He reached out to touch my face and I quickly moved away. He looked puzzled. I didn’t want to play games anymore.
“I know what you are,” I whispered to him.
“What are you talking about, Karina? What’s going on? Why haven’t you called me after leaving my house?”
“Stop it,” I hissed. “Stop pretending. It’s over. I know what you are. I know your mother is a manananggal.”
There. It was out. I looked at him and saw a different Jason from the one I kissed just the other day. His face turned dark, dangerous. His eyes flashed red. He clenched his fist and I could see dark veins rippling through his arms. This Jason scared me. The one who could barely control his anger, who could turn into a monster. But just as quickly as his anger manifested, it passed and disappeared.
I touched his face as gently as I could. I was afraid his anger might poison me, too. I let him feel how I felt—the rollercoaster of emotions that had been going through me the last couple of weeks. The love, the happiness, the heartache, the betrayal, the fear. It flowed through me like an angry river, rushing to him, drowning him with my tide. He gasped. A tear fell down his cheek before he moved away from me. He rushed toward school without saying a word.
I sat down on a nearby bench, taking deep breaths. I wanted to cry but I held myself together. Not here, not where everyone could see me breaking down. I saw Mark and Alyssa walking toward me and I told them about my encounter with Jason.
“I’m so sorry, Karina,” Alyssa said, hugging me.
“I knew it. I knew there was something off about that guy. I mean, he can’t be all that great,” Mark said, shutting up after Alyssa gave him the evil eye.
“Anyway,” Alyssa changed the subject, “Mark and I have been talking and we think we should go to your training from now on.”
“What? Why?”
“We are with you all the time, it makes sense to prepare us, too, just in case. Remember, the first time we saw a manananggal, we were all together. I need to at least arm myself with extra training. Plus, it will help someone’s fighting skills,” Alyssa said, pointing not so secretly at Mark.
“You don’t have to rub it in, I already agree with you. The nerd always dies first,” Mark muttered. “I am totally into preparing myself. Some of it will eventually stick with me enough to give me a chance to at least escape.”
If I left this world, they would be safe. I would treasure any extra time I have with them from now on.
“Okay then. My place after school. Bring extra clothes and drinking bottles. It will be exhausting.”
“Awesome, I can’t wait!” Alyssa said. I could see her easing into it quite well, given what she had done in the past. But Mark would be tricky.
“So after your training, can we go back to our regular Friday nights together?” Mark asked.
“Sure,” I nodded and smiled, unable to meet his eyes. I hated lying to them but I had to. I needed to delay the pain for as long as I could, even if it meant suffering in silence.
“And another thing …” Mark said, looking at Alyssa for approval. She nodded.
“What now?” I was a bit impatient for being out of the loop, not liking their secret signals at all.
“We installed a camera near Jason’s house,” Mark whispered.
“But that’s illegal,” I hissed at him. I should really be thankful for their ingenuity especially since I was curious about Jason’s family, too. But a part of me didn’t want to have evidence of their manananggal side.
“Only if you get caught,” Alyssa said. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. This surprised me especially since Alyssa had always liked following rules.
“What?” she asked. “Now is not the time to be moral about these things. These creatures eat people. They want to eat us. We need more information about them so we can be prepared.”
I knew they had a point but I still felt uneasy about the whole thing.
“Just be careful okay?” I said to Mark. He smiled a bit. I think he was really enjoying this whole cloak-and-dagger business.
“I’ll let you know if I find anything, I promise,” he said.
Lolo didn’t really welcome my friends with open arms when we arrived home. But I explained to him why I wanted them there and he acquiesced. I gave him a grateful hug before we started.
The second day was weapons day. I was armed with a long wooden stick. Not really what I would consider a weapon, but Lolo thought it would be better for me to start off with a “safer” one. Lolo showed the motions slowly, using the wooden dummy to exhibit the best blows we could use. He gave the stick to me and I tried to copy what he did, very unconvincingly. Mark took the stick and tried the same thing, hitting his shin in the process. Alyssa grabbed the stick from Mark and hit the points on the dummy in one continuous motion, like she had done it a million times before. I felt a tinge of jealousy watching her perfect the maneuver. I had never been jealous of Alyssa in my entire life until that day. I felt she’d make a better heiress than I would.
