Becoming (29 page)

Gabriel hadn’t realized how long it would
take to travel from his home to the site arranged by the Elphresti
for the Becoming ceremony. Even the totally awesome thrill of
flying didn’t make the time pass more quickly.

He wished that he could still hear Amber in
his thoughts. The broken connection worried him. Was it just a
natural result of the transition? Or had something gone wrong to
affect her consciousness? He had no way to know, as communication
between the groups of Estilorians protecting the girls was deemed
unsafe. And he certainly didn’t want to compromise her safety.

Ini-herit and Knorbis had explained a bit
about how the ceremony would proceed. All of the eldest and most
trusted of each class of Estilorian would attend—except, of course,
the Mercesti. Also in attendance would be the contingents assigned
to each of the sisters. The ceremony would be led by the Elphresti
elder, Jabari. Once the ceremony was complete and the sisters had
Become, the elders would meet separately to discuss what should be
done with the girls to prepare them for life on the Estilorian
plane. Gabriel was deeply relieved that he would be among those
making that decision. He didn’t want to lose Amber again.

At long last, their destination came into
sight. His heart rate accelerated in anticipation. As he grew
closer, he noted the numerous balls of energy in the sky above the
coliseum, bathing everything in soft light. The seats surrounding
the center of the stadium were nearly half-filled with those
Estilorians who had been honored with an invitation to attend the
exclusive ceremony.

His gaze moved to the six figures slowly
growing larger in his sight standing in the middle of the coliseum.
Even from this distance, he recognized Amber. She stood with her
arms crossed and her legs braced apart as if preparing for battle.
Her head turned in his direction the moment he identified her. He
wondered if she could see the glow of his wings and the many pairs
of wings behind him. When she uncrossed her arms and kept her
attention focused on him, he knew she could.

As he got closer, he was able to make out
more details about her new form. He was glad that there wasn’t
anybody near enough to see his reaction. He was simply staggered.
Words completely escaped him. Emotion rushed through him.

Ini-herit and Knorbis had warned him that he
wasn’t allowed to enter the center of the coliseum. They had told
him that he would have a space reserved at the forefront of the
Gloresti section in the seats, as the eldest representative of his
class. Suddenly, that didn’t seem acceptable. As if they sensed
this change in his complacency, Ini-herit and Knorbis soared ahead,
serving to block him from maneuvering wherever he wanted to within
the venue.

Frustrated, he allowed himself to be led to
the section reserved for the Gloresti. He landed lightly as the
Estilorians who had traveled with him did the same in their
assigned locations. The Gloresti sitting behind him greeted him by
rising and bowing as a group with their right arms crossed over
their chests. He bowed in return. Wings winked out of existence
around the stadium and a hush fell as everyone realized the
ceremony was about to begin. He remained standing, as did the other
elders of each class.

He focused on Amber. She stared back at him,
her magnificent eyes filled with hope, worry and undeniable love.
He tried to reach out to her with his mind to reassure her, only to
have his thoughts echo back to him. How could he communicate what
he wanted to share with her without shouting to her across the
stadium?

Then his lips curved into a grin. He held his
hands up in the shape of a letter A.

The smile that lit her face made his chest
ache with its joy. She laughed, the delighted sound bouncing
through the silence. Then she started to move toward him. The
Gloresti behind her reached out to stop her, his hands gripping her
upper arms.

A sharp and unexpected burst of energy rushed
through Gabriel as his eyes shifted to the male who touched Amber.
Had Gabriel been human, he might have mistaken the sensation for
some kind of overriding jealousy. But his Estilorian self
recognized the energy surge for what it really was. It was the urge
to protect an Estilorian to whom he had been paired.

But that was impossible. Only one Gloresti
could ever pair with a transitioned soul. The bond was meant to be
personal and binding to ensure the Gloresti never lost the desire
to serve the role of guardian. The Gloresti now holding Amber in
place should be the one experiencing this, not Gabriel.

