Roy: Touch his hair

  Jessica: No his arms

  Roy: His shoulders

  Jessica: His abs! His…

  I am not touching him there or anywhere! I have to pretend to be a slave now!

  Jessica: Oh what a dirty mind we have! I was going to suggest his leg...or butt

  I blushed and tried slowing down my power walk. I wasn’t trying to get away from Jonah, honest! I just needed space til I could round these new voices in and housebreak them if that was possible. I was beginning to think that it wasn’t and I was going to have to learn to deal with them as they were. Two very loud annoyances. Jonah was beginning to wonder. He had asked me if there was someone in my mind! There is. Six annoying voices who like to rule my life!

  I could hear the cows and chickens so I was sure that Jonah could hear the village as a whole. I turned to him and found him covering his ears.

  “Man, that’s loud,” he muttered, walking to stand beside me. “I’m not so sure of this, Myra. What if we get caught?”

  “It’s only for a little bit,” I said, letting him catch up with me. I was the slave. I had to let him walk ahead right? We walked in tandem instead. At least until we got to the border of the village. There was a trail that led inside. We stepped onto it and everything shifted. Long wooden buildings appeared and one tall clock tower-like building sat straight dab in the middle of it all. The streets were buzzing with a street market. Vendors were calling out their wares. Women dressed much like me ebbed and flowed like a tide from one stall to the next. Some held children. All wore the color purple in some form or manner. It was either the height of fashion around here or it meant something to these people. There were humans but they seemed happy. They wore golden bracelets with symbols engraved on them. They wore purple cloths tied about their waists. Jonah and I stood out like a giant toothache. Me in my periwinkle dress and Jonah in his beige shirt and dark brown pants.

  Jonah as always strode forward confidently. It wasn’t hard for me to imitate a mouse. I was silent unless spoken to. I was a slave right? I looked at the happy humans frolicking around the marketplace. Either this town didn’t have slaves or they were on break. I decided to act a bit like them. I studied them. They weren’t mistreated or unfed. They were healthy and strong. Just what kind of slaves did the Kin own? Arriana made it seem like...well real slavery!

  Maryanne: Something isn’t right in this town

  Strength: Yeah, the slaves are happy

  Mark: No, it's something else. As if this town shouldn’t exist or something.

  Jessica: A ghost town? Get real!

  Roy: You mean its a glimpse into the past of how things used to be

  Mark: Yes, exactly.

  Maryanne: Is it real?

  Mark: It seems so. We’ll have to find out.

  A ghost town? But everything looked so real! I touched a stall. Nope real. Corporeal.

  “Can we help you,” said a beautiful woman of small stature and the most incredible soul-searing black eyes. They reminded me of the Milky Way with how they swirled with pinpricks of light. She wore a grecian gown of purple silk tied by a black cloth at the waist. Bracelets with the same symbols as the humans were on each arm.

  “Hello, we come from afar. We were robbed our way here and…” started Jonah.

  The woman laughed. “I know who and what you are other worlders. I can show you what you seek. You have come upon my sanctuary. There is no need for lies here,” she said smiling.

  I turned to Jonah who was gasping as the scenery around us changed to a small cottage. It was blooming with all sorts of fauna and the roof was made of the same roots Jonah and I used to hide in at night.

  “Are you a witch,” Jonah muttered.

  “Jonah,” I said a scowl on my face.

  The woman shook her head. “I am one of the seven oracles of Sapherine and I am an ether Kin able to bend realities.”

  My eyes were big. “Can you send us home?” I asked.

  “I can but first you must deliver a parcel to my sister in the west. She too can bring you home. All the oracles can do it.”

  I smiled big creepy big but I was just so relieved. There was a way home! A way back to Juaquin and Mige and Mama! A way back to the mundane to pills and centering myself. No powers, no creatures, no running for my life, and maybe even no more bullying...well a girl can dream right?

  Maryanne: We’re going home!

  Strength: Finally!

  Mark: Yes!

  Jessica: Can’t wait to see Earth!

  Roy: We won’t have powers

  Jack: Thank god!

  Maryanne: There you are Jack.

  Strength: Where’ve you been?

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Mark: let me guess...the subconscious right?

  Jack: That thing is so demanding and about ready to pop out another one of us any day now.

  I winced. The faster we got back home the better for me. I didn’t want another voice! Two new ones were more than I could handle right now!

  “Can we trust you?’ Jonah asked and the woman nodded.

  “I will help you on this journey. I have all the tools you’ll need including the right clothes for your act. Right now she is dressed as the master and you the slave.”

  Our acting would have been uncovered the minute we stepped into a town!” I glanced at Jonah who shrugged. I scoffed and returned my eyes to the woman.

  “How will we tell if it's your sister?” I asked.

  “She has the same eyes, only they are a striking violet color. All oracles have galactic eyes as we like to call them. Some hide them but most of us are proud to wear them.”

  “Ok, then can you show us some proper clothes and do you have any food,” Jonah asked and I nudged him with my elbow. He was being really rude. I think the woman put him unease. I glanced at him. He seemed to fidget under her stare as if she was reading him or something. Then she turned to stare at me and I knew why Jonah was so ill at ease. It was as if she could see straight into your soul and weighed it against some imaginary scale. Kinda like the Egyptian Ma’at. I didn’t feel nervous. I knew my soul was ok. I glanced at Jonah who looked almost green. Was he reliving all his bad choices? Did he regret those choices now? Did he regret setting me up and dangling me from a ten-foot boat in front of hungry sharks? I didn’t think so. There was no regret in him was there?

