With a flutter of his gathered energy the Captain sent a shockwave down into those gathered, seeking out the metal of their weapons, corroding them until they were useless.
Zero gave the signal, and he and Al leap into view, one on each side of the Captain, radiating their full Telic energy for all to see before dropping down to the street below with two large thuds.
The soldiers backed away slowly with eyes growing wide. Al saw it start as a small ripple that spread out into giant waves of pure, unadulterated terror from every Om Tek soldier assembled. That fear was mostly thanks to Lee’s successful illusion of an army of Telics and Ikos still on the roof alongside the Captain. He knew of Lee’s strength, but it was still no less impressive to be a witness to what one Agonian could do with an army of minds.
They were at a standoff and Al knew it wouldn’t last forever. He didn’t know if their demands would be met, and somehow, now that he was face to face with his enemy, he was pretty sure they wouldn’t be. He just hoped things were going better for Soul.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sky ran down the overgrown path, his heart in his ears. He should have stayed put, he knew that. But what was he supposed to do? His dad and the rest of them had hardly been gone ten minutes when the soldiers had walked by the ship.
What had caught Sky’s eye on the security halo was that the uniforms they wore weren’t those of the government’s army. He had switched on the audio and caught the tail end of their conversation as they had passed by without a glance in the ships direction.
“Her house should be just up ahead.” The taller one said.
“Do we just kill her outright? Bossman said she isn’t needed anymore.” The smaller one with the hook nose was a bit too enthusiastic with his words.
“We need to ask her where the book is.”
“You know she won’t talk, they never do.” The smaller one said.
“We ask her once, if she doesn’t answer, you can kill her if you want, but I won’t do it.”
“Ha, you afraid of killing a Telic? Think the wrath of the Haven’s is gonna get you.”
“Don’t be stupid. It’s the wrath of the Man that frightens me.”
Sky had stopped listening after that. He knew who they were and where they were going. They’re going to kill her. Al’s mom. They were going to kill the woman who gave him comfort when his mom died, who used to tell them stories to make them laugh and sing them songs to help them sleep.
So, yes, there was a very logical reason he should be running after two armed soldiers. Her name was Oh’May.
He stopped with a gasp, trying to catch his breath. His wobbly legs led him to the rough embrace of the closest tree, but he forced himself to move forward, in the direction the soldiers had gone.
A bit further down the path it was obvious a residence was nearby; animal feeders hung from the trees, flowers were planted in patterns that nature could have never created, and more obviously, a pebbled walkway started a few feet from the main path and led to a small hut that peaked out from the hillside.
Movement inside the hut sent his heart fluttering and his knees to the ground. He flung himself behind a fence made from thick tree branches and scraps of metal, and forced his breath to slow.
A sharp pain shot from his hip, down to his toes, as his leg caught awkwardly beneath him. With a bit more noise then he intended, he scrapped his feet across the gravel and dirt, trying to hoist himself up a few more inches. He dared a look over the pillar, but at this point he didn’t even have to look. All he had to do was listen.
Sky pulled clumsily at the knife in his belt, sweat falling into his eyes. With a few deep breaths, he cleared his head. He could do this. He was strong. He was fast. He was…going to die. Sky shook his head, wanting to pound it on a tree. This was absolutely nuts, but he had to do it.
With a grit of his teeth, he moved forward. Keeping low, he slunk towards the door. He crossed the front yard – a lush landscape of meticulously placed foliage and intricately arranged flowers.
Once at the stoop, he saw a small mound of fur, still and unmoving. His heart sank into a splash of acid when he realized what it was. A little loax. He paused momentarily to close the eyes of the unfortunate creature and ran a hand over sleek fur that shined like freshly polished silver. Such a coat meant it was well taken care of. He had heard of people training them, and those lucky few that found a way to tame them, would often use them as loyal guardians. This one, no doubt, died protecting his master.
