Awakenings

by C. D. Espeseth

  “Yes,” Adel said. Her eyes narrowed. “He is quite smug, isn’t he?” She stood up and set her shoulders.

  Naira and Matoh shared a look and grinned. They had both become well accustomed with the look Adel was now casting on Glev, as had most of their class. They laughed in shared joy.

  Glev was about to get his arse handed to him.

  Adel walked over to the table and sat down across from the three large Paleschurians. She nodded respectfully to them. They returned the gesture with more than a little derision on their faces.

  All three had the tribal stripe of hair along the top of their scalp with feathers tied in, just as Matoh wore his. It looks better on Matoh, Naira thought and immediately caught herself wondering why she thought that was important. The two bigger ones on both sides of Glev had scars and tattoos all over them, while Glev looked like a lean snake, coiled tight and ready to pounce.

  Adel smiled sweetly at the three. “So how do we play?”

  The three looked at her for a moment before all bursting into laughter.

  “Matoh!” Glev said in his heavy accent. “I am going to enjoy taking your money, comrade. Though it saddens me that you’ve grown so desperate.” Glev’s two cronies were both wiping pretend tears of mirth from their eyes.

  “Just shut up and explain the rules, comrade.” Matoh’s sarcastic tone made Glev roll his eyes.

  “So,” Glev started, now suddenly all business. “There are three knuckle bones placed on the table. Here.” Glev pulled out three bones from his pocket. “One, two, three.” He placed each down with a clunk, separating them evenly across the middle line of the table. “The goal is to–”

  “Where did you get the knuckles?” Adel interrupted, looking somewhat horrified at the old bones.

  “My grandmother didn’t need them any more.” Glev smiled wickedly at her.

  “What!” Adel stood up.

  “Ha!” Glev roared. “They are pig knuckles, little one!” Glev elbowed his friend on his right. “Her face! So gullible as well.”

  “Oh,” Adel said simply and sat back down, not too pleased with the joke at her expense.

  “He’s only making it worse for himself,” Naira whispered to Matoh.

  “I know!” Matoh whispered back, with such joy on his face it made Naira chuckle. “It’s just getting better and better!”

  “It was traditional to use the bones of those you had killed on the battlefield,” Glev’s friend to his left explained, “but the High King has outlawed this practice.” The big man looked disappointed and spat on the floor.

  “Ew.” Adel grimaced at them, looking as if she had just tasted something vile. “Quite the game.” Adel didn’t bother to hide her opinion. “Rules?” She raised an eyebrow at Glev.

  “You can take only one knuckle at a time. You must grab one, put it down in front of you before you grab another.”

  “Sounds easy enough,” Adel said.

  “Here is the fun part,” Glev said, smiling as if holding back a laugh. “We can use only one hand to do so, and–” Glev leaned in, “that hand may also be used to fight off the other player’s moves.” He opened his hand and flexed his fingers to make it look like a blade, then closed it into a fist before putting his elbow on the table just behind a white line drawn on the surface. An identical line was on the table in front of Adel. “We start from here and must remain seated on the chair the entire time. The person with the most knuckles wins. Questions?”

  Naira looked at Glev’s hand, it looked like a piece of flint: hard, sharp and bony. Any contact would definitely smart.

  Adel nodded and looked Glev up and down a moment before placing her own elbow on the table. Her hand remained open.

  They stared at each other for a silent heartbeat.

  And then it began.

  Glev’s hand shot forward like a viper, but Adel’s hand slapped it sideways with a loud smack!

  Naira gasped, she hadn’t even seen Adel move. Yet Glev recovered as if it hadn’t happened. Both hands moved back and forth, almost too fast to follow.

  Adel suddenly sat back in her chair, her arm behind her back and all three knuckle bones sitting in a neat row in front of her as if they stood at attention.

  “HA!” Matoh whooped, pounding the table. “YES!” He swooped down and kissed Adel on the cheek, startling her. “You’re amazing!”

  “No!” Glev stood up, shocked. “It’s not possible!” Both of his cronies still sat shocked with their mouths agape.

  Matoh was laughing so hard he was having trouble standing up.

