When I came home from work Saturday afternoon, Aiden was there waiting for me, as planned. He waved from the old porch swing as I walked up the driveway.
“I brought the goods, as arranged,” he grinned mischievously, patting the messenger bag at his side.
“You were supposed to leave them in a waterproof box down the well,” I retorted with a wry smile.
“But then I wouldn’t have had a good excuse to talk to the proprietor of the well.”
“Oh, that is a good point. Would you like to come in?”
“I’d love to,” he replied with a wink.
He followed me inside after I unlocked the door. I dropped my keys beside the flashlight on the small end table and carefully set my helmet on the floor beside it.
“I, uh, like what you’ve done with the place,” he said, surveying the empty walls, threadbare couch, and lack of lights.
“Yeah, it’s more or less the same now as how I found it a few years ago,” I admitted.
“So, you just woke up one day, on the floor of this cabin, with no belongings or memories… including your own name?”
“That’s about it,” I answered truthfully. “I remember feeling like I was in a dense fog when I woke up, and I had a splitting headache for about three days afterward. I didn’t have a wallet or anything, just my clothes. But I was wearing this.” I took my sapphire pendant from my shirt to show him and he took a step forward to inspect it. He smelled nice, though I tried very hard not to think about it as he turned my pendant over, examining it closely.
“It’s very beautiful – I suppose it’s tanzanite?” he asked, still looking at the stone.
Surprised, I replied, “I always assumed it was sapphire.”
“I initially thought so too, but because of the violet hue, I think it’s actually a tanzanite. Tanzanites are quite a bit rarer than sapphires.” He glanced up at my face. “It seems a perfect stone for you; the exact shade of your eyes, particularly your right eye. And just about as exceptional as it gets, in terms of gems. Whoever gave it to you must have cared about you very much.”
His words made my breath catch. But before I could stammer a response, he took an abrupt step away from me, turning to look at the fireplace.
“What happened here?” Aiden asked, fingering the charred bricks.
“That,” I answered, having more or less collected myself once again, “is what I was referencing when I wrongly accused you of messing with my fireplace the other day. I was sitting in front of the fire, right here, after attending Professor Borstein’s lecture for the first time, and I was irritated, thinking about something...”
I was thinking about you.
I trailed off at the uninvited thought, feeling my face flush hotly. He glanced over his shoulder to look at me, eyebrows raised expectantly.
“Anyway,” I continued hastily, “The fire practically exploded into my living room – twice. I was so freaked out that I dumped a bucket of water on it, thinking it was haunted or something. It’s been a strange week and a half,” I finished wearily, dropping on the couch.
He nodded sympathetically, then took a seat next to me. “Most of us only have to deal with figuring out one Element, and we usually have guidance from our family, or, you know, the Order.” He gave a slight eye roll. “But you’ve had to navigate five abilities on your own, with no help whatsoever…” He trailed off for a moment, a line appearing between his brows. I watched his expression closely, trying to decide whether it was frustration I saw etched there, or pity. The former I could tolerate; the latter was a different story.
“Anyway,” he continued, his voice suddenly sounding businesslike. “Speaking of the Order, I brought you some things for your quest tonight.”
I scooted closer to him while he unslung his messenger bag from over his shoulder and placed it in his lap.
“I took the liberty of getting you what we in the delinquent industry call ‘a burner phone,’” he said pleasantly, handing me a small black cellphone. I looked at him, fairly bewildered.
“In other words, I got you a cheap, prepaid mobile phone to keep with you,” he clarified. “I’ve already programmed your number in my phone and put mine in yours – I hope you don’t mind?” he added casually, the last word inflected as a question.
I shook my head. “Of course not.”
He smiled. “Now, here’s a portable battery charging pack for it. It should provide a couple full charges before you’ll need to plug it and recharge somewhere with working electricity – or I suppose you could always recharge it yourself,” he winked. “I also got you this tiny handsfree earpiece. It goes in your ear, like this.”
He took out a very small pink earbud from the front pocket of his bag. Gently sweeping my hair back behind my ear, he carefully placed it inside my ear. For a brief moment, our eyes caught. I’m embarrassed to admit that I may have trembled slightly. I couldn’t remember ever being touched like that before. Not by a man, at least. And a rather good-looking man, at that. My face suddenly felt hot. Aiden swept my hair back into place, his hand lingering there for a moment, inspecting me carefully.
“I can’t see the earpiece at all,” he said, satisfied with his work.