Sky put his head down and let his anger rise. With every shout that came from behind the wooden door, with every crash the resounded through the walls, he let his fury grow. These men were the reason he was there. It was their Councilmen that wanted the Book of Nine. They were the reason the Man of Mist had tried to kill him and kidnap his friends. They were the reason they had to leave their homes and lives. They were the reason Al had come to Mye. So, in essence, everything…it was all their fault.
Without another thought he burst through the door, but before his foot even landed on the opposite side of the threshold, a shot rang out.
He stopped, as did his heart, “Oh’May!” He screamed as she fell, pulling the soldiers attention in his direction.
The one closest to him, the shorter one with the hook nose, already had his gun aimed and ready. There was only time to react. Sky grabbed the smaller soldiers wrist and threw him into the wall near the door. The taller soldier hadn’t fully turned around before Sky was on him, elbowing him in the face.
The smaller one stumbled up from the floor and hauled up his gun once again, but the effort was lost as Sky’s knife hit his chest in a splash of red. Sky kicked the gun away and it swooshed across the floor till it was lost into the shadows of the next room.
He backed away in shock, his shaking hands covered in the warmth of someone else’s blood.
The taller soldier dove at him with a bellow, and knocked him off his feet - but not before Sky got a hold of him and took him right down with him.
Using the momentum of the fall, he slammed the soldiers head back into the floor with a sickening thud. The hand around his throat loosened just enough for him to roll away, out of the other man’s grasp.
There was a bullet-load gun laying a few feet away, and that became his destination. Sky dove for it as the tall soldier staggered towards his fallen companion.
Sky fumbled with the gun, not sure how it worked, and aimed it clumsily. “Stop.” He demanded, pushing his chest out, trying to get as much height as he could.
The remaining soldier hadn’t heard him, or didn’t care. He kept on his path towards his companion, crashing into the wall and sliding down, until he sat beside the dead soldier.
Sky’s brief feeling of remorse was wisped away when he realized the man wasn’t checking the other soldier for signs of life, but for weapons.
“I said stop, freeze. Turn around.” He didn’t mean for his voice to crack at that instant. His arm’s wavered. Could he really pull the trigger? With the other soldier, it had been instant and defensive. But now, this soldier, he was technically unarmed. Sky had the upper hand and he could end it with one shot.
“You’ve got some bad luck there, boy.” The tall soldier’s voice was like gravel. The blood that trickled down the back of his skull had completely soaked the back of his shirt.
“Doesn’t look that way to me.” He chanced a step forward.
“That’s because you don’t see the big picture.” The soldier slid his hands over the smaller one’s face, closing his unblinking eyes. “You just messed with the wrong mission, my friend. Even if you make it out of here alive, they’ll hunt you down for interfering.”
“I’m not scared.” He raised his chin and the gun.
The soldier turned his head just slightly, letting Sky see the menacing smirk grow larger then a face should stretch. “You should be.”
The soldier’s eyes flashed a brilliant red as the skin on his face darkened into a sickly shade of g
reen. He ripped the knife out of the dead soldier and bolted straight towards Sky, his face continuing to morph as he did.
The recoil sent him a few steps back as he pulled the trigger - his aim had been worse then his balance as the shot blasted a dusty hole into the paneled wall on the far side of the room.
The monster soldier ran straight into him without slowing down, driving the knife roughly through his vest, skin and muscle and didn’t stop until Sky’s back slammed into the wall.
He let out a cry out of the sheer pain that ripped through his core as the soldier pulled out the blade and drove it in again. Sky gathered enough strength to kick him back and raised the gun that he was somehow, miraculously, still holding onto.
The soldier rushed at him, the skin of his face had peeled back to reveal rough scales and dangerous looking spikes. His clawed hand raised the knife again, aiming higher this time.
