The Lightning Conjurer

by Rachel Rener

  Beside me, Aiden abruptly stood up, his posture immediately defensive. Eileen and Kumiko followed suit, each with wary looks on their faces. Perplexed, I quickly scrambled to join them, wincing at the pain in my lower back – damn bamboo mats! What the hell was happening?

  “Prepare yourselves,” Teru declared. His raspy voice rattled in my ears, magnified by Wind. “When the drums sound, you will meet us in the square. The blood you spilled must be avenged. If you survive, you will win your freedom and be banished from this place. If you do not, your remains will be treated as you have treated one of our own – discarded without final rites.”

  “Wakarimasen,” Kumiko gasped, holding up her hand in some sort of peace gesture before going off in Japanese again. I imagined what followed was something along the lines of “what the hell is happening?” Except probably more polite.

  “We honored you by allowing you to approach,” he responded in English. “I doubt you will earn the privilege of leaving with your lives.”

  “Teru, please,” I started. “There has to be some—”

  “Yurusanai!” he shouted, sending a gust of Wind that threw me off my feet.

  I didn’t have the chance to react. With a shrill scream, I crashed into the wall behind me. Wooden splinters and straw rained down on my body as a terrible pain shot up my leg. I tried to suck in a breath, but my lungs weren’t working. Instead, a sharp wheeze escaped between my lips. Through blurry eyes, I watched as the villagers left the warm sanctity of the farmhouse and ventured one by one into the blizzard beyond. Teru stood by as they left, tilting his head to each as they bowed. When he was the only one left, his gray eyes once more trained on mine.

  “Two of your warriors will face two of ours in battle. Choose wisely. If they lose, you all will forfeit your lives.”

  Chapter 14

  gaped around the room wildly, the pain shooting up my leg and spine growing worse by the second. Wonderful. Just wonderful. I was already having a sciatica flare-up before tumbling down a mountain and now I was being hurled ass-first into a wall? What the hell did I do to deserve any of this?

  Aiden strode over to “help” me by yanking me to my feet by my wrist. “God, ow! Be gentle!” I yelped. The pain was unbearable. And I didn’t even have a Tylenol. Mei had forbidden me from bringing any painkillers on the trip whatsoever, despite the fact that I had kicked that habit years ago. I rubbed my hip and whimpered.

  “What the hell happened in Tokyo?” Eileen demanded. “And why would they think it was our guys?”

  Aiden was shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter what happened or who was involved. Teruyuki and his people believe that we’re to blame, or at least passive accomplices. Nothing we say can fix that right now. The real question is, how the hell do we get out of this?”

  “We have to fight,” Kumiko announced, doing her best to look tall. “We cannot leave here without them finding us. We cannot surrender without them killing us. We must fight to defend our honor and be granted safe passage from the village.”

  “Kumiko,” Eileen practically croaked, her already-round eyes even wider. “What are you saying? There’s no way – no way – we can beat these people. You heard him – they are far more powerful than we could ever hope to be. We could be facing actual Polymancers in the ring!”

  “I will fight for us, Eileen-san,” Kumiko said. “I swore to Saitō-sama that I would help keep you safe. It would be my honor to keep that promise.”

  I stared at her like the psycho she was. “Are you suicidal?”

  She gave me a sharp look. “Suicide does not have the same meaning here, Savannah-san. There is nothing dishonorable about sacrificing your life for something greater than yourself.”

  I shifted my weight, stifling a whimper as I did. “Look, I’m in no shape to fight, and Blondie’s powers are pretty much limited to finding shiny rocks and lecturing us about convection zones—”

  “Are you freaking kidding me right now?” Eileen demanded shrilly. “That’s not even—”

  Aiden cleared his throat. “I’ll fight alongside Kumiko.”

  I turned to gape at him. “Listen, there’s no one around to impress with your rippling machismo, okay? Your little girlfriend, who conveniently isn’t here the one time we might actually need her, is currently dining on shark caviar in Tokyo. So, I say we just book it – escape out the back door and run. The second we get cellphone service, we’ll call Mei and—”

  “Wait hours for someone to arrive?” Eileen interrupted. “Die of hypothermia while we hide out in a freaking blizzard?”

