by R. J. Batla
I concentrated on the spot between my eyes, and the Ignis Oculus flared to life. “You want me? Come get me!”
The stranger didn’t hesitate and threw a huge energy bolt at me, as big around as a plate. With the aid of the Ignis, I threw up a shield, deflecting it from me and my friends.
Rocks flew at me from all sides, and I whirled and twirled, throwing air, earth, and transitioning water to interrupt them and redirect their path, the Ignis guiding my moves flawlessly in my head. But I was definitely on the defensive, and my opponent knew it.
Maneuvering to the left, he tried to get behind me. I threw up a fire wall to stop him but he walked right through it, sending energy streaming my way with both hands.
“Shield up,” I said, and a shield made of both energy and earth materialized in front of me. The massive energy bolts slammed into my shield, pushing me backwards, my feet digging a trench as I pushed against the force of the blast.
I wasn’t going to be able to keep this up. Already I could feel my energy draining quickly, the use of the Fire Eyes and other powers pulling on me hard. If I didn’t find a way to get out of this soon, I was going to – Boulder, left, disintegrate with energy.
Turning, I blasted the wagon-sized rock careening toward me.
Well, most of it. A small piece rocketed through, pegging me right in the shoulder. Right where the creature had touched me.
A force slammed into me, jolting me sideways before I gained a foothold. Who dared disrupt me? A dark-cloaked figure threw some sort of energy at me. No matter, he couldn’t break through the destruction.
With a roar, I flung disintegrating spheres of Morsenube energy towards the man. He managed to dodge, but a house-sized furrow was left where he had been. Enraged even more, I roared again, flinging black balls of Morsenube at the dodging man, exploding earth and blowing trees apart. A wild ball went into a cluster of trees and exploded, debris flying everywhere – one piece of debris looking suspiciously like a man.
Where did the black cape go? He’s running from me, that’s what he’s doing. He’s –
A flash of blue materialized beside me, bringing three figures with it. New enemies! People to destroy! Something held me still. No matter, I would break it, and they would pay. Before I could move, the female and the younger male put their hands on my head. White light danced before my eyes and I roared again before passing out.
Chapter 24
My head hurt. Bad. My eyes hurt. Bad. My body ached. You guessed it – bad. This was worse than getting Awakened. I couldn’t move. Not at all. It took all my might to open my eyes and figure out I was back in our room; everyone around me talked in quick, unintelligible chatter. My ears hurt too.
It took me five minutes but, somehow, I managed to prop myself up on the couch, and slowly move to a sitting position. “What happened?” I asked in a cracked, dry, throaty voice, reaching out for something to drink.
You’d have thought I set off a bomb – instantly the whole squad descended on me, purple healing energy on the hands of those with healing powers – which they began running all over me. I let them, not that I had much choice in the matter, and slowly the pain went away. I eventually gained control of my muscles. Someone stuck a straw in my mouth and I drank some fruity liquid that was very bitter, the fruit smell covering the vile concoction. But it was wet. I kept sucking, and soon had the whole thing down. Only then did I feel more like myself.
I asked again, my voice sounding normal, “What happened?”
Everyone backed up a couple of steps.
“You almost killed us all is what happened!” Gilmer exclaimed, and Katy hit him on the shoulder. “Well he did…”
I tried to smile but it hurt. “Oh yeah? I remember fighting the guy in the clearing, then getting hit in the shoulder, then it’s like someone shut off my brain.”
“Gilmer isn’t very far from the truth, my friend,” Euless said. “You lost control of the Morsenube.”
“Um, what?” I didn’t remember anything about it!
“We couldn’t move, but I could still feel the earth moving. When the stone hit you in the shoulder, you changed –some sort of dark energy enveloped you,” Anton said.
“You emitted lots of power. There were two of them. One of them held us in place somehow, while the other attacked you. When you switched, when the Morsenube took control, the blast of wind knocked us down and threw us clear, though we were still frozen. If it hadn’t thrown us that far, we’d have been killed from all the power you were throwing around,” Leona said.
