Gathering Water (18 page)

Even the shower took a few minutes to figure out. I had to put my hand on the same circle that was etched in some of the doors and swirl my finger on it to control the temperature. The water, like the light throughout the place, seemed to bleed from the stone ceiling, making me feel like I was showering in the rain and I wondered how much it would cost to install something like this in my own house.

I dried myself off and put my bathing suit back on, since they had yet again left out underwear among the clothes they provided. I figured it must be a cultural thing. Putting on the giant bolt of fabric proved troublesome, and when I was finally done I felt like I was going to a toga party and was especially glad I was wearing my swimsuit in case something fell down. I wasn’t sure how the Elfennol would react to a wardrobe malfunction. Probably not well.

A knock on the door proved that I had finished dressing just in time, and when I went to open it for whoever it was I saw a woman of my height waiting for me. She had black hair, green eyes, and took one disapproving look at me before pulling me back in the room to fix my clothes.

“Now I know why Lord Derek wanted me to come a few minutes early to help. You look like you’re wearing a potato sack,” she said uncharitably.

“Hey, where I come from you don’t need a how-to guide to get dressed!”

“I meant no offense. You weren’t far off, just twist it here and pull it all the way around like this, then wrap the cord a few times, like this.” She started messing with my wrap, undressing then redressing me the right way. “This is the fastest way but there are several other chiton styles I can show you at another time if you like.” She then put her hands on the spot on the bureau where drawers would normally be and after a brief glow, opened it up, showing a cache full of goodies.

“Let me fix your hair, and put some kohl on your eyes.”

“Uh, sure?” I said, though she didn’t really give me the option to say no.

“My name is Laurel, by the way,” she introduced herself before somehow growing a perfect little stool made of stone and ivy from the floor for me to sit on while she knotted my hair at the base of my neck and then expertly applied eyeliner and color to my mouth and lips. Whatever she used on my cheeks smelled strongly of ginger and nutmeg. When she was done I looked sleek and sophisticated, and the black around my eyes made them glow blue, matching my “chiton” beautifully.

“Wow, Laurel, it looks great! Thank you.” Now that she’d wrapped my dress properly, it was actually pretty comfortable and I wondered what type of looks I’d get if I decided to get one to wear around back home. She nodded her head at her handiwork, which was basically all of me, then handed me my token thingy as if I knew what the heck it was for.

“Yeah, I saw them…” I trailed off, not wanting her to think I was a complete moron. The only thing they resembled to me was hair-chopsticks, and she’d already fixed my hair.

“Put it on you wrist. The council will want to see their present to you. These are very nice, usually they give initiates something more delicate. I suppose these will come in more handy than some ring or such would.” She kept talking, and I kept not understanding.

“Would you mind helping me with it?”

“You don’t know what this is, do you?” her eyebrows knit together as she asked.

“No, not exactly.” I kept my eyes on her, determined not to be embarrassed by my lack of knowledge.

“They are throwing spikes. You can throw them, or use your abilities to throw them, at enemies. The sheath is for your wrist, just tie it on like so.” And once again I found myself being fussed over by this woman.

The sheath fit nicely on my inner left forearm, and I spent a few minutes waving my arm around and finding it not at all cumbersome, a comfortable weight, in fact.

Laurel then led me out the door to the feast. She was much more talkative than Alexander had been, but she spoke just as formally as he had. It took about fifteen minutes to walk all the way back to the stadium area where we had our testing. During the walk, Laurel told me quite a bit more about herself and the “battalion” that was stationed there. She focused on long range, and I had no idea what that meant other than maybe a bow and arrow.

The stadium was once again full, but instead of the Elfennol crowding the seats, they were milling around the field where the testing had taken place. It had been transformed in the time that I’d been gone from an empty-then-devastated field, to a party that any A-list actor would kill to be invited to.

Everyone was out of their ‘karate’ garb, and most of the women were wearing dresses similar to mine, though most of them were wrapped in a fancier way. The men were wearing shirts similar to what they had on earlier but sleeveless, and a pair of darker looking slacks. Most of them left the top few buttons undone and they all reminded me of GQ models, which wasn’t that surprising considering how ‘in shape’ everyone was. Guess they didn’t have cheeseburgers down there. Sucks for them.

