I felt much safer flying above the sky under my own power than I felt flying in a plane. Rio Grande was silent at night, not much if not anything going on in this the port city. Up here all my past pains and struggles couldn’t reach me. I had felt truly free the first time I had flown during my desperate escape when I was nine. At first I thought I had died and I was being taken up to Heaven to be reunited with the one that had made me.
Perhaps then I could ask why I had suffered for so long.
The white beach shone like crystals, it was so long that it looked almost endless even from the sky. Almost like freshly dropped snow, or like the bread that God had dropped from the sky during Israel's time in the wildness. Each beat of my wings sent a very small wave of thunder, nothing in comparison to the large thunderbird that was flying beside me. She looked as powerful and beautiful as ever, a beauty that I never could hope to truly have. A fierceness that I never wanted to have either. Fortune was the best of me, the true queen of the skies, I was just a guardian, a momma who wanted what was best for her.
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” She questioned coming to a sudden stop to hover in front of me. Her large wings created powerful gusts of wind that carried the sound of thunder in its grasp.
I nodded my head before focusing my vision down on the girl I was following from the air. Even in the darkness of this city, Emily Walker stood out in many ways. Her bright white jepei aura was a dead giveaway, and the white wolf following her was just as big of a marker. I was just about to fall asleep, grateful that Sarah was gonna be spending the night with Emily in her bed. However, I had felt her aura suddenly spike, not that warm and calm aura but the fiercess of the wolf spirit she loved. A deadly need to go and hunt. That feeling had been confirmed when she mumbled under her breath before closing the door. “Come on Esther… our father sent us a ram, let's go slaughter it.”
For a while since meeting the girl I knew that Emily had a darker side to her that I think she is hiding from us. On the outside she looks like a nice calm, Christian girl, she reads her bible daily. She is the first help, the first to offer her assistance to anyone. She always prayed on her knees, she could recite verses from memory. Honestly, if I didn’t know her true age. Some might mistake her for being a young mom rather than a teenager of almost 17. It wasn’t until the other night that I truly felt what Emily had been hiding. When we felt that pulse of dark aura, she was the first to draw a weapon, her own aura had a hunger to it. Esther had changed as well in that moment, going for the cute and naughty puppy, to the wolf that she truly was.
It had been a day since than and I noticed that Emily was a bit off. Our meeting with Dr. Silva had gone well but she seemed a bit more distant, a bit less helpful. She had even told me and Sarah off for our stupid actions that morning, but that felt off when she did it. She had been bothered by that presence we felt… no she was starving from it. So as I watched her jump from building to building, and race through alleys probably following whatever scent she was chasing. I had to wonder, just what she was gonna do if she came into contact with a dark order member. It was weird, she was so strong, she loved sparring and fighting from the rumors I heard at school. However, she also loved God, and since she has read the bible so many times, I am sure she knew of one command. “Turn the other cheek.”
What was her plan if she came into contact with the dark order? To fight and kill them, or just to fight until her hunger was gone. From my position in the air, I saw her finally drop to her knees and grip her head. Her bright white aura turned darker, grayer. Even Esther seemed to flicker for a bit from this view. However, as suddenly as that came, she was back to her feet and her aura was back to normal.
“What do you think that was?” I asked Fortune as we followed her from a higher distance in the sky. That one odd change of color had made me want to fly away. I wondered if this was how birds felt when they watched wolves, lions and tigers hunt from the air.
“I am not sure,” Fortune answered. “It doesn’t make sense, that girl is hiding something from you and I don’t know what it could be.”
“I mean I gain some things from you just from you being my spirit animal.” I proposed. “Like your love for storms, although you can’t eat, I love seafood. We both like being in high places. Maybe this is something that is given from her own animal spirit. Her’s is the fenrir wolf.”
“I don’t know it seems so much deeper than.” Fortune suddenly stopped moving and turned around. “Unique.”
I knew why she stopped and turned around because I felt that jepei aura behind me as well. I carefully spun around, and flying behind us with her hands behind her back. Was the woman we had seen in the videotape at the museum. Her skin was a dark caramel color and looked smooth to the touch. She was probably a bit taller than Emily, leaner than her but she had round hips and what some would call an hourglass figure. Her hair was short and shaved on the edges leaving just curly locks sitting on top. Now that she was closer the woman was letting off a dark red and purple mix of jepei aura. It felt the same as when we felt it on the beach. I looked over to see Emily running off again, she was going somewhere else. Even then her target was probably right here.
