The Cinders of Dezu

9th: Talia (2)

Cairo moved around the trunk and then on to other trees keeping his eyes up. He began calling out.

"I'm sorry! Okay? We really need your help! Like really, really!"

The girl came sliding down a nearby tree, not the same one they had seen her disappear into. She leaned against it with her arms folded.

Cairo smiled as he approached her.

"Thank you! Obviously you know your way around. And we don't even know up from down. I mean like, do fountains in town just 'unleash freeze attack' on people or what?" he said with an awkward laugh.

"You're a Vincarsee," she said.

Julian widened his eyes.

"Hmm? Was that a slur?"

"It means 'powerful one' or 'one with power'. It's in the guide book. There's an index of terms."

The boys looked at each other in silence. Cairo cleared his throat.

"Like superpowers?"

"Sure," she said.

"So your saying it was me that made the fountain freeze?"

"That's what I'm telling you."

Julian spoke up.

"How did he get ice superpowers?"

Talia gritted her teeth.

"Okay, I'm supposed to be called in emergencies. I'm not here to emergency explain everything to you. You had a cabin and food and plenty of time to read the book."

"Just humor us, okay? Please," said Cairo.

Talia sighed.

"All humans who come to Dezu become Vincarsee. You get a 'superpower' or dilinium faculty," she paused to give Julian a look, "that they then need to get under control so they don't draw suspicion when out in public."

The boys felt slightly patronized by her tone as she continued.

"You don't want to draw suspicion because we are ruled by a king who wants to murder you. Therefore, you were supposed to stay in the cabin and have your little emotional crisis at home while munching on dried biscuits before going into a public market and announcing to the world where you are and how ill equipped you are to handle life."

The boys sat quietly for a moment. Talia maintained her stance leaning against the tree and said nothing. Cairo mustered his courage to speak up again.

"I'm... we're sorry. We had to leave. We were in a hurry. We need to get my cousin back and get home. It's as simple as that. We don't know anything about how all this all works and where to go. We need help."

Talia rolled her eyes.

"Okay... as you can see I'm not great at breaking people in on these things gently. Harper usually does the explaining before he gives you all your stuff. But you're not going home. This is it. This is your new home now and you have to-"

"Look, we've heard all that," said Julian, coming up behind Cairo, "But you're telling it to the wrong guy. When Cai has his mind set on something, I've never seen him take 'no' for an answer. It's not who he is."

Talia turned her gaze back to Cairo who's eyes were pleading with her.

"Look I need this. Raina is... She's a special girl. She's smarter than me by a mile and she's got a heart bigger than a state. I love her like my own sister. I could never live with myself if I let anything bad happen to her. If you don't help us then I'm sure I'll kill myself trying to do it alone. So please just... give us a fighting chance."

Talia stared at him a while. She frowned a bit, then she put her arms up, laced her fingers on her head and groaned as she turned away.

"Look... even if I wanted to to help you... This is more about whether or not it's a possible. There's no way for me to get you home. No one goes back to Earth."

"So you're saying that nobody, not a one, has ever gone back?" said Julian