by R. J. Batla
Iron Skin, which was like my scale armor on steroids, with the small side effect of these odd bumps that popped up on your skin, giving it the appearance of stingray leather. Only stronger. Basically impenetrable. And the Uland had it at a fifteen level. Speed. At a fifteen. Strength. At a fifteen. Blast, able to project sheer force from your head – eyes or mouth. Fifteen. And Piston, fifteen.
Leona had been telling me about this – evidently this guy was huge and he walked on his knuckles like an ape because of massive forearms covered in the Iron Skin. When he would get a hold of an opponent, he could punch once, and it would repeat itself so fast it couldn’t be stopped. Think about being punched a hundred times in under a second. With the force of a charging rhino. Yeah, no one really survived that.
“So what you’re saying is I just have to figure out a way to get him, but not get close enough for him to grab me, oh, and get past his impenetrable defense, dodge his force blasts, and hit a target moving so fast most people can hardly see it?” I asked.
“Pretty much, yeah,” Royn said.
“Piece of cake. Should take ten minutes. What are we going to do for the rest of the week?” I joked, drawing a giggle from the peanut gallery.
“He won’t be moving that fast, unless you make him mad, Jay,” Royn interjected, no humor at all in his tone. “He’s a bit of a showman – he likes the crowd to see him dominate an opponent. He likes to toy with someone, till they are almost out of energy, almost ready to give up, then lay down the hammer.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Not really. You ready?”
“Yeah, why not,” I said, and proceeded to get my butt handed to me.
Chapter 38
Royn once again decided it would be a good idea to train outside the grounds, so he took the whole team – plus the extra Rangers needed to imitate the Uland – on a mile-long hike to another clearing, conspicuously like the previous one where I lost control of the Morsenube.
He had me raise the walls once again and we got to training, Royn continuing his winning ways. He pushed me until noon, where we thankfully took a break for lunch.
Which was rudely interrupted when the wall opposite us exploded, sending boulders flying in all directions. Troup and Anton leapt in front of us, arms twirling, shielding us from the flying rocks. The sound died down and it took a minute for the dust to settle. When it did, I wished it had stayed afloat. Everyone froze when they saw what stood there.
A skeletal creature, all bone and claws and teeth, stared at us through black holes above its oversized canine head. A forked tongue flicked in and out as its rattle-breath echoed across the makeshift arena. It reached a bony hand behind its head, pulling a three foot, white sword off its body with a squelching sound, and pointed it at the group.
“Malstrak wants to speak to the Morsenube user,” it said in a deep, grating voice. “He can come with me now or I will force him to come after I kill the rest of you. Choose wisely.”
Everyone heard in their heads: “Yes, this is a Skeptor. Get over it. They only have one weakness; their own bone or sword is the only thing that can kill them. This must be a coordinated attack or we’ll be slaughtered. Leona, I want you by my side to grab its swords at the first chance we get, understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“The rest of you, fire at will. Now!”
Everyone blasted the creature with energy, fire, earth, and water attacks as they raced forward, each strike strong enough to be a killing blow against a normal opponent. This thing just blocked several with a swipe of its sword and didn’t even flinch as the rest bounced off it. Arrows were loosed from those with bows, both physical ones and ones made of energy, but each had the same affect: bouncing off the bone armor of the creature.
It took a step toward us and launched fire blasts at several of our accompanying Rangers, the explosions throwing people left and right.
Royn teleported close to it, grabbing at its sword but was almost blasted himself. “Get in close, everyone!”
Swords energized and with a yell, twenty people closed in on the Skeptor, ferociously attacking with weapons and powers alike. The Skeptor expertly defended against all of us, dancing and dodging attacks like it was born to fight. Which it probably was.
Suddenly it was directly in front of me, the stench of rotten meat hitting me like a brick wall.
“Come, Morsenube!” it said, motioning at me with its hand.