  It had been perfect.

  Naira was only now making sense of what had just happened. She tried to go over the moves again in her mind.

  Adel had waited for Glev to make a move, then shot her hand out to counter by slapping Glev’s hand away to steal the first knuckle he had tried for. The second she took before Glev could recover from the shock of the first loss, and on the last one she had feinted, and Glev had lashed out with a closed fist trying to smash Adel’s hand. Adel seemed to somehow anticipate this and sinuously flicked her wrist thus diving under Glev’s fist with an open palm, she then encircled his wrist and pulled him off balance before snatching the last knuckle.

  It was complete domination, and the look of absolute befuddlement on the three Paleschurians’ faces tipped Naira over the edge, and she too burst into laughter, matching Matoh’s unrestrained mirth.

  Glev’s confusion boiled into anger, and with a face like thunder, he glared down at Adel, who still sat calmly watching him with a smile on her face.

  “Again!” Glev snarled and slammed a fistful of silver coins down on the table. “Double or nothing.” The coins spun on their sides before clinking down. His outburst had got the attention of the tables around them.

  What proceeded next was a lesson in humility delivered with such razor-sharp precision, Adel might as well have been a surgeon.

  Naira and Matoh watched, dropping into fits of laughter after each win. Adel beat Glev six times in a row, and Glev failed to take a single knuckle across all six games. More and more people came over to bet on the outcome. Until no one was taking any odds against Adel. In the last game, Adel simply waited for Glev to make a move. She left the knucklebones on the table and contentedly swatted away all of Glev’s increasingly desperate attempts. Soon the entire tavern was roaring with laughter.

  “Ok, ok, ok!” Glev finally said. “You win! Enough!” The tall Paleschurian threw his hands up in disgust. “Who is she?” Glev growled looking at Matoh. “Who are you?” Glev glared across at Adel, yet his anger was now mingled with respect and disbelief.

  Adel, of course, had on her ‘attempting-to-be-gracious’ smile for Glev, which Naira imagined, only made Glev more irritated.

  “She’s Adel Corbin friend, and is probably going to be the best-damned Syklan you’ll ever hear of,” Matoh said with a wink down at Adel. “Besides myself, of course.” He thumped a massive tankard of ale down in front of Glev with a smile. “If it’s any consolation, the rest of us at the Academy have been taking the same sort of beating every practice session with Adel here. Except in those she gets to use sticks as well as her fists.” Matoh pulled up his sleeve to show the purple and yellow line across his bicep. “She gave me this just the other day, and I’ve got another on my back to match, and I lasted longer than most. Is there anyone you haven’t bruised this badly in class, Adel?”

  “No,” Adel said simply, not bragging but rather stating a fact.

  “Gideon’s balls, at least I’ll have a story to tell,” Glev said grudgingly. He kept shaking his head in disbelief and pulled his stinging red hand a bit further away.

  Matoh laughed again and thumped his friend on the shoulder.

  Naira was amazed. Matoh had almost effortlessly diffused what could have been an all-out brawl with nothing but charm. They left the tavern with everyone laughing and commiserating Glev on his tough loss. It was like everything Matoh touched became just a little bit better. />
  A strange feeling began to grow in Naira’s stomach, it was like getting the sensation of butterflies but not all at once. Like a slow-burning excitement that made her whole body tingle warmly with it. It was wonderful, exciting and a little bit scary all at the same time.

  And then her hand was in Matoh’s, and he was dragging them out onto the street and off to the next stop, which turned out to be a pub called the Axe and Willow. As they entered, music burst forth, and Naira was pulled into a quick jig before she knew what was happening. Matoh’s hand was on her hip, but he was wrapped up in the dance, and the warm pressure left her too soon as they switched partners, and she found herself looking at a grandfatherly old man. His nearly toothless smile was full of life and joy. The old fellow swung her around with more vigour than she thought possible, and his feet moved as if they were on fire!

  Naira saw Adel gasp as Matoh picked her up with a smile and swung her into a dance. Naira was pleased to see Adel allowed it to happen rather than twisting Matoh’s wrist somehow and flipping him onto the floor. Naira laughed as Matoh gave her a relieved huff as he swung by, obviously having had the same thought about how grabbing Adel might go.

