“Allen had gone there to destroy it.” Lee shook his head, “Those were his words.”
Zeph laughed coldly, “He won’t.”
“Stop it.” Sky’s dad shouted at Zeph. “Stop talking. You don’t get to talk anymore. Not to me, not to them, and not to Sky.” His dad grabbed onto the railing with a grip that made the wood bend, “You already took Soul away from me and now that he’s turned his back on you, you need a new lackey, is that it? I’m not making that mistake again.”
I don’t know. Zar sounded defeated, Con, maybe. He might know.
He just wanted everyone to stop shouting, it was hurting his head.
“Al is going there because he thinks he can stop this mess.” Lee now stood beside Sara, “I do not know what to make of Soulen, or the young Angonian he had with him, but I do believe that they will not harm Allen, but I do not know if they will save him if there is need.”
“They wont, all they are doing is using him to find the Book.” His dad said.
“How did he even do it? When Oh’May left she was sure to take all her possessions with her.” Ixanna looked between them all. “Allen wasn’t supposed to have a link.”
“Someone broke into our house and found the one thing Zero still had left of his sister and somehow it found its way into Al’s hands.” His dad gritted his teeth.
“The Man of Mist did those things, not Soul.” Sky spat, having only caught bit’s and parts of the conversation. “Soul isn’t bad; I don’t know why you can’t just trust me on this.”
Didn’t I tell you they would never trust creatures like us.
“Look what he did to you Sky.” His dad reached up and put a hand to Sky’s cheek, “You could have died.”
Sky backed away from him, angry, but somehow calm, “No, that was because you didn’t listen to me. I told you I could control it, but you didn’t trust me. None of you did.” He set his jaw and looked down the stairs, his eyes set on Sara. “I pushed the monster back when you were sealing it. That was me that you did that to – just me.” He remembered it, all of it. He regretted some of what he had said, but at the same time, he knew he had meant it. “I’m sick of people not listening to me!” Turning back to his dad, he stood up as tall as could, still nowhere near his eye level, “Al’s my best friend. I’m not going to get in the way, or to throw myself into danger. All I want is to be there when you find him. Now, are you taking me, or is Zeph?”
His dad stared down at him for what seemed like forever. “Fine.” He said finally and walked away from him without another look. “Get everyone ready, we leave in five.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
He was scared and had been for nearly two days straight. Al watched the passing stars from the small window above his bed without a thought in his head and a knot in his belly. He hadn’t left the room since they put him in there. He hadn’t touched the food they had tried to give him or bothered with the books they had set by the door. He felt like a prisoner, but they weren’t the one’s holding him captive. He was. If he wasn’t so afraid of sounding afraid he would have tried to talk to Soul. They had been friends once after all. But he just didn’t have it in him.
Al had thought it over, again and again in his head, just what he was going to do once they landed on Mye and, again and again, he came back with absolutely nothing.
A knock resounded through the metal door, filling the small room with a very large noise.
“Two hours until we land. Get your things together.” Ellie’s sharp voice cut right through the door and into his head.
“Thank you.” He managed to push out without a waver or whimper, but he doubted if she was even still there to hear it.
Two hours. And then what? Al stood and stretched out his legs. He had acted irrationally, he understood that now, but what was done was done and he had to face it. He was with the Powers and they were going to find his mom and destroy the Book of Nine.
He walked slowly to the door, not really knowing what he meant to do and ended up in the hallway, heading towards the bridge.
It was a small ship, clean and modern. He highly doubted it was theirs judging by the family photos that lined the walls or the brightly colored dresses and suits that filled the closets.
At the helm he found Con, casually strewn across the captain’s chair, lazily poking at various places on the illuminated interface.
“So you are still alive?” Con gave a small smile, but kept his focus on the controls. “I was beginning to wonder.”
Al edged into the room, keeping to the perimeter as he made his way forward in the spherical room. “Who are you?” Al didn’t mean to speak, but the words blurted out of his mouth.
Con didn’t turn, but let out a little chuckle. “I’m Con Embers, I’m pretty sure we’ve met. I thought you were the smart one.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” He didn’t dare step any closer.
“We are the Powers. We protect the realm by any means necessary.” Con sighed.
“I heard someone say you were dangerous. Are you?”
He shrugged, “If I have to be.”
“Are you a danger to me?”
Con lowered his head and let a devious smile pull up his cheeks, “If I have to be.”
He let out a short laugh when Al stepped back towards the door. “Don’t worry short stuff. We’re well past all that now. You’ve already opened the flood gates, killing you now wouldn’t do anyone any good. Plus, I like you, you’re a good kid.” Con leaned back into the oversized chair, his hand dancing across the controls. “But do understand that I can’t and won’t hesitate if sacrificing one life will save billions. It’s not a choice. Understand? We’re just doing what needs to be done. There are no heroes in this war.”
“What war?”
Con’s eyes grew dark and he let them drift up and out into the depth of space. “The Silent War; The war between the Choirmaster and the Councilmen. The war that will define the fate of the Living realm. We’ve been in a stalemate for years, but now-”
“Con.” Soul’s voice cut through the room.
