The evening’s fun and games faded into obscurity the following morning when, much to their chagrin, Taz insisted they get back to practicing aerial maneuvers.
“We can’t slack off just because there’s no apparent danger,” Taz lectured. “Besides, Atu needs to learn what you already have. It would be most unfortunate if we met another Gaptor, and he fell off during the fight.”
Kayla sighed. There’s no faulting her infallible logic. Sadly. They set to work, taking turns flying solo. Of necessity, this meant they left the third person on the ground while the other two practiced. Although grateful for the downtime they had between sets—Taz was a hard taskmaster—Kayla worried about the time they were losing. When she asked Taz whether they should move on, Taz shrugged.
“This is an unavoidable delay. It’s preferable we only travel once we’ve trained Atu. We need to be ready for battle, should it happen.”
That was the end of the discussion. While Jaden still trained with Han and Kayla with Taz, Atu paired with each of the gliders alternately. His flight skills progressed faster than Jaden and Kayla’s, thanks to the pointers they could pass along. By midafternoon, Atu had the basic concepts down, although, without question, Jaden and Kayla’s mastery still exceeded his own. Taz was relentless in her pursuit of excellence, repeating their drills until they thought they would expire of sheer boredom.
Then, toward evening, Taz switched things up, coaching them on how to do the routines when two of them rode a glider instead of just one. She stipulated Atu pair with one of them and then the other so he could fly with either duo.
Her request proved unexpectedly challenging. Although the teens had no problem understanding her meticulous instructions, surprisingly, they found they lacked the strength for execution. With two of them now fighting for the limited space on the glider, the need for more precise control over their movements and the extended time required for completing each motion taxed their muscles to the extreme. Their strength failed before they had even finished two runs.
“Please,” Atu wheezed, “we need a break.”
Taz peered at them down her long, pointy nose, contemplating their request. “Yes, I suppose we should stop for the day. No point in training further when you’re already worn out. You did well, except for your resilience. Some strength training exercises will solve the problem.”
Too exhausted to resent her lack of praise, Kayla was also too weary to point out that all of this was new to them and that a grace period while their muscles adjusted was well within reason. Instead, she hunched on her bat, grateful when the gliders descended at the first sign of a decent resting place.
Almost too weak to walk, Kayla slid off Taz, noticing she wasn’t alone. Her arms ached, her legs were jelly, and every other muscle in her body felt entitled to complain too. Kayla and the boys dragged themselves through dinner with a supreme effort before shuffling into their sleeping shells, where deep, dreamless sleep incapacitated them within minutes.
The next two days saw them traveling again, but they brought no respite. Their training ramped up. Taz was inexorable in her requests and Han unmoved by their protests. In fact, the more they complained, the more Taz demanded of them, until this truth filtered through to their fatigued minds, and they stopped whining.
The repetitive, strenuous exercise eventually paid dividends. They became more adept at their routines, learned new moves, more effectively maintained their balance, and even began acclimatizing to increased speeds. Still not enough to satisfy Taz, but they could withstand higher speeds better than a week before. At night, the sensation of flight remained with Kayla, and she curled, rolled, twisted, and dived as she stretched out in her shell, her dreams flooded with the movements.
Chapter Fourteen
Day four of their journey dawned, and Kayla woke, groaning as her stiff muscles objected to movement. Besides all the new muscles now employed when flying, Kayla was also unaccustomed to sleeping for more than a day on such unyielding surfaces. She ached all over.
“I’m sure there was a rock jabbing my back all night. My ribs are killing me,” Kayla moaned, rubbing a tender spot on her right side as she struggled out of her shell.
Jaden, looking the worse for wear, rubbed his hands over his face. “What I wouldn’t give for a nice, soft bed and some of my mother’s blueberry pancakes.”
“Quit mentioning tasty food,” Atu grumbled, his hair tousled and his eyes still half-closed as he emerged from his own shell.
As they hobbled over to the area where they’d made their fire the evening before, Atu was the least decrepit of the three. He picked up a stick and poked the still-warm embers, coaxing the fire back to life.
