“And I’ll throw in that I won’t tell anyone that we asked you to look for a Tear of God,” Nyam offered.
Mink felt that his parents weren’t going to leave him alone on the matter, but also that he was in the enviable position of making demands. “If you promise me that you’ll leave the Element thing alone for the rest of the vacation, I’ll go.”
Juré reached into his right thigh pocket and handed over his glow crystal. Mink accepted it with both hands and mocked the excitement he used to show as a four-year old.
“Do you want to be harnessed? Or just hold on?” Nyam asked Mink regarding the way in which he preferred to be carried.
Mink looked down the cliff to the opening the scout came from. “Harness. Please.”
Nyam sprinted back to the campsite at an incredible pace. Puffs of dust rose from her footsteps, which touched down at least seventy-five yards apart. It took her longer to untangle the harness from their cart than to run to camp and back. Mink marveled at how she could run so fast and yet still breathe normally. Then again, he was used to seeing her come home with labored breath after a full day of using Quick Legs to run her taxi business.
He helped her tighten the harness. It had been years since his mother had carried him this way. She rotated a hand behind her for him to use as a step. Mink was quite a bit larger than his mother, yet he looked like a big baby held by her formidable Body user strength. He climbed into the seat on her back and secured his arms and legs by tightening the straps. Mink paused long enough to second guess his role in all this before clipping the back guard in place.
“All set,” Mink announced.
MINK AND Juré had communicated through Silent Signal Fire often over time. On occasion, Mink would catch himself trying to talk to his dad telepathically when it wasn’t active. The main advantage of this effect, over the Astral Id effect Juré had used on Mink the previous day, was that Juré could stay in his own Body, thus using a lot less energy. As long as he didn’t Dispel the effect, it would remain active even over great distances and out of sight.
“Mind your step. No need to be reckless.” Juré gave his wife a modest kiss and squeezed Mink on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about us,” Nyam said. “Just sit tight and try not to doze off.”
Mink hoped that someday he and Gyov might know each other as well as Juré and Nyam. He was impressed by how smoothly they worked together. He figured all he needed to do was discover his Element, preferably Air in this case so that he would oppose Gyov’s Soil affinity. That, and remind her he existed. It was hard to say which was more likely at this point.
Without warning, Nyam jumped over the edge and turned to face the cliff. She and Mink free-fell much too long for Mink’s liking. She waited until they were a few yards above the opening to the scout’s cave before slamming a fist into the rock, bringing their drop to an abrupt end that didn’t agree with Mink’s gonads. The discomfort was aggravated each time his mom drove a fist or foot into the cliff face for a makeshift hold.
“Dad says to take it easy before you shake him off the cliff,” he lied.
Nyam did make smoother progress, but by then they were only a few feet above the cave opening. She swung into the tunnel. Mink held the glow crystal aloft and the light filled an impressive amount of the tunnel’s length. His mom rushed to the edge of the light and stopped so fast that Mink struggled to keep his grasp on the crystal.
“Try to keep the light out of my eyes, please,” Nyam said. “I need to see.”
“Give me little warning on the stop-and-go and I’ll still have arms to hold it.”
“See any other tunnels yet? Still a straight shot?”
Mink lifted the crystal high over his head. “I think it’s straight. I didn’t exactly—“ Mink got cut off by Nyam zipping to the edge of the light once more. He looked back to the pinhole-sized opening of the cave. It resembled a lone star in a sea of night. Holding the crystal directly above, he searched for any paths they might have missed.
“Much better. Keep it just like that,” Nyam said. “I can see a bit further. That, or my eyes are adjusting, finally.”
Before Mink could respond, they sprinted twice the distance they had already gone. There was a time when he loved his mom’s sprinting, but unfamiliar territory and dim light were such killjoys. She veered a few times and then slowed to a gradual stop.
“Better stop? More comfortable?”
“Yes. Thanks.” Mink looked forward with raised crystal. “I think I see a few tunnels ahead.”
