One - Isabel
We won, but it doesn't feel like it. Loss is weighing down heavily on everyone, but none of us are suffering as much as Ethan. He won't eat and Shaun says that he barely sleeps - the tv in his room just blares all night with infomercials and 24 hour news channels. It's been nearly three weeks since the final battle and I haven't seen or spoken to Ethan since then. Matt used his wings a few days ago to break into his room but Ethan barely acknowledged him, just calmly asked him to leave him alone.
"It was freaky, Isabel, it was like he wasn't even fully conscious." Matt leans against one of the futuristic consoles in Arkarian's central chamber and runs his hand through his hair. He looks like shit. Being thrust so quickly into leadership of the Guard since Lorian's death has really done a number on him, and if it wasn't for his being an Immortal, I'm pretty sure my brother would have keeled over by now.
I shift on my stool, propping my chin on top of a closed fist and frowning. "I can't imagine how much he's hurting right now," I say, dropping my gaze to the stone floor. "He's not replying to any of my texts or calls, and I'm really scared, Matt. What if he does something stupid?"
"He won't. I made sure to dig through his thoughts. He's just really really depressed and I don't think even he knows yet what he wants to do. He wouldn't do that to his family though. He wouldn't do that to us. Its painful but I think he just needs time." I squeeze my eyes closed and rub my temples, easing the rapidly-forming headache I can feel creeping through my brain. "You need to sleep," Matt says, ever the worrier.
"So do you," I reply. "How long has it even been since your head hit a pillow?"
"I don't need to sleep anymore," he says, shaking his head.
"It might not kill you but you do still need to sleep Matt, I can feel your body aching from here." And I can, soreness and fatigue is practically radiating from him, making my healing senses prickle uncomfortably. He shifts and offers me a tired smile as he kicks at his bag, which is resting at his feet.
"I'm going to sleep tonight, I promise. I'm not even going to Athens, I'm just going to spend the night at Neriah's, and help her and her mum set their house back up."
I rise from my seat and cross the room, enveloping my brother in a tight hug. "Good," I say, giving him an extra squeeze. "I've already text mum to say that I'm spending the night there too. Cover for me?" I pull away and look up at him, and he doesn't quite manage to mask his displeasure in time. Since the battle I've been staying here with Arkarian most nights, and Matt is trying his hardest to overcome his protectiveness of me. An uneasy truce has settled in between the two of them, both tolerating each other for my sake. I don't think any of us can stand any more infighting. Instead of saying anything, Matt simply sighs and nods, scooping his bag around his shoulders and heading towards the exit of the central chamber. "You're walking?" I ask, surprised. If I had wings and I was as worn out as him, I don't think I would bother with the trek all the way down the mountain.
"Yeah, I need to clear my head," Matt replies as he turns to leave. As he walks down the torch-lit passageway to the outside world, he briefly pauses at the one door that's propped open and raises his hand by way of goodbye.
"Goodbye Matt," I hear Arkarian say from inside. My brother nods once, then walks away.
"Text me when you get there!" I call after him as he leaves. He turns briefly and smirks at me, amused at our role-reversal. For one heartbreaking second I see a flash of my brother still in there, a sarcastic idiot who loves to tease his little sister. He salutes, and the rocky doorway closes up behind him, screening him from view.
I fold my arms around me and wander over to the room Arkarian is working in. He's been periodically summoning Atlantean machinery from the wreckage of the Citadel, then attempting to fix what he can. It's been keeping him busy and distracting him from his grief over losing his father, which I'm grateful for. My stomach twists into a knot as I think about Lorian, and how unfair it was that Arkarian only got to know him as his father for such a short time. For six hundred years Arkarian has been mostly alone in the world, with only the Atlanteans living in the Citadel and the Tribunal members not dying around him. Then, just as he finally gets a piece of family that he so desperately wanted, it gets taken away from him again. Well, I guess not totally - he still has a cousin in Matt. I try very quickly to stop thinking about whether that makes us related in any way as I lean through the doorway to find Arkarian.
"It doesn't, thank goodness," he says from underneath a large console in the corner. Crap, he heard me. I quickly screen my thoughts and huff at him. He pokes his head out from between two struts propping the tech up and shoots me a gentle smile, making my insides melt. His electric blue hair is pulled into a bun on the back of his head, showing off his cheekbones and intense violet eyes. Not for the first time, I wonder at how I got to be so lucky.
