The Esoteric Design Read online

  “Point taken. That’s why tonight you’re going to get practice!” Troy patted the other man on the back.

  Dovian frowned. “Where are we going?”

  The door opened to the 60th floor, and Troy hurried toward Aria’s apartment, adjusting the tie around his neck. “We’re going to see the girls. It’s Aria’s birthday today. We’re going to have a fun time, got it?”

  “Girls, I like. Birthday parties…not so much.” Dovian waited before the door as Troy knocked. The tall man fiddled with the hood of his long red cape. “Should I put this on?” he asked, sliding the garment over his head.

  “No…why would you?” Troy gave him a weird stare.

  “Is it not a ceremonial event?” Dovian gaped.

  “Not the kind you’re thinking of,” he laughed.

  The door quickly slid open and a bright, loud Ivory cheered, “Surprise!” She threw her arms in the air and gave a small hop. A triangular hat sat atop her wild curls as she blew loudly into a noisemaker. Then her face held a look of confusion. “Oh, wait…I’m only supposed to say that to the birthday person.”

  “That’s okay,” Troy chuckled as he roughed up Ivory’s hair, pushing the hat even more to the side. “It was definitely a surprise.”

  A loud toot sounded from the kitchen area. Troy looked past the pretty blonde and smiled. Aria sat next to a half-empty bottle of Majestic with a lopsided grin on her face as she blew noisily into her own noisemaker. She, too, had a hat, which was very uncharacteristic of her. Balloons and confetti decorated the apartment. The girls had been very busy.

  “Dinner is almost ready!” Ivory sang aloud, quickly padding into the kitchen to open the oven. “Did you know Aria’s never used this thing before?”

  “Now that doesn’t surprise me.” The young man removed his jacket, placing it atop Aria’s on the back of a chair.

  “Shush…I’ve used it once or twice,” Aria grumbled.

  “Couldn’t wait to try it out, huh?” Troy tapped the bottle.

  Aria rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Ivory’s been drinking coffee all day. She made me take her downstairs to the store to buy decorations. I had to nearly drag her out of the place. She was talking to every man that looked at her.”

  “Didn’t get into any trouble, did you?” Troy asked with a serious tone.

  “Shockingly, no. Just a lot of gawking.”

  Dovian, hood covering his features and staff in hand, remained in the doorway leading out to the housing level’s hall. Ivory slammed the oven door closed with her hip and jogged over to the tall man.

  “Don’t just stand there!” the blonde called out, grinning. She reached out to him, her hips swaying from side to side as she grabbed Dovian’s hands and pulled him inside. “Oh, your wrists!”

  Looking at his bruised appendages, Dovian placed a hand over each wrist. In a matter of seconds, the darkened skin quickly brightened to its natural white tone.

  “This girl is inebriated,” he stated simply. Ivory took the massive weapon from the man and set it beside the front door.

  “Yeah. It’s called booze.” Aria widened her eyes. “You should try some.”

  “I do not think something that glows in the dark is safe to ingest,” Dovian muttered.

  “But your eyes glow in the dark.” Ivory leaned forward, lifting the hood slightly on Dovian’s head. The mysterious man stiffened under her scrutiny.

  “You are not planning on ingesting my eyes, are you?” Dovian replied sarcastically.

  “Ew! No!” She shoved away and returned to the kitchen, sipping from her glass. “If anyone in here would eat someone’s eyeballs, I’d say it’d be you.”

  Troy gave a loud snort of amusement.

  “Oh, really? Why is that?” Dovian folded his arms, standing awkwardly in the center of Aria’s living room.

  “Duh! Cuz you’re weird!” Ivory giggled. Aria matched the woman’s laugh as she stared over her shoulder at the Sorcēarian.

  “I suppose that is reason enough.” Dovian shrugged finally. “So what’s in that stuff?”

  “Awesomeness,” Aria replied. “Here, have a glass.”

  “I warn you, I am...what is the term you humans like to use?” Dovian pondered a second before nodding. “A lightweight,” he chuckled deeply, accepting the glass of neon-blue.

