Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy)

by Paula Flumerfelt

  Solomon snorted at the statement, “At a grappling match, yes. With a weapon, you don’t know.”

  Mathieu rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a twit. We need to all be adept at hand-to-hand first, because I don’t want us being defenseless if we lose our weapons. After this, we’ll tighten our skills with our weapons. Lenore said two more days and they’d all be done, so sometime after that, we’ll start. I told you, I have a plan.”

  “A plan I wish you’d tell me, so that I can help.”

  “You are helping, just by being here.” Mathieu brushed a hand over the blond’s chest before turning to face his father, giving him a cold look.

  Solomon put a hand on his lower back. “He’s worried, that’s all.” The blond murmured against his ear.

  “You figured it out, didn’t you?”

  The blond nodded, “Yeah. I’d know a Roman anywhere. I knew you were a descendent when I saw your energy. It’s the gift of their line. He loves you; but that doesn’t mean that he has a say between us.”

  “I agree.” Mathieu said with a smiled. “That’s why I wanted you close when the fighting starts. I’ll be able to focus better when I know that you’re alive.”

  “Even if you were far from me, our bond would tell you I was safe. If something is strong enough, you will feel what I feel. It works the other way, too, in case you were wondering.”

  He nodded. “Good. But you need to move on to your next spar.” Mathieu turned to the others, looking at who was fighting and who wasn’t. Jo quickly claimed Solomon for a fight, so he approached Lione. “Shall we?”

  “Sure. Although, you took down Solomon pretty easily, so I don’t know if I stand much of a chance.” Lione gave a shy smile, and wind started to pull towards him, shifting the air pressure.

  Mathieu chuckled, his energy spirally up from the ground, coming to meet his hand. It wrapped around his arm and hand, flowing like a barrier around him. “I think you’ll do just fine. Let’s dance.”

  And this time, Lione was the stationary partner, using his wind scythes to hold Mathieu at bay.

  Mathieu used the energy encasing his arm to deflect and absorb the wind, slowly making his way closer to the other. Whenever he was within reaching distance, Lione would raise his shield, preventing any physical contact. It took striking the barrier a few times and being thrown back before he started to notice some propertied about the protection Lione was using. There was a slight depression in the blades of glass for a split moment before they stood back up, then there was a soft flick of light.

  “You bastard.” Mathieu laughed out loud as he realized that Lione was using the wind to rub the air molecules together and create a moment of extremely strong static electricity in order to repulse incoming objects. And he had an idea around it. He built up a small amount of energy in his foot, then charged at the other. As the grass bent to accommodate the shield, he dug his foot in and used the energy he had stored up to stop himself; at the last second, he spun and allowed the static electricity to fade away before kicking Lione squarely in the chest and knocking him off balance.

  The raven staggered, frowning. “How did you do that?”

  “Simple. Static electricity doesn’t last long. It dissipates quickly, so by hesitating for that moment, I had the chance to strike while your guard was down.”

  “Well son of a bitch. Guess I’ll have to do things a bit differently then, won’t I?” Lione's annoyance was plain on his face, but he shook it off and took up his stance again.

  “Don’t be too upset, Lione. It’s a smart play, just don’t do it on glass.” Mathieu said seriously. Taking a few measured breaths, he stored up some energy and ran at the raven, fully ready to thwart his shielding method again, but as his foot came down to plant and spin, Lione threw a single blade of wind at his foot, causing him to lose focus and balance. He staggered back with a frustrated sound.

  "So it seems we're at an impasse, there." Lione said softly, then started to advance, smaller vortexes forming around his hands, which he used to cast more wind scythes. He moves fluidly, like water over rocks, moving sideways to keep matched with Mathieu.

  Growling slightly, Mathieu raised his arm to absorb the new onslaught of invisible blades, looking for a new weakness to exploit. And he found it. There was just the slightest drop in Lione’s shoulders, and consequently his guard, after he launched a dual attack, leaving him semi-open.

  Mathieu wheeled back a few paces, then started running parallel to Lione. At a moment's notice, he curved his path towards the other and when he was less than five feet from his target, he jumped.

  Lione automatically shot a double attack at him, but he arched backwards and avoided it, sailing over the raven's head like he was a high bar. And because Mathieu had judges it right, he was able to grab a hold of Lione ‘s arms with his legs as he flew by, pulling him into the air.

  His hands struck the ground first, and he used all his strength to heft Lione over his body, then let go at the last second, his feet touch the ground as the raven flew another ten feet further. Mathieu stood to a round of applause from those who had been watching, and hunched over, panting. Jo ran passed Mathieu to his friend, checking that he was fine.

  Elric, who has come out recently with all the others, went over, as well. Mathieu could hear them talking and Lione assuring them he was fine.

  It took a few minutes, but his opponent got to his feet and crossed over to him, holding a hand out. "Good move. I didn't see it coming."

  Mathieu shook it with a grin, "Thanks. I wasn't sure I had enough mass to get you off the ground. If I hadn't, the outcome would definitely have been different." He imitated falling over with a startled face.

