Malcolm nodded, though on the inside, his stomach twisted a little. He still hadn’t forgotten that they were prisoners. Shield Maiden and Rain Dancer’s strategy seemed to involve getting them emotionally invested in the cult, until neither of them had any choice but to become their allies.
I know it won’t work on me. But Rose…?
Rose was already staring at Leah across the room. Malcolm set a hand on her shoulder, feeling incredibly awkward and struggling to find the right words to say.
“Hey,” he said. “Are you okay with that?”
Rose shrugged.
“I’m alright with it,” she said, quietly. “I’d like to spend some more time with Leah, it’s just…”
She met Malcolm’s eye, and he instantly knew they were on the same page. She could see the emotional triggers they were trying to pull to get her into line, and she didn’t like it.
“I’d also like to spend some time with you, Rose,” said Rain Dancer. “And I apologize for last night. Didn’t realize the two of you would be going to work like rabbits, you know?”
Rain Dancer had a smug smile on his face. Malcolm made a point to ignore it, instead squeezing Rose’s shoulder and walking with her over toward an empty table for breakfast.
I trust Rose. I’ve essentially trusted her from the very beginning.
The two of them ate a quick breakfast of fruit salad and toast, and then Malcolm was on his way with Shield Maiden. She led him down one of the tunnels, into another section of Underworld, less well-lit than other rooms and hallways he’d seen.
“From this point on, you’re not going to be able to travel on foot,” said Shield Maiden.
“I’m not exactly a master when it comes to flying,” said Malcolm. “But sure, I’ll give it a shot.”
Shield Maiden smiled at him and waved her hand. A bubble burst into existence around Malcolm, hampering his view of their surroundings and suspending him in the air.
“Sorry,” she said. “I can’t have you knowing the exact locations of Underworld’s entrances.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that would really burst your bubble,” said Malcolm. “Guess you guys have to go through a lot to keep your location shielded.”
“You’re not funny.”
“I bet you’re at least smiling right now,” said Malcolm. “I can’t see your face, but I bet you are.”
Malcolm lounged in the bubble while Shield Maiden navigated a long series of twists and turns. The tunnels that connected Underworld to the surface felt needlessly complex. Malcolm was certain that he wouldn’t have been able to find his way back, even if he’d been on foot and paying attention.
After about an hour, they came out into the open. The sunlight made the inside of the bubble almost feel like the inside of a prism. Light shimmered in odd ways, splitting into pure colors, and giving Malcolm the dizzying feeling of being submerged in a rainbow.
Shield Maiden kept walking, traversing a couple of grassy hills. Malcolm was positive that they were outside Halter City and Vanderbrook, though exactly where, he couldn’t guess. Finally, they came to a stop. Shield Maiden waved her hand, and Malcolm fell to the dirt in a heap.
“We’ve arrived,” said Shield Maiden.
Malcolm blinked his eyes as he looked around.
“The sand cliffs?” he asked. “If you were trying to confuse my sense of direction, you’ve done a pretty poor job at it. I know exactly where we are now in relation to Vanderbrook.”
“I just don’t want you knowing how to get to and from Underworld,” said Shield Maiden. “And I think that has been accomplished.”
The sand cliffs were misnamed. They were a more of a ridge made of dry dirt, running a half mile or so along the hills to the far west of Vanderbrook. It was an area that was commonly rumored to be a popular place for criminal activity, especially dumping bodies.
Because of that and its distance from anything worthwhile, it was a place that few people bothered to spend much time in. Malcolm looked up at the cliffs, remembering how he used to think about climbing them as a kid on the few times he’d ridden his bike out in their direction.
“Why bring me here?” asked Malcolm. “You’re taking a risk, aren’t you? If I wanted to get away badly enough, I could just take off running, you know.”
Shield Maiden smiled at him. She was wearing a loose, long sleeve t-shirt and grey sweatpants. Her skin made the outfit look more impressive than it really was, the simplicity contrasting against the complicated mixture of purples and pinks underneath.
