Life In The Palace (13 page)

Tal’s car was parked right next to the main entrance.

“Do you want a ride?” she asked as she buzzed the car open.

She always gets great parking; I wonder if that’s one of the perks?

“No, thanks, I’m going straight to my boyfriend’s. He was away for the weekend and now he’s back.” I gestured in the direction of his house.

“Ok, happy reunion-ing,” Tal said with a wink.

I was shocked. She was really coming out of her shell today. I waved and started to walk away, then I ran back before she could pull away.

“Tal, are you going to the old age home this week?”

“Sure, we go almost every week. It’s part of our regular Service,” she said as the car window wound down.

“Can I come?”

She looked slightly surprised. “Yeah, why not? Or actually, why yes?”

It was my turn to blush. “I actually just quite like the elderly. Also, you know, maybe it’s my part in the war effort.”

“Ok, I’ll see if I can get the car to pick you up. I’ll call you.”

As soon as she was ready to pull away from the curb the lights down the block turned red and she pulled out into clear road. I waved and then headed to Seth’s.

Josh let me in. Seth was still sleeping. I entered his room silently and perched on top of a pile of clothes heaped on his chair. His hair was sticking up in about ten different directions, and there was a bit of drool at the side of his mouth. He was beautiful. He was sleeping in only the black jeans. His stomach muscles rippled invitingly. I struggled with the desire to nuzzle him awake and the pleasure of watching him sleep.

I swiveled the chair around and flicked on Seth’s computer. Spike had tagged me on pictures of her packing for the big trip. It seemed I was going to get a blow-by-blow account of the trip whether I liked it or not. I also had a message from Stacy.

What’s your address? I want to send you a card for your birthday. How’s it going with lover boy? I registered for U of FL. I’m thinking of majoring in psychology, but then it would be a while before I earn any money. I thought about social work, but then I’d never earn any money. Rob’s pretty serious about opening his own place. He’s got some quite devoted customers already. We’d need a loan from the bank and now’s not the best economy for starting a business, so we’ll have to see what happens. Did you tell Mom and Dad I said hi?

Stacy

I wrote back.

Seth is delicious. Right now he’s asleep, but he probably says hi. You could always send me an e-card, but I’ve put my address below. Guess what, you were right. Jared didn’t need any help after all. He got a boyfriend! Some kid Benny who was in the grade below us. I wonder how long it’s being going on? I didn’t actually tell Mom and Dad hi. I haven’t spoken to them much. But I will if you want.

Chloe

Immediately she wrote back

You can tell them if you want. Only if you’re speaking to them.

S

I picked up my cell phone. Mom would be in the shop, usually she could talk unless she was with a client. Flowers don’t need much personal attention. I let myself back out of Seth’s room and went out onto the stoop to make my call.

“Hey, Ma? Are you busy?”

I could picture Mom pushing back her springy hair and sliding the phone into the crook of her neck so she could carry on using both hands.

“Hang on a sec. I’ve just got to get this thingy in my ear,” she said.

I heard rustling. “What thingy?”

“Your Dad got me this Bluetooth, hands-free thing for the phone so I could talk without doing in my back. I’ve got three weddings this week so I need to get going.”

“No funerals?”

“Naah, there aren’t many funerals this time of year. It’s mostly in the winter. I think the cold weather finishes them off.”

“But you live in Texas. It doesn’t get that cold.”

“Could be it’s the shock of fresh air when they finally go outside after it cools down. What’s the weather like up there in Canada?”

I looked out at the picturesque tree lined street. The blazing sun bounced through the leaves making little pools of shade. I suddenly realized I’d started to get used to the humidity.

“You know, it’s pretty hot for Canada. It must be up in the nineties today. And it’s humid. You come out of the shower and you could just go right back in again.”

The Bluetooth thingy was pretty powerful, and I could hear the
snip
,
snip
as Mom trimmed the flowers. “It sounds almost as bad as Florida. Do you remember when we all went to visit Cousin Martin in Miami? I never knew my body could make that much sweat.”

