LJ Idol Week 18: Blood Harmony
Singing was my life. People used to say I had the voice of an angel, that I would go far with a voice like mine. My entire life revolved around music. I went to a special high school for the arts, while most of my friends went off to magic schools. I worked my vocal cords while others learned charms or potions. Magic was in my blood, but music was in my heart.
My parents hadn’t been happy with my desire to pursue music instead of magic, and as my sixteenth birthday approached, all they could talk about was my future powers. My friends, one-by-one, grew into their special powers and it was all they could talk about. Fiona was a healer, which delighted her since she was always interested in helping others. Gia could talk to the dead, which suited her for a life in criminal justice. She would one day go into practice interviewing the dead in order to find out who murdered them. Soon, it would be my turn, and I would have my entire future laid out for me.
But all I wanted to do was sing. I couldn’t care less if I could shapeshift like my father or if I had a green thumb like my mother. None of that mattered to me. I would rather stand in front of a crowd and watch them smile from the power of my natural voice - no magic required.
All of that changed shortly after my sixteenth birthday. Your gift doesn’t come to you overnight on your birthday or anything like that, but it will happen sooner or later. I prayed that maybe I’d be spared the magical abilities, I rather liked the idea of starting a band and perhaps one day performing for a living. Like a normal person might do.
But I was no normal person, and it soon became apparent.
I was part of a choice, and we had a performance the following day. My parents had tried to encourage me to stay home, at least until I felt the fabled jolt that said my powers manifested inside of me. But nothing could keep me from singing. I snuck out the window and rushed to practice. I had just stepped into the choir room when I felt that jolt of electricity hit me and course through my body.
It took me by surprise, but I knew what it meant - it meant my powers were coming to be. A happy day for most, but for me, I couldn’t care less. I didn’t even intend to tell my parents about the sensation, as they would just test me on the different kinds of magic to see what it was. I wanted to put it off as long as possible, even though I knew it was inevitable.
“Are you ready, Kara?” our choir director asked me.
Even though I was shaken up from the jolt, I nodded my head and got into place beside two of my non-magical friends, Elsie and Penny. I shared a smile with them as the music began to play.
As soon as I opened my mouth, I knew something was different. My voice had changed. It no longer sounded like my own. It felt more powerful, more forceful. It came from deep inside of me, and made my entire body shake like an earthquake.
Except, it wasn’t just my body that was shaking.
The walls around us began tumbling down. My friends were no longer singing beside me. They were screaming in agony, covering their ears and trying to run for cover as the building collapsed around them. I knew I needed to stop singing, but I couldn’t. My mouth and my vocal cords had a mind of their own now, I couldn’t control it. And as I got to my solo, my voice only grew more powerful - and the screams around me grew silent.
The music had stopped too.
I was singing all by myself until I reached the end of the song. My mouth snapped shut as soon as I did, and I had control once more. But it was too late.
Elsie and Penny was at my feet in a pool of blood.
Everyone around me was dead.
Ooo000ooo
My parents were distraught.
“How did she inherit this curse?” my mom asked, pacing the room. “Of all the powers, why this one?”
I was literally sitting right there as they argued about me. I didn’t dare speak up. I didn’t want to open my mouth ever again if I could help it. Not after what I’d done.
Dad slouched down in his chair and refused to look mom in the eye.
“What is it, Charles?” she asked him. “What are you not telling me?”
“Well-- I never told anyone, but my great-great-grandma had this same power and--”
“WHAT? You knew it ran in your family and you didn’t bother to tell me about this?”
“It was so many generations ago, I didn’t think it mattered. It’s such a rare gift--”
“It’s a curse, Charles. Nothing but a curse,” she said.
I stared down at my hands. I thought about how Fiona had healed a bird with a broken wing by laying her hands upon it. I remembered when my mother sprouted an entire tree from a sapling with just her touch and some gentle, encouraging words. All my life, I assumed I would have a power like that - almost everyone did.
Powers like mine were rare and for good reason. Families with such dangerous powers in their bloodlines were no longer allowed to reproduce.
I shouldn’t have been alive.
But I was because my dad didn’t let anyone know about the potential dangers that lurked within his DNA.
“Kara, I’m sorry,” my father said, his eyes as sad as I’d ever seen them. “I didn’t know.”
I didn’t know what to say even if I could speak so I left the room. I could hear my parents arguing into the night. My mother sobbed and yelled for hours after I left. I tried to fall asleep, but all I could see were the crushed remains of my friends every time I closed my eyes.
I shouldn’t have ever been born. If I hadn’t been alive, those others would have lived.
Ooo000ooo
I never sang again. I never spoke again either, even though I was told I could. I didn’t want to risk it. I kept parchment and writing utensils around me at all times. I would scribble out my responses rather than risk my voice taking control again.
