Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters

by Myunique C. Green

  The thing bowed its long neck to me, allowing me a chance to look into its eyes; the large almond shape of its eyes was completely white. Like the bear though it was also wearing a crown, only the jewel inside of it was yellow. Since I didn’t happen the pay attention to the crystal’s change while I was being burned alive, I had no idea if this was mine, but I wanted it.

  I turned my attention to the winged tiger; it was more suited for Ash. It’s eyes were the same color green as Ash’s, only deeper, and like the rest of them it wore a silver crown as well- its wings were like that of a majestic eagle as it folded them against its side.

  “I change my mind, I want that one.” I said softly.

  “Too bad, its mine. See the blue diamond, there?” Ash responded proudly.

  Not disappointed too much, I walked slowly over to large creature and smiled. “Guess you’re stuck with me.” I took my hand out of my pocket and ran it along its golden feathers.

  “Can you speak?” I asked. It only shook its head from side to side then leaned down and lightly touched my forehead with its beak. “Oh okay,” I whispered. What’s your name? I thought instead.

  “Now that you all have your Beasts, they need a name,” Centure announced.

  I looked at my Beast and examined it one more time before deciding on a name that I think worked best and I’d been in love with since I’d heard it. “Wait, how do we know if they’re male or female?”

  “Talk to them, I’m sure they will tell you,” Centure replied.

  My Beast was the only one of them who couldn’t speak directly and it’d yet to reply to my earlier thought. I looked into its eyes and asked, Male or female?

  I couldn’t tell if it was looking at me or not when it replied.

  Female.

  Its voice was like a beautiful song that I’d heard before. Instead of going with a name as obvious as Ash did –who named his Beast Aspen- I went with the one I’d thought of first, Azlyn.

  Beside us Wade’s bear duo suddenly started picking on each other. The ground quaked once more as the two rolled around in the grass fiercely.

  “What’s their problem?”

  We looked on at the fight for a while before Wade finally found his balls and ordered them to stop. “Sorry guys that was my fault. I have a name though, King and Nash.”

  “Very well, now we can begin.” Centure floated across the field and rested softly atop one of the enormous tree stumps. “Aliza, you and Azlyn are first. Mount her.”

  “With no saddle? How do you expect me to stay on?”

  “Do as I say and mount her,” Centure kindly ordered.

  Even with Azlyn kneeled to the earth I was still not big enough to climb onto her back, I used a minute of brainstorming before saying, “That’s impossible.”

  “Nothing is impossible. The first step is figuring this out on your own.”

  I looked around the field for a minute then had an idea. “Let’s give it our best shot.” I mumbled.

  Azlyn kneeled down completely to the soft grass; I took a step away from her then turned and ran a good distance away. Azlyn’s wings glistened beneath the fire, “So I’m just going to do a run and jump.” Not wasting another minute I sprinted forward through the field, using a stump to give me more air I leaped towards Azlyn. When I was nearly close, one of her large wings lifted up and hit me in the chest, sending me flying backwards through the air. When I landed on the ground I quickly picked myself up and brushed the dirt from my pants, “What the hell was that?”

  I’m sorry but I couldn’t control it, she replied.

  I stopped when I was a nice running distance away. “Okay, let’s use that. Only don’t throw me off, extend out then back.” I broke out into another full sprint and leaped from the same stump; once again I was soaring through the air. Azlyn’s wing extended out to me and I placed a foot on it before it went backwards and before I knew it I was straddling her. A little out of breath, I waited patiently for Centure’s next instructions. Wade, Ash and Corey were now sitting quietly on the grass with their beasts by their side –all except for Corey actually, who had yet to call hers here- I looked down at them before noticing Zerra and Zenaya step outside.

  “You two straddle your beasts,” Centure said finally.

  I watched Wade and Ash go through several trial and error sequences before they actually got on, which made me happier since I had nailed it in two attempts. Ash wobbled as Aspen walked over and stood beside Azlyn, Wade joined a minute later riding King-Nash.

  “Azlyn and Aspen, up in the air,” Centure said sharply.

  With no hesitation, Azlyn lifted from the ground. I rocked slightly as we gained height. Wade and King-Nash became as tiny speckles as we climbed higher; the view was excited as I looked out over the trees and out into the road. “I’m going to do something really stupid right now.” I said aloud as I grabbed two handfuls of Azlyn’s feathers. “Dive!” I called out excitedly.

  She did as I said and spiraled towards the ground; the feeling was pulsating, the rush of the wind fueled a drive and passion I hadn’t known existed. My hair whipped fiercely in the wind nearly about to put my eye. “Spin!” I clenched on tighter as we spiraled downward through the air. A hysterical laugh escaped my mouth as I enjoyed myself. “Pull up before your beak hits the ground,” I voiced through the wind.

  Are you sure we should cut it so close?

  “Trust me.”

  The top of the log cabin came into view as we gained speed. “Here we go,” I whispered.

  “Pull up!” Ash yelled from behind me as he and Aspen flew alongside us. I ignored him as we came into full view of the speculators.