“Me, too. That’s why I stopped. Any idea which way?”
“Hold on.” Mink checked in with his dad. “Hey, Dad? Can you hear me?”
“Yes. Go ahead.” Juré’s voice sounded so clear that Mink looked over his shoulder.
“We’re at the first junction, I think. Any memory?”
“He explored three tunnels there. The one on the right should lead to the stone.”
The right tunnel felt like the way. “We agree to go right.”
No sooner had Mink spoke than Nyam shot down the right tunnel. The floor sloped downward at a sharp angle and, judging by the jostling Mink felt, Nyam hadn’t expected that. Once the floor leveled out again, she slowed to a stop.
“That was close, wasn’t it?” she said, catching her breath.
“Mom. Just don’t tell me these things.”
“Fair enough. Sorry. So, looks like this is just an open cavern. See a way out?”
Mink scanned the walls for a crack, shadow, or any indication of a continued path. No obvious tunnels in sight, Mink worried that the way forward would be narrow and he would wind up scraped over several yards of sandstone.
“Just don’t take off until I can confirm anything. It might be too narrow. But the direction to the crystal should be about twenty degrees to the left.”
“What about that crevice right there?” Nyam pointed to a sliver of black running up the far wall about thirty degrees from center.
“Maybe. Lemme just check—”
Nyam reached the crevice in question with three very quick strides. It was wider than it looked from across the room. Wider than the two of them shoulder to shoulder and several yards tall, the crevice bent off to the left, not the right as Mink had hoped.
“I’ll wait,” Nyam said.
Mink thought to his dad, “We’re in a very large room with no obvious exits. We found a crack that seems to be the only way forward. Any idea? From what I recall, we need to go right, but this goes left.” No response followed. “Dad? You awake?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Juré finally said. “I was just going through his memories for more information. Concerning your crack… snicker, snicker. Follow that until you go down to an underground lake, hug the bank around to the right and count five tunnels, take the fifth tunnel, and check back with me after you come upon a connecting room with two high exits and one low.”
“Okay. I got it.”
“And tell your mom that the scout is expected back in a couple days. A lot of people are awaiting the results of his find. Still, we’ve got a bit more time to be thorough and careful.”
“No problem. Talk to you later.” Mink spoke up to Nyam, “Dad wants me to tell you that a bunch of people are waiting for the scout, but not for a couple days.”
“What did he say about this path?”
“He said to take it until—”
Nyam zoomed through the crevice at a breakneck speed. Mink could scarcely tell which side his Body was leaning with each turn. He would have protested if he had managed to catch his breath. Before he could, Nyam slid to a stop in knee-high Water.
“Kinda slippery here. You didn’t mention anything about Water.”
“You didn’t exactly give me the chance. We’re supposed to follow the bank to the right until the fifth tunnel.”
“All right. I’m guessing we came out of that one.” Nyam pointed and counted five openings and then sprinted through the fifth.
“Wait, wai
t! Mom! Hold up!” Mink screamed, bringing Nyam to a halt.
“What is it?”
“You’re going really fast through here and there’s not much room in places. I don’t want you to take off my head, or something. It wouldn’t be like the last time you killed me.”
“Haven’t you noticed? I’ve been breaking our way through to make plenty of room for you to fit.”
“No. I didn’t notice that. But, still, not so fast, please.”
“Mink, we don’t have time. We need to reach the crystal and make it back out before the scout wakes up. Not to mention possibly racing back home before the Machinists can act. If you don’t have any more information from Dad, let’s not stop, okay?”
“Whatever. Dad said to check back with him when we get to a connecting room with something like a couple high exits and one lower one.”
It only took Nyam a few more seconds to reach that room. On the way, Mink found himself more concerned with his mom causing a cave-in. Since Soil mitigates Body, this wasn’t the best environment for her to expend so much energy.
“Now which way?”
“I recognize this. We’re close. It’s the lower path.”