“How did you get free?”
“You blew up the clearing the second attacker was standing in. That broke his concentration enough for us to escape,” Euless said.
“Was anyone hurt?”
“Thankfully no,” Royn said, motioning everyone closer. Leona put her hand on my back, healing energy pouring into me. “Luckily, there weren’t very many people around, and like Leona said, we were blown clear of the energy sphere. You put a huge hole in the ground, though – a crater fifty yards across.”
“Oh man. I don’t understand. I don’t remember doing anything; how could I have lost control? And if I did, you know, lose it, how come I didn’t…ya know, go crazy and kill everyone? Like they all think I’m going to?”
“We stopped you,” Leona said. “Royn teleported another Ranger and I right in front of you while he immobilized you with Telekinesis. The other Ranger’s Quantum is Somnus – the power of sleep. I amplified his power and we were able to knock you out before you tore the forest apart.”
Man. Maybe I was dangerous after all.
“How you feeling?” she asked. “Are you OK? Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you. I think I’m OK. Thanks for stopping me. I’m sorry. Tell whoever you need to that I didn’t mean to…wait, if I lost control, why aren’t I dead? The executioner…”
“You know, that’s a very good question. As much as he talks, he should have been johnny-on-the-spot right there, dagger in hand ready to plunge into somebody,” Royn said with a smirk. “Since he didn’t witness the actual event, he couldn’t do anything, and we haven’t seen him since.”
I smiled at having escaped death once again. “So does anyone know what happened?”
“Not really. I do have a question for you,” Royn said. “Has anything happened recently to your right shoulder?”
“What? Why – is it broken?” I jerked to examine it, pain shooting up my spine.
“No you have a mark, like you were hit with something. Answer the question.”
“No, it hasn’t hurt or anything. No one has hit it...wait...” No. It couldn’t be that. He just touched me.
“Yes?” Royn asked.
“Well, I’m not sure what it means, but…” I said, and told them about the two encounters with the hooded man.
Royn slammed his fist down. “Damn it, Jayton Baird, this has to do with what we talked about, doesn’t it? I can’t believe it.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Jayton! That was a ghoul!”
Everyone gasped.
My head hurt too much to think. “OK, what’s a ghoul and how did it do what it did?”
Taking several deep breaths, Royn ran his fingers through his hair. “Ghouls are, let’s say, mutated people. They were once human, but contact with something – magical or otherwise – has left them disfigured but stronger and darker at the same time. There’s a horrible smell associated with them, and they can cause bad things to happen, just like your shoulder. They bring out the darkness in everyone they come in contact with. The only way to kill them is to sever their head.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Yeah. So anyway, Jay, you need to sleep the rest of the day and night – Anton, help me get him to his bed,” Royn said, and they each grabbed me under a shoulder and laid me down on my bed.
“I’m not tired,” I said, but Royn laid his hand on my cheek, and I started to fade.
I heard Leona say, “Ro
yn, I didn’t know you could use the Somnus technique,” just before it went black.
Chapter 25
After recovering and completing my training with Euless, we fell back into the group to continue training. Spring turned into summer; the days erupted with growth and little babies of all kinds could be found everywhere you looked, even in the castle. The weather started getting hotter, until before we knew it, the heat of June was upon us. In a total surprise move, Royn gave us two days off! Which we spent doing nothing.
For some reason, as the weather got hotter, they let the training fields get hotter as well, either not bothering to condition the air or not doing it enough, one of the two. All I knew was I sweated about ten pounds off every day. Even the classroom days. At least I wasn’t the only one – we would have avoided each other completely if we all didn’t smell like pigs.
It was exciting to see the progress we’d made in five months of training – our bodies were stronger, harder. Our minds worked faster. We could read each other better. We were becoming fighters. We were becoming Rangers.
