Tempering earth, p.6
Tempering Earth, page 6
Chapter 6
Journal,
I ran into Luke at the beach today. It was so awkward, standing there making small talk, acting as if I didn’t want to run in the opposite direction. I wanted to tell Toby about it when he came home from lunch, but each time I opened my mouth to do so, the words wouldn’t come. My husband seems so far away from me, like a stranger really. We were such good friends when we were children… But it’s as if that familiarity left us when we married, instead of strengthening.
I can’t help but wonder, how did I end up this way? I know that I love Toby, and that he, in his own way, cares deeply for me as well.
Is that enough, though? To have my husband “care deeply” for me?
*****
They say that time flies when you’re having fun, and it’s true–the week had flown by. Dove and I spent nearly all of our spare time together the previous week. Even the days that I had no time between work and lessons, he’d come by the shop with lunch for us to share. On the nights we weren’t together sitting on my porch and kissing under the stars like tomorrow would never come, we’d talk on the phone or text until late. It wasn’t quite like it used to be, though. For one, Cash rarely hung out with us anymore. It was for good reason. His coursework to become a certified firefighter was grueling, and the only free time he had was the weekend, when we had lessons together half the day. He and Dove got together most mornings for a little surfing, which I clearly did not partake in. For another, even though I had so much fun with him, there seemed to be a ticking clock on our time together. I was going with the Elfennols for goodness knew how long on Tuesday night, and then he was going back to school right after Christmas. I didn’t let myself dwell on those thoughts, however. I kept my mind focused on the present and appreciated the happiness I was able to experience, while I was able to experience it.
Right then, however, time was crawling. It was day twelve after the Testing, and the following evening Alexander would be taking me to Eurybis. I looked down the flat, straight strip of land at the figure about fifty yards in front of me and grabbed a black throwing spike from its holster on my left wrist, letting the weight of it settle in my palm. I didn’t throw it. Instead I used Air to Bend it at my target. It flew wide, and I heard dual sighs behind me.
At first, target practice had been exciting. There’s something about zooming lethal weapons through the air with your abilities that is just so dangerous and thrilling. Once the first day went by, and Cash was hitting his little straw man every time and I still was not, the excitement wore off a little. Especially since Connor and Luke started doubling up their lessons with me, dragging me out of bed before dawn every morning to work on things while people weren’t around. They’d also decided I needed a bit more room to maneuver, since my errant spikes were bound to get noticed by someone… probably when they accidentaly impaled them. Which was why I was standing on a very long, straight, and narrow path, with both the geezers fussing at me. The light was peeking over the hill in front of me, haloing around the Wright Monument in its place of honor. It seemed to be mocking me, this commemoration to human flight, when I couldn’t even make a stupid stick hit a stupid pile of straw.
So, maybe I was feeling a little grumpy.
“Della, you need to aim,” Connor instructed me, yet again.
“I am aiming!”
“No you aren’t, darlin’. You’re just slinging it in the direction of the target.” Luke used a gentler voice with me… It was annoying.
“That’s aiming!”
“Just watch me again, okay?” Uncle Connor grabbed a spike and zoomed it at the target, hitting it square in the head. I was Tempering Fire, but didn’t see anything different from how I had been doing it.
When it was my turn to try again, I tried to Bend Air at the sides to correct the trajectory. It didn’t work, unless the goal had been to slam my spike and chip one of the boulders lining the path that marked the first flight line in history.
“Della, you have too much power not to learn better control.” Connor started after Bending my scattered weapons back to us.
“Now, Connor, I think that’s part of her problem. She’s over thinking things. What she needs to do is relax and let her intuition help her along. Bending will never become second nature if she–“
“All due respect Uncle Luke, her abilities can’t be second nature when she just learned she had them a few months ago.”
“Connor, we’ve been drilling this girl for months, and I know she’s been practicing all the time. She just needs to turn that brain off and let herself do what she already knows to do.”
“Why do you two always act like I can’t hear you when you’re together?”
