by Clayton Wood
“If we can't see anything, how are we going to know when we're at Sabin's lair?” Kyle pressed. From what Grotes had mentioned, the Barren forest led to the Barrens, at the foot of Mount Grimore. That was where Ampir's map had said Sabin would be, but he didn't know anything more specific than that.
“I don't know,” Ariana admitted. “Didn't Ampir say it was in one of those Void rooms?”
“Yeah,” Kyle replied. A Void room far larger than the Dead Man's had been. Kyle had assumed that it was underground, like the Dead Man's, but now he wasn't so certain. And if it was underground, there was no guarantee that they'd be able to find the entrance leading to it. Not to mention that it was almost certainly guarded by Chosen...or worse. “What if we can't find it?” he asked.
Ariana said nothing for a long moment. Then she stiffened.
“What's wrong?” Kyle asked. Ariana put a finger to her lips. Then her eyes unfocused, and she stared off into space. Kyle wanted to ask her again, but he kept his mouth shut. Finally, after a long moment, she relaxed.
“There are Chosen nearby,” she declared.
“What?” Kyle blurted out, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise. “Where?”
“I don't know,” she admitted. Then she shook her head. “I don't think they notice us.”
“How do you know?”
“I can hear their thoughts,” she replied. “Only bits and pieces. It's hard to describe...but I don't think it's Sabin controlling them, like when I heard Ibicus's thoughts.” Kyle nodded, remembering Ariana telling him of how she'd sensed what Ibicus was going to say before he said it, when Sabin had taken over the Councilman's hidden shard.
“What're they thinking?”
“I think they're communicating with each other,” Ariana murmured. “Sharing thoughts through their shards.” She shook her head. “I didn't know they could do that.”
“We never saw more than one Chosen at a time.”
“We're getting farther away from them,” Ariana observed. “I can barely sense them now.”
“Good,” Kyle stated. His heart was pounding in his chest at the mere thought of running into one of the Chosen here...and he was feeling a little lightheaded.
“You're breathing too fast,” Ariana stated suddenly. “I think you're running out of air.”
“Right,” Kyle muttered. He cut the stream to his gravity shield, and immediately felt a rush of fresh air whipping through his hair. He took a few deep breaths in, then recreated the shield. He felt immediately refreshed. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
They continued onward in silence for a time, the unending sameness of the misty forest treetops having an almost hypnotic quality as the minutes passed. Kyle felt his mind start to wander, for some reason picturing the forest around Crescent Lake. How they'd trekked in that forest, Darius, Kalibar, and him, until they'd walked out into that beautiful clearing. A tall, glittering waterfall cascading down into a shallow lake, it had been one of the most beautiful places Kyle had ever seen. He remembered learning magic with Kalibar, then swallowing the feathergrass potion and leaping through the air with unfettered glee. And then spending the night laying in his bedroll, staring at the stars twinkling against the inky black sky, the forest around them shrouded in perfect darkness. His eyes slowly closing as sleep overtook him after a long day's...
“Kyle,” Ariana urged, squeezing his shoulder. Kyle jerked his head upward, realizing he'd been zoning out. “Pull up...we're dropping.”
Kyle glanced downward, realizing that they were only a few feet above the trees now. He streamed more magic into his boots, rising upward again. He canceled his gravity shield for a moment to refresh his air, then recreated it. They continued onward for a while, watching as the trees passed. Kyle glanced back over his shoulder, seeing an infinite expanse of misty treetops behind them...and a faint trail of blue-tinted mist marking their path, a faint blue line in the whiteness.
“Kyle, we're dropping again,” Ariana said. Kyle blinked, turning around, and realized that she was right – again. He streamed more magic into his boots, surprised to find it a little difficult to do so. They'd been traveling for some time, and he'd been having to keep multiple magic streams going. Maybe he was using up his magic more quickly than he could replenish it.
“I'm running a little low on magic,” Kyle admitted, concentrating on maintaining his magic streams. It was, he found, getting harder and harder to do so. He cleared his throat, trying to keep the alarm out of his voice. “I'm running out.”