  After a couple drinks, the group slowly relaxed, falling into casual conversation. Troy and Aria told past war stories, some heroic, others quite humorous. They did a fine job of avoiding any tale that involved death or tragedy. Ivory listened the whole time intently, amazed at every word that came out of the soldiers’ mouths. Dovian listened as well, not saying much outside a word or two to contribute. One would think he was bored if he didn’t smile from time to time, proving he was indeed enjoying their company.

  After a dinner of real roast beef–not the cloned kind–and vegetables, they moved onto cake. Ivory proved that she was indeed an excellent cook and had made the cake from scratch, a hugely rare talent. Perhaps she was a baker. Aria would have to look at any recently missing persons who had an occupation as a chef.

  After an embarrassingly loud and obnoxious birthday song and a couple slices of cake, the event calmed as bellies were full. Troy and Ivory moved to the television as Aria stared from the bar out the kitchen window, now revealing the entire city. Dovian played with the leftover frosting from his third piece of cake, swirling the pink and blue colors together.

  “Damn!” Troy shouted over the noise of the television. “Aria, we’re outta beer.” The man waved the empty box in the air while Ivory moaned sadly to herself.

  “You drank all my beer?” The black-haired woman twisted on her stool.

  Troy sat on the couch, his tie undone and hanging over his chest, legs propped on the coffee table and intertwined with Ivory’s slender ones. “I’m gonna get some more, ‘kay?” He rose from the couch, stretching noisily with a groan.

  “Fine by me.” Aria shrugged. She frowned at the empty bottle beside her. ‘Boy that tasty liquor disappeared fast.’

  “Can I go with you?” Ivory begged, crawling on her hands and knees on the couch. “Please?!” She was completely oblivious to the seduction of her pouty pose and messy hair.

  Troy just gave the innocent woman a cockeyed smile. “Sure!”

  “Troy….” Aria glared.

  “Please, Aria! I promise I won’t talk to strangers!” Ivory turned her attention to the other woman. Her eyes were big and shimmering in the light of the side table lamp, her small lower lip sticking out. The military woman sighed loudly. This girl sure knew how to play people.

  “I’ll keep her safe. Nothin’ to worry about.” Troy waved dismissively at Aria.

  “Just…watch her closely, you got it?” Aria aimed a finger at the man, giving him her lecturing tone. Ivory squealed happily and leaped off the couch. Pointing her toes, she slipped on Aria’s heels. Troy frowned as Ivory was now nearly a head height taller than him.

  “Okay,” he gave Aria attitude like a teenage boy and wrapped his arm around Ivory’s waist. “Wait till you see the liquor store! It takes up a whole floor!”

  “Really?” Ivory’s high-pitched voice asked excitedly as the door shut behind them.

  “Poor Ivory. Troy’s going to try to mack on her so hard,” Aria groaned, resting her chin in her hand.

  “Is he always this stupid?” Dovian finally spoke.

  Aria laughed. “Only when there’s a pretty girl nearby.”

  The Sorcēarian was silent a moment, twisting his fork. He looked at Aria, perplexed. “Then he must be stupid all the time.”

  Aria tensed, feeling heat rise to her face. What did he mean by that? Surely, Dovian had not just insinuated that she was pretty. Aria swirled the last of the remaining blue liquid in her glass before drinking it. “Is it hot in here?” She cleared her throat. Suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable in her tight black dress. It was probably just the alcohol.

  Dovian laughed. “Yes, it is, but only because I’m wearing m
uch more than you.” He raised his arms, showing the long draping sleeves of his robes.

  “You can take it off,” Aria suggested. Then she blushed. “I mean…that sounded bad.”

  Dovian stared at her momentarily, purposefully making the woman uncomfortable. She shuffled in her seat, trying not to stare at his glowing irises and to not make things even more awkward. A laugh escaped her lips as Dovian continued to stare blankly at her.

  “You know what I meant!” She shoved his shoulder.