“Sorry, Della.” Connor looked tired as he ran a hand through his hair. “Luke might be right, though. You have so much control over everything else you do, which is clear by how well you Shield, you might just be over thinking this. Let’s try this. Take your spike and close your eyes. Now, take a few deep breaths and visualize the target only a few feet in front of you. Can you see it?”
“Well, my eyes are closed…”
“You are the least imaginative person I know, Della. Try to open yourself up a little, okay? Be still and listen to your heartbeat. Take steady, even breaths and focus on how your weapon feels in your hand.” Uncle Connor’s voice was soft and lulling, yet also low and commanding.
I took a few deep breaths and started rubbing my thumb against the spike in my palm, but I still couldn’t make myself “see” the target. I calmed my thoughts and focused on the sound of my heart beating in my chest and the song of birds singing around me. I could feel the Earth humming beneath my feet, and the lightest of breezes danced in the tendrils of hair that had escaped my ponytail. My awareness seemed to spread further and further, until I could sense the target. It was still the same distance away, but it felt close now. So close that it felt like I could touch it if I wished. The spike was still in my hands, more a part of me than it was, and before I let myself think about it, I slung it to the target. Connor and Luke both let out a little whoop, and I knew I’d hit the darned thing.
“Can I open my eyes, now?”
“Don’t be smart. Go ahead and look.” Luke patted me on the shoulder in congratulations.
My spike was sticking to the left of the spray-painted bulls-eye where an arm would be if we’d made them, and I did a little dance to celebrate. “Look guys! I hit it! Does that mean I can start practicing with the energy-daggers now?” Connor had shown Cash and me how to make them during our first target practice. Cash had gotten to practice with them by the end of that first lesson, while I was stuck trying to kill straw. I really wanted one lesson doing more than constructing them before I had to leave, and time was running out.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to make sure it wasn’t a lucky shot, and you didn’t exactly hit the most effective place to stop an enemy. We’ll get to energy daggers when you can make three kill shots in a row.” Connor was smiling though, so I knew he was happy with my progress, even if he couldn’t just be nice and say so. Sometimes, especially during lessons, Uncle Connor stopped being “Uncle” and became “Dux Neale: General of the Human Army.”
I was just about to do it again and prove it hadn’t been a fluke, when a bright light crashed through the tree-line on our side, interrupting all trains of thought and causing both of my Uncles to stand in front of me protectively.
“It’s okay, guys. That’s just Alexander.” I recognized him immediately, having seen him here and there for the last week.
“Dux, Lucas.” He quickly nodded his head at the two men in turn before looking at me. “Duxa, is everything okay?” he then asked.
“Um, yes? Just killing some dummies. What’s up?” This was the closest he’d gotten since starting his watch, and the first time he’d spoken to me. Something must be happening, unless he got his days mixed up and was trying to take me away now.
Which would be bad, since Cash was planning a little going away party for me that night. He’d track me down and kill me if I missed it.
“I saw… Duxa, did my Lord not warn you about dropping your Shields outside of your home and the Runes protecting it?”
“Well, yeah, but I haven’t been… oh my god, I’m an idiot. That’s what I was doing, wasn’t it? It felt different when I did it with Derek!”
“Della, what are you talking about?” Connor turned to face me. I’d given him the watered down version of events, of course, but had accidentally forgotten to mention the whole Shielding thing since it just didn’t seem that important.
Alexander ignored my uncle and spoke so quickly I could hardly follow. “I was unable to see what happened when you were with your father, but I imagine that you let down your Shield completely and let your True Self shine through. You’ve taken down your protection once or twice this past week, but not completely and for such a short period of time it is unlikely anyone other than myself saw. My lord told me that such a thing would likely happen, but to stay vigilant in case our enemies were close by and saw your Light–“
“What is he talking about, Della?” Uncle Connor seemed pissed.
“Well, why didn’t you say something earlier? Why now?” I asked Alexander, wondering how badly I just messed up for him to arrive like this.
