by M. Street
“Sure.” Like the rest, I slept better outdoors. On the rare occasion when it was deemed benign, I basked in the high tides of the sun. “I’ll grab some rays inside the first ring of trees,” I told Jeremiah, motioning to a perfect patch of grass drenched in unfiltered sun. The colorful beams of light called to me like massaging, warm fingers.
Sabina waited, disgruntled with folded arms, watching us without blinking. She was cued to dish out more distractions. With nerves fraying, I wanted to be far away from any rants about the man who held my heart. The more time Dev and Safe were AWOL, the bigger the backlash built.
Jeremiah shifted. “You should be ok in the heavy sun. Raven,” he addressed his daughter officially.
“Yes.” Raven answered with trooper force.
“Position the pack and keep the princess under full watch,” Jeremiah commanded. Living under constant eyes made me itch. “We’ll be inside,” he said to me softer.
Sabina marched into the den, hurting to be heard. Jeremiah took a heaping breath and followed her in.
“Can you stay human?” I pleaded to Raven. Talking down my fabricating nerves with her would really help. “Miguel and Haruz are already grizzly.”
“One minute.” Raven remained dutiful. She vaulted forward, extending her arms, exploding into the velvet black wolf with vivid burnt orange. She and Miguel promptly organized the pack with pinging synchronized vibrations in the Canite valence, then blurred away together.
I floated to the splashy grasses to rest my muscles. Being a novice, I flexed my muscles strongly when I cast even though it did nothing for the spell. The power of enchantment came from within. I chuckled recalling Lisa making fun of me when I played tennis. Similarly, every time I hit the ball, I uncontrollably opened my mouth. On several occasions, her laugh made me laugh during tournament play. My unstoppable, embarrassing giggling would freak out my opponents. I snickered, using the memory as a drug. It slightly slowed my toiling heart.
Shaping the earth under the soft greens, I sculpted a plush recliner to support my body. Inhaling deeply, I released myself to gravity under the full force of the speckled sun. One of the wonders of mature life was gazing into the sun and being endlessly entranced by her changing face. Despite indulging in the rushing, flavored light, my core bucked madly over Dev and Safe. The only thing reining me in was my strangely composed intuition and directed considerations.
I trained my thoughts to figure rather than fret. There were several places Dev and Safe could be. My infant mom had said the best theory started by Keeping It Simple, Sweetie, or KISS. Before I could put down tracks to my first possibility, Raven closed in fast. She flew through a burning ring of copper fire, formulating human, beautiful and young. Breathing heavy, she lay down next to me. Her long black hair draped over my body like strands of silk. Canites had little concept of personal space, but I liked the excessive closeness. Miguel, Haruz, and Zeta formed an equidistant triangle surrounding us, positioned with their backs facing us.
“You’re quite loud,” Raven claimed with grains of annoyance, despite the fact that we were touching. I put on my partial mask out of habit. My heightened feelings raced out, steeping through the dampening effects of the gems and the dense forest upsurge. Her skin pressed against my heart.
“Olo going rogue is quite interesting, but Dev …” She raised an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth with a bitter told-you-so. “He is a Vampacoti. I knew it was only a matter of time before he did something crafty.”
“Not you too,” I retorted. Her blanket statement insulated my heated body. “I’ll say it again. Safe is my brother, and Dev is my man.” I softened, reliving the euphoria he gives me. “I don’t need anyone to believe in him because I already do. He wouldn’t leave my side unless it was imperative. I trust him completely.”
“Yes, you do,” Raven said cutting back, touching my vibes like braille. Our open-soul connection made disagreeing too uncomfortable.
“Any chance you’ll close your eyes?” Raven sighed, playing with my hair. “How about doing something constructive? Let’s review the mission.” Orange rings around her large, dark eyes discharged. Haruz, Miguel, and Zeta turned their heads back anxiously.
“Again?” I wanted to talk about where Dev was. Most likely he went to see Valbeth. He could contact her without a crystal. Adapting to my new habitual lingo, I had successfully exchanged the word crystal for cell. The microchipped, homogeneous solid devices rendered smartphones like tin cans and tight strings. After seeing what one could do, I understood why Jeremiah kept them under his constant guard. They linked the sender and receiver in voice, visual, and location.
