Secrets

Ebony's New Body

After what seemed like days, I had finally mastered my sophisticated powers. Even though there were only two, not including my "control" power, I still felt accomplished. At the end of my session, Ebony reassured me, "Do not worry, more powers will surely arise. But, for now, I believe that you are done with the powers section."

I grunted, "Section?"

Ebony chortled once more, his laugh really was becoming annoying. "You believed that that measly warmup was it? No, no, dear girl, there is much more to do. First off, let's remind you who the enemy is here."

I mumbled underneath my breath, "You."

Ebony cocked his head and asked, "What was that?"

I put on my best smile and, barely holding in my anger, said innocently "Nothing, I was just so interested in who the enemy was that I was just saying some possibilities aloud."

Ebony didn't seem to believe my story, but he didn't want to waste any more time, so he just replied, "OK, the enemy is..." He paused and waited for my answer.

"Umm...the normal people in this world?" I guessed uncertainly.

Ebony just shook his head, "Dear girl, why on Earth would these men be afraid of a terribly abnormal girl?"

My vision turned red and I couldn't control myself. I shouted at Ebony, "Dear girl, my ass. Why don't you just shut up and answer the question? Or maybe you can't, because you don't know the answer!"

Ebony just clicked his tongue. "I know things that you could never even begin to comprehend!" He seemed to regain control of himself and took a deep breath. Then he continued on, "The real enemy here is the ghosts and shades and, most importantly, the wraiths." He seemed like he had more to say, so I waited. All he did was just stare right back at me. Either he was reluctant to share the information, or I had misinterpreted him. Probably the second one because he has no facial features.

"Why? I mean, I can control them, so wouldn't that make me safe?" I retorted.

Ebony sighed, "That is precisely why you are in danger. They think you pose a threat to the entire Vengeful world. You had no idea how chaotic it was when we found out that there was another Mocre--" He abruptly stopped as if he had said something suspicious.

It was getting harder to gauge his emotions with his face distorted and blurry. He seemed to have no eyes, nose, or mouth; he was just a dark blob.

I whispered, "C-C-Can you change your--ahem--" I started gesturing to his face but he didn't seem to understand. Finally, tired of miming, I blurted, "Is your face always so blurry? Can't you change it?"

Ebony looked surprised at the question. He replied, "Why?"

I bit my lip and turned away from him. I tried to think of something that wouldn't be too offensive. Because you look like a weird blob. No, too nice. Because I want to talk to an actual face. Bingo. I firmly stated, "Because--" I faltered once more. Somehow, I couldn't say this right to his face--err--his head. Sighing deeply, I smiled once more. "Ebony, I want to see your face" I coaxed, then hastily added, "if you have one."

Ebony sighed, then shrugged. He whispered, sounding like he was at the brink of tears, "I don't have one. The one I had was taken from me long ago."

I was slightly taken aback. Another idea popped into my head. I crooned, "Ebony, what were you really sent here to do?"

Ebony lowered his head in shame. "I-- I-- I was supposed to check to see if you had any powers. If you did, I had direct orders to kill you. But, once we started training together--" his cheeks went a light shade of gray, which I assumed was a blush, and he scoffed, "I, I don't know, kind of started to, you know, like you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Who are you and what have you done to Ebony?" I teased.

Ebony nervously laughed. "Well, since I broke code, I guess that I will have to stay with you." He hastily added, "Don't worry, I can occupy someone's body. Well, actually, it is against the code, but what the heck, I've already broken them. So, just choose a body for me to occupy and whisper the words, 'Domis Cretatus'. That should do the trick."

He held out his arm and I just stared at it. After a few minutes, it dawned on me that I had to grab his arm. When I locked arms with him, he shook his head. "What now?" I demanded.

All he did was bend his knees and I felt like I was being squeezed into a miniature ball. When the pressure lessened, I looked up and saw that I was at the park. Many people gave me strange looks as I walked by, as I was still holding Ebony's arm. Realizing this, I dropped my hand to my side quickly. Ebony stared at me and asked, concerned, "What happened? Are you OK?"

I replied, concealing my speech with coughs, "They--cough-- are looking at me--cough, cough-- weird."

Gasping, Ebony nodded sympathetically. He pointed towards all the people in the park and said, "Take your pick and say 'Domis Cretatus'. Then, I will instantly transport into him--err-- or her."

Laughing, I answered quietly, "Please, that would be weird. Talking to you as a woman!"

Ebony sighed in relief. I scanned each person as we walked through the serene park. Finally, I spotted a man, about my age, standing near a bench and talking quietly on his cell phone. The man was quite good looking, but that wasn't the only thing I was looking for. I wanted someone who looked like me so that I could fib to strangers that we were cousins and not--yuck-- boyfriend and girlfriend. Though, I thought, Ebony would make a loyal boyfriend. And he was smart and charming. The only problem was that, one, I don't like him, and two, he is a shade.

Anyway, I was moving off topic. The man was tall and he had short, black hair. He was wearing a dark green camouflage t-shirt and a ripped pair of jeans. His face was ageless and contained a beautiful smile that would make girls swoon. His eyes were a stormy gray and looked as if they could peer through your soul. He was tanner than the rest of the people at the park, and had quite a set of muscles. I nodded in approval, and turned toward Ebony. I murmured, "I'm going to do it." He only nodded in turn, it seemed as if he was nervous.

I looked directly at the man and uttered the words "Domis Cretatus" under my breath. In a second, Ebony was snatched from my side and I could see him flying into his new host. The man slumped to the ground, then suddenly got up as if nothing had happened. The only thing that had changed on the man's expression was that he looked bewildered.

"H-Harley," he managed to stutter. I dashed toward him. Was something wrong?

"What?" I urgently asked. He just chuckled and it was then that I noticed he had dimples.

He replied, "Just checking to see if I had a voice", and then looked me over. His brow creased in concentration and he asked, inquisitive, "Harley, did you change?"

My mouth opened at his question. "What do you mean?" I asked, surprised.

"I don't know, but when I was a shade, you looked so much blurrier, but now," he gestured with his hands, "you look magnificent." I blushed as he turned to look at me. Surely, I wasn't that magnificent, I was still the same old me. But it was something in the way he said it that made me ask, "Ebony, you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm way better than before," he said excitedly. "It's like I am Ebony 2.0."

I laughed at his analogy. Why was he so much more likeable in that stupid body?

And so we both stood there and stared at each other: both of us thinking the same thing:

Why was the other person so much...better now?