Lolo sensed my jealousy and approached me while Mark and Alyssa continued to hit the dummy. He took my hand and placed it on the necklace Mama gave me.
“If you can’t find the strength in you, find the strength from your mother. When she gave you that necklace, she knew the things that you were capable of doing. Channel your mother’s essence. Trust her.”
It never occurred to me to use the necklace to help me with the physical side of training. I always thought it was more for the powers. But I guess it made sense given that all of Mama’s memories were stored inside the little rock.
I wrapped my hand around the stone and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, thinking of Mama. At first, I felt nothing but the coolness of the stone in my fist. Then a warmth came over me, traveling inside my body, like a hot cup of tea on a winter’s night. I felt her strength, her love, her confidence. I saw a flash in my head of a younger version of Mama, holding two swords and swinging them around like a well-trained warrior. I forget sometimes that Mama had gone through the same training I was going through with Lolo.
I took the wooden stick from Alyssa and stood in front of the dummy. I gripped it tightly with both hands, determined to get this right. I hit the dummy on the face, the neck, the ribs, and legs before cracking between its legs, all in one swift move.
“Ouch,” I heard Mark behind me.
“Well done, Karina,” Lolo said. I couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t even break a sweat.
“Where did that come from? I’ve asked you so many times to come to training with me and you always say no because you have no coordination. You little liar!” Alyssa said, slapping me in the back. I felt guilty for being jealous when she had always been supportive of me.
“Let’s do that again,” I said. Lolo grabbed a stick of his own.
We kept training all afternoon, taking turns with the dummy and trying the techniques on each other. Lolo paired up with me while Alyssa helped Mark with his moves. Two hours into it and I was already able to handle myself, blocking Lolo’s attacks while creating my own series of offenses.
I was about to jump on Lolo with a strike from above when I felt an urgent pull from outside. I rushed to find where it was coming from but there was nothing in the yard. I still felt it though, a heart beating so fast, the fear and panic. I looked up to find a white bird flying toward us, carrying something in its mouth. It landed a foot away from me, dropping what looked like a mouse on the ground. I leaned down to pick up the familiar little creature in my hand and realized it was Wilbur. How did he get out? When did he get out? I didn’t close Wilbur’s cage but he never ran away so it was never necessary. I let go of my stick and picked up the bird with my other hand, bringing them inside the garage.
“What’s going on?” Mark asked, fascinated by the two animals.
“I don’t know, I have to see what they want me to see,” I said, closing my eyes and opening myself up to the wild bird and Wilbur.
I saw images in my
head from Wilbur, getting out of the room, running out of the house and traveling into backyards, through houses and streets. I saw him enter a familiar place. Jason’s house. What was Wilbur doing there?
Wilbur showed me an image of the day I summoned the animals to help me find my mother. He was doing his part to help me. I felt a rush of love for this little creature. Tiny yet so brave, so willing to endanger itself to help me.
At first, Wilbur just sneaked around Jason’s house, looking for cracks and holes to investigate. He moved toward the guesthouse where I stayed in when I ran away. It seemed like a million years ago now. Wilbur stopped near the old shed, sensing something nearby. He entered it through the gap in the door. There was nothing there but gardening tools and an old mower. Wilbur kept sniffing on the ground, looking for something until he found a tiny crack at the back of the shed, just big enough for him to squeeze through. He dropped inside and stumbled several steps down. A staircase! There was a hidden staircase underneath the shed.
