A full moon hung overhead as I paced back and forth in the courtyard, waiting at my scrying pool. Riona couldn’t break our deal, her nature wouldn’t let her. Still, that did little to ease my stress. I needed that girl. Mother ceased to be a viable alternative after she attacked me. The changeling was my last resort. I wrung my hands around each other as I walked a small trench in the cobblestones.
Laughter came from further away. My sister strolled along the path, every last strand of hair and fold of fabric spilling in her wake, her body drinking in the moonlight in a way mine never could. She beamed down at her companion, flecks of silver sparking in her eyes like polished steel.
I almost mistook the human ambling with her for a boy, if not for the generous hips filling out her trousers. Most of her seemed like another cog in the mortals’ modern food service industry. She had a tall, stout build and a heavy gait belonging to someone used to staying on their feet. Her face told the story of a tired eccentric. The flamboyant, albeit faded, hair color she’d chosen stood out against her black attire. The small piercings in her ears, eyebrow, and nostril gave silver accents to her tawny features that winked in the light.
The changeling’s smile had a relaxed confidence that carried over to her straight-backed posture. She was the master of her destiny, in control and at ease. How could she maintain that attitude in a world where everything was foreign and the rules were unknown? Her and Riona had that in common, the air of being able to handle whatever fate threw their way. If only I could steal a fraction of that inner calm, I might be more certain I could save myself.
When they approached me, their mirth faded.
The young woman hesitated, her nostrils flaring with her next breath like a horse testing the air for threats. “That’s him?”
“Yes, Maya. This is my half brother, Daire, Lord of Ivy, heir to Bri Leith, titles of all sorts. He is the only one permitted to see into the human world. Therefore, he alone is able to let you view your mother.” Riona guided the human toward the pool by the small of her back. “Go on. I’ll still be here in case he attempts anything untoward.”
“Alright.” Maya stepped forward and tilted her proud chin up at me, tight-lipped. “Who’s going to explain this?”
I clenched my fingers into fists on reflex. If they had bonded enough for this girl to form a trust in Riona, that might upset my attempts to persuade her. Yet her deep brown eyes were clear, with no sign of a charming fog like the one that often clouded my mother’s awareness. As long as the changeling still had a clear mind, I had hope.
“I will, though you should relax.” I knelt and gestured for her to do the same. “These things tend to work better that way.”
Maya checked Riona first, but my sister knelt to the cobbled courtyard and folded her skirt under her knees. Maya followed suit, crossing her legs and slouching over the pool. “Now what?”
“First you must tell me who or what you wish to see, then when you would like to see them. Never the future, of course. My power is limited to the past and present.” I pointed at our reflections in the placid water. “Once I have enough information to find what you seek, then you and I must physically link. I prefer a holding of hands. It makes a stronger bond between your memories and energy so that my power may channel it into the vision. Once that happens, look into the water and see what it shows you. It will resemble a television set.”
“Wait.” Maya’s eyes widened. “You guys have TV?”
“Alas, no.” I sighed, my shoulders drooping with the misery of it. “We have plays and stories, but nothing with the same potential for stylized visual expression. Scrying, this process of seeing visions in reflective surfaces, is the only equal we have. It’s like having only channels with reality shows, but all of the boring parts are left in.”
“At least you don’t have to sit through ads.”
“But they have half the charm of the medium!”
“Don’t encourage his moaning.” Riona rubbed a link on her bracelet, the entire chain slithering under her fingers. “He has a tendency not to stop.”
“Come then.” I leaned over the pool, holding out my hand for hers. “Let us get started, shall we?”
“This New Age crap better work.” Maya lifted her hand from where it rested on her knee. It hovered over mine for a few moments, trembling. A moment of animal panic flitted over her face as she turned to the water, as unsure as someone about to leap into an abyss. Deep down, did she suspect the true doom that befell her mother? Would the alternative I crafted make the reality that much crueler when the truth came to light?
No, it was too late for compassion and far too early for guilt. The same magic that sealed Riona to her word worked in me as well. For the moment, I blamed the compulsion that drove me to take Maya’s hand and summon the forged scry. Later I could face the realization that my decision to go along with my sister’s plan made the girl’s grief worse. But I had to live long enough to reach that point first.
Maya’s energy buzzed with swirling rainbows repressed by hardened grief. A light, thrumming taint thickened its edges—the interpretation enchantment I had made for Riona that turned the Aos Si language to English.
“I’ve made the connection,” I said. “Now tell me who it is you’re looking for. Go into as much detail as you can.”
“Um, is it supposed to itch?” Maya winced at her hand as if it were a writhing worm. I kept my firm grip and nodded. She gulped before continuing. “It’s my mom. Her name is Jennifer Diaz. She lives in Tampa, Florida in the Rolling Hills apartment complex. She’s in her thirties. She’s got some mental health issues, schizophrenia and anxiety mostly. I want to know where she is now, in the present, how she’s doing.”
“What of your father? Or does she have a different sweetheart? Does she have any other family? Any friends?”
