I have never been over to someone else's home before. It was nerve-wracking to say the least. Back in the house I grew up in, I was taught a certain set of manners; etiquette was what the sharp-tongued tutor called it. Should I act like how she taught me, or should I act like how the people on TV acted when visiting their friends? Well, Kodeko wasn't even my friend to begin with.
Although we both lived in Sklep, Kodeko's neighborhood was a far cry from mine in terms of environment. It was bright, clean and quiet despite the foot traffic, and various shops were sprinkled between walk-ups and apartment buildings with doormen. As I approached the address Kodeko had given me, I saw there was also a shop, but the stairs he'd told me to go up were easy to find.
I went up the stairs and stood on a welcome mat as I stared at the door. I glanced at the building number beside the door a few more times, confirming it to the one in the text message Kodeko had sent before taking a deep breath and raising my hand to ring the bell, but before I could, Kodeko opened the door.
"Valya! You made it. Right on time," Kodeko flashed a bright smile.
"Yes," I responded stiffly, looking down at the ground.
There were shoes on a rack just inside the entrance, and Kodeko had no shoes on. Tentatively, I reached down to take my shoes off and placed them on an empty spot on the rack as I stepped inside.
Kodeko's apartment was pleasant and visually warm. The decor was abundant in wood. The floors, the low table in front of the rust red sofas and upholstered chairs, the various intricate decorations on the walls, drawers, shelves and more… matching wood. Rust red, terracotta, and cream colored decor complimented the light wooden furniture and floor.
How cozy.
"Where's the other person?" I asked.
"She's not here yet. She'll be here soon. Make yourself at home. I just made some food, so you should eat too," Kodeko shut the door behind me then walked past me to the dining area.
I followed after him and smelled something pleasant. I saw a colorful stew at the table and some rice. Kodeko went to the kitchen and brought back plates and utensils for us.
"It's squash and string beans with coconut milk. And some other veggies and spices. No meat," Kodeko said.
"Oh. That's good. I don't eat meat," I murmured.
I only ate some toast before leaving home, so this was a welcome meal. I sat down and Kodeko let me serve myself first. The first bite of food was amazing. The entire dish was creamy, the veggies were juicy and soft and the squash melted in my mouth.
"You look like you like it," Kodeko said.
"Yes. It's tasty. Thank you," I stared at my food.
Silence followed except for the sound of the wooden clock on the wall. I avoided looking up from my food.
I didn't really know where to go forward from here. What should I talk about? Were we waiting for the third person?
"Valya?" Kodeko's voice pulled me out of my whirlwind of thoughts.
"Y-yes?" I looked up at him.
"While Myrcella is on her way, we should get to know each other."
"Oh, okay…"
Kodeko ate a giant spoonful of rice and the stew and chewed with his eyes closed with an expression on his face like he was thinking really hard. When he was done, he opened his eyes.
"Alright. So, my name is Kodeko Piveto. Human. I am twenty-years-old. Over a year ago, my family were all murdered during the Monster riot. Then, a bit over a week ago, I got killed in a random attack. But after I died, I met a god and they restored my body and gave me powers if I agreed to defeat The Tsar, so here I am. How about you?"
Oh.
I paused, then put down my utensils.
"My name is Valentina Jonas, but I prefer to be called Valya. I'm twenty-one. I used to live on the outskirts of Vecherinka in a house with my mother and servants, but when I was thirteen my mother went missing. So I have just been… living alone since I was eighteen. And I said The Tsar's my father but I haven't actually seen his face. I haven't even talked to him," I mumbled. "But your story sounds a bit-"
The ring of the doorbell interrupted any further conversation and Kodeko got up to open the front door. I tried to inconspicuously steal a glance at the person coming in without staring like some frozen prey animal.
A girl a bit shorter than Kodeko wearing a large hat and a mask. When the door was closed, she took off her hat and a mass of long hair the color of light blue cotton candy came cascading out. She sighed and smoothed her hair as she and Kodeko greeted each other. I looked away as they came over. Kodeko went to grab her a plate of food and she sat beside his seat. She had deep, red eyes and pale skin. She was quite pretty, and her long lashes were like a doll's.
"Hello," I said softly.
"Hey!" she beamed at me. "I'm Myrcella. You're Valya. It's so nice to finally meet you!"
I opened my mouth, and I'm sure I looked puzzled.
"Kodeko didn't really tell me much about you, if that's what you're wondering. I just know a lot about people here in The City. That's kinda just my thing," Myrcella spoke quickly.
"You mean you know who I am already?" I said, baffled.
"Yup. She's got eyeballs everywhere. Literally. She knows everything about everyone," Kodeko interjected as he placed a plate of food down for Myrcella.
Oh.
"But it's not, like, for bad reasons! I have the same goal as you guys! I wanna take down The Tsar too. I really hope we can get along," Myrcella said.
"Did you tell Kodeko about me?" I asked.
"She didn't," Kodeko said.
Myrcella looked at me apprehensively, like she was worried about how I'd react. If she knew me to the degree that she let on then she knew I hated the idea of being surveilled. But seeing her look at me like some scolded child made me sigh.
"It's fine. Let's get along," I murmured. "Tell me about yourself."
Myrcella's face lit up.