“How are you so much more mobile than Kayla and me?” Jaden demanded, eyeing him.
“I spend a few nights a month outdoors when I’m foraging for the herbs I use in my potions. You get used to it. In a day or two, you’ll feel you’ve slept nowhere other than on rock-hard ground.”
“If you say so,” Kayla muttered, not believing a word.
They huddled around the freshly stoked fire, leaning in for warmth while they ate their meager breakfast. Their food supply was dwindling, and it was getting progressively colder the further north they traveled, the terrain under them draining of any signs of life.
If they didn’t pass over an inhabited area soon, they would have to make a detour to stock up on supplies. Not only food, but clothing too, Kayla thought as she tried rubbing warmth into her frozen fingers. But they came across no towns that day. As evening approached, Kayla suggested a supply run, but the bats wouldn’t hear of it.
Taz sniffed. “There’s plenty of food in this area. What’s wrong with catching something?”
Jaden stared, horrified, before admitting, “I wouldn’t know how.”
Atu grinned. “Providence then that you have someone with you who does. Ever eat roast rabbit?”
Kayla blanched. “No, and I don’t want to.”
“It’s tasty,” Atu assured her, laughing. “Wait and try it before making any judgments.”
“That’s assuming you’ll catch any,” Kayla mumbled.
“Oh, I will.” Atu chuckled, noting her disapproving expression. “Just give me some time once we’re back on the ground.”
True to his word, when they landed a short while later, Atu disappeared into the overgrown underbrush in search of food. He returned an hour later with two rabbits slung over his shoulder.
Unsure whether she was repulsed or impressed, Kayla watched him skin the rabbits, remove and bury the entrails, and then spear the carcasses for roasting. She glanced around, looking for Jaden, wanting some moral support, but he’d wandered off to find water and hadn’t yet returned. Where is he when I need him? Dwelling on that thought made her squirrely. He had become way too important to her.
Wanting to take her mind in another direction, she asked, “Where did you learn how to do all that?”
“My father taught me,” Atu replied, not looking up, his attention on the spices he was rubbing into the meat. “When you live in the desert, getting to a store for supplies can sometimes be problematic.”
Kayla knew he was trying to make light of the situation, but she sensed his deep, underlying sorrow. “You miss him, don’t you?”
“Every day. My mom too.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened to them?” Kayla asked, not wanting to intrude but offering an opportunity to talk if he needed to.
“There’s not much to tell. They went into the desert almost three months ago to the day and never came home. When I realized something was wrong, I tracked them to the riverbed, but their trail disappeared into thin air. It was like they were walking one moment and gone the next.”
“Since I’m ignorant about how one person tracks another, did that make any sense? I mean, why would the trail just vanish?”
“I had no feasible answer before meeting you and Jaden. But that day when I glimpsed the Gaptor for the first time, I pieced
it together. I suspect their tracks disappeared the way they did because the Gaptor plucked them up into the air. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
His frankness shocked Kayla. Is he suggesting that the Gaptor took his parents? Why? And if so, what are the chances his parents are still alive?
He must’ve read her mind, because he said, “Yes, I do think the Gaptor took them, and it is possible they are dead. But I don’t think so. The feeling they’re still alive is as real to me as the ground I’m standing on. And if that’s fanciful thinking, then so be it. I’ll accept they’re no longer in the land of the living when I find proof to convince me otherwise.”
Now Kayla felt out of her depth. She almost regretted asking. But his quiet conviction tempered her regret, bringing more peace than she’d felt in days. His unwavering confidence that he would establish the fate of his parents, whatever that might be, brought her hope.
“I’m sorry you don’t know what happened to your parents; I am. But thank you for inspiring me to believe there can be a happy ending.” Kayla took his hand and squeezed it.
Gratitude shone in his eyes. “Thanks. It’s nice not to be alone anymore.”
“Who’s alone?” Jaden asked, picking up on the tail end of their conversation.
