Neophytes of the Stone

by C Lee Tocci

  The tawny wolf sniffed the air. This way! Jeff answered before bounding off to the southeast.

  The others followed him and Todd brought up the rear, keeping one eye on the lightening horizon and the other on the small black wolf that cantered in front of him.

  It was an ordinary house, not too large and not too small; a modest ranch with brick on the front and a long driveway. It was dark and quiet and the nearest houses were blocked by trees. Five tired and bedraggled wolves stopped by the front door. After one quick look around, Todd stood back up as himself. Then the others morphed back as well.

  Marla tried the door.

  “Don’t bother,” said Jeff. “It’s locked and alarmed.”

  “Don’t tell me.” Marla rolled her eyes. “You have a plan.”

  Jeff grinned. “I’ll morph into a bird and go down the chimney. Once in, I’ll disengage the alarm and open the door.”

  “You’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?” asked Marla, her hands on her hips.

  Jeff nodded smugly before calling out “Kissy-face!” and flying up onto the roof.

  They stood, tired and impatient, waiting for the door to open. The sun was just rising and the street was quiet, so the sound of a car approaching roared like freight train. They froze, waiting for it to pass the driveway and continue down the street.

  It didn’t.

  Its headlights skimming past the trees, the car pulled into the driveway, pinning the four of them in its beam. Marla made a move as if to run, but Todd caught her arm and held her still. They stared as the vehicle rolled to a stop only a few feet away from them. The door opened and a figure, hidden behind the glare of the headlights, stepped out.

  “You guys order pizza?” asked a young tired voice as the figure reached back into the car.

  Behind Todd, the door to the house opened. “Yeah,” said Jeff. “We’ll grab ‘em.”

  Jeff pushed past Todd and grabbed a half a dozen pizza boxes that the driver was handing him. Jeff turned and dropped them into Todd’s arms before turning back to the driver.

  “You all set?” Jeff asked as the driver handed him another six boxes.

  “Sure thing, amigo.” The driver grinned. “It’s all on the card. Thanks for the tip.”

  “De nada.” Jeff took a deep whiff of the aroma leaking from the boxes as the car slowly backed out of the driveway. He smirked at the others. “Want to go in?”

  “Twelve pizzas?” Todd was flabbergasted.

  “Hey,” Jeff walked back into the house. “I’m hungry.”

  “Any sign of them yet?” Syxx asked, standing over the Director’s shoulder.

  Stunned, the Duke stood unmoving, his back pressed against the far wall. There were a dozen fried bodies on up on the fifth floor, another dozen down in the garage, and who knew how many mangled corpses in front of the building, yet Syxx acted as if they were no more than a pile of dead leaves, blown in by the wind.

  He had to pull himself together. The stakes were too high for hysterics. The Duke looked at the Director and realized that he’d have to obtain that same level of self-discipline if he was to regain control over the situation.

  The Director sat in front of a computer terminal, the left side of his face, along with his left arm and shoulder were ripped open and seeping blood. What looked to be a dog’s fang was still half-imbedded into the Director’s cheek. With an impatient swipe of his hand, the Director wiped away the blood that dripped onto the desktop. His fingers continued stabbing at the keyboard.

  “Nothing,” the Director said, responding to Syxx’s question. “The boy must be masking the phone’s GPS tracker. We’re getting nothing.”

  “What a clever little rat.” Syxx spat out the words. “Too bad he must die.”

  “Um, excuse me?” whined a small voice from the corner. “That is my son you’re talking about.”

  Syxx turned on Reggie Terrance, his burning eyes skewering him to the wall. “Well, perhaps when we retrieve them, we’ll give you one last chance to control him. It will be your last chance as well.”

  The blood rushed out of Terrance’s face, leaving his pallor even ghastlier than before. Syxx turned back to stare at the display.

  “We’ve got coverage on all roads and railways within a twenty mile radius.” The Director reported. “And we’ve got satellite surveillance within a fifty mile radius.”

  Syxx nodded. “Keep alert for any anomalies. They cannot be allowed to get back to Kiva.”

