by Elon Vidal
Nerka was just defending. Something was holding her back from moving to offense, too.
Ella nearly choked on the realization. He isn’t trying to hurt us… Ella reached through the bubble barrier toward Nerka’s shoulder. Her arm untethered from the safety bubble, the dust clung to Ella’s skin, painting it with a swift dash and sweep of red. It wasn’t painful. It was surprisingly warm. It made the thin hairs on her arm stand on end, like the dust was charged.
The older girl jumped a little as Ella touched her, but didn’t break her hold on the bubbles, now slightly broken by Ella’s breach.
“It isn’t an attack.” Ella had to raise her voice over the rush of the windswept particles.
Nerka’s eyes flickered toward Ella a moment, then her hands twitched, lowering slightly. Juro’s fingers curled up, his palms releasing from their pressure against the wall with a suction sound.
All the dust fell, some of it swept away by the natural wind, racing out into whatever marketplace would meet it on the other side.
Nerka glared at him. If she was an animal she might have been snarling. Her chest heaved as she caught her breath from the effort she had expended.
Juro grinned and rubbed his jaw. “So, Space, huh?”
Nerka blinked, struck dumb. “Wh… What?”
“You have the Space Crystal. I was wondering which one it was.”
Ella and Nerka looked at each other, shaking their heads, still wary, but curious, as well.
“I was joking about following you so easily because you’re terrible at hiding your tracks. You’re actually really good at all that.”
“Then how?” Nerka said.
“I followed the pull that my Crystal has on yours. Surely, you can feel it, too.” He grinned and Ella shoved Nerka as if to say, See? “I’m one of the Chosen Wielders, too. I have the Attraction Crystal.” Juro brushed by them to walk down the alleyway. The girls let him by, dumbstruck. He looked back at them, seeming to expect them to follow. “You know some place we can go to talk and maybe get something to eat? I’m hungry.”
The young man continued walking up the tight route. Ella pulled one of the customary sweetrolls from her shoulder bag that her dad loaded up for her every day that she rarely ate. She threw it at the retreating man’s back.
He turned, slowly, and she noted that. He hadn’t sensed a threat behind her lanced pastry.
She jerked her head in a different direction.
“We shouldn’t go that way now. That’s through a lady’s only supermarket. Or, you know, we can give it a go. I’m sure you’d look great in a bustier.”
Juro grinned his cocky smile, but there was genuine warmth. Ella grinned back, then they led the strange man from the alley, rerouting their sneaking route away from Luna’s safehouse to Ella’s home, questions burning, building, ready to burst inside her. She could only imagine how Nerka felt. Every time Ella looked at her friend, she was just reminded how Nerka had gotten the nickname of “The Shadow”: she was difficult to hold onto, hovered at the edge of your vision, and never showed any emotion.
CHAPTER SIX – SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER
Ella tossed Nerka a sweetroll and the girls kicked back in the armchairs of the Larisse living room, inviting Juro Carp to continue his tale.
“So it was nearly two weeks ago that I stole the Attraction Crystal from Sintila Labs. Infiltrated the whole compound. Wasn’t easy, but you know, I don’t mind doing things the hard way.” He flashed his cocky grin and took a bite of the roll. “Been dodging Sintila goons, evading capture, facing betrayal… That Crystal just… it seems to empower me, you know?” Nerka and Ella rolled their eyes but continued to watch him like he was a curiosity at a museum come to life. He waggled his finger toward Nerka. “Then I started to sense you. It’s this irresistible pull on my soul. I can’t believe that you can’t feel it. Maybe it is because I have had the Attraction Crystal a little longer? It’s been like… a compass. It has just led me to you. As you wound through the streets, I was able to follow your tracks.” He smacked his hands together with a loud crack. The girls jumped. “Like that!”
It all sounded too unbelievable not to be true.
