Maggie sighed. It wasn’t much of a solution at all.
“You can Conceal yourself for a time, can’t you, Maggie?” Lila asked.
Maggie frowned. “Yes. For perhaps an hour at a time.”
Lila nodded. “Good. You’ll have to do it when we jump back to Interchron, to keep Colin from realizing you’re back. When we get you into the mountain, the others will take over.”
Maggie frowned, doubts racing through her head. What if they depleted all the Concealers at Interchron, as they had before, and still had no solution? What then? She didn’t want to put the entire rebellion at risk.
As though reading the thoughts in her face, David spoke. “You can’t stay here, Maggie. She—whatever that thing was—will come back.”
“How do you know that if you don’t know what she is?”
“What difference does it make? She’s trying to kill you. She’s probably the assassin the transmission talked about.”
Maggie rubbed her forehead, knowing he was right.
“We’ll figure this out, Maggie.” David raised her chin with his forefinger, forcing her to meet his gaze, and her heartbeat quickened. “I promise. For now, we have to get going.”
Maggie felt oddly comforted by David’s confidence, and irritated with herself for being so easily consoled, but David was right about Justine. She was sure of it.
Without another word, he took her elbow, turned east and broke into an easy lope, pulling her alongside him. A glance over her shoulder showed Lila motioning to Jonah and the two of them fell in behind, matching David’s pace.
Jonah gazed steadily at Maggie—as steadily as he could while bouncing up and down to maintain the jog, anyway—but said nothing.
Maggie turned her gaze forward and focused on keeping up with David. He’d let go of her elbow and now simply held her hand. She’d been looking forward to heading back to Interchron since Marcus dropped her off here, but this was not how she’d pictured it. Thoughts swirled in her head like a tornado. Well, they seemed to say, here we go again.
Chapter 5: Bearing Witness
“WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Karl asked.
Marcus glanced at his giant of a best friend, but didn’t answer right away. He’d been about to ask Karl the same question. The footprint in the dirt was huge—easily as big as his head. The man who made it must have been close to seven feet tall. It wasn’t an uncommon height for a Trepid.
They’d been following this same set of tracks for eight days. It led them into a green forest, where the moist soil held footprints well. Marcus had been in this forest before, though not for more than a decade.
“You can’t change my mind, Marcus. It’s my choice.”
Marcus pushed the memory away. It had come back to him in chunks ever since he’d visited the lighthouse on the coast; ever since the Remembrancer touched him. He didn’t need it distracting him now, though. He forced his attention back to the footprint.
Oddly, the larger-than-life tracks lay over top of another set. The Trepids they tracked were only ten or twelve in number, their prints distinct and recent. Marcus didn’t think he and Karl could be more than a few hours behind them. The other set of tracks were more numerous and less distinct—a large group of people who’d passed through this forest days ago.
Karl came to squat beside him, and Marcus knew his best friend’s study of the print was all show. Neither of them needed visual observation to know what the tracks meant.
Heaving a sigh, Marcus straightened his legs. “I think we’re tracking Colin and his Trepids, and they’re tracking someone else.”
“A group of individuals, you think?” Karl stood as well, towering head and shoulders over Marcus.
“Who else? Colin and his Arachimen wouldn’t be pursuing other collectivists.”
Karl nodded. He used the heel of his hand to wipe sweat from his forehead. It also slicked his arms and neck, making his black skin shine. Clouds hid the sun today, like most days, but the air was humid, and they’d traveled at a rapid pace for most of the morning.
“How close do you think Colin is to the individuals?” Karl asked.
Marcus studied the tracks again, mostly out of habit. “Hard to say. I think we’re only a few hours behind Colin. He’s probably closing ground fast between himself and his prey, though.”
“Think we can make it in time to save them?”
“Even if we do, how will we? You and I can best a dozen Arachnimen between us, even if I didn’t use my staff, but I thought we’d have time to surround and observe them. To simply attack, not only fighting but trying to save—” he glanced at the ground again. “There must be sixty people in this group. How will we do that?”
Karl shrugged. “Probably won’t know until we get there. We have to try, though, don’t we?”
Marcus looked up in surprise. “Of course. I’m just saying it’s gonna suck.”
A grin leapt onto Karl’s face. “Bring it on, Man.”
Marcus allowed one corner of his mouth to lift as he hoisted his pack higher on his back and picked up his staff. Most people used stones as conduits. Marcus’s father gave him the staff, and he’d used it for years to focus and direct his Offensive energy. Roughly five feet long, and about half the circumference of his wrist, knobs worn smooth by years of use covered the wood. “Let’s move,” he said.
By unspoken consent, they quickened their pace, keeping it about four miles per hour, now. Both carried packs of supplies and Marcus clutched his wooden staff in one hand. Too long to fit in any pack, he was never without it outside of Interchron.
The land rolled as they moved through forest, putting boulders, rises, and fallen trees in their path. Marcus and Karl had traveled this way for months. The muscle fatigue had long-since passed, and they surmounted the obstacles deftly, not lessoning their pace.
As they came into a shallow valley, Marcus splashed through a ribbon of water that was something between a meandering stream and a shallow river.