"Any joy?" I ask, nodding towards the console. He pauses a second before pulling a warped metal disc out from within the machinery, and holds it up for me to see.
"Some of these are missing, and the ones that we still have are bent quite out of shape. Jimmy can fix the broken ones, then we can set some aside for Neriah to draw up new ones. Hopefully, then we can get them re-installed and we will have communication between times again - it will save us having to open portals every time we need to speak with the Tribunal." Arkarian sets the disc aside and pulls himself completely upright, dusting himself off. I wander further into the room and he meets me halfway, pulling me into a hug. "Did I hear you say you're staying here again tonight?" he asks.
I nod against his chest, enjoying the wave of calm that washes over me at his touch. "I'll have to go home tomorrow, though. I haven't been in my bed for three nights and mom is going to get suspicious if I'm away much longer." For the briefest of moments, his hold tightens slightly - he hates being apart from me, as I do from him. At least at home I have my mom, Jimmy, and occasionally Matt around. Here in the mountain, Arkarian is all alone. Before the Citadel fell, that was where he spent most of his time, working and living with the Atlanteans who also resided there. Now the Citadel is gone, along with most of his friends and his possessions. The first few days after the battle, Arkarian divided his time between salvaging the most important technology and his personal possessions, with little success in either camp. He's lost almost everything, and every day there is less to recover.
"Lets get some lunch," he says, kissing the top of my head and loosening his hug.
"Sure, what do you have?" I ask, walking out of the room and over to the kitchen.
"I have some more of the pasta I made the other day? Or some cheese and bread for sandwiches?"
"Sandwiches sound great," I say, hopping up on the countertop.
Arkarian nods and sets to work preparing lunch. The kitchen in his chambers doesn't look like a regular kitchen to most people - it's mostly composed of smooth stone worktops with a strange metallic sheets made out of some kind of gemstone placed about sporadically. Some of them heat up like a stove, others control the interior temperature of the units, and others fold open in a way that seems impossible to reveal hidden storage. Other items are more recognisable - there's a breadbin and shelves laden with crockery, and a metal box that looks and performs similarly to a microwave. Arkarian has also added some glass jars in the past few days to hold various grains and ingredients. He grabs one filled with cashew nuts now, and shakes it in my direction.
"Snack?"
"Thanks."
I take the jar and nibble on a few of the nuts in comfortable silence. Every now and then Arkarian and I catch each other's eye and share warm smiles. I'm going to hate leaving tomorrow. I air this thought and he momentarily stops slicing cheese, setting the knife down and squeezing my knee.
"We have all the time in the world," he says simply, and kisses my cheek. Before he can move away again I catch his lips with mine and pull him closer to me.
"I know, I just wish that time were now."
He rests his hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He looks like he's considering something. After a long silence he replies, hesitation in his voice. "Maybe it can be."
"What do you mean?"
"I think I heard Matt say that he is staying at Neriah's tonight?" he asks, and I see where he's going.
"So we could go to Athens and squeeze in a couple more weeks together," I finish, breaking into a wide grin. But then I remember why we haven't done that so far and my smile falters. "But are you sure you're ready? If its too painful…"
Arkarian cuts me off with another light kiss. "I have to face it sooner or later. And it would be nice to see the Tribunal members again after so long an absence."
"Then that sounds great," I reply, my smile now more secure.
"I'll make the preparations later," Arkarian says. He reaches back over to the cheese and continues with lunch.
We eat together in the kitchen, our conversation light and flowing easily. We talk mostly about the books Arkarian is reading (multiple at once, as always), and how my French is coming along - Arkarian has been teaching me since we began dating, but it's frustratingly slow going despite his reassurances that I'm doing well.
"You can't expect to be fluent straight away."
"Its not straight away, though," I counter, waving my sandwich around. "It's been nearly a year and I still can't understand half of what you say!"
"Even so, I have been speaking French for six hundred years, you have been speaking French for eleven months." I scoff and take another bite of food, narrowing my eyes. "T'es mon cœur, Isabel. Je t'aime," he continues, taking my hand in his.
"I love you too."
"You understood that well enough," he says, with the smallest hint of triumph spreading across his face. I roll my eyes and huff again, but give his hand a squeeze before releasing my grip. I'm just about to argue some more when we hear another familiar voice from the hallway.
