by R. J. Batla
“Watch it, Troup,” Sonora said.
“Sorry, can you move your elbow?” he replied.
“Your foot’s on my leg, Elf,” Euless said.
“Your leg is on my foot, Manu,” Josey replied.
I was flat on my back, when in my ear I heard a whisper. “Jay, I’m not comfortable.”
“OK,” I whispered back. Though I don’t know why we were whispering. As I pulled my cloak over to cover our heads, I saw everyone else doing the same. “What if we turn back to back?” We did.
“That will work,” she whispered. “Night, Jay.”
“Night, Leona.”
Though she fell asleep quickly, I lay awake for an hour before it overcame me. My mind was…occupied.
At some point in the darkness, I felt a tap on my shoulder and jerked awake.
“Jay,” came her whisper and I froze, lost for a second. “I’m c-c-cold.”
Calming down slightly, I said, “What can I do?”
“Turn over,” she said, so I did. “Put your arms around me, and turn up your heat, please.” I did as she asked.
Whoa. She was cold – shivering in fact, though she had plenty of clothes on. I focused fire energy, projecting it slightly away from my skin, just a couple of degrees. A couple minutes went by and the shivers stopped. Turning her head, her lips were right there. Right there.
“Thanks, Jay,” she said with a yawn, and snuggled deeper into my embrace and fell asleep. Again, I stayed awake a while, but finally fell asleep again. I might or might not have had a huge smile plastered on my face.
Chapter 47
A light brush of hair and a slight stirring woke me. I opened my eyes, face to face with Leona.
“Hi,” she whispered, biting her lip slightly. “Good morning.”
“Mornin,” I managed to eke out. Man, her eyes were pretty.
“Thanks for keeping me warm,” she said, wiggling slightly.
“You’re very welcome.”
Suddenly I was aware of how close she was to me. Pressed up against me.
Her eyes searched mine, darting around, her breath coming faster than normal. “Jay, um…I…”
“Everybody up!” Royn called. “We’ve lost too much time; we’ve got to move.” My cloak was ripped off the top of our heads. “Rise and shine!”
We were thrust from darkness into a glistening world of frozen...everything. The first snow of the season was a whopper.
Icicles dangled from every branch, small ones from the dew. The grass and ground was frozen solid, the blades of grass glinting in the morning sun like a million swords thrust skyward.
Reluctantly, I let Leona climb out first, then got out myself. Royn wasted no time in setting us to marching, heading northwest towards Clute, through the ice and frozen ground. Each step was a crunch, be it ground or plant, and it was a noisy trek.
“This is ridiculous,” Morgan said. Steam trailed behind her with every step, like her feet were on fire. “This is why I don’t visit the Helion!”
Arp Bardwell just laughed, relishing in his native environment. “The cold keeps many things at bay. Also creates its own problems. It can be brutal but beautiful at the same time.”
The day warmed up significantly and quickly, confirming that someone messed with the weather. Normally it didn’t go from freezing to eighty in a couple of hours – which made Arp mad. He prided himself on knowing the temperature and the unpredictability irked him. The high heat unfortunately meant we didn’t need to bunk together at night. The next day was much of the same, minus the frost, as we packed up from lunch and started out again in the same formation.
Suddenly we burst through a line of trees into a very large clearing. Everyone froze.
Euless said, “Royn, this doesn’t look right.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Anton said. “The odds of such a huge clearing being right in the middle of this type of forest is very low.”
“Ah, come on,” Gilmer said. “It’s a meadow! Like with deer and rabbits. You can’t possibly think this poses some kind of danger!”
I jerked my head to the west. Everyone tensed.
Leona asked, “What is it, Jayton?”
“I thought I saw something.”
Morgan dropped her voice. “Holds many secrets, the West Side does. It’s not wise to tempt fate. I say we go around.”
“I second it,” Katy said, and several others nodded.
Royn nodded too, but looked left, then right, then straight across.
