Aegis Rising (33 page)

37

T
he morning after the village gathering, the Elders stood in the convalescence shelter and watched solemnly as a blanket was pulled over a young woman’s face, covering her body. Saiyu attempted to comfort the young man who was sobbing uncontrollably beside his mate’s bed. “I am so sorry,” she murmured to him.

“Why her?” the man moaned. “Why
her?
” He trailed off, weeping uncontrollably.

Saiyu hugged him but he pulled away, not wanting any comfort, and stumbled out of the shelter, uttering deep sounds of agony and anguish. The Elders watched him, distraught. Raw emotions that were rarely ever seen were surfacing almost everywhere they looked. The people of Dema-Ki were strong by nature, inside and out, but the epidemic they were facing was something they had never been exposed to before and it was causing many to lose their confidence and composure.

Huyani quietly walked up to the Elders. “I will take care of everything here,” she said.

Nageau forced a smile and hugged his granddaughter, who hugged him back tightly. Nodding to the other Elders, he led the way outside and they slowly headed to the temple.

“Have you spoken with Magèo about the serum?” Ashack asked Nageau.

“I have. He said he is still working on it.”

Ashack wasn’t satisfied. “How many more of our brethren must fall ill and perish before it is ready?”

“I know you are upset, Ashack, but Magèo is working with the scarce information that is available right now. We have our men tracking the source of the contamination, and, if all is well, they will return soon. From there, hopefully Magèo will be able to do more with whatever information or affected specimen they will bring back.”

The Elders reached the temple and stood there for a while, taking in the sacred structure’s healing ambience. As he watched an eagle swoop overhead, Nageau frowned. “Tikina, has the courier falcon returned since last evening?”

Tikina shook her head. Nageau looked concerned but Tikina placed her hand on his cheek to calm him. “I would not worry just yet. It is not even noon; the falcon usually only comes after midday. And let us not forget that the farther they are from the valley, the longer it will take for the bird to return here. I am sure our kin are fine.”

*  *  *

Rikèq, Keno, Breyas and Aydar watched the man who was guarding them with resentment. The villagers had lost all feeling in their chain-wrapped legs nearly an hour earlier and their arms were sore from being tied back.

“We must get out of this place,” Rikèq muttered.

Aydar, irate with the current situation, snorted. “How? I have never been bound to such strong restraints. Even if we did manage to escape, we may be sedated again.”

“Not if we are stealthy, my friend.”

His three companions looked at him, showing a little more interest.

The guard watched them, his gun leveled, unsure what to do. How was he to tell them that they were not allowed to converse? Quickly, he slammed the butt of his riffle against Rikèq’s temple, almost causing him to black out. His three friends protested, and the guard instinctively pointed his weapon at them. They became quiet but glared at the guard.

“Rikèq,” Breyas murmured. “Are you alright?”

Rikèq groaned and hung his head in pain. The others, helpless, watched as their friend fought to remain conscious. Long minutes passed until Rikèq lifted his head. “As I was saying,” he said, his speech a little slurred as he continued where he left off, “there is only one guard at a time in this room. Surely we can down him.”

“Down him . . . and then what?” Keno asked quietly.

“Even before we can think of that,” Aydar whispered, “
how
do we strike? Do you not see how we are bound to our chairs?”

“Keno, with your ability to—” Rikèq clamped his mouth shut when he saw the guard walking back over. The guard looked down at him and said something which the men did not comprehend, but it was plainly understood that if the guard was not pleased with whatever they were doing, he would not hesitate to use his weapon. The men glanced at each other and decided to remain silent for now.

*  *  *

The five walked out of the training grounds and quickly made their way over to Huyani’s
neyra
for their lunch break. As they strolled into the living quarters, Huyani looked up from where she was working in the kitchen and smiled. “You look worn out already!” she noted.

Jag flopped down on the sofa. “You left me alone at the mercy of Elder Tayoka,” he said in a mock accusatory tone.

She laughed. “You know I must come down here and prepare your sustenance drinks before you are dismissed for your afternoon meal.”

