direction. Crow.
Why? He kept asking himself. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when Windel turned, she looked excited to see him. Excited? To see… Crow? What was he missing?
Dee could feel something happening, chemicals bouncing between them like invigorated fireflies, at least that’s how she imagined it looked, maybe just from the tenseness of their bodies. She wanted to ask, “What is it?” but instead waited for their speech to catch up to their reactions.
Eres could only culminate all of the bullying he’d experienced, the snide remarks, Meeting Day… How he was humiliated in front of the entire Kor, the day he learned he wasn’t a coward. Sure, there was that pivotal moment when Crow actually stood up for him to Proctor Hundul and the Faction Rangers, but that ultimately led to nothing. What led to something however, was all of these thoughts that clung to him like leeches, suckling the goodness out of him and replacing it with wrath and hate.
Why now? Why is Windel looking at him like that?
His question was answered when she burst out of her seat, chair screeching across the pristine floor. Eres rose halfway with his arm outstretched before catching himself. Gears clicked into place on the spot. He knew that reaction, because it was the exact same thing he wanted to do when he first saw her again in the Scarred Lands. And when Windel wrapped her arms high around Crow’s neck and kissed him, two worlds shifted course.
Eres was heartbroken, his blood replaced with vile green poison, throat dry to render him speechless. Everything spun.
Dee fell back in her chair with arms folded. If she had her suspicions of Eres’ true feelings, they were now validated. It was like she didn’t even exist, watching a love triangle expand into a square, with each line chasing one another endlessly. Crow’s devious smirk confirmed who held the control, Windel’s longing eyes spoke to missing somebody terribly, Eres’ dumbfounded look was all Dee needed to see, and where did that leave her?
“Who is he?” Ohndee’s voice was as cool as ice.
Eres blinked hard to remember where he was, to stop the world from spinning and converging, over and over again. “Crow, an old enemy. Now ally? I don’t know anymore.”
He finally registered Dee’s tone, realizing how in the dark she must feel. “Sorry. He was just the last person I ever expected to see again now that I’m boundless.” A long gulp swallowed the lie. It was Windel’s actions he hadn’t expected… nothing more.
“Well, I guess we should go say hello.” Eres held out his hand for Ohndee’s, who took it fleetingly by the fingertips, communicating her disdain in subtle ways.
Eres held her hand tight to dispel what he knew was her suspicions, all while his mind pounded.
Five years – anything could’ve happened, but why this? Of course she didn’t want to tell me.
Crow’s eyes finally pierced his like old times… but what lay behind them now? Was he still the same rough-around-the-edges orphan that made everyone earn their existence? What had he done in that lapsed time besides steal his childhood crush?
Dialogue abruptly ceased as the two opposing energies approached on a sure collision course – harsh winter versus placid summer. Underground icy roots against the defending blade. Each of them had a choice: to reignite a fire that was once sparked by the orphan, or to keep the water flowing, keep the coal cool. It was his move, now - Crow’s. It was always his move. He’d concocted this dynamic, always in control.
“Surprised to see me?” Eres flipped his own script this time. “Wrote me off long ago, I’m sure.”
Crow tilted his head, crystal eyes glaring. “You speak as though I sentenced you to Elesion instead of working to pry you out.”
Eres snarled. “You? ‘Working’? Trying to do something? No, no, no. You’ve always had a way about you, Crow. If you wanted to accomplish a task – you know, stalk, sabotage, infect… you would always do it. Whether it was your undertaking or not, I was right where you wanted me, wasn’t I?”
It didn’t take long for Crow to retreat from diplomacy when challenged; reinvigorated raw swagger came with his fearlessness, like sheets of ice that froze over his skin to protect him. It bled from his demeanor, a coat of armor built by endless pummeling in the orphan house, from testing his boundaries at Kor. He stepped up to Eres’ face.
Two hands came in between them, one on each chest, pushing them a step back. “Will you two cut it out? The Sindus will slice us all up and scatter our remains in the ocean.” Windel was catching on to how the Colliding Spheres operated.
Stares remained locked.
“Tell me, Crow, how could we possibly be in the same place again? Why are you here?”
He only scoffed back. “You’re in the most popular establishment in the spheres. Are you under the delusion that you own it? Don’t force my hand Eres… I’ll make you earn it all over again.”
“Hollow words. You’re the same fool I left behind in Vinsánce.”
“Stop it!” Windel raised her voice.
“Fine. You ask him why he suddenly appears after the main event. What business could he possibly have here, now?”
Windel looked as though an idea just smacked her in the face. She paused, staring blankly ahead, then glanced up at Crow. “He’s right, it doesn’t make much sense.”
Crow flexed his jaw.
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at Kor Blu?”
Still silence.
“Spit it out, new guy,” Dee said brusquely.
Crow tilted his head, acknowledging her for the first time. “You found a Swul, Eres? Glutton for punishment I see.”
Tension broke right there, where all four found some comic relief for but a moment.
“I’m here because I was led here through Reach. I don’t know who, or why, but the voice explained that it was imperative, my life’s calling. Whoever it is can track through water… they have incredible skill.”
Eres immediately backed off, thoughts circling.
Who would want him here, and why? Is it to meet up with the Alliance? Maybe a trap. One of Seren’s goons? Could it be the Judicator attempting to unite us? Does Masarian even know Crow?
Maybe Keeper Decalus knows I’m out. Perhaps he wants us united to stop the terrorism.
Proctor Wudon? The Alliance itself reaching out? No, Seren has him and would keep him far away from anything natural.
“My bet is Decalus,” Eres hypothesized. “He’s the only one
who knows the three of us, tried to get me out of Elesion, is on our side, and will forever be burned by what Kovella’s Quittance did to Vinsánce. He’s trying to unite us.”
“What makes you think this has anything to do with you? I’ve been transferred to a Reach-centered Kor since our little band broke up… it could be any number of grand masters testing me, sending me on a fool’s errand, challenging my wit.”
A fire reignited.
“That wouldn’t take much,” Eres murmured.
Crow’s chin lifted slowly with eyes peering down on his foe, arms flexed. “Let’s step off-ground, ‘orphan’, see who’s worth what…”
“I am an orphan now, you idiot… and I would love to carve a fiery ‘E’ into your chest. But really, are you that blind to coincidence?”
“What else did the voice say?” Windel asked.
“Something about darkness, it being around me since the moment I was born.”
“Darkness,” Eres repeated. “Seren’s last name? Night? Is there a connection there?”
“Nothing,” Crow assured.
“That you know of,” Windel challenged.
“Why would Decalus say something like that? Doesn’t make sense, maybe it’s not him.” Eres pondered aloud.
Just then, the bridge doors leading to the Rizal Annex slid open, and out came an elegantly dressed train of guests – an afterparty of the highest accord that extended far beyond the main event – the loudness grabbing their attention. Various VIPs laughing at jokes, nudging one another on the way to their shiders, dressed in shimmering formfitting dresses, chic shawls and tapered suits, and sometimes even a floating magnetic bead hovering around their heads – a status symbol. There was too much to comprehend, like a reel of images sifting in fast-forward.
Once the fashion show turned toward the exit, piling to kiss one another goodbye, shake hands, hug… more faces became visible. Ilfrid’s was one of them, and his wink in their direction made Eres smile. But he wasn’t the only face they recognized. There, in the back of the line, entertaining with wide animated gestures and drink in hand, a woman was telling a story. Someone that none of them would have imagined they’d see in this setting, dolled up and seemingly out of her element.
