“No!” I cry, unable to bear the horror of it any longer. It cain’t be. Ben cain’t be there, too.
My cry is enough to rouse Jax from his shocked stupor, and he whirls. “Tara?” he says in disbelief.
“What are you doing here, girl?” Mack’s voice is an angry whisper, but I’m way beyond caring about getting caught.
I want to run. I don’t want to look. Please, he cain’t be there. He cain’t be one of the bodies.
“Jax … they’re prisoners,” I whisper, grabbing at his arms to keep from falling, and he understands right away. His eyes do what mine refuse to, and they search the faces of the people hanging there.
“He’s not there, Tara,” he says finally, and my knees actually wobble in relief.
“You sure?” I whisper, and he grabs my shoulders as if he fears I’m gonna fall.
“He’s not there.” His answer is firmer this time and I’m glad for his hands supporting me ‘cause it feels like I’m too weak to stand on my own.
“Mack.” The urgent whisper comes from behind a large boulder as a brown-robed soldier steps into the light. Already rattled by the gruesome sight in front of us, the rebels’shooters go up in alarm at the soldier’s sudden appearance, but then Mack relaxes and puts up his hand.
“It’s okay, he’s one of us. Stand down. What the hell happened here, Stein?”
The young man looks ‘round nervously like he fears at any moment we’re gonna be attacked.
“The Prezedant … he came for the New Blood,” he says, and my relief at knowing Ben isn’t there is quickly replaced by fear again.
“You mean, he was here? In person?” I say.
The soldier nods. “He arrived this morning to the news that they had escaped … that they had fled Littlepass. He blamed Naryz. Naryz, he tried to atone; he gave up the boy you were coming to rescue. He said that they knew each other, him and the New Blood.”
“What do you mean gave him up?” I’m glad Mack is asking ‘cause I cain’t form the words right now. I’m too busy trying to swallow the lump in my throat that must surely be my heart. “What did he do with him?”
The soldier shrugs. “He took him when they left. He took him with them and left this as a message for the New Blood.”
“A message?” I say, but it comes out as a croak.
The young man wipes his face like he’s still in shock at what he’d witnessed.
“He killed all these people like it was nothing and then those of us he left alive, we were given a very specific message to pass along.” He closes his eyes like he’s trying to remember or trying to forget; I ain’t sure. “Tell the New Blood if she returns, this is on her hands. But she can save the boy if she wishes. Turn herself in, and she can save his life. A life for a life. That’s what he said.”
I shake my head at his words, like I ain’t hearing right. The Prezedant, he did this. He killed all these people, that innocent young’un, because of me? What have I done? And Ben. Now he has Ben. That’s my fault, too. We’d been so close. Ben was here … I’d seen him. I coulda gone back and helped him. I shoulda, but I didn’t ‘cause I had chosen to listen to Jax. And now he’s snatched away again. It ain’t fair.
“Tara,” Jax says, still grasping my shoulders, but as grateful as I’d been earlier for his support, his touch now feels as if it’s making my skin crawl. Ben is gone again, taken away from me ‘cause I had been stupid enough to believe in Jax’s empty promises. I lay my hands flat against his chest and shove him hard, away from me. He staggers backward, but he don’t fall.
“This is your fault,” I hiss at him, lashing out with my anger. Needing to blame someone for the crippling pain that is squeezin’ my heart right now, Jax becomes the target. I can see his eyes open wide in wounded shock at my words, but I don’t stop. “We were so close last night. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go get him. But you talked me outta it. I let you talk me out of it. Now, the Prezedant has him, and I ain’t ever gonna see him again!” I shove him again, wanting so badly to hurt him. But he don’t say nuthin’; he just keeps staring at me.
“This is your fault, Jax.” I whisper, my words filled with despair.
I turn and run. I cain’t be around them anymore. I ignore the voices calling my name ‘cause I can feel the anger rising, the blood catching fire, and I’m scared to be around them. I’m scared for what I’ll do to Jax or the rest of ‘em. So I run into the darkness, away from the mine and Littlepass. I run and run ‘til I ain’t got no breath left, and I finally fall to my knees in the dirt.
