Halfblood Journey

by Rheaume, Laura

  Reflexively, Mercy pulled back with a gasp and yanked on her arm forcefully. Surprised by her resistance, Orin let go of her after only a slight hesitation. Then his face went from startled to anxious when he saw what her reaction would do. She had pulled so hard that when he released her, she lost her balance and fell back against the edge of the stack of pallets. Her forearm caught onto and dragged along a pair of nails that stuck out from the old wood. She landed with a thump, her hand hovering over but not touching the wound that was shooting pain up her arm.

  “I am sorry,” Orin said, his eyes on the two jagged and bleeding cuts. “I should not have…” He stepped forward, reaching out tentatively to help but unsure about touching her again.

  The nails had bitten deeper than she thought, so she angled her arm away from her body so that the blood that was running down steadily wouldn’t drip on her. Feeling stupid for having overreacted, she said quickly, “I’m sorry. I just..I know you didn’t...”

  Jin stepped between them, stating, “It’s okay. We’ve got her.”

  She watched the uneasy tension between them rise to an uncomfortable level. Her heart started beating even faster, and she sputtered, “It’s okay. It was my fault…”

  “No, Mercy, he doesn’t know that we don’t just haul young girls around like they are equipment.”

  Orin frowned, understanding his tone if not his words. When he looked at her for an explanation, Mercy hesitated and shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t about to translate what she knew would have been a very offensive statement to the Kin. Finally, Orin moved back and let Jin and Steven help her up and hurry her over to the truck.

  Now it seemed like she had been waiting there for hours. She took a deep breath and held it for a while before it escaped in a rush. Arrgh, she growled to herself.

  There were two things about waiting that made her crazy. The first was that she didn’t like being in the truck. It was so dark and small. She had wanted to jump up and escape when Orin closed the wide doors shut behind them. The truth was that every two minutes or so, she thought of doing it again.

  The second part, the thing that grated on her nerves, was the worrying she couldn’t seem to distract herself from.

  “Stay here,” was what they said, and then left her there. With her imagination. With the same sounds and smells that she had been a witness to in another small, dark place. A place that no one had left but her.

  Her mind went on terrible little field trips without her permission where she saw horrible things happen to them. When she got back, she chastised herself. Don’t go! Wasn’t that what she had said? How could that be the last thing you say to someone? She should have said something more thoughtful than that, told them to be extra careful, or even better, told them that she loved them. With a glance at Summer who had shifted in her seat and sighed, she realized that she was panicking again and tried to control herself.

  Calm down, she told herself. They were fine. They were going to be right back because they had to be safe; her sanity depended on that one truth. She could spend her energy on not worrying...no, not that...but on getting madder and madder at their thoughtlessness, and reckless behavior, and obscene tardiness…

  After all, how long does it take?!!

  Her arm was hot where her heart was beating beneath the bandage that Steven had applied; each pulse throbbed, a dull but steady pain that only added to her headache and her sour mood. On top of that, she had been clenching her jaw closed for so long that it was aching too. Every little sore spot pricked at her like a swarm of ants that she couldn’t brush off.

  This place isn’t that big, after all. And...how hard is it to send a message?!

  She caught herself squeezing her arms. She glanced up at Summer, who was pretending to not notice, although it looked like she was grinding her teeth as well. Mercy looked from her to Temper, who turned her head and raised an eyebrow at her.

  Mercy just closed her eyes and lowered her head down. She didn’t really have anything to say, and she didn’t want these people taking pity on her, anyway. She already felt like a huge burden to her father and to Scythe. She was just one more responsibility for them…

  “I believe they are here,” Temper said a few minutes later in an obvious effort to reassure Mercy.

  Mercy barely had time to turn from Temper’s kind expression to the truck’s rear doors, when they were pulled open by an agitated Scythe. He found her quickly in the dim light and, seeing her sitting quietly on the seat, the urgency in his eyes faded. “Come here, Mercy,” he said, holding his hand out to her. “Please.”

  She immediately got up and went to him, taking his hand with her good one. It took a lot of restraint to keep from sending her ribbons to them. She just wanted to touch them, let her power rub up against them and reassure herself in that tangible way that made her feel complete. But, her encounter with Adan had taught her that she shouldn’t use her power close to others, even ones she suspected had no ability to sense it. Scythe had told her that some Kin, like the doctor, could sense power even though they might not know what it was. So, she reined in her impulses and satisfied herself with their presence and a tight hold on the hand in hers.

  She forgot all about the vile threats she had rehearsed in her head. She was just very glad to see Scythe and her father, who was coming up behind him. She was so relieved that she couldn’t even manage a “It took you long enough.” Instead she kept thinking, Thank heaven. Thank heaven.

  Scythe held up his other hand expectantly and she laid her hurt arm on it carefully. He asked, “Is this your only injury?”

  “Yes.”

  “Two long scratches?” he asked, tracing a line with two fingers above the bandage just over where the cuts were.

  “Yes...how did you know?” she asked incredulously How was it that he always knew these things? Was he psychic?

