by Jess Bowen
Phoebe stopped about a mile in from the tunnel opening. The distance was overkill, but Ethan didn’t blame her for being extra cautious. This was very important, and they couldn’t afford to make mistakes.
“I was thinking; if I can channel your power, then why couldn’t I channel a power through you? It would be helping you. Do you mind if I try?” Phoebe whispered to Hector.
Hector surveyed Phoebe as he thought it over. She had a point; if she could channel one way on him, then why not the other? They had never tried that in training. Hector shrugged. “Worth a try, I guess.”
Phoebe nodded and then closed her eyes. Her jaw relaxed as she concentrated on something other than Dorian.
This is still so wrong. We shouldn’t be leaving without him. I know that something was messing with him; I just don’t know what, but I don’t want to make her angry again, Lucy thought hurriedly.
I know. But we can’t do anything about it. Maybe going away right now will be good for her. Give her some time to think it over before she has to face him again, Ethan replied.
You mean if she has to face him again, Lucy added.
Lucy, he sighed.
Sorry, just trying to be realistic.
How many times must I assure you that you’ll be making it back safely? Ethan asked.
As many times as it takes me to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that it will really and truly happen, she replied.
Phoebe opened her eyes, and Ethan was distracted from replying to Lucy’s negative…Realistic, she reminded him…realistic thoughts.
“I think I’ve got it. Go ahead and try to run but don’t go far,” Phoebe whispered to Hector.
He didn’t even think twice and immediately launched himself into motion and was gone in a flash. It had worked. A second later he reappeared and, despite the weight of their mission, he was smiling.
“Okay, is everyone ready? We should send our companions back. I can’t channel through that many,” Phoebe said.
Seven lights glowed in the tunnels as each of them pulled their companions back into themselves. Shade settled down restlessly inside Ethan. The faithful companion knew the time was coming when they would need him, and he was impatient.
As soon as Sapphire disappeared, Phoebe closed her eyes and concentrated. Within a minute, she opened her lids and assembled everyone into a line.
“Lucy, with me channeling this Speed talent through you and your own talent, you will probably be able to go much faster than any of us, but please try to stay with us and don’t run ahead,” Phoebe instructed.
Phoebe was back to normal and asking very politely, so Ethan didn’t have a problem with what she was asking of Lucy.
“Yes, of course,” Lucy replied as she nodded in acceptance of Phoebe’s request.
Phoebe looked around at everyone.
“Whenever you’re ready,” Hector said gently.
Phoebe nodded. “All right, then, let’s go.”
She took off and they all immediately launched into a run, with Phoebe a little ahead of the rest of them, still taking her place of leadership. Hector seemed to be counting to himself, and Ethan quickly realized that he was counting the time and miles that passed by. Ethan looked down at his watch. It was only fifteen minutes after two, so they were going to make it out of the tunnels and get a few hours of traveling in before they had to stop.
The nearly forty-minute run wasn’t very interesting, unless the incredible feeling of running at sixty miles an hour counted. By the time they stopped, Ethan felt like he had hardly broken a sweat. Dorian had been a little overbearing on the physical training aspect of their combat training; they’d run for hours on end with him, so forty minutes was easy. Ethan had to admit that Dorian’s obsessive tendencies had their advantages. He now had the kind of muscles that he’d been jealous of all through high school.
The place where they stopped running was a large, empty space of dirt rather than the continuous stone that lined the tunnels, and Ethan guessed that it was the exit. All Hector would have to do would be to shift the dirt around so they could get out.
As they stopped, Phoebe bent over and had to support herself by placing her hands on her knees. Unlike the rest of them, she was struggling to catch her breath, and sweat dripped from her face.
Evan rushed forward, and he pulled at the bag on his belt. Hector and Cynthia ran over and helped her sit down before she collapsed. Evan pulled open the bag and shuffled around inside as the glass vials clinked together, and he pulled out a small vial of turquoise blue liquid.
