CHAPTER 17

The Product of Experimentation

            Farrah nearly had it all figured out.

            Petah—whoever he was—had saved Farrah and her brother from the fire two years ago just as she remembered. After that, she seemed to black out, and then suddenly she woke in a hospital bed on Ecual. Petah must’ve saved her and taken her to his home planet, but whether or not Eidan and Petah were the same person remained uncertain. Petah could be anybody, and Eidan, well, he could very well be a brother or son.

            “Here,” Eidan said, emerging from the forest beside the spiritual oasis. He had a type of wooden tray in his hands. “Allow this to be a symbol of my guilt and regret. I’ve prepared your favorites! At least, what I suspect to be your favorites.”

            He set the tray on the crystal surface before her, and for once the meal actually looked civilized. The bananas were cleanly cut, the pineapple was diced and the roasted parrot was boneless and set on a skewer. There was even a bit of garnish at the corner of the tray. It looked beautiful, and he was right. These were certainly some of Ari’el’s favorite foods.

            But not Farrah’s, she thought. Has he been trying to make me remember this entire time?

            She looked up from the food and smiled. “Thank you, Eidan, but this kindness wasn’t necessary. I’ve already forgiven you, and the fall truly wasn’t that terrifying.”

            Yaga came up beside her and sniffed the food. He looked up to Eidan and seemed to nod.

            Eidan released a breath. “All right. Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s nearing luncheon regardless. You need to eat.”

            “Aren’t you going to eat, as well?”

            He pursed his lips and shook his head. “No. Unfortunately, I mustn’t. I’m a Kinetic by nature and we Kinetics very rarely eat. The gods would surely condemn me if I continued to.”

            Farrah’s eyes widened. What was he saying? Eidan not being a cerdito wasn’t Eidan at all! He needed to eat. He was part human, after all. But… but why did this situation seem so familiar?

            Once again, she remembered her past with the man called Petah. It was late at night and all of her family members and friends were sitting around the fire eating. They told stories, sang songs and gossiped like they usually did, and as usual, Farrah sat on her own mat eating quietly. This time, however, she wasn’t alone.

            “Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked Petah. He sat beside her, staring at the people around him with a nervous expression. “There’s plenty of lamb to go around.”

            Petah pursed his lips and shook his head. “Consuming the dead has always been foreign to me. It seems… monstrous.”

            Ari’el faintly smiled. “Monstrous, eh? Then what do you normally eat?”

            He glanced at her through the corner of his eye, his expression a mixture between surprise and disgust. “Nothing. I don’t eat.”

            Ari’el gasped. “What! Then surely you must try it!”

            He shook his head.

            She tore off a piece of meat from the half-eaten leg and held it out to him. When he turned his head away, she gritted her teeth and ate it herself. “It’s no wonder you’re so skinny,” she said. “If you don’t eat, you’ll never get big and strong! Your stomach must be as tiny as a pea.”

            Petah frowned. “My what?”

            “Your stomach.” She felt herself laugh. “You know, the thing in your abdomen that moans and makes you feel empty.” She touched her own stomach, then she leaned over and touched his.

            She felt it vibrate with hunger beneath her fingers.

            Petah gasped. He looked genuinely surprised, as if he’d never truly been hungry before. He rubbed his abdomen, staring at the food in Farrah’s hand, then he looked at the bonfire where the bones could still be seen burning.

            “I suppose… I suppose humans must eat, shouldn’t they?”

            Ari’el smiled and handed him her own food. “Here, you can have the rest of mine. Would you like me to fetch you some water?”

            He stared at the meat, his eyes round and incredibly blue. “Water? Yes, I… I suppose you do drink water, don’t you?”

            Ari’el giggled. He was certainly strange, but he was also an Ancient. She’d never known that they didn’t eat, but they were so powerful that it made sense that they could survive without sustenance. However, surely he consumed something to gain energy. All forms of life required something to stay alive, even plants and fire. Hadn’t the Ancients taught them this?

            She wondered if it’d be rude to ask him what he normally consumed when he opened his mouth and stuck the meat inside.

