Ice Phoenix (5 page)

Ranstitha
was a beautiful city. Glass domes rotated slowly against a sand-burnished background. Wacky and wonderful sculptures combined with living plants decorated the streets in a perfect union of harmony, and sleek, hi-tech vehicles zoomed by on various levels of the city. The streets were paved with a light mineral that added to its pristine beauty. Meandering throughout the city was an artificial river around twenty-metres wide. The water was clear and calm, a perfect glass for the strange and fascinating species that inhabited it.

In the far distance, the distinct shapes of three moons cast a blue and purple haze across the sky. The sun's white light retreated as it gave way to the encroaching dusk.

The city heaved with life. People dressed in some of the most outrageous, elegant, and simplest costumes walked along the many bridges that crossed the river, while others glided effortlessly on the walkways at varying speeds.

Terrana gazed bleakly at this world from her bedroom window. The apartment building she was in resembled the coiled shell of a snail, and it overlooked the river. Her left eye itched from days of crying, and she tried to ease the irritation by blinking. She nestled in the wide frame of the window, staring at the ships hovering in the sky, their sails flapping idly in the wind.

Terrana raised a thin, bony hand to the glass, running her fingers across. Through the transparent bandages, she could see that her skin was still raw. She had been told that the pigmentation would return, but she couldn't care less. Not even the hairless brows or patchy face could distract her from the real pain inside her.

It hurt so much
— like someone had stabbed her with a knife and was twisting it. Her family was gone. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her mother and complain about some trivial thing Archie had done. Or swing on the hammock with her dad. Or ... her throat tightened ... to drop a crab on Archie while he was sleeping. Most of all, she wished she could tell them she loved them. But she had been robbed of that chance. Her vision clouded as a single tear leaked from her eye. She had tasted it so many times that she knew what it would taste like. It was saltier than the saltiest ocea
n
— and it was bitter.

The people on this planet would not allow her to return to her world to say her final goodbyes. But truth be told, she didn't know whether she was strong enough to anyway. Returning home would be like reliving the events of that night and dealing with the harsh truth that her parents and brother were dead.

Suicide had crossed her mind. She even attempted it, although her reasons for doing so had been different to what the people in the hospital had thought. Some little part of her had hoped that she was trapped in a nightmare, and so she held her breath to see whether she would wake up. Two minutes later, her hospital room was swarming with doctors and flying bots trying to force oxygen into her lungs.

"I need to wake up," she had cried. "I need to return home!" But they only carted her to the sleep-gen cylinder and sealed her in. "
I hate you all
!" she had screamed. "
You have no right to keep me here
!"

She knew
they had tried everything. They even brought in a grief counsellor to try to talk to her about her feelings, but he was an alien, and there was no way he could have understood her. It never occurred to her that, perhaps,
she
was the alien.

"You're not dreaming," the counsellor had said, after losing patience with her. "Your mind would have to be twisted if you simply
dreamt
up this whole situation. Your parents are really dead and your brothe
r
— he sacrificed his life for you! Do you want to return to your world and see the remains of your house? The graves of your family? Because that's the only thing left for you now."

Terrana had screamed. Unfortunately for the counsellor, a little bald man with a long chin, Baneyon had walked in at that very moment and overheard everything. He grabbed the counsellor by the collar with one hand and dragged him from the room. It was the last time she ever saw the counsellor.

But what he had said was true. There was nothing left for her back home, and it wasn't because she didn't have any relatives, even though she didn't. And it wasn't because she couldn't move in with family friend
s
— she could. They would have accepted her gladly. It was because the most important companion in her life, aside from her family, had abandoned her. Puddy. No matter where she was, how far she travelled, how long she dreamed, she had always been able to feel him. He had always been there with her. Even on the night of the fire, she had felt him, anxious and afraid.

But she couldn't feel him anymore. And
that
was the knife inside her. The disorientation, the disbelief, the hurt, and the emptiness stemmed from the loss of her family. But the knife, created when Puddy had deliberately severed the connection between them, hurt her physically. It grounded her to this reality, and she knew she wasn't dreaming.

It took a while before she could accept it. She didn't speak, she didn't look at anyone, and she didn't eat. For days she stared blankly into space, struggling silently with her grief. The aliens worried and fretted over her, trying to encourage her to speak, to eat, to
react
. But they were all so different that she couldn't respond to them. In fact, their presence made her retreat into herself even more.

And then one day Baneyon had come into
her room and sat next to her. He cradled her head to his chest and whispered softly, "You can cry, you know. If it's hurting you, just let it come out. No one person could keep all that grief in there without exploding."

It had started with a single tear, followed by a sob. Her shoulders shook, and suddenly she was clinging to Baneyon like a baby, wailing her soul out. It had been the first breakthrough. She
hadn't spoken for days after that but, to her annoyance, he did. She began to realise he wasn't going to give up on her.

