The Darkened War

Ch.27

    Katomi's brown eyes sparkled as Alain made his way to the entryway of the tent and let her in. The ten year old boy grinned as she stepped inside and breathed in the cherry scented air that always filled Alain's home. Perhaps his mother had an eye for sweet smelling things, and purposely made it smell like that, or maybe it was just a natural quirk their family had. Katomi never asked, but always took a wisp of it before settling into a cushioned chair. Somehow it all relaxed her, and had her smiling.
    Since both of Alain's parents worked late hours, due to their high ranked jobs that involved working closely beside the cult's three, Alain and Katomi were always left to babysit Alain's younger siblings. While in most cases it didn't take two people to babysit a 7 and 3 year old, Alain was so bad with kids . . . well, people in general, that his mother always asked Katomi to help him out. She trusted Katomi, a lot more than Alain for that matter, and always left the house feeling her kids were in safe hands whenever the young girl helped out. It was common knowledge Katomi was mature for her age and perhaps Alain's mother even hoped she'd teach Alain a thing or two. But watching how Alain ran over, jumped over the back of the couch, and rolled over it and onto the floor in a fit of laughter, Katomi knew that would be much more difficult than his mother thought. Boys were such a nuisance, and Alain had to have been the worst of them. Still, he was her friend.
    Katomi removed her eyes from the boy laughing on the floor and glanced over at a sleepy Alyssa who had entered the room. The tent their family owned was large, and had curtains that separated the rooms. It was more than most people in the Aigua cult had, more than Katomi had for sure. As Alyssa came over to them, Katomi couldn't help but think about what it would be like to be a young girl that had grown up in a large home, and with a good family. She could hardly fathom it, considering she'd grown up with no one. She'd lived alone for a long time; of course, she always had her cult and Alain's family whenever she visited. But that's about as close as she got.
    Katomi grinned as she went over and scooped Alyssa up. Alain couldn't help but smile a little as Alyssa giggled in her arms. Alyssa didn't laugh often, she was shy, and fragile, but she was different around Katomi. Alyssa loved her like her own sister, and kept glancing back and forth between the girl holding her and Alain. Alyssa was precious. Katomi knew it as well as Alain did. Katomi found any small person or thing important, because their futures were unwritten. They could grow up to be just about anything. Whether they would be a hero or villain, legend, or nothing at all. Would they fix the world or destroy it. Those things were to be determined now, at least in part. And even now, they could see in Alyssa a beam of light. Covered, at the moment perhaps, but day by day it would shine through a little more. And Katomi valued that, wanted to help grow that, and protect it from anything that might destroy it. It was now her experiences were beginning, the experiences she would use later to determine her path. Small things only stay small for so long. They can either become a sunset or hurricane. And as someone even a little bit older, Katomi wanted to help guide her in the right direction.
    Sitting back down in the chair with Alyssa still in her arms, the little girl snuggled into her side and Katomi's eyes gleamed, and then fell on Alain. He was hanging upside down on the couch now smirking. Then as she glared he stuck his tongue out at her. Oh, that was it! Katomi stood up, walked over to where the boy was hanging, and decked him.
    Alain yelped, rolled so he was lying on the couch face up and grumbled, "Weird girl."   
          Katomi scoffed, "Stupid boy."
    They both just looked at each other for a moment, glaring. Then, something about Katomi's eyes changed and she smirked. Alain noticed the moment they did because he nervously laughed and scooted as far away from Katomi as the couch would let him.   
    Katomi smirked, "I think it's about time someone set you straight."
    Before Alain had a chance to react, Katomi had leaped over to where he sat on the couch and sent him running.
    "Come back here you idiot!" She yelled as she chased Alain into a random guest room. As she approached he scampered away but she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the corner he had crawled into. Now it was on. Both kids ran towards each other, gripping their opponent's hands and wrestling to the ground. Alain was only on top of her for a moment, before she swung her leg over him, knocking him off of her and to the ground. Before Alain could move, Katomi pinned his arms to the ground and dug her nails in with a wicked grin. Alain tried to fight for a moment, but then gave up, and grumbled, "Okay, you win. Off. OFF."
    Smugly, Katomi let him go, and said, "So next time you want to be a stupid boy, remember this."
    Alain rolled his eyes, "Yeah yeah, whatever Katomi." There was a look of victory in her eyes that didn't go away, even as they left the room.
    Alyssa stood in front of the door holding Calvin's hand, and Katomi smiled sweetly at them, before saying, "Well, I'm going to start breakfast, as I always do. Because Alain can't cook."
    "I could if I tried!"Alain said, folding him arms stubbornly.
    "Well, if you're so sure about that, then go do it." She said, pointing towards the kitchen, "If you can cook just one meal then, and if you can, well, I'll give you a favor. But the meal has to actually be cooked, and has to actually be editable, and it'd be nice if it had a little flavor too."
    Alain scoffed, "Whatever, I'm going to make the best meal you've eaten for a long time, just you wait."
