Dominion Rising: 23 Brand New Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

by White, Gwynn

  His mom glanced at Emmit as she started back toward Cullen. He didn't need telepathy to know she judged him responsible.

  Cullen let go of his head, but remained hunched on his knees as he caught his breath.

  "I'm sorry," Emmit said, and started toward them.

  His mom looked back. "What did you do?"

  Suddenly it was her and the captain against him. How did that happen? He considered the value of truth in this moment, or if it should wait.

  She took the captain's hand and a spike of sun, energy, or light, opened in his mind, so forceful he had no chance of stopping it. "I asked you a question."

  I.... There was no hiding thought from thought when they both held equal rights to the territory of his mind. In a flash, he recapped the memories, from finding the moss-covered entrance to his suspicious invasion of the captain's mind.

  And then the light left, leaving his head in a smaller circumference, heavier, and aching from the strain of being stretched beyond normal.

  His mom let go of the captain's hand and stood straight. "Cullen saved my life."

  The way she said his name, something had happened between them since he saw them last, and it irritated him for his father—if he truly was waiting at Fel Or'an. Emmit put on his best appreciation face. "Way to go, Muscles."

  "You're welcome, Emmit."

  Well played, he thought, acknowledging the captain taking the saving of his mother's life seriously.

  "So, are we leaving now?" Emmit asked. "Dad, or some representation of him, showed me a massacre at a village I assume is near Fel Or'an."

  "Massacre?" Cullen and his mom asked.

  "Yeah. He said."

  Ehli touched his back in a gesture meant to calm, but the contact spread like electric shock.

  Emmit and his mom jumped away from each other—more like fell, as Emmit couldn't stop the inertia sending him over, and landed on his side. Cullen caught his mom, who shook her hand as though it were on fire. Emmit's back radiated with heat in the after effect of her touch. "What was that, Mom?"

  "I... I don't know. I'm so sorry, Emmit." She walked over and leaned to help him.

  "No." Cullen pulled her back. "I'll do it."

  Emmit put out a hand to stop him. "I'm good." He slowly stood, easing muscles tightened in defensive mode. He licked his lips as he noticed a buzz itching in his mouth. "Here I thought there might be some good to telepathic abilities."

  "Can I show you a theory?" Cullen asked stepping closer to Emmit, palm out.

  "Mind explaining it first?" Emmit asked.

  "When your mother and I touch...."

  The words twisted against what little Emmit liked about the guy.

  Cullen seemed to read that and rolled his eyes. "Relax. It's not like that. When we touch." He put his hand on Ehli's shoulder. "It extends her ability to those she is in contact with," he said without moving his lips, but as clearly as if he had spoken, "as well as enhances that ability such that we don't hear either you or Schaefer unless we touch."

  Cullen let go of Emmit's mother, raising his hand slowly toward Emmit. He smiled. "Did you not hear me thinking 'stick boy' seven times over?"

  He hadn't. And as Cullen's hand moved closer, he found less reason to resist the man's theory.

  When Cullen's hand landed on Emmit's shoulder, there was no electric charge. The touch was as normal as any other, aside from a little nervousness at what might happen.

  "You know I mean no disrespect by calling you that," Cullen said, again without moving his lips. He left his hand on Emmit and glanced at Adi. "One more test. Adi, can you hear us?"

  Adi jerked back as if he'd seen a spider. "Yeah."

  Emmit removed Cullen's hand from his shoulder. Adi? he 'pathed.

  "Yeah," Adi thought back with more confidence.

  "So if that works between me and Adi," Emmit told Cullen, "without needing contact, then what is your theory, exactly? I spoke to him before, telepathed, when I was alone in the cell, and helped him find me without any human contact."

  "And we've both heard from and spoken to Willo." His mother pointed to Cullen and herself. "Without touching, but telepathing isn't as reliable as you'd think, and is less draining when using a conduit. We're all trying to figure this out."

  Conduit, Emmit thought. Good word.

  "And as suddenly as your powers have developed," Cullen said, "and my suspicion is that Schaefer's over his head in this experiment, it's a good idea to use whatever help you can so that your body can adapt as gracefully as possible."

