If Barbie's so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
*
If I could tell the world one thing it would be
That we're all okay
And not to worry, cause worry is wasteful,
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless; I won't be idled with despair
I will gather myself around my faith,
For light does the darkness most fear
—"Hands" By Jewel—
***
A guard deposited Lumen's body in the room that slaves and servants referred to as "the morgue". It was a freezing cold chamber, constructed from the same stone as the rest of the sumantra, except that metal cabinet-walls had been built within it, lining the room from one wall to the next. Each metal wall had 50 drawers in it, which were guarded by an enchanted lock. Each drawer held one object apiece. Some were simple artifacts collected by Xyrelyc over the centuries. Others were magical things. In fact, the Ancient Staff now resided within one such drawer.
But mostly, the drawers were used for the storage of bodies. Xyrelyc did not waste. Lumen was an Obsidian, from the 3rd universe Xyrelyc had conquered. The Obsidians had eagerly allied themselves with Xyrelyc. They were a bloodthirsty, war-loving race and fierce warriors. And Xyrelyc had made good use of them. Lumen had managed to increase his rank until he was one of a dozen different individuals who were basically in charge. Sometimes, he had seemed rather idiotic, yes. But, mostly, he had made a magnificent general.
When one of his generals or second-ups became deceased, Xyrelyc always had them stored away. Once in a while, Shoquia would attempt a resurrection. These events did not always succeed—in fact, only two out of 13 had worked out so far—, and the charmer was always drained of her resources for a month at the least, but it was still a useful practice, as far as Xyrelyc was concerned.
The guard left Lumen on a table for the morgue keeper to deal with and left hurriedly. The sumantra's residents did not like the morgue and avoided it as much as possible. The morgue keeper came up to the table after the guard had departed. He was a massive creature, a little over 7 ½ feet tall, with a shoulder span of 2.5 feet. He was completely devoid of hair and had no lips. His nostrils were simple slits in his near-flat face and his eyes were only pupils, no irises.
The morgue keeper laughed—a sound he omitted through his nostrils—when he saw Lumen's body, with it's smashed skull. He'd always suspected that the Obsidian would be killed by one of his prisoners and here he was. The prisoner had done a somewhat efficient job of it, too.
Lumen's face was gone, the back of his skull caved in widely enough for his black brain to slide out. The keeper removed that organ and bottled it away carefully. Then, he touched a lock and the drawer slid open. The keeper placed the maimed body inside and closed it. The drawer locked automatically. The keeper returned to his supper, which had to be absorbed through his hands.
In the drawer next to Lumen's, the Ancient staff jangled once, responding to a vague, faint trace of Dais on the body. Then, it stopped, locked away in one of nearly a thousand dark metal drawers, just part of the inventory.
* * * * *
Rip waited until Sage had walked past the bush she was hiding behind, then sprinted across the hall into the elevator. As the metal doors closed, she released the breath she'd been holding. "This is so stupid," she said to herself. She didn't like this gig. Letting Zephyr hunt her down was certainly not Rip's idea of fun.
She was trying to get to the pool. If she could just get to the water…well, she didn't know what she'd do, but she had a feeling she'd be able to hide better for some reason.
When Kento had let her and Dice out of the suite to go hide, Rip had watched Dice take off for the hotel gardens. Rip would have headed directly to the pool, herself, but Zephyr, Sage, and Mia had come out of the suite just then and Rip had had to hide in a storage closet off the stairwell at the end of the corridor. For a moment, the water elemental had thought that Zephyr was going to find her but then Dice had run into a room service waiter and made a bit of noise. Zephyr had gone after Kento's elemental sister and left Rip in the closet.
The elevator doors slid open. Rip checked the lobby for any sign of her group, saw none, and ran for the glass doors that led to the pool area. She walked casually up to the pool edge and dove in gracefully. Rough and wild as she was, when in the water, the Kahanamoku girl was as graceful and serene as a swan.
Rip swam to the bottom of the deepest part of the pool. She sat down on the tile at the bottom, a trick she delighted in doing because she didn't float off as other people would, and watched the light patterns that played upon the blues and greens of the tiling. She would have to go up for air in another minute; she could only hold her breath for up to 3.5 minutes safely.
Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't holding her breath. At first, she was going to project herself towards the surface. But then she felt a soothing calm come over her. She let herself sit there and thought about this strange new experience. How could this have happened?
Of course, she thought. Zee. That stupid immortality crap she put in me must have triggered some new abilities. Wonder what else I can do?
Curious, Rip tried exhaling. To her surprise, she felt air reentering her lungs when she inhaled again. With this knowledge secured, she didn't try to hold her breath anymore. She smiled. Zephyr would never find her now.
A hard object hit her head. "Ow," she growled. "Damn!" she said when she realized she'd just spoken aloud underwater. She looked at the object. It was a weighted ball, the type used in swimming pools to practice 'dive and retrieve'. Rip picked it up and looked upwards. Sure enough, a kid was pushing himself down through the water towards her. He saw her below him and smiled, gesturing for her to give him the ball.
