Ella Awakened (9 page)

Burke stood
and walked behind Ella.  He fastened the necklace around her neck.  Ella
reached up and laid her hand over Willow’s necklace and her mother’s black
diamond.

“They look
nice together,” Burke told her as he returned to his chair across from her.

“I don’t
know what to say,” Ella looked into Burke’s eyes; violet eyes like the water on
his world.  How appropriate that she thought she could drown in them.  “I’ll
always cherish it.”

“I’m glad
you like it.”  Burke took Ella’s hand and gave it a small squeeze before
sliding the other package across the table to her.

“Slow down,”
Ella laughed, “I’m still trying to imagine purple oceans.”

“Okay,”
Burke smiled, “maybe I can help.  Our village was on a cliff overlooking the
ocean.  Think lush green rolling hills like Ireland.  Cobblestone streets
connected simple cottages.  There were animals in pens and yards full of
colorful vegetation like what you’ve seen in the greenhouse.  It’s true that
the flowers were more vibrant there than they are here, but the grass was still
green.  There were forests for hunting, fields for planting, and oceans for
fishing.  The water was very clear like in the Caribbean, only more lavender
than blue.  When it stormed, angry dark purple waves would crash against the
cliffs.  The sunsets would take your breath away and at night millions of stars
lit up the sky as the three moons rose over the ocean.”

“You keep
saying was and were.  Sometimes when you talk about your world you use the
present tense, at other times you use the past tense.”

“Was and
were, is and are.  I don’t know Ella.”  Burke raked his hand through his hair. 
“I’m sure it’s all still there somewhere, but it’s in the past for me.  I miss
it, and I wish I could show it to you instead of just try to describe it.”

“I’m sorry. 
It must still be very difficult for you.  You must feel trapped here.  It’s
still so much for me to wrap my head around – you’re from a whole other world. 
My father’s world and I guess, maybe, my world now, too.  If I had a choice,
would I belong there or here?  I wonder if I’ll ever have an opportunity to see
it.  Do you think there’s any possibility that you’ll ever be able to go back?”

Ella waited
for him to answer.  The seconds stretched and Burke sat with a faraway look in
his eye. 
What’s he thinking?
  “What is the name of your home Burke?”
she asked.

Burke looked
at her.  “Quintar, my planet is called Quintar.  And I just don’t know if
you’ll ever get to see it, or if I’ll ever get to see my family again.  I can
tell you though, Ella, there are a lot of people who would love to meet you.” 
Burke gave the second package another little nudge towards Ella.

Ella tore
the paper from the second package.  Inside was a beautiful wooden box with a
crest engraved on the lid.  The wood was dark, though whether from age or the
finish Ella couldn’t be certain.  The crest depicted a bird, much like some
kind of hawk, on a twisting and curling branch.  She ran her hand over the
crest to feel the elaborate detail of the carving, but drew back suddenly when
a slight vibration moved through her fingers.  Ella glanced up at Burke, but he
only nodded his head and made a gesture of encouragement.  She unlatched the
box and opened it to reveal two identical weapons.  They looked like short
swords, something that would be used in karate or another form of martial
arts.  Each was a little less than two feet in length.  The guards that
protruded where the handle and blade came together looked more like prongs than
traditional guards.  One prong curved up in the same direction as the blade of
the weapon, and the other curved down in the same direction as the weapon’s
handle.  At the center point where the blade, handle, and two prong-like guards
came together sat a large, smooth, blood-red stone.

“These were
your father’s sai.  The sai are the weapons of the warriors from my world.  I
have kept them for you in case you ever awakened.  Now that you have, they are
rightfully yours.”

Ella stood
and picked up one of the sai, and the red stone glowed for a few seconds. 
Burke picked up the second weapon and handed it to Ella.  When she touched it,
its stone glowed briefly also.