  "Captain Re?" Adi asked.

  "Yeah."

  "When we were in... the light from the pole took us to a place where we talked to his dad."

  "The net," Emmit added.

  Cullen nodded, and indicated for Adi to continue.

  "He showed me a... my dad flying a ship, looking for Vijil. Emmit's dad said I can talk to him if we make it to Fel Or'an."

  Cullen glanced at Emmit, suspicion in his gaze, but not necessarily directed at Emmit. He checked back on Emmit's mom. "Sounds like a backup plan."

  "Yeah?" his mom asked.

  "Adi's leverage. It might not seem like a vital piece, but I'll bet he is."

  "What do you mean?" Adi asked.

  "You're just as important as the rest of us." He looked off in thought. "So many pieces, and yet we're out here, fighting deadly snakes and tigers that throw lightning from their tails. What kind of plan is this, Schaefer?"

  "And someone's attacked his base," Emmit added. The idea of his father's plan nearing failure made him sympathize a little more with the fact that it hadn't worked out as he intended, and that maybe it was just the efforts of a man with more passion than preparedness. He saw the Osuna as an evil that he couldn't let alone, and in his attempt at putting a thorn in their side, they'd nearly crushed him and his family.

  His mom started to reach out, then stopped. She wanted to touch him. "Your father wasn't always as successful in his experiments and goals as he'd hoped."

  He nodded. His attention drifted to Cullen, who looked ready for whatever challenge lay before them. What would Emmit do if it came down to picking between Cullen and his father?

  "I suggest we start moving," Cullen said to the group. Then, to Emmit, "You and Adi are buds. Adi, as long as it doesn't hurt, let Emmit use your contact to strengthen his telepathy."

  Adi nodded. "Yes, sir. It doesn't hurt." Adi gave Emmit a look of trepidation.

  "Not yet," Adi thought. "Please be careful."

  I will, Emmit telepathed back.

  * * *

  Cullen helped Ehli on with her backpack, put his own on, then led the way up the ladder. At the top, the sunlight from before had dimmed behind the gray cloud cover hovering in the cracks of the canopy. An inhale of the hot, humid air enhanced the pressure in his sinuses. The jungle was preparing for a storm.

  He scanned the trees and bushes, but figured a hidden mara could avoid detection. They needed to get moving. He checked his rifle's fire storage: 83 percent.

  Ehli appeared at the top of the ladder.

  He reached down and took her hand.

  The world spliced like two cameras on a heads-up display. The new one showed someone swiping at tree branches and charging through bushes at a desperate pace. The other kept him in the present, with Ehli calmly using his strength to help pull herself out of the hole. She stood up before him and relaxed her grip in his palm. He clenched to keep her hand in his. She looked him in the eye. "What?"

  The person running through the jungle cut left around a tree and down the head of a ravine.

  Ehli's question took him back. He tried to project the vision, focusing his gaze on hers as though doing so could strengthen their connection.

  "What?" she asked again.

  Cullen's head hurt from the strain, so he backed off trying to share the vision. He slouched and rubbed at the pits of his eyes while keeping his hand in hers. The green terrain passing by in his mind's eye looked similar enough to what
was around them, and the elevation could be part of the rising slope to his left—the direction his compass indicated they should go to get to Fel Or'an.

  "I can't read your thoughts." Ehli stepped around in front of him and put her other hand on his cheek. "Aside from your being tense. Something is wrong?"

  Why can't she see?

  The figure dodged branches with as much grace as it had strength in breaking through bushes. On top of the inner eye view, Cullen also detected a growing urge to hurt whatever the figure was hunting. His pulse rose as the adrenaline made it hard to keep still.

  Ehli smacked him lightly on the cheek. "Hey." Her touch pressed his jaw to line up with her eyes. "Look at me." Her hazel eyes fought a losing battle for his attention.

  He looked up the ravine, trying to match the pattern of trees with what his other sight experienced from a different angle. The effort made him a little dizzy, and after a few seconds he had to close his eyes.