He started talking about his world.

"This planet is Pophusia. It's one of the ten inhabited planets that exist in Sector Three. A sector is a cluster of stars and planets that exists in one part of Dartkala or the In-Between. You may know it as Space. In total there are thirteen sectors that we know of. Your planet, Earth, is part of Sector Thirteen."

He occasionally paused to see whether she was listening but, as usual, she kept her expression blank.

"A very long time ago, ten sectors came together to form the United Worlds of the In-Between. Their purpose was to maintain peace throughout Dartkala and encourage understanding between the different races. Sector Thirteen, including your planet, is not part of this union, and the knowledge of our existence to any race in your sector is strictly forbidden.

"Terrana, there is something you possess which sets you apart from the people in your world. It's the reason you're here. You possess something called
qi
.
It is an energy that exists throughout the universe but to many people in UWIB, it's like bloo
d
— a part of our bodies that gives us very special abilities."

He reached out and stroked the exposed part of her face.

"It allowed you to travel to us, to see us every night in your dreams. It is an ability that does not belong in Sector Thirteen, and UWIB cannot risk your people discovering our existence through you. Not yet."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that human beings were classified as BDI, a race consumed with avarice, narcissism, violence and destruction. In short, BDI stood for Body
of Dangerous Individuals or by its more common universal slang, Body of Dangerous Idiots. But he did tell her something else so that she wouldn't feel so alone.

"There're people in your world who possess
qi. But their abilities are very limited and none of them ever crossed the spatial barrier as you did."

Terrana was listening, although she gave no indication of it. In a strange way, everything he had said made sense to her. A colourful bird with long tail feathers settled on the window ledge, hopping from one side to the other
before stopping to stare at her through the glass. She tapped on the window in an attempt to scare it off and was surprised when it suddenly bared teeth.

She pulled her hand back and looked up at the ships sailing in the sky with their bright, red sails. They reminded her of Chinese Junks with majestic dragon wings, while others resembled galleons, powerful and deadly.

Puddy. Her thoughts couldn't help but return to him. Why did he abandon her? Why did she feel he had cut out her heart? He had left her when she needed him the most. Why?

It started as a little ball of darkness festering in the pit of her stomach, spreading and contaminating every kind thought she once possessed. She found she was suddenly infused with newfound strength and determination. For the briefest moment, her eye turned black, and a dark liquid seeped out.

She relished her icy rage. It froze the pain inside her, made her forget about her life in Fiji and filled her with a burning desire to destroy everything in her path.

"Lunch is ready
."

The dark liquid retreated into her eye, and as quickly as it had appeared, the rage vanished. Baneyon knelt beside her.

"This time it's really good. I roasted a kantakry bug fish with caramelised root vegetables. You would like it."

Fish.
That was different to the usual pills she swallowed. Its aroma drifted into the room and for the first time since leaving the hospital, Terrana felt hungry.

She couldn't remain a ghost forever, crying about her family and Puddy. Neither could she return home. She had to adapt, to learn about this new world and the people who lived in it. And she would start today.

"Why is it that I can understand you?"

"School?"
Terrana said in surprise. She ignored the disapproving looks of the other customers as she waved her fork in the air, scowling at Baneyon. They were sitting in a trendy café along the river, lunching on sea conch and salad.

A month had passed since she had eaten her first meal of fish with Baneyon, and every day that followed had been a hurdle as she struggled to overcome her misery and despair.
Move on,
she told herself.
Archie saved me because he wanted me to live. Don't insult him or he's gonna throw me in the lovo pit when I reach the afterlife.

A
lovo pit was a traditional Fijian oven that was simply a hole in the ground, filled halfway with hot lava rocks. Food such as fish, pork, and root crops was lovingly wrapped in coconut leaves, laid over the rocks and then covered with earth. It took anywhere between two and three hours for the food to cook, before it was dug up and eaten.

So, as the days went by, Terrana learned to bury her emotions and focused on learning everything Baneyon was trying to teach her.
Finally she began to settle in. Her burns had almost healed and she no longer had to wear the bandages, which was a relief. A light scar shaded the right side of her face, but even that would disappear within the next few weeks. The only thing left was to grow her hair. It stood no more than two centimetres off her scalp, making her look like a little cadet.

"Yes, school," Baneyon told her patiently. "No doubt you know what it means."

Terrana glared at him. "I know what school is, but why do I have to go to Pa Gumpina? Why can't I just stay here on Pophusia?"

"Because Pophusia doesn't have a school for people like you.
You knew that already."

Baneyon had been tutoring her every day since she had uttered her first words in his apartment and, to his
surprise, she had proven to be an excellent pupil. She had already memorised every planet in the thirteen sectors as well as their coordinates on the spatial map.