There stood David, calm and cool, only feet from the high, churning river current.
Marcus pushed the image away. He liked to think he was becoming skilled at ignoring the memory trying to push to the forefront of his mind, but in truth, the memory was getting harder to ignore.
A massive tree trunk lay across their path. Split in several places and blanketed in lichen, the trunk hosted a full-blown beaver’s dam at one side where it was nearly submerged in water.
Karl’s long legs allowed him to jump right up onto the trunk. Marcus grasped a handhold and pulled himself up. Karl splashed into the stream on the other side as Marcus gained the top.
Something hit him. Hard.
Atop the trunk, he teetered thirty feet from the nearest stand of trees and nothing moved anywhere in his vicinity. The force slammed into his shoulder blades, driving the air from his lungs. He let out an involuntary grunt and fought to keep his balance.
Up ahead, Karl whirled looking alarmed.
The world tilted. Marcus pitched forward. Karl lunged to catch him, only partially succeeding. He broke Marcus’s fall—which probably saved Marcus some broken bones—but also managed to poke Marcus in the eye and knee him in the stomach.
“Marcus?” Karl sounded panicked. “Marcus!” He lowered Marcus to his knees in the shallow stream.
The world grew hazy. Karl’s voice sounded far away...
The thicket was still, but sixteen-year-old Marcus wasn’t fooled. His brother hid somewhere nearby. Neither of them were allowed to go far during these exercises.
Marcus ran a hand through his brown hair, pushing it off his forehead. It had grown past his ears and into his eyes, which meant his father would want to trim it again soon. A care for another time.
Marcus scanned the forest the way his father showed him, using his brain’s extra senses to explore everything. The soil...the foliage...the trees...animal life...the short, quick puffs of breath coming from behind the thick aspen on his left.
Marcus stalked forward and
swung around to the other side of the aspen tree. “Found you!”
“Aw!” David straightened his legs, looking dejected. “How do you always find me so fast?”
David was a slightly miniaturized version of Marcus. Shorter and stockier, but with the same light brown hair and hazel, rainbow-flecked eyes.
Marcus shrugged, pride swelling his chest. “I’m amazing. That’s all.”
David slugged him.
A booming laugh from behind Marcus startled him, but its familiarity immediately put him at ease again.
David’s sullen expression deepened. “How long have you been standing there, Dad?”
Still chuckling, their father stepped out from behind a shrub. Danic stood taller than both his sons and was thick through the chest. He didn’t share their light brown hair or strange-colored eyes, either. With black hair and eyes almost dark enough to match, he’d always claimed their looks came from their mother.
“I’ve been watching a while,” he grinned. “What? I didn’t want to interrupt your little exercise.”
David’s shoulders slumped and Marcus stepped forward to squeeze his brother’s shoulder reassuringly.
“It’s not fair,” David muttered. “It always takes me an hour to find Marcus. He finds me in five minutes.”
“Marcus is three years older than you are, Son,” Danic said, his voice taking on a deeper tone as it always did when he imparted wisdom. “He’s had three years longer to practice. You’ll get there. I promise. Your abilities in some areas will probably surpass Marcus’s someday.”
David’s eyes brightened. “Really?”
“Of course.” Their father hooked his thumbs into his waistband. “Everyone has different skills. Neither of you boys has reached your full potential, yet. You’ll be better at some things. Marcus will be better at others. Learn the basics, David. In a few years, when you’ve mastered them, you’ll be able to set yourself apart.”
“Will I be able to Heal like Marcus does?”
Danic’s gaze swiveled back and forth between his boys, eyes calculating. “I’m not certain. I think your talents may lie in a slightly different area, but they’ll be no less important.” David’s shoulders slumped again until his father’s eyes twinkled. “Come back to the clearing, now. I’ve brought supper.”
“Supper?” David jumped a foot off the ground “Woot!” And he was off. David always ran with his shoulders thrust farther forward than his legs, swinging them from side to side as he went and tucking his elbows into his sides.
Marcus chuckled and walked toward his father, repositioning the dagger at his belt when the hilt jabbed him in the side. Danic clapped him on the shoulder. “You always take good care of your brother, Marcus. I hope you know I appreciate that. It doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Marcus studied the ground, his face heating. His father was an affectionate man, but verbal praise from him always made Marcus blush. “I...always will, Dad.”
His father smiled in a way that made Marcus’s heart swell. “I know that.” His father clapped him on the shoulder once more and together they headed for the clearing.
“Marcus,” his father said as they hiked, “I’ve made a decision.”
“About what?”
“We’re going to go live in a community.”
Marcus stopped dead and his father went three paces more before realizing Marcus no longer walked beside him. He turned and raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of a community?”
“A community of individuals.”
Marcus’s eyebrows rose. “You know where one is?”
Danic nodded and motioned Marcus forward. “Let’s keep going or David will eat both our suppers for us before we get there.”
Marcus fell in beside him again.
“I was approached,” his father continued, “years ago by a man who called himself Johann Carver. You and David were little boys and this man was roving around, looking for individuals to bring into his community. He approached me because he scanned your brain chemistry and, though you were only a child at the time, he believed you could be a great asset to his community one day.”