He pulled the cork out and quickly handed it to Phoebe, who took it and swallowed it in one gulp. She threw the vial aside and dragged her hand across her forehead to wipe off the sweat.
“Here,” Evan muttered. He placed his hands on either side of her head, and water ran down her body to cool her off and wash off the sweat.
Her hands stopped shaking as the potion took effect and the water cooled her.
This is too much for her. We don’t get hot, but look at her; she looks like a water fountain over there because this is too much for her power to handle! Lucy thought anxiously as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
Phoebe smiled up at Lucy. “I’m all right. I just need to sit down for a minute. I’ll be fine.”
“Wait, did you hear that? And no, you’re not fine. If your body is getting hot, that means your powers are trying to let you know that you’re doing too much,” Lucy said.
“No, I can just read your expression. I’ve been getting better at that since I generally can’t hear you two most of the time. And I’m getting hot because my powers are being used for other things rather than regulating temperature. I’m fine,” Phoebe repeated.
Hector surveyed Phoebe. “I think Lucy’s right. We’re going to have to let you rest for a little while.”
Phoebe shook her head vigorously. “Will you guys stop! I’m going to be all right. That was a lot, but I don’t have to do that much anymore, and we don’t have time to stop right now. We have to get moving.”
“We’re wasting too much time arguing. If Phoebe says she’s fine, then we go on. Although, if you start to look worse, we’re stopping,” Ethan said.
Phoebe nodded resignedly and got to her feet. “Okay, now we need to figure out who’s doing what.”
“What do you mean?” Cynthia asked.
“I know we sort of had this figured out, but I think it would be better if Hector flew with me. Otherwise I’ll have to extend my power even further to Pele so Hector doesn’t crush him,” she explained.
“Good point,” Ethan said.
Hector nodded in agreement. “I had forgotten about that. Pele’s been hurt enough times by me. I don’t like risking it if I don’t have to.”
“So, Hector is flying with me, and who else? And who’s taking Pele?”
“I’ll ride Pele, if he doesn’t mind,” Jared said.
“I’m fine with flying,” Evan said.
“That’s fine. We’re also going to need protection and clean air while we fly through all that smoke,” Phoebe said, looking directly at Lucy and Ethan.
“My shield can reach around all of us,” Ethan assured her.
“And I have the fresh air!” Lucy said.
Phoebe nodded. “Jared, you’re going to be sensing while we fly to see if anyone starts getting close to us, and Cynthia, you’re going to be our first line of attack should someone detect us.”
Jared and Cynthia nodded as they were given their positions. Phoebe let out Sapphire. Pele, Beau, and Shade were released simultaneously. Sapphire cantered back to Lucy, who climbed on before Sapphire grew to her full size. Ethan straddled Shade, who grew as well. The two of them kept their positions in the back while Cynthia and Jared climbed on Beau and Pele and took their positions on the side.
“It’ll be easier for me to channel through you both if I can keep physical contact,” Phoebe said to Hector and Evan.
They both immediately took one of her hands, and s
he concentrated for a minute before three sets of magnificent wings burst out of all three of their shoulder blades. The wings were black, no doubt for camouflage.
“Here we go,” Ethan muttered from the back, and Hector shifted the earth away with a flick of his arm. They rose out of the tunnel.
36. Flying
Lucy and Ethan were last to break free of the tunnel, but as they passed through the earth it felt like they were in an even more dense and compacted place than the one they had just left. Ethan’s lungs immediately had to work twice as hard to absorb oxygen from the air as the sulfurous taste invaded his mouth.
“Close it up, Ethan,” Hector all but whispered.
Ethan turned and barely saw the hole in the earth that they had just left before he lifted his hand and reassembled the dirt to fill in the hole. He didn’t need to worry about growing any form of plant life, because there was nothing but parched dirt covering everything.
“Jared, do you sense anyone close?” Phoebe whispered.
