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The pale moonlight shone through the bay windows of my dorm room, and I glanced up at it uneasily. It would set soon, leaving me with only the daylight hours to figure out a workable plan. When the moon next rose, I would be in the circular room with the High Council, supposedly sacrificing my life to protect the city of Atlantis from destruction. Finally, just as the sun was about to rise, and just as my frayed nerves were about to snap, Silvana entered the dorm. She stared at me with open surprise, fear and awe flitting over her face as she spotted me sitting in the window seat. My transformation was pretty drastic. “Kaira?” I couldn’t help but smirk. “Who else?” She smiled thinly and I gave a sigh and sat up, getting to business. “Silvana, I need your help. Would you come here for a second?” I asked her. She looked wary, frightened of me, and I felt a stab of pain. I was causing this person fear, someone who had once been my trusted friend. However, she glided across the room and sat down on the other end of the seat. I pulled the vial out of my pocket and rolled it from hand to hand for a second, unsure. I didn’t want to involve her in this any further, but I needed all the help I could get, starting with people I knew would believe me. I pulled the cork from the mouth of the bottle and was instantly surrounded by the scent of summer air, a breeze carrying scents of vanilla, coconut and Shea, laced with ribbons of floral scents and a bit of citrus. It was the most amazing scent I had ever experienced, and as Silvana’s eyes widened in surprise, I could see that she was experiencing something similar to me. I replaced the cork and gave a regretful smile. I had been hoping that she wouldn’t smell anything as much as I prayed that she would. “What is that?” Silvana asked wide-eyed. “I don’t know its name. Sanctimonia.” I gave a sigh, wondering where that had come from, but moved on. “Only those with a pure heart can detect its scent, and it will always be their heart’s most precious scent,” I continued. “It was the scent of my father, mixed with fresh rain,” Silvana murmured, seemingly lost in her own memories. I could tell by the longing in her voice that she had lost her father. “I need to find ten other people who can detect the scent from this bottle,” I said quietly, gazing out the window as the first rays of sunlight stretched across the horizon. I was running out of time. “Why?” I lifted my gaze to hers. “That’s the hard part.” I proceeded to explain the situation, and by the end of it, Silvana looked frightened again. Once again, I felt pain in my chest, for reducing this confident and strong person to be reduced to this. “I can’t,” Silvana breathed quickly, her eyes darting around as if looking for the Council. “You can. I need you, and I know that you can help me. I will be there to protect you, but without you, this city is going to die,” I said gently. “Kaira I can’t! They promised they would-“ She cut off, looking frightened and determined at the same time. “They said they would bring my father back,” she finished. “Oh Silvana,” I whispered. “They can’t do that, they don’t have that power. They lied to you.” “No!” “Yes. And even if they could, he wouldn’t be the same. He would be a shadow of himself, listless and broken,” I said, a wealth of knowledge suddenly coming to mind. Spirits never wanted to return once they had passed onto their resting place, and it was unhealthy for both the spirit and the person who had called them back. “But I need him,” Silvana murmured, turning her face away as a tear rolled down her cheek. “You still have him. But you need to be strong on your own, and take strength from the friends and family that you have left,” I told her softly. She looked up at me after a moment, and I tried to be as reassuring as possible. Finally, she scrubbed a hand across her cheek and gave a watery smile. “I guess we should take down this Council then?” I grinned. “Yes. Starting with another pure heart,” I agreed. Silvana thought for a moment and then jumped up. “Crystal!” I balked. “Really?” Silvana fixed me with a square look. “I know how she seems, but she isn’t like that. I’m sure she can help us, and then we can put our heads together and figure out some more likely candidates. We both have wide social circles,” she said. I took a deep breath, nodded and followed her to Crystal’s chambers, in a part of the Academy I had never been to. The teacher’s quarters were large suites, artfully decorated and arranged. Crystal’s rooms were green and silver, from the floor to the ceiling. When we entered, she was seated cross-legged at a low table, a stack of papers in front of her, a pen in her hand and one behind her ear. I had never seen her like this, and it was a side I could never have suspected was there. Her gaze narrowed on me, and she flashed Silvana a questioning glance. “Um, good morning,” I greeted her awkwardly. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked with obvious suspicion. “Crystal, I have to ask you a favour,” Silvana said. I was suddenly very confused by the glares being exchanged between the sisters. Silvana had never seemed very friendly to her sister, but a moment ago she had shown herself to be more attached than she was exhibiting now. “What gives you the right to ask me anything?” Crystal was replying heatedly. “Well actually, I have to ask you a favour, as strange as this sounds,” I cut in calmly. Crystal’s glare was now fixed on me, and I shifted my feet uncomfortably. “This is going to sound pretty crazy, but could you smell this for me?” I asked her, holding out the vial of Sanctimonia. She raised an eyebrow, but her curiosity got the better of her and she got up to sniff the open bottle delicately. