10 - Tour and Torture

     There were quite a few other things Baddo talked about with me afterwards. He even invited Mara back in so we could hammer out some kind of backstory for her, and in the end, settled on the story that as Alan’s training to take over Mythril Mining Manifest was becoming more time consuming, Baddo hired Mara to help out around the house so he could focus all his energy productively. This would hopefully satisfy any questions of Mara’s unfamiliarity with Havenwood if she was approached in public.

     With that all taken care of, I thought talking with Eva about what happened would be a good idea. Her confession had taken me off guard. I hadn’t thought she would be into me, and I wanted to tell her the feeling was mutual.

     “Adan, if you aren’t too busy, could I get some assistance with something?” Mara asked me, still appearing as a human but now dressed in a flattering red and white colored maid uniform.

     “Huh? Oh, sure.” I replied. “What do you need?”

     Mara produced a list of items from her person, and rattled off various foods and knick knacks, some of which sounded like personal requests made by my siblings.

     “Oh, yeah, you can find most of those down at the market,” I informed her. With any luck, maybe I’d be able to run into my friend. “I can show you around, give you a tour.”

     The two of us left the house and made our way west over to the town center. As we passed by the town’s school, Mara commented. “I am surprised you have a building dedicated solely to education. And it is for all the youth of Havenwood?”

     “Huh? Oh yeah, we do.” I answered. “Did that not happen back in your day?”

     The skinwalker shook her head. “Most often, many were only educated in the fields relating to their vocation. Education was more personal than communal.”

     “Neat.”

     The market was bustling with activity, mostly from tourists or dock workers. High above them all, one of the islands floated majestically, restrained by a series of chains around the island’s edge to the ground below. Everyone else treated it as nothing special, while Mara couldn’t help but gaze in awe at the sight.

     “It’s beautiful,” Mara’s head was transfixed looking up at it. “I saw another one closer to your home, but it was nearly reunited with the ground. And I’ve never seen any that weren’t migratory.”

     “Oh, that was probably Grandpa. This is Haven.” I explained. “The islands floated over… a hundred years ago? Maybe a hundred fifty. A couple whack jobs got it into their heads that the town needed some more spectacle and caught the islands.” Pointing further southwest, and then northwest, I added. “After the West End Hotel was built by the old lighthouse, a new one was constructed on the island over the docks and named Lookout Point so the lighthouse keeper wouldn’t get distracted by all the tourism. And closer to some of the hills we have Sanctuary.”

     “So they all serve some purpose for the town?”

     “Mostly. Lookout Point is pretty obvious. Guides ships in and out of port. Meanwhile Sanctuary was turned into an animal hospital and conservation site for the town, for pets and any wild animals that are displaced by the mining. Meanwhile Haven has a couple vacation homes and extra storehouses in case harvest gets scarce.”

     She blinked. “But what about the fourth island?”

     “Grandpa? I think that island is on its last legs, so to speak. Pretty much just a novelty.”

     “And how do they float?”

     I pointed towards Haven’s underside. “See that weird mass at the base of the island? We’re pretty sure it's some kind of coral that absorbed enough magyk and began to defy gravity. There are some trees connected to those roots topside, so the theory is that they evolved to float in order to absorb more sunlight and magyk in the air.”

     “Fascinating.” She breathed. “I have never been this close to any floating islands, so I always wondered. Is this why the town is a popular tourist destination?”

     “No, that’s actually because of the Leviathans.”

     Mara looked at me in surprise. “Leviathans?”

     I turned to her. “Did you not know about those where you came from?”

     She shook her head. “My home was far from any bodies of water. I hadn’t seen the ocean before coming here.”

     Her reply prompted me to lead her down towards the lighthouse, a smile on my face. Just off the coast, below us, one particular spot of water was churning and bubbling, even as a group of kids began assembling at the beach in front of it. Perfect timing.

     “Watch this,” I told Mara.

     Moments later, a large humanoid sea creature breached the water’s surface. The water fell from its crowned head, wreathing multiple sets of eyes, three completely different sets of limbs, two arms human-like with three fingers, another two paddle-like arms ending in pincers, and the third set jutting out of its shoulder blades like sentient graspers, ending with a mass of writhing tentacles instead of legs. From the crest of its jeweled head to the tip of its tentacles, it was likely to be around ten feet tall.