Swallowing, I nodded. As if suddenly remembering it was there, he swiftly pulled his hand away from my face.
“You’ve done so much for me,” I whispered. “Why?”
“I’ve been where you are,” he replied grimly. “Leaving the Order cost me everything – my family, my friends, my entire community. So, I know what it’s like to feel completely alone. Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “I understand you might not be used to the latest gadgets and technology, since you’ve presumably never owned a cellphone. Do you want me to show you anything...?”
“I actually helped Evelyn figure all of this out when she bought her first smart phone a few months ago,” I replied, glad for having at least some limited experience. “Handsfree is the same thing as Bluetooth, right?”
“Yes, right.” He smiled. “This way we can talk and be in touch tonight. You can keep your phone in your pocket and I’ll be right there in your ear if you need me, like the secret service. I’ll be Maxwell Smart, and you can be Agent Ninety-Nine.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I laughed.
His eyes bulged slightly. “You’ve never seen Get Smart? Oh my god, we have to fix that. Monday night, would you let me help you celebrate your pretend birthday by coming over and watching it with me after class? I have every episode. They have shoe phones and weaponized rubber ducks!”
“How could I possibly say no to that?” I replied puckishly.
He gave me a pointed look. “I know you’re being sarcastic, but you really shouldn’t mock the classics.”
I raised my hands in the air defensively. “I would never! Tell me more about the shoe phones.”
“There’s a cheese sandwich phone, too.”
“You see, that’s where you went wrong,” I said, shaking my head disapprovingly. “You should always start the story with cheese sandwiches…”
***
At around seven o’clock that night, armed with the goodies Aiden had brought me – but alas, no cheese sandwich phone – I again walked up to the wrought iron gate in front of the nondescript brick building belonging to the Order. Pressing the button, I waited for the familiar high-pitched greeting.
“Yes, good evening?” came the trilling voice.
“Hi, I’m Aspen. From yesterday? Savannah mentioned something about a Saturday night mixer?”
“Oh yes, Aspen, welcome! Let me buzz you in!” she replied cheerfully.
The door buzzed and swung open. Holding my head high despite the brick in my stomach, I headed back up the overgrown sidewalk that led to the unadorned front door. When I pushed it open, the receptionist was waiting on the other side to greet me in the extravagant lobby.
“Aspen, don’t you look lovely!” she said, surveying my outfit. I wore my usual form-fitting black leggings and leather jacket, though I did yield to the occasion and applied a little eyeliner and mascara to fit in better.
“My name is Laleh, by the way. It’s Persian, for Tulip,” she smiled. “I’m sorry we didn’t get properly introduced yesterday!” she reached out her hand to shake mine.
“Nice to meet you, Laleh,” I said, shaking her hand politely.
“The Mixer is just upstairs, on the first floor above us,” she was saying as she led me through the lobby. “Take the elevator up one floor and you won’t miss it.” She motioned to the corridor on our right. “I’ll try to pop in a little later. Have fun!”
Once in the elevator, I pulled out the phone Aiden had gotten me and typed him a quick message.
Back in the Lion’s Den, Maxwell.
No, no. When you’re active on the field, I’m ‘Agent 86’, came the quick reply.
Roger that, 86.
The doors opened and I stuck the phone back in my jacket pocket. The room in front of me looked like some sort of nightclub, with about forty people hanging around, laughing, dancing, and drinking. The overhead lights were off, though colorful strobes and hanging strands of flashing LED bulbs bathed the room in swatches of dancing lights. Club music was blaring loudly through high speakers in the back. On the right side of the room was a long bar with about a dozen stools, a few of which were taken. The bartender, a conventionally-attractive blonde guy in his late thirties, stood behind the counter making drinks for a group of women who were laughing loudly at some joke he must have just made.
The crowd made my instincts shriek in alarm. Don’t attract attention. Don’t let them find you.
I wanted to turn around and head straight back into the elevator, but before I could, a guy about my age approached me. He wore a red hat and a black t-shirt over loose-fitting jeans.
“Hey! You must be new around here! I’m John,” he said, raising his voice over the music. “It’s nice to meet you!” He stuck his hand out to shake mine.
I took his hand, then quickly released it. “I’m Aspen.”
“Ashley?” he repeated. I didn’t correct him. “Oh, you really are new!” he said, pointing to my empty left forearm.
“Oh… yeah,” I replied. “I’m taking my assessment tomorrow.”
