Spoiler. We don't ever make it to the cemetery. Honestly, I should've seen it coming. When does anything go to plan anymore?
"So, where are we, exactly?" I voice nonchalantly as we stroll along the palm tree lined street.
"San Diego," Nasrin replies.
"San Diego," I muse. We've really been all over lately. "Where do you think the universe will send us next?"
Mina shrugs. "Wherever it needs us to be, I suppose. Luck hasn't failed us yet."
"That's an interesting perspective," I mutter.
I glance around, hoping to be fortunate enough to find one of those handy dandy clues from the universe, and to my surprise, I find one. A glittering glimpse of gold and red soars in and out of my vision in an instant. I freeze in my tracks, and Mina runs into my back with a disgruntled, "Oof."
"Kiana," she whines. "Why'd you just stop like that?"
I shake my head back and forth. "It's just that..."
"It's just that what?" Nasrin prods.
"I swear I saw something," I whisper.
"Care to elaborate?" Nasrin snarks.
"The Shahbaz. I swear I saw the Shahbaz bird."
Mina and Nasrin's eyes widen simultaneously. "Are you sure?" Nasrin asks.
"Pretty sure!" I exclaim, starting in the direction that my instincts tell me to go. I round a corner, and Nasrin jogs up next to me.
"Faster, Kiana! Where did it go? I swear, if we lose it..."
I break into a sprint, choosing to ignore Nasrin's annoying commentary.
I catch a glimpse of the Shahbaz's golden tail feathers hugging a corner ahead of us. I gasp and press forward with renewed energy. The sound of water wiggles its way into my subconscious as we speed along, but I push it aside, my eyes searching the skies for the Shahbaz.
I'm so focused on finding the bird that I don't realize that the street we're running on isn't infinite. I sprint full force at the water that borders the street, completely unaware of the fact. I teeter over the edge of the street, about to fall over until Nasrin grabs the hem of my shirt and yanks me back, not bothering to be gentle. I hear a few seams of the garment popping apart and curse under my breath.
"What? What is it?" Nasrin asks, her voice saturated with exasperation.
"I lost it."
"You lost it? You lost it how? It's a freaking bird. If it was flying this way, it couldn't have just disappeared."
"Well it did," I snap, and Nasrin scowls at my tone.
"Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you, but I can't change the fact that I don't know where the bird went," I say.
Nasrin shakes a stressed hand through her long, wavy hair.
"So where are we gonna go next?" Mina pants out. "How do we find it?'
"Hold on," I breathe out slowly. I still need a moment to catch my breath, even if I did keep up my daily runs while Mina and I were training at the lake. "The Shahbaz brought us here. Do you guys think we have to get on a boat to find the Gaokerena?"
Nasrin holds up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's slow down and think about this before we do something stupid," she says.
"Well, the only thing that the poem suggested we do that we haven't yet is to find the tree. So maybe, just maybe, it isn't the worst idea to hitch a ride on a boat. I did have that dream about the tree awhile back. It was in the middle of some sort of body of water. This actually makes a lot of sense, Nasrin."
Nasrin bites her lip. "But there's still so much that we don't know. We don't even know if the Gaokerena is what we're supposed to be looking for, let alone how to get there. Plus, what about Ali? We never did find him."
"Is there something you have against boats, Nasrin?" Mina asks with a chuckle.
She's clearly joking, but Nasrin's cheeks tinge pink, and she casts her gaze to the ground. "No," she mutters, her tone defensive.
"What?" I laugh, a smirk making its way onto my face.
"I just get seasick!" Nasrin blurts out.
Mina and I break into a fit of giggles, and we're so busy making fun of our "brave," legendary guardian that we don't notice the newcomer approaching.
"You need on a boat? I can make that happen, my friends."
The man seems to pop out of nowhere, offering a suspiciously convenient solution to our problems. He gestures to a rundown fishing boat docked a few yards away.
