Strength (17 page)

Yayu and Aerigo.

They were the only two people sitting in the entire village, and were deep in conversation in the local language. Yayu wore a broad grin and Aerigo a faint smile, but both looked equally content. “Kosh—” Roxie started to say to the girl, but realized she’d started thanking only air. She turned full-circle, but the girl was gone. She shrugged, took hold of her pack and marched towards the two men, her anger growing. She stopped before them with her arms folded and feet planted apart, and put on a glare she hoped would wipe away their smiles. “How
dare
you leave me behind!”

The two men looked up at her in bemusement. “Well, it’s about time!” Yayu said.

“What’re you talking about?” she said angrily. “First—” She unfolded one hand and pointed at Yayu. “—
you
show up and scare the crap out of me.” She rounded on Aerigo. “And then
you
just run after him! Leaving
me
behind in some
alien
place with no clue as to where to go. So there I am,
running
around like an insane moron, when these four girls show up. I end up having to carry one of them
all
the way up here, and the others run so far ahead I can’t keep up. The next thing I know, I’m walking around in this creepy cave that I am
never
going near again. And then I find you two! Just
sitting there
and talking like you forgot all about me. And you know what? I need a shower.” That said, she folded her icky arms.

Yayu started laughing, throwing his elongated feet in the air and clutching his sides. “Well done!” he said, wiping tears from his sky eyes.

Roxie rolled her own and sighed. “I give up!” She shrugged off her pack and dropped it carelessly to the ground, then plopped onto the grass, leaning back on her hands.

“I wouldn’t give up just yet,” Aerigo said. “That was only a test.”

She sighed again and flopped down into a spread-eagle, staring at the sky. “Let me guess: I failed miserably.”

“No, not at all.”

“Well,
that’s
a relief.”

“Relax,” Aerigo said. “Let me explain.”

Roxie folded her hands behind her head and crossed her ankles.

“I wasn’t testing your speed, but rather your ability to sense people. However, I didn’t realize until just now that you might not know you can do that. On the other hand, you proved yet again that you can keep your head on straight in a stressful situation, which is very good. And another thing: you found me.”

Roxie sat up, still frowning. “Can my reward be a shower?”

Yayu doubled over with laughter again. “She’s a funny one, isn’t she? I’ll find a good name for you, yet!” He took a revitalizing breath and spoke to Roxie. “If you want a shower that bad, I’ll take the two of you to my home. Both of you do look like you fell face-first in dragon dung.”

“Dragon dung?” Roxie said. “You have dragons?”

“Not around here, thankfully.”

***

Yayu’s home was beautiful. Located near the village center, it was connected to a smooth dirt path that skirted the circumference of the inner community. His home stood twice as tall as the outer homes, and twice as wide. The doorway was filled with strands of carved wooden beads, and a dyed cloth draped behind and split down the middle. Inside, the house gave an impression of spacious grandeur. Its ceiling vaulted into a pointed dome, with strong wood beams supporting the thatched roof. At its far end stood a raised platform that served as a second floor. There were no walls above or below it; just a bunch of arching beams hung with draperies tied back loosely like curtains.

“This way, please,” Yayu said, leading Roxie to the only walled-off part of his lofty dwelling.

Yayu pulled the beads and cloth aside for Roxie to reveal a big stone tub filled with water in the middle of the room. A rectangular pit beneath it glowed with a layer of live coals, lighting the bottom of the tub with soft shades of red, orange, and yellow. Along the room’s far edge a narrow tiled channel was built into the floor, providing a constant flow of water. There was a square wood toilet, along with a washstand and a few towels. “Here’s your ‘bathroom,’” Yayu said. “Funny word, I’d say, but I didn’t make the language. Feel free to call this room ‘sawarma.’ The Scondish word brings me more comfort than
bathroom.

“Your drying cloth is over there.” He pointed to the side of the tub. “Along with a cleaning stone. You can wash your clothes in the channel.” Yayu drifted over to the bathtub, tested the water, and cringed. He kneeled by the coals, drew half-circles with both hands, then cupped them together, and blew on them. He spread his hands apart and a fire started.