  “The villagers know these mountains,” Kumiko added. “They will find us. If we run, we will lose the honorable chance of defending ourselves. Once they capture us a second time, we won’t be offered that chance again; they will simply kill us.”

  I swallowed tightly. Blondie and Bluey did have a point.

  The rising sound of drums interrupted any brilliant retort I may have concocted had I been granted a minute longer. But our two minutes were up. Outside, the battle was starting.

  Aiden and Eileen exchanged a long look.

  “Aiden,” she started.

  “If I don’t make it,” he interrupted, “or if it even looks like I’m not going to make it, run. Don’t think. Don’t wait. Just run. Get back to the bus stop, grab the nearest phone you can find, and call for help. Do not come back for me. Just get the hell back to Tokyo where Mei can protect you.”

  For the first time I could remember, Eileen actually had tears in her eyes. “And Aspen?” she wailed. “What the hell do I tell her?”

  “You tell her that I love her. And no matter what goes down out there, you tell her my death was quick and painless.”

  “Oh, God. I never texted Sophia back,” Eileen whispered into her hands. “I never even told her I loved her. If we don’t make it out of here, my last words to her were about freaking sea cucumbers!” Her increasingly high-pitched voice abruptly devolved into sobbing, nonsensical gibberish.

  I had my own obligations and regrets, but I wasn’t about to join in on the pity party. Not yet. I ground my teeth together. It didn’t have to be like this. I could fix this, if only I had the right resources. If only I had time.

  Chants began to erupt from outside. A split second later, the double wooden doors flew open and a gust as cold as death whooshed in. I warmed the air around me and tightened my coat around my shoulders, but it didn’t stop the chill from snaking down my spine. Kumiko turned to look at Aiden, who nodded tersely.

  “Fire and Water,” he flashed her a grim smile. “We’ve got this.”

  As he turned to leave, something thick and heavy settled in my throat, as if one of the metal stress balls on my desk back home had lodged itself there. I desperately needed to say something, but what could I say? Let me fight for you instead? Make up for the fact that I harmed you all of those years ago? A voice was welling up inside of me, urging me to say something, anything. I thought we had a chance, you and I, all those years ago. The voice was gaining strength, fighting against my heavy tongue and spurring me forward. I never meant to hurt you. I never meant for any of those things to happen. I regret the things I did to you every single day of my empty, pathetic life. Brazen courage filled me. I could almost hear the words coming, could practically visualize myself saying them. I don’t hate you, Aiden. In fact, I… I… I bit my tongue. I wanted to say it. I really did.

  Instead, I shouted, “Whatever you do, don’t die!” and immediately hated myself. Along with everyone else in that godforsaken room.

  Cheeks burning, I watched Aiden shake his head in disbelief as he and Kumiko stepped into the snow storm. Eileen glared at me over her shoulder before jogging to catch up with them. But I… I just stood there, frozen, my tongue glued to the top of my mouth. A rush of voices came swirling in the bitter wind, chanting Yossha! Yossha! Yossha! – Whatever the hell that meant. Gimp leg and all, I almost ran forward to beseech Aiden to let me go instead. My good foot was pivoted and everything �
�� but logic told me it was no use. He and Kumiko were our greatest chance of walking out of here alive. Whereas I would just let everyone down. As usual.

  And, of course, there was Emily. Waiting all by herself in our empty apartment, strange nurses coming in and out to care for her and feed her. They didn’t know how she liked her chicken nuggets, which spoon was her favorite, which cups they weren’t allowed to use on certain days. They didn’t know how to play with her hair when she got flustered or which movies made her laugh for hours on end.

  My fists clenched instinctively. I couldn’t let us die. I couldn’t. Not when the one and only person I’d never let down needed me so desperately.

  Steeling myself against the pain in my leg, I hobbled after Eileen and greeted the angry mob that awaited us outside. The sun had set behind the mountains and snow was coming down like static against a gray sky. Torches of every color had been lit around a wide stone circle that resembled a sumo ring I’d seen earlier that morning on a poster at the train station. Teru and the other village elders stood well behind the line, their wrinkled, accusatory eyes watching us from behind fur lined hoods. Behind them, dozens of Elementalists stood in the shadows, fists pumping above their heads as they chanted in a language I couldn’t understand. From somewhere in the back, at least four massive leather drums beat in synchronization, a chilling death toll that shook my bones. A man dressed in white was sprinkling something – salt? – over the untouched soil in the ring, dry and undisturbed as though it hadn’t been snowing all day.