I wince at the sound of his voice, and based on Mina's yelp, I'm guessing that I'm not the only shocked one by his presence. The man's countenance screams untrustworthy. He's short- no more than five three if I had to guess. His short frame is a bit hunched over like he's just been relieved of a very heavy backpack. His muddy colored hair is shaved close to the scalp, but I can't catch the color of his eyes. They keep shifting.
"Really?" I chirp, still not completely sober after my laughing fit. "A boat to where?"
He ignores my question. "But," the man raises a finger, and my heart sinks. There's always a but, isn't there? "You have to do something for me first."
Nasrin shakes her head, and I find mine shaking as well. "No. Absolutely not," she says.
"Hey, you haven't even heard what I need yet!"
"I'm pretty sure that we don't want to do anything that you might need from us," Nasrin spits out, placing a hand on the smalls of our backs and guiding us away.
"Wait! Wait! Just listen, please." The man's voice is laden with a new sense of urgency. Nasrin tries to push forward anyway, but I hesitate, turning around.
The man lets out a breathy laugh as if he can't believe his good luck. A smirk takes over his impish features. "Now we're in business." He rubs his hands together and runs his tongue over his chapped lips. Ew.
"Alright, spit it out. What is it that you want?" Nasrin presses.
"How about I start with my name?"
"I don't think that matters much," Nasrin says.
The man ignores her. "The name's Hank."
"Hank what?" Mina wonders, but Hank ignores her.
"Alright, ladies. All I need from you is to get me one little prize. Ever heard of a little gem called merikoa?"
Nasrin sucks air in through her teeth. "Merikoa? You want us to get merikoa? Are you serious? How do you expect us to do that?"
The man nods slowly. I look to Mina, and her face is screwed up in confusion, a perfect reflection of how I feel right now.
"What's merikoa?" I ask.
Nasrin glances at me. "I don't know exactly how it's used, but I know that it's dangerous, expensive, and definitely not available for commercial use. I have no idea how Mr. Shady Favors here expects us to find a deposit."
The man raises a hand. "I already happen to know where it is. All I need is the powers of this one to extract it." The man points a hairy finger at me, and I squirm uncomfortably.
"Powers?" I inquire. "What exactly are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb," Hank says with a chuckle. He pats himself on the chest. "I am like you." He points to Mina. "I lived in Visya for years before Ramin's time. He sure runs a tight ship, doesn't he?"
I nod and gulp down the lump in my throat. Any mention of Ramin still makes me upset. I guess he knows about how we got kicked out. "You said haven't lived in the village since before Ramin got there. You can't exactly look on Wikipedia to check up on how Visya is doing. How do you know about how he runs the place?"
Hank rapidly taps his leg, his eyes shifting around. "I've got friends on the inside."
Nasrin looks Hank up and down, a look of disgust on her face. "I guess it doesn't surprise me that some people who live in Visya would associate with the likes of you. Why'd you leave?" she asks.
Hank grins. "I told you. I'm like you." He points to Mina again. "The name's Mina, right?" She nods and takes a step away. I don't blame her. Hank doesn't just look dirty. He exudes this negative energy. It makes me feel uneasy, like there's a possibility he could steal my wallet at any moment.
"My parents live in Visya. They went to school there and didn't leave when they were finished. They enrolled me in the school, but I wasn't particularly good at anything that was deemed valuable. So, they made me a janitor. Visya is only kind to its more talented occupants, as I'm sure you all know. I wasn't about to spend the rest of my life there mopping floors and getting treated like a second-class citizen. I didn't get much help there, but I learned enough to give myself a leg up out here. So, I left."
"If you're so independent, why do you need our help?" Nasrin asks.
"I would just get the merikoa myself, but it's in a bit of an unconventional area." Hank picks at his teeth casually. "What do you say, girls? This stuff is pretty damn uncommon. It can only be found right here in the United States of America, as far as I know. It's a rare opportunity for me to have someone around who's able to extract it, and so is it that you girls just happen to have the man you need around to help you get on a boat.