Rip grinned and pushed herself off the tile. She sped up to the boy but didn't stop to give him the ball. She grabbed him about the waist and continued upward. A second later, the two of them exploded from the surface before falling back into the water. Rip lay on her back in the water, laughing. The kid sputtered and stared at her.
"What the bloody 'ell!" he exclaimed in a heavy Australian accent. "You just did a dolphin's breach there, gi'l!"
"Yep," said Rip. "Wasn't it fun?"
The kid laughed. "Yeah, i' was! Can we do it again?"
"Blimey, Seth!" said another kid. "How'd you do that?"
"I didn't," Seth said. "She did."
The other kid looked at Rip. "Jeez…Hey, Tawny! Gabe!" she called to another pair of kids. "Did you guys see this here sheila jump outta the water?"
"Aye, that we did." The other two kids swam over. Rip noticed right away that they were a little sickly and tired looking. "Don't think the lifeguard's too happy about it, either," said Gabe.
"Ah, so what? It isn't like doing cool stuff like that's a crime, now, is it?" smirked the kid who'd called them.
Tawny smiled at Rip. "So, what's your name?"
"Rip."
Tawny and Gabe froze. "Did you say Rip?" asked Gabe.
Rip shrugged, setting herself vertical in the water again. "Yeah, so?"
"You from that island out there by the States?"
"Ya mean Hawaii?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Yeah." Rip looked from one of the unhealthy kids to the other. "What's the big deal? So I'm from Hawaii and my name's Rip. So what?"
"Ah, jeez…" muttered Tawny.
"Eh, am I missin' something 'ere?" asked Seth.
Gabe shook his head. "Nah. Look, Seth, you and Linda go on with whatever you blokes feel. Tawn and I gotta be goin', now."
"A'right. See you tomorrow, then?"
"Nah, I don't think we can make it. We'll try back by your place next week maybe. Don't count on it, though."
"Yeah, okay. See ya then!" Seth and Linda swam off, tossing the weighted diver's ball between them.
Rip was confused. What was with these kids? They talked all around her but they didn't want her to leave, which was obvious by the way little Tawny was gripping her arm. "Um, is there a problem or are you guys just being strange?" she asked bluntly.
Gabe glanced at his little sister. "Well, Miss Rip, ya see…Tawny and I…Roary's our sister."
Rip nearly dunked herself. "Aw, man! You kids…where is she?" Things were making sense now. No wonder these kids looked so bad off. They were bad off.
"Back at home," said Tawny. "Seth and Linda are friends of ours. They're staying at the hotel today before they go on a trip with their parents. We just came to swim with 'em a bit 'fore we had to go home. What're you doin' in Australia? Roary says that the States are a long way off."
"I was in Japan on family business. Thought I'd come down here to visit your sister."
Just then the lifeguard started shouting. Some other kids had gotten a little too rough at their play and the lifeguard was dragging them out of the pool. "That's it!" he yelled. "Everybody outta the pool! Ya don't like it, blame it on these brats!"
With a unanimous groan, all the kids started getting out of the pool. Rip lost sight of Gabe and Tawny in the process. She tried to call to them but they didn't come. They must've left the hotel, nervous that they'd get in trouble for being there when they weren't actually staying at the hotel.
"Damn," hissed Rip.
"Rip!"
She turned around. It was Dice, who was running towards her. The earth elemental slowed down as she neared the pool, observing the rules. "Rip," she repeated when she was close enough, "Zee's right behind me. She nearly found me. Has she caught you yet?"
"No. Better get moving if we don't wanna get caught now." With that, Rip headed in the opposite direction of the way Dice had come. "Let's try hiding in the hotel. Maybe we can get in the kitchen or something."
These plans were ruined, however, when they opened the door and ran directly into someone. Dice, after colliding with Rip, lost her balance and fell to the ground. "Ow!"
They'd crashed into Cye.
"Hello, you two," he said cheerily. He reached down and helped Dice back to her feet.
"Thanks," she said.
"No problem. I take it that Zee's on your tail, is she?"
Dice nodded. Rip scowled. "We gotta be goin', Cye," she said. She grabbed Dice's arm and dragged her through the door.
Cye watched them go. A minute later, Zephyr walked past him calmly. She had a knowing smile on her face as she passed through the door. Cye grinned. Zephyr was definitely going to find them soon.
* * * * *
Shoquia lay on the bed and concentrated on breathing. She felt so weak. Why had she left her hunt so hastily? She shouldn't have tried to do so much without nourishment. Now, here she was. Trapped.