Con rolled his head lazily towards Al. “Looks like your ride is here.”
“Come on Allen.” Soul gestured him towards the door. “We’re close enough to the planet, we can jump from here.”
Al’s stomach dropped at the thought of being pulled through the Snow again. “We aren’t just going to land? Ellie said it’s just a few more hours.”
“Every moment counts Allen. Just think, by the time they land, we’ll already have completed our mission.” Soul said.
Al nodded and started towards him.
“Con,” Soul stepped to the side as Al passed. “After you get there, if they come and Sky is with them,” he reached up and placed a heavy hand on Al’s shoulder. “Don’t let him fight, keep him safe.”
And then Al felt it once again. The pull of the Snow, surrounding his body and engulfing him in its odd mix of shadow and light. He didn’t like it. It was empty and cold. He could almost see reality through the haze; buildings, people, planets, suns…and he swore, he saw something else too. Something beautiful and warm and full of light, but it was always too brief. All the moments were too brief in the Snow, there was no understanding it, there was no balance, no control…it was chaos.
“Al, open your eyes, we’re here.” Soul’s soft voice urged him, and he obeyed.
Sure enough, they stood on a rocky bluff overlooking the small mining town of Gadimine. “How did you find it?”
Soul placed a tracker on the ground for the others. “I look for energy patterns. Since Telic’s give off quite a unique pattern and Gadimine has quite a few of them, it was rather easy.”
Al nodded, he understood what Soul meant – when he let his Telic powers out he could see a physical flow of energy, but what he didn’t understand was how Soul could see it too. “What are you?” He had to ask. There was no logical explanation for what Soul was able to do.
Soul didn’t move f
or quite some time. He just stood there, overlooking the town. “They changed me.” He said softly. “I don’t think I’m really anything anymore.”
Al looked at the ground. Soul had always been so quiet and gentle, so to see him as he was now, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what they must have done to him. “You will always be you.” Al would have patted him on the back if he wasn’t still afraid of him. “No matter what.”
Soul let his head drift up. Al wished he could see his face behind that damn mask. “Why do you wear that anyway?”
Soul traced his fingers along the symbol carved into it, “It protects me.” Was all he said before he started down the rocky slope. “Let’s go.”
He was on high alert before they even reached the edge of town. Something felt off - Soul must have felt it too. They came to an abrupt halt at the tree line, hidden as long as no one was looking too hard.
“Are those government ships?”
“Con,” Soul was on his wav-com immediately, “get on the gov nets, what’s happening in Gadimine right now?”
There was static on the other end while they waited, Al’s anxiety grew into his throat and down into his legs.
“Get out of there now.” Con’s voice came back rushed. “Repeat, get out of there. The towns under lockdown, they’ve got it-” but the wav-com was knocked to the ground, they were already surrounded by the blue clad soldiers of the government’s army. Guns were shoved in their faces and voices yelled at them to get on their knees.
Al’s shaking hands clasped tightly behind his head as he knelt down. He stole a desperate look over to Soul who was on the ground as well, his arms stretched out in front of him as the soldiers disarmed his guns and short sword.
One of the soldiers pointed a device at them. Al recognized it as an energy field reader and didn’t have to wait long to figure out why they would need such a thing.
“This one’s a Telic.” The soldier shouted, a finger pointed in Al’s direction.
“No!” Soul shouted and slammed his body into the first soldier that reached for Al. “Leave him alone.”
Two of the soldiers tackled Soul to the ground, hitting him again and again, cracking his mask.
“Stop it!” Al screamed. Why didn’t he just disappear? “Soul, get out of here!”
Something hard and metal hit the back of his skull. His vision went black, and he felt the cold ground meet his face.
“How did they even get here?” The voice sounded so far away.
“Ask ‘em when they wake up.” Were they laughing? “Put ‘em with the rest.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sky awoke as they landed. He could hear a commotion outside his room and sat up slowly from his bed.
His eyes drifted out the port hole above his bed. The rocky terrain of Mye was complemented by a dull grey sky. He felt himself let out a long sigh, a bad feeling churning in his guts.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he paused a moment, staring at the floor. His mind was groggy and his body felt heavy and sluggish, like maybe he was still stuck in what had been a strange and vivid dream. But no, he was awake; the cold metal floor on his bare feet was testament to that.
He closed his eyes, forcing back reality for a few more seconds. The images that had been so alive in his mind just a moment ago were already fading. He felt almost like he should write down the little that he could still cling to, before it retreated completely, back into his subconscious.
When you’re walking uphill it’s hard to see the path ahead. It had looked like a little bird, colorful with large, soulful eyes. Its voice had surprised him, not because it was a talking bird, but because of it’s low and steady tone, as if the little thing was trying to reassure him. It may be a hard climb, but once you’re at the top you can see for miles.
