Ayos: The Heir with the Crimson Eyes

by Justin Parks

  Chapter 20

  The Past

  Harold stared at Jin with a serious look. Jin was at a loss for words. The silence broke as Harold began to laugh. He patted Jin on the side. “It’s okay, I’m just messing with you,” he said as everyone else began to laugh.

  The tension broke and the family sat down to eat with Jin joining them. The meal was good and the air was full of laughter and happiness. The family shared stories of the past and their travels. The Faraoh’s were performers, renowned for their ability to charm snake-like kami. All the family members, except the mother, were ayos, but Liz was the first to attend the academy and actually fight kami.

  They all had finished their dinner. “Honey,” Harold said, looking to Liz, “we’ve got a present for you. Jim, Tom, bring it out,” he said as the two boys walked into the back room and brought out a large crate.

  “Oh, what is it?” Liz asked, walking over to the crate. There were a few knocks inside.

  What is it? Jin thought, worried.

  Liz leaned down and grabbed the latch to a small door on the crate. She slowly opened it and stood back. A snake poked its head out and slowly began slithering out. It was a strange snake. It had a thicker body with large scales that appeared to be made of metal. The scales were polished and looked like chrome.

  The snake looked up at Liz and lunged at her. Jin was shocked, but she caught it just before it got her. She held it by the base of the head and pinched its mouth open. Liz moved her opposite hand to her mouth and bit into the tip of her thumb. She moved her hand over the snake’s mouth, letting a drop of blood drip in its mouth. Then she clapped the snakes mouth shut. Pink energy ran through her hand as she crushed the snake, causing it to become magick and get absorbed into her core.

  Jin stared with a puzzled look on his face. “Okay, so what just happened?” Jin asked.

  Liz looked over to him. “I tamed it,” she said.

  “No, you killed it,” Jin responded.

  “Let me show you,” Liz said as she raised her sleeve and her core began to glow. The same snake slowly crawled out of the core, wrapping around her arm. “See . . .” she said.

  “Wait . . . how did you do that?” Jin asked.

  “That’s my special ability,” Liz explained. “It’s a ritual. Our blood works in a very special way. Once it enters a snake’s body, it quickly moves through, almost like a poison. It drains their powers and makes them weaker. Next, we have to run our magick into them. It will react with the blood and multiply its effects. Then once we destroy them and absorb the magick, our cores can reassemble their bodies. The snakes are loyal partners and can be controlled without needing to give demands. They’re linked to us and will react accordingly,” she told Jin.

  “So what happens if your snake is destroyed again?” Jin asked.

  “Well, they would just turn back to magick and go back to our core. It may take some time, but they reform and recover. The snakes are with us until we die,” Liz explained.

  The family and Jin stayed up a bit longer and talked before they eventually turned in. The two boys slept in the same bed, so there were enough beds for everyone to sleep. A bit later in the night, Jin awoke parched, so he got up to get a drink. As he made his way to the kitchen area, he saw Liz’s mom sitting at the table. “Hey Jin, why are you awake?” she asked.

  “Oh, I was just getting a drink of water,” Jin said, walking over to the sink and grabbing a glass and filling it up, and taking a drink. “So what are you doing awake?” he asked.

  “Waiting for Liz to get back,” she said. Jin looked over to her bed. The curtain was open and her bed was empty.

  “Where is she?” Jin asked.

  “Same place she always is when we come here I suppose,” she said.

  Where’s that?” Jin asked.

  “Go outside the tent, take a left, and follow the trail out of the fair to a large tree on top of a hill,” she responded.

  “I think I’ll go look for her,” Jin said as he left the tent. He followed the trail out of fair. Then the tree Liz’s mother spoke of came into view and Jin began to hear music. It was a lingering tune, beautiful and a bit sad. Jin walked up to her. She turned to him and lowered her flute. Jin raised his hand. “No, don’t stop,” he said as she continued playing.

  Jin sat down against the tree. The hill overlooked the fair. All the tents were lit up in the night under full moon. It was truly a breath-taking site. Ambrosia swayed to the tune as the three sat there to the song’s conclusion. They sat for a moment in silence. “So why did you join the academy?” Jin asked.