“A warrior is always preparing.” Raven sprang up to one knee, morphing her ears pointy.
“Yeah,” I complied, shifting my gears into survival mode. My uncontrollable connection to everyone elevated my feelings of protection into action. Having only scratched the surface of my new life, my first cause was learning and being open to things I didn’t understand. I sat facing my Canite sister, showering together in the sun rays. Reading from the back of my mind, I tactically reiterated the engraved maneuvers, like carefully placed dominoes, for the best laid plan.
“The ground troops head out under Jeremiah. He will still retain custody of the crystals except for Dev’s and Ozwald’s. Olo holds onto theirs.” I chuckled at the precision of possession, playfully fanning the flames. The colorful squabble over the crystals ridiculously exceeded boiling points. Sabina used my safety and the prospect of a traitor to voice opposition against Dev packing his crystal without watchful Avian eyes.
The timing of who, what, where, and when sank to congressional levels, illogically stalling everything. For the first time and against the many constant waves of resistance, Safe backed Dev. It ended the back-flow debate, causing my heart to balloon. My happiness from my Guardian brother demonstrating his trust in my love caused pink flakes so bright they felt wet. Safe’s platinum and Dev’s silver mingled in their common concern, naturally causing an uncommon connection.
Jeremiah and Raven, along with their guards, Miguel and Haruz, would go on foot to the Congo, assisted by Sabina and Namid. The Avian queen would provide aerial support with her Equuian escort’s sharp scouting skills. Astonishingly, they could make the four-thousand-mile trek in less than five hours. Safe, Dev, Ozwald, and I would be on active standby, covered in the magic of the Black Forest, anxiously waiting for their call.
“Once you have surveyed and secured the area, verifying no Guardians are present, Jeremiah will distribute the crystals and call us.” I stopped, watching Raven’s upper lip twitch with an edgy snarl. The Canites especially felt the devices should not be used during the operation. They thought it would make me vulnerable if the double agent was among us. A silent signal to the Arbitri would draw Eli instantly, but not using them was clear, tactical dumbness.
Intuitively, I wasn’t worried about the crystals. We had gone too long without any problems living in isolation as a tight-knit family. As our time together grew, so did our bonds. My heart spoke loudly against the many accusations flying indiscriminately. I had turned my problem-solving engine toward an unknown second hand, someone who was unaware they were being watched. From the countless travesties recounted, it was evident that Eli trusted no one. He had spies planted deep in every race.
“Olo releases Dev’s and Ozwald’s crystals and we link up.” The pinky-sized power communicator was capable of holographic representations of all viewpoints, creating pseudo omnipresence. Their usage was as easy as thinking, operating on brain waves. Although the solid crystals were elegant and super hi-techie cool, I preferred to keep my bare feet rooted in intuition.
“Pairs set watch at cardinal points around the site.” Raven took the wheel with her firm voice. “Jeremiah and Miguel from the west, Sabina and me covering from the south where most of the Arbitri stand watch.” She tightened her face. Haruz, not facing us in the distance but clearly listening to our play-by-play, growled harshly at n
ot being paired with his princess.
“Haruz and Namid from the east,” I voiced the last position, ending the beautiful woman’s name with clenched teeth. The explosive Equuian ability to distort space hidden inside her slim frame gave me the jitters. Namid was our last chance if something went wrong. A well-positioned bronze discharge could trip a Guardian long enough for Safe and me to leap, but we couldn’t carry everyone present. Many would be abandoned, stranded against an uncontestable force. The Titanic lifeboat situation gave me chest pains.
The parentages—Safe, Sabina, and Jeremiah—ordered that I only leap one person, despite having built the muscle to easily carry three. They were concerned multiple leaps might be required to escape cleanly. Dev had lengthy reasons why I should carry only him, but it was the pressure of his heart that convinced me. Safe would leap Raven and Ozwald, the young royals, out of harm’s way. Namid, Sabina, Jeremiah, and the Canite protectors were on their own against aggressors possessing higher powers. I was purposely excluded from contingency-planning because I quickly built disruptive charge upon hearing it.
