Run To Earth (Power of Four)

by Mazhar, S

  Aaron opened his mouth to tell Kyran exactly how unhelpful he was, but decided not to. It would only encourage Kyran to annoy him.

  It took almost forty minutes of walking down the empty road to reach the Gate – another towering mass of shimmering white. This time, however, no mage touched it. Skyler turned and motioned to Sam and Rose to step forward. Aaron walked with them, refusing to leave their side.

  “Put your hand on the Gate,” Skyler instructed the twins. “Ask for permission to enter.” He shot an icy look at Aaron, warning him not to touch the Gate. “Once you get in, ask to speak with Grandor.”

  Sam and Rose nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, they extended their hands and rested them on the gleaming surface. With a faint tremble in their voice, both spoke out loud.

  “We seek permission to enter.”

  The Gate glowed, then all sorts of symbols flashed over it. Aaron watched, recognising some of the marks now. He had seen similar symbols tattooed on the Hunters. Other marks he recognised from the books he had read, and knew to represent different demonic beings. He could see the personification of particular demons in the sharp lines – the curved fangs in the circular mark for vampires; the image of a beast standing on two legs, with knees bent and its pointed head turned upwards in the Lycan mark.

  All the symbols faded, leaving Aric’s mark pulsing against the Gate before it too melted away. The Gate slid open, revealing Zone G-15.

  “Go on,” Ella encouraged Sam. “We’ll be right here.”

  Gripping Rose’s hand, Sam stepped through the doorway and into the quiet street. Aaron held on to Rose’s other hand. He looked back at Kyran one last time. Kyran nodded at him, intense green eyes fixed on him. The Gate slid closed, blocking all sight of the Hunters.

  Aaron turned to face his surroundings. He saw a brick road with small cottages lined along both sides. There was a cluster of trees in the middle of the street, and under their shade, sitting on large, square stools, were the Pecosas.

  In the last four months, Aaron had seen all sorts of creatures: beautiful, exotic girls that changed into snakes; savage-looking men and women with backward feet; he’d even seen strange dogs with glowing eyes in a memory. The Pecosas, Aaron imagined, were going to be just as strange a creation. What he saw, however, were perfectly normal-looking people. There was nothing strange about them. They were fair-skinned – although rather heavily freckled – light-eyed people dressed in long robes. Aaron frowned. So were the Pecosas human? No, that couldn’t be it. Then everyone would just refer to them as human, or Shattered, as their preferred term.

  The seated Pecosas got up as Aaron and the twins approached. Creases of confusion morphed into lines of anger on the Pecosas’ brows as they focused on Aaron. The man at the front, dressed in a pale blue robe, held out his hand.

  “That’s close enough,” he said, looking at Aaron. “I thought I had made it clear: your kind isn’t welcome here.”

  Aaron tightened his grip on Rose’s hand. “I’ve only come to be at the side of my friends,” he said. “They’re here to speak with Grandor.”

  The Pecosa looked at Sam and Rose with narrowed grey eyes. “I am Grandor,” he said. “And I don’t want to talk to anyone.” He turned back to Aaron. “I’ve already told your Controller that we can’t help you. Leave now!”

  “Grandor,” Aaron called. “If you would just listen–”

  “We’ve been listening!” the Pecosa – Grandor – said with a hiss. “That’s all we’ve been doing! It’s what got us neck deep in this pit of misery and if you were kind, you’d leave us alone instead of pushing our heads further down and drowning us!” He glared at Aaron, a tinge of pink colouring his pale cheeks. “I will ask you once, and only once, Elemental,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice. “Leave and never return.”

  “Please,” Rose bravely raised her voice. “We’ll only take a minute of your time.”

  Grandor straightened to his full height, grey eyes shadowed with anger. A gesture of his hand and the crowd of Pecosas behind him moved towards Aaron and the twins. Their hard expressions and threatening stance had Aaron reach for the spiral pendant around his neck.

  “Hey, hey! Hold on,” Sam started, holding up his hands. “We only want to talk.”

  The Pecosas continued walking towards them.

  “Kyran,” Aaron breathed, one hand on the spiral, the other on his gun.

