Appointed (11 page)

 

 

Class always made for a good way to pass time quickly. Once Anj dove deeply into his schoolwork, the days of the week breezed by. One week passed, then two, and now he was almost three weeks through the new semester and hardly anything felt abnormal. He still had visions, of course. Most were short and vague or a repeat of something he'd seen before. He had no idea what they all meant, but he figured it was all probably a test from the Elders to see how much he “noticed.” For being so eager to train him, they were also being awfully quiet.

Or maybe they want to see what happens,
he thought as he made his way to the library to work on a project. The library was his favorite place to be. There was just enough noise to keep him from feeling isolated but not so much that he felt overwhelmed. The smell of all the books was relaxing as well, a subtle mix of old paper and leather.

“Left, Guy,” he told his dog. Anj missed his cane, but he was determined to give the dog a chance. Rather than leave the animal back at his room, he put him to work. Anj liked having a purpose; he figured the dog would too. The only drawback was having to go outside in the cold after every class to let him use the bathroom. Guy was so well behaved during class, Anj completely forgot about him being there until it was time to be led out.

Toward the back of the library was a table tucked away in a dark corner where he liked to work. Anj was used to the dark, so low lighting didn't bother him in the slightest. It wasn't as if it did anything to his vision. All he had to do was make it through a hopefully small amount of obstacles.

Someone grazed a hand along his shoulders in a seductive manner. It was a female, he could tell by the feeling of her long nails, the floral perfume, and the soft skin that made contact with his collarbone as she trailed her hand around his back and over his chest. She briefly touched his cheek as well.

“Gracie, hello,” he said. Only one girl in school wore the flower perfume. Cheyenne smelled like flowers as well, but it was a natural scent, not an artificial one.

With a giggle, Gracie squeezed his arm muscle. “How do you always know it's me? Do you have eyes on the back of your head? Or maybe you're just kidding about the blind thing. Oh, cute puppy! I didn't know we could have pets.”

He gave her his ever-famous coy smile, the one that apparently drove all the girls crazy, according to Jewl and his brother. “He's a working dog, sorry to disappoint you. And don't insult me, Gracie, I couldn't forget you,” he said honestly. He'd never met another girl who was quite so vapid.

“Yeah, but how do you
know
?”

Anj grabbed her hand and ran his fingers over the tips of her nails. “There are few girls who get such fancy manicures on a daily basis. Plus, you always touch me the same way every time you say hello. Like I said, I couldn't forget you.”

She giggled again. “Come sit with me and help me with my history homework. You always take the best notes.”

He gave her hand one last friendly squeeze while gripping her wrist. “I would love to be of assistance to you, but I have a deadline on a senior project. Perhaps another time.”

“I'll hold you to that, then.” She let go of him. He waved to be polite, hoping it was done in the right direction.

Ten steps farther and he was stopped by Brent, the captain of the football team. He recognized the deep, rough voice instantly.

“You catch the game over the weekend? The score was just unbelievable,” Brent said.

Anj smiled. “Wrong brother. Zes should be in Calculus right now. But I did hear some of the game this weekend. It sounded intense.” He hated listening to sports on the television. The TV was all ambient noise more often than not, and there was no description of what was actually happening. The radio was easier for him to follow along with, but Zes hated listening to the game on the radio if he had the opportunity to see the action.

“Man, was it ever. I'll catch him at dinner. See you around.” Brent clapped Anj on the back so hard he almost lost his balance. Guy whimpered a little as he helped Anj stay steady.

Leaning down, Anj scratched the dog behind the ears. “We're almost there. Right.” They turned, and he could sense the narrowness of the book aisles surrounding them. He loved it. Like a warm blanket, it brought about comforting feelings of security.

Just as he settled into a chair, his vision blinked on, and he was engulfed by another daydream.

Once again, his father appeared. He was so real, Anj thought he could touch him. He wished he could. A few memories of his father's touch remained in his mind. The man had been strong and warm with rough skin from working so hard, yet he had a gentle hold. He was with the Elders again, sitting in a chair.