  They both plopped onto the ground while the new comers stretched, then approached others to spar. Aside from them, Erik, Enak, Elise, and Lione's mother Lilith sat out. Erik and Enak's lack of participation was the source of many grumbles, but until Ayame actually approached them, they were left alone.

  "Hey, fight Akira and I." Ayame said to the pair, one hand on his hip.

  Enak giggled, "We don't need practice. We'd squish you like a buggie."

  "Then you won't mind doing it."

  Erik put a hand on Enak's shoulder. "Fine. This won't take long."

  Ayame left them to go tell his sister to prepare for a fight, Erik and his god not saying a word. The duo moved to an open area and waited until the siblings came to fight. Akira looked a bit nervous, but after a short conversion with her brother, she nodded an agreement.

  The fight didn’t take long, and Erik had been right. Ayame and Akira hadn't even been able to mount an offensive. Enak had taken a few loping steps forward, arm swinging upward as jets of fire shot up from the ground, heading straight for Akira. Her brother had stepped in front of her to protect her, which had ultimately led to their downfall. Erik's hand twitched and what appeared to be black bubbles formed around the siblings. Black bubbles that moved in closer and exploded as they made contact, burning the two horribly. Ayame had wrapped his arms around his sister, trying to stop her from being hurt. Ayame took most of the damage, collapsing as soon as the attack stopped. Akira let out a wail, managing to keep her brother from hitting the ground.

  Enak giggled again. "Told you we didn't need practice." Then he skipped over to Mathieu and sat beside him. "Aren't we impressive?" He asked with childish enthusiasm, seeking approval.

  "You went a bit overboard." Mathieu tapped the boy god's forehead roughly. It had been an impressive display and put to rest any doubts he’d had about them needing to practice. However, they could have seriously hurt the siblings. “We’re supposed to be trying to get stronger together, not hurt each other. You need to go apologize, Enak.”

  Enak was oblivious to the fearful stares he and Erik were now getting as he pouted at Mathieu. “But I don’t want to…”

  “It wasn’t an option. Do it.”

  “…Fine!” Enak said, getting up and stomping his feet as he approached Ayame and Akira, who were being
healed by Elric.

  Mathieu sighed, and watched from afar as the boy god seemed to be apologizing to the siblings. It took a moment, but the tall raven nodded and Ayame punched Enak on the arm before giving a small smile. The three of them seemed okay as Enak touched Akira’s hand before hugging her. Turning away, Mathieu shook his head slightly at the three of them; then, he noticed that Lenore had broken off from the group, going to stand near the edge of the cliff.

  She had a contemplative look on her face as she planted her feet, earth snaking up around her calves, sealing her in place. Lenore bent her knees slightly, arms at her sides with her palms facing downward. Very slowly she flipped her palms over and started to raise her hands, only bending at the elbows. The ground shook gently as it started to bubble up before her, hard black stone pilling upon itself until it stood just a head over her. Then her fingers started to make small, derisive movements. In time with Lenore's hands, the black stone began to take shape, first the big stuff: arms, torso, and legs; but then the smaller details too: hair, clothing, fingers. She was halfway done when Mathieu realized she was carving a stone Nathan, standing on the edge of the cliff, watching them all.

  Mathieu got up and went over to her, watching her work. The attention to detail was astounding: the raised scar that ran along his jaw, the deep set of his eyes, even the direction that his stubble went. He didn't say anything as she finished and started on the next thing, creating it next to Nathan, only this out of sand.

  He marveled at the expressive pull of muscles in the smiling stone face. Nathan had one hand on his hip in a framilar pose, the other hanging at his side. There was even a low ball glass in his hand. Mathieu switched his attention to the other statue. He couldn't tell what it was through the sand.

  "Fire..." Lenore mumbled as she worked.

  "I'll get Avanon." He turned and waved her over. She ran over, multicolored hair streaming behind her.

  She looked at the Nathan before asking Lenore what she needed. At being instructed to do so, she put her hands onto the sand and fired it up, turning the sand into glass. And then Mathieu could tell what it was. The features were a bit too delicate, but the caring look in her face was dead on. Avian's glass face was turned up slightly to the sky, seeming far away. One arm crossed over her body to hold the other.

  Panting, Lenore stepped back. "Is it close? I've only seen holographic crystals of her, but..."

  "It's dead on. Thank you." Mathieu said. That was something he was always thankful for, no one had forgotten about Avian.

  "You're welcome.” Lenore said, patting his shoulders, “They may not be here anymore, but they're still watching over us." She turned to look in the direction that the statues were.

  He did, too. "Our land. This one and beyond."

  "Exactly. You're doing a good job of being in charge. It's not easy, and we all get it. None of us would be willing to do it, but it's always easier to complain than admit someone is doing well."

  "Thanks, Lenore."

  "Anytime." She walked away, leaving him to stand with his predecessor and his best friend. Avanon bumped him lightly before smiling at him. Content, he returned to where Enak sat.

  "Oh, Mathieu. You should practice summoning my power," said the boy god. "Sit." He nodded to the open spot, smiling.