  The Director nodded.

  “I want the girl, Syxx.” The Duke forced himself to keep his voice and gaze steady. “And I want her alive. The Terrance boy would be an asset as well, but I must have that girl. Do you understand?”

  For a moment, Syxx’s eyes flared an unworldly red; the irises twisting into slits like the eye of a goat that made his face inhuman. The Duke stopped breathing. But then the image faded and Syxx smiled, comforting and warm.

  “Of course, Duke.” Syxx’s voice was all peace and reassurance. “That is always our intent. To have her back here, safe and sound.”

  It was late afternoon when they woke.

  They’d slept on the living room floor, piled together like they had when they had travelled from the foster home to Kiva; huddled for warmth, arms and legs flung everywhere. The scattered remains of half-eaten pizza littered the room.

  Jeff stretched, yawned and picked up the phone. It flickered in his hand, and he gazed off into e-space, plotting and scheming. Lilibit chewed on her lip, stared out the window and avoided looking at anyone. Donny was sitting in front the T.V. while Marla went off to take a shower.

  “How are you planning to get us back to Kiva?” asked Jeff as he strolled over to where Todd sat, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  “Wolf-form, probably.” Todd stretched. “Easier to hold than the bird-form.”

  “How ‘bout the train?”

  “They’ll probably be watching the trains and roads. I figure we’ll wait until dark, then stick to the hills and prairies.”

  “There’s a freight train that due to pass through Commerce Terminal around nine tonight. If we jump on a flatcar, we’ll get up to Grey Rock by two in the morning. We could be back in Kiva before daybreak.”

  The sound of a soft footstep behind them made them turn around. While they’d been talking, Lilibit had edged over to listen.

  “Gil-Salla’s going to kill me, isn’t she?” Lilibit whispered, not looking up from her feet.

  Todd didn’t know how else to answer this, so he went with the truth. “Well, probably not all the way dead. But she is going to be flaming mad.”

  “I wish it were tomorrow and this was all over.”

  “Me too,” said Todd.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  The Wicked Woods

  “It wouldn’t kill you to help.” Marla glared at Jeff.

  “Hey, I got the pizzas. My job’s done.” Jeff was glued to the T.V.

  Marla turned her glare on Todd, who rolled to his feet and began picking up pizza boxes.

  “C’mon Jeff, give a hand.” Todd really didn’t care if Jeff helped or not, but Marla was making a deal out of it.

  “Why bother? We’re leaving in a few minutes,” said Jeff. “What? You think the owners are going to feel better if we can clean up? You think they’re going to say, ‘Oh look, Honey. Someone broke into the house while we were on vacation. But no big deal - they cleaned up after themselves!’”

  Todd had long since given up trying to figure out Jeff’s personal code of ethics. He stuffed a box into a garbage bag and reached for the next one. It took less time to pick up the trash than it would take to fight about it.

  “Whatever!” Jeff snapped as if someone was still arguing with him. “I’ll pay off their credit cards. Will that make you happy?”

  “You’ll what?” asked Marla.

  Jeff’s phone was already flashing. “I’ll make it look like they won some credit card contest that pays off your credit cards. Will that make you hap
py?”

  Actually, it did make Todd feel better, but Marla was still acting huffy, so he spoke quickly before Marla could respond. “C’mon, it’s full dark. Let’s get going.”

  The night was clear and the moon was almost full so it was a lot brighter than Todd would have preferred. Jeff shot a cocky grin at Marla as he locked the door behind them and re-armed the alarm system.

  “He thinks he’s so cool,” she muttered to herself. “You’d think he thought he was the Stone Voice, the way he acts.”

  Todd shot a warning glance at Marla before looking over at Lilibit. Lilibit straightened in surprise and tilted her head to one side as she looked at Jeff as if seeing him for the first time.

  Not wanting to give that conversation a chance to go anywhere. Todd spoke quickly. “We’ll head back toward the highway and then off into the desert that way. Once out of sight of the road, we’ll morph into wolves and circle around Commerce City. We can pick up the train tracks up north.”

