Authors: Rain Oxford
My mind was wandering over the last few months and
how nice it was to be home… for like a minute, when I realized I was staring at
the tan wall. So much tan… We had been home too long.
I didn’t realize the
bedroom walls were tan.
I touched my finger to it. Light flashed from my
finger like a miniature explosion, leaving behind an explosion-shaped splotch
of neon green. I touched another spot on the wall, causing another light
explosion to give it some navy blue. Next, some peach. Then a little dark red…
I snapped my textbook closed and leaned back in my
chair, looking at Hail upside down. He was lying on his bed working on his
laptop. “Whatchu doin’?” I asked, because I suddenly wasn’t in the mood for
painting the walls.
He looked at me. “Messaging Sari.” He never lied to
me.
Duran had computers, printers, and a form of email,
like Earth had, but such technology was unusual on Shomodii because this was
the land of estranged wizards.
I sat up right. “Did you finish your physics
homework?”
He smirked. “No, but I hope to finish my anatomy
homework.” I got up and sat beside him on the bed, reading his screen. He
didn’t try to hide it. My brother may joke about shirking his responsibilities,
but he was actually very dedicated and focused. Unfortunately, he really liked
a girl.
“We have an appointment with Avoli tonight about the
public drinking water of Lore,” I lied. Unlike him, I was the type to make an
appointment and forget. I was also able to lie to him. With his attention on
his girlfriend, I felt neglected, and that was when I got into real trouble.
He gasped and snapped the laptop shut. “I’m supposed
to go to Anoshii tonight to visit Sari! You have to go without me. Please tell
me you can handle it. Sari would never forgive me.”
I scoffed and flicked a dark purple strand of my
hair. “No way. Ditch your girlfriend.”
He sighed, heartbroken. “You’re right. I can’t leave
you to handle Lore. It’s not fair. I’ll tell her I had a family emergency.”
Guilt hit me in the gut. “We don’t really have a
meeting; I just wanted to see which was more important to you.”
He looked at me strangely for a moment as I walked
back to my desk. I could
feel
the stare he gave me. “You know you’re
always more important to me. When are you going to get a girlfriend?” he asked.
“Please. Anyone would be jealous of my awesome hair.
Besides, you know I don’t care about that.” Honestly, I wasn’t interested in a
relationship, even a platonic one. I wanted to learn magic and science. What
came through my head and what came out of my mouth were completely different,
which complicated any relationship I had that wasn’t with my brother. Nobody
else knew what I needed or wanted… not even myself usually.
Whereas my brother was upfront, easygoing, and
serious about his responsibility, I was not. Outside, I was snappy, rude, and
narcissistic, but I was constantly learning. I was watching, always. I had to
keep the balance at bay, learn how to use my Iadnah energy to become
unstoppable, and beat my Granddad at a card game. Not even my mother has
accomplished that.
I hit print on my laptop, sending my report to my
dad. He was a tough teacher, but he really just wanted our success. “You
misspelled ‘electromagnetic!’ You get an ‘F’!” my father’s voice yelled through
the wall.
“I hate you!” I yelled back.
Hail laughed as he passed me, ruffling my hair and
ruining my perfect spikes. I threw my shoe at him.
A while later I passed him in the living room on my
way to the kitchen. He was having a serious conversation with Mordon, but I
ignored them, figuring he would update me later. I was halfway through making
spaghetti when I felt his dread. About a minute later, I felt Edward arrive.
Odd… the whole family was here. I doubled my portioning.
As I was getting plates ready, I heard Sen’s voice
and groaned. Mordon brought Emiko and her son, Kaori-le Sen. The boy was a
plague. Unfortunately, recognizing his presence summoned him to my side.
“Hello, Ron,” he said pleasantly, like nails upon a chalkboard.
“Hello, Sen. How is school?” I asked. The worse I
treated him, the more he clung to my side, so I had given up my abuse many
years before.
The ten-year-old shrugged nonchalantly. “Okay, I
guess.”
He had the same gold and red hair with bright blue
eyes that his mother had, so he was a very pretty kid. Unfortunately, he was
nearly as tall as me already, and if a stranger saw us on the street, they
would have a difficult time figuring out which of us was older.
