by Mazhar, S
Sam walked over to her, jaw set and shoulders lifted in anger. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Ella blinked at him. “Excuse me?”
“Telling him rubbish!” Sam pointed at Aaron. “I don’t know what you mages are playing at, but telling outright lies to make fun of him–”
“Get off your high horse, Shattered,” Ella cut him off. “We’re not lying to him.”
“Oh really?” Sam screwed up his face, eyes narrowed to slits. “So what you’re saying is that you wave your hand here and in our world an earthquake happens?”
“Not here,” Ella said. “But if you were in one of Hadrian’s zones, then yeah, pretty much.”
“Please,” Sam said. “Pull the other one! That’s not how earthquakes happen.”
“Really?” Ella asked, crossing her arms at her chest. “Go on, then. How do earthquakes happen?”
Sam flustered. “They...It’s...a...a...”
“Seismic waves.”
They all turned to look at Aaron.
“Earthquakes happen when there’s a build up of force on the tectonic plates,” Aaron continued. “The rocks underground break from the pressure and friction, and the sudden movement and readjustment of the tectonic plates releases energy, which causes seismic waves, making the ground shake.” He remembered studying natural disasters in excruciating detail with his mum.
Sam looked back at Ella. “What he said.” He nodded at Aaron.
“That’s the science behind it,” Ella said, “not the cause.” She looked past Sam, her soft grey eyes on Aaron. “It’s not the build up of force or pressure on the tectonic plates underground, it’s the power leaking through the tears that shifts the tectonic plates, which in turn cause seismic waves, meaning earthquakes.” She straightened up, dropping her arms to her side. “Anyway,” she looked at Rose, “I only came to tell you that Mother Mary wants to see you.” She gave Sam an annoyed look, turned and walked away.
Rose stood up, dusting the back of her jeans. “I better go. I’ll catch you guys later.”
“Hold up, I’ll come with you,” Sam said. “I’m finished in the orchard, so I’ll give you a hand.” He turned to Aaron. “Coming?”
“Yeah, why not?” Aaron stood up. He had taken two steps when he saw Kyran crossing the street, making his way to the back of the cottages, heading for that dusty path again. “You guys head on,” Aaron said, watching Kyran. “I’ll catch up with you.”
Sam followed his stare. “What’re you doing?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Aaron said. “I just wanna see where he goes.”
“Why?” Sam asked. “Didn’t you see the beating he gave Skyler? You should stay out of his way.”
“Whoa.” Rose stopped mid-stride and turned around. “Kyran beat up Skyler?” she asked with wide eyes. “Why?”
“Skyler was messing around with Kyran’s girl,” Sam explained.
“What?” Rose exclaimed. “When did this happen?”
“I dunno.” Sam shrugged. “Point is,” he turned to Aaron, “don’t get Kyran angry.”
“Kyran has a girlfriend?” Rose asked, looking shocked. “Is she here? In Salvador?”
Both Aaron and Sam looked over at her.
“What do you care?” Aaron asked.
“I don’t care,” Rose said, but her nose and cheeks began to turn pink, like they always did when she became embarrassed. “I’m just...curious.”
Aaron gave her a long look.
“I’m going to the Stove,” Rose said, turned quickly, and headed down the street.
Sam looked back to Aaron. “Be careful,” he said, before following after his sister.
Aaron hurried to the narrow path behind the cottages. He just caught sight of Kyran as he turned the corner. Aaron rushed after him, turning the corner to come face to face with Kyran, who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. His vivid green-eyed stare pinned Aaron to the spot. Slowly, his gaze trailed over Aaron, from top to bottom, before meeting his eyes.
“Care to explain why you’re following me?”
12
Conversations
“I’m...I’m not...” Aaron cleared his throat. “I’m not following you.”
Kyran raised an eyebrow. “So what are you doing here?”
“I was just...” Aaron glanced around. “...taking a walk.”
“A walk?” Kyran straightened up, uncurling his arms from under his chest. “Seemed like clumsy running to me.”
Aaron mentally cursed. He should have been more discreet. “Sorry,” he said. “I just...I...” He took in a breath, resolving to stay strong and not get intimidated by those fierce green eyes that were staring at him. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“About?” Kyran asked dryly.