  He dropped the bag of trash on the curb by a neighboring house. They started walking, not dawdling, but not fast enough to attract attention. If anyone happened to look out their window, the sight of a group of kids, walking together in the early evening, shouldn’t be too noticeable. He hoped.

  Marla and Jeff and were still hissing at each other when they reached the edge of the town. Todd led them off the road and waited until they were a couple of hundred yards from the street before saying, “Stupid Nov’m!”

  “Stupid Nov’m” he heard four more times and then he could hear the voices of the others in his head.

  I can’t wait until Ulex catches up with us! Jeff thought loudly, Marla is such a pain when he’s not around.

  It has nothing to do with Ulex! Marla roared back. It’s all about you and the way you think you’re better than everyone else!

  That’s enough! Todd backed up the command with a growl. Surprisingly, the two of them stopped, but he could still smell their tempers. We’ve got to focus! Now spread out, but don’t wander too far. Stay under trees, or in gulleys if you can find them. Lilibit, you stay right beside me.

  The night was crisp and cool with only a few stringy clouds to occasionally block the moon. They quickened their pace into a wind-swift stride, their spirits lightening as they loped over the barren plains. Even scattered as they were, Todd could still feel the nearness of the others and it reassured him.

  The vibes from Lilibit were surprisingly peaceful. Running at his side, she grew calm, even cheerful. It came as a bit of a shock to Todd as he realized that she trusted him.

  That trust weighed on him like a stone. He could only pray that it wouldn’t be misplaced.

  “Got them!” The Director’s tone was cold, but the Duke thought he heard an edge of relief hiding beneath the terseness.

  “Where?” There was no hint of tension in Syxx’s question, the facade of quiet confidence once more in place.

  “We’ve got a satellite image of what appears to be five people on a northbound freight train outside of Commerce Terminal.”

  “How do you know it’s them?” the Duke asked, leaning to peer at the monitor. “We’ve got people watching the train stations; they couldn’t have have boarded at the terminal.”

  Neither the Director nor Syxx felt that this comment deserved a response. They continued to work the computer.

  “And by the time those trains clear the Control Area, they’re doing at least fifty miles per hour,” the Duke continued, angry at being ignored. “There’s no way that they could have jumped on to them at that speed.”

  The Director punched a few more commands into the keyboard before rolling his chair to one side, giving the Duke a clear view of the monitor. There, a series of satellite photos revealed five blurry human figures. Another string of rattling keystrokes and one of the images sharpened further; the features of Lilibit and the others came into focus.

  The Duke didn’t like being proven wrong any more than he like being ignored. He sniffed as he straightened. “So, do we stop the train enroute or do we have our people waiting in Grey Rock?”

  “Neither.” There was a ruthlessness in Syxx’s eyes, and in the face of that stare, the Duke’s bravado deserted him. “It is evident that we have underestimated their abilities. We will not make that mistake again. The situation requires a more innovative recourse; an agency with sufficient power to nullify any advantage they might possess. As it is, I happen to have such a resource available. You shall remain here and stabilize this location. This facility must be prepared to contain the children when I return with them.”

  The Duke was livid; Syxx acted as if all Endrune were working for him. Yet before the Duke could speak, Syxx turned and left the office. Infuriated, the Duke stormed after him.

  But the lobby was empty. Syxx was gone.

  It had been tricky to jump onto a speeding freight train, but not hard. They waited until they heard the train approaching and then they morphed into birds. They had to morph back into themselves in midair just as they reached the flatcar so their birdforms wouldn’t be splatted against the containers, but they managed with only a few scrapes and bruises to show for it.

  They’d jumped a freight train before on their way to Kiva, but this one was a lot faster. They huddled behind one of the cargo boxes to stay out of the wind.

  “What are they up to?” Todd shouted to Jeff. They had to yell to be heard over the roaring wind.

  “They’ve got field teams covering the airport, the bus stations and the train stations as well as the major roads leaving the city,” he answered, staring at his palmputer. “But they’re reporting back with nothing. I think we ditched them.”

  “Good,” Todd relaxed against the steel container. “Keep an eye on them.”