“The problem,” Troup said, “is the distance. We’ll lose a day, at least, if we go around either way. I’m assuming that’s your thinking, Royn?” He nodded. “Then let me check.” Troup raised his foot as high as he could, then slammed it down to the ground, snow spraying from the impact. After a few minutes, Troup said, “As far as I can tell, all clear.”
“Royn, I still don’t think this is a good idea…” Euless said.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Royn said. “Troup is right: the longer we’re out here, the more vulnerable we are. We have to forge ahead.” People started to protest. “No buts! Either I’m leading this or not, so form up, soldiers. We’re going across. Carefully. And quickly. Move out.”
So we did. Almost gliding on our tiptoes, we moved quickly and silently on the now slightly damp ground, making no sound, but dangerously exposed in the open prairie between the rows of trees.
Two hours of travel and we were directly in the middle, and everyone visibly relaxed. For a second.
“Everybody stop right where they are!” Leona screamed. We screeched us all to a halt, some midstride, others with one foot in the air. “Don’t move at all!”
“What’s wrong?” Royn said from the front, not moving, left foot slightly off the ground.
“We’re in imminent danger,” Leona replied, frantically looking around, trying to find its source.
“From what?”
“I don’t know!”
“From where?”
“I don’t know!”
“Leona, we can’t be –”
“I know. Just don’t move. No one move!”
“She’s right,” Troup piped up from the back. “We’re surrounded by explosives.”
“What?” everyone said at once.
“How?” someone else said.
I was too busy trying not to move to determine who said it.
“You stepped on the activator stone, Royn,” Troup said, frantically looking around.
“Anyone else think maybe Royn shouldn’t lead anymore since he triggered the life-threatening trap?” Jay asked.
“You’re lucky I can’t move right now, kid, or I’d knock you upside the head,” Royn said.
Troup ignored all this. “Someone altered these stones to only seem harmless until activated, so none of us sensed the danger. Pressure placed anywhere other than where we are currently standing will explode the whole area. Pretty smart. Makes you get into the middle of the field, where the whole troop line can be taken out before it activates.”
“Deadly is more like it,” Morgan said, fire actually flaring on her hands. “Thank God Leona was here, or we’d already be toast.”
Troup shrugged. “Deadly, but smart. Oh, and there’s a time delay. We have two minutes to get to the other side without touching the ground. The negative pressure of us lifting off won’t trigger the explosives.”
Gulp.
“No problem for me; yell when I’m clear,” Sonora said, and proceeded to float up, grabbing Katy and Leona by the scruff of their necks as she floated harmlessly above the explosives.
Troup yelled, “You’re good!” and she dropped the two women at least a hundred yards away from us.
Three down, eleven to go.
“Can we pick our way through it, Troup?” Royn asked.
“Negative. Too densely packed.”
“Crap, that’s what I figured.” His eyes danced around. “Sonora, can you come back and get Morgan and Celeste?”
“Yes
, sir!” she said and got airborne, heading back as fast as possible, grabbing Morgan and lifting her toward the edge of the field.
“Jay could lift people clear with telekinesis, but he’s the most valuable, Sonora can get him next,” Royn said.
I said, “Royn, there’s not enough time. I won’t leave my friends. We’ll figure the rest out as we go.
Royn hesitated only a second. “All right, no way around it. It’s up to you, Jay – you have to get some of us clear. And you’d better do it quick. Start with Arp. One at a time. Go!”
I concentrated, hard, and picked up Arp. Somehow, foot by foot, I was able to keep him just above ground level the whole way to join up with the others. Taking a quick breath, I moved quickly on to the next in line.
Sonora was back. She grabbed Celeste and was gone again.
“That took too long, Jay. Go faster,” Troup said as I picked up Euless. “Eighty seconds left.”
“Urg!” I said, pushing faster. Sweat poured off me, staining my shirt despite the cold, the exertion of lifting that much weight that far starting to eat into my strength. But I didn’t have a choice, so I kept at it.
