Wind Runner (Vanderbrook Champions Book 1)

by Edmund Hughes

  “Shoot a gun,” she said. “Here, I have an extra for you, too.”

  She pulled open the center dash and brought out a pistol, which she passed over to Malcolm. His hand rested on hers as he accepted it, and felt a tingle as he absorbed her power. Malcolm pretended to be examining the weapon as he made a mental note to work on controlling his secondary ability more effectively.

  The roads were mostly clear of other cars, and Tapestry only followed the speed limit until they reached the outskirts of town. As soon as they were on the open road, she floored it. It didn’t take long for the handiwork of their quarry to come into view.

  Vanderbrook’s coal mine had basically been a massive, dirty hole in the ground not far from town. It’d never achieved all that much output, and the owner had abandoned it long before the coal was completely tapped out.

  Malcolm could see it, or what it had once been, in the distance. A massive fire burned in the pit’s center, making the hole look like the site of an asteroid impact. The intensity of it reminded him of staring into the sun, and the car began to heat up as they drew closer.

  Of course. Heat demon sets a fire there, absorbs more heat than he could find practically anywhere else.

  “We’ll ditch the car here,” said Tapestry. “Our goal is to scout this out, Malcolm. Do you hear me?”

  “I hear you,” he said, reluctantly. “But if I see a chance to get a shot off, I’m taking it. Tapestry, I have to.”

  “Don’t be stupid!” she snapped. “I don’t have my powers right now, and your wind manipulation is practically useless against something like this. And as much as having a gun gives me peace of mind, I would be shocked if our bullets made it through that inferno without melting.”

  Malcolm nodded. The two of them got out of the car, and he was a little surprised to see Tapestry immediately take off at full sprint. He set the wind on his back and caught up with her easily enough.

  “Here!” he shouted. “Lengthen your strides!”

  She did, and he extended the range of his ability, carrying her with him as they ran at high speed across the grass field, toward the coal mine inferno. Malcolm squinted and could just barely make out a shape at the center of the fire, arms pulled to the side, chest angled upward.

  “Get down!” Tapestry threw an arm around his shoulder and pulled him flat to the ground. The heat demon had just moved slightly. He let his arms fall and slowly turned in a circle, scanning the lip of the hole. If he saw them, he made no sign of it.

  Malcolm’s forehead was slick with sweat from the heat of the flames. He wiped it away, frowning as he thought about what they were supposed to do to counter their opponent.

  “His weakness has to be water, right?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Tapestry. “Maybe water, maybe cold. Those might only be functional weaknesses to him. We have no way of knowing.”

  The heat demon turned suddenly, looking right at them. Tapestry froze.

  “He can see us,” said Malcolm.

  “No, I don’t think he can,” she replied.

  The heat demon pulled his hand back. Both Malcolm and Tapestry stood up and tried to back out of the way, but it was too late. The demon releases a massive blast of flame in their direction, a fireball the size of a small car.

  “Tapestry!” Malcolm saw the path of the blast and knew where it was headed. She was looking away from it, and it was too late for her to react.

  Malcolm did the only thing he could do. Hitting himself hard from the side with a blast of wind, he threw himself into her, pushing her clear of fireball. It hit him instead, and felt every inch of his skin erupt with nerve searing pain before it became too much, and he blacked out.

  CHAPTER 30

  “Mom!” shouted Malcolm. “Danny!”

  The house had been burning for a while. The only shards of smoldering wood that weren’t black and white with char and ash were the ones blown loose into the street. Even as a young teenager, he’d known that no mere fire had caused the destruction before him.

  “Danny!” he shouted. “Mom!”

  His throat was already hoarse from calling to them. The remnants of the family home were still giving off heat, even if the core fire had long since burned out. The ash hid hot coals underneath. Malcolm dug through it anyway, burning his hands.

