Tyehn

by Elin Wyn

  A few minutes later and the car started its descent into the gated courtyard of a stately manor. It stopped right in front of the imperial staircase that led the way to the front entrance, and jumped out of the car as silent as cat. A very drunk cat. Even though I was pretty sure someone must’ve heard the car, I still hoped I’d manage to get inside my bedroom without anyone noticing me.

  I held my breath as I opened the front door, and my father’s voice immediately boomed from the entrance hall. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” He stood just a few steps away from the door, both hands on his hips as he stared me down. He was wearing a tailored suit that somehow managed to hide the weight he had put on these last few years, an attire he must’ve chosen for whatever boring party he had to attend. You’d think that the Mayor of Kaster would be livin’ it up, but that wasn’t the case. More often than not, all my father had to do was take infinite administrative meetings and attend functions so boring I could fall asleep just thinking of them.

  “It’s...huh...two in the morning,” I mumbled, trying to pretend I was sober. It didn’t work. Every word I tried to push out of my mouth was as mellow as a caramel that had been left under a summer’s sun.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “It’s New Year’s,” I said. “I’ve had a few drinks. So what?”

  He didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fists. He started to shout at me, but I was so damn drunk I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying.

  “I’m going to bed,” I merely said, and turned my back on him. He kept on shouting as I stumbled up the stairs that led into my bedroom, but I just ignored him. There was something odd about him. Even though he didn’t really like my partying habits, my father wasn’t really the kind of man to act as angrily as he was right now.

  Whatever.

  Stepping into my bedroom, I made a beeline straight toward my bed and collapsed on top of the mattress.

  I was so drunk I didn’t even fall asleep.

  I straight up passed out.

  Cazak

  I enjoyed working the night shift. It was quiet, simple, peaceful, and the best time for me to sit back and think. The night shift was a great chance for me to get away from the insanity and the stress of the day-to-day comings and goings of our jobs.

  Of course, ever since the Xathi were defeated, our jobs had changed. We were no longer strike teams being sent out to conduct covert acts against our enemies. We were now being used for supply runs, security work, and the occasional protection details for whoever might need it.

  Like tonight. Tonight, Jalok, Navat, and I were on security detail, helping out the local police force maintain sanity during their New Year’s celebrations. I liked New Years celebrations. They were always a time to throw worries and concerns to the side, at least for an evening and celebrate the end of an old year and the beginning on a new one that would hopefully be an improvement over the previous. Then again, it was also a time to throw inhibitions and will power on the back burner in order to enjoy one evening of fun, debauchery, and insanity.

  As long as you maintained a semblance of control during your actions. I used to be one of those people that would lose control and just focus strictly on the fun and debauchery. It had cost me as well.

  However, after a life-changing moment, followed immediately by a universe-changing moment, I was no longer that person and I was now the one that tried to help control and save people that lost control. That’s what we were working on tonight, trying to control insanity.

  “Cazak, we got a call,” Jalok, my cousin, said as he clicked off his communicator with the police. “They want us at a party near some place called Leverage Tower. While it’s not out of hand yet, they are worried that it will be soon, so they want us there to help keep an eye on things.”

  “Okay, let’s go watch people dance in the snow,” Navat said with a smile. I turned my head up for a moment and watched as the snow fell through the lights. Dancing in this would have been fun in my younger days. Of course, humans were the only ones that held their New Years celebrations in the middle of winter, the rest of the sane universe held theirs either during spring or just before the summer equinox.

  “Drive or jog?” I asked as I turned my head back to the others.

  “Jog, it’s not far from here,” Jalok smiled. He started jogging, Navat and I only a few paces behind. The city was unnaturally beautiful with the holiday decorations, the snow, and the lights. The revelers that were walking and dancing in the streets stayed away from us.

