Black Sheep of the Family

Fallon watched in awe as Luzia made little balls of light float around his head. He grabbed at them, smiling wider when one of them popped in his grip like a glowing bubble. Luzia swirled the light around faster.

“Stop,” Fallon giggled, not wanting her to stop at all. “You’re making me dizzy.”

Luzia upped the speed until Fallon flopped down on the floor, holding his head and laughing. She flopped down next to him and held his tiny hand in hers.

“I can’t wait until you manifest,” she whispered, her pale blue eyes shining in her light. She flicked her fingers and they disappeared, leaving her face illuminated only by the crackling fire. “Then we can use our abilities together.”

“We can shape the world,” Fallon whispered, holding his hands in the air, his eyes wide.

“Save elvenkind from destruction.”

“Help people.”

Luzia rolled onto her stomach and smiled. “I wonder what your ability would be.”

“I want to be a Flasher, like you! Then we could —”

“Luzia!” a harsh voice called, and Luzia stood immediately, straightening her hair and her skirt and her posture. Fallon got up slower.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, still smiling. “It’s just my parents.”

Luzia didn’t look at him, instead clasping her hands behind her back and shaking her head slightly.

“Luzia,” Fallons’s father said, walking in with Fallon’s mother on his arm. Both stared at Luzia as if she was a fly they’d accidentally stepped on.

“Father,” Luzia said, bowing her head slightly. Fallon stood and looked between the three of them. Luzia looked exactly like his mother, but Fallon looked like their father. Except for the eyes. Fallon’s eyes were a dark blue, like the bottom of the ocean, and Luzia’s were bright and cold and icy like their father’s. Fallon’s mother’s were a teal colour Fallon only saw in sea glass on beaches.

“Why are you still awake, Luzia?” Fallon’s mother unhooked herself from his father’s arm and stepped toward Luzia. Luzia blinked and leaned away slightly. “You should be in bed. You know when your curfew is.”

“She was practising her ability,” Fallon said. “With me.”

Fallon’s mother stepped away from Luzia and scooped Fallon into her arms. Fallon snuggled into her chest and smiled at Luzia, as if to say see? My parents aren’t scary.

“Well, Luzia should know that a woman’s place is to care for her husband,” Fallon’s mother said, “and not to do the work. That’s a man’s job. That’ll be your job, one day.” She poked Fallon on the nose, and he giggled. “One day you’ll be a big strong man with a big strong ability, and you’ll help the world. But first, you have to sleep.”

She snapped her fingers at Luzia. “Get to bed. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Fallon reached around his mother’s shoulders and waved to Luzia with chubby fingers. Luzia didn’t look up from the floor, her breath coming out of her in short, sharp bursts.

……

Fallon tugged on his tie and felt two hands rest on his shoulders. Luzia’s pale face appeared beside his in the mirror, and he instinctively leaned against her.

“Happy sixteenth birthday,” she murmured, somewhat sadly.

Fallon laughed. “Luzia, I’ll be fine. It’s just a Seritysered Ceremony. I’ll be fine.”

Luzia sighed. “Fallon. Darling. Baby boy. It’s more than just a ceremony. It’s your coming of age. You’re an adult now. Your parents can do whatever they want to you. Marry you off, force you to get a job —”

Fallon laughed and took Luzia’s hands off his shoulders. “Relax, Zia. They wouldn’t do that. They love me.”

Luzia straightened his jacket. “They did it to me.”

“They’re watching out for your best interests. You know how the world works. The women have to get married.”

Luzia took a step back, as if Fallon had hit her. “Maybe I don’t want to get married.”

Fallon frowned. How could someone not want to get married? He sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Today’s not about me getting married.”

Luzia took several deep breaths. “You’re right. Okay. Sorry.”

Fallon smiled. “Is my hair straight?”

Luzia’s lips formed the start of a word, but they quickly changed to say “Yeah, mostly. Hang on —” She reached out and smoothed a loose strand of white-blond hair off his forehead. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

Fallon smiled. “I’ll look for you.”

“I’ll be waiting when you find me.”

Fallon felt warmer with the familiar words. They’d had a similar exchange on Luzia’s wedding day, and on the day his parents sent Luzia to live with her mother (“we don’t want you tearing up this family”, he believed were the words his mother had said. He couldn’t be sure), and on countless other days. It was a reminder that they were both looking out for each other, no matter the circumstance.

“Fallon,” his father said, looking into the room. “It’s starting.” His eyes flickered to Luzia and then away again. Luzia stared at him through the mirror.

Fallon waved to Luzia. He didn’t watch to see if she waved back.

……

Fallon wasn’t smiling as he stood in the middle of the stage, looking for Luzia. He needed to find her. He’d promised.

“Today is the day,” the officiant (whose name was something-something-Pyren-something, Fallon hadn’t been listening) said, “where Fallon Alvar Vacker comes of age. This isn’t just a marking of adulthood; it is the day where we trigger his ability…”

Fallon strained his neck, unclasping his hands. He had to find his sister. His eyes passed over the heads of family members, the heads of people he’d seen once upon a time, heads he didn’t even recognise. But none of them Luzia’s.

His mother placed a hand on his shoulder to settle him down. He was getting restless. He’d promised her, he’d said he’d look for her, she said she’d be waiting, why wasn’t she waiting? Where was she?

“Fallon,” she hissed as he took a step forward. “What is so urgent?”

“Where’s Luzia?” he whispered back. “Why isn’t she here?”

“We didn’t see any reason for her to come,” his mother replied. Fallon knew the we was her and his father. “She’s not family.”

“She’s my family. She’s my sister.”

“She’s not truly family. She’s her mother’s daughter, and not ours.”

“She’s also her father’s daughter.”

“She’s no more your father’s daughter than she is mine. And she isn’t here. Why does it matter to you so much, Fallon?”

“She’s my sister. I want her here.”

“And now,” something-something-Pyren-something (Fallon would really have to learn her name eventually) said, “it is time to trigger your ability. Conroy, if you will.”

The Telepath stepped forward and held out his hands. Fallon took them, and Conroy closed his eyes.

Just before Fallon did the same, he spotted a familiar face near the back door, half hidden in shadows.

Luzia.

He mouthed I see you, as he always did. And she held one finger to her lips and gestured towards the stage.

Fallon frowned. She was supposed to say I’ve been found.

He closed his eyes and let Conroy tap into his mind.

Let me be a Flasher, he thought to himself. Like my sister.

Conroy’s grip on his wrists got momentarily tighter.

And then he let go.

Fallon opened his eyes, his hands still stretched out in front of him, and registered the black sand settling on his palms. He was supposed to throw the sand into the audience as Conroy announced his ability.

But the sand was supposed to be white, not black.

He was supposed to be a Flasher, not a —

“Fallon Alvar Vacker!” Conroy called. “The Lost Cities’ newest Shade!”

Whispers rippled across the room, only just heard over the applause. Fallon met Luzia’s eyes — they showed nothing but pride.

But Fallon felt nothing but dread.