Earthbreaker

by Robert Jeschonek

  "To be honest, Earth Angel," he said, lowering his voice, "it was this, or you'd be looking for a new partner. And a new moon, as well."

  I didn't have anything to say to that. The truth was, I'd had no idea that Duke was struggling. As usual, he'd soldiered on without complaining...though now I found myself wondering if there'd been signs all along and I'd missed them.

  It was possible. I'd been pretty preoccupied lately, trying to figure out my life and all.

  "Okay then." Turning, I extended a hand to Luna. "Nice to meet you, Luna. Welcome aboard."

  Luna looked relieved as she accepted the handshake. "Thank you, Ms. Charmer."

  "Gaia." I noticed her hand was cool and dry to the touch. She looked like she was in her early twenties, just a few years younger than I was. A few years younger than my current human form, I should say. "Call me Gaia."

  "Thank you, Gaia." As she met my gaze, she did more than smile—she beamed. Her expression, in contrast to her chilly touch, was overflowing with warmth. "I'll try my best not to let you down."

  Her apparent sincerity made me feel a bit better about bringing in a complete stranger to work in the office. I'd been burned before and learned to be suspicious of those I hadn't vetted to the hilt...but maybe this one would be okay. Duke liked her well enough, after all, and he was great at judging character.

  Even as our handshake broke apart, I resolved to give her a chance and hope for the best. If she could take some of the pressure off Duke and keep him happy, she'd be worth every penny of her paycheck and then some.

  "Now that that's settled," I said, crossing the office to my personal desk, "could somebody get me some damn coffee?"

  Luna scooted over, grabbed my empty mug, and smiled. "Double cream, double sugar." She nodded. "Duke told me how you like it."

  "Good old Duke." I shot him a look. "Always thinking of his partner."

  "I can't imagine doing otherwise." Duke nodded sagely, a twinkle in his eye.

  “Okay then.” I shrugged out of my brown leather jacket, slung it over the back of my chair, and sat down. “What’s on our agenda for this morning?”

  “Don’t ask me.” Duke raised the newspaper so I couldn’t see his face. “Luna’s running your schedule now.”

  “By the way, you have a client meeting in five minutes,” said Luna as she darted out of the back with my coffee.

  I shook my head with annoyance. “Are you sure you couldn’t’ve waited a little longer to tell me about it?”

  “Sorry about that.” Luna put the steaming mug on the desk in front of me. “First day on the job, y’know.”

  “Which side of the business is the meeting about?” I asked. “Detective agency or travel?”

  “Both,” said Duke from behind the newspaper. “The meeting is about both.”

  “You knew about it, too?” I said.

  “Of course.” Duke winked at me over the newspaper. “I’m the one who set it up.”

  Just as he said it, the front door opened, and the chime played “Caravan.” A tall, dark-skinned woman wearing a flowing yellow dress and spiky gold heels entered the room. She was slim and graceful, with dark eyes and close-cropped black hair that perfectly framed her elegant features. She was so beautiful, in fact, that she forced us all to take note; she had a bearing that I could best describe as regal.

  “Hello.” Luna hurried over and shook her hand. “I’m Luna Neil. We spoke on the phone.”

  “Very good to meet you.” The woman’s accent was hard to place. I wasn’t sure if she’d picked it up in Eastern Europe, Africa, or India.

  “Gaia Charmer, this is Ashanti Moneta,” said Luna. “She’s your ten o’clock.”

  I got to my feet and shook Ashanti’s hand. “My pleasure, Ashanti. And this...” I gestured at the man behind the newspaper. “...is my partner, Duke.”

  Duke rattled the paper but didn’t emerge from behind it. “Welcome to our most humble abode, Ashanti.”

  I gestured for her to take a seat, and then I sat down across from her at my desk. “So what can we help you with today?”

  “I want to take a trip,” said Ashanti, her gold hoop earrings jiggling as she spoke. “I want to return to my long-lost selfland.”

  “Your what?” I asked. “Do you mean your homeland?”

