by Mazhar, S
Ella turned to look at her with a half-disgusted, half-horrified expression.
“What?” she asked. “Are you mad? No, not baby Adams!”
“Baby? He’s only three years younger,” Rose pointed out.
“He’s a lot younger mentally,” Ella said. “I can’t believe you would think...me and...and Aaron?” She shuddered.
Rose felt her mouth go dry. With great effort she spoke, keeping her eyes lowered to the grass. “So, you meant Kyran?”
“What?” Ella shook her head vehemently. “I’m not talking about Kyran! You know what? Just forget I said anything.” She scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “Seriously, you thought I was talking about Aaron or Kyran?”
“You were staring in their direction,” Rose said.
“I was just looking ahead,” Ella said. “I didn’t mean Aaron, and definitely not Kyran. Jeez!”
“Oh, okay.” Rose smiled. Then, inexplicably, she was annoyed. “What do you mean?” she turned back to Ella. “What’s wrong with Kyran?” she asked defensively.
“Nothing.” Ella shrugged. “Kyran’s nice and all, but he’s not my type.”
Rose snorted. “Right,” she muttered, picking at the grass. “Perfect’s not your type.”
Ella turned to look at Rose with a slow smile. “Oh?” She grinned. “The P-word?” She moved a little closer. “Have a little crush on our Kyran there, have we?”
Rose frowned at her. “What? No, no.” She waved a hand, a little too forcefully for it to be believable. “I just...I mean, come on.” She gestured to Kyran, who was explaining something to Aaron. “You can’t say he’s not good-looking.”
“Oh, I can say that,” Ella replied. “Kyran’s not good-looking. Kyran is freaking gorgeous.” She moved behind Rose, staring at Kyran over her shoulder. “Look at him,” she prompted. “With his dark hair and those mesmerising green eyes,” she said in a purposefully low and seductive voice. “Bet he makes you melt with just a look.” She grinned. “And what about that beautifully sculptured face? Those lips – perfectly kissable, no?”
Rose couldn’t help but stare at Kyran. She agreed with Ella, whole-heartedly, but didn’t say anything.
“Those broad shoulders,” Ella continued, teasing Rose. “You could rest your head against those, no problem. Those strong arms could hold you, keep you safe. Not to mention those killer abs...”
“Stop it.” Rose smiled, blushing.
“You know what? You’re right.” Ella grinned, moving to sit facing Rose. “Kyran is strong, talented and very, very hot. He’s perfect, as you put it, but take a word of warning.” She craned her head back to glance at Kyran. “When a boy’s that perfect,” she smirked, meeting Rose’s eyes, “there’s gotta be something wrong with him.”
***
Night had fallen. Lanterns were lit and floated in the air, rocked by the gentle breeze. The table was currently being set with dish after dish of hot, sizzling food. Mostly everyone was gathered around the table, chatting and laughing. The mood was so great, Aaron forgot all about his disastrous training session with Kyran and those blasted chickens. He sat with Sam, grinning at Ryan’s funny story about his first hunt.
Rose placed the last dish of roasted lamb and glanced around the table. She didn’t find who she was looking for.
“Where’s Kyran?” she asked Aaron, who was almost bent over, laughing at something Ryan had said. Rose had to shake his shoulder. “Aaron? Where’s Kyran?”
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Aaron looked up at her. “Dunno,” he said. “He might still be home.” He turned back to Ryan at once, dissolving into fits of laughter again.
Rose headed to the cottage they shared with Kyran. Sure enough, she saw the soft light coming from the living room window. She walked into the hallway but knocked once on the living room door before opening it. She found Kyran sitting on the sofa, an array of weapons laid out on the coffee table before him. She paused, staring at the blades and the dismantled pistol that Kyran was in the process of putting back together.
“Hey,” she greeted him. “What’re you doing?”
“It’s for Genius out there.” Kyran nodded at the window, but Rose understood he was referring to Aaron. “I’m going to drag him out of bed at the crack of dawn tomorrow and continue his training.” He shook his head. “He’s probably forgotten all the weapons training I gave him.”
Rose smiled. “Give him a break,” she said. “He’s trying.”
