I ignore Finn's disgusted, “Ewwww,” as my head keeps bobbing in the basin.
“Don't worry; it's a natural reaction to the Ayhaya,” Maya says, soothing me as she holds my hair outta the way of the projectile liquid burning from my throat. Natural? What the hell is natural about this?
“What the hell is Ayhaya?” Mack asks.
I try to answer, but another bout of sickness takes over.
“Her hair, Mack.” Even over the sound of my puking, Finn's worried comment registers.
My hair? What about it? Do I have puke in it?
Finally, I spit and wipe a shaky hand across my mouth. Maya pulls the basin away and hands me a tin of water. I sit up, downing the tin in one gulp. “Holy shite, that was intense,” I manage to croak. “How long was I out?”
Mack answers for my crew. “Long enough for us to know something was wrong and bring us back in. Mind telling us what the hell we missed?”
I ignore him for the moment and glare Maya's way. “May the gods strike you dead if you even so much as think about askin' me to drink that poison again. And a little more heads up wouldna’ hurt none either.” Ignoring her soft laughter I touch my face, expecting to feel the welts and cuts from my encounters. Instead, it feels normal. How can that be when it felt so real? I turn my focus on Finn. “And what about my hair?”
“It looks like hers.” Finn points to Maya, eyes wide, and I can see the confirmation in the pleased smile on her face.
Forgetting about searching for the welts, my hand moves to my hair. “It worked?” I whisper, and she nods.
“What worked?” Mack sounds even more pissed if that's possible. “Will one of you please explain what is going on here?”
Maya and I both ignore him as she helps me to my feet. My long braid swings forward, and I grab the tail of it, shocked to see Finn is right. Other than the slivers of black running through it, it's as white as the snow I once saw in Lily's picture books. Dang.
“How do you feel, Tara?”
I pause to think about Maya's question. I'd just been through hell and back. I'd been attacked, injected with venom, ripped open and pummeled with Chi… and I ain't ever felt better. Even after the rigorous vomiting, I feel energized and renewed. The hum of activity I felt in my dream world still vibrates gently under my skin, and I realize I brought it back with me. I look up at Maya in wonder. I really cain't explain how I feel. The only word that comes to mind is powerful, and I suddenly understand the wave of power I'd felt oozing from the Prezedant the first time we met. The feeling is dangerously intoxicating. As if Maya completely understands the thoughts in my head, she nods. “Yes, it takes a while to get used to it, but soon it will feel as natural as breathing.”
“Okay, enough with the vague comments here. The girl looked like she was at death's door earlier. Explain,” Mack demands as he glares at both of us, arms folded and legs spread. It's Maya who answers.
“Of course, Captain.” Maya finally turns his way and spreads her hands. “I can tell you exactly what's going on. You came to ask me and my people to join in your fight with the Prezedant; I refused. Your girl here, the weapon you think can end it all, she wasn't ready. She had not reached her enlightenment and was doomed to fail. But now, she and her Chi are one. She is more powerful and more ready than she will ever be.”
“And I take it this Ayhaya you speak of provided the means for this to occur?”
“It, shall we say, opened a doorway for her transformation to take place. The details of her journey are for her to share. Although I'm sure it was quite the adventure.”
“More like a night terror if you ask me,” I add, and it catches Finn's interest. I can tell by the way his eyes light up, and I run a hand over his matted red hair. “I'll tell you, just not right now, okay?” He frowns but nods in agreement. I turn my attention to Maya. “So have I earned your respect enough for you to change your mind? Will you and your muties join us in our fight?”
“I make many major decisions for my people, but this is something they must agree to on their own terms. I will not make the decision for them.”
“Seriously?” My skin tingles a little bit more, like my Chi ain't happy with that response. “I go through all this shite and you still might say no?”
“I only guide my people, Tara. I don't command them to do anything; otherwise, I'd be no better than the Prezedant. What the muties decide is up to them. Shall we go ask?” She turns to Cee, hovering at the entryway. “Sound the horn. It's time for a gathering.”
