"Hi," I said, sitting down beside him.
"Hi," he replied, but kept his head in his hands, staring at the floor.
"I took Isys up to her room and waited until she fell asleep. A little rest will calm her down. What about Zal?”
"I had to force him into the bedroom." He said in a muffled voice. "He wasn‘t very happy about it."
When he stopped talking, he raised his head and looked at me. I immediately noticed the cut above his right eye, still bleeding, and the bruise around his entire eye indicating that he must’ve been punched.
“John!” I said and got up quickly, examining the cut. "Zal did that?"
"Yes, but he was completely out of it. When I couldn’t convince him to leave, I had to take him my way. He didn’t like it very much. But at least punching me soothed him. You've never seen how strong he is, so you don’t know how this was nothing compared to what he really could’ve done.”
"Where's the first aid kit?" I asked and instinctively looked around.
"There's one in that room," he said, pointing to the door behind us in the back of the room. "It's in the first cabinet, in the top drawer.”
“Okay. Stay here, I'll get it.”
"You don’t have to…" John began to say, but I ignored him and headed toward the living room.
I entered the room for the first time. There were only two large closets, a small sink, a table in the center, and another door at the end. I went to the sink and washed my hands quickly. Surely this room was only for employees when it was still a hotel. Soon I found the kit and went back to the hall. I sat down again and began to clean the cut.
"Don’t you want to go rest, too?" I asked him. His lost stare told me that he also needed to get away. "When I finish cleaning your cut I can walk home. I don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I'm not going to let you go alone," He said as I worked the cut with a piece of cotton. “Especially after today.”
"John, why did this happen? I thought the Chosen Ones were the targets.””
"And they were. I don’t know why this happened. Now everyone is scared and freaking out.”
I stopped looking at the cut and turned my face to the couch. Niko and the crowd around him were no longer there. Only a few people staring into the empty space that a few minutes before contained the dead body of one of ours.
“Where did they take Niko?” I asked.
"They're preparing his body for the ceremony."
“Ceremony?”
"When someone dies, we do this ceremony. It's our version of a funeral. A little more complicated, though. The body is bathed to eliminate all the impurities of this world, and as we believe, to rid it of the mistakes we make here. In Pacem, the body is set on fire. When it begins to burn, we throw a powder called Nur, which causes the body to burn for seven days.
“Seven days?” I asked in surprise, raising my tone a little.
"Yes," he replied, raising an eyebrow at my surprise. "It's a powder the sorcerers used to make. It's a tradition.”
"And why burn the body for all this time?"
“It's our way of remembering the person who died. Even if they were gone, the fire would burn for seven days, nonstop. People from afar would see the red smoke in the sky and grieve with the family for the loss of that person.”
I tried to imagine the scene; the skies filled with red smoke and a blazing fire. People gathered around the body and crying. For a moment I wished my parents had the opportunity to have a ceremony in Pacem. It would certainly have been a worthy and deserved end. Disappearing slowly, dispersing in the air of our realm, where they belonged.
"Wow," I said, coming back to reality a little sadder than I already was. “It's a really beautiful gesture. What do you do here, without that Nur powder?”
"We'll just burn the body and have a little ceremony."
"There," I said, putting a bandage on the wound. "You were lucky that it wasn’t too deep. I don’t think you need stitches.”
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, it was no big deal.”
"It was nothing, and I kind of feel guilty. I told you to get Zal out of there. I’m sorry.”
"No, you were right. He shouldn’t have stayed like that. And I know him, he'll feel guilty for giving in.”
"You should talk to him," I suggested, knowing John was still thinking about his friend. "To remind him that it wasn’t his fault.”
"I will, don’t worry," he replied.
There were few people in the room. Most of them had gone out with Niko's body, and those who remained there were silent, thoughtful. John and I kept talking, waiting for the time to pass. Minutes passed, and as I watched the people, I saw Liam entering the room, looking startled. He looked around and clearly could see that something had happened. He saw me and started walking toward me. I started to feel my heart pounding. It was like when we see the person we love. It hits so hard that you worry if the others can hear it too. Only that wasn’t it anymore. I just couldn’t stay near him.
"What's going on, Liz?" Liam asked as soon as he got to where I was.
"Niko’s dead," John answered instead, his tone dry.
“What?” Liam's eyes widened and he turned to me. Why the hell did I have to answer anything to him? “How? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
John heaved a sigh and folded his arms over his stomach.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said sarcastically. "We were too busy with the corpse of one of our people on the couch to call you.”
He was clearly angry. Whether it was the whole situation or just Liam's, I didn’t know. I also began to feel uncomfortable with the whole situation. Surely, they could wait for Niko's body to cool down to start fighting.
"Don’t talk to me like that, you ass," Liam snapped. "And what happened to your face?" Has anyone finally punched you?”
Liam opened a huge smile on his face and John stood up so quickly it startled me. I got up and stood between them, my hand touching John's chest, trying to stop them from advancing into each other. John didn’t try to disengage himself from my hand, because I clearly wouldn’t have the strength to keep him in place if he didn’t want to. I thanked him internally for that.
