We apologize to the dolphins, whales, and sharks for our abrupt departure and flee back into the island. I take her straight to my mother and we spend half an hour trying to figure out what to do. The end decision is that Lea, Ethan, Rosie, and I will take Sareena back to the mainland to find her friends and tell them to take the notices down. We’ll find every one of her foster families – they all live around the California area – and make sure they weren’t the ones to put out the call.
We begin packing immediately. Grandma finds armor that she thinks will fit Sareena. As soon as she puts it on, Rosie cracks up – it’s at least five inches too long in the leg and three in the arm. At five foot three, she’s taller than most of my family, so Granma apparently overcompensated. (If you’re wondering why we call her Pixie with her height, you should know that it has more to do with how she carried herself when she first came to the island. She seemed to shrivel and shrink, like she wanted to be smaller. Also, it’s kind of a sarcastic or ironic way of saying ‘giant person’ without offending anyone.)
I walk over and begin singing softly. The fabric shrinks down to fit her, becoming the right size as she watches in amazement. I resist the urge to smile – I’m going to have to become more diligent about my expressions and emotions if I want to survive this trip to the mainland – and explain, “Songalira is a powerful form of magic. It harnesses the energy and emotion flowing through the words and music of a song, allowing those who use it to do almost anything they want – provided they have a pure heart. Songalira draws upon your intentions more than your words; you must have a clear notion of what you’re trying to do, be able to picture it happening, and know your reasons to be the right ones.”
“So if someone with bad intentions tried to use it, it wouldn’t work?” Sareena sounds curious but somehow cautious at the same time. “What did you call it? Song-what?”
“Songalira,” I say. “Correct. Because it relies on emotions, your feelings have to be kind and pure to be able to harness it.”
She nods. “Okay. Will you teach me how to use it?”
I shake my head. “It’s not something we teach anyone until they have passed their testing.”
She looks a bit disappointed, but simply says, “Are we ready to go?” I pause to survey the room and gasp. “Oh! I nearly forgot.”
I walk over to the cabinet on the end of my bed and fish something out. Walking to Sareena, I announce, “This will declare you as one of us if you run into another Grashien. We each have one. Wear it inside your armor so that those we do not wish to learn of our identity don’t find out. It should also give you a way to sense, control, and channel your powers; for some of us, it also boosts them slightly.” I check my bags one last time and make sure I have my seeds. “We will not be stopping in any of the other tribes at this time; however, if needed, the Prairie tribe can lend us assistance. Hopefully that won’t be necessary.”
Sareena nods to me and we begin the flight to the surface. Sareena usually revels in this experience, but today she flies alongside us in a solemn silence. Just as we’re reaching the top, I hear, “Hey! We’re coming too!”
I turn around in time to see Ryan, Taylor, and Aidan flying up behind us. “There is no way in Skolbremir that you are leaving us behind.” My twins are adamant. (Mom, being a cat shifter, speaks in terms of litters; the six of us are her first litter.) “And you should expect Andrew to be here in a moment.”
True to Taylor’s prediction, my eldest brother appears. “Don’t worry; I’m not here to tag along. I just want to see you off.” Breaking my façade, I fly at him and squeeze him in a hug. “We’ll be back. I promise.” He grins. “I don’t doubt it.”
I turn to the three latecomers. “Are you all coming with us? Because if not, you’d better go. Our transportation is here.” Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to just teleport to the mainland. It would cause too much potential to be seen and has a high risk of us landing in the ocean. Instead, some good whale friends of ours will be giving us a ride.
They grin at us. “Of course we’re coming. Why did you think you could leave without the other half of your group?”
The eight of us climb aboard Amazila, who seems genuinely happy to see us again, and I wave to Andrew. “Oh, wait! I was supposed to tell you that the dolphins need help. Several members of Coral’s pod are stranded in Fiji. Do what you can, okay? It’s only been a few hours, and the tide is just going out right now. They should be fine, but I don’t want to wait any longer.”
He nods. “I’ll go, and I’ll take our cousins with me.” He glances at Sareena. “Our other cousins, of course; Cooper, Sarah, Connor, Mary, and Carter.”
“Yeah, they’ll want to help after being excluded from this mission,” I almost laugh. “We need to go. Have fun!” I yell. Then, on habit, I add, “Can lompen coron sal askan le casaroon!”