     Mara’s breath fell out of her as the creature waddled up to the group of children, who all began to jump and jitter in excitement. Bending to become eye level with them, the leviathan extended a three fingered hand towards the child in the front, ruffling her hair. A chittering sound reverberated from the creature’s throat, and the children squealed in delight. Some began to duck and weave around its tentacles while others treated it like a giant play thing.

     “That’s a vathlassa leviathan.”

     “It’s beautiful!” Mara exclaimed. “Is it someone’s pet?”

     “No, these ones are just friendly,” I told her, shaking my head. “Most vathlassa are incredibly territorial. They don’t like it when we dive underwater, and get mean when we do that. But the ones around here just love us for some reason. This is why tourists love coming here.”

     Mara’s expression turned pensive. “Then perhaps there is hope for the both of us.” she finally replied.

     Before I could ask her what she meant, there was some movement in the corner of my eye, and looking towards it, I spotted my brother Avan scaling the lighthouse. He noticed me noticing him and waved. Wrapped around his waist was a number of satchels, liquids dripping from them down to the ground.

     “What are you doing this time?” I called out to my brother as he began using his magyk to paint the side of the lighthouse.

     “Not quite sure,” He replied, focusing on his work. “I think I’m just going to let the magyk guide me.”

     “I did not know your brother was an artisan,” Mara mused, joining me.

     “I’m not!” Avan shouted back, his grin becoming evident as he beheld his own work in progress.

     “He prefers to be called a ‘Mischief Maker’,” I amended.

     “I wanted to be called a ‘rabble rouser’, but that makes me sound childish,” Avan added as he stopped to inspect his handiwork. Something about it dismayed him, so he began making some adjustments with the paint. “I’m not childish. I’m an avatar for change!”

     Mara glanced over at me, a smile on her face. Avatar of change? Was her unspoken question. All I could do was shrug back, grinning.

     “Avan, would you like to join your brother and I as we are shopping?” she called out. “I am getting a tour of the town as well.”

     My brother paused to think about it, even though I already knew what would happen regardless if he accepted or not. Avan made one last stroke against the wall then nodded, satisfied. “I’d love to,” he exclaimed, bouncing down from the wall. “I can show you all the stores I’m barred from entering!”

     The three of us made our way back towards the market as Mara asked Avan if he was joking. I glanced back towards the lighthouse and at Avan’s handiwork

Welcome to the family, Mara!

sat proudly on the building’s whitestone, alongside a haphazardly, yet cutely drawn caricature of her human form. So much for a low profile, but then again, that wasn’t my brother’s style.

     “Ah, Adan! How are you?” The always smiling Chang greeted me and Mara. The name of the place was Ishi’s, and he was Havenwood’s sole source of Chang-ite food. The man was half a head taller than me, and wrinkles were starting to form under his eyes. It was only natural, Ishi had traveled here almost thirty years ago after hearing about the Leviathans and decided to stay when he realized the variety of food here, well, lacked variety. Since the town was largely made up of Caucus-ite citizens, there wasn’t a lot of diversity in our more permanent citizens.

     “I’m doing alright, just giving Mara here a tour.” I replied. It was my idea to bring Mara over here after we had finished shopping. While Avan was allowed to enter Ishi’s as long as he was with us, like most every other establishment in Havenwood, he was barred from entering on his own, and chose to wait for us outside the restaurant. The smell of Ishi’s place was overwhelming, but not overpowering. It was distinctly not native, and it had some appeal I couldn’t place.

     Ishi locked eyes with Mara. “Ah, a new helping hand for Amatzio while he focuses on training Alan, eh?”

     His question perplexed her. “I thought your father’s name was Shad?” She asked, turning towards me.

     “Oh, that’s just what everyone calls Baddo,” I replied. “Means something along the lines of ‘beloved leader’ or something. He’s present for just about every noteworthy event in the town.”

     “And he performs these duties in addition to his role as caretaker of the mines? How does he have time for everything?”

     That made Ishi and I laugh. “Shad would not be Amatzio if he was unable to accomplish all this,” Ishi said jovially. “He is… he is everyone’s uncle, you could say. No, everyone’s friend.”

     “Interesting,” Mara chewed over the information, intrigued.