Laurel was still by my side as I searched the crowd for Cash and Connor. Hell, I’d even take Toby just to see a familiar face. I’d had way too much “unfamiliar” in the past several hours and needed someone to take my mind off the whole “My dad’s probably an Elfennol or worse, a Clade” thing.

I’m not… what’s the word for disliking a group of people based on the fact they aren’t human? Is it racist? Specist? Anyways, I’m not whatever-the-word-is, but I
was
having a hard time accepting the fact that I wasn’t fully human. Was I sterile like a mule or a liger since my parents weren’t the same species? Or were they…? Do I need to track down all the doctors I’ve ever been to and burn my files so someone doesn’t discover my strangeness? If Clades were all Elfennol at one time, did it mean that I could turn all “bad guy”? What if my dad already was, would I have to kill him to prove my loyalty to The Cause? My mind definitely needed something else to latch on to.

I finally spotted my cousin’s tow-headed self, and walked towards him, trying not to notice the wide berth everyone else was giving me.

July 10
th
, 1969

Dear Journal,

I believe that Anise is finally catching on to the fact the Toby Neale is in love with her. She isn’t the same reckless girl that she was a year ago; heartbreak changes a person and if Lucas did nothing else, he did break my daughter’s heart. I’m curious to see what she does with the knowledge of Tobias’ feelings towards her. I know she is fond of him but… Well, I suppose she is an adult now, and I must work on cutting those stubborn apron strings and let her live her life. But I miss her laugh. I suppose love is a hard thing to heal from.

“What’d you do to your face?” Cash asked me when we got within talking distance. He was wearing a darker grey shirt than before, tucked in to show off his fancy new leather belt. It was stained the same rich brown as mine, and I pulled on the metal hoops that were sticking out of the sheath on one hip to find out what kind of goody he’d gotten.

“Shut up. What kind of knives are these?” I asked him since I’d never seen one with hoops on top, and its hilt was just flat and metal.

“Throwing knives! Balanced better for Bending through the air. What’d you get?”

I held out my arm so he could pull out one of my spikes while I admired his gift. It was the same black metal as my spikes and even the sharp parts of the blades were black. It also had the power of three symbol etched into it, surrounded by a circle like mine. I made a mental note to ask Uncle Connor, or Luke, about what the symbol meant later, and gave the knife back to Cash.

“How come I got spikes instead of a knife?” I wasn’t complaining, just curious.

“We are aware that you’ve had less opportunity to practice your abilities, and the spikes are more easily controlled. Besides, it’s traditional that the future Neale get a weapon to be used with his physical strength since their bending abilities are usually negligible. We gave Cash something that can be useful either way, since your generation doesn’t have the limits that you grandparents did,” Lord Derek explained from my right. I hadn’t even realized he was there until he spoke. Cash and I turned our bodies to include him in our conversation.

“Thanks for the gifts. I can’t wait to start training with them next week,” Cash said, handing me back my spike while he took his knife back.

“I’m sure you can convince your father to start training as soon as you get back tomorrow,“ he said.

“No, Dad will be getting ready for my aunt’s memorial service this weekend. It can wait a few days.”

“You’re having a service for Gabriella?” Derek’s eyes widened, and he leaned forward in interest.

“Yeah. Dad wants everyone to be able to come and say good bye,” Cash said.

“Oh.” He cleared his throat before addressing me, “Della, we were all very saddened to hear about your mother’s death. I know that you were robbed of the chance to know her, but she was a wonderful woman. We were all lucky to know her.” Derek was the first person to say that they were sorry I
didn’t
know my mother, not just “sorry for my loss”.

“I’ve heard. I really came back to get to know her a little, but with everything that’s been going on…” I trailed off, realizing that I really hadn’t done what I thought I’d be doing. I knew a lot more about her life, but she was still so mysterious to me. I didn’t know what her favorite food was, or her favorite season, or how she smelled.

“So, Della, will you be moving back into the family house?” Derek offered a welcome change of subject.