  When he finished, Aiden and Kumiko gingerly approached the empty circle as Eileen and I hung back, unsure of what to do. Two figures stepped away from the crowd to stand on either side of the chief: a female elder who looked to be about sixty but was probably much older than that, and the younger man who had whispered the bad news in Teru’s ear just a few minutes prior. They’d swapped their brown tunics out for long-sleeved black outfits that resembled karate uniforms. But they didn’t wear a single stripe of color like I’d seen in martial arts competitions; no, the old woman wore a set of green and red ropes tied around her slim waist. And the guy? His ropes were gold, blue, and purple. He was a Polymancer, just like Barish had been, a wielder of Lightning, Water, and Wind.

  Without thinking, I reached out and clutched Eileen’s arm. Any other day, I’m sure she would have recoiled and batted me away. In that moment, however, we both just stood there, frozen, as another one of the village elders stepped forward to present a wrapped bundle to Teru. He gently unwrapped it, exposing four polished blades. I couldn’t help but gasp as his two warriors stepped forward and gripped them by the handles. Samurai swords?! My jaw tumbled open. These people were holding actual, polished, long, really sharp swords. With a gruff motion, Teru had the audacity to signal to Aiden and Kumiko to do the same. The two of them walked forward and awkwardly took their weapons. Well, Aiden was awkward. Kumiko looked weirdly at ease. But still!

  “A sword fight?” I hissed to Eileen. “How the hell can we possibly—”

  “The swords are conduits,” she replied grimly. “They were designed to channel and focus Elemental energy into concentrated torrents.”

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  “Kumiko told me during one of your two-hour naps.”

  I scoffed but didn’t bother to reply. Across the way, Kumiko and Aiden had their heads close together. I seriously hoped she was giving him some good tips on how to not get stabbed.

  “Anyway,” Eileen continued, “they were widely used by Japanese Elementalists centuries ago. It’s a form of dueling that was especially popular in the Edo Period. The Elemental warriors of that time were almost elegant in their sheer brutality against foreign invaders.”

  ‘Elegant?’ I wanted to vomit.

  “Kumiko told me that she’s trained in the art of Elemental sword fighting,” Eileen added. “You’ve probably noticed that she keeps a katana strapped to her hip at all times.” Actually, I hadn’t noticed. “It’s one of the reasons she was selected as one of Mei’s personal guards. And Aiden… well, he’s an absolute savage when he’s got nothing to lose.”

  I eyed her suspiciously. “How do you know?”

  “Because I saw him after his father died. In Istanbul, when he thought Aspen was dead. I’ve never… seen anything quite like him.” She trailed off to chew on her lip.

  Across the circle, Teru’s two Elemental warriors had taken their place on the North and West side of the circle. Aiden, after whispering one last thing to Kumiko, walked to the South end, opposite the Polymancer. Kumiko faced off against the frail-looking Pyro-Terramancer. The drums beat faster, rising into an earth-shaking crescendo as the villagers roared. Then, with a single gesture from Teru, everything stopped: the drums, the chants, my own hammering heart…

  As silence gripped the square, terror gripped my insides. We had absolutely no chance against these people. None. The best course of action was diplomacy, but they weren’t willing to listen – not after whatever Victoria and Keres had done to them all those years ago, not after the countless Asterian atrocities the villagers had no doubt heard of. To them, whatever tragedy had occurred in Tokyo was simply par for the course.

  The chief began to speak, and Eileen was nice enough to translate for me: “…warriors of the same tribe may fight individually or as a team. The fight ends only in death. If you step outside of the circle, you will die. If you surrender, you will die. Only if your opponent chooses to spare you, will you be able to leave with your life.”

  “Does this end in any way where we don’t all die?” I hissed.

  “Only if Aiden and Kumiko win,” she answered through chattering teeth.

  I glanced over at her and saw she was trembling violently. With a sigh, I warmed the air around her to keep her from dying of hypothermia. She was my only translator, after all.