Even as he blinked slowly in confusion over
the powerful sensation, Amber jerked away from her Gloresti. She
turned to give him an irritated glare until he released her. The
sight brought a smile to Gabriel’s face. He realized then with
tremendous relief that nothing about her personality had changed
during the transition. He was still smiling when she turned again
to look at him and shrugged apologetically. Then she surprised him
by doing a little pose, waving her hands along her body as if to
say, “Look at me!” She tilted her head expectantly.

Unable to stop himself from laughing, he gave
her a thumb’s up. She bit her bottom lip and blushed, her eyes
alight with humor.

They both seemed to realize at the same time
that they were the objects of everyone’s attention. The Gloresti
behind Amber—Gabriel couldn’t remember his name—was frowning.
Olivia and Skye stood in their respective locations, both wearing
happy smiles. When he turned his gaze to them, they waved
enthusiastically. He returned the gesture.

He noted that outside of the way they were
dressed and their eye color, the girls were now nearly identical in
appearance. Still, he easily spotted the differences between them
simply through their body language. While Amber stood braced as if
prepared for anything, Olivia’s pose was rigid and uncertain. She
alternated between clutching her hands and touching the top of
Aurora’s head, seemingly seeking reassurance. On the other side of
the stadium, Skye stood with energetic poise, her hip thrust to the
side in a sassy stance. She kept her hands on her hips in a manner
that said she was quite fine being an object of everyone’s
focus.

They were all simply stunning. Olivia had
been garbed in a flowing gown the palest shade of green imaginable.
It covered only her left shoulder in a thin strap of material
caught by a jeweled clasp, leaving the other shoulder bare. The
gown covered her all the way to the tops of her feet, but curved
flatteringly along her softly rounded figure before flaring out
slightly below her thighs. Her hair had been braided and coiled
against the base of her head. Dainty white and pink flowers peeked
out of strategic places along the braid, making her look very sweet
and innocent. Her eyes were the color of a canopy of spring trees,
the exact shade the leaves turned when the sunlight hit them. Light
green markings lined her eyes, but she was too far for Gabriel to
see what they were.

Skye, on the other hand, wore a bold,
turquoise, midriff-baring blouse and some exotic-looking trousers
that were sheer enough through the legs to see how much dancing as
a human had benefitted her Estilorian musculature. A silver chain
with solid silver circles dangling from it hung around her waist,
just below her exposed navel. She wore large silver earrings in her
ears and a series of jingling silver bracelets from her wrists to
the middle of her forearms. Small turquoise slippers covered her
feet. Her hair had been braided and left to hang down her back.
Something that looked like diamonds sparkled in the light when she
moved her head. Decorative hair pins of some kind, he guessed. The
coordinating markings by her light blue eyes were also
indistinguishable from this distance.

He noted all of this in a quick sweep of his
eyes, just as he noticed the two young Gloresti standing within a
foot of each of Amber’s sisters. The Estilorian part of his mind
registered things he would have changed about their posture to be
more protective and aware, even as the human part thought how
relieved he was that the girls were safe and guarded now.

Only a span of about two minutes had actually
passed since he landed, but he sensed the crowd stirring with an
interest in moving things along. Just as that thought entered his
mind, a loud, deep voice echoed across the coliseum.

“My fellow Estilorians, thank you for
attending this most unprecedented gathering.”

The welcome had come from Jabari, the
Elphresti elder. Gabriel met Jabari’s gaze across the stadium.
Everything about the Elphresti was dark: his fathomless black eyes,
his ebony skin…even his wings would be black once summoned forth.
Almost as if to offset this, he had painted his face in a collage
of color. Each color and design would have significance, Gabriel
knew. He also wore an elaborate ceremonial headdress of feathers
and beads, and was dressed in yards of vividly patterned fabric in
a floor-length, toga-style garment over a bright yellow
undershirt.

Quite the dramatic difference from Gabriel’s
simple navy blue tank top and matching pants.