My heart raced. I felt Wilbur’s excitement as he scampered off again quickly. I could sense how tired he was but he kept going down, deeper into the secret room under the ground. It felt like an eternity but Wilbur finally reached the end of the steps. It was a metal door, sealed from corner to corner with a giant lock attached to it. He sniffed around, looking for a way in but couldn’t find anything. Just when I thought there was no way to know what was in that room, Wilbur stopped to listen. He fixed himself on the biggest crack he could find. I heard what he heard. It was quiet but it was there. The distinct humming of my favorite lullaby.
It was Mama’s voice.
Chapter Eighteen
MAMA’S DIY
ENGKANTASIA BOOK
Kapre
The kapre is a tree demon of sorts. It is enormous, almost seven to nine feet tall, brown, bulky and covered in fur. It has a distinct smell that would attract human attention.
It dwells in big trees and are mostly seen sitting under them. The kapre wears an indigenous loincloth known as bahag. It has the ability to be invisible to humans. It has a penchant for tobacco, which is why its smell is so potent.
The kapre is not necessarily evil. It sometimes interacts with humans to offer friendship. Sometimes, it falls in love with a human. If a kapre befriends a human, or loves one, the kapre will follow the person all through his or her life. But this has not happened in hundreds of years.
T he clan leaders were in the living room, watching me pace around like a madman. I asked Lolo to contact them so we could meet and find a way to rescue Mama from her underground prison.
I knew Lolo disapproved of what I did with the animals but he didn’t say anything. I didn’t regret doing what I did. Someone had to do something to find her. What were my new abilities for if not to help those I love?
I heard Dad’s car parking in the driveway. I called him to come home quickly for the meeting. I wanted everyone there. Mark and Alyssa had made sandwiches for everyone but no one was touching the food. Everyone was as anxious as I was.
Dad burst into the house and dropped his work bag near the door.
“What’s going on, Karina? Why is everyone here?”
“I know where Mama is,” I said to him, afraid that if I didn’t say it out loud she would disappear again. Dad froze, his mouth gaping open.
“Where is she? How did you find her? Why didn’t you call the police?”
“Patrick,” Lolo said, walking toward my dad. “It’s not that simple. Marie is being held captive by our enemy. The manananggal.”
“Where?”
“At Jason’s,” I finally said, revealing one of the secrets I had been hiding from him. “His mother is a manananggal, and Lolo thinks he is one, too. They’ve been keeping her hostage all this time.”
Dad walked away, running his hands through his hair. I felt a knot tightening in my stomach. He had dedicated the last three years to finding Mama and it turned out she wasn’t that far away. I felt bad for keeping things from him, for being secretive about everything. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Dad.
“So what now? What do we do?”
“We haven’t gone that far ahead,” I said.
“We may have something. It might work,” Mark said. Everyone looked at him. He stood with confidence, something I rarely saw Mark do. He had a look usually reserved for when he was revealing one of his brilliant inventions to us.
“It is risky but it might just work,” he continued. I saw Lolo nod at him. “We need to go at night. I know it’s when the manananggal is most dangerous but we can’t walk around with the clan leaders during the day.”
“We?” Dad asked. “No, you kids are staying here. It’s too dangerous.” I knew that he would protest to us joining the rescue mission. It was his job as a parent to keep us safe, but the decision had been made.
“Dad, we are coming with you. Mark and Alyssa are coming, too. They’ve been working with me. They can help. And I don’t have to tell you the things that I can do. If there is a good time for me to use my abilities, it is now, to rescue Mama.”
Dad grimaced but didn’t say anything. He knew I was right.
“As I was saying, we go at sundown. Karina can draw us a map of the place as she’s been inside before. I can be the lookout. We’ve set up a camera to watch Jason’s place. Once you’re in, you can set up two more. I only have three earpieces to communicate with you guys so I’ll give one to Karina and one to Hari Magatu. That way we can talk to each other.”
I didn’t even ask where he was getting all this gear from. Mark knew people from his line of “work”—the one that wasn’t entirely legal. He told us about it vaguely one time, but we didn’t press because we knew his family needed the money.
“What are you going to do?” I asked Alyssa.
“I’m the getaway car,” she winked.