On my hands and knees, gasping for air as sobs wrack my body, the soldier’s words bounce around in my head. A life for a life. A life for a life. I say the words over and over again like a chant ‘til my anger disappears and my blood cools down. A life for a life.
I take a couple more ragged breaths and then release them, give myself a mental shake. I can feel calmness overtake me, and my next breath is even, controlled. All the fear and anxiety I feel for Ben, it solidifies ‘round the chant in my head, forming one rational thought. The idea of it and of what I have to do now, it strikes me with intense clarity. A life for a life. If that’s how it has to be. If it’s a life the Prezedant requires, then let it be his own ‘cause it sure as hell ain’t gonna be mine.
I can hear the voices off in the distance still calling for me. Jax and Mack. I know I should answer them. I should go back. I have to go back. Ben is depending on me. His life depends on me, and if the only way to get him back meant becoming what so many believed the gods had decreed, then so be it.
I get to my feet and turn toward the voices, truly ready to accept what I have to do now. It’s time to live up to their expectations: Orakel’s, Lily’s, and Grada’s. It’s time to face the truth and become what they already believe me to be. It’s time to stop being afraid and to live up to my destiny. It’s time to awaken the New Blood.
Book 2 Ascension
1
The Return
The knee pressing painfully into my back and pinning me to the floor pisses me off something fierce. I wanna scream. I wanna reach up and tear Mack's flesh right from his face. Maybe gouge out his good eye, something. Instead, all I can do is hiss at him like an angry cat as he taunts in my ear, "Come on, girlie, that all you got?"
Slamming my head back hard into his, I hear his muffled cussin' as it causes him to loosen his grip. I roll from underneath his confining weight, sweep out with my leg and smack my boot to the back of his knee, taking him down. He hits the ground with a satisfying thud, and I take advantage of besting him to scramble back to my feet. My tunic sticks to my back and wisps of hair cling to my forehead. I'm drenched in sweat. But I don't dare take the time to wipe it outta my eyes 'cause he's already back on his feet and circling me like some hungry wolfling. His eye mocks me, daring me to try something else.
"Oh, so the baby New Blood has learned something after all."
He raises his fists in fronta his face and continues to walk around me, grinning at me like some crazed fool. Opening one of his hands palm up, he waggles his fingers at me. Beckoning me to come at him.
"Come on then. Try to take me down."
I grit my teeth and attack, throwing a punch at Mack's face. He deflects it easily and wallops his fist into my shoulder, sending pain searing through my arm. I bite my lip to stop from crying out, refusing to show him any weakness by holding my injured arm like I so desperately want to. Instead, I remember his words from yesterday.
"You have long legs, Tara. Use them. They can be your strength."
Before he can guess what I'm about to do, I pivot on my left heel and swing with my right leg, my foot hitting him just below the ribcage. It sends him stumbling backward with a loud "Omph!" He bends over winded, but it don't take him down. His grin just widens as he growls, "Good. Now try that again."
Seriously? I don't wanna try it again. I don't wanna do any of this. I'm tired and sore, and I ache in muscles that I didn't even know I had. But I know Mack ain't any
where near done with me. This "training" as he calls it has been going on for weeks now. I cain't understand what he hopes to come from it. There ain't hardly been any sign of the Chi, the bio-energy that he and Lily insist I possess. There ain't no sign of any New Blood powers that the rebels think I have. All this sparring does is leave me sweaty, stinky, and achy. A total waste of time as far as I'm concerned. I’m truly starting to believe the strange things I’d done during my travels had been flukes. Just random chance occurrences. There certainly ain't no reason to believe the weird strength I’d mustered when fighting the raider girl and the crazies in the dead city could ever be summoned at will. And as for raising that dust devil to fend off the Army, well, I still find it hard to believe that was my doing. Maybe it had been just a freak dust storm after all and nuthin' to do with me.
Yet Mack and Lily still insist I’m the cause of it, and I can control this power and that by training every day, I will control it. So they keep me here, wasting my time while Ben is still in the hands of the Prezedant and going through the gods only knew what. We should be on our way to rescue him. We should be doing something instead of just sitting on our arses. What are they thinking?