  He shook his head minutely, which told her he didn't want to discuss it at the moment, probably because everyone was standing around them, and asked, “What happened?”

  “It was so stupid. I was just...startled...and I fell back…”

  “Yeah, startled by being grabbed by your friend there,” Jin said from behind them.

  Scythe focused on Mercy’s arm as if he could see through the white cloth and said, “My friend?”

  “Orin.”

  Orin, who didn’t speak Human but could tell that they were talking about him, explained in Kin, “I did not mean to frighten her, but I did take a hold of her, Scythe. Because of that, she was injured.” He began to speak formally with carefully chosen words, “I apologize for any harm I have done to you. I accept your will, in the interests of maintaining love between yours and mine.”

  Scythe nodded and thanked him in an equal tone, “I endeavor to take your hand in friendship.” He finally raised his eyes to Mercy’s and asked her, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m okay,” she said awkwardly. She had a feeling that he was asking more than just how her arm was doing, but she didn’t really know what else to say. “It was kind of, well, mostly my fault.”

  “But, you are not hurt, or…” he searched for a better term, “offended?”

  “No,” she said, wondering what he would have to do if she said that she was offended.

  He nodded and then looked over Mercy’s shoulder. “Temper, would you mind?” Scythe asked.

  “While he was rough with her, his intentions were to safeguard her,” the woman said. “The injury was an accident.”

  Scythe nodded and, after getting a shrug from Ian, said to Orin, “We harbor no ill feelings toward you. You are welcome in our home, friend.” Orin bowed and stepped back. Scythe gave Mercy’s wrapped arm one last thoughtful look before finally letting it down. He announced in Kin and then in Human, “Our departure has been delayed until tomorrow morning at five…”

  “Is that it?” Jin asked, clearly not having understood most of what was said. “You just let him bully her without doing anything?”

 
; “It is all right, Jin,” Ian said calmly. “It was an accident. We are sati…”

  “His manhandling her was not an accident,” the man objected. “You should see the cuts. I had to give her two stitches on one of them.”

  “I’m sure they are horrible, but…”

  “This is because he’s a halfbreed, right? One of them? Or is it just more political bullshit?” the man demanded as if he didn’t think anyone else could understand as long as he spoke in Human. Those who did understand, even Steven, frowned at the statement.

  Mercy opened her mouth to defend Scythe, but stopped when he spoke before her.

  “I have dealt with the problem, Jin.” Scythe turned and faced the Human, who flinched but held his ground defiantly. “I, her father and Mercy herself are fine with it. Do you believe that you can protect her interests better than we can?”

  Jin frowned and said, “No, of course not. I just think...well...they shouldn’t get away with crap like that.”

  Scythe and Ian both nodded and Ian said, “You’re right. No one, Kin or Human, should be able to harass people, but we don’t think that was the case here.” He waited until Jin nodded, before he turned back to Scythe and asked, “Is there anything we can do about the damage or the casualties?”

  Scythe nodded, “We need to report to Reave and Rogers immediately to assist with the cleanup, but we’ll return here tonight because we are leaving early in the morning. Everyone, make sure to get at least a few hours of sleep so that you are not useless to us tomorrow. We also need to rotate a watch here. I don’t want any of our things left unattended before we leave.”

  “I can do that first if you like,” Temper offered.

  “Thank you. I’ll make sure one of us relieves you in a few hours.”

  They left Temper and traveled around the outside of the building to the front of the now thoroughly destroyed Huran complex. Every main building had seen extensive damage from both the initial explosions and the fires, many of which were still burning.

  When they turned a corner, moving along the eastern side of the complex, they were forced to cross through the smoke that was carried on the wind.

  Scythe, whose eyes, like her father’s, were already red from exposure to the smoke, took out a cloth that he had found somewhere; he used it to cover everything but his eyes. She could see him blinking furiously, as were the other Kin. Her father had a similar piece of cloth which he handed to her, but she waved it away and made due the same way that Steven and Jin did: pulling up the shirt she was wearing until it covered her nose and mouth. It stung, but it wasn’t too bad. However, she knew that it would have been very difficult for the sensitive Kin to bear the smoke for a long time.

  Finally, they made another turn and were able to walk in the relatively clear air.

  “This is horrible,” Mercy said, peering through a window at the burned out room within. “Was anyone hurt?”

  “Yes, a few, and a handful were killed,” her father explained, waiting until she caught up with him. They followed behind the rest.

  “I guess you went to help, right?” she asked.

  “We did what we could. It wasn’t much, though.”

  “I...was worried, especially when more explosions went off after you were gone…” She reached out and took her father’s hand.

  “I told you not to,” he said softly, but then added, “but, I’m sorry you worried, sweetheart.”

  “Scythe,” Mercy said, pulling her dad until they walked next to him. “Thank you, for taking care of my dad.”

  “Hey! I’m the one who saved him with my amazing abilities,” Ian objected. Mercy grinned as he began to enjoy himself. He let go of her hand and gestured animatedly, “He yelled, ‘Ian, please, save me! I’m helpless!’ and I said, ‘Never fear! I…’”

  “Your father did protect, not just me, but others as well,” Scythe whispered, looking down at Mercy’s arm when she reached over and took his hand.