  “OK! I get it! It won’t happen no more so please stop!” he cried holding his ears.

  “Be sure it does not. Though I cannot reach you on Earth I know of someone who can. A sister banished from home. She is better off there.”

  “You mean there’s an oracle on Earth?” I asked.

  “Yes, she goes by the name of Abigail. So is it a deal?”

  “Yes!” I said right before Jonah could say anything to hinder our way home.

  “I’m sorry but I don’t trust easily. How do we know you’re not shamming us,” Jonah asked.

  I paused. “Good question,” I said, glancing at Jonah who had crossed his arms and strengthened his stance.

  “I can show both of you one thing. Pick wisely,” she said grabbing a ceramic bowl and filling it with water.

  “Can you show me, my family?” I asked. She nodded and brought out a knife.

  “May I take a small bit of blood?”

  I nodded and she knicked my finger. A few drops dropped into the bow and the water turned crimson. She put a violet finger in the water and then Mige’s face was showing. He was tucked into bed, crying. It blurred and showed Juaquin driving and screaming into his phone then it showed Mama driving maniacally and screaming into her phone. It worried me more than anything. Were they searching for me?

  It turned into bloody water again. She dumped it out and returned with a fresh bowl for Jonah. He held out his hand and she knicked his finger.

  “I want to see my moms,” he said and again the woman placed a glowing finger into the water. What it showed gave me a glimpse into who Jonah really was. The same joyful willowy blonde woman was arguing with a tall blond male. Suddenly the male lashed out and hit her. She collapsed against the bed whimpering.

  “It happened again? That son of a…” muttered Jonah. I couldn’t hear the rest as it turned into a low growl. The willowy woman morphed into a tall green-eyed beauty with long blonde hair. She seemed to be angry at someone.

  “Damien! He is your son! Your heir can’t you at least greet him like a proper father!”

  One minute the woman was standing there the next she was being flung into the wall by a gust of wind. She slammed into the wall but not before she shot out a violet light from her hands and there was a scream.

  “Know your place, wench!”

  The woman got up gasping. “I know my place! And it is not beside a cowering man. It is beside my children! I shall be with them if you ever get your head out of your ass!”

  She slammed the door.

  The water swirled again to show nothing but black. It rose from the water forming a pterodactyl before it splashed back down then the water turned rusty and stilled.

  “Did you see what’s inside you,” the woman asked.

  Jonah nodded. “How do I get rid of it?” he asked.

  “It is already too big a part of you to dispatch completely. You will come up with a way. It lies in your memories and knowledge,” she said smiling.

  “You can’t make my life any easier can you,” he muttered.

  She smiled. “I just did. Come and make yourself welcome. I will give you the necessities for this journey and a good meal and rest to be on your way. The village lies to the west a good week’s journey in good weather.”

  I smiled and nodded entering the cottage. Jonah sighed and entered after me.

  The cottage was bigger inside than outside, and it held a bunch of ceramic bowls like the one we used. It had a big fireplace from which sat a big black pot that was stewing. The kitchen was the largest room with a large tabletop full of bottles and more bowls. Then there was the living space with a small couch and settee table. Farther back were several rooms. It smelt like stew and spices and my stomach reminded me it was close to dinner time.

  Three seats appeared around the table and the mess literally cleaned itself up. I wished I could do that! Then my room wouldn’t be a mess all the time. Jonah sat down with a glum look on his face. After what I saw I could understand a little more why he was such a bully. With role models like that, I’d probably be a bully too!

  Maryanne: Over my dead body!

  Strength: We don’t really have bodies

  Mark: For once lug head is right

  Jessica: Lug head has possibilities, fossil

  Roy: Fossil? That’s the best you came up with?

  Jessica: Bookworm’s overrated

  Jack: I like Fossil. It suits him so does Mr. Know It All.

  Jessica: How bout encyclopedia dickwad?

  Roy: Better than fossil

  I shook my head and left them at it. Some things would never change. Them ribbing one another was one of them. Poor Mark. Encyclopedia dickwad was a mouthful. I ate my stew and followed the woman, who still had no name, to her closet. We bypassed the pretty and mundane and went straight for drab. Beige dress, no adornments. The sleeves were short and the neckline was too scooped showing off more than I was comfortable with. The dress came to thigh length.

  “This is what a slave wears,” I muttered, trying to adjust the neckline so it exposed less.

  “Blatant female exposure,” said the woman.

  “We call it sexual harassment where I’m from,” I muttered.

  “I look ridiculous!” I heard Jonah yell from across the hall.

  “You look ridiculous? Try showing off what you don’t have, “ I muttered, trying and failing to tug the dress higher. My, ahem, girls were in plain view and I wasn’t allowed a bra or to bandage them. A little lower and I would be showing the whole enchilada. A little shorter and my butt would hang out! I tugged at the dress. Why were no leggings allowed? This was embarrassing! The shoes were the worst. High heels. How did slaves work in high heels?

  No.

  I was wearing my boots at least.

  I wasn’t trekking, who knows what terrain, in high heels! The blisters alone would kill me. I changed and thanked the woman for the garb as revealing as it was, and went to my room to sleep. A few minutes later the woman appeared with a tonic.

  “To help you sleep,” she said smiling.

  She had helped so much that I drank it. As I fell asleep I noticed, for once, the peace and silence in my head.