Page 80 of All That Has Flown Beyond
Ahmik’s hands on Kaiyo’s hips were like brands scorching into his skin. They squeezed a little tighter and Kaiyo’s breath stuttered.
“Hey! Not in front of the C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N!” Thea called out.
“Mom!” Isla said.
The spell broke. Kaiyo rolled to the side. His breath was coming in short pants, having been held in his chest without even his knowledge.
“There. Told you I’d win,” Kaiyo said, stumbling to his feet. Everything was spinning with the rush of alcohol and blood and something else, the heated liquid in his bones.
“Uh. Yeah,” Ahmik said, still on his back. Kaiyo held a hand out without thinking. After a moment, Ahmik took it, helping himself up.
Their bodies brushed against each other. Almost.
“Uh. There’s, um, let’s get some hot chocolate. I get your marshmallows in victory,” Kaiyo said. Their hands were still pressed together.
“Okay,” Ahmik said easily.
The moment their bodies parted, Kaiyo felt the loss.
**********
Kaiyo, Ahmik, and Thea made a triangle as they sat on the grass. A closed line circled around them, runes pressed into the earth behind each of them.
“Close your eyes,” Kaiyo instructed. The day was cold, but they were bundled against it in thick coats, letting their breaths hang like mist elementals between them.
Ahmik and Thea closed their eyes. Kaiyo concentrated.
This was not unlike the illusion Kaiyo had constructed to help Isla learn about the properties of plants, although it was a little more complicated. Instead of fooling their senses independently with a simple image, however, he had to tie them together, influencing their sensory neural cortexes in tandem to take them to another world.
It wasn’t the first time Kaiyo had used the trick to help bond pack members. Slowly, with care, he spun the image inside them, around them. Immersed them in the new landscape, engaging each of their senses.
Suddenly, Thea and Ahmik were at the mouth of a labyrinth. The sky overhead was a slate of grey, the winding passages lined with tall, thick hedges made of thorny plants. Thea and Ahmik would not be able to penetrate them even with their werewolf strength and advanced healing abilities. They would not be able to guide themselves with their noses, the smell of the place a monotone note.
“Your goal is to reach the centre,” Kaiyo’s reminded them, his voice a disembodied sound as they looked around. Kaiyo could see them, but they were alone in the new world.
“Okay. Let’s do this,” Thea said. Ahmik nodded as they set off.
There were no traps or creatures in the labyrinth. All the task necessitated was a sense of direction and a working memory of the paths they had already taken, which all looked the same. No landmarks would aid them. They had to depend on themselves and, more importantly, each other.
The route was made to frustrate. It wound you closer to the centre before cutting you short with a dead end, making you backtrack over land you thought you had already covered, confusing your sense of direction.
Ahmik and Thea started by walking mostly in silence, nodding or shrugging as they approached different forks in the path. Soon, however, they were arguing as they disagreed on which route they had already taken, on which direction to go.
“You go that way, then! I’m heading this way!” Thea huffed after an hour in the labyrinth, turning to stalk away.
Kaiyo’s voice rang out for the first time since the start of the task. “There is an African proverb that says, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Thea paused. Ahmik frowned at the sky as if it could offer him answers.
“Do you want to go fast? Or would you rather go far?” Kaiyo asked.
Thea and Ahmik stayed frozen in place for a moment before Thea’s shoulders slumped. She turned around to look at Ahmik.
“Shit. I am so damn tired of going nowhere fast,” she admitted softly.
“Then let’s do this together.”
They set off. The task was no easier or less frustrating. As they gained practice, however, they learnt how to discuss their reasoning for choosing one path over the other instead of assuming their suggestion should be taken at face value. They walked and backtracked and went in circles. They communicated, even when frustration bled into their voices.