  At once the Gate slid open and Kyran came striding in, Skyler by his side and the other Hunters behind them. The Pecosas halted in their tracks, staring in surprise at the six Hunters. Grandor’s wide-eyed gaze was on Kyran, who came to stand by Aaron’s side. Slowly, Grandor looked at each Hunter, before resting his gaze on Kyran again. He smirked, nodding at him.

  “So this is what it comes down to?” he asked. “You ask first, then demand answers by force?”

  “You’re mistaken,” Kyran replied calmly. “We’re not here to force you. We want to help.”

  “Help?” Grandor growled the word, his rage visible in his straight back and clenched jaw. “I’ve heard enough about help from you, mages.” He spat the word as if it were cursed. “All you’re interested in is winning your war. You come to us offering help, but all you want is information.”

  “Great,” Skyler smirked. “Now that that’s out in the open, how about you start sharing?”

  Grandor seemed to grow taller in fury. He pointed a finger at the Gate. “Leave, or I won’t be responsible for what happens next!”

  “You’re honestly threatening us?” Skyler sneered. “There’s wishful thinking and then there’s just being plain dumb.”

  “Sky!” Ella hissed.

  “He’s being unreasonable,” Skyler said. “We’re trying to help and he’s mouthing off to us!”

  “We don’t need your help,” Grandor spat.

  “Like hell you don’t!” Skyler snapped back.

  The Pecosas behind Grandor let out angry yells and moved forward.

  “Whoa, whoa. Wait! Wait!” Sam called, holding up his hands as he stepped forward to stand between the mages and the Pecosas. “You’re right, you’re right,” he said to Grandor.

  At Grandor’s command, his crowd of men stopped, eyeing Sam and the Hunters warily. Sam took another step forward, his gaze fixed on Grandor.

  “About the mages,” Sam continued. “You’re absolutely right. They are only here to use you.”

  “What are you doing?” Skyler asked, incensed. “You’re supposed to be on our side!”

  “Oh?” Sam turned to look at Skyler. “So now I’m worthy enough to be on your side, am I?” he asked. “What happened to humans being worthless and stupid and weak, huh?” he asked. “You treat us like crap and then all of a sudden, when you see a use for us, we’re good enough to be part of your team.”

  Skyler glared at him.

  Sam turned to face Grandor, who was staring at Sam with careful scrutiny. “The only reason the mages have come here today is because they need help,” Sam said. “It isn’t about you or your people, not really. It’s about them and what they can do to win this war. And you know what? The fact that they’re doing all this – using and manipulating people so they can beat the demons, beat the vamages – that’s what makes it acceptable.”

  The Hunters stared at Sam in stunned surprise. They hadn’t anticipated him twisting his words to their favour like that.

  “At least, it does for me,” Sam continued. Taking in a breath, Sam stepped closer, staring straight at Grandor. “Four months ago, vamages came into my world, into my home and killed my parents.” A suffocating silence fell over the street, all eyes on Sam as he stood before the leader of the Pecosas. “I want answers too,” Sam said. “I want to know why my parents had to die? We’re not a part of this war, so why did we suffer?” He paused for a moment. “The only ones who can answer my questions are the ones responsible, and that’s not the mages.”

  Grandor’s eyes softened and his jaw slackened a little.

  “I k
now that you feel the same way,” Sam said. “You don’t want to be a part of this war. It’s not our fight. This is between the mages and the vamages, so why should we pay the price?”

  Grandor’s head moved a bare fraction, nodding to Sam’s words.

  “But just because we don’t want to be a part of it, doesn’t mean we get to stay out of it,” Sam said. “We’re already involved. I lost my parents and you’re losing your people. Sitting back and refusing to fight, isn’t going to help–”

  Grandor held up a hand to quieten Sam. “My kind is not affiliated with war,” he said quietly. “We are passive by nature. We do not fight.”

  “I get that,” Sam said, “but surely you have a sense of self-preservation. You’re not extinct. That proves you must be fighting in some sense to have survived this long.”

  “Our survival is done by keeping out of danger,” Grandor replied.

  “What about your people who have fallen?” Rose asked, drawing the Pecosa’s attention. “Don’t you have any loyalty to them? Do they not deserve to be avenged?”

