Vai

"The way the Awakened One described it to me was not quite a light at the back of the head. More like a shadow of a light," Esther said. El, Shel and Minmin sat on the gray couch. The glass table that had resided in front of the couch had been moved next to the wall. Two black chairs were on either side of the plush couch.

"So what do we do to bring out the light?" Owen asked.

Esther turned from us to face the group on the couch. "If it's the same as humans, you just focus on it with your own light and pull on it. It might resist a little. Actually, it kind of feels like pulling taffy, but with shadow and light. And then the light bursts free and that's it. I'm not sure if it will be the same with aliens though."

"Are you sure we will even have the light?" Shel asked. His mother's blue eyes drifted to him. Her lips pinched tight. I didn't think she liked the question. Shel ignored her, which he usually didn't do. "Maybe it can only be brought out in humans."

"No," Esther said. "The Awakened One didn't say humans had the light, he said the Gatherish had the light so I assume all 4 alien species in the Gathering accord have the light. I guess, we just try it. If it doesn't work the first time, we'll try a different tactic."

"I'll do Shel," Owen said. He stepped in front of Shel. "Don't worry, friend, I've got this." I was beginning to recognize the difference between Owen's sincerity, bravado, and B.S.ing. This sounded like bravado. He was afraid he couldn't do it.

Shel remained seated on the couch. Owen started to reach out to touch the back of Shel's head. Shel's arm shot up and his fingers wrapped around Owen's small wrist. There was an intensity in Shel's eyes as he stared into Owen's. Owen didn't look away. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"You can do this," Shel said in a low tone. Even though I wasn't the one he spoke to, his words held impact and I knew I could do it. Owen must have felt the same. His stance changed slightly, more confident, shoulders back, head high. He nodded. Shel let go of Owen's wrist.

Owen's hand circled around to the back of Shel's head. His other hand was placed on Shel's forehead. Owen closed his eyes. Shel closed his eyes. It happened fast. Much faster than I was expecting. I think it happened faster than when Esther opened the light in me and Owen. One moment Shel was his normal blue self, the next moment a dark purple light sprang from him almost as if it had been ignited and fueled with oil.

Owen's and Shel's eyes opened at the same time. Owen took a step back from the sudden intensity of Shel's light. Shel looked at the dark purple light in his hands and smiled. "Thank you, friend," he said to Owen.

I wasn't sure if he called it out on purpose or not, but Owen's yellow light surrounded him. He smiled in return. "You're welcome, friend." Owen beamed like the sun.

"Stop posturing," El scolded.

Shel's and Owen's light faded at the same time. Shel's jaw clenched. It seemed even more exaggerated as his white stripes shifted against his blue skin.

El had already turned away from him and hadn't noticed. Shel's jaw unclenched and he silently released the tension in his body. Everyone else had already focused on El. I thought I was the only who noticed Shel. Our eyes met briefly before he turned to his mother along with everyone else. I didn't think he held any real animosity towards his mother. Any real anger he had would have been directed at his father, like mine was directed to my father. Although, my father hadn't just saved me from the Corruption. Shel might be having a difficult time staying angry at his father. Maybe he didn't have anywhere to direct his anger anymore.

"You will open my light now," El said - demanded - to Esther.

"Yes," Esther said.

Owen collapsed into the black chair on the side of the couch nearest Shel. I sat in the black chair on the other side of the couch. El stood in front of Esther. Warpaint moved to the empty space next to my chair. El had told my father she was going to set a schedule to train Owen and me along with Shel and Minmin. I hadn't told her yet that my father sometimes spied on me through Warpaint. I just hadn't had the opportunity to speak with her one on one. I hoped my father would spy on me less or not at all now that I would be training with El.

Minmin scooted on the couch so she was a little closer to me.

"Are you nervous?" I whispered to her.

She nodded. Her floppy ears swung back and forth with the movement.

"It's going to be all right," I said quietly. "I'm confident I can open the light inside you." I hadn't been before I heard Shel's words and saw how quickly Owen had accomplished his task.

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Esther's hands went to the back of El's head and her forehead. Esther and El closed their eyes.

"That's not what I'm nervous about," Minmin whispered so only I could hear. Her green eyes were sad. "If my parents have the Corruption now and I have the light, I'll forever be separated from them."

I reached out and enclosed her small hand with my large one. I didn't say anything. What could I say? Nothing would make her loss better.

El blazed in a red light. Esther and El opened their eyes and smiled at each other.

"Finally a color I'm familiar with," Esther said. "Everyone on the Lion of Judah Research Station either had pink or red lights."

"What does the red light do?" Owen asked from his seat. "You can make a wind."

"I don't know," Esther said.

I wasn't sure when it happened, but El and Esther held hands as they faced each other.