     Avan pulled me away from Mara as we left Ishi’s, telling her to head home so we could talk. Instead of his usual carefree expression, he wore a more concerned, conspiratorial look that he normally didn’t have. “Seraphina and Silas broke up, right?” He asked.

     His question caught me off guard. “Pretty sure,” I answered. “Finding out your relationship happened only because of blackmail and not love tends to do that. Why?”

     My brother jerked his head towards a nearby alley “Because I noticed Sera stomping after Silas just now.”

     I liked Sera. I definitely sympathized with her regarding what happened, and might even try to do the same thing if I was in her shoes. But I also wouldn’t have done it alone. Going up against Silas was not something I felt confident would end in my favor. He was a brute, and as we all recently learned, was scrupulous enough to take advantage of anything. What she did now was her decision, and we weren’t close or anything so I didn’t have any obligation to help her, anything that could happen was entirely on her.

     “Adan, I can see it in your eyes,” my brother chided me gently. “It’s okay.”

     It was almost like I had been waiting for permission. The moment the words left his mouth, I ran after her.

     What was it that was driving me to want to help? I didn’t know and could barely understand why I felt compelled to butt in. I hadn’t promised to protect her, I wasn’t expecting anything in return and I certainly wasn’t doing this because we were actual friends or I had feelings for her. I just… I guess I thought it was the right thing to do. Eva claimed to hate Sera, but the moment Sera’s world came crashing down, she extended an olive branch of sorts in spite of that hatred.

     My brother joined me at the entrance to the alleyway. He hadn’t expressed any verbal desire to help, but I knew he wanted to just as much as I did. Last I remembered, Silas had been hospitalized, caught by Eva’s father after she and I had been rescued the first time. Guess he was released earlier today. The both of us snuck a peek into the alley.

     True to his word, Silas and Sera were in the alley. Sera had tears in her eyes pleading with him while Silas looked completely indifferent to her.

     “ – any of this real?” Sera was saying. “Did you ever care for me? Did you ever love me?”

     Silas ignored the question. “What happened to the notebook?” He asked dismissively, rolling his shoulders.

     “It’s gone. It’s all gone. Along with that horrible wall!” She exclaimed, swiping her hand for emphasis.

     A vein pulsed in Silas’ temple as he clenched his fists. “That notebook, that wall, was the only thing keeping me out of that bastard’s reach!” He shouted. Sera flinched, not expecting it. “My entire livelihood, Sera!”

     Sera was about to say something, but never had the chance to. Silas threw a punch at her, knocking her to the ground. It happened in an instant, too fast to process, to have been done without magyk. He had been standing still one moment, the next, punching and kicking Sera while she was down. Rage consumed Silas’ face, as if all reason had left him, and not only did he know it, but he enjoyed the feeling as well.

     Just as I began to express my outrage, Avan calmly stepped into the alleyway. The paint was already floating out of his satchels, fusing together into an ugly, dull colored liquid snake that he lashed out at Silas.

     Crack!

     His aim held true. The water whip snapped at Silas’ face, an ugly coat of paint now stuck to his eyes before he could even register it. Stumbling backwards, Silas tripped over himself, and began to squirm and writhe on the floor with his hands on his face even as my brother and I quickly collected Sera off the ground.

     She looked bad. Real bad. Like Silas was trying to bludgeon her to death kind of bad. As far as we could tell, she wasn’t going to, but large purple bruises were already forming all over her, matching the hue of her clothes.

     “Try to relax,” I told her as we began to leave the alley.

     “Adan?” Sera muttered weakly.

     “And his brother,” Avan added, winking at her. Maybe he thought that was reassuring. Far as I knew, she only knew of him by his reputation and probably was starting to think she was his latest target for a prank. Not the most comforting assumption I’d have if I were in her shoes.

     The both of us burst through the doors of our home. At the stairs, Mara and Baddo were chatting, her bags of groceries lying beside her on the staircase. The both of them abruptly stopped at the sight of us, and for the briefest moment, thought we had dropped in on something personal as my brother and I set Sera down on the couch.

     “She’s hurt, badly!” I exclaimed. It was almost like a floodgate bursting, a tremor followed my voice and my body started to shake as well. My heart rate began to race and when Baddo tried asking me something, it only came out tinny and hollow. Avan answered for me, and Baddo nodded in understanding.

