Chandra had opened the library like any other day, well almost any other. Her mother had already reminded her of her obligation tonight and true to form also reminded her of her responsibility to bring her sister. She had enjoyed going in the past, but the pressure had been getting stronger to finally pick an apprentice. She didn’t particularly want or need one, but tradition had other plans in mind. The other notable difference to this particular day came in the form of a brightly lit blue clad stained glass figure dominating the northwest part of the dome.

  Seeing the figure, she quickly slid a closed for repairs sign on the front of the door before closing and locking it. She had actually been planning on closing the library early anyway for the gathering, but this - this changed things. She had had her suspicions for a while, and while this didn’t exactly prove anything, she’d be willing to bet where it came from. Akva. Of all the gods it had to be Akva. Claire Montblanc was her name, the young girl who always came to the library, the same one who only somewhat recently started requesting strange books and topics. Chandra hadn’t really been that concerned given her age, no eleven year old or however old she was, could do anything sufficiently powerful to be a problem, yet here it was.

  She should have known better than to discount her because of her age, but she had. Now something had to be done. This wouldn’t go unnoticed for long. She continued to stare at the slowly fading image. It had happened last night - just like it had a few months ago, but that time Akva had appeared very faint, not worth reporting. She shook her head as she slowly walked to the center of the room standing in a beam of light coming from the early morning side of the dome.

  Something had to be done, but not just anything, she needed to act with a tactful move. One to gain a better position, not just a knee jerk reaction. She thought for a second before twirling her fingers in the light allowing the flickering shadows to dance beneath her. With a snap, she pinched her fingers grasping the beam of light in her hand. The short stylus looking beam of light captured between her fingers made no sound but warbled and vibrated as if fought against the imprisonment. She wrote white gold letters in long flowing letters, quorum tonight? I need advice on how to proceed.

  Seeing her message, she flicked the beam of light away, freeing it and the letters in a soundless snap. She closed her eyes, wondering if the gods above had conspired to make her attend the gathering earlier than she strictly wanted to. She clomped unhappily to her office, packed her things and returned to her car to pick up Moira.

  Moira’s house had once been two businesses, a bakery on the bottom floor and some kind of textile processing factory on the top floor. Both had gone out of business many years ago, leaving the building abandoned for several years. Abandoned, until Moira decided she needed a place of her own to live; and having fallen in love with the building for some reason set out to make it her home - despite it being a commercial building. Her parents bought it and spent a fortune remodeling it into a residence; she had lived there since the night of the fire at their family estate, the same as Chandra.

  Chandra understood why she had left the estate and why she needed her own place, but this choice, like many of her sister’s choices, confused her. The house sat between two acutely intersecting roads giving the house a trapezoidal shape, the first floor still had the large baker’s bay windows to entice onlookers and even still had a small parking lot in back. Her parents had to pull strings with the city council to even get it zoned as a residence - the only one for several blocks in either direction.

  She pulled off the road and into the parking lot of her sister’s house. Turning the car off, she took a moment, as she always did, to regard the ugly brick building that in no way looked like someone lived there. A warehouse maybe. There weren’t even any windows on this side of the building.

  She knocked on what used to be the delivery entrance, but now Chandra knew it was actually her front door. She knocked again louder after no one answered the door. She raised her hand again just as the sound of the door being unlocked came from within. The door opened revealing a woman in fuzzy pajama bottoms and a black tank top. Her curly mop of brown hair suggested she had been sleeping - or at least in bed moments ago. One of her hands held the door ajar while the other held a flute of orange liquid.

  “Hello.” she said not trying to mask her annoyance. Chandra pushed her way past into the main room of the house. The inside looked nothing like the ugly warehouse exterior. The red wood floors and brightly colored walls gave an almost earthy sunrise feeling to the room, coupled by the fact that most of the second floor had been removed made the space feel wide open. The loft sat above them overlooking the expensive marble kitchen with custom french range. The smell of bacon sat heavy on the air.

  “Of all the times for you to come by,” Moira shut the door, glancing at the loft above. Chandra made her way to the long leather couch eyeing the several small sculptures dotting the walls around the large tinted bay window. It was sacrilegious to tint the window, but it did keep onlookers from looking directly into her living room. Chandra sat down precisely, not really relaxing but preparing herself.