"It's me! I bring tidings of food!" Jimmy yells above the rustle of carrier bags. We push ourselves away from the table and go out to help, and find Jimmy laden beneath more bags than seems possible for one man to carry.
"Jimmy, this is too much… I can't possibly accept all of this…" Arkarian says as he unburdens Jimmy's right hand.
One hand now free, Jimmy separates the other bags out and hands half of them to me before replying. "Don't worry about it, I went by Aldi and got you loads of canned things for less than I normally spend on petrol. Also, do you realise how much of your food I've eaten over the years?" I don't know if Jimmy catches it, but Arkarians face reddens slightly as he looks over all of the food we drag back into the kitchen. He's not used to accepting charity, but the food he used to eat was divided between what was grown on the Citadel and what could be sent from Athens, meaning even eating is a struggle recently. Everyone has been bringing food up when they can, and Matt has been sending supplies through Neriah's experimental portals, but this is more than I've seen in my entire time here put together. There's no way this cost less than a full tank in the Jeep.
It's been difficult enough to get used to the idea of 'Jimmy the fellow Guard member' as opposed to 'Jimmy, mom's boyfriend', but Jimmy being Arkarian's friend for apparently over twenty years is even more difficult to wrap my head around. Its not reply a surprise with that context that Jimmy is the one going the extra mile to make sure Arkarian is surviving okay up here in the mountains. I think I can really get on board with 'Jimmy the friend'. He helps us put away the extra food in their strange boxes and cabinets, and whilst I note with approval how full they look now, Arkarian updates him on the current salvage progress.
"Everything I'm pulling out of the wreckage now is more ruined than the previous item, I don't think there will be much more to find," Arkarian says as he stack some tinned tomatoes on a nearby shelf.
"Honestly I'm surprised we've walked away with so much. I thought that bringing the Citadel down would have totalled everything inside. Tech that hardy, Atlanteans must have founded Nokia."
I laugh at the dated joke, then some more when I catch Arkarian's confused expression. Jimmy grins over at him and patiently explains, "Its a tech company, they make phones that are really hard to break."
"Oh, then why don't you have one, Isabel?" Arkarian asks me innocently. I scowl. My phone is resting on the side, shattered screen visible for all to see. I don't have the best track record with being gentle with my phones. This particular poor iPhone was the victim of smacking my side into a large boulder whilst abseiling.
"Correction," Jimmy says with a smile. "They make phones that are really hard to break if you don't routinely throw yourself off cliffs."
"Oh ha ha, this one wasn't my fault, the rope got slack and I went sideways!"
"And the phone before that, I suppose it triple jumped out of your hands into the sink?" Jimmy's smile is wider now, but still friendly. He's enjoying teasing me and I suspect being able to do it in front of Arkarian is even more satisfying for him.
"It was fine after putting it in a bag of rice-"
"-for about a week."
"My contract was due up anyway, I upgraded-"
"-and smacked your new phone into a cliffside."
Arkarian is struggling to keep a straight face now, which only seems to spur Jimmy on further. In one sickening moment, I remember what happened to my previous phone, and as Jimmy opens his mouth to voice that series of unfortunate events I cut across him with a loud "ANYWAY!". It's enough to break Arkarian, who snickers quietly with his back turned to us. Jimmy shoots me another smile and I realise that getting Arkarian to laugh was his goal all along. Yeah, I can really get on board with Jimmy the Friend. Everything feels a little lighter, a little less depressing, when he's around.
"Well, you better show me what you do have, see if I can fix anything whilst I'm here," Jimmy says, clapping Arkarian on the shoulder. Arkarian shoots me a sideways glance, but I give him a small, reassuring smile.
"Go. Jimmy has to be back soon and I'm fine putting everything else away." At that, the two of them disappear back into Arkarian's work room.
The first few times I watched Jimmy fix things I was entranced, but after a while sitting and watching things knit themselves back together under his hands gets boring. 'Fixing' is Jimmy's primary power - I've seen him mend everything from holes in jacket sleeves to the Jeep's bonnet after I accidentally scraped it on a driving lesson. The fewer materials used to build a thing, the easier he finds it, but after decades of practice he can comfortably wrestle with even the Atlantean tech that keeps the Guard running. The most time-consuming aspect is that Jimmy has to fix every component individually, then reassemble it all together. I once asked him if he could mend a broken bone like I could, but apparently that would involve cutting the flesh open down to the bone for him to touch it. Still, it's another use for his gift that I've filed away for if I ever need any help.