“We stay together, we watch each other’s backs,” Lolo said.
“Okay, let’s get to work,” I said, taking a paper and drawing the map.
Dad drove Mark and Alyssa to their place to get the equipment and Alyssa’s mini van. I felt much better knowing that both my friends would not be with us when we go in. I wanted to stop Dad as well but I knew I wouldn’t be able to. Being so close to saving Mama had renewed his hope, giving him a new bout of strength.
I walked upstairs to change to more comfortable clothes. When I came down, I heard hushed conversations somewhere in the kitchen. I walked quietly toward it, feeling guilty for eavesdropping. But then again, they wouldn’t be whispering if they wanted to share their thoughts with everyone.
“For as long as I can remember, the King has never been as vulnerable as he is now. Even when his daughter ran away from our world, he has remained stoic and firm. He runs the kingdom like the person who ran away was just another Engkanto—and not his own flesh. He continues his reign for many years, acting like the royalty everyone has expected him to be. But in this world, he is different. When Karina ran away, I saw the fear and worry in his eyes even before I sensed it. His love for his granddaughter is so strong that it makes him vulnerable. This is something his enemies can easily use against him if they ever find out.”
It was Serra talking to someone I couldn’t see. I knew Lolo loved me but he could be so distant that I sometimes wondered if he really cared. The fact that Serra sensed this made me happy but also scared me. She was right, they could easily use me to take him down, especially since I was the weakest link. My powers were not as strong as the clan leaders’ and Lolo’s. But I wouldn’t let that happen. No one else was getting hurt, not because of me.
“She is tougher than you think she is. I can sense her strength. Karina can take care of herself, I can assure you that,” I heard the kapre’s voice say.
“I know she is strong, much stronger than she thinks she is, but I’m more worried about her affinity toward the manananggal’s son,” Serra stressed.
My chest hurt after hearing Serra’s doubts about me. It was right of her to t
hink my feelings for Jason would get in the way. But I was certain about myself. I knew my allegiance would always be with my family.
I heard a car outside and I looked out the window to check. It was Alyssa and Mark.
Alyssa was dressed all in black and wore one of the UV gadgets around her wrist. Mark got out of the van and grabbed a huge bag.
They went inside the house, and Mark opened the bag on the dining table. We watched as he took out one thing after another. I was sure the clan leaders didn’t know what all the gadgets were, but they kept quiet and waited for his instructions. Mark took out the cameras. They were tinier than I expected. It must have cost him a fortune. That would be, if he bought them.
“Find a place where you can stick this in where it won’t stand out too much. A bird cage, a tree branch, a statue, or in a corner somewhere. Stick it then turn it on. That’s it,” he said.
He handed me the cameras then took out the two earpieces and gave it to me and Lolo. I attached it to my ear and Lolo copied what I did. After testing that they worked, Mark took out his laptop and fiddled with it before packing his equipment.
We piled into Alyssa’s van, not saying anything. I saw that Dad was wearing one of Mark’s gadgets and I gave him a small smile, grateful that at least he had something to protect himself with. The kapre and tikbalang were on foot as they didn’t really fit in the van. By on foot, I meant they were jumping from tree to tree, barely shaking the trees despite their size.
“Are there any dogs there? Like guard dogs or attack dogs?” Alyssa turned to me.
“No, they don’t have any dogs, or any pets for that matter,” I said. There were plenty of houses without animals but it did seem bizarre that a house that grand had no guard dogs. I didn’t think the manananggal worried about home invasions, given how powerful they were. They would probably just eat any poor bastard who would attempt to rob them.
We drove toward Jason’s house, parking a couple of meters away. Kamudo and Gulat were already there waiting for us. Mark set himself up in the back of the van, giving Alyssa instructions. I hugged them both before leaving with the group. We walked around the block, staying in the shadows. I heard Mark’s voice in my ear telling me to go around the corner to the next street. The mansion’s land took up two blocks, making it easier for us to find the spot closest to the shed.
The Girl Between Two Worlds Page 15
