“Do you believe life is nothing more than an accident, that everything in this world, every function and every detail, formed at random from nothing?”
“I’d like to think that we have a purpose,” she said, staring at the swimming fish.
“I can’t help but believe there’s a god when I see something so beautiful,” he said, turning back to Anna.
“So you believe that Gabriel hears our prayers, Rayne?”
“When we ‘pray’ to a higher form, putting ourselves below something like mere pawns in a god’s world, don’t we become ‘prey’? Maybe we should listen to our own prayers and take responsibility to answer them ourselves instead of waiting for someone or something else to answer them for us. Many people pray for peace, yet there is still so much bloodshed.”
“What goes on in that mind of yours?” Anna asked, staring into Rayne’s eyes. He had never been an ordinary eight-year-old. He was handsome and just as developed as her at seventeen. Every day became harder to hide the attraction she felt towards him. “So are you saying that Gabriel wants us to pray to ourselves?”
Rayne chuckled. “All I’m saying is that I’ve come across interesting stories in books that Monte has given me that make me question many themes preached at all three temples,” Rayne said. “Certain journal entries of the first colony of Men are almost contradictory to the creation passages in The Book of Volpi; contradictory to the official concepts of God and Gabriel.”
There was no need to censor his thoughts in front of his stepsister, especially not at The Ponds. The king, even with the power he possessed as leader of Men, would never speak like that to anyone else other than her and Montague. His guardian and Anna were the only people who knew that Rayne had healed Apollo with a simple touch.
Anna was curious to hear more. She also read about many things that weren’t in traditional history books.
But suddenly, she saw something in the water that almost took her breath away. She pulled her feet out, “Waterbirds!” she yelled, “Right there! Waterbirds!”
The mythical ‘waterbirds’ were large fish that ‘mermaids’ would ride to travel faster through the water.
Rayne became startled. He stood, trying to console her. The resting Apollo lifted her head.
Indrid heard Anna yell from across the pond and ran back to them, looking frustrated. The last time Anna said she saw waterbirds, when Indrid looked there was no sign of anything. This time, he didn’t even bother to look. But Anna knew Rayne had seen them too. She saw the surprised look in his eyes.
“Indrid, I swear I saw them. There was one just there. I…”
“Anna, we’ve talked about this,” Indrid said, catching her by the arms. “They are part of fairy tales. They don’t exist.”
The tense voices caught Apollo’s attention. She stood, and when people saw her they panicked. Everyone ran away screaming, leaving everything they’d brought behind.
“See? Bringing her was a mistake,” said Indrid. “Now, come on, both of you. We’re leaving. Rayne, fetch your cat.”
“I saw them too,” Rayne said.
“We’re leaving,” he repeated, dismissing the king’s statement.
The royal siblings left The Ponds before the night could swallow the land. Indrid led the way, stomping up the plateau without looking back at Anna and Rayne.
Anna was embarrassed. “No one believes me.”
“I believe you,” said Rayne.
The night grew dark without the light of either moon breaking through the layers of gray clouds. When they returned to the kingdom, the torches burned high above the pillars at the Ikarus gates. The cat master, who was biting his nails, anticipating Apollo’s return, came rushing out, flustered and worried. With him were two other men holding torches to guide the cat to her cage. He had a chain leash and collar in his hand. Cautiously, he approached Apollo with shaking hands.
“Here,” Rayne said, reaching for the collar. “Allow me.” He put the collar around the giant cat’s neck, connected the leash, and gave the cat master the reins.
“Thank you, my lord,” he said, taking the leash carefully. He bowed to Rayne without ever setting an eye on him.
“You’re welcome,” the king said. He patted Apollo on the back then looked at Anna.
They both laughed.
FOR HOW late it was, the streets were still alive with dancing and singing. Strolling along the cobblestone streets behind his stepsiblings, Rayne Volpi was caught by the sound of festive laughter coming from the adjacent block around the corner from Jackson’s Bakery. While Anna and Indrid kept on, he took a moment to see where the joyful voices were coming from. He walked to the corner of the alley that ran behind the market shops. The alley would veil him from the street crowd within an abundance of darkness.
A group of teen-agers was kicking a ball around in a circle. They laughed and flirted with girls, a social interaction that Rayne wasn’t yet familiar with. Although he couldn’t fully understand the feelings he felt for Anna, he knew that she was special to him. But it felt wrong. Brothers weren’t supposed to court sisters. Stepsiblings or not, they were still considered family.
In his curiosity, he leaned out from the shadows to get a closer look.
When one of the older boys noticed Rayne, the king realized that he was alone and became frightened. He backed up and pulled the fold of his hood lower to cover more of his face.
The son of the current speaker of the Ikarus council seemed to be the most disturbed at the king’s presence. “Hey!” the chubby boy yelled. Standing shorter than Rayne didn’t intimidate him. He had crooked teeth and a belly that flopped over his belt buckle. “What makes you come out into the streets, freak? I think this might be the second or third time I’ve ever seen you outside the castle in my life.”
Children chuckled freely and swarmed to the engagement.
Rayne knew his name. It was Fervan Mongs, the new council’s speaker’s son.