They were only hovering about ten feet from the ground, but Phoebe couldn’t break her concentration from channeling or she, Evan, and Hector would fall. Jared was silent as he slowly glanced around. Looking wasn’t going to help anyone. Even with the sharpest eyesight, it was almost impossible to see the barren ground from only ten feet up due to the heavy smoke that filled the air.
Ethan felt like someone was pressing a gigantic weight on every part of his body as he continued to gasp for oxygenated air.
Jared finally turned back to Phoebe and shook his head. “No, not within my range.”
That was a good sign. Jared could reach about two miles with his talent. It was impressive. Nowhere near as good as Phoebe’s fifty, but impressive enough.
Phoebe nodded. “Okay, we’re going up about a mile at least. Lucy, if you’re ready, it’s safe to use your powers, and Ethan, try to get a shield around us before we go up,” she instructed.
Nobody questioned or argued with her. They needed a leader, and no one else had stepped up to the job, not even Ethan. Phoebe’s judgment may not have been entirely what it should have been, but she had, so far, been effective in guiding them.
A soft breeze flitted across Ethan’s face, and his lungs almost immediately relaxed and took in the fresh air. His shimmering green shield appeared, and he tried to wrap it around the bodies of everyone present rather than create a large sphere, which would be easier to penetrate.
Phoebe waited until the air cleared before she started rising into the blackened sky. Shade’s golden wings beat rhythmically just in front of where Ethan’s knees gripped his body. It was unnecessary for any of them to have harnesses or reins to guide their companions. Shade balanced Ethan impeccably and easily understood any directions asked of him. He really was magnificent.
Ethan wasn’t sure how Phoebe knew when they were a mile up. With the thick, black smoke curling around them, he couldn’t see more than a hundred yards in any direction. But they leveled out relatively quickly. Even with their height, Ethan still couldn’t see the sky or any of the stars. He could only imagine the amount of fire burning to create the thick, impenetrably black smoke that continually hung in the air.
I can’t see a thing! How do they know where we’re going? Lucy could easily clear the air in front of them if they would let her.
I don’t know. You should probably ask. Maybe they aren’t asking you because they don’t want to strain you or something.
As if, she thought. “Phoebe, I can clear the air ahead of you if you want to be able to see better,” she said.
There was no reason to worry about whispering. Jared would alert them if there was anyone within hearing range.
Phoebe’s hand tightened around Hector’s, and he answered for her. “We don’t want to clear out too much of the smoke while all we’re doing is flying. When dawn comes we’ll need you to do that so we can find a place to land. But in the meantime, I know where we’re going.”
Probably don’t want to draw attention to us, Ethan thought.
Probably, Lucy answered.
Cynthia was doing something extremely strange. She was sitting on Beau with her back straight, her head tilted toward the sky, her eyes closed, and her arms spread open wide with her palms up. She even had a small smile on her lips as her shoulder-length, sandy blond hair fanned out behind her.
She was the only one without a job to do yet, and therefore she was free to let her attention wander. Jared was sensing for anyone who might approach. Ethan was keeping the shield around them, which served the dual purpose of keeping enemies out and keeping Lucy’s fresh air in. Phoebe was channeling. Hector was guiding them, and even Evan had a job—monitoring Phoebe.
So, all of them who could see Cynthia were bewildered.
“Cynthia, what are you doing?” Lucy hissed as if Cynthia was going something obscene.
Evan and Hector both turned to look at her, and confusion creased their brows.
“I’ve never been outside before. Can’t you guys feel it? The freedom. I’ve never gone this far or this fast. It’s amazing.” Her voice was filled with bliss.
Jared frowned. “Look around you, Cynthia. Do you call this freedom? Smoke so thick we can’t even see through it? Ground so parched and dry that it can’t sustain life? Moving in stealth because we can’t be caught? What kind of freedom is that?”
Cynthia opened her eyes, and her face fell as she turned to look at Jared. “I didn’t say it was perfect freedom, but it’s more than we’ve ever been allowed,” she said harshly.
“Allowed? Allowed? Are you kidding me? Five Guardians who have risked their lives to keep us safe so we can have basic human rights? You call that imprisonment?” Jared growled angrily.
