Beauty In The Chaos Page 6

  Then there was Luja. I had yet to meet the woman behind the majestic brindled owl. She was on my side, having concocted the potion that made me more than better. My senses drifted across the northwest corner of Wyoming, skimming the peaks of the Tetons. I listened with the precision of a hawk for the characteristic golden vibe.

  “No leaping without a Guardian escort,” Dev said definitely, derailing but not dismantling my unspoken plans. He ramped to a distracting brightness, pointing behind me. “Last night’s late-season rains left a true mirror.”

  I turned around, recalling the first time I saw the curious phenomenon on the surface of the high school pool. Still water absorbs light, weirdly forming a reflection of dense and ethereal light. I remembered the associated chills anticipating what I looked like. The boost in my light after Mom birthed gave me the ability to see my color. I knew I was pearlescent, but my intuition told me this trip to the mirror was going to tell a forensically stunning story.

  In the short distance, a tranquil pond stood in the center of the thirteen baobabs. Filaments of yellow, orange, and blue from the baobabs’ auras swirled downward counterclockwise. The colors funneled precisely into the center of the pool just below the waterline, creating a circular true mirror the size of a baobab trunk.

  I jumped into the air.

  “Wait.” Dev launched after me with extraordinary speed.

  I circled above the ground around the edge of the temporary pond, nonsensically fearful of the mirror. The water was still, like glass. My aura twirled loops of metallic light like exaggerated treble clefs before sinking into the smoothed tinfoil surface. The motionless water banked the early sunlight, turning the pond into a giant, dense mirror. I could see all of myself at once!

  Dev dashed past me, sliding a hair above the waterline, wobbling the looking glasses. He came to a stop in the middle of the mirrors. The glittering, fluid fireworks in his royal silver swirled down around his upside-down echo. The phenomenon washed him like a mask, leaving him as bare as an infant, reminding me of the day I met him in the school hallway. He stood on his reflection, reaching his hand out for mine. The sight unchained my mind.

  I stopped midair. The immediacy of seeing who I really was in naked detail unleashed my nerves.

  “Come on,” Dev said, perplexed by my silly insecurities.

  My aura leisurely coasted ahead of me, drawn into the center of the reflective disk. I inched forward as the butterflies in my stomach took flight.

  Dev exhaled, letting out a two-beat laugh. “You are beautiful,” he assured tenderly, conveying mountain-sized confidence and grounding my apprehension. Without looking down, I quickly took Dev’s hand as though it were a lifeline over a bottomless chasm.

  “Go ahead. A natural sinkhole is like a rainbow. They are rare and always leave you feeling hopeful,” he said surely. Like jumping in a cold pool to get over the shock, I left the safety of Dev’s violet eyes and dropped my sight.

  “Whoa,” voiced my shocked surprise. I opened my eyes and lifted my brows to take myself all in. My heartrate soared; I didn’t know what to think first. I saw myself in a finer grain and detailed definition. My aura was threaded with boundless colors of metallic light, twinkling like Christmas-tree tinsel. Laced together, they beamed a soft pearlescent sheen. My emotions flew.

  Being careful not to disturb the water’s edge, I knelt down for a closer look. Even though I felt the same, I had aged into womanhood. Time had pranced across my face during my heavy sleep, leaving my complexion longer, riper, and noticeably worn for an eighteen-year-old girl who had not yet graduated from high school. My lips were drenched in strawberry wine and my hair was long, coiled, and reddened. My eyes told a mystery—they were not like any other mature’s I had witnessed. My bright emerald irises were not surrounded with a blazing color. Instead, they were afire in swirls of intense sunshine, making my eyes look like total eclipses.

  Studying the reflection in the strange mirrors, I knew I was not my body. I was brilliant, dimensional energy, hosting a physical form, tied together until birth do us part. I smiled.

  “See,” Dev said kneeling next to me. I laughed, bathing in truth. His silver and my pearl paired beautifully as though the colors were created to be side by side, like the blues and grays of the sea and sky. He ran his fingertips down my back, parting my coiling hair and resting his toasty palm against my skin. His touch triggered the warmth of our being alone. My heart pumped as though I launched into a full sprint, dousing the mirror in showers of endless pink. Our reflection looked as though we stood in the middle of an enormous, full-bloom peony.

