Telesa - The Covenant Keeper (34 page)

“No, Leila not like that. Turn it off and try again!”

“I can’t.” I whined, feeling like a mistreated toddler. “It’s impossible!”

“No, it’s not. You must speak to it softly, but with strength. You must learn to summon your gift with strength and NOT with anger or temper. Otherwise, the fire will always control you. Now, call it again.”

I stopped wearing clothes to our lessons. What was the point? I came in a
lavalava
and let it go when the surge of flames came. A week of practicing and still I had come no closer to any kind of control. If anything, the fire seemed to get angrier as the week progressed, as I got more frustrated with myself. And my teacher. The one thing I was happy about was that my lessons went a long way to distracting my mind from its torment over Daniel. Because, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t vanquish my feelings for him. At day’s end, tired and sweaty, with burn circles on the lawn, I would tramp heavily upstairs for a shower and bed. Tired but not tired enough to sleep without dreaming. Of auburn-edged hair and dancing eyes. A crooked smile. A scar-flecked eyebrow. Sweat trickling down a tattooed bicep. I cried a lot. Silently. Unwilling for Nafanua to detect that I was still not over my ‘childish things’ so unbecoming of a
telesa
.

The lessons were hard but I poured my soul into them. I desperately wanted them to work. Because then if I could control the fire, I was one step closer to getting rid of it entirely. If I could tell it what to do – then surely I could tell it to go away and never come back?

The week drew into two and then three. I could call the fire now, as easily as flipping a light switch. I didn’t need to get angry or emotional for the burn to start. Now, I reached out with my mind and felt for the raw ingredients that needed to mingle and combine for fire to live. It was scientific. For all Nafanua’s spouting on about earth and nature, summoning fire was like a chemical reaction ignited by my thoughts. There was my favorite – oxygen molecules. They were delightful little things that rushed into my lungs with every breath. Adhering to red blood cells, best friends. All they needed was a spark to burst into happy celebration. The party would start in my blood then bubble out like champagne in a victory dance. It would then draw on more O
₂
in the air around me and everyone would join in, ejecting CO
₂
as we partied on. My fire was all about energy. Energy that started with me then multiplied as it mingled with the energy all around me. In the air. Even the earth beneath my feet. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend the energy store in the ground that could theoretically fuel my fire. It was still unpredictable though. If I didn’t get enough sleep. Or even if I didn’t eat regularly. Then I couldn’t guarantee that flashes of fire wouldn’t rip from my hands, my eyes, at the most unexpected of moments. I couldn’t go anywhere. Nafanua made sure no-one but her and Netta were ever at the house.

My days were fire lessons with Nafanua. The nights were on the internet, poring over chemical equations and science websites. I still couldn’t ‘see’ the sense of me. I was the catalyst that set the equation in motion. And where the spark came from confounded me. But the rest of it – the fire I could breathe. And throw. The fire I could wrap around trees and ripple along the grass. It all made sense, chemically. Nafanua thought I was wasting my time on fripperies.

“Why seek a Western explanation for it? You will not find it in their limited understanding of life and creation. Your fire is from earth. From Pele. From the mother of us all. You are
telesa
. What more do you need to know?”

But still I persisted. I had never been fond of mysteries. And I didn’t like being one. I even began exploring Nafanua’s gift. If lightning was a giant spark of electricity – that meant it was energy. Jumping between clouds. But energy nevertheless. So, theoretically, it was energy that I could harness. Capture for myself and convert to fire? I asked Nafanua to hit me with bolts of her gift when I was aflame. She was unwilling. But interested too in the results. We made a strange sight there on the lawn that day. Like two gunslingers in a western movie showdown. I made the first move. Taking off my
lavalava
to stand naked in the sunlight for a brief moment before exploding into my jewelled conflagration. I had grown to love that feeling, the pleasure out ruling the pain as heat surged through me.

Then Nafanua made her move. A flick of her wrist and the giant zigzag spark leapt from the sky. A thirty-million volt charge of pure electricity – enough to light a small town for several months. I focused. On widening my chemical reaction. Converting energy into fire. All energy. I was afraid but determined. I told myself that if my experiment failed and I was fried to a black crisp – then at least that solved my problem of being in love with a boy I could never have.

