The Mantis Synchronicity - Book Five - 18. Chapter 18 - Olona

Dozi placed the two clusters of moonshrooms onto her cutting board, and she began taking the other required ingredients out of the cupboards. “I know this will be a small batch,” she said to Tchama, “but it’s just the start of the season. These are good-looking mushrooms, and I think this year has promise.”

“The tinctures always turn out great,” Tchama encouraged.

“Do you want to set things up while I chop the mushrooms?”

Tchama smiled. “Sure!” She put a pot to boil with two cups of water with a teaspoon of fresh rosemary needles, a tablespoon of dried mint leaves, a quarter cup of diced turmeric root, and half a teaspoon of black peppercorns. Tchama also poured one cup of strong grain alcohol into the concoction, and she stepped back for Dozi to add the moonshrooms. “I’ll set the timer,” Tchama offered.

“Thanks,” Dozi replied. She stirred the contents of the pot. “If we stay up late enough, we’ll be able to take our first dose. Otherwise, we’ll start our day with it first thing tomorrow.”

Tchama yawned. “I’m already tired. I’m excited for the tincture, but I’m happy to wait until morning.”

Dozi chuckled. “Yeah, I’m pretty beat too,” she agreed. “We’ll finish the batch and let it cool overnight. It’ll be waiting for us.”

“Great way to start the day,” Tchama replied.

“Why don’t you get ready for bed while I stir?” Dozi offered. When the timer rang, she left the burner on as she strained the solids from the liquid. She returned the pan with the liquid to the flames, and the contents of the pot slowly began to reduce.

Tchama came back into the kitchen wearing soft, comfortable clothes. “It smells wonderful in here, minty and fresh.”

Dozi had several special glass vials set up, and when the liquid had reduced by three-quarters, she poured it into the tubes. They steamed, and Dozi and Tchama smiled at them. “First batch of the season.”

Dozi also got herself ready for bed, and the two women were soon asleep. They rose with the morning and headed back to the kitchen.

Tchama poured them each large glasses of water, while Dozi checked on the extracts.

“Perfect,” she whispered, and she stuck synthetic corks with squeeze-bulb droppers through them into the vials. She pinched one of the rubberized bulbs, and the liquid filled the dropper. She pulled it out, opened her mouth, and raised her tongue. Dozi squirted the tincture under her tongue and smacked her lips as she swallowed.

“How is it?” Tchama asked.

“We’ll find out in a little while,” Dozi replied, handing Tchama the small container.

A little while later, the two young women were at one of the Shifton street markets.

“I feel sparkly, and the world is so vivid,” Dozi stated. “This is a good batch.”

Tchama laughed. “Every batch is a good batch!”

Dozi smiled. “That’s true. I’ll be able to collect more in the next week or two, as the season progresses, and once I have a larger amount of tincture, I’ll start selling it along with the mushrooms. You’re welcome to join me foraging anytime you want. I really enjoyed your company.”

Tchama wrapped her one arm around Dozi as they strolled along.

Vendors lined both sides of the road, flashing their colorful and creative wares at all the passersby, and Dozi and Tchama loved every minute of it. Dozi ended up purchasing a forever-flashlight, a lightly used jacket, a blank notebook, and a pack of pens in a variety of colors. Tchama got herself a new handmade scarf that she draped over the shoulder where her arm used to be.

It was midmorning when they decided to leave the market, but then a food vendor caught their attention.

“Red oysters! Get yer red oysters here! I’ve got ’em raw on the half-shell, or baked in butter! Red oysters here!”

Dozi and Tchama ordered fourteen of them, ten raw and four baked, and each of them ate seven.

“Those were magical,” Tchama declared with a satisfied sigh.

Dozi used a toothpick to get a bit that was stuck between her teeth, and she and Tchama headed back out into the neighborhood toward their home.

After a little while, they approached the front of their new home, and they were surprised to find Olona seated on the front step. She was smoking a joint, and she looked upset. She stood, stated, “I made a mistake,” and added, “I think a bad one.”

Tchama stepped up and gave her a hug. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you want to explain things inside?” Dozi added.

Olona nodded and the three young women entered the house.

Tchama picked up one of the vials. “Olona, would you like a little of the moonshroom tincture we made last night?”

“Yeah, I think that’ll help.” She squirted a dropperful into her mouth and swallowed.

“So what happened?” Dozi asked.

Olona frowned. “I’m the reason those three Shifts are dead.”

Tchama and Dozi did not know what she meant.