  “It’s time. We only have an hour of sunlight left.” Chandra said as Moira milled in the kitchen, cleaning up her breakfast mess. Chandra found it strange, Moira hadn’t been known to cook or frankly clean up after herself, let alone prepare something as elaborate as what looked like an english breakfast with eggs, bacon, and toast.

  “Can’t. Sorry. Best I can do is tomorrow." She continued washing pairs of plates and silverware. “But for sure, tomorrow, I won’t even fight you on it.” Chandra sighed, she would have to take her, and Moira knew that; leaving now would be more convenient but she also didn’t want to fight over something stupid like this. Chandra didn’t especially want to go in the first place, nor did she relish her task of dragging her sister along, but getting her to agree to go felt like a victory.

  “You know, I'll have to come back to get you.”

  “Sounds good.” Moira responded, ignoring the obvious attempt at guilting her. She returned to the couch with two flutes.

  “Mimosa?” She handed one to Chandra without waiting for a response. Chandra accepted it but held it for a moment trying to figure out what was going on. She took a sip when something caught her eye. One of the sculptures looked like it had carvings on it. Moira looked at the glazed cup and tried to say something before Chandra interrupted her.

  “Moira,” sounding both surprised and taken aback by the small cup.

  “It’s just for fun.” She stood to grab it, but Chandra got it first. She turned it over in her hands, the rune carvings clear and distinct, wrapping around the cup in several concentric circles. She could read the language, but she didn’t dare, even holding the blasphemous item felt wrong. Her hands shook as she turned it over revealing a small gold bead.

  “You can’t be doing this - this - this - do you know what they would do? what ? Just, why?” Chandra’s trainwreck of thoughts tried expressing themselves all at once. Moira gently removed the small clay cup from Chandra’s hands, sensing that it might not be safe in her care.

  “But consider this.” She put her mimosa on her end table, fetching water from the kitchen and returning, swirling the water in the clay cup.

  “Try it.” she offered the blasphemy to her like a drug dealer. Moira had always been the lost one, she would never reach Chandra’s level of command over light and never did well communing with any of the other gods. She had a history of getting into trouble with drugs or whatever and every time her parents would make it go away, but this? No one could make this go away. Chandra took a deep breath, took the cup and drank from the devil’s mouth.

  “Oh my God.” she smacked her lips feeling the wine warm in her stomach. Moira grinned that impish grin she got sometimes. The warm remnants still danced on her tongue, enticing her for more.

  “Right?” Chandra regarded the cup once more, before downing the rest of the wine. It felt warm and sweet, inviting, but strong and by far the best she had ever had.

  “It’s the water of Nazareth spell. I have been working on it for a while, but I think I finally got it. You should have tasted the first one - it was all tannins and strong as fuck, we almost went blind with that one.” Moira bit her lip.

  “We?” Chandra looked at the loft for the first time and then to Moira who started looking sheepish.

  “Is someone here?”

  “Well - maybe. Yeah. like I said - very busy at the moment.”

  “Ah.” Chandra shook her head, not wanting to get distracted as the situation started coming into focus.

  “Still - keep this quiet. No one -” Chandra stopped, realizing, “Wait - you let whoever is up there see your cup - the spell? Moira Lillian Luna.” Chandra felt her mother, her real mother coming out for a second, “you can’t,” she lowered her voice, “you can’t do that. This is reckless. You are being reckless.”

  “But I am having fun.”

  “I don’t care - you can’t be doing this. You have to be more careful.”

  “Oh we were careful.” Moira said with a smirk. Chandra couldn’t stop herself from laughing, we are all free to make our own mistakes. She drank the rest of her mimosa.

  “Well, what’s his name? Do I get to meet him?”

  “Alex,” Moira called upstairs, “you can come down, my sister is here.” No voice responded but heavy footsteps soon descended the stairs. A tall well built man appeared wearing shorts and was in the process of putting on some kind of military branded shirt. Chandra felt her cheeks warm at the sight of him. He had a curt black military haircut, a recently shaved face and dark eyes that she could swim laps in.