"Even those with the same color of light had drastically different powers. The Awakened One wasn't long enough with us to answer all our questions. He had so much to teach us still." Pain came to her eyes before she pushed it away.

El squeezed Esther's hands. She turned to Minmin.

"You're turn."

Minmin stood and faced me. I stayed seated as that put me more or less eye level with her.

El pulled Esther to the couch. Esther sat where Minmin had just vacated. El sat between Esther and Shel.

I cupped my hand behind Minmin's head. I placed my other hand on her small forehead. Her cream fur was soft against my flesh. My hands were larger than her head. I closed my eyes and focused my light in my hands. My fingers tingled. I remembered what it felt like when Esther opened the light in me - the warmth from her hands that seemed to send electrical impulses throughout my body. She didn't mention anything like that when she gave me instructions so I tried to find the shadow-like light she spoke of.

I never did see a shadow. Instead I saw a white light like sunlight streaking through clouds. I had been able to see Esther's light before I was supposed to be able to as well. I stretched out my green light to touch the white. My palms pulsed with similar electric impulses from when my own light was opened within me. I pulled on the white light. It did stretch like taffy, but only for the briefest of moments before my green light almost caressed the white and coaxed it out. White exploded out in every direction and blinded me even with my eyes closed.

I blinked my eyes open. Minmin was surrounded in white light. She stared down at the white in the palm of her hands with a smile on her face, but tears in her eyes. She quickly blinked the wetness away.

"Your light is white," Esther exclaimed. She bounced off the couch and held Minmin's small hand in hers. "It's so beautiful."

And with that, Esther won Minmin completely over. I didn't think I'd hear Minmin say that she didn't like or trust Esther anymore.

"Excellent job, sir," Warpaint said. "The light you gave your little friend is the best yet. No one else did so well."

"Warpaint," I said. "I didn't give her the light. It was already hers."

Everyone else had stood and formed a natural circle as they talked about their different colors of light and what they might mean. Everyone except Shel, who watched me from the now almost empty couch. His eyes turned from me to the group. He got up to join them. El pulled him in close and immediately started talking about his dark purple color.

"Regardless," Warpaint said to me, "you did an incredible job, sir."

"Everyone did a good job," I said. I stood up to join the rest of them.

"Yes," Warpaint said loudly. Everyone looked at him. "You all did well. Good job all you young people."

The rest of them looked at El to see if she would object to being called a young person with the rest of them, but she didn't. She knew why Warpaint thought I was older than everyone else. According to my birthdate, I was.

"You both did it," Esther said to me and Owen. "This opens up so many new possibilities. If all of us can open the light in others, we can form a real army against the Corruption."

"Yes," El said, "but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We should discover what we know about our own light so we can help the others discover their possibilities when the time comes. And we should only start with people we really trust. Right now that list is very small. Pretty much restricted to everyone in this room. If the miasmids - if the Corruption find out we have the light and can open it in more people, they will target us even more than they have been." She looked at me, but squeezed Shel's shoulder. That small movement confirmed what I already suspected, that the Corruption had purposely been targeting me since Mars. But I also thought they had been targeting Shel as well.

There was a quiet zap noise and then a crash. All of our heads turned in the direction of the crash. Next to a small end table, on the white carpet were shards of a black vase.

"Sorry," Minmin said sheepishly. White light was still gathered in her right hand.

"What did you do?" El asked excitedly. "Show me."

Minmin pointed her finger at a broken shard. A white streak of lightning snaked from her finger and broke the shard into smaller pieces. A small fire started on the carpet. I took two long strides and stamped it out before the fire systems could be alerted.

"That's amazing," Esther said. "You try something," she said to Shel.

El placed an empty mug into Shel's hand. "Try to set it on fire or something," she said.

Shel looked down at the white mug. "A fire doesn't seem right, but I'll try something." The dark purple light surrounded the mug. The mug crushed and folded into itself until all that was left was dust.

El smiled proudly at her son.

"That's amazing too," Esther said. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "I've never seen that before or Minmin's lightning. What about you?" She asked El.

El walked near me and picked up one of the black shards. The red light gathered in her hand around the shard. The shard sliced in half perfectly without any jagged edges and then into fourths and eighths.

"You all found your powers so quickly," Owen said. "I didn't find mine that quickly. And Vai . . ." he trailed off.

"Haven't found mine," I finished for him.

"Don't worry," Esther said. "I'm sure when you discover what it is, it will be amazing."

El went back to the group and stood between Minmin and Esther. Esther went on about their powers and the possibilities. And mine was non existent except for a tingle in the fingers.

"Your powers are amazing, sir." Warpaint put a hand on my shoulder. He spoke quiet enough that the larger conversation in the room wasn't disturbed. "No one else could give the white light."

I couldn't bring myself to tell him for a second time that it didn't work that way.