            Ari’el waited in anticipation.

            Somehow, his eyes widened even further. He tore off a piece, chewed and swallowed, then he went back for more.

            “Just as I thought,” she said to him. “You like it!”

            Petah swallowed another mouthful and turned to her. He looked surprised and moderately disgusted. “This body is human,” he said. “Of course it likes it! And it’s so…” He looked at the food. “It’s so hungry.”

            Reality returned instantaneously, and across from her, Eidan stared back with the same surprised eyes Petah had worn moments before. He looked confused and afraid, as if he’d seen the vision, as well. Was this possible, and if it was, did it mean that Eidan was truly Petah?

            “You remember,” she whispered. “What did you see?”

            Eidan gasped. He quickly looked away, his dark brows scrunched together, then he pushed aside the tray of food and crawled towards her. “Ari’el,” he whispered. He took hold of her hands and squeezed. “Ari’el, you must forget. Please. I beg you.”

            Farrah frowned and shook her head. “What? But why?”

            Eidan leaned closer. He looked terrified, and when he spoke, his quiet voice trembled with apprehension. “They’re monitoring us. The humans—they stuck wires into our brains and are monitoring our conscious activity. I’ve blocked our subconscious minds so they can’t access the Secrets, but if you remember even the slightest… you must forget. You mustn’t let them know!”

            Farrah didn’t understand what he was saying. “Eidan, please. You’re not making any sense.”

            His eyes widened. Slowly, his lips twitched with a faint smile. “Eidan? You just called me Eidan. This is good! So you haven’t remembered my true name?”

            “Petah?”

            “Splendid! So you’ll forget now, won’t you?” The question seemed rhetorical, because directly after he said this, he went on with his quiet muttering. As his lips moved, he pressed his finger to her forehead and gently brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “Yes, my beloved, you’ll forget everything, I’m sure. It was all nonsense, after all. But what really happened… yes, I cast you into the air as we swam in the water, and you were enjoying yourself until you became injured when you dove in. I had to rescue you. I took you to the shore where you fell unconscious shortly after you captured your breath.”

            Farrah didn’t understand what he was doing, but as he spoke, his words began to come to life. It was as if her memory was actually changing, and as reality began to alter, her eyes became weary and her body weakened. She collapsed into Eidan’s arms, then he very carefully lowered her to the ground.

            He actually saved me, she thought. I was drowning, but Eidan saved me.

                                                                    *     *     *     *     *

            Eidan woke to something wet and slimy smearing across his forehead. It was Yaga. He breathed rancid air into Eidan’s face and then moved back, pointing his nose to the person beside him.

            Farrah was asleep on the hard crystal shore, her body turned towards Eidan as her feet soaked in the frigid water. She looked peaceful and innocent, completely at rest, but Eidan knew better. All humans were destructive and selfish by nature. It would be most beneficial to kill her or let her float away in the water, but…

            He couldn’t shake from his mind the feeling that the two of them had a connection that went beyond their feuds and pointless bantering. Could they live together? Was it possible for him to spend the rest of his life with a human girl?

            Eidan was sure they’d shared a moment before their brief swim. Farrah was beautiful, he’d openly acknowledged this, then Farrah displayed her own interest by blushing and swimming away. After that, it became a game. Kinetic men always had to prove to their mates that they were strong and capable of protecting them, and with this thought alone, Eidan’s Kinetic brain took control. It flung Farrah into the air, and before he knew it, he was laughing at how brilliant he was. Farrah seemed to crave danger. Not only would she be impressed by his show of talent, but surely she’d be thrilled by such an exciting dive.

            Of course, Eidan was only thinking like a Kinetic man and not like a compassionate friend. Farrah then plummeted into the water and nearly drowned when she dove too deep into the pool. At least he was able to save her. Maybe she’d consider this valiant and love him even more.

            Yaga groaned and nudged his head against Eidan’s shoulder. He was jealous again, and Eidan was being a fool. Only someone as idiotic as Zuri would contemplate a woman so deeply. Eidan didn’t need a mate. He wasn’t even human, and there was no possible chance that Farrah would want to become his bride.

