“I want you to test Xania for the sight,” Derrex said.

Xania looked at him and then to Joban. There wasn’t time for this. The tree was dying. She didn't even know what that meant, but it felt so urgent. There was something deep inside her pushing to move, to run, to go where the tree is. Thoughts tumbled in her mind, repeating and tangling for a moment before clarifying themselves to a single idea: what tree?

“Why?” Joban leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

“Because of what she saw with these.”

Derrex passed the pouch of stones over to Joban. They rattled softly together, laughing at her, calling her.

“See us. Listen to us. We can show you the world,” they hissed.

Glancing at the men quickly made it clear that they hadn't heard the stones speaking. She leaned her head down and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, bracing her arms on the table with her elbows.

“Shut up,” she thought.

Joban untied the bag and looked inside.

“Everything. We can show you everything,” they promised.

Moaning softly, she rubbed her eyes hard. Colors bloomed in her darkness. Silence was all she wanted. Where had all these voices come from and why did they feel like talking to her? Derrex laid his hand on her back and let it glide along her spine. It was warm. Each finger drew out a line.

“These are very powerful. A vision with these would be very hard to control,” Joban murmured.

Xania snorted. Tears stung at her eyes. Visions and voices were coming and going without anything in her hands. There was no control. Those little fragments of bone didn’t matter. Something deep inside her was splitting open and she could feel it oozing out. Vile ichor that seeped into every part of her.

“Very well,” he sighed.

He set aside the bag and looked at Xania. Shadows smudged beneath his eyes. Wrinkles grooved his forehead and cut deep grooves on either side of his mouth. He was not an old man. But stress laid heavy weights on him.

“Let us hope that Derrex is wrong,” Joban stated.

Joban stretched his hand across the table. Xania stared at it. The long calloused fingers stretched out at her. Once he had snatched that hand away from her in horror at the idea of touching her. Now he offered it to her. Now it was her who didn’t want the contact.

“Please, take my hand. I will have to read you before I will be able to test you,” he explained.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“When I touch people, I get glimpses into them. I see images that tell me of their soul and of their future. Those images are usually really strong the first time I touch someone. When I test a person for the sight, I touch them and the sight object they are using and I follow their vision. From that I can tell if they have the sight and if so how powerful they are,” he explained.

“So, you’re the authority,” Xania sneered.

He tipped his head to one side.

“Everyone else could be spilling out bullshit about what they are seeing but if you say it’s real then it is,” she said.

Curling her hands into tight fists, she pulled them against her. Let them think what they want. The flavor of her madness didn’t really matter much to her. Psychotic cherry or bipolar blueberry? Being magical doesn’t matter on manic Monday!

“We can give you so much,” the runes called. “See the future. Glimpse what is beneath.”

“Fuck you!” she yelled.

Initiating command sequence 98365. Beep. It all came into focus. Everything was clear.

She slammed her fists down on the table and swatted at the bag, flinging it off onto the floor. Derrex stood up and reached for her, but stopped short of touching her. Joban didn’t move. The little bone shards scattered across the table and tumbled onto the floor. Each made a separate cry as they struck and then they were finally silent.

Beep.

“Xania.”

Derrex’s voice was quiet. Silk, low and purring. His smell was that of cedar and moss. The fluff of his silver hair moved lightly as he breathed. The vivid blue of his icy eyes melted, softened.

Beep.

Xania took his hand, lacing their fingers tightly and bared her teeth at him. Heat raged in her gut. It flared out of her brown eyes, glowing embers. Skin hot. Halo of red light clinging to her.

“You want to test me?” she growled.

Initiating command sequence 28735. Beep.

“Do you want to see?” she snarled.

“Show me,” he said.

Beep. Refine search. Beep.

He stepped close to her, looking directly into her eyes. Their mouths were almost touching. She paused. Why wasn’t he afraid? Pulsing heat hit her again, soaring through her chest and shooting out into him. Gasping, he pressed against her, resting his face against her neck. He wrapped his arm around her waist and clung to her. His heart pounding, she could feel each beat.

Beep.

Acid ran into her veins. They would know the truth. See into the beginning of it all. How dare they question her!

“And you?” she snarled, looking at Joban.

“Yes,” he said.

Refine search. Beep.

"Show me everything," she whispered, her lips brushing against Derrex's ear.

Reaching her hand out to Joban, he stood and took it. Their fingers clenched around each other as the visions gushed forth. Coming in fragments. Flashes of memory. Some were hers. Enero, standing in the sun, looking over at her with his sly smile. Smells. Morning coffee, burnt and bitter. Touch. The feeling of the warm morning sun coming through the window and hitting her naked body while she lay in bed still tangled with Enero. Sound. Crying, in the other room, a small hurt child. Taste. Chocolate sweetly melting over her tongue.

But others were not her memories.

She was standing in a thick crowd, pushing and moving around her. They were chanting for someone’s death. She looked around and saw Joban within the crowd, a small boy at this time. Xania followed his gaze and saw a woman being dragged up onto the execution stage. Her eyes were wide and wild, searching the crowd for anyone who would help her. She found someone to silently plead to. Xania looked back. The woman was staring at the man now holding Joban’s hand.

