Transcendent

by Lisa Beeson

  Kael gave one last hard tug. “Okay, done with the stitches.”

  Ari heard him open the leather case. It sounded like he was putting something together.

  “That isn’t what I think it is, is it?” Cam asked incredulously. “Why the hell would you think giving her a tattoo would be a good idea right now?”

  Ari opened her eyes a little wider. “What...a tattoo?” At this point she didn’t care what happened, as long as she could sleep. “Just…just make sure it isn’t… lame.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Cam said dismissively. “She’s drunk and suffering from massive blood loss.” He stood up indignantly. “Seriously, what do you think you’re doing, man? I’m not going to let you do this.”

  Kael sighed impatiently. “Sit your arse down, boy. Unless you want another black eye to match the one I already gave you,” he said while continuing to get his materials ready. “She has lost a lot of blood, and I don’t have any extra pints lying around to replenish it. Her blood pressure is going to get too low soon and her heart will give out. This healing rune is the only option we have.”

  “Cam please…” Ari pleaded. She weakly raised her hand for him to take. He sat down quickly, grabbing it, giving her more of his strength.

  Seeing how pale and sickly she was, he shook his head and then glared at Kael. “First alcohol, and now tattoos…you, sir, are a very bad influence,” he said pointedly. “What the hell is a rune anyway?” he sulked.

  “Is it going to be shiny like yours, Kael?” Ari asked.

  “What are you talking about? They’re not shiny, they’re just blue,” Cam said, like she was delirious.

  “You can’t see it, but they’re iri…iridescent. Like bubbles or the inside of seashells…it’s beautiful…”

  Kael was finishing up mixing the ink. “It’s from the levethium. It’s what activates the runes.” He rubbed a spot near the stitches with an alcohol wipe. “Put the belt back in her mouth. The first rune is always the most painful, and I’m not sure how her skin will take to the levethium.”

  “What? You don’t even know if-”

  Ari cut him off by putting her hand sloppily over his mouth – her hand felt like a bag of sand. “Shhh…stop talking, and let him work…”

  Kael chuckled. “I’m starting to like this kid…”

  Cam ignored him as he put the belt between Ari’s teeth again.

  Kael poised the needle over her skin. “Let me know if it’s too painful.”

  Ari nodded, and he started inking her. It stung a little, but it was more of an annoying pain, like a bunch of tiny beestings.

  Kael paused, “Are you okay?”

  Ari nodded, then spat the belt out of her mouth. “I’m fine… it doesn’t hurt that much…”

  Kael sat back, perplexed. “Do you have any other runes on you?” he asked.

  Ari giggled drunkenly, “No.”

  “Hmmm…” he mused, continuing to working on the rune.

  She knew exactly when he was done with the design; it felt like a link being connected, and her body was flooded with a warm, tingling sensation that washed through her and made all the pain go away. She sighed with relief.

  “You should be all healed up by tomorrow morning,” Kael said as he started putting his things away.

  “Just like that?” Cam smirked skeptically. “I need to get me one of those sparkly tattoos,” he said, tenderly touching the swollen bruising skin around is left eye.

  “Your skin couldn’t take it. The ink would burn you straight to the bone,” Kael explained.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re human,” he said simply.

  Cam’s mouth dropped open. “Are you saying that you’re …not?”

  Kael looked him in the eyes and nodded.

  Cam was aghast. “What about Ari? The tattoo didn’t burn her skin. And she’s human… isn’t she?”

  “No,” he said bluntly.

  Ari’s head was reeling. Did Kael just say she wasn’t human? Then what was she? “Am I the same as you?” she asked hopefully.

  He cleared his throat. “We’re similar, but not the same. I’m still trying to figure it out. Are you sure you don’t have any other runes on you?”

  “No, I think I’d know if I had tattoos on me.”

  “What about on your head?” Kael stood up and started parting her thick hair in different ways to see down to her scalp. “Well, bugger me…”

  Cam stood up and started looking too. “Holy cow, Ari. You have blue tattoos on the back of your scalp!”