I was jerked toward it, like an invisible rope was tied around my waist. With its hand extended, it was clear it intended to squeeze the life out of me. But I couldn’t have that.
Just before I reached him, I grabbed its sword with telekinesis and it easily flew from its hand and into mine. It seemed too easy. I rotated in the air and stabbed the thing in the gut as its other hand punched me in my own stomach, a grunt of pain issuing from both our mouths.
Its mouth slowly receded, as well as the bone armor. Faster and faster, what we thought was a Skeptor slowly revealed itself to be a ghoul. It fell, the grotesque face covered in blood, laboring to breathe. “You should have come with me, Jayton Baird. It would have been easier for you…” With a fit of coughing, it expelled its last breath and lay still as the others closed in around me.
Euless visibly shook. “Ugh, damn shape shifters. Glad you got him, Jayton. Uh, Jay?”
I was already feeling it. That last punch did it. Darkness welled up inside me and the Morsenube showed its ugly face. It seemed I was fine till I got worked up and then got hit. But as soon as the blow to my stomach landed, I’d felt the dark swirling spheres emerge from my hands, my vision going black. With every breath, I felt the power grow, gaining momentum, building to a huge release.
I’d show them. They couldn’t attack me. They wouldn’t dare. But they had, and now they’d pay. They’d all die!
“Jayton Baird!” I heard from a mouse somewhere. Yeah, that’s me. And that’s the name you’ll be crying out as you squirm and beg for your life, you worthless –
“Jayton Baird, you are in no danger. You are among friends. Calm down!”
Friends? I have no friends. I don’t need friends. I have the power. I have all the power –
“Jayton!”
What was that pinprick? It was bright, like a flashlight in the night. Could I touch it? Could I destroy it? Oh, here it was in my hand…
BOOM!
My head snapped back, and the dark energy collapsed around me, sucking the air out for a minute, clearing the ground of everything. I staggered, or tried to, but found that my whole team had a hold of various parts of me – evidently I had started walking, and dragged them a good hundred yards.
“AHHH!” I screamed, and tried to push them off, but they wouldn’t move.
“Jay, don’t move, you’re not well…”
“Jay, you almost…”
“Jay, you…”
Jay you this. Jay you that.
“Enough!” I screamed again. I focused my mind, formed a force barrier around my skin with telekinesis, and pressed out in a sphere. They all had to yield their grips, and were thrown back twenty yards. Except Leona; she held on somehow.
“Jay,” she started, but I just shook my head, and gently pushed her away. She didn’t let go of my neck.
I had tears in my eyes and I was shaking hard. Everyone was looking at me in shock. “Leona,” I whispered, “please let me go. I need to go. Please.”
Slowly, with tears in her eyes too, she did. Right before she released me, she started to say something but then closed her mouth. I used my strength and took off, almost as fast as Katy. Once again, no executioner in sight.
As I was leaving, I heard Katy say, “Boss, you want me to…?”
Royn said, “No, let him go. He’s got to work this out on his own. If he can. Everything depends on it.”
Chapter 39
I’d had it with this crap! I was trying; why wouldn’t this power stay down? Why couldn’t I control it? Why did it bubble up so easily sometimes,
and then other times it was nowhere to be found? How was that fair?
Everything was a blur as I sped by. In no time, I was back at Harlingon, speeding around the entire city, not paying any attention to where I was going, not caring, causing dust clouds and wind gusts as I blew by. Most didn’t even realize I was there before I was out of sight again.
Ugh. Stupid Morsenube. Why did I have to have it? What good was it? Why did it even exist?
Missing a step, I rolled and crashed into a pile of firewood. Breathing hard, I dusted myself off. I must have looked crazy – charred clothes, smelling bad, sweat literally steaming from my head, and muttering to myself. I’d run so long, it was now dusk, and I was tired. The sun was well below the walls of the city, its orange and yellow hues slowly fading to purple and gray, melding with the gray stone walls jutting skyward like the behemoths they were. Then on to black. Matching my mood.