“We converge on a plan from the many points of observation, current conditions, possible outcomes, and cube analysis.” I fetched from my memory what Jeremiah outlined precisely.
Sabina and Safe had scouted the site, confirming Valbeth’s information. Arbitri, consisting only of Vampacoti and Equuians, were keeping guard over the ancient elephant graveyard during the high sun tide. Safe alone buried the scale in our favor. With my expanding capabilities, I blew up the scale altogether.
“We will position ourselves and bank charge, poised for your arrival.” Raven’s incisors and nails grew long. Beautiful copper nebulas swirled around her wrists, spinning through her spell book.
“Since leaping takes no time and there is no way to hide my presence,” I paused, traversing across the brainstormed scenarios in parallel, “Dev and I will leap in from magnetic north, starting the offense. Olo will follow immediately with Ozwald. We will incapacitate as many as we can with spells before our image hits their eyes.” Forcing someone into the next dimension caused shocks to my heart. Incapacitating a foe by enchantment was clean and without regret.
“I’ve got three barrels,” I boasted of my ability to tri-cast. “Olo will carefully dome the site with one strong enough to garble any communication, but weak enough not to sound an alarm.” A full-powered dome would deaden the space. The nothingness within the bountifulness of the rainforest would trigger our presence. “Then it’s up to me to get us out fast.”
Sparkles jittered above my goose bumps when I thought of the mortal jeopardy being risked for my sake. I would never forget it.
“My practice in Hawaii should help with that.” I recalled the trip with Raven and Safe, keeping the feel of the peculiar skill fresh. Spending days in Japan honing my abilities gave me the idea. Maui had similar bamboo forests with extraordinary, aqua shielding auras. Safe and Sabina reported they saw thousands of exhumed tusks stacked, forming a wall around the graveyard in the Congo. Luja speculated that I might resonate with the bone-like structure making it straightforward to find. On the flip side, there was a potential that none present were a match. The ivory had to pitch-match my combinatorial light exactly. I wouldn’t know for sure unless I touched the bone. Therefore, I had to come up with a way to efficiently and systematically parse through all the tusks. My proficiency and practice were in direct proportion to our success. I had to act fast.
“When I find the ivory, Dev and I will mass-cast sedation spells, giving everyone a head start.” The post-plan was to split up and go into deep hiding. The upcoming conclusion hit me harder with the execution close. The chaos of living with quarreling, ancient beings was a great distraction from the painful loss of losing Mom, the ache from missing Charlie, and the soreness from leaving normal so far behind. Even though it hurt, my love for Lisa was forever with me. Each time my infant family missed me intensely, I coupled with their essences, experiencing their helpless aches over my disappearance.
“After three minutes, you should all be out of range and we’ll leap away.” I purposely avoided Raven’s comforting steel eyes. She knew Safe, Dev, and I would leap together, but our destination was strictly confidential. I swore to the secrecy of the South Pole location to Dev and Safe only. Not telling Raven caused my bones to ache with dampness.
“Don’t fret.” Raven held my hand lovingly, running her nails down my leg. “We’ll see each other soon after.” She spoke with an unknown confidence, giving me hope.
A thud suddenly hit the ground causing the trees to jiggle. A surge of adrenaline sent me bolting into the air with the surrounding birds taking to the skies. Dev and a very drained Safe were back!
23
Anything is better than Worrying
I
bulleted to where Safe and Dev pitted the ground. Dev was serious and composed as if he had been there all day, casually blinking. In glaring contrast, Safe’s aura ruptured. His halo spun elliptically in the late morning sun, drinking in energy. I could tell by his drooping light, whistling breaths, and hunched stance he was suffering from severe leap lag. Whatever they secretly did, it had required multiple hops. Sabina and Jeremiah flew out of the old barn in a whirlwind. Raven followed nonchalantly.
“Inside now,” Jeremiah snorted, bypassing any greetings. Sabina had worked her dogmas on the king. His copper was full of turbulence.