“Could you really?” she asked. “Why don’t you try it and see what happens?”
It would not be fun to have her bubble me while in mid sprint. But still… she’s taking a risk, whether she’ll admit it or not.
“The reason I brought you out here, Wind Runner, is because of the wind,” said Shield Maiden. “I want to teach you some of what Rain Dancer and I have figured out in our time using our powers.”
“Why, though?” asked Malcolm. “Why go through the trouble of teaching a prisoner anything?”
“Because you aren’t a prisoner, Malcolm,” said Shield Maiden. “You’re a new recruit.”
CHAPTER 19
The weight of Shield Maiden’s admission was more than enough to knock Malcolm off balance. He stared at her, trying to discern whether she was being serious, or whether it was a trick.
If she is serious, all I have to do is play along, and I’ll have the freedom to escape soon enough.
“Have you tried flying before?” asked Shield Maiden. “I’ve seen other gifted individuals manage it, but only ones with a… slightly higher power level than you.”
“I’ve flown before,” said Malcolm. “It… didn’t really end well. I came close to losing myself to my powers, and crossing over the line. I think… if I had kept doing it, I would have turned into a spryte, or a demon.”
Shield Maiden nodded.
“I’m assuming that the approach you took was a less efficient one,” said Shield Maiden. “One of the critical things that both Rain and I have learned from experimenting with our own powers is that it’s often more practical to use them in limited bursts.”
Malcolm shrugged his shoulders, thinking about what she was saying.
“What do you mean by that, exactly?” he asked.
“Follow me,” said Shield Maiden.
She walked along the sand cliffs until they reached an easily accessible ridge to climb. Malcolm followed her as she made her way up, finally reaching the summit at a hundred feet above the silty bottom.
“I want you to jump,” said Shield Maiden. “And I want you to try to think about using the wind, not to fly wherever you want, but just to keep yourself from touching the ground.”
“Uh…” Malcolm scratched his head. “Is there a difference, really? That sounds like the same thing to me.”
Shield Maiden shook her head.
“What I’m talking about is using your wind powers to give yourself a quick burst of lift and then letting yourself move through the air naturally,” she said.
“I get it,” said Malcolm. “The Buzz Lightyear approach.”
Shield Maiden frowned.
“Falling with style,” he said. “Toy Story? Oh, come on, everyone has seen that movie.”
“Why don’t we continue things here?” asked Shield Maiden. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Malcolm stood at the edge of the cliff. The sand was loose and soft down below him. The sand cliffs were, in fact, one of the best locations he could have asked for to experiment with his powers.
I’ll just keep telling myself that, while I’m in the middle of an uncontrolled freefall.
“Wait until the last second,” said Shield Maiden. “And then trigger your powers with all the force you can, and then throw yourself back up into the air.”
Malcolm nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Sure… Let’s give it a try.”
He jumped. His breath caught in his throat as he kicked his le
gs through open air, and then the ground was coming up toward him, fast. It took a tremendous amount of willpower for Malcolm to bide his time and wait for the right moment, but he forced himself to do it.
When he was no more than fifteen feet from hitting the ground, he pushed downward with his wind manipulation with all the strength his abilities would allow. Instantly, he understood what Shield Maiden had meant.
When used in a quick, sudden burst, Malcolm could ratchet his powers up to a higher level than he’d normally be able to reach. When he’d first joined the Champion Authority, Tapestry had told him that his powers were about a three out of ten, on their strength scale.
Malcolm now saw that it was true when considering using his wind manipulation for longer that a couple of seconds at a time, but if he only needed a quick, split second burst, he could use the wind at twice that intensity or more.
He pushed up off the ground, bouncing as though he’d landed on the tarp of a trampoline. Malcolm let out a whoop, and totally forgot what he was supposed to be doing. Instead of turning his wind manipulation off, he kept pushing himself up, taking proper flight for a couple of seconds.