How was I going to protect people if I couldn’t even control myself? When that…power…took over, I was lost. I couldn’t control it! I could hurt anyone, anyone close enough. Especially those close enough.
The sun was replaced by the moon and its reflected light allowed me to see a little, so I walked. And walked. Moving made me feel like I was progressing, making something work. But that was a farce. I was lost in every sense of the word. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Sick in my stomach. Sick in my head. Lost.
Then I saw the church. The huge cross seemed to paint an X right on my head. If I ever needed help from the Almighty, now was it.
The massive doors didn’t make a sound as I jerked them open and went inside, meandering past the hundreds of simple wooden pews until I found one that suited me, sitting down on the end. Pouring my heart out, I rocked back and forth, trying to make sense of it all, trying to see the reason, the lesson, the purpose. I prayed. Hard.
“Ugh!” I finally blurted out. “Why?”
“Why what?” someone said to my right.
I jumped about five feet in the air. OK, maybe not for real, but inside – I thought I was alone. Who was in the church at this hour? Well, I guess I was…
Turning, I had to look up. About ten feet up. Holy crap, this was the biggest man I’d ever seen! Long blonde hair cascaded past his shoulders and he was smooth shaven without a mar to his slightly tanned skin. He was as big around as a Clydesdale, but it looked to be all muscle under the cream-colored scale looking armor he had on. On his hip was the biggest two-handed sword I’d ever seen, a simple silver cross guard and pommel stuck out over a scabbard that was eight feet long and a foot and a half wide. Across his back was a cream-colored cape that was made of feathers that ruffled lightly even in the stillness of the sanctuary.
“Mind if I sit down?” said the giant, in a deep, resonating voice.
Holy crap it made my insides shake – how the heck did he do that?
I scooted over and motioned for him to sit – my voice gone into hiding and refused to be coaxed out. Big booted feet made their way to the pew and the oak creaked as his bulk hit the wood.
The stranger gazed up toward the front, staring at the statues and stained glass. “I’ve always liked this one. Really catches His essence. And that’s hard to do.” He glanced at me. “Evidently I need to ask again: why what?”
“Sorry?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “Just a moment ago you practically screamed the word ‘why.’ So why what? And your name is?”
“Jayton. Jayton Baird. And you?”
He thought long and hard, then offered a trashcan-lid-sized hand. “Call me Mike. Now, you going to make me ask again?”
“No, sir,” I said, though I don’t know why I added the sir. Other than he was older than me. And much more intimidating. “I’ve just been, um…struggling to control this, um…thing that I have, and if I can’t control it, I’ll hurt people. But I can’t really use it either ‘cause it’s bad and I have to go fight all these people or things or something and I’m the only one who can do it and if I don’t do it. the whole world is lost and –”
He chuckled, a sound that seemed to shake the entire building. “Slow down, kid. You’re talking about the Morsenube, right?”
“How did you –”
“Everyone knows your name, kid. Even where I’m from. Why can’t you control it?”
“Well, I, uh…don’t know. It just jumps out when I get too mad or I get hurt. And then if my friends aren’t there to stop me, something bad happens. I’ve already hurt some people.”
Mike took a deep breath. “It’s a heavy burden you bear, Jayton Baird. Everyone has their burdens, yours just happen to be a big uncontrolled power. I ask you this: why do you think you can’t control it?”
I blurted the first thing that came to my head. “Because I don’t understand it? It’s all rage and hate and destruction. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yes,” he said, “and no. You say it’s rage and hate, but what are those?”
“Emotions.”
“Right. And what are their opposites?”
“Peace and love?” I guessed.
“Right again. What do you think would happen if I were to tell you that all that rage and hate came from inside you? That they’re your anger for being put in this position?”
