Fire Eyes Awakened: The Senturians of Terraunum Series (Book 1)
Page 19
The executioner fiddled with something on a table. “What about you? Neither you nor the Int managed to kill the boy?”
The man practically vibrated with anger. Each of his next words were measured and laced with venom. “The Int didn’t go for Jayton Baird for some reason, instead wavering and going for the Reka girl.” He smoothed his robes. “An Int is no laughing matter. It’s a difficult creature to control in the best of times. Not to mention, I was after Malstrak’ s agent, the one controlling the Ints. ”
“And you?”
He ground his teeth. “You came in with the reinforcements and you should know I had to get out of sight before I was recognized. Luckily I know the castle and its secret passages so well.” Moving to a mirror, the man picked his teeth. “So, both of us have failed at least once so far. We must rectify that in the near future.”
The executioner stilled. “You have a plan?”
The man moved to inspecting his hair. “As you’ve said, the boy is to go to the West Side. I’ve had my agents building their own force there. If Jayton Baird manages to elude both of us on the East Side, he’ll have a much more difficult time once he crosses the Wall. Where there are no prying eyes.”
“What about the next few months?”
“Oh, there are plans for that as well. The boy is dangerous, much more dangerous even than Malstrak at the moment – like a bomb waiting to explode right here in Harlingon. It won’t do. You do your part, I’ll do mine, and then I’ll have the glory of defeating Malstrak when the fool tries to invade. It will be my finest hour.”
“I hope you’re right, sir.”
“I am. You may go now.” As he turned to leave, the man said, “Oh, and Executioner?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I expect better from you. If you have the chance, the boy better die.”
Chapter 30
You know when you dive into the deep end of the pool and sink all the way to the bottom? The water presses hard on you and your ears feel like they’re going to explode? Well, that was what teleporting felt like, only times a thousand. Like your face was trying to get to the back of your skull, and the back of your head was trying to meet it in the middle. At the same time, there was the brightest blue you’ve ever seen, even though closed eyelids. A loud bang. And you tasted purple. Yes. Teleporting is so disorienting, you can taste colors. It only lasted a second, and then we were blinking in the brisk wind blowing off the Dragonback Mountains, the sound of us reappearing echoing off the trees.
Having just had the air pressed out of us like a used inner tube, Gilmer and I sucked in that cold air as fast as we could for a few seconds. The Dragonbacks were appropriately named – high cliffs and that jutted skyward almost vertically, like scales on the mythical creatures. They formed the eastern edge of the Phoenix’s territory. The smith’s shop – they called him the smith, but it was also his last name – was at the northern edge of the mountain range, in the no-man’s land between the Helion and the Phoenix’s, territory so rugged no one bothered claiming it.
“Holy cow!” I said, looking around. “Uh…where’s the executioner?”
Royn smiled. “Teleportation requires skin to skin contact. He had gloves on. He got left behind.”
“Oh my God, thank you!” I said. “But, uh…won’t you get in trouble?”
Royn snorted. “I’d better not. The council won’t be mad; he’s the one who didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Great,” Gilmer said. “How long will it take to get there?”
“Two days.”
“You couldn’t get us closer?” When I got a scathing look from Royn, I added, “Uh…sir?”
“No, something about the Smith’s shop messes with my teleporting…maybe all the metal in the place obstructs the harmonics or the light continuum. Who knows. Wouldn’t want your arm to end up somewhere the rest of you wasn’t. Plus, you are severely lacking in woodsmanship. I plan to rectify that.”
Royn didn’t hesitate any longer; he just turned north and set a fast walking place. Gilmer and I hitched up our packs and ran to catch up. I guess we weren’t there for the scenery. Which was gorgeous! If we weren’t there for a specific task, I could have sat in the majesty of the forest. The huge trees, the mountains in the distance, the cool air. It smelled like danger. Like freedom from responsibilities, such as, oh, I don’t know, having to save the world.