We'd entered Maya's abode at early dusk. While I'd been busy gettin' tossed about by the gaggle of super-baddies, dusk had turned to night, and a sliver of moon now shines bright in the sky. The Ayhaya nightmare had felt like it lasted way longer than the couple of hours the sky suggested. Who coulda thought something so life transforming could happen in such a short span of time?
Cee had done her job, and the whole area outside of Maya's home is filled to capacity with muties of all shapes and sizes. Wherever there's standing room, there's a body. Torches light up those closest to us, but the dark sea of bodies stretches back and blends into the horizon. They had to number close to a thousand. The sheer number worries me. The more muties there are, the more that can disagree with this whole idea. It would be a shame having come this far and they ain't gonna agree to help us.
Maya leads the way, and the sea of muties part as we pass through, their murmuring following us all the way to the center of the village where a platform is lit up with torches. It takes a few minutes for the hundreds of voices to settle to complete and utter silence, but they do just that as Maya takes her spot center stage. She motions for me to join her. I don't wanna, but Beanie and Talbert push me up there against my will, and I hang back in the shadows with Cee.
“Hand me the speaking horn, Cee.” I watch as Cee gives her the weird lookin' golden cylinder, and Maya places it against her lips.
“Welcome all.” Maya's voice—amplified by the contraption—echoes into the star filled sky. “I'm sure by now word has spread of the New Blood that arrived in our village earlier today. For those of you familiar with the rebels, she is the one we've heard stories of. The one who fought side by side with my sister, Lily. The one who freed the prisoners, some of them our own people, from the prison on Royal Island. The one who confronted the Prezedant and survived, something not many can boast of. She stands right here.”
Without warning she grabs my hand and pulls me into the light of the torches, and I pull my wrapper a little tighter over my head. A ripple moves over the crowd, but whether it's approval or scorn, I ain't sure.
“Tara came to us for a reason. But it's not the reason she believes.”
I forget my discomfort for a moment and glance over at her in surprise. Where's she going with this?
“She believes she came here out of her own choices. But she did not. The gods brought her to me for a purpose. She and others believe she has a destiny, a prophecy that she may or may not be the one to fulfill. Do I profess to know if she will succeed?” She gazes out over the crowd and shrugs her shoulders in bafflement. “Who am I to say? I am just a servant of the gods, put here to serve, just like you all.” They murmur along with her in complete agreement. “But I do know one thing. Any New Blood of the light is useless until they reach their final stage of enlightenment. Only then are they powerful enough to beat the one who rules through fear and oppression. The one who haunts our night terrors and fills our children’s hearts with terror. The Prezedant.”
The murmur turns into a roar of disapproval as curses and spittle are thrown in his name. She holds her hands up, calming them down. “This New Blood had not attained her enlightenment. She came here looking for our help, our backing in fighting our enemy and ridding him from power. I denied her request.”
More murmuring. “Did I do wrong?” she asks, and the crowd answers with nays and shakes of their heads. I look around in amazement. She fed me some crap line earlier about her not ordering her people
to do anything, but I can now see that was total bullshite. She had these people eating out of the palm of her hand.
“But as I said, the gods had a plan. The New Blood needed to go on her journey of enlightenment. She needed to be at her weakest to accept her strength. So, I helped her with that. And behold!”
Before I can react or move outta her way, she rips the wrapper offa my head, and my white hair that she had told me to hide earlier comes tumbling out. Maya looks pleased as punch, so I reckon the shouts and stamping at the revel is a good thing?
“She came to me a weakling, and I helped her be strong. Powerful. Enlightened.” She raises her voice, so the muties don't miss her words. They fall as clear as the rare rains on a windless day. No one else utters a sound, enthralled by her voice.
“The world needs changing,” she says. “It's said that once our world was alive and bountiful, that once all people lived in harmony and at peace. I believe it can be that way again. But not until the Prezedant is defeated. Only then can we live without fear, without persecution, without hunger.” She pauses to draw a breath and points my way, her captive audience hanging onto her every word. “The gods tell me we can fight him. The gods tell me we can stop him. The gods tell me all hope lies with this New Blood. She has a plan that just may work. Will we respond upon her command?”