  Grandor smiled. “Vengeance is just another name for self-destruction,” he said. “It may be associated with humans but it doesn’t have any place in our kind.” His grey-eyed gaze moved past Rose to all the Hunters, looking at each and every one. “You’re wasting your time. I cannot help you.”

  He turned his back to walk away, and Sam called out, “What’s the Scorcher got over you?”

  Grandor stopped. Tension stifled the very air, making it hard to breathe. Grandor turned around with narrowed eyes, looking straight at Sam. “The Scorcher?” he asked. “I have told the mages before: I have not met the Scorcher.”

  “You’ve met Daniel Machado, though, right?” Rose asked.

  At the name of Hadrian’s right-hand vamage, the Pecosas flinched, looking to their leader. Grandor didn’t speak. He just stared at Rose.

  “Machado is using something to hold your silence,” Rose said, braving a few steps closer. Kyran moved right behind her, staying close, his eyes on the Pecosa leader. “Please, tell us how to get to Machado,” Rose said. “If the mages get him, they’ll get to the Scorcher and then all of this will be over.”

  Grandor stared at her before a slow smile spread over his face. He started to laugh, surprising everyone. He shook his head, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. It took several moments for the bitter laughter to die down. When he looked back at Rose, he had pity for her naivety in every line of his face.

  “No one can get to the Scorcher,” he said quietly. “Not through Machado, not through anyone else. Machado doesn’t come to us. He sends us messages, using our own people.” His face shadowed with misery, while his eyes burnt with anger. “He corrupts my people and then sends them back to us to deliver his messages. We do as he asks so that one day, when the vamages’ purpose is over, we’ll have our people back.”

  “He’s blackmailing you?” Ella asked, aghast.

  It seemed the interruption from a mage was all it took for Grandor to come to his senses. His head snapped around in Ella’s direction and he stared at her, as if only just realising that she, along with the rest of the Hunters, were still here. Grandor straightened up, running a hand down his robes.

  “There is nothing that I can do for you,” he said. “I can’t get you to Machado, even if I were willing to risk my people by helping you.” He looked straight at Sam. “I feel for your loss. You, much like us, have been dragged into this war.” He glared at the Hunters behind Sam, “But stay out of their fight. Don’t let them destroy you too.”

  “Sorry.” Sam shook his head. “I want answers. I want the vamages defeated. If that means I have to help the mages, then that’s what I’ll do.”

  Grandor didn’t say anything. He looked at Sam with something akin to pity welling in his eyes. “Do as you see fit,” he said quietly. He turned away, gesturing to his people to leave.

  Slowly the Pecosas began to move away, still glancing at the mages and two humans left standing.

  “Come on,” Kyran said quietly, his hand on Rose’s back. “This was a waste of time.”

  “You did good,” Ella whispered to Sam. She threw a hard look at the retreating Pecosas. “They’re just not willing to listen.”

  The Hunters began leading Aaron and the twins back to the Gate when Grandor called to them.

  “The sun is about to set,” he said, halting the Hunters. “If you wish, you may rest here tonight and leave in the morning.”

  The mages looked to each other, surprised at the Pecosa’s hospitality. Sam looked to Ella and, at her approval, turned back to Grandor, nodding.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Grandor smiled, but his eyes hardened when he turned to the Hunters. “It is not in our nature to wish harm on any being,” he started. “So take what I have to say with the utmost sincerity.” His gaze moved to rest on Kyran. “Forget about the Scorcher. He’s too powerful to fall into your grasp.”

  “Don’t you worry about that,” Ella said. “Just point us in the right direction.”

  “It’ll do you no good,” Grandor said. “If by a stroke of luck you do get to him, you won’t survive the encounter. The Scorcher is like nothing you’ve seen before. He can bleed you out with nothing more than a touch.”

  “You know an awful lot about a person you claim to have not met,” Skyler accused.

  Grandor smiled bitterly. “You don’t have to be burnt to know what fire is capable of.”