  Dovian finally moved, smirking at achieving his goal of making the woman nervous under his stare. Making his way toward one of the cushy chairs, he began to remove his heavy brass armor. First, he unclasped the neck piece which connected to the rounded spaulders on his shoulders. The large blue orbs on the sides matched the color of his eyes, casting their own iridescence. Attached to the armor with small gold chains was a scarlet cape adorned with gold-threaded wings on the back, matching the symbols of Dovian’s staff. He removed the items, finally lowering the large red hood from his head, and placed everything on the cushion. Next, he removed the armored waistband and laid the article down. He then glanced at Aria and smirked, undoing the gold hook-and-eyes down his red overcoat.

  His silvery hair was messed from the hood, the light shimmering golden specks throughout. It was surprising how much younger Dovian looked underneath the heavy armor and cloak. With the coat removed, he loosened the black robes underneath, revealing a tight white bodysuit. He no longer looked quite as intimidating. He was very tall and incredibly lean with tight musculature. Sighing awkwardly, he returned to Aria’s side and plopped onto the stool. He leaned to the side, facing her, and rested his chin in his palm. The long black sleeve dropped, revealing an armband. The white undersuit covered the backsides of the man’s hands, looping around his middle finger. A red symbol adorned the cloth, matching the color and shape of the tattoo on his face.

  “Well, that was quite the peep show,” Aria said with amusement.

  Dovian grinned youthfully at her. Before, Dovian appeared much more mature, bulky and menacing. Now, as he relaxed, he seemed only a few years older than she was. Aria couldn’t help but stare. The man was so interesting to look at. Dovian shifted under her gaze, a small hum sounding as he laughed to himself.

  “Isn’t it a hassle wearing all of that?” she asked.

  “You get used to it after a while.”

  “You wear that every day?”

  “Usually. I was required to wear this once I received my status. It’s actually made of lightweight fabrics, so it isn’t quite as uncomfortable as one may think.” Dovian drank the last little drop at the bottom of his glass. He frowned when he noticed it was empty.

  “Your status?”

  “I was Scarlet status. It means I majored in science technologies. Humans called it magic.” He gave a short laugh.

  “So, you were a scientist?” Aria asked, intrigued by this discovery.

  “A military scientist. I was trained with the staff and used my sciences to meld with my weapon. Everything I am capable of doing isn’t magic. It’s all very logical and very real. Human’s just seem to dub everything they don’t understand as magic.” He rolled his head and eyes to the side. “Or sorcery.”

  “That’s why you are called a Sorcēarian?”

  “Indeed. It came from the word ‘sorcerer,’ obviously.” Dovian shook his head. “But, once trained with my staff and I mastered all of our science, I became Scarlet. That was when I received my tattoos,” he ran a finger along his cheekbone, “and my robes as a sign of my status.”

  “What were the other statuses?” Aria asked, staring at the blood-red mark on the man’s face.

  “There was Gold, reserved for the highest of elders. They were masters of all the arts and sciences. Emerald was used for those who mastered only in the arts. Violet–” Dovian drifted momentarily. The look in his eyes became distant before flickering back to Aria. “Violet was often reserved for military leaders. It was usually given to some of the most prominent families who had the biggest influences on our people. They often became Gold later in life. Then there were the primary fighters. They usually were Scarlet or Azure. Scarlet was more involved in physical battles. Azure delved into espionage and intelligence.”

  “That’s blue, right?” Aria asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “Yes.”

  “Then Euclid was Azure.” The woman frowned. Dovian watched her before nodding.

  “He was the best we had, top of the Azure class. He was trying his best to earn a secondary status, but the elders had put restrictions upon him. As you have probably figured out by now, Euclid was considered a bad egg.”

  “I can think of better words to describe him.” She grit her teeth.

  “How was the funeral?” he abruptly asked. Upon seeing Aria’s face turn from angry to sad, Dovian regretted the question. The room suddenly felt heavy. “I understand. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” He scratched his head, the sleeve pulling down his arm once again.

  “What is that?” Aria pointed at Dovian’s armband, completely disregarding the last subject.

  “This?” He showed her the underside of the item. “It’s my library of sorts. Inside is every text I would ever need from the Sorcēarian libraries. It is also a documentation of human history, something that every one of my kind was expected to study. I have a connection to all technological databases and can search your satellites if needed.”