It hadn't been difficult for her to grasp that different regions in the universe were classified as sectors, and that gates led into and out of them. She was also adapting well enough to the different races and species
around her, and she no longer pointed and stared at them with an open mouth, much to his relief.

However, quick as she was, it had taken her longer to understand the concepts of Dartkala and
qi. Dartkala, also referred to as the 'In-Between' was the space or darkness that existed between all the sectors. Qi, was the energy born from Dartkala and existed everywhere.

"When the
qi measurement in your body surpasses fifty quinces, you have reached the level of a weaver. There are three qi classifications; weaver, lacer, and feiyed. You are a weaver, as I am. A lacer is someone who manipulates qi in a different manner than you would do. Only animals are feiyed. If by some misfortune you should encounter a feiyed animal, my only advice is to run; they are dangerous.
Never
confront a feiyed animal."

And so it had boiled down to classification. Baneyon was sending her to the planet Pa Gumpina, which had the only school for weavers. Pophusia, where Terrana wished to remain, boasted the largest school for lacers.

"What makes you so sure I'm a weaver?" Terrana was clearly unhappy with her classification.

"You manipulate
qi directly with your mind and body. Lacers, on the other hand, rely on a medium that synchronises their qi to manipulate it. The exercises we've been doing together prove that you are a weaver."

"I don't want to go." She had that sullen look again. Baneyon sighed, unable to understand why she was so reluctant to attend Minda Yerra, the school in Pa Gumpina.

"Headmistress Marl and Master Drummik are looking forward to seeing you. They'll take good care of you."

She didn't say anything. Instead, she looked as though
she was about to cry.

"Hey... come on. It's not going to be that bad. You'll make new friends, learn new things and have a good time. I had a great time when I was at school!"

Terrana rewarded his efforts with a miserable look. She couldn't tell him that he was the reason she didn't want to leave.

"Oh my, what a beautiful child!
Which sector do you come from?" Baneyon and Terrana looked up in surprise and, for different reasons, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

A stunning, well dressed Pophusian woman with ample curves stood at their table. Her warm, silver eyes sparkled in the sunlight, her hair cascaded over her shoulders in gentle waves, and, like Baneyon,
she was tall with greyish skin. She wore a striped knee length jumpsuit. It had a low neckline, revealing a very attractive cleavage, which was further accessorized with silver sparkles lightly smeared over her chest.

She also wore colourful rings, which Terrana took to immediately
. Pretty high heels embellished with coloured crystals completed her look.

"Eliksha Bakshur," she said, holding out her hand. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Baneyon shook her hand, a stupid grin on his face. "Not at all. Baneyon Ondur, and this is my adopted child, Terrana Ondur."

A waiter came over immediately, dressed in a white shirt with a black bow tie and a pair of black trousers. He was quite furry, with fox-like ears and big shiny teeth.

"A glass of Daiphus red, please," said Eliksha. The waiter nodded and disappeared.

"Forgive my rudeness but I've not seen a child like you before," she said, smiling at Terrana. "And with such a beautiful face, it's a pity to paint it with sadness."

Terrana smiled. It evoked the same response in Eliksha, and Baneyon suddenly found himself the envy of all the other men in the café. The waiter returned to the table with a tall glass of bubbling, red liquid. Upon closer examination, Terrana realised that it was filled with thousands of little red nodules that looked suspiciously like fish eggs.

"Would you like to try some?" Eliksha asked, noticing her interest. "They are frog eggs, from the very elusive red-spotted rain frog of Daiphus."

Frog eggs? Terrana wondered whether they tasted anything like fish eggs. "Sure, I'll try some."

"That's a good girl!" Eliksha handed her a long spoon and slid the glass over while Baneyon looked on, a gleam in his eyes.

The first mouthful tasted extremely sweet. The eggs must have been soaked in syrup. She bit into them, releasing a simultaneous explosion of salty and bitter flavours.

"So, what do you think?" Eliksha was looking at her, curiosity sketched
on her face.

"
Bitter.
" From the way her face scrunched up, it was obvious that Terrana was struggling to keep the eggs down.

"
Aah ..." said Eliksha awkwardly, unsure of how to help with Terrana's discomfort.

"
Gotta go!" Terrana mumbled through her half-closed mouth as she lunged out of her chair and dashed towards the toilets while dodging surprised waiters. At the same time, she tried not to bite into any more of the eggs, which still clung to her teeth.

Baneyon struggled to suppress his laughter as he watched her sprint away. He had been surprised when she had agreed to try the eggs.

"So, you adopted a child from Sector Thirteen. How unusual is that?
Imeldor
Baneyon Ondur."

Damn. He knew she had been too good to be true. She had referred to him by his title, Imeldor. Not many people recognised him as Baneyon Ondur, the youngest person to ever gain the highest rank a weaver could achieve. He sighed. "Okay
, who are you and who sent you?"