  “Hey.” He nodded, having fully donned his shirt. Moira twisted her hair as he made his way to the kitchen.

  “Alex - Chandra. Chandra - Alex.” She snapped a little smile to Chandra. Chandra waved politely.

  “I’m fixin’ to head to the store if you need anythin’.” Only as he approached Moira, who instantly wrapped herself around him, did Chandra appreciate his size. He dwarfed Moira by eighteen inches at least, so much he had to bend quite a bit over to kiss her. She could see what her sister saw in him, clearly, but something about him gave the impression that he could really hurt someone if he had to. Or wanted to. Maybe it was his eyes. Though his midwestern accent helped to take some of the intimidating presence away.

  “I don’t need anything, you can take my car if you want.” Moira’s voice had changed to a high flirty pitch.

  “Nah, thanks though. I was gonna go for a run too. Feelin’ antsy.” he wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a hug and a kiss lifting her off the ground as he stood to his full height. Her feet pattered in the air.

  “It was nice meetin’ you, Chandra.” He put Moira down and nodded to Chandra before he cracked his neck and set out the door. She wondered if he intentionally gave them space or if he really had somewhere to go. Moira waited for the door to close before looking at Chandra with that impish grin again, raising her eyebrows.

  “Stop it .” Chandra smiled, turning away from her.

  “Oh the things he can do.” Moira still stood where he dropped her, looking fondly up at nothing in particular.

  “Yeah yeah. If you’re trying to get rid of me - it’s working.” Chandra stood, moving to the bay window.

  “But, if you don’t come now - you know I'll be stuck there all for two days then. And what should I tell them? You know they’re going to ask where you are.” One more attempt at guilting her into coming now, but after meeting her new squeeze, she doubted she could convince her.

  “Tell them the truth - I’m busy and can’t make it until tomorrow.” Chandra smirked at the word truth as she looked at the tinted city beyond the bay window. The tinting would make it more difficult, but not impossible for her. She began moving both arms in wide circles, as though she could paddle through the light. Her hands gently pushed to either side of her body before bringing them back in front of her and repeating the motion. The light bent around her, flowing like water around a boulder lodged in a river; it deformed the view of the city warping until a different view started to take shape.

  The city outside could still be seen on the edges of the warping circle twisting in the glass of the window, the center looked out at a hot setting sun falling behind a large wind swept sand dune. Chandra dropped her hands, quickly wrapping a scarf around her face before looking at Moira one last time. She waved dismissively using just her fingers in a way that said tata.

  Chandra took a deep breath and stepped through the bay window onto the hot arid sand as the light quickly fell back to its natural form behind her. Such a brat. She couldn’t get here on her own, and they both knew that. She wouldn’t be able to get her until tomorrow before the sun set here and rose there - and she knew that too, yet she chose to make her life difficult. SHe stomped across the soft sand, pulling her scarf tighter around her face.

  She walked to the bottom of the dune, stopping for a moment to look at the endless desert sand as the new hot air filled her lungs. One step forward caused the desert to ripple like a mirage revealing a life invisible outside the barrier. The sound of laughing, music, and general commotion filled the air. The basin held hundreds of small personal tents - each a little white teepee style, some arranged in rows while others clustered haphazardly. Closer to the center sat the family tents, huge canvas constructions that housed ten or twenty people, and those surrounded the Great Center. The center tent dominated the gathering, looking like a giant circus tent that could hold probably three hundred people comfortably. Several long banners flew from poles encircling the center tent.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Chandra made her way towards the center, taking the aisle of the lasi children. This familiar place looked the exact same as when she first came here all those years ago, when she had been the one setting up her tent and table, hoping to become an apprentice. Many of the children, teenagers really, practiced as she passed - several looked at her and bowed slightly before returning to their work.

  She remembered the day Sarah and Moira Luna approached her tent and Sarah adopted her into their family. She had been shocked that Moira was a Luna by blood, she neither looked nor acted like what Chandra had heard even at that point in her life. That was the day Estra Sarah Luna walked into her life and took her as an apprentice.

