by S. S. Segran
Hutar watched Mariah now as she worked. Every time he heard Saiyu praise her pupil on her progress, all he saw was red. Every once in a while his eyes went to Akol and he gripped his branch, white-hot enmity spreading through him like fire. This was the nuisance that had thwarted his perfect plan with the rabid wolves. His nails dug into the bark as he relived that moment. He had been there, concealed high up on the rock wall, watching the friends fend for themselves. He’d almost tasted victory when they’d given up with the arrival of the second wolf pack.
So close. He had been so close. With one last look at Akol, he bared his teeth and jumped into another tree, heading to Kody’s training area. With Nageau having heightened senses and the boy learning aspects of that power, Hutar knew he had to be extra cautious. He paused, waiting for a bird to fly by. When it did, he leapt onto a branch with a good view of the pair. It was perfectly timed so that the rush of air from both him and the bird sounded as one.
Cautiously, he looked down. It seemed like nothing was happening. Kody sat on the ground with his eyes closed, and Nageau was nowhere in sight. Hutar, though, knew from experience that Kody was listening to the sounds around him, but it was hard for him to gauge just how advanced the boy was.
Hutar looked up and down the branch on which he balanced and found a tiny twig attached to his perch. Keeping his gaze locked on Kody, he reached toward the twig. Holding his breath, he snapped it.
Kody’s eyes flew open and he stared up in the direction the sound had come from. He stilled for a moment, alert, but didn’t show signs of noticing anything out of the ordinary. He unhurriedly faced front again and his eyelids slid shut once more.
Hutar suppressed a growl. Kody’s hearing was picking up, and so, he assumed, were his other senses.
Having assessed the friends’ progress, Hutar was only more determined to go through with his plan. He waited until another bird flew by before moving with it out of the training ground, a resolute mood tempering his bitterness.
* * *
Tikina turned on the tap and filled her cup. The friends had been dismissed for their midday meal and she needed to check on the search teams; it was the second day of the rescue mission. She downed her drink, feeling some energy return, then took her place on the divan in the living quarter. She breathed out slowly, then closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she was looking through the eyes of Akira. She felt the wind beneath her wings as the eagle glided above the forest. The view of the azure sky was breathtaking. She could see for miles over the treetops. Tilting slightly toward the ground, she located a few moving specks—one of the search teams. She spotted the young woman with the red bandana and started a circling descent.
The woman looked up when she heard the rush of air as the golden eagle flapped her wings once. She smiled, stretching out her arm, and the bird eased down onto the leather glove she wore. She looked the eagle in the eyes and a message was shared between her and Tikina. The woman nodded and the bird launched off her arm, soaring high, and was soon out of sight.
“Where did she go?” one of the men in the team asked.
“She went to scout ahead,” the woman answered. Brushing a few strands of platinum hair that had escaped her bandana from her bright green eyes, she led the group of men with the unmistakable stride of authority. Absently, she spun her staff in her right hand and prayed that they would find their missing brethren soon.
* * *
Hutar leaned against a rock facing one of the lakes that was supposedly contaminated. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was, in fact, tainted, and needed to find a way to confirm it. He surveyed the cove for a target, expressionless.
Hardly anything made him smile anymore. His uncle was the sole exception; Aydar could always get a chuckle out of him. Though he never told him, Hutar loved the man deeply. Aydar was the only family member he had left and he did not know what he’d do if he lost him.
He was shaken out of his musings when his heightened hearing picked up the scuttle of small paws against pebbles. He pinpointed the source of the sound: It was directly behind the rock he was leaning against. Very slowly, he prowled onto the granite, counted to three, then did a back handspring and landed behind the rock.
A hare, frightened out of its wits by the unexpected intruder, tried to scurry away but Hutar grabbed it by the ears and lifted it. The hare let out a bloodcurdling scream and kicked out its back legs. Hutar was tempted to smash it against the rock to silence it, but he needed the animal alive.
His pack lay open on the grass and he took out one of the jars it contained. He held onto the struggling hare with one hand, uncapped the jar with the other, and strode purposefully toward the lake. Kneeling, he trapped the hare between his knees and filled the glass with water, mindful to keep his fingers dry.
The hare nearly squirmed free but he pinched his knees tighter and pried its mouth open, forcing the water down its gullet. The hare thrashed but Hutar put the empty jar down and held onto the animal, the muscles in his arms bulging from the effort.
He had to wait for nearly thirty minutes, but finally foam started to encrust the hare’s mouth as the contaminant began to infect the animal. Hutar jumped back and studied the hare from the safety of his rock. The animal twisted around as if drunk and staggered away from the lake.
Hutar spent another half hour looking on intently as the hare succumbed to the terrible illness. He smiled, thrilled, as the creature surrendered to a painful death.
42
A tall silhouette gazed out through the palm trees from where it stood by the colossal window of an enormous villa. The villa was built along a sandy cove with a gorgeous view of a rich, blue lake. Tied to the dock, a single-engine float plane bobbed on the water as the breeze picked up. The figure gazed further out, watching the locals ride their sampans over the small rolling waves as fishermen sorted out nets filled with the day’s catch.