  He thought that if he could yell a little louder, or dig through in just the right spot, he could find them. He’d find them, and they’d be fine. Or alternatively, he’d find them, and then wake up. They couldn’t be dead, regardless of what lay in front of him.

  Police cars and emergency vehicles flew down the street, making a mockery of his situation by passing right by him. He wanted to believe that it was a good sign, that maybe they knew something that he didn’t. He was crying, but there was too much ash caked on his hands for him to trust wiping the tears away.

  His hands were burning from heat.

  “Mom! Danny!”

  ***

  Malcolm sat up, awaking from the dream. He was in an unfamiliar bed, and it took him a couple of seconds to think of the last thing he could remember.

  I took a blast from that demon head on…

  The door opened, and Tapestry stepped through it, dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants. She smiled at him when she saw that he was awake, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “Good afternoon,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

  “To be honest…” he said. “Like I got my ass kicked.”

  “You got it burned off, actually,” said Tapestry. “I thought you were dead, at first. When I realized that you weren’t… well, I barely managed to pull you back to the car.”

  “How long was I out for?”

  “Just the night and the morning,” said Tapestry. “It’s a little past noon.”

  Malcolm groaned and leaned his head back on the pillow. He lifted the sheets up and realized that he was naked underneath. Tapestry seemed to sense his next question.

  “Your clothes were burned off,” she said. “Good thing you left your phone in the car.”

  “Jeez,” muttered Malcolm. He noticed that, somewhat surprisingly, he still had his stabilizer on his wrist, though it looked like it had been in the oven on broil for a couple of hours.

  “Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I need an explanation. I know you’re not a regenerator. The test we gave you at HQ when we first picked you up would have shown it.”

  There’s no point in lying to her. And… I think I can trust Tapestry.

  Malcolm chewed his lower lip. He slowly sat up in the bed again, letting the sheets slide down to his lap, making eye contact with Tapestry.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have told you when I first discovered it. I was just paranoid about how you, or more specifically, the Champion Authority, might react.”

  “Tell me.” Tapestry sat down on the bed next to him and set a warm hand on his leg through sheets.

  “I can absorb, or copy, the powers of other champions,” said Malcolm. “I’m not sure how I do it. I never really mean to. It happened at the school, too. That’s how my cheek healed so quickly.”

  “Power mimicry,” muttered Tapestry. She looked worried, and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Malcolm.

  “It’s considered to be an uncontrolled power, Malcolm,” she said.

  He nodded, remembering how Rose had explained it to him.

  “That’s bad?” he asked.

  “It means that if I told Multi and the others about it, well, I’m not sure you’d be able to stay in Vanderbrook,” said Tapestry. “They’d probably take you somewhere, for study or… confinement.”

  “That doesn’t sound like much fun,” said Malcolm.

  Tapestry rolled her eyes at him.

  “No, Malcolm, it wouldn’t be much fun,” she said. “You need to be more careful with it. Be very aware of what you’re doing with your hands all the time. And if you do steal someone’s power, for the
love of god, don’t use it openly.”

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to,” said Malcolm. “It just kind of happened. And regeneration is pretty nifty to have when you’re taking a fireball to the face.”

  Tapestry smiled at him. She was still sitting on the bed, and the moment seemed to drag on, both of them just looking at each other. She was sitting on the bed, and he was naked under the sheets…

  And then the door burst open, and Melanie charged into the room. Her eyes were red, as though she’d spent some time crying late into the night. Her gaze locked onto Malcolm, and she ran toward him, jumping onto the bed and giving him a tight hug.

  “Oh Malcolm, I was so worried!” she said, rapid fire. “You saved Aubrey! And the condition you were in… I thought you were going to die! I couldn’t live with myself knowing that you died saving someone I love. I know how selfless you are, it was the same at the school! You don’t ever think of yourself, only others, and that’s what makes you so amazing!”

  “Hi… Melanie,” said Malcolm.

  She let up on the hug, pulling back a few inches, and put her hands on Malcolm’s shoulders. With the same speed that she usually unleashed torrents of words, she kissed him once on each cheek, and then full on the lips.