Whack! Mack's open-palmed hand slaps me hard on the side of my head, making my ears ring.
"Ow," I cry in shocked surprise. Did he just bitch slap me?
"Pay attention," he scolds me. "This time it was just my hand. Could have been a shot of serum. What would you have done then, eh? You have to learn to keep your opponent at arm's length. You can't let the soldiers get close enough to you to jab you with that. Now, try coming at me again."
Mack is right. I’d already encountered the serum once, when we’d been captured by the Army, and it had knocked me offa my feet and then some. Even though Lily tells me this serum is a medicinal thing, similar to Grada's healing herbs, I still think it’s dark magic. I ain't ever heard of being able to pass herbs through a metal needle tube. Although since I'd been in Littlepass, I’d seen some real strange things.
Whack! He slaps me again, and I cover my head with my arm.
"Stop doin' that," I cry out.
"Well, pay attention then. Fight back. You have to learn to protect yourself. You have to learn to control your Chi. Discipline your mind," he yells. "How do you expect to face the Prezedant when you can't even summon your Chi at will?"
"I'm tryin'," I snap back, fed up with this whole training shite. "But it just ain't happenin'. I told you I wasn't the New Blood y'all think I am. I ain't got the power."
Before I can recover from the second slap, Mack lunges at me. He moves so fast I don't have time to prepare for his attack. He's on me like some wild wolfling on its prey. I’m spun about and shoved face-first against the rough, stone wall, my arm twisted behind my back. I cain't help but cry out this time at the jolt of pain. His solid frame presses me firm against the wall, and I can feel his hot breath on my neck.
"What you gonna do then, girl? If you can't even save yourself from me, how you gonna save Ben? I guess he's as good as dead then if it's up to you to save him. How do you feel about that? Do you think we should all go to Skytown to watch him get beheaded? Because that's how he likes to do it: chop their heads off right in front of their families. How do you feel knowing that Ben is going to die at the Prezedant's hands just because you are a weak, sniveling little coward?"
The cruel, cold words snarled into my ear fill me with utter shock, but anger quickly replaces it, rushing in and forcing away my surprise and pain. Mack's harsh words are drowned out by the familiar buzzing. The fire rises in my blood, spreading rapidly through my veins, from my toes to the top of my head. Every fine hair stands on end. Every part of my flesh sparks with awareness of the Chi. My body braces itself for the overwhelming surge of energy.
My power fills me now, and I twist easily from Mack's hold, grabbing his throat in a vise-like grip. I stare into the familiar face, but the knowledge of who he is, of the fact that he’s my friend, don't make one lick of difference to me. The need to make him pay for his cruel words is the only thought in my head.
I push him away from me and watch as he flies across the room, crashing into the stone wall. A grunt of pain escapes his lips as he hits, sliding down and crumpling on the ground. His hands encircle his neck like he ain't able to breathe. Like there are unseen hands there, preventing the very air from entering his body. His gasps echo around the room and although it doesn’t show on his face, I can smell his fear like an underlying rot.
"Control … it …," he croaks, and his plea breaks through the ice-cold barrier surrounding me.
He cain't breathe because of me. Shizen, I’m doing this. I’m choking him! The fear jolts my brain into understanding. I need to pull back my Chi. Think, Tara. Think.
Ignoring my own panic-stricken breaths echoing in my ears, I close my eyes and concentrate hard. I force every other thought outta my head and imagine my Chi—my aura—as a brightly lit flame growing dimmer and dimmer, just like Mack has been training me to do. I will it to draw away from Mack and back into my body. I can actually feel the energy pulsing through my blood, and I force myself to slow my breathing, slow my heartbeat. Calm myself down. I picture the lit flame going dark, and just like that it’s over. My Chi retreats, leaving me slumped over and exhausted, hands braced on my knees to keep from falling.
