“Well, it's the most beautiful thing I ever seen. Can you help me tie it?” She does just that, and I pull both young kin into a hug. They step aside as Conner approaches me, a bouquet of half-dead wild flowers held tight in his grubby hand. His dark eyes stare at me with a mixture of emotion: thankfulness, gratitude, and relief. His bruises are fading, the cut above his eye just a pale, pink scar now.
“You pick those for me?” I ask.
“Aye.” He nods. I reach for ‘em, but he pulls away and closes his eyes, concentrating hard. His Chi ripples over me as the wilted flowers spring back to life with a burst of color and fragrance. Pleased as punch at discovering his little trick worked, he then shoves 'em my way. I take 'em, laughing, as I ruffle his growing hair.
“You’ve been practisin’ like I showed you. Good job.”
He flushes at my praise, and I hug him too. He goes rigid, not used to any sorta gentle touch, I reckon, but I keep him in my arms and whisper, “Thank you,” in his ear. His body relaxes, and his smile is huge as I release him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Finn with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. “And what's got you pissin' in the wind?” I say.
He shrugs. “I ain't got ya no gift. These mule turds didn't tell me 'bout this in time, so I didn't know to get ya a gift.”
I laugh. “You don't need to give me no gift. You know that.”
“But everybody else helped get ya something, and I don't have nuthin'.”
“Tell you what. Why don't you dance with me? That'll be my gift. Tater, you bring your music flute?”
The old man nods. “Of course. What use is a party without music? As my dear—”
“—dear mother would say,” we all mimic him at the same time, and Tater looks taken aback at our imitation.
“Yes, well,” he grumps. “As my dear mother would say, ‘with friends like these, who needs enemies?'”
The sullen look on his face sends us all into laughing fits. And the more we laugh, the grumpier he gets.
“Oh, come on, Tater,” I say, poking him affably in the chest. “We're just teasin'. And admit it, meetin’ us all was so worth it. I bet you ain’t ever had so much fun. Now stop your grumpin’ and play us a song. What use is a party without music, right? You said so yourself.”
He don't say nuthin', but he digs out his flute, so I know he's forgiven us. The familiar chords of “Sweet Sally” cuts through the air, and I don't give a hoot that everybody is watching. I grab Finn’s arm, and we start doing that stupid waltz that Duchess taught me. Finn got even less rhythm than me, and soon we're tripping over each other’s feet, but we don't care. We just keep going. Soon we're all dancing, Ben and Belle partnering up. Jax and Jane. Talbert and Beanie float by me, and the sight of 'em in each other's arms trying to keep up the two-step nearly makes us all bust a gut. The laughter and music and Cat's howling echoes back at us from the mountains, and makes such a ruckus we don't even hear the others approach.
I only know something is up as Tater's playing stops abruptly, and I hear a muttered, “Uh oh” from Finn as he glances over my shoulder.
I drop my arms from Finn and turn around. Mack and Ernst are walking toward us, the scowl on Mack's face telling me he ain't the least bit impressed by our dancing.
The rocks crunch under their footsteps as they approach and echoes in the silence. Mack stops in front of me and Finn, staring us up and down with that one eye.
“So, I go about my business thinking everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Everyone had a job. No big deal. We're only leaving for the biggest battle of our lives tomorrow, right? I finish up early and go to check on the truck and thinking all supplies must be packed by now. Guess what I find? All the supplies still sitting on the ground, an empty truck, and none of my people.”
Before I can say a word, Jax steps forward. “Sorry, Mack. This isn't Tara's fault. This is my fault. It's her born day today, and we all wanted to spend our last day together celebrating instead of worrying about what lays ahead of us. If you want to blame anyone for this, you can blame me.”
“And me,” Ben echoes as he steps my way.
“You can blame all of us,” Tater says. “We all have enough worry to fill a cavern right now, and the girl is carrying that burden ten times over. Celebrating her born day is just the brief interlude of frivolity we need at the moment.”
“Yeah, Mack,” Finn adds as he folds his arms and glares Mack's way. “We need freevivol… frievito… don't be a mule turd.”
I bite my lip to hide the threatening grin.