Cynthia’s eyes flashed red. “I call being stuck in a hole for my entire life and living in an illusion imprisonment. Not everything is perfect. Freedom comes at a price.”
Jared’s laugh was filled with anger and cynicism. “Yes, your idea of freedom only comes at the price of any sense of morals or justice. Why don’t you just run along and pay the price for your freedom if it’s so important to you?”
Cynthia’s nostrils flared, and fire shot out of her hands briefly before she brought her anger under control. “I’m not stupid, Jared. I wouldn’t betray anyone like that.”
“Sorry.” Jared’s tone was anything but sorry. “I just thought you might like freedom that was, I don’t know, actually free,” he replied with acid dripping from his voice.
Cynthia’s hand clenched, and her eyes flashed again as she opened her mouth to reply, but Ethan had had enough. Now was not that time for arguing, no matter who was right.
“Enough. We have plenty to worry about without adding any arguments to it. Everyone will kindly keep their opinions to themselves until this is over,” Ethan said firmly.
Cynthia and Jared both glanced at him briefly before turning to stare in opposite directions. Evan turned back to Phoebe, and Hector studied Cynthia with concern. Ethan wished he could hear what Hector was thinking, because from the look on his face it appeared that there might be something very real to worry about. Although, it was hard to tell with Hector; maybe Ethan was just overreacting.
Still, he had never heard Jared so angry. Sure, he’d argued with Ethan from time to time about one thing or another. Actually, debated was a more accurate description of what they did, because no one’s voice was ever raised, and they never criticized one another or got angry. They simply debated over certain issues, and sometimes Ethan would concede defeat when Jared made a point he couldn’t debate further and vice versa. They were always very civilized and friendly.
What had happened here, though, would have most definitely culminated into an angry battle between Cynthia and Jared. And even though Ethan had only known Jared for about six months, Ethan knew that was the most hateful he had ever sounded in his life.
And Cynthia, while she was generally more outspoken and edgy—beaten only by Phoebe—she’d never been so har
sh to anyone, even Kali. It was very unsettling, and Ethan began to worry about the thoughts behind Hector’s careful observation of Cynthia and Jared. It looked like Hector came to some sort of conclusion, and he turned back to face north.
That was strange, Lucy commented, and there was no further conversation between any of them for a long while.
Flying for hours on end was dull and frustratingly boring. From Hector’s random comments, Ethan knew they were flying over the Green Mountains. But judging by the occasional peak that they passed, the mountains were anything but green. Jared never once gave them cause for alarm, and he and Cynthia were both silent for the long, stretching hours. As time went on, it looked like Evan and Hector were watching Phoebe more closely, and Ethan could see why. Sweat was starting to run down her neck, and Ethan knew she couldn’t hold out much longer. She needed sleep.
Lucy had started amusing herself with stories from her childhood, and Ethan listened without even thinking about it. He couldn’t even begin to guess what time it was anymore, but he saw the small curve of the reddish-orange sun as it began to climb into the sky. The sun didn’t seem to bring any light with it—it was just hanging in the sky to announce its presence.
“It’s time to find a place to stop,” Hector said quietly.
Phoebe shook her head. “We can go another hour at least. Jared hasn’t sensed anything yet. We might as well keep going.” Her voice was weak, and Ethan heard the exhaustion and strain behind it.
“Phoebe, you need rest. It’s been at least twenty-four hours since you slept, and who knows how long since you’ve eaten anything,” Ethan said before Hector could try to argue with her.
If she was going to be mad at anyone, it would be better for her to be mad at Ethan. If she got mad at Hector, she might decide to just drop him, which Ethan didn’t think would hurt him, but it was best not to take the chance. Phoebe wasn’t the only one running out of energy. Shade was starting to tire as well. His companion was strong enough to go for several more hours, but Ethan didn’t want to push him if he didn’t have to. They still had two more—much longer—nights of travel ahead of them.
