Run To Earth (Power of Four)

by Mazhar, S

  The boy narrowed his eyes. “Skyler.” He nodded. “A pleasure as always.”

  Skyler nodded back with a grin.

  “Seriously, where is that idiot?” the boy asked, looking around.

  “Over there.” Omar, one of Salvador’s Hunters, pointed to the path leading up from the orchard.

  Aaron had to stand up to see past the crowd. He saw Drake, deep in conversation with Kyran. Both seemed engrossed, with lines on their foreheads and shadowed expressions as they made their way up.

  “Ah, there he is,” the boy with the lion tattoo said, grinning broadly. “Kyran! Hey!”

  Kyran looked up and his frown melted at the sight of the other boy. His eyes brightened and he left Drake’s side, hurrying up the street with a broad grin.

  “Zulf!” he called.

  “I thought you would be waiting for me with bated breath at the Gate,” the boy – Zulf – said with an identical grin.

  “You hit your head again? Having hallucinations?” Kyran asked.

  They hugged each other like brothers would – a tight embrace with a hand on the back of the other’s neck.

  “It’s been too long,” Zulf said, stepping back, still smiling at Kyran. “The last Q-Zone was what? Two months ago?”

  “Something like that,” Kyran replied.

  “I heard you went with Scott to see the Pecosas,” Zulf said, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. “What’s the score?”

  “A complete loss,” Kyran replied. “They claim they’re not with the Scorcher.”

  “Bull.” Zulf shook his head. “Bunch of liars!”

  Kyran grinned. “That’s what I said.”

  “Bet they loved that,” Zulf chuckled.

  “More than being accused of helping the enemy,” Kyran replied.

  Zulf and his team of Hunters followed Kyran to the table and sat down. Aaron caught sight of Sam and Rose as they walked out of the Stove, carrying platters of food. He hurried over to help them.

  “It’s okay, I got it,” Rose said, rather tersely, when Aaron tried to take the heavy tray from her.

  The kitchen helpers laid out the feast and Aaron noticed the difference in tonight’s dinner. Normally there were two main dishes with plenty of sides, but tonight an extra effort had been made. Platters of grilled chicken, beef steaks, lamp chops, grilled fish, roasted potatoes as well as chunky chips, stir-fried vegetables, corn on the cob and slices of buttered crusty bread were arranged down the length of the table. The Hunters started filling their plates with vigour, grinning and chatting with one another.

  “Did you hear about the Ichadaris in Danwan?” a slightly older-looking Hunter was asking Skyler. “News is they’re causing quite a commotion.”

  “I thought they were taken care of,” Skyler said with a frown.

  “Not a chance,” said a girl with an elaborate snake design tattooed along the length of her arm. “There are very few teams that touch Ichis. Rumour has it that the Ichadaris in Danwan took out the last two teams that went in for them.”

  “No way.” Ella shook her head, making the blue streaks in her hair flash through her dark hair. “There’s no way we lost two teams, not to Ichis.”

  “Ask Scott if you don’t believe me,” the girl said.

  “I will,” Ella replied. Then, glancing around the table, she asked, “Where is Scott?”

  “At the Hub,” Ryan said. “He’s fretting over last-minute details.”

  “He’s such a worrier,” Zhi-Jiya said. “When’s the last time we lost anyone in a Q-Zone?

  “It’s because Scott’s a worrier that we haven’t lost anyone,” Skyler said. “He’s the best Controller since–” He stopped abruptly, looking uneasy. The surrounding mages shared his discomfort, looking down at their plates. “As long as we’ve got Scott doing the worrying, we don’t have to do it ourselves,” Skyler finished.

  Sam turned to Aaron. “Controller?”

  Aaron shrugged. “Maybe because he controls the Hub?” he offered.

  “Makes sense.” Sam nodded. “I thought he just liked telling people what to do.”

  “If we had lost two teams, Scott would have told us,” Ella continued to argue.

  “I’m just saying what I heard,” the snake-tattooed girl replied.

  “You should know by now, Heidi, not to listen to rumours,” Ella said sharply.