“I'll stream you some,” Ariana offered. She paused for a moment, then stiffened. “Kyle, I'm running out too!”
“Wait, how are you running out?” Kyle asked, feeling a pang of fear in his gut. “You haven't been weaving.”
“I don't know,” Ariana answered. “Kyle, I can't stream you anything. How much do you have left?”
“Not much,” he replied, his heart starting to hammer in his chest. He didn't have much left at all...and he was losing what little remained impossibly fast. “We have to go back,” he exclaimed.
“Wait, we have crystals in the bags,” Ariana remembered. Kyle felt her shifting her weight on his back, then felt her put something cool and slick into his right hand. He looked down, seeing a quartz cube there. He tried to pull magic from it, but it was empty.
“That one's empty,” he complained. She rummaged in the backpacks, then handed him another, with similar results. “I need one with magic in it!” he exclaimed.
“I know,” Ariana retorted. “I'm trying to find one.” More rummaging. “They're all empty!”
“What?” Kyle blurted out. “I just filled them this morning!”
“Well they're empty now!”
“I'm turning around,” Kyle declared, shifting his magic stream to his boots. They swung around in a U-shape, flying in the opposite direction. Kyle pumped more magic into his boots, though it required a great deal of effort to do so. They began to speed up, the trees whizzing by below them.
“Kyle!” he heard Ariana shout, her body tensing up. “No, oh no please don't!”
“What?” Kyle demanded.
“My shard,” she replied. “It's almost empty!”
“I'll go faster,” Kyle said, pushing even more magic into his boots.
“No, my shard, when it's empty, it's going to drain your magic,” Ariana protested. “You have to let me go!”
“What? No!”
“You have to,” Ariana retorted. “I'll be fine.”
“You won't be fine,” Kyle countered. “You won't have any magic!”
“I'm going,” Ariana insisted. He felt her grip on him loosening. “Kyle, drop the gravity shield.”
“No!”
“Kyle, do it,” Ariana insisted, her voice icy calm. “Do it now.” Kyle felt her arms slipping from his torso, and he panicked, grabbing her wrists and holding them to his chest.
“Ariana, don't!”
“Kyle, let me go.”
He felt his magic stream falter then, felt them drop suddenly toward the treetops below. He strained, pushing as much magic as he could into his boots, feeling his other streams – to his gravity shield and his invisibility field – die out.
“Kyle!”
Ariana’s eyelids fluttered, then closed, and she went limp. Rays of blue light began to pull from his body, converging on her shard. He felt what little remained of his magic draining rapidly. They continued to drop through the air, accelerating toward the treetops, now only a few feet away. Kyle squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth and yanking on the last remaining wisps of magic in his mind's eye, pushing them toward his boots...knowing that it wouldn't be enough.
He felt something smack his left foot, then his right leg, and opened his eyes, seeing them skimming the treetops, branching slapping at their legs. Downward they dropped, Kyle's gravity boots dying out, the stabilization fields around them vanishing. Kyle felt Ariana's full weight on his back, felt him rotating, his legs swinging up into t
he air in front of him. Something very hard struck his butt, and he felt Ariana's arms jerk him backward suddenly. Her grip loosened, one hand falling away. Then a branch struck him in the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. He spun to the side, his left hip striking another branch, the world tilting crazily around him. He felt Ariana's other arm slip away, and then he was falling through thick white fog. He screamed, spinning madly through space, feeling countless branches beating at his body. He threw his arms over his face, then felt something slam into his back. Air burst from his lungs, and he gasped, lowering his arms to his chest. He stared wide-eyed at the sea of green leaves above him, stars swimming at the edges of his vision, hard ground pressing into his back.
I'm alive, he realized.
He laid there, sucking air into his lungs, staring upward. A tangle of tree branches swayed gently far above, leaves rustling in a sudden breeze. Beyond that, he could see the clear blue sky.
I'm alive!