  “What?” Ari squeaked.

  How could this be poss…?

  But then, she remembered how short her hair had been when Jean-Baptiste first found her in the water. Did the people who had shackled her also shave her head and tattoo runes all over it?

  “And these aren’t just any runes,” Kael said, continuing to part her hair to see more of them. “These were done by a master…I don’t even know what some of these mean.”

  “I’m so tired, can I sleep now?” Ari begged. The pain was gone, but her body felt heavy and weak. She could feel herself blacking out.

  “No, Ari!” Cam yelled, concerned.

  “It’s alright, boy. The danger has passed; her body’s just trying to heal itself now.”

  Kael got up to put his stuff away, and when he came back, he had a t-shirt and a couple blankets. He laid one blanket down on a brown leather couch in the living room area of the loft. Then, he came back, put the large t-shirt over her head and ripped the remnants of her bloody tank top apart and pulled it out from the bottom of the shirt. Gently picking her up, he carried her over and sat her on the couch. As he took off her shoes and threw them to the side, Ari laid down on her stomach, not able to sit up any longer, and let her right arm hang off the side. She was barely aware of Kael laying the other blanket on top of her, leaving her feet exposed, then tugging on the bottom of her pant legs and pulling off her blood soaked jeans.

  She could hear Cam yell out in protest. “Hey, you perv! What do you think you’re doing?”

  Kael finished slipping them off, then covered up her feet with the blanket. “Relax, boy. She’s not going to want to sleep in those blood soaked clothes. And if you call me a pervert again, I’ll kill you where you stand.”

  Ari couldn’t hold out any longer, and welcomed the dark embrace of sleep.

  Chapter 23

  Ari woke up with her face smashed up against the cushion of the leather couch. She vaguely remembered dreaming of being held by strong, comforting arms. She couldn’t remember seeing a face, but it felt like home.

  The dream quickly faded as Ari lifted her head and squinted at the bright shafts of late morning light pouring through the high windows. When her eyes adjusted, she saw Cam sprawled out on the floor between the couch and the modern glass coffee table, sleeping comfortably on a large sheep skin rug. He was still in his clothes from last night, and his long, shaggy hair was covering most of his face. Then, she noticed that his hand was loosely holding onto hers, like he had fallen asleep like that, trying to give her comfort through the night.

  Aww, Cam…

  It was touching to see how much he cared about her. She remembered that he had called her his family, and Ari knew in her heart that she had three older brothers now. He was her family, too. That was the thing about being a kid with no blood relatives; she had the freedom to choose the members of her family. And once she found someone worthy of the title, she branded their names on her heart forever.

  She really had to use the bathroom, so she slipped her hand from Cam’s, and cautiously tested her arm for any pain. But as she sat up and rolled her shoulder, she realized there was no pain at all, like she had never even been shot. She stood up and tested her ankle – no pain there either. She didn’t even feel sick from all the vodka she’d had last night.

  That healing rune is awesome!

  She heard Kael’s voice quietly talking to someone on the phone. She looked around and saw that h
e was pacing back and forth up on the open second level. She guessed that’s where his office and bedroom were. He made another pass by the railing, totally immersed in his conversation, when she realized that she had no pants on and she was standing there in just a t-shirt and her underwear. Quickly wrapping up in a blanket, she walked over and found her backpack by the table. Cam must have brought it with him when they came upstairs. Most of the blood had been cleaned off the black nylon that had been against her back, but there were still reddish-brown smudges on the grey canvas. She’d have to get a new one at some point, she thought. It would be kind of gross to walk around with a blood stained backpack.

  She slung the bag over her left shoulder, while holding on to the blanket with her right hand, and shuffled over to a door that she hoped led to the bathroom. As she made her way over, she felt a pull, like when she had found the jewels, but this was so much stronger. It seemed to be coming from behind a large abstract painting that was hanging on the exposed brick wall to her left.