  “Exactly. All sorts of ridiculous stories get passed around,” Zulf said. “Have you heard the latest? Apparently the infamous Adams are back.”

  Aaron felt his hair stand on end. His mouthful of chicken struggled to make its way past his throat.

  “If anyone believes that steaming pile of crap, they deserve to get their heads blown off,” Zulf said. “It’s been what? Fourteen years? And still all anyone can talk about is the freaking Adams!”

  “Um, Zulf?” Ella started. “You might not want to talk about the Adams, since the youngest one is sitting five seats down.” She tilted her head towards Aaron.

  Zulf’s smirk melted and eyes widened. He turned to look down the table and spotted the three unfamiliar faces of Aaron, Sam and Rose. Zulf examined Sam and Aaron, obviously trying to decipher which one was an Adams. He glanced at Rose and then Sam, obviously noting their resemblance, before his eyes settled for a long moment on Aaron.

  “Shit,” he breathed. “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you guys were actually back.”

  Aaron shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said. “Forget about it.”

  Annoyed, Zulf turned to Kyran, who was grinning unashamedly. “A heads up would’ve been nice.” Zulf glowered at him.

  “What? And miss this?” Kyran asked. “You’d think your mouth’s the same size as your foot by now.”

  Zulf glanced down the long table, searching for someone else. “Where are your parents?” he asked Aaron.

  Skyler snorted but didn’t say anything.

  “They’re not here,” Aaron replied, his chest tightening at the reminder.

  “Where did they go?” Zulf asked with a frown.

  “Where’d you think?” Skyler interrupted.

  Zulf’s frown disappeared and he nodded in quiet understanding. “Right,” he said. “Damn, I wouldn’t want to be them right now.” He gave a little shiver.

  Aaron looked over at him with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean?”

  “They have to face Neriah and answer to him for disappearing for fourteen years.” Zulf leant over in Aaron’s direction. “Where have you been all this time?”

  “Living in the human realm,” Aaron answered.

  Many murmurs broke across the table, with several mages turning to one another, nodding with I-told-you-so expressions.

  “Damn.” Zulf sat back. “So it’s true then? You’ve been living like a... a human?”

  “You don’t have to say it like it’s a bad thing,” Aaron said.

  “Idiot,” Skyler muttered. “Of course it’s a bad thing. You’re a mage, not a lame human.”

  Aaron’s fists clenched into tight balls. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Scott said it’s the duty of a mage to protect human life. What you lot are doing tomorrow, you’re doing it to protect humans, yet you take every opportunity to insult them.”

  “We save them; doesn’t mean we have to like them,” Skyler replied.

  “That’s obvious,” Rose muttered.

  “You say something, Shattered?” Skyler asked coldly.

  Rose turned her head to meet his blue stare. “The name’s Rose,” she stated. “If you’re going to address me, use my name.”

  Skyler looked amused. He shared a look with the other mages before turning in his chair to face her. “I don’t give a shit what your name is,” he said. “You’re not important enough for me to remember.”

  “Yeah, no surprise there,” Rose said. “It’s clear what importance you give to humans. If you mages actually cared, you wouldn’t treat us like we were scum!”

  “Hey, hey, wait up.” Ella held up a hand, eyes narrowed. �
�You can’t say that.”

  “Please,” Sam scoffed, joining in. “Don’t tell me you actually think you treat us well?”

  “What?” Ryan asked, frowning. “What are you talking about? What have we done that’s so terrible?”

  “Where should we start?” Rose asked. “Your whole attitude towards us is horrible. None of you show even the slightest bit of empathy towards any of the humans that come here, yet you know they’re suffering.” She pointed a finger at the line of cottages. “The houses you stay in are nice and clean, but you give dirty ones to the people that come here after losing their homes. At every step, you belittle and insult us, telling us we’re worthless and useless. You call us the Shattered ones. Shattered?” She shook her head, lips turned up in disgust. “Is that appropriate? Is that what to label people who have lost everything? Humans that have no choice but to leave their life, their world, come here and are treated like second-class citizens. You have no compassion for humans, even while knowing that we’ve lost our family–”

  “Big deal.” Skyler glowered, cutting her off. “You’ve lost family? Take a look around,” he prompted. “Everyone here has lost someone. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be in Salvador.” His eyes glistened a dark blue. “You think you’re the only one to lose your parents? Count yourself lucky you didn’t watch them die. You didn’t hear their screams.” He glanced once at Aaron before looking back at Rose. “You suffered, lost your family, had to leave your world and come here. Suck it up and live with it. If you can’t, then go kill yourself, but quit this pity-me bull ’cause no one has the time for it.”