Aaron fell quiet, struggling to voice a thousand and one questions. Kyran raised an eyebrow at his silence before shaking his head and turning to walk away.
“I’ve been dreaming about you!” Aaron yelled after him.
Kyran stopped and Aaron grimaced. He didn’t mean for it to come spilling out like that. It had sounded decidedly odd, but Aaron had no choice but to go along with it now. Kyran turned to face him with a baffled expression.
“I’ve...I’ve been having these...dreams,” Aaron continued, walking closer. “Weird dreams, actually. For about two months now. I never thought I was actually dreaming about a real person. Figured you were just in my imagination.” He smiled awkwardly. “But here you are.” He gave a rather uncomfortable laugh.
Kyran stared at him before nodding slowly. “Okaaay.” He dragged the word out, long and slow. “That’s...nice and everything but, the thing is, I drive my bike on the other side of the road, so...” He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “No thanks.”
Aaron looked confused, then his eyes widened.
“What? No, no! You think...?” He shook his head. “I’m not...I don’t like you– I mean, I do like you, it’s not that I hate you or anything, but I don’t...It’s not like that...I like girls!”
“Okay.” Kyran nodded and turned to walk away.
“Wait!” Aaron shouted and ran behind him. “It’s not what you think.”
Kyran looked at him. “You’ve been having weird dreams about me.” He shook his head. “Seems pretty straight forward.” He started walking down the path.
“No, no,” Aaron objected, following after him. “Not like that!”
Kyran chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
“The dreams were mostly just us standing around, talking,” Aaron explained, as he walked alongside Kyran. “But it’s strange that I dreamt about you before meeting you.”
“It is strange,” Kyran agreed.
Aaron blinked. “That’s all you’re gonna say?”
“What were you expecting?” Kyran asked.
“I was hoping for more of an explanation.”
“And you thought I would have the answers because...?”
Aaron fell quiet. Why did he assume Kyran would know the answer? Kyran wasn’t the one having the dreams, so why would he know what they meant? In silence the two boys continued through the woods and down a steep hill. They came to a clutter of buildings arranged in a semi-circle. Aaron recognised them as the ones he, Sam and Rose had raced past the day they were chasing after the bikers. That day the buildings were deserted, with thick steel shutters blocking their entrance. Today, however, three of those shutters were lifted.
Two of them were workshops. One reminded Aaron of a mechanic’s garage, with tools and spare pieces assorted onto metal shelves behind a heavy-looking trolley. Paint cans and oil containers were stacked to one side. The smell of motor oil was so thick that Aaron’s eyes watered.
The second workshop held something that made Aaron’s mouth drop open and eyebrows disappear behind the hair that fell across his forehead. In this second building, lined along three walls were doorless floor-to-ceiling cabinets that held an assortment of weapons. Swords, knives, dagger sets, ninja stars – all
gleaming a shiny silver as they sat mounted proudly on the wall or displayed on the many shelves. In an opposite cabinet, Aaron found another collection of weapons, one that ran a chill down his spine. Firearms. All types and styles of handguns lay in pristine condition: shiny black revolvers, gleaming semi-automatic and machine pistols made up the collection. In the middle of the room was a massive anvil – a big, heavy block of iron. On a table next to it were hammers of various sizes and tongs. A wooden drum stood on the other side of the anvil.
The third building wasn’t a workshop. It looked like a garage, holding at least twenty bikes, lined in rows. Aaron stared at the beauties, mentally imagining the look on Sam’s face when he saw these.
Aaron and Kyran weren’t the only ones here; Ryan and Zhi-Jiya were in the garage, crowded around a gorgeous red and black bike with silver spokes in its big black wheels. Every inch of it was gleaming, polished to a shine. Aaron didn’t know all that much about bikes, that was Sam’s territory, but spending so much time with the motorcycle enthusiast had taught him enough to deduce that the bike resembled a Honda CBR.
Ryan looked up as Kyran approached and grinned. “Just in time,” he said, stepping away. Zhi-Jiya did the same.