“I’d say you’re full of…” He eyed me as I took a deep breath. “I’d say you’re right. I never wanted to be in this spot. I just wanted a better life for myself. I didn’t want to save the world. I didn’t want this responsibility. I just wanted to not be the little fish anymore. I wanted to be a medium fish, not a dagum whale.”
“The Father gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. He’s interesting like that. So, if you assume everything we’ve talking about is true, would you say you’re fighting against your nature? Against what the Father is asking you to do? Is that why you have no control? Are you not embracing your purpose?”
Whoa. This just got deep in a hurry. I looked up at his face and saw several thin scars. Holy crap, what could have scarred him, actually getting close enough to do some damage? I mean, this guy practically oozed power and command. And for that matter, what was he doing talking to me? For one, he was waiting patiently on an answer to a question.
Was I denying myself? Was I not accepting what was placed in front of me? “I don’t know why we even have these powers anyway,” I said. “Seems like they cause nothing but trouble. I should have never gone to that Awakening.”
Mike asked, “And what would happen – or what would have already happened – if humans didn’t have these ‘powers,’ as you call them?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we wouldn’t even be here. Maybe the bad guys would have beaten us?”
“Beaten or destroyed?”
“Humph.”
“Humph,” Mike mimicked. In my voice. Exactly. “So why would the Creator, in all His glory, create something such as humans just to allow them to be destroyed? Would he not give them the tools to protect themselves from evil? Would he abandon his people?”
“I guess he wouldn’t,” I said.
“Have faith, kid. You already have it; I can see it in you. Let it flow. Nurture it.”
“But how?” I finally said. “I just wish the Morsenube would be gone!”
“If you can master yourself, and accept your purpose, follow His will and not yours – do you think it would work? Could you make it work?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough by myself.”
This time Mike let out a big bellowing laugh, and the building actually did shake, dust falling from the rafters. “Kid, that’s why He walks with you. No one is strong enough by themselves. He just wants you to turn to him. To come to Him.” Mike quickly looked to the ceiling, then smiled even broader, as if someone spoke to him. “Yes, Sir! Give me your right hand.”
I extended my arm, and he gripped it with both hands. Instantly white fire shone between his huge fingers, and something burned my wrist. It hurt, but it felt…like a release somehow
. But, man, it hurt! I tried to struggle, but his grip held me firm. I couldn’t even scream and I thought I would pass out from the pain. I was on the verge of doing so when Mike let go. Breath came in ragged gasps, and my arm felt ten times heavier than it just did, like it had a chain tied around my wrist with a ship’s anchor on the end.
“What…was…that?” I managed to gasp.
“Help,” Mike said simply. “Ask, and ye shall receive. Knock, and the door shall be opened for you. Seek, and ye shall find.”
Shaking my head, I finally got the courage to look at my arm, and there, on the inside of my wrist, was a silver shimmering set of wings tattooed on my skin. They were cool when I touched them. “What the…”
Mike rose and the wood groaned again. “This will aid you, but it will not be easy. It will not be without struggle and pain. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed. But sometimes it’s necessary to shed blood to defend the innocent. It’s right to fight for peace, so that people can live without fear.”
Pausing at the end of the pew, he turned around, his eyes boring into me. “You have been given a gift. Learn to accept. Learn to forgive. The wings will help you to know your true power, but they are a temporary fix – you must learn to master yourself. Even in the greatest darkness, the Son’s light shines through. Find the light, kid. Good luck.”
Then with a white flash so bright I had to shield my eyes, my exposed skin burning slightly, he was gone.
Chapter 40
The rest of the day I walked around Harlingon, deep in my own head. My mind was a hornet’s nest of thoughts and concerns, everything swirling around and mashing together, then scattering like an explosion. I finally fell asleep under a tree that night.
The sun was barely dipping below the horizon when Leona walked up and sat down beside me on the western wall of the city, just watching that big flaming ball sink lower and lower. She sat there for a minute, and the breeze carried the scent of flowers. She would be the one to find me, with her Guide powers.