“Oh, you mean our protein shakes?” Aari asked.

“You can call it whatever you please, but it is an ancient formula handed down to us by our ancestors. Only the Elders and a few entrusted villagers know how to blend it. It was generated to strengthen not only your body at its cellular level but also your mind, and is specific for each of you due to the difference in your latent powers.”

“That’s a lot to go into a mug.” Aari lowered himself onto the couch beside Jag but was surprised when a yelp sounded.

“Watch where you sit, knucklehead!” Tegan quickly pushed Aari away before he could sit on her.

“Sorry, sport,” he apologized, patting her cheek. “Didn’t see you there.”

She ‘mmfed’ and burrowed into her side of the couch, allowing Aari some room to squeeze in between her and Jag. The three watched, slightly amused, as Kody trotted around the kitchen after Huyani as she prepared the friends’ drinks.

“It’s hard to tell if he’s following yon fair maiden over there, or if he’s following the smell of the ingredients she’s carrying,” Mariah said from where she sat on the opposite couch, leaning her head against the armrest.

The four relaxed on the couches, enjoying their break while it lasted. Mariah tilted her head so she could look at her friends. “It’s a shame we don’t get to see each other during training. How are you guys doing so far?”

Tegan perked up. “I’m having a blast, actually.”

“Really?” Jag sounded skeptical. “Don’t you just sit there and meditate or something?”

“Well, kind of, but at the same time not really. What Tikina is teaching me at this point is to focus on a basic life form and to connect with it at an elemental level.”

Mariah was somewhat confused. “Oh . . . have you achieved that?”

Tegan’s face lit up. “I did! And it was unbelievable. I managed to link with a grand old pine tree at the training site. I could actually feel all the minute motions inside of it, like the particles of water moving upward from the roots of the tree all the way through the trunk, into the branches and to its leaves. It felt strange, and yet it was so refreshing at the same time. I’m not going to lie, though—it was a little spooky. It’s just not a sensation that we are used to as human beings.”

“So technically then, you were a tree?”

“Not exactly. It was a projection of my mind into the existence of the tree.”

Aari scratched his head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t see how it benefits you. Seems like you’re taking a couple of steps down the evolutionary ladder.”

Tegan disagreed. “If you wanna get to the top, you gotta start from the bottom, right? Tikina said that right now, I’m only able to handle this level of training but if I keep exercising my mind, I can do this with more complex life forms, like birds and other animals.” Her eyes shone with excitement.

Jag thought for a moment. “Say you get really good at this ability. Would you be able to one day move past animals and take this to a human-to-human level?”

Tegan sat quietly, brooding over the concept. “I don’t know,” she finally said.

“That would make you probably the most dangerous person alive,” he grinned.

She smiled slightly, but for some reason the thought perturbed her so she pushed it aside. “Oh, hey, I forgot to tell you guys. Tikina told me a little secret.” Her friends looked back to her. “Remember the lynx you and I came across when we first were here, ’Riah? Tyse?”

Mariah nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, that was actually Tikina linking with her.”

Mariah didn’t quite register the fact. “You mean . . . the reason it stopped and blocked our path . . . was because your mentor was the one controlling that lynx’s actions?

“Bingo. Now, do you guys remember that eagle that helped us out when we were fighting the rabid wolves?”

“No way,” Aari said.

“Uh huh. That was Tikina giving us a hand because she knew the others wouldn’t get there to help us in time.”

Jag was impressed. “That was her the whole time? I thought the animals of this forest were all just crazy.”

Huyani, overhearing, looked pleased that the friends were discussing her grandmother in a good light. She turned around only to bump into Kody. “You,” she said, scolding him gently. “Off with you. I must finish preparing your drinks.”

Kody sulked and went to sit beside Mariah, who nudged him. “How has your day been so far?”

Kody stretched. “I’ll tell you something about my mentor: There’s a reason why folks here hold Elder Nageau in special esteem. He’s got so much wisdom to share and he’s such a practical thinker.”

“Hopefully that’ll rub off on you,” Aari chirped.