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Sanctimonia,” I said by way of explanation. Her eyes lit with recognition. “I see. And now that you know my heart is pure, what do you need?” “Well, I need your help, if you’re willing to give it.” I continued to explain just what I needed her help with, and by the end, she was regarding me strangely. “What?” I couldn’t help but ask. “I’d always thought you were their pawn,” she said finally. My jaw dropped. “What!” “I’ve known this for quite a while. In fact, I’ve been working to infiltrate their ranks for the past few months. I had no idea that their threat was on this large of a scale, but their has been a bit of an organization created to oppose the High Council. We’ve believed them to be abusing their powers for years, and I was only just initiated into the ranks. This was my first mission,” she explained. Her voice was cool and business like, not the high pitch keen I was used to. “Wait. Weren’t you here for Cain?” Silvana cut in. Crystal sighed. “Yes and no. I was here on my mission to infiltrate the High Council. Cain was my way in,” she replied. I stared at her, keeping my expression carefully blank. “What?” Silvana asked for me. That question was starting to sound like a mantra. “Evian is a member of the High Council, because he is the Emperor of Atlantis. Cain is next in line, and has been groomed to take his place. We’re sure that he has been aiding the council in any way he can, furthering himself within the ranks before he takes over.” I felt my heart crash to a stop, and then pick up quickly, thudding in my chest painfully. And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, I had been expecting this betrayal. Cain had been too good to be true. “That’s why I thought you were their pawn,” Crystal continued, turning to me. “The way he guarded you, always protected you from anyone or anything, made me think that you were part of the council’s ranks. I apologize for my behaviour.” “No need for an apology. I was certainly Cain’s pawn, even though I wasn’t aware of it,” I replied quietly, my mind racing. This made things harder. Now that Cain knew of my ideas, the council would have been forewarned. It also meant that I was short another pure heart. “We need to find ten other pure hearts then, and quickly,” Silvana said. I nodded and listened to her and Crystal sort through all of the people in their social networks, until they had decided on ten they were nearly certain of. I gave them the bottle of Sanctimonia and let them track down the other candidates. While they worked, I headed to the lake, the sun now shining brightly overhead. My mind felt numb, finally having decided to shut down after the overload of information and stress. Even so, it was still trying to figure out Cain, circling around him until I thought I would never be able to forget him. I couldn’t help but wonder about him. He had seemed so sincere, had acted as if he wanted to protect me in any way possible. He had tried to make me leave the city, had been against my decision to risk my life all along. And yet, he was the next in line for the evil legacy. Had it all been a ploy, some reverse psychology in order to further convince me to give up my soul for the Reaper? I didn’t know what to think. My emotions told me that it was wrong, that it didn’t fit, and yet the facts fit perfectly. Evian and Cain had been interested in me right from the beginning, and Cain had suspected my heritage all along and never told me. Angrily, I picked up a rock and threw it as hard as I possible could into the clear waters of the lake. I watched the surface break into many ripples, and then smooth out once again. When the surface became a mirror once again, another reflection stood beside mine. I jumped in shock, backing away from him automatically. “You seem to be a bit frazzled,” Cain said, looking up at me with concerned eyes. I stared back for a moment. “Yeah, I guess. It must be the upcoming ceremony,” I said. Just like that, my mind was improvising a lie. “I can’t find any other pure hearts, and I’m out of time.” Cain’s eyes widened slightly as he caught onto the hidden meaning of my words. “No.” His voice was harsh again, raw. “I don’t see any other way. At the moment, there is nothing else I can do to protect Atlantis. But now that you and Sidus know the truth, you can stop it from happening again,” I murmured. “Kaira we agreed that we would find another way. We aren’t out of time yet!” His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and I felt anger spark inside me. All of this acting, this pretended concern for me, when he only wanted my soul. “I’ve made my decision. It’s not yours to make, and you can’t change my mind,” I said, venting my anger in a way that wouldn’t give me away. “Kaira don’t do this! You’re pushing me away!” Damn right I am, I thought. “I want to help you; I’m not ready to lose you!” “I’m sorry. I’m not going to do this anymore. Maybe I’ll see you tonight,” I said, and then turned away and headed back for the academy. I prayed that he wouldn’t follow me, and he didn’t. Instead I heard him angrily kick at the rocks behind me, until I had travelled far enough away. I reminded myself a million times that he had lied, that he was using me the entire time, as I walked back. When I got back, I had convinced myself, and instead focused on the task at hand. Finding those ten other pure hearts in time.
In Which Help Is Enlisted
Copyright Reed Wynters 2009