“The sai
stones glowed in recognition of your worthiness to wield them.  They wouldn’t
have glowed had you not been a warrior.  The sai are the weapons of balance. 
The north and south facing yoku, or prongs, represent this balance.  Everything
in the universe has an opposite, and equilibrium must be maintained.  For
darkness there is light, for male there is female, for good there is evil, for
ocean there is sky; the examples are endless.  Warriors have protected and kept
this balance for all time.  These are lessons all children back home learn,
whether they’ll be warriors, healers, or common folk.  The legends of the sai
are very important to us.”

“I know,”
Ella said.  “I mean I didn’t know what they were called, but I could just feel
the importance when I touched them… the vibration and the glow, it’s like
they’re speaking to me.  No…it’s more than that; it’s like they are a part of
me.  There’s nothing more natural or right than the weight of them in my
hands.”

Ella took a
step forward and struck out with one sai as she brought the other across her
chest in a defensive maneuver.  “I just know how to use them,” she said with
awe.  “Let’s go outside; I need some room.”

Burke
followed Ella as she excitedly went out to the back yard.  He watched as she
took off at a run and flung herself into the air.  She did a series of twists
and flips, jabbing and cutting at the air with the sai.  It was hard to believe
this was the same girl who only twenty-four hours ago was so weak she could
hardly sit up.  It wasn’t as if Burke had never seen the beauty and
gracefulness of a warrior in action, but his heart soared to bear witness to it
once again.  Ella’s natural form, strength, and talent rivaled her father’s.  He
was saddened by the fact that James wasn’t here - he would truly be proud of
his daughter.

Working her
way back across the yard in what could only be described as a dance of battle,
Ella came to a stop kneeling before Burke with her head bowed and the sai
crossed in front of her.  “Very impressive,” Burke said.

“I can
hardly believe how natural this all feels.  Although for some reason, I think
it would be even more exciting if I didn’t know there was something out there
waiting to put my abilities to the test,” Ella told him.  “The warriors didn’t
have some kind of magical armor did they?” she asked only half joking.

“Unfortunately
not,” Burke answered.  “The warriors mostly wore leather to protect them
against abrasions and such.  Their speed and strength had always been armor
enough from the dangers of our world.  Of course, the Demon wasn’t of our world. 
Why don’t we go back inside; we still have a lot to talk about, though you will
also need to train and run through drills and maneuvers much like you were just
doing.”

Ella and
Burke continued their discussion in the comfort of the living room.  “I need to
tell you that while you were ill the Demon took its second victim.  I had
called to check in at work with Carl, and became suspicious when he told me of
a young man who had been brought in.  I went down to the office and laid my
hands on him.  He had been killed by the Demon.  Like Jill, the second victim
was young and athletic.”

“How are we
going to find him?” Ella asked.

“If we don’t
find him soon, I don’t think locating him is going to be much of a problem. 
I’m guessing he has a plan.  He’s going for the strongest, healthiest victims
he can find, and he’s sticking to this general area.  Eventually I think he’s
going to come after you and me.  I think he wants to move on, maybe to a world
with more rewarding prey or maybe to return to his own world.  Either way, he’s
not getting the strength he needs from the humans to open a portal and leave. 
It appears that right now he’s just as trapped here as your father and I were.”

Trapped;
Burke
did
feel trapped here.  Ella could understand that he and her
father had risked everything to follow the Demon through the portal.  Then
after her father’s death, Burke had been left here alone to try to finish the
job that he and her father had undertaken together.  She wondered how quickly
Burke would jump at the chance to return to Quintar, and would he ask her to go
with him?  If she went she’d be leaving her family and her world just as he had
once left his.

“So what do
we do?” she asked

“I’m not
entirely sure; these last few days you have been my priority.  I was surprised
to discover how fast the Demon took his second victim.  I’ve witnessed two
cycles, and he didn’t move this fast before.  I can only guess at the
reasoning.  Maybe he hoped to have the strength to face you before you’d gone
through your awakening.  I really don’t know, Ella.  I’m kind of making this up
as I go along.”