  “It’s a long story,” Liz responded.

  “I’ve got time,” Jin responded.

  “Well, this is actually where it all began. You see, when I was little, there was this boy who was once a true love of mine. We met here at the fair. Arthur saw one of my shows. Afterward, he brought me a flower and from there on, we were inseparable until one day. We had always met here at the same time and watch the sunrise. He was late, so I went looking for him. There was a place in the woods not too far from here that we would play. So I went there. When I arrived, there was a kami there. It looked like a large larva of some kind with a strange pattern on it. I was so scared. It saw me and began heading toward me, when all of a sudden, a rock hit it in the head. It was Arthur. He distracted it, and it went after him. I ran, but Arthur never came back,” Liz explained as she began to tear up.

  Liz stopped herself and looked up to the moon. “After that, something changed. I always thought that I should have protected him, but I couldn’t. All I could do was run. I hated feeling that way, so I decided to change. I decided to fight,” she explained.

  “That seems like such a sad reason to change,” Jin said as Liz turned to him. “You shouldn’t have to carry a burden like that.”

  “It’s not so much a burden anymore. Burdens are only burdens if they hold you back, but enough about me; what’s your tragic love story?” she asked.

  “Don’t have one,” Jin responded.

  “What? You’re lying,” Liz said.

  “Nope, since I was a kid, I’ve always been alone. I guess I just got used to it. I never needed anyone else. Never wanted to need someone,” Jin explained, veering off into the distance.

  “Wow, you’re really a downer,” Liz said, sarcastically as Jin laughed. “I told you about me, so what about you? How’d you end up at the academy?” she asked.

  “It’s hardly anything noble. I was tired of standing still and I got the opportunity to change, so I did,” Jin explained.

  “So you joined on a whim?” Liz asked.

  “I suppose,” Jin answered. The two sat and looked out toward the fair when they heard a loud shriek. It wasn’t human or animal. It came from the woods near to them. “What was that?!” Jin asked in shock.

  Then something flew up out of the forest. It had a human-like body, an insects head, two large sickle-like arms, and large moth-like wings. “It’s a kami!” Liz said as it flew over them. She noticed the strange pattern on the wings. “No it can’t be,” she said, flashing back to that day. After the kami killed her friend, it must have gone into a cocoon-like state and went through a metamorphosis.

  “What?” Jin asked.

  “That pattern on its wings; it’s the same!” Liz said, in a rage. She let out a scream in anger as the chrome snake appeared and latched to her core, making a whip. Pink energy ran through it as she lashed the whip, shooting out a pink slash toward the kami. The kami took notice and dodged the attack. The kami turned and headed toward her. She clinched her fist and stood her ground.

  Jin looked at her. The kami was closing in, but she wasn’t going to move. Jin ran up and tackled her down as the kami flew by. “What are you doing!?”

  “Just get off me!” she said, pushing Jin away. The kami had turned back to her once again. It flapped its wings, sending a large gust of wind at her. Small cuts appeared on her body, but she paid it no mind. Liz lashed the whip again, sending
a blade of energy at it and slicing through its wing. The kami fell to the ground in front of her. She began to close in on it. Jin could do nothing but watch. It was like she was possessed or something.

  The kami stood. Liz lashed its other wing off, as it let out a shriek. It began to move toward her, but she lashed its legs off before it got the chance to attack. It fell to the ground bleeding. It attempted to crawl away. Liz began slashing around it. She was clearly torturing it. The chrome snake detached from her arm and slowly slithered to the pathetic kami. Its scales spiked up as it coiled around the kami.

  Liz stared at it with a fire in her eyes. “Crush it!” she commanded. The snake coiled tighter and tighter, cutting into the kami and eventually crushing it. The kami burst into light and was absorbed by her core. The snake returned to her core. She now stood with her back to Jin, vacant of any emotion. Then she finally broke down and began crying. Jin walked over and sat next to her, patting her on the back. She jumped over and buried her face into his chest, crying.

  ToC

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