I frowned, remembering Hail at that age. Whenever he
said that, it meant his mind was on other things. “Then are you going to stand
there like a stump or help me set the table?” He jumped to it. “So if school is
okay, what is wrong?”
“Nothing.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
He was acting nervous, which, come to think about, was common the last year or
so. “Hey, Mordon and Mom are going on vacation… and they want to leave me here.
Hail said he was going to see someone for the next few days, so I thought maybe
you could help me with my potions test coming up?”
I nearly dropped the plates in my hand. “Mordon is
going somewhere? For how long?” I asked, trying to keep the panic from my
voice. I couldn’t be left with Dad while Mordon was gone. “Wait, did you say
Hail was leaving for
days
?!”
He tried to say something, but I was out of the room
before I could even think.
“Calm down.”
Hail stopped me in my tracks
with his calm tone.
“Dad is going with Eddy to Earth. They won’t be back
until after Mordon returns.”
“And what’s this I hear about you leaving for
days?”
“I already told you about that.”
“You didn’t say it was for days.”
“You’re fourteen; you can handle being on your own
for a few days.”
“Wait… on my own?”
“Well, Sen is staying, but Mom is going to Zendii
for some undercover work.
Emiko, completely unaware of the turmoil, greeted me
with a hug. I couldn’t even grace her with a response. What if Hail had a
vision? He needed me. Sen was tugging my arm, trying to get me back into the
kitchen.
“Are you upset that your brother is leaving?” he
asked. I think I managed to nod, because he went on. “You two are really close,
I know, but you need some time to yourself.” He was wrong. Nothing good would
come of this.
* * *
I woke the next morning alone… except for a gargoyle,
Shinobu, and Sen. I thought for sure I was wrong; that Hail had come back for
me… but he was gone. I was abandoned here.
Sounds from the kitchen made me sit up. I started for
the kitchen before remembering Sen wasn’t family. Instead, I took a shower,
dressed in my satin, button-up, burgundy shirt and black pants with silver
chains, and meticulously spiked my hair, before changing it to a much more
suitable black with red streaks. I knew Mom would kill me if she ever saw it,
but I changed my eye color to an almost unnatural azure. Then I did a little
illusion trick on my shirt to make it look the same color as my eyes when
someone was looking at my eyes, but burgundy when they weren’t. I was a
demigod; I had to at least look the part.
I waltzed into the kitchen to the smell of eggs,
bacon, and pancakes. So he had actually been watching me cook, not just
hounding my personal bubble for no reason. I sat down and he set the plate in
front of me. “Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome. How did you sleep?”
“Fine. I mean, it was quiet without Hail, but… I
didn’t realize the room was so big,” I said. He was about to say something, but
I heard the telltale chirping coming from the living room and got up. “I have
to let Hobble out or he and Shinobu will destroy the house.”
Sen sighed behind me.
Odd boy.
I let Hobble
out. Unfortunately, it would rain soon and he would get covered in mud, which
meant I would have to clean the living room. I turned back inside when I felt
an all-too familiar presence pulling me away and was unconscious before I hit
the ground.
* * *
“What’s with the no warning?” I demanded of the most
powerful god there was.
“Oh? Grouchy today, are we?” he asked.
Alright, so I was usually more polite to him, but it
was usually because of Hail. “Sorry. My brother had gone off with a girl and
I’m left babysitting my cousin.”
He gave me a fake smile, like he was being punked and
I was stupid for thinking he would fall for it. “What?” he asked simply.
“Hail left.”
“For a few hours?”
“For a few days.”
He didn’t even pretend to smile now. “He didn’t.
Don’t tell me he was that stupid,” he said. He got off the large rock under the
apple tree. This place had been a training ground for Hail and me for many
years and was our usual meeting place with the god.
I shrugged. “Stupidity and abandonment seem to run in
our family.”
“Hail is your balance.”
“I know.”
“The balance of the universe is inside you, and you
are no longer balanced. What do you think is going to happen?”
I shrugged. “He’s not a world away. He’s somewhere on
Anoshii.”
