Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

PERRY

Smiling weakly, I say, "Hey." After just a few hours with Aether, I know it's up to me to keep conversations on track, and if his friends are anything like him, this is going to be a real challenge. "I'm Perry."

They all frown. "Perry?" the hot redhead asks. Seriously, what's with them all being so lickable? Not to mention shirtless. Does Aether make his friends audition? Ordinary people need not apply, shirts not required. "No, that's not your name."

This again? "I'm pretty sure it is." I cling to my smile with dogged determination.

"It's Peregrine," Aether informs them. "Perry for short."

The frowns disappear in a round of nods. "That makes sense," the Black man says. "And it suits you."

"Gee, thanks." Whoops, a little sarcasm just slipped out, but he's not offended. In fact, he grins. It's kinda mean, but I'm okay with that. "Anyone want to tell me your names?"

"This is Aqua," Aether says, slinging an arm around the blue-haired guy. His deeply bronzed skin and vaguely Polynesian features hint at Pacific Island heritage, but his hair manages to look incredibly natural. Like Aether's, it ranges in shades from the lightest, palest aqua to a midnight so deep, it looks almost black, and the blend is superb. Whoever does their color is a genius. Unlike Aether, he wears it longish, falling to his shoulders in waves and curls that make it seem alive.

"Hey, Perry! You don't remember me yet, but we're great friends. Besties, even!" Aqua grins cheerfully at me. "Wanna go swimming?"

"Maybe later." Did I stick a suit in my bag this morning? Meh. I can swim in my underwear.

"And this is Flame," Aether continues. The redhead, who is also a walking ad for a high-end salon, flips me a wave. "And…" He looks at the other man, and I take the chance to study his hair. It's super short, but where I expected it to be black, the color is variable. It's hard to see because of the length and the distance between us, but I can see threads of brown so bright as to be almost copper, deeper, warmer browns, and some so dark they're black. "What name did you choose this time?"

"George," he says.

Of everything that's happened today, I think this shocks me the most. "George?" I repeat, and he nods. "O-Okay." I was totally expecting another free-spirit-type name. But the whole "this time" comment tells me these guys are all in on Aether's reincarnation thing. "Nice to meet you all. Uh, Aether?—"

"Where's Zeph?" he asks, looking around.

"Flying a kite on the beach," George replies. "Even though it's cheating, and he should be ashamed of himself."

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean. Flying a kite is cheating? At what?

"I'll go find him soon. Do you have a room for me? And for Perry?"

Oooh… a room? With a bed? That would be way better than my car.

"Of course," Flame assures him. "We always make sure we have a room for you and Perry."

Alarm bells start going off in my head. Him and me? Ah… no. Sharing with Aether would be a torture of self-restraint. I'd rather sleep in my car.

Well… not rather , exactly. But it would be easier. Less stressful. Less likely to make my balls so blue they fall off. Why does he have to be sexy and sweet? Good-natured hotties are my kryptonite.

Flame is saying something about needing to put sheets on the bed, and I blurt, "I'm not staying."

All eyes turn to me.

"I mean, I might stay for tonight, but I can sleep in my car. If you don't mind me parking in the driveway?"

George tilts his head and studies me for a second, his dark gaze making me feel like he can read my thoughts, and then he smirks and says to Aether, "Not won him over yet?"

Aether shakes his head, supremely unconcerned. "It's only been a few hours. He still thinks I'm…" He pauses. "A nutjob? Is that right?"

"Perfect," Aqua assures him. "You got the lingo down pat, my man!"

What is even happening here?

"You can't sleep in your car," Flame insists. "We have another room you can use." He stops. "It doesn't have a bed yet, though. Let me call around and see if we can have one delivered."

"No, no, it's fine, really!" It's nearly five o'clock. I doubt there's anywhere that could deliver a bed before tonight, even if I was okay with them spending that kind of money for my convenience. Which I'm not. "My car is comfortable." George is still smirking, but the other three frown, so I hurry to add, "Or maybe I could use your couch?" That's a good compromise, right?

"No," George says, and Aether gasps.

"No?"

"Dude, why not?" Aqua adds, shaking his head. "That's kinda rude."

"I'm not fucking around and wasting time this incarnation. We've all been here long enough, working hard, and now Aether's here too. And Aether, bro, love you heaps and always glad to see you, but it's not a good thing when you're here."

Aether sighs mournfully. "Yeah."

Maybe I should just sneak out while they're talking, check out that park I saw before. That'd probably be a good place to park the car tonight. I glance toward the door and slide one foot back a few in?—

"So we're gonna sit down now and tell Perry everything. He'll have a minor meltdown, because let's face it, he always does, and then we can get on with the job."

