A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Power Emergence

Silence dominates the clearing as that statement leaves the girl’s lips. Karlee just stares at the girl, and my brain starts noticing similarities. The same eyes shape, high cheekbones, pale skin. The only two differences are Kaysta’s blue eyes and midnight black hair.

    I look at Kaysta, and see the boy who always hung around her, standing behind her. Brown hair, brown-green eyes, tall. His name is James, if I remember correctly. The only thing that sets him apart from the crowd is his obsidian pupils. Kaysta has them as well.

    Karlee folds her arms to mirror Kaysta. I sense my sister’s mind racing at a million miles an hour. A strange heat seems to rise from my toes as I look around at the blue-pupiled people. Karlee is searching her memories for a voice that matches Kaysta’s. Not a face, but a voice, as my long-lost sister is blind.

    “Daughter of Annabeth and Jackson, I presume? Or Legacy and Heart, as we knew them,” a voice, belonging to a tall woman with fire-colored hair says as she steps forth from the crowd. The strange heat is at my waist now, and feels like pins and needles.

    The redhead looks straight at Kaysta, and says in a clear voice,”How do we know you are who you say you are? We’ve had plenty of spies over the years. Traitors, rebels, kidnappers. Tell us something only the child of an Iris legacy would know.” Every eye in the clearing turns towards the black-pupiled girl.

    Kaysta simply shrugs and says,”I know that Annabeth is the daughter of Karlee and Trevor. Karlee, you’re blind and were abused for twenty-four years. Your brother, Matthew, was secretly an Iris while you grew up. Your half-brother, Carter, is standing right over there, trying to fight his own power.

    “Trevor is what Sionic Corporation calls a Bronze.” At this, Kaysta looks at Ally, whose green eyes flash with emerald anger. “And I would be delighted to tell you that another Bronze stands in this clearing. Ally, Carter’s girlfriend.” Every blue pupil in the clearing turns towards the brown-haired girl next to me. Ally simply lifts her head and gazes at Kaysta challengingly.

    Another person steps out of the crowd to stand beside Karlee. Black hair, dark blue eyes, tan. The man folds his arms, and his ocean-colored pupils flash. I know, somehow, that those eyes have seen some horrible things in the dreams the man entered. The strange heat is now at my chest, and feels like it’s eating away at my bones. “My mother heard rumors that Sionic had created another Bronze. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” the man said, who I’m sure is Trevor.

    The people on either side of Trevor step back, and in a flash, two wings sprout from his back. Scarlet as blood, both wings span seven feet. every feather is tipped in dark blue, and light gray roils across the bend of the wings like storm clouds. Purple and gold veins gleam bright against the feathers. His wings are beautiful. Trevor cocks his head at Ally, and she replies with a devilish smile.

    Suddenly, wind pounds my back, pushing me forward. I spin, harsh words on my tongue, which die at what my eyes behold.

    On either side of Ally gleam wings. The gray-white-blue feathers are colored in such a way they look like jagged icicles. Roils of red, pink, orange, and gold surge across the bend of the wings, looking like sunset-stained clouds. And along the ridge of the wings where they meet the body run circles of green and yellow hues, patterned in a way that they look like a forest canopy.

    I look at Ally’s face, and see her cheeks turn the color of Trevor’s wings. Her wings fold onto her back with a snap, causing another gust of wind. Everyone turns to Karlee as she clears her throat.

    “Thank you, Kaysta, for your information. Now, it is late and all our stomachs are growling. With the addition of four new people, we now have enough to proceed with our plan. Now, let’s eat!” Everyone cheers and hustles toward the heart of the clearing. Only Trevor, Karlee, Kaysta, James, Ally, and I stay where we stand.