“How is she?” Kyran asked, hurrying over to kneel before the bike.
“As good as new.” Ryan beamed. “You can’t even see it.”
“Oh baby.” Kyran ran his hand down the shiny red metal. “Don’t you worry. I taught him a lesson. He won’t touch you again.”
Zhi-Jiya looked amused. “As long as you don’t piss Skyler off again,” she said.
Kyran looked up at her. “Skyler should act like he has a pair and come at me, not my Lexi.”
Aaron’s eyes widened. “That’s Lexi?” he asked.
Kyran turned to him with a frown. “Yeah. Why?”
“Nothing,” Aaron said. “It’s just...when I heard Skyler was messing around with Lexi,” he shrugged, “I figured she was your...girlfriend.”
Kyran raised an eyebrow. “Skyler’s stupid, not suicidal.”
“What’s he doing here?” Ryan asked, jutting his chin out towards Aaron, a steely look in his eyes.
“Dunno,” Kyran replied, standing up. “He sorta followed me here.”
“I feel for him,” Zhi-Jiya said. “He’s so clueless. I heard he didn’t even know he was an Elemental! Can you just imagine?”
“You do know that I can hear you, right?” Aaron asked.
Zhi-Jiya faced him. “Of course,” she replied, before smiling at him.
Aaron shook his head and turned to the workshops. “These are pretty impressive,” he commented.
“Damn right, they are,” Zhi-Jiya said, walking closer as Kyran and Ryan fussed over the bike. “Salvador’s workshops are the best in this realm,” she said. “Well, maybe second to the workshops of Marwah.”
Aaron stared at the weapons. He noticed that each blade and firearm bore the familiar mark of a circle with an inverted V holding a spiral between its legs, while three wavy lines passed behind the V.
“Most of us have our own familiars,” Zhi-Jiya said, stepping into the workshop, “but there comes a time when you need new companions.” Her fingers reached for a dagger and she slowly traced the insignia on its hilt. “It sucks, but when it comes to survival,” she turned to look at Aaron, “you have to learn to let go of old friends and make new, stronger ones.”
Aaron met her eyes. “If it’s calculated, it’s not friendship.”
Zhi-Jiya grinned. “Oh? So what is it then?”
Aaron smiled. “A matter of convenience,” he said, “and friends aren’t made for convenience.”
***
Aaron came to sit at the table while Alan was setting it out. Rose and Sam were already seated, waiting for him.
“You’re in one piece,” Sam said, his tone light and mocking but there was anxiety in his eyes. “I take it Kyran didn’t realise you were following him?”
“No, he knew,” Aaron said, raising his hand to catch the cutlery as it came hurtling through the air. “He was waiting for me.”
“What did he do?” Rose asked nervously.
“Nothing,” Aaron said. “I walked with him and we went to those buildings – the ones at the bottom of that hill?” The twins nodded in understanding, so Aaron went on. “You’re not going to believe what’s there.”
“What?” Sam asked, intrigued.
Aaron was about to answer when Drake came to sit opposite him. Aaron didn’t want to say anything in front of him, not when he knew the man was practically a spy for his dad. He expected Drake to give his dad a full report of everything he had done while they had been away. Aaron’s heart gave an uncomfortable lurch when he thought about his parents. It had been two weeks since they had left Salvador. A part of him had expected them back by now. Any day, he kept telling himself. They’ll be back any day now.
“Aaron?” Rose touched his arm, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Aaron threw a look at Drake and shook his head slightly. “We’ll talk tonight,” he whispered. “When we’re alone.”
Gradually, the rest of the mages joined the table. Aaron watched as Kyran sat down with Ryan, Ella and Zhi-Jiya. He leant across to whisper to Sam and Rose.
“By the way, Lexi isn’t a girl,” he said. “It’s his bike.”
“A bike?” Sam asked. “Bloody hell, he got that angry because Skyler touched his bike?”
“He didn’t touch her, he messed with her, remember?” Aaron pointed out.
Sam nodded, but he was grinning. “He named his bike Lexi?”
