Descendants of the Ida Dynasty - 8. Chapter 8: Elementalist Hotel Part II

My time in Orion was informative. Bebe and Zuri would admit to not having seen the golden-eyed descendant named Barken for sometime after his capture and eventual release. When they inquired what happened to him during his disappearance, I was hesitant to give them details lest destroying what limited trust I have from them now. I shared that he aided in my healing, though it was not of his choosing.

“By force,” Zuri said plainly. “Did you orchestrate it?”

I said quickly, “No. I guess you could say I was... incapacitated myself. The Royal Guards must have something to do with it.” They both looked at one another, gauging my truthfulness. They mentioned a descendant who had been a part of the scheme as well, luring Barken into the neku’s trap. I knew not of this.

The two would introduce me to another descendant named Sapphire along with her young kin by the name of Cosmo. Sapphire was quite adamant that I have nothing to do with her son. Having seen two of his brethren whom he was so close to being attacked and chased from their home, Sapphire didn’t want to give him any ideas that would fuel his desire for vengeance, or lead him to go after them.

I explained myself and my reasoning for coming. When I suggested that my connection to the golden-eyed descendant hasn’t seemed to fade, she stared at me silently.

“He’s alive,” she said. The birds of the room grew vocal, and it seemed as if everything in her home became vibrant. She stepped away from me, her eyes facing the sky through her window. She smiled. “Bless you Ida, he’s alive…”

She indicated the two traveled underground, but kept the details secret. “The path they took leads straight to a commune by the name of Tygrus. However, for the sake of protecting the identities of those who have used this path prior, I cannot tell you more.”

I thanked her for the information. Though I was reluctant to do so, I started making my way back to Tygrus, the location of my greatest failure that left three dead, one descendant and two neku. The maimed were too many to count, this included myself. Finding the fugitive descendants Barken and the one they call “The Wolf” would be easy. Discovering them alive, however, was another issue…

 

4 days earlier…

 

Diego left me to soak in our hotel room’s bath while he assisted Madam Callista this morning. The water was remarkable, treating my wounds and leaving me feeling like new. My mind was caught in a series of tribulations from our escape from Tygrus and our attack in the woods, and it was agonizing being a contributor to this bloodshed regardless if I was doing so only to save my and Diego’s life. Fortunately, it seemed the water not only treated my body but also my mind.

I peered around in our bathroom, made pitch black with a scene of the night sky. This was the work of a powerful elementalist, possibly Madam Callista and Amelia themselves. Could it be that each room was just the same? The darkness was calming, I found myself napping in the tub with the water remaining warm throughout.

Diego said Madam Callista referred to the canopy we came from as the Forest of Illusion. It appears to be paradise in the beginning, convincing outsiders to stay and enjoy its beauty and wealth of food. But those who stay too long within it, unbeknownst to them, are being watched, eventually, to be hunted. Crystallites, the creatures who dwell in the waters, are the ones responsible and pose danger to anyone that lurks inside the forest’s depths.

“Very angry, territorial creatures those ones,” she said. “Either you both are very lucky, or gifted in what you do to have escaped. Anyone who knows of that forest doesn’t go near it.”

She told Diego that I may take as much rest as needed, and to come to her when I was ready. Madam Callista was vague regarding what she sought from me, making Diego even more reluctant about me meeting her altogether.

“You need to see her while I’m working security upfront,” he said. “I’ll be close. She asked for ‘privacy’ in the matter she wants to discuss with you. Privacy my ass, something isn’t right about that woman!”

Diego hasn’t managed to relax since being here, and I was worried all this might be too much for him. As I lifted myself from the bath, the room took on a peach tint with clouds forming a makeshift ceiling. A pale sun came rising in the background.

I entered our bedroom with bedding that looked and felt as though we were sleeping on clouds. The “cloudy,” gray bed was contained in a large, rectangular shape, fit to accommodate a patron or two. Walnut wood decorated the walls, ceiling, and floors. We were placed on the 6th floor of the hotel, and a view of this city was in plain view through the windows. Callista referred to this settlement as Sol, the city of the Sun.

Having got myself together, I came down the staircase that stopped on each floor. The railing was entwined with growing and regressing vines. Bees played on the staircase, settling on top of flowers. As I came into the lobby, I would first notice Amelia at the front desk.

“Good morning!” she greeted me quite lively, lifting herself from her seat as if to adhere to some vague social cue. “I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay here. This morning, please help yourself to some succulent beasts provided to us by one of our outside partners. Or, try our delicious produce cultivated by Madam Callista herself!” Amelia had an eagerness to please and assist, not unlike our brothers and sisters from Orion. Her hospitality was refreshing, albeit forced, probably a result of having Madam Callista as an employer.

Madam Callista moved all across the hotel, taking time to listen to guests, addressing concerns, and ensuring all was in working order. She dazzled everyone with her fiery dress, living flames dancing across her white tunic. Being so busy, she seemed to have a hands-off approach with Amelia, yet expected a great deal from her.

“Amelia!” she would say her name in a raised voice. “Has the room service for room 212 been taken care of? Don’t keep our guests waiting! Must I do it all?” Amelia took every order without breaking a sweat or appearing frazzled. She must’ve been used to working in these conditions.

Diego had an interesting task. Being building security, it was his job to keep undesirables from entering inside. Madam Callista warned him that rough individuals would occasionally come from the outside looking for trouble.

“They either have a problem with me, or who I serve,” she says. “Makes no difference.”

These potential intruders couldn’t be more mysterious and vague in their intentions. What issues would they have with Madam Callista or the clientele she served? It seemed there was more to this than met the eye.

 

While speaking with Amelia, I would see Diego rushing in from the entrance, daggers in hand.

“Barken!” he yelled “Neku are at the entrance of the hotel! They’re heading this way!”

I panicked and looked around aimlessly. I didn’t know of an exit I could go to besides the entrance.

Diego asked, “Do I have your permission to remove them?!” directed towards Madam Callista. She seemed unalarmed, however. Instead, she stood by the front desk with Amelia by her side.

“Allow them inside,” she said. Then, she touched my shoulder. “There’s no need to be afraid. Head into our office, I’ll speak with them.”

I moved into the hallway at the back of the front desk, allowing the door to close behind me. I would put my ear to the door, trying to listen for any commotion. It was silent for some time. All I could hear was the sound of my heart racing, and footsteps on the floor. Then, I would hear something strange. There were greetings, and if I didn’t know any better, laughter?

