Halfblood Legacy

by Rheaume, Laura

  Scythe stood there, unsure of what to say.

  “Let him play, Strike!” yelled Prize from the edge of the field. Three older teenage boys were standing with her now, watching the scene.

  Strike, looking over at the attractive girl and blushing a little, called back to her, “Ok, fine.” He walked up to Scythe, standing well above the younger boy, and turned to address the other kids. “New game. Let’s play Human invaders. You all are Kin, and Scythe, Rend, Smoke and I are the invaders. Go get ready.”

  As the rest of the kids moved to the other side of the field, Scythe said, “I don’t know this game.”

  “Of course you don’t, Mismatch,” the boy called Smoke rolled his eyes. “You don’t know any games.” Everyone on Scythe’s team laughed at that.

  “Ok. So they are going to get ready for the attack. We run in and get as many of them as we can. You have to tag them on the back to kill ‘em, got it, Scythe? If you hit them on the front of the chest, nothing happens. It’s got to be in the back, cause that’s how Humans are.”

  “Backstabbers.”

  “Liars.”

  “Thieves.”

  “Dogs.”

  “Weasels.”

  “What’s a weasel?” Rend asked Smoke.

  Strike answered, “A rodent, like a rat but longer, and a face just like yours.” He easily blocked Rend’s half-hearted punch, grinning at Smoke’s laugh. “Ok, let’s play. One more thing, they can get you anywhere. If they tag you, you got to lay down and die like a Human.”

  “How do Humans die?”

  “Crying.”

  “Screaming for their mommies.”

  “Quickly.” Another laugh.

  Unsure about why they were laughing, Scythe asked another question, “Why is it that they can touch me anywhere, but I have to tag them on the back?”

  “Because, Humans are just that easy to kill. They even sometimes die when you look at them wrong.”

  “Really?” asked Scythe, his eyes widening.

  “Well, look at your mom. She’s sick for no reason, right? Probably someone looked at her and her heart is givin’ out. Come on, let’s go.”

  Scythe swallowed nervously at the idea. Next to him, Smoke shook his head and gave Strike a dirty look. Then Rend was pushing him forward and they took off.

  The four boys ran towards the large group of other children, who, seeing that the action had begun, cheered and started running around, taunting the 'Humans.'

  “Try me, Human!”

  “Over here!”

  “Look, I’ve even got my eyes closed! And I’ll turn my back!”

  Smoke and Rend teamed up, running towards the 'Kin' and, when someone strayed from the pack, circled him until one of them could dart in and hit the back. Then they dashed off to find another.

  After circling the group until they were packed nicely together, Strike ran straight into the center of the Kin and got attacked from all sides. He waved his hands around, his eyes rolling and mouth contorted, “Ahhhhh! How could this happen? Blegh! Please, spare me! Eeek! I wet my pants!” He fell down twitching while everyone around him laughed loudly.

  Smoke and Rend took out half of Strike’s audience before they even noticed what was going on. Scythe, who had been skirting the crowd and watching, ran in toward one of the kids, who turned, eyeing him.

  “Go ahead and try it, freak.”

  Scythe ran around him, but he just rotated, never giving his back. The dead kids sat in their spots, watching while the remaining Kin began to seriously defend themselves against the real threat of Smoke and Rend. There were only five of them left. Scythe, seeing no opening in the boy in front of him, turned and started towards the other group of kids.

  “Don’t turn your back on me, Human!” The boy ran after Scythe, who picked up his pace, easily outrunning his pursuer. Suddenly, he found himself herded into a patch of dead kids. One reached out and grabbed at his leg, but he pulled it out of reach; a second and a third kid had a try, but both missed. Finally, dodging another arm, Scythe found himself falling, tripped by a fifth kid with fast hands. His mind on his pursuer, Scythe turned as he fell, feet coming up.

  The larger boy, also dodging the hands of the dead, closed in on him. As he got right up to him, he was tripped and began to fall, his body twisting from the hand holding his leg; his arms flailed as he tried to catch himself. He landed sideways, right on Scythe’s outstretched feet.

