“Oh, goody, he’s here.” Grandma Sto jumped in place, clapping her hands.
What was she four and getting her biggest wish? And how can she be so freaking happy that I would be going to the underworld to become some manbride? I’d be leaving all the family behind. Lose the right to either be a Spirit Walker, like Grandpa Sto had been. He told so many wonderful stories about his time among the Incbus Headquarters working for the King and walking the Spirit World so he could find answers from the ancestors gone to the afterlife for the King. Told us one time he visited the very first Incbus. And Dad had been a Time Walker; he loved his ability to walk into the past to track our history for the King. He didn’t work in the future department, where I’d hoped to work. Always thought it would be super amazing to be one who traveled to the future to see what lay ahead of us if the King chose one route instead of another. And Ranko, he might always gripe and complain about being an Element, but I knew he secretly loved his job of enhancing the gardens to grow and produce the right amount of human food that our kind required. Yes, Incubus ate steaks, potatoes, and all the glorious vegetables that everyone else did. My dream might have been to follow in my dad’s footsteps, but the other two had never seemed like a disappointing option either.
“May I know your name?”
The booming voice shook the entire room, and every bone in my body quivered.
“His name is Nacal Sto.” Grandma Sto chimed in the wake of my silence. Hand’t planned on telling whoever the heck spoke. Wsan’t none of his business. Didn’t know him and didn’t want to get to know him.
“Nacal, unique name. May I ask what your mother believed it to mean?”
Each mother gave their child’s name a meaning upon their birth and then told them her belief on his thirteenth birthday. It was a special moment between child and mother. One I would not share with just anyone. And this guy had no reason to invade my private moments.
“That is perfectly fine, Nacal. We will have years for you to trust me with such private moments.”
“The Hell he will.” Ranko moved in front of me. “My brother is remaining with me.”
“That is where you are incorrect, Young Sir, but I commend your desire to protect your family. I am unsure why you feel you need to do so. His name has been down in history since the day he was conceived.” Smoke streamed from the fireplace, swirling and twirling around each person in the room, hovering over my family for a moment, giving off a drowned-out moaning sound before moving to the next one. It never approached me, but it extended its period of time over Ranko, bobbing up and down, making the sounds it released waver. Ranko, of course, swatted at the smoke, disturbing it, but it never stayed out of form for long.
“Get away from me.”
“Where is my, Sweet, Sweet Jilyss?”
He knew Mom.
How? Mom never mentioned anyone who could speak through smoke. And how could he do so? Never heard of an ability like that.
“I know she would have warned our son of what may lay ahead of him upon his Journey Assessment Day.”
Our Son.
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