International Legends

Chapter 12 - Ozara

Jasper has disappeared, that much is for certain. I do my best to look for him throughout the ship, including at Bar Midnight, only to find the bird-kid Axel manned up in his place. How Carmen DeAngelo thought it was a good idea to leave him there was befuddling to me. Perhaps they really are closer to each other than I realized.

Maybe love is truly a concept that I cannot obtain. Any time I think back to my past 6 affairs and all of the men aboard MariCorp that let me down (before being killed by the organ-harvesters), I think that there must have been a reason that the ship allowed me to live. I was a leader among my people, descended from the long line of Yoruba (which turned out to be a rich African lady in England who had ended up dying before she could harvest my organs). Maybe I am meant to struggle in the way that the universe only knows how - being a leader on Diva of the Seas during this time of chaos.

Well, that's exactly what Carmen DeAngelo says when she walks up to me the next day on the ship.

"You have quite a gift on you," she says, looking me over. "I can feel it in your energy, can see it in your aura. That goddess energy is in you."

I bite my tongue and stare off into Vortex Sea, seeing a space whale dive and fall into the waves.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, but I feel her hand on my back trailing my spine.

"I think you do," she says.

I just stare at her, unable to make sense of the way she is treating me. She smiles all coy and pushes back a strand of hair behind my ear.

"The library is open," she says. "If you are ready to explore your powers."

...

I turn away, confused, and make my way all the way down the stairs to rush into Bar Midnight again. It's mid afternoon and there's nobody there. Perhaps a random waitress is there to give me a drink. Instead, I find Axle "Sol" come up to me and give me a giant bear hug.

"I am so sorry," he says, smoothing back my hair and looking at me. "You do not deserve any of what you go through. It's not your fault."

Mouth opened, I close it.

"You know about Axel?" I ask. "I thought I had kept it a secret."

"Yes," he says, holding my head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you how I felt. I figured you didn't feel the same way and I kept it hidden from you."

Then Axel comes out, mouth open and then closing it quickly. He grabs Sol by the wing and says "Sorry, I need him for something real quick."

Then the two of them disappear into the stairwell, leaving nothing to explain.

Now Sol is in love with me and Axel still doesn't care about me at all. Plus, Jasper, whom I actually should be with, is missing. I also have no clue what's going on with Carmen. No drink can actually fix this mess.

Except a deep, ominous chuckle.

I turn to see a dark haired boy that is pacing back and forth in his containment. He notices me and made a noise with his tongue.

"Ozara," he said. "It's been a long time since I've seen you."

I stop, staring.

"I haven't seen you before."

"Oh you have," says Adam, attempting to summon power in his hands in an effort to scare me. "That's why the goddess is written all over you. She has her claws in your fate and you cannot even tell. She's with you now."

I feel a cold presence at my back and I refuse to look behind me.

"She thinks you are able to destroy the Time Guardian."