  She felt selfish not taking an apprentice, but she didn’t feel ready for that kind of responsibility, not yet. Still, she stopped at one tent, mostly to appease her mother. The young boy looked at her with surprise, standing at once, bowing deeply before taking a step towards her.

  “Hello, I am Chandra of clan Luna, what did you bring to the gathering?” She addressed him formally out of respect. She would rather avoid the formalities, but she didn’t want to insult him. His eyes widened at the sound of her name and he bowed again deeper than before.

  “You honor me Estra, I have brought a color changing spell.” Chandra noticed the nervousness in his voice, had she been that nervous when she was on the other side? The maybe almost teenager formed his hand like a knife slowly cutting from as high as he could reach down to the table in front of him, sliding it along the table’s surface. The setting sun would make it more difficult for some colors, warmer ones would be easier. Chandra watched as the light in the wake of his knife hand rippled in oranges and purples mimicking the sky above.

  “Can you do blue or green?” that might impress her, probably not enough to take him on as an apprentice, but it would be a start. She waited patiently as the boy tried again and again, each time leaving reds, oranges and purples in ripples across the table. Maybe her expectations were too high, maybe she should lower her standards a little.

  “Thank you for your demonstration, you honor me.” She bowed her head slightly, to which the boy bowed low.

  “Thank you Estra, you honor me.” She would leave it as an exercise for him to learn from; one learned more from self discovery than from someone giving you the answer. Chandra continued towards the gigantic circus tent at the center, passing all manner of food and drink tents as well as several other demonstration tests like the one she had stopped in.

  The great tent at the center looked impressive from a distance, up close it dominated one's view in a formidable and somewhat overwhelming manner, but she had long gotten used to its ostentatiousness. She pulled a long white banner from her backpack, holding it for a moment looking at the six gold stars embroidered lengthwise along the banner, her name running vertically along the pole side. The first time she held this, she had barely been able to contain her joy. The night she earned her sixth star and became one of the council, one of the youngest to ever reach such a station, she hadn’t felt that way in a long time. The banner attached easily to the rope running up the flag pole, she looked up at the top to make sure this one was empty before hoisting her banner to the top tying it off on the cleat at the bottom.

  Someone nearby shouted, “The banner is up!” and someone else answered, “and it is full!” That again reminded her of the night she first heard that, when everyone in her clan had shouted it in unison making her feel like a part of the family for the first time. She had earned her place, hadn’t she?

  The inside of the tent carried the familiar dizzying smoke and quiet talking of several huddled groups. Her parents didn’t really come in here that much anymore, despite Sarah being a council member, then again neither did she. On this occasion, however, she had business. A woman met eyes with Chandra, waving her over. The multicolored scarves wrapping around her body in mismatched directions, the large hoop earrings and the mischievous smile all gave the impression of a gypsy fortune teller.

  “Good evening, Chandra.” The woman said youthfully, despite being over eighty years old.

  “Hello, Sarah.” She would only address her as Estra in formal capacities. They hugged before sitting down on two large overstuffed cushions situated on the floor. A plate of grapes, carrots and olives waited for them.

  “Did you bring Moira with you?”

  “No, she was…busy, I’ll bring her tomorrow morning - well tomorrow evening here, morning for her.”

  “Oh? Too busy for her own mother?” Sarah croaked, suddenly sounding older.

  “Yes, well you know how she is.” She would try not to divulge more than necessary, but Sarah had a way of finding things out if she really wanted to know.

  “Did you get my message?” Chandra asked, changing the subject.

  “What’s she doing that’s so important, I wonder?” Sarah looked like she mused to the ceiling before looking back at Chandra, “yes I did. You will have your quorum after sunset, if that’s ok with you.”

  “Yes, thank you. It’s not so urgent that we need the sun. I do want to ask you your opinion though, before the quorum, it is … delicate.” Sarah held a finger to her chin, tilting her head the way she did around gossip.

  “There is a young girl who comes into the library. She started asking for strange books a few weeks ago right after I caught a faint image of Akva in the library glass.” She let it marinate for a moment, “which in and of itself means nothing - which is why I didn't report it. This morning however, I opened the library to a fully visible image still bright well after sunrise.”

  “And you think this young girl has something to do with that? How old?”

  “Ten or twelve maybe.” Sarah let out a thinking noise.