“And this is how you all feel? You'd rather spend the day needlessly celebrating than preparing for the war looming on the horizon?”
“Aye,” they all mutter back.
Mack's one eye rolls back so much he's gotta be able to see his brain. “Hear that, Ernst? We’re all on the cusp of either freedom or death, and these morons are throwing a party.” He glares our way, pointing a finger. “Well, I only have one thing to say to you bunch of imbeciles. There better be some dang good food in that pile over there because I'm starving.”
I ain't sure whose jaw drops more out of any of us, but Tater is the first to recover. Clapping his hands, he shouts, “Okay then. What are we waiting for? I traded parts of my very delicate soul for this grub. As my dear mother would say ‘let's get this party started.’”
18
Dreams Interrupted
I awake, not sure what's disturbed my sleep. I ain't been dreaming, I don't think. After the excitement of the party had finally eased last evening, exhaustion had kicked in, and I'd eventually passed out. But something woke me, and I reckon it's more than the dread deep inside of me. The knot in my belly is hurting me something fierce. My nerves at what we gotta face today getting the best of me, most likely.
I ain't sure of the time, but there's a faint glow around the edges of the flap on the window, allowing a small amount of light to seep into the shanty. Early dawn, I reckon. I look around, my eyes the only part of me willing to move at the moment. I hear the slight snoring of the others in the shanty and see their sleeping humps under their blankets. Nuthin' seems to be disturbing them. I dunno why I'm so jittery and nauseated. Trying to shut my mind back down, I close my eyes, hoping to fall back asleep. It's gonna be a long enough day, and I'm gonna need my wits about me.
The slight reverberation in the ground is enough to jar my sleeping mat and rattle my bones. Not enough to wake the others, but it adds to my edginess. I sit up only to find Cat's red eyes glowing in the gloom as they stare straight at me. She felt it too. It ain't just my imagination.
“What is it, girl?” I whisper to her, and she pads silently to my side and shoves her head into my hand, crying softly in the back of her throat. Something ain't right.
I stand, the jarring in the earth vibrating under my feet. I listen, but there ain’t no discernable noise. No alarm from the guards. It’s as quiet as a grave. Still, something’s off. I decide to wake Jax and tiptoe around Jane and Thomas to reach him. Shaking his shoulder gently, I whisper, “Jax.”
He rolls over and peers up at me through sleep heavy eyes. “Wha—”
The scream that shatters the early morning stillness is cut short by the horrifying staccato of shots.
“Stay here!” I yell at the young'uns as everyone bolts offa their mats in stupefied panic. Jax and Ben and me unite as we grab our shooters and head for the door. We forget about playing it safe as more screams rent the air. I yank the door aside and step out into the worst possible night terror I could ever imagine. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as fear turns my feet into lead.
Brown robed soldiers crawl through the village like damned scorpi-ants looking for their next meal. But it ain't just the soldiers. Visible through the passageway into the village looms the hulking monstrosities of trucks and tanks, with more soldiers squirming outta the veacals and pouring through. They'd found us, and even at this quick glance, it looks like we're severely outnumbered.<
br />
The fear that immobilized me at first now prods me into action as Finn squeezes his way between me and Jax.
“Holy shizen,” he squeaks as he sees what we see. I grab him by the shoulders, my first concern him and the others.
“Finn, take Cat and the other young'uns and go. We'll distract the soldiers. Take 'em to the spot in the hills where we were yesterday and wait there. Got it?”
“But Tara, I can help fight—”
“No,” I yell at him, barely able to keep my wits about me. “I need you to watch out for 'em. I cain't fight properly knowin' any of you are in danger. Please, Finn. Do this for me with no arguin'.”
My fear prods him into acceptance, and he gives a curt nod. “Okay, I'll get 'em there safe and sound. You just make sure y’all do the same.”
“Go.” I push him into the shanty and turn back to the night terror that is the village. Everyone roused from sleep is stumbling into the open, some faces etched deep with shock, others with just one reaction: shoot at whatever moves. The shooters they carry don't seem to do a lick of good. As soon as they're unlucky enough to fall into a soldier’s path, they’re taken out. I know there's only one person they're aiming to take alive; everyone else is expendable, and I cain't let that happen. I search for Mack and Belle and Tater among the crowd of runnin', screamin' villagers, but it's complete and utter chaos.