“Europa, Mimas, Ganymede, welcome back!”

Madam Callista’s voice could be heard most vividly. The peculiarity of this situation would have me peering out the small window of the door to see what was happening. It was indeed three neku, coming in with what appeared to be bags for carrying clothes. They had no armor or weapons, didn’t assert their authority or pose any threat. Were they...patrons? In a descendant-owned establishment? Not only this, they were returning patrons.

Never have I seen neku and descendants speak so casually with one another, making jokes, finding camaraderie in one another’s company. It was an unusual sight, I had to ask Diego what he made of all this!

Once the neku had finished speaking with Madam Callista, probably given rooms to stay in like any other guest, I would come out to find Diego pointing angrily, faced towards what must’ve been the direction the guests went.

“What was that about?!” he exclaimed. “Are you working for them?!”

“I’ve told you,” she said, “We serve all kinds.”

“They could’ve been here for Barken!”

She waved at him. “They were here for no such thing.” She paced some and sat herself down on Amelia’s desk. Amelia stood away and remained silent, eyeing the two of them. “I know these people, and I would not intentionally put you and your other in any kind of danger. You have my word, I know who comes into here.”

Diego nodded in frustration, fuming.

She continued, “Sometimes the enemy isn’t what they seem. Keep doing what you’re doing, that is all.”

Diego said no more as he walked off, heading to the entrance while I caught up to him.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” he said. “She could get us caught, I know she will!” Admittedly I was still confused myself, though I didn’t want to believe this could be a ruse to capture us.

“I meet with her in a few hours,” I told him. “Let’s keep each other informed, I’m certain I’ll learn something useful from our meeting. We don’t want to do anything drastic, she did provide us a room here to heal and regroup.”

He scoffed but relented. “Only because you were right about Rosco, I owe it to you to try and get to the bottom of this. But I’m watching that woman regardless, I don’t want us to get careless.”

 

Madam Callista suggested I take a walk through the city after the situation at the front desk. She hoped it would clear my head, specifically making sure our one-on-one time would turn out fruitful and without much strain on my part. This woman seemed to understand clairsentience to some degree, which made me wonder if she knew another clairsentient.

During our talk, I’d ask, “Wouldn’t that be dangerous, wandering around here in the open? With my fugitive status, I don’t know if I can be anywhere without being exposed...”

She nodded. “If you’re concerned about remaining hidden, I have something you can use.” Madam Callista would offer me a tan robe with red and black sequins that flowed down to my ankles. It made me think of the robes Ramon and the other elders would wear back in Orion. It had a large hood that covered my head and face completely, hiding me in black shadows.

“I understand this is the traditional attire of our descendant brethren, with the added addition of a heavy hood to maintain anonymity. This should cover you from head to toe, including those eyes.”

I thanked her for the gift, in awe of her generosity. Diego, however, would pose another issue.

“What if something happens to you?!” he said, near hysterically. “How will I know you’re safe?”

“Madam Callista gave me something for us to communicate with.”

The materials that elementalists make is quite something. Madam Callista would provide me with conch earrings that gave off a phosphorous green light. If I tapped it, it would send a signal to the other wearer in the form of sound and a bright light that would increase in intensity as the two are brought together again. He took the earring cautiously and had us test it out prior.

“Hmm,” he grumbled, unwilling to admit the genuineness of the gesture. He simply told me, “don’t stray far,” while he, though disgruntled, continued to hold his post at the hotel.

 

This city was something else. It had concrete roads with wagons being wheeled around, bluestone sidewalks teeming with descendants and neku. They acted indifferently to one another’s presence. In other instances, they openly socialized, like neighbors. I would see families, even children of neku, a new sight for me. The tension and fear that overtakes anywhere neku are present was near non-existent. The power dynamics that defined our lives had simply vanished. It occurred to me this must be a safe zone for descendants like me: neku weren’t on the hunt for fugitives, invading homes, or branding their weaponry. They moved around with ease as though they were one of us. I’d see elementalists performing their abilities on the street, making fire and water dance, cultivating plant life throughout, food abundance abound. Warriors playfully fought openly on the streets, their weapons held loosely in their hands. The few clairsentients I had seen even shared their good joy, holding hands with the others, their palms shining bright. And no neku batted an eye. What kind of place was this? While Orion and Tygrus were clearly Deko-occupied territories. Sol was occupied by neku and descendants true, but from what I could see, neutrality, possibly peace, was achieved, and I wondered where else existed places like this.

“The protection you ask for is unnecessary,” said Madam Callista before I ventured off. “Royal Soldiers seldom enter these parts. Even if fugitives were present in Sol, they’d have a hell of a time finding you all without help from within. It is a close-knit community around here, you understand. Royal Soldiers don’t have authority over Sol.”

It was the safe zone that I hoped Diego and I would find, freedom from violence and tyranny. I beamed with excitement. Maybe this could be our new home? Maybe there was a way out of our bondage. The more I considered the thought, however, the more I thought this was too good to be true. If we stayed here, what would end up of our comrades from Orion and Tygrus?

 

My return to the hotel was abrupt. Coming in I could hear signs of a struggle going on. Splashing water, slams into the wall echoing the hallways. I moved quicker inside, not even thinking of the risk it would bring. Once near the lobby, Amelia was up from her desk, holding a book to her chest as she stared towards my way. I would hear a struggle, a body being pushed again into the wall, the glass shattering. And before I could enter, Diego was thrown to the floor, and a warrior was on top of him with a morning star club in one hand.

The warrior slashed down at Diego, shattering the ground beside Diego’s head as he dodged, the spikes piercing straight through the translucent floor. He was ready to strike again before Diego stopped the trajectory of the weapon with his two daggers, then kicked the descendant off him. The warrior stumbled back, then made an eerie laugh as though thrilled by the altercation. When I looked into his eyes, the pupils and iris had dissolved into white.

“Diego,” I said, still transfixed by the warrior. “He’s not in the right mind. I can help.”

Diego looked at me with a wild expression. “Are you sure about this? We’re not in Orion anymore, Barken, you don’t need to be anyone’s healer.”

“That doesn’t matter to me!”