  And then Matoh’s arms were around her again. He held her up and supported most of her weight, so she was lighter on her feet. Of course, she couldn’t have him to herself as everyone in the pub seemed to recognise Matoh as soon as he stepped through the door. Half a dozen people were trying to talk to Matoh while they danced. She was now beginning to wish for a little less attention. A few moments alone with Matoh had begun to feel like a great idea.

  Yet that moment was not to be. Naira and Adel were introduced to dozens of people every time they stopped. Naira forgot the names almost as soon as she heard them, as she had given up on trying to remember them all after four dozen, and that had been before they even went through the door of the Axe and Willow!

  The pub had been lively before they had entered, but yet again Matoh’s presence enhanced the already jovial atmosphere. Naira couldn’t remember if she had ever laughed so much, and Adel looked as if she had truly forgotten her worries for the moment. This night was becoming magical, and that magic was coming from Matoh.

  “No more!” Naira gasped, panting for breath as she embraced Matoh, hanging on for dear life after their last dance. Adel giggled, actually giggled, beside them as a young man with a thin moustache very gently kissed the top of Adel’s hand and then bowed thankfully to her.

  Naira felt the heat of Matoh’s body against hers, felt how the world seemed to contract to the space around them. She could feel the soft yet firm pressure of his chest beneath her hand. His big arms were still wrapped loosely yet comfortingly about her body as he attempted to describe their night so far to the debonair young gentleman who had swooped Adel off her feet.

  Naira wanted the night to last forever. There, wrapped in Matoh’s arms, feeling his laughter boom through his great chest, Naira knew everything would be ok. Her body buzzed with pure joy, his joy, somehow he was sharing that magical energy with her. Lifting her spirits, making the world conform to his happiness. Naira had never felt so safe, so excited, and so content at the same time in all her life. If she could stay wrapped in those arms forever, it would all be ok.

  Then the music finally faded, the moment had passed, and Naira knew Matoh would have to let her go.

  But he didn’t.

  Naira looked up and found Matoh smiling down at her. In that look, they shared something Naira had never felt before, a connection which went past words. She trusted him, felt like she was connected to him on a different level than any other person she had met, and she could see the same in his eyes.

  “That was fun,” Matoh said. His crooked smile was all Naira could see.

  “Last call!” the bartender bellowed and rang a bell attached to the post beside the bar. “Last call!”

  Matoh’s eyes widened. “Uh, oh.” He laughed and stepped back motioning for Adel to come over. “We, uh ...” He grinned sheepishly at them both. “We uh ... might be a bit too late to get back inside the Academy gates tonight.”

  “What!” Adel said, shocked, grabbing Matoh’s arm in concern. Her worries suddenly crashing back down onto her. “Why, what time is it? How late?”

  “Well ...” Matoh grimaced. “Last call usually means midnight – but I know this place stays open until two bells. Meaning ...”

  Naira finished for him. “ ... we are two hours past curfew.”

  “Yep.” Matoh squinted at Adel. “Sorry, I just ...” he looked back at Naira, and his smile returned, “kinda lost track of time.”

  “What are we going to do?!” Adel’s buoyant mood was now truly gone. “We’ll get in trouble for sure. I need to get back to Fellow Callahan. What if something happens tonight, in my sleep? I …”

  Matoh rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up and think. “Trouble? Maybe not. Is he?” Matoh asked himself. “Yes, I think Randall is on duty tomorrow morning. If I call in a favour, he might let us slip by without reporting it. As for the rest of it …” Matoh trailed off lost in thought.

  “Where are we going to sleep?” Adel asked. “Fellow Callahan said sleep is one of the most important things for managing my attacks. I can’t stay up all night.”

  Naira looked to Matoh. Oh, she really didn’t want this night to end poorly. It had been so perfect up to now.

  Matoh shrugged, and his ever-present grin came back to him. “We’ll have to crash at my place then.” He laughed to himself and gulped somewhat guiltily. “Dad’s not going to be too impressed. Have we really only been training for a few weeks? Well, closer to a month, but we’re already breaking curfew. Nothing for it, at least you get to meet my Dad.”

