Prince of Attania, 2

Stenson looked up when Attan materialized in their hotel room. “Where’ve you been?” he asked irritably. “Reporting to Daddy?”

“No,” Attan replied, stung by the older man’s implications. He probably should have been, but he hadn’t. Nor would he, until he had something concrete to report. “I went for a walk.”

Stenson stared pointedly at him. Most people who went for a walk actually walked. They didn’t materialize out of thin air in the middle of the room.

“I did. I met some kids from town.”

That got Stenson’s notice. He sat straighter. “What did you tell them?” he demanded. “You didn’t tell them who you are, did you?”

“No.” Attan flopped down in the one chair in the room, suddenly weary. He wasn’t sure if he was Stenson’s jailor or his accomplice. He wanted to understand, and a part of him believed Stenson—a part of him wanted to believe. “They asked me why I was going to release. Because I’m young, like they are.”

“Did you explain?” Stenson asked eagerly. Where he had failed with the father, he hoped to succeed with the son. He grunted in irritation when Attan shook his head. “But you’re still going to do it.” Attan nodded. “Good, then.” Stenson sat back in satisfaction, before he frowned at Attan’s expression. “What?”

“I won’t let them release if they don’t want to,” Attan said stubbornly.

Stenson laughed. “Fine, fine,” he agreed with a wave of his arms. Once the elemental core of these Family released, there was no return for them, not like there was for Stenson and for this young Prince who wasn’t exactly Family, though Stenson couldn’t figure out why. His parents were both fleshly creatures. He had been born in flesh—but he wasn’t any more a physical being than Stenson was. It shouldn’t have been possible, but here he was. Even Stenson’s experiment, which Attan had arrogantly named Meetoo, was more attached to his flesh, now that he was able to manifest it, than this boy was.

Attan slept until sundown, when they were supposed to meet those who had chosen to release. Although their meetings were held in secret, the releases themselves were very public. In this mid-sized town, there would be no news coverage like there was in the larger citites, but as the Family and non-family who would bear witness assembled, word spread, and by the time Stenson and Attan arrived, there was a good-sized crowd gathered in front of the town hall.

Attan spotted Arina and her brother with their parents at the very front of the crowd. Stenson motioned them up to the steps. The Family kid who’d given him a hard time was there, as well as the girl with the spiky hair. He nodded to them all.

Stenson spoke to the group, about how Family were never meant to be, that they were truly the stuff Attania was made of, and they would never be fully complete until they released their physical selves and joined once more with Attania. It was true, as far as it went. But Attan’s father believed that Family had evolved over the centuries to a point where they were truly physical beings, even though they had elemental cores. His proof was how different Family looked, for all that they shared pale skin and black hair. Of course, most non-family glossed over these differences, but they were there.

When Stenson had first offered to show Attan what he had been doing, he’d meant to convince Attan that releasing was not necessarily a bad thing. He wanted Attan to see for himself that Family who released did so willingly, even joyfully. And each time Attan had pretended to release with one of these groups, he had seen just that.

Not all Family had assimilated to the same degree. When Stenson was Aylard, his argument was that Family only pretended to be human, but they had no real emotions like non-family did. Attan had seen that was not strictly true. Family like his grandparents had plenty of emotions, learned or no. But not all Family. Some, and Attan had noticed especially the ones who chose to release, had a hard time feeling anything. It was as if they just went through the motions of living because that’s all they knew. But deep inside, they longed for something more. That something more was their elemental existence, their birthright, as Stenson would have them believe. Those were the Family who had no trouble giving up their physical life for the promised eternal existence as an elemental.

It was time. Stenson let go of his physical form with a last glance at Attan. This was the tricky part, for Stenson had to go into each of the Family who wished to release, and show them the way. Attan released his physical form at the same time as Stenson. He welcomed the free elementals who always came to rejoice with them, and he briefly touched each Family as they experienced the freedom and wonder of the elemental state for the very first time. Stenson never lingered, and as soon as the final Family had released, he took back his physical form, but not before Attan caught the longing from the older Elemental. Stenson truly believed what he preached, that much was clear.