The guard had taken her to the corridor just outside Lord Xyrelyc's power chamber, the room where he spent his "working" days. One of the generals had approached the guard and after a quick discussion, the general had taken Shoquia from the guard. The general was one of the three Prime Generals, his name was Tolneth, and as a Prime, he had permission to enter Xyrelyc's chamber without summons under circumstances of importance.
Tolneth had taken Shoquia to Xyrelyc and repeated the guard's story of finding the Lady in a dungeon corridor. He had laid the charmer on the floor beside the liquid pool.
"She does look somewhat unhealthy…" Xyrelyc's disembodied voice had mused. "Charmer, can you hear me?" he'd asked her.
Not even strong enough to respond, Shoquia had simply lain there in pain and hunger.
"She's too valuable an ally to lose. We shall have to try to restore her health. Take her to a comfortable chamber. Do not stay with her, do not allow anyone entrance to the room," ordered Xyrelyc.
Tolneth had bowed and picked Shoquia up again. "Yes, my lord," he'd said and left with the charmer.
And so she lay on the bed in the chamber she'd been taken to. She'd been there for some time now. She was worried about Fey and about her new knowledge. She knew now that she had been helping Xyrelyc to do something wrong. Fey might be the Lord's daughter by blood, but as far as Shoquia was concerned, the Shadow-child was her daughter too. She didn't want Fey involved in this mess. She had to get to the girl and get away before Xyrelyc suspected that she'd turned.
But as long as she was crippled by her hunger in this way, she could do nothing. She was already having difficulty keeping conscious and thinking straight. What could she do?
* * * * *
Rowen picked up another rock. He tossed it at Cale half-heartedly and sighed as it pinged off the warlord's armor harmlessly. That was the fifth one he'd hit the man with, and not so much as a mumble had rewarded him. If he'd had enough energy, he could throw one hard enough to break the man's back, but he didn't so he couldn't. He picked up another rock and tossed it. This one hit Cale square between the shoulders.
Cale groaned and sat up slowly. He looked behind him and saw Strata lying on the sand and watching him. "What?" Cale asked, annoyed.
"Sorry. Didn't think it was a good idea to wake up Kayura yet cuz she looks kinda haggard. Dais was awake all night, just went to sleep when I was wakin' up; and Sekhmet's a mess. You didn't wake up when I called you so hitting you with rocks seemed appropriate."
Cale stared at the Ronin's legs. "Damn…what happened to you?"
"Some tin cans tricked Ryo into Flaring at me."
"Oh. What're you doing here? Where's your armor? And where are we?"
"I'm here cuz Dais over there got used to capture me after I got barbecued. My armor was stolen…and then we escaped. And we're somewhere that's better than wherever we were." The kid smirked.
Cale shrugged. "Yeah…So, why'd you wake me up?"
"Cuz my legs are killin' me and talkin' to someone'll keep my mind off it. Even if that someone has to be you. What happened to you anyway? There's a crispy spot on your chest plate."
The Warlord glanced at his armor. There was indeed a circular spot where Kayura's power orb had struck him. "Hmph. Kayura threw a hissy fit at Sekh and tried to blow him up. But those walls in that place reflected her power back at her and me and I got hit. It messed me up a bit, I guess."
"Mmm." The kid was quiet for a moment then suddenly vomited on the ground before him.
"Hey! You okay?"
Strata wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked up at Cale. "Nah. That's the third time that's happened since I woke up. I'm gettin' used to it."
"That isn't normal, kid. I'm gonna wake up Kayura." Slowly, Cale unsteadily got to his feet. He was pleased to find that he felt much better and was capable of walking the few steps to Kayura's side. He nudged the Ancient with his foot. "Hey, you, wake up!" he said.
"What's wrong?" she mumbled, sitting up.
"The kid over there isn't doing too good. Keeps throwing up."
She looked up. "Cale? You're okay?"
"Yeah, my armor healed me some overnight. The darkness helped. Real darkness, for the first time in two weeks." He smiled. "Now, worry about the kid for a bit. He's real messed up."
Kayura looked at Rowen, who was still lying on his side in the sand. "Hey, there, Madame Evil," he greeted.
"Cynic," she sighed.
"Yep."
Kayura stood up. "Give me your cloak and sit down," she ordered Cale, noting he was still a little wobbly. The Warlord grinned and obeyed. Kayura walked over to Rowen.
"Well, Mr. Hashiba, how are you feeling today?" she asked.
Rowen was a little surprised to hear that Kayura knew his name but didn't show it. "Crappy, thank you," he replied.
"Then let's see what we can do for you, shall we?" She sat down beside him and spread Cale's cloak behind his legs. Then, she maneuvered him until his legs were on the cloak and sat him up. He grunted once.
"So, how'd you sleep?" she asked.
"Woulda slept better 'cept I kept having weird dreams. Zee was doin' somethin' difficult."
"Zee?" Kayura wasn't really paying much attention. She was busy surveying his condition.
"My soul-sister."
Kayura's head snapped up. "Come again?"