  “Th-thanks,” she groused.

  I didn’t bother answering. My eyes were glued to Aiden, standing at the ready with his sword poised in front of him. Was it a trick of the falling snow, or were his hands shaking?

  “Listen, Savannah,” Eileen all but whispered. “You heard Aiden. If he and Kumiko don’t make it… someone has to get back to warn the others. We can’t let them come here to try and rescue us. They’d be ambushed and…”

  “They wouldn’t have a chance,” I supplied. “I know.” I opened my mouth to add that we’d have to find a way to sneak away, together, maybe by using our combined Terramantic abilities to create a large fissure to separate Teru and his villagers from us… Anything to increase my own chances of survival. Anything to get me back home to Emily where I belonged. But that would be a death sentence for us both, wouldn’t it? I didn’t like Blondie, not even a little bit, but…

  “But I can’t run, not with my leg,” I sighed. “So, it would have to be you. I’ll be the distraction to help you get a head start.”

  She turned to give me a startled look, like I’d just said the most outrageous thing she’d ever heard.

  “Should that happen, make sure my sister, Emily, has the care she needs. She’s…” I swallowed. “Well, she can’t be abandoned.” I didn’t bother to look to Eileen for confirmation. She didn’t need to see how much effort I was putting into not crying. At least this way Aiden would get his final wish – for his beloved ‘Aspen’ to have closure. It was the least I could do for him, right?

  Another sharp gesture from Teru and the drums began to beat once more, making my insides quake in time with the rhythm. The battle was starting. I pulled my favorite tube of red lipstick out of my jacket pocket and reapplied it liberally – if I was going to die tonight, I was damn well going to go out in style. That same moment, a freaking bolt of Lightning exploded out of the sky and met with the tip of the Polymancer’s samurai sword, making me – and a heavy line of lipstick – jump in alarm. A rolling clap of thunder shattered my ear drums as spidery veins of Electricity encircled his red-hot blade. Then he lunged. Fire from one of the torches leapt toward
s Aiden’s weapon, a brilliant streak of red that soared across the clearing like a comet. I yelped as their blades crashed together, Lightning against Fire. The horrible sound of screaming metal battled against the bone-shaking boom of the drums.

  I was frozen in place, as though my feet were made of ice. I couldn’t even move my hand to wipe away the lipstick smeared across my cheek. Part of me tried to locate Kumiko within the vicious tempest of Elements, but my eyes wouldn’t cooperate. I couldn’t tear them away from the blinding violence three yards in front of me, screeching Lightning against glaring Fire. My fingers dug into Eileen’s arm as a massive gust of Wind nearly knocked Aiden to the ground. He flung his arm up, sending a devastatingly powerful wall of Fire roaring in the Polymancer’s direction. With a gasp, I flung my arm in front of my face, flinching as I remembered Rowan’s savage Fireball attack that agonizing night. The memory alone almost brought me to my knees, as it had so many times before.

  Steeling myself, I peeked through my fingers to see the aftermath of Aiden’s ferocity. But I couldn’t tell if it hit; snow and steam were swirling around the circle like a sheer curtain caught in the wind. When it finally began to clear, the Polymancer was indeed on the ground, but that didn’t stop his hand from flinging in front of him; glittering shards of crystalized snow shot towards Aiden like diamond-tipped spears. He let out a roar as he dragged his sword in front of him, sending a plume of Fire that turned those deadly spears to steam.

  Holy shit. Eileen was right – Aiden was an honest-to-God beast. But there was no way I was feeling slightly aroused as he battled for our lives. That would have been completely inappropriate.

  Nevertheless, I was just about to let out a huge sigh of relief when a woman’s scream snapped my mouth shut. Was it Kumiko’s or her opponent’s? I couldn’t tell, couldn’t see through the maelstrom that raged before us. Fire rampaged, Wind roared, Lightning razed – at one point, a spray of lava erupted from a crack in the ground. A man’s voice cried out as a flash of orange illuminated the literal smoke screen in front of us. My head whipped in the direction of the sound but I couldn’t see a damn thing. A plume of steam exploded in every direction as a tidal wave of slush crashed down onto the lava. The sound of shattering glass filled the air.