  As we jogged, Jalok put his hand up to his ear and spoke to someone. I couldn’t hear his words, but when he started jerking his head around in anger, I got the gist of the conversation. “Move it, people are starting to argue and there’s some minor physical activity. They’re worried it’s gonna turn into a fight and we need to get there, now.”

  We picked up our pace, turning our jog into a run, but not quite a sprint. We were at Leverage Tower within six minutes. As we were arriving, there was a small scuffle happening between two groups of party goers, and I could hear their argument from where we were.

  “You fucking alien lover! You’re probably pregnant with one of their babies, aren’t you?” The current speaker was a large man, not muscular, and he was picking on a young lady, yelling at her. When her date, or just someone trying to help her, stepped forward, the large man pushed him.

  I stepped forward and he turned to me.

  “Yeah, you, you alien dumb fuck,” he growled as he pointed at me. “I asked, what the hell are you looking at? You staring at one of our women? You thinking of taking one of our women? What, you think we’re here to serve you, to get down on our knees and bow down to you?”

  “Don’t respond,” Jalok said quietly. “Let’s not provoke them.” Then he turned to the crowd. “We’re not here for any trouble. We’re simply here to ensure that everyone has a good time without anything untoward happening.”

  “Go fuck yourself,” the loud man yelled. He was a young one, possibly mid-twenties, if that. He was dressed very well, with a bright green shirt, dark gray vest, gray tie, and gray slacks. It was an impressive ensemble. Too bad the clothes were filled with an idiot with a big mouth.

  “I’m going to apologize for my friend here,” I said as I took a step forward. “He forgot to mention that we’re working with the local police force and that we have jurisdictional rights to arrest anyone causing trouble. Now, we’re simply here to ensure that everyone has a good time and that no one does anything to mess up said good time. Let’s simply leave it at that, shall we?”

  The human rolled his eyes and stumbled a bit to the side. His friends laughed, but one of them leaned into his ear and started talking, pointing at us. “I know, shut up,” Green Shirt snarled. He turned his attention back to us. “It’s simple, alien bitch, get the hell off our planet.”

  “Come on, man. Leave him alone,” another one of the men said.

  “Shut the fuck up, Eric, or I’ll stick your head up his alien ass. You know what? Screw this.” Then Green Shirt started walking towards us, almost stomping.

  “Don’t do this,” I said. “It’s not going to end well for you.”

  He was only a few paces away and snarling. His eyes flashed and I knew right there that he was being taken over.

  “He’s possessed,” I warned the others as they raised their weapons. I, instead, let go of mine and let it swing on the strap behind me. “Don’t do this,” I repeated. “I really don’t want to hurt you. Just go back to the party and celebrate.”

  I stepped a few steps forward, my hands held out to my side, palms out.

  This didn’t calm him down as I wanted. Instead, it seemed to infuriate him instead. He got within swinging distance and threw a left hook. It was an easy blow to block as he was off-balance, and in his slightly inebriated nature, he didn’t have the power that he would have if it was simply anger driving him.

  So, I blocked it and pu
shed him away. His eyes went wide and he charged me. He tried to tackle me, but I grabbed out, caught his shoulders, spun him around, and pushed him away again. “Please, stop. I warned you that this was not going to go well.” I turned back to Jalok and Navat. “When are the police getting here?”

  Jalok shrugged.

  “Great.” I turned back to Green Shirt. He rushed me again. This time, instead of trying to tackle me, he jumped into the air, his knee aimed at my face. I caught him, but his knee connected with my shoulder, driving me off balance as I held him and tried to throw him off me. Instead of merely throwing him off to the side, he was thrown into the side of a trash can. When he shouted out in pain, his friends shouted out in anger and rushed us.

  “Koso, Cazak. What did you do?” Navat cursed as he slung his weapon behind him and caught his attacker. Jalok side-stepped his and threw a quick punch to the back of the head.