“That’s awesome. I’m a Hydromancer, Level Two,” he said, holding up his arm to show me his blue tattoo. “Wanna see something cool?” he asked, raising his drink.
“Uh… sure?” I replied warily.
He held his glass of beer steady in front of his face for a moment, looking at it intently. A moment later he jerked the glass downward in a sudden woosh. I jumped backwards, expecting the amber liquid to splash all over me, but the beer remained hovering in the air, still holding the cylindrical shape of the glass cup despite the fact that it was floating free of its container.
Intrigued, I took a step closer to look.
“Careful,” he said, “Getting it back in the glass is still a little dicey.” He held the glass just under the floating alcohol, then scrunched his face in concentration. The beer’s shape crumpled away as the liquid splashed messily back into his glass, foaming and sloshing over the sides. He shook the beer off his hand, somewhat abashedly, then grinned at me.
“That was… really interesting,” I said, wiping the foam off my jacket.
“I think I’m gonna get myself another beer,” he announced. “Can I get you a drink?”
“You know, I think I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I said quickly. “Maybe a little later.”
“Sounds good!” he called after me.
I headed back to the elevator, then dialed Aiden’s number. It rang from the earpiece in my ear. Cool invention, I thought, marveling at the Bluetooth technology.
He answered quickly. “Aspen, everything okay there?”
“Other than having to subject myself to this insufferable social gathering, I’m fine.”
He chuckled. “Did they swarm like bees?”
“One did, but then I made a quick beeline for the elevator.”
He groaned at the bad pun. “Okay, member records are kept on the fourth floor, but since you mentioned that Savannah was reading a file when you walked in, I’d check her office first. Just be careful!”
“Agreed,” I said, hitting the button for the fifth floor.
A few moments later, the doors opened into the waiting room. All four of the office doors were shut, but I couldn’t see any light coming from underneath. I took a deep breath. I probably should have been more nervous, but something about having Aiden’s voice in my ear felt reassuring.
“I’m almost there,” I said quietly. Approaching Savannah’s door, I tried the handle. “Ugh. It’s locked.”
“Yeah, not surprising,” he answered. “Do you have the grocery card I gave you?”
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the plastic card. “Yep, I sure do. You said this saves you ten cents a gallon on gas? Can I borrow it on my way home?”
“Absolutely.”
I slid the card into the seam of the doorframe, above the handle. Making a slight sawing motion, I tried to slide it between the doorframe and the latch.
“Don’t forget to tug on the handle while you slide the card through,” Aiden reminded me helpfully. “That always helps me when I lock myself out of my office.”
“Oh, right,” I said, pulling on the handle just as the card caught the latch. The door swung open.
“Agent Ninety-Nine has successfully breached the barrier,” I whispered. Aiden chuckled in my ear.
Once in Savannah’s office, I shut the door behind me and took out a small flashlight. Then I headed for her desk, careful not to fall over any chairs on the way.
“Her desk is a mess,” I muttered once I got there, sifting through various pages and clutter. Eventually I spotted the corner of a black folder sticking out from below a stack of yellow papers. “I think I found it,” I said to Aiden.
“Don’t take it with you, she’ll notice it’s missing,” he cautioned.
“Okay,” I said. “Hang on, I’m putting the flashlight in my mouth so I can read this better.”
“Standing by,” he replied.
Clamping onto the flashlight with my teeth, I opened the thick, black file and immediately saw a picture of myself paperclipped to the right side of the papers. It was a recent photo and appeared as though it had been taken while I was leaving Gina’s restaurant. Strauss, I thought irritably, quickly connecting the dots. I moved the unnerving photo aside to read the text underneath. The top of the page had the words Aspen / Rowan Elizabeth Fulman. My breath caught roughly in my throat.
“Aspen, is everything okay?” Aiden asked, hearing me gasp. I didn’t reply as I quickly skimmed the rest of the page.
Date of Birth: June 22, 1994
Place of Birth: Fairfax, VA
Abilities: Suspected Polymancer (π); Exact abilities unknown
Parents: David (H/III) and Elizabeth (A/III, El/III) Fulman
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as my hands started to shake. My arms broke out in cold goose-bumps. The lamp on Savannah’s desk flickered on and off.
“Aspen, please answer me,” Aiden whispered in my ear, anxiety creeping in his voice. But I couldn’t. Through the closed door of Savannah’s office, I heard a familiar ding as the elevator doors slid open.
Someone was coming.