  She shook her head insistently. “I meant what I said. My selfland, as in the land that is my self.” She lowered her eyes. “Or was, anyway.”

  I played with my pleated braid as I sometimes did when things got interesting. “You were one with the land? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I was the land.” Her expression turned fierce. “And then I was taken away from it. The land was stolen from me, and I was sent very far away.”

  Duke lowered his newspaper, suddenly engaged. “Where is this selfland, exactly?”

  “That’s just it.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “I don’t know.”

  I watched her closely, trying to gauge her sincerity and veracity. Since my time six months ago at Parapets—the high-tech research base where the monsters of Groundswell had tried to end humanity—there’d been more people around who knew I was unique. I had to stay on the lookout for folks looking to take advantage of me to further their bad intentions as Groundswell had done.

  “Please, you’ve got to help me,” said Ashanti. “The Lady of the Alleghenies said you could. She said you were a friend to all Landkind…whatever Landkind is.”

  Looking askance, I saw Luna leaning on a desk, listening with keen attention. I’d been hoping to keep her in the dark about my secrets, but that option was off the table now...unless I bluffed, accused Ashanti of being a nut, and threw her out.

  But if she was Landkind, I could never do that. It was true I’d let my Mother Earth duties slide while enjoying my romance with Briar, but turning my back on family was one thing I’d never do.

  As an avatar of one of Earth’s many landforms—a mountain, valley, river, island, etc. in human form—she was family to me. In a way, she was part of me.

  If she was really Landkind.

  “The Lady of the Alleghenies sent you?” I asked.

  Ashanti nodded. “Phaola herself. She sends her regards, Miss Glow. She asks that you do whatever you can to restore my rightful place in the world.”

  I still felt leery, I couldn’t help it...but I decided I couldn’t turn my back on her. Not yet, anyway.

  “All right.” I would go down this road with her a little ways, at least. “Let’s give this a try.”

  Suddenly, Ashanti lit up. “You’ll take me back there? To my selfland?”

  “I can’t make any promises,” I told her, “but I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Oh, thank you!” said Ashanti. “I can never thank you enough for giving me hope, Miss Glow!”

  I frowned. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Miss Glow?’ You know that’s not my name, right?”

  “It just seems right,” said Ashanti. “You definitely have a glow about you.”

  As odd as her rationale seemed, I decided not to press her further on the matter…for now. “How will you pay my fee?”

  Ashanti leaned forward, folding her hands on the desk, and closed her eyes. Her expression became a frown, and the frown deepened; her head lowered, and her body shook.

  Little gasps escaped her lips as if she were undergoing tremendous strain. Her hands tightened, her fingers clenching so hard her knuckles whitened.

  Then, suddenly, she let out one last gasp and relaxed. The shaking stopped, and she leaned back in the chair.

  Her eyes fluttered open. Her hands unfolded, revealing an object on the desk that they had hidden until now.

  A huge gem glittered on the rubbery black surface, as big as a robin’s egg and brighter than an icicle in the sun.

  “Will this cover it?” Ashanti held out the gem to me. “If not, I’ll summon another one.”

  “I thought I was the only one who knew tricks like that.” Duke whistled appreciatively and ran a hand ove
r his wavy black hair. “Yet you’ve done me one better, Ms. Moneta. Gold bars are the best I’ve ever managed to manifest. Now here you’ve gone and summoned up a lovely diamond.”

  Ashanti gazed thoughtfully at the jewel in her palm. “Sometimes I wonder if these are clues to where I came from.”

  Duke plucked the diamond from her hand and held it up to the light. “I do believe you’re playing my tune, Ms. Moneta. What about you, Earth Angel?”

  “I think you should lock that up somewhere safe.” I got up from my desk and pulled on my leather jacket. “Then you and I should go for a walk,” I told Ashanti.

  “Where?” she asked.

  “Caravan” played as I tugged the door open. “Somewhere without so much interference,” I said, shooting Duke and Luna a look. “A place where the reception is better.”