  “Melanie!” snapped Tapestry.

  The kiss went on for a long time. Melanie flashed a coy smile as she pulled back, caressing his cheek with one hand.

  “I owe you more than just that,” she said. “Malcolm.”

  “Young lady!” Tapestry stood up and literally shooed her out of the room. “That’s quite enough!”

  Malcolm was laughing as she shut the door, as amused by their antics as he was pleased by the kiss. Tapestry shook her head and walked back over, sitting down in a spot even closer to him on the bed.

  “My great granddaughter can be so irritating, sometimes,” said Tapestry. “She… has a crush on you, Malcolm.”

  Tapestry looked as though just saying the words was enough to make her seethe. Malcolm shrugged.

  “Is that a problem?” He met her eye as he asked the question, and the words brought tension into the room.

  He expected Tapestry to shut him down immediately, the same way she always did every time he invited her up into his apartment. Her face was so earnest, so young, but there was a weight to the look in her eyes that was almost too much to handle. Curiously, she was also blushing a little.

  “I guess that’s up to you,” she said.

  Why does Tapestry have to be so confusing?

  “Anyway, we need to get moving soon,” she continued. “I have some clothes you can wear. They’re my late husband’s, so they’re a little out of date, but I’ve kept them in good condition over the years.”

  Malcolm nodded, her words reminding him of the real age gap between them.

  “Right,” he said.

  Tapestry didn’t move from where she was on the bed. She was staring at him. Malcolm shifted a little, letting the sheets fall until they’d almost slid down past his crotch. He leaned in closer to her, close enough to smell a hint of soap and perfume on her skin.

  “I… should go get them,” said Tapestry.

  “You should.”

  Another second or two went by, and Tapestry finally rose from the bed. She disappeared out the door and returned a minute later. She placed the clothes on the ground just within the room, as though she was wary of what could happen if she came in any further.

  CHAPTER 31

  The clothes Tapestry had given him consisted of socks, tight fitting white briefs, a flannel shirt, and an ancient pair of Levi’s jeans. It wasn’t as bad as what he was expecting, though he did look vaguely outside of time as he examined his reflection in the mirror.

  There was already food waiting for him in the kitchen. Tapestry made him take it to go, in sandwich form. Melanie said a quick goodbye to him with a hug, one that turned into a full-on embrace, and lasted long enough for Tapestry to start tapping her foot.

  They left Tapestry’s house in the BMW and went straight to HQ. Malcolm’s thoughts turned back to the heat demon and how close they’d been to taking a shot at it.

  We’d been close, but what could we have done? It’s a true monster, more than we could have handled.

  “Let me do the talking,” said Tapestry. “Multi might be a little suspicious about the fact that I didn’t report in last night.”

  “You haven’t told him anything about our encounter?” asked Malcolm.

  “No.” Tapestry glanced over at him, frowning a little. “If I’d called him, he would have insisted that both of us come in immediately. And your secret would have been blown.”

  Malcolm hesitated for a second before nodding, and Tapestry noticed.

  “You aren’t hiding anything else from me, are you?” she asked.

  “…No,” he said.

  I don’t like lying to her, but I’m not about to turn the champions loose on Rose.

  Tapestry pulled the BMW onto the dirt road that led to the dome. Multi was already outside when they parked, in full force. There at least seven copies of the balding man that Malcolm could see, most of them dressed in body armor and carrying firearms. It was like looking at a small battalion of identical twins.

  Three of them were in the process of unfurling something that looked like a parachute. Malcolm got out of the car and started walking alongside Tapestry, wondering which Multi was the one they were supposed to report to.

  “Finally,” said the middlemost Multi. “Why didn’t you report in last night?”

  “I took a fire blast from the demon,” said Tapestry. “Malcolm managed to get me out of there, but he wasn’t sure of the route back to HQ.”