Royn continued our training on the hoof, teaching us how to survive in the wild, what to do in situations one might encounter if one were to, say, travel several hundred miles to a fight-to-the-death tournament or some such tomfoolery. Other than stopping for lunch and dinner, we trained the whole time.
I never realized how delicious food cooked on an open flame was. We’d brought all the supplies – meat, bread, veggies, you name it! I was enjoying the outing thoroughly – I’d always liked the outdoors; camping and sleeping under the stars fit me perfectly. Though I did miss a nice bed – the ground could be awful hard and the temperature at night was a bit nippy.
The next morning went by just like before: training as we walked. Taking a short break to catch our breath after learning a new fire technique, Royn eased our pace a little, then suddenly froze in midstride. Gilmer and I followed suit. Five minutes went by.
Nothing.
Ten minutes. Was he frozen again? Were we under attack from the same people?
Nothing.
“Royn,” I whispered out the side of my mouth. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t move!” I heard in my head.
No kidding. We’d done been doing that! I tried to look around Royn without moving, to see what the problem was, but could see nothing.
“Delta defense position,” Royn said, out loud this time, drawing his sword.
Our training took over. Instantly Gilmer and I jumped forward and put our backs against Royn’s, the three of us forming a triangle where we could watch every angle. See…delta, triangle?
Suddenly it wasn’t that funny. From every angle they came, emerging from the trees to stand in the light like a piece of the forest coming to life.
Werewolves. Walking on two feet, or, rather, oversized paws, I recognized them from our studies – long snout, covered in fur, four-inch, dagger-like teeth dribbling saliva, ears pinned back, growling, their barrel chests covered in fur so dark brown it was almost black. There were at least a dozen in front of me. Which meant there were at least a dozen in front of the others as well. They weren’t supposed to even be on this side of the Breaks.
I gulped, fear suddenly gripping me. Yeah, we’d been training hard for a while now. And yeah, I’d gotten so much stronger. But this was real. This was happening. I started to panic a little. Breathing fast, heart racing, head on a swivel. We were gonna die! These things were gonna kill us! They were right out of a nightmare!
“Jay!” I heard in my head.
“What?”
“Calm down! Remember your training!” Royn said, his attention still focused ahead of him. “You’re a Ranger – you’re not allowed to panic.”
“Right,” I said, and took a few deep breaths. That helped. Slowly my heart and breathing eased up, and I found my head again. The first time with the Int wasn’t this bad – I didn’t have time to think, just react. This was different. The growling and barks from around us didn’t help, but hey, they weren’t attacking, right? Um…why weren’t they attacking?
I got my answer when a deep, raspy, growly voice from Royn’s side of the formation spoke. “Ranger, we meet again – how…lucky. Good luck for me, bad luck for you!”
Then I think it laughed, and it was echoed eerily by all the others. It sent a shiver down my spine, and I felt Gilmer do the same. It was a ghostly wheezy bark of a sound.
“Hello, Bane,” Royn said. “Your clan shouldn’t be here. How’d you get through the Pass?”
Then in our heads: “Twenty-five targets. I’ll have my hands full with the leader, which leaves twenty-four between you. Gilmer – their strength
s?”
Was he teaching us just before we fought these things?
The werewolf snarled. “Someone in high places doesn’t want one of you to live. Paths once closed are now open to us.” Blah blah blah. I couldn’t hear more over Gilmer in my head.
“Speed, strength, pack mentality, teeth and claws, smell bad.”
And he was right – the rank scent of urine mixed with who knew what tried to wrestle my nostrils into submission. The smell was winning.
Royn laughed in our heads. “That’s a new one. Jay – weaknesses?”
“Frontal attacks are difficult, better to come from side, behind, above, below. Fire is particularly good against them.”
“Good. Use the information. Work together. The link will remain established, but I won’t have time to talk – remember the leader is three times the size as the others,” Royn said. I felt a slight hum of energy, and looked over to see his sword glowing bright yellow with energy. “Jay, when I give the signal, I need separation.” I got a mental image in my head of where the leader was in relation to Royn, and the angles he needed.