“Shh!” Aaron urged when Kyran looked around at them, eyes narrowed slightly. When he seemed occupied with Ella, Aaron gave Sam a lopsided grin. “Yeah, and he seems really attached to the thing. I can’t really blame him – it’s a beauty. Wait till you see it.”
Rose was smiling, shaking her head as she played with her ravioli. “His bike,” she chuckled softly. “It was his bike.”
Aaron frowned at her in confusion. She seemed rather happy at that revelation. Really, really happy.
***
Six days passed and it seemed the whole of Salvador was in preparation for the Q-Zone that was opening the next day. The Hunters had spent every waking minute of the last week in or around the ring, training and practising. Mary had gone into a frenzy, preparing dishes rich in protein and practically forcing warm milk down all the Hunters’ throats every night, insisting it was essential for strong bones.
The sanctuary cottages were being emptied. The great number of people – the humans who mages referred to as the Shattered ones – barely came out of their cottages the whole fortnight they were there. Mary made sure three meals a day were delivered to them. Now the Shattered ones were leaving, moving to different cities in the mage realm to restart their lives.
“They got plen’y of places tae go,” Jason reassured Aaron, as they watched the saddened and forlorn-looking people follow the Hunters out of Salvador.
“Why can’t the mages help them settle in their own world, in the human realm?” Aaron asked.
Jason laughed, shaking his head, ticking the paper on his clipboard as he examined the cottages from outside. “Forgettin about tha’ little thing called the Trace?” he asked.
“Do all Shattereds have the Trace?” Aaron asked.
“Aaron, ma boy.” Jason stopped to look at him. “They wouldnae be a Shattered if they dinnae hav’ a Trace.” He looked down at his clipboard. “Now, normally I would gee you yur own p’ace, but we’re gettin’ an awful lo’ of Hunters soon.” He looked up at Aaron. “I’m sorry, but yeh gonna hav’ tae share with Kyran for a wee bit longer.”
Aaron nodded and turned away. He had just started walking over to help Sam carry their baskets of fruit to the Stove when the Gate opened and a group of twenty or so mages came in, riding on their bikes. Aaron watched as the bikers, a mix of girls and boys in their early twenties, rode down the street and disappeared down the path that led to the ring.
“Where do you reckon they’re going?” Sam asked, watching them intently through the cloud of dust kicked up by the racing wheels.
“To see Scott at the Hub, I guess,” Aaron replied.
“How many Hunters do you think this realm has?” Sam asked.
“Not enough,” Aaron replied quietly. “Otherwise, there’d be more blue zones on the map.”
***
Hunters continued to arrive throughout the day, filling the streets of Salvador with carefree, high-spirited youths, who met one another with big grins and wide-armed hugs. There were easily more than a hundred Hunters in Salvador by sunset. Aaron watched from the front steps of Kyran’s cottage as Skyler and Ella met their fellow Hunters with great warmth, smiling and laughing with them, clapping hands on their backs and ushering them to the table where Mother Mary was distributing drinks.
Aaron noted that each and every Hunter bore some sort of a tattoo. Black or silver inked images of swords, daggers or guns were the norm it seemed, marked on the back of necks, upper arms and wrists. Some girls had bronze or gold-tinted images of animals, flowers and strange symbols, visible on their exposed midriffs or arms and necks.
The flash of light swept through the City of Salvador for the tenth time that day, and the Gate opened to permit entrance to yet another team of Hunters. Another crowd of youths, clad in jeans and long, flowing coats came inside on their motorbikes. But this particular group didn’t ride to the back of the cottages like the others had done. They parked in the middle of the road and dismounted their bikes. The one at the front caught Aaron’s eye. Like most of the Hunters, he was tall, with that same predatory grace. The sleeveless top he was wearing not only showcased his powerful build, but a tattoo of a lion’s face inked on the tanned skin of his arm. The boy’s hazel-eyed gaze scanned the thick crowd. He didn’t seem to find who he was looking for and held up both arms, a quizzical look on his face.
“Where is he?” he called to the table.
“You can say hello to us too, you know?” Ella replied, getting to her feet.
“Hello, Ella,” the boy replied. “Now, where is he?”
“Lost,” Skyler replied. “Hopefully.”