I freeze. This doesn't sound good. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Flame pulls a face. "I'm not sure if we have enough liquor for him to have a meltdown."

Um…? "Are you suggesting that I drink my troubles away?" I demand indignantly, momentarily forgetting my plan to sneak out. How dare he? I mean, he's not wrong, but still. He doesn't know me.

Aqua shrugs. "You have the last dozen incarnations."

"And before that, alcohol hadn't been discovered," George adds.

Maybe he does know me? I guess some things just don't change when you're reincarnated… not that I believe in reincarnation.

Aether smiles at me. "It's okay if you don't. I always like to try something new with each incarnation."

I immediately resolve not to drink a drop of alcohol while I'm with them, just to prove them wrong about reincarnation. Or… I could just leave. "As fun as an alcohol-fueled meltdown sounds after the day I've had, I really need to be going. It was great to meet you all, though! Aether, you take care." He's safe, in a nice house with people who know him and seem to care about him. They might all be weird cultists or something, but I don't think he's in danger. I can leave him here with a clear conscience. "So… byeeee." I turn and beeline toward the door.

A hand closes around my upper arm. Or it might be a steel manacle attached to a ton of concrete, because it stops me dead. "Hey," I protest, turning to look at George. "Let me go."

"Ten minutes," he… orders? "Give us ten minutes to explain. Then you can go if you still want to."

Uh… that doesn't sound at all forbidding and creepy. "Yeah, no, I think I'm just gonna go now instead."

In response, his other hand comes up to grip my (formerly) free arm, and he literally picks me up off the ground and carries me toward a wide opening on the right side of the hall.

I do what any self-respecting man would: I shriek in a pitch high enough to shatter eardrums and kick my legs like a demented tap dancer.

"It's okay, Perry!" Aether calls from behind me. "You'll understand in a few minutes!"

Oh my god, I'm going to die. Or worse , they're going to brainwash me into their cult. They'll hook me up to some kind of machine that alters brain chemistry or whatever, like on 1960s TV shows. There'll be beakers bubbling and a table with straps to hold me dow?—

Or it could just be a really nice living room. Look at the size of that TV!

George deposits me on an extremely comfortable oatmeal-colored sofa, and I bound to my feet, prepared to race to freedom. He pushes me back down before I make it even one step, then looms over me. "Don't make me sit on you."

I sniff. "You're a bully."

He rolls his eyes and goes to lean against the mantel. Aether sits next to me, his usually happy face wearing an anxious expression. "It really is okay," he assures me. "This happens every time."

Sighing, I gesture for them to get started. As soon as they're done, I'm outta here. Assuming I won't be brainwashed and unwilling to leave, in which case, I won't care. This is so weird.

Flame sits in an armchair, and Aqua sprawls on the rug. "Perry, dude, when you get to the freaking out part, I'm right here if you need to hold someone's hand," he tells me solemnly. "And Aether's got you on the other side."

I muster a smile. "Thanks." It's kind of sweet.

We all sit there, looking at each other. I wait.

And wait.

"Uh… is someone going to talk?"

"I'll do it," Aqua offers, only for George to scoff.

"Hell, no. You take forever because you get distracted and go on tangents. Flame will do it."

"I will?" Flame shrugs. "Sure. Okay, Perry, what do you know about the classical elements?"

"The… you mean like earth, water, fire, and air? The ‘four' elements people thought made up everything back in the days before science proved there's like a billion other things?"

He smiles at me. It's warm and approving. "Exactly. And you're right: the world is made up of about a billion different things, but generally speaking, they fall within the major categories of fire, earth, water, and air. There's also a fifth category that consists of all of them—think of it as a generality for life or spirit."

"O-kaaaaay."

"Ideally, for perfect conditions around the world, these categories need to be in balance with each other. A forest fire is necessary to assist with rejuvenation, and floods deposit nutrients and revitalize soil. In careful balance, these are good things and part of the cycle of life."

"Yeah, but when they get out of control, they're bad, blah blah. I know this." It's kind of hard not to know, with the way climate disasters have gotten lately.

"Great. So, occasionally one of the categories will become unbalanced. There will be a spate of out-of-control fires, for example, continuously over a number of seasons. When that happens, the category of fire will incarnate into a corporeal being."

I study Flame—oh my god, that name. The hair. Does he think…? He's looking at me seriously, face earnest and solemn. He clearly believes what he just said. I need to handle this carefully and diplomatically.

"What the actual fucking fuck?"

They all seem disappointed. "Not yet, then," George mumbles. "Keep going, Flame."

"That being, who is the embodiment of fire, will use his unique power to slowly rein in the fires and return things to a state of balance. He'll continue to monitor the situation throughout the rest of the body's natural lifespan, then return to a state of elemental existence until incarnation is needed again."