“Dad died when she was pregnant, I never knew him. No relationship of hers ever stuck after that. We used to live with my grandmother, but she died a little over a month ago. My aunt, her husband, and their kids are on the other side of the country, and we aren’t on good terms since my grandmother’s funeral. Lately, Mom only hangs out with me and two of our close friends, Nate and Nico. They’re the brothers who own the bar I work at.”
As Maya spoke, I sifted through her mind, drawing up memories of those she mentioned. It would’ve been easier if the grandmother were alive: a Mercedes Alvarez who styled hair for a living and served as the matriarch of their family unit. Those friends would have to do. There was Nico; a beefy, middle aged man with Mediterranean features and the garish tendency to wear plaid patterns. Then his brother, Nate; a younger, but taller man with the same dark features and a far more attractive warrior’s physique. They often enjoyed playing card games together. I pieced that new information into the artificial scry I had prepared, adjusting the comforting new ending.
“Anything else?” Maya asked.
“I have enough to work with.” I focused my power into the water, projecting the memories of my original scry onto it. “Simply watch the surface and focus on your mother.”
Maya bent down over the pool, her free hand bracing the rest of her body against the stones around it. She gritted her teeth with an audible grind and her grip on me tightened enough for her knuckles to whiten. Such a stark contrast with the proud creature she had been before. Right then, she reminded me more of a stray tomcat in the presence of hounds; surrounded by larger creatures, yet puffing itself as large as possible.
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Our reflections blurred and the splotches of color left swirled together until they darkened and formed a new setting. The vision unfolded, the same as before…
A black stretch of cracked asphalt street came into sharp focus. Cars sped by in all four lanes, no traffic lights or pedestrian crosswalks for a few more blocks. The Rolling Hills apartment complex sat across from a strip mall and a gas station.
Jennifer charged for the sidewalk alongside her parking lot and the road beyond it. Her pale blue sundress with white daisy prints whipped with the wind cast by the traffic, her blonde hair like a signaling banner in the breeze. Her sallow complexion grew even paler, her eyes desperate with raw panic and glistening with new tears. She ran as if escaping something, so blinded by fear she didn’t comprehend her own surroundings.
“Mom, look where you’re going.” Maya thrust her hand into the vision. Were it not for my holding her steady, she would have toppled in. “Stop!”
Right as her fingers obscured the scene: swerving tires, breaking glass, and screams radiated through both of our minds. The image shifted.
Red and blue lights flashed against the small crowd of black-uniformed personnel streaming out of an ambulance. Three vehicles ringed the area off from civilian onlookers. One guard stood next to a man in a suit, jotting down notes in a pad of paper. The slack-jawed interviewee pointed between the street and a sedan with a dent on its hood and a hole in its windshield.
Jennifer lay in the road, her bright hair matted with brighter blood. The wound on her head resembled a macabre imitation of the dark core of the daisies on her dress, with her sprawled out hair serving as the petals. The first responders lifted her onto a rolling stretcher and loaded her into the back of their vehicle.
Maya jerked away from the pool and covered her mouth. A muffled shriek tore its way out of her throat.
“Steady, Maya.” Riona wrapped her arm around her changeling’s shivering shoulders. She locked her narrowed gaze on mine, an unspoken threat. “The vision is not yet over, is it?”
“A few moments longer,” I said.
Jennifer lay in a yellow-painted room with a mechanized bed and sky blue sheets covering her unconscious figure. A monitor beeped at her bedside. Needles attached to cords stuck from her arm and trailed to a rolling IV bag hanging from a metal stand. Two men sat in the chairs by her bedside. The stocky one with blue eyes and a plaid shirt, Nico, could only stare. The tall, well muscled one with amber eyes, Nate, gritted his teeth and held a smart phone to his ear.
Jennifer groaned as her pale lashes fluttered and opened. She touched her gauze wrapped head while Nico rushed to her. Nate pressed a button on the phone’s screen and abandoned it to the padded chair as he followed.
“What happened?” Jennifer asked, airy and mystified. “Where am I? Who are you?”
Nico and Nate exchanged puzzled frowns with each other.
I skipped ahead, past the ensuing examinations and paperwork that would follow a genuine coma patient’s waking.
“She doesn’t seem to remember anything, not even her own name.” A physician dressed in blue scrubs and holding a clipboard thick with papers met with Jennifer’s friends outside of her hospital room. “The trauma to her skull was so severe, it seems to have brought on a state of amnesia. I’m not sure she’ll remember anything, even with proper treatments and therapy. Are there any next of kin I can notify? Any family?”
“Her daughter.” Nate pulled out his cell phone and shrugged. “We’ve been trying to reach her, but no luck yet.”
“We’re close friends of the family.” Nico stepped forward, arms crossed over his chest and ready to do business. “Whatever papers we have to sign or hoops we have to jump through, if Maya doesn’t show up, we’ll take Jen home with us.”
The vision changed once more, to its ultimate end.