  Mathieu sighed, but sat facing the god. "Okay, so you said I just need to focus on this thing?" He wiggled his hand, causing the chain of his phoenix to rattle. At first it had been uncomfortable and a bit annoying, but slowly he had gotten use to it. Now, he hardly even noticed it.

  Enak nodded, hands clasped in his lap. "Pretty much. Then a piece of my power will flow from Erik and I into you."

  He looked at the permanent fixture to his arm with a look, focusing on the way it conformed to his wrist, the way each feather was individually carved from the metal. Slowly, it started to glow with a faint red under the gold. Mathieu's tongue peeked out as his stare became more intense, eyes tracing the face of the phoenix. The harder he looked at it, the more it glowed until looking at it was like staring into the sun. He began to worry when the glow was as bright as ever, but he felt no different, exactly as he had when he'd started. "Is it working?"

  "You'd know if it was. Give it a moment and try again." Enak said, brow furrowed.

  And he did. Mathieu waited and tried four more times before giving up. "This is pointless. Nothing is changing."

  The boy god's hair was puffed up at the power he was channeling, eyes bright with frustration. "It has to be Erik. For some reason, his subconscious isn't releasing the power to you. Mathieu, you need to talk to him. Not now, but soon. If you can't summon it now, then when you really need it, it will elude you."

  Mathieu’s jaw clenched, but Enak patted his knee. It seemed that everything was directing him to speaking to his father, and now avoiding the man was influencing his ability to fight. Grumbling, he nodded. "Damn it. All right, I'll talk to him after dinner tonight."

  "Good. Lenore did good work with those statues. Very life-like. So tell me about seeing your mother."

  It took Mathieu a moment for his mind to catch up with the switch in topics. "Oh, uh, yeah. And Avian. They pulled my soul to the other side. I'd never seen her before. She was…beautiful."

  "I bet she was glad to be able to see you. Your father was...distraught after losing you both in one day. We buried Anita, but he wasn’t the same after that. We tried looking for you, but at the time I couldn't stay in Unith for long periods. We couldn't get very far in land.” Enak sighed through his nose before changing topics again. “So, do you have a plan to deal with the Outer Zone?"

  "Yes. I do, actually.” Mathieu smiled. “I was…inspired by a story I was told about a young girl getting caught by thieves,” he didn’t point out that it was Kiev, although remembering what Zanika had said about the blond woman’s past was what had got his mind rolling about dealing with bandits. “They need food and clothes, so I've had the people preparing sacks of seeds, food that will keep, and some woman from Nathan's and Elise's districts have offered to make extra clothing in their spare time. They won't be trade quality, like we have, but it will be enough to gain us passage. And I promised them citizenship once we win."

  "Negotiating...I like it." Enak rubbed at a blade of glass with his thumb. “So you already contacted them?”

  “Yeah. I sent one of the Shadowriders to kidnap someone in charge. I already sorted out the details.” Mathieu was a bit proud of how well he had planned, but he tried not to show it. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

  Enak nodded. "Certainly."

  “Well…I was reading a while back that um…gods, like you, are pretty powerful. And I already read that they could only be repelled out of a territory or a building or something by other gods.” Enak gave him a look that prompted him to continue. “So, I was wondering, does Unith have a god hiding somewhere which is why you can’t go there, or are you just….weaker than the book want me to believe?” Mathieu tried to make that sound as least rude as possible.

  Enak evaluated him with a look, his age showing through his eyes. "Like humans,” he started, “gods have mothers. Mine has been locked inside of Unith's borders for a very long time. A sorcerer caught her in the beginning of that land's history and sealed her away as she traveled from this world to ours. As we pass by where she is held, you can choose to free her. However, I cannot guarantee what she will do, for she has been held captive for a very long time." He took a moment before shrugging. “She is what is keeping me out.”

  "We'll free her, of course. No one deserves to be a captive. And with her free, you being in Unith shouldn’t be a problem anymore, right?" Mathieu's statement was more a declaration for Svenak's mother's freedom and a question of their success.

  “We shall see, won’t we?”

  Chapter

  Twenty-One

  As much as Mathieu hated to admit it, he had reached the point where he could no longer put off speaking to Erik. At the moment, his father and Solomon were on
the porch, both smoking, and having a very serious conversation. The two had waited until all the rest had headed for bed before going outside, telling Mathieu to stay put. Unhappy at being told what to do, he had defiantly done the dishes from dinner, then tidied up the main room. By the time he was done, they still hadn't finished talking. Huffily, he went to the door and pulled it open. He'd be damned if he was forced to stay inside like a child.

  The conversation ceased as soon as he came out, but he paid them no mind, instead going to sit on the railing beside his beau. Solomon offered him the rest of the cigarette he was smoking, which Mathieu took.

  After lighting up and taking a deep drag, he held the smoke in his lungs, looking towards the sky. The stars were brighter here, more alive. He knew what he had to do.

  Blowing a stream of smoke rings, he looked at Erik, "Father,” his tone was rather stony, “today I couldn’t use Enak as my shield. He said you are the one preventing us from connecting."