The Mantis Synchronicity - Book Five - 6. Chapter 6 - New Acquaintances

Z’Matri led Djaruki along a path that took them upriver and out of town to where his companions were waiting. The waters were not quite as foul as down in the city, and Z’Matri had set up a base of operations with the two women he had mentioned, on a houseboat that was anchored at a bend in the river out of its stronger flow. The women noticed Z’Matri coming up the trail, and they rose from where they were seated at a table with several books spread out on it.

“Tisa, Gawa, this is Djaruki,” Z’Matri stated. “Djaruki, this is Tisa and Gawa.”

Gawa was a Biological Shift, and she was beautiful. Her skin looked like it was made of living marble. Mesmerizing patterns swirled around every inch of her body. She was naked, but the moving markings made her appear that she was not. Gawa’s eyes possessed no pupils or irises, and her scalp was smooth.

The sun was beginning to set, and she looked magical to Djaruki, who gawked at her. “Hi,” she said weakly.

Tisa looked like a human, but she was dressed in clothes that seemed very foreign to Djaruki. Tisa was a bit older than her, tall and thin, and although there was a severity to her, Tisa smiled warmly and took Djaruki’s hand.

“It’s always a pleasure to meet one of our allies.”

Djaruki was excited by Tisa’s words and asked, “You’re one of us too?”

“I am,” Tisa replied, adding, “and you’re also a Shift?” but Djaruki did not get to respond, because Tisa surprised her by wrapping her in a tight hug that made Djauki feel things that were new to her. Tisa released her, stepped back, and held up her hand. A disc of shadow appeared in the air above her fingertips, and from it protruded a plump creature of darkness. It spun around once and disappeared.

“Wow,” Djaruki marveled. She turned to Gawa. “What can you do?”

Z’Matri leaned close and said, “We don’t normally ask each other what we can do. Don’t worry,” he added when Djaruki looked upset, “you haven’t met many of our kind, so it’s only natural to want to know everything about all of us.” He chuckled. “But the same goes for you; you don’t need to tell anyone what you can do, unless you want to tell them what you can do.”

Gawa was smiling at Djaruki. “I don’t mind you asking me, but I can’t show you, like Tisa can. I generate lightning, but I have to be touching something to discharge it.”

“You can make lightning?!” Djaruki gawked at Gawa. “Well, I can shoot air-waves.”

The other three did not know what she meant.

“Air, as in air?” Z’Matri asked, waving his hands in front of him.

Gawa placed her hand on Djaruki’s shoulder, and a little spark of static prickled her.

“Oooh, you shocked me!” Djaruki said with a giggle.

Gawa grinned. “Can you show us what you can do?”

Djaruki was excited to display her powers. She had never used them for show. “What should I shoot at?”

“How about this tree?” Tisa recommended, pointing at an old knotty trunk.

“Okay, step back,” Djaruki warned. The other three got behind her, and Djaruki issued a focused pulse that was invisible to Z’Matri, Tisa, and Gawa, but the trunk suddenly ruptured to splintered shards of wood, and the tree began to fall.

“Oh no…” Djaruki whispered. She screamed, “Run!” and the four of them bolted.

The tree came crashing down, sending birds squawking into the air and animals scurrying into the underbrush. The cracking of limbs, the chaos, and the devastation ended as quickly as it began, and the forest became quiet again.

Tisa let out a relieved breath, and Gawa burst out laughing.

“Well that was impressive,” Z’Matri stated. He shook his head and turned to Djaruki. “You did that with air?”

Djaruki scrunched up her face in thought. “I mean, I think it’s just air. I don’t know how it works. I can make them soft.” She picked up a leaf and dropped it, but instead of falling, the leaf looked like it was tied to an invisible string. It flitted up and began to drift down, before flitting up again. “Or I can make them strong.” She released another invisible wave that turned the leaf to dust.

“Yikes,” Z’Matri replied.

“I haven’t had much practice using it,” Djaruki began.

“Because you’ve been in hiding,” he finished for her.

Tisa smiled and nodded in the direction of the small city. “Djaruki, you may need to keep it a secret from others what you can do, but you don’t need to keep yourself secret with us.”

Djaruki smiled, but then she focused past the trio at their houseboat. “Wait a second, why were there no boats in that city?” She turned to look downriver. “I didn’t see any boats at all. What kind of river city doesn’t utilize the river?!”

Gawa shook her head. “The citizens have used it as a toilet for generations.”

“Gross!” Djaruki scowled.