Roxie gaped as her host stood and made to walk past her. She stopped him with one hand and spoke in a tone full of wonder, “You just did magic—Crea—er, whatever you call it!”

Yayu smiled at her. “Ambura magic. You’ll be seeing and doing a lot of it soon.”

“Really?” she said, hopeful.

“Yes, my Aigis. You’re here to learn. Now go bathe.” He whisked away so quickly, the beads and cloth barely swayed with his passage.

Roxie sighed and began to undress. Getting all her dirty clothes off brought relief. She picked up the rock that Yayu had called a cleaning stone and hopped in the tub. The stone fit in the palm of her hand and reminded her of sea glass, which Grandma liked to collect.

Home. Just the thought of her house and her grandmother gave her heart an awful jolt. It had been barely a week since she’d left home, but it was long enough to miss her only family. She felt her eyes begin to glow.

Fond memories of hanging out with her childhood friend and pretending to be aliens exploring an alien planet added to her sadness. Learning how to cook and clean and do gardening with Grandma. Rare trips to the beach. Roxie did her best to push her melancholy aside though. She knew, deep down, that she was lucky to have such loving memories of home, even if she never saw it again. The vision of Baku’s memory of Roxie’s conception flashed through her mind.

Roxie began to rub herself down with the stone. It worked just like a bar of soap, minus the suds, and she was soon free of the grime from her less graceful actions of the day. She was on a mission to keep her home and family safe. She couldn’t afford to get distracted by homesickness.

Once clean, she propped her head against the rim of the tub and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth and tranquility. The water was beginning to smell therapeutic.

“Rox!” Aerigo yelled from somewhere in the house, startling Roxie upright. “Don’t take all morning!”

“Morning?”

“It’s going to get real hot. I suggest you don’t waste any more time.”

“That’s Sconda for ya,” Yayu added with a friendly shout.

“But we just—” Phailon and her world were experiencing evening. “And here it’s—”
Time doesn’t match
?
“What about…sleep?”

“You’ll be fine.”

Heaving a sigh, Roxie got out of the tub and grabbed a towel, dripping water all over the wood floor and rug. She crept closer to the bead-and-cloth door when she heard Yayu say, “Aren’t you bein’ a little hard on her?”

“Both of us need to adjust to this new time zone as soon as possible.”

“Why such a hurry?”

There was a pause before Aerigo said, “Do you know about the prophesied war?”

“Din came and told all the Clan leaders he was goin’ to be away for a while, but not why.”

When both men stayed quiet long enough for Roxie to realize they were done talking, she crept over to her backpack, finished toweling off, and put on her second set of Versaton clothes.

War. That’s right. She’d pushed the news aside back on the cruise ship and never given it a second thought, instead focusing on learning about what filled up the rest of the universe. Her motions were slow and mechanical, having been numbed by the war reminder, and the sheer number of people she had to defend on one world alone. Once her hair and teeth were brushed, she headed for the door but stopped with an arm reaching for the beads.

“It’s been ages. It’s a blessin’ to have you here again,” Yayu was saying.

“Not this time,” Aerigo said.

“An omen then?”

Roxie didn’t want to hear more war stuff. She left the bathroom and stood just outside the doorway, causing both men to turn.

“It’s amazing how different you look when you’re clean,” Yayu said a little quicker than Roxie thought he should have. “You’re very beautiful, you know.”

Roxie gazed at her feet.
They’re treating me like a child, like I can’t handle grown-up matters. Thanks, guys.

“Don’t be afraid to enjoy and share your goodness. Never let a good thing go to waste.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Roxie said, masking her disappointment with a smile. She crossed to one of the sprawling couches and sat next to Yayu.

“I won’t be long,” Aerigo said, then grabbed his pack and headed into the bathroom.