“He needs to try harder,” Kyran said. “A lot harder. The easy stuff ends with this year. It’s a new year – time for a new, super tough training regime.”
Rose slipped into the chair next to the sofa. “The end of the year,” she said. “Have to say, I never imagined it would end like this.”
Kyran paused, before slowly lowering the gun onto the table. “It’s also the start of another year,” he said. “A new year, a new hope.”
“Yeah.” Rose smiled. “A new hope. I like that.” She looked over at Kyran, studying him. “Do mages have new year resolutions?”
“Sure.” Kyran slid a short dagger into its sheath. “Resolutions are aspirations. Why wouldn’t mages have them?”
Rose leant forward slightly. “What’s your new year resolution?”
“That’s easy.” Kyran slid a magazine into the pistol, and slid back the rack with a resounding click. “Win the war. What’s yours?”
Rose grinned. “Just as important as yours,” she said. “Cook something that’s fairly edible.”
Kyran smiled. “Give yourself some credit,” he said. “You’re not as bad as you think.”
Rose could feel the blush heat her cheeks. “What about you?” she asked. “Anything you’re not good at that you want to improve this year?”
Kyran looked caught off guard. He narrowed his eyes at her. “You mean, like a fault?”
Rose’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah,” she uttered softly. “What are your faults, Kyran?”
There was a spark of amusement in Kyran’s eyes. “I have too many to list.”
Rose was surprised. “I thought you were going to insist you didn’t have any flaws.”
Kyran shrugged. “What can I say? I’m brutally honest.” He raised an eyebrow. “Can that be termed as a fault?”
“No,” Rose said. “Honesty can’t be a fault.”
Kyran thought for a moment. “I don’t know when to quit and walk away,” he said. “If I think I’m right, I’ll fight to the death to prove it.”
“I have to say,” Rose said, smiling, “that doesn’t sound much like a fault to me.”
“No?” Kyran asked.
“No,” Rose replied.
Kyran smiled. “I’m a mean snorer too.”
“What?” Rose barely held back her laughter. “You snore?”
“Like a bucklebearer.”
“What’s a bucklebearer?” Rose asked.
“You don’t have bucklebearers in your world?” Kyran looked surprised.
Rose shook her head, laughing. “No, but they sound like fun.”
“They are the nosiest little buggers,” Kyran said.
“And you snore like them?” Rose asked.
“You probably snore just as loud,” Kyran said with a grin.
“Hey!” Rose stopped laughing. “I don’t snore.”
“How do you know?” Kyran teased. “You’re asleep. Maybe you do.”
“I know I don’t snore,” Rose insisted. “Trust me, Sam would never let me live it down.”
“Sam probably snores too,” Kyran said.
“Why are you so obsessed with snoring?” Rose asked, grinning.
“What? It’s true,” Kyran said. “If you’re asleep, how do you know that you don’t snore?”
“How do you know that you do?” Rose asked. “You’re asleep too.”
“I don’t know,” Kyran replied.
“What?” Rose frowned. “You just said you were a mean snorer?”
“I’m assuming I am,” Kyr
an replied, “but I’m asleep so I don’t know if I do or don’t. I’m just going with the fact that I probably do.”
Rose dissolved into a fit of giggles. “That’s the craziest assumption I’ve ever heard.”
Kyran watched her for a moment before smiling. “You have a great laugh,” he said. “You should do it more often.”
A tingle ran through Rose.
“You need to have a reason to laugh,” she said.
“Not necessarily,” Kyran said.
“You do know what people call others who laugh for no reason?” Rose asked.
“Happy?” Kyran offered.
Rose giggled, shaking her head.
Voices were heard outside, doing the countdown.
“Five...four...three...two...one...”
Several loud bangs went off, accompanied by loud cheery voices shouting, “Happy New Year!”
Rose didn’t even flinch at the sound of gunshots. She was too caught up by the vivid green eyes that were staring at her. At the back of her mind, Ella’s voice echoed, Don’t you humans do that thing? Where you kiss the one you love at the stroke of midnight, so you’re ending and starting the year with them?
Rose took in a breath and moved forward, towards Kyran.