    Katomi smirked, "I'm waiting."
    Alain scowled, storming off into the other room, and after digging a cooking book out from a cabinet, laid it out. Inside listed multiple recipes, and after studying them thoroughly, he decided a black berry pie sounded appetizing. Simple, how hard could this be? There were a few problems though, like the fact he'd never cooked anything before, and they were low on black berries. Glancing around to the other room to make sure Katomi was preoccupied with his siblings, Alain snickered, closing the curtain to the kitchen and headed away into a far isolated corner to work.
    Alain had mastered water magic at a young age, and now, especially with the help of his private tutor, was working on the other elements as well. He knew he was talented, how advanced his magic was, how easily he picked up on things. And with fire and air magic being the two most difficult elements, they were also the most powerful. Air magic he hadn't touched yet, everyone said that despite his gifts, he was too young. However, he had begun working on fire magic, and was able to control it fairly well, especially for his age. He was in luck, because that just might be able to help him in this situation.
    Finding a bunch of ingredients and mixing them together to make the dough was the first step, and a simple one. He hadn't found any berries yet, but he was sure he could add them later; using his fire magic was what was currently on his mind. It was cheating, using it instead of trying to figure out the stove, but that's why he was so eager to do it. He would awe Katomi with his excellent cooking and "quick learning" and get her back for all the stupid little games she played with him. Plus, Alain knew Katomi couldn't use her fire magic yet, and that made him feel even better he could use it himself. He had the pie crust in a pan and ready to go, and couldn't wait any longer. He was sure he could skip a few steps and cook this first. When you were cheating, instructions weren't necessary. You could get away with practically anything. So, here it went. Setting the pan in the sink, Alain carefully began to heat it up, controlling the temperature the same way he'd been taught. This would be much faster than having to wait out the whole "cooking in the oven" process.
    Soon, he had finished, he had completely perfected his magic . . . and completely ruined his meal. He hadn't thought about how badly he messed up the recipe until the crust was a golden brown, and it wasn't a pie. Because apparently, he realized as he went to take the next step, you were supposed to cook the bottom of the pie, the filling, and the top, all together. This meant he would have to start over, back to square one. He would need to remix the ingredients, still find some fruit and cheat again by using his magic to cook it. All of which took time he didn't have. No doubt Katomi would poke her head in at any moment to see how he was coming along, and see he hadn't even started. Not to mention if she found the crust. She'd know he used his magic and would laugh about it and hold it over his head for the rest of his life. Miserably, Alain dumped the crust into the waste pan. 
    It seemed he had lost. Silently, he kissed Katomi's promised favor goodbye. Or maybe she had never planned to give him a favor to begin with. She knew fair well he was going to fail, that he couldn't cook even if he tried. Although . . . he still could make something. Claim he'd misheard her, and thought "cooking" just meant making some form of breakfast. And while they didn't have any black berries, they still did have other kinds of fruit. The counter held some bananas that needed to be used up, and he'd seen his mom stick some fruit in the fridge the other day. So he'd make a fruit bowl. Why not? It was healthy, simple, and at least then he wouldn't have to go back out there empty handed. Getting a rather large bowl from the shelf, a couple bananas and other fruits, he began artistically placing them decoratively around the bowl. Mixing the different flavors and smiling as the colors blended.
    He recognized most of the fruits he used. There were lots of cherries, which he placed along the top. His mother always smelled of them, but he had never known why. Maybe because they had always been her favorite. He found himself rather enjoying the different shapes he used the knife to cut the fruits into. It was like having his own rainbow, each fruit he chopped up was unique, different and yet all still delicious in their own way, and all together pretty beautiful too. The apple pieces he cut into triangles, they were the base of the bowl. Then came the circles of bananas, and so on. He finally had the mixture of apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and had only room for the last fruit, which was unfamiliar.
    Before adding it to the rest, he narrowed his eyes, staring at it curiously. On the bag he had found it in, his mother had written Aiwirith. Whatever that meant. After he finished cutting it up, Alain gathered the pieces together and put the knife away. All that was left to do was fill up the middle with these fruits and be on his way. But the way the fruit smelled put him on edge. It wasn't bad, just so . . .different. For a second, he considered just putting the fruit away, but curiosity got the best of him, and before he realized it, he had slipped a piece into his mouth and was chewing. That's when the room began to blur and an image appeared in his head. An image of blood. His parents stood there, bleeding as they dropped to the ground. The three cult leaders fell beside them. All together, they laid there, faces pale, and eyes sad before they dulled over. Then the vision changed and Alain saw himself, standing side by side with his siblings, the three of them stared out into the crowds of  people from their cult. They all cheered as Alain, along with Alyssa and Calvin, were chosen to be the next three. The Aigua cult held them in position and respect, as well as in a position of responsibility. It was now their job to protect their cult, and like their parents and old three had, give their lives if necessary. It all depended on them. The vision then changed again. Alain was years older now, surrounded by darkness, and pain, and suffering. He somehow must have been incorrectly chosen. He had failed. Run, a voice spoke into the ears of the young boy who was now trembling in the middle of his kitchen floor, RUN!