And she had come for me.
“Isn’t it time for teenagers to be in bed?” She questioned with a tenderness that I was not expecting from her voice. “Or are we just taking a little mid night fight?” Her wings beat slowly behind her a gentle and calm rhythm. Though hers were not like a birds, but like those of a wasp or a bee.
I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn’t quite form words. I could feel the creepy feeling of fear starting to work its way up and down my body. My hands were shaking and I threw them into my jacket pocket to try and hide it. I had never stood face to face with a member of the dark order. I had only heard stories and rumors, I was not at the war of the port two years ago. However, I wasn’t looking at a demon or a monster like so many people said. She looked normal in my eyes. Like a young mother, even her aura while darker felt gentle almost peaceful.
Upon not answering her, she flew forward a bit, her eyes looking from me to Fortune. “I have never seen such a beautiful bird before in all of my life. I meant granted I have been busy for the 36 years I have been on God's green earth, but still. You are a beauty to behold.” I pushed my wings back, putting more distance between us. Her voice was African in origin. Just didn’t know what part she could be from. Maybe Egyptian? “I am not gonna hurt you, I was just curious who was also flying up here and where this soft thunder was coming from.”
“Who are you?” I questioned.
“WHo are you?” She asked back.
“Unique Full Moon.”
She gave me a skeptical look at that but she held a warm smile on her face. “Alright then, Ms. Fullmoon. My name is Kiara Kassab.” The air pressure started to change as Fortune began to flap her wings in a slow but powerful pace. I could lightning in the air coming from and from my own jepei aura. “Thunder and lightning… I see than. The long lost spirit of the thunderbird has truly returned. The uncrowned queen of the air.”
“What do you want?”
“I already told you,” the woman held her hands out. I saw no sign of her whip-like netrix weapon and I saw no sign of her spirit animal. “I wanted to see who was flying in the sky and it seems I have my answer. Unique Full Moon. Now why on earth would three girls from Tarun’s be here in Rio Grande Brazil, three girls with three very unique animal spirits.”
“Fortune stop.” I said placing a hand on her back. I was not going to even risk a fight with this girl. That would only end in what would probably be death if I was lucky. “Get back in my gemstone.”
“Mom I am not.”
“Trust me.” I gripped my own gemstone for a bit to whisper. “If she try anything, fill me with enough lightning to stop her heart.” That seemed to be enough as Fortune allowed herself to be brought back into my gemstone.
“And you have an obedient spirit animal.” She flew forward once more, without the threat of Fortune being here, she probably felt a bit more safe. “A rare sight.”
“WHat do you mean by that?”
“Most of you treat your animal spirits like a friend, a brother or sister or perhaps a son or daughter. That usually leads them to be a bit more bold, say no, claim they don’t have to do something. Our spirit animals are just a fraction of our power and will, in order to gain the most of them, we need to treat them like the weapons they are supposed to be.”
My hands tightened a bit at her careless statement. “I respectfully disagree, mine is my daughter now and forever. No amount of power could change that.”
“So young and adorable, so naive and foolish. I was just like you at that age.” This woman flew forward a bit more so we were only a few feet apart now. The evening hair blew past us, her smelled like brown sugar and another sweeter substance that I couldn’t quite place. “Until one day my eyes were opened and I could truly see the world how it is. However, my story is not important right now. I’m not interested in yours. So let me ask you one more time.” She moved a bit closer so she could look down on me. “Why are you here?”
I didn’t, no I couldn’t give her the reason we were here. So instead I made myself look a bit smaller, relaxed to look a little younger. “We are here to put my history to rest. A lot of bad things happened to me in this city, and nearly 1600 miles away in Peru. Things that took something that no girl usually gives freely. I didn’t want to keep living in fear, so I came to walk the beach, the girls with me are my friends.” I lowered my head a bit and gazed out across the waters of the atlantic that stretched for miles and miles. “I wanna be free.”
“I see,” Kiara answered, her voice sympathetic and soft. “A brave girl indeed to conquer your past so it doesn’t affect your future.” I tensed as she placed two fingers on my thumbs and lifted it high. “I think I understand your name now, one you gave yourself to free you from your pain in the past. A smart idea, Unique Fullmoon.” She released my chin and then turned her back to me. “Perhaps we can have another conversation over lunch if you are ever free. Perhaps if I am ever free from my work?”