Fingering the hem of a custom-tailored batik shirt, the figure glanced at a classic rotary phone sitting atop a mahogany desk and contemplated making a call, fully aware of the huge time difference on the other side of the globe. The figure looked back out the window for a few minutes and then, reaching a decision, picked up the phone and dialed a number.
Wild knocking on Ajajdif’s door rattled him from his sleep. Jumping out of bed, he quickly pulled on a t-shirt, slid into his jeans and opened the door to find his frazzled assistant holding up a satellite phone. “Sir, it’s the Boss.”
Instantly, Ajajdif went pale. He grabbed the phone from his assistant and shut the door. Forcing a wide, demented smile, he put the receiver to his ear. His fingers shook as if he were cold. “Hello?”
“Vladimir,” a raspy, digitally-distorted voice said. “How are you?”
“Well enough,” he replied uneasily. “And yourself?”
“It all depends on the progress up there.”
“Oh, uh, it’s . . . it’s coming along.” He switched topics as fast as he could; it was late and he hadn’t prepared himself for the call at this hour. He needed to buy time to think. “You’re not usually one to call at two in the morning. I assume that means you’re in a different time zone.”
“I am.”
“So which part of the planet are you at now?”
“I am catching some sun on one of my favorite islands.”
“Which one?”
“The one that sits on a volcanic lake in Southeast Asia.”
Ajajdif was genuinely interested. “So you found a new getaway? How do you like this one?”
“It’s beautiful, and it has a significant history behind it.”
“Oh?”
“It is a volcano that was presumed to have wiped out much of the human race when it erupted seventy-five thousand years ago. Rather symbolic, don’t you agree?”
Ajajdif pursed his lips. “Yes, definitely. How’s the weather there?”
“Wonderful. The warmth of the tropics suits me well.”
“You’re certain
ly a globetrotter,” Ajajdif said with a laugh, his unease giving it an unsteady pitch. “When do you plan to head back to the U.S.?”
“I should be returning in a couple of weeks; about the time that you were expected to wrap up your little project in Canada.”
Ajajdif gripped the phone tightly.
“Adrian called me a few days ago and told me that he gave you a month’s extension. That doesn’t please me. We originally gave you four months.”
“I know. But the weather was horrid, and the machines weren’t working properly, and—”
“Adrian told me everything. Lucky for you, there has been a development. Quest Defense has reported a lower yield than expected from the lab tests on the fenexium.”
“Lower yield?” Ajajif repeated.
“I take it you know what this means for your operations.”
“I do. How much longer to we need to stay here, then?”
“Ten more months. You should have thirty-six kilos of the ore by then.” A cold note crept into the distorted voice. “You will be able to deliver this, yes?”
Ajajdif swallowed. “I . . . I hope so. I mean, it should.”
“That is not the answer I’m looking for.”
“I have been pushing my crew to work around the clock. We’ve already gotten a substantial amount of the ore, and we will do everything we can to get the remaining quantity by the deadline. I’m not making any excuses but we’ve run into a number of challenges here and that’s the truth.”
There was a moment of unsettling silence, then the voice breathed again. “Don’t let me down, Vladimir.”
“Of course not.”
“Now . . . Adrian also informed me of some disturbing events that occurred over there, but he left a few gaps. Fill me in on those.”
Ajajdif swore silently. Of course Black would want to deflect the heat to him. “One of my crew members died in an accident in the tunnel.”
“That is unfortunate, but there are risks in this operation.”
Feeling secure with his superior’s more easygoing tone, Ajajdif continued. “Four intruders trespassed into one of the tunnels. My head of security and his team managed to capture them, but not without a few casualties.”
“What happened?”
“They got into a scuffle with the intruders, but they’re being looked after now.”
“Tell me more about these trespassers, Vladimir.”
Ajajdif scratched his neck. “They were natives, apparently, but they were like no natives I’ve ever seen. My head of security told me they fought with techniques that surprised his men before the team managed to tranquilize them. We kept them chained in a holding cell with one guard there at all times.”
“Did you try to communicate with them?”
“I did, but they couldn’t speak English. The security team tried to use hand signals, but they didn’t respond to that either.”
“Hm.” The voice on the other end paused. “Were they all young, or were there older natives with them?”
Ajajdif’s forehead pinched at the odd question. “No, they were all young. Or youngish. Why do you ask?”
A sound of throat-clearing came over the earpiece. “I was just wondering if there was a leader amongst them.”
Ajajdif’s frown deepened but he didn’t pursue further.
“Adrian told me that you were taking care of them. Have you?”
Ajajdif had to tread carefully. Right before he’d left his office to turn in for the night, Hajjar had found him and explained what had happened in the tunnel with the Marauders and the natives. “Yes. My head of security let the Marauders loose on them.”
Interest sneaked into the Boss’s tone. “That must have thrilled the beasts.”
