Chymaera's Overture: a Shadowed Ways novel Page 19

  “They were trying to play calm, but they had these intense looks on their faces and I could sense their excitement. It was unnerving. They asked me if I had ever played the violin before. They asked me if I knew what I was doing, and who had taught me. I told them I didn’t understand what they were saying, I was just playing with this toy how I thought I should play with it.”

  “I don’t know what they said to my parents, but I had my first violin lesson within a week. Music is the only thing I’ve ever tried that has stuck with me, and I have stuck with. Sometimes I’ve been lazy with my music, I haven’t given enough time to my practice sessions or my composition, but I never had the desire to just quit. I don’t think I could. Playing is such a pleasure and a release for me.”

  “By middle school it was my only extracurricular activity and my parents presented me with Fiddle. You know, that violin you’re walking around with in your gullet. Fiddle is special, don’t know where my parents got it, but it strengthens, or like focuses my abilities when I play. Around eighth grade, Nana started spending more time at our house, trying to figure out how my abilities could be useful to her and the community. Conversely, Papa spent less time in So Cal and more time in the desert, he lives there now. It’s weird, but I think he did that for Mama. Whenever Papa and Nana would get into it, they always stuck Mama in the middle, and it was difficult on her. I know that she agreed with him, most of the time, but she felt like she had to placate her mother. Yeah, sad. Anyway, middle school is also when my parents put me in this private performing arts school and I met Alyssa. I was already tight with Manolo from playing soccer and becoming friends with Lyssa completed my little crew.”

  “For the past several years, my life has been easy, but weird. My friends have been growing up and wondering what they wanted for their futures. But me, even before all this happened, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, hell, in six months. So, I have had a kind of privileged existence. I’ve never had a job, or to work at anything not related to my musical interests. And while I’ve applied to a few conservatories and musical programs in various colleges, I’ve never been sure I wanted to make music my livelihood. My parents and Nana thought I should take a gap year and figure stuff out. Though I’m not sure if they wanted me to choose or if they had plans for me. Sometimes I’ve felt like I was waiting for someone to tell me what’s supposed to happen next.”

  They were both silent at that point. It wasn’t somber, just thoughtful. Her honesty and the amount of similarity between them surprised Kai. Even though she didn’t say, he could imagine that her family had pressured her regarding what responsibilities she was going to eventually take up within their Thumbra community.

  All they knew about her was that she was an Empath, and that was more than enough. Empaths were rare and a necessary part of the continuance of their people. They were also useful in interactions with other species. He remembered his parents telling him how precious and valuable he was, not just to them as their son, but the whole community spiel. He’d been loathe to accept his role for a long, long time. It was only when he was able to reconcile his personal pursuits within his role that his outlook had truly brightened.

  It was the one advantage that humans, at least those in Western countries had gained. More often than not, they got to choose their own futures. For Thumbra children, there was a balance they had to strike between what they wanted for themselves and what the community needed from them.

  Kai wanted to like Chymaera, she seemed like a good kid who was where he had been at one time. But, he couldn’t let himself. He had a duty to his Queen, and the situation concerned him. While he could see Chy’s current abilities and a hint of what could be; he wasn‘t drawn to serve or bind his loyalties to her. The Queen hadn’t explained how such a thing would take place, only that he’d know when his allegiance had shifted. Well, it hadn’t and if it didn’t, Chy wouldn’t be long for this world. With as much power as she harnessed and knowing a powerful witch would probably try to hunt her down; Kai understood the Queen’s position - either Chy had to be her successor or the Queen would have to neutralize her, prevent her from being a weapon.

  The only bright spot he could see was he wouldn’t be her executioner if it came down to that.

  That aside, there was something he’d been wondering about.

  “So, I’ve wanted to ask you a question Chy. How does your Empath ability work?”

  She looked like she was chewing on her lip for a minute, trying to describe it. “It’s not something I have to try, I’ve never had to expend any focus or energy to do it, unless someone had the ability to block me.” She shot him a sideways glance. “Most people, well their emotions leach out of them and hang around like an aura or a halo. It isn’t so much something I see though, I experience it. It is as if people touch me with their feelings and I know them.”