"My soul-sister."
"Your soul-sister?"
Strata rolled his eyes. "Zephyr, my soul-sister, is the wind elemental. I call her Zee for short."
Kayura sat back. "The wind elemental. What was she doing?"
"Breaking up her immortality, I think."
"She's an immortal?"
"She was an immortal. She gave it up last night."
The Ancient looked impressed. "Do you know why she would do that?"
"No. I was too tired and my dreams are strange."
"Oh…" Kayura returned to examining his legs. "Okay," she said a minute later. "This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to heal you a little now, and then in a few hours, I'll do it again. We'll keep that up for the rest of the day and hope it helps."
"Sounds good to me."
"Alright then. Here we go." And she closed her eyes.
* * * * *
Sage saw Rip and Dice run by, Rip dragging the other girl toward the hotel kitchen. Then he saw Zephyr, only a minute behind, walking at a leisurely pace. He left his place beside the staircase rail, where he'd been standing for the past ten minutes, and followed the elementals.
Rip grabbed a man coming out of the kitchen. "I'll pay you thirty-one dollars to let us into the kitchen," she told him.
The man looked at her blankly.
"Okay. Forty-five dollars."
He hesitated, but then held out his hand.
Rip slapped the Australian currency into his hand and grabbed Dice again. The man led them into the kitchen and showed them a corner beside a far wall where they would be out of the way of the employees. "Thank you," said Dice as the man walked away.
"We should be well-hidden here. Zee'll never find us." Rip's expression was smug.
"I would not be so sure of that," whispered a voice behind them.
Both girls jumped and Dice nearly bolted. A hand pulled her back. It was Zephyr. "How'd you do that?" asked Dice, still shaken.
"That is simple. I watched you enter the kitchen. I shifted into my wind-shape. Then, I rematerialized behind you here."
Rip looked furious. "You cheat."
"She didn't cheat," corrected Dice. "She used our new link to track us down and then used her own abilities to catch us. I believe you did the same thing when you tried to hide, didn't you?"
Rip glowered at the other two. "So what if I did?"
Zephyr looked pleased with this information. "What is your new ability? Surely, you could not use your dissipation talent for concealment."
"I found out that I can breathe underwater."
Dice's eyes widened. "You can what?"
"Breathe underwater. And talk too."
"How interesting," said Zee. "Perhaps my immortality is triggering new abilities. We shall have to watch both of you carefully. This could prove a valuable development."
"Well, can we leave the kitchen now?" Dice was starting to feel like an intruder.
"Of course." Zephyr led the way back to the doors. Rip grumbled under her breath as she followed.
Sage was waiting for them when they came out. "So it works?"
"Definitely."
"Then we can start looking for the other elementals."
"Yes. But first, I think we should let Rip find her friend," Dice mentioned.
Rip agreed. As the four of them headed back towards the staircase to go upstairs, she explained about her discovery underwater. Sage called to the other Ronins mentally, telling them that the hunt was over and they were going back to the suites.
Ryo was waiting for them when they got there. "Hey, what's all this about underwater stuff?" he asked.
"I can breathe underwater," repeated Rip.
Wildfire grinned. "Well, that's gonna get Cye excited for sure. I think he resents the fact that none of us are ever willing to fight him underwater. He'd probably like someone to practice with."
"Mmph."
The whole group eventually gathered in one suite. "Okay! So, what's next on the agenda?" Danji started off the discussion.
"Zee's tracking theory's worked out, that's for sure," said Kento.
"And I think we're gonna let Rip find her friend before we do anything more."
Rip nodded vigorously. "I already have one small lead," she said and told them about her encounter with the children in the pool.
"But you don't know where they went?"
She sighed. "No. They got spooked and ran off, I guess."
Mia frowned. "Well, not to be rude but…we really need to find the rest of the elementals before our little distraction fails or…or things get really bad…"
Everyone knew what she meant and the room became quiet.
"So…you're saying that since finding Roary's not going so well anyway, we should probably move on to the next order of business and then try to find her later?" Rip tried not to look angry or disappointed, which she was plenty of.
"Yeah…" Ryo smiled wryly at her.
"Ah, hell…" began the surfer. Then she sighed. "I suppose saving the world comes before saving someone you can't quite locate…" Abruptly, her mood changed. "Then let's get to it. If I'm gonna be some sorta hero, might as well get it over with, right?"
Ryo grinned and leaned toward Cye. "She reminds me more and more of Kento all the time," he said.
Cye groaned and dragged his fingers across his face. "Oh, that's wonderful. Just wonderful," he moaned.
"Hey!" Kento scowled and swatted his friend's head. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Then I suppose we should start looking, huh?" commented Dice, reminding them of what they were discussing.
"Yes. And soon," added Cye. "I've got a really bad feeling. And as much as I dislike the whole empathy thing sometimes, I don't wanna take the chance that this bad feeling is more than just my nerves jangling."