As Nyam charged down the lower exit, Mink checked in with Juré. “We’re moving on. I remember having a sense of this part. What info do you have going from here?”
“You’ll keep going until you come out at the top of the crystal’s chamber. Be careful, it’s a long drop. Too high for your mom to jump.”
Mink leaned close to his mother’s ear. “We’re going to reach a drop at the chamber ahead. Dad says it’s too high.”
He felt Nyam moving slower than she had been, and heard her getting winded. He hoped she had enough energy to get back out. True, she had pulled him, his dad, and all their camping gear for nearly a day and a half across the wilderness. But in that case, they had taken breaks, there were no rocks to break through, she didn’t have dirt clinging to her sweat, and she hadn’t run quite as fast. Mink never trusted his mom to know her limits.
NYAM RAN slow enough now that Mink could see where they were headed, but no opening to a large cavern was in sight. Mink noticed a growing sense of pressure in the Air. Perhaps that was an indication that the crystal could be around any corner. He wondered if the resistance contributed to his mother’s slower pace. She did almost seem to be struggling.
“What’s that noise?” Juré asked from inside Mink’s head.
“I dunno. There isn’t any noise here,” Mink thought in reply.
“It’s too loud. I can barely hear you. Whatever it is, I’m getting a headache. I have to stop the Silent Signal Fire.” With that, he was gone.
“Dad just left. Said something about a noise.” As Mink reported this to his mom, his voice sounding muffled to him.
Nyam nodded, and without warning they were at the opening of the cavern. Mink braced himself for a fall to the death as Nyam dug her hands into the tunnel walls, braking them within a step’s distance from the edge. A constant force met them like a dry wind, and yet the Air was still as it pressed against Mink’s face. The glow crystal shone more brightly than Mink thought possible, forcing him to hold it behind his head lest he be blinded. Bright as it was, the chamber’s size prevented it from doing much good.
There was just enough light for Mink to see in person that which he had seen previously in death. The geode sat partially buried in the chamber floor and still almost reached the top. It’s massive curved surface bore a stark contrast to the dull craggy rock of the cavernous chamber that housed it. If this wasn’t a Tear of God, it would still be the most miraculous natural object in all of Georra.
Mink snapped out of his stupor. “It’s too high!” he screamed, without so much as a sound escaping his throat. “We have to climb down! Dad said!”
Nyam looked back at Mink with an ear-to-ear grin and wild eyes. In the light of the glow crystal, she looked on the verge of a psychotic break. Whether she could hear Mink or not, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to listen to any advice.
Before Mink could unfasten the buckles to his harness, Nyam thrust herself into the room with him in tow. Mink couldn’t tell if the faint sound of a sustained scream was his mother’s shout of joy, his own official protest, or a mixture of both. All he knew was that the fall would kill him. Then he passed out.
The sudden stop shook Mink back to his senses. He should have been able to hear the floor of the cavern crack and crumble under his mom’s feet, or her invigorated laugh, or even some kind of buzzing, if that’s what it was. But, Mink heard nothing. The energy pressed against him with a constant push, unlike any sensation he had experienced before.
Nyam looked back at him and mouthed the words, “Can you feel that?”
Mink nodded for lack of any effective way to communicate verbally. Nyam approached the crystal with level, measured steps. It occurred to Mink that either she might not be able to run against this pressure, or that she wanted to take her time out of some sense of respect or savoring of the moment. Despite her steady approach, the crystal didn’t seem any closer. That gave Mink a clearer sense of just how large it really was.
While he was dead, Mink had perceived the crystal to be as large as any of the buildings in the Capitol. But now he realized that was from a distance. It was in fact many times larger. His whole town might fit in it. What on Georra did either the Machinists or his people hope to do with anything like this? Just getting near it was more than Mink could handle.
He looked down at the ground and to his surprise, it moved under them at an incredible speed. Nyam was running as fast as before, perhaps faster. The absence of any objects passing nearby and the immensity of the cavern threw off Mink’s perception of the pace. He began to wonder if the pressure he felt emanated from the crystal, or was simply the g-force of his mother’s sprint. But, hadn’t he sensed the pressure when they were standing still atop the cavern?