“I told you I didn't want to pick him,” his father said, voice terse.

“Oops? Must have heard wrong.” Neil smirked.

Kale glared at Neil. “We heard your request, but we decided Anj would make a better candidate than Zes. Both have the capability to see things, and both would be strong. But Anj's magic is much weaker than Zes's, and we feel that will make his reception much stronger. We will be tapping only his powers and locking the other brother's, as was part of our agreement. You requested only one be given the gifts.”

“Yes, and I picked Zes for a reason. Anj is going to have enough hardships in his life,” Ilo said.

“The gift has already been imprinted on him. Don't worry. He will have a normal childhood and won't be tapped until he's of proper age. That's fifteen years from now. Your newborn boys are beautiful, and you should only be concerned with enjoying the moment,” Francis said. “Congratulations, dear.”

“Thanks,” Ilo replied.

“The Fate massacre has left our numbers weak. We need to create the strongest Fates possible to make up for it. I'm sure you understand,” Kale added.

“The power of ninety-nine…” Ilo said.

“One-hundred when it's time,” Neil stated.

The dream faded. Anj put his fingers through Guy's fur, clutching it tightly for comfort.
He didn't want to pick me?
Anj had a hard time absorbing this information. If there was one thing he'd always been certain of, it was that his father had picked him to carry on the family legacy for a reason, but now he'd learned that his father had tried to protect him from it. Why hadn't he wanted Anj to take on the responsibility?
Did he think I couldn't handle it? Was it just as he said? All he wanted was for my life to be as easy and normal as possible? Or did he think Zes would be better? Did Dad care about him more?

Anj shook his head. “That's stupid. Don't get jealous,” he said to himself.

When their father had been alive, both their parents had done a good job of making sure neither brother got more attention than the other. Anj's blindness had given him the potential for special treatment. His mother had always babied him, but that was what mothers were supposed to do, right? It was in their nature to nurture. His father, on the other hand, had treated him as if there was nothing wrong with him. Anj couldn't do all the same things Zes could, but there wasn't a whole lot on his list of forbidden activities either.
I still wish I could ask him, so I could know for sure,
he thought with a sigh. The other thought running through his mind was why he was seeing it at all.

Anj closed his eyes for a moment before digging around in his messenger bag for the details of his project. He needed a distraction, a break. The actual due date on it wasn't for another month or so, but he always liked to be ahead. The dreams had a tendency to impact his physical health, so he'd rather finish all his work as soon as possible and then relax, rather than scramble around at the last minute. Plus, he could then work at his own pace, take his time reading, and not drain himself of magic. Not all his books were available in formats he could use without his vision. This system of being ahead of schedule gave him the reputation of being an overachiever. Many students wanted him for a study buddy. He rarely received anything less than an A.

“You think I should? Ask her out, I mean?” Teague asked, his voice becoming loud and recognizable. Anj could hear his timid footsteps come closer. Beside them was a much more confident-sounding step.

Then Denver spoke.

“Oh yeah, definitely. Girls love confidence, and if you take the initiative to ask her out, she'll be like putty in your hands. You could get away with anything.”

“Kissing even? Do you think she would kiss me?”

“For sure! She'll be all over you if you do what I told you to.”

Anj shook his head as they reached him. “Oh brother. Do I even want to know?”

“Chill. I told him to go get her some flowers. Just helping the kid out so he can have some fun, since he's not gonna be around for much longer. I haven't corrupted his innocence… yet.” Denver laughed. “Teague, buddy, I'm gonna go. But you hang out here with Mr. Uptight, and we'll get together again later. Okay?”

“Okay!” Anj imagined Teague saying it with his usual wide, blue eyes and huge grin. He'd rather not be left alone with the boy, but it was much better than the alternative of leaving him alone with Denver. Whatever Denver wanted with Teague, it couldn't be good.