“No one.” Kayla smiled up at him. “We’re all in this together.”
“Nice to know.” Jaden’s face betrayed his awareness he wasn’t getting the whole story but was choosing not to pry.
Kayla moved to make space as Jaden sat next to her. His gaze flitted toward her hand, still holding Atu’s. The dangerous glint sparking in his eyes had her heart leaping. But the glint disappeared as quickly as it had sprung to life, and Jaden set his face in a congenial mask, leaving Kayla unsure what he was thinking.
Is he jealous? She wished he was. That would make things so much simpler. From the way he ground his teeth before looking away, it wasn’t impossible. Resisting the sudden urge to tell Jaden what she and Atu had been discussing so he would understand, Kayla sighed. It would only make things between them awkward again if she was misreading him. Giving Atu an encouraging smile, she released his hand.
To Kayla’s relief, Jaden’s mask fell away of its own accord as his emotions calmed, and the three of them settled into easy conversation around the campfire while the rabbits cooked. The bats had flown off earlier in search of their own food, and without their critical appraisal, the teens commented on how pleased they were that they weren’t as exhausted as they’d been the previous three evenings. The tempting aroma of roasted meat soon made their mouths water. And when the time came to eat, Kayla was first in line.
“Wow, this is delicious,” Kayla said, stuffing another bite into her mouth, too hungry to care about table manners and burning her tongue.
“Yeah, dude, amazing,” Jaden added, juice running down his chin.
Atu laughed, accepting their compliments. “I told you it would be.”
Conversation ceased while they ate, too hungry to interrupt their meal with talking or even greeting their gliders when they returned. The teens demolished the two rabbits in short order, much to the gliders’ disgust.
“Carnivores!” Han huffed.
“You were the ones who told us to catch something,” Kayla retorted.
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Taz groaned. “Ohanzee, let’s find a place to sleep. I can’t take much more of this.”
The gliders took off, and the teens chattered around the fire until the combined effects of the day’s exertions, their full stomachs, and the fire’s warmth leadened their eyelids. They mumbled goodnights, slid into their sleeping shells, and passed out.
Chapter Fifteen
A freezing, driving rain woke Kayla the next morning, a most unpleasant way to wake up. She wasn’t ready to relinquish sleep, and from the way Jaden and Atu huddled deeper into their shells, pulling the waterproof outer covers over their heads, neither were they.
But the water was everywhere, pounding down and bouncing off of every surface. It pooled around them and trickled over them, somehow finding ways inside their shells, until they conceded defeat. They were all in a foul mood when the gliders arrived back at the camp.
“Where have you been?” Jaden complained, rolling up his sodden shell.
“Bathing.” Taz smiled sweetly. “Something I think all of you desperately needed too. At least you don’t smell anymore.”
Kayla’s mouth dropped open. “Really? Of all the things you could say, you insult us?”
“No, I was telling the truth. Would you prefer I didn’t?”
Kayla rolled her eyes, too weary to comment.
Jaden, however, took offense, as incensed as a rattled snake. Frustrated, he yelled, “You could at least have said it nicely!”
“I don’t think there is a ‘nice’ way to tell someone their personal hygiene requires attention. Since you’re are up and about, shall we fly?”
“No!” Jaden snarled. “We’ll be good and ready only after eating breakfast.”
Kayla bit back a smile. He was being childish, but it was like he couldn’t help himself. Jaden hunched into himself, clearly regretting his rash statement when the icy rain persisted throughout breakfast, pelting them with icy bullets and making the entire experience utterly dreadful.
Kayla soldiered through it, although to her thinking, they would’ve been better off flying away and eating breakfast when they reached a drier area. Apparently, Jaden wasn’t about to admit that to Taz. But it did look like she and Atu would get an apology as soon as Taz was out of earshot.