I giggled. Aunt Theresa had hated the humidity and spent the whole time cussing under her breath in Spanish and fanning herself with a small paper fan.

“It was pretty hot,” was as much as I allowed myself to say about the whole experience. Mom didn’t like talking about Aunt Theresa. She says you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead so no one should bring up the subject and force her into it. “Montreal is not as bad as Florida.”

I paused to see if she was really listening to me. “I heard from Stacy.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. She was really listening to me.

“It sounds like she’s doing well. They’re in Jacksonville, Florida. Rob has a steady job and Stacy’s transferred to the University of Florida.”

“She’s still in school?” The tone was icy.

“She sounds really excited to start. She says she’s thinking of majoring in psychology. Right now she’s working to save up so she won’t have to work during the semester. It sounds like Rob’s bringing in enough to keep them covered without Stacy having to work in the school year. She asked me to say hi.”

“She did?” When she wanted, Mom could do more damage with one eyebrow than even Spike. I could just imagine her face now.

“She sounded pretty pleased to hear from me. If you want I could get a phone number for you.” I winced as I realized I’d just admitted to initiating contact with the official family outcast. Mom didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Her voice softened slightly, “You can tell her I was pleased to hear she’s back in school.”

I wasn’t sure what to say next.

“I think I should concentrate on the orchids for few minutes.” I wasn’t surprised she wanted to ring off, that had just about exhausted our usual emotional range.

“Sure Mom. Tell Dad I said hi.”

I sat outside staring at the shadow patterns on the sidewalk until the pool of sweat between my shoulder blades became a river running down to my pelvis. The sweet cool of the air-conditioning as I re-entered Seth’s apartment made me silently bless the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Wilks. I shut the bedroom door behind me and was about to take up my place on the chair again when his smile betrayed his wakefulness.

“I thought you were still asleep.” I lay down next to him uninvited.

He slipped his arms around me and pulled me closer until we faced each other. “I was then. I was just lying here wondering what time it was and when you were coming.”

“I’ve been here for a while. I just went outside to make a call. I didn’t want to wake you.” The closeness of his body seemed to ease away aches and pain I hadn’t notice myself accumulating.

“You can always wake me,” he whispered bringing his lips to mine.

We didn’t speak for a long time, at least not with our words. My heart was in deep conversation with his, catching up for lost time.

Eventually he asked, “How was the exam?”

It seemed like a hundred years ago. “Fine, it was multiple choice. How bad could it be?”

“I know, when in doubt put C.”

I pulled away a little. “Does that really work or is it just an urban legend?”

Seth smiled, but pulled me back again. “I’ve never tested it out. I would like to think that our professors are smarter than that, but it remains to be seen. Now you have one week of freedom before the real work starts.”

“Summer school isn’t real work?” I asked, although I knew it wasn’t.

“No way. Just you wait, now you might actually have to write an essay.”

I ran my fingers through his hair. “That’s okay then, I’ve got this great boyfriend who’s always available to help me with my papers.”

“I’d love to meet him sometime. Because I thought you came here to get an education.”

I smirked, “I came to school in Canada where the drinking age is eighteen. I came here to get laid.”

Seth pretended to look scandalized. Then he leaned forward and kissed me with a passion that took my breath away. When my heart was beating fast enough I was worried it would jump right out of my chest, he pulled away. We lay there panting, staring at each other.

“Right now?” I asked.

Seth wordlessly shook his head. His lips caressed the nape of my neck. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so uncharacteristically I lay still and just lingered in the pleasure of his touch.

When life seemed to have returned to normal I asked, “What was that?”

A smile spread across Seth’s face. “I owed you.”

“Huh?”

“On our last gig the crowd was really going wild and we were flying. When I came down off the stage I felt like the king of the world, like everything in my life was complete. I looked around for you, but you weren’t there and I wasn’t complete. I decided to save the moment to share with you later.”