“They used to use it as a waterway,” Tisa added, “but they’ve dumped filth into it for so long that it became unsafe, even for boats. The water is corrosive.”

Djaruki scoffed. “Double gross.” She shook her head and turned to Tisa and Gawa. “Z’Matri’s told me why he’s here, but how did you three meet? You both knew him before he was teleported to this part of the world, right?”

“Yeah,” Gawa confirmed, “we met him in Teshon City recently, and when he was leaving, Tisa and I asked if we could join him.”

Tisa took Gawa’s patterned hand. “We thought we needed to branch out.”

“These two are a couple of heroes,” Z’Matri declared with a snicker.

“Oh, shut your face!” Tisa replied with a laugh, and she turned to Djaruki to explain. “There were some bad groups of people running the city. Gawa was part of a team that started taking them out, and when I learned what they were doing, I joined. Once we got rid of the worst of the worst, we decided we wanted to go help other Shifts in other cities in different parts of the world.”

Djaruki looked back and forth between the two women. “How’d you get the bad people to leave?”

Gawa answered without hesitation. “We killed them.”

“That’s right,” Tisa confirmed, “Gawa was part of a group of killers who risked their lives to take out the Messiahs who were oppressing the citizens of Teshon City. When I found out what they were doing, I knew it was my calling to join them.”

Djaruki was a little unnerved at how casually the women each used versions of the word kill. She was still in shock about having accidentally killed the violent drunkard.

“Once the city was safe,” Gawa added, “or at least safer than it’s been in generations, Tisa and I were part of a crew that massacred a colony of Shift-eaters.”

Tisa grinned. “That part of the world is progressing in a positive way, but we knew other places that were in as-bad shape, or even worse.”

“A young Shift woman with the ability to teleport herself and others agreed to bring me here,” Z’Matri concluded. “Tisa and Gawa asked to join me.”

Djaruki turned to the women. “Are you two helping Z’Matri get into the Heights?”

“We’ll help how we can,” Gawa replied, “but we’ve already begun our own projects with the city’s local Shift population.”

Djaruki instantly wanted to meet the other Shifts. “There are more of us?!”

Tisa nodded. “There are, but they are very downtrodden. If you’re looking for somewhere accepting, like you said, you ought to just continue on and see what you can find.”

Djaruki felt like she was being dismissed. “But I want to help Z’Matri get into the Heights. What if the circle where he can only sense one Shift is something important?” It felt strange to say the word Shift for the first time in referencing a person like herself. “And maybe I can help you two with what you’re doing with the people.”

“I was trying to assess my access to the Heights,” Z’Matri said, “when I sensed you heading straight for the gates. I need to go test what happens if I enter the circle. Once I know more, I’ll make a plan. If it includes you, Djaruki, you can decide if you really want to help me.” He turned to Gawa and Tisa. “Those two are warriors, and it might be best for you to take their advice and move on.” Z’Matri spoke up as she began to protest. “At least stay here, out of the city, while I go check out the circle. I was going to get close enough by pretending this package was a delivery.” He pulled a small parcel out of his jacket. “I’ll go now and come back as soon as I can.”

He left, and Djaruki continued making her objections to Tisa and Gawa.

“Shouldn’t at least one of us go watch his back? Maybe it would help to have another Shift with him at the circle.”

Tisa scrutinized Djaruki. “You’ve never used the word Shift before, have you? I can tell, because I was an adult the first time I heard the word, and it was weird for me too.”

“Yeah,” Djaruki confirmed, “my people don’t use that word.”

“What do they call us, others?” Gawa asked.

“Yeah,” Djaruki repeated, “and some not-nice words.”

Tisa rolled her eyes. “Sounds about right. You don’t have to think of those cruel terms ever again. You should be proud of yourself for leaving.”

“And Z’Matri is right,” Gawa stated. “Tisa and I are killers. You should take your freedom and try to find that utopia you’re looking for.” The woman with marble-like patterns swirling across her skin smiled. “I hope you find it.”

Downriver from the women and the houseboat, where the waters started to get foul, Z’Matri entered the northernmost outskirts of the city. He took streets that were unlit and kept to the darkening shadows of the oncoming night. Z’Matri could sense Shifts in hiding throughout the city, but he was focused on the blank spot in his powers that circled the Heights. When he eventually arrived again, he began to approach and drew the attention of a guardswoman.

“What do you want?” the woman snapped.

“I got a delivery for…” Z’Matri pulled the package from his jacket again just as he was entering the circle. Every other Shift on the planet felt as close to him as his next breath, but suddenly, Z’Matri could feel none of them✪