The girl’s faces went red with embarrassment at this. Annie didn’t notice and continued.
“There’s a big group of people here, heated over this whole mess. They come from some place called ‘Rhameeryla’ that none of us have ever heard of. Anyway, they have really big guns! They’re talking about going to Mashyuvah and having a shootout to free any prisoners who might still be alive!”
“No!” Asha said.
“Annie, this is very important. You go and spread the word that ‘Zynathian’ said that they’ll do no such thing until he’s arrived. They mustn’t be hasty, understand? Be sure to let them know that you spoke to me personally!”
“I’ll be sure to tell them,” Annie promised.
“Nice meeting you, Annie,” Asha said.
At this, all but Lyn hastily turned to leave the control room, knowing that they needed to get to bed early so they could rise early and head to the Igloo. However, they’d let Lyn finish conversing with Annie, thinking it wonderful for two ten-year-olds to have something to talk about other than the grim subjects of late.
Lyn and Annie were left to their gossip, most of which would pertain to Lyn’s friend, Nicolas, who Annie had a crush on and hadn’t yet mustered the courage to speak to. Since the first time they spoke through screens, Nick had been a highly discussed topic with them, much more so than war, death, or the likes of Phyllamon.
2
The shield slid shut behind them as they left the room in haste, only thinking of how catastrophic it would be for any of the refugees to rush into Mashyuvah on a rescue mission. Who knew how many infantry were in the city? It was possible that they’d be outnumbered and slaughtered.
“I do hope they heed my warning,” Zynathian said.
“Surely they’re not that stu—” Asha was too shocked to complete her sentence.
“Teshunua!” Bahzee shrieked, rushing him, leaping into his arms.
He was still yawning, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Hey,” Teshunua said, smiling, still in an absolute daze.
He had flashes of the incident in his mind. There was Felix. Then there was the feeling as if he’d suddenly been cast into the pit of hell...that burning sensation! He recalled his arms and legs strangely floating away from him. Then everything had gone black. Teshunua shivered, as he shook the memory from his mind.
“Uncle, you are something else, I tell you.”
“No need stating the obvious, squirt.” Zynathian winked at him.
“Baz, don’t…I have the worst breath right now!” Teshunua laughed, shooing Bahzee’s kisses away. She ignored him, kissing every un-kissed portion of his face that she could find. “…I feel like I haven’t brushed my teeth in…how long have I been out?”
“Over two weeks,” Zynathian answered. “How do you feel?”
“Great! Actually...amazing,” Teshunua said, brow furrowing with curiosity. “What did you do?”
“You mean ‘What did we do?’” said Asha.
“Yes…you are entirely Asha’s creation,” Zynathian pointed out. “I merely executed her ideas, bringing them to life.”
Teshunua was surprised at this, gleaming at Asha. Being the artist that she was, he could only imagine what she’d dreamt up for him.
“Put this on,” Zynathian said, handing Teshunua something he’d pulled from the pocket of his lab coat. It was wrapped in cloth.
Teshunua unwrapped the object and was now holding a facemask of sorts.
“Because of your new gifts, you’ll have great speed and strength…nothing like Lyn Sha or Bahzee but more like that of an animal. Your new abilities will most likely make you a daredevil, and by you being an explorer you may very well wind up in atmospheric conditions that you’re unaccustomed to. This mask will help you breath properly should you ever find yourself in abnormally high altitudes or strong winds…and it will protect you and your lungs from most types of extreme weather. I think this will come in very handy on your travels!”
Whoa, Teshunua thought, holding the black and silver mask. It was to cover the bottom portion of his face, starting at the bridge of the nose, extending all the way underneath the chin. It was nearly weightless, so light that it wouldn’t be the slightest burden. However, there were no straps, and Teshunua was wondering how it would stay on. He fumbled with the mask for a moment, and then, as he fit it just right, he heard the air suck out between his skin and the surface of the mask. He was momentarily frightened, for it seemed the mask had welded to his face permanently.