“You got it, boss,” I said, and powered up.
It was like an adrenaline rush – which was probably part of it – getting energy ready to be released or directed. Muscles swelled, blood pumped faster, raw power coursed through my whole body, prepping every fiber for action. A hum on my other side told me Gilmer did the same. I gulped again – I could feel it – the wolves were about to attack.
All this took maybe fifteen seconds, and I caught the end of the “speech.” “Your land will die, your country will die, your world will die. But not before you three.”
“Now, Jay!” Royn shouted, darting forward. The werewolves lurched forward as well, all teeth and claws rushing at us. Not scary at all.
Rooting my stance, widening my legs, squaring my shoulders, I thrust my open palms upward, like I was lifting a box above my head. I said, “Earth Walls!”
The ground rumbled, and three five-foot-thick walls of earth shot skyward, forming a large triangle that separated Royn and the leader from the rest of the pack. And us from any backup.
Turning around, the wolves were only yards from us. I grabbed Gilmer, said, “Mole Tunnel.” The earth sucked us down, a tunnel forming around us as we moved. We heard the collision of heavy bodies where we had been just a second before.
Sliding through the tunnel like it was a giant tube, I brought us up thirty yards south of our previous spot. Gilmer and I took fighting stances and turned to face the wolves. No longer surrounded, we stood a better chance. Two red-hot streams of fire burst from Gilmer’s hands, taking out a wolf and missing another. Damn they were fast. I did the same with energy bursts, taking out one and missing one. Twenty-two left.
Make that twenty-four again – two were bearing down on us from the left. Gilmer kept up the frontal assault; I hopped over him, and hit the ground with my fist. “Earth Pit.” The ground split open in front of the wolves, one falling in, the other jumping over. I closed the ground with a flick of my arm – twenty-three left.
Turning back, the wolves were close to us again. “Energy Arc,” I said, slicing the air with my open palm. A white arc of energy, like a deadly parenthesis, raced toward the wolves, taking out three and causing the others to stop their advance. Gilmer had taken out three himself – that made seventeen. And I was already breathing hard, the exertion draining my energy every second, my muscles aching. Even after all the training, there was nothing like being in a real fight. You think you’re ready, but you never are.
They regrouped. Gilmer and I threw fire bolts at them with little effect, only taking out one more, the others dodging.
“Air Catapult!” we said at the same time, jumping up while a burst of air from our feet propelled us up, over, and behind the advancing wolves. We each took out two with fire blasts before we landed – twelve left. They were on us almost as soon as we landed.
“Energy Shield!” I thought, bringing up a sphere around us.
The wolves banged on it with their heads, trying to break through. Cracks were already forming – it wouldn’t last long. Damnit, why couldn’t I make these things work better?
Gilmer looked at me, laboring for breath. “What now?” He had a couple of small cuts and sweat poured off him. I had to look just as bad.
I shook my head. “They’re too fast – we need space.”
“We need the Fire Eyes.”
“I don’t know if I have enough energy! If I run out and there are still some wolves left…”
The growls and howls intensified.
“If you don’t, we’re dead anyway! Turn it on!”
I nodded, already concentrating on the spot between my eyes. The world turned white. Except the wolves – they were, I wasn’t sure, reddish. Like my eyes knew they were the bad guys. Apparently the Ignis could detect enemies.
Like before against the Ints, I felt a change in Gilmer as soon as I turned on the Fire Eyes. His confidence was bolstered, he steadied himself, and even grinned slightly. Once we started fighting, he would be much sharper.
The wolves surged and the shield gave way.
“Air Bubble Tornado!” I said, spinning on the spot and twirling my hands above my head. As I spun, a blast of wind came out of nowhere, forming a half dome around us, then bursting outward, throwing the wolves back a hundred yards. Well, that was space!
