by Enid Titan
«What do you want?»
“Penelope! Be careful!” Castor yelled, screaming again.
«I won’t listen to you unless you stop hurting him!»
The creature smirked. Poppy couldn’t see her face, but she knew that the corner of the creature’s lips twisted into a smile.
«Very well, Penelope.»
Castor slumped over, unconscious. But at least he wasn’t screaming anymore. Poppy sensed him in a dream state, tugging at the back of her awareness, still pleading with her not to make a deal with the devil. At least the creature hadn’t killed him.
«Tell me what you want,» Poppy demanded.
«You mussssssst come to Fengar once our work is complete. You musssssst live amongst us for six months.»
«Six months?»
«We do not wish to interfere with your education. But you mussssssst spend the Devoran summer with us.»
«What about my uncle Monty? I can’t just leave him behind. Or my mother.»
«Your mother will be free. You can see her again.»
«Why should I believe you?»
«We have traveled thousandssssss of lightyears and used your moon’s telepathic power to reach you. Millions of Fengari shared this vision just to find you. You are a child of the moon. You belong with ussssssss.»
«You’ll let me finish my school year, then?»
«Yessssssss, of coursssse.»
«Who are you? Why did they ssssend you?»
«I am your aunt.»
Poppy’s knees weakened. Her father’s sister. This creature with her soft s’s and her twisted, confusing words, and immense power, was her aunt.
«Be not afraid, my child. We will care for you.»
«What about…»
Poppy couldn’t bring herself to ask, but her aunt finished the question for her.
«Your matesssss? Do not fear, child. The sicknesssssss will not happen when you separate. Fengari are immune to Devoran telepathy.»
«What about them?»
«They will… ssssssurvive.»
Hairs stood up on the back of Poppy’s neck. She wasn’t sure that she trusted this woman. She wasn’t sure this was a good deal.
«We fix your planet in exchange for ssssssix monthsssssss. The deal is sssssspectacular.»
«Fine. I’ll come with you… at the end of the school year. When I’ve finished.»
«We will come when we are ready.»
«What about Earth? How will I know you have upheld your end of the deal?»
«You will ssssssee my child.»
«You’re telepathic. Does that mean I’m telepathic too?»
«Your powers have been opened. You musssst test them.»
«What does that mean?»
«Goodbye.»
Poppy’s eyes snapped open. She was back in her bedroom. Castor lay slumped on the floor, his nose bleeding.
52
They’re Dead
“Are you alright?”
“What. The. Fuck. Penelope.”
He took her hand and rose to his feet, wrapping her in a hug.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“You took the bloody deal, didn’t you.”
“I had to.”
“Six months on Earth’s moon. Shit.”
“We’ll see each other for the next semester!”
“I can’t live for six months without you, Penelope!”
“Yes, you can! You have to serve your punishment on the ship with Achilles anyways.”
“I know. I bloody know… but what the hell will I do if I can’t see you every day?”
“She said something about Devoran sickness. What was that?”
“We can’t spend too much time apart from our mates. It makes us sick.”
“So six months…”
“It might kill us.”
“All three of you?”
“Right now… only me.”
Castor grabbed her and kissed her on the lips. Poppy was taken aback but welcomed his affection. He pulled away and kissed her forehead.
“We have another problem anyway.”
“Jocasta.”
“Yes.”
The nurse’s voice shrilled outside Penelope’s door.
“PENELOPE DARDEN! YOU OPEN THAT DOOR!”
“I’ve got to run,” Castor whispered.
“No,” Poppy whispered, digging her nails into his wrist, “Don’t run. Everything will be fine.”
“How can you know that?”
Poppy couldn’t answer him. She just did.
The nurse flung the door open.
“Penelope! You do not have a boy in here!”
“I’m sorry Hygieia.”
“Look who I found skulking around outside. She says she wants to see you.”
“Are you going to tell Achilles about him?”
Hygieia smirked.
“No. You’ve served your punishment well so far. Young Castor, don’t get into any trouble with her.”
“No, nurse. I won’t.”
Hygieia continued, “This child refuses to speak unless she speaks to you.”
“We’ll talk to her,” Poppy said, casting a frigid sneer in Jocasta’s direction. Jocasta lowered her gaze. Castor grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into the room. Hygieia closed the door. Castor slammed Jocasta up against the door.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU FOOLISH GIRL!”
Jocasta stared up at him and whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
“ANSWER ME!”
“Castor, stop!” Penelope pleaded.
Castor balled his hands up in a fist and raised them. Jocasta turned her face away, sobbing and shuddering.
“She deserves worse,” Castor sneered.
“Let go of her. Hygieia could hear and we don’t want to be in any more trouble.”
“She fooled around with dark telepathy.”
“Let go of her,” Penelope repeated, gently this time. Castor let go of Jocasta who kept her back pressed against the wall, trembling in terror.
“Did you come here to tremble in fear?” Poppy sneered.
She wouldn’t let Castor hit the girl, but she felt no sympathy for her all the same.
“I’ve made a mistake!” Jocasta cried.
“What did you do?”
“I asked Daphne to help me… She promised that she could make Jason like me back.”
