Interlude 3.13: The Bright Road

The young woman drank lengthily. Then she set the glass down heavily.

“You know, of all the things I expected of the mythical Kraken, a twisted sense of humour was not one of them,” she said.

“Is it so bad to be finally spending time with your father?” Atlas asked.

“.......” Jemi stared at him mutely. Her violet eyes were so dark they might as well have been black, like the ocean at midnight. Her hair was like burnt wheat; once, it might’ve been similar to Atlas’ blonde crop, but this was dull and dry, tangled stalks that would never brush out smooth again.

“So, you said you were watching me all these years,” Jemi said after a long silence.

“Yes, Jemisha, I-”

“Stop calling me that,” Jemi snapped. “Call me Jemi. Everyone calls me that.”

“Fine. Jemi,” said Atlas. The man rested his hands on the table, taking a deep breath. “I know… that it was hard for you. Ever since you were born, I saw how much you were suffering. Because of your illness, because of that man, because of your neighbours. I wished so badly I could be there for you. But I also knew that showing up would’ve only made things worse for you. You have every right to resent me. I understand that.”

Jemi went back to picking at her laksa.

“And after that… when you ran away from home at eleven,” Atlas said next with difficulty. “I was so preoccupied with dealing with the Selan situation, by the time I had turned my head back, you were… already… on the Moon’s side. I couldn’t have just turned up then. I didn’t know if it was of your own will you joined them, or if it was safe to get you out of there. There were just too many factors at play. And later on, I had no idea how you’d react. Besides, I got the feeling you wouldn’t want to see me. You certainly don’t seem to appreciate it right now.”

Jemi’s hand stilled. She traced the tabletop.

“Why did you decide to have me, Chief Marshal?”

“I loved your mother,” Atlas’ voice was subdued. “I loved her even though I knew she wasn't mine to have. I knew what she was after, but she made it hard to stay away. What she did was so terrible, but in the end, she was doing it for her family, too. And when she begged me to do one last thing for her… I couldn’t refuse her. I didn’t know things would turn out like this.”

“Shouldn’t you have?” Jemi said sharply. She looked like she was trying to keep it together, but her veneer was sheer and thin as cirrus. “You thought about what my mother wanted. What about her husband, or her children? What about me? What kind of life did you expect me to live? You gave me these,” she jabbed a finger towards her eyes, violet and sparkling, “you gave me that antidote. Guess what, Chief Marshal. Your ‘help’ did nothing for me. It never helped my mother’s family, either. I was just a deadweight to them. Everyone hated the sight of me.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t true.”

“I didn’t need any of your bullshit,” Jemi breathed. “I just needed someone. All the times I needed someone, anyone, you weren’t there. You either keep your distance or you don’t, Atlas, these things, you can’t just switch up on a whim. I-” she tried to run her hand through her hair, but it got stuck halfway. She looked like she wanted to rip it from her skull. When her continued attempts were unsuccessful, she settled for reaching for her beer again.

“I’m sorry,” Atlas said.

After a long draught, the woman put her mug down and sighed. “Never mind. This is useless. In five months, I’ll be the Kraken’s champion. Then you’ll disappear from my life like you were meant to.”

Atlas made no comment on that. Instead he switched the subject. “Well, what do you plan on doing these five months? That’s almost half a year we’ll be stuck together.”

“I can’t go back to the Beasts with you attached at the hip,” Jemi said. “They’ll kill you on sight. Which would void the terms of the contract.”

“Right. The contract,” Atlas responded dryly. “I can’t go back on Mount Casca with you around either… but I can take you on my missions.”

“No. My Beasts recognise my human form. If they see me tagging along with an angel, they will suspect treason.”

Atlas studied her. “Okay. What was your plan then?”

“We hide out somewhere in the deserted hills. We go no-contact with anyone,” said Jemi. “I know how to farm. We can feed ourselves for half a year. Simple.”

“......”

“Come on. You’re a busy guy. Don’t tell me you’ve never dreamed of dropping everything to start a farm in the countryside.”

“It’s not that,” Atlas said. The angel marshal flexed his wings. “I can’t just go off the grid for half a year. There’s too many things I have to attend to.”

“Didn’t you leave anyone else in charge?”

Atlas sighed through his nose. “My brother Epimethius. He’s the Wing Marshal. But he’s… how do I say… he’s good at following my instructions, but quite helpless when left on his own. He’s indecisive, ignorant, and can’t keep track of multiple things at once. If I’m not there for too long… I fear the state of things in the undercloud.”

“They’ll live,” Jemi dismissed.

Atlas leaned forward. “Here’s an idea. You can follow me on my missions. I can't take a human up on Mount Casca without being questioned, since the Kraken is a covert operation for me; the angels cannot know of it. Prometheus' orders. I can't command my men because I can't get back to my normal post. So we'll work undercover. You won't be spotted or recognised. You be my assistant. We'll plug up the gaps that my brother Epimethius has been leaving behind. But you must promise not to hurt any innocents. In turn, I won't arrest any Beasts. Deal?”

“That works out for you. But I’m not the one with management problems,” Jemi said. “Why would I help an angel? What's in it for me?”

Atlas looked at her.