  Deciding quickly, Scythe pushed hard with his legs. He managed to clumsily knock the kid to the left, into a girl. As they disentangled themselves, Scythe jumped up and tagged the boy on the back. He turned around, looking to see if any other remained, but only Rend and Smoke were still standing.

  He jogged over to them, “Now what?”

  Rend looked down at him, “That’s it. We won.”

  Smoke said, “As usual. That was good work, Mismatch.” The older boy reached out and messed up his hair.

  Scythe was stunned; no one touched him except his parents and a few members of his family. A warm feeling spread through his chest. They grinned at his ridiculous expression, but he didn’t care. They didn’t walk away. They didn’t tell him to get out. They had complimented him. He stared back and forth from one boy to the other while they congratulated each other on their cleverness and skills.

  “Nice sweep.”

  “Like that? I’m working on a reverse hook, wanna see it?”

  “Show me what you’ve got, brother.”

  The boy Scythe had tagged got up and complained loudly, his mouth tight and eyes piercing. “Hey, I don’t much like how the Human uses our girls to kill us.”

  “Stop it, Geruk. It wasn’t intentional.” Rend gave Scythe a wink, which Scythe thought was amazing. “It was a smooth move, he’s just embarrassed,” he whispered.

  Scythe was overwhelmed by his luck and by the boys’ casual camaraderie. In his entire life, no one outside of his family and few within had ever treated him that way. In an instant, something blossomed within him and spread throughout his body, something which made the next words painful.

  “Time for you to go, I think,” said Smoke in a surprisingly low and serious tone. He gave Scythe a little push toward his cousin.

  Scythe just stared at them in disappointment and shock, until he followed Smoke’s gaze. For the first time, he noticed the looks that most of the kids on the field were giving him: resentful and angry. Slowly they were getting up and moving towards them, Geruk’s voice fitting in smoothly with their expressions: “I think we should see how strong our own pet Human is when he can’t use his little tricks.”

  Some of the kids hung back, watching, but most began to stalk forward. Strike, seeing Scythe was not reacting, yelled, “Run!”

  Scythe looked at his new friends for guidance.

  Rend said calmly, “I think that might be good advice.”

  Smoke added, “Yep. Running is good.” They both looked down at him expectantly.

  Scythe turned and bolted towards his cousin, hearing Smoke comment, “This should be fun.”

  “Oh yeah. Let’s do it.”

  As soon as he started to run, Scythe heard the kids roar behind him. Looking back, he saw the crowd pursuing him, faces now flushed with excitement. As they passed Rend and Smoke, several of the kids fell, their legs swept out from under them or just pushed over. Rend and Smoke then turned and started taking down the pack from behind, some of which turned away to avoid them, laughing at the new game. They were joined by Strike, and, grinning widely, the three easily eliminated the kids at the back of the group, many of whom still hadn’t noticed that most of their company had fallen.

  Scythe, having outpaced the group with his head start and quickness, finally reached the place where his cousin stood, watching with her friends. Unsure of what to do, he stopped short of her and looked back at the field. Most kids were either on the ground watching or walking forward to get a better view of what would happen next. Some eight of the original pack reached them, slow
ing to a walk and then stopping; Smoke, Rend, and Strike jogged up from behind, circled around the group and stood to the side with their arms crossed. Scythe unconsciously backed up until he was pressed against Prize. She laid her hand on his shoulder, a warm, comforting weight.

  Geruk spoke up irritably, “What?”

  Scythe turned his head to look up at Prize who, like her friends, did nothing but stare at Geruk.

  “We’re playing here, Keyrin.” A girl stepped forward, throwing a disdainful look at the intimidated kids around her.

  Prize’s friend, a man older than the rest of the kids, at least seventeen years old, spoke for the first time with a confident voice that was clearly heard by everyone nearby, “So I see.”

  “He’s just a filthy Human,” snipped the girl.

  “Does he look Human to you?”

  They all looked at Scythe, whose skin began to crawl under the scrutiny.

  “A little.”

  “And when did you ever see a Human, Lightning?”

  The girl rolled her eyes at that, “I can just tell. He doesn’t look right.” She waved her hand, indicating the ears, the rounded, puffy looking lips and the eyes that betrayed his Human parentage.