“Answer my question,” Poppy hissed.
“I took hair from your bed. I thought she could find Jason’s but she didn’t care. She… bewitched them.”
“Fool,” Castor snarled, “There’s always a cost to dark telepathy.”
“I’m paying it!” Jocasta cried out, “The Order came. They took all three of them to the Temple. They’re going to sacrifice them.”
“For what? What do you mean sacrifice?”
Castor went pale — as pale a blue-skinned boy could go. He rested his hand on Penelope’s shoulder.
“Penelope. We have to go find them.”
“Why? What sort of sacrifice?”
“Is it like it's written in the children’s stories?” Castor asked Jocasta, for the first time, looking like he didn’t want to punch her in the face.
Jocasta nodded through her tears.
“You wicked girl,” Castor snarled, “Look at what you’ve done!”
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s too late for sorry! If we don’t stop them, do you know what could happen?”
“Yes!”
“Will someone fill me in!” Poppy yelled.
“They’re going to sever the link between the Temple and Devorans. There’s going to be anarchy. Death. Utter chaos.”
“Fuck.”
“You need to get the headmaster, Jocasta,” Castor ordered, “Poppy, come with me. We need to stop them.”
“It’s too late,” Jocasta whined, “It’s too late.”
“I don’t care what you think,” Castor chided, “Get on your feet and HURRY. Tell the nurse. We’ll n
eed all the faculty that we can find.”
“What about us?”
“Come.”
Castor grabbed Penelope’s hand and dragged her to the window of her bedroom.
“We’ll get there faster if we go this way.”
“I’m not going to jump out a window!” Penelope shrieked.
Jocasta had left the room and Poppy could hear her informing the nurse and the bustling that ensued.
“You don’t have a choice,” Castor uttered through gritted teeth. He grabbed Poppy by the waist and he jumped.
He wrapped his body around Poppy as they landed in the snow. She didn’t even have her cloak, but she wasn’t cold. Maybe it was adrenaline or the pounding that awakened in her head from the moment she shared her vision with Castor. He snaked his fingers in hers.
“Come, Penelope. We’ll stop them.”
«Do you really think it’s too late?»
«No. I don’t. The link isn’t severed if we can still communicate.»
Castor ran. Poppy could hardly keep up.
«Castor… I’m falling behind.»
He swung her hand around and Poppy shrieked as he lifted her onto his back and ran faster than any human surely could through the deep snow until they got to Vortha. From the moment they hit the boundary between the Academy and the city, Poppy’s stomach turned.
«They’re here.»
Castor set her down on the pavement.
«Let’s hurry.»
Poppy tasted blood on the back of her tongue. As the edged closer to the temple, a strong pull nearly willed her to stay put, not to risk getting closer to the inevitable pain that awaited her inside.
«You smell the blood too,» Castor said.
Poppy didn’t reply. Castor pushed open the doors of the temple and Poppy’s knees nearly gave out. The three of them were dead. Jason, Hecate, and Ajax — all three of them had slit throats and floated above the blue flames of Vortha, circled by a group of ten cloaked Devorans. They’d been the ones to attack her. Poppy recognized their telepathic field. They chanted mystical words in a language she’d never heard.
“They’re dead,” Castor whispered.
53
Blue Blood Spilled
Castor tried to step further into the temple, but his feet were locked, frozen in place. Poppy stepped forward. Daphne turned to face her, eyes glowing yellow.
“You should not be moving,” Daphne hissed.
The pounding intensified in Poppy’s head. She fought back tears and rage and anger, speaking in a low, cold voice.
“You killed your own brother.”
“The sacrifice was necessary, and now, the ritual is nearly done. Nothing you do can stop us.”
The other Devorans hadn’t ceased chanting. Their language. It was an ancient Devoran. After a few seconds, Poppy could understand it. Her aunt’s voice echoed in her head. Ancient enemy. That’s how she’d described them. Poppy steadied her feet and cleared her mind.
“When you shut off that flame, you will destroy your planet. Why?”
“My people have already been polluted and destroyed. I am restoring our true power so only the strong will survive. I bring back the old ways, the warrior Devorans, not the philosophers and weaklings.”
“But Jason… what about Jason?”
Poppy couldn’t stop herself. Tears flowed from her eyes. Ajax’s curls hung from his limp neck. Blue blood spilled from Hecate’s slit throat.
“And Hecate? And Ajax?”
“Necessary sacrifices. And now… our work is done.”
Daphne whispered a word, a long string of ancient syllables, and then the flames in the Temple extinguished. The temple was thrust into darkness.
“I can’t let you do this.”
“You don’t have a choice… human.”
Daphne's minions surrounded her and raised their hands chanting the words they’d used to attack her the first time.
“Jazad. Jazad. Jazad.”
“I might be an outsider… but I am not a human.”
The action seemed to come from a deeply buried memory, a knowledge that was closer to instinct than anything. She raised her hands and blue electricity tingled around her fingers. She felt the jolts in her body and in her hands and the balls of light and tickling electricity grew larger and larger.