     Baddo raised a hand towards me, light springing out of his palm, and all of a sudden the feeling ended. He had used healing magyk on me for some reason! Stepping closer to Sera, Baddo began to inspect her wounds. Her normally pristine and wound white hair was undone, veiling the bruises on her face. Her clothing, normally chic and fashionable, was torn and bloodied from a cut on her shoulder. She looked like she was about to fall unconscious in our house.

     “Just what in the Divines happened to you?” Baddo asked, producing a small ball of light and shining it in Sera’s eyes. Her pupils retracted from the magyk.

     She chuckled, blood dripping from her lips. Her heart pounded weakly by my side. “S-Silas…” Sera whispered, almost fearful. “He happened.” Her head lolled onto my shoulder, spiking the unease I was feeling.

     Avan and I told him what we saw in the alleyway, and his expression darkened. Baddo swore, and this time I caught something about Silas' father in his string of profanities. I was about to move away when Sera grasped my hand tightly. Her eyes plead with me not to go.

     “I thought Silas was still in the hospital,” Baddo murmured in Common as the rest of our family came to the front room to see the commotion.

     “Got out last night,” Sera answered almost as quietly as Baddo began focusing on her cut shoulder. A shudder jolted through her, though from pain or by instinct, I couldn’t tell. “I tried to talk to him about his mom. He didn’t like that I snooped through his things.” She glanced over to me. “I didn’t tell him about you or Eva helping me, though. I didn’t want you to be punished for helping me.”

     “You protected us,” I replied with some admiration.

     Sera’s eyelids fluttered. “You say that like you thought I didn’t have standards,” She said jokingly.

     Baddo grunted. “Touching as this is, we’re going to have to move you.” He looked at me. “Adan, help me bring her to your room.” I looked at him in surprise, but he ignored my unasked question as he continued to address the rest of my siblings. It was only then that I realized my bedroom was closest to the stairs and therefore, the easiest to get to.

     “Alan, notify Sera’s mom about what happened to her daughter. Ada, conjure as much ice as you can; There’s going to be some swelling. Avan, help me and Adan get her into your brother’s room. Armani, Avena, help Mara get settled in.”

     We followed his directions like a well oiled machine. Sera felt light in my arms as Baddo and I lifted her up to my room. I wasn’t sure what to think at the groans she made as we set her in my bed, but the gasps of relief as Ada began to apply ice over her was nothing if not reassuring. Bit by bit, the purple started to fade from her skin as Baddo began exerting more of his healing on her. Until he stopped.

     “Is something wrong?” I asked.

     “That depends,” Baddo replied. “Can you act like an adult?”

     “I already went through my virilo, I can act like an adult,” I answered confidently, not sure what he was getting at.

     “Good, you can hold the clothing then,” He said, peeling Sera’s outfit off of her.

     I did a double take and nearly did not act like an adult.

     Baddo removed her corset, exposing her lilac undershirt. Underneath the garment, red stains were pooling visibly within her skin.. Baddo’s expression darkened. “There’s some internal bleeding,” He said grimly. Producing a knife, he tore off her shirt, skirt and pantyhose, leaving her only in thin undergarments. “This will take longer than I expected.”

     “What, why?” I asked.

     “Because he’s knitting flesh back together,” Ada replied as Baddo got to work on stripping Sera of the rest of her clothes. “That kind of process isn’t as instant as fixing tinnitus or a scraped knee.”

     Before long, Sera was in her underwear. I felt my cheeks turn red at the sight, and I hoped everyone else was more focused on Sera’s recovery than on me. I tried not to notice her shapely form resting in my bed. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen nudity before! I grew up getting cleaned up with my brothers and sisters in a bath. So– oh, right. This wasn’t with family. This was with an attractive woman my age.

     Damn you hormones.

     “You did a good job,” Ada said, putting a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my runaway thoughts.. “Baddo and I can take it from here.”

     I accepted the clear dismissal, thankful that Ada gave me a reason to leave. The moment the door closed behind me, a wave of exhaustion fell over me, and I nearly fell to my feet. It took all I had to drag myself over to the stairs, where my body decided to shut down, leaving me prone. All I could think of was how badly Sera was hurt.

     And why that bothered me so much.