  I shook my own head and turned back towards Green Shirt. He charged, again, but this time he actually caught me off guard. He feinted to my left, then went to my right, except he went low instead of high like I had been expecting. He caught me in the knee, dragging me down to the ground. He climbed on top of me and started throwing punches. I managed to cover up and block most of them, then reached out, caught a punch, and put him into an arm-bar. I pulled and snapped my head up, headbutting him. I rolled him over, pulling his arm behind him and there was a sickening pop from his shoulder.

  At his scream, I let go and reached behind me for the handcuffs the police had given us. I snapped them onto one wrist, then onto the other and looked up to see Jalok and Navat standing, their weapons pointed at the rabble rousers and the police finally arriving.

  Statements were taken, the three men were taken away, and I was double checked to make sure my knee was fine.

  “That was fun,” Navat said with a smile.

  I let out a bark of laughter, making the others look at me with arched eyebrows. “What?”

  “You thought that was fun? I was making a sarcastic comment,” Navat said.

  I shrugged. “Eh. The night has only just begun. Maybe we’ll get to see some more nice cars, or another idiot in nice clothes being possessed.”

  I knew I wasn’t acting like myself, but that’s why I loved the night shift. Nothing was normal.

  Sibyl

  I woke up feeling like a vampire.

  The sunlight streaming through the large windows of my bedroom made my head throb violently, and a wave of nausea took over me as I sat up on the bed. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sucked in a deep breath and forced my eyelids open.

  God, what a hangover.

  Groaning, I swung my legs off the bed and walked toward the windows. The sky was of a deep grey, and the courtyard was covered in at least two feet of snow. It was a lovely sight, except the brightness of it all didn’t help the throbbing pain in my head. I drew the curtains, momentarily relishing the shadows that embraced me, and ambled toward my ensuite bathroom.

  Slowly, I pushed the straps of my dress down my shoulders—I hadn’t even bothered to undress last night—and turned the shower on. Two minutes later and a fine mist started taking over the bathroom, and only then did I push my dress down my body and onto the floor. Naked, I stepped inside the shower and threw my head back as the warm water fell against my skin.

  There was nothing better than a hot shower after a late night of partying. Now I just needed to munch on some toast, drink a couple or two of coffee, and I’d be good to go. With some luck, I wouldn’t even have to take an aspirin.

  “Computer, what’s the time?” I asked, and the AI system that was part of the manor immediately spoke up in a warm feminine voice.

  “It’s half past seven in the morning.”

  It was early then. I tended to get up after lunch whenever I spent the whole night drinking, but it seemed like my body was ready to tackle the first day of the year on a high note. Not that I had much to do. My father was always needling me to find something productive to do, but I felt like I was already productive enough. At least when it came to partying.

  Feeling better now, I toweled myself off and put on a pair of ripped jeans and a trendy sweater. I applied some light make-up, checked my reflection in the mirror, and then took a deep breath before leaving the room. A maid was already making the rounds, changing linens in one of the guest rooms, and downstairs came the bright sound of cutlery hitting the porcelain of a plate. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one up this early on New Year’s day.

  “Up already?” My father asked me, one eyebrow cocked as he saw me come down the stairs. He sat by the large dining table all by himself, a plate with fried bacon and scrambled eggs in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Fine, huh?” He echoed, a smirk on his lips. “Are you going to tell me you don’t have a hangover?”

  “Dad, I already told you,” I sighed. “I had a couple of drinks last night. I mean, it was New Year’s Eve. What’s the harm in it?”

  “There’s no harm in a little celebrating, Sibyl. Thing is, I think you’re overdoing it. You’re out partying and drinking almost every day of the week. Don’t you think enough’s enough?”

  “Come on, Dad.” Sitting on one of the chairs beside him, I gave the butler a little smile as he quickly placed a plate similar to my father’s in front of me. “I think that’s my cue. Don’t you think last night was enough? Or are you going to lose it again?”

  “Last night?” He asked me, furrowing his brow. “What are you talking about, Sibyl?”