In the other releases, Attan would stay incorporeal until Stenson had left the city or town, joining him again along the way to their next stop. Attan never let on that he’d felt Stenson’s desire to remain a true elemental. Stenson barely merged with him, for fear of Attan learning something about his past, and Attan never pushed the issue. But he wondered what would make the man take back physical form time after time when it was obvious to Attan that if he could choose, he would remain pure elemental.

It was a glorious transition from physical to unbound. These Family quickly lost all sense of self, unlike those who had learned to embrace their Elemental state, in essence retaining their identity throughout the metamorphosis. Attan had to act quickly if he was to get any sense of what these individuals truly desired. Already, like young Parker, they were rapidly expanding beyond their ability to control. Soon, they would be lost to themselves as they became reabsorbed into the very fabric of Attania itself.

Attan spread himself thin, thinner than their fading essences, seeking---ah, there! He pinpointed the entity that had once been little Otto and focused his considerable attention on it. Otto, firebright and already barely there, pulsed joy, joy, joy! Attan hesitated. Should he intervene? He of all beings understood the joy of elemental existence. But he had promised.

Like he’d done with Parker, Attan sent images of food, sunshine, and most of all visions of Otto’s mother with her arms outstretched. In the far distance, a speck of fire pulsed. Attan narrowed his focus.

Mama!

Several streaks of light shuddered to that plaintive call and one wobbled slightly before steadying and continuing to dissipate. The sister, Attan realized, bemused. She’d been the one who had approached Attan to begin with.

It’s all right, Attan sent to the bewildered little boy. Elemental now, and no longer dissolving like the others. Attan hoped that non-family kid would be true to his word and take the boy in, because he’d just lost his entire family.

Mama, the boy sent again, as he began to be aware of his surroundings—or lack of them. Attan prepared to gather him in closer so he could show him the way back to the physical world, when a burning streak shot by him and enveloped the boy. Mama! he projected joyfully, to Attan’s amazement.

He joined their merge. It truly was Otto’s mother, and she welcomed Attan into their merge, sending waves of gratitude through the ambient. He silently asked, and received, her blessing to take them back to the physical plane.

And so he did, the three of them appearing suddenly next to Stenson, who actually jumped back a foot at their appearance. The remaining spectators gasped in unison. Otto and his mother clung to each other and stared apprehensively out at the people.

The non-family boy who had promised to take care of Otto pushed his way through the crowd. “Where’s Arina?” he growled when he only saw the boy and his mother.

Attan shook his head. “She chose to release,” he said quietly.

The boy paled, then clenched his fists. “No, that’s a lie! Arina never wanted to release! She told me so! You were supposed to bring her back!”

“It’s true,” Attan replied. “They all chose to release—except these two—and me,” he said belatedly.

Stenson’s face reddened with rage as he grasped what Attan had done. “You!” He said, stalking forward. He stopped short of actually putting his hands on Attan, instead turning to the onlookers with a practiced smile. “A momentary delay, that’s all,” he explained. “A misunderstanding. I shall show them the way!” With that, Stenson disappeared, intending to bring the three returned Family back to their elemental states, but Attan would not have that.

He disappeared along with Stenson, so that he could prevent the older Elemental from going into Otto or his mother a second time. They chose not to release, he sent, more of a complete thought than individual words. Still Stenson tried to force a merge on them. I won’t let you, Attan sent. He forced Stenson to take physical form. The older Elemental seethed with anger as they both reappeared on the town hall steps.

But he was losing his audience. The people became hushed, and no one said a word as the non-family boy and an older woman quietly led Otto and his mother away. One by one, they left the area until only a handful of people remained, talking in hushed tones among themselves about what had just happened. None of them approached Stenson to ask for his opinion.

“What have you done?” Stenson rubbed his hands over his face wearily. The anger had washed out of him with the last of his audience. “No one is supposed to come back after a release—no one.”

Attan raised one eyebrow. Stenson did, so did he, but that’s not what the other man meant, and Attan knew it. “I told you I wouldn’t let anyone go unless they truly chose it,” he said. “Those two, they didn’t choose it.” He considered what had happened. “Or they changed their mind at the end,” he amended. “Otto’s mother came back for him.”

“Who do you think you are to make such life and death decisions?” Stenson asked bitterly.

“Who are you to do it? Don’t you do exactly that when you convince these people that releasing is the best thing for them to do?”

“You don’t know anything!”

“Then show me! Merge with me!”