On our first day off in June, we had all decided we needed to sleep in. And sleep in we did. Till like seven thirty. I walked into the common room and caught movement on the girls’ side, so I angled myself to where I could see who it was. Leona was just beyond their doorway with just her underwear on, looking in a mirror. I stopped and stared – I couldn’t help it, the girl was gorgeous. And I had yet to see that much of her. She grabbed a towel and went into the shower. I stood there a second, trying to get my brain in gear when Katy rounded the corner with a t-shirt and shorts on.
She stopped when she saw me, then looked back over her shoulder. “You spying on us, Jayton Baird?”
I blushed. “No, ma’am! I just came around the corner and there she was. Don’t tell her, please. I don’t want to embarrass her. Or me.”
She laughed. “I don’t think either one of you would be embarrassed,” she said and grabbed some water from the kitchen sink.
Leona came around the corner into the common room, wrapped in a towel now – quickest shower ever.
“Morning, Jay!” she said, flashing me that smile of hers. “How are you?”
Katy giggled. “Oh, I’d say he’s had a good morning.” I glared at her but she just giggled more, causing Leona to look oddly at her.
“What’s so funny?” she asked me.
“I have no idea,” I said, which brought a snort from Katy, who actually ducked behind the counter. “Anyway, Leona, and, uh…Katy, would you like to go grab some breakfast? I’m getting tired of cafeteria food, so I thought if you’d like to, you know, go with me that would be cool.” Ugh. Lame.
Katy gained control of herself and stood up. “I can’t today, but Leona would love to!”
“Can anyone talk for themselves or are you going to do it for them?” Leona asked, turning red. “But, sure, Jay. Let me change and we can head that way. There’s a cool place on the other side of Harlingon that has great breakfast.”
“Awesome!” I said, and she squeezed my arm before walking back to her side. I watched her go, and then saw Katy staring at me. “What?”
She shrugged, looking down. “Nothing, nothing. Far be it for me to help anyone. By the way, your um…business is poking out of your shorts.” I looked down quickly, appalled, but it was fine. She rounded the corner laughing. Girls. Ugh.
Euless entered the common room with a maniacal grin on his face as he scratched his goatee. “All right – we have a very important mission today.”
“Euless, it’s our day off. We don’t have to do anything; let us go back to sleep,” Gilmer said as he and Anton joined us just as Morgan and Leona exited their side. So much for sleeping in.
“No, we’ve got to leave now to get there on time,” Euless said, practically bouncing. “Get your swim gear ready – I know where there’s a pool party.”
OK, now that was a better idea. I’d miss the time with Leona, but there was no better way to beat the heat than jumping in some cool water. At least it had better be cool. Clothes and gear flew all around as seven people scrambled to get their stuff together, but in no time, Euless was leading us out the door, out of the tower, and out of Harlingon. Two miles later he pointed to a secluded grove of trees just off the Blanco River. Inside the trees, we heard screams, shouts, and splashing. We picked up the pace.
Weaving our way through the thick forest, it opened suddenly into a huge, deep, clear pool. Someone had diverted the river to run through the grove. Underground, I assumed, as there was a clear current that ran through the amoeba-shaped pool, getting shallower around the edges and a darker blue in the middle. Platforms extended into the middle at one end, where people were diving and flipping into the water, having a grand ole time. I grinned – this was going to be good. Just what we needed.
“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Morgan shouted, stripping to her bikini so fast I didn’t even see her do it. She sprinted ahead of us, running quickly through the shallows and diving into the deep water with a splash, all of us close behind. She came up with steam billowing off the top of her red hair, now plastered to her head. “Gilmer lost!” she said, splashing him and laughing just as he hit the water.
I swam for a while by myself, the cool water feeling nice on sore muscles as I made laps. My eyes kept finding Leona – somehow she had a slight tan, though I don’t know where she found the time or the sun with our training, and her silver bikini was, let’s say, flattering. Tired of swimming, I plopped down on the rock stairs that connected the deep end with the shallow.