“It lasted for much longer this time, my lady, and since I knew that you had protection, I was some distance away tracking for any Clades in the area. When I saw your Light from such a distance, I feared an attack. One that may still happen if we don’t leave this place, quickly.” Alexander was tense, and I knew he was preparing himself for an attack.
“Dammit, someone answer me! We’re not going anywhere until I get some answers.”
“Connor, I think an explanation can wait until we get to an area that’s a little more crowded with people.” Uncle Luke seemed to immediately understand the possible danger we were in. “Better yet, let’s make that an area that’s a little more crowded with our people. Come on, Della, let’s do what your bodyguard here says and head back to your house.” Luke placed his hand on my shoulder and started pushing me towards the parking lot and his waiting truck. Alexander attached himself to my side, and Uncle Connor, proving that good leaders know when to listen to good advice, was walking ahead of us. We only took about five steps before I saw the most terrifying thing–ever–coming from the same tree-line Alexander had.
“There’s no chance that those guys are back up, right?” I quietly asked Alexander when the quickly approaching crowd of light split into seven separate figures.
“No, Duxa. I’m afraid they aren’t here to help us in any way.”
“Well, that just sucks.”
Uncle Connor and Luke must not have seen the Clades when we did, because they both stiffened when the group was close enough to see through the trees without abilities. Either my Fire Temper was a lot stronger, or my two Uncles didn’t have any Fire in their Wells.
“Too late to run.” Luke knelt down to the ground with his hands flat on the dirt to Gather Earth more quickly. I could see the ground moving a little beneath him, and when he stood back up a moment later, he was holding a knife in his right hand. It shimmered in such a way that I knew that he’d created it from the Energy he just collected.
Uncle Connor had three of his own daggers floating beneath his hand. “Luke, wait until they get by me so I don’t hurt you. Alexander, I trust you’ll protect my niece.” He moved further away from us, and with a flare of his arm, the daggers went flying at the Clades, who were now close enough to see clearly.
Seconds later, or perhaps an eternity, Uncle Connors flying daggers and gusts of wind could hold them back no longer. When one, then another, got past his initial defenses, Luke swept in with a flurry of fists and the flash of his Earthen blade. The two of them started fighting side-by-side, Luke using his physical strength, while Connor used more of the metaphysical abilities. There was a barrier on either side of them, Shields they’d constructed, bottlenecking their enemies so they didn’t have to fight them all at once. Both were Shielded, but the Clades were using their energy to pummel down at them, and if Connor and Luke continued to fight them all alone, they would be defeated all too soon. I took a step in their direction, but was stopped by a hand on my arm.
“Duxa, I must get you to safety now.” Alexander was holding me in place.
“Like hell, you must!” But the decision to leave was taken from us. Just then Luke’s defenses fell, and he collapsed to one knee after a resounding crack to his jaw. With him, the barrier fell and the Clades poured in our direction, luckily ignoring my uncles in their pursuit of me.
I stretched out my Shield, putting everything I had into it, but knew it wouldn’t last against seven enemies when I’d barely survived only one two weeks previous. One Clade couldn’t catch himself before slamming against it, only inches away from where Alexander was standing. He looked back at me. “Save your energy, I can protect myself, Duxa.” Since my Shield was already being knocked apart, I listened and hugged it back until it sat just above my skin. Connor and even Luke had joined the party by us, and I watched as the three men held their own against the threat. Alexander was especially incredible, able to use his energy and do hand-to-hand combat. He would have easily won in a fair fight. He’d even have won if he was only fighting two, or even three, opponents. But Connor and Luke could hardly contain the two they were fighting together, and were losing ground. Alexander, too, seemed to be in too deep with his four, so I wasn’t all that surprised when I saw enemy number seven stalk his way towards me.
With him came his power, which he shoved at me with a force strong enough to crack my Shields. I didn’t bother putting more energy in them, instead Gathered quickly and tried to use my abilities to stop him. He pushed away my energy like it was a bug, laughed when I tried to Shield him in place, and when I desperately tried to Bend my spikes through his evil little face, he swatted them away like they were bugs.