“Yeah, we’ll be moving in this weekend too,” Cash answered for me.

“What do you mean, we?” I narrowed my eyes.

“I mean we’re moving in this weekend. Unless you’re wanting to wait another week,” he looked at Derek, “I told her it might be weird moving the same weekend as the funeral.”

“No, I meant about the ‘we’.
We’re
not doing anything.
I’m
moving this weekend into
my
house.”

“Well, I’m moving too. I can either get one of the two extra bedrooms, or camp out on the lawn. Your choice, just might not be the best way to get along with your neighbors if all of my stuff is just sitting in your front yard.” So. Infuriating.

“I really think you might be insane! Did your mother drop you on your head as a baby? There is no way you’re moving in with me and if you-“

“There is no way I’m
not
moving in with you! You were almost killed two freaking days ago. You shouldn’t be alone. Plus, I’m such an awesome roommate, you’ll hardly know I’m there,” Cash said.

“I doubt that,” I grumbled. We had a group of people looking at us as we argued, who all started their conversations back up at once when we looked around at them. It made us both laugh a little when we noticed.

“I see that you are getting along well.” Derek looked, I don’t know, indulgent as he said that.

“Sorry about that. My cousin hasn’t been properly trained yet,” I said while trying to hold my chuckles in.

“Shut up.” He elbowed me in the ribs.

“Why don’t I grab you both a drink, before you maim each other,” Derek offered, laughing lightly at our immaturity. I’m glad someone thought it was funny.

“Great idea, Derek.” My uncle had been, apparently, standing right next to us. “Better yet, Cash, why don’t you come with me so we can grab some food. Maybe if your mouths are full you might be civil to each other for once. Derek, would you like anything other than a drink?”

“No, thank you. Charles,” Derek motioned to someone on his right who was speaking with another group, “Please help the Dux and his son with their plates.” With a bow-like nod to Derek, the man immediately left his group to follow Connor and Cash. Derek’s familiar manner with Cash and me had let it slip my mind that he was a powerful man and leader of powerful people. Charles’ obedience forcibly reminded me of Derek’s status.

“Della, I’m glad that I have you alone for a few moments. I have a request of you while you remain here,” he paused, looking at me as if requesting my approval to continue.

“Shoot,” I said. Derek raised his brows in question, not understanding for a brief moment. Guess I should have said something a little more sophisticated.

“There are those among us who are unhappy with your presence here. I would like for you to remain in the company of your own family, or of my own, for the rest of your visit here. For your own protection, of course.” Derek said to me with a voice laced with command.

“Why do I need protection? I can handle people griping about my presence, it doesn’t hurt my feelings.” I didn’t want to say I was used to it.

Derek lazily looked around, making me feel as if he were avoiding eye contact. He took a step closer, and with a lowered voice he said, “Though the council has not told anyone, our people suspect your rather unique abilities are the result of your rather unique parentage. It is the greatest taboo our people have, and if your mother’s condition had been discovered before your birth, you would not be standing here now.” He took a moment to look me in the eyes, and I realized he hadn’t been avoiding eye contact with me, he’d been searching the crowd for eavesdroppers. “Some feel that it is not too late to correct the issue.”

The weight of his words sank into the pit of my stomach. Gulp. “Why is it so bad? I haven’t done anything wrong!” I could hear my heart pumping loudly in my ears as anger and fear fueled my words.

“Be calm, Della. I’m not telling you this to make you afraid. Our people have feared what a union could mean. The powers in your family are the counterpart to our own. A person who has all of the powers of both peoples, someone who can control all five elements, is a person of terrifying strength.” His eyes bored into my face, making sure that I was fully understanding his words. “My people have seen how power can corrupt. The ranks of the Clades are made of loved ones who have succumbed to it. That is where their fears lie. Some are saying that your sire must be Clade, and that your conception was intentional.”

“Even if that’s true, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to be bad! I mean, I make my own choices, I shouldn’t be judged on what my father did! We don’t even know who my father is! It’s not fair to just assume the worst.” At my raised voice, Derek’s eyes darted around again, and he stepped closer so that he could be heard.