“Calm down, Tesh,” Zynathian said, seeing him worriedly fidget with the mask. “There are buttons on each side of the nose bridge that will allow the mask to detach itself…but leave it on for now. How does it feel?”
“It’ll take some getting used to…I know it’s there, but I can’t feel it, it’s so light!”
Everyone was slightly jarred at the sound of Teshunua’s voice. It was enough that he was already intimidating, being over six feet tall. But now, with the addition of the mask and distorted voice (slightly magnified, yet deep and evil sounding), Teshunua was absolutely terrifying. Zynathian smiled, thinking that if they didn’t know Teshunua, they would’ve soiled their undergarments at the sight of him!
“Come…we don’t have long before we need to get to bed, so we must run through this quickly,” Zynathian said, heading outdoors. The others got their coats and followed.
They made their way out to what was left of the balcony after the attack. There was still about thirty feet remaining, more than enough to prevent a fatal accident. Besides, the edge of it was blocked by Jalum’s massive body, so they couldn’t have fallen off if they wanted to. Teshunua pulled his coat and scarf more firmly around his neck, as he skipped back and forth, barefoot.
“Uncle, it’s freezing, why am I out here in my bare feet?” Teshunua asked in his scary voice, sounding frightening even to himself.
“Well, for one, you’d tear up your boots, and, secondly, I don’t want you shooting in the house, boy. It’s damaged enough as it is!”
Zynathian pulled his hood over his head, so that only the blue of his eyes showed. “Transform your legs so that your feet don’t get frost bitten,” he said to Tesh.
“What?” Teshunua thought, looking puzzled.
“You heard me…do it,” Zynathian said, refusing to explain anything, as he was sure Teshunua would figure it out on instinct.
Teshunua paced about for a moment, closing his eyes and concentrating. He felt a buzzing vibration and then large-scale movements, as if the bones in his legs were completely reconstructing themselves. Then he heard gasps of awe from the family. When he finally looked down, he saw clawed, metal feet sticking out the bottom of his pajama pants. Like a bird, there was a toe at the heel of his foot, curved, sharp and talon-like. Teshunua was speechless.
“I thought they’d be useful for climbing mountains, seeing as you like exploring as much as you do,” Asha said, smiling wide.
“Climbing? Whoa, then my arms must be…”
At this, Teshunua stretched his arms wide and watched the changes taking place beyond the sleeve of his coat. Khyeryn and Zynathian were both highly impressed with his quick mastery of the transformation process. His body obeyed him so fast it was almost as if he didn’t even have to think.
Now, the skin had sunken backwards with a black metallic skeleton taking its place. Similarly clawed hands had emerged before Teshunua’s eyes. He yanked off his coat (nearly ripping it to pieces in the process) to fully inspect his body. His legs were changed all the way up to the knee area, and his arms did so just beneath the elbow. Ignoring the freezing cold wind, Teshunua followed his instincts, knowing what he could do. He hastily walked to the wall of the castle and began scaling upwards like a spider.
This time it was Zynathian who shouted with applause. “Impressive, Nephew!”
“My God, I’ve dreamt of this!” Teshunua yelled excitedly, looking down at his applauding family as he made it about fifty feet up. Even Jalum had woken and wa
s squawking at him.
Lyn Sha had just made it outdoors. “Holy shit!” she bellowed.
Whack!
“Ouch! Sorry, Daddy,” she said, still gawking at Teshunua. “Oh my goodness, Tesh, you’re awake…and you’ve got knew talents—cool!”
Lyn leapt in the air and grabbed hold around his middle. “Damn, you look scary! What the hell is that mask for?” she asked, giggling as she clung to him. Teshunua just laughed, looking below at the others as he got an idea for how strong the grip of his claws was. Lyn’s weight didn’t loosen him a bit.
“I’m so glad you’re feeling better! We all missed you! Man, have we got stories to tell you! The last couple of weeks have been crazy! Hurry up and get back down below, will ya’…it’s time for bed! We’re leaving for the Igloo tomorrow morning,” she said, kissing his cheek and dropping back to the platform.