Sareena gives me a funny look but repeats the farewell. “What does that mean?”
“Happy times until I see you again,” I say. “Quite literally, that is the direct translation. It’s custom to say it in farewell; it’s just polite.”
She sighs. “You have got to teach me this language.”
I sigh too and lay back, getting comfortable for the ride. “I will. I taught you the basic stuff before; when we get back, I’ll delve a little deeper into the dictionary.”
She nods and is silent for a long time. I’m almost beginning to believe that she’s asleep when she says, “It’s kind of funny. I’m actually beginning to regard the island as home.”
I smile to myself. “That’s because it is. Humans think they originated in Africa; actually, that’s not true at all.”
She shifts to face me abruptly. “Oooh, history lesson!”
Taylor – better known as Falcon – snorts. “You are the only person I know who gets all excited about boring stuff like that.”
“It’s not boring,” Sareena defends. “Just because you’ve known it for your whole life and I haven’t does not mean that it isn’t worth revisiting.” Taylor snorts but falls silent.
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you two done? I’d like to explain.”
They share a glance but nod. “We’re listening, too,” my other siblings chime in. Rosie in particular looks eager to hear it. I nod and begin the story.
“When humankind first evolved, there was one group who evolved more quickly than the others. They didn’t try to take control or anything like that; they just tried to live peacefully with the others on the island.” Sareena gasps and inhales like she’s going to speak but I stop her with a hand. “Those who could not live peacefully were sent to what is now known as Africa, where they established civilizations of their own. However, the peace couldn’t last. Eventually, human nature overrode their desire to live in harmony, and the ones without powers, who hadn’t evolved as far, confessed to being afraid of the stronger ones.
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“Humans destroy what they do not understand; it scares them.” Sareena nods sadly but doesn’t speak. “In the end, the solution was to transplant them to different areas of the globe: the Neanderthals to the northern Mediterranean, Homo Sapiens to Africa where the others were, so that they wouldn’t die; and the Denisovans to Indonesia and Australia. A few, who had left of their own accord, settled the Polynesian islands. Others, also of their own free will, colonized North and South America. When we kicked the rebels off of Gras, we wiped their memory so that they would not come after us again; we had as much to fear as they did, since a scared, angry, or determined human can do just as much damage as a calm Grashien.
“We also split ourselves into seven tribes, positioned strategically to watch over those that we had once called kin; although we separated from them, we still cared. The Anacogi remained blissfully ignorant of our existence until the 16th century, when we tried to come out and show them what – and who – we were. That resulted in what is now known as the medieval witch hunts, which persisted until the 18th century, and, to a lesser degree, the early nineteen-hundreds. We have not revealed ourselves since the early 17th century, when it became clear that they would not listen to reason.
“The reason Anacogi scientists believe that humans originated in Africa is because that was where we put them. It is almost directly opposite Gras on the globe, and could provide for their needs. The fact that humans are actually from an island in the middle of nowhere is also why they can’t find the missing link between apes and humans.”
Sareena stares at me. And stares. And stares some more. Then she bursts out laughing so hard, I think she’s going to fall off the whale. We all gaze at her in confusion. What did I say that was so funny? I ask the others mentally.
I get shrugs from all sides. Eventually, Sareena sits up straight again. “So you’re telling me” – she takes a heaving breath that says she still isn’t quite over her fit of amusement – “that science has everything wrong? Humans aren’t from Africa?” She giggles again. “I think that with modern weaponry, it’s probably good that you all are still hidden, but that you might have better luck if you try to come out now… without telling them where the tribes are located.”
I sigh. “We’ve thought of that, but we have no reason to leave Gras or tell humanity that we exist. Science doesn’t have everything wrong – evolution is real, Pangaea was real, etc. – but they are wrong about the origins of humans. Yes, we come from monkeys, but Gras used to be attached to the tip of Africa, back when the volcano first died out. We stayed there when it split off; another reason we sent everyone to Africa was that they had ancestral memories of it and could survive there more easily than they could anywhere else, as indicated by the fact that the groups who went elsewhere didn’t fare as well.”
Sareena nods. “Okay. I’m going to take a nap; all of this new information – and having to actually think about it – is making me tired.” She yawns. “Wake me when I can actually get up and move around without worrying about falling off.”