  "What's wrong?" Emmit asked from behind him.

  "Do you need to hold my hand?" Adi asked.

  "Yeah."

  The vision cut out. He tore his hand free from Ehli's grip and stumbled away, falling to a knee in the soft earth.

  Even in the absence of that second viewpoint, its intent lingered. It wanted to kill.

  And Cullen couldn't help desiring the same. He struggled to separate the new desire with reason. Only a hint of discernment remained, urging him to leave before he became a threat to the group—before he gave in to the urge inside him like a raging beast hungry for prey.

  He bolted away from the group, blocking out their calls of confusion and concern. He hoped to put enough distance between them and himself before the rage was too strong to hold down.

  21

  Rage surged up Ehli's arm, feeling much like an electric charge, just as Cullen tore his hand from her grasp.

  To her surprise, he didn't look back as he sprinted away.

  "Cullen!" she cried. "Where are you going?"

  She cast out a telepathic line that sank and faded. As Cullen disappeared among the trees, no second glances back or easing in his pace, her telepathic abilities felt like a trick of her imagination. She couldn't call him back, and as she glanced at Emmit, she wondered if something had broken inside her mind.

  "Did you do something?" she asked him.

  "No," he said, black brows scrunching. "I was just trying to help."

  Where's he going?

  "Ehli?" Willo's voice made her jump. She turned, expecting Willo to be standing behind her. She wasn't. Of course. Silly telepath.

  Ehli continued searching the tree line, to see if Willo was close.

  "I'm not, but someone else is. More than one, actually. I'm sorry. They used me to find you. Find cover or prepare for a fight."

  About two hundred meters away, along the rise of the ravine, something shook the bushes. A dark shape emerged. She thought it was an animal, but then its height increased and she saw it was bipedal. She watched as it leaped over a fallen tree. The speed and dexterity of its approach was breathtaking until she realized it was headed straight for her.

  Suddenly, Cullen's path made sense. He'd long since disappeared.

  "Run, boys," Ehli shouted as she took off in the direction Cullen had gone. Why didn't he take us with him? Who are we supposed to fight? Why?

  "Your husband's former experiments. Their minds snapped under the accelerated testing. I've tried to contain them so you could get to Fel Or'an, but you took longer than I could hold them. I'm sorry."

  To her relief, Emmit and Adi were on her heels as she entered the jungle. She unsheathed her blade and swiped at the vines and prickers.

  Ahead, the trees thinned out to reveal a swamp. As she looked over it, she realized there was enough dry land to cross it. If they could get through to it. The path ahead was blocked by bright green vines and white thorns.

  "Mom," Emmit said, concern in his voice. "Something's not right."

  That much was obvious, but his tone suggested more.

  "Mom?"

  "Yeah?"

  "We're being hunted."

  "I know." The encroaching presence closed in, much like the clouds above, imminent and ominous. "I think we'll have to fight."

  "How?" Emmit asked.

  "There's Captain Re." Adi cried, pointing off to their left.

  Cullen had taken the long way around the swamp. As Ehli spotted him pass between plants, his speed and posture indicated ease of movement.

  "Let's go." Ehli sliced her blade through a barbed vine.

  "Mom?"

  She turned as he pressed his machete into a tangle of vines. "Yeah?"

  "What did you mean by fight?"

  Ehli tightened her grip on her machete. "Use these until we can't."

  "And then?"

  Ehli projected her memory of holding her hand over the ants and how they stood still, then scattered at her will.

  "These are much stronger than ants, Mom."

  You said you moved Adi to your cell. We may need to do the same thing.

  * * *

  Emmit thought back to how his father had told him to try to imagine himself in the boy's mind.

  A white flash lit up the darkened jungle. Lightning. The air had cooled. Boom! The thunder punched him in the chest, jolting him out of his thoughts. He let go of Adi's hand, and the link with his mom severed. The atmosphere of looming danger remained, however. Whatever was out there was coming quickly, and in numbers greater than he thought he and his mom could handle.