There is a moment of shock and uncertainty at her question, and my heart plummets to the bottom of my stomach. They ain't gonna do it. One young mutie steps forward into the circle of light where we stand, and stares up at us in fear, like he ain't quite sure if he should be saying anything. But he does anyway. “You've always told us the fight isn't ours, Maven. Why fight now? What changed?”
At first I think Maya ain't gonna answer the young'un. Her face goes from anger to sadness all in the span of a few moments. She lifts the speaking horn to her lips again and addresses the crowd.
“For those of you who cannot hear, young Tod has questioned our involvement. It's a valid point.” I can see the young'un’s shoulders relax in relief. “I have preached over the years that we stay out of the fight. But I was wrong. We can't afford to stay out of it any longer. With every year, his army grows bolder and his reach into the out lands stronger. Our lands are changing, and we cannot rely on the fear of contamination to keep him away anymore. I've had dreams. Premonitions… call it what you will, but I believe they are a warning, and I feel our home will not be safe much longer. If we sit back and do nothing, then we will all perish.”
Her admission is followed by shouting and cries of disbelief, despair, I ain't quite sure. All I know is the crowd ain't happy.
“Quiet. Quiet,” she bellows, and the muties finally settle down once more. “All is not lost. No, far from it. Look at her.” She grabs my hand and holds it above our heads, shaking it in earnest. “I believe she is the one. The one the prophecy has spoken of. Do you feel it? I do. The gods do. They've allowed her Chi to manifest into a power the rest of us can only dream of. A power that will put an end to these dark days once and for all. So I ask you again, my people. Will we respond upon her command?”
Utter silence. Sweat pops on my brow as disappointment washes over me. They ain't gonna back us.
Then I hear one voice, tiny at first, lost in the throng of muties. I look down to the front where my people stand. Finn is pumping his fist in the air and yelling the same thing over and over, “Ta-ra. Ta-ra. Ta-ra!” Before long, Talbert and Beanie join in, then the rest of my crew. Then the muties join in around them. Maya looks my way and grins before yelling the same thing through her speaking horn, “Ta-ra. Ta-ra. Ta-ra.”
The chant soon turns to a thunderous roar as hundreds of voices call my name. Then they're cheering and whistling and clapping. Maya shakes my hand and turns her glance my way. “I think you have your army,” she says.
I ain't gonna lie. I'm dazed by the noise and reaction, but hearing my name chanted with their acceptance is exhilarating. It only adds to the growing confidence I feel in my gut that I really can do this. And even after all we've been through, after all my doubt and fear, I finally feel strong. I finally feel that I'm worthy of their hope.
Maya told me I would get used to the power vibrating beneath my skin, but it's now days later, and the tingling of pent up energy is driving me crazy as I sit by the fire trying to keep my agitation hidden. It's bad enough we wasted a day and a half waiting for the raiders to show up into the out lands with the two veacals fulla supplies they had stolen from the army. I know it was something we had to do. The muties had appreciated the extra supplies, and we had filled our own truck with supplies as well for Vi and her people.
But once we got back enroute to Gray Valley, I just want to push through. I'm itching to get outta the sand lands and back as quick as we can. And yeah, I know Jax is totally the cause of that impatient itch, but Mack and the others had over ridden my decision. Deep down I know they're right. The idea of driving the truck in total darkness don't make the least bit of sense, and Belle ain't the most skillful driver at the best of times. She'd probably break our necks at night, so making camp and reaching Gray Valley in the morning is the right thing to do. Don't mean I'm happy about it.
I sit with Cat on one side of me and Finn on the other, staring into the flames as Mack stirs our stew and Tater amuses Talbert and Beanie and Belle with a story about Duchess. I know he misses her since she went back home, so he'll probably be the only support I get when I approach 'em all with the idea of making a detour to Littlepass on the way back to the mountains. I know the rest ain't gonna want to do it, but the young'un, Conner, is still on my mind, and I ain't gonna rest until I get him outta there.