Despite his concern, I was tempted to try. Madam Callista appeared from the staff hallway, eyeing us contemplatively. I reached for the warrior whose focus was still on Diego and placed my hands on his shoulders. The warrior was taken by surprise and gasped as my palms began to glow. I was transported into his mind.

Inside of it, my view was blurry and dim like I was looking through the surface of polluted water. My visions are always crystal clear and I didn’t understand why this one seemed different. Then, I noticed a distinct image of the warrior entering somewhere and taking with him a bottle containing a liquid. He went to his home and consumed the liquid in privacy before it fell from his hand and shattered to the floor. Afterward, the vision was distorted, and I couldn’t investigate any further. Whatever the substance was, it was a precursor to this descendant’s current state.

I was ejected from his internal thoughts and brought to the present. Diego’s brows were furrowed at us, eyes darting between the descendant and myself nervously.

Thunk!

The warrior released his morning star club. I removed my hands and moved to the front of him. The descendant stood frozen, mouth hanging open and his eyes were still a milky white. I gave him a while to come back to us.

Then, the warrior started coughing and holding its chest. He began gagging. I took a step back and not long after, the warrior regurgitated onto the floor. Diego stood motionless behind me. When the warrior’s retching seized, he looked up to find Diego and I watching him. He checked at his surroundings, appearing overwhelmed and confused at once. Amelia and Callista were still stationed at the desk, with Amelia appearing sober and serious. Callista had removed herself from the doorway of the hall and had a look to her I didn’t understand. She was not relieved by the de-escalated situation, but, if I’m not mistaken, seemingly fascinated.

“Where am I?” the warrior asked, bringing my attention back to him. “What am I doing here?”

I said, “You were in crisis, brother.” He stared at me for sometime before checking the ground in front of his feet. “You had consumed something that threw you into crisis. Can you remember what it was?”

The warrior still seemed unsure of me, making passive glances at Diego. It was likely he didn’t remember having attacked him.

“I don’t know, I-” He stopped suddenly like his memory was becoming clear. “Hydrocline.”

“Hmm?”

“A drink consumed by neku. I had stolen one from one of the taverns around here, payback for their rudeness! ‘Hydrocline is not for your kind to enjoy.’ Damn right, what a disgusting substance! The neku can keep it for all I care.”

Diego said, “What you took led you to go mad and brought you to us. I could’ve been on the other end of that morning star you carry.”

The warrior’s eyes flew open. He looked around and found on the floor his weapon. He grabbed it quickly, then slowly returned his attention to us.

“I’m sorry about that, brother. Please forgive me.” Diego nodded in understanding, but he seemed distracted. His nose wrinkled, and he started eyeing the fluid on the floor. Hydrocline, not something you’d find in Orion as far as I know. I thought to ask Diego his thoughts when I got the chance. Apparently, it is a liquid substance consumed by neku, for what reason I’m not sure. But it’s effects on us descendants must have catastrophic consequences, as this descendant has shown.

I noticed Callista moving gradually toward us, facing the warrior. “You seem to have made a great mess during your stay here.”

The warrior’s eyes followed Callista’s, who was looking at the shattered floor, smashed wall, and vomit splattered on the floor. The warrior appeared embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, miss. If you need me to-”

“You have no need to be concerned.” And with gestures from her hands and fingers, Callista began restoring the translucent tiles and walls. She then pooled water from the rivers that flowed around us, pouring it onto the soiled floor. The water scooped up the mess and returned to the river where it dissolved into nothingness. Diego stared at the river for some time before peering around. He seemed to have picked up on a scent.

“It should take no time to drain and be disposed of, our water cleans itself. You aren’t the only patron I’ve had who’s come here intoxicated…” Her expression was hard to read as she spoke, but the warrior began to feel at ease.

He bowed. “Again, my apologies to you all. I will certainly think twice about consuming that nasty drink again. If you’ll excuse me.” The warrior left and headed toward the exit.

I asked, “Intoxicated, Madam Callista?”

“An altered state of being after drinking the substance he had, also known as HC,” she explained. “I don’t think I have to tell you to stay away from it or those that use it if you can help it. Brings nothing but trouble.” I nodded. Diego listened passively and had a terse frown. “I am still in need of your assistance when you have the time.”

As Madam Callista was on her way, I came to the realization that this woman knew a great deal than she let on. Maybe during my time with her, I will discover more about this casual relationship the descendants have with the neku in Sol and what led to it. Maybe Sol is the secret to destabilizing Deko’s control over Orion, Tygrus, everywhere. What did we have to lose?

Diego came to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

“You mean well,” I said. “I think it’s time for Madam Callista and I’s meeting. I will let you know if anything comes up.”

He caressed my arms before pulling me near him. “Keep on your earring.”

As I came to the desk, Amelia grinned widely. “Her office will be in the far back!”

I entered the hallway and walked steadily down it, taking in the surroundings I wasn’t privy to the last time I was brought here. There were portraits of Madam Callista on the wall with her many extravagant outfits. There were other descendants on the wall, one of them being Amelia, who each wore name badges. They must have been previous employees of the Elementalist Hotel.

When I came into Madam Callista’s office, I was surprised by it’s toned down atmosphere. The walls and ceiling were painted a basil green with cherrywood trim. A large, mahogany desk stood in the back, a pine green couch was placed near the door, and a window facing a large patch of green plants live the ones like Diego and I slept on in the canopy were laid out in the scenery, just at the bottom of a clear sky and strong sun.

Madam Callista was seated behind her desk with a floral smell coming from her hot cup of jasmine tea. When she took note of me, she waved her hand at the chair in front of her and said, “Please, take a seat.” I obliged and set before her, studying the way she averted her gaze from me, pondering her fingers.

“This is embarrassing for me to ask,” she began, pulling her cup to her lips. “I request from you some clarity.”

“In regards to?”

“My origins.”

“Origins?” I said.

She put down her cup, appearing very serious. “Yes. I’m sure you were able to tell that I’m not like other descendants.” It was true. It was as Diego suspected, This woman isn’t like us.

“It hasn’t been something I put much thought to, if I’m being honest. But, how are you unaware of your origins? There are other clairsentients that live in Sol who could have guided you through this.”

She sighed. “I guess you can say there’s a reason for my secrecy. If word got out about who, or what, I am, let’s just say I’d have a lot more trouble than the occasional drunk or disgruntled citizen storming my hotel. Not to mention it wouldn’t be good for business…” I rose an eyebrow, trying to gauge her vagueness.

