“It’s a demonic forest fae that’s similar to a tree. My grandfather was killed by one when it speared him through the chest with a branch. Very noble way to go,” Kallie replied simply.
“Charming,” Charlie growled.
“No, I kinda like it.” I giggled as the tiny plant tried to use a strand of my hair as a climbing rope. “We should call him Sprigs.”
Oh, now you’renamingthe thing, Oberi said in disgust.
“There’s no need to get jealous,” Charlie said, and Sprigs tottered over to cling to Charlie’s arm.
Oberi’s beady eyes burned into Sprigs as it hugged Charlie’s arm.I should be theonlypet.
“Well, Familiars aren’t really pets,” Charlie replied. Oberi gave an insulted sniff.
Alette flew out from behind Kallie’s hair. The white moth buzzed around Sprigs in tiny circles, observing it curiously. Sprigs cried out as he jumped onto Alette’s back. The moth attempted to buck him off, but Sprigs clung into her feelers like reins, hanging on. It was like watching a miniature rodeo.
Eventually, Alette calmed down and let Sprigs sit on her back as she zoomed around the room. We watched them fly around for a long time, laughing as they did flips in the air.
After a while, Kallie whistled for her faekin, and Alette returned. Kallie put out her hand, and Sprigs hopped off of Alette’s back and into her palm. She lifted it to her eyes to observe it, and the plant gave a happy wave.
“It’s not an illusion. It’s actually come to life,” Kallie said breathlessly. “You made it sentient. You might’ve even given it asoul. I just… don’t know how you managed to pull it off.”
My eyes wandered to the Christmas tree. “Charlie… I think you actuallygavethe Christmas tree life, like you did with Sprigs. It’s not just an illusion. It’s a real, living thing.”
“That’s why it didn’t fade away,” Kallie marveled. “It’s not a trick of the mind.”
“Could you do that with other things?” Marcus wondered.
“I’m really good with plants,” Charlie said. “But I’m not sure if I can actually bestow life on anything else. And Ava helped. I don’t know if I could do it on my own.”
Sprigs launched himself from Kallie’s arm and back onto Charlie. He settled into the chest pocket on Charlie’s uniform jacket and poked his head out.
“He really seems to like you,” I said.
“I guess we can keep him,” Charlie said, and he tickled Sprigs’ leafy head. “As long as he stays hidden.”
Guess I’m not good enough anymore, Oberi lamented.
I gave Oberi a sympathetic pat on the head. Marcus squeezed Rishi and said, “Sentient plants are cool and all, but you guys need to see what Kallie can do with her time powers.”
“Did you make some progress?” I asked her.
She smirked. “Oh, did I. You’ll want to see the sun for this.”
Kallie gestured for us to follow her. Alette and Sprigs remained hidden as Kallie led us outside. It must’ve been close to two o’clock when we stepped into the prison yard. We kept close to the side of the building, where no one paid us any attention.
“Watch this,” Kallie said as she snapped her fingers.
I watched the world around us go on rewind and into hyper speed. People became multi-colored blurs as we stood in place. I felt a churning feeling in my gut as we were caught up in the whirlwind, and I felt like I was floating, even though I knew we were on solid ground. The overall feeling was like being stuck in a car that was quickly going in reverse. I watched the sun overhead shift backwards in its place in the sky, and the light changed.
When Kallie stopped shifting time, the world halted. It was an abrupt shift, and I felt myself wavering in my chair as we were jerked to a halt. From what I could see, Kallie had taken us back about two hours in time.
Hm. Haven’t experienced that in a while,Oberi said, turning around in a circle.
“You finally did it. You can turn back time!” I said in astonishment.
“I can,” Kallie said, and her shoulders fell in exhaustion. “Only took a ridiculous amount of practice.”
“How far have you gotten?” Charlie asked.