“Hello again, Deare. Miss me?” His voice was deep and creepy, or maybe I just thought it was because he was trying to kill me.
“Bud, I don’t even know you,” I told him while scrambling to throw things in his path to halt his progress.
“Oh, sure you do. It hasn’t been that long since we met; I’d be hurt if you’ve forgotten me after two short weeks. This time I won’t be pushed away so easily. It’s amazing what a little R&R can do for a man after a month of scouting some brat.”
He kept coming closer, and I tried to back away but couldn’t; another Clade was at my back, blocking my escape and using his own energy to beat me down. Mr. Menacing was still advancing, and with the dual attack and no escape route, I tried to Bend my spikes back so I wouldn’t be so defenseless. He caught each of them in the air and started twirling one in his hand.
“You got me in a bit of trouble last time. I wasn’t supposed to go after you, you know, just gather information and report back. But when opportunity knocks, you have to answer. When I saw you alone, without even a human around to call for help, the temptation was a little too much for me.” It was only then that I recognized the tarnished quality to his bright aura; that I recognized him as the Clade I had fought before.
“Well, that turned out so great for you, what with my kicking your butt and all.” Hurray for false bravado, because that’s pretty much all I had going for me. He took another step closer, close enough to touch me, and that’s all it took for my Shields to finally crumble. With their absence, the world brightened, and I felt a familiar rush of god-power fill me. My Shield might protect me physically, but the Sprit Shield had been blocking a huge amount of energy that I could Gather without effort.
“Not this time.” The Clade’s voice slithered out, and before I knew it, that new energy started to wane. He was taking it from me as fast as I could collect it, and all I was doing was adding to his strength. The Clade behind me was closing in. My elemental power had been useless against them, and without enough Spirit energy to use I was screwed. Utterly screwed.
When the Clade to my front reached out for me, a desperate idea came. Luke did say that everything was fair-game, and I knew the Elfennol and Clades had no physical Shields and were probably not expecting any sort of physical fight from me, so I ducked under his arm and slammed my Earth enhanced foot down on his with every ounce of strength I had. Hearing the pop of bones was sickeningly satisfying. He dropped the spike he’d been twirling. Using an amount of coordination that I didn’t know I possessed, I grabbed the falling weapon from the air with my left hand and immediately slammed it into the gut of the Clade behind me just a second before he grabbed me. I didn’t take inventory of how much damage it did him, because my pal in front of me had recovered from his broken foot. I yanked the spike back in a warm spill of blood, tossed it to my dominant hand, and stabbed at the chest in front of me. He saw it coming, and grabbed my arm in a steely grip with one hand, using his other hand to grab me by the neck and effectively cut off the blood supply to my brain.
I kicked and scratched, but things were dimming around me. My right hand couldn’t hold on to my weapon any longer as all energy was spent trying to escape his grasp. He was immovable against the elements I tried to use against him. His grip was unshakable, and his empty brown eyes seemed to float above a Cheshire grin as he brought me closer to his face. I pushed at him with my free hand, which was still bloody from the gut-jab, but I was too weak to do anything more than leave a trail of blood from his cheek down to his chin. With horror, I watched as he licked the blood from his lips. It seemed as if the smear I had trailed down his face sunk into his skin with a brackish glow.
His lips brushed my ears as his fingers tightened around my neck. “It’s so peculiar, isn’t it, that the only reason I’m killing you right now is because your people want me to. Why, my brethren want you alive; want your help as if you’re the only one that can help us.” Disgust laced his words. “But, accidents happen on the battlefield, don’t they?” his whispered breath left a clammy chill on my skin. I had one of my hands on his arm, trying to claw away. I searched frantically for help, but could see nothing past the man choking the life out of me. My hand on his arm stopped moving, unable to find the energy to keep fighting. The blood that still decorated my fingertips stood out to me, in that moment when nothing else was in focus, and the contrast between the sticky red and my lightly tanned skin was stark. If only there was something I could do! But I’d only been working on offensive abilities for less than two weeks, and my only true strength was in my Shielding abilities, and he’d long since cracked through those.