  “Are you sure?” Naira asked him. The thought of bringing guests back to meet her mother in the dead of night made her skin crawl.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Dad won’t be too upset. He’ll sigh at me I’m sure, but it just isn’t the Spierling way to turn away possible guests.” Matoh clapped Adel on the shoulder. “Can’t be helped. Besides, it’s the least I can do after Adel took Glev for nearly forty silver, but ... “ Matoh looked at Naira, then, and his eyes softened into a seriousness that drew Naira in, “... there is one more stop we have to make before we turn in. Come on, it’s not too far.”

  “I need to get sleep, Matoh,” Adel said almost pleading and looking worried.

  “I think this will actually help, Adel. The stones in Fellow Callahan’s garden reminded me of this. I would bet this next stop will help you more than sleep if I’m right.”

  Adel’s worry turned to hope, and Naira realised it wasn’t just her who trusted Matoh implicitly. Adel trusted him too.

  Another point in his favour.

  Matoh was looking a bit distant now. Almost a bit shy, and Naira knew she needed to know more. “Ok,” she said, and she felt her heart racing once again, nervous and excited all at once.

  They raced out of the pub and into the night air. Naira breathed it in. The heat and staleness of the city air had been swept away by a cool, sweet richness rolling in from the sea. It filled her with a contented freshness and spurred her on after Matoh.

  “Is it much further?” Adel asked, yawning as she spoke. “I don’t have much left in me.”

  “Just up this hill.” Matoh pointed up to the trees at the crest of the hill. “Come on, jump on my back. I’ll carry you.” He said simply.

  There was no assumption in Matoh’s statement, and Adel grabbed Matoh’s shoulders, and he began to walk up the inclined street as if carrying a young child, barely slowing at all.

  Before long, they came to a gate along the street wall. The iron-wrought gate squeaked in protest, sounding a hundred times louder in the stillness of the night than it should have. Naira grimaced at the sound and stifled a laugh at the look of admonishment Matoh gave the gate.

  “Up here.” Matoh sprang up the steep stairs, somehow revitalised. “You’ll want to see this.”

  Naira foll
owed Matoh up the hill, marvelling at how Adel looked like she might be falling asleep on his wide back. It was then that Naira realised, come what may, they had adopted Matoh into their circle of what had for so long only been a circle of two.

  They reached the top of the stairs, and what Naira saw took her breath away.

  A circle of great polished stones stood like sentinels in a clearing at the top of the hill. The dark silhouettes of trees framed the stone circle to either side. The smooth grey stones looked almost silver in the moonlight. A cliff dropped away a few dozen paces behind the stone circles to show the shimmering coastal bay which nearly cut New Toeron in two. And most impressively, across the bay stood the Red Tower atop its crag, paper lanterns illuminating only parts of its bulk. It was as if the layers of long sloping roofs had trapped some weak stars closer to earth.

  It was magical.

  Matoh knelt and, shifting Adel down off his back and into his arms as gently as he could, he placed her on top of the central stone whose length lay along the ground rather than upright.

  Naira walked up beside him, trying not to break the stillness of the spell which hovered around the stones. She could hear the sound of the waves lapping against the wooden piers in the bay below as the starlight played atop the dark water.

  “My mother took me here once,” Matoh said just above a whisper. “It is the only clear memory I have of her.” He stood staring out at the Red Tower, not moving except for his chest rising and falling. Adel was half asleep atop the stone but then smiled. “They’re warm,” she crooned and sighed happily.

  Matoh nodded and made sure Adel wasn’t going to roll off before turning back to look out to sea. It was then Adel’s bracelet began to glow the same line of orange as it had in Fellow Callahan’s garden.

  “You were right,” Naira said as if in a dream.

  “Thank you, Matoh.” Adel sighed in contentment and curled up on the stone in perfect feline imitation. “This is perfect.”

  Matoh turned to look at the soft glow of the bracelet and nodded with a small smile. “You’re welcome. I’ll find you a bed soon.”