She continued, “There’s a reason I requested security from your other. There are those who know my secret, and aside from the drunk you came across today, most intruders are of sound mind and come here because they intend to cause harm to my establish. Sometimes me.” Madam Callista had a frown, staring off into nowhere. If I didn’t know any better, her office, even her expressions, took on a darker tint. “If I’m being honest, your fugitive status is what led me to seek your services. Being in the precarious situation that you are in, my hope is that you’d have some understanding.”

I nodded because I did understand. What I didn’t understand is if there were those seeking to harm her and her establishment, why would she describe Sol as a tight-knit community who looked out for their own? Was she not treated as part of the community? The more Madam Callista spoke, the wearier I became and wondered what I have gotten myself into. To seek the help of a fugitive seemed risky for a woman who depended on her reputation in the city, yet, she found it urgent that I offer my ability to her, possibly exposing herself in the process. Nothing about this felt reassuring.

“Alright, Madam. If you could close your eyes and focus your thoughts, recalling your earliest memories, we may be able to find what you’re looking for.”

She smiled. “I’ll do as you say.” Madam Callista closed her eyes and laid out her hands. With some hesitancy on my part, I placed my hands gently on top of her palms. I inhaled slow, transporting into her thoughts.

A female descendant was carrying her in her arms when she was still a young child having recently been born. The descendant stared at her child with a grimace and distinct tears in her eyes. Her sadness was heavy. She looked at her daughter with great pity.

Then, the memory shifted to another. Callista had aged, though she was still a child. Others looked at her strangely, discomforted by her appearance wherever she roamed. The children around her refused her company, yelled angrily at her, or cowered away. She stood taller than every one of them. When one warrior girl attempted to fight her, Callista simply shoved her away, launching the girl into the air and hard onto the bluestone pavement where she writhed from the pain. Callista didn’t know her own strength, and everyone was fearful of it.

I returned to the image of her mother holding her and discovered something new. In the background, I could see someone behind her. The being moved closer and touched the female descendant’s shoulder, intimately and carefully. It held her in his arms. And while doing so, I was taken aback to find the being was not a descendant.

In one of Callista’s final memories, I’d witnessed her as a toddler running toward this being and falling into their arms. This being kissed her, caressed her, held her close. It was her father, but something was amiss. I thought I was hallucinating. This wasn’t...it couldn’t…

I was brought back to the present day. I slowly opened my eyes, unable to erase the shock on my face. Madam Callista’s face was composed as she opened her eyes to find me looking straight at her. My hands still laid on top of hers, and I pulled them off precipitously.

“Y-you,” I said, stuttering unintentionally. I felt my hands tingle, ready to reach for my earring. Madam Callista’s stoic facade shifted to concern.

“It was as I thought,” she said sadly. I felt myself go stiff. “I was tricking myself into thinking I...was just like you, and everyone else. But now you’ve confirmed it for me, and now I must live with the knowledge. I carry the blood of a being that is not a descendant.”

 

Madam Callista and I sat in silence for some time. I was able to collect myself, trying not to see this being as something I should be running away from, calling Diego and having us flee as far as we can. But what use was it to run from her when she hasn’t posed any danger to me since we’ve arrived here? She healed my wounds, gave us shelter, protected our identities. She wasn’t my enemy, she couldn’t be. And the more I sat before her, the more I realized she saw me without fear, or a desire to rid herself of me as a witness to her past. There are others who know of her identity, that much is true, and that very secret alienates her. Simultaneously, it explains the commonality she finds with the ones we view as our enemy. The great Madam Callista, half descendant, and half neku.

I broke the silence. “Madam Callista, what do you make of all this?”

She eyed me, appearing enervated. “Make of what?”

“...Descendants and neku are two entirely different beings, are they not? How could you be born from both? That - that isn’t possible.”

“But you’ve seen my memories for yourself. What else could that man’s presence mean other than him being the father I hardly knew?”

“Are they alive? Your parents?”

She looked down, frowning. “No. They both had disappeared when I was young. It was rumored that the Royal Soldiers knew what they had done and wanted my father captured along with my mother, eventually leading to them both being killed. The shock of it had created holes in my memories, as you see. I’m surprised I still exist, being the product of their union.”

“Your amnesia may have kept you from being a target of the neku. But I’m only hypothesizing. One thing is for sure, I believe your parents had a hand in keeping you protected… even if it meant sealing away your memories of them and your past.”

Even in a place like Sol, Royal Soldiers were still a threat to a smaller degree, or likely more insidiously. They simply had to open their ears to the stories of the city folk to get around. It was no surprise they would rid themselves of a fellow neku that would dare cross a boundary that most neku and descendants would never dream of attempting.

“And still,” I said, “there must be something more here.”

“I know what you’re getting at; My father’s relations with the Royal Soldiers. They wouldn’t rid themselves of one of their own simply to save face.”

“But it might be a part of it.” Madam Callista made a face of intrigue. “Think about the beginning of our conversation, when I told you the impossibility of neku and descendants procreating together. Based on what we’ve seen, the two races can have intimate relationships with one another, even procreate, hence the possibility of your birth. This tells me that if we’re able to bond with each other in such a way…”

“...Then the races are not as different as they seem, possibly sharing ancestry. And ridding away my parents would keep that secret hidden.” Madam Callista laughed bitterly. “Oh Ida, the cards we are dealt with! To lose the ones you love...for politics.”

The two of us marveled at our discovery and sat with our thoughts. The relations between neku and descendants in Sol, there was a reason for it, an explanation for this odd world we found ourselves in. These creatures that managed to subdue us, torture us, inhibit us, were somehow connected to us beyond what we would ever imagine. And Madam Callista was living proof. What a secret to have held in for so long.

“Thank you Barken,” she said, ejecting me from my thoughts. “You’ve helped me discover where I come from. It answers so many questions I’ve had and weren’t able to answer. I see that what we’ve uncovered has enlightened you as well.”

I nodded. “It has. I don’t know where to begin knowing all this. Thank you, Madam, for sharing with me your memories.”