  “You shouted at me.”

  “I shouted at you?”

  “That’s what I said.” If I sounded annoyed, that’s because I was. Sure, I got home completely drunk, but it seemed like my father had had a few drinks himself. How could he not remember the way he had shouted at me? “Were you drunk last night or something? That would be ironic.”

  “I didn’t have anything to drink,” he insisted. “Seriously, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Whatever.” Rolling my eyes, I finished off the food on my plate and pushed my chair back. I was about to march out of the house when I suddenly felt guilty about the way I was acting. I turned on my heels and walked toward my father. Leaning into him, I kissed his cheek. “I love you, Dad.”

  “And I love you, Sibyl,” he replied, sounding more tired than I ever remembered him to be. He looked up at me, managed a weak smile, and then returned his attention to his breakfast. Not knowing what else to do, I headed out of the house and hopped inside the car.

  “Take me to Hops,” I told the AI, and soon enough the Mayor’s mansion was nothing but a small dot in the scenery. A few miles ahead of the car, the tall buildings that occupied most of Kaster’s city centre rose like snow capped mountains. It would have been a beautiful New Year’s day, but it was hard to feel excited about...well, about anything.

  I thought of my father, alone in a house big enough for God knows how many families, and I thought of my mother. Life had been so much easier when the three of us were a family. After she passed away, it had been like a permanent fog had settled over my life.

  “We’ve arrived at the destination,” the AI droned half an hour later as it settled into a vacant spot on the skyport. The door slid open effortlessly, and I stepped outside, the warmth of the mall immediately making me regret my decision to bring a sweater. The girls were already there, standing in front of Hop’s, the coffee shop where we usually gathered to gossip and cure our hangovers.

  “How are you doing? Brain still foggy?” Aman laughed, and I just gave her a shrug. She had bags under her eyes, and her make up was all wrong. Her hair was slightly dishevelled as well, and she sounded as if she was exhausted.

  “At least I got some sleep,” I laughed with her. “You haven’t gone to bed, have you?”

  “Is it that obvious?” She grimaced, and the other three girls just rolled their eyes. Even though they weren’t what I’d call close
friends, this small group had been a constant in my life ever since my mother’s passing. Whenever there was a party, they were always there, and they made sure to drag me along for the ride.

  Together, we stepped inside the two-story coffee house and settled down on a large table by the corner, one that gave us a panoramic view of the city below. We used the touchscreen on the table to make our order, and soon enough a waiter appeared with five coffees on a tray, our names scribbled on the cups.

  “Have I told you that Sibyl ditched an entire group of guys last night?” Aman said in a conspiratorial tone, and the other girls just raised their eyebrows at me. “I’m dead serious. They were buying her shots, crazy with the way she was dancing, and she just blew them off. They were cute too.”

  “Oh my God,” Lisandre said, her accent making it obvious to within earshot that she had been born and bred in Nyheim. “What’s up with you, Sibyl? You’re such a tease. You gotta move past the flirting.”

  “The fun is in the flirting,” I said with a laugh. I had always been a nice quiet girl and, even though I had grown accustomed to all the partying, I wasn’t as crazy about men as the four of them were. Sure, I enjoyed all the dancing and flirting, but that was it. None of the men I came across in the nightclubs or bars seemed to hold my interest for more than a couple of minutes. I wasn’t exactly a prude, but I had my limits.

  Maybe I was just picky.

  Thankfully, the conversation drifted away from me after a few more laughs. Aman was recounting how she had met a guy in the last club she had gone to, and she had spent the night at his place. After a wild night of drinking and dancing between the sheets, she had rolled out of bed just so she could meet us for coffee.

  As the girls talked and laughed, I stared out the window and watched the snowflakes slowly drift past me. I thought back to my conversation with my father and sighed. I knew I couldn’t go on like this forever, partying every single night and trying to ignore the fact that I was now an adult, but I didn’t really know how to change things.