“Can you hear him?” he asked. I shook my head. “Then
you’re both in deep trouble. Without your balance, the darkness inside you will
wake. It will instantly try to correct any and all unbalances. In a few days,
it will no longer know what is and isn’t balanced. You must find Samhail.”
“No problem. I’ll flash to him. What about my dad and
Mordon?”
“Dylan doesn’t have the balance in him, but the
longer he and Mordon are apart, the more his force unsets the universe. Within
seven to ten days, you would be unable to stop yourself from trying to kill
him. However, that’s really not the issue; if you can’t find Samhail you would
kill anyone, even whole worlds.”
“You never had a balance.”
“I am a god. You are something else. You are half god,
half… Dylan.”
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked.
He sighed. “It is time for you to make your decision.
Raktusha is ready for its Noquodi.”
* * *
I woke up with Sen way in the middle of my personal
bubble. I was on the couch with him leaning over me, and he smiled when I
opened my eyes. “The blue is pretty, but your natural green suits you more.
Drink,” he said, putting a cup of water to my lips. I drank it, more worried
about my throbbing head than dehydration.
I sat up and started to reach up to my scalp. Sen
caught my hand with a desperate look in his eyes. “Don’t freak out. You were
bleeding.”
I yanked my hand away and felt sticky medical paste
instead of slick hair-jell. I whimpered. “My hair… It was perfect.”
“You can take a shower and---”
“No,” I cut him off. “I’m just going to have to rough
it out.” I went to my room, grabbed my bag, and started loading it with
clothes. Then I went into the bathroom and used the shower nozzle to wash
everything out of my hair. I left the color, but towel dried it. So floppy… so
pathetic. “I might as well be mortal and naked without my spikes,” I said to
the mirror.
“So… Are we going somewhere?” Sen asked my suitcase.
“I am going after my brother. You can hold down the
fort.”
“I can help you.”
“How can you help?” I asked, trying and failing not
to sound snobbish.
His devastated face was my punishment. “I am half
dragon, half mage,” he said.
I scoffed. “Mages use magic in stones. If I’m not
mistaken, you don’t have any stones,” I said. This time, I did mean the
snobbery. His mother hated his magic and did everything in her power to keep
him from attaining so much as a jewel. She argued that people must never know
that he wasn’t a full dragon. Everyone in the family knew the truth, though;
she was afraid that if Sen used his magic, his father would find him. Mages
apparently had a hang-up about lost members.
He glared. “I’ve got stones.” He started to undo his
belt and I choked. Fortunately, he pulled out a small leather sack, from which
he poured out a handful of gems and stones.
“Well. I was mistaken. Those are some nice stones.
Let’s go.” We locked up and headed out, before turning right around to get
food. The third time we had to turn back, Sen was grumbling. I ignored him.
Two hours later we were standing at the port with no
ship in sight. “Um… what is the plan?” Sen asked.
“Excuse me? You’re the one with the glorious stones.
Use the stones.”
“Okay,” he said, docile. I should have smelled the
trap. A moment later, I was hit in the face with a rock. “Come up with a plan!”
he yelled, and hit me with another. “Think!”
“Stop throwing rocks at me, you brat! You’re as
annoying as your mother.”
He picked up his rocks and flashed his annoying smile
at me, complete with dimples. “I’m as pretty as her, too. Definitely prettier
than you.”
“You’re not even prettier than a shoe. I’m a guy; I’m
not pretty. You’re a fruitcake.”
“And you’re a snarly jerk. I’m confident in my
masculinity. If anyone calls me a froutake, I can eat them, because I’m a
dragon,” he said, completely mispronouncing the English word, but giving it his
best shot anyway.
Unfortunately, he had a point; his mother was
unbelievably pretty. He had inherited her gold and red hair, her eyes, and her
complexion, but his father must have been a brute, for he was built better at
ten than I was at fourteen. I found this to be completely unfair because I was
still a lot smaller than Dad. Although he tried to tell me he was a late
bloomer and it was possible I would shoot up in a few years, I didn’t believe
him. Mom was tall, but she had a small bone structure.