Teshunua let go with one hand and one foot, seeing how strong he was. Nothing. His grip was firm as it was in the beginning. Swelling with pride, he looked down at the family and waved.
“Uncle, look…only one hand and one foot!” he boasted.
“Let go with your other hand,” Zynathian yelled up to him.
What? How will I…? Scared as he was, Teshunua obeyed.
As he released the grip of his right hand, Tesh felt his body fall backwards into the stone wall. He swung back and forth like a pendulum and swelled with jubilance. Teshunua’s head began to ache as gravity shifted its pull on the blood in his body, making it all rush backward. His face became a deep shade of purple. He looked up (which was really down) and found Zynathian giving him more instructions.
“Now, with that one leg gripping the wall, let yourself back down here, slowly…but don’t let go of the wall!”
Teshunua focused. He felt the parts of his skeleton begin to shift back and forth and then, suddenly, his leg was lowering him to the ground! Teshunua was amazed, as he couldn’t possibly see how so much of that metal skeleton could be stored in such a small portion of his body.
“Uncle, this is brilliant!”
When he was more than halfway down, Tesh stopped and righted himself. Curious as to how far away he could latch onto something, he mightily slung his arm above. He caught hold of something that was much too distant to even make out but yanked himself up anyway. Of course, now he was howling in fear, for he hadn’t gotten used to his abilities, and the ride was far speedier than he’d counted on! As he smacked into the ledge of one of the castle’s spires, he clung for dear life, panting, as he looked below at the cloudy abyss, which longed to swallow him whole.
“Teshunua…get your ass back down here on the double, boy! You scared us half to death!” Zynathian scolded, his voice echoing up the distance.
Teshunua ignored Zynathian, as he wasn’t quite ready to get moving yet. He needed to gather his wits once more.
Finally, the scare had worn off, and he began to notice the cold again. He heard thunder in the distance and knew that, at this altitude, rainwater would turn to ice quickly. Teshunua was apprehensive, as he didn’t yet know how well his claws would do in certain elements. Just then, lighting ripped throughout the sky, and thunder clapped so loudly this time, he felt the castle vibrate. Teshunua got moving.
As he began to descend, he heard the high-pitched cry of something, echoing in the wind around him. Teshunua turned to find a large mass of blackbirds, trying to escape the storm, headed right at him. Although they weren’t planning to attack him, he instinctively raised his arms and began swatting at the air, so the birds had no choice. They started batting him over the head with their wings and cutting him with their beaks. At the height of his emotion, with fear overwhelming him, Teshunua accidentally lashed out.
The sound was so deafening, he at first thought a bolt of lightening had struck a tower nearby. Then he opened his eyes and found red lasers firing from mini cannons, which had surprisingly appeared on both arms. Teshunua watched in horror, as the birds burst into soft black clouds of feathers (mixed with a hint of blood), whilst he cut the beautiful creatures to pieces. He was appalled at his actions, but yet he couldn’t stop firing, for they were still swarming him!
Please let this be over! he silently prayed.
No sooner than the thought leaving his mind did a small barrel rise from the top of his left gun. A minute pulse of red light projected, and the next thing Teshunua knew there was an explosion that not only killed all the birds, but destroyed the steeple he’d been resting on!
He was thrown into the distance.
As he noticed the castle getting farther and farther away from him, Teshunua reached out with all his might, trying to catch hold of something. Though he had no idea what he was grabbing, when he felt his claw scrape the surface of the castle, he clutched it instantly, swinging himself inward.
It all happened so fast that Teshunua didn’t realize he’d saved himself. For a second, he looked at the grayish-black sky, expecting to see the face of God, thinking that he’d died. But as he noticed the patio floor beneath him and the worried faces surrounding him, he realized that everything was fine. He even saw Jalum hovering in the air, obviously prepared to dive after him if he’d fallen.
Sorry, Jay…beat you to it! he thought, smiling.