He grunted, rolling onto his side, then pushing himself up into a sitting position. His tested his arms and legs, finding them sore but intact. He was covered in broken twigs, and several wrist-thick branches were strewn around him on the forest floor. They must have broken his fall, striking his Aegis. Even without magic, the armor had saved him.
Then he frowned, rising to his feet. He spun around in a circle, his eyes darting from tree to tree. Where was Ariana? She'd fallen away from him earlier, but she had to be close by. He focused, scanning the trees overhead for broken branches, finding some nearby...right above a large bush. He sprinted toward it, and soon found a pale leg sticking out of it.
Ariana!
He pulled her leg, leaning his back into it, and she slid out, leaves and broken twigs covering her body. Her eyes stared outward lifelessly, her body limp.
“Ariana!” Kyle cried. He leaned over her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. “Ariana, wake up!” But it was no use; she laid there on the forest floor, unresponsive. Kyle shook her again, and slapped gently at her face, but she just laid there.
She needs magic.
He closed his eyes, searching for the slightest hint of magic in his mind’s eye, and found some there...but barely. Not enough magic to wake her for long. He needed more.
Then Kyle saw one of her backpacks on the ground near the bush he'd pulled her from and ran to it, carrying it back to her. He rummaged through it, finding a few small crystal cubes inside, the ones Master Lee had given him. He tried pulling magic from them, but it was useless...they were empty. He distinctly remembering filling them earlier that morning, back on the Defiance; where had all the magic gone? And why wasn't he making any more?
Leaves rustled behind him.
Kyle spun around, crouching low and scanning the forest, his eyes darting from tree to tree. He saw nothing. He glanced down at Ariana, finding her in the same position she’d been in earlier.
Again, the rustling.
Kyle spun around in a slow circle, searching the dense underbrush for the source of the sound, his heart hammering in his chest.
They're coming, he thought, goosebumps rising on his arms. We have to get out of here!
He glanced back at the bush Ariana had fallen into, then grabbed her by the ankles, pulling her toward it. Then he backed into it, pushing branches aside until he was nearly surrounded by the bush. He reached out, grabbing Ariana's ankles again and dragging her inside with him. He kept inching backward, pulling her foot by foot, until they were a few feet in. He could barely see anything past the countless twigs of the dense bush.
He waited, sweat dripping down his flanks, his pulse bounding in his ears.
The forest was silent.
He glanced down at Ariana, laying on the ground beside him. With her eyes partially open, her skin deathly pale, she looked like a corpse. He had a sudden pang of fear; how long could she last without magic, before she started to...
He closed his eyes, feeling a wave of nausea come over him.
There was another rustling sound, only a few feet beyond the bush.
Kyle's shoulders tensed, and he held his breath, staying perfectly still. Sweat dripped into his eyes, making them sting, and he ignored the pain, not daring to reach up to wipe his eyes. He squinted, peering through the branches, trying to see past them. He couldn't see a thing.
Maybe it’s an animal, he thought, letting his breath out slowly, then taking a breath in. Maybe it’s just a harmless...
There was a whizzing sound, and then he felt a sharp pain in the back of his shoulder.
“What the...” he blurted out, grabbing at his shoulder. He felt something sticking out of it, and yanked it out.
It was dart.
He swore, rushing forward out of the bush, tossing the dart to the ground. He pulled magic into his mind’s eye again, turning around in a quick circle, his eyes darting from tree to tree. But he saw nothing.
Then he heard leaves rustling behind him.
Kyle turned around, weaving magic into a tight knot in his mind’s eyes. He saw a man with jet-black skin rushing toward him, a vicious-looking machete in his hand. The man raised the machete high in the air, then swung it down, right at Kyle’s head!
Kyle shoved his pattern outward.
A gravity shield burst to life around him, and his attacker struck it full-on, flying backward high into the air. He fell into a large bush some twenty feet away with a dull thump.
“Lob mi joc!” he heard someone shout from behind.
Kyle spun around, seeing another black-skinned man running toward him, a spear in his hand. The man stopped a dozen feet away, eyeing Kyle warily.