  “So I gathered my considerable strength and spread a shield over us all, just in time for…” He had directed his words at the others who were more easily impressed with his storytelling.

  “Really?” Mercy said, smiling with pride at her father who was not showing any signs of stopping his story.

  “A gigantic, and I mean really impressive wall of flames shot up. No, it really fell from the ceiling. Anyway, it crashed into my shield...which did not move!...and crawled along it…”

  “Yes. It was incredible. He is a powerful man,” Scythe lifted his hand, raising her arm with it. “You gave me a scare with this.”

  “I did?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry.” Thinking back, she remembered his face when he had opened the truck doors. At the time, she had been overwhelmed with relief at seeing him safe, but now that she was calm she could wonder…“How did you know?”

  “When we got back to the dock, I smelled your blood as soon as I was out of the smoke. There is a small amount of it over by the crates.”

  “You could smell my blood?” Eeewww. She knew he disliked her normal scent, so the smell of her blood must have been even more disgusting. She wondered if he could smell it now.

  “Yes, and I don’t like to smell that. Especially when I don’t know what may have happened while I was gone.” His eyes left the path in front of them and met hers for a moment and she saw in them his apprehension. She immediately wanted to take that feeling away.

  “I am sorry that you were scared. It is really just a scratch.”

  “No, you will have a scar. Two scars.”

  She frowned at him. “Really? How do you know?”

  “I saw it in your vision.”

  “The scar?”

  “No, the wound.”

  “I don’t remember,” she said, looking down at her arm.

  Ian assured his audience, “Everyone thanked me, of course...or would have, if they weren’t so amazed, or...well, I’m sure they’ll get around to it…”

  “You must take care, Mercy. I really don’t like that scent.”

  “Okay,” she promised cheerfully. “No more blood. I can do that.” She wasn’t too worried. After all, she knew that she was going to be alive and well in a few years time...It wasn’t until after her vision happened that she would have to start worrying about keeping her promise.

  He sighed, rolling his eyes, “You need more lessons.”

  “...And that is why the name ‘Young’ is revered far and wide.” Ian smiled brightly, but his smile faded and then disappeared completely as they reached the front of the Huran administrative offices.

  Across from the entrance, an emergency treatment area had been set up, where Mercy saw Gerenth and his apprentice, Heron, tending people with various, mostly minor injuries. The most serious patients were laid out on makeshift beds; among them were many suffering from multiple burns. Mercy also spotted Captain Reave, who had already been bandaged and had temporary braces in several places on his body. Off to the side, four shapes lay still under blankets.

  The Kin leader frowned irritably when Scythe, Mercy and Ian approached, “I expected you to be back by now. No,” he said before they could respond, “I really don’t care. You’ve got your little cat, and she seems to be safe and sound after all, so now that you are done wasting time on foolish errands, I want you to get out to the water tanks.” He turned his head and shouted, although it was more of a croak, “Berne, get over here!”

  An older Human who was sitting by another soldier whose arm was being wrapped jumped up and hurried over, moving much faster than he looked capable of. He was wearing pajama pants and a thin, cotton T-shirt under a yellow rain jacket. “Yes, sir?” The man asked in Kin.

  “Take Agent Scythe to the tanks, and make sure to show him the pump.”

  “Absolutely. This way,” he said, indicating what promised to be a long route back around the buildings the way they had come.

  Scythe hesitated, “Ian, why don’t you and Mercy stay here and help, or do you w
ant to go with me to investigate the sabotage?”

  “Do you need help?” Ian asked

  “No.”

  Ian laughed at Scythe’s abrupt answer, “Well, then we’ll lend a hand here, right Mers?”

  “Yeah, we can do that,” Mercy said, thinking that it would be nice to be doing something useful after all the empty waiting. Besides, there seemed to be more patients than Gerenth and Heron could easily handle. Remembering a pledge she had made to herself in the truck, she stepped forward and gave Scythe a quick hug, “Be safe.” Then she turned and walked over to the doctor.

  “Is there anything I can do, Gerenth?”

  “What? Oh,” he said when he saw her. He immediately turned his attention back to his patient. “No. Go help my apprentice.” He seemed to be eager to get rid of her, and she wondered if he was still upset about her little slip up.

  She looked over at where the Kin was applying some kind of cream to a woman’s back. Her shirt had been cut open around the area that had obviously been burnt off to expose the red, blistery damaged skin. Suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable about approaching the handsome young man who seemed so mature tending to the wounded, she found herself hesitating, “You couldn’t use me here, maybe helping that guy?” She pointed to a random patient.

  “Go. I don’t have the time for this. Go, go.” He waved her away.

  She made her way over to the young doctor in training. “Hey. Need some help?” she asked, trying to make it sound like she worked as a medical assistant all the time.

  Heron continued to tend his patient, his bemused frown telling her that she hadn’t fooled him one bit. She sighed, giving up. “Okay, whatever, I don’t have a clue what to do, but I do have some hands. Can you use them?”