  “That is pretty young for that, is she affiliated?”

  “I don’t think so, if she is, it would be awfully stupid to be in my library. The way I see it, they will find her soon enough, but we have a chance to do something. I’m just not sure exactly how we use this to our advantage.” Chandra waited for Sarah to contemplate for a moment, not wanting to interrupt her process.

  “And that’s why you haven't reported this either? You are looking for a way to use the situation?” Sarah continued to tap her chin thoughtfully.

  Chandra frowned at what sounded like an accusation, “if I report it, there will be an investigation - the result will be that they had nothing to do with this. Then they will start looking for who was responsible and scoop her up, giving them a powerful new member and possibly upsetting the balance if not now, but in the future.” Chandra wished she could take Claire as her apprentice, she liked her personally - but she could never take one touched by that god; it was a shame really.

  “Ask the quorum, but keep an eye on Jacob, see how he votes. He might be able to help you with this, but you know the rules, while you can operate against the ruling of the quorum I would caution against it in this regard. This flirts closely with the ceasefire, so don’t find yourself out on a ledge holding the bag.” She understood, especially at hearing the Fajra worshiper’s name. Jacob had been known for being radical and a fighter. He didn’t believe in the ceasefire and thought we should put every one of the dark worshipers, the Malklara Peceto, in the ground.

  “I can - and will be careful. Thank you Estra.” Sarah waved her hand at the title.

  “Yes, yes. Now - would you care to share a float before the others arrive?” Chandra’s eyebrow lifted at that, she had done that on occasion, but never with Sarah. She couldn’t help but imagine what she might have been like in her wild youth. Letting her surprise fade, Chandra did as she was bid, leaving briefly and returning with a long ornate pipe already producing thin white wisps from the end.

  “Traditionally, they would smoke before every council meeting." Sarah said, holding the bowl in her hand as she drew in a slow breath from the pipe exciting the embers. She released the smoke, laying back softly against her cushion. Chandra sat a respectful distance from her, taking the pipe as she situated herself.

  “How did they get anything done?” Smoke whipped around Chandra’s words and in her mind, slowing everything to crawl. Some called the drug hush as it silenced all the little voices we keep in our heads and allows honest speaking from the heart. Still, Chandra did not have a high tolerance for it and snuggled up against her mom as they fell asleep.

  The sound of conversation and footsteps woke Chandra, who now slept alone. Her arms stretched automatically, noticing the void where Sarah had been, where had she gone? She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her face and realizing her hair probably looked dreadful, but if anything that would only make her fit in better. A long series of lights hung encompassing the tent giving large spots of light, but not filling it entirely. A fire had been constructed at the center of the tent now allowing members to gather around it. She did not know the others very well, and in fact tried to stay out of council meetings as best as she could.

  There were nine of them, including her, making this one of the bigger clans, usually the free spirit of her people caused clans to split before they got this big, but the families represented here had been together for generations and the topic of splitting the clan came up infrequently.

  “Thank you kunera, thank you everyone for coming to this great gathering once again bringing me home.” Sarah’s hoops jungled as she smiled and flowed side to side addressing those gathering around her. Chandra made her way to the East side of the fire standing next to the other five Fulmo worshipers, her mother stood on the North West side, one of two Seilo worshipers, and Jacob stood next to her in the South, the only worshiper of Fajra.

  “Please, Chandra - the quorum is yours.” Sarah bowed her head. Chandra cleared her throat, making sure to speak loud and confident.

  “In short, I discovered a bright image of Avka in my library this morning, bright and clear well after sunrise.” She paused, “but I believe I know who is responsible, and she is not affiliated with any coven - though I doubt that will last for long. I come here to ask for advice on how to deal with this. Thank you Estram.” She looked at Jacob who looked pensive. Everything about the man was rough, from his calloused hands to the burns and scars all along his huge arms. He had no hair on his head save his eyebrows and a small soul patch on his bottom lip.

  Some of the others whispered to each other, discussing the issue. Jacob interrupted with his booming voice, “You have done well bringing this to us.” Chandra turned to look at him, realizing he was addressing her and not the group as a whole, his voice was like a mountain, deep and rocky.

