Weeks have passed since Alonzo’s voyage to Spectra
and there’s nothing more he’d rather do than go back in time to stop all this
from happening- the pain, the strife, the death of his mother and father; it
seems all for naught. For all the importance that Dionysus, Persephone, and
Cairo placed on removing him from San Antonio, everything has come to a
standstill. He hasn’t seen or heard from his aunt or uncle in five days and
even Cairo has been away for an even longer stint. As a matter of fact, he has
no clue where he is. When he had asked, a usual answer of “it’s better that you
don’t know” was given.
Alonzo has been placed in a moderately furnished,
fourth-floor apartment, located in some kind of quiet, family-centric
neighborhood. There is only one window to gaze from, and that limited amount of
viewing space only peers about a block and a half in either direction. Giant
maple and oak trees line both sides of the street, rustling in the heavy breeze
blown in from the summer season. Brick-faced buildings line the streets as
well, residential structures indicating the amount of wealth built into this
area. Well-dressed yuppie men and women stroll in the mornings and evenings,
and what he has gathered, everyone owns some kind of beautiful dog to match the
alluring atmosphere. Every now and again, he hears the sound of a train and
feels the slight vibration of the railing it travels on. Most days are sunny
and clear, but a few thunderstorms have blown in over the last two weeks,
causing hail damage to vehicles and windows outside. It’s all reminiscent of
trips he has taken to Chicago in the past.
Claustrophobic and anxious, Alonzo wishes for
nothing more than to open the window to take in a deep breath of fresh air, but
even that is too much to ask for. The window and all doors have been magically
sealed; no one can enter and no one can exit. That was the first of several
rules given to him by his lackluster leadership. The second rule was no cell
phone; that was instantly taken away from at the start. Next was no internet;
tracking him would be easier by someone hacking into email accounts and a Facebook
profile. Last, no alerting anyone his presence, which has been a constant
reminder of this comfortable prison he is not allowed to leave. Alonzo would wave
to passersby just to spite the others’ wishes, but he’s sure no one can see or
hear him from the window.
During the first couple of days, Dionysus and
Persephone would appear every few hours to check on Alonzo, ripping apart the
invisible space within the apartment, stepping through a portal from another
location. Cairo would come with them every other trip for the first week,
providing old tomes and texts of passages containing information on the Cycle
of Spectra Illuminos. He even spent several days instructing him on the history
of magic, the Supernal Realms, the Abyss, and the Invisible Realms. He has also
learned to hone his unseen sense, feeling the flows of magic from the barriers
to the doors and windows, as well as the vibrations felt from the Portal spells
cast by Dionysus and Persephone. There are times when new magic awaken within
the confines of the apartment. Alonzo brought this up the last time he saw Dionysus;
the man admitted that he and Persephone regularly scry him to ascertain he is
well.
But Alonzo wonders what the hell there is to really
complain about. He has all the amenities he could ask for: a spare bedroom set
up as a gym, a jet tub and steam shower in the master bathroom, a king-size
bed, a closet with innumerable amounts of clothing in his size, cable
television, an Xbox 360, aesthetically pleasing wall art and table sculptures,
a refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets full of fresh food, and a Bose stereo
system with everything needed to hook up his IPod. All that’s missing is some companionship. Hell, they wouldn’t even
allow him to keep Oscar for fear that he would be made while taking the dog
outside to do his business.
“Fuck this,” Alonzo whispers through clenched teeth,
slamming his hands down onto the window sill.
At that moment, the vibration of active magic erupts
somewhere in the apartment, aside from what’s already in place. Alonzo spins
around, waiting for another portal to open up.
When the fabric of space rips apart, Persephone
steps through the portal, followed by a familiar face that instantly brightens
the young Illuminae’s disposition.
“Lonz!” Esther screams, running to him with open
arms.
“What? Oh my God! I can’t believe this! What are you
doing here?” Alonzo inquires, wrapping his strong arms around the girl in a
bear hug.
Esther is a pretty, mousy, energetic girl with
sprite blown dark brown hair. Her skin is smooth and fair, wrapped in a loose,
navy blue blouse and tight stone-washed jeans. Her amber eyes make her unique
among the masses and she wears a single piece of jewelry- a thin gold necklace
ending with a teardrop sapphire.
