Transference (The Two Worlds, #2)

by Alisha Howard

  “Where are we?” I finally asked, looking at Nia.

  “Keep your voice down,” she whispered. “We’re in Tinnel’s. It was the safest place I could think of in the city.”

  “We need to get out of here,” Jala whispered back. “If they’re tracking us somehow, these people could all be in danger.”

  We all made noises of agreement. Mimi walked over to Nia and gently touched her injured face, murmuring a few words. We watched in silent awe as Nia’s wound closed and the blood dried. Nia whispered her thanks. Mimi nodded, moving out of the way so that Nia could open another portal.

  We made our way through it, one by one. Each one of us was exhausted, broken down, and bloodied. We were back in the woods, a completely different location. It was pitch-black outside, save for a few stars up above. I could hear sounds of running water that sounded close by, but I couldn’t see where it was coming from. A lonely Relo Owl hooted in the distance.

  “I’m too weak to move Dia,” Nia mumbled, swaying. Rena and I both caught her before she hit the ground. With much effort, she raised her hand and waved it, causing a few large tents to appear. “Have to work...” she whispered before passing out. Tears sprang to my eyes and I stroked her hair before kissing her forehead.

  Mimi touched my shoulder lightly. “She’ll be OK. She just needs to rest. Opening portals takes a lot out of you. Nia’s exceptionally good at it, but even she has her limits.” She turned towards the grey tents. “Would you two mind Awakening them enough to keep us warm tonight? Kris, once they’re done, please put Lamont and Nia in one. I will sleep with them tonight and keep an eye on their healing.”

  Rena and I got to work Awakening the tents while Jala and Nahime gathered firewood. We worked silently, each lost in their own thoughts. Before long, we had a warm fire roaring while Grandpa and Nia rested in Mimi’s tent. Mimi tended to them, and the rest of us sat around the fire, keeping warm.

  “What now?” Rena whispered to no one in particular.

  “Tonight, we rest,” Jala answered. “Tomorrow, we rebuild our camp. And then we begin your training. The time has come. We cannot afford to be taken off-guard again.”

  I sighed. I was so drained. The sky began to get lighter, signaling that morning was not far off. I stood, and Kris tensed slightly with my movement. I ignored him and turned to Rena.

  “I’m going to go to bed. I need to get some sleep. Send me a message if you need me before I awake,” I said. She nodded.

  I went into my tent, noting that Nia had managed to Create a small sleeping bag with a thin blanket before passing out. I chuckled. “Thanks, sis,” I whispered, touching all of the bedding. “You are extremely comfortable, warm, soft.” The bedding obeyed and I fell down into it, letting my exhaustion toss me into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 19

  I woke up long enough to croak to Grandma that I wasn’t feeling well. She clucked her tongue as she took my temperature. “Both you and Nia are sick,” she said, placing a cool towel on my forehead. “Go ahead and get some more sleep. I’ll bring up some soup later on.”

  I nodded and passed back out, but not before noticing that my body felt like it had been hit by a Mack truck. When I awoke, I was thankfully back in the rebel camp, safe in my sleeping bag. I sat up slowly, groaning. It wasn’t fair that I had to wake to body aches twice in one day!

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Yolanda quipped. “Put me on and I’ll help ease some of those aches and pains.” I obeyed, immediately feeling better as Yolanda went to work.

  “Thanks, Yolanda.”

  I walked out of the tent, stretching. The warm sun on my face made me briefly smile as I looked around our campsite. My sister had found a beautiful spot. We were on the forest’s edge that opened to a clearing with a small lake. An aquamarine blue waterfall cascaded down a rocky hill and vibrant thick brush covered most of the ground.

  “Good morning,” Mimi trilled, walking over with a wooden bowl of delicious-smelling stew. “Here. Eat. You need your strength,” she said. I took the bowl and gave her a questioning look. She smiled. “Nahime was too wired to sleep, so he found some wood and carved these.”

  “Handy,” I muttered, then sat down next to the extinguished fire circle. “Who made the stew?”