  They didn’t talk for a while; the howling wind made idle chatter almost impossible. Jeff surfed and Marla whispered to Ulex. Donny was remembering something that happened at some other time; it must have been a funny memory, since occasionally he’d start laughing and talk to himself. Todd was relieved; it seemed like he was recovering quickly from Syxx’s torture. Sometimes when traumatic things happened to Donny, he’d withdraw into himself and wouldn’t be able to function for days, even weeks. He was getting better at coping and Todd wondered if it was due to his stone, or if he was just growing up. After watching him for a few minutes, Todd shrugged and turned his attention to Lilibit.

  Lilibit never seemed to feel the cold, but tonight she was curled up, her arms wrapped around her shins. She was staring off into space, but she looked up at Todd when she felt his eyes on her.

  “Lilibit?” Todd leaned close so that only Lilibit could hear. “Why did you sneak out of Kiva in the first place?”

  Lilibit hunched down. “The Duke, he knew about my family. My parents. And my aunts. I wanted to find out about them.”

  A slew of questions held Todd speechless for a moment. What did the Duke know and how did he find out didn’t seem as important as the big question. “How did you even know about the Duke? Who told you?”

  Lilibit’s shoulders sunk even lower. “Nov’m,” she whispered.

  A flare of anger raged up with Todd, hotter than he’d ever felt before. This went beyond the stupid wrangling and power struggles that Nov’m thrived on; Lilibit could have been killed. They all could have been killed. All for Nov’m’s petty schemes.

  “What did he tell you?” Todd hissed, his temper barely held in check. “How did he find out?”

  “That time he and the Tigers beat me up, he dropped a card that had a name and address on it. He’d told me that the man on the card knew my aunts and that they were looking for me.”

  Keotak-se’s staff sparked white for a moment as Todd’s fury boiled. Lilibit’s eyes widened. Todd took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

  Nov’m had deliberately set her up, baiting her to lure her out of the safety of Kiva. Todd smiled grimly; Nov’m was going to be in for a very rude awakening at the next Quaybo practice, Todd
was not going to hold back. In his current mood, Todd didn’t even care if Nov’m survived. He’d crossed the line and he was going to pay for it.

  Some part of what was in his head must have shown on his face, because Lilibit grabbed at his arm. “Todd! I’m sorry! Don’t be mad!”

  Todd looked down at Lilibit, surprised by how alarmed she was. “I’m not ticked at you, Lilibit. I’m mad at Nov’m. He deliberately gave you that card and told you those things just so you’d sneak out of Kiva. I wish you’d talked to me about it first, but it’s Nov’m that I’m really mad at.”

  “Yeah, I wish I’d told you about it too. I almost did, but it seemed like Sylvie was always around every time I thought about telling you.”

  Her words hit Todd like a wave of ice water. It was true that, for a while there, he’d been so into Sylvie that he’d been barely aware of anything else. And now look what happened. He’d been so distracted that they’d nearly lost Lilibit. Todd silently chewed himself out for a few minutes while Lilibit stared at him with solemn eyes.

  “I wonder how Nov’m got that card?” Todd tapped one foot against the flatcar floor and stared off into the darkness. “Did he go into Alamos Tierra or did Syxx manage to sneak into Kiva?”

  “Nov’m said that he got it from his father,” Lilibit answered. “He said that his father has powerful friends.”

  Leot-Kay, Nov’m’s father was the chieftain of the Hidotmay, one of the tribes that lived not too far beyond the Sienna Sentries. Since he was on the Council of the Elders, he was one of the few people who regularly came in and out of Kiva. Todd wondered if Gil-Salla had any idea that Syxx had managed to infiltrate the Council. He also wondered whether she’d believe him if he told her.

  It might have been an hour or so later when Todd felt his scalp start to tingle. He stood up quickly, jarring Lilibit who was leaning against him. She looked up at him, puzzled, as he stepped over Marla to peer into the murkiness that loomed in front of the rushing train.

  “What is it?” Marla asked, her hand still clutching the stone at her neck.