  “Sky?” Ella looked affronted.

  “Hey, man,” Ryan shook his head. “Too much.”

  Zulf and Kyran shared a look with one another before glaring at Skyler.

  Rose didn’t say anything. She got up from the table and walked away. Sam and Aaron got up after her.

  “Rose! Rose, wait,” Sam called as she hurried up the pathway.

  “Leave me alone,” Rose called back. Her voice softened. “Please, Sam, just leave me alone.” She disappeared into the cottage.

  “Should we go in?” Aaron asked.

  Sam paused, trying to figure out what they should do. Finally, he shook his head. “No,” he said. “Give her a few minutes.”

  They walked back to the table, where an awkward silence had fallen over the mages. Sam and Aaron walked past the table, heading to the Stove. They would rather help Mary clean and tidy the kitchen than spend another minute sitting with Skyler.

  ***

  Rose sat next to the window, using the soft glow of the setting sun to look at the framed picture in her hands. It was a family portrait, taken two years ago – one of the five framed photos Michael had brought for her and Sam.

  Rose stared at the picture. Her tall and balding dad sat next to her mum – a short, plump woman with a broad, uninhibited smile. Standing next to her dad was a grinning Sam, his hand on their dad’s shoulder. She was sitting next to her mum, perched on the arm of the chair, smiling happily at the camera. Rose stared at her mum’s face. Slowly, her fingers stroked the photo, caressing her mum’s image.

  A gentle knock on the door made Rose look around. She expected it to be Aaron. Sam wouldn’t knock. He had never in his life knocked on her door. He would just come barging in, no matter how many times she screamed at him for doing it. But it wasn’t Aaron. Her lips parted in surprise at the sight of Kyran framed in her doorway.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  They had been living in the same cottage for two weeks but Kyran hadn’t said a word to her until now. Rose felt rather thrown by his sudden concern. Looking down at the frame in her hands, she nodded.

  “Yeah,” she said.

  A creak sounded as Kyran shifted from one foot to the other.

  “Don’t listen to Skyler,” he said.

  Rose shook her head, her lips quivered but she forced them into a steady, hard line. “He’s such a jerk,” she said, her voice no more than a whisper under the strain of keeping her tears back.

  “I’d have used more colourful words,” Kyran commented, “but yeah, he’s a jerk alright.”

  “Does he really not care about the humans they save?” she asked, looking up at Kyran. “Does he have no compassion? Is he really that cold-hearted?

  “Skyler says what he believes,” Kyran replied. “And he reckons everyone should just shut up and get on with things, regardless of how they’re feeling.”

  “Well, someone should tell that idiot that’s not how humans work,” Rose said. She looked down at the photo again. “When we’re – as you lot put it – shattered, it takes time to pick the pieces back up.”

  Silence fell between them.

  “It’s not like that, you know,” Kyran said.

  “What?” Rose asked.

  “The term Shattered.” He shook his head. “It’s not meant to be derogatory.”

  “Well, it is,” Rose replied. “Even if it’s true.” Her voice dropped low as her fingers ran over the portrait of her parents. “When you’ve lost everything, the last thing you want to be told is that you’re broken too.”

  Kyran stared at her for long silent moments. “Ignore Skyler,” he said at last. “I know it seems impossible but you’ll learn to tune him out.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said, quietly. “Thanks.”

  Kyran nodded at her. He turned to go but paused briefly. “You should know, though, that not all mages are like Skyler. Some of us do have compassion.” His eyes met hers. “Some of us do care.”

  Rose didn’t say anything. Kyran smiled before he walked away. With his back turned to her, he lifted a hand and two of his fingers twitched. A flickering light filled Rose’s room. She looked up to see hanging lanterns in all four corners of the room, glowing softly as flames danced in them.