I shove the last bag of peas in Arkarian's "freezer" and collect up all of the plastic bags now strewn across the kitchen. Then, I head back over to the workroom where Arkarian and Jimmy are both lay on their backs under the same equipment from earlier.
"How's it going?" I ask, leaning against the doorway.
"Well, what is here isn't in bad shape," Jimmy says, picking up one of the metal discs by his side and pushing it up above him. "We are definitely going to need Neriah though. There's more bits and pieces missing than not."
"Disappointing," Arkarian says, pushing himself back out from under the console. "I didn't think there was that much missing."
"Really? What did you think all this empty space was for? Were the Atlanteans big on minimalism?" Jimmy jokes. "The bigger problem is I can't describe everything that's missing in enough detail for Neriah to draw it up. Please tell me this wasn't the only one of these thingies that we had."
"No, but its the only one I've been able to find in salvageable condition."
"I don't need the whole thing, just a couple of bits and bobs to at least show Neriah."
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises. I'm getting fewer and fewer returns from what I can get from the Citadel remains. Short of going through it literally brick by brick, we are out of options," Arkarian says with a resigned sigh.
For a moment, Jimmy stills, hand still against the underside of the console. His face is marred with a rare frown as he stares up ahead, lost deep in thought.
"Maybe not," he says finally, ducking his head back out and looking over at me. "Isabel, just how good is your eyesight?"
"As long as there's even a little bit of light, I can see as well as in the middle of the day," I reply, confused.
"Good, we'll need that. I have an idea," Jimmy hauls himself upright as he says this and marches over to a nearby workbench. He graps a sheet of paper and starts to make notes. "We'll need the three of us, and probably Matt and Neriah too."
"For what?" I ask, exasperated. I look over to Arkarian, hoping to find him as confused as I am, but apparently Jimmy is airing his thoughts because I find him simply nodding. "Hello? Not a Truthseer over here!"
Arkarian pulls himself up off the ground and puts one comforting arm around me. "Jimmy thinks we should try salvaging from Viridian instead. After being flooded most of the equipment down there won't work, but we can at least move it all up here and use it as a frame of reference for what we would be looking for moving forwards."
Jimmy scribbles some more on the paper and brings it over to us both. It's a list of words I vaguely recognise as names of the technological items that the Guard uses. Presumably, they are what we would be looking for. Arkarian takes it and scans through the list, nodding.
"There's some more I would like to add, but this would be an excellent start," he says.
"We can't do this now, I need to be home before Coral suspects something," Jimmy replies, picking his jacket up off of the side and dusting it off. "But we should make plans to go down as soon as possible."
"I would prefer to have at least Matt there too," Arkarian agrees, much to my surprise. "We will need him to move the water around," he continues, answering my unspoken question.
"Can't you do that?" I ask.
"Not such large quantities, I doubt even my whip would keep all of the water at bay for long."
"I imagine your brother will find it to be a nice break, not having to be in any meetings or make any decisions," Jimmy chuckles. He pats both of us on the arms and makes to leave, before doubling back. "That reminds me, Isabel. Where are you supposed to be tonight so I know what to say to your mother." He says this with a look of genuine concern on his face, but there's no unease or judgement. Jimmy hasn't really made much of any comment at all to me about my relationship with Arkarian, and I still don't know if that's a good thing or not.
"I'm staying at Neriah's with Matt, helping them set back up."
Jimmy raises his eyebrows and grins. "Playing the third wheel with your brother and his girlfriend? Bold choice for a cover story. I'll see you both soon, just let me know when you want to go down into Veridian." At that he turns again and strides straight through the open door leading to the outside world.
The rest of the day passes with little incident. Arkarian works some more whilst I do what little I can to help. I'm supposed to be learning to be another Administrator for the Guard like he is, but everything is in such chaos I'm now relegated to supporting whatever Arkarian is up to. Right now, that involves passing over tools when he requests them and listening to his steady explanations on what he is trying to do. None of it goes in, but I enjoy listening to the sound of his voice.
