NightWind

by Sara Kincaid

  First, a large leap out a window awaited them. Eli’s stomach flip-flopped. He’d crafted those majestic wings, but never imagined that they would carry him off the ground. Or screaming toward it.

  The mechanics of it were simple. With a power boost from all the Mystics, the Aviator wings could bear the extra weight. They’d just make the spark bigger. The wings themselves were designed to bear the weight of more than one body as a safety measure, Moriyo explained, for unexpected situations like this. Since Eli was the weakest of the Mystics, he’d need a power boost from the infinitely stronger Moriyo to give Rina’s wings the spark energy they needed to carry three people over the palace walls.

  Eli bent over the lock on the window, using the tip of Eldon’s knife as a tool. Rina watched him anxiously, glancing down the hallway and silently willing him to hurry. His hands moved like wings, light and delicate as they worked against the seal that age and disuse had grown. As the locks gave way, a distinct and flustered clacking of heels on stone alerted them that they were no longer alone. Rina cursed their luck. Someone had discovered the murdered guard.

  They turned to see Thea Winter robed in a silky black tunic, her hair down around her shoulders as if she’d been about to go to bed. A streak of red, the blood from the Kaldarian they’d left slumped in the hall, marred her left hand. “Stop! Where do you think you’re going? Guards!” She yelled frantically. Six guards materialized out of nowhere behind her, stepping through a dark hallway into their lighted corner. Half of them drew swords while the other half armed their bows with arrows.

  Rina grasped the sword at her belt and stood tall, folding her wings against her shoulder blades. “We are not under your command. You kidnapped the sacred Mystics from Mt. Yama and are in violation of Mantinean law. You have no grounds to hold us here.”

  White-hot energy crackled along Thea’s knuckles. “Downstairs an envoy from Regent Arayna is waiting to meet with Regent Opher. And you have given your word to assist us.” A wild look of desperation flashed in her eyes and Rina noticed the bruises along her neck as the spark moved over her skin and buffeted her hair in a whirl of charged air.

  Moriyo put a hand on Rina’s arm. “Do not believe her. We will not power their airship and risk losing the spark.”

  “You will not keep us here against our will. We come on Regent Arayna’s orders. She will respond with force if we are not returned unharmed.” Rina stepped forward, brandishing her weapon. The crackling energy gave her pause, but no Mystic would use their power as a weapon. It had been forbidden for generations. “You could return with us. I see the bruises on your neck. They’re from the Regent, aren’t they?”

  Thea’s muscles tensed and Rina tightened the grip on her sword. “Our powers are not to be used as weapons. Remember your oath, Thea,” Eira’s reedy voice echoed in the hall.

  Eli stretched his hand absently toward Rina, feeling the distance between them grow as she moved forward to engage Thea, putting herself between the Mystic, her soldiers and her fellow Burgans. “You also know the penalty for causing harm to a Mystic, given how rare you are now. IceRider,” she barked. “Take your people and go. Now. That’s an order.”

  Eldon extended his hands to Zaid and Eira, his wings spreading wide in a flourish of gray and black feathers. “No,” Thea whispered, the current of power flitting around her growing as she clutched her fingers into fists.

  Her irises contracted, leaving her eyes filled with eerie white, but her line of sight was clear. Every Mystic in the room sensed the increase in the current.

  All eyes were on Thea. But, Eli turned inward. The runes on his skin, each mark lovingly and painfully etched into his flesh after hours of research. Desperation for power fueled him then; and desperation fueled him now.

  Each silvery line awoke in turn, sending a searing heat across his skin and casting a silver light into the room. Usually it took him several minutes to illuminate a single rune, and he’d never tried to use more than one rune of power at a time before. But whatever dam had kept Eli from accessing Nia’s gift fully crumbled in the face of his desperate anger. Rina had come for him and he wasn’t going to lose her.

  If he’d had eyes to see into Nia’s world, the light would have blinded him in that moment with the force of its brilliance. Instead, the spark enveloped Eli fully, erupting with the sound of thunder into a conflagration that consumed his entire frame.

  He stepped forward, a mountain of fire, controlled chaos, each silvery scar glowing brilliantly beneath the silvery blue flames. His eyes brightened to the most brilliant sapphire blue and those stony orbs never left Thea’s face.

  The soldiers behind Thea faltered, their weapons falling, first one inch, and then another. Even Rina let her guard down, overcome by the sight of Eli and the flames that licked across his skin.