Her eyes could have melted stone in sunlight. "I am an L-Master. The L-Council sent me. You and the rest of the Imeldors pulled a fast one on us."

"I'm not sure I understand."

Baneyon thought quickly.
Eliksha Bakshur was a lacer and she had achieved the rank of an L-Master, the equivalent of an Imeldor. Even worse, the lacers were poking around Terrana, and that wasn't good news. To discover that a human child from Sector Thirteen possessed a high level of qi would certainly have disturbed the lacers. Their general reaction to the unknown was to place it under a microscope — in a lab, underground, on an unchartered planet.

"Our sources informed us that a child from Sector Thirteen had been brought to Pophusia, where she was treated for severe injuries and later adopted by none other than Baneyon Ondur himself. The child also has a secondary guardian, someone so high up that he or she cannot be named. There are only a few people in this sector who possess that level of anonymity."

When Baneyon was not forthcoming, Eliksha continued. "The child is also being sent to Minda Yerra. Why is that?"

Baneyon leaned forwards so that their faces were only centimetres apart. "That much is obvious. She's a weaver."

"That cannot be determined until she is tested by the lacers," Eliksha said forcefully.

"Eliksha, do you
really
think I would send Terrana to a school for weavers if she possessed a lacer's abilities? That makes no sense."

"It does if you are trying to conceal her. How did you even discover a child living on a remote island in Sector Thirteen?"

That was the problem. They hadn't discovered her. She had discovered them, and it was only after some urgent discussion with Master Drummik and Headmistress Marl that they decided he should travel to Sector Thirteen to fetch her. Since he was the closest to her sector at the time, it had made sense. Baneyon shuddered to think what would have happened if Master Drummik had informed him even a minute later.

While he was still thinking of how to answer Eliksha, Terrana returned to the table looking slightly green, but also relieved. Both adults immediately resumed their relaxed expressions.

The waiter reappeared carrying a large bowl carved from ice. He placed it carefully in the middle of the table and Terrana feasted her eyes on the multiple scoops of ice cream surrounded with fruit, none of which she recognised.

"Compliments of the house, sir," he said. "For the beautiful young ladies you have with you."

"Th-thank you," said Baneyon.

"Not at all, sir."
The waiter was already dishing out the ice cream into little bowls also carved from ice. When he left, Terrana could have sworn he winked at her.

It tasted a thousand times better than the red-spotted frog eggs. As she tucked into the dessert happily, Eliksha asked her a question. "Do you recognise the bird carved into the bowl, Terrana?"

Ask a stupid question, Terrana thought. Of course not. Her eyes had been on the ice cream the whole time. She shook her head, her mouth too full to speak.

"It's the ice-phoenix of Dartkala or, rather, an artist's guess of what it may look like. No one has actually seen it up close."

Reluctantly, Terrana put her spoon down and swallowed the rest of the ice cream. She eyed the bird carved into the bowl dubiously. It looked like a horrendous mutation of a chicken and a pineapple.

"Ice-phoenix?
As in, the feiyed bird that lives in the In-Between?"

"Yes, you know of it?"

"Only from what Baneyon told me. It breathes ice, freezing anything in its path instantly. When the ice is exposed to the In-Between for more than a minute, it turns into the hardest mineral ever known — velassium."

Surprise clearly showed on
Eliksha's face. "Well, someone's been educating you I see." She avoided looking at Baneyon as she said it, which was just as well. He had the look of a hero returning triumphantly to his hometown after winning an inter-galactic battle.

"How can I tell a feiyed animal from the normal ones?"

"Their eyes!" said Baneyon and Eliksha simultaneously. Terrana flashed them confused looks.

"By their eyes, Terrana," Eliksha said, cutting Baneyon off quickly. "When they are provoked, they draw on their
qi, and it shows in their eyes."

"Oh." Terrana gave it some thought. "Does the same happen with weavers and lacers?"

"It depends on the level of qi they possess. Only weavers and lacers with the highest amount of qi show it in their eyes.”

"Are there any other feiyed animals besides the ice-phoenixes?"

"Yes, there are," Baneyon answered quickly. "The winged faars of Swiva which belong to the queen of Sector Six. No one except for the queen's people is allowed near them, not that others haven't tried."

"The queen?"

"Baneyon can tell you about her," said Eliksha. Somehow, she didn't look too happy at the mention of the queen. "I must be on my way now ... I have an appointment to keep. But it was very nice meeting you, Terrana."

"Likewise," Terrana replied, flashing a big smile. Eliksha bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sure we'll meet again. Ta ta."

Baneyon and Terrana watched her slink away, their eyes glued to every bump and curve in that soft, silky jumpsuit. They weren't the only ones either; every male in the near vicinity had suddenly grown a pair of binoculars on their faces.