"We've still got half the day to search in sunlight." Ryo looked around at everyone. "So whadda you say, Zee? Ready to start our roles in Kento's sci-fi movie?"
Zee nodded in affirmation, grinning with excitement, another mortal thing she enjoyed. "But what is sci-fi?"
Kento smiled broadly and leaned forward.
"Oh, no, you don't!" said Sage. He could see the light in the Chinese boy's eyes that forewarned he was going to do some mischief. "Don't you start contaminating her with a bunch of lies. We don't need her to be talking about certain…things when someone mentions something entirely different!"
While Zephyr looked confused, Kento protested, "Ah, no! Sage, you got it all wrong! I wouldn't do something like that—"
"You're lying," said Cye, grinning. Kento had tried this trick before, so it wasn't entirely due to his talent that the British teen knew. Kento glared at him.
"Keep your empathic nose outta my business!"
"Keep your mischievous mouth shut!" ordered Sage.
"You people are impossible!" groaned Hardrock and stood up, moving toward the door.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Dice, quickly rising to her feet.
Kento turned around, managing a puzzled, yet teasing expression. "I thought we were gonna go look for Sage's elemental sister. Thought maybe she might be able to gimme some juicy gossip about him…Hey, Sage, just kidding! Don't kill me!" With the other Ronin close on his heels, he ran out of the suite.
"What is sci-fi?" Zee asked again.
* * * * *
Dais tossed another pebble at the tree. There was a bird nest in there and he was trying to get as many pebbles into it as he could. "Score," he said as the pebble landed in the nest. "That's five for me, two for you, Cale."
Cale growled and picked up another pebble.
Behind them, Sekhmet and Rowen were arguing about something. Kayura was napping under a tree. It seemed like every time they were about to get somewhere, someone would be too worn out to move. Carrying someone wasn't a big option because that someone was either hurt, sick, or too heavy to move very far.
Rowen's legs were almost completely healed, but he was still vomiting rather often, leading Kayura to believe that it wasn't just his legs that were the problem. Sekhmet had to stay flat all the time or his wound would cause him a lot of pain. Dais was fine, except for some bizarre dizzy spells he was experiencing sporadically lately. Cale hardly experienced any pain at all anymore, excepting an occasional pang. Kayura kept wearing herself out healing Sekhmet and Rowen and was starting to get headaches.
The arguing coming from the two invalids rose in volume abruptly, escalating to shouting. Dais raised an eyebrow at Cale, whose dark expression didn't change.
"Would you two please keep it down?!"
Cale's face was instantly full of concern at Kayura's complaint. He turned around and barked, "Shut up, Sekhmet!"
"This brat started it!" protested the green-haired Warlord, scowling at Rowen.
"You wish, snake-eyes!"
"You can shut up too, kid!" snapped Cale.
Rowen shut his mouth but smirked at the angry man. Kayura sighed, relieved that all the noise had stopped, and went back to sleep. As Cale turned away, Rowen leaned over and whispered in Sekhmet's ear. Dais, glancing over his shoulder, noticed this. He also saw Sekhmet raise his eyes in surprise and then smother a guffaw.
"Hey, Cale, something tells me that those two are talking about you.'
Cale looked at him, still irritated. "So?"
Dais shrugged. "Just thought you'd like to know." He threw his pebble at the bird's nest.
Sekhmet started laughing loudly. He stopped though, stating, "Owww, that hurts…" But he was grinning.
Rowen also had a smug grin on his face.
Cale glared back at the pair and then tossed his pebble again. Childish… he thought.
I'll say!
Cale jumped.
Dais looked at him quizzically. "You alright?"
Cale instantly reinstated his gruff expression. "What are you talking about?"
Dais slumped his shoulders, exasperated. "Never mind." Why did everything have to be so weird?
You freak out so easily, Cale. I'm Kayura, in case you hadn't figured that out.
Cale continued with what he was doing as if nothing was happening, throwing a pebble at the bird's nest. And I suppose this is another Ancient's talent? he replied.
Kayura gave the mental equivalent of a soft laugh and a sigh. No. Dais and I discovered it the other day and Dais said he could do the same with Strata.
Well, this could prove useful.
Do you see everything in terms of useful or not useful?
…Is that a rhetorical question?
Kayura laughed again. So you do have a sense of humor! Then she became serious. Cale, about what I did to you—
You didn't do anything. We've been over this already. It was all an accident…although I think some anger-management training is in order for you.
Uh…well, then let's talk about something else. Mainly about what you said.
What I said?
About the elementals. We know now that at least one other exists, so it may be possible that you weren't just dreaming of the one you spoke of.
Cale recalled the vague memory he'd had of a woman or a girl, so white—like the snows he and his wolf friends enjoyed so much—and in the same pain as his own. And she held a sorrow about her, of guilt or loneliness or something… He'd felt connected to her, and he'd felt the need to talk to her, to touch her, to be with her… I remember now, he told Kayura.