He left out a lot of details and Ella was brimming with questions: who had betrayed him? He wouldn’t say. How had he been able to enter Sintila Labs? “I know some tricks.” Could he still get in there? “Probably”. What had he done to defeat the Underworlders? “I got lucky.” Could he find them again? No answer. Could his extra week of experience with the Attraction Crystal help Nerka learn to control the Space one more quickly? A shrug. How did he have the ability to just gather intel in a brand new city? “A long life of hard knocks.”
The vagueness of his answers and the smart-ass smile was infuriating.
And so many more.
Still, Nerka sat there… Examining Juro in silence.
Juro helped himself to a sweetroll from Ella’s bag with a wink.
A rapping on the door, loud and strong, sent Juro leaping for the window. Ella had sprung an escape on her dad more than once that way, so she knew it was a doable jump to the neighboring balcony and Juro had already proven himself quite agile.
Still, she threw a quick look from him to her wrist transmitter. It synced with the camera outside the front door.
“It’s Hamit.”
“The Master of the Scorpene Guard?” Juro was already spreading the window apart. The sultry breeze was a mixture that came from generations of underground air recyclers working overtime, smelling of sweat, whatever supposedly-pleasing scent that year’s council voted on, and the natural wafts of entrance ways to the toplands.
Neither Nerka or Ella moved to stop him as he climbed onto the windowsill. The day had been strange enough already. Trying to keep the young man restrained in her apartment for interrogation didn’t seem like a good idea. Juro moved, as if to vault to the next balcony across the alley. He paused but he didn’t look over his shoulder. “Is there anyone with him?”
Ella looked down at the image on her wrist crystal. Hamit shifted from side to side, lifted his hand against the door, hesitated, then knocked again. The sound was more insistent this time. “No. He is alone.”
Juro’s shoulders sank and he moved back into the room, closing the window behind him.
“All right.” The words were to himself.
Ella shrugged and got up to open the door. Hamit thundered into the room without a word, his black eyes darting. They rested on Juro.
“I knew it.”
Nerka stood, perhaps feeling at a disadvantage that she was the only one still seated. Hamit hovered just as tall as Juro, who was a startling height, but the Master’s shoulders dwarfed the young man. Ella had never quite remarked before how large the Master of the Guard was, and she wondered if it was because he didn’t always use his size as a method of intimidation. Now, witnessing it, it was all too apparent.
“Ella, Nerka, get behind me.”
“Hamit, can you tell us what is going on, please?” Ella used her respectful voice.
“I gave you a command.”
Ella was stunned by the shift in Hamit’s voice. It was distanced, cold. The tone he reserved for his subordinates. Not for his son’s best friend. Hamit took a step to the side, starting to weave his way around Ella’s living room furniture, heading toward Juro, who sidestepped to keep the couch in between them. Bet he regrets closing the window, now…
Juro’s hands hung easy at his side. He didn’t appear to be armed, but Ella hadn’t thought to make sure he wasn’t.
As Juro took another step sideways, he gave that cocky grin, but this time it looked more infuriating than charming. “Well, they don’t quite answer to you, Master Harra. At least, she doesn’t.” Juro pointed his finger toward Nerka.
“What are you talking about?” Hamit demanded, his hands grabbing the back of the armchair in front of him. Is he going to just throw them away if Juro keeps sidestepping?
“Maybe you know who I am, maybe you don’t. You ca
n’t command us. We are beholden to something so much more powerful. We don’t answer to you. Same way your son never will again.”
Hamit raised his fist, shaking it in the air, as if he wished there was something he had to hit. When he failed to find something, his shoulders shuddered and he hung his head. Ella was afraid he was going to collapse, he leaned so heavily into the chair. She stepped up, bolstering his elbow with her arm. He sank into her, letting her lead him to the front of the chair. He sat down, leaning his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face. Then he looked up at Juro, as if remembering that he was there.
“I don’t really know who you are.” The way Hamit said it seemed to be an admission of defeat. “I have just seen you loitering around places where Nerka and Ella are. I can’t find you in any of the ID databases. Your face and impression don’t match anything. The last I had sight of you was not far from where these ladies were this afternoon.”