This feels fucking amazing. Why don’t I do this all the time?
A bubble burst into existence around him. Malcolm growled, anger mixing with the remnants of the power euphoria he’d just gotten a taste of. He felt Shield Maiden slowly lowering him back down toward where she was on the ridge.
He took a few deep breaths and slowly came back to reality. Shield Maiden dropped her bubble shield, waiting for him to stand to his feet before frowning and shaking her head in disapproval.
“Don’t get carried away,” said Shield Maiden. “Using your powers like that will only lead to you turning into a spryte, or a demon.”
Malcolm tried to think clearly. He was just lucid enough to question why Shield Maiden, a spryte herself, and a member of a cult that worshipped monsters, would give him that advice.
There is something going on here that hasn’t been explained to me, yet. I need to tread carefully.
“Let’s take a break,” said Shield Maiden. “I brought some sandwiches.”
Malcolm sat with her on the edge of the sand cliffs. Shield Maiden passed him some food, and as he accepted it from her his fingers brushed against hers. He felt the sudden, familiar tingle of absorbing the power of another gifted and froze in his tracks.
Shield Maiden looked at him strangely. Malcolm tried to play it off, smiling and trying not to consider whether her bubble shields would ever prove to be of use to him. He shifted his focus, eating lunch and wondering what the future held.
“Where do you see this heading?” he found himself asking. “What’s your end goal, Shield Maiden?”
She didn’t react to the question right away, slowly finishing the bit of sandwich she was working on before turning to look at him.
“That’s a good question,” she said. “I’m surprised that you didn’t ask me earlier.”
“It’s not that it only occurred to me now,” said Malcolm. “There just never seemed to be… an opportune time to ask.”
Shield Maiden nodded.
“What I want is peace,” she said. “It’s a rather boring end goal, but beautiful in its own right. Take your friend Rose, and her sister Leah, for example…”
Malcolm nodded slowly.
“They’ve been given a chance to reconnect,” continued Shield Maiden. “Do you think it would have gone the same way if Leah had been living outside the church, constantly inundated with propaganda designed to paint sprytes and demons as hell spawn?”
Malcolm resisted his impulse to agree with her immediately.
“Some might say that the philosophy of the Awakened Children is also propaganda,” he said, carefully. “You have to admit, it’s a little farfetched.”
Shield Maiden let out a small laugh.
“Yes, Rain and I differ on the benefits of the church’s teachings,” said Shield Maiden. “I do think the overall message is sound, however. And we both agree that the Champion Authority, in its current state, is not something that can be allowed to continue.”
“So it’s you, and Rain Dancer, and a few dozen normal humans, against an international organization of superhumans?”
“Along with anyone else who sees the injustice in what’s currently going on,” said Shield Maiden. She gave him a pointed look. “Have you ever wondered how the Champion Authority came out on top? How it became the organization in charge of policing the superhuman world?”
“I always just assumed it happened naturally,” said Malcolm.
Then again, I always took what they said about sprytes and demons at face value…
“Savior, the leader of the Champion Authority, is a United States Senator,” said Shield Maiden. “He pushed for government funding. Invented the threat of sprytes and demons. Sold not just the United States, but governments all around the world on the need fora genocide against hundreds of thousands of people who, through no fault of their own, became something different in the eyes of their fellow citizens.”
“That’s not the full truth either, though,” said Malcolm. “There are some demons and sprytes out there who, for lack of a better word, are evil.”
My brother was one of them. How many people did he kill in his time as a demon?
“If you’re looking for a simple truth, Wind Runner, I doubt very much that you will ever find it.”
Shield Maiden turned her attention back to her sandwich. Malcolm couldn’t decide whether the conversation was one he wanted to keep having, and so he did the same.
CHAPTER 20
“I have one more thing to teach you,” said Shield Maiden. “And it won’t involve as much risk as what we tried before.”