Well, anyway: if you're right and this elemental you spoke of is real, then the legend was wrong.
Cale was surprised. Kayura was admitting that one of her "precious" legends might be incorrect. Because it only spoke of elementals corresponding with the Ronin armors, you mean?
Yes.
So…there could be elementals connected to our armors?
Yes, possibly.
…Kayura?
Hmm?
Let's not talk about this beyond this discussion.
What?
I think it's better kept secret. From what Dais has told us, this Xyrelyc guy doesn't know about any elementals besides the Ronins'. Dais might be wrong…but if he's not, then we could use this to our advantage.
Good point. I agree.
Good…umm, so how do I turn this thing off?
Kayura laughed again, explained, and drifted back to sleep. Tossing another pebble into the bird's nest and forwarding his score over Dais's, Cale allowed himself a small smile. Dais noticed but pretended not to.
* * * * *
Fey jogged behind the General Tolneth, a streak of deep violet flitting around the man so fast it seemed like a blur of light. T'vika, bright green wings outstretched to maintain her balance, clung to a strand of Fey's pale lavender hair as she sat on the girl's shoulder. Fey had thought to change into a pair of leather pants and a tunic before she left Shoquia's house with the General, but little more.
Tolneth finally stopped at a door not far from Xyrelyc's war chamber. He turned to face the Lord's daughter, unexpressive. "My Lady, I should warn you. The Lady Charmer is hardly alive anymore. Your Lord father was hoping that we could help her, that perhaps you knew how to save her. But by the time I came for you, she was only breathing by some miracle." At that last word, the man briefly seemed disconcerted, but only briefly. "By now, it is very likely that she is no longer under the grace of that so-called miracle."
"I know all of this; I've seen it before," said Fey, aggravated. "Just let me in!"
"Yes, man, let us in!" With that, the violet blur solidified into an angry K'sinn, who promptly shoved Tolneth aside with strength improbable for such a small body. She tugged furiously at the door, calling T'vika to help her. Fey joined the Shadows and they had the door open before Tolneth could move to unlock it. The General stepped in behind them, closing and locking the door behind them.
Fey knelt at the bedside. It was a big beautiful bed and she wondered why in all the realms her father would have such a thing in his fortress. Shoquia—her mother, sister, friend—lay like a quivering corpse beneath the red velvety blanket and silken sheets. How could this happen? she wondered, aghast.
"Shoq, can you hear me?"
K'sinn pushed T'vika back to their half-kin's shoulder, where the flustered green faerie perched and began to speak soothing words to the girl. K'sinn herself flitted to hover above Shoquia's face. "Malnutrition," she diagnosed. Then she flew back to Tolneth. "Leave us," she said. "Let us be with her now."
Tolneth stood there for a moment, face blank. A moment later, he left the room silently. K'sinn waited till she heard the lock click.
She flitted back to Fey, noticed the tears spilling down the halfling's dark-skinned face, the distraught and uncertain aura around T'vika, and she went to settle herself beside Shoquia's ear. She made herself a nest amidst the sweat-drenched teal hair spilling across the pillows. It seemed that the shuddering, shallow breath the young woman was now drawing would be her last. She leaned to the charmer's ear.
"Shoquia, you can come out now."
Shoquia's breathing halted.
Fey blinked, then began to sob. She buried her face in the velvet folds of the bed and clenched the hem of the blankets.
A gentle hand brushed her bangs back.
Fey held her breath.
"Would you weep for me before I'd even gone, my little Shadow?" The words came in one whispery breath.
Fey lunged upward and pulled her mother-friend into her arms. "Shoq?" she cried.
"Mm?" The murmur was hardly audible.
"Don't die. Please."
No response came for a few moments. "I won't. I can't…Fey, sweetheart, we have…to leave."
"What?!"
K'sinn spoke up now. "Shoquia and I have discussed it in the past. I gave her energy enough to cast an illusion over herself for a few moments, giving the appearance that she was closer to death than she truly was, for it gives the General the impression that we are saying our farewells. If we are to do this, we must do it quickly."
T'vika and Fey looked utterly lost. "I don't understand. What did you two discuss?"
"K'sinn…said…we should plan for everything. We—"
K'sinn interrupted, seeing that Shoquia was wasting breath and energy. "In the event that we discovered we were mislead in our beliefs about the elementals, or anything involving Xyrelyc's conquests, the plan was to escape. We must do that now."
"But Father—"
"Fey…" Shoquia looked up with dimmed teal eyes at the younger girl. "He used me to kill unjustly. He is evil. When he finds out that I've turned, he'll have me executed. The MaSho…" She drifted into unconsciousness.
K'sinn took charge. "Child, we must leave now. Here's what we will do…" She began to explain.
* * * * *
Zee yawned again. "Sorry," she said.