  “An aura?”

  “Don’t get caught up on words. For me it is so natural to know what most people feel it is weird that others can’t.”

  “Ok, but what about thoughts? Aren’t thoughts and feelings tied together? Are you telepathic on some level?”

  “Maybe, kind of, but it isn’t useful in how you’d think. I already said emotions leach out of folks and they do. It is a raw thing most have almost no control over and it is simple for me to read. Thoughts are rarely straightforward and decipherable, especially if you don’t know someone well. Thoughts are more like puzzles, often comprising words and various types of sensory input, like images or sounds. The words I can understand, but the image might have no meaning for me. An image of a house might mean a generic house, or the concept of home, possibly their family. It could reference a goal or a dream or an actual residence. Basically, if I were to walk into a room of strangers and attempt to read their thoughts; I would get a clear thought from someone perhaps 10% of the time and that would only be if they were intent on something that lent itself to linear thought. Most folks jump around. Oh - and the clear thought I would pick up; most of the time it isn’t something useful or anything you want to know. Trust me!”

  He laughed as she wrapped her arms around herself in a mock shudder for emphasis. Kai thought about lowering his shield though Yesmin had said it would not interfere with him connecting with Chy. He was certain she thought he was protecting himself from her, and he was - though not in the way she was thinking. Because of his sensitivity to Chy.. It had concerned the Queen that Kai would be powerless should Chy have a crisis while in proximity to him. He was shielding out her emotions, primarily though it also resulted in sealing his in. Later, he thought, at some point he would need to show trust, at least to reciprocate what she had.

  They continued walking for a while, enjoying the lush spring dusk. Kai hadn’t heard a human sound in days and thought they were remote enough to take a break. And he was hoping Chy would grant him one more favor. There was a grouping of rocks near a small spring, and he motioned to her that this would be a good place to stop. Then, as she was standing there, hands on hips, taking in their landscape, Kai reached in and extracted the famous Fiddle and bow.

  “Music hasn’t been a part of my life in the same way as yours, would you mind playing something for me?”

  “I’d love to play, I rarely go this long without. But, you wouldn’t mind?”

  “I wouldn’t, I’m not asking this to be gracious, I want to listen to you play.” Kai extended the instrument to her, and she gratefully accepted. Meanwhile, he assumed a slackened posture on one flat, sun-bathed rock he had noticed earlier. She took a few minutes to inspect her instrument and adjust the strings. While he had carried the violin itself, she had brought along a small block of rosin which she produced and applied to her bow.

  “If you’ve ever heard violin music before, Fiddle has more range. He’s a 5 string violin. So he has one string pitched lower than the typical range.”

  “He?”

  Chy laughed, “Fiddle has a personality all HIS own!” A few more tweaks and she tucked Fiddl
e under her chin, took a deep breath and began to play. Kai knew nothing about violin music and was expecting something “classical”. That wasn’t what he got at all. The opening chords were both familiar and not. It was a popular hip hop song, but he couldn’t think of the title! Once she saw he recognized the song, she hit a sharp note and lifted her instrument as if in triumph. “Let go of your expectations!” She winked and resumed her playing position. The next song didn’t register as anything he had ever heard, or would ever hear, on the radio. Somehow he understood it was an original composition. There was an intimacy interwoven in the notes, in the way she played. And as the minutes went on, he saw her escape within her playing, her eyes closed, fluttering slightly, almost like REM sleep.

  Whatever she was playing, it was lovely, but not a spring song. She conjured the ambiance of brazen heat on a summer afternoon. The indolence, the lazy way life unfolds in front of you. It didn’t distract from the sounds of the surrounding forest, it was almost as if she’d laced the sounds together. The twittering of the birds, the hum of the insects, the rustling of the leaves-the music from her violin blended all those sounds into a light and clever patchwork.