            Eidan sighed and rubbed Yaga’s head. “Why don’t you fetch us something to eat,” he muttered. “Roasted crocogator sounds good, hmm?”

            Yaga seemed to like this idea. He ran off into the wild immediately, searching for a pond or swamp where crocogators were easy to catch.

            “Roasted… crocogator?”

            The voice was silent, hushed. Farrah was waking, and she wore a smile on her comely face. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I assume that’s something like a crocodile, yes? I actually like those.”

            Eidan beamed. “Truly? You do?”

            Farrah wearily nodded.

            Eidan was excited. Finally, he’d discovered something that Farrah would truly enjoy, and maybe if he prepared it for her solely because she liked it, she’d feel more comfortable around him.

            “Yaga, hurry up!” Eidan called. Without thinking, he rose to his feet and ran to the edge of the forest. “The princess demands a feast!”

            There was an echoic moaning sound, the giant cat’s response.

            Behind him, Farrah laughed. “Oh Cerdito, you really do like food, don’t you?”

            Eidan returned and knelt down before her. “Of course,” he said, smiling. “Food is what makes us grow big and strong, after all. If I want to be human, I’ll need to eat more food, wouldn’t you agree?”

            Farrah was still smiling, but she frowned and shook her head. “What do you mean? Don’t Kinetics eat?”

            “No, we consume our energy through Nature and then pass it on to other life forms that need it more than us. It’s our occupation and purpose for living. But I… I think I have a choice. As a halfblood, and since I’m with you, I think I’d rather be human.”

            Farrah’s eyes widened. “Oh?” She was quiet, hesitant. “And what made you decide this?”

            Eidan felt himself blush again. He looked away, fidgeting with his fingers. “Well I… I was a Kinetic when I cast you up into the air, and then you nearly drowned and I had to save you. I don’t want that to happen again. I want you to always be safe, especially from me. That’s… that’s logical, isn’t it?”

            Farrah’s expression softened. He’d never seen her smile so warmly, and the beauty that radiated from this one expression was magnificent. It was at this moment that Eidan realized that they truly had shared a moment earlier that morning, and that from here on out, there was a chance that Farrah wouldn’t want to leave him.

            I won’t have to be alone, he thought. I won’t have to suffer, and Farrah will be there to save me from my other self.

            This was extremely important to Eidan. His greatest fear was being alone, because when he was by himself—or when he felt like nobody was on his side—he became cruel and did things that Eidan wouldn’t do. Eidan didn’t want to be like this. Yes, he was a proud Kinetic, but being with Farrah was more important to him. He could see that she loved him—that for the first time, somebody understood who and what he was and loved him regardless—and because of this, Eidan loved her all the more.

            Farrah looked down, her cheeks reddening. Then she rose to her feet, her arms behind her back, and started for the forest.

            Eidan’s heart raced. He stood after her, afraid that his impression of her was wrong, that after all the toying she did with his heart in a matter of days, she didn’t love him and Eidan would forever be alone.

            “Farrah?” he called. “Farrah, where are you going?”

            She looked over her shoulder with a devilish grin. “Why should Yaga have all the fun by himself?” Eidan’s eyes widened, and a torrent of relief burst into his hollow heart. “Come along, Cerdito. I’m in the mood for a hunt.”

            Eidan smiled.

                                                                  *     *     *     *     *

            “Dance with me, Yaga!” Farrah exclaimed. She rubbed the cat’s giant head and goaded him as she skipped across the smooth obsidian surface. The yaguarete made a low grumbling noise and then stood on its hind legs, walking alongside Farrah as she twirled.

            Eidan tried not to smile as he played his flute, but it really was amusing. Farrah was beautiful, and Yaga was a clown.

            After two weeks of endless searching, they’d finally made it to the top of the legendary Obsidian Plateau, the third mountain in the Caliga Mountain Range where the Atlasians were said to have lived before they fled to the island of Atlas. It was a long and adventurous journey, but it was worth it. Although Farrah was still determined to find a way back to Earth, Eidan was able to spend more time with her, and he loved every minute of it.