I stayed with my parents. There was no hope of me getting married or having a family of my own now. No one would want me. I would not be allowed to have children, I’d be the last of our line.
“Did you hear the news?” my father asked one sunny, bright morning over breakfast.
I shook my head. I didn’t pay much attention to the news. It was depressing and since I couldn’t do much about the events going on in my little world. I avoided it as much as possible.
Dad scowled. “President Drumpf is getting us involved in a war now. Apparently killing off hundreds of thousands due to his lack of preparation for the plague last year wasn’t enough - he’s off to kill even more people.”
“Such a shame too,” mom said with a deep sigh. “I wish there was something we could do about it.”
Death. Death everywhere. It was all I could think about anymore. I yearned for the days when I could focus on my music, to escape from it all by singing. I missed the harmony of my choir. It had been years since I had sang with them, but I still dreamt about them every single night.
The last thing I needed was to think about more death.
There was a knock at the door a few minutes later, and mom excused herself to check on the door. I focused all my energy on the remaining bits of my breakfast when I heard footsteps - plural - walking toward our tiny kitchen.
I looked up to find my mother standing with three men. One of them I recognized from the speeches my father often watched - he was some high-ranking military official under Drumpf.
“Kara, may we speak with you for a moment? Alone, please?” The man said. His eyes narrowed in on my father.
My father and I shared a look. “What is it that you want with my daughter, General?”
“We come on important military matters, sir. Confidential matters, at that.”
“She’s my daughter, I think I have a right to know why you’re here.”
“She’s an adult, and this is a classified conversation. Now unless you would like to be forcibly removed from your home and thrown into jail for disobeying orders from your president, it would be in your best interest to give us a few moments alone.”
I wrote down a note for my father, It’s fine. I’ll be okay, it said.
He looked at my messy handwriting and then up at me. I could see the fear in his eyes, he didn’t want to leave me. I was still his little girl, even if I was one of the most deadly people on the planet thanks to my cursed gift.
Don’t get arrested dad, I wrote down for him. Please. I circled the please and made eye contact with my father, hoping he would obey. The last thing I needed was for my dad to be arrested and jailed for not obeying our evil dictator of a president.
“Come on, Charles. She’ll be fine,” my mother said. She placed a hand on my dad’s shoulder, and he finally nodded.
“We’ll be right upstairs. If you need anything--”
I knew he was going to say I could call out to them, but stopped short of finishing the sentence.
My mom and dad left the kitchen, and the general sat down across from me, his dark eyes narrowing in on me.
“I assume you know who we are, Kara?”
I nodded.
“Good. Because we know all about you,” he said. “I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re here?”
I shrugged.
“We’ve heard about your gift, Kara. Not many people are born with such an ability, and let me get straight to the point - the Allied Republic needs you. President Drumpf has sent me here to offer you a job within our military.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Our powers often dictated our career choices. I had assumed a power like mine meant that I would never be able to work, nor would I be able to have a normal life.
But the last thing I expected was for the Allied Republic military knocking on my door.
I scribbled a note to the General.
What would I be doing exactly?
I had a bad feeling about this. I knew under our current administration, there was no chance that my abilities could be used for good. But I wasn’t sure I would be given much of a choice either. I’m sure they wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Well, as you may have heard, we’re at war currently, and you’d be helping us win that war. In exchange, we’d provide you with training to hone your skills, and you’d get to sing again.”
I could sing again? I wrote.
“Oh yes. We can teach you to control the power of your voice - so you only use your gift when you choose to. It would take some practice, but I’m confident you’d be able to sing again.”
I could sing again.
Something I had dreamt of since the day I discovered my curse.
But at what cost, Kara? I couldn’t imagine seeing another body at my feet. I couldn’t be responsible for any more death, I just couldn’t.
Except, of course…
I scribbled another note. Would I meet with the president?
The General nodded. “Yes, he would like to meet with you as soon as possible. It’s not every day that he gets to meet someone with your abilities. If you just come with us, we can have you shaking his hand by later this evening.”
I thought about my mother’s words from earlier, “I wish we could do something.”
I took a deep breath and nodded my head. I wrote down another note.
Let me just leave a note for my parents, and I’ll go with you.
The General smiled wide. “You have made a wise choice, Kara, and your country will thank you for your service.”
Yes, yes they will, I thought to myself as I hastily wrote a note for my mom and dad.
Mom, Dad,
I’m not sure if I’ll ever see you again. I suspect I won’t. I love you both dearly, and dad, I forgive you for your secret. I’m off to serve our country and to do something good with my powers.
I’m off to sing for the president.