The lightning strike knocked me back about fifty meters. Smashing me into trees and winding me. But though I ached everywhere from the impact, the actual lightning hadn’t hurt. I was jubilant. The days melted into a pattern. Every morning we would practice. After lunch Nafanua would leave for work, usually returning late in the evening. The afternoons I would spend carrying out my own little experiments. Seeking the limits of my fire. Making little volcanoes in the back yard. That had Netta pursing her lips in disapproval as she tried to do her gardening. I would always remember the first time I summoned the fire and it came gently. Without setting my whole being alight. Without pain. When it was but a light ripple of flame that swayed in the palm of my hand, dancing over my fingertips. I was in awe. I had dropped my
lavalava
before I called the fire, sure that it would again erupt everywhere. Yet here it was, just a little light in my hands. I stood there naked in the afternoon sunlight and cried, cupping the flame in my fingers. Sinking to my knees in the grass, I wept tears of relief. Of gratitude.
Yes, thank you!
I could control the fire. I could make it do what I wanted. I didn’t have to be a killer. This was the first indication that I could walk among regular people again. Without setting them all ablaze at the slightest mild annoyance.

That night was a happy one at Nafanua’s house as she joined in my elation.

“Netta, see what my daughter can do. Finally, she is becoming what she was destined to be, a daughter of the earth. Leila, tonight we will go out. We will celebrate!”

We laughed together and I felt a little of the cloud of despair rise. Just a smidgeon. I hardly dared to engage that whisper of hope. If I could control the flames, then maybe, just maybe I could go back to school? I could see Daniel? Not go too near him, no, I wouldn’t risk that, but at least see him? Hear his voice without the need of any voicemail recorder? When Nafanua brought me an outfit to wear for our celebration, I put it on eagerly. I hadn’t left this place for three weeks now. The thought of going somewhere, anywhere, was dizzying. The dress she brought me was like nothing I had ever worn before, but I doubted jeans and a t-shirt would pass muster for our outing. Netta came to help me with my hair at Nafanua’s bidding. I tried to refuse – I wasn’t a child who needed help with her hair! But, as always, Netta spoke few words and did exactly what she pleased. Expertly, she worked her way through the tangled mass that was my neglected hair, coiling it up into a graceful swirl. A fuchsia bloom completed the ensemble. A glance in the mirror had me gasping. That wasn’t me. It couldn’t be. I hadn’t looked at my reflection since that nightmarish first morning.

A stranger regarded me with shock in her eyes. She was tall, almost willowy. The black sheathe dress hugged smooth curves. Slit to the thigh on one side, revealing legs that seemed to go on forever. The pink
elei
-patterned border at the bust was the only color. Which made my neck seem even more graceful as it met the elegant coil of hair, adorned with the hot pink flower. Before I could react, Netta added a brush of rich lipstick to my mouth, a dab of blush. That wasn’t me, it couldn’t be?! Once unruly brows had now tamed themselves into curved arches. The deep-set eyes were still there, but now they glowed with a seeming endless allure, hidden depths of fire. There was a strange glow to the woman in the mirror. And I wasn’t sure that I liked it.

Nafanua walked in before I could pursue that unease. She smiled at me. “Leila, you are stunning. No-one could resist you tonight.”

I tried not to show how pleased I was at her compliment. Pleased enough that I even allowed her to convince me that I needed to wear the nightmare black stiletto heels with the wrap ties that went all the way up to my knees. I teetered all the way down the stairs, regretting my decision when I tripped and almost fell while I was getting into the car …
shit!

Nafanua drove us in her car, regaling me all the way to town with talk of her day. Apparently she was having a few clashes with the science team here to study Samoa’s volcanic activity, the lead researcher in particular was proving difficult. I hid a smile in the darkness, obviously it wasn’t often that a man refused Nafanua and it was driving her nuts.

“He’s just so stubborn, Leila. You wouldn’t believe it. I mean, I helped to fund this project and so I should have full access to his results, but no, he keeps fobbing me off with excuses, about professional integrity and how results can’t be released until the survey is complete, and he won’t make any assumptions without gathering all the data. All I want is for him to give me the courtesy of access to results I am helping to pay for! Typical male, he probably thinks he doesn’t need to update me on his progress because I’m a woman. Argh. I want you to spend time with him tonight, talk to him, put him at ease and forge a connection, do you hear me, Leila?”