I finally raise my eyes, afraid of what I will find. But Mack is back on his feet, standing still as a statue. His neck bears the marks of the unseen force holding him down, throttling him. His one eye bores into mine, and I wait for the scathing reprimand. But he don't seem the least bit upset at what I've done. If anything, he looks pleased. I almost killed him, and he’s pleased?
"That was … impressive. Now, we’re finally getting somewhere. Seems like pissing you off is the trigger. Should have done that to you weeks ago," he says, his raspy voice evidence of what he’d just endured at my hands.
Anger starts flickering again in my gut like some re-lit ember, but I squash it back down. I don't want a repeat of what just happened, but I’m so damn pissed at him for pushing me that far.
"Why did you do that, Mack? I coulda hurt you … coulda killed you," I say, glaring at him in accusation.
He merely shrugs at me and grins. "Coulda … shoulda … didn't. You controlled it, Tara. You stopped it. That’s great progress."
My anger dulls as his words finally dawn on me and elicit an unwilling grin. He’s right. I’d controlled it. For the first time ever, I’d stopped my Chi on my own terms.
"I did, didn't I?" I say in wonder. “How did you know, Mack? How did you know I’d be able to stop it?"
He shrugs at me. "Your Chi is controlled by you, not the other way around. It’s your power to do with as you will. Your gift, not the curse you believe it to be. I just had to make you come to that understanding." He smiles ruefully and rubs his neck. "Although, you were a little slow on the uptake. I was starting to worry. Thought I was a goner there for a bit."
"I'm sorry," I say, as my grin slowly fades. "I ain't ever done anything like that before. It was a little, well, actually it was a lot scary. How did I do that?"
He shrugs again.
"That, I can’t answer. A New Bloods power is multifaceted. Not even Lily is sure of the things you may be capable of. And if I’m to guess, I’d say this is only the tip of your abilities. We still have quite a ways to go. To go up against the Prezedant, you have to be able to use your Chi like a weapon and use it well. He’s had lots of experience dealing with New Bloods. You are going to have to learn to anticipate his every move. It’s the only way to save Ben and everyone else."
I sigh as I wipe the sweat from my face with my forearm. I know Mack’s right. What he and the others are asking me to do still truly does terrify me, but not as much as it terrifies me to think of what the Prezedant will do to Ben if I fail. My heart rate spikes again as I recall Mack's earlier words.
"Were you being truthful about how the Prezedant … kills his prisoners?" T
he words stick in my throat 'cause the thought of it makes my stomach sick, but I need to know.
His nod is stiff. "It is his preferred method of dealing with prisoners, yes, but no need to worry. Ben's head will remain safely attached to his shoulders for now. He won’t destroy the bait when he hasn’t yet caught the fish."
Hmm. I narrow my eyes at him. That suspiciously sounded more like something Tater would say. If I were to guess, I’d say Mack has been spending way too much time in the half man's company. In the three weeks Tater had spent underfoot at Sanctuary, he’d obviously made an impression on its occupants. And an impact on their supply of ale, too, no doubt.
These past two weeks though, he has been gone on a trading mission, and I never thought I would ever say this, but I kinda miss the little guy. Sanctuary is certainly a lot quieter without him around. Mack's Tater-ish words don't put me at ease though.
"How do you know for sure? How do you know he won't tire of waitin' for me to show up and just kill Ben anyways? We should be doin' something. Anything is better than just sittin' here waitin'. I don't understand why we ain't doin' anything," I say, my frustration making me sound like some whiny child.
"Tara, I understand your impatience, but you have to trust that we know what we’re doing," Mack says calmly. "We cannot rush into this headstrong. When you’re ill-prepared, mistakes happen. We can’t afford that again."
He don't give me a chance to ask what he means by this, but I have a gut feeling it has to do with my ma. I never knew my ma. Although she was a New Blood too—and a reportedly strong one at that—she had perished long ago in this ongoing fight against the Prezedant. Lily had promised to tell me the whole story when "the time is right," but it ain't happened yet no matter how much I nag her.
"Go now," he continues. "Rest up for tomorrow. Keep in mind what you did today. We will focus on that, see if you can make your Chi appear as easily as you stopped it."
New Bloods Boxset Page 28