 

In Diego and I’s hotel room, I relaxed on our bed and stared at the ceiling immersed in these complicated thoughts. Descendants and neku having a common ancestor, knowing this only added to the danger I posed to the Royal Soldiers. And there was the issue of who to tell. Would revealing this to others compromise Madam Callista’s safety? And what of my allegiance to “our kind?” Does this withholding of information about how descendants and neku are connected jeopardize any goals to liberate us, now more complicated by the fact that who we call the enemy has changed? This burden I have...having now made contact with one neku, the princess, and one with neku blood, Madam Callista. What was once black and white has taken on so many different hues.

I heard the door and in came Diego. “You look drained,” he said. “Tell me what happened.”

He came and sat next to me onto the bed, his entire attention on me. What would Diego think of this?

“I don’t know,” I said. “It was so much to process, I don’t even know where to start.”

His hand grazed my head. “But you’re safe, right? Nothing happened to you?”

“Of course, I just…” Like any being with clairsentience, we learn the deepest part of a person with each ceremony. Just as the receiver forms a connection with us, we are bonded to them. I did desire to protect Madam Callista despite my loyalty to Diego. I processed the best way I could explain my findings.

I cleared my throat. “This is what I can tell…” Without going into specifics regarding Madam Callista’s origins or parents, I told Diego what her memories had shown me: That neku and descendants could form intimate bonds with each other, and that there was a birth that resulted from it, possibly more we don’t even know of. I told him that it’s likely the Royal Soldiers and Deko are in on it as well and seek to rid any evidence of these unions, lest comes an even bigger issue: neku and descendants discovering they share a common ancestor. This would, inevitably, debunk any theory that the neku are somehow the greater species.

“What!?”

“It seems like a far-fetched idea. But I saw what I saw: there are offspring among us who share descendant and neku blood.”

His nose wrinkled. “You think there’s many like them?! Disgusting! Why would our people stoop so low?”

“Look around us, Diego. The two races live peacefully amongst each other in this city. These neku haven’t sought to hurt us. Doesn’t that tell you that the way that our relations to the neku are more complicated than what it seems?”

At first, Diego seemed discomposed, unable to be receptive to what was coming his way. Having any sort of bond with neku when we’ve only known these beings to be coldly sadistic doesn’t encourage a change of heart. It only made our relationship with them more loaded with uncertainty. But Diego turned to me with eyes filled with ire.

“You believe it, don’t you?”

“Believe what?”

“You believe these sick monsters are our brethren? That they’re actually...a part of us somehow?”

I touched his hand. “I mean, that’s what I saw. The visions I have aren’t fabricated, and the proof is already before us-”

Just as my marigold glow was forming, he moved his hand away and stood off the bed. “This is sick, Barken. Your mind is obviously being warped by them and you’re falling for their trap. It was a mistake having you meet her.”

“What? Diego-”

He raised his voice. “You’re sympathizing with them! You’re sympathizing with our torturers!” I was stunned. I had to collect myself hearing him speak to me this way. He’s never expressed this kind of anger before, to believe me as a potential enemy.

“That-that’s not what I’m doing! Why would you think something like that-”

“I’m hearing it with my own ears! I can’t believe I trusted your judgment thus far, ready to join forces with Deko and have more descendants fall around you-”

“I don’t want any of this! What’s gotten into you? Why do you believe these things about me?”

He looked ready to shout more, but instead took a breath and looked to the window. “I’ve done so much to try and protect you, get you out of Orion and somewhere we could find peace. I thought it wild that you were even talking about resisting against Deko, and thought maybe you would fight back if we knew how. I don’t know what to believe now. You’ve managed to get tangled with the Princess of Deko and some strange woman we don’t even know, talking this nonsense. Is there anything about us that even remotely reminds you of these creatures?!” I tried to retort but didn’t find the words. How could I possibly convince Diego any of this without revealing Madam Callista’s identity?

He turned away from me. “I need to bathe, it’s been a long day.” And he left me there as he shut the door to the bathroom.

 

Our conversation went far worse than I imagined. The pressure of being loyal to Diego and being the holder of what could possibly be ancient knowledge was too much. What use are these visions if they make me out to be an enemy of him and my people? I heard the shower run with Diego inside and I wished I could’ve taken everything back and not have told him any of it at all. After my time with Madam Callista, my connection to the Princess of Deko had grown stronger and I could sense her desperation to find me. With Diego feeling the way he does, I now feared what would happen if they met.

Bang, bang, bang!

I sat myself up in bed, listening to the other end of our hotel door getting pounded on. I considered Madam Callista and Amelia being on the other side of it, but why would they be so discourteous and abrupt? I looked toward the bathroom and heard the water still running. I wondered if Diego could hear it on his end.

Bang, bang, bang!

I lifted off the bed and approached the door cautiously. Did another patron mistake our room for another’s?

Crash!

The door broke open with the wood splintering off. I backed away and could see whatever was behind it knocking away its remnants. Large, armored, far taller than I was, and a scepter to boot. A Royal Soldier!

She stomped and shattered the remnants, forcing her way in and coming towards me. “You’re one smart descendant for having got this far. You’re all like cockroaches, refusing to die when you’ve already been crushed.”

“How are you here? How did you know where to find me?”

“You’d think I’d answer those questions to a fugitive? We Royal Soldiers are all over, and it takes a lot more to escape from us than you seem to think. Now, do you plan on coming with me to face punishment for your crime?”

I couldn’t help but make glances at the bathroom door. It was interesting that the soldier found no concern with the possibility that another descendant was nearby. She was cocky, must’ve made no difference to her. She steadily moved closer and I watched as she held her scepter tighter.

“Diego!”

Swoosh!

The neku swung at the cloud bed as I hopped over it, dodging her. The room was too small, and I found myself in a corner. She pushed the bed aside seamlessly and advanced forward.

“DIEGO, HEL-”

Her hand was on my neck. I could feel the prickling of her nails digging into me as I forced myself to breathe. My hands tried desperately to loosen her grip.

“We’ll take you dead or alive, descendant. It’s your choice.”

She squeezed hard, I thought I’d pass out. There was no wiggling away without feeling the hard pricks on my flesh.

Without expectation, an arm wrapped around her neck and she was torn away from me while I slid to the floor, catching my breath. Diego had climbed on top of her back, She barely had time to struggle before he lifted his dagger and shoved into an exposed part of her chest. He removed himself from her while she collapsed to the floor.

“Diego,” I said, “we-”

“I know,” he said. “We need to get out of here.”