“This is
pretty frustrating.  What are we supposed to do, go on some kind of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer patrols at night?”

“No, we’re
not going looking for him.  Not yet anyway.  You need to train first and get
completely comfortable with the sai.  But you’re not exactly going to be able
to run around in broad daylight with the sai strapped to your back.  You need
to become comfortable with throwing a knife.  Knives are quiet weapons;
effective and easily concealed.  We also need to explore your other gifts, like
tracking.  We can work on that some tomorrow.”

“Speaking of
gifts, you said you could tell how someone died by touching them.  How can you
tell?  Do you just know, or do you get some kind of vision?”

“The brain
records everything.  When someone passes and I lay my hands on their head, I’m
actually reading the recorded images from just before their death.  I see it
like I’m watching a movie, but I also feel it as if I’m that person.  It’s like
a dream.  I’m actually there, but the dream can’t physically hurt me.  But just
like when you have a dream, it seems so real.  Have you ever woke up suddenly
during a nightmare a little panicked, then you think,
Thank God it was only
a dream
?  When I let go and the connection is broken it sometimes takes a
second to realize I’m fine.  It’s not something healers like to go around doing
all the time.  The images become a memory for us.  Every death I’ve seen and
experienced is a part of me, and I’ll never be able to forget them.  It’s not
the same as witnessing a murder, though that would be bad enough.  In addition
to witnessing each death, I’ve lived through them.  Sometimes it must be done,
like when the cause of death is in question; it’s a sure way to find out what
actually happened.  It has been quite beneficial to my job at the medical
examiners.  Even though I can’t let on what or how I know, it often points me
in a certain direction or leads me to something legitimately useful in court,
like a small puncture where a drug was administered that might have gone
unnoticed or the exact weapon used in a murder.”

Ella couldn’t
help it; she had to ask the question.  “Did you lay your hands on my parents
after they died?”

Her hands
were clasped tightly in her lap, and every muscle in her body seemed tense. 
Burke reached over and took both of her hands in his.  “No Ella, I did not. 
The body must be intact for me to be able to get a reading.”  He thought it was
best to just be honest with her.  He knew she still greatly grieved their loss.

“I
understand,” she said.  She was looking at his hands wrapped around hers.  They
had known each other less than a week, but they had been through so much
together already.  Was it possible to live a lifetime in such a short time?

Burke
untangled one of his hands from Ella’s and reaching over, gently lifted her
face so that her eyes met his.  “They didn’t suffer Ella.”

Ella moved
closer to Burke and laid her head on his chest.  He wrapped his arms around her
and kissed the top of her head.  “What do you say we clean up and get some
rest?  Tomorrow’s a big day.  I need to go into the office and let Carl know
we’re taking on an intern.  We also need to come up with some kind of training
plan for you to get more comfortable with your abilities.  You must still be
tired from the awakening, not to mention you ran more than a marathon today.  I
think we’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“You’re
right, I am tired.”

“You go
ahead and have a shower first.”

While Ella
was in the bathroom, Burke got his things out of the bedroom and made up the
sofa for himself.

~~

Ella woke
early the next morning to the smell of coffee and breakfast.  She sat up in bed
and stretched, then got up and made her way to the kitchen.  Burke was just
setting two plates on the table.  “Good morning, did you sleep well?” he asked,
turning to smile at her.

“Yes, but
I’m feeling a little guilty about stealing your bed.”

“Nonsense, I
slept great.”

“This looks
amazing,” Ella said as she sat down. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Well, I’ve
rigged up a dummy in the back yard.  I thought you could work out and practice
some more with the sai this morning while I go into work.  I have some throwing
knives for you to work with, too.  I’ll tell Carl we’re taking on an intern
from the college and work out the details on that end.  Hopefully nothing will
be going on at work today, and I’ll cut out for an early lunch.  This afternoon
I’d like to work on your tracking skills.  Does that sound okay to you?”