“Well, Dionysus and Persephone asked if I wanted to
chill with you for a couple of days. I haven’t seen ya in almost eight months,
so I figured ‘what the hell’.”
Persephone interrupts, stepping further into the
center of the living room. She is wearing dark blue jeans and a green V-neck
sweater. Her makeup is light and she wears silver hoops which complement the
sparkle of her jade eyes. Her hair is a little wind-blown but still pristinely
curled with bounce and great sheen. The dark rings under her eyes give away the
probable long nights she has spent awake, but she still smiles with the warmest
of appearances.
“Mirand, er, Persephone,” Alonzo begins, putting a
hand on his aunt’s shoulder, “I don’t know how much longer I can hold up in
here. I’m starting to go crazy!”
Persephone offers him a delicate smile. “Everything
is nearly done to move you to a better location. I just came by to let you know
and pick up the tomes that Cairo had left behind.”
“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you, Roman, or
Cairo for days!”
“Dionysus will be by in a few days to take you out
of here,” Persephone apologizes. “I’m so sorry we’ve been away for so long. A
lot has happened since San Antonio. The
house finally sold, almost everything but heirlooms was auctioned off at the
estate sale. Accounts were liquidated and placed into other accounts and we
have been working to create you a new Sleeper identity. “
Alonzo appears deeply scarred by this news. He knew
things were going to change, he just didn’t realize his whole life would be
sold out from under him.
Persephone hands him a box. Inside are all the items
he received from the medical examiner’s office, as well as all of the things in
his parents vault, including the 9mm automatic. He also finds his mother’s gold pendant with
an ivory face carving of Mother Mary and the Baby Jesus; it was something she
never took off.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” Alonzo asks
with one raised eyebrow, holding out the weapon.
Persephone sighs.
“I know, I know,” she exclaims, “but you need to
protect yourself in case something was to happen. We think we have a lot of
people off your trail, but in the meantime, it never hurts to be prepared.
Until the other Scions awaken, you’re stuck with no magic to protect you.”
Alonzo shakes his head and sits down on the couch.
“Where does all this leave Cairo?”
“Cairo has been taking care of some personal
business before coming to train you for an extended stay. With the club and the
vineyards, he needs to make sure all is in order before leaving. He said
something about having Charlie manage his personal interests, but he wasn’t
sure she would jump on the opportunity.
Mundy
rolls a success with a Perception check.
Alonzo watches carefully as Persephone purses her
lips.
“What’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?”
Persephone shakes her head.
“I’m not too sure I can trust a vampire with our
secrets. Even if he is one of the Illuminae, I just have never been able to
trust their kind. I try to stay away from him and let Dionysus deal with all
that.”
“You can say that again,” Esther mutters from her
perch atop a kitchen bar stool.
Alonzo smiles; Persephone doesn’t react to the
comment.
“So will I be able to bring Oscar along when we
leave? Is he okay?”
“Oscar is just fine,” Persephone admits with a
smile. “He’s finally taken a liking to me after all this time. He still sits by
the front door and whines. He misses you.”
“You know,” Esther interrupts, “I don’t know why you
want to leave this place so bad. Looks like you got it made with all these
fabulous amenities. I mean, come on, do you really need a separate fridge for
wine and one for beer? ”
Alonzo stares at Esther, annoyed. Her cheeks redden.
“Just a suggestion.”
“What else’s been going on?” Alonzo asks, redirecting
attention to his aunt.
Persephone pauses for a moment in consideration.
After about ten seconds of silence, she looks up to Alonzo with a frown.
“We’ve done some more investigation into your
parents’ murder,” she admits.
Alonzo takes in a deep, bracing breath.
“It’s definitely another Awakened,” she continues, “and
definitely someone with more than enough ability to go unknown to our insights.
We could go to some other masters proficient in Unveiling or even seek out
archmages to help, but that would just leave more trails to follow. We’re
trying to do this our own.”
“Great,” Alonzo sighs. “Still no answers.”
