Page 51

I see that the Shimat are kind of like an ant colony, or one of those giant tree networks that somehow share impulses and make collective decisions despite being comprised of a multitude of entities. In a way, it's like an army.

There are dozens of wells throughout the desert—small tributaries of the whole that constantly separate, travel, and remix with the greater Shimat entity. Niah's people would move about, following the smaller elementals like this one, and occasionally meeting other tribes to trade at a great oasis in the desert.

Then, something unknown bubbled up from deep in the earth. Or maybe it came from the sky. The Shimat doesn't know. It shows us the change, occurring over a span of years all compressed into a single thought. Niah believes this corruption is recent, but it's been growing for a long time—a tiny malignancy slowly eating away at the Shimat's defenses until they could take no more. Then, like surface tension breaking on the rim of a glass, the infection spilled over and rapidly consumed its host. It began drawing in its tributaries, draining every small oasis, well, and independent aquifer throughout the desert to add power to its dark mass.

This one is among the last remaining, and in just a couple of days since we'd last been here, it's shrunk to a volume that probably wouldn't even fill a pothole.

I feel the elemental's sadness, or at least some kind of feeling like it. It's hard to separate my emotions from what the creature is showing me. I don't know if it has emotions at all—but its natural drive is to rejuvenate and act as a unifier for all the creatures of its realm. That's what gives it life. It wants to be whole. It wants to be pure.

But its sadness isn't just directed at its own fate. I feel it looking at me, too. And even though it only sees what I give it permission to touch, I find myself opening my mind up to the creature. It's like my soul is bathing in it.

You are not whole. That's what it's telling me.You, too, have a poison growing inside of you, and if you don't exile it from your body soon, you will be lost to it.

I'm beneath an endless crystal-clear sea, naked and curled up like a baby. And then,boom, I'm hit by another flash of thoughts and consciousness. It's like watching and absorbing ten movies at once, all in the span of a second.

It knows about our phoenix powers, and it shows me that we can get rid of the darkness if we're able to burn out the poison. I can see it all clearly: the oasis rejuvenating itself, the wells refilling with pure water, the desert creatures and plants returning, and the tribe flourishing. And I see myself.

But it's not me, at least, not who I am now. The difference is internal, though it still reads on my body and in my eyes. I'm holding an egg in my arms—theegg that's inside of me now. And then...

Who is that?

A warm presence, like the very physical embodiment of safety and assurance. Their touch is enough to make every worry disappear. Have I ever felt anything like this before?

Is this what it's like to feel safe?

To be in love?

It's so vivid, it feels as though I'm right there in this moment, like it isn't just an idea of something thatcouldbe, but something thatis, somewhere, in some other reality. Is that what I'm seeing right now?

It is you.

The elemental's "voice" fills my mind, but I don't see how what it's telling me can be possible. This Jackson hasn't gone through the shit I have, and it's obvious. I could never smile like that. I could never feel like that. Could I?

Drink.

The vision of myself fades fast into my subconsciousness, leaving me with one final thought. It's an invitation to quench my thirst.

Drink the elemental?

Alright, don't mind if I do.

I swallow mouthful after mouthful of the sweet, cool water, and I see Airos is doing the same. The elemental's body shrinks with every gulp, until the orb pops and splashes down onto our bodieslike a broken water balloon. We drop onto the sand, gasping for breath.

The elemental's visions tingle in the back of my mind, and are quickly shoved aside by the recollection that this motherfucker tried to kiss me.

"Airos, what the hell was that?!" I shout.

"We just drank...an elemental," he says between breaths.

"No, no, no. Before that. You tried to...fuckin'..." Again, the words get stuck in my throat. "K-kiss..."

He wipes his face and quickly gets to his feet. "You were panicking. It was the only way I could get your attention."

"Hell of a way to get my attention," I say. "You couldn't have said, excuse me?"

Airos picks up my makeshift rope from the side of the well. "Don't overthink it," he says tersely as he hands it to me. "Put your clothes back on."

Then he turns and heads back the way we came before I can choke out another word.