It didn't take long for Teague to make himself comfortable in a chair near Anj. “I like your dog.”

“So you've said,” Anj said.
Every time we talk.

“Right, sorry.”

“You're asking a girl out with flowers?” Anj asked, trying to keep the conversation on something interesting and new.

“Yeah, because it's Valentine's Day soon. Girls like that kind of thing, right?”

Anj nodded. “Usually. Is this girl by chance Halyn?”

“How did you know?” Teague gasped with awe.

“Lucky guess.” Anj resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Every time I'm with you, you're either talking about her or hanging around her.
But if Anj said what was on his mind, Teague would only apologize and get quiet.
I must be nice to him even if it kills me.

Teague laughed. “You're smart. You pay attention. I'm working on being more observant about stuff. Seems to be getting better as I get more of my memory back. Lots of details are still missing, though. I put some new pictures up. You should see them.”

“Sure thing,” Anj said dryly. The last thing he wanted to do was go into Teague's bedroom and look at his wall art. As a psychological experiment, the kid had been painting things from his memory on the walls of his dorm room. One half was a beautiful day, comforting, calming, and the other half was dark, scary, and all too reminiscent of the underworld. Anj was glad it seemed to be working, at least.

Anj adjusted his books in his lap. “I don't want to say it, but I think Denver is right. Halyn would love flowers for Valentine's Day. She gives me the impression of being interested in all the bells and whistles.”

“So I should get those for her too?” Teague asked.

“Just stick with the flowers and maybe a little chocolate.” Anj paused. “So you and Denver are friends?”

“He's nice.”

“To you, yeah.”

For a moment, Teague didn't say anything, but made a lot of noise as he fidgeted in his chair. The sound of his body rubbing against the cushions was almost as bad as nails on a chalkboard to Anj's ears.

He clenched his teeth together. “Yes?”

“I haven't seen the blue door for a while. Do you think they're mad at me?” Teague asked in a whisper.

“If they're mad at you, then they're mad at me too. I haven't seen the blue door for a while either, but I still dream.”

“I can't remember my dreams, but I know they happen. Only bits and pieces, and those go up on my wall,” Teague explained. He sighed with relief. “Good, they aren't mad. But I don't understand how we're supposed to help each other if we can't talk to them too.”

“The El — the people from the blue door probably want to see how we work together. Tell you what, I'll help you try to remember your dreams more so you can make more progress with your memory, and you can owe me one later?” It seemed like a fair trade. Then if Anj needed guidance or knowledge about something in the future, he had somewhere to go. Not that he thought Teague would prove to be all that insightful. But there had to be something the boy could do to help or the Elders wouldn't have told them to rely on each other.

Teague was clearly putting a lot of thought into his answer because he went quiet again — a good quality for him to have. It meant he wouldn't leap into promising something he didn't think he could deliver.

Finally, he said, “We can do that. I have this feeling that I need to be here right now, but not for long. If I wait too long, then I'm going to miss something back home.”

Anj ripped a page from his notebook, then turned on his magic so he could write a list of all the memory techniques he'd acquired over the years. Sometimes his lack of sleep caused him to mess up on simple, everyday things like homework, chores, or even walking down the hall. He felt a little bad for Teague. There was so much sadness in the boy's voice. It couldn't have been easy to be far from home and have no idea where he came from. Whatever urgency Teague felt, Anj did too. His gut instincts were telling him something was wrong. Things were off balance, and it had to do with the Elders and Denver.

 

 

As had been the case for much of Zes's relationship with Cheyenne, it was time to celebrate another first: his first Valentine's Day with a girlfriend. For so long, he'd watched his brother go out with Jewl. He'd always been a little jealous, but he channeled it into planning the best date ever now. Zes had taken notes from movies and his brother's successes and blunders. Granted, Jewl wasn't into a lot of romantic things, which was good because Anj was the farthest thing from a sap. However, Zes had noticed when she lit up from small gestures.