“Right, near Luna Turum’s safehouse.”
Hamit looked up at Ella, but the anger that should have been there was a mere question. Ella rushed to reassure him.
“Juro says he didn’t track us in any normal way. He is attracted to Nerka because she has the Space Crystal.” Ella looked at Juro for permission to continue and he nodded with a shrug. “He has one, too. He is the Wielder of the Attraction Crystal. That’s how he can follow us. He is pulled toward the similarities within the Chosen.”
Hamit nodded, color starting to flood back into his face. His gaze was controlled, but not judgemental as he said, “Tell me what you mean about my son, then.”
“Since he is the Wielder of the Chaos Crystal, well… I can help you find him.”
While Hamit sat forward on his seat, eager to hear more, all the air seemed to leave Ella’s body, every molecule of oxygen stripped from her cells. Warning bells rang, blurring out her vision, her hearing, her ability to focus. She was floundering, floating in the vacuum of space, just like in her dreams of Alpha.
Something was there, some promise. Some hope for finding QT – but if her dreams were omens, like QT always told her they were, then this assertion Juro was making was not as simple as it seemed.
It might come at the risk of losing even her ability to breathe.
Juro leaned in and began telling them more specifically the way he had fought away the Underworlders and how he might be able to help them find Q.T. It would mean finding a portal to that dimension. The only way he knew how to do that was to ask those who dealt with those beings who worked with them. Or they would need to procure another Crystal to open a portal to the Underworld dimension, themselves.
Nerka and Ella traded a look: The Balite mines
If they chose to talk to werewolves or sirens, or Dark Elves, they would have to seek them out in their homes. They weren’t known for being the most cooperative with outsiders and the team would need to go ready for a fight. Which was all the more reason Ella would need to work on her training.
A focus on her training, then finding another Crystal, then opening a portal to the Underworld to get back Q.T. They just had to figure out the best way to do it all as quickly as possible. The best balance. With any hope, somewhere along the way, gathering Crystals would mean Ella would be able to find her mother, too. Because that was what she heard when Juro said that gathering more Crystals together meant you could open portals to other dimensions yourselves. Ella hadn’t realized that… If they got the Balite mine Crystal, if it even existed… Would she be able to just go fetch her mom from the Banyan dimension?
The little rush of dizziness that gave her had to be quickly calmed as she saw the worry on Hamit’s face as Juro described the malevolence of the Underworlders. Q.T. was in active danger. That had to come first… They all had to be prepared to fight to free him. Juro made it clear, one of the things they would need was Dark Elf bone dust. Hamit was reluctant for them to go all the way to the water town of Merstric to get it, but Athos would know the market where it could be found and Nerka could make the portal to get there.
At least they were one Crystal stronger with Juro on their side. Ella would be careful about trusting him too quickly, but while their interests were aligned, they could be partners. She also needed to talk to Hamit about Luna: the team was growing.
CHAPTER SEVEN – RAINBOW VOMIT
Merstric was a coastal village in the latitude of the fourth quadrant. Ella had never been to it and Nerka had never made a portal to it before, but that was what made it a good test. Besides, she was empowered by its nearness to water. Nerka had an affinity for water, and it called to her Durgic attachment. That wasn’t why they were going there, though. They were going to seek out a small market where mini unicorns were said to traffic in some of the more difficult-to-find herbs and flora of Methula Four.
The Dark Elf bone dust that Juro said they needed would be found in the minicorn market. When Ella had asked Athos if that meant the bone dust was anionic, he had just looked at her and turned away. She wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t know the answer or if he thought she didn’t merit it.
Either way, the task itself felt like it would have negative energy all over it. Surely, the only way that bone dust could be created would be by grinding up the bones of Dark Elves. Or was there something she was missing, here? She wasn’t sure what they would need it for. Juro had been vague, once again, about the implications, just that it would help them once they were facing the Underworlders who had Q.T. That was enough reason for Ella to focus on this task as next on the list.
