I broke eye contact with him, looking down at the ground like everyone else. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Why didn’t that boy look like everyone else? Why hadn’t I? Was it like Trent said? I came from the human realm, so Praesidium had less power over me? If so, was that boy like me?
“Thank you, citizens. You may now stand. You are to stay as you are and silently listen to your king,” Tenebris called over the crowd, Praesidium glowing red at his neck once more. I saw Trent’s posture stiffen with the weight of the command. I paid more attention to my own feelings and realized the command seemed to tug slightly at something inside me, but held no bearing. I could ignore it as easily as I could ignore my dad’s request to clean my room.
“There are two reasons you have been called to gather here this day. First and foremost, it has come to my attention that another census is required. It would seem that some among us are willfully disobeying the law, intentionally hiding their powers from the government and using them in unauthorized ways,” the king called.
I shot a glance at Trent out of the corner of my eye; he was one of those people. He swallowed deeply but did not look at me. He stared at the king, his back rigid, just like everyone else. I tried to push my worries away and focus on the king as well, but it was hard. I glanced around the crowd nervously. The dark haired boy who’d noticed me before was staring directly at me, an eager look on his face. I pretended not to notice.
“All households will be visited by a surveyor who will record the number of individuals in each household, the social status of all family members, and all known magical abilities obtained by such individuals. Any who have been concealing known abilities from the government will face punishment accordingly,” the king threatened. “The census will be completed over the course of the next two months. A notice will be sent to your home for your scheduled appointment with the surveyor. All individuals in your household must be present for the appointment, no exceptions. Any who are absent will be dealt with in a manner consistent with the seriousness of their crime.
“Second, it would appear that the people of Magia have forgotten our land’s important laws regarding social status.” King Tenebris stepped back to stand next to the small beggar boy who stood frozen, his eyes wide and frightened. “This young boy and his filthy mother,” Tenebris sneered at the woman bound in the chair, “were spotted by one of my noble guards in the streets of Magia with fresh produce. Now, either these two vile beggars stole the produce from a stand, or someone gave it to them. Either way, their actions are illegal and are an abomination in the eyes of the laws of Cyrus. As such, they must face the consequences. Let this serve as a reminder to each of you of the seriousness of transgressing against your king.
“The boy is hereby sentenced to 15 lashes. His mother shall follow with 20 of her own. The whipping shall be carried out by Officer Sandberg of the First Division.” Tenebris motioned to a guard who stepped through the door wearing black slacks and a black, long-sleeve shirt. He carried a lethal whip in his right hand.
My stomach dropped. This was entirely my fault. If I had only listened to Trent, this wouldn’t be happening. Tears sprung up in my eyes. Glancing around, I saw that many people in the crowd also had tears running down their faces, though their eyes remained glued to the balcony, their footsteps frozen in place by the wicked king’s commands.
Everyone was frozen, helpless—except me.
I didn’t even have to think about it. Without another glance at Trent or Em, I dropped to my knees and scrambled through the crowd, heading toward a large, red brick building to the east. My hope was that the crowd would have thinned there. It seemed to be the perimeter of the large square where the people were gathered. From there, I could use my speed and sneak behind buildings to the place where the king planned to hold his public display of torture.
I could not let this go on. I would not let this go on.
My hands and knees were scraped and bleeding by the time I finally reached the side of the brick building. Much to my relief, it was, as I hoped, empty on every side. I broke into a run, circling behind the building and darting between alleyways to the next building.
Finally, I reached the side of the white stone building. I circled to its backside, finding a door at the rear. Just as I reached the door, I heard the first crack of the whip and a horrible yelp from the boy.
I had to stop this!
Using my abilities, I slipped through the locked door with ease and found a staircase to my right. I sprinted up it, not stopping at the second level, but climbing one more to a small storage level above. I scanned the ceiling frantically, finding what I was looking for—a ladder that led to a hatch, which should give me access to the roof.
I scrambled up the ladder as another crack rent the air. I cringed.
Hurriedly, I undid the hatch and then dove onto the flat roof. Crouched low, I rushed over to the edge. The decorative railing surrounding the perimeter provided some cover for me, though not much. The guard cracked the whip again and the poor boy cried, his shirt ripped and his back bleeding. The sight was too terrible to behold.
An overwhelming need to protect the child grew in me until it was nearly a tangible force radiating from my being, thrusting toward the small boy. Thinking desperately, yet unable to come up with a plan, I watched as the wicked guard raised his arm again. I outwardly cringed as his arm came down sharply, the whip connecting with the poor child’s back.
The boy flinched, yet no cry escaped his lips. His face was filled with relief and confusion. He glanced behind himself, looking at the guard in wonder, as if he wasn’t sure he’d actually struck.
The guard seemed frustrated by the obvious lack of response from his latest blow. He wound his arm behind him, putting more effort into it this time. The boy quickly turned away, fear in his face once more as the whip came down again. Like last time, the boy flinched at the crack of the whip, but there seemed to be no pain. How odd. How amazing!