  Following my hypnotic heart, I turned from the awe-inspiring mirror and looked at Dev’s beautiful face. We rose to our feet, taking each other’s wrists. His throbbing pulse loaded with amorous feelings went directly into my veins, releasing my reason. His vigilant care sent me fumbling in ecstasy. I rose with intentions to taste his lips. Our arms wrapped around our trembling bodies.

  Abruptly, the pink firestorm reflection disappeared. Minuscule ripples on the water’s surface disrupted the mirror, filling the air with swirling corals, pinks, and sunrise reds. Our attention flicked to the edge of the pool. A pair of young lemurs drank from the fresh-water pond. Their ringed black-and-white tails stood in the air like candy canes.

  “Oooh,” I whispered loudly, excited by the first-time encounter. The two cute critters looked up at us simultaneously. Rings of black fur amplified their amber eyes set in white faces. They stood at attention on their hind legs as though a drill sergeant had blown a whistle. To my pleasant surprise, they were not frightened, but curious. The blending of my oneness into nature elevated my relationship, taming what was once wild. My attention was acutely drawn to the female. Her abdomen radiated a dual sunshine equal to her own.

  “Is she pregnant?” I asked Dev.

  “Yes, with twins.” His well-wishes for the soon-to-be parents encouraged my love for him.

  Out of the blue, a high-frequency quake passed through me, like a silent screech for help. “Something is wrong!”

  The beautiful interlude was broken, vacating our colorful spirits. The fearful cry traveled so fast, I could not tell the maker or origin. My mood exploded with frustration over not knowing anything. The size and nature of the tremor implied it was made out of reflex, like getting the wind knocked out from a hard fall. Someone I loved was in a do-or-die situation. I began to flicker, sending the fledgling pair of lemurs scurrying.

  “Come on,” Dev said. He dug into the water breaking into a full stride, heading toward the largest baobab. Distressed, I followed.

  We got to the ancient elder tree in under a second. “Lean against the trunk.” Dev respectfully, but firmly, pressed his body against mine until my back touched the huge trunk. The large tree drank my excess light upon contact, sequestering my spikes, but did little to stop my swerving mind.

  “What happened?” Dev asked, feeling concern only for me.

  “Someone’s life is in danger.” I blinked fast, restoring my focus. “But I don’t know whose. Charlie, Safe, Ozwald, Raven? The call was too loud and instantaneous to hold.” I tried describing the indescribable. Closing my eyes, I played the plea back, looking for a clue.

  My intuition and heart had become one and the same. My emotional urge to help crossed into compulsory. I burrowed my toes into the soil, connecting with the earth and trees, amplifying my search.

  Dev backed off, leaving me against the tree. I opened my eyes, breaking my sensory hunt.

  “Piper, no matter who it is, you must stay here. You must stay hidden.” The maroon flare in his aura conveyed his absolute seriousness. “Even if it was me.”

  “I have to find out.” I took a couple steps away from the sheltering baobab, keeping my foundry-sized light in check. “They need my help,” I said, undistracted by Dev’s violet and ebony stare tightly wrapped around me.

  “You don’t understand the risk.”

  “I cannot spend my entire life under thes
e trees, getting old, until everything gets better.”

  “If not for your own life, then do it for mine.” Dev’s calm and honest request caused me to stumble.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, perplexed.

  “It’s not safe for either of us,” Dev said painfully. “Eli is not the only force that would like to see you and me birthed. For over a thousand years, Eli has pitted race against race, keeping age-old conflicts fresh. Esther kept a delicate peace, but since her birth, warring has begun. The Vampacoti have a reputation for being ruthless mercenaries. There are many that would like to see me birthed for my past transgressions.”

  Dev paused, crumpling his troubled expression. His aura dimmed. “I love you more than I thought possible, but being with me only puts you in more danger.” His heart ached, making me anxious. Fear and love flipped inside him like a tossed coin.

  “Not possible! How can you put me in danger? Who wants to take you out?” The words he spoke didn’t make sense. His resolve to love and protect me filled his every purpose.