When we reach land, I shake Sareena’s shoulder. “Come on,” I hiss. “We need to find shelter for the night; we’ll begin our search in the morning. There ought to be a Grashien guide waiting on the shore – the Prairie tribe said they’d send someone from their nearest safe house to show us the way. Whoever it is will stay with us for the duration of the trip, no matter where we go.”
We climb off onto the pier. I’m surprised when Ryan grabs Sareena’s shoulder. “Look at me,” he commands. She flinches slightly but does as he says. “You’re going to have to trust us enough to let us in your head,” he says. “We may need to communicate without being heard, and we can’t do that if you’re stubbornly refusing to accept our – and your – abilities.” When she still refuses to cave, he sighs. “What is it you’re so desperate to protect, anyway? A crush on someone? A hidden memory?”
Sighing, I step forward. I’ve actually wanted to have this talk with her for a while now, but it felt too cruel to force her to just drop everything she regards as proper because we don’t do it. Ryan shoots me a look that says don’t interfere, but I speak up anyway. “Sareena, do you know how Grashiens regulate what others do or do not see?” She shakes her head. “There’s an honor code in place. We don’t go snooping around in each other’s heads looking for stuff unless we have permission or a reason. We speak into each other’s minds.” Seeing that she still doesn’t fully understand the difference, I try to find an analogy that she’ll understand. “It’s like the difference between looking through your friend’s possessions and giving her a toy. You don’t have to know what she has – or in this case, what she’s thinking – to give her something else, like a new thought to play with.”
A look of understanding dawns on her face. “So I can open my mind to you, and you won’t go looking through it?”
Ryan gives me an approving look. Nice analogy. I never would’ve thought of that.
We all agree. “Exactly. Unless you give us permission, and anyways, you’d feel it if we were in your head. It’s one of the good things about being Grashien; those without their own set of abilities can’t sense when others mess with their heads unless they train themselves to recognize it.” She sighs in relief at Lea’s confirmation.
I know. I can’t keep all of the pride out of my voice, but it quickly melts to concern. Were we too harsh? I’m always a little scared I’m going to break her in some way.
Lea joins in. No, Cat. Anything less and she would have just kept being stubborn. She’s a strong girl.
I nod. Just in case, make sure she can access your mind as well.
Why? I hear the others ask.
Because it’ll give her a sense of confidence and security, knowing that the trust goes both ways. Anticipating Ryan’s next comment, I add, And if you didn’t want her going through your head, you shouldn’t have encouraged her to open her mind.
We’re all somewhat startled to hear Sareena speak to us mentally. I can hear you, you know. Quit talking about me like I’m not here.
Turning to the shore, we see a man in jeans and a T-shirt, looking a little bored. I narrow my eyes at him and he slowly pulls out a Grashien necklace. I reach out to contact him with my mind and find… nothing. He doesn’t seem to exist. My eyes widen almost imperceptibly as the others begin to head his way. Wait!
They all turn, startled by my mental shout. Why? He must be the Grashien guide we’re looking for.
No, I insist. He must have stolen the necklace. Reach out, try to contact him; he’s not Grashien.
I can see the panic flitting over each of their faces as they try and get no result. It’s a trap! Taylor’s mind-splitting yell says what we’ve all been thinking. Then she adds, An owl confirmed it! He’s no Grashien. In fact, he killed one recently! We need to run!
Can your owl friend guide us to the safe house?
Not at the risk of endangering the Grashiens inside. This guy is a well-decorated Grashien hunter. Our only options are fight or run.
I thought no one knew about Grashiens! Sareena sounds panicked. Guys, I-I don’t know if I can fight someone who knows who to defend against us. Can we run instead?
When the humans left, apparently some of the ones who went peaceably and of their own accord still harbored negative feelings about us. They trained themselves and their children to hunt Grashiens whenever we would come around. Unfortunately for them, they’ve never managed to get one of us to reveal the whereabouts of the island, since we teleport away or commit suicide before they can torture us to that extreme. I pause, then continue, But yes, we’ll run. We don’t want to cause a scene. I would say jump into the water, but there’s no animals down there to guarantee our safety; run into the forest instead. I direct my thoughts at Taylor next. Can that owl show us where to hide? She nods and we take off running, following the brown-and-white spotted creature through the trees.
Finally, we stop in the hollow of an old Redwood, confirming that we really are in northern California. The tree shudders in response to our fear and, once we’re inside, closes the entrance. We are hidden, yes, but we are also trapped.