            However, on the day they hunted their first crocogator, Farrah had made a confession. Apparently, she couldn’t remember how she came to Ecual, but returning to Earth was still important to her. So Eidan read over his master’s journals and conversed with some of the animals that’d traveled across the jungle. He discovered that the Obsidian Plateau held the key to reaching Atlas. The humans had never found it because only those who understood the suffering of Nature could see the emblem etched into the obsidian surface. It was a teleportation ring, a form of sorcery, and it took an exceptional amount of energy to activate.

            But that’s nothing we need to worry about today, Eidan thought. We made it, finally, and now it’s time to rejoice.

            Farrah launched herself onto Yaga, catching him off guard, and tackled the beast to the ground. There, they wrestled, tumbling across the black surface until the gypsy rolled right out of Yaga’s arms while laughing like a loon.

            Now, Eidan couldn’t help himself. He laughed so hard that he fell to the ground, tears leaking from his eyes.

            Yaga got up and nudged his nose into Farrah’s side.

            “He’s going to eat you someday,” Eidan said between breaths. “Why must you always provoke him?”

            Farrah sat up and ruffled the fur of Yaga’s head. “Because he’s acting like a kitten,” she told him. “If your master hadn’t tamed him, I’d probably be enjoying myself more.” She looked back at Eidan with a cocked brow. He shook his head and grinned.

            Farrah was certainly unusual, but he could tell that she played her part innocently. Once, she told him a story about the time she and her cousins tried sneaking into the Great Pyramid of Giza. When they got there, men in black headdresses were removing the last pieces of gold from the outermost layer, ruining the precious monument her people had spent years building. Her cousins tried to hold her back, but she broke free and ran headstrong at the nearest thief. Before she could inflict much damage, however, he backhanded her and then left her to wake in the pyramid’s shadow the next morning.

            Eidan still wasn’t sure if she was deranged or just courageous, but he didn’t care regardless. Farrah Khalil was one of a kind, and he couldn’t lose her no matter what.

            In the distance, the silver sun continued to shine and glitter, casting an iridescent shadow across the endless black sea. They were facing the edge of the universe now, and because Ecual was nothing more than a giant island that floated in space, the massive ocean seemed to stretch on for miles without end. It seemed so dark and lonely, and if Eidan were to leap over the edge of the black plateau, he’d plummet into an endless abyss with no hope of ever returning.

            Once the excitement had died down, he removed the freshly picked vine of Retsu Uster from inside his shirt. It was the poisonous flower that put him to sleep at night so that his Kinetic half couldn’t torment Farrah.

            She scooted closer to where he sat, looking at their newfound prize.

            “Farrah.”

            She looked up, but he refused to return her gaze.

            “Do you hate me?”

            At this, Farrah smiled. She rose on all fours and spoke as she crawled around him. “How could I ever hate you, Cerdito? We’ve spent enough time together for you to know that hatred is the last emotion I’ll ever feel towards you.” She sat down behind him and took hold of his braid, removing the ribbon and dead vines so she could fix his hair.

            Eidan pursed his lips. “On our first night in the wilderness, you said you’d rather die than be with me. Is that still true?”

            Behind him, he heard the sound of faint giggles. “Of course not! What a silly question.”

            “Is that the truth, though? Even when I’m being an emotionless ass, you still don’t hate me or regret being near me at all?”

            Farrah tugged on his hair, and for a moment he regretted letting her touch it. She then slithered around him and snatched the poisonous vine from his fingers. With a wry smile, she waved it in his face. “That’s what we have this for, remember?” She disappeared behind him and began weaving it into his hair. “I think you’ll be fine, Cerdito. Night doesn’t fall here, correct? And as long as you aren’t afraid, he won’t come out.”

            “That’s easy for you to say,” Eidan muttered. “If you were in my situation, you’d never submit. I, however, am only human.”

            There was another tug, and Eidan cringed.

            “What do you mean by human? I have fears too, you know. I just don’t let anybody see them, unlike