In a panic Sky fired again, and this time he didn’t miss. The bullet caught the creature just above its slobbering snout, between its glowing, hell-fire eyes and blew a hole the size of his fist out the back of its cracked skull. The thing landed in a heap, hitting the ground in time with the gun that fell from Sky’s shuddering hand.
Sky forgot to breathe as he looked down at the mess. With a sturdy push of his boot into the soldier side he confirmed its deadness.
He knelt down slowly, and had to pause when the most unpleasant sensation passed through him. He was in pain. A lot of pain. He clutched at his wounds and felt the warm gush of blood wash freely over his hands. This wasn’t good.
A wheezing gasp from the corner called him back into the moment. He snapped his head to the right, letting a fleeting moment of relief wash away some of his panic. “Oh’May!”
She was still alive. Maybe it wasn’t a total loss, maybe he could still save her. He found moving towards her was a bit more difficult then he would have thought – although his pain was fading, it was being replaced by a numbing cold that was making his body sluggish and rather stubborn.
Collapsing beside her, he gently pushed bloody mats of hair out of her face, trying to catch her wandering eyes, “Oh’May,” He couldn’t force out more then a pleading whisper, “please, look at me.” Her bloodshot eyes were distant and glazed and her labored breath was rough and wet.
“Upstairs,” She gasps. Her eyes locked solidly onto his. “The Book.”
He shook his head and broke her gaze, focusing instead on her small, shivering body, trying to find the wound. There was so much blood - over him, over her, it was hard to tell where any of it was coming from.
“Stop.” She said kindly, raising a quivering hand to his face. “Listen now, child.”
“Where were you shot?” He asked desperately, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to force them into focus.
“The Book-”
“The Book doesn’t matter. I need to save you.” He shouted before giving into a sob. “What do I do?”
“This was how it was meant to be.” She forced a smile through the blood that drooled from the corner of her perfect mouth, “I accepted my fate long ago.”
“But, Al.” He pleaded, “It can’t be like this!”
“He will understand.”
“No, he needs you!” Tears fell from his eyes, “What do I do?”
“The Book.” She whispered. “The Book of Ten waits for you. It must be kept safe.”
“Book of Ten?”
“The Book isn’t a book,” Her bloody hand came up again to gently touch his face, “it’s the person who contains the knowledge of the past and the gift of echoes. I was the Book of Nine. The ninth generation Telic to be passed the gift. Lil’May, my daughter, I have passed to her the gift.” The light was fading from her eyes as she fought for every word. “She is the Book of Ten.”
“Please,” He sobbed. He had found the wound and made a feeble attempt to hold in the blood that ran from the hole just above her belly. “You have to live.”
“There is still hope.” Her voice was less then a whisper. “You two must prevail. You must not fall to chaos. They know of her – it is why they have killed me. Hide her, hide her well.”
“Oh’May, please.” He sobbed.
Her hand fell from his face, “…the path is long and winding, but your footing is sure as long as you do not walk it alone.” She blinked slowly. “Quickly, he is coming.” Her gentle face went slack.
“Oh’May!” He screamed, but the effort of shouting sent his own body into convulsions as the waves of adrenalin and shock wore thin.
He picked himself back up off the floor into a sitting position next to Oh’May, noticing for the first time a strange ringing in his ears. No, it wasn’t a ringing, it was more like a faint crying…it was the sound of a baby crying.
A cold hand on his brought his attention back to her pale face. Her lips barely moved, but he could hear her words as if they were spoken into his mind. “Within the Book is the fate of the living.” The strength of the voice faded as did the last bit of life left in her eyes, “Find the stones, awaken the Sages…” but there were no more words.
With a shaking hand he gently closed her eyes. Eyes that would no longer see the future or look to the past. Eyes that would never see her baby grow or look upon her son’s devoted face. He wanted to cry for her, but his insides were hollow and dry.
The howling of the child upstairs was piercing his ears and heart. He had failed. He had killed two men. He had let her die.