  A smile beamed across my face as Azlyn jerked up from a full dive. It almost looked like we had pulled it off until one of her long talons hooked into the earth. She tumbled to the ground and I went flying off, landing on a pile of twigs. One of the sharp points dug into my flesh and I cried out in pain.

  “Really stupid,” I cursed myself as I pulled the twig out of my side then slowly started to stand before realizing that I had also broken my leg.

  Wade ran over and kneeled at my side. “I can snap it back into place, but that would mean I’d have to touch you.”

  I looked down at my twisted leg and nodded; I’d rather suffer the embarrassment. The wound on my side was already healed by the time Wade popped my leg into its proper place.

  “What’d you see?” I asked curiously. Ash landed Aspen safely and ran over to me before Wade replied, “Nothing that will change the way I think of you,” he smiled.

  “Is that a good thing?” he helped me up but didn’t reply. I walked over to Azlyn and smoothed some of her feathers down. “I’m sorry, girl.”

  “Let’s not do that again,” Centure said impatiently.

  I nodded before having to remount Azlyn; since I already knew what to do I realized that I didn’t have to run that far. In no time Azlyn was flying through the air again, her wings flapping effortlessly. “So what’s next?” Centure floated up to me and pointed at several long wooden poles sticking out from the ground. Something moved behind them and I saw the large figure of a gorilla, standing a few feet taller than King-Nash.

  “You’ll be working on Stealth. Be on your toes,” Centure announced as the large animal picked up one of the logs and hurled it towards Azlyn and I.

  Just as quickly as she’d thrown it, a natural reflex clicked in and I grabbed a hold to Azlyn’s feathers. “Dodge right, turn and crisp it,” I responded focused.

  The words were out of my mouth like I’d done this sort of thing before. Azlyn moved swiftly as I’d commanded and shifted out of the line of aim then reeled back before a powerful blaze came soaring from her mouth. The log turned into ash mid-air, not even coming close to the cabin. “How does stealth come into play here?”

  Ash and Wade clapped as they rode their beasts over to me. “How’d you know to do that?” Wade inquired with wonderment.

  “I have no idea,” I replied. I looked do
wn to the ground at Corey as she lay in the grass rolling around with Triton. “Why isn’t she joining us?” I asked quietly. The other two shrugged then turned to Centure.

  “So you knew Azlyn could do that?”

  Centure folded her arms across her chest and settled down on the ground. “It flows through your veins, all of you. Now, Wade and Ash, Zerra and Zenaya will assist you. Aliza and Norma go again until Aliza doesn‘t want to be seen.”

  I dodged and burned logs for the next thirty minutes before giving up. “Can I do something else? Stealth is obviously not coming to us,” I yelled to Centure as she and the twins assisted the others.

  “It is break time anyway. I will prepare lunch for you.” She drifted away into the house before Azlyn touched down and I jumped off, tumbling to the ground.

  Triton greeted me by barking and licking my shoes. I picked him up and kissed his little face. “Did you have fun keeping Corey company?” I snuggled him a little more then sat him back down on the grass before walking into the cabin. The cool air of the cabin was a relief as it dried the sweat from out foreheads. “So Centure there’s something I wanted to ask you about,” I said as I flopped down in the armchair I’d been sitting in earlier. “We don’t sleep anymore, like maybe thirty minutes if we’re lucky. Is that normal?”

  “So it has begun,” she said from the small kitchen across the room without looking up from whatever she was doing. “You see there is more than one way to live forever.”

  I looked around the room, “I’m confused, what exactly are you talking about?”

  She turned and looked at me, leaning closer. “None of you will sleep, not for a very long time. It’s a part of the process.”

  I looked at Corey with confusion. “Is that true?”

  “Only in you in Ash’s case,” she replied.

  “So you do know more that you’re not sharing.” I tried to refrain from anger as I turned my attention away from her and spoke to Centure. “So why can’t we sleep?” I took a few deep breaths and exhaled slowly.

  “Think about it Aliza,” Ash spoke as he moved from one side of the room to the other, “If you remove sleep, the body doesn’t have to take time to renew itself and if you don’t renew you become frozen, and when you’re frozen you…”

  “Live forever,” I finished.

  I sank into the chair and mentally checked out; living forever should be a good thing yet I felt robbed. “So exactly how long will this last? Who exactly are we?”

  “It will all make sense later, soon you’ll even be able to put the pieces together yourself,” Zerra answered. “It all has to do with being in this hell hole. Don’t worry, you aren’t missing out on anything.”

  Centure shot her a warning look and she stepped away and left out of the room. “Zerra sometimes talks out of turn. Don’t mind her.”

  “So then, do we really have to eat? Since obviously we aren’t anything close to human.”

  “You don’t have to but it is a good idea if you do. We are not as far away from human as you may believe.” Centure went back into the kitchen and finished preparing a light lunch.

  I let my thoughts wonder off for a moment while the smell of Centure’s meal filled the room. “Do we have to breathe?” I inhaled deeply and held it in, after a few minutes I was neither lightheaded nor on the verge of passing out; thus answering my own question. “Well that’s cool,” I mumbled under my breath as I leaned my head back to rest on the chair.