  ***

  The evening was surprisingly pleasant. The Pecosas set out a variety of dishes for dinner. The previous ire was gone and all the Pecosas seemed rather happy to have visitors staying the night – although their warmth and charm was reserved only for Sam and Rose. With the mages, they still seemed rather closed off.

  After dinner, a large group of Pecosas gathered around a fire, inviting Sam and Rose to join them. Aaron, refusing to leave his friends’ side, sat with them. Kyran followed after him, with Ella, Zhi-Jiya and Ryan trailing after. The Pecosas shot uncomfortable looks at one another but still offered the mages drinks before sitting on the other side of the fire.

  “You’re very brave,” a young Pecosa girl said to Sam. “No one has said such things to Grandor before.”

  “Like what?” Sam asked, looking confused. “I didn’t say anything rude.”

  “You told him he should fight.” She shook her head. “No one tells Grandor what to do.”

  “Other than Machado, of course,” Ryan said. At the hostile looks he got, he quickly held up his hands. “Okay, okay, no talking about the war and our impending doom if we don’t find a way to defeat the vamages.” He smiled with exaggerated sweetness. “What shall we talk about instead?”

  Silence met his words.

  “Hey,” Ella started, looking at the fair-haired crowd. “I’ve heard Pecosas are really good storytellers.” She grinned excitedly. “You got any good stories?”

  The crowd looked to one another with humble smiles.

  “Keena is our storyteller,” one Pecosa said, nodding at the wavy-haired girl sitting to Ella’s right.

  Keena smiled before looking over at Ella. “Well,” she started, “what kind of a story would you like?”

  “I don’t know about everyone else,” Zhi-Jiya cut in, “but I’m a sucker for a good love story.”

  “It’s one thing in stories,” Ryan said, “but love in real life is–” He stopped as Zhi-Jiya turned to him.

  “Yes?” she prompted. “Please, do go on.”

  Ryan grinned and fell quiet, making the surrounding Pecosas reluctantly giggle.

  “I don’t agree,” Ella said. “I think love in real life can be just as exciting as in stories.” She smiled. “Just imagine being caught up in an epic love story with the only person you can’t be with.” She looked to the others. “Thrilling, no?”

  “Sounds like the recipe for non-stop heartbreak,” Rose said. “Pass, thank you.”

  “You’re telling me you wou
ldn’t want an epic love story of your own?” Ella asked.

  Rose couldn’t help but chuckle. “I didn’t peg you as a hopeless romantic, Ella.”

  “What, you don’t think mages fall in love?” Ella asked.

  “No, of course they do,” Rose replied. “But epic tragic love?”

  “Is any other love worth the trouble?” Ella asked with a grin.

  “Each to their own, I guess,” Rose replied. “But I wouldn’t want an epic love story of my own. I’d be happy with just a simple romance.”

  “Come on,” Ryan said. “You’re telling me you would rather have a boring romantic relationship than a truly meaningful, deep-seated, soul-shattering, eternal bond of love? Like what I have with Zhi-Jiya?”

  “Nice save,” Zhi-Jiya smirked.

  “No, I’m not saying I don’t want a deep relationship.” Rose shrugged. “I’m just saying that I don’t see the allure of falling for someone I can never be with. I mean, what’s the point in that?”

  “That’s exactly the point,” Kyran said, joining the discussion. “The attraction lies in the temptation to have what’s forbidden.”

  Rose paused for a moment, before smiling. “True, but that’s just infatuation. We were talking about love.”

  Kyran smiled. “What if you fall in love with the very person you can’t be with?” he asked.

  “I won’t,” Rose replied. “I’ll make sure I go for someone that is suited to me.”

  “You can’t choose who you’re going to fall in love with,” Keena said. “Love just happens.”

  “See, this is exactly the notion I despise,” Rose said. “Why can’t I choose who I’m going to fall in love with? Why is it that love makes the choice for me? It’s my life but somehow I can’t choose who I’m going to spend it with? How messed up is that?”

  “The fates decide who your partner is,” Keena said. “It’s always been that way.”

  “Not for me,” Rose said. “The fates can decide what they want. I’ll decide who I’m falling in love with.”

  Kyran straightened up a little.

  “Alright,” he said. “So if you were to choose, what kind of a love story would you want?”