Sage smiled. Zephyr was leaning against him as they walked down the street. Kento and Rip were across the street in a café, getting something to—hopefully—wake her up a little. Rip wasn't happy about doing anything nice for the other elemental but Kento had offered to pay for the wake-up drinks and to get Rip something too.
Cye, Ryo, Dice, and Mia were shopping downtown. Danji walked a few paces behind Sage and Zee, talking on a cell phone with Mia. Just then, Rip came running back across the street, an ice cream in hand. She stopped beside Danji and took over the phone, asking to talk to Cye or Ryo. Kento followed at a more cautious pace. He had a pair of to-go cappuccinos in his hands, steam drifting out of the openings in the lids.
"One mint chocolate cappuccino for Zee and I, uh, got one extra, just in case." Kento handed Zephyr one of the cups. As she sipped cautiously at it, he looked at Sage with raised eyebrows.
Sage grinned and nodded. "She says that she thinks we're only a mile or so away."
"Really?"
"Yes," said Zee. "I just wish it didn't make me so sleepy."
"Hey, you used a contraction!" exclaimed Kento.
"Yes, and you just used a big word, Kento. Aren't we so proud, Sage?"
Sage just laughed and tightened his arm around Zee's waist. "You're beginning to sound like one of us, Zee."
The ex-immortal looked up at him. "I thought I already was."
"Are you talking like that deliberately?"
"Well, yes…kind of. It started that way, but now I think it happens somewhat automatically."
"Great. Now maybe we can approach the school subject…"
Kento scowled. The pair had gone off into their own little world again. He dropped back to walk with Rip and Danji. Rip was arguing over the phone with someone, most likely Ryo, about who should pick up White Blaze. The tiger was at a secluded beach, told not to let anyone see him.
Danji looked annoyed. Kento found this amusing for a few milliseconds but then he was back to being bored.
"Ummm…that way." Zee and Sage turned into an alley.
A few minutes later, the group found themselves in a very different environment. The quaint little shops had disappeared, replaced by rundown houses and an occasional obscure establishment, the streets were hardly clean. Zee paused beside a relatively well kempt building. Sage looked surprised. "A bar?"
"Is that what it is? Hm. Well, we have a little further to go yet."
She led them down more alleys and side streets. The buildings began to grow scarce. Finally, they arrived at an old lot. It was overgrown with weeds, plants, trees and the like. Zee began to make her way through the shrubbery, muttering in complaint about the way pointy plants kept poking her. Sage hurried to follow her. "Hey, wait up!"
Kento grabbed Rip's arm and dragged her after them, the Hawaiian just trotting along as she continued her phone argument. Danji followed leisurely.
It took at least two minutes to get through the overgrowth. Sage and Zee waited for them outside the shack. Kento blinked. "Who would wanna live here?" he commented.
"The light elemental," supplied Zee.
Sage took a deep breath. "Well, are we going in?"
Rip was ignoring all of them, almost shouting into the phone at Ryo now. Danji made a grab for the phone, but she absently swatted his hands away. Kento frowned at them both, sighed, and nodded to Sage. He moved to open the door, but Zee put a hand to his arm. "Wait," she said. "I think Sage should go in alone first."
"…huh?" both boys asked.
She smiled. "Rowen and I met alone. It made our bond stronger, I believe. Cye and Rip met alone and they have a stronger link, too. But you and Dice were surrounded by all of us and you don't seem to be as deeply connected. Perhaps, if Sage and this elemental meet privately, it might help to strengthen their bond." Her smile turned sheepish then. "Or I may be wrong. I just wanted to test a theory."
Kento laughed. "She really is Rowen's sister, isn't she?"
Zephyr grinned and shrugged.
Sage took another deep breath. "Okay. I'm going in!" he said jokingly, and stepped up to the door, raised his hand to knock—
"NO! I DON'T WANNA GO GET HIM RIGHT NOW!!! I DON'T CARE IF I AM CLOSER TO THE BEACH! YOU GO GET YOUR BLASTED FURBALL!!!"
Kento finally managed to slap a hand over Rip's mouth, but it was too late. Behind them, the door creaked open.
Sage blinked. The face peering out at them through the crack was young, probably about three years old, thin and dirty. The little girl looked at him with her thumb in her mouth, blinking huge hazel eyes at him even as he blinked himself. Then the door opened wider and a boy taller than the girl stepped in front of her. His hair was the same dirty blond as the child's, his eyes the same, but his skin was more tanned and he had to be at least twelve years old. His expression was fierce and he said firmly, "Who are you and what do ya want?"
"Gabe!" cried Rip. She dropped the phone and lunged up to the door. "You live here? You live here! Roar's inside, isn't she? Lemme see her!"