Determined to watch more closely this time, I noticed a blue, shimmering ripple surrounded the boy’s back mere inches from it, as if hugging the boy. As the guard brought the whip down with more fury than ever, I saw that it did not connect with the child—it hit the ripple of shimmering blue instead and stopped there. Again, there was no sound of pain from the boy. His mother’s face was filled with ardent relief.
What was happening? Did the boy have previously unknown abilities that manifested themselves here, in his time of need, as mine so often did? Did those abilities afford him some sort of protection? The blue shimmer was indeed faint; nobody seemed to notice it. At least nothing was said by Tenebris or the guard.
Whatever was saving the boy, I was grateful, though Tenebris and the guard certainly were not. After a few more strikes that also heeded no response, King Tenebris cried out in frustration, “Forget the child. Bring his mother forward.”
The guard roughly slashed the ropes that bound the child to the thick log by his wrists. The boy stumbled to his feet and hurried to his mother, panic in his eyes. The guard followed. He roughly removed the cloth that gagged the woman and yanked her to her feet. He dragged her to the post and tied her to it, as he had the boy. The crowd watched in horror, frozen in their command to stand silently.
Again, my mind was working wildly, trying to come up with a way to stop the horror. Whatever had protected the boy likely wouldn’t protect his sweet mother. The terror in her eyes was obvious, though I noticed she was trying to be strong for her son.
The guard stepped back, readying himself for the first strike. The same overwhelming need to protect this innocent woman welled up inside me, filling every inch of my body until it spilled out of me. At that exact moment, I noticed the same faint, rippling blue shimmer that had protected the boy extend around the woman’s back.
The whip came down with a sharp crack. Simultaneously, I felt a faint tug in my head. It wasn’t painful, simply noticeable. Like the child, the woman flinched at the sound, but did not scream or cry. She, too, looke
d confused.
With obvious frustration, the guard brought the whip down once more. Again, a flinch and no pain. And again, I felt a mental tug at the same time the whip connected with the rippling blue.
With a jolt of realization, I understood what was happening—I was protecting the woman. I had protected the child. The thin blue ripple belonged to me. It was a shield of some sort, an extension of my dire need to protect the innocent. That is why I could feel something in my head every time the whip connected with the blue ripple. Even as I thought it, I felt another mental tug as the whip connected with my shield once more.
Life in Cyrus continued to baffle me. My abilities manifested themselves so easily here. I was overwhelmingly grateful for the timely discovery of this new gift. I had felt entirely responsible for putting the woman and child in this horrible position. At the same time, I was also frightened by the discovery of a sixth ability. I didn’t want to be seen as special, even if it was only by Trent and his family.
Finally, realizing that they were having absolutely no impact on the woman, Tenebris cried out, “Stop!” to the guard, who halted immediately.
Tenebris paced back and forth on the small balcony for a moment before he turned to face the crowd.
“To show that your king is indeed merciful,” Tenebris called over the people, “I hereby pardon this woman and her son from their crimes. Let this day stand as a reminder that the laws of Cyrus are to be obeyed by all. I would not expect such acts of mercy from your king in the future. That will be all. You are dismissed.” With a swish of the king’s cape, he turned and headed back through the doors, annoyance blatant on his face.
The crowd immediately broke free of their rigid stance and began milling about, heading out of the square. It seemed most were in a hurry to leave Magia and get home.
I continued to watch as the woman was cut free from the post. She hurried to her son, embracing him. The boy smiled at his mother with relief. Two guards shoved them back through the balcony doors. I hoped fervently that this would truly be the end of it for the pair of them.
I scrambled down the ladder to the storage space, then down to the first floor, knowing I needed to hurry back to the place where I’d left Trent and his mother before they began to worry. I slipped through the locked back door and into the crowd, breaking into a sprint.
“Ava, what were you thinking?” Trent asked as I reappeared at his side. “I saw you up there on the roof. I’m sure everyone did!” His expression was livid.
“Oh, come now,” Em said. “She was very discreet. Most were too concerned with the horrible display of cruelty to examine the roof. Did you have something to do with protecting the child, dear? I noticed the whip seemed to lose its effect as soon as you appeared on the roof.”
“I’m not certain, but I think so,” I said, unsure how to explain what had happened.
“Well, I’m very glad you did. It was indeed risky. But you helped stop a terrible injustice today.” Em smiled kindly. “We should leave the city quickly. We need to speak with your father about the census,” Em said, turning to head back up the road as she spoke.
Trent and I followed. I watched him from the corner of my eye. His expression was angry but there was a trace of relief in his eyes.
I tried to contain myself, but my heart was so heavy with worry for how he was feeling that I ended up reaching out and grabbing his hand. He told me he didn’t want me to do anything that would endanger him or his family. I had done exactly that today. And on top of that, they now had this census to worry about. If it was discovered they’d hidden an ability as prominent as Traveling from the king, I knew the consequences would be severe. Trent seemed shocked by the unexpected touch, but glanced over at me and smiled. I smiled back, relieved that he seemed to be forgiving me.