Large nails shot unexpectedly through the entryway. It cut like knives slicing anything it touched.

“Dammit!” Diego jumped back and I could see his belly having been nicked by one of them. As the nails retreated back, I came to his side and witnessed the neku who was attacking us. The neku shot their nails at us again and I grabbed for Diego’s shoulder.

The nails sliced through and made contact with me as my marigold glow formed, dissolving automatically. The Royal Soldier pulled his nails back but appeared unharmed.

I said quietly, “My reflective abilities don’t seem to work on their claws.”

“Not a problem,” said Diego. He brushed passed me toward the soldier. The neku attempted to swipe his nails at Diego, but Diego moved quickly, punching the neku square in the face and launching him into a wall. There were already more coming toward us.

I joined Diego’s side. A beam was fired in our direction and Diego and I separated, forcing ourselves against the wall. It shot through the hallway, the heat scathing and burning our backsides. The beam passed us and made its way into our room before blasting through the window that led to the outside. I looked opposite our room and a neku had its scepter pulled back to strike Diego.

Swoosh! Diego ducked, and the scepter destroyed the wall leading to a room. I could hear the screams on the other side. The descendant pulled back its scepter, but Diego kicked the neku in the head, knocking them unconscious on the floor. Another neku took their place and charged with its scepter. Diego maneuvered himself onto the scepter and threw a dagger right into the neku’s forehead, killing them instantly as they went down. Diego jumped on the descendant to retrieve his dagger while another neku slugged its scepter on top of Diego.

“ARGH!” said Diego, thrown to the floor and writhing. The neku was ready to strike again. I put myself in front of Diego, kneeling on the floor and placing my hand on his leg. The scepter caught itself in my healing barrier and flew right back into the neku’s face, knocking him out.

It appeared to be over. My healing was on its way to finishing as I looked at Diego.

“Diego, how could they have known?” He nodded uncertainly. Danger was upon us, we were back on the run again. “We had to have been discovered, but only Madam Callista and Amelia know we are here. How do these Royal Soldiers know our exact location?”

And it dawned on me what I said: only Madam Callista and Amelia know we are here. Diego looked like he was seething.

“Diego, you don’t think-”

“Barken, down!” Diego pulled me to the ground, and above me were neku nails shooting passed where I once knelt. I found the neku attacking us sprawled on the floor with blood coming down his head. I could see and feel the desperation on him. Diego grabbed his daggers and sliced through neku’s nails.

“Damn descendant scum,” he said, struggling to speak and attempting to lift himself up. “To think we let you all live to serve us. You all should be buried, taken out of existence. You’ll always be worthless to us, your lives mean nothing. One day, Deko will have no use for you. And when that day comes, you will all die-”

A dagger protruded from the descendant’s head, and his body sunk to the floor. Diego had risen and pulled me up with him. I looked around us at all these fallen soldiers, and the hole created by the neku’s blast that looked out into the night sky. It was then I started hearing a commotion from our neighbors.

“Come on,” Diego said, pulling me along.

“Where are we going?”

“You know where.”

 

We ran down the staircase, our hearts beating wildly. Diego told me we could trust no one and I tried to resist the notion even with the danger that surrounded us. I wanted to believe Amelia and Madam Callista wouldn’t dare hurt us, but what did I know? I followed Diego’s lead trepidatiously as though the worse was yet to come. Once we got to the bottom steps, we could see Amelia at the desk. Her eyes widened along with her lips to reveal her trademark grin.

“You gentleman are up late,” she said, “I hope we’ve been able to satisfy your every need-”

“Enough!” Diego yelled. Amelia stopped speaking. “Where’s Callista?!”

“...Madam Callista is out at the moment. Is there something the matter?”

“There will be if you don’t stop being so damn patronizing.”

“Diego-”

“Don’t Barken!!”

“Barken,” Amelia said, facing me as I stood beside Diego. “Your other seems upset. Do you mind telling me what’s going on?”

Diego positioned himself in front of me and yelled, “I am the one talking to YOU!” Amelia frowned, with her eyes darting between Diego and me. At the corner of my eye, I noticed the staircase we came from start to blur and dissolve in the periphery of my vision.

“You both have quite the operation going on,” he said, “letting fugitives stay at your hotel only to have them attacked in the night by the very beings you sat here and called ‘harmless patrons.’ You better have a damn good explanation for why those soldiers were inside here.”

“Diego!”

“WHICH OF YOU SENT THEM!? Callista...or you?”

The floor beneath us shook catching Diego and I off-balance and nearly throwing us onto the floor. The ground started to crumble and crack while a thick, moss green vine, then another, grew out from underneath. I looked to Diego who appeared as startled as I. The thick vines continued to spread across the floor and seemed to be directed in a certain direction. I tried to lift myself up and could see Amelia with wide eyes staring at the floor and vines, unmoving. As the vines circled in, it was becoming clear who their target was.

“Diego, careful!”

Diego pulled himself up from the floor and looked around him at the vines that moved like snakes slithering on the tile floor toward his way. Diego readied his daggers. One vine struck his way, and he sliced it clean. The vine recoiled back, only to be replaced by the other. Diego jumped away, landing himself on Amelia’s desk. The vine came for him, and he grabbed it by its end, before slicing it with his dagger. I turned to the original vine he had sliced, which already repaired its front end as it aimed itself at Diego. It grabbed his leg before yanking him to the floor. The second vine was already in the process of trying to repair itself.

I looked around to find who was controlling these things. Only elementalism could create this. These vines weren’t attacking on their own, something was manipulating them. But I kept turning to Amelia, whose mouth was agape and her hands weren’t moving. She still remained frozen in place.

“Amelia!” I called to her. “What is happening here?!”

She glanced at me briefly, her face emotionless before returning her eyes to the vines. But as I studied her, I could see her tongue moving. I turned to Diego being dragged on the floor by the vine. He used his dagger to set himself free. As he did so, the second vine took hold of his other leg and hoisted him into the air.

“Ida, what is happening?!” Amelia held her gaze on the vines, her mouth still slightly ajar. And while paying close attention, I could still see her tongue moving. Was she verbally orchestrating the vines’ movements under her breath?

“Amelia, stop this!”

Diego attempted to struggle free from the vine while he dangled in the air, and the original vine had already restored itself and was ready to charge at him. They really were only directed towards him.