  He must have a whole bunch of them stored back there…

  But mysterious hidden caches of jewels would have to wait; her bladder could not be ignored any longer.

  The bathroom was absolutely magnificent. The rest of the loft was pretty utilitarian, but Kael spared no expense in here. It was a large space, with floor to ceiling glass tiles of various shades of blue and green that looked like flowing water. There was an infinity tub in the middle of the room, and there was also a huge ultra-modern shower that took up almost a quarter of the room. It had two shower heads hanging down from the ceiling and three walls of adjustable water jets that would spray from all different directions. Everything was immaculate and top of the line.

  Why would he need two shower heads, though?

  Shrugging off the complexities of adulthood, she decided to get down to business. Even the toilet seat was heated – which Ari appreciated very much. With that done, she took off the shirt and went over to look at her shoulder blade in the large mirror above the black marble double sinks. It was hard to get a good look at her back, so she angled a magnified shaving mirror that was attached to the wall to get a better view.

  Ari gasped. The dissolvable stitches Kael had put in were already gone. There was a scar going from where her arm met her torso, across her shoulder blade and ending about an inch from her spine. That was close. But what really got her attention was that it looked more like it was ten months old, instead of only ten hours.

  She brought the mirror closer so she could see her new tattoo. It was only about the size of a quarter, and the lines were so perfect it almost looked like a stamp. The design was three spirals that connected in the center, all of which were surrounded by a perfect circle. It was iridescent like the inside of an abalone shell – she didn’t hate it.

  I guess no more tank tops for me for a while. Thirteen-year-olds don’t normally sport tattoos …which reminds me….

  She parted her hair so she could try to see the runes on her scalp. It was hard to see, but they started about two inches above her ears and wrapped around the crown of her head, like the laurel wreaths the Greeks used to wear. She could only see slivers at a time, so it was hard to make out what they actually looked like.

  How have I never noticed these before?

  She guessed that since her hair was so dark and thick that it had always covered them up. And to be honest, how many times had I ever really needed to inspect the back of my scalp before?

  She couldn’t stand to be covered in dry crusted blood anymore, so she stripped down, took off Ruby’s watch and Jamie’s cuff – which now had a deep indentation from Briggs’ tranq dart – and put them in her bag. She found the news stand candy bars that she had stuffed into her bag last night, and gleefully devoured three of them. As she was zipping her bag back up, something felt ‘off’, but she couldn’t pinpoint it. She shrugged it off, and chalked it up to the insanity she had just been through. The whole night had been such a surreal experience.

  Ari had never felt intimidated by a shower before, but there’s always a first for everything. There were so many buttons and knobs that she was afraid the thing might self-destruct if she pushed the wrong one. After tentatively trying the different combinations, she finally figured out how to turn it on and it was the best shower she had ever taken. It felt like being at a spa. Kael had a variety of soaps and shampoos that smelled wonderful. She couldn’t decide on which one to use, so she tried them all, and Ari had never felt that clean in her entire life.

  When she finished and was toweled off, Ari put on a pair of cut off shorts she had made out of the jeans Ruby bought her and a grey v-neck t-shirt from Jamie. She missed them, and wearing the clothes they had given her made them feel closer.

  When Ari came out of the bathroom, Cam hadn’t moved and was still passed out on the floor. She was worried that she might have drained too much of his energy last night, but just as the panic set in, he made a weird snorting noise and rolled over onto his stomach.

  He’s fine.

  Kael was sitting in one of the chairs that faced the leather couch Ari had slept on, apparently waiting for her to get out of the bathroom so they could talk. It seemed that the kindness he had shown her last night was gone – now, he was all business. He was back in his usual attire of pressed slacks and a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off the runes on his forearms. Now that she knew what it looked like, she could see that he had a couple healing runes himself, woven into the strange designs that covered him. She wondered how many times he’d had to use it to save his own life. Up close and in the light of day, Ari was able to get a better look at him. So far, she had only seen him from across a street, in a blurry background of a video, or at night after being shot. He looked to be in his late thirties, but his eyes seemed much older. He had an attractive face, but his haughty, condescending scowl ruined it.