    The image faded, and Alain snapped back into reality. After blinking a few times, he found he was still shaking, and Katomi, standing in the doorway, was staring wide eyed at him, worried as she whispered, "Alain..."her voice carried an unusual fear, "Are . . . you alright?"
    "Y-yeah . . ." Alain responded, shaking his head to fully wake himself back up, "Just a little dazed, that's all."
    Alain had remained silent for the rest of the day. Katomi had tried a few times to ask what was going on, what had happened, but Alain's face stayed blank as he shrugged her off and claimed it didn't matter. So she eventually gave up, knowing he wasn't going to tell her, at least not for a while.
    Alyssa had spent the day playing quietly with her dolls, while Calvin got into trouble and forced Katomi to chase him down. As the hours ticked on, she realized that it was getting late . . . very late. It had been almost an hour past the time Alain's parents were supposed to return. Perhaps they had been held up at work, or had other matters to attend to before they could leave. Even as she convinced herself there was nothing to worry about, Katomi couldn't help getting an uneasy feeling that something was wrong.  She couldn't even smell the cherries anymore. Instead, the tent was beginning to reek of that weird fruit Alain had eaten earlier. After Katomi saw how dazed he'd been after it, she had thrown it out immediately. The rest of the regular fruit she had let Calvin and Alyssa snack on, and she'd enjoyed a little bit of it too. However, Alain hadn't had one bite, not then, or for the rest of the day either. And no matter what she sprayed and did to try to rid the house of the smell of that awful fruit it stayed, and just kept getting stronger.
    Time kept passing, and even after Katomi had gotten Alyssa and Calvin into bed, no one had showed up. Katomi knew she should be heading home, but leaving Alain here when he was in such an odd state wasn't an option. So she stayed seated, and watched the hand on the clock continue to move. One minute passed. Then another.
    Suddenly, a gruff male voice shouted from outside the tent, "Hello! Alain are you home?!"
    Slowly, Katomi got up, peeking outside the tent to see a man, tall, quite a bit over six foot, staring down at her with intimidating eyes as he rubbed his beard. Katomi's response was quiet, "He's here . . .but, who might you be?"
    "My name is Jared Davis, not that that really matters. Would it be alright if I came in and had a seat?" Katomi turned around and gave Alain a questioning look, which he responded to with a nod, before stepping aside and letting him in.
    Once the man was seated in one of their chairs, he looked towards Alain, distress spread across his face, "This is hard for me to say . . ." Jared began, his voice still deep even as it softened, "But there was an incident with one of the dark cults . . .unfortunately, your parents, along with the three, didn't make it out alive . . ." Alain's face drained of color, as his wide eyes met Katomi's teary ones. The two stared at each other in silence for what seemed to be an eternity.'
    Jared, after a while, spoke again, "There's more. Usually, it takes a while for the magic to pick the next three, but it seems this case is different. They have already been chosen, in fact, only moments after their deaths. You, and your siblings, were chosen."Alain felt empty. This couldn't be happening. He was unable to respond without choking on his words, unable to cry without it turning to screaming, and unable to move without collapsing to the ground. So Katomi moved for him, rising from her seat and making her way over to the man.
    "Thank you, for delivering the news," The young girl said as steadily as she could.
    "It's my honor," Jared responded before turning to Alain, "Your parents were incredible people, and died honorably. You will be given time to grieve, however, as soon as possible we would like to begin you and your siblings training. You have a long way to go before you magically, and mentally are ready for your roles are our cults three. But I have faith in you. I'll let you be now, and as for you young lady," Jared said looking at Katomi, "I'll escort you home."
    Alain watched Katomi's sad eyes fall on him one last time before she exited the tent, and went into the darkness. The moment she was gone, Alain started shaking violently, with the mixture of all sadness, fear, and anger, before bolting to the back of the tent where the fruit had been thrown out. Clenching his fist he swung, punching the wall. The fruit had given him a warning, and he'd ignored it. He had let his parents die, been completely useless. Unable to stand the stench of the fruit he stormed outside, letting the cold air bite him without a second thought. Everything inside of him was too busy falling apart for him to care. The man had said his parents had died honorably, but what did it matter? Who cared how they died, they were dead, and Alain would have done anything to have them back. It wasn't honorable, how they left him behind. Whatever good  they achieved, Alain didn't care. That man bringing him the news wasn't sad his parents were dead, no one in this cult mourned them. They just respected how they would give their lives for honor! But to Alain, honor just wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the warmth and scent of his mother. It wasn't worth the laughter and brilliance of his father. Even the entire cult wasn't worth their lives! And now that this stupid cult had taken his parents away, they wanted him to move on. Their leaders had been killed, and already they were being replaced. But not by him, Alain decided. He wouldn't be one of their next three. He wouldn't work to protect the very thing that had taken his parents from him.
    So that night, he took his sister and brother, and left