“Get away!” Kyle shouted, reaching into his mind’s eye again. He felt magic there, but barely. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself for much longer. The man with the spear just stared at him, crouched low, the tip of his spear pointed at Kyle.
Then the world began to spin.
Kyle stumbled to the side, barely keeping his balance. He righted himself, feeling a sudden wave of nausea, and swallowed back a surge of bile.
“Ik tom qua,” he heard the man call out.
The world began to spin faster, and Kyle stumbled again, falling to his hands and knees on the packed dirt below. Another wave of nausea came over him, and he retched, closing his eyes. Still the world spun, and he fell onto his side, retching again.
“Cov Petra,” he heard a different voice say.
Kyle groaned, rolling onto his side, curling into the fetal position. He held his head in his hands, the world spinning faster and faster. Bitter vomit spilled out of his mouth and onto the dirt.
And then, mercifully, darkness took him.
* * *
Kyle groaned, then opened his eyes, seeing only gray. Something was wrapped around his head, he realized, a piece of cloth maybe. He was lying on his back, on something hard...and there was something pulling on his ankles, cinching them together painfully tight. He tried to move his hands, but they were bound together in front of him at the wrists.
“Tos m'nuam hais tuag, siali nyob rah hawuv zoo,” a voice in from of him said.
“Lob yuav zav mus saib,” another voice replied.
The voices went silent then. The only sounds he heard were the wind rustling the leaves and a rhythmic scraping sound directly below him. He shook his head from side to side, trying to loosen the blindfold tied around his head, but it didn't budge.
Minutes passed.
“Lalos tawm tuk. Layob ob quo tib lav,” one of the voices called out in front of him. There was no reply, only that rhythmic scraping sound. With each scrape, he felt tugging at his ankles.
I'm being dragged, he realized.
He tried to remember what had happened to him, how he'd gotten here, but his memory was fuzzy. He remembered falling out of the sky, remembered finding himself on the forest floor. He'd hear a sound...and then...
Ariana!
Kyle shook his head from side-to-side again, trying in vain to loosen his blindfold. She'd bee
n there with him, in the bushes. If he'd been taken, that meant that she might've been too. Unless whoever it was who'd taken him had left her for dead.
He reached inwardly, searching for magic, and found none. Without magic, he was helpless. His Aegis would not protect him, and he would never be able to fly out of here, even if he somehow managed to escape. And there was no way he was going to be able to do that, he knew. Without magic, he was just another kid.
“Das nus. Ya sum tao la hoy.”
A moment passed, and then Kyle felt something tugging at his ankles, where they were bound together. He heard a sawing sound, then felt the binds fall away, his legs freed. He tensed up, not daring to move. If they thought he was unconscious, they might not attack him.
“Siah pom. Yo ib tug tuag rau noj.”
He felt something grab at his blindfold, felt it jerk down over his nose. Light burst assaulted his eyes, and he squeezed them shut, tears welling up between his lids. He felt himself being hauled upward onto his feet, and then something struck him in the middle of his back. He stumbled forward, nearly losing his balance.
“Sub los tawm ob has taw tej.”
He squinted against the brightness, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Something struck him in the back again, and he lurched forward, falling onto his knees. He grunted, then got back up, opening his eyes a little more. He saw lush ferns and bushes in front of him, with the thick, gnarled trunks of tall trees rising from the earth. Straight ahead, there was a large hill, peppered with more trees, and covered entirely in underbrush. He spotted something to his right, and turned to see what it was.
Ariana, laying on a plank of wood, ropes binding her torso and ankles to it. She was still unresponsive, her eyes open and unblinking.
Something moved to his right, and Kyle turned, seeing a man step in front of him. He was much taller than Kyle, his chocolate brown skin covered in black tattoos, intricate patterns crawling up his arms and legs, even up his neck and onto his bald head. He was practically naked, save for a small brown loincloth. Large white earrings dangled from his earlobes, and his nose was pierced between the nostrils. Small white crystals were embedded in his cheeks and forehead in rows. His eyes were dark brown, almost black.