The temple illuminated bright blue and Poppy’s hands vibrated from the sheer power she held in them. Her mind had opened wide and her pain and anger at her loss spread her power through every inch of her.
“Poppy! I can’t feel them!” Castor yelled. He sounded weak and pained. He fell to his knees clutching his head.
“It’s gone! My people… my mind… it’s gone…”
The chanting in her head grew quieter and quieter.
«You will leave my mind,» Poppy hissed in a deep gravelly voice that wasn’t her own, «You will kneel before the flames and ssssssssuffer.»
The other cloaked figures screamed and bent the knee. Daphne remained standing, the crackling fire illuminating her sharply angled blue face, so similar to Jason’s. It wasn’t right for her to live and him to die.
«I have darker powers than you know, jazad,» Daphne hissed.
«So do I.»
Poppy raised her hand again and closed her eyes. Daphne had nearly eliminated her own telepathy. Daphne clung to her darkness tenuously. Poppy could see the silver cord that connected her to the vast unconscious darkness as if it were real. With her eyes closed, she could reach out and snap it like a glow stick. Doing so would kill her. Jason’s sister.
Even with Jason floating above the extinguished flames, Poppy couldn’t bring herself to kill Daphne.
Poppy chose not to kill her. She had Daphne’s mind in her grasp, and anger coursing through her limbs, the desire to kill pulsing through every inch of her body. She couldn’t. The Fengari whispers in her head grew louder and stronger.
«We bring life, Penelope. We bring life.»
Poppy directed her attention toward the empty cauldron where the temple flames were once lit. Coals glowed blue at the bottom of the cauldron. To light the flames, Poppy would have to let go of Daphne. She’d have to allow the girl to kill her. That was the choice she faced: die and restore life to Devor, or kill Daphne and get revenge for those she’d already lost.
Poppy released her. Daphne’s knees hit the ground and she cried out. She wouldn’t be down for long. Poppy converged her power on the cauldron. The coals hissed and steam sputtered from them.
“Penelope, whatever you’re doing… stop!” Castor pleaded.
He knew. Even without telepathy, he must have known that the power it would take to relight the fires could kill her.
“What you’re doing could kill a high priest! You have to stop!”
Poppy ignored him. She could see Daphne rising in her peripheral vision. The rest of the order lay slumped on the ground. It was only her — and Daphne — and the cauldron. Poppy concentrated harder. Blood rushed past her ears and trickled from her nose. Her hands tingled as electricity crackled across her skin and pirouetted over her fingertips. Poppy unleashed power she didn’t know she had.
This will work, she thought to herself, this has to work.
The electricity flowed invisibly from her fingers. Power surged through her, throbbing her bones and vibrating her muscles. Her heart raced. Her pupils dilated in the dark so she saw Castor’s blue face illuminated clearly. The three bodies that floated above the flames sank as if moving through water rather than air, nearing the floor around the flames. Poppy moved energy and breath through the air effortlessly. Breath and electricity and… a final expulsion of her power.
The flames roared to life.
“Daphne, no!”
Poppy had lost track of Daphne. For a moment, she didn’t care. The blue flames roared to life stronger than ever. The blood from Hecate’s neck seeped back into her skin. Poppy’s lungs struggled to gather air. Lighting the fires had suffocated her. Her fingers rushed to her neck. She heard a thud
. Daphne screamed. Castor wrapped his arms around her.
“Poppy! Poppy listen to me! You can’t die! You can’t!”
He cradled her head. Poppy’s lids weighed closed. She tried to move, to touch him, to promise him that everything had been alright and that she’d made her choice knowing where she’d end up. With her father again. It had been far too long since she’d seen daddy…
Castor pushed her hair out of her face and sobbed, a gut-wrenching emotional sob, expressing more than Poppy heard from any Devoran. The howl bellowed from his chest and Poppy heard him whisper her name one last time.
«I love you. You can’t die.»
«I have to die, Castor. I chose this.»
«I’ll be alone.»
«And alive…»
Poppy slipped into a black sleep.
54
Awakened
“We should wake her up.”
“No,” Castor insisted, “The doctor says she will wake up on her own.”
“How long are we supposed to wait? She’s been asleep for two weeks. She’s missed all her finals!”
“I’m going to call the nurse,” Castor threatened.
The arguing stirred Poppy. This must be heaven, she thought. Did heaven exist on other planets? How could she even be sure that she was in heaven anyway?
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Ajax! Jason! Castor!”
“What?” Castor snapped.
“Look. She’s awake.”
“Shut up, Hecate,” Jason brooded, “Not a very funny joke.”
Ajax thumped him on the back.
“She’s not joking you idiot.”
“Get out of my way,” Jason pushed past Castor and Hecate and stood at the foot of Poppy’s bed.
Her brows raised and she clutched the bedsheets.
“You’re dead too. All of you. And Castor?”
Her heart sank. Somehow, Castor had died as well.
“You’re not dead, stupid,” Jason grumbled.
Castor whacked him on the back of the head.
“Ow! What was that for!”
“Don’t call her stupid!”
Ajax rushed to Poppy’s side and pressed his hand to her face.
«Not dead, Poppy.»