  He had to believe it was some artful talent of hers that made him enjoy this, experience, “music” seemed like such an inadequate word. Kai wondered if it was just Chy or had he been missing out, mostly he used music for background, pleasant white noise. But this, her music was finding, no, making space within him and settling into the meat of him. This wasn’t a song he would forget, no it was becoming a part of him. Kai felt himself immersed, an idea he would’ve normally resisted, but he didn’t care. He closed his eyes and just let the notes wash over him and through him. His mind with images that were far away from their present state and yet they felt perfect.

  A sound completely out of place cruelly interrupted their harmony. The crush of dried leaves and brush under a heavy boot. Kai opened his eyes in irritation, assuming a hiker had surprised them. He was wrong.

  “Well, what do we have here? An afternoon concert? Well, the Hollywood Bowl is that-away.” The taller of the two smirked, his lanky frame struggling to look relaxed. Meanwhile, the shorter, and grimier version gaped at them hungrily. They were Keros-Ki, albeit in their human forms, and something was off.

  With the intrusion, Chymaera stopped playing and glided towards Kai. He flicked his eyes past her and stood up slowly. He smiled, sizing the intruders up and forcing his tone to sound, languid and unconcerned, “Hmmm, just enjoying music in a beautiful location. No harm in that.” He finished with a little shrug and widened his stance to put Chy partially behind him.

  The interlopers said nothing but moved further apart until he was at a right angle to each of them, and they gazed past him to Chy.

  It was then that Kai accepted this interaction would end in bloodshed and he needed to create an opening to get her away. She didn’t need to see what he had to do to these guys. Once the fight started, the werebeasts wouldn’t stand down and he couldn’t. He tried to give them an out.

  Kai cleared his throat to bring all the eyes back to him. “Come on guys, you know what we are. This cannot end well for you. It’s obvious you need help. I can do that for you, get you back to your pack and be on our way. Just don’t do anything you will regret.”

  “Damn boy, you’ve got balls, talking like you know me? What is that about? You’re the one in the wrong place. Awfully far from home, ‘cause we don’t have your kind around here. You and that pretty little friend of yours. Me and my brother here are doing just fine, way better than you will be in about a minute.” It was the taller one again, all swagger and need. Kai prepped mentally for the impending slaughter and tried waving Chy off, but she shook her head, her eyes darting back and forth.

  Fuck, this would be messy and just what he did NOT want. The Keros-Ki were kind of tricky and while they were similar in some ways to Thumbras; they were blunt instruments where Thumbras were clever. They had limited shifting abilities. In the arena, they’d had the bipedal gait and grip of a man, the musculature and fur of a wolf, the head of a crocodile and the tail of a serpent. It was a hideous and terrifying form to most of their opponents. They could wear that shape or the complete form of one of their composites. Most preferred their animal forms and lived in packs in the wild. Clearly the wolf packs had the most interaction with humans, giving rise to werewolf myths. Their strength and regenerative abilities were nearly unmatched. However, they were also extremely environmentally vulnerable. They weren’t created for Earth, and much of Earth was downright poisonous to them. And when they were exposed to the wrong thing, it made them rabid and caused near irreversible neurological damage.

  These guys, they’d probably ingested something that was tainted with a toxin their bodies lacked the ability to process. Their eyes were red instead of yellow and they looked like they were being burned up from the inside. They were just starting to turn, or they’d have come in snarling, not talking. A rabid werebeast would attack anyone, and anything, in the most vicious way imaginable. Healthy Keros-Ki had the good sense to avoid Thumbras, knowing the formidable enemy had the stronger position. These guys were past remembering that. Sometimes a werebeast could be contained, and the poison leached from their system, but he didn’t have that option. The traditional cure for rabies was death.

  Kai kept his eyes forward as the poor fools in front of him unsheathed their claws. They planned to shift into their battle form, great. He unsheathed his as well. “Chymaera, go now!”

  “No, there are two, I can take one!” She sounded desperate, angry, but he didn’t have time for this!