When Sonora returned, she picked up Marlin next, but did so with significantly more effort.
Troup said, “Sixty seconds.”
I was losing energy too fast. Looking down at my wrist, I pulled from my stored energy in the bracelet. Instantly a surge of power rushed from the bracelet, a warm burning sensation that revitalized my stamina. Couldn’t be helped. You couldn’t fight if you were dead.
Then it was just me, Royn, and Troup. I picked up Royn.
“Forty seconds, Jay,” Troup said.
Drop off and pick up, I pushed the Dwarf as fast as I could. Plopping Troup in the safe zone, he screamed, “Twenty seconds, Jay! Get out of there!”
How the hell was I supposed to get across? I couldn’t pick myself up; everything I lifted was based of my body. Fifteen seconds – it was just a little too far to jump, even with my super strength.
Ten seconds. Sonora finally landed with Marlin, the started to take off again, but Royn grabbed her. “There’s not enough time! You’ll die if you try to get him!”
“But I have to try!” she screamed, Troup helping Royn to hold her back.
I wasn’t good enough to fly yet. Nine. Fire wouldn’t work. Eight. No water around…
“What’s he doing? Why isn’t he coming?” Katy asked, everyone around her mirroring her frantic pacing.
“He can’t lift himself,” Leona gasped, her hand coming to her mouth. “He can’t get out! Jayton! Use the Fire Eyes!”
“He’d better do something,” Troup said. “He’s only got five…oh my…”
I felt all eyes focused on me, then they all shielded those eyes as I engaged the Ignis Oculus with a flash of bright white. I jumped skyward, my strength enabling me to get a good thirty yards high. At the apex of the jump, the minefield exploded, sending dirt and fire in every direction. The ground rumbled from the force of the blast, dust blurring everything.
There was a collective gasp from the group as I disappeared in that cloud of dust.
One second.
Five seconds.
“Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Josey said, falling to her knees.
“Wait,” Sonora said. “Something’s off; the air is not moving right.”
“There!” Gilmer said, pointing to the top and center of the mayhem. Cheers erupted as I came rocketing out, left arm pointed down, forming a surf board with my shield, simultaneously blowing air away from myself to keep the fire and debris away.
With a squeal of triumph, I surfed down the explosive wave, Fire Eyes blazing white, all the way to where the group stood, jumping off my board at the last second and sliding to a halt just in front of everyone, the plume of the explosion still behind me. That had to look freaking cool.
“That worked better than I thought!” I said, as I was mobbed by the team, receiving everything from hugs and back slaps to punches on the arm.
Royn joined them, even cracking a smile. “That little move showed some ingenuity, Jayton. Yeah, you have the Ignis, but it’s only as good as the user, or only as creative as the Senturian operating the power. Maybe this will work. Maybe we can save the world.”
“You’re just now realizing that, boss?” I said, everyone laughing.
Once again, I couldn’t be certain, but I swear I saw something watching us from the shadow of the trees.
Chapter 48
The excitement of a near-death experience wore off quickly as Royn allowed us a whopping two minutes to get our acts together and move out, this time keenly more aware of what we were up against. Someone – or maybe more than one someone – was trying to prevent us from reaching the Bowl, that much was clear. And they were willing to kill to do it. That meant we were in a constant danger, and had to be ready for anything at any time.
Being that keyed up continuously takes its toll on you, so we welcomed the sight when, after a couple of more days of travel without any more incidents, the city of Clute emerged in front of us as we exited the forest. Still on alert, we meandered into town on December twentieth and Royn paid the hefty fee we needed to board a rickety train to Weir.
“That was too easy,” Royn said as we sat in our own car and the engine started. Despite the apparent age of the machinery, it was an easy ride.