“I know what killed them,” Olona continued. “I went and examined the bodies during their preparation for burial, and I saw the wounds.” She took a shaky breath. “I installed one of my weapons in a man yesterday. I don’t know why I didn’t think he might use it for…” Olona’s voice trailed off. “He told me he had a wharf rat problem, and I believed him, but now three Shifts are dead, and it’s my fault.”

Tchama and Dozi were stunned.

“Who is he?” Tchama asked.

Olona shook her head. “I don’t know. He said his name’s Abernathy.”

Dozi scrunched up her face and mumbled to herself, “Why do I know that name?”

“He told me he’s got a place by the water,” Olona added.

“Abernathy… Abernathy…” Dozi repeated, “why do I know that name? It’ll come to me.”

Tchama set her jaw. “Okay, so what do we do about him?”

“We need to find him,” Olona stated, “so I can remove the device.”

Dozi was doubtful. “You think this murderer is just going to let you take it back, now that he’s got power?”

Olona had been barely holding herself together, and she cracked. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.” She began to cry. “I just want to help and heal people. I didn’t think about the damage my devices could cause.”

“Let’s handle things one at a time,” Tchama said gently. “First, we have to find him, but how are we going to do that?”

“If I could just remember where I know his name from,” Dozi said to herself.

Olona looked from Dozi to Tchama. “I feel like I need to tell people what I’ve done.”

Dozi focused on her. “No,” she replied flatly. She stared into Olona’s eyes. “I get it that you feel bad, and we’ll help you fix this situation, but you don’t need to make a grand confession to anyone; we just need to make this right.”

Olona noticed that Dozi’s words were not accusatory. “How are we going to fix this?”

Tchama put her hand on Olona’s arm. “Let’s go see our fellow warriors.”

Olona perked up, “You mean, from our assault on Gunge?”

“I do. I know Gawa and Tisa have left with Z’Matri, and I know you miss Tisa a lot, but the others who took out the Teshon City Messiahs are still here, and I suspect they can help.” Tchama listed them. “Ijeron, Khano, Yxida, Tualu, S’Kay, and Lahari.”

“But Abernathy isn’t a Messiah,” Olona replied. “His skin wasn’t impenetrable.”

Dozi was curious. “I wonder if he’s a Demifae.” Her words sparked a vague memory, but it remained surreptitious. “Abernathy,” she repeated in frustration. “I don’t remember.”

“Let’s go see Lahari,” Tchama urged, “and maybe it’ll come back to you on our way to the mystic’s house.” She took Olona’s hand in hers. “I agree with Dozi; you don’t need to tell everyone, but there are a few folks who might be able to help.”

The three of them headed outside and made the short journey through Shifton to where the mystic lived with his husband and daughter. When the trio arrived, Dozi knocked on their front door, and Theolan opened it.

“Hello, lovely friends, welcome!” He was beaming at them.

“Hi, doll,” Tchama replied, giving him a peck on the cheek. “Is your hubby in? And we’re looking for Lahari.”

“Come inside,” Theolan insisted, stepping back and making space for them to enter.

The mystic came trotting out from the kitchen with a frilly apron over his clothes. “Hello, ladies, we’ve been cooking.”

His scaly blue-skinned daughter came out from behind him. She was also in an apron, but hers was flower-print.

“Lahari!” Tchama cried out in delight, running up and wrapping her single arm around her as if they had not seen each other in a long time.

Lahari laughed, and her long black spines flexed. “We had dinner together four days ago!”

Theolan hugged Dozi and Olona, but he could tell something was bothering her. “What is it, hunny?”

Dozi spoke up, “Hi, you three. We’re hoping to steal Lahari from you boys for a bit. Is that okay?”

Lahari pulled off the apron and put it on Theolan as the mystic said, “We don’t mind at all. Hope everything’s alright.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Dozi replied with a smile, “thanks.”

Lahari headed out the front door with Tchama, Dozi, and Olona. “Where are we going, and what have we got to talk about?”

“Let’s go someplace a little more private,” Dozi recommended, and she began to lead the other three toward the edge of Gate Town and the border of Teshon City.

“Where are we going?” Lahari asked again.

“Outside of town,” Dozi replied.

Lahari was confused. “Why are we leaving Shifton? I’m not even wearing anything to hide myself.”

“We’re not going far,” Dozi reassured her, “and no one’s going to be where we’re headed.” She led them to the outskirts of town, and as soon as the path began to head toward the distant fishing villages that stretched to the south, Dozi stepped off of it and into a field. The Grey Shallows were before them.