Refine search. Beep.

Derrex cowered beneath them, huddling his body as best he could so that their blows would be mostly harmless. Or so he hoped. The kick to his ribs didn’t feel very harmless. From the shadows of the alley stepped a small figure. A boy. He was fast and agile, carrying a small knife. The first man had fallen with a cry before they’d even known they were being attacked. The boy ran, taunting his pursuers. Derrex remained on the ground, unable to move his abused body. Neither he nor Xania was sure how long he lay there before the boy returned. He looked to have escaped unharmed.

Refine search. Beep.

Xania tipped back her head and screamed. The images poured in. The pasts tumbling together. The three folding into one continuous stream. Showers. Meals. Dancing. Sleeping. Dreams. Everything. Big moments. Little details of life. All of it stripped away and laid out. Then stacked up on top of each other. Her, Joban and Derrex combined. No borders.

Refine search. Beep.

“I need to know,” she moaned.

Hot tears came. Images of her sisters came into her mind. They were rushing into a large room. Laughing. Long red braids tied back with white ribbons. All the same. All the same.

“How did they die?” she asked.

Processing. Beep. The images slowed, grew hazy and then went grey. The feeling of someone poking around again. Fingers moving around in her mind.

“I want to see the memory,” she clarified.

The images came first.

She was out in a garden. Hot sun glared down through a dome of glass. But it was nice. Piles of snow frame the view of the sun set which was gold and pink. But then she heard screams. Setting down her cup, she had been drinking tea, she got up. The other girls in the room did the same, leaving behind their dolls and books.

Stopping at the door, she reached out. Sisters were missing. How was that possible? The sisters were always there. Several of the others went out into the hallway. She looked through the green house glass and could see a boy pounding his fists against the glass of his dome. She ran over to the glass wall and pressed her hands against the cold surface. The glass was not the only wall between them. Their computers could not link up because he was a brother.

Someone came up behind him. A bullet went through his head, splashing blood and matter out. The glass burst next to her and she screamed. Then the person with the gun seemed to notice her, but he didn’t try to hurt her. They stood there looking at her. The white scrubs were stained with streaks and splotches of red. They held a gun in each hand. One was a pistol. The other seemed like a toy with a blue light on the end. He smiled weakly at her, then turned to go.

A girl ran in, screaming. A woman in white scrubs followed. She wasn’t holding any guns. Looking around the room, her eyes were wide. Another girl, also screaming. The woman saw the broken glass. Grabbing Xania, the woman scooped her up. She held Xania's wrist out to the man, there was a mark there.

"This is number 12," she said.

He nodded and moved out of the room.

Screaming raged through her mind and she slapped her hands over her ears even though the sounds weren't coming from there. The sisters were in her mind. The woman pulled a small pink gun from her pocket and held it up to Xania's face. A pink light flashed in her eyes.

Initiating command sequence 27431. She felt the computer drives shutting off. Her mind grew smaller. The world went dimmer. Gaia was silent. It was lonely here. It was silent.

Number 4 came running into the room, screaming and clawing at her face. Lifting the toy gun with the pink tip, the woman pointed it at number 4 of the other girls. Tears fell from her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

The woman fired her gun. Nothing seemed to happen, but the girl stopped. She turned and looked at the woman, her eyes wide. The pupils of her eyes had gone dark. Then the pink gun was tucked away and a pistol came up and the woman shot her a second time. This time a bullet cut a dark hole into the girl’s head. Number 4 fell limply to the floor.

Xania screamed and pushed against the woman. She bit her on the shoulder. The woman dropped her. She scrambled away and pressed herself against the cold dome, wishing that there was a way out. But there was only one door and there was now a man standing at it. 

While the woman wept for the girl she killed, the man shot the woman. Her blood mixed with Number 4's. He raised the pink gun at her and a bright light froze her. Heart pounding in her head, she stared up at him as he walked towards her. He checked her wrist and then let her arm fall limp to the floor.

He spoke to his wrist, “I have secured Number 12."

A soft voice answered back, "some of the children are missing and there are two technicians missing as well."

"We cannot allow any of the children to leave here alive," he responded.

"Gather the unit and do a full sweep of the area. I will take Number 12 in."

He lifted the pink gun again and this time the light flashed, she lost hold of the world.

Xania was too tired. Every part of her trembled.

Beep. Cancel command sequence 98365. Beep. Cancel command sequence 28735. Beep.

She went limp and Derrex took her into his arms. But he went to his knees. Gasping for breath, he bowed his head. Joban staggered to a chair and sat down.

“She has the sight,” Joban said.

Derrex laughed.

“Help me get her up,” Derrex said.

Joban stood, gripping the back of the chair to keep his balance. Sliding his arm under Xania’s limp back, his eyes went wide. A small puff of breath escaped him. Then he was plummeting down into another world.