Soon, they could no longer see to the top of the geode, its own girth blocking the view. Mink got a better sense of how fast they were traveling as they passed under the upward curve. A rush of adrenaline went straight to his heart.
Mink closed his eyes for the rest of the approach, not that he could see much anyway. The crystal’s outer shell stretched beyond their peripheral vision and got closer way too fast for comfort. He kept his eyes shut until he felt Nyam come to a full and decisive stop.
The pressure remained, so that settled that debate. It certainly came from the crystal. In front of where Nyam stood, Mink saw a deep gash in the side of the geode, possibly from a blast, exposing a man-sized portion of the crystal. The reflected light from the glow crystal shimmered and bounced around inside, swirling and breathing with color. The shell wasn’t as thick as Mink expected, and he figured he could easily reach through and touch the crystal inside.
Nyam spoke, but Mink couldn’t hear her voice at all. He guessed she was chanting.
Once her lips stopped moving, she reached out and touched the crystal. Tens of thousands of tiny needles and spikes bristled throughout Mink’s Body. Then he was numb all over. Oddly enough, he felt better than he ever had. Stronger. More confident. He looked upon the site where Nyam had made contact, and smiled. Without understanding why, he felt overwhelming gratitude for the crystal, and tears ran down his face.
Mink looked at his mom and noticed that she had changed too. Her disposition had calmed and her typically soft, lean muscles were tighter and larger. Nyam let go of the crystal and looked back at Mink, completely nondescript. Then, without warning, she began her swift climb up the side of the geode. Using hands and feet to find shallow footholds in the shell’s surface, she moved easily up along its steeply curved side, practically upside down.
Mink wanted to pass out, but instead he stared downward. The floor dimmed in the distance as they climbed. In no time, Nyam reached the widest point and ran swiftly up the top slope. Mink’s view of the chamber floor was obstructed as the top of the geode quickly approached. He flash
ed back to the sensation he experienced when Nyam had touched the crystal. It was no doubt energy conducted through Nyam into him. He was convinced that this actually might be a Tear of God.
Once they reached the top, Nyam turned to look at Mink and began to speak. She formed her words slowly and deliberately, but Mink hadn’t the slightest idea what she was going on about. Still, he knew his mother well enough to understand she was apologizing for something. Mink decided the pressure of the crystal’s energy must be preventing his eardrums from vibrating.
Peering into the darkness, Mink tried in vain to locate the tunnel they had come in from. Whichever one it was, Mink hoped to God that Nyam wasn’t about to jump for it from here. Perhaps she intended to propel her way across the stalactites scattered along the cave ceiling. Neither option comforted him.
Nyam stopped talking, reached behind her, and struck Mink on the shin. In a heartbeat, he went completely solid. Even his skin cramped. Everything hurt. She flicked him on the knee a couple of times and, satisfied, leaped straight up from the top of the geode. She landed a heavy punch into the chamber’s ceiling, and small clumps of rock crashed into Mink’s face, cascading off harmlessly.
Using both hands, Nyam dug upward through stone and dirt as Mink rode on her back. They were both impervious to being pummeled by the debris, and Mink had forgotten to agonize over the solidification of his Body. He had no idea how far below they were from the surface of Rift Ridge, but he knew the more his mom dug through the Soil, the weaker she would get. Mink panicked at the possibility that she might run out of strength before they broke through.
SWEAT POURED off Nyam in rivulets of mud. Digging straight up took a toll on her. Every few seconds she needed to stop and catch her breath for half a minute. They had made enough distance from the geode that Mink’s hearing had returned partially, but he felt too much pain from the Hard Body effect to care. He tolerated this pain once it occurred to him that, should his mother’s strength give out, both of them would fall straight down the tunnel she had just dug.
Elements (Tear of God Book 1) Page 4