Persephone shakes her head.
“The resonance was like nothing I have ever seen or
felt. Whoever it was had been traipsing through your parent’s mansion at one
time. Veiling magic was used, probably a
strong invisibility spell. This person didn’t want to be seen.”
“I was just gonna say something about that,” Alonzo
exclaims.
“What?” Esther asks, leaning against the kitchen
island.
“When I got back to the house after Dionysus called
me about mom and dad’s accident, something weird happened. It felt like someone
was watching me, even following me around. Oscar freaked out a couple of times
too.”
“We’ll look a little deeper into this while the
mansion is still empty,” Persephone promises. “While we do, you stay put. If
someone really is lurking around, they will keep an eye open for all of us. If
they are powerful enough, they could essentially follow our portals to this
place.”
Alonzo nods, his mind stuck on the death of his
parents.
“Sure thing,” Esther agrees.
“Listen,” Persephone directs, “I need to take these
books and head over to the sanctum. Snow White offered to keep you company for
a few days and to show you some more uses for magic.”
Alonzo raises an eyebrow, smiling.
“You’ve gotta be kidding?”
Esther shrugs.
“Yep. Couldn’t live that down,” she says, referring
her high school nickname. “Besides, the other two girls in my cabal took on fairytale
princess names too. Rapunzel I can see with all that hair. I think Gretel took
her name because she was bored. You should hear the snickers when the Consilium
meets. “
Persephone giggles softly, gathering a group of
tomes from atop the coffee table.
“I’ll be back tomorrow night to see how things are
going,” she reassures, kissing Alonzo on the forehead.
She reaches up to one of her silver hoops, gently
rubbing its smooth surface. She begins speaking the phonetics of High Speech, and
for a moment, the air around her ripples and she quickly walks forward.
“See you soon,” she says, disappearing into
nothingness.
As Persephone disappears, Snow White walks to the
beer refrigerator and takes out a bottle of Shock Top, opening the cap with the
following slight hiss. Good ol’ Esther, she never found it difficult to make
herself at home. She tosses Alonzo a bottle and takes a swig, smiling.
“It’s really good to see you, Lonz.”
“It’s good to see you too.”
“About the funeral,” Snow White begins, “I’m sorry
we had to leave so soon. We knew Dionysus and Persephone had their eyes on you,
and we figured you would awaken but we just weren’t sure when. Besides, me and
Phil had some issues to resolve back at our sanctum. You just never know what
some crazy-ass spirits will try to do while you’re away.”
“You knew this was going to happen all this time?”
Snow White shakes her head.
“No always. When Patton and I awoke, we figured you’d
follow since your parents were mages too, or at least a Sleep Walker.”
“What? Patton?” Alonzo asks, confused.
“Phillip,” Snow White explains. “We awoke on the
same day but at different Watchtowers. I’m a Moros, Phillip’s an Obrimos- yeah
surprise huh? Always the guy fighting the good fight. Took the shadow name
Patton after that general; you knew what he was like with American history.”
Alonzo shakes his head.
Snow White gives an unsure smile.
“Patton, the general; the guy with the tanks?”
Alonzo shakes his head again.
“It’s a good thing you are going into law and not
American history,” Snow White jests. “How the hell did you make it through
school?”
Alonso snickers, opening his Shock Top. He takes a
drink.
“Let just say I wasn’t surprised by my brother’s
shadow name,” she admits. “I was getting’ tired of listening to his lectures on
historical figures and who he should be named after. It was annoying and was
pissing me off.”
The two of them share a short bout of laughter
before Snow White continues.
“Anyway, we always knew that we could possibly
awaken someday; mom and dad were mages, and were pretty open about it with us.
I can’t believe they weren’t hung for tossin’ the Mysteries around like every-day
knowledge. They all had this hippy idea of living a quiet life in the burbs. I
think once we moved to San Antonio from Columbia, my parents and your parents
were just waiting out the days until we all awakened- just one big happy
family. I think they were secretly hoping that you and me would get together to
keep the lines strong, but with this whole Spectra thing, it was just wishful
thinking. I think the homosexuality thing may have been a hurdle too.”