I take a deep breath. "Okay, dude. Just give me a minute to talk it over with my friends."
"Whatever," he says, a sly smile resting on his features.
I pull Nasrin and Mina aside, shooting daggers over their shoulders at the shady man behind us.
Nasrin radiates anger. "I don't feel good about this. He's probably a dealer," she whispers, her arms folded over her chest.
"A dealer? A dealer of what?" I exclaim, my voice riddled with anxiety.
"Merikoa, Kiana," Nasrin says dully, clearly too exasperated to even ridicule me. "I've heard the stuff is really dangerous. Say he's telling the truth, and he really does know where to find merikoa. There's a very large chance that we could be hurt in the process of trying to extract it."
I rub the back of my neck. I don't really see how we could not help Hank, but Nasrin is making sound even less desirable than it already appears. "I don't know, guys. What if he were to do something with the merikoa that hurt other people? Do you think that we could deal with the consequences if we were responsible for something like that?"
Mina bites her lip. "The question is, what's worse? This, or not pursuing the Gaokerena? Whoever Big Boss is could already be there, searching for the elixir. Do we even have an option here?"
I glance Hank. He beams as if he already knows exactly what we're saying. He breaks eye contact, his eyes darting around like can't decide what to vandalize next. He rubs the beginnings of a patchy beard on his scarred face and licks his lips again. Every fiber of my being screams to not trust this man, but Mina's right. It doesn't look like we have any other options right now.
I shake my shoulders, attempting to mentally prepare myself for whatever comes next.
"Alright. Let's go, I guess."
...
"In the middle of the park? Are you crazy?" I let out a disbelieving laugh. "I am not tearing up this park for anything, let alone whatever it is that you have in mind."
The four of us stand in a tight circle in the middle of a crowded park, trying our best to not look suspicious. Except for Hank. There seems to be a serious lack of effort on his part.
Children run and play on a soccer field nearby, a couple of middle-aged moms sit on a bench chatting just yards away, and some joggers run by leisurely on a kempt pathway. I don't know who it is I'm supposed to be praying to these days, but I send up a silent plea to whoever's listening that they'll leave soon. I don't know what exactly it is that Hank has planned me, but it could very possibly be dangerous.
The aforementioned criminal waltzes up to a seemingly unimportant patch of grass and points a sticky finger to the ground. "Here," he announces proudly.
I shoot him a strange glance. "Are you sure it's there? It doesn't seem like anything spec-" I step onto the earth where Hank motioned for me to stand, and it feels like someone punched me in the gut. Whatever this merikoa stuff is, it's powerful. A wave of nausea crashes over me, and I double over, clutching my stomach.
I let out a grunt, and Mina rushes to my side as Nasrin let's out a colorful string of curse words. "Kiana! Are you okay?"
I raise a hand, but don't bother to make eye contact with my friend. I think that if I rise from my hunched position I just might spew.
"I'm fine," I wheeze out. "This stuff, is it toxic, or radioactive, or something?"
"What are you talking about?" Mina inquires. "I don't feel anything."
I shoot her a nasty glare. "Well, good for you."
Hank chuckles, and I jump. I nearly forgot he was with us. "You're probably my just not used to handling such a powerful substance," he muses, examining his dirty fingernails. "Most powerful material in the world. Kind of silly of me to think you would be able to handle it."
A surge of anger makes my blood boil. "I think you're forgetting that we don't have to help you, Hank. We could leave right now, so I don't suggest that you push it."
Hank points a finger my way. "You see, that's where you're wrong. I've got friends in a lot of major cities, Ms. Ahmadi. Including a little city called New Delhi. Ever heard of it?"
My stomach lurches. "Wha- no, I've never even been th-" the slimy man doesn't let me finish.
"It would be a shame if anyone important were to find out your... talents."
"That is the most ridiculous threat I've ever heard," I scoff. "What are you even implying? That I'm going to be some government lab's next experiment?" I laugh at the audacity.