“As you all know, we are here tonight to meet
three new and unique members of our plane. We are all pleased that
they made successful transitions, despite the doubts of many. Those
of you who are here tonight came because you believe, at least in
part, that these three represent a positive change for our people.
An evolution.”

The orbs of light dimmed as Jabari said, “We
will henceforth join together to teach these three newcomers the
ways of our kind. And welcome them.”

Now, only the orbs above Amber lit up. She
looked up at them with interest as Jabari said, “Welcome, Ambryl. I
am Jabari, eldest of the Elphresti.”

She realized that she had been singled out,
and gave a brief, acknowledging nod to Jabari. Gabriel knew her
enough to read her anxiety, but he was positive no one else would
recognize it. She looked bored. His lips curved as the orbs above
her once again dimmed and the orbs above Olivia lit instead.

“Welcome, Olaya.”

Olivia gave a slight bow with a tentative
smile. The lights went through the same routine and ended up
highlighting Skye.

“Welcome, Skylar.”

Skye issued an elaborate, graceful curtsy and
beamed from ear to ear.

The lights once again returned to their full
strength. Jabari said, “With the help of our Orculesti and
Corgloresti, we have watched you three grow on the human plane. You
each experienced different upbringings, and as a result, you each
bring with you very different strengths and weaknesses. Although it
was not our design for this to happen, we believe that you
complement each other in unique and essential ways.

“Ambryl.” Again, the lights shifted to focus
on her, glittering on the gold accents in her hair and across her
midriff. Because she now faced mostly away from him, Gabriel
allowed his gaze to rove over the remarkable strength and beauty
displayed in her ceremonial outfit. He had to force himself to
focus on what Jabari was saying. “Your path has been the most
challenging. We have deduced that you draw your energy from within
the earth itself. It is a raw and volatile force that can be very
difficult to manipulate. As a result, it is also incredibly
powerful when placed in the hands of one strong enough to wield
it.

“The rather explosive nature of this energy
exhibited itself in unpredictable ways throughout your life on the
human plane, often resulting in negative consequences for you. You
learned to develop emotional shields to protect yourself against
those consequences. Over time, you have begun to learn that those
shields can be lowered, but still, you weigh the decision to do so
with great care.

“You approach new experiences with doubt and
cynicism. You lack faith, most often believing the worst is always
the inevitable result. The disruptions of your placements with
human guardians contributed to this side of yourself. They led you
to believe you were unworthy of affection. You questioned what was
wrong with you and grew to think of the world as a harsh and
unforgiving place, rather than realizing that the fault lay with
the inadequate caregivers.”

Gabriel watched Amber’s hands curl into fists
at these painful and public revelations. Another wave of protective
Gloresti energy surged through him, along with stark human
protectiveness. Jabari’s eyes shifted briefly to him, then returned
to Amber.

“In time, you will master your skepticism.
And we will all rely on your admirable strength.”

The lights dimmed over Amber, and Gabriel saw
her relax a fraction. His posture also relaxed and he watched the
lights brighten over Olivia.

“Olaya,” Jabari continued, and now Olivia
tensed. “Where your elder sister draws on the power within the
earth, you rely on nature and its many forms. Nature can be gentle
and unassuming,” and here, his gaze shifted to Aurora, “and it can
also be vicious and without mercy. This is a delicate balance that
requires incredible control to maintain. You have developed that
control.

“You approach every experience with a
measuring and assessing mind. Your human guardian helped foster
your faith in the unknown, though you still harbor what you see as
practical doubt. You have worked hard to open your mind and expand
your spiritual education, even if only to please your guardian. You
will draw on this in time to overcome your still-existing
doubts.

“You are the physically weakest of your
sisters, having dedicated your time to learning and social
interaction on the human plane. But your absolute determination to
prove yourself will prompt you to do whatever it takes to make
yourself stronger. We will all rely on your sharp intellect and
unquestionably sound judgment.”