Empire Island, Exile the First

Chapter 21

Morning came too early.

Also, it really was too early. Calla woke me after just a few hours of sleep, at five o'clock.

"We should watch the compound today," she said. "I can keep us cloaked while we watch what's happening. Tonight is the final night they have to perform their ritual so they'll be ramping things up."

"I don't know how much help I'll be," I replied, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, but my vision remained blurred around the edges. "I miss the Empire boost of energy first thing after waking up."

"I can teach you how to access what's left," she said. "And how to pull power from everything around you. It's something we can go over while we watch."

"Can we eat first?" I asked, my stomach lurching with hunger. That kind of pain that let you know it was giving you one last warning before forcing you into full blown violence to fill your belly. "I wasn't given much when I was trapped with them, and what they did give me was mostly poisoned."

"I'll prepare something and we'll bring food along. You must be starving...do you still like my famous nut flour pancakes?"

"Oh god, yes!" I exclaimed and drew back, embarrassed by my outburst. But she'd triggered two strong reactions from me. The first, of course my hunger. Fucking hell, I was hungry. The second, though, was childhood enthusiasm for good food. I'd missed that over the years, that unadulterated freedom to get excited about pretty much anything. And in this case, it was Aunt Calla's nut flour acorn pancakes slathered with blackberry syrup.

"Good," she said, smiling at me for probably the first time in a while. With each passing minute, our discomfort in each other's company broke down and melted away. I wasn't as wary of her as I'd been the day before and she wasn't so much of a villain in my story anymore. "Now get up here and help me with a few things. It's time you learn our family recipes."

I stood next to her in her tiny kitchen and within moments, we had an easy rhythm of passing by each other or reaching over each other to grab ingredients or dishes that it felt like we'd been cooking together our entire lives. Perhaps our DNA recognized each other as family and we learned the steps of the ancestors who had taught this recipe to their descendants for generations of Empires.

I started to hum a tune under my breath, something I knew the notes for but not the lyrics, and Calla surprised me by singing.

"We all come from the goddess..."

And all at once I remembered the entire song, one I'd sung many times with my family and the women in our community when we'd gather for celebrations and celestial events. I joined her voice as we worked, and in ten minutes the little cabin was filled with the sounds of our voices raised up in powerful lyrics and the scent of delicious pancakes cooking on the wood stove top.

"We should eat fast," Calla said once the small table was set. "I don't want this moment to end, Kai, but we can't take our leisure time to get there. Your sister won't be safe after tonight. If we don't get her, we lose her forever."

I nodded, diving into my food and drinking my hot herbal tea while we made small talk about the mission. As we wrapped up, there was a light knock at the door and Aunt Day's voice said, "Is it safe to come in?"

"I'm glad you came over, saves us getting you. But why wouldn't it be safe?" Calla asked as she opened it up.

"I didn't know you two would get along after all this time," Day said with a broad grin on her pretty face. "I half expected claw marks and bruises."

"I have those, but not from Calla," I said. "Mike and the cult did quite a number on me."

Day's face dropped and her good humor disappeared. "Oh, Kai, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized you were taken by them. I thought you were simply monitoring the situation."