"Is it really all that far-fetched?" Hank prompts.
I roll my eyes. "Normal people can't even comprehend the things that I can do. If I tear up this park right now, everyone will probably just think I, I don't know... set a bomb off, or something." I cringe at my own words. "Okay, so maybe that scenario wouldn't be any better, but still. No one would believe you, Hank."
Nasrin raises a hand, cringing. "Uh, Kiana, that might not actually be entirely true."
"What?"
"I told you that people wouldn't be able to understand what you were doing in New Delhi so that you wouldn't lose your focus when we were dealing with the daeva. You can cast cloaking spells to hide magic, but none of us know how. That's part of the reason we need Ali so bad. I've heard that he knows some spells."
Nasrin rubs her hands together anxiously. "I lied because I had a feeling that if you were worrying about being caught, like this," she says pointedly, looking to the man, "You wouldn't be able to pull anything off."
I swear under my breath. "Thanks for having faith in me, Nasrin."
Nasrin's jaw ticks angrily. "Look, Kiana. We can talk about this later, but I think that right now, we need to focus on getting this done so we can get out of here."
"I think that I can get behind that statement," the man says, that stupid smirk making its way onto his face again. Ugh. I just want to slap that smug expression off his face.
Nasrin steps forward and places a light hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay," she assures me.
She reaches up and pulls the small studs from her ears. She grabs the fabric of my hijab that's gathered at the bottom of my neck. "All you need is a disguise," she mutters, the tip of her tongue sticking out in concentration. She pulls the cloth to cover my mouth and nose and pins it in place with the earrings. I nod a silent thank you to Nasrin.
Hank rolls his eyes. "So, honey," he continues, "you gonna get me the merikoa, or what?"
I pull my lip back in a sneer but close my eyes anyway. I draw my fist up, pulling on the precious gem both mentally and physically. My stomach churns, but I fight any urges to spew and persevere. The ground rumbles as the merikoa pushes its way to the surface.
"Uh, Kiana, not trying to rush you or anything, but you might want to hurry up," Mina says.
"Sounds an awful lot like rushing to me," Hank murmurs.
My eyes flutter open and meet the concerned expression of a police officer across the park. One of the mothers from the bench points in my direction as she speaks to the officer. A hand rests on his holster, and my heart starts to race. "Please, do not let him come over here," I whisper, closing my eyes once again. My connection with the gem is slipping, and the added stress of the cop is just severing the connection faster. The police have always made me nervous, and the fact that I can control my powers now changes nothing.
I pull harder, and the merikoa bursts out of the ground in a shower of dirt. I shield my eyes. It's a lump about the size of a basketball, and though it's still covered in earth, it radiates a brilliant green light.
It falls to the ground with a massive thud, and I run to pick it up. My fingertips barely graze the surface of the surprisingly warm gemstone before a mouthful of bile makes its way out of my stomach. Whatever properties merikoa has do not agree with me. I fall back, and Nasrin finally seems to notice my struggle and scoops the giant stone from the ground.
"Run, run, run!" she yells, sprinting in the opposite direction. I swallow the urge to vomit and follow suit, sprinting away from the decimated patch of earth and towards the soccer field.
Parents rush to pull their children away from me as we speed by, and as offensive as that would usually be to me, I'm grateful for the opening.
I glance to Nasrin, and nearly pass out at what I see. The merikoa is gone, replaced by a small sheet of paper. "Nasrin!" I shout. "Where is our gemstone?"
She waves the paper in my face. "Hank traded it for this! He said that all we have to do is get this to his pal at the docks, and we have ourselves a place on the boat."
A burden lifts off my shoulders, and I almost yip with joy. I guess even the seediest of people can stay true to their words. The police officer has fallen back, probably calling for backup, but at least now we have a plan.
...
I really like this chapter. It's also really different from the way it was in the first draft.
Thanks for reading. If you liked the update, vote, comment, and share.
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