  Everyone, it seemed, was riddled with shock and thinking of the warrior Mystics who fought alongside Vitus Croy and Delia Skytte in that fateful battle over Kaldar and Verdlan. Everyone, that is, except for Thea Winter.

  The white-haired, black-clad Mystic of Kaldar had read the ancient texts, forbidden texts that detailed how battles between Mystics worked. Her focus left the powerless Aviatrix and turned to the white-hot energy emanating from Eli.

  Energy from the two Mystics crashed together in an explosion of light, each acting so quickly that no one knew who struck first. Rina was thrown against the wall, her sword clattering uselessly to the ground just out of reach. She gasped, driving air painfully back into her lungs, her ears ringing. She clamored across the ground, retreating behind Eli. Eldon grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, swooning with the pain of his injuries.

  The scent of seared flesh and cloth filled the air. But when the smoke cleared and the light receded, both Mystics still stood, the spark orbiting faster and faster around each one as if they were two silver suns facing off in the sky. A huge hole had blown through the thick mountain walls, revealing the unoccupied quarters belonging to Regent Opher. On the far side of the room, a large red curtain billowed gently.

  A cry of rage escaped Thea’s thin lips and she concentrated the spark in her hands. The silver light grew quickly, rolling like clay between her fingers before she released it, aiming once again for Eli. A blast of energy from Eli’s hands formed a wall of silver light and absorbed the orb. A loud crash shook the hall as the two sources of energy met once again sending everyone to their knees. More stone separated from the mountain, crumbling into piles that rolled like an avalanche across the room.

  Rina covered her ears with her hands. “We have to get out of here!” She shielded Moriyo with her body and began to crawl painfully across the rubble, waving to Eldon to follow her. The ground was hot from the spark, scalding her palms as she moved. Eldon and Zaid guarded Eira between them as they moved into the Regent’s quarters, taking cover behind the massive desk covered in ink stains.

  The Kaldarian soldiers followed them, their weapons left forgotten on the ground and they cowered right beside the people who, only a moment ago, had been the enemy. Out in the hallway, the Mystics unleashed the spark upon one another again, the energy so powerful it sent a wave of force through the air that knocked them back and left Rina’s head ringing.

  Eldon prodded the nearest Kaldarian. “Soldier. Is there a way out of here? They’re going to bring the entire hall down on us.”

  A shriek of protest and the thudding of dozens of boots filled the air. “Stop! Thea Winter I order you to stop right now. You’re going to destroy the palace!” The red-faced Regent of Kaldar stood in front of his troops, red and black hair streaming and cape billowing behind him. He took in the damage around the hall, noting the broken wall that spilled into his personal quarters and blanched. “Rhett! Gaela! Stop them!” But Mystics Rhett and Gaela skidded to a stop as they saw the spark orbiting their fellow Mystics like a second skin.

  Behind the Regent stood Malik in Burgan brown and go
ld and Khalid Shin, four other members of the Burgan military along with a wide-eyed Halay and Jarem, a pair of wings opening behind his back. So Thea hadn’t lied. Malik had come after them and brought a contingent with him. He’d had her back since enlisting, first seeing to it that Commander Dax was properly punished and now he was here with military force to bring the Mystics back to Burga.

  Regent Opher abandoned his troops, scrambling over the rubble, stumbling and finally casting his cape to the ground. Rina could only share a passing glance with Malik as she caught the Regent’s movement from the corner of her eye. She leapt to her feet, following in his wake. She’d caught the desperate glare in his eyes as he sprinted toward the red curtain.

  The Regent reached the curtain before Rina and thrust it aside with a flourish. The curtain fluttered and bits of dust floated in the spark light whose silver glow exploded across the room. Rina skidded to a stop as Opher ran across the short space to the bed and fell to his knees.

  Lying on the bed were two people, a woman and a young girl, both deeply asleep. Their hair had been recently brushed and carefully braided, their clothes changed. But their sleep was eerie. They did not shift or twitch as one does when at rest. The sleeping sickness. Rina’s thoughts turned to Sister Rowan and the promise she’d made to the Brotherhood.

  Regent Opher knelt beside his wife and daughter, his forehead against the bed. At her approach, he whirled around, his eyes wild. Rina held her empty hands up showing that she meant no harm. “We have to get them out of here! Thea will bring this entire wing down upon us.”

  Rina stood silently gazing upon the sleeping mother and child. The young girl had Opher’s same dark coloring, her hair an inky black. But she truly was a smaller copy of her mother, bearing the same heart-shaped face and full lips.