There was a Coldplay song on the radio and I was only half listening to Nafanua’s tirade when her last sentence had me jerk upright.

“Now, I’m counting on you tonight Leila, to get through to this man. Maybe you’ll have more success with him seeing as how he’s American, so you two will have things in common to talk about.”

I interrupted, “Nafanua, excuse me? What do you mean? Did I miss something?”

“Please pay attention Leila, this is important. I told you, we’re having dinner with Dr. Williams and some of his team. And I want you to connect with this man, you know, befriend him. You look stunning tonight and I’m sure that no man in his right mind could resist you. Use any means necessary, I want you to get an invite onto the site and full access to the research, do you understand? ”

Before I could protest, the car slowed to a halt in front of Aggie’s Hotel on the waterfront. The lacy white banister verandas were ghostly loops in the evening and a full moon played on the black water rolling in softly against the seawall. I was still struggling for the right words, the right response while Nafanua hurried me inside ahead of her. She paused to smooth my hair, catch a stray strand of hair and then gave me a vivid smile. “You look amazing Leila, there’s no way he will be able to resist you. Do whatever you need to. I want that research data.”

I was in a daze of shock. My mother wanted me to ‘forge a connection’ with some man I had never met? Just so that she could get access to some volcano research? I half stumbled behind her as we walked to the restaurant
fale
where the main buffet and show was already taking place. A throng of people moved slowly down the line of tables, choosing from the delectable assortment of cuisine. Others sat at scattered dining tables lit with flickering coconut candles. Far off to the right of the restaurant was a massive swimming pool that gleamed silver-black in the moonlight and reflected its ring of palm trees and hibiscus bushes. A band was playing island music on a stage, a beautiful accompaniment to the hum of dinner conversation. I was having a tricky time with my heels and so had to walk with careful precision, following Nafanua as she moved through the restaurant, eyes searching for someone.

“Ah, there you all are!” she spoke with smooth velvet confidence as she walked up to a table where four men were seated. One of them, a large paunchy man with sweat beads on his forehead, couldn’t seem to stop staring at her, his jaw dropping as she leaned to give each of them a requisite greeting kiss. Beside him, a balding man wearing a Nirvana t-shirt barely looked up from his plate piled high with food. The other was an older man, possibly in his sixties, with silver greying hair and a tired demeanour. Dr. Williams. My eyes were taken first though by the third man. Young, maybe in his early twenties, blond crew-cut, blue-eyed, a white button shirt and khaki slacks, a gold stud in one ear.

“Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my daughter, Leila. She’s just moved back here from the States to be with me.” Nafanua drew me to the blond-haired man with the piercing blue eyes. The one who looked like he belonged on a beach with a surfboard instead of in a science research team. He stood as I stepped to the table, hand outstretched to greet me. He spoke before Nafanua could complete the introductions.

“Leila, this is a treat for us. Not one, but two captivating ladies to dine with tonight. I’m Jason. Won’t you sit and join us?”

His handshake was firm and warm, and it lingered just the slightest bit longer than necessary. As I sat in the chair beside him, I could feel the admiration in his eyes as he watched me place my clutch purse on the table. I didn’t need a playbook to read this one. He liked me, I could tell. I wanted to laugh. Nafanua wanted me to bedazzle Dr. Williams? Well, I would throw a spanner in the works and instead, turn on the charm for this young one, Jason. It would send her mental with fury if I ‘connected’ with the lowly assistant. Ha, he was probably the gofer. Or the one who did the dusting or something. I straightened in my seat with a thrill of fun. I was going to enjoy this. And it would serve her right for expecting me to prostitute myself with a stranger just so she could get info on a stupid volcano.

Nafanua had taken the seat beside the grey-haired man and was telling him her drinks order. I heard her asking for lemon water for me. I took a deep breath. I had nil experience with being alluring, but hey, there was a first time for everything right? Languidly, I reached back and unclipped my hair from its coil, shook my head lightly and ran my fingers through the brown waves. I gave Jason a sideways glance from behind a curtain of hair. His eyes were appreciative.