  He swiped his machete through some vines left dangling from his mother's clearing efforts. In his next step, the forest eased up enough for him to stand full height. Heavy rain pelted fat plants buried in the dirt, and echoed off his water-resistant clothes. The cool drops felt good as they soaked through his hair onto his scalp.

  His mom flicked a thorn from her palm and watched the rain wash off a spot of blood.

  Emmit scanned the distance. The rising terrain was full of trees and thick vegetation. Emmit could feel their enemies descending in a wide swath, but saw none. The rise to the northeast contained more... or just stronger… threats.

  Adi rose behind him. "Do you see anything?"

  "This way." Emmit's mom waved them toward the west, where Cullen had gone. "Let's go. Faster now."

  She picked up the pace, and Emmit and Adi followed.

  As they ran, Emmit considered how he'd connected with Adi. First, he'd pictured Adi's distinguishing features—which doesn't help if I haven't seen these things—and then empathized with Adi's state of mind—again, never met these things... are they people?

  As he dodged trees, he knew what his last option was. He didn't like it. Speak to their minds. Just the thought of doing it felt like opening his mouth over a wasp's nest.

  And yet, it was all he had. He wasn't going to overpower them physically. Just pretend they're your scared, lost friend.

  What do you want?

  The thought bounced back as though slapped. He kept running. Their resistance made him try harder. I didn't come here to let anyone hurt me, my family, or my friends. If that's your plan, you will fail. His confidence surprised him.

  Why are you coming for us? Emmit's question lessened the resistance. A point of weakness? He pushed harder. Is there anything we can do for you?

  The question eased the pressure on his temples. Whatever was coming was interested in this line of thought. That's right. Let me in so I can help. We can be allies. We had no idea this planet existed, nor what was going on with the inhabitants. If there's something you're upset about, we want to help.

  Emmit's jogging footsteps pounded up into his head, the pain becoming harder to ignore. His mom had picked up a lead, with Adi between them. His mental grip loosened, much to his brain's relief. He stopped and leaned against a tree, placing a hand on the smooth bark as rain coursed beneath his fingers. Adi turned, saw he'd stopped, and doubled back.

  "Em," Adi whispered. He was soaked, water running
through his short hair and down his face. "What's wrong?"

  Behind him, his mother stopped and looked back. "What're you doing? Come on."

  I... my head hurts.

  His mom glanced around, then headed back to Emmit. He wanted to keep jogging, but each step was like a nail being driven through both sides of his cranium. Maybe I need a drink. He took out a bag with liquid inside, unscrewed the cap and took a sip of sweet... mango?

  He shared it with his friend.

  "We have to power through," his mom said as she came up behind Adi. "We're running out of room to avoid a fight."

  "Maybe we shouldn't have that frame of mind," Emmit said. "Maybe they don't want to fight." Emmit accepted his drink back, took another sip, then tightened the cap and stuffed it in his pack. "I made progress getting into their mind."

  "Willo said to hide or fight," his mom said. He read her memory of Willo's words, how the people hunting them had used Willo to find them. "I don't want you trying to speak to them."

  He started reaching into her memory to pull out who Willo was, but only grabbed confused pieces of some strange lady helping them. Emmit didn't like his mother's lack of faith in him, or her concern that she'd have to handle this by herself. Adi's scared face distracted him.

  He set his hand on his friend's wet neck. Adi's worry about not getting to see his dad inserted into Emmit's bloodstream without invitation. He tried to push it out to keep it from stealing his focus. "It's okay, Adi. Aligning with whomever is coming doesn't mean you can't see him. We need information, and they might be able to help us."

  "Emmit." His mom started for him.

  Emmit pulled Adi into a path that put thick bushes between them.

  "Emmit, don't you dare."

  A bush taller than his mother hid her behind its dark purple and red leaves. The dread he and Adi shared bit back. Emmit fought against it until he'd boxed it in a safe corner while he reached back out to the...

  "They call themselves 'rejects'." The woman's words came with a silent introduction that she was Willo. Her warning got his full attention.

  I know. My dad warned me.