It didn’t matter. Without thinking, I ran through the rubble created by these tentacle-like vines that continued to shake the Earth beneath us. I dodged the vines as I navigated through the floor, then launched myself at Amelia, tackling her to the floor. I heard Diego’s yells as he descended down from the ceiling. There was a stomp on the floor, and I hoped he landed feet first on the ground.

Amelia started coughing underneath me. I got myself off her and pulled her up from the floor.

“Amelia,,” I spoke her name as her coughing started to cease. “Don’t tell me. Was it you?”

She wiped away at her mouth, cutting her eyes at Diego. “That damn dog...putting his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

I looked at Diego, sweating immensely and breathing heavily as his chest rose and fell. He stared back appearing just as vicious, parts of the vines still wrapped around his ankles.

“He’s been eyeing me since he started working security today, monitoring me like I was the neku that hunt you. He had one job, but he had to get himself involved with business that had nothing to do with him.”

“She’s one of them, Barken,” he said. “Remember the descendant with the sour smell, the one who kidnapped you in Orion? She has the scent too. It’s the Hydrocline. I picked up on it after you assisted the descendant in crisis today who wandered himself into the hotel. He carried the scent as well. When consumed, the one who drinks it gives off an acrid smell. She must’ve been given it by the neku, likely the Royal Soldiers.”

My throat seemed to constrict as I tried to swallow. When I looked at Amelia, I couldn’t hide my tremor. The descendant who kidnapped me...she was like him and she was standing right in front of me. I had almost fallen into their trap again.

Amelia’s eyes met mine. “Hydrocline. You say it so properly. Yes, it does come from the neku. HC alters one’s state of consciousness, a numbing agent. While used recreationally by neku, and by descendants who get their hands on it, it contains certain properties that are triggered when used improperly. It can alter one’s memories, lead unsuspecting descendants into committing awful crimes. It’s so highly sought for that descendants would do the neku’s bidding for a taste. Not a bad deal for a dedicated employee at this worthless establishment.”

“Fuck you!” Diego screamed at her.

She ignored him and kept looking at me. “It’s quite fun once you get used to it. The Royal Soldiers offer HC as an incentive for information, at least to those who comply. But I digress. I should say, I’m quite surprised at you Barken. Keeping company with this mutt and having not been killed yet. There’s something you ought to know about Royal Soldiers, they prefer when their prey don’t fight back.”

Before I knew it, a circle of blue flames started appearing underneath Amelia. I took a step back from her, feeling a brush of heat overtake me. The flames spun around Amelia as though they were dancing. Gradually, they turned into a radiant orange and grew immensely, continuing to circle around and nearly climb up to Amelia’s stomach. It nearly engulfed her, all the while she was levitating from the floor. Her eyes were blazing. The circle of fire blazed violently around her. The heat was intense, forcing me to back away. As I looked on, I could see her head tilt, then direct herself to Diego.

“DIEGO!” I called out to him.

The vines that surrounded him grabbed him quickly and started twisting onto his legs, lifting him slowly into the air as the vines grew thicker. Diego tried to cut at them, but more continued to grow in their place and rushed up his knees and thighs.

“Let him go!” I screamed.

Her vacant eyes looked lazily at me before returning back to him. The vines had already past his stomach and pulled his arms to his sides, making him lose control of his hands. His daggers fell from the vines and clattered onto the floor.

“You know you’re worth a great deal,” Amelia spoke, though her eyes weren’t directed to me. “The bounty the Royal Soldiers put on you. It’s easy, welcoming unsuspecting fugitive descendants into the Elementalist Hotel with the promise of luxury as though we were taking them into a dream. They’d be fooled into staying, believing they were in a safe haven, only for Royal Soldiers to come knocking on our doors in search of them. They pay their handsome bounty fee to the concierge who gave them the tip, and they collect what they came for.

“Madam Callista makes it very easy, having good relations with the patrons that come through our doors despite being the half breed that she is. Royal Soldiers work with her? She’s in the same class as your mutt, who’s worth just as much dead as he is alive.”

Diego groaned. I could see the veins from his body become engorged as though he were being crushed.

“Please, stop hurting him! I swear I’ll give myself up without a fight, just don’t-”

“You and I both know your other wouldn’t allow that, Barken. Unless you plan to join your other’s fate, I suggest you keep your distance like the good, sweet clairsentient that you are. Tell me, would you rather see him crushed, suffocated, or burned alive?”

The vines wrapped around Diego’s chest, traveling up his neck.

“Barken!” He struggled to yell for my name. The vines encroached upon him and twisted around his mouth. In the midst of this, blue flames were traveling along the floor toward the chasm created by the vines. The flames sunk into the floor, and the chasm exploded with fire. Almost instantly, the two vines caught aflame. The fire traveled in the direction of the sprawled out vines on the floor, approaching closer to the mountain of tangles that held Diego in the air.

“AMELIA, DON’T!!!” I could see the rivers of water that still traveled along the walls of the lobby and the shattered tiles spread across the floor. I began removing the tiles nearest the wall, disrupting the path of the river and threw them at Amelia. The wall of flames around her was alive and incinerated the tiles before it could even touch her. I continued launching them her way, and eventually, the river poured onto the flames that traveled onto the vines, extinguishing them. Despite the diverted river washing onto the inflamed vines, the fire continued to spread. It steadily reached the trunk of vines where Diego was hoisted up.

“Ida no…”

I tried my best to navigate through the cracks on the floor, the fire, and the living vines that seemed to shriek as they burned. Stepping over the rubble, rubbing away the sweat on my face, I reached behind the trunk and felt the heat of the flames. I did as I had before and ripped away at the tiles, letting the river run askew and spill onto the floor. As the fire bore into the trunk, the water started to spread across the back of the vines. The river was gushing away, and I could see the flames moving slower. I looked up to Diego still struggling to break free, and I peered around for his weapons.

I stomped through the vines, still eyeing the flames that were dissolving into smoke. The rivers were gushing across the floor, wrapping itself around the fire and vines. Sprawled on the floor, I found the daggers. I climbed over to them, picked them up, and used them to pull myself up the vine trunk.

“Foolish descendant,” Amelia said. “You’re clearly out of your league.”

I got up to Diego and began cutting him loose from the vines. His body was coming to life as it freed itself. The vines, cut from their roots, were unable to hold him. Once free, I handed his weapons to him.