“Sure.” Dev ignored the fistfuls of colors flying in his face. He kept his intense stare on me. Our feelings locked, rocketing on our private conduit. Tributaries from his troubled heart soaked into me, shifting my concentration. The angst of not knowing where he went and what he did evaporated, leaving earnest mystery and grateful togetherness.
“We don’t have time for this!” Safe barked at Jeremiah and Sabina. The magnitude of his convictions evacuated the heat of the moment. Jeremiah dissipated from his combat stance, but Sabina remained darkly hot.
“How long will it take you to recharge?” Dev asked Safe, turning his back to Sabina.
“Five hours minimum,” Safe said apologetically. “The dense sun will help.” His eyes looked to the same patch of sun I had used.
“Where were you?” Sabina asked sternly. Ozwald and Luja joined, watching from the den’s entry. Still formulated, Namid trotted close to Sabina. Haruz and Miguel slinked behind Raven. The princess stood with her hand on her hip, head tilted, wearing skepticism like a tight leather corset. The collective discourse stretched tensions.
Dev surveyed the nine diverse eyes taking him in, starting and ending with mine. He kept his silver clear, but I detected disdain through the surging forest dilution.
“Your convalescing is top priority,” Dev said to Safe, holding his aloofness to everything else. “By the time you awake, they will be positioned in the Congo.” Safe acknowledged with sluggish bats of his eyes, lowering his shiny head.
“Listen to Dev,” Safe said to the questioning faces. The pass of power blew open expressions. “He will be my voice. I must rest.” The drained giant did not wait. He stumbled and shorted to the tract of sunshine, collapsing down into my green grass recliner. As if sleep had a switch, dream flies sprung around Safe’s slo-mo indigo halo before his lids lowered.
The start of something big began to roll. Despite the surging energy, we all felt the one-way train leave the station. Filaments of nervousness blurred around us.
“Unacceptable! Where did you go?” Sabina launched into a rant, but Dev cut her off.
“I will speak quickly. Time is of the essence.” Dev finally came over, leaning into me, coloring pink like a kiss. His nothing-to-hide stance generated silence from his confidence. We dipped into each other’s eyes. In countless ways, the brief interlude amplified my wanting to be alone with him.
Haruz, Miguel, and Namid formulated human as we funneled into the den for the precious info to set our plan into motion.
With Luja confined to the Canite lair, more and more techno gadgets had b
een brought to the Black Forest. The growing collection of cubes oscillated light everywhere. Coupled with the herb garden and hyper-greenhouse light from the wood, the place was lit up like Christmas Eve.
We took our places around the eucalyptus table, anxiously awaiting Dev’s explanation. Namid broke tradition of staying behind the Avian queen and prince. Instead, the reserved Equuian stayed close to me. Haruz and Miguel both flanked their royal beloved. Dev made sure to touch me when he talked at the eucalyptus table. I didn’t have to ask why; the connection allowed me to feel his heart behind his words. The openness was exhilarating, running freely inside me.
“The time to procure the ivory is at hand.” Purpose filled his cause, scrunching his eyes. Sabina and Luja shifted, while everyone else honed. “The Arbitri have begun vaporizing the tusks.”
Fear filtered up my spine. Dev tried to ground me, but his own dread made it weak. I needed my precious mask more than ever. With my budding powers and loudening aura, my chances of being sensed reached critical heights. I never suspected that my aptitude to hear far and wide could be a fatal talent.
I had begun to hear Eli searching for me. Despite being inaudible through the thick forest and shielded wood, the violating waves of fingering vibrations precariously matched the lengthy key of my light. I had to concentrate intensely not to involuntarily pick up. The faint line would hook me as if I heard either of my moms say my name.
No matter how much I hated it, I shared a metaphysical link with my biological brother. Safe taught me through meditation to be translucent to the calls. Disengaging my thoughts and concentrating on the wave of vibrations rather than resist them allowed the lethal probes to pass through me. Slipping into no-thought worked, but with each successive occurrence, the ping got louder and stickier. Without my completed mask, Eli was on the verge of feeling me.