  Multi frowned, but gave a slow nod. Malcolm fidgeted slightly, pulling his sleeve a little further over his charred stabilizer. If Multi saw that, they would both be caught in a lie.

  An owl hooted overhead. Malcolm glanced up in time to see it swoop to ground level and shift its form. Morph, her hair done up in a bun and wearing a pair of recreation specs, hit the ground in a roll. She stood up and dusted herself off, nodding to Malcolm and Tapestry before reporting to Multi.

  “No sign of smoke or any active fires in the area,” said Morph. “I wasn’t able to check the other side of Vanderbrook, though. It’s exhausting to stay airborne for so long.”

  Multi nodded. He tapped a finger on his chin and then pulled out a cigarette, an action instantly mirrored by most of his nearby copies.

  “Good work, Anna,” he said. “We have to find this fucker as soon as we possibly can.”

  “From what I saw last night, I don’t think we’re going to stand a chance at taking him down, Multi,” said Tapestry. “This demon is really nasty. And he’s going to be carrying around enough heat to do some serious damage.”

  “I agree,” said Multi. “That’s why we aren’t going to fight. Once we’ve found him, me and the other Multis will engage and do what we can to pull him away from Vanderbrook.”

  Malcolm only barely managed to hold back his objection. He was planning on fighting the heat demon, regardless of whether the rest of the champions thought it was a good idea or not. He’d never been closer to vengeance, and he wasn’t ready to give up on it.

  “Wind Runner,” said Multi. “I… apologize for having to put you in the field so early, with so little training, but we’re out of options.”

  “What do you need me to do?” he asked.

  “The heat demon is going to show himself again soon, either to burn something else down to build his strength, or to attack,” said Multi. “Either way, we can watch for the smoke. We need eyes in the sky constantly, and Morph can’t do it on her own.”

  “Eyes in the sky?” asked Malcolm. “I can’t fly, Multi.”

  “Not on your own, you can’t,” he said. “But… with something like a paraglider, I don’t think it should be much trouble.”

  He gestured to the canvas canopy some of the other Multis were setting up.

  “A parag
lider…?” Malcolm frowned and shook his head. “Is it like a parachute, or something?”

  “You can think of it like that, yes,” said Multi. “Except with enough wind, one of these will let you lift off from the ground, instead of just slowing your fall.”

  Malcolm took a closer look at the canopy. The other Multis had spread it out on the ground and were in the process of untangling a harness. There was an image on the back of the paraglider itself of a woman in a bikini, holding up a peace sign and posing provocatively.

  “We got it from a private seller,” said Multi. “It was the only one we could find. Usually they don’t sell to people who don’t have a special license, or certification.”

  “And you think I’m just going to be able to strap this thing on and instantly start flying?” asked Malcolm.

  Multi stared at him. He took a long drag from his cigarette and casually blew it into Malcolm’s face.

  I guess that’s my answer.

  “You’ll be fine,” said Multi. “Just be careful when landing. Tapestry, I want you to be Malcolm’s eyes on the ground. Get his phone set up so that he can stay in touch with you and report what he’s seeing.”

  “Got it.” Tapestry disappeared into HQ. Malcolm walked over to the harness. He stood there and fumbled with it until one of the Multis begrudgingly helped him put it on.

  Tapestry reappeared a few minutes later with a Bluetooth headset. She paired it with Malcolm’s phone and then had him put it on.

  “See these buttons up here?” she said. “The top one will open the communication channel to me.”

  “And the bottom one?” asked Malcolm.

  “That controls your phone’s music app.” She smiled at him. “In case you need some of that wild rock and roll to get a recharge while you’re airborne.”

  “Nobody calls it rock and roll anymore, Tapestry,” he said.

  She sighed and shook her head. The Multis had finished strapping him into the harness and preparing the paraglider’s canopy. Everybody moved back a safe distance to watch.

  “Alright,” said Malcolm. “So, what now?”