  She put her backpack by the end of the couch and sat down on the soft brown leather. He sat there, looking at her with his eyes narrowed, as if she was some impossible math equation he just couldn’t figure out. A bit intimidated, Ari tried to get the conversation started. “Um, thanks for everything you did for me last night. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead,” she said, nervously playing with the white strings coming off the bottom of her shorts. “I honestly don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

  One of his dark eyebrows arched up as he leaned forward; it was just the opening he needed. “Speaking of which…”

  Uh oh, here it comes…

  “…I could use your help finding more stones like the one you have there…,” he said, pointing to the blue jewel she was wearing under her shirt. That’s when it hit her – the reason she had felt ‘off’ earlier. She hadn’t felt the pull coming from the green jewel in her backpack. Just to make sure, she unzipped her bag and checked the inside pocket – gone.

  That jackhole went through my stuff and stole my ring!

  Ari stared daggers at him. Inwardly, she was seething, but her voice came out cold. “Give it back. Now.”

  He looked right back at her without a hint of shame. “You don’t even know what they are. Just be grateful I let you hang onto that blue one around your neck. If you try to skip out on me, I’ll take that one as well. You’re fast, but I’m faster,” he warned.

  Ari was outraged. Cass had given her that jewel, it belonged with her. “Where did you put my ring? Is it with the others you have behind that painting over there?” she asked, pointing to the abstract painting hanging on the wall, while keeping her icy glare on Kael.

  Shock flickered in his eyes for a second, but he quickly recovered. “What makes you think I keep anything behind there?”

  “I told you, I can feel them pulling at me, and it seems like you have plenty. So give back the one that’s mine,” she demanded.

  “No.”

  “You are not a good man,” Ari fumed. She knew it sounded childish, but she couldn’t help it; he was infuriatin
g. I wish Adam was here. He’d know how to handle this guy.

  “I never claimed that I was. I only said I was the lesser of many evils.”

  That’s when Ari realized that Kael had never wanted to help them – he was only trying to help himself. If she had died last night or had been captured by the Suits, he wouldn’t have been able to use her. Ari was only a means to an end. She looked into Kael’s opalescent eyes, which were so similar to hers, and wished she could read his intentions. It was so frustrating to finally find someone like her, only to have him turn out to be such a tool. If all of Chicago wasn’t trying to hunt them down, she would have grabbed Cam and sifted out of there that instant.

  As though he read her thoughts, Kael smirked. “You’re welcome to take your chances out there where everyone thinks you two are terrorists. Or you can help me get what I need, and I’ll protect you. The choice is yours.” They both knew she had no choice. She was stuck with him, whether she liked it or not.

  “Why do you need the jewels – or stones as you call them – so badly, anyway?” she sulked, slouching down on the couch.

  “I just do. That’s all you need to know,” he said, glancing down at his watch nonchalantly. He was acting like it didn’t matter if she helped him or not, but Ari could tell that finding those stones was important to him – so important that he had tracked her across the country for one. He needed her as much as she needed him.

  “If you want me to help you, I need to know a lot more than that,” she said, eyeing him warningly. “I’m a teenage girl. I can make your life a living hell.”

  Kael narrowed his eyes, thinking over how much to tell her so she’d cooperate. “Right now, counting the ones you found, I have nine stones. I need three more to complete the set,” he explained. “We can lay low at my place in the English countryside until things cool down. Then, we’ll go on the hunt for the rest of the stones.” He glanced down at his watch again. “I scheduled a flight for the two of us that leaves at one o’clock. We’re leaving here in two hours.”

  Ari sat up. “Wait, the two of us? What about Cam?”