“You saved me,” he said.

But the moment wouldn’t last. Amelia brought her palm to her mouth and, just as suddenly, blew flames in our direction. Diego put me on his back and barely escaped them, diving off the mountain of vines.

“I have an idea,” he said. “Just hold on to me and let me get close to her.”

Amelia continued blowing our way, breaths of fire launching themselves toward us and burning the ground beneath our feet or being doused in the ever-growing body of water on the floor. Diego moved quickly, dodging each ball of flame before only being a lunge away from her.

“You were right,” he said, “You don’t have a chance of getting him while I’m still around. Do yourself a favor and end this before you get hurt.”

Amelia was undeterred. She brought her palm to her lips once more, and blew her flames toward us.

“Barken,” he yelled, “HEAL ME!”

I grabbed Diego tight and absorbed the pain he endured while battling with Amelia. Simultaneously, my eyes shut hard as the flames that would’ve surely incinerated us alive surrounded us. Instead of its scorching heat, the flames felt like a cool wind blowing through us. The flames dissolved around us, and I heard a scream.

I opened my eyes slowly. All I saw was smoke. The tornado of flames around Amelia had dissipated, and she was no longer levitating in the air. The vines seemed to be shriveling away while any remaining fires simply vanished into smoke. The entire lobby was flooded with water. I noticed the stairway to the upstairs materialize out of nowhere, then the hallway to their office started flooding with the rivers of water. Even the image of the entryway into the lobby, which seemed so clear and undisturbed despite the destruction we were causing, began to dissolve and reveal itself, the water now spreading across the floor. Amelia had created an elaborate illusion to fight us without being interrupted and caught in the act. At the end of that hall towards the entrance, I saw Madam Callista.

At first, she moved quickly into the lobby with her fiery dress flowing behind her. By the time she entered the lobby however, her demeanor had changed. Her unhinged mouth closed, and she let out a noticeable exhale. Like she did in every interaction, she maintained her poise and walked in amongst everything: the vines, the flooding, the seared, torn, and destroyed parts of her floor, the smoke. She then turned to the two descendants that stood before her, covered in sweat and soot, one injured, the other without a mark. It must’ve been a strange and troubling kind of deja-vu.

“Madam Callista,” I said her name without thinking. What else could I say? Diego began to approach her with his daggers still in his hands. “Diego-”

“Are there more?” he asked, moreso demanding. “Any other Royal Soldiers that come for us?” My eyes met Madam Callista’s and I had to honestly wonder if I could trust the woman before me. She blinked, then turned slowly behind her.

“...They’ve been told they have no business here. Any descriptions given to me about descendants being in my hotel, ones that match that of two descendants who escaped from Orion, were not validated. And the one who tipped them, is no longer an employee at this establishment… at least she won’t be when I find her.” Diego looked long at her. He let me off his back and turned to the front desk.

“Madam Callista,” I said. “Amelia, she-”

I didn’t have the words. Madam Callista only briefly looked to us before walking slowly toward the desk with Diego and I at her back. We came around it and there was Amelia. The smell of burnt flesh was in the air. I turned away, feeling sick. There wasn’t any denying it, she...was dead. Madam Callista kept forward, slowly approaching the scorched body.

“I’m-” I tried to speak. I wasn’t able to hold back the strong guilt that seemed to take over me. “I’m so sorry Madam Callista.”

She crouched down on the floor near the body. Diego, ears twitching, stood by me.

“I don’t think I’m the one owed an apology.” She lifted herself from the floor, eyeing Amelia’s body for some time, then standing before us. There was a melancholic edge to her voice. “I promised that you would be safe here, and it is clear that you’re not. It’s hard to determine who’s friend or fiend when evidently you don’t know who’s been working alongside you. I didn’t see it coming. She was a brilliant illusionist, playing the part of a welcoming host and using my hotel to snare unsuspecting descendants. She even deceived me, and my lack of foresight has put you in danger. I’m the one who’s sorry.

“I understand that a lot has happened here and you have no reason to trust me. But, I want you to stay. No surprises, no unexpected visits, and no receptionist to expose you. We could work together if that is something that interests you?”

Diego and I had our eyes on each other as we thought of the offer. Sol was one of the safer places in this small world we live in, at least compared to where we’ve been. It didn’t seem like a bad choice. Then I remembered my time in Tygrus, meeting Rosco, and him telling me about descendant liberation, the responsibility I had to the movement.

“I appreciate your offer, Madam,” I said. “But…” I looked at Diego as I spoke. “I don’t want to put you in danger, and that is what you’ll be in if we stayed. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you and your establishment because of us, so I can’t take your offer.

“I do request something else of you though: I want to tell your story. What you’ve shown me could change the trajectory of our fate! Descendants and neku need to know this, and I truly feel it would change everything for us. I promise anonymity on my part, as you have given to us. However, I can’t spread the word if I remain here.”

Madam Callista nodded. Something in her eyes twinkled, and she gave a broad smile, the most expressive I’d seen her. She looked at her hands and clothes, and I noticed her nails lengthen slowly, its ends sharp and intimidating.

Diego’s eyes widened in realization. “Wait, you…”

He couldn’t get the words out. Madam Callista did it for him.

“Your instincts were probably correct, young man. You are speaking to someone with descendant and neku blood.”

Diego’s mouth was agape, shock taking over him. He turned to me, his face showing sadness and embarrassment.

“Barken, I-I’m sorry for what I said to you. It was wrong of me, I should’ve believed you.” I nodded my understanding, only glad to see him be witness to the truth and regaining his trust in me.

“I guess there was a reason we met after all,” Madam Callista said. “I don’t know if my origins will shift anyone’s views. I’ve lived my whole life in this skin, and many were not accepting of the idea that I could exist. They didn’t believe that neku and descendants could do something that’s nothing less of a miracle, being able to bear children with each other. We are connected in a bond that likely existed before all of our times, before descendant subjugation. If you can build that bridge linking us all together, then I give you my permission to share my story as you please. Thank you for what you do for us, young ones.”

She bowed before us and said, “Please, stay one more night. Have a bath, get some sleep, and I’ll tell you where you can go next. It is a settlement named Kyro. Amelia comes from there. I should warn you though, where you’ll end up is nothing like Sol or Orion. It is the epicenter of civil unrest in this land, and you may very well be walking into a war.”