“You guys must have really rocked.” I thought I sounded totally normal, I lay basking in the warmth of his body, but then I realized that Seth was still looking at me. His eyes searched for an answer to an unspoken question. I avoided meeting his gaze.

“Are you telling me about it now or do you have more avoiding to do first?” He asked.

I snuggled further into his shoulder, “This whole seeing angels in the weekend sort of threw me.”

“Why?” he asked respecting my right to maintain some distance from my angst by avoiding eye contact.

“Because it’s all freaking true!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw him smirk.

“God is supposed to be like Santa; could be out there, probably not, but who cares as long as your parents fake it and give you presents. If Santa comes shimmying down your chimney come winter time, I’ll be freaked out too.”

“Especially because we have electric heating.” I would have been mad at him for joking around, but I think he was trying to make it easier on me. He pulled back slightly so he could see my face.

“Are you still freaking out?”

I met his gaze. “No, I think I’ve got my head around it now. The world is not exactly what I thought it was. They, the People, have the things they need to be doing, but I’m not one of them. It’s kind of fun to hang out on the periphery, but I don’t think I’m about to start learning battle tactics.”

I don’t think I’ve sold him on the whole Angels-are-real thing, but then Tal warned me no one would believe me. It doesn’t really matter.

Seth stroked my hair gently. “It must be quite overwhelming to meet someone with such intense belief.”

I knew he didn’t really believe me. He’s just being supportive, but he’s doing a good job of it.

“Lots of people believe.” I squinted at him.

“No, they don’t.” Seth was totally serious. “Lots of people think it’s comforting to hope that there might be something out there. But most people don’t really believe in God. Certainly not in one that’s intimately involved in the day to day running of the world. If you really thought there was a divine power that was running the world on a daily basis and watching what you were doing, you’d give your whole life to be religious too. Most people aren’t seriously religious because they don’t really believe. Real belief obligates you to serve, anything else is idiocy.”

I looked at him like I was seeing him for the first time. “So you don’t believe?”
What does he believe in?

“No. I’m not arrogant and ignorant enough to presume that the whole universe is here simply as a result of random chance. I don’t know what’s out there. But I haven’t yet chanced upon the Master of the Universe.”

I wondered whether he had and he’d just missed the moment, but I didn’t say anything. I said, “I’ll let you know if he invites us to double date.”

Seth chuckled, it seemed the idea of dinner and a show with the Creator of the World appealed to him.

Loud laughter from the living room penetrated our cocoon.

“Who’s out there?” Seth asked.

“When I was last there it was Josh with Dwayne, Charlie and Bernie.”

Seth sighed, “I hate to break it to you, but I’m actually rather hungry.”

“Then you should eat. I wouldn’t mind some lunch either.” I craned my head to see the clock on the computer. “Or an early dinner,” I amended.

“Are you ready to brave the world at large?” Seth stroked my cheek.

“It seems our choices are that or digesting our stomach lining.”

He started to get out of bed and make his way towards the door.

“Were you going to put any clothes on?” I asked stroking his delectably muscular stomach.

Seth looked down at his sparse outfit, clearly wondering what else he required.

“Two reasons, one, I’d like to at least pretend to be discrete, and two, they will assume that you’re going commando.”

“I am.”

I suppressed a smile. With his whole body speaking of begrudging acts performed only to please a lady, Seth put on a shirt and slipped his feet into a pair of black Toms.

Chapter 10

T
he orientation was
as exciting as a PowerPoint presentation of the school map could possibly be. Afterward, we trudged around after our campus guide trying to take everything in without looking too much like we cared.

As we were herded down the corridor displaying historic portraits of past school presidents, a slim girl about my height with mousy brown hair in a cute pixy cut sidled over next to me. She was wearing regular jeans, Converse, a dark green singlet and numerous thin silver bangles.

“Hi, I’m Jen,” she whispered, although there was no reason for the subterfuge. No one official was speaking, we were just walking from one place to another.

There was a twinkle in her eyes.

“I’m Chloe,” I whispered back without moving my head to look at her.

I smiled.

“We have a problem,” Jen whispered.