“
Anyway
,” Kody continued delightedly, “you guys know that he’s got hyper-sensory abilities, right? He told me that I’d be in full possession of those abilities soon enough if I can stay focused during training.”

Jag grinned. “If that’s the case, it’ll take you a few years.”

Kody looked narked. Tegan, seeing the look on her friend’s face, clobbered Jag and Aari with the couch pillow she was hugging. “Knock it off, you two. Can’t you see he just wants to share without your unnecessary interruptions?”

The two mumbled apologetically. Mariah looked at Kody to continue, and he said, “Over the past couple of days—and Aari, I think you’d appreciate this—we’ve been working on understanding the nature of sound waves. Nageau said that before I learn it, I’ll have to master stillness inside and out. I didn’t know I could actually be that comfortable in silence. I mean, you guys know what I’m like. But once I got it, even though it was sort of in and out, I was able to hear every single sound of the forest around me. It was an unbelievable experience. I even heard the sound of a bird flapping its wings, but the insane thing is that the bird was
nowhere
near the vicinity.”

“Where was it, then?” Tegan asked.

“Nageau heard it too, and he said it was about three hundred paces from where we were training.”

“What? How could he tell?”

“He’s been honing that ability for years, remember? He’s able to estimate the position of a sound.”

“So when you complete your training, you’ll be able to do that too?” Mariah asked with wide eyes.

“Yep.” Kody looked pleased. “But not just with hearing. I’ll be able to do it with all the other senses, too.”

The five leaned back, momentarily fantasizing about what their futures could be like with their new-found abilities. Aari rubbed the back of his head. “Were you guys told that we’d be starting the intermediate stage of the training tomorrow?”

His friends signaled yes. “Apparently the training will be intensified,” Jag informed them.

Tegan looked thoughtful. “At least that means we’re getting somewhere, so I guess that’s a good sign.”

“Nageau said that, from what the other Elders have reported, we’ll be jumping from stage one to stage two in this short time because we’re grasping what’s being taught pretty quickly,” Aari said.

Kody jerked his chin at Aari. “What about you, bud? How’s your training with Ashack?”

“Eh . . . exhausting, both for the mind and the body.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhm. To begin with, we’ve all got our daily workout routine as part of our training, and you know that’s physically exhausting. Don’t get me wrong—the fact that we’re getting all this strength training and also being taught the Dema-Ki defense techniques is great. Then comes the mind part, and I don’t particularly enjoy it. I know there’s a lot of science in this, and I love to explore reality scientifically, but this stuff is . . .” He searched for a word.

Jag tried to help. “Too far-fetched for you?”

“Yes and no. I’m a bit skeptical, y’know? But my mentor proves me wrong every step of the way. And then I learn something new, but not before it messes with my mind.”

“You’re working on bending light or something like that, right?” Mariah asked.

Aari nodded. “Right. It’s supposed to help camouflage and make me, or any object I want, seem invisible.”

“How can you do that?”

“You guys know that our vision is based on the reflection of light. We see everyday things because of light that’s reflected from the objects that we’re looking at. If I were to control the light particles and deflect them away into a different path, I would have made that object invisible to you. In theory, of course.” He looked at his friends, searching their faces to see if they were following him. “Take this example. Imagine we’re in a pitch dark cave and Tegan shines a flashlight on Kody. You guys will all be able to see Kody, but if I were to deflect the light that’s bouncing off Kody and heading to your eyes, I’ve practically rendered him invisible to you.”

The others were starting to understand. “That’s amazing,” Tegan remarked. “Could we get a demo?”

Aari shook his head. “Not yet. I’m just being prepped for it right now—that alone has already tired my mind and I have to get back to it after lunch. Once I get stronger though, I’ll blow your minds away.” He grinned.

“Speaking of lunch,” Huyani called from the kitchen, “your sustenance drinks are ready.”

The five pulled themselves off the couches and went to grab their individual mugs that rested on the countertops, then sat on the stools. As the group started on their drinks, Kody said, “I know that this is actually nourishing and is supposed to help us build up physically, but it makes me sad that this is all we get three times a day in place of actual meals.”