The experience was quite surreal. There were all these voices speaking to him simultaneously, but being so happy to be alive, he didn’t really hear them. Bahzee appeared to be scolding him like a mother, and he vaguely noticed her throw his coat over him, rubbing his arms, which had reverted to their original state. The others gave him a piece of their minds as well, but all Teshunua could make out from the jumble of noisy voices and Jalum’s squawking, was the hyper ranting of a highly ecstatic Khyeryn:
“Dude, you musta’ been, like, seventy feet out...you should’ve seen yourself! Holy shit on a damn Popsicle stick, that was totally wicked, you sick bastard!”
Whack!
“Owww…shit, Dad!”
Whack! Whack! Whack!
As Khyeryn walked away, rubbing the back of his head, Tesh couldn’t help but grin. His aching body begged for rest, as the exhaustion suddenly hit him. As Maugrimm lifted him from the patio floor, Teshunua had but one thing to say.
“Somebody wake me when we get to the Igloo.”
XXVI
Zynathian’s Reunion with Old Friends
1
Oh my goodness, this turned out quite nice! Zynathian said to himself, gazing at the massive complex, as their ship auto-piloted over the new storage bay. It was meant for very large ships, like this one, that couldn’t fit inside the smaller dock.
This time, Zynathian had brought along the largest ship he’d ever constructed. Like his others, he kept it attached to the bottom side of the castle. It was equipped with all the features of his smaller vessels, plus a hospital wing with duplicate supplies of everything he had at home in the lab. There was close to two hundred beds and operating tables if needed, and he had a nauseating feeling that he’d soon be using many of them. There was no way that they’d be able to get through the next confrontation with Phyllamon without casualties or severe injuries. He only hoped that he’d not be using the beds for anyone close to him.
The night before, immediately following his second near-death experience, Teshunua had passed out. While he slept, Zynathian nursed his cuts and bruises and then turned in himself, as did the others. The family slept aboard the ship and left at first light this morning, auto-piloting the majority of the way down.
“You’ve arrived at the Igloo,” the ship’s computer said in a soft feminine voice over the intercom.
Everyone bustled about, rushing to the windows and rubbing their eyes to make sure they were seeing things properly. Even Toodles had run to Zynathian to lift him up, so he could see. They were aghast at the spectacle.
What was once the entire complex of the Igloo was now just the center with massive expansions stemming from all sides. It looked far bigger than Zynathian thought it would be. In haste of the situat
ion, he’d only thought of the essential needs in the expansions: new apartments; the armoury; and the medical wing (which would eventually become a fully staffed hospital with Mechs and those refugees that possessed a natural disposition for the medical craft). This was a small list of things that he and Asha had deemed a priority. However, now that he looked at it, Zynathian had a feeling that there was far more to the Igloo than he’d imagined.
Belch was left to oversee the construction of the new Igloo with orders over the Mechs to follow his lead. Zynathian was quite excited to get inside and see what he’d came up with, as Belch’s frame of mind was that of an artist, just like he and Asha. He took great pride in any project he took up, even if it was only serving superb food at his restaurant.
“Wow.”
“That is nuts!”
“It’s beautiful.”
The family expressed their awe continuously until the complex fell from sight, as the ship slowly lowered itself through the open shield of the massive storage facility. As they landed at the back end, they were astonished at the great number of ships in the room. Most were medium sized to small, indicating that the majority of the refugees were households with only one child or none at all. However, despite the fact that the families weren’t very big, all the ships took up more than three quarters of the space, and Zynathian found himself wishing he’d instructed the Mechs to make the docking bay twice the size of the two hundred yards he’d initially specified.
Oh well, I can’t be right all the time, he thought.
They gathered their belongings and began to disembark. Teshunua was so in love with his new talents that he saw no reason to ever wear shoes again. He jumped off the ship in his bare feet, transforming them as they touched the frigid floor of the arena. Everyone looked at him, wondering if he was so proud of himself that he’d waltz in there with his strange looking legs exposed, which were bound to make strangers feel uncomfortable. He saw their expressions and wished there were something he could do about it, other than put on shoes.
The Gift of Volkeye Page 40