Lahari took Dozi’s hand. “Why are we going here?”

“It’s just this way.” The land that the gates stood on was elevated above the waters, and Dozi stepped up to the cliff and began to climb.

“What is this?” Lahari asked.

“Just follow me,” Dozi replied. Tchama, Lahari, and Olona did not move, but a moment later, Dozi was standing on a ledge overlooking the Grey Shallows. She sat on the edge with her feet hanging down. She patted the stone beside her, and the other three climbed up and sat with her. “Lahari, Olona has something to tell you, and we came to you because of what you all did to the Messiahs and the monsters of Gunge.” She then stated, “We think a Demifae killed those three Shifts.”

Lahari was confused. Olona was seated beside her, and Lahari asked, “What do you have to tell me, Olona?”

Dozi took Lahari’s blue-scaled hand. “It’s not good, and we’re trying to figure it out. We could use your help.” Dozi nodded to Olona.

Olona sniffed. She was angry with herself and felt on the verge of tears again. “I think it’s my fault.”

After explaining everything to Lahari, the blue woman commented, “I wonder if he’s got an apothecary,” and something triggered in Dozi.

“Abernathy’s Apothecary! I knew that I knew that name!” Dozi snapped her fingers at herself. “Before I found the basement, literally on my very first morning in Teshon City, I went into his shop looking for a job and a place to stay.” She made a guilty face at the other three. “I kind of wanted to be a Demifae when I was young. Oh, I forgot about the body. There was a corpse in the back of his shop, just lying there, and he was covered in blood. Abernathy’s Apothecary, how did I forget that?”

A booming voice to one side startled the four women perched on the ledge, and all of them jumped with surprise. “Excuse me, ladies.” It was Ogomo! “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I spotted you heading out this way from the camp where my sister and I have been staying with Heavyfeather and her wife, and I just wanted to check in with you that everything’s okay.”

“Did you hear any of that?!” Olona blurted out, now afraid of anyone else hearing what she had done.

“Well, I certainly didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but Dozi, did you just say Abernathy’s Apothecary?”

She nodded up at the enormous man. “I did.”

“What about it?” he asked.

The four women all made eye contact with one another and Dozi put up her hand. “He’s not a nice man.”

“No,” Ogomo confirmed, “my sister worked for him briefly after becoming a Demifae, before I changed and we left Teshon together. And you’re right,” he added, “Abernathy and his assistant are not nice people.”

Dozi nodded for Olona to tell Ogomo.

“We think he killed those three Shifts,” Olona stated.

Ogomo looked surprised and angry. “What do you mean? Why do you think he’s the one who did that?”

Olona was nervous to continue. “Erm… be-because of their bodies,” she said quietly. “They were all killed by a particle beam weapon, a weapon I installed into a man named Abernathy yesterday.”

Ogomo was shocked. “I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t know, and he lied to me!” Olona declared as tears began to well in her eyes. She wanted to get down off the perch, but it was too high to jump, and now she could not see to climb down.

Ogomo noticed her discomfort. “Do you want me to help you get down?”

Olona looked afraid of him. “You’re not gonna crush me or something for causing the…” her voice trailed off.

Ogomo was appalled. “Never! I would never hurt you, Olona! Here, let me help you down.”

Olona nodded and climbed into his gargantuan hand. His fingers were softer than a sailor’s ought to have been, and he gently lowered her down to the field. “Thank you,” Olona whispered, and she added, “I’m sorry.” She started pacing as she explained everything that she knew.

When Olona finished, Lahari asked the group, “What’s the plan? How do we deal with this Abernathy character? Do S’Kay and I need to go on a Demifae-hunting expedition to his shop?”

“Or is this the beginning of something bigger?” Ogomo added. “Are the Demifae of Teshon City trying to fill the power gap left by the removal of the Messiahs?”

Tchama looked up at the giant. “Do you think your sister has any more information about Abernathy? Should we bring her into this little group of ours?”

“It’s possible,” he replied. “She didn’t work for him long, but she might know something.” He turned to Olona. “Do you want me to get her?”

Now that a few people knew Olona felt responsible for the deaths of the three Shifts, she was nervous about telling anyone else. “I don’t know.” She looked around at them.

Dozi also took a moment to observe the group. Ogomo, the giant; Lahari, the Messiah-slayer; Tchama, empowered with the strength of the Messiahs; Olona, a sorceress with machines and a warrior in her own right… Dozi knew she herself may have been merely a human compared to the others, but they were a force to be reckoned with. “I don’t think Abernathy stands much of a chance.”✪