“What work is that?”
She looked back over her shoulder at me. “Work that will make sure our people are never treated like garbage, work that will make us kings and queens we should be. Work to help one man accomplish what should have been our peoples and that foolish island first mission. And we can’t do that without finding something first.” She lifted her hand a bit to wave at me. “Goodbye, Unique Fullmoon, I look forward to our next meeting.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
However, she didn’t answer instead she just flew towards the city. I didn’t care move until she was gone from my amazing sight. Than I let out a small swear. “Emily!” I snapped as I quickly flew towards the last place I had seen her. For all I knew, that girl had tricked me from falling Emily and for all I knew she might be in the fight of her life.
That or she was genuinely interested in meeting me.
I have no idea why.
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Emily and Sarah each gave me a thumbs up before they fell backwards alongside the other two divers to go and start their very long journey under the water. Emily had asked me if I wanted to come underwater with them, however my jepei was always charged with lightning from Fortune, so that was a very bad idea. I would rather not end up getting someone killed by accident. Instead I followed Dr. Silva back inside of the ship, to the series of monitors that were set up so we could watch their progress. We also had audio devices on them so we could hear them.
So far all we could see was schools of fish and a few more friendly species of sharks. As well as listen to Sarah seemingly endless questions about underwater life. “Can I ask you a question?” I turned my head towards Dr. Silva who had taken a seat to my right.
“Yes ma’am.”
“If this place is what we are all hoping it is. What do you hope to gain from all of this?”
“What do you mean by that, miss?”
“Well some people make discoveries so their names are written down in history. Others just like discoveries cause it proves that something everyone thought was wrong was actually true. Others are just natural born treasure hunters and finding new things makes them happier than some could imagine.”
I thought about it for a bit. “I think I am just along for the ride to be honest, but I am starting to wonder if it was chance that this discovery is in my long since abandoned home. Maybe god had a reason for me coming here.”
“Do you believe in God?”
“I am learning, but I believe. Do you?”
“I do, but maybe just not the God that you believe in.” She said, “However, the more I learn the more I see, the more I think I start turning that way. Your friends are interesting people, how long have you known them?”
“A few weeks now,” I said with a small laugh. “We and three others were brought together, and together we are supposed to do good things for our people. Find information that might help put a few more puzzles into the history of jepei and the world.” I frowned a bit as I said that. “Information that no one will be allowed to see until the council deems it safe.” I thought to myself with a heavy sigh, my hand came to play with the many strings of the quipu around my neck. They had taken this from and only because I am working for them, they gave it back. “Can I ask you a question?”
“As long as it is not about that quipu around your neck, I might not have the answers.”
“No miss, if you were working for someone that hired you to find informaton just to keep it under lock and key. Would you do it?”
“Me personally…” She rested a hand on her chin. “I don’t I would.”
“How come?”
“Because everyone deserves the right to learn, and if we hide the things that we may not like or question, than no one can make a true opion and history will always be told wrong. It is not our place to keep the world’s history a secret, no matter how many questions it might open up.”
I listened to her words carefully. “I just wanted to know if what I was doing was truly right.” I thought to myself as I set my eyes back onto Emily’s feed. The other night she came back much later than me, a but grumpy and annoyed but she was okay. I was not sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. This morning she was back to her cheerful and joyful selve. Maybe whatever happened last night was just enough to chase away the last of her hunger.
After a long while of boring swimming. All four of their cameras began to show a new scene, a large wreckage of stone and brick that looked thousands of years old. The surrounding area that could barely been seen in this slightly blue but murky water. It was amazing in its own right what looked like long since abandoned stone homes surrounded this place. A few were cracked and some even caved in on themselves probably from the new water pressure. When the water rose again it truly did take a piece of Brazil's history with it. However, all eyes turned from those to the large wreckage of stone and block that only looked bigger the closer they got. It was tilted on it’s side, the base of it standing about 40 feet away from it, but this part had collapsed. Huge oval windows were placed evenly along the side that we could see. It held large cracks in certain places, either from when it fell on its side or when it was destroyed in the first place. Split into four broken pieces
I could not believe that we were truly looking at what might be one of the last resting places.
Of the Tower of Babel.
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