  “Yours truly,” Jala said, coming out of the woods with Nahime right on her trail. “Welcome back.”

  “Thanks.” I took a bite of the stew and moaned. It tasted amazing, full of herbs and chunks of meat. I began shoveling food in my mouth as I watched Jala and Nahime train with their swords. Mimi flew into her tent and emerged with Nia, who looked much better. She smiled and came to sit next to me, her own bowl of stew in hand.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked around another mouthful of stew.

  Nia rolled her eyes at my full mouth, taking a dainty bite and swallowing before answering. “I’m feeling much better, thanks. But I’m really worried.”

  I nodded. I was worried, too. How long would we be able to hide out here?

  Kris walked out of his tent and thanked Mimi for a bowl before sitting down opposite of us. I watched him for a few moments before finally greeting him. “Good morning.”

  He grunted, keeping his eyes down. I sighed and glanced at Nia, who was glaring at him. I shook my head once to signal not to start a fight. We didn’t need that right now. She gave her own reluctant sigh and went back to eating.

  “Good morning, girls,” came a voice from behind us. We both turned to see a clean and bandaged Grandpa smiling down at us. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just his usual worn blue jeans and boots.

  “Hi, Grandpa!” I exclaimed, jumping up to hug him. “I’m so glad you’re up and feeling better.”

  He gave me a gentle hug back, guarding his stomach. “Me too, dear. I’m sorry I worried y’all.”

  I smiled at his Southern drawl. He released me and hugged Nia, then sat down next to Kris. Mimi fluttered over and served him a bowl of stew.

  A few loud chirps ahead made us all look up. Two bluebirds were swooping in low, seeming to aim straight at me. I instinctively raised my hands and prepared to catch them. But they slowed down enough to come to a halt inches from my face.

  I paused and then grinned. “I know you two! You were both hanging around Senior Lynch’s house the day I arrived on Turgor!”

  The bigger bird gave a little bow and nodded its head. “My name is Roshi. This is my life mate, Meke.” He gestured toward the smaller bird, who dipped in what looked like a curtsey.

  “Uh, nice to meet you...again,” I said, nodding my head back. “What are you doing here?”

  “And more importantly, how did you find us?” Kris snarled, inching closer to them.

  “We’ve been searching for the past day, flying all over the forest,” Roshi answered, holding up his wings in surrender. “We know these woods better than anyone. We can trace our family roots back to the beginning days of Turgor.”

  Kris growled, but I held up my hand to stop him. “Let’s hear them out, Kris.”

  He sat back but kept his hand on his sword. Roshi looked back at me, grateful. “Thank you. We come with news.”

  I raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue.

  “We were able to spy on a Council meeting two days ago.”

  Meke chimed in. “It was supposed to be held in secret, but our sources tipped us off.”

  “Sources?” Nia asked. “Why are you guys spying on the Council?”

  “For the same reason you are hiding in the woods, young one,” Roshi said. “We know the truth. That the KaKonians are escalating this war. Our families are in danger. We cannot sit idly by when the security of our homes is at stake.”

  “We realize that if anything is happening, the Council would know something about it. So we decided to keep tabs on them,” Meke added.

  Jala shook her head. “I don’t know, girls. This could be a trap. I don’t like how easily they found us.”

  “To be fair, we are not cloaked,” Mimi said, fluttering
over to sit next to me. I noticed that she and Kris were both now strategically placed on both sides of me within striking distance. “Anyone with knowledge of these lands could find us if they really wanted to.”

  “And we have enemies that really want to,” Kris muttered. “Speak, bird, and then be on your way.”

  Roshi took a tiny breath. “The Senior Council member you killed—”

  I interrupted. “Senior Lynch.”

  He nodded. “Yes. He was planning on killing you after you awakened your Death Walker. He wanted to see if Awakening a Death Walker could really be done.”

  “We know that already,” Kris grit out. He pulled out a small dagger from his boot and pointed it at Roshi. “Is that all that you know?”