The trio of friends sat in a living room together, clustered around an antique dining room table. They looked down at a series of playing cards in each of their hands. Nate nursed a steaming mug of coffee. Jennifer left her glass of water unattended. Nico had already finished his long-necked bottle of micro-brewed ale. Jennifer laid down the final card in her hand with a victorious beam. The three of them laughed as if nothing were amiss, as if no one were missing from the empty fourth chair.
“That’s it?” Maya slackened her grip on my hand. In place of that self-assured young woman sat a baffled girl gazing into her empty reflection, as if waiting for something else to appear. I knew the feeling well after years of watching Mother struggle to remember herself. The changeling’s mind must have swam with questions. How could that happen? Was there something she could do to change it? Would things ever go back to the way they were? After the initial shock, a last desperate hope always remained. That’s what I needed.
“I’m afraid so.” I gave her a moment as I weighed the next options of my plan. The time to plant my offer was then, when her grief was freshest. Yet Riona lurked, no doubt also seeking an opportunity to gain favor from Maya’s vulnerable state. If only I could find another way to communicate with her, something secret.
“At least she seemed content.” Riona patted Maya’s shoulder. The changeling leaned into it, her eyes glistening brighter. I had to act fast.
“Maya, I understand this is a trying time for you, but do indulge me answering a question.” My mind raced. She was from La Florida and her last name indicated possible Latin American heritage. If she spoke Spanish, my interpretation spell would not work, since I made it for the modern language of Eire, English. Without repeated exposure, Riona wouldn’t be able to understand it, no matter how quick Aos Si picked up other languages. I had learned a variety from spying on human school lessons for so long. “¿Tú hablas Español?”
“Um, yeah. I grew up with it.” Maya wiped her nose on her sleeve, her voice thick. “How do you know it?”
“What did you ask?” Riona frowned as she leaned toward me.
“Only if she spoke another language besides English.” I offered my sister my brightest smile, showing nothing but childish innocence and wonder. “Do indulge me, patient sister.”
“Why so interested in saying secret things to my changeling, little Daire?” Riona asked through gritted teeth.
“I’d like to see if I’m using these human languages right.” I went over my intents and words, weighing each with utmost care. My Aos Si blood prevented me from speaking a falsehood as much as her. If I hesitated over a syllable, Riona would know I balanced on that fine line between deception and outright lying. “The only human I’ve ever met in person is my mother. Bodb has not let me watch modern humanity as often as he did when I was a child. This is a rare opportunity, to converse with a native speaker. Let me play a little, and I’ll let you be on your way.”
“Of course it’s something silly.” Riona groaned and curled her lip as she rose to her feet. She lengthened the tip of her bracelet, letting it swing to and fro as a bored child might with a string. “Make it quick.”
“Thank you, oh generous Lady of Irons.” I gulped and bowed my head. Without fail, even the sight of her loosing that chain made my muscles tense.
“¿Qué deseas?” What do you want? Maya sighed and pinched her thick eyebrows together.
“Puedo ayudarte.” I can help. I beamed at her with dimwitted glee. My sister watched on, looming behind Maya like a predator aiming its pounce. “Puedo llevarte a tu mundo. Llevarte a casa.” I can take you to your world. Take you home.
Maya blinked for a stunned moment then glared. “Eso no es gracioso.” That’s not funny.
“No estoy bromeando.” I’m not joking. I wrinkled my nose, as if she said something puzzling.
“¿Realmente puedes hacer eso?” Can you really do that? Her gaze flicked back toward Riona. When it returned to me, her mouth made an uncertain line. “¿Cómo sé que no estás mintiendo?” How do I know you’re not lying?
“Encuentrame. Ver por ti mismo.” Find me. See for yourself.
Maya didn’t answer, but she seemed to scrutinize every pore of my face. A war of emotions flashed over hers—thank Danu, Riona couldn’t see it. Skepticism dominated at first as her nostrils flared and a deep furrow stayed between her brows. Something nagged at her though, as she wore at the piercing under her lip with her teeth. My seed of doubt had rooted itself. If only I could water it by explaining further.
“Anything else?” Riona twirled her iron between her fingers.
“No, we’re done.” Maya switched to English, lacing her voice with the right touch of annoyance, like I had said something offensive. I suppressed the urge to collapse with relief. A finger of guilt crawled its way up my gut as I recalled the part I’d played in fooling the girl. I could only imagine the repercussions if she found out I had aided my sister in that ruse. No, I had taken the risk and was in sight of the reward. I couldn’t go back.
I waved Riona forward as I stood. “You have indulged me enough.”
Riona offered Maya her hand to hoist her up. “I hope his incessant questioning did not bother you too much.”
“He’s nothing.” Maya took Riona’s hand without pause, unlike how she had taken mine. I could only hope that whatever budding trust existed between the women did not interfere. “Take me back.”
I dimly registered Maya ordering Riona to take her back, that much shorter girl having the sheer gall to say such to the Lady of Irons. But my sister stayed silent, patting her new pet’s back and muttering little promises in her ear. I couldn’t let it worry me. I had planted what I needed. The only thing left was to wait for it to grow.