“It is not fair, but while some of our people continue to choose a path of darkness, none of the born-Clades have ever turned to the light. The taint is bred into the child if its parents are already infected at its birth.” He was speaking more quickly now, and more softly than ever. “There is no taint in your blood, though. They are insulting Gabby’s memory by even suggesting such a thing. I wish… Just know that none will harm you here, without offering my Family offense. Just be careful.” He looked behind me and I turned to see Cash and Connor returning with hands full of food. The arena had also somehow filled with tables while we were talking. “I wish we had more time.”

I whipped my head around and opened my mouth to ask his meaning, but was interrupted by his jovial greeting to my family.

“Ah, I see that you found the spanakopita. A personal favorite of mine,” Derek said as they walked closer.

Cash handed me a plate and a beautifully blown glass full of a lightly glowing drink. I floundered for a moment, having no idea how to hold both things and eat at the same time. Derek noticed our hesitation and grew a round stone table from the earth. It was shiny black with lines of silver and red spread through it, and was surrounded by enough chairs for us all to sit, plus a couple of extras.

“That is awesome! How’d you do that?” Cash asked.

“It’s simple. I believe that you can use your abilities to bend a chair into place. It is not quite the same as what I just did but the land here is accustomed to shaping itself to the needs of people. Try it,” Derek told him, making one of the chairs sink back into the earth so that Cash would have room to create his own.

While Cash tried his hand at creating a chair, I sat in mine with the intention of eating. The chair looked like a stone that matched the table, but the top of the chair was soft and molded itself to my shape. The next several minutes I kept my mouth full, hardly laughing at the lumpy stool that Cash proudly made, and focused on what Derek had said during our conversation.

Despite the fact that there was a faction of people who possibly wanted me dead, I was comforted by Derek’s support and staunch belief in my mother’s loyalty. Of course, the question of who my father really was would not leave my mind and I promised myself a trip to the safety deposit box the next day to take a look at the letter and picture that had come with my armlet.

After my plate was finally cleared of food, I looked up and took a drink from my glass. Moonlight exploded on my tongue, and I felt its coolness travel down my throat and settle in my stomach. My eyes widened in delight.

“Della, be careful with the ambrose, it has intoxicating qualities. This batch is especially potent. It is a celebration, after all,” Derek said as he raised his own glass to me before taking a drink.

“I want what she’s having then. My glass just has water in it,” Cash complained, eyeing my cup as if he were planning the best way to steal it.

“You already are drinking the same thing. I’m afraid the effects can only be felt by Elfennol.” Derek’s mouth quirked to the side.

“I never knew that.” My uncle eyed his own glass skeptically and took a sip. “It tastes like spring water. Just like always.”

“We infuse the water with energy. Since it’s spirit energy, I’m not surprised that you haven’t been able to tell,” Derek told us.

“Cool. So, what does it taste like?” Cash asked, curiosity thick in his voice.

“It depends on where the energy comes from. This particular brew has been made with some lunar energy as its main contributor. I’m sure there are other things that went into it, but the recipes are closely guarded secrets. My own favorite is a brew from orange trees. Very refreshing.” He leaned back in his chair.

“But it will still just taste like water to us?” Cash’s mouth was frowning a little in confusion. Derek nodded his head in affirmation, then Cash continued, “So, if you infuse it with Spirit energy, could we make something similar with our elements?”

“No, I’m afraid not. Being able to take energy and put it elsewhere without using it ourselves is something that only Elfennol can do. But perhaps Della would be able to make something with all the elements.” Derek’s brow was furrowed, thinking of the possibility.

“What would it do? If she could, I mean.” Connor leaned forward.

“Well, if she were successful, the drink could give you a jump of energy. You wouldn’t have to Gather for it. I’m not sure if she would have to use individual elements for it to be useful in any sort of battle. I’m not sure how practical it would be for you since you can store so little and can Gather so quickly. We use ours on long journeys, and to help with healing, since our life forces are so tied with our energy levels. It would, at the very least, be an interesting experiment.” Cash, Connor, and Derek continued with the conversation of my possibly mutated abilities for the next few hours, until, finally, I excused myself for bed.