Luckily, Ella was being allowed to go with a team, of sorts. She had pleaded to Athos about the need to build up her knowledge about the Underworld, meaning Juro, who had some type of “unfinished business” with the Underworlders, but had faced off with them on a previous occasion. He also hinted at insider knowledge about Heroki Sintila, but Ella knew she needed to gain more of his trust before that bridge could be crossed. Luna had not been allowed to join them, yet, but Ella was certain she would be able to grind Hamit down and get the girl released from her safehouse soon. Hamit had been reluctant, but with Athos on her side, surprisingly supportive of Juro’s plan, it had been a short showdown. Ella, Nerka, and Juro setting out through Nerka’s portal to the fresh air of Merstric.
“Smells like fish,” Nerka said, blunt as always.
“I was just thinking it smelled fresher than the air recyclers in Scorpina,” Ella responded with a smile.
Nerka huffed, not quite disagreeing, not agreeing either.
“There’s always a trade-off. Sweat for fish. Slime for shit. No place smells great one hundred percent of the time,” Juro said, worldwise.
“Where does it smell like slime and shit?”
Ella pointed their way down a large, purple cobblestone pathway. The stones were a fresh lavender color. The market they were looking for would be off the main thoroughfare where the main vegetables, home goods, and tech was sold.
“Equatorial forest smells like slime. Mountains smell like mountain goats. And they… you know… do their thing. A lot.” Juro shrugged.
The locals cast looks their way as they passed through Ella had been afraid Juro might draw attention, being so tall, but he seemed to slip in and out of the market’s daily norms so easily, he could have challenged Nerka for her title as The Shadow.
They reached a small hallway flanked by colorful silk curtains that led back toward the minicorn market. It wasn’t far from the harbor. Ella could hear gulls calling and the slosh of waves against the boats. Salt spray was in the air. Her pores opened up, the desiccated nature of her desert habitat giving way to moisture in the air.
Juro held the curtains open for them. “Listen, when we start bartering with the minicorns, just watch your wallets, okay? They can be kind of fiendish. I know we only want one thing, but they may try to add on other items or take off with your satchel entirely. Let’s keep track of each other.” As Juro spoke, his eyes were wandering over the market behind them.
Nerka mimicked h
is watch as they both looked to see if they had been followed. Ella didn’t mind relying on Nerka for that at the moment.
Minicorns scampered across the pathway and along the walls on custom made ladder rails. They were only about the size of a large dog. They were multicolored little horses, their horns shining beacons to each other. Ella had never seen one, but she had heard they could fly and that they were attached to the Durgic magic in mystical ways.
But, if that were so, what need did they have for swindling traders?
It felt like they had to walk deeper into the belly of the market, descending down the cobblestone pathway to reach the area where there were booths actually selling wares. It worried Ella, that there might not be an easy way back out. Finally, they reached the booth with the bright green star over the table they had been told to find.
“Hi, there,” Ella said. “We are looking for Dark Elf bone dust. Athos the Fennec sent us.”
The purple minicorn didn’t move. Her head was shrouded in a deep red hood and her eyes were barely open.
Is she asleep?
Juro rattled the table and the minicorn looked up with a start. Then she settled back into a stupor. Juro looked at her with a shrug. There were lines of vials and jars on the wall behind the minicorn.
“Can we just get it for ourselves and leave the pay on the table?” Ella pointed to a chart with weights and prices on the table.
A turquoise minicorn bobbed up behind them and Ella kept her eye on him. He looked at her with inquisitive, yellow eyes that had purple rims. His horn was bright white with spiraling gold strips. He had a white and orange mane.
“Are you looking to buy something from Tranquility?” The minicorn darted behind the table, as if he belonged there. “Sometimes I help her out. What can I get for you?”
Ella’s hesitation, wondering if the minicorn was really someone allowed to serve her from someone else’s booth, made the minicorn bow his head. He pointed at the vials and jaws encouragingly.