I turned my head to look at her, she was smirking. I nodded for her to elaborate.

“Somehow we have to navigate the transition from knowing no one to having friends without actually being seen to make friends, because as we both know it would be very uncool to admit that it’s awkward when you don’t know anyone.”

I liked her already.

“How will we overcome this problem?” I asked keeping my tone serious.

“We will pretend to be friends, either until we become friends or until we meet other people and painlessly drift apart. Nothing attracts people to you in these situations as much as already having friends.”

I nodded. “Should we shake on it?”

“No, just follow my lead.”

I waited to see what would happen. She sidled away again.

When the stupid tour had finished, which blessedly did not take too long because it didn’t seem like the campus guide was that fascinated either, I looked around. From the other side of the group I saw Jen heading towards me waving.

“Chloe! There you are! Hi!” She called out loudly, smiling profusely.

I took my cue and smiled back. “Hey Jen!”

Before I knew what was happening she threw her hands around me and hugged me. “Have you seen what’s happening down on the lawn, there’s a whole barbeque and a giant moonwalk slide thing?”

“Sounds great!” I said with the level of enthusiasm I usually saved for the under fours.

As soon as we were away from the main group, Jen burst out laughing.

“Ok, so if we’re never friends again after today, I still owe you one. That was fun. Of course that was only stage one of the plan. Now we have to get to know each other quickly so that we can start on manufacturing a social group.”

“Do you always approach popularity like a military operation?”

I could smell the cooking meat as we made our way down the main drive.

“Anyone can be popular as long as they have friends they don’t like,” Jen said with a surprisingly straight face.

“Do you mean that?” I sounded shocked.

“It’s true,” Jen said. “You can’t be popular if you plan to stick only to people you like and want to spend time with. Thankfully, popularity is not actually my goal over here.”

“It’s not?”

She shook her head with a self-satisfied smile, “No, not at all. I was popular in my first high school and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. But it did let me study the science of popularity. If people think of you as desirable to know, then you have the luxury of picking out exactly which people you want to have as friends.”

I immediately thought of Seth, who’d been able to wait over a year without worrying if he’d get a girlfriend waiting for me to come along.

I thought for a minute, “First high school?” I asked.

“I was in three.” She explained with a shrug.

“That must be hard.”

“Yes and no. My mom is excellent, and since I only had three real friends in each place, I’ve stayed in touch with most of them.”

“Are you planning on sticking out the whole four years here?”

Jen laughed, “I hope so. I thought about renting an apartment instead of moving into res just so I wouldn’t have to pack my stuff up again for four years.”

“I’m not in res,” I commented.

“No? Cool. I thought they have enough space for everybody these days.”

“They do, I think. I came early and did summer school. I needed somewhere to live and to be honest the whole communal shower thing was one experience I could live without.”

“I’m with you, sister. Thank goodness that I’m in the new res. We’ve got en suites. Where’s your apartment? Are you living by yourself?”

I gestured behind us, “Just up the hill. We’re the top floor of one of those triplex things.”

We were nearly at the barbeque. There were a bunch of people milling around with hotdogs in their hands.

Jen grabbed my arm holding me back, “Quick, before we hit stage two. Where are you from? What do you plan to major in? We’ve already done which res. Why did you pick this fine academic institution?” Jen asked.

“El Paso, Texas. Chemical engineering. There was no essay,” I shot back.

“There was no essay?” She arched one eyebrow.

“For real. I’d applied to a bunch of other schools I didn’t even know if I wanted to go to and then I saw that the application from here didn’t require an essay, so I applied late.”

“Then came early?”

I shrugged.

“Don’t worry,” Jen said brightly. “If we’re going to be friends there’s time for you to tell me the story and if not then you can keep your secrets.”

“Thanks,” I said, not sure I meant it. “What about you?”

“Philadelphia, at least most recently. Whatever will get me into med school, I was thinking of political science because I hear med school is really like you take arts majors. Here it’s cheap, and my parents argue over money often enough.”