  “Matured history is long. It has many sides with many painful divisions spanning centuries. With crystal clear memories, old trespasses are hard to forgive. I have lived many lives,” he continued vaguely.

  “And?” I probed, craving details. I sat in the middle of everything, knowing nothing. We faced each other, volleying intense stares from our wide eyes.

  Dev let out an expansive sigh, and then took in a hefty breath.

  “Riffs began long before Eli’s maturation. The young prince’s petulant behavior caused concern among the races. Esther and Cal did what they could, but Eli’s thirst for power was unprecedented. His false superiorities led to deceitful actions.”

  Any talk of my parents or brother caused my ears to open, mind to listen, and thoughts to quiet.

  “Before Eli entered his first century, he had already mastered the art of manipulation. Coupled with his divisive intellect, he quickly clouded longstanding reason and truth with propaganda and fear. Hell broke loose when he miraculously matured brighter than Esther.” Dev drenched the syllables of ‘miraculously’ with sarcasm. “The first-ever discontinuity in balance caused all of reality to list to a singular side: Eli’s.”

  “Yeah, Mom told me,” I said, excruciatingly recalling her words as though she’d spoken them yesterday. “She said he became too powerful to stop.”

  “Yes and no. After Eli exceeded Esther’s abilities, she could only use reason and combined force on his uncontestable will. That did little to slow his quest for domination. However, with help from the races, the queen was able to keep him in check. Unfortunately, Eli had poisoned the unity among the matures. His rhetoric, secret actions, and lies pitted race against race, life against life, causing vicious conflicts. Slowly and meticulously, he dissolved the whole that could stop him. The side you chose became a matter of life or birth.” He took a second to settle the rattling in his aura.

  “Eli favored the Guardians since they channeled the highest charge and resided in the highest valence—that is, until you,” Dev amended hopefully. “You’re different. Your light appears to have no boundaries.”

  Being atypical had once caused me embarrassment. Now it ignited a constructive pride.

  “Eli declared Guardians were chosen by the light to rule and instruct, not protect. No other matured race could leap or command the physical elements. Their ability to channel is unprecedented and spells do not work against their polarized auras.” Dev abruptly stopped his historical accounting. “That is something Olo must teach you how to do.” I added the unknown ability of blocking spells to my overflowing bucket list.

  Dev lowered his head down before looking back into my eyes. “Eli persuaded key Vampacoti and Equuians to join his cause in return for privilege. Unconscious actions resulted from the unholy alliances. His thirst for control and lack of connection was unprecedented among the royal light of Guardians.” Strangely, regret oozed into his aura, tarnishing his silver and leaving him frozen like locked gears.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, smelling his shame. Like fear, shame gave off a repulsive odor similar to old, yeasty trash.

  “Esther told you there was much to learn.” Dev narrowed his eyes as the light around his head twinkled from heavy thought. “There is much more to uncover. I have made choices that I deeply regret. Do you know about Nubia?”

  “Yes, Mom said she was the Avian who was tricked into casting her barren. Eli didn’t know Mom was already pregnant with me.” I skimmed over the recollection of Mom telling me about my father giving his life trying to block the golden spell. While valuable history was being told, I didn’t want to drop into anger. “The spell kept us frozen in time, but eventually the incantation took Nubia’s life. She said Nubia was kept blissfully unaware that she was holding the spell, or of anything going on around her.”

  “Yes,” Dev said solemnly. “Nubia was kept enchanted by Eli’s pride of Vampacoti. They took turns casting her awareness into false realities. After a decade, when the mind-numbing incantations manifested into the physical realm, a different Vampacoti would cast a new spell. This kept Nubia and the incantation over you and Esther intact even though it was killing her.

  “Avians vehemently protested the treatment of Nubia. Eli distorted the truth, absolving himself of blame, placing responsibility solely on the Vampacoti. Warring between the Avians and Vampacoti followed. After a couple hundred years of carnage, perpetual revenge took over.”

  Once again, remorse festered in his light, overcoming the scent from the baobab flowers. “It didn’t take long before Eli’s pride was casting Nubia’s mind into torturous worlds. She suffered greatly before the spell holding you and Esther in stasis finally birthed her.”