"I'm Myrcella. I don't have a last name but I guess you can use Gharbi. I'm old, like really old, but I'm alive because of my powers. I have the ability to put my consciousness into different body parts and have them pick up information in The City for me. I got most of them from cadavers. I know just about everything about everyone who's within The City walls, and I store all my info in some brains I have hidden here and there. I actually can't really access some of that information right now 'cause I hid it away from your father, but we'll get into that later," Myrcella said. "We should finish our food first, then I'll explain some things to you."
***
There were things I knew about The City the average citizen didn't. The names of the Councilors was one thing. Another was that they were all Monsters. Had I stayed in that house, I would have become a Councilor or something working closely with dear old dad. But I didn't make it far enough to please him, so I lived like a doll in that house with no real purpose. I think the only reason they kept me around was because I was good at Ase manipulation.
"Ase is a power of authority that those who have reached an awakening can manipulate in order to perform superhuman feats. Not every Awakened is made equal. Everyone has different abilities, strengths and propensity for growth," Myrcella explained.
She stood in front of Kodeko's living room TV where she had a slideshow displaying these concepts. She aimed her pointer at what she wanted us to focus on.
"The world is made up of different elements and energies. Kodeko, you know these concepts because your family is from a tribe of some of the most powerful Awakened in history.
The world is made up of the Natural Elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Then there are the Foundation Energies: Space or Void, Life and Death, and Time. Finally there are Neutral Energies: Fate and Thought. Every single individual is inclined to certain Elements and Energies, and when you awaken you can use Ase in your core to manipulate them. However, there's one more thing that determines how powerful you'll be when doing this. You know what it is, Kodeko," Myrcella nodded at Kodeko.
"It's Chi," Kodeko responded.
"Correct. Now, no regular citizen of The City has a concept of Chi, and most people outside The City don't know about this; to a lot of people it's more spiritual mumbo jumbo than a truth of the world, but it holds some weight considering your ancestors and some of the most powerful Awakened consider their Chi to be the source of their powers. What did Karma say to you when he revived you, Kodeko?"
"My Chi was strong. Karma is the God of Fate, so he'd be able to look into my Chi," Kodeko murmured.
"I don't really get it," I admitted sheepishly.
"Chi is like the you that knows everything. Your past, future and how to reach your destiny. It's like a god inside you, but you treat your Chi like your partner and vice versa. If your Chi is strong, then you should become strong too, if you let it guide you," Kodeko explained to me.
I kind of understood it.
"Now Valya, you're probably wondering what I'm getting at here. You and Kodeko most likely have very, very great Chi. It's in both of your bloodlines. You two need to become stronger if we have any hope of defeating The Tsar, let alone his lackeys," Myrcella went to the next page of her presentation. "There's seven levels of Awakened. Latent, Awakened, Master, Paragon, Sacred, Divine and Primordial. Right now, you two are at Awakened. The Councilors are Paragons and The Tsar is Sacred. You see how big of a difference that is?"
"So what are you?" I piped up.
"I am a Paragon. But I already explained that I'm nothing more than a hard to kill bag of bones. My Chi did not ordain me to fight in the frontlines. But you two are sure to be heavy hitters."
"I don't assume you're to be our combat teacher?" Kodeko raised a brow.
"Oh gods no," Myrcella snorted, flicking her wrist at him with an amused expression. "The best I can do is tell you how to manipulate Ase within your own body. But! I know who can. They're closer than you'd think."
Myrcella trained her eyes on me as she spoke, making me dart my eyes around.
"Who?" I asked.
"Your boss, Riza."
***
Riza really was the owner of Kandelika. And not only that, she was from outside of The City. Myrcella explained that Riza had hired me and kept me safe from prying eyes.
"Not mine, though! Even Riza can't beat me," Myrcella had gloated.
As such, Riza was expecting me and Kodeko already.
After our meal and briefing I went with Kodeko to Vecherinka but entered Kandelika through a different door where a stern looking man waited. He stood a few inches shorter than Kodeko and I and was handsome with a side parted combover and healthy, olive skin.
"Follow me," he said gruffly.
We walked through a hallway I'd never seen before up some stairs I'd also never seen before and to a well decorated room with many plants. There was a coffee table with two couches on each side facing each other, and sitting on one of those couches was Riza.
"Valya, my dear, you're here. With company too. How wonderful," Riza smiled, her eyes still hidden behind reflective glasses.
The stern-faced man went to sit next to Riza where he crossed one leg over the other and stared at us. Riza waved her hand out, motioning for us to sit across from them. Kodeko and I took a seat. Throughout our trek here, he kept giving me the odd look here and there. Probably because of how the man kept looking at me.
"Welcome! Valya already knows who I am, but I am Riza. This here is my assistant, Bora," Riza motioned to the man beside her. "I was contacted by the most curious note on a hand.
"First and foremost, Valya, I am so pleased that you decided to do more. We must start right away on getting you primed for infiltrating The City's upper ranks."
"Infiltrating?" I repeated incredulously.
"I guess that makes sense," I heard Kodeko mumble beside me.
"Yes, my dear. You'll have to join your father's ranks. Out of the frying pan and into the fire I suppose. Despite all the nasties your father has fostered in his domain, you're quite a hopeful little blessing," Riza continued to smile. "You two have your work cut out for you."