  “I would suggest we do nothing. Nothing, that is, as a clan. We should not make an inquiry with the Malklara Peceto as that will only alert them to the uninitiated.” The murky sect, the shadow coven, the dark shard, the enemy. She had heard them called many things, but invoking their name in the language of the gods brought a coldness to the fire that unsettled the mood. They were nothing to be trifled with, as it was well known.

  “But what if young Luna is wrong and this is a warning about their preparations for an attack?” the woman next to Chandra asked.

  “We can’t upset the ceasefire, we must find out legitimately and without aggravating them.” The man next to Sarah agreed.

  “The ceasefire -” Jacob spat, “The ceasefire means nothing, and will mean less if we let them prance into our midst. They are coming. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow but they cannot stomach our existence and will never rest until we are dealt with. You talk of peace, what do you think will happen when this girl grows up? She is a Songemulo, I would bet my right hand on it. How’s that going to affect your treaty?” The circle went quiet. Chandra didn’t want to lead anyone to a specific conclusion, but that was her exact fear. Songemulom were very rare, and never that young, usually making contact with their god in their twenties.

  “I graciously accept any help you would give me Estra Brandt.” She bowed to Jacob.

  “You humble me. Call me Jacob.” He reached over and shook Chandra’s hand, which was certainly not their custom in Fulmo’s grace, but the followers of the god of fire were not known for their softness.

  “Is there dissension to us handling this privately?” Jacob asked, probably not intending to look intimidating, but the six and half feet of muscle and fire didn’t help. Chandra waited. She didn’t technically need their permission or their blessing, all free people under their clan could do as they wanted, but that didn’t mean the choice came for free. All actions have consequences. No one said anything for several seconds.

  “It is agreed.” Jacob said, concluding with, “unless we have anything further…”

  “No, I cede my time back to the tent.” Chandra bowed, backing out of the circle as the others did the same. This was good - the others wouldn’t interfere with whatever her and Jacob came up with. Although, the other did not explicitly bless their endeavor, so if things went badly they might not come to their aid. A mouse who gets itself into a trap can get itself out.

  “Chandra,” Jacob bellowed, waving her over to him he waited as she crossed the invisible line into his domain. “The safest thing would be to kill that girl, right?” The brutality and flatness of his voice made Chandra take a step back. He was right, of course, Claire wasn’t protected by the ceasefire, killing her would be possible even if the enemy did find out about it - they would have no recourse.

  She didn’t want to hurt the poor girl of course, but facts were facts, and she would belong to the enemy any day. She didn’t want to admit it, that Jacob was right, it would be the easiest, the safest thing to do but something stirred in her apart from her love of the child. The waste of it maybe? Snuffing out something so rare - so powerful seemed a tragedy even if she wasn’t one of theirs. Something pushed her in a way that she could feel, but couldn’t explain; like the way we all latch onto ideas without knowing why. The gods speak to us then.

  “We cant,” the thoughts started to arrange themselves into words, “we can’t - waste this chance. It is safer - yes, but I hoped to find something a little riskier here, something to use the situation to our advantage.”

  Jacob crossed his arms making him look immovable, “I may have misjudged you young Luna. My position on the peace is well known, I imagined you wouldn’t agree.” His words came deep and even, heavily lifted from the depths of his chest, “have you heard of second sight?” he asked. Chandra had actually heard of it and actually considered it before even coming to the quorum.

  “Yes, actually, but when she is initiated -” he held up a hand, stopping her.

  “Fajra teaches us of sacrifice - of the sacrifices we must all make while we travel his path. We all pay our own tolls. For this, I will pay what must be done.” A thin rocky smile shifted across his face.

  “War is coming, child. History will remember this at the turning point for good or ill, but this is the last chance for you to turn away; Do you have the stomach to pay your toll - to see this to the end?” Part of her, a large part wanted to say no, no to aggravating the peace treaty she had enjoyed for much of her life. Claire would change that, it wasn’t a matter of if - only when, and that small thought had to outweigh her doubts.

  “I am.” She said firmly, causing his smile to broaden the way a starving man’s smile uncontrollably takes hold at the sight of a glistening feast.