  “Scythe, are you Human?”

  Surprised to be addressed, Scythe stared at Keyrin, his heart pounding. He swallowed before answering, “My mother is Human.”

  “And your father?”

  “My father is Kin.

  Keyrin waited a moment, letting Scythe’s words hang in the air. “And when is Kin not kin?” When no one spoke, he answered, “Never. What makes Kin the rulers of this world, Geruk?”

  The boy answered grudgingly, “Blood of the Kin.”

  Keyrin reached out and laid his hand on Scythe’s other shoulder, “Blood of the Kin.” His hand was steady and strong; Scythe felt like his feet were suddenly rooted to the ground. He looked up at Keyrin, feeling somehow safer than he ever had before. From where he stood, Keyrin looked about seven feet tall. No, taller.

  Behind him, an older Scythe watched intently, his arms crossed and jaw tight.

  Something in Keyrin’s look signaled Geruk and the other kids that the game was over. They turned and headed back to the field, grumbling among themselves.

  Smoke snickered, his eyes on some of the kids that were limping from his handiwork, before turning his attention to Scythe. “Looks like our teammate has friends in high places. What do you think, Rend?”

  “Yup,” Rend smiled. “How’s it going, cousin?”

  Scythe turned as Keyrin lifted his hand from his shoulder and took Prize’s hand. She grinned down at her young cousin, approval clear on her face, before looking toward but not directly at the handsome face of the tall boy next to her.

  “Just watching you boys make mincemeat of the troops,” said Keyrin.

  “That’s what we do.”

  “Yeah, well, I think it’s about time you started training for real; Smoke is taking the same path you are, right?

  Rend nodded, “Rank…”

  “And file,” Smoke finished; they gave Keyrin matching grins.

  “Your talents will be wasted there. I’ll talk to my father tonight if you are interested in the Blades.”

  “We definitely are.”

  “Good. I think our little brother here has some potential for the same. Think you could teach him something useful?”

  “We know a couple of things. Sure, why not?”

  “Good. Ok, my Prize, I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll see you soon.”

  “My Lord,” Prize bowed her head to him.

  He reached over and lifted her chin, boldly catching her gaze with his own and softly whispering, “It will ever be my pleasure to serve your family.”

  Rend chuckled, politely averting his eyes from a blushing Prize, “You are such the smooth talker.”

  Prize asked, her eyes sparking with a challenging glint, “Is it just talk?”

  “Not for you, not ever.” He smiled and turned away, striding up the street with his friends.

  Prize struggled to regain her composure, pulling her hands down from hot cheeks and taking Scythe’s hand. “Ok, I’ve got to get Scythe back before my Auntie comes looking. I’ll remember this day, Rend, Strike and Smoke.”

  “It would be hard to forget it,” laughed Smoke. “We’ll be by a couple of times a week for Scythe. Let your aunt know, will you?”

  “It will take some explaining, but I’ll take care of it. Since the governor’s son ordered it, I’m sure it won’t be too bad.”

  Scythe was steered back down the street by Prize and the world faded away.

  -----------

  Mercy waited as long as she could, until the hall was almost cleared, before she slung her backpack on and reluctantly headed to the exit where she saw Alan Gibbs waiting with a courteous smile on his face. She tried to put on her own polite face, but she suspected it was mostly a failure; she was a lousy liar, especially when it came to hiding her emotions.

  “Ms…?” he asked, extending his hand.

  “What do you want?” she asked, deciding to forget the formalities and let him see how uncomfortable she was. “Why did you chase me yesterday? Are you some kind of creep?”

  She said it loud enough and tinged it with enough of her real fear that it sounded terrible to any outsider. Not coincidentally, there were a handful of them within earshot, and they turned and stared at him.

  Instant gratification. He went as red as a beet and started sputtering, “No! I assure you I have only…” He swallowed loudly, “...purely academic concerns…”

  “What? If I don’t go someplace with you, you’ll change my grade? What kind of…”

  “No, that’s not what I meant…”

  “I told you that I’m not interested, and most guys know what that means…” She gave her doe eyes to one of the guys standing nearby who looked like the protective-type. He started walking over to them, after shoving his books at a friend and unconsciously making his hands into impressive looking fists.