“Cockatrice,” he said to her. “For seventeen years now you have dredged yourself through the black oil of society. Have you never wondered, for an instant, what it’s like to walk an honest path? Or…” his eyes narrowed, “have you become so accustomed to the darkness that you fear the light?”

“I fear no sun, and I won’t fear the likes of you,” Jemi said stonily.

“So?...”

The younger woman folded her arms. “Even if I agree, what's stopping me from betraying you later?”

"Me. I'll stop you. Besides, don't forget," he cocked his head, "the Kraken is watching. And you know, they'll want a champion who keeps their word."

Jemi pursed her lips. Atlas looked at her hopefully.

"Fine, old man,” she said finally. “This better be good.”

“Look, kiddo,” Atlas said, “I’ve been around a long bloody time. If there’s one thing I learnt from all these centuries of living, it’s that there’s always something to be learnt. From anyone.” He gazed at her. “I look forward to learning from the Cockatrice, too.”

~~~

Over the next months, Jemi accompanied Chief Marshal Atlas on a variety of angel missions. They ranged from missions as dramatic as rescuing hostages to as mundane as rescuing cats out of trees. Not all was smooth-sailing. The Chief Marshal and the Cockatrice had vastly different methods: Atlas was the type to do things patiently and thoroughly to minimise collateral, while Jemi Garen kept it sharp and short, at any cost. They started out with many failures. Father and daughter bickered constantly. Stumbling from failed mission to failed mission while dealing with the Kraken’s distance restriction between them having to share all their meals and inn rooms, took a toll.

However, when they learnt to put aside their differences—make the most of them—things took a turn for the better. Atlas brought centuries’ of experience; Jemi introduced new ways of thinking. Where Jemi Garen was a top-of-the-line crook, she also was excellent at stopping crime. Knowing the inner workings of criminals certainly helped in thwarting their schemes. Though, Jemi called their partnership into question several times, like so:

“You’re really going to trust me with handling this case?”

“Who else would I trust to be capable of bypassing heavily-armed security, disabling the traps, to infiltrate into a mob boss’ personal lair and get the hostages out alive, Cockatrice?”

“Of course I can. I’m not talking about that,“ scoffed Jemi. “What if I turn around and shoot the hostage in the face, before you can be there to stop me? What then?”

“You wouldn't do that,” Atlas said.

“Because of my need to impress the Kraken, like you said? You know, the Kraken’s aim is to destroy the world. I doubt it would care if I murdered a few people in cold blood.”

Atlas paused. Then, carefully, he spoke. “You still won’t. I've watched you closely over the years. The Cockatrice's crimes have never been senseless. The night carnival massacre for example, where the carnival was exposed later for illegal animal trafficking and mistreatment. The Cockatrice’s serial murder case in Jadestone that coincided with the court magistrate fires could be linked back to just one man, who was a suspected Beast being bounty-hunted. You never attacked unless Beasts were on the line. You may have been callous, but you weren't evil. It wasn’t random. You did what you felt was necessary to protect your kin. You weren't just hurting for fun.”

“How do you know? Maybe I was.”

“You were doing it with a smile on your face, but you never looked happy.”

“Yeah, well, you’re wrong.”

“I,” Atlas looked hesitant. Finally, he admitted, with some difficulty: “I saw you. In your room at night.”

“.............”

“Why are you so determined to be evil, Jemi?” Atlas continued. Frustration seeped into his voice. “You hated doing what you did.”

“…….Because this is my punishment,” Jemi answered lowly. “For poisoning my family.”

Atlas blinked. “But you didn’t do it.”

“There’s more than one way to poison,” Jemi maintained.

It would be a long time until Jemi Garen learned to accept herself as being capable of change. Of course, some things about Jemi Garen would never change. Her past would always be a part of her, no matter where she went. But her future was a different story. A story yet to be set in stone.

And well, time did pass.

One month. Two months.

Time would pass, as it always did, as surely a river was bound to meet the sea. And no man steps in the same river twice.

~~~

Three months.

“For you, miss!”

One day, when she had answered the knock on their inn room, Jemi blinked in surprise as a bouquet of flowers was dropped in her hands. The fragrance of lilies drifted into the air. An arrangement of the colourful blossoms rustled in the simple paper wrapping.

The woman stared at the absurdly whimsical bouquet with a dumbfounded expression.

“What’s this for?”

“For saving our school, of course,” the child who had given her the bouquet beamed. “From the forest fire! One of the classroom blocks got burned down, but it was put out in time, and no one was hurt.” He grinned from ear to ear. “The director made me run all the way out here to find you. Still, we’ve got about a week off school while the classrooms are rebuilt. I’m definitely not complainin’.”

Jemi only looked confused, violet eyes flicking between the flowers and the kid.

“How did you know…?”

All of Atlas and Jemi’s missions had been carried out anonymously. They had taken care to conceal their involvement. Even if they’d been spotted, no one could’ve seen more than two hooded figures.

“Oh. Our old teacher just says a lot of weird things,” said the child, twisting his shoe in the dirt. “She said that she just had a feeling that it’d be you, and that you’d be staying here. She’s sick in the hospital, but she pleaded for us to get you. If she got the wrong person, bah, just take the flowers anyway. I don’t want to have taken the bus all the way out here for nothing. Plus, you seem nice.”

At that, Jemi laughed dryly. But something caught her attention.

“Just who is this old teacher?”