Stumbling to his feet he brought down a small end table as he looked around the cramped room in an unfocused blur trying to locate the stairs. His legs seemed incredibly unreliable, in fact, his whole body was defiant.
His legs gave out and he stumbled forward, tripping over the monster soldier. He landed hard, not having had the time or strength to catch himself. It wasn’t so bad down there; in fact, it felt much better then standing. He uncurled onto the cool floor, enjoying the satisfaction of laying still. Rolling over onto his back, he let out a little sigh as the pressure was taken off his aching chest and stomach.
His energy bled out around him in crimson streams. With a jerk of his head he faced the dead monster beside him, but, he wasn’t a monster anymore, now was he? No, he was just a man, a dead man with the knife Sara had given him still clutched in his rigid grasp. A flash of anger scorched through Sky. That was his knife. A gift, in fact.
Hand over hand, with tooth and nail, he clawed his way over to the dead man, prying loose the stiff fingers around the hilt, breaking a few in the process.
The crying of the baby, of Lil’May, became more insistent and desperate. As much as he wanted to stay there trembling on the floor, he willed himself up and unsteadily forward. If he could just make it up the stairs and get to her, he could summon Soul and then, well then it would be okay. It had to be.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sky didn’t know how long he had blacked out that time, but he woke up halfway up the stairs. Time had lost meaning. Between his body and his mind he had reached the point of overload and now, he no longer felt anything. It was only a matter of staying conscious long enough to make it to Lil’May.
There was a bird chirping loudly from somewhere inside the house. He had made it to the top of the stairs and stumbled on; making sure his momentum carried him forward down the hall, and not back down the stairs.
The chirping came again, but this time he recognized the high, steady tweeting as the wav-com still attached to his belt. It would have to wait.
Lil’May’s whines were becoming quieter, but she thankfully kept up a mild whimper - there would be no way he could find her in his state without her voice to lead his way. He slid his shoulder along the wall of the narrow hallway, knocking down pictures and paintings as he went, slowly progressing closer to the muffled sniffles of the baby.
Her door was open, which was a blessing for he didn’t know if his hands were up to the task of turning a handle. Light from a large, dusty window poured into the open room and over th
e multitude of books that lined the shelves and lay in neat piles on the floor and on every piece of available furniture. The only thing in the room unaffected by the heaps of literature was the wooden crib at the center.
Lil’May cooed up at him when he finally found her and her perfect little face, still wet from crying. He wanted to reach down and hug her, tell her it was going to be all right, but, her face disappeared from his view as the world fell down around him. The ground met him without yielding. He is coming. Her voice echoed in his head. That’s right. The Man of Mist.
He pulled himself up and stared down at the small form once again. He pulled out the charms Zero had given him and placed them sloppily around Lil’May, his blood dripping down onto the pristine sheets and blankets. With his hands forming the seal of key, it activated, and the small girl disappeared from view. He griped the bracelet Con had given him in his hand. Soul, I need you. He thought as loudly as he could. Soul, please. Powers, someone, please, I need you.
The wav-com buzzed again. It was the last of his strength that he was able to unlatch it from his belt. He answered the beckon, but couldn’t speak.
“Sky!” Al’s exasperated voice came over the com. “Sky, are you there?”
The burn of tears threatened behind his eyes. Was it really the last time he would hear Al’s voice? “Al.” He managed to choke out before a fit of bloody coughs rattled through him. He stumbled out of the room and into the hall.
“Sky, we’re in trouble.” Al said, panic in his voice, “You’re safe right. Just tell me you’re safe.”
No, no, this couldn’t be happening. He choked on a sob and fell to his knees.
“Sky, what’s wrong? Sky, are you there?”
He could hear the battle raging on behind Al’s voice. The Captain was shouting orders, someone was screaming.
The spinning room was beginning to go dark. He couldn’t be sure if he was still on the floor or floating above it. The ominous shadows that danced and played in the corners of his vision began shifting closer.
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