Sky began to make his way towards the bridge, but it was only with great effort that he found himself moving in a forward direction. The dead weight of dread made his steps slow and measured. Two days on a ship in constant worry had nearly driven him crazy. How many hours had he stared at the wall, trying to find Zar in his fuzzy thoughts.
His eyes were pulled to the large windows as he passed through the commons. In the distance he could see black smoke begin to dance its way up to the sky.
He stepped onto the bridge. “I saw smoke.” He heard himself say.
Lee looked him over, probably sensing his disarray.
“Gah, I hate waiting.” Sara grumbled as she carefully positioned a sandy colored bandana over her hair. She looked tough and mean, and ready for action.
“They already left?” Sky looked from Sara to Lee, both of whom avoided his eyes.
“Roland said it was better if we let you sleep.” Sara shrugged, focused intently at the floor. She hadn’t spoken to him since they left, and even now, she acted like it was a chore to do so.
“How long have they been gone?” He demanded, looking over the dials and controls, none of which had ever made any sense to him.
“Too long.” Sara pulled the lectro club from her bag and strapped it onto her belt.
“Sara, we were ordered to stay on the ship.” Lee said. “Please, Sara, listen to me.”
“Lee how can you just sit there when you know-” She glanced at Sky and snapped her mouth shut.
“You can’t avoid telling him.” Roland said from the corner, looking bored.
Lee nodded and turned fully to Sky, “The town in overrun by government troops. The little information we could find has said this occupation has been going on for some time. It has something to do with the town being under suspicion for selling metal illegally to rebel extremists.”
“They almost didn’t let us land. The only way we got in here is because they thought we were one of their supply ships.” Sara paced the room like a wild beast.
Sky shook his head. “Why would they think that?” He didn’t remember his dad ever delivering to Mye.
“Because we have a telepath, and the power of persuasion is an amazing thing.” She stopped and looked out over the mountainous terrain. “This was a bad idea.”
He didn’t realize Roland had approached him until a scanner was shoved in his face and down over his chest and belly.
“How are you feeling?” Roland asked, looking over the numbers.
“Kinda groggy, but otherwise fine.” He shrugged.
Before they had left, Zeph confirmed what Zar had told him – He was slowly becoming mortal and he had no immunity to life without the power of the Snow. The small bit Zar was able to store was fading quickly.
“Sara, stop!” Lee yelled as she strode out the door.
“What good does she think she could possibly do?” Roland shook his head.
“I will stop her.” Lee stared after Sara and it wasn’t long before he walked out after her.
Roland turned to Sky. “You’re not going after them, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He snapped his tablet shut and held it to his chest, “You are in no shape – hey, get back here.”
But Sky was already out the door as well, on his way after the other two.
“Skyden. That’s not wise.” Roland shouted after him.
He knew his way around the ship a million times better then they did and arrived at the main hatch before them thanks to a shortcut.
“Out of the way.” Sara wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“Sara, please. What good will this do?” Lee asked gently.
“Zero and my dad are fully capable of a recon mission, Sara. They don’t need you.” Sky stood firmly in front of the hatch release.
“I can’t just sit here. Al was an arms length away from me and I just let him go. I could have stopped him.”
“You know that is not true.” Lee reached out to her, only to have his hand batted away.
“Stop trying to be a hero. No one blames you, but you.” Sky crossed his arms, watching her face morph into a silent rage.
“You blame me. You said it yourself, right in front of
everyone. You blame me for what’s happened to you.” Her voice was as steady as the winter wind, and just as cold.
“I never said that.” In all truth he didn’t really remember his exact words at all, but he was certain he wouldn’t have said that.
“It’s what you meant.” She backed up a step, but still looked ready for a fight. “And it’s true. I failed to save you twice, and now I’ve failed Al too. I can’t be worthless – I can’t be!”
“Stop it.” He yelled, but in doing so, unleashed a haze of black and sparkling dots before his eyes. Sara caught him as he stumbled forward.
“Skyden!” Lee lent a hand in keeping him upright.
He straightened, thankful for their support. “I’m okay.”
“You have quite a fever Skyden, you should be resting.” Lee had yet to retract his hand.
He laughed, “Oh, I know. I feel like someone hit me with a small moon.” It wasn’t his best idea ever, and against his better judgment he reached out and took Sara’s hand. “And I’d certainly rest better if I knew you were safe, and protecting me.”
She stared at him blankly, but he could tell there was something going on behind those golden eyes.
“Skyden is right.” Lee said, “Your talents would be better spent here. With us.”
Her lip curled in its usual way and her eyes rolled. “You guys are so lame.” She spun around, pulling her hand out of Sky’s as she did. “The Captain and Zero have fifteen minutes to get back here or I’m going after them.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Al paced around the small room, unable to see a foot in front of his face. He could hear others around him, all of them Telic, their energy and wills deflated.
“What is this? What’s going on?” He tried asking the darkness, only to get no answer.
“Soul!” He shouted. What a mess. “Soul, please!”
“Quiet.” Soul’s hushed voice whispered behind him.
Al jumped, he hadn’t really expected him to answer. “What is this, what’s going on?” He whispered back.
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