  This is what had made Eli turn, why he had nearly refused to leave. He couldn’t abandon them, these two innocents. The thought filled Rina’s heart with warmth as another wave of energy rocked the hall. Rina stumbled and the two sleeping people shifted slightly from the force of the energy released by the spark.

  Rina placed a hand on the Regent’s shoulder. “We will go to the Northlands. Eli and I.” She felt him break then, shaking as his grief and relief caved like an overtaxed dam.

  Another exchange of energy sent Thea flying across the room. Her concentration broken, the spark quickly disappeared from her skin with a hiss, returning to the realm of Nia. A ringing silence filled the room and rubble from the broken walls continued to shift and crack from the explosions. Though he had overpowered his enemy, Eli seemed lost in the ocean of power that flitted and shifted around his body. He strode forward, still intent on the defeated Mystic.

  “Eli, enough!” Mystic Moriyo’s gravelly voice rang out across the hall as he leaned heavily on Zaid’s arm. The two moved forward slowly, hindered by Moriyo’s slow gait and the rubble that littered their path. Hearing his master’s voice seemed to shake Eli from his trance and the light circling him dimmed slightly.

  Mystics Moriyo and Zaid put themselves between Eli and Thea, the spark noticeably absent from their hands and bodies. Smoke curled delicately around their feet, but otherwise, nothing moved. Eli stopped his slow walk and regarded his teacher. Finally, in an exhale of power, the spark dissipated, leaving him weak with exhaustion.

  Rina made her way across the room and out into the hall. She reached for Eli tentatively at first for the Mystic hadn’t moved. She touched his cheek and then ran her fingers across the rune on his left forearm, the rune the two of them shared, that had led her to him through the darkness.

  Beneath her fingers, he seemed to come alive again. His chest rose and fell and his eyes shifted, taking in the dirt, and the blood that flecked her uniform. “You came for me.”

  Rina nodded. “Of course I did.” She swallowed and looked down before locking eyes with him once more. “We are also one flock and nothing will ever separate us.”

  Epilogue

  Rina stood tall and everything about her glistened. The burnished brass buttons of her uniform. The buckles on her boots. The golden runes that Eli had painted on her black and white wings. The gold slash that covered the left side of her face.

  A gentle wind swirled up from the base of the mountain, sending her short hair streaming behind her in an inky black wave. The spark buzzed with urgency in the lightning tube on her back, mirrored by a similar buzz coming from a pair of wings sitting between Eli’s shoulder blades.

  The once nearly powerless Mystic gave off a silvery glow that emanated from the dozens of runic scars that criss-crossed his body like a puzzle. Whatever had prevented him from accessing the spark was gone and now he seemed to have a direct and permanent link to Nia’s world. Where he ended and the spark began, Rina couldn’t say.

  “NightWind. Mystic Eli. Are you ready?” Regent Opher stepped onto the rampart, the Kaldarian pennant waving far above them and casting its shadow down onto the stone walkway. Behind the red-clad leader stood Eldon, wings spread wide, Jarem, wingless, and Halay. On the other side of Opher stood Malik, Senior Commander Khalid Shin and the Kaldarian Commander Rex Saladin. Mystics from all city-states ringed the group wearing their traditional black tunics.

  Rina glanced at Eli and then back to the Regent. “We are.”

  “Best of luck. We are counting on you.” He rewarded them with a wide grin, his signature red cape flapping behind him.

  Rina and Eli stepped to the edge of the rampart. At one of the palace’s highest peaks, they gazed down to the base of the mountain, a thousand feet below them. “We can do this,” she whispered just for him to hear.

  First Rina’s wings spread wide, catching the warm sun and sending spirals of light dancing on the castle’s facade. Eli stepped up beside her, his heart beating roughly in his chest, and his borrowed wings opened just as he bid them. He couldn’t help but grin.

  “Unity.” Rina’s voice was clear and strong.

  “Bravery.” Eli took a deep breath, feigning more confidence then he felt.

  “Flight!” Rina bent her knees and jumped, diving off the rampart and into the open air, Eli following moments after.

  The crowd held its breath, each straining for a sight of two pairs of wings climbing in the sky. First came Rina, wings black as night, the tips dipped in gold. Then, a moment after, came Eli, the Mystic with the sapphire eyes who gave off a silver glow. Together they rose higher and higher, dancing across the bright blue sky, their shadows floating like clouds over the ground below.

  “May the spark return.” Regent Opher clasped his hands together and watched the Aviatrix and the Mystic until they became specks on the northern horizon.