  Kai’s fighting abilities were, unique, and he wasn’t prepared to reveal the depth of his brutality. As Kai completed the physical transformation into his Emergence shell, the berserker rage flared up and consumed every aspect of his consciousness, causing him to momentarily whirl on her, roaring “GET OUT NOW!”

  Whatever she saw turned her on her heel, and she broke for the forest. Not that Kai saw any of that. He’d turned back and his vision was filled with two moving meat puppets.

  Both Keros-Ki leaped on him. In that split second, they’d completed the shift. Kai felt their feverish bodies on him and bellowed with anger. Though they didn’t hurt him, their presence repulsed him, their continued breathing increased his disgust.

  Yesmin, had taught him to fight this way. When outnumbered, it was best to let his mind go and commit to the fight. To lose himself, and let loose the fury, let the rage overtake him until all the bodies of the enemy laid mangled and torn apart. And that’s what he did. Werebeasts don’t go down easy, especially sick ones filled with an insatiable desire to bite and crush, rip and slash. And given their ability to heal, he had to move at a frenetic speed to outpace their regeneration.

  So teeth and claws. Teeth and claws. He pulled the arm out of one attacker without recognition and beat the other with his newfound club. He gutted one and expanded his fist from the inside to force open the rib cage. Every limb stayed in perpetual destructive motion. Kai closed his jaw around anything his teeth could reach and chewed gouges in them. He tore flesh from bone and bone from bone until there were two mounds of ruined meat. Slowly, he came down from the intense high of a fighting delirium and surveyed the damage.

  It was carnage, and it was grotesque, and Kai hated that it was necessary. But it was. He spit a slurry on his prey and distributed it through the mounds. It wasn’t a sign of disrespect, it contained several doses of silver flake. Silver prevented their regenerative powers from engaging, so no amount of healing could bring them back from this. Once he’d covered the remains with leaves and other debris, he spoke the Litany of Death. Then he listened for Chy so he could make his way to her and explain.

  He didn’t hear her.

  25 - Fragile

  Kai

  Kai heard something, but it sounded like some large animal thrashing around, so he ignored it. It seemed likely that Chy took shelter in a quiet spot and was waiting fo
r him to find her. Kai thought about shouting her name, but he figured he needed a few minutes to get himself in order.

  He still had another bloody mess to attend to. Standing in his vital skin, in the form he felt most at home - Kai stared at his scales plastered in the gore and viscera of the dead Keros-Ki. It wouldn’t do to have her see him like that. So, he shrank into the form of the teenage Kai, the least threatening visage he could approach her with. As he changed, he pulled all the blood and gristle within. Once complete, he looked tan and tousled and unbloodied, at least after he vomited up a pulpy loogie.

  Moving to stand where Chy had been when he’d demanded she run, he located her footsteps and tracked her. Her steps were heavy and close together, a mad, stomping dash. Once she’d exited the clearing, her strides lengthened into a run and he payed close attention to follow in the underbrush. Thirty feet in, and winding around trees, her tracks disappeared. Fiddle lay on the ground, its neck almost crushed, the bow crumpled and tossed carelessly away. Kai stopped cold. Chy wouldn’t do such a thing, would she? Swiftly, he extricated the wounded instrument and carefully placed it within his torso, making adjustments that would keep it safe and prevent further damage.

  Following her trail was maddening, Kai could still hear that animal smashing around. In fact, it was closer and distracting while he kept turning and turning, seeking the change of direction he was sure he’d missed. Then he saw it. Backtracking, he surveyed the last of Chy’s prints. Had they lengthened or had she maybe slid? No, they’d lengthened, as if she’d changed forms. And then he went back to the print that concerned him, he’d dismissed it because it wasn’t human. It almost looked like a bird print, except there were five toes, and five talons and they were large, large enough to support an adult-sized frame.

  Suddenly Kai knew exactly what that “animal” thrashing about was. It made sense, looking up from studying the ground for her tracks, he saw her path. Tree branches splintered and trunks clawed. It seemed as if the forest cowered away from the destruction before him. Despite it being spring, the forest was wilting. Chy was charging, had shifted, and she was feeding without restraint.