“Sorry,” I winced.

“Mainly their lawyers argue over it, so it could be worse.”

“How long have they been divorced?” I asked and hoped it wasn’t too personal an enquiry.

“They’re not yet. That’s the problem.”

“Oh.” Thankfully my lame response was lost in our arrival at the barbeque area. We joined the line for a hotdog. Behind us stood a short girl with a mop of springy black hair. She was wearing a small cotton sundress, with brown leather sandals that might have been handmade, with a silver chain around her ankle.

Jen turned around to face her, “Hi, I’m Jen. This is Chloe, she’s from El Paso, Texas.”

The girl looked surprised then pleased. “Hi, I’m Tess. I’m from Ottawa.”

It didn’t take long to see the pattern. Jen made the first move, asked the person a bunch of easy questions and then introduced them to the previous acquisition. She was right, a few people together were much less threatening than one person by themselves. After a while we had quite a group going.

“Did you get your frosh assignment?” Tess asked me.

I rummaged in my bag for the piece of paper.

“I’m not even sure what I’m looking for on this thing. My group leader is Samantha Rickman.”

“Oh, me too. We’re in the same group,” Tess exclaimed, examining her own assignment sheet.

“What are we doing?”

“I think going to every bar in the city,” Tess said with a straight face.

“Is that supposed to be fun?” It sounded grueling.

“I guess after a few bars we’ll be drunk enough to think it’s fun.”

*

As soon as she felt consciousness arrive in the Palace, Tal quickly shifted her focus to see as much detail of landscape as possible. Sima had taught her last week to strive to see the individual blades of grass. When Tal had first started ascending, their quadrant had seemed like a waste land, red brown earth throbbing with potential but barren of vegetation. Now her clarity had increased. Tal remembered the first lesson, “He Who Knows cannot enter a place that is full of self. He will enter only where we let Him in. Our work is to become a vessel. You must learn to create a space inside of you.”

Tal felt the benefit of the instruction. She calmed her self and let her mind relax into the Palace like stepping into a welcome embrace. She stood on a rutted dirt track that ran through a lush meadow. It curved away from them and wound its way up a small ridge of hills. To the left, a small copse of trees stood as a demarcation between the flat lands and the higher ground. Tal breathed in the sweet air before she moved to begin their assigned task.

“I am Tal, daughter of Lana. I walk with He who Sees. May my service to You be pleasing on this day, my Lord,” Tal said quietly. She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and enjoyed the intimacy of Connection.

As she exhaled, Tal turned to her side and waited for her friend to finish reciting the benediction. Like most of them, Noy’s Palace Self was similar to her physical Self; blond springy curls, high cheek bones and bright blue eyes. In the Palace Noy was slightly taller with a well-toned body that would have cost her many hours of Zumba in the physical world.

“Just guarding today, right?” Noy asked, as she finished.

“If it be His will.” Tal shrugged. They never knew quite what would happen when they ascended.

“Gal said we just need to keep an eye on it.” Tal pointed to the sinkhole which lay slightly to their right, glistening purple and electric blue at the edges. It couldn’t have been more than half a meter in diameter, but still it was jarring to look at; a sudden emptiness in the midst of the vibrant green grass.

Tal jerked her head in that direction. “It doesn’t look that bad. Are we getting all excited about nothing?”

Noy walked cautiously towards the sinkhole. “I doubt it. Gal is usually on the ball. Even if it’s stable, a new sinkhole is still a new sinkhole. And Gal’s the boss.”

Tal groaned inwardly, she didn’t need reminding that her brother called the shots. “Obviously we have to monitor it.”

Noy smiled. “What else were you planning on doing tonight?”

“Nothing, I guess,” Tal shrugged. “I’ve been working on a battle formation and I rather wanted to get back to it.”

“Well, you might get to use it today.” Noy sat down on a large rock by the side of the path, placing her sword between her knees. “Any luck working out what we’re up against?”

“Nothing. All I got today was drums.”

“Drums, dancing, it could be a pattern.” Noy suggested.