She winks at Alonzo.
“I miss Max and Maria like crazy. Maria was a Moros
too and really helped me out when I first awakened. She even introduced me to
my mentor, Stefon. I know Max was a tough guy, but that man could always make
me laugh.”
Snow White stops, thinking.
“What’s on your mind?” Alonzo asks.
“Just thinking of the past. How much we’ve all gone
through.”
“Why didn’t you reach out to me when after you
awakened?”
Snow White takes in a deep breath.
“That was a bitch,” she recalls, “it really was. But
there was some much going on and Patton and I needed to be trained. That didn’t
leave a lot of time for anyone else.”
Alonzo nods, considering her words. He then looks up
to her.
“What about Clayton and Tom?”
“They’re both Sleepers,” Snow White explains, “just
casualties in the natural law of magic.”
“Even so, it was good to see them at the funeral.”
“Clayton’s
situation is awfully peculiar,” Snow White begins, changing the subject. “This
girl he’s with is a real surprise. I think his parents must really have a
problem with gay people. That whole Mormonism belief system doesn’t really keep
open arms in that aspect. I think he’s just trying to please them. The girl is
pretty and nice enough, but I’m just afraid Clay may be biting off more than he
can chew. I honestly always thought he
had a thing for you.”
“I had such a crush on Clayton.”
Snow White smiles.
“I know.”
“How did you
know?” Alonzo asks, shocked.
“Everyone
knew. Patton knew.”
“Phillip knew
I was gay?”
Snow White nods.
“Of course he did! He’s the one that caught you with
Tom, remember?”
“Oh,” Alonzo utters, backing down with reddened
cheeks.
“You know, I’m not really certain why I called Tom
for the funeral.”
“Through my Dreaming ability. It’s usually on key
about things; I haven’t really seen the outcome of his place in all this. As
soon as I woke up, I scried him a little bit to see where he was. My
sympathetic connection with him was still pretty clear and I was able to see
some familiar places in Seattle. It just took a little more searching and I
found his number.”
“Do you think there is anything we could do for him?”
Alonzo asks.
Snow White frowns, understanding the reference. She
takes a pull off of her beer.
“You mean about his HIV?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s possible,” Snow White admits, “but I have no
ability in the use of Life threads. It would take a person versed in that and Ruling
to fix him up. I think Persephone is a Disciple of Life, you may want to ask
her opinion.”
“What did you mean that your sympathetic connection
to Tom was pretty clear? I thought you two weren’t that close in school?”
“Well, do you remember that boy girl party we had in
the eighth grade?”
“Yeah, sure,” Alonzo answers with an accusing gaze.
“Remember the truth or dare game we were playing?”
Alonzo laughs out loud.
“Let just say when Claire dared us to go into that
closet together, we didn’t just sit there and talk about you.”
“You guys had sex???”
“Oh God, no, Lonz,” Snow White blurts. “But we did
make out a little. At that time, Tom was trying to get into the pants of
everything.”
“After the funeral, I said some things to him I shouldn’t
have,” Alonzo confesses. “He’s really trying to change for the better. I just
hope we can help him.”
Snow White leads Alonzo into the living room and
they both take a seat on the leather sofa.
“That may not be possible,” she says.
“What do you mean?”
“A lot of mages cut ties to their Sleeper lives
after an Awakening,” Snow White educates.
“Well I’m not gonna cut the ties of my life,” Alonzo
insists. “I’ll be friends with whomever I want.”
Snow White smirks.
“And there are some mages who try to live a dual
life. But the life of a Willworker can be dangerous for them, and for you.”
Alonzo takes a swig from his bottle.
“I can see what you mean,” he says.
The two sit in an uncomfortable silence for several
moments when Alonzo leads the discussion elsewhere.
“What do you think about Cairo?”
“I’ve never really talked to the guy. He speaks in a
weird “old-country” kinda way, but the man is hot. I’ve never met any vampires before. Not really what I
expected.”
“He’s not really my type,” Alonzo expresses, “but
you’re right. It’s not really his looks, but the way he looks at me and talks
to me, like I’m the only person in the room. He even kissed me while I was in
the hospital.”