"John, this isn’t the time for this," I said, putting my face closer to his.
He took my hand that was still on his chest and, looking me in the eyes, nodded. That seemed to make Liam even angrier. I heard a grunt coming from his throat and I turned to him.
"Liam, please go away," I said, trying to keep my tone steady.
"Liz, I didn’t mean…"
“Niko's body is being prepared for the ceremony. That's what you should be concerned about. Now get out of here or I’ll punch you myself.”
Liam took a few seconds looking at me, turned to John with a raged look, and left. He sat on the big couch with a few other people. I sat down again, and for the first time since we saw Niko dead, John was smiling.
“What is it?” I asked.
"Would you really punch him?" He said, widening his smile.
"I've never hit anyone, but after what happened a year ago, I've dreamed a lot about it, so it's very likely," I replied, finding it funny to realize that it was completely true.
We spent a few more minutes talking about unimportant things in an attempt to pass the time, but even more to forget what was happening right then and there in some room in the hotel. Zal came down some time later, calmer and apologizing to John. He seemed genuinely sorry for the fact, and as soon as John said there was no need for apologies, Zal left to stay with Niko. Some people passed us eating the cake I brought, and John and I exchanged smiling looks. We were talking about Pacem when my phone started ringing. It was Emma.
“Emma,hi!” I said enthusiastically, since she hadn’t called for weeks. If anyone could make me forget everything, it would be her.
“Hi, where are you? I called your house, as usual, and your grandmother said you weren’t there. Did a miracle happen? Were you kidnapped?”
Sh
e was talking in a playful tone, but I tried to keep mine my normal. I couldn’t tell her that something was wrong.
"I made some friends," I said, looking at John. He smiled shyly and began to stare at the floor. "And it's no miracle at all. You know that I occasionally leave the house. Sometimes. If I need to.”
"What friends are these?" You're not replacing me, are you?”
Emma had always been curious and was clearly trying to extract information from me.
"Of course not, Emma," I assured her, trying to sound confident.
And for the first time I thought about what I'd say, if she really came back. She would know that I was spending time here in this old hotel. But I couldn’t tell the truth and drag her into this madness. Especially with this madman on the loose. Putting her in danger was the last thing I wanted. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Emma.
"So," I changed the subject quickly, trying to get her to talk about something else. “How are things? And your parents?”
"The same," she said, and I noticed a slight change in her tone. Annoyance. If it were me I wouldn’t want to talk about my parents’ failed marriage either, but I had to make her move on from the previous subject. "I'm staying at home alone while they’re on the retreat. The nosy next-door neighbor brings me food me every day.”
"Is it working?"
"I don’t know, Liz. Mom didn’t even tell me about the affair, I just found out because I have the ugly habit of listening to other people's conversations.”
"I know that," I said, and Emma laughed.
"I don’t know why they don’t make a decision."
"Well, I've always liked Carol and Mark, so I hope they do what's best for them and you.”
Emma sighed and I smiled.
"I miss you," she said. "The people here are the worst.”
“I miss you too.”
We talked for a little while. Emma furtively tried to make me talk about my new friends, but I fled the subject. Suddenly I began to worry even more. I know her. I know she won’t give up, but I couldn’t put her in the middle of this mess and endanger her. What good would it be to have a new family if part of the family I already had could get hurt? We said goodbye and I turned my attention to the hall and John.
“What’s going on?” John asked when I put the cell phone away.
"Emma's parents are having trouble. She’s alone at home.”
"Do you think she's coming back?"
"I don’t know," I said, wondering the direction of the conversation. "If they don’t get back together, her mother has family here, so I think they'd come back."
John nodded and said nothing.
“What is the problem?” I asked.
"Nothing," he replied, looking at his hands.
"I think I can already tell when something’s wrong.”
"If Emma came back..." he began to speak, slowly. "You probably wouldn’t spend much time here."
"So you like to have me around?" I asked laughing.
“Of course not. But the others do, there’s nothing I can do about that, right?” He said with a serious face, but a teasing tone.
John and I both laughed.
"Liz, about the picture..." he said when he stopped laughing, his cheeks turning red.
No, I didn’t want to talk about that with John. I didn’t want any more drama, especially after Liam, so now, this subject wasn’t my favorite.
"John, you don’t have to explain anything. They took the picture for identification, gave it to the person who would watch me, you, and that's it, "I said decisively.
“But...”
"That's it," I said, making it clear that I didn’t want to talk about it.
At that moment, with those gray eyes penetrating mine, I felt my stomach sink with an inner revelation. I liked John more than I thought. Or maybe I already knew, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. The feeling I had was that from the moment he walked into the diner, a crooked smile, something had changed in me. Even with what was happening, he found a way to smile and make me smile. He is protective, good to our people and not bad to look at. Spending time with him was my new favorite way of passing time, and sitting there I realized that I could do this forever. But Liam had left a bitter taste in my mouth that had proved difficult to get rid of. And seeing him again only made that taste more intense. I couldn’t do that to John. I couldn’t start something just to end up hurting him. Or hurting me. I wasn’t ready.