“It did. All four intruders are dead.” He had to force out the last sentence. From what Hajjar had told him, he knew that two were dead for certain. The others had fallen down the side of the mountain. Hajjar assured him that no one could have survived the fall, especially not with their hands still tied behind their backs.
“Excellent. Less problems to deal with.”
“Uh, yes. However . . . we lost one of the hybrids during that little activity.”
“What? How did that happen?”
Ajajdif flinched. “Part of the tunnel they were in collapsed.”
The voice on the other end was silent again.
“Are—are you there?”
“It takes a lot to create these animals, Vladimir. They do not come off an assembly line. At least not yet.”
“I understand. I’m sorry.”
“Is that all there is to report?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will let you go back to sleep. Get some rest, Vladimir. You’re going to need it.”
There was a click and a tone, indicating that the Boss had hung up. Ajajdif sat down on the edge of his bed and put the phone down beside him. Sighing, he held his head in his hands and thought with disdain, Rest? Yeah, right.
43
Jag gazed up at the third of the six logs in his training area and glanced at Elder Tayoka, who simply motioned for him to get on the beam. Jag looked back at the log. It was slightly daunting to think that he would now have to practice his abilities atop a beam ten feet above the ground.
“Are you nervous?” Huyani asked, coming to stand beside him.
“Me? Nah. . .”
She smiled. “I remember when Akol first started practicing balance and some defense techniques with this log.”
“How did he do?”
“He hurt himself more than a few times.” She saw the alarmed look on Jag’s face and quickly said, “But there is no reason for you to be worried. All that is needed is focus, determination, and practice.”
Jag saw the truth in that. Having been involved in parkour for several years, he’d had his fair share of injuries. He was frustrated, though. Most of this ought to be a breeze for him, and yet here he was fretting as though he’d never done more dangerous stunts. Something was clogging his mind and he couldn’t scrape it out.
Agh, whatever, he thought, scaling to the top of the log. He took a few breaths to relax and waited for Tayoka’s instructions.
Through Huyani, Tayoka said, “We will begin with an easy move to get you used to this log. Start with a forward roll.”
Jag performed the move, reminding himself not to tense up. Through experience he’d learned that a rigid body had no proper balance. He rolled all the way to the end and stopped just in time to make sure he didn’t fall off the beam.
Tayoka tugged his beard. “Now, backward.”
Anxiety crept through Jag. A backward roll was the simplest of moves on flat ground, but on a log, it scared him—not that he would never admit it. What is wrong with you? Suck it up!
As he went into the roll, he felt something was off and realized too late that his back hadn’t been aligned correctly. Panicking, he tumbled backwards off the log and landed with a hard thud on his side. He laid there for a few seconds; the wind knocked out of him.
“Are you alright, Jag?” Huyani called from where she stood beside Tayoka.
“Just dandy,” he groaned, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself up.
Tayoka barked a few words and Huyani said, “He is telling you to get back up and complete the warmup. He says you are not moving onto other feats until you’ve performed this one perfectly.”
With a dip of his head to acknowledge the Elder, Jag climbed back to the top of the log. Mentally, he’d already resigned and was prepared for a long, hard day ahead.
At the other end of the training ground, Kody strained his ears, trying not to lose focus as Nageau clapped his hands and made raucous, distracting noises, all the while moving in circles around him. When the Elder first gave him his task, Kody boasted that it would be a breeze; all he had to do was concentrate on the sound of a cricket a hundred feet away. What de hadn’t expected was for Nageau to create some serious interruptions.
“I can’t focus
with all this noise,” Kody grumbled.
“That is the point, my young friend!” Nageau answered and he continued to act as a distraction. “What is the point of this ability if you are only able to use it in tranquil conditions?”
Kody tried to think of a rebuttal but couldn’t, and grouched instead. “Could you at least tone it down a little, please?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then I can’t focus!”
“If you tell yourself that you cannot, then there is simply no way your power will grow.”
Kody threw his hands up in frustration.
“Remember, Kody, for your abilities to be truly effective, you must calm yourself and not let emotions grab hold of you.”
“I can’t believe I’m in the intermediate stage of my training and this is all I get to do.”
Nageau cast the teenager a puzzled look, hands hovering in mid-clap. “What do you mean?”
“Well . . .” Kody flopped onto the grass and poked at the dirt. “I thought there would be more to this stage than just further listening.”
Nageau clasped his hands together. “I see.”
“Isn’t there something else we can do, and then maybe we can come back to this later?”
“I suppose so. What would you like to do?”
Kody scrunched his mouth to the side as he contemplated. “I’d like to work on increasing my sense of smell.”
“That is doable. Give me a few minutes while I set up the next-level evaluation for that skill.”
Kody lay on his back and gazed up through the tall pine and fir trees as Nageau disappeared. A few clouds rolled by in the sky, and he fancied one of them looked like the face of his youngest brother. He half-smiled at the thought. As the cloud drifted away, a sudden pang of homesickness struck and his smile vanished. From what he and his friends had gathered from Huyani and Akol, they’d been living in Dema-Ki for at least a month. The past couple of weeks had been exciting and he hadn’t had much time to wonder about his family.