“Happy New Year,” she said against his ear, so he could hear past the gunshots.
Kyran smiled back. “Happy New Year, Rose.”
***
Most of the mages were still firing shots into the air when Rose and Kyran walked out of the cottage together. A few were at the table, clinking their glasses and laughing. Ryan and Julian waved Kyran over, grinning from ear to ear.
“Come on, Kyran!” Ryan yelled. “Where’s your greeting?”
Kyran raised his arm, pistol clutched in hand, and fired three shots in the air.
“Drinks for everyone!” Alan laughed, hovering three full trays in front of the mages. Everyone took a beer bottle, including Aaron.
He had just brought it to his mouth when Kyran appeared by his side, smoothly swiping the bottle from his hand. At Aaron’s scowl, Kyran only grinned.
“Aww, come on, Kyran,” Ryan laughed. “It’s the new year. Let him have one.”
“The last thing his aim needs is the influence of alcohol,” Kyran said.
“I’m not training right now,” Aaron protested.
“Not yet, you’re not,” Kyran said. “But you will be in three hours’ time.”
Aaron groaned.
“Be careful, Aaron,” Ryan smirked. “He won’t rest until he makes a Hunter out of you.”
Kyran smiled and swung his arm around Aaron’s shoulders. “You can bet on that.”
Aaron rolled his eyes but couldn’t hold back his laugh.
Soon, it was time for the New Year feast. For the first time since arriving in Salvador, Aaron saw Mary sit at the table to eat. Before anyone could take a single bite, though, a jolt of light shot across the sky. It exploded into Aric’s mark – a bright white symbol glistening against the night sky.
“Cool.” Sam grinned, staring up at it. “You guys do fireworks too?”
No one answered. They were too busy staring at the mark, their expressions morphing to looks of horror. The joyful atmosphere from only moments before changed, making a chill run down everyone’s spine. At once, the sound of chairs scraping against the ground echoed in the air as everyone rushed to their feet. Aaron and the twins followed after them as the mages ran towards the path leading to the Hub. That’s when Aaron understood that the mark in the sky wasn’t in celebration of the new year – it was a distress signal sent by Scott. Sam and Rose stopped outside the Hub, knowing humans couldn’t enter the circular building. Leaving them there, Aaron ran inside and headed to the main room, only to see everyone crowded around the white table. Pushing his way to the front, Aaron saw Scott standing with his head lowered, hands clutched around the edge of the table. Kyran, Skyler, Ella and the rest of the Hunters were at his side. Every eye was fixed on the map, their expressions one of utter terror.
At first, Aaron couldn’t figure out what they were looking at. All he could see was the map of the human world. Then, he saw it, the strange cloud covering what he recognised as Canada. He moved closer, staring at the wisps of mist swirling around that one particular location. He felt his heart miss several beats.
“What is that?” he asked.
“That,” Scott said in a broken voice, “is a tsunami.”
25
Losing Faith
There was a sense of urgency in the air as the mages ran from the Hub to the buildings next to the garage. The shutters to three of the workshops were lifted to reveal towering stacks of boxes, piled high to the ceiling. One by one, the mages began lifting the boxes out and stacking them in the street. Four pairs of headlights cut their way through the dark forest, pulling up in front of the garage. The drivers of the SUVs stayed in their seats while the rest of the mages loaded the boxes into the back of the vehicles.
Aaron, Sam and Rose quickly stepped forward to help, packing the heavy boxes into the back of the cars. The moment the SUVs were loaded, they took off, disappearing down the dark path. Hunters strapped the leftover boxes to the back of their bikes and set off after the cars.
The mages left behind slowly made their way back to their cottages. The midnight feast to welcome the new year was forgotten. Dishes of untouched food were left to go cold on the table. Where the atmosphere had been one of joy and jubilation a few minutes before, now it was forlorn and heavy with despair. Aaron, along with Sam and Rose, headed back to their cottage. They got into their beds, but none of them slept that night, each wondering what this new year would bring after a start like this.
It was well into the afternoon when the Hunters returned, wearing weary and mournful expressions. Tiredly, they came to sit at the table as Mary hurried to serve them hot drinks and food.