In the evening, we retire to the library. The library is the only room in Arkarian's chambers that could really be considered a luxury, and even though I've never been a big reader it's easily my favourite room. The minute we walk through the door I jump over onto the large leather couch that sits in front of an old open fireplace, which Arkarian lights. He explained to me once how the smoke is reused in various places throughout the chambers - everything in his chambers has a function, and is usually recycled back in some way. Atlanteans were the original eco-warriors. Arkarian flops down on the sofa next to me and pulls me close so my head is resting on his chest. Contentment washes over me as he gently runs his hands through my hair. The room warms quickly, and the smell of old books mixes pleasantly with wood smoke completing the cosy atmosphere.
"Hmmmm, this is nice," I say, snaking one arm across his chest. He hums lightly in return and plants a kiss on the top of my head. With his free arm he reaches over to a wooden stand next to him and plucks a book off the top. "What is it tonight?" I ask, struggling to stifle a yawn.
"Hey, no sleeping, please," he says as he playfully wiggles his shoulder to jostle me about. "I have us all set to leave at ten and we both need to be asleep by then. If you nap now you won't be able to sleep later."
"I'm not tired." Another yawn threatens to betray me as I say this, and I clench my jaw tight.
"Of course you're not."
"I'm not! It's just the warmth from the fire making me lethargic!"
"I wasn't arguing, I was agreeing with you."
I tilt my face up towards his, eyes narrowed in a playful glare, and catch him smirking down at me. Before I get a chance to argue some more, he leans around and catches my lips in his, setting the book in his hands back down as he does so. I wriggle around so I'm facing him properly now, and return his kiss with enthusiasm. Six-hundred years has made Arkarian an extremely talented kisser, and I feel myself practically melt into his arms. Kissing him feels like the deepest indulgence, rich and skilful as he nibbles gently on my lower lip. I slip one hand into his silky hair and pull him closer to me so that his chest is flush against my own. Then, as has happened many times previously, he pulls away as suddenly as he started, and kisses my forehead. Always one soft kiss to my forehead. Every time. Without fail.
I sag backwards and try not to look to disappointed as he glances away swiftly, reaching back over to the book he discarded. I wish I could read his thoughts most of all in moments like this. Despite what our friends may believe, up to this point our relationship has been depressingly chaste. Arkarian has never really commented upon the subject, he just simply stops any time we look to be progressing into anything that could even vaguely be thought of as sexual. It's driving me crazy not knowing what's holding him back. I know that he's not a virgin, so it can't be that. I could be insecure about it, but I've caught him looking me up and down once or twice before, so presumably he does find me physically attractive. And we have gotten to this point several times before. I just wish I was brave enough to hear his reasoning, but he clearly doesn't want to offer it right now.
"Isabel?"
"Huh?" I snap back to reality and realise that Arkarian was just asking me something.
"I asked if you minded The Phantom of the Opera? It's the only one I think you'll like that's close by."
"No, that sounds great." I settle back down and rest my head this time on his lap, gazing up at him as he cracks the book open and holds it in his eyeline. He lets one hand rest on my stomach and rubs it gently with his thumb as he begins to read aloud. The book is in the original French, but Arkarian translates as he goes along for my benefit. Once or twice he's tried reading to me in French, but my French isn't strong enough to understand the more complex language in most classics and Arkarian had to keep stopping to translate for me.
Listening to Arkarian's smooth voice, combined with the heady smells of the library and the warmth spreading through my body, it's not long before I feel myself drifting off. The tide of sleep seems impossible to fight, so I let myself go with it. Just as I teeter on the edge of dreaming, a prickling pain runs through me.
Panicking, I try to wriggle to alert Arkarian to an oncoming vision, but its as if I'm locked in my body. I've never had a vision when I'm midway between awake and asleep before, and the sensation is alarming. It feels as though I have pins and needles running through me, but I can't cry out in pain or even move. I'm dimly aware of Arkarian's voice somewhere off in the distance, although I can't tell if he's still reading or trying to get through to me. It doesn't matter anymore as confusing images flash across my vision.
I'm looking through someone's - no, I'm looking through my own point of view. I can see my hair across my face and I'm stood at the right height for it to be myself. I think I'm in a cave but there's a bright light dazzling me. Gold, silver and pure white streaks of blinding light shoot across my vision, wrapping tighter and tighter around me, as if forming a cocoon. The closer the light gets the more apparent it becomes that it's white hot and already threatening to burn my skin - it's beautiful but terrifying. My heart slams against my chest and it's impossible to tell if it's part of the vision or my current bodily state. The light threatens to wrap itself directly against me and from somewhere close by I hear Arkarian's impassioned voice cry out my name. He sounds as scared as I am.