Snow White smiles slyly.
“From what I gathered, you two have a lot in common.”
“What do you think about all this Spectra Illuminos
stuff?”
“A lot of all that I’m not too sure about,” she
tells him. “Your mom and dad were really quiet about it all; they even kept it
from my mom and dad.”
“Really? Our parents were all best friends.”
“I know, right. What little I do know is that you
aren’t like other Awakened; something about the lone watchtower in a
centralized realm. Dionysus and Persephone gave me a little information on the
gist of it, but not enough to get overly involved. They’re worried Seers or
Banishers may get wind of what’s going on and try to hunt you down. That’s why
they are doing all this. Everyone back home thinks you died that night after
your parents’ funeral. For six months Patton and I scried for you.”
Alonzo sits up straight in surprise, admiring his
friend.
“You guys really did that?”
“And you weren’t anywhere to be found. Persephone
came to me after you popped up. They needed someone they could trust. I was
told not to tell Patton though. He took up with the Guardians a while back.
They may not see your situation as the best to keeping the Mysteries hidden.
I’ve lied to him for weeks. He doesn’t even know I’m here, or that you are even
alive. It’s killing me; I haven’t been
able to talk to anyone about this. I’m glad they finally let me see you.”
“Don’t you think we should tell him?” Alonzo asks.
“I’m with your aunt and uncle on this one. Patton
really changed after he awakened. He dropped a lot of things from his life,
even his family. When the bitch joined the Guardians, he went far right wing.
Just another thing that pisses everyone off.”
“That doesn’t sound anything like Phillip,” Alonzo
defends. “We were just so close it’s hard to believe.”
“He’s always been that way, Lonz. He was just too
good to you for you to notice. But God, you wouldn’t believe the hoopla he
caused because of his decision to go Guardian. I can remember mom and dad’s
reaction. Mom wouldn’t talk to him for a month and dad cried; I’ve never seen
daddy cry before. The selfish bitch said he was tired of doing what others
expected him to do, that he had his own ideas, blah, blah, blah. That’s the way
he’s always been; just pisses everyone off. Never liked being Columbian, never
liked being a twin. I’m surprised he even likes himself the selfish prick.”
“Then what about you? Which order do you think is
better than these Guardians?”
“Mom and Dad were Silver Ladder, and you know how I
am about ‘following in the footsteps’. This was another reason why Persephone
and Dionysus came to me. The Silver Ladder is the faction that would be most
open to the idea of Spectra. If this new watchtower increases the chances for
awakening, you gotta believe that the Ladder will be the first to back the
Illuminae.”
Another bout of silence passes between them, longer
this time. When she can no longer take it, Snow White stands up and pulls Alonzo
into the open space of the living room, smiling to quell his uneasy feeling.
“So,” she begins, “Dionysus asked me if I would show
you some aspects of magic, like mage sight and protective spells, just to get a
taste of that they are like. I hear you can’t work magic yet, but that doesn’t
mean you can’t have spells cast on you.”
“I just wish I could do something. I hate this
sitting around.”
“You’d be surprised what a little Mage Sight and
shielding can do,” Snow White insists. “Did Dionysus or Persephone show you any
of this?”
Alonzo shakes his head.
“Mage Sight is probably the hardest thing I had to
get past in the beginning. All the perception you gain can be way overwhelming.
You can see auras, resonance, energy, invisible light, life, death- just about
anything with killer scrutiny.”
“Can’t you do anything big?” Alonzo presses. “Like
cast spells to fly or read people’s minds?”
“I can create portals like Persephone can.”
Alonzo’s eyes light up.
“Why don’t we get outta here for a little while?”
Snow White shakes her head like she hears him wrong.
“What? No, Lonz! You heard what Persephone said. And
if some freak is out there hunting you down, you’ll be safer here. And what do
we do if they come back and we’re not, like, here.”
“Come on, Esther, please? I don’t think I can take
another hour of this. I’ve been stuck in this apartment for weeks with no one
to really talk to. I haven’t been able to think of anything but my parents and
this whole Spectra Illuminos bullshit.”
“No, don’t be giving me those puppy eyes, Alonzo!”