We reached Em’s stand in minutes. We hurried to uncover the stand and pack everything away in the baskets she’d stashed beneath the shelves of fruit. The stand itself was collapsible. I watched as Trent folded it in on itself, stuffed it in a canvas bag, and zipped it up. He slung it over his shoulder, reaching for the baskets of fruit I held in my hands.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Take some of your mom’s instead.” He took his mom’s four baskets and we briskly walked out of the city. It seemed like a lot of people were in a hurry to leave. We headed for the bridge Trent and I had crossed earlier that day amidst a throng of people.
“Why do you think Tenebris let the beggars go like he did?” I asked Trent in a hushed whisper.
“He was humiliated and trying to save face. Obviously, what he meant to be a harsh example of what happens to people who are flagrantly disobedient turned into a show of defiance, though I don’t think he could figure out how they were resisting the blows. Therefore, his only option was to turn it into a good PR moment,” Trent breathed. “I don’t think many fell for it. They knew it was a cover up.”
Interesting. That would explain Tenebris’ annoyed expression as he’d left the balcony. I was relieved he’d decided to let the two go rather than make a further example of them by some other means. Who knew what my shield could withstand?
We walked a short distance into the woods before Trent set down the baskets he was carrying. His mom picked them up as he extended a hand out to each of us on either side of him.
“You’re going to have to hold on extra tight this time, Ava, since I only have one hand to hold on to you with. Can you do that?” Trent asked.
“Maybe it would be best if I just ran back to your house. I could be there in just a few minutes,” I offered, nervous about Traveling without his strong hands holding me.
“No,” Em intervened. “It’s too dangerous to have you using your powers just now. Remember, you’re not even known by the government. We need to keep a low profile for the time being. Besides, I prefer we stick together.”
“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.
I extended my right hand out to Trent and we took off. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But just a few moments into our Travel, I felt a tugging on my left leg. We were spinning so quickly through the white tube that I couldn’t get my bearings enough to look down and see what caused it, but the tugs became more and more persistent. I felt Trent’s hand tighten around mine, trying to hold me to him, but I kept slipping. With a final, strong pull, my hand slid out of his entirely.
Chapter 14
Abducted
I felt myself falling a long distance before I hit the ground with a sickening thud. I’d landed face first and had the wind knocked out of me. As soon as I could manage, I turned onto my back, spitting dirt out of my mouth and gasping for air. A cool trickle ran down my face—blood from my nose, I was sure.
Nervously, I looked around, trying to find the cause of the crash. It didn’t take long before I figured it out. About ten feet away, a boy lay face first in the dirt, unmoving.
I tried to get a better idea of where we were, but there wasn’t much to go on. We were in a very thick part of the forest with nothing but trees around to give any indication of how close to Trent’s home we might be.
Hesitantly, I got to my feet. My entire body ached from the impact and my nose was indeed bleeding. I had nothing but Em’s white shirt sleeve to wipe it on. I hoped she’d forgive me for ruining one of her few items of clothing.
Cautiously, I approached the boy and nudged him with my toe. “Hello? You okay?”
Nothing.
“Hello?” I called louder with a harder push. Still no response.
I got down on my hands and knees, kneeling next to him. With an enormous shove, I rolled the boy onto his back. He was heavy, not because he was fat, but because he was extremely tall and somewhat muscular. I was shocked to recognize the face from the crowd at Tuttenham Square—the boy who had smiled at me when we were supposed to be bowing. He had black, straight hair that hung past his ears. His eyebrows were thick and his skin pale. His face was handsome, though it was covered in dirt at the moment.
He started to stir as I glanced over his body, looking for any obvious injuries. He didn’t seem to be bleeding anywhere, and there were no broken bones. His eyelids fluttered, revealing shockingly blue eyes underneath. His eyes met mine, a look of comprehension coming over him. He jumped to his feet with a start. I did as well.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, my hands raised defensively. “Who are you?”
“My name is Warren. And I’m here because I wanted to talk to you,” he explained, putting his hands up in surrender. “I mean you no harm.”
“You followed me? How did you break me off from Trent while we were Traveling?”
As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I shouldn’t have revealed Trent’s name or ability to a total stranger. I tried to hide my huge mistake, but Warren seemed to catch on. A sly look crossed his features. “Trent, huh? A Traveler?” Warren lowered his hands and slunk casually against the trunk of the tree next to him.
“Yeah, so what?” I asked flippantly, crossing my arms.
“So Travelers can cross realms, a fact I’m sure you’re aware of. You’re not from around here, are you?” Warren took a step closer, a devious look in his eye. I stepped back at the same time. What an odd question to ask. I thought he’d certainly be more interested in the fact that Trent was acting of his own accord, transporting random citizens rather than carrying out Tenebris’ every wish and whim.
“Of course I’m from around here. Traveling between realms is illegal without permission from King Tenebris directly,” I lied, swallowing hard.
“You’re an appalling liar,” Warren laughed. “I saw the way you resisted Tenebris’ command. You ran up to the roof and somehow helped that boy and his mother. Only someone from outside this realm could have done that.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. You could also resist Tenebris’ commands. I saw you looking around when we were supposed to be bowing. Does that mean you’re from the human realm?”
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