“Or a bunch of random Interloper interference.” Tal kept her sword in her hands, rubbing the hilt absentmindedly as she watched the landscape.

Tal felt the rush before it came. The top of her mind sensed the shift and instantly she whirled to meet the attack. Noy was already in a defensive position. The rock they had been sitting on unfolded itself to be a giant bear. Suddenly Tal saw everything in slow motion. Noy reached to pull her sword from its sheaf. Tal felt the heavy dagger in her hand. The bear’s huge mouth came lunging towards her, the lips pulled back in a snarl. Impossibly sharp teeth dripped with saliva. As she felt the steaming breath on her face, Tal thrust her new dagger into the soft hide. There was a slight resistance as it punctured the skin but the knife was strong and it quickly found its mark.

The bear evaporated into a cloud of anti-light before vanishing. An arrow clattered to the left of Tal’s feet. She looked up to see Dava and Gal racing towards them.

“Are you ok?” Gal’s dark hair bounced as he ran..

“Just a flash fire,” Noy called back cheerfully. “Tal’s got it all under control.”

Coming up alongside them, Gal looked at his sister quizzically. Tal concentrated.

“It’s not over,” she said quietly.

Gal needed no more information. “Dror, Cale, Jov to me.” The three of them manifested immediately. Dror was always the muscular silent type, in the Palace he looked like the Hulk’s body double. Cale’s hair was still flaming red, but without the freckles that earned him merciless teasing in Elementary school. Jov had the same blond hair and blue eyes as his sister Noy, but his hair was cropped close to his head, around his waist was a leather weapons belt.

Instinctively, the group drew in, backs together.

“We’re on?” Jov asked.

“Tal just took down what looked like a flash fire, but she says there’s more coming,” Gal said.

Dror nodded. They were coming to respect Tal’s instincts.

“Over there.” Cale pointed to a small ridge about five hundred meters away.

“Stay here,” Gal instructed. “I think they’re coming to us. The high ground is only worth anything if you stay on it. Here we can see them coming without being at a disadvantage. Usual formations, Jov keep Dava covered.”

Jov squinted. Dava reached one arm behind her and drew out a longbow and two arrows.

“Nice one, Dava.”

Dava nodded at Jov to indicate that now was not the time to congratulate her on her new acquisition.

Three riderless horses mounted the crest of the hill. Just visible in the foreground were two panthers. An eagle circled leisurely above.

“Can you take down the eagle before they charge?” Gal asked Dava.

“I can try. I just got this. I’m supposed to go tomorrow for instruction.”

“Let’s hope you don’t need it.”

“I haven’t taken down a panther for at least a week,” Dror said with a grin. Dror, six feet six in his socks, looked like he could take down a tank.

“They’re coming,” Tal said, a second before the charge began.

Tal felt the adrenaline fill her body, a surge of excitement, a drive making every sinew come alive similar to the surge of euphoria from hearing your favorite song on a crowded dance floor. In a split second her cognitive mind took a step back, and something else stepped to the fore. It was a skill she hardly remembered learning, to rotate her mind. Like entering the Palace at will, she’d watched her parents do it and her own natural abilities had been nurtured with such care that the whole process seemed organic.

Now there was no time for thought. To win the fight, she had to be the fight. It was almost a trance state, she could feel the others to the side of her. In that moment they would fight as one. Tal alone, as the designated Sight, would see the battle played out motion by motion. The others would experience the colors and shape by primordial drive alone.

Dava had two arrows hurtling towards the Adversaries before they came within a hundred meters. One fell far, but one of the horses was wounded. It carried on limping towards them. Dror was the first to engage leaping forward with outstretched arms. The panther leapt towards him and in seconds they were rolling on the ground. The second panther lunged at Tal, who had her sword ready but the panther fell to one side before it reached her. Cale swiftly pulled out his spear and turned his attention to the nearest horse. Gal was on the back of one horse. It bucked wildly. He had one hand planted in the mane and the other was drawing his sword.