“Incomin',” Ben yells and points to a group of soldiers homing in on us.
Shizen. We need time to get the young'uns out and into the hills. I yell over the horrific noises, “I'll take care of 'em. Once I do, set Finn and the others off in the right direction.”
I step toward the dozen or so soldiers running our way. They push through the wall of frantic villagers, shoving 'em outta the way. Knowing I cain't attack 'em without hitting the villagers as well, I decide to disable instead of kill. The energy leaps from my fingertips and shoots toward the frenzied mob, sending 'em all head over heels like they'd just stepped on live explosives.
“Now, Ben,” I cry, and he ushers Finn and the young'uns outta the shanty. Finn glances my way, his eyes shooting daggers of fear, but I yell at him, “Run and hide. Keep them safe.” He does just that, and they don't look back as they disappear into the hills, Cat by their side.
One soldier who escaped the effect of my attack notices the young'uns trying to escape, and yells at 'em to stop. My brain prickles in horror as he raises his shooter and targets the kids, but my Chi don't give a damn about the fear. It latches onto the soldier like Cat's claws and yanks him off balance, dragging him across the space separating us and drops him at my feet. His eyes stare up at me in hateful disbelief. He's somehow managed to hold onto his shooter, and he points it into my face.
Furious that he was even gonna dare to shoot the young'uns in the back as they ran, I grab the shooter barrel and yank on it. He manages to get off a shot before I gain control of the weapon, and the shot misses me by a hair's breadth, but I don't care. Ramming the barrel into his head, I smash it again and again, the fury of my Chi outweighing the tiny voice in my head telling me to stop. Only when I feel Jax's arms around me, and his voice yelling urgently in my ear, do I stop.
“Tara, we gotta take cover. We're sitting ducks here.”
To add credibility to his words, more slugs whiz over our heads, and all three of us duck at the attack. The soldiers are already back on their feet and aiming to take us down. I let Jax pull me into a run as we head for the rock outcrop to the left of the shanty. The slugs nipping at our heels make us move fast and dive for cover, practically falling on toppa each other as we land behind the rock barrier.
But there ain't no time to catch our breath. I’m back on my feet in an instant and peer around the boulder. Our attackers ain't giving up that easy; they know exactly where we headed. Their one mistake, though? They no longer have a safety net of villagers around him. Seeing as there ain't nobody with 'em that I care about hurting, I let my Chi do what it's whispering in my head. The huge boulder to the right of me squeals in protest as it's plucked outta the ground and sails toward the soldiers. I hear their screams of shock as they try to change their trajectory seconds before the slab of rock flattens 'em all with its massive weight.
“Hell, yeah,” Ben shouts in celebration, but I don't share his sense of victory. I cain't sense any emotion other than the energy pulsating beneath my skin and through my body. A presence that feels familiar but foreign to me all at the same time. And right now, that presence is itching to do more damage.
Holding it at bay, I survey the village sprawled in fronta us. There appears to be more brown robes than ever, and I follow 'em to the point of origin. In the passageway between the mountains leading into the village sits two veacals right now, but beyond that others are still arriving, sending up dust plumes in their wake.
“We gotta block the entrance,” I say to Jax. “We can fight this many, but there's more comin'.”
His dark head bobs up and down. “Can you do it?”
I ain't sure. The mountain pass is quite some ways away. I ain't even sure how far my Chi can travel, but I know I gotta try.
Focusing on the passage and the veacals sitting there, I open the floodgates of my power and let it have at it. I ain't even sure what it's gonna do, but it knows. I'm just as amazed as the two beside me when the veacals start moving. The soldiers still by the mountain pass are yelling and running as the piles of metal careen their way. My Chi drags the veacals toward the entrance, turning two of 'em sideways in a screech of twisting metal as they jam the passageway.