  When Centure had finished the food we sat around at her breakfast table and ate silently. After we were finished, we returned outside where our Beasts were still waiting. “Now I will teach you control of some of your individual strengths. Firstly, here are your saddles.”

  Three all black leather saddles drifted down from the sky and landed on each of the beast then fastened themselves. I walked over and stood beside Azlyn then stroked her golden feathers.

  “I must show you how to dismiss and recall Aspen, Azlyn and King-Nash. Now this part is simple, tell them to retreat,” Centure continued.

  I looked over at my giant then did as Centure instructed. Instantly Azlyn was no more, instead she was replaced with a silver bracelet that nestled gently on the grass. I leaned over and picked it up and held it in my hand; there was but one tiny charm dangling from it in Azlyn’s likeness.

  “This is cute,” Ash said as he picked up a bracelet that resembled mine except it was golden. “It’s a little bit opposite,” he laughed when he looked at mine.

  “To call them out, simply invite them. Sometimes they will appear whenever you truly need them but experiment with that later. Now, on to other matters.”

  I hooked the bracelet around my wrist then paid attention to Centure’s next words. “Just as our faces, our powers are what make us unique. They separate us from the humans. Reaching our full potential is crucial during the first three years of possessing them; otherwise we will always feel incomplete.”

  Wade raised his hand. “My mother never mentioned that part. How will we know when we’ve reached our full potential?”

  Centure looked toward the sky and smiled. “Because then we will be invited into the heavens. Unfortunately most of us never do, which will be discussed on a different day.”

  I took a seat on the grass and wondered over what she could have been talking about- into the heavens?

  I looked at Ash and shrugged to myself; I had to be to work within the next hour or so, and it would be soon time for me to leave. “So what else are we going to cover today?”

  “Control,” Centure answered.

  Learning control was probably one of the hardest things about today, in the end I walked away at the back of everyone else. I’d grasped as much as I could in the little time I had, but now it was time for me to get going, I couldn’t be late for my first day at work.

  “Great day team,” I said before walking into the house and whistling for Triton.

  “Aliza, you’re leaving?” Ash called behind me.

  “Yeah, I have that little thing called, work, I have to attend today.”

  The trees blew gracefully in the wind, making me feel completely at ease on this beautiful day.

  “So I guess I’m taking you home,” I told Wade as he caught up with me while I walked down the path to my car. I put Triton into his traveler then got into the car and drove away; Wade was quiet in the passenger seat only speaking when he had to give directions. “What’s up with all of the silence?” I asked after I’d had enough of it.

  “Could you see yourself ever being with someone like me?” he replied.

  I looked away from the road for a second to meet his eyes. “What makes you ask that question?”

  He inhaled deeply. “Because I know that you want intimacy, and not meaning just sex, I saw how you liked to be touched and held and as badly as I want to give that to you, I can’t.”

  “I think we should spend a little more time together before I can honestly answer that question for you.” I gave a reassuring smile.

  We pulled up to a neutral toned two-story house and I unlocked the doors for him to get out. “It was nice seeing you today, even though I rudely summoned you.”

  He smiled and opened the door. “Its fine, she’d given me a heads-up beforehand, and so I made sure I wasn’t doing anything. Besides I learned a lot of new stuff today and I got to spend time with you, so it’s been a really good day.” He got out of the car and closed the door before walking away and going into the house.

  When I got home I transferred Triton from one cage to another and put food and water into it. I grabbed the new uniform shirt from the bed and shorts then walked down the hall to the bathroom and taking a shower.

  I arrived at work five minutes early, ready to add a new chapter to my life. “So where do you want me?” I asked Louise once I’d found his office amongst the mass of junk beyond the employee’s only door.

  “Great, you’re on time; it’s the other server that’s late. She should be here to train you s
hortly so keep an eye out for Christina. Until then, your apron is in the employee office, put it on and go see if Jesse has anything for you to do while you wait.” He smiled then dismissed me with the flick of his hand and went back to staring at his computer screen.

  “Oh joy of joys,” I whispered to myself as I turned around and left out of his office.

  Chapter Twenty

  Wednesday September 22, 2010

  I couldn’t say that life was getting better now that I didn’t feel so alone with my problems but I was starting not take things as hard as I used too. But still, it was as if my very soul had been taken from me yet I had never felt so alive. I paced slowly past my bed while looking down on it in disgust; the site of it made me long for my previous human existence.

  “I need to have this thing removed,” I thought aloud while unlinking the charm bracelet from my wrist.

  I stared down at the small silver charm; I wondered briefly what it was like for Azlyn to be confined inside of it like a genie in a bottle.

  “Hey are you still awake?” Ash said softly through the door.

  “Like I have any other choice,” I mumbled. I looked over the bracelet again before hooking it back around my wrist. “Come on in, brother.”

  The door slid open slowly and Ash stepped into the room, “I meant were you still here, I thought you might have been off riding Azlyn somewhere.”

  I’d thought about it, the imprisonment of these walls was becoming a little too much since now I had too much time on my hands. “Yeah, maybe I’ll get some fresh air in a bit. At this point I’m still trying to gather the image of me never sleeping again.” My legs hurt from continual pacing but I couldn’t sit on the bed.