  4

  I didn’t have to drive far to get to the woods—one of the advantages of living in a small town like Confluence. Less than fifteen minutes after pulling away from the office in my black hybrid Toyota Highlander SUV, I was rolling up the road into Smoke Ring Lake State Park.

  Already, I was feeling better about my day. Something I’d learned since discovering my true nature was that the further I got from human development, the more my mood improved. Even a small town like Confluence was enough to make me tense; being away from buildings and closer to trees, bodies of water, and, yes, earth, always gave me a lift.

  It made total sense. Being an avatar of the planet, of course I’d feel at my best when there was nothing coming between me and the planet.

  “Here we are.” I pulled into a parking area near the lake and switched off the Highlander. “Time for that walk I promised.”

  Ashanti got out of the Highlander and looked around. “Why here in particular?”

  I got out, too, and shut my door. “It’s a good place to clear my head. Fresh air helps me think.”

  “I see.” Ashanti shut the door on the passenger side and followed me onto a nearby path through the trees. “Perhaps you are also hoping this place might spur some memories, Miss Glow?”

  “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.” I nodded. “Let me know if anything jumps out at you, okay?”

  As we continued down the path, the sound of twittering birds and chirping chipmunks filled the air. The world spoke to me as it always did, in shafts of sunlight, fluttering leaves, gentle breezes—and so much more besides. I sensed it all around me at once, from the vast blue skies far above to the tiniest quivering particles of matter on the subatomic level. There were worlds within worlds in the Earth, all of them moving and singing and changing—all of them, in their own way, part of me, an extension of my substance and awareness.

  We emerged from the path at the top of a green, grassy bank leading down to the lake. In two weeks, when the park opened for swimmers, it would be a very different scene, one I knew quite well given my contact with local lands and waters. The bank would be crowded from end to end with sunbathers on towels and blankets, unleashed at last to greedily soak up the warmth and sunshine. There would be kids and dogs running, frisbees and footballs flying, people of all ages shouting and laughing and splashing in the water with manic glee. Summer-worshipping folks would swarm the park, competing to make up for too many months of grueling winter and waterlogged spring in this part of the country. The Earth would respond to their touch, I knew, all too happy to cast off the snow and muck and loneliness in return for the joyful press of bodies and the song of so many voices upraised in praise of warm weather and simple pleasures.

  “What do you think of this place?” I asked. “Does it remind you of anything?”

  Ashanti frowned. “I have no special feelings about it.”

  “No déjà vu, huh?”

  Ashanti shook her head, then turned a suspicious look in my direction. “You don’t think this is my selfland, do you?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know what I think yet.” Then I started walking toward the water’s edge. “So tell me, Ashanti. What do you remember?”

  She stayed beside me, looking regal as ever. “Not much, I’m afraid.” The breeze rippled her bright yellow dress and batted her gold hoop earrings. “I remember meeting the Lady of the Alleghenies, and her telling me to seek you out. I remember calling your office and making an appointment, and then I walked in and met you and your staff.”

  “But what do you remember about your past before that?” I asked. “The people or landforms you knew?”

  Ashanti sighed heavily. “Nothing.”

  “Your memory’s a blank?”

  “Not a complete blank,” said Ashanti. “It’s more like...impressions in the fog. I know things, but I don’t remember them. I can’t make out the details.”

  “Like you were born yesterday,” I said.

  She nodded. “Yes, exactly.”

  I understood better than she knew. Not so long ago, I’d been reborn in my current body without any memories of the past lives I’d lived as the Earth’s human avatar. Duke, created by my previous self, had been my saving grace; without a guide like him, extreme memory loss would have been hell to go through.

  “Tell me about these impressions.” I stopped at the edge of the lake and turned to her. “Focus on them the best you can and describe anything that comes to you.”

  Ashanti closed her eyes. She remained silent for long moments, her brows knit in concentration.

  “Warmth,” she said at last. “Warmth and light and company. Togetherness.”

  I watched her and didn’t interrupt. I worried that if I stopped the flow of memory now, it might never restart.