Leona came up behind me, splashed me in the face, and sat down next to me. “Do you work out?”
“What?”
She started laughing and rolled her eyes. “Do you get sarcasm, silly? I work out with you every day. Look around; you’re being stared at.”
Looking, I did see several pretty girls looking my way. Well that had never happened before. “Yeah, it’s probably not for my dashing good looks though – I’m the one with the Morsenube, remember? And I see quite a few guys looking this way, too, Muscles. They ain’t looking at me.”
She grinned back, rubbing her abs, which only revealed themselves when she flexed. I could tell she’d gotten a whole lot stronger, but she was still very feminine. And her, uh…feminine parts were causing my masculine parts to react, so I said, “Want to swim with me some?”
“Sure!” she said, then pushed me into the water and took off ahead of me. I had to laugh after I spit out half the pool, caught up with her and swam a few laps, our water powers augmenting our swimming, and we used them to move much faster than we normally would be able to.
When I had calmed down, we sat back on the same stones we were on before. Gilmer and Anton were doing cannonballs off the diving platforms, Katy and Morgan sunning themselves in the shallows, and Euless ran around everywhere, splashing and diving and getting right back up again, like he was a full grown five year old. It was nice. It was peaceful.
It lasted ten more minutes.
In my head, I heard Royn say, “Meet me at the edge of the grove.”
Ugh. This was our day off, man, why was he bothering us? Everyone else heard it too; Gilmer and Anton jumped in one last time before swimming toward Leona and me. Walking past all the other people still enjoying the pool, I couldn’t help but be jealous. Even though many were in the Army, or Rangers, or something, it just seemed they had no cares, no worries. How many people actually knew about the invasion? Did they need to yet? I knew I had to fight for my life soon and they could just sit in the sun. Plus, to have this...darkness inside of me, while they sat there chilling? I didn’t think that was fair at all.
“Leona, Katy, Anton,” Royn said, as we reluctantly found him outside the trees, after grabbing our gear and changing out of our swimsuits. I think the sun got hotter. Or maybe it was my attitude. “You three have been called to get your weapons at the West House of Weapons, located at the East Gate.” I rolled my eyes – the “west” ho
use at the “east” gate. Sometimes I think whoever named things drank too much. “I’ll teleport you back to Harlingon and you’ll get on a train straight from there. Here are your instructions,” Royn said, passing out green sheets of paper to them. “OK. Get ready, I’ll take you back one at a time.” In three blue flashes, they disappeared.
“We could still swim…” Gilmer said, but everyone waved him off. There was a somber mood now. We started walking back to Harlingon.
It was gonna suck not having three of my friends around for a week or two. Especially Leona.
After the pool, it seemed the heat had ratcheted up, just to mock us. Morgan kept just her bikini on, drawing more than a few stares as we walked, her red skin pulsing in the sunlight. For some reason, she walked separate from us, keeping her distance.
“Why are you walking so far away, Morgan?” Gilmer asked.
“It’s so hot today; I assumed you would be more comfortable without me heating up the air in your general vicinity.”
“Oh. Well, thanks,” Gilmer said.
Made sense, but it seemed a little ridiculous that she had to be by herself.
The trek back took ages, the summer sun beating us down. As we neared the city, I heard someone say, “Look at those Senturians strutting around like they own the place.”
I couldn’t find the source of the voice.
“Just because they have powers, they think they’re better than everyone.” Someone was talking, but there were so many people around, I couldn’t figure out who.
“Everyone should have powers. They should Awaken everyone, not just the ones with money.” It was a conversation – that was the third different voice.
“Rangers. They think they’re our protectors. A bunch of arrogant snot rags if you ask me.” What? “And walking with that Manu and Phoenix. Put some clothes on. No one wants to look at that red skin! Gross. At least the Manu covers up – too bad he still looks like dog puke.”