Snow White begs. “God, why do you always
pull this when you don’t get your own way? Fine,
I’ll do it.”
Snow White gains a balanced stance within the living
room. She looks back to Alonzo one last
time before beginning the spell.
“You’re gonna love this!”
Alonzo smiles as Snow White reaches for her the
sapphire within her necklace. She rolls it through her fingers, whispering the
High Speech syllables to the rote. Her hand mudras mimic tearing some kind of
object in two, and when she finishes, a space opens into the area of the living
room.
Stepping through the portal,
Alonzo’s senses are heavily assaulted by a clean, crisp breeze, a taste of sea
salt on the air. The sound of crashing waves eases the stress built from the
last several days in the prison-like apartment, and the clear night sky dazzles
with a twinkling of innumerable stars and bright reflections of planets. Even
though a number of years have passed since he has treaded the sandy beaches of
Cartagena, nothing about Playa Blanca Beach has changed.
Alonzo and Snow White
have arrived at a quiet and reserved area, but in the distance, grass huts
illuminated with strung golden lights and flickering torches indulge the fancy
for socializing and dancing. Salsa music piques his interest and dozens and dozens
of people mingle from afar, unaware they are under his longing scrutiny. This
reminds him of the nights his family would entertain what the beaches had to
offer. His mother’s father was from Columbia, and visits to the country were
common in his younger years. He can almost smell the scent of his grandfather’s
cigar smoke floating on the air, the recall so clear of the memory.
Snow White steps to his
side with a smile, gripping his shoulder encouragingly.
“Whaddya think?”
He smiles gleefully.
“I can’t think of anything better!”
“It just felt like the right place to go. Not many
people know of our connection to this place. Tracing us to this location will
be a bit more difficult than say San Antonio. By the time we were born, our
parents had already Awaken. Keeping things on the down-low was common practice
for them.”
“I really needed something like this,” Alonzo realizes.
“This just brings back so many memories.”
Snow White points to a large rock jutting from the
ocean waters reflecting the moon light.
“Remember that? The time we swam out there and got
stuck when the tide came in? Everyone thought we were gonna drown. Guess we
didn’t, huh?”
Alonzo shakes his head with a smile.
“I remember everything!” he yells, jumping up in dance.
Alonzo picks up Snow White and spins her around. After
several moments of running, dancing, and singing, the two sit down in the sand.
Alonzo, out of breath, nods to the party in the distance.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on tonight,” Snow White says,
squinting to see. “I haven’t been here in years, not since before we moved to
the States. I just picked this spot because it would be hidden from Sleepers. Looks
like a wedding reception. See that chick in the wedding dress? She’s gotta be
from the Mid-West or something. No one from here would even think of wearing
that huge thing in this humidity. Wanna crash?”
Alonzo laughs at the quip.
“I’m serious!” she laughs, punching his softly in this
shoulder.
“Uh, sure,” he answers. “Why not?”
Alonzo and Snow White walk into the throng of
party-goers. The assumption was correct; this is a wedding reception and the
bride and groom look none too happy for being in the heat of this spectacular
night. Both are moist with perspiration and even the wedding cake seems to be
leaning from the humidity. Snow White leads him to an empty table, springing
for a glass of champagne offered by a serving man in the proper attire for a
formal occasion on the beach. The man smiles, relinquishing the fluted glass to
the high-spirited young woman.
The serving man offers Alonzo a glass as well.
“Si,” Alonzo agrees, taking a glass.
The man leaves your table and continues on to others
within the crowd.
“This reminds me of my parent’s ten-year
anniversary,” Snow White reminisces. “Remember that? Phillip puking was the
highlight of that night. We told him not to sneak so much of that wine.”
“I think it was more than just wine,” Alonzo laughs.
“That tequila didn’t improve the situation!”
A half an hour passes by when the groom and bride
are bid to exit to make a wardrobe change, smiles of gratitude plastered on the
faces of the couple. A spark of mischief lights in Snow White’s eyes.
“Let’s dance, Lonz! Whaddya say?”
Alonzo smiles, leading Snow White by the hand to a
dance area on the beach.