“Doesn’t matter how many times you see it,” Zhi-Jiya said quietly, shaking her head. “It never fails to shock you.”
“The day you become numb to suffering is the day you stop being a mage,” Mary said.
“Another hit,” Ella said. “That’s another one the human realm took because of Hadrian’s zones.”
“That’s what, the fourth disaster in six months?” Ryan asked.
“It just keeps getting worse,” Ella murmured, closing her eyes.
Mary took in a deep breath. “Come on. Get cleaned up, all of you. I’ll get some food out.”
The Hunters listened to their Mother Mary and got up from the table. “Aaron,” Mary called. “Could you go and get Scott? He hasn’t eaten all day.”
Aaron nodded and set off to the Hub, where he knew Scott would be. He found Scott sitting on his chair next to the round table, staring at it.
“Scott?” Aaron called.
Scott looked over at him and lowered his clasped hands, straightening up. “Aaron?” he looked confused at his appearance. “What is it?”
“Mary’s asking for you,” Aaron replied. “She wants you to come and eat.”
Scott managed a weak smile. “I’m not hungry, Aaron, but thank you.”
Aaron stepped closer. “You really should eat something.”
Scott nodded but made no move to get up. Aaron shifted from one foot to the other, not sure if Scott was coming or not.
“Okay.” Aaron turned to go. “I’ll just...leave you to your thoughts then.” He opened the door but couldn’t make himself walk out. He couldn’t leave Scott when he looked so miserable. He closed the door and turned back to him. “It’s not your fault, you know,” he said quietly.
Scott looked up at Aaron. “I never said it was.”
“You don’t have to,” Aaron replied. “It’s written all over you.”
Scott sagged a little, as if the guilt were in fact a physical weight pressing down on him. He shook his head slowly, staring at the map.
“Two years ago, this map looked so different,” he said. “Hadrian had three zones.” He looked up at
Aaron with tired, bloodshot eyes. “Three zones,” he repeated. “And now, in two years, he’s got nineteen.” He closed his eyes. “He’s ripping apart our realm, piece by piece, and he’s taking the human realm down with it.”
“Scott...” Aaron stepped closer, struggling to find something to say, anything that would bring comfort. “It’s only a matter of time,” he said. “Sooner or later, the Hunters will find Hadrian and the Scorcher and–”
“Sooner or later,” Scott repeated, nodding his head but his tone was bitter. “Yes, sooner or later. That’s what I keep telling myself. It’ll be over soon. We’ll catch Scorcher soon. Without him, Hadrian’s strength will be gone. We just have to wait for the right opportunity.” His gaze snapped up to Aaron, full of anger and frustration. “We’ve been chasing after the Scorcher for two years now and got nowhere. All that’s happened is that we’ve lost zone after zone and the human realm is paying for our failures.” He shook his head and leant over in his seat, elbows resting on his knees. A minute passed in strained silence as Scott fought to compose himself. He let out a shaky breath. “We’re losing, Aaron,” he said quietly. “This war, this fight...We’re losing it every day. Neriah’s not enough, not any more, not since Hadrian’s Scorcher arrived.”
“Don’t say that,” Aaron pleaded. “There must be a way. The Hunters are really good and they’ve won every hunt so far–”
“We might be winning the hunts, but Hadrian’s winning the war, despite having his powers locked,” Scott said. “His son, the Scorcher, is devastating this world and, by proxy, the human realm.” He pointed to the table as he stood up. “That tsunami that hit the human realm only happened because of the sheer amount of power rushing out of the tears. It’s because that part of the human realm happens to lie under one of Hadrian’s zones. With no Gate to utilise the power flow, it seeped out and resulted in hundreds of humans being killed and injured. Thousands of homes lost, families torn apart and all because we couldn’t safeguard that zone!” Scott shook his head as angry tears escaped his eyes. His chest heaved with quick breaths as he stared at Aaron. “If we don’t do something, if we don’t stop the Scorcher, soon there’ll be nothing left to fight for.” He looked down at the map of the human realm before meeting Aaron’s eyes again. “There’ll be nothing left to protect.”