  “You can hack our systems?” Aria raised a brow.

  “Oh, most definitely. But, no worries, I have no need to cause any trouble with this knowledge. It’s only for educational purposes. And finally, it has a verbal translator.” He clicked a few buttons, the item chiming as he turned to her and said something in Legacy. Aria grinned; it was such a strange language. After another click, he spoke, “I can speak any known human language.”

  “Any language?” Her interest was piqued. “Honestly, I haven’t heard much of anything outside of English.”

  “Would you like to hear some others?” he asked. Aria nodded, her eyes lighting up. “Okay, let’s start with ‘hello.’” He clicked a couple of buttons and began his list. “Salve, hola, guten tag, konnichiwa, bonjour, aloha, šalom, nín hao, ahoj, ciao, hej, dydh da, Здравствуйте.” And he continued, each word becoming stranger and more foreign than the last. Aria gaped at the man. She had never heard these words before. After a few more, Dovian stopped. “There are many more, but you get the point.”

  “I had no idea there once were so many languages. I know there are a few people who know some of those ancient languages, but it’s very rare. Some didn’t even sound like words!”

  “At the time my race came to this planet, there were roughly 6,900 known languages.” He pulled up a three-dimensional globe, the Earth rotated slowly, flickering. “This is what your world used to look like. Since then, a couple of plates have shifted, and some land masses have expanded. Here,” Dovian pointed, “is Ives. Long ago, it had a bridge connecting to the neighboring continent. Humans used to travel to it freely. They looked up to us, came to us for our technology. We should have been wary when they started asking about genetics.”

  “We came to you about genetics?”

  “Yes.” Dovian paused and then looked at the woman humorously. “Do you know what shares roughly 50% of your DNA?”

  Aria shook her head, taken aback by his question. “Uh, I dunno. A cat?”

  Pressing onto the armband, a holographic image popped up, spinning slowly. It was a banana.

  “A banana?” Aria giggled.

  “Precisely. You share half your DNA with a banana.”

  “That’s just not right. Bananas aren’t even considered living things. I mean, not like you and I. It’s a fruit!”

  “Strange, isn’t it?” Dovian smirked. “But it really isn’t that farfetched. It may seem like you’re closely related, but there’s still a vast difference when you look at it all beneath a microscope.”
/>   “I…I don’t even know what to say to that.” Aria eyed the basket on the countertop, staring at the yellow fruit. “So, what’s the difference between you and me?”

  “Every human shares 99% of the same DNA. That one percent can surely make a difference, correct?”

  Aria nodded.

  “Well, there isn’t much difference really between you and me except for the fact that I have a quad helix and you only have a double helix.” The armband projected a double helix splitting in two, the bands twisting around each other. “With this DNA sequence, I am capable of using and understanding 100% of my brain and motor functions simultaneously, all at once. The second double helix, which is different than yours, attributes for our massive intellect: more neurons, synapses firing, basically twice your brain capacity. My kind has a more natural instinct with things like bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, rhythmic, and visual-spatial intelligences.”

  “So, basically you’re just way smarter than us.”

  “Well, the second double helix, which you are lacking, pertains to our divinity.” Dovian narrowed his eyes. “The reason we can sprout wings from our backs.”

  “You have a type of hybrid DNA?”

  “Yes. We were made this way.”

  “So, you’re a smart hybrid of a human.”

  “Um, kind of. You’re more of a dumbed-down version of me. It’s hard to explain these types of things to humans. You just don’t have the capacity to fully understand.”

  Aria wrinkled her nose. Dovian could tell she was starting to feel edgy and insulted.

  “But that is not a bad thing.” He held up a hand. “It’s a splendid thing you humans are not as smart as my kind. The world would be a far more dangerous place. In fact, that’s why the Sorcēarians failed.” He lowered his head, staring blankly at the countertop, drifting into his subconscious. His mouth was set in a hard thin line, and he suddenly looked much older once again.

  “But you can’t control what other people do.” Aria tilted her head to the side, catching Dovian’s empty eyes. He straightened his posture, returning to the present once again.