“Gilmer, we need rings of fire at ten, twenty, and fifty yards out,” I commanded and immediately they appeared around us, Gilmer whipping his arms like a madman.
“Now what?”
“Now we pick them off as they hurdle the fires.”
“Sweet!” Gilmer said, watching his half and readying a fireball in his left hand.
I turned the Ignis off and damn near fell over. It had zapped my energy this time, much faster than usual – I needed to work on that. The first wolf cleared the fifty-yard ring, so I swept my foot in front of me, creating another hole in the ground. The wolf fell in and tried to scramble out as I slammed it shut. Eleven left.
I punched to my left and took out another with a fire blast as it cleared the fifty-yard mark, but four others made it over.
I waited and sent another energy arc about the time I thought the wolves should be jumping the twenty-yard fire ring. I timed it right; got two more. The last two closed in and I waited. And waited. “Gilmer? How many left?”
“Only one,” came the reply. “I got the other five. How many you have left?”
“Two.”
I could feel him smile. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Thought you were better than that, Jay! What are they waiting on?”
Then it got dark. I looked up. The wolves had jumped so high and fast, we hadn’t seen them, and now they were coming from directly overhead. We had no chance – they were already on top of us. We had no time to react, other than fall to the ground. Which we did.
Then we were sprayed with blood and the shadow disappeared. It had happened so fast I didn’t even see it, but there stood Royn, a couple of tears in his clothes, but otherwise unscathed. His sword glowed yellow and he stood next to three beheaded wolves, breathing hard and grinning.
With a burst of energy arcing down the blade, he cleaned his sword and sheathed it. “Well, y’all almost got them all. Good thing I was here,” he said, extending his hands and helping us up. Pushing his hand down, the rings of fire disappeared. “Injury report?”
Looking down, I found a cut on each arm, one on my left leg, and one on my shoulder that I hadn’t even noticed. Interesting. I stated as much. Gilmer had about the same amount of injuries. Not too bad for our first scrap with werewolves.
“Heal up,” Royn said, so I did the work. “Let’s walk and talk.”
“Wait, what about the bodies?” Gilmer asked.
“Scavengers got to eat too,” Royn said, then asked me, “How do you feel?”
“Tired,” I said. Gilmer nodded. “Worse than training. Like I used more energy or something.”
“Yeah, it was really hard to keep it goi—wait a minute, how did you know that?”
“I was watching?”
“What!” we both hollered.
He chuckled. “Calm down. The danger was minimal. I needed to see how your training was progressing. I took out the leader real fast, then hopped up on your pretty wall to watch. You two did great, for the most part…”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that – I was scared out of my mind, and he was just enjoying the view.
“But you stepped in when it looked like we were gonna lose?” Gilmer asked.
“You got it. You two were almost out of energy?” We nodded. “Why do you suppose that is?”
I had no idea. Gilmer must not have known either.
Royn sighed. “You’ve got learn from your mistakes – learn to recognize why you had problems, and work to correct them.” When we gave no response, he said, “You were being sloppy – you let your concentration slip. You were spilling energy over, using more than you needed to, forcing your powers to work, and pushing so much into each attack that the excess was just lost into the air. That’s a common reaction for a first fight, but not an excuse either. Now you know – next time, use just the right amount of energy or you’ll be out so quick the fight’ll be over before it starts. You must remain calm in the face of chaos; find the stillness in all the moving and excitement. Remember: slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Understand?”
We nodded. And now that he mentioned it, I thought I could remember pouring every bit of energy I could into every move. Trying to make each attack a final blow, when there was still a lot of fight to be had. Made sense. We were being careless, acting like scared little boys. Which, maybe we were.
“Royn, did you know them? Why are they here? On this side of the Breaks, I mean,” Gilmer said.
“Yes, I did, Gilmer. Let’s just say I’ve ran into that particular werewolf clan a couple times on the West Side. Their reason for being here, I have no idea, but it’s very disturbing. My guess is we will start hearing of attacks all over the East Side.”