Malcolm stood up and dusted his pants off. He nodded slowly.
“Sure,” he said. “But just how is it that you came about this knowledge, anyway? Your power is nothing like wind manipulation. How is it that you have so much insight into how to use it properly?”
Shield Maiden smiled at him.
I guess my question was a good one.
“Living as a spryte or a demon puts you in touch with your powers,” said Shield Maiden. “I have an intuitive sense, both for how my powers and the powers of others work.”
“And you didn’t have that before you became a spryte?” asked Malcolm.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t remember much from that life. But regardless, it’s up to you to decide what to take and what to toss from the advice I give you. I’m not here to preach the gospel.”
“I mean, technically speaking, you are kind of worshipped by a cult…”
“Wind Runner,” said Shield Maiden. “I will trap you inside of my bubbles for the next week if you don’t quit being such a smartass.”
“Duly noted.”
Shield Maiden led him down to the sand at the bottom of the cliffs. She stood for a moment without saying anything, and then finally extended her arms wide.
“Your power is wind manipulation,” said Shield Maiden. “But just as easily, you could use it to interpret vibrations on the wind. To hear what’s going on around you, at a distance much further than a normal, unaided human.”
“Super hearing,” said Malcolm. “Uh, okay. Not quite in the same league as flying, but I’ll give it a try.”
“It’s more useful than flying,” said Shield Maiden. “For a spy.”
Malcolm froze. She was looking at him, and it was clear that it wasn’t an inadvertent slip.
“That’s why you don’t want me overusing my powers,” he said, slowly. “I’m more useful to you as an ally if I’m not a spryte or a demon. You want me as your eyes and ears in the Champion Authority.”
Shield Maiden nodded slowly.
“Are you surprised?” she asked. “You must have considered why we would risk bringing a champion into our base of operations. Along with wooing you with food, drink, and friendship.”
That’s such a huge g
amble. I need to make them think that it’s paid off, if I want to stay alive.
Malcolm exhaled slowly.
“I see where you’re coming from,” said Malcolm. “It’s a big decision for me to make without thinking it through. But… I’m open to helping you, Shield Maiden. Really, I am.”
He wondered if she could tell if he was lying. He wondered if he really was lying, or if would end up helping them, somehow. More than anything, Malcolm felt confused. Shield Maiden watched his face for a couple of seconds before giving a slow nod, and moving on.
“Listen,” said Shield Maiden. “Not to me. Listen to the wind, Malcolm. Rain and I call using one’s powers like this ‘meditative focus’. You have to let yourself relax in order to get in the state of mind to make it work.”
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “I’ll give it a shot.”
He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head of all thoughts. It was far more difficult than he’d been expecting it to be, especially with Shield Maiden’s offer still fresh in his mind. He tried to relax, to listen.
A bird chirped, not nearby, but at least a mile or two in the distance. Malcolm heard not just the sound of the bird, but also the sound of the wind moving through the trees near it. He could picture it, in his head. He could almost “see” which branch the bird was on, and how it was oriented.
And they want me to use this to betray Tapestry, Multi, my friends and coworkers…
Malcolm lost concentration and the meditative state broke instantly. He scowled and shook his head, expecting Shield Maiden to chastise him for his lapse. Instead, she was looking at her phone. It was strange watching a spryte stare into a handheld screen, a mixture of the exotic and the mundane.
“We have to go,” said Shield Maiden. “Something has happened back in Underworld.”
“What?”
Shield Maiden didn’t answer him. She waved a hand, encasing him in a bubble for transport.
“Oh, come on,” said Malcolm. “You don’t have to be mysterious all the time, you know.”
An hour later, the bubble vanished, and Malcolm followed Shield Maiden down the last stretch of hallway and into Underworld’s main chamber. He spotted Rose standing next to her sister and almost immediately knew how her day had gone.
Wind Runner: The Complete Collection Page 27