I continued like that, looking at him in silence, and suddenly wondering if he had kept that picture for the same reason I couldn’t stop looking at him now. John stood up and I, thinking that the ceremony was starting, did the same. But instead he took my hand and held it between his own. I felt like my heart was jumping out of my mouth and I shuddered when his skin touched mine.
"Liz, I..." John started to speak, coming even closer.
Before he could finish, we heard a "Come on, let's start" from afar. We pulled away and John released my hand slowly. The few people still in the room walked slowly out the front door. I stopped my eyes in a face that didn’t move. Liam looked at us with a look of repulsion. This attitude of "this is my toy and you're not going to play with it" was pissing me off.
We followed the rhythm of the rest of the people and slowly left the room. Accompanying the other people, we passed the door that was just below the stairs and we entered a large room, which had no furniture, only a carpet, a double glass door and another door on the right side of the room. The glass door led to a kind of leisure area, with plants and a very well-kept lawn; of a vibrant green. The whole place was surrounded by a great wall, so nobody would see anything.
Slowly, they all went to the stone that was in the center of the space. The stone was large, supported by two more, one at each end. It was large enough to support Niko's body and still leave some space. Niko was covered with a white sheet from head to toe. Now the whole crowd surrounded him. Zal was in the first row, kneeling with his hand on Niko's shoulder. He wasn’t crying, just stared at Niko with an empty stare. I felt bad for him and for a second considered going there.
John and I were in the back of the crowd, with Isys on my side. She came in just after us. Isys still seemed a little shocked, and as soon as she arrived, she took my hand. I was startled, but to my surprise I didn’t hate it. I squeezed her hand and smiled at her.
Some people were still coming, but the ones already there didn’t say a word. The silence was deafening. I could hear my heart hammering in my ear. For some reason, I felt nervous.
"Why are they all silent?" I asked John in a whisper.
"Before the person chosen to speak begins, everyone should be silent. It’s the moment of the person who died, we shouldn’t use it” he answered speaking in my ear. "We'll have more than enough time for that when the ceremony is over.”
"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said, blushing in embarrassment. “I didn’t want to disturb.”
"No, don’t worry," he replied. "You still have a lot to learn about our people and our customs.”
"To say the least," I said.
We heard footsteps on the lawn and we looked back automatically to see who was coming. Eimée came with the same angry expression as always, looking directly at me. A few more seconds and she would’ve pierced the back of my head with her eyes.
To my unhappiness, she didn’t keep walking. With a sideways glance, she paused at John's side. He quickly became uncomfortable, becoming restless. Or maybe he was finally thinking about what I said. The thought of him worrying about it made me laugh.
"What are you smiling about?" He asked just in my ear.
"The idea ofyou pondering whether or not I was right about Eimée and you never noticed," I replied, standing on tiptoe in an attempt to get closer to his ear.
"I'm not doing that!"
"Yeah, you are" I replied, smiling.
Eimée soon realized that we were talking and made sure to interrupt us.
"And what is she still doin
g here?" She said with her expression of pure disgust. "She's not one of us."
"She is one of us," Isys replied in an aggressive tone to my surprise. "She has every right to be here."
"She didn’t mind coming when the other bodies showed up, didn’t she?"
"Are you sure this is the best time to start one of your stupid fights?" John said.
As soon as John intervened, Eimée gave up and walked to the first row. From time to time I could see her black eyes staring me in the crowd.
Shortly after, two men walked toward the big stone and stood there, facing the people. I immediately recognized John's father, his height almost making it impossible not to, but the older gentleman I didn’t know. He had a long white hair and beard, his hair tied back without leaving a thread out of place. Near Rogi he looked like a dwarf. The thought "Do I look like a dwarf near John?" came to mind.
“Who is he? I haven’t seen him before.” "I said.
“It's Torim. He doesn’t come out of him room very often. He speaks in most ceremonies for being one of the elders. He was from the Council in Pacem and is now part of the Council here. My father stays with him to keep him on the subject. He gets lost sometimes.”
“Everyone’s here?” Rogi interrupted us.
The confirmation with everyone's head was almost audible, and Rogi motioned for Torim to begin. He stepped forward and looked quickly at the crowd. He stopped and stared at me with an indecipherable expression for a few seconds, but then he plied the crowd again.
"We're here because today we lost someone dear to us," Torim began. "Like most people here, I had the privilege of getting to know Niko. I realized he was a special young man right away. Nothing could shake him; he was always happy, always smiling, always improving the mood of the place. If anyone was in need, he was the first to offer help. But to me, what impressed me most was his gift of always seeing the best in people. I wasn’t used to it and was taken completely by surprise by this young man with a pure heart. He saw the goodness, even in this world, where we see death and injustice everywhere. The same humans who are killing us...”
Rogi took a quick step toward Torim and whispered something in his ear. Torim scowled, but nodded. After rolling his eyes to Rogi, he spoke again
The Chosen Ones: Red Smoke Page 7