Roxie reclined against plush red pillows, her pride feeling not quite as injured after she saw Aerigo’s face right before he disappeared. It was almost his usual neutral expression, but that time there was something along the lines of sadness or worry in it. Yayu looked similarly distressed but he popped a smile when he noticed Roxie looking at him.

“Would you like some herbal tea?” Yayu asked, standing up. “It’ll help wake you up and it tastes quite good.”

“Sure,” Roxie said, eager to give Aerigo, Yayu, and everyone else less reason to worry. The thought of war still frightened her but she wanted to be able to protect Sconda and Phaedra, along with her home world. There were so many wonderful and beautiful places in the universe.

Yayu jogged to his kitchen, and returned with fresh mugs for both of them. He set hers on the table between the couches and retreated with his to the opposite couch.

Roxie picked up her own plain mug and examined its steaming contents. It looked like normal tea without milk and she could smell a hint of lemon and a touch of sweetness. She took a tentative sip and the tea caressed her throat all the way down, and its lemony scent filled her nose, sending an all-alert signal to her lagging brain. The drink tasted delicious and its warmth filled Roxie with renewed energy. “Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it,” Yayu said with a wave of his hand. “You just sit there and finish it, a’right?” He got up and whisked over to another section of his home.

Roxie sat drinking her tea as she watched Yayu prepare some food in his kitchen. He chopped away on a cutting board, very fast, and her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten in hours. She smiled at the prospect of food. Without meaning to, she drank her tea rather quickly.

Roxie heard the beads clicking in the bathroom doorway and turned to see Aerigo reemerge, wearing his black pants, but no shirt, socks or boots. She couldn’t help but stare with frank admiration at his chest and abs and biceps and shoulders and arms and—just the whole picture.
What a difference without the shirt.
His muscular physique had a magnetic hold over her eyes and her mouth fell ajar. Then she realized that she was checking out someone who was probably twice her age. She averted her eyes, clamped her mouth shut and felt her face blushing.

Aerigo didn’t seem to notice. He strode over to the empty couch and sat down, facing her, his arms stretched along the couch-top.

She clasped her mug for dear life and stared at the shadowed reflection of her wide-eyed face in her remaining tea.
Wait a minute!
Aerigo’s pants were perfectly clean and dry, though he’d only been gone for fifteen minutes.

“How’d your pants get dry so fast?” Roxie said, hoping her latest question would cover up her ogle-fest.

“The stones under the tub and a quick Ambura incantation.” He shrugged, which emphasized his broad shoulders and made Roxie’s chest flutter.

She looked away and blushed again. She tried to think of their age gap, but that didn’t work. “Yayu, could I have some more tea, please?” She held the mug out to him, trying with all her might not to look at Aerigo, though she paid most attention to her peripheral vision.

“Certainly, miss,” Yayu paused in his food preparation and took her cup.

“Thank you,” she said unsteadily, the blood pounding in her face.

“We’ll eat first,” Aerigo said. “Then I’ll teach you how to find people with your mind.”

“Sounds great,” she said unenthusiastically to the table between her and Aerigo.

Yayu brought back more tea, along with a tray of food, and set it before them. “A’right, a late breakfast it is. There’s all sorts of good stuff, so help yerselves.” He sat down and they ate without speaking, munching on buttered biscuits, assorted fruit, strips of meat, boiled eggs and cheese cubes until there wasn’t much left.

Once breakfast was done, the two Aigis thanked Yayu for everything and filed back outside. The grass felt exceptionally cool under Roxie’s feet, and the air still refreshing. She snuck a furtive peek at Aerigo’s long, strong back, then scolded herself. He was just so amazingly fit. But she
had
to resist developing a crush. It would be too embarrassing if he noticed—and distracting from their task. Then she noticed some deep scars etched into his back. There were two that reached from his right shoulder to the base of his back, another vertical scar along his right shoulder blade and four puncture marks on his left side that went from underarm to elbow, making a backwards ‘c.’
Jeeze, how the heck did he get those?
She recalled Rooke describing him as a warrior, yet Roxie couldn’t gear up the courage to ask. It felt like she didn’t know him well enough to ask such things.