  “Hmm.” She tilted her head to one side. “Sudden change. Disruption. Pain.” She bit her lip. “Then...falling. Impact.” She paused. “Nothingness.”

  So focused was I on her words, I didn’t notice the shadow drifting over the lake. I didn’t pay attention to the patch of darkness moving toward us, projected by the cluster of clouds drifting high over the water.

  “So much nothingness,” said Ashanti. “Then, suddenly...light. Thought. Sadness. The smell of...damp and must and oil. The sound of men and machines. Shaking and rumbling everywhere. And then...and then...” She opened her eyes. “And then, your office...and this.”

  I played with my braid, taking in everything she’d said. “What else?”

  Ashanti pursed her lips and looked off to the side. “Nothing else. Nothing I can remember.”

  All told, she hadn’t given me much, and I was disappointed. “Are you sure? Relax and think back.”

  “Well...” She looked up then, and her eyes shot wide open. Her demeanor shifted suddenly, swinging from deep concentration to extreme agitation. “Look out!”

  Before I could react in any way, a bright flash lit the sky. Even as I turned, a blast of flame sizzled down and seared the ground between us.

  Leaping into action, I focused on the layer of pebbles under the surface of the fringe of the lake and lifted up as many as I could with my power. A mass of them broke the surface of the water and hung there, draining and awaiting my direction.

  Before I could make them take flight, another plume of fire slashed down from above, coming close enough that I could feel its intense heat on my skin. The shock of it knocked me off balance, and I stumbled, releasing my hold on the rocks. They dropped back into the water with a loud splash.

  Ashanti caught my elbow and helped me steady myself, even as another fiery blast surged toward us. I threw myself against her, tackling her to the ground just as the fire licked through the place where we’d just been standing.

  “You need to run for it!” I told her. “Whatever this thing is, I’ll take care of it!” Even as I said it, I was reaching out with my power, digging into the layer of pebbles again. This time, I’d launch them rapid-fire at the cloud, firing them like bullets instead of gathering and heaving them all at once.

  “You’ll be burned alive!” shouted Ashanti.

  “Go!” Looking up, I saw the fire jet had burned away
some of the cottony material from the front of the cloud, exposing the tip of what looked like some kind of dark snout. I squinted, trying to make out more detail.

  That was when Ashanti suddenly leaped to her feet and threw her arms in the air. “No!” Her head fell back and her body shimmered with rippling golden light, swiftly growing in intensity.

  “Ashanti?” Gazing at her, I briefly forgot the flames. Whatever transformation she was going through, it suggested reserves of incredible power welling within her, power I hadn’t expected.

  Without a word, she swung her arms forward, aiming at the cloud. The aura of light seething around her flared so bright, I had to shield my eyes. The light churned and flowed, rushing up to form a blazing orb of light around her hands, a sun in miniature.

  Then, she cried out, and the orb pulsed into the sky. It flashed up just as another jet of flame was pouring forth and engulfed the cloud in a blinding burst of energy.

  The cloud and whatever it held exploded with a thunderous boom and a massive flare that hung in the sky like the biggest billowing shell of a fireworks show finale.

  With a gasp, Ashanti dropped her arms and slumped. The energy flowing around her faded suddenly, leaving her standing there as if she hadn’t changed at all a moment ago.

  Then, her legs buckled, and she fell. I caught her and held her in my arms, staring at her face as ash drifted around us like feathery black snow.

  “What was that all about?” I asked. “Who the hell are you really, Ashanti Moneta?”

  My only answer was the ash sailing down, bits of it clinging to her sleeping, regal features.

  5

  “She can generate and project energy blasts? Is that all?” Briar stared at Ashanti as two paramedics worked on her on a gurney behind the ambulance, which was parked near Smoke Ring Lake. “I thought you said there was something special about her, Gaia.”

  I stood with him near the foot of the gurney, arms folded over my chest. “I know, right? Sorry I got your hopes up.” The paramedics had said she’d be fine, but I was still worried. Ashanti’s transformation had seemed to take a lot out of her.