  Roshi flew back a few inches to a safe distance and turned back to me. “We learned from the meeting that Senior Lynch did not act as a rogue agent. He was tasked with killing you and your sister by the entire Council.”

  We all sat in silence and digested the information. If this were true, it meant our suspicions were correct. The Senior Council really was trying to kill us and more than likely working with the KaKonians. It meant we had a very corrupt and powerful party running our planet’s government. It also meant that there were a lot of innocent inhabitants in danger.

  Nia scoffed. “Who says this information is correct? Like Jala said, this could be a trap.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, sis. It seems to just back up what we were already thinking.”

  “What you were all thinking. Not me.”

  “Why are you so bent on defending the Council?” I stood up and put my hands on my hips. “Senior Lynch tried to kill us!”

  Nia stood too. “That was one member! The official Council is made up of a lot of magical creatures who’ve done a lot of good for this planet. Tell them, Grandpa.”

  Grandpa sighed. “That may be true, Nia. But the Council has changed a lot in the past few decades. And what they stood for before might not be what they stand for now. You must admit their actions...testing Kay’s ability to Awaken a Death Walker, assigning detention and being interrogated...all of those things tell us that they’re not merely interested in keeping the peace. They’re interested in the legendary power that you two have been gifted with.”

  “So what?” Nia shouted. “What government isn’t interested in power?”

  Kris jumped in. “If they’re in bed with the KaKonians, their interest in power, any power, is not good. Are you that in love with the Council that you cannot see reason?”

  “Screw you, Kris!” Nia yelled. She whipped back around to me. “You can’t allow yourself to just blindly follow what other people are telling you.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” I pointed out. “You’re letting tradition and personal interactions with the Council color how you feel.”

  She shook her head and took a step back. “You’re wrong. I know you’re wrong. The Council can’t be all bad.” She began to walk away.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, following her.

  “I need to think,” she called back without looking around. “I’ll be back.” A portal opened in front of her and then she was gone.

  I sighed and turned back to the others. “What now?”

  “Give her time to come around, Kay,” Grandpa said. “It’s tough on her.”

  “We don’t have time, Lamont,” Kris growled. “The girls need to train now.”

  “Agreed,” Nahime said, standing to his full height. “Let’s not wait for her to return. Jala and I can help train Rena.”

  “Me?” Rena squeaked. She had turned dull grey. “To fight?”

  “Not hand-to-hand,” Jala soothed, rubbing her back. “Just in Awakening. We need you to be better at it.”

  Rena sighed and followed Nahime, looking back to give me a woeful glance. I gave her an encouraging thumbs-up, then drained my bowl and placed it on the stack with the other bowls.

  “I’m on dish duty,” Grandpa chuckled, starting to move.

  “Nonsense,” Mimi chided, pushing down on his shoulder. She turned to the stack of dirty dishes and flicked her hand. And just like that, the stack was cleaned. “I haven’t done dishes in eons.” She sniffed.

  I chuckled, turning to watch Rena, who was sitting between Nahime and Jala facing the lake. I wondered what they were talking about. The forest was so quiet and peaceful. I took a deep breath and glanced at Roshi, who was chatting with Grandpa quietly.

  “I’m going to keep an eye on him,” Kris said, moving closer to me. I tensed and braced for a verbal attack. “I’m not sure we can trust them. And Mimi will need to cloak our location.”

  “Agreed,” I said cautiously. “And I need to get Dia before we move again.”

  “Only your sister can do that.” Kris stood up. “In the meantime, you should train as well.”

  “In Awakening things?”

  “Yes. Come here.” He walked to the opposite side of the camp and sat on the ground before motioning for me to do the same. Once I was situated, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I stared at him until he muttered, “Do the same. Close your eyes, take a breath, and focus.”

  “On what?”

  “On being still.”