They took flight as soon as they’d finished breakfast, and Kayla was sure she had never felt so wretched in all her life. She was cold and wet and hungry. The miserly portions divvied up for breakfast hadn’t quelled her hunger, and she longed for a hot meal and dry clothes. Glancing over at the boys flying the first stretch with Han, she was shocked to find Atu wearing only a t-shirt. What’s with that? Isn’t he cold?
Before she could ask, the gliders began the day’s exercises, as stringent with their mandates as ever. The morning dragged on, the cold never leaving her bones despite the exertion. The longer they flew, the more frigid the air became. Her frozen fingers solidified on Taz’s fur, and she was sure her nose would run away if it wasn’t attached to her face.
Two hours later, the rain subsided, but the cold persisted. Kayla caught another glimpse of Atu, who still hadn’t donned a sweater. Unable to believe it, Kayla said, “Taz, can we get closer to the boys? I want to talk to them.”
Wordlessly, Taz closed the gap.
Within earshot, Kayla yelled, “Atu, aren’t you freezing?”
Surprise flitted over his face, then something else. Pain? No, a grimace, but . . . is he embarrassed? Not expecting this reaction, Kayla was even more baffled when Atu asked the bats if they could land.
On the ground, Atu hopped down and squatted next to his pack. When he straightened, he held a jar. “Sorry, I meant to give this to you last night, but then we got talking, and I forgot.”
Kayla sidled over and took the jar. “What is it?”
“A lotion my family and I use to keep the cold at bay.”
She studied him, sure he was teasing her. But Atu’s earnest gaze confirmed he was serious. “So, what, we apply it just like lotion?”
“Yes, but especially on your hands and face.”
Jaden had watched the exchange up to this point. “You’re telling us you have a magic potion to keep us warm?”
“Yeah, bro. And dry. Sorry I forgot to hand it out last night—my bad.”
Suspicious, Kayla opened the jar and dipped her fingers into the substance, surprised when the texture her fingers found was creamy and smooth. She withdrew a small amount and sniffed it. It smelled of lavender. Not the best fragrance, but better than what she expected. Kayla rubbed the silky lotion over her chapped hands and felt the balm’s soothing relief. Then her hands tingled. She jerked them up to study them.
Atu smiled. “
Relax, the tingling’s part of the process.”
Reassured, Kayla yanked her damp sweater off and helped herself to a second round, smearing the lotion over her bare arms and exposed parts of her neck. Despite expecting the tingle, it still felt weird, particularly when she applied it to her ears. At first, she felt nothing. Her ears were so cold that they were numb. Then, abruptly, they prickled and burned. And then they were on fire. With a small shriek, Kayla reached up and grabbed her ears with her hands, trying to scrub the lotion off.
Chuckling, Atu gently pulled her hands away. “Relax. It’ll pass.”
“When?” Kayla cried, sure the inferno in her ears would set her hair on fire.
Even Jaden was laughing, and Kayla scowled. About to punch him, she realized the fire had died as suddenly as it had started. Her ears felt blessedly warm—and normal. Tossing a devilish grin at Jaden, she said, “Your turn.”
He stopped laughing. Jaden reached over and scooped out a small dollop, then gingerly applied the lotion to his hands. When his eyes widened, it told Kayla all she needed to know. He was experiencing the same tingle.
“Wait until you do your ears,” Kayla said, smiling when he grimaced.
Still smiling, Kayla took a third helping and disappeared behind Taz’s outstretched wings to cover the parts of her skin she didn’t want exposed to the boys, while Jaden did the same behind Han. Within five minutes, they were both smothered with the lotion. It was sublime when the tingling passed, and warmth spread, heating Kayla from the inside out.
“Wow, it works,” Kayla said, impressed.
“Obviously, it does. I made it. Sorry again for not handing it out earlier. It should make our journey northward more comfortable.”
It did. No longer bound by the pervasive cold, Kayla performed her exercises with abandon, freed from the fear her frozen limbs wouldn’t support her weight. Her joy soared when she was once again able to revel in the freedom flying brought. Her renewed energy and willingness to do all she asked even impressed Taz.
Destiny Series Boxed Set Page 37