  Dang. That is some quick customer service.

  “No, I just wanted to ask you about your use of energy fields,” Gibbs squawked in a very loud, high-pitched voice. His hands flew up and he backed away from her intended rescuer, saying equally fast, “I wasn’t harassing her in any way.”

  Mercy could barely believe what she had heard, “What?”

  “You having a problem, miss?” asked Mr. Helpful.

  “Huh, oh, I’m not sure…”

  “I wasn’t...stalking you...or anything. I’m just interested in your abilities, for my research.” He started talking directly to the new guy. “I have a girlfriend, already, and am not interested at all in her.” He glanced sideways and scooted away from Mercy, as if to prove his point.

  “You can manipulate energy fields? Like in the professor’s research?” Damn, of course her savior had to be one of Dr. Everett’s students.

  “No. I don’t know anything about that. All I know...” is that it is all going to hell around me. “...is he and his buddy chased me yesterday all the way to my next class.”

  “We weren’t chasing you. We just wanted to ask you a few questions. You see, the other student is very sensitive and he can feel when energy fields fluctuate. So when you went by yesterday, he got a strong reaction from you. He is sure that you…”

  “Have you ever been able to do things with your mind?” Mr. Helpful wanted to know; behind him, his friends had decided to come over and see.

  Mercy didn’t know what she could say to get herself out from under the avalanche that was coming down the mountain. Everyone started to surround her and ask her questions at once.

  “You can manipulate fields?”

  “Really?”

  “Show us something.”

  “Hold on!” Alan said, holding up his hands, “She’s talking to me…”

  Mercy started to feel disoriented and a bit dizzy. The people in the hall suddenly moved closer to her, pressing in wi
th questions. One grabbed her arm...

  “Honey, what’s taking you so long?” Cord asked, stepping in and taking her by the elbow. He aimed a stern glance at an offending hand and it quickly let go of Mercy’s arm. “You only have a short time before your next class and you promised me lunch at Felipe’s.” He gave the two men in front of her, Alan and Mr. Helpful, suspicious looks, “Are these guys bothering you, dear?”

  “Uh…” She had never been so happy to hear his annoying voice.

  “Ah, as soft spoken as ever. That’s what I love about her. Sorry, fellas, but she’s not available. Find yourself another hottie.” He turned and pulled her with him through the crowd. “I think I’ll have the enchiladas today, what about you?”

  “Yeah,” she said, attempting to pull her wits together and match his rapid pace. She didn’t know why she was having such a hard time focusing. She just needed a moment, to think...

  Behind them, Alan Gibbs’ voice followed, along with the rest of him. “Please, I just want to ask a few questions...and see if you’d permit some very basic, non invasive tests…”

  Cord stopped, turned and faced Alan, who came to a halt abruptly in front of them. Cord smiled in that cheerful 'I’m everyone’s buddy' way, and said, “Look, pal…”

  “Alan.”

  “Yeah, whatever, Alan. I see you are all fired up about getting your thesis written and all. I mean, who among us isn’t, right? But, you’re going out of your way to miss the point here so how about I make it real clear to you, okay? My honey bunches of oats here…”

  Really?

  “...Is. Not. Interested. If you bother her one more time, I won’t like it.” Now he was wearing his 'I’m not shitting with you, meat face' expression.

  After his eyes returned to normal size, Alan’s shoulders slumped down and his face wilted, but he accepted it like a man-like creature. “Alright. I suppose there is no way we can help each other.”

  “That’s right. Let’s go, sugarplum.” When she stared at him vacantly, Cord put his arm around Mercy’s waist, pulled her into a very close hug, and led her out of the building.

  -----------

  “Tiburon, for sure. Actually, I think that will about do it. He’s the head.”

  “This is going to help us out a great deal,” Soshia said, reviewing the report in front of her. “We’ll put our people on Winter...I know her. She’s a journalist from Sorle’s line. Extremely active in several charities which makes her very popular with the public. Let’s see if we can get a hold of this exposé before it comes out. Temper, I need you to handle the Three Reeds. Take two teams.”