“In what way?”
His father paused and turned to face him. “Your Healing skills, Marcus. They’ll be something to marvel at.”
Marcus’s face grew hot again. “I’m not a great Healer, Dad. I can barely mend a skinned knee.”
Danic chuckled. “Lucky David gives you plenty of practice. You’ll be a great Healer, Marcus, if you receive the right training. I, as you know, have only minimal skill with Healing. You’ve already surpassed what I can teach you.”
Marcus nodded as his father’s motives became clear in his mind. “So you want us to go there to hone our abilities? They can teach us?”
“We’re going there for many reasons. That’s one of them. I also think it’s time. You and David are growing up—faster than I would like, in fact,” he let out a soft, sad chuckle, “and I think it’s time we all learned to be part of a community. As you boys grow, you’ll want to be useful, want to have friends. After the incident last year with that girl David befriended, I think it would be easier for both of you. And if you ever want to find wives...”
“David’s thirteen, Dad.”
“Even so. He’s not a child anymore, and you haven’t been for years.” He glanced at Marcus, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Don’t worry so much, Son. You do that too often. This will be a good thing for us. I talked extensively with this man before. I trust him. They’re good people with a good cause.”
“Why didn’t you go with him before?”
Danic stopped again, his face troubled.
“Dad, what is it?”
“It’s...” His father shook his head as though arguing with himself. “There are many reasons for that Marcus, and I don’t want to go into them right now.”
Marcus grunted. “For all your talk about me growing up, you still treat me like a child sometimes. You know that?”
His father smiled. “Mostly, I was being protective. He appeared to be a good man and I liked his cause, but I didn’t know how to trust him. I feared he might try to use your abilities for his own purposes.”
“He still might.”
“True, but now you’re old enough to know the difference. I feel like I’ve taught you boys well enough that you can think for yourselves and make your own decisions. You are independent enough to know when someone is trying to use you, and decide your own fate. When you were a child, I wasn’t sure I could shield you from such things. By keeping you and David isolated, I think I’ve done all right protecting you.”
“Of course you have, Dad.”
“Well. Anyway, I’ve been heading toward this community for the past few weeks and thought I ought to tell you about it. I’ll tell David over supper as well. They live inside a mountain, so that’s where we’re headed.”
“Inside a mountain?”
“Apparently. Carver called it Interchron.”
Marcus choked and sucked in air. His lungs refused to inflate. Slowly, ever so slowly, they relaxed, letting air back in. Karl crouched beside him, one hand on Marcus’s shoulder.
After five minutes, Marcus could breathe deeply again, though he panted and his chest felt like someone was twisting a rubber band around it, tighter and tighter. He stared up into Karl’s concerned face.
“What happened, Man?” Karl asked.
“I don’t know. Something hit me.”
Karl eyed Marcus warily for several seconds before slowly shaking his head. “Nothing hit you, Marcus. I was right here. I would have sensed it. Or...seen—”
“Agreed,” Marcus panted. “I didn’t sense anything either, but I’m telling you. Something knocked the breath clean out of me.”
Marcus rubbed his face as his father’s voice from all those years ago echoed in his head. Why couldn’t this memory just die? He didn’t want to think about what happened when he and David were kids, or about his father. He had to focus on get
ting rid of Colin if he ever hoped to bring Maggie back.
Karl straightened his legs and turned a slow circle. Marcus could feel him scanning the countryside around them.
When he’d done a full three-sixty, he squatted beside Marcus again. “There’s nothing, Marcus. Nothing I can feel could have done this. I don’t suppose you’ve ever known your Healing powers to have side effects?”
Marcus barked a painful laugh. “Like what? Spontaneous collapse of the lungs?”
Karl didn’t laugh. “What do you need me to do?”
Marcus waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing. Another minute and I’ll be fine.”
“This is serious, Marcus. We need to know what just happened.”
“What happened is my body had a minor melt down and put more distance between us and Colin. We need to get moving.”
“What if someone attacked you?”
“Do you sense anyone?”
“I...” Karl sighed. “No, but if they’re Concealed—”
“We won’t be able to find them anyway. We’re Concealed, Karl. If we can move away from this place, anyone attacking won’t be able to find us again unless they see us. We should go. Now.”
“How do you feel?”
Marcus got slowly to his feet, pulling his staff from the cold, clear water. “Better. Come on.”
Karl frowned, looking like he wanted to object, but they both knew Marcus was right. If they couldn’t identify their attacker, they needed to leave the area immediately.
They set off. Marcus stumbled at first. His muscles loosened as they went and his body responded. Soon they matched their previous pace.
Marcus didn’t think whatever struck him was tangible or close by. There was something...far away about the sensation. It felt like he’d been thrown against a wall, which didn’t make any sense all the way out here. He thought he knew what happened, but he couldn’t explain it in a way that any sense, even to himself. And it wasn’t something he could talk about. Not even with his best friend.
Marcus prayed whatever it was didn’t happen again. Not only could his body not take the stress, but it would also slow them down. He had to find Colin. Everything else, including this bizarre incident, would have to take a back seat for now. They trotted on through the countryside.
Quantum Entanglement Page 5