  I smothered a sigh and obeyed. The cool wind danced across my face, bringing scents of damp soil, salt water and pine to me. I inhaled and smiled a little, feeling calm. The ground was firm and cool underneath me. I pressed the back of my thighs down to it. I thought about how small I was compared to the planet. How beautiful it seemed. My sense of space began to warp as I thought about how tiny I was compared to the universe we were in.

  I could hear Kris gently chanting “focus” and eventually began to ignore him. This was as peaceful as I had felt in a long time and I didn’t want anything to ruin it.

  The ground felt like it was beginning to vibrate underneath me. I frowned and tried to open my eyes but couldn’t. I didn’t feel panicked at all. A soft whisper came from nowhere and caressed me.

  “Save me,” it said, barely audible. “Save us all.” The vibrations became stronger. “Need...your...help...”

  Who are you? I thought. How can I help you?

  “I am...the beginning...and the end...”

  I gave a nervous swallow as a wave of understanding hit me. Are you...the planet? The ground rumbled in what I assumed was confirmation.

  Holy crap, I thought. What am I supposed to do?

  “...stop...war...”

  Images of bodies piled upon bodies flashed in my mind’s eye. Blood ran through the streets. All magic was gone, everything broken and grey. I felt like there was a powerful magnet pulling my insides out of me. I clenched my teeth and tried to pull away. A tear slipped from my eye.

  “Save...us...”

  My sense of space suddenly snapped back to normality. I could hear the birds chirping and Kris chanting. The ground felt normal, no longer pulsating. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, willing my heart to stop pounding.

  Turgor had spoken to me. It needed my help.

  I wouldn’t let it down.

  Chapter 20

  “You know, you can enjoy your food more if you actually look at it while eating,” Grandma fussed. She tapped her cigarette on the ashtray and took another drag. “Instead of just shoveling it in your mouth between paragraphs.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Grandma, I have to finish this before school tomorrow. The group needs my notes from our last interview by tonight.”

  Grandma huffed. “You shouldn’t have fallen behind, then. Procrastination is an ugly habit.”

  I shoveled another forkful of meatloaf in my mouth before answering, “Yeah, but I was sick, remember?”

  She exhaled a cloud of stinky smoke before noticing my nose wrinkle. “Sorry.” Grandma grimaced. “I should have opened a window.” She got up and opened the kitchen door that led out to the back porch. A gust of cool fresh air rushed in.

  I turned back to my notes, pecking away
on the laptop I’d dragged down to dinner. The fact that we were halfway done with the stupid project was more than enough motivation for me to finish my notes on time. I would miss hanging out with the group, though. It was fun pretending to be normal, if only for a little while.

  A key unlocked our front door, followed by the sounds of bags and boots hitting the floor. “Hi, Grandma!” Nia shouted, walking barefoot into the kitchen. “Oh, hey, Kay.”

  I gave her a grin full of mashed potatoes and turned back to my work.

  Nia rolled her eyes before bending down to peck Grandma on the cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling good.” Grandma smiled. “I should be asking you the same thing.”

  “I’m feeling much better, thank you,” Nia said. Nia and I had both slept over twelve hours the night before thanks to the developments on Turgor.

  Nia grabbed a plate from the cupboard and put a reasonable amount of food from the stove on it. Then she plopped down next to Grandma, across from me.

  “So, what’s new in school?” Grandma asked.

  “Nothing really,” Nia said, picking at her meatloaf. “I’m getting ready for midterms.”

  “What about you, Kay?”

  “Huh?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from the screen.

  “Midterms?”

  “What about them?”

  Grandma sighed and snubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray in front of her. “Have you been studying? When are they?”

  I made a face. “They’re next week. I think I’ll do pretty well on them.”

  Nia snorted. “Since when do you ace your exams?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her tone. “I didn’t say ace. And screw you, I’m capable of studying.”

  “Girls, don’t fight,” Grandma said, standing. “I’m going next door to Mattie’s to grab some lemons for the pie I’m making tomorrow. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  We both watched her leave in silence. I huffed and turned back to my computer.

  “I’m just saying,” Nia said, her voice saccharine sweet, “it’s not like you’re a model student.”