As we slowed to cross what was obviously some kind of checkpoint, Anton asked, “Royn, I thought you said…”
“I can’t believe this,” Royn spat for the hundredth time. “No trouble…no trouble at all! We should have been stopped. Something is wrong. Our intelligence says they always stop this train…”
Celeste laughed. “Ya seem to be too concerned with our good fortune, fearless leader. Are ya hoping to get attacked? Or maybe stumble onto another trap?” Despite her makeup, the accent was a dead giveaway that she was a Tempus, or at least from the East Side
Royn just shook his head. “You don’t understand. This doesn’t happen. Ever.”
Two days later, despite Royn’s mutterings to the contrary, we made it to Weir uneventfully. The town itself looked like a strong wind would blow it over, all aged wood and false-fronted buildings.
Exiting the train, we worked our way through the ramshackle town, quickly heading south towards a spur of the Shadow Mountains that would be easier to cut through than to go around. Carefully we wound through the roving streets, trying not to get in anyone’s way, when a driverless horse and cart came barreling down the street, knocking over merchant stands. People shrieked and dove as fast as they could out of the path of the crazed beast.
“May! Get out of the way, May!” we heard from behind us. Turning, I gasped in horror – a little girl was stuck in the mud, right in the path of the oncoming, panicked horse. Planting my feet, I lifted my arm, and with it, the little girl rose out of the mud. Pushing forward with my telekinesis, I threw her into her mother’s arms just as the cart barreled past. Missed her by inches.
Evidently in the process, I had stepped forward, because I was all by myself, arm stuck in the air on the edge of the street, everyone staring intently at me.
“What part of ‘low profile’ did you not get Jay?” Gilmer whispered-shouted behind me.
Dropping my arm, I simply turned and started walking south again, the rest of us doing the same. Fortunately, the street bustled back into business quickly, and our group kept going. Maybe no one really noticed.
“What are they doing on our side anyway,” we heard. “Arrogant wenches. Won’t even let everyone have powers, then show off like that, right in front of us.”
OK, maybe they did notice.
“Little girl didn’t need the help of some Easterner.”
And there were others that were louder and much more vulgar that I wouldn’t repeat, lest my mother jump a continent to slap me.
I felt a tap on my leg, and looked down to find the little girl. “Thank you for saving me, mister,” she said with a smi
le.
“You’re very welcome,” I replied from under my cloak, returning her smile with one of my own.
“May, get away from them!” her mother said, appearing from the crowd and snatching her child by the arm. “Don’t associate with them, don’t thank them, don’t even look at ‘em!”
“But, mother, he saved my life, and you always told me to say thank you when people did something nice,” she protested, as she was being dragged away.
“You wouldn’t have needed saving if you’d listened to me! Easterners are arrogant, egotistical, selfish welts who don’t even have the decency to stay out of our business when they’re over here, yet they hide behind their walls and their ‘powers.’ Get on with you, child, move!” her mother said, pushing her along to get as far away from us as possible.
I shook my head as we started moving again. From the mouth of babes. Maybe one day we would learn that the world should be that simple. Care for one another. Help each other. And thank others for their help when they give it.
Suddenly Gilmer stopped and said, ng again.
A man dressed in rags slowly turned. “Yes?” Dirty, ragged, with a full beard and matted hair, I barely recognized our friend. Gilmer and I rushed up to him, but he pulled back and screamed, “Stay away! You shouldn’t be here, you abandoned me! You abandoned all of us!”
“Josh, calm down, buddy! We’re just happy to see you, we –”
“NO!” he said, stumbling over people and objects. “Get away from me! You’ll pay; you’ll see. You’ll regret what you’ve done to people like me!”
With that, he scrambled away into the crowd, disappearing in the mass of people.
Gilmer and I exchanged a look that said, “What the hell just happened?” But being in enemy territory, that was the most we could do.
Managing to stay unnoticed the rest of the time, we got to the edge of town and into the wilderness as soon as we could. No sense risking any more run-ins with someone who might not take kindly to us.
Traveling on, we made it halfway to the Shadow Mountains before sunset, set up a watch, and had an uneventful night. The next day, we were up early and moving quickly. Just as we got to the base of the mountains, I heard a scream from behind me.