They jam in real good, but it ain't done. The other veacals behind 'em get pulled in, too, like some giant magnet is moving 'em about. They twist over and over, slowly climbing their way up the two base veacals, the crunching metal echoing all the way back to us across the village. Finally, they stop on top, crushing the metal below 'em and forming a perfect plug to the valley. Ain't nuthin' getting past that anytime soon.
And just like Jax and Ben, I stand with my mouth hanging wide open.
“Holy shizen, Tara. Did you really just do that?” Ben whispers, still staring straight ahead.
“Aye, I guess so,” I say.
“Tara. Ben.” The shout pulls me from my stupor, and I look over to find Belle running our way, the relief evident on her face. “I've been looking for you guys everywhere—”
“Belle, look out!” Ben yells at the exact same moment a soldier shoots her way. And once again, my power acts quicker than I do. The slug is intercepted and disintegrates right in front of Belle's fear- filled eyes. The confused soldier aims for another shot, but I focus on him, and the shooter slamming back in his face and breaking his nose is all my doin'. I'm real pleased when he slides to the ground, out cold. Serves him right for trying to shoot Belle.
Another shot echoes through the air, and I follow it just in time to see it hit its target this time as the elder hits the ground, a red stain spreading out beneath him and seeping into the dried soil. Enough is enough. The villagers are dying.
I step out from behind the boulder, but Jax grabs my arm.
“Tara.”
“No, it's okay. You don't have to worry about me. You know that. Not anymore. I got this. I need to stop any more death.”
He don't look happy, but I see the acceptance in his eyes. We both know I'm the only one that can stop this. I start walking toward the middle of the village. No more hiding. Footsteps at my back have me turning in surprise. Jax and Ben and Belle are following me, keeping the soldiers offa me with their shooters and providing a safety net. They ain't gonna let me do this alone. It scares me and pleases me all at the same time.
“The New Blood!” one soldier yells as they head our way.
But I don't even have to think about it anymore, just a flick of my hand, and they—plus any villagers unlucky enough to be in the vicinity of 'em—go flying. My Chi cain't seem to differentiate between friend and enemy, and that worries me some. This ain't gonna be as easy as I thought. If
I'm gonna take out all the army, the villagers are gonna go down with 'em. But at least if I disable 'em all, it'll give the villagers a fighting chance rather than being picked off one by one like they are now.
Decision made, I turn to the three at my back. “Brace yourselves,” I say as my Chi ignites, and I drop to one knee, slamming my fist into the ground. The energy sizzles through my arm into the soil, and the reverberation shoots right back up to my backbone. I feel like I'm about to crack wide open from the impact, but it works. The knot of soldiers and villagers alike fly out and away from us like I'm some giant stone dropped in a lake, and they're the ripples.
“Take the weapons,” I scream at the villagers as I finally catch sight of Mack. He's the first back on his feet and moves at super speed as he barrels through the sea of brown robes, shooting at anyone that don't belong here. It don't take long for the villagers to get the message, and they scramble to their feet, trying to best the soldiers. There are so many, and I cain't take 'em all on without harming villagers as well. All of us fighting back is the only way to keep the casualties to a minimum.
I think they realize it, too, because whether man, woman, or young'un, they fight with all they got. Outta the corner of my eye, I catch Tater wrestling with a soldier, and though I can see the determination on the old man's face, he ain't no match for the burly soldier. Tater falls to his knees as the soldier wallops him in the gut, his hand held up in a feeble display of defense as the soldier's arm lifts high above his head. The rising sun glints offa the steel blade as it arcs down, aiming to drive straight through Tater's chest.
“No.” My scream activates my Chi, and it jolts outta me, stilling the soldier's arm in place. His head lifts in surprise, and his eyes narrow as they zone in on me. I can feel him fighting against the bond of my Chi gripping his arm, but just like the old man ain't a match for him, he ain't no match for me. The glare of hatred he's sending my way shifts into fear as the arm and blade move under their own volition, and he realizes what I'm about to do moments before his own knife pierces him through the heart. He falls to his knees, Tater pushing himself on his elbows, away from the toppling body. There ain't no time to be visited by guilt or remorse at the life I just took. Jax's words of “us or them” echoes in my head, and my Chi overrides it with a screaming “us.”
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