  I swallowed, feeling the longevity and intimacy of the conflict in Dev’s glittering but sorrowful silver. My intuition filled in reasons between the lines; my love had somehow been involved in keeping Mom and me spellbound.

  “I know you desire to help Ozwald but walking into an Avian nest isn’t safe for either of us,” he said.

  Although the cats and birds were not friends, it wasn’t congruent with the Avians helping Mom and me since the beginning. When the golden race knew we were in love, they would have to embrace Dev.

  Abruptly, another scream raced through me. This time I held onto the vibratory call. Not only did I feel the dire pulse of desperation, but I knew the cherished maker: Raven. Although there was so much more to unearth, the fatalistic cry instantly cleared the table.

  I rose into the air, harnessing Dev in shrouds of light. Jetting into the yellow band of baobab auras, I readied us for leaping.

  “Piper, no!” Dev slung red in every direction.

  Driven to serve and protect, I swung my hand above my head, slicing open an elliptical leap point. Before Dev could increase his protest, we rifled up into the pink tunnels of timelessness and into a blistering fall. I had no idea what I would find when we hit the ground, but I didn’t care. Someone I loved was going to die.

  8

  Junjari

  W

  e cut back into space like a hot needle through softened butter. Dev readied for battle, formulating into the giant black-and-white saber-toothed tiger as we plummeted through the air. Below us, metallic sparks darted across the powder-white shoreline like a disturbed pond of tadpoles. I had less than a split-microsecond to figure out how to save Raven. A Guardian man was casting a thick, platinum dome of light trapping the princess, Haruz, and a ferocious, growling reddish-brown Canite. Haruz was down, seriously hurt and dimly flickering. Circling the last stand, a pack of silver light took turns striking the pinned copper trio.

  Fear flooded my wits knowing that the Guardian could summon Eli with a quick thought, ending it all. Pointing my bare toes, I accelerated into the fall while slowing Dev. I lanced the dome, squashing the unsuspecting Guardian into a splash of water. The cage popped like an enormous soap bubble. Dev landed flawlessly, hissing with monumental strength. The
slaughter came to a skidding stop with our surprise arrival.

  Flying sand from our landing came to a twinkling rest on the Tahitian beach as the tangerine spirit and aqua waves of the Pacific Ocean gorgeously danced on the shore, oblivious of the deadly battle. In front of the palm trees that drooped teal auras, five Vampacoti stood frozen in shock, staring at Dev and me with spinning violet eyes.

  Two gorgeous mountain-sized cougars, a massive marbled leopard, and a mammoth-sized spotted jaguar surrounded the pinned pack of wolves. Raven and the unknown battered reddish wolf growled like sawed-off mufflers, hunching over an incapacitated human Haruz. The old man was badly hurt. Blood pulsed from his neck, staining the snow-white sands a bright crimson. My heart and eyes welled at the contrasting sight. He whimpered, unable to lift his head to see what had stopped the attack. Coming from behind the palms, a formidable lion with a spiky mane laced in silver slinked forward, unfazed by our presence.

  Although I heavily tipped the scales in our favor, my lack of battle experience, coupled with the drain from leaping Dev, tipped me into fear. Panting from exertion shifted into rapid breathing. My confidence hastily eroded, facing the killer threat. My fear putrefied the air, causing the silver in the enormous cats to race.

  Platinum sparkles twirled around my head summoning Safe on our private line, breaking the momentary lull. The huge cats riffled into attack with the decisiveness of an intelligent plan, catching me off guard. The two closest cougars lunged at me with razor-sharp fangs and claws, beaming blinding aggression. Simultaneously, the powerful leopard dove at Dev with tremendous force. To my left, the snarling lion and sleek jaguar screamed toward Raven.

  Time stuttered, advancing in discreet frames. Dev and the marbled leopard slammed into each other first. Loud snarls and snapping jaws ripped the air with disturbing vibrations. Both cats stood a story high on their hind quarters with contesting blood-orange auras. Huge paws with silver daggers moved at supersonic speeds delivering destructive blows like crazed boxers.