They all look at me expectantly. I swallow hard. "Uh… sure. Sounds… fascinating."

Aether sighs, pats my arm as though consoling me, and gestures to Flame.

"Occasionally things get so chaotic that more than one of the categories is incarnated. While that means the world is experiencing some nasty natural disasters and weather events, having more than one category?—"

"Okay, stop," I interrupt, holding up my hand. Aether perks up, and Aqua scrambles to a sitting position. "Can you stop calling them ‘categories' and just call them elements? It's weirding me out."

Aqua sags back to the rug, and Aether sighs. "Not yet," he whispers.

Flame ignores them. "I can," he agrees. "We use ‘categories' because they aren't actually elements under the modern scientific definition."

"Yeah, I get that. But I'm not a scientist, so I'm not going to fine you for calling them elements, and it sounds better. More natural."

"Elements it is. So… having more than one element incarnated allows them to bolster each other and share energy, in the same way, for example, that air feeds fire. And if all four elements are incarnated but things are still chaotic and failing to rebalance, the fifth element is incarnated."

I squint, trying to remember what he said before. "That one's life energy, right? People used to call it spirit." Or aether, I remember from a fantasy book I read once, which tells me how my new friend fits in with this group. I slide him a sideways look. "That would be you?"

He nods, eyes hopeful.

"So you guys just picked synonyms for your names? Aether for spirit, Flame for fire, Aqua for water—though that's not a synonym, just the same word in another language—your air friend is Zephyr…" I trail off as I look at George. "You couldn't find a synonym for earth?"

He snorts. "What, like I want to be called ‘dirt' or ‘soil'? Get real."

"He tried Stone one incarnation, but you kept calling him Pebble," Aqua says from the floor. He's lying on his back, making wave motions in front of his face. I wonder if he's stoned.

"Pebble?" I try not to laugh. That does kind of sound like something I'd do. "How awful."

"Awful is such a harsh word," a new voice says, and I look over to the doorway. "You were misguided." The man speaking is just as tall and built as the rest of them, with skin so pale I want to dip him in sunscreen, and a long fall of silver hair. It gleams, but it's also… feathery? I don't know, but even from here I can see strands floating, like they're statically charged. There's a gentle smile on his face.

"You must be Zephyr." And if imaginary past me was anything like present me, Zephyr's the misguided one. Because I definitely would have called "Stone" Pebble just to be catty. From the smirk George gives me, he's thinking the same thing, and I'll bet Stone dished it back just as hard.

"Yes. Aether, my friend." He walks forward with arms outstretched, and Aether gets up to hug him. They both turn to me. "You've joined us early this time. I'm so glad. What name do you bear this incarnation?"

Yeah, not doing this again. "Peregrine."

He frowns and shakes his head. "Are you sure? That doesn't seem right."

"He goes by Perry," Aether informs him, and Zephyr nods in satisfaction.

"Much better."

Are they fucking messing with me?

"You're telling him?" Zephyr asks, as though I'm not sitting right in front of him.

"Yes," Flame answers.

"Has he…?"

"Not yet."

What's going on with this whole "not yet" thing? This is like the fifth time they've said it since we sat down.

Zephyr gracefully sinks onto the couch, pulling Aether with him. We're a little more squishy now, but I can't say that having my leg pressed up against Aether's is a hardship.

"Where was I?" Flame asks.

"When things are really bad, all five elements are incarnated," I remind him helpfully. It's a fun story, and I'm enjoying it—as long as I ignore the fact that they all think it's real and they're incarnated elements.

"Yes. Our purpose is to preserve life—to keep the world alive. Aether's presence adds the power of life itself to our efforts."

"The whole reason you exist is to keep the world alive? You know it's going to die eventually, right? The sun's going to expand or get hotter or something. That kind of sucks for?—"

The room drops away, and instead there's a montage of moments, scenes, flipping past so fast I can't actually see them, but it doesn't matter because they're not just random pictures. They're memories. My memories. Millions of them, from thousands of lifetimes, not all of them human.

"There it is," I distantly hear someone say. "Go get the booze."

Frozen, I let my past lives surge into my consciousness, watching them, remembering them. Millions of jokes, of family moments together with the others. Bickering with George, planning with Flame, debating the esoteric with Zephyr, hanging out with Aqua. And Aether. More than anyone else, Aether is there, my lover, my soul mate. Countless memories of him, his smile, his laugh, his tears, his anger. Of lying together in the dark, of lazing in the morning sunlight, luxuriating in each other's company.

There is no me without Aether, and no Aether without me. He cannot be incarnated if I'm not alive, the other half of his whole. Because the only thing that's certain about life of any kind is that one day… it must end.