  She looked to the door again, just catching a fleeting glimpse of Kyran as he walked downstairs. She smiled gratefully after him, for the comfort of a little light in the approaching darkness.

  13

  The Q-Zone

  Breakfast was unusually quiet, especially for such a large number of people sitting at the table. Most of the Hunters were subdued compared to the night before. They sat with their heads bowed and worked their way through the light breakfast of crumpets and fruit. The residents of Salvador seemed nervous, glancing at the Hunters, whispering to one another with worried expressions. Aaron noticed that even Drake seemed quieter and moodier than usual, which was a feat in itself.

  As soon as breakfast was over, all the Hunters went into their respective cottages to get ready. Aaron, Sam and Rose climbed upstairs, heading to their room, when they noticed the door to the third room was left ajar. Kyran was inside, standing before the built-in cupboard that none of them could previously open.

  Aaron stilled, his body tensed in a mixture of fear and fascination. The top of the cupboard was flipped down, to act as a shelf. Inside, hanging on various hooks and mantels, rested a whole inventory of weapons. An assortment of shiny silver daggers, and four pairs of semi-automatic pistols with numerous magazines were lined underneath them – but what caught Aaron’s breath was the silver sword which sat proudly in the middle of the cupboard. It was narrow and long, with a white hilt that made the black insignia carved into the grip stand out. Like all the other weapons Aaron saw in the artillery hut, this sword too had the same mark: a circle with an inverted V, three wavy lines behind it and a spiral between its legs.

  “Whoa,” Sam breathed. “Now we know why that thing was locked.”

  Kyran, who was in the process of lining the inner pockets of his coat with daggers, turned to see the three watching him. He ignored them and reached into the cupboard, taking out a pair of black and silver pistols and slid them into the twin holsters fitted to the back of his belt. Next he lifted out a chain with a small spiral dangling from it. Kyran slipped the chain over his head. Lastly, he pulled out the sword, flipped the lid up, and closed the cupboard. A wave of his ha
nd and Aaron could hear the bolts sliding into place, locking the weapons cupboard once more. Kyran raised the sword and slotted it into its sheath, hidden under his coat. When he was done, Aaron could only see the pommel of the sword, peeking out from behind the collar of his coat. Kyran walked past the trio and went downstairs. Aaron shared a look with Sam and Rose before all three hurried out after him.

  The street was busy with mages. The sun beating down on them was so bright it hurt Aaron’s eyes. Everyone was gathered at the end of the table, talking with each other, but the babble was impossible to understand. Aaron spotted the kitchen staff, Alan and Ava included, standing together in a separate group. Jason was to one side, nodding along to whatever it was Drake was saying to him. Even Mary was there, outside of her precious Stove. The only group missing were the fair-skinned Empaths.

  A thunderous roar of a hundred engines cut through the air. Aaron turned to see bike after bike come zooming out from the behind the cottages. The gathered crowd cheered loudly, whistling and shouting encouragement as the Hunters rode out. The bikes came to a stop, grouped together in a messy huddle. The residents of Salvador hurried forward, squeezing their way past the bikes to get to individual Hunters. Aaron watched as the mages pulled out black threads from their pockets and tied them around the Hunters’ right wrists.

  “What are they doing?” Rose asked.

  “No idea,” Aaron replied. He moved through the crowd until he came next to Alan and Ava. “Hey,” he greeted them.

  “Hey y’all.” Alan smiled back.

  “What’s going on?” Aaron asked. “What’s with the threads?”

  “It’s a reminder,” Alan replied. “The mages tie a black thread on the wrists of the Hunters they care for, so every time that Hunter lifts a hand to fight, they see the thread and are reminded that there’s someone waiting for them.” He gave a light shrug. “Makes the Hunters a little less reckless when in the Q-Zone.”

  Aaron looked through the swarm of bikers again to see almost every Salvador Hunter sporting a black thread around their wrist. The Hunters that came from other cities also had black threads looped around their wrists. Aaron realised they must have got them before arriving at Salvador.