Great doors towered above him. They were iron and two trees loomed on either side. Their large branches worked through the bars of the doors and held them tightly closed. They trembled, even though the earth stood still. They seemed to pulse, pushing outward as if breathing. The bars bowing out, slacking and sagging inward before bowing outward again. They shuddered and a crack split through one trunk so that the wood grinned with long wicked teeth and the bark hung from the wood like a wounded thing. Darkness ebbed from the sore, seeping out in great gobs. It blobbed down onto the ground and puddled there, leaving a slimy film where it had previously been. He took a step back. The darkness shuddered and twisted as if it considered him, but there were no eyes with which to regard him.

Joban shivered.

A tall dark woman towered above him. The woman’s long black hair whipped in the wind around her, snapping like angry mouths. Her body was twisted and distorted, not quite human. There were rows of eyes that stared down at him. Joban was afraid. This creature before him was powerful and terrible. But, there was a part of Joban’s soul that wanted to join with the creature. Serve it. Worship it. It was beautiful, somehow more honest for its horror. Joban took a step forward and reached out a cautious hand; he had to touch the creature. He had to look within its soul. Joban’s fingers touched the thing’s hand and a single image emerged into his mind: a large tree cracking and splitting open while this creature unleashed a vast darkness. This thing meant death to all and Joban knew that his life was now at the mercy of this creature. At any time it could pull on his soul and tear it away from his body.

Xania and Derrex lay together in the sunlight. The grass was warm beneath their naked bodies and the delicate breeze whispered away their sweat. They lay separated, only the fingers of their hands touching. Joban laughed. It was as if they were making snow angels together in the grass and became frozen there. Then a child came running over the hill. He was beautifully white and glorious in the sun. His bright eyes shone with love and happiness. He fell onto the grass between them and stretched his arms out to join them in the game. Except that they were too far away. The child’s arms could not reach. He stretched out to touch the hands of his parents. Xania and Derrex drifted apart, pulling away from the child. He looked back and forth between them. The boy was unable to understand their withdrawal. Tears shimmered down his round cheeks and he chased after Xania. She faded away, leaving the child alone in a strange and scary place.

Xania and Derrex’s child stood between the large trunks of elder trees and looked up at the interlaced branches and leaves. They wove together to form a great pattern that promised structure and thought in the universe. The child reached up and plucked the leaves off the branches and then pushed the branches aside to step through. The child stood face to face with Joban. Did he know Joban was here? How could he?

“Hello, traveler,” The child said.

“Can you see me?” Joban asked.

He pressed his fingers against his chest.

“Of course. Rachna has given the weave of time to my care. I see all those who touch the threads,” the boy explained.

The child plopped down onto the ground as if incredibly tired. He laid out the leaves, overlapping them in a careful pattern.

“But, you’re not even born yet!” Joban gasped.

“Joban, you look at time as a line. In your mind it marches in a single direction, leaving the past behind and leading to the future.”

He spread the leaves out into a row. Joban sat down across from the child and looked down at the arrangement of leaves.

“Time doesn’t move this way. It is a weave. All times can touch and cross all other times, hence why you can catch glimpses of what could be.”

He arranged the leaves again in a complex pattern with each leaf overlapping several others.

“All things can be accessed, just like you have now accessed the future of my parents. You see their great love, my creation and their fall. In doing so, you have accessed me.”

He stacked the leaves into a pile and carefully poked a stick through the stack. Presenting Joban with the stack, he raised an eyebrow and smiled. Joban took the leaves and turned them.

“But, I am a string that is aware of the weave and I have accessed you through the same cross road you have accessed me.”

The child pushed the long locks of his white hair out of his face and sighed.

“It’s terribly hard to understand time. There are many things that are possible within the weave that become torn out or cut away as people move through their choices.”

The boy reached over and pulled out one of the leaves. He stared at it a moment before letting it drop onto the ground.

Joban shook his head.

“I don’t understand,” said.

“Nor will you. You are not meant to understand the weave, in any of your potential futures,” he said.

Taking the leaves, he set them on the ground. Their eyes met. The boy’s eyes were silver. He had no pupil, no white. Just a silver orb. They were like mirrors. In them, Joban could see little images of himself staring back.

“Mother must restore the balance. The Life Seed must be returned to Enaid. It must be planted or Erebos will consume all of Aer.”

The boy looked up and plucked at something unseen in the air. Examining it, he tilted his head to one side. Then he opened his fingers and released it back into the air. All only seen by those strange eyes.

“Mother must become powerful,” he whispered.

Again he plucked at the air, but this time he seemed less interested in what he’d caught, releasing as quickly as he had captured it.

"She must fight a war and she must win. Raven must fly again," the boy said.

"I don't understand," Joban said.

The child quickly looked over his shoulder, as if someone had called his name. “I must go now. Tell my mother that the end will make the suffering right.” The child rose to his feet and hurried away.

Joban sat alone. A bright light flashed and he blinked his eyes rapidly. Rubbing at the pain as his vision cleared, he found himself on the floor beside Xania and Derrex.

“Hey,” Derrex said with a nod.

Joban didn’t answer. It was difficult to breathe. Pressing his trembling hands against the floor, he pushed himself back from them.

“Nothing personal,” he whispered. Then added, "I've just had enough for one day.”

“Yeah,” Derrex said.