As if sensing my unease, Cat flops her big head in my lap and I willingly oblige to scratching her ears. Finn soon joins in, but I catch him glancing at me outta the corner of my eye.
“What?” I say in annoyance.
“Nuthin'. Just not used to your white hair, is all. You look somethin' fierce.”
“I reckon I look weird as all heck,” I respond, and he giggles.
“Yeah, a bit. But mostly fierce. Jax and Ben are gonna freak. You wanna tell me what happened to you on your journey? You said it was like a night terror.”
I sigh as I give a curt nod. I know he's been itching to ask me about it, so I may as well get it outta the way. “Aye, it wasn't pleasant. There were a lot of strange creatures there. Vines that attacked me outta nowhere, wolflings, and scorpi-ants. Even the Prezedant himself showed up. I mean, I know it was all in my head. Least I think it was. But it sure seemed real enough. But it weren't all bad. I got to see my ma.”
Finn stops scratching Cat's chin in shock, and the cat smacks her head against him in protest. He ignores her. “Your ma? What was she like?”
I smile sadly into the dark. “Just like I thought she would be. Beautiful. Kind. Strong. But tough. She forced me into acceptin' what I am. I mean, I guess she finally made me realize what I'm capable of doin'. She helped change me.”
Finn nods like he understands what I'm trying to say. “You're different, all right, and it ain't just your hair. You can almost… see your power, if that makes any sense. That dang Prezedant don't stand a chance now.”
I ruffle his hair, my annoyance fading away. “Thanks for the belief, kid.”
“Well, it's true.”
I hope he’s right.
He goes back to scratching Cat's chin, and we fall silent as her purrs vibrate between us.
“I've been thinkin', Tara,” he says, breaking our companionable silence.
“Well, that sounds like trouble.”
He ignores my flip remark. “If… I mean, when you beat the Prezedant, what then? What do the people of Skytown and Littlepass do? Who's gonna lead 'em?”
I shrug. “I guess they'll figure that out for themselves.”
“You're right. Maybe somebody like Mack? He'd be a good leader, I think.”
Mack overhears his name and glances over at us. I raise my voice. “Finn's askin' what
your plans are, Mack, after all this is over. Reckon you'll head back to Skytown?”
He stops stirring the pot and stares into it. “Maybe. If I make it through this alive.”
“Oh, don't be so morbid, Captain.” Tater clucks his tongue at Mack, joining our conversation. “Of course you will. We all will. We have the powerful New Blood on our side. As my dear mother would say, 'Pessimism leads to defeat, optimism leads to winning.' She was a smart lady, my ma. Way before her time.”
“Was your ma a seer, Tater?” Belle asks, and I gotta stop the bubble of laughter threatening to spill outta my mouth. A seer? The only thing Tater's ma ever seen was the inside of a brothel.
“Not in the typical sense, my dear,” Tater's answer is more dignified than mine woulda been. “She didn't see into events, only into the nature of man.”
Belle nods as if she understands, but I know she ain't got a clue as to what Tater means by that. I don't either, but at least I've learned to ignore his ramblings by now. Belle will learn.
“Well, what about the rest of us?” Finn continues on, ignoring Tater like I am. “Where we gonna go? Where we gonna live?”
“Dunno Finn, but good question. I guess I ain't really thought about it. I know it sure ain't gonna be any city like Skytown or Littlepass. Too many people for my likin'. And I know I don't wanna live in the mountains. I've seen enough of them to last me a lifetime. Maybe we'll head back to the sand lands and build our own spot?”
“We? As in me and you and Cat and Jax and Ben?”
“And me,” Belle chimes in, and Finn beams at her in agreement.
“Aye. Oh, and Jane and Thomas, we cain't forget them.”
“I reckon so, if they all wanna come with us.”
He nods like he's already thought this through. “Yeah, I'm thinkin' they will. We're all like family now.”
“Us too?” Beanie asks from the other side of the fire pit, and I glance up in alarm. I forget those two were there.
New Bloods Boxset Page 66