Chlorine Halos

Judgments & Jackets

"Hola, señora."

"Good evening," Jasper said before raising his brow and glancing at her, then me.

"They both, uh, say... hi," I said, feeling the awkward space between fortune teller and medium.

Ruth leaned back in her chair. "I must admit, Avian—you have a way of making people feel ashamed for having doubts. When you told me you were going to leave, I didn't think you'd actually come back, not to all of this."

"Honestly, I don't think I gave myself a choice."

She stiffened her lips in an attempt to keep them from trembling. "My husband. My-my daughter. Did you see them?"

"I did," I said softly, setting my satchel on the table. I slowly knelt in front of her and whispered, "And they're with you. And you all are a wonderful family."

"Thank you. I needed that," she said, catching a few tears with her knuckle. "Now, when do we leave for The Axis?"

"How did you know that—"

"Please. The resurrection of Eighty—that kind of news travels fast, even to the most remote locations. When I heard it, I knew. You came back to finish what you started."

"Well, I should tell you that we're not just going to The Axis; We need to get in and out of The Vertex."

"Wow. That's a pretty tall order. But, I think it's doable. You've managed to round up the right arbiters for the job. What do you think, Blue?"

At the sound of his name, he turned away from a world map, nailed to the wall, next to the second window of the cabin. Red, seemingly randomly placed rings dotted both land and sea, some struck through with a single black slash.

"If-if-if anyone can pull it off, it's the crew standing with—standing right there with Avian."

Watching him saunter toward the stove, I leaned closer to Ruth. "Can you tell me what he does exactly?"

"Who, Blue?" she replied with an arched eyebrow. "Did he not help you escape The California?"

"Actually, it was Eve Andrews who made that happen."

"Eve Andrews? That, I wouldn't have expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Like most of the Andrews sisters, she's—let's say—difficult. But, I'm not surprised that you cracked her cold exterior. For whatever reason, those girls warm up to you. And now, we can say that all of them warm up to you."

"You're saying I've met them all?"

"You have now."

Slouching in my seat, I scratched my head. "Are they all elements?"

"That's right—wind elements, incredibly valuable. I'm guessing that Eve showed off a little."

"No, it was nothing like that. She... gave me her ability."

Ruth slowly nodded, pursing her lips. "Ah, an aperas datio."

"A what?"

"An aperas datio: a willing transfer of an element or arbiter ability. And because of Blue, she didn't have to give you much."

I turned toward Blue and furrowed my brow. "So, he's—"

"An amplifier."

"And-and you?"

Her grip tightened around the hilt of the knife. "My ability centers around precision." A whoosh ran behind the sharp, steel edge, trailing off while my cheek tingled with a slight chill. "See what I mean?" she asked, blowing an eyelash off the polished point.