The boy looked so surprised that Sage almost laughed. Then, Zephyr took his arm and gently, firmly pushed open the door, saying "excuse me" to Gabe as she did. She pulled Sage in with her, Rip shoving past quickly. Danji retrieved the phone, asked for Mia, explained the situation, hung up, and followed. Kento glanced around before he entered the shack, as if fearing that husk soldiers would suddenly start appearing. Gabe, disconcerted and still surprised, closed the door behind them.
The shack was now very crowded. It seemed that there were only two rooms to the dirt-floored building; the one they'd entered had a small three-legged table in the middle piled with soiled books. The other room was slightly larger, but only by a margin. Rip forged ahead into this room, Gabe following closely. Zee led Sage along, determined that he meet his soul-sister. Kento and Danji decided to wait in the first room, realizing how terribly packed the second was becoming.
There were two single beds in the room, shoved up against the east and west walls. In the middle of the room was a white plastic baby crib, one of its legs replaced by a column of bricks for support. Rip and Gabe came to a halt beside the west bed, Rip dropping to her knees. Besides Gabe, three other children stood beside the bed, a girl hardly younger than Gabe holding a toddler in her arms. Sage jerked to a stop.
…the faint silhouettes of five figures gathered around a bed and a sixth lay beneath the raggedy sheet and blanket that furnished the worn mattress…
"Sage?" whispered a melodic voice in his ear. "Are you alright?"
"Zee," he breathed, turning to his girlfriend. "Remember Ro's dream?"
She blinked and gasped. "Oh my!"
"Roar, babe, you hear me?" Rip's voice sounded a little choked. "Hey, it's me. It's the Ripper."
The figure beneath the bedclothes murmured something incoherent, coughing violently.
Sage stepped up to the bed now. He found himself squeezed between the three-year-old who'd first opened the door and another young boy, who he estimated to be six or seven years of age. Looking down at the girl in the bed, his heart felt like an anaconda must have wrapped its massive coils around him and begun to constrict. She was gaunt and drenched in sweat, which he knew somehow would be very cold, and she tossed, writhed in the bed covers, coughing, wheezing, crying out in a voice of hallucination. It didn't take a doctor, or even a healer, to know this girl was dying.
He almost wept then and there. But a small, delicate hand gripped his shoulder, light as wind, and he was reminded of how Rowen hated them to "get all sappy" when he'd been sick. Now, with these young children gathered round this girl, who obviously meant a great deal to them, he really shouldn't cry. Be strong, he heard Zee tele-whisper.
I'm trying, he replied. He placed a hand across the girl's brow and nearly flinched. It was like Zee's leg burns all over again, just not as grotesque. To his surprise, the teenager fell still beneath his hand and seemed to breathe easier. He pulled his hand away. She cried out. He put it back and she quieted again.
Rip looked to be mad as hell. "You're supposed to be a healer, aren't you? So heal Roar!" She noticed his hesitation and quickly took a grasp on both of her ailing friend's hands. "Look, I'll help. You heal some; I'll dissolve her pain and stuff some. Deal?" She didn't wait for an answer, but closed her eyes and began.
Sage glanced at Zee, who was scowling at the way Rip had rushed into this. But she nodded at him with a confident smile, giving him confidence himself. He closed his eyes…
An hour later, Kento and Danji helped a stumbling Rip out of the shack and a little ways away. She was choking, her eyes closed tight, just as Mia had found her in the kitchen the other day. When they were far enough from the shack, Kento pressed the short girl's face into his chest and said, "You can scream now."
Which she did. Thankfully, the glass-shattering banshee-like shriek was muffled by Hardrock's shirt and body this time, so it wasn't nearly as bad. Finally, she was done and, with the 'end-of-the-world' look in her eyes, she let the two young men lead her back to the shack, obviously exhausted. Inside, Kento sat on the floor in a corner of the first room and gathered Rip into his arms, where she promptly fell asleep. Danji sat at the table, absently reading one of the half-ruined books. Having been asked to leave the bedroom, the seven-year-old boy, with the youngest on his hip, sat down with Kento and Rip, settling his baby brother in his lap. The youngest girl came to stand beside Danji. Standing on tiptoe to see the book in his lap, she pointed at a word in the novel and said proudly, "Dawwg," which earned smiles from all waking persons in the room, excepting the baby.
In the bedroom, Sage sat on the floor with Zee between him and the bed of the ill girl. He'd worn himself out enough, in her opinion, and she wouldn't allow him to heal his soul-sister a smidgeon more. Tawny and Gabe sat on the bed, holding their older sister up between them. The teen was still unconscious, her eyes moving rapidly beneath the closed lids, and still looked rather ill, but better nonetheless. Zephyr finally left Sage alone long enough to come to Rip's friend and place a wind-light hand against the girl's brow. She thought of a cool breeze, soft and soothing, and directed the feeling to the skin of the girl beneath her hand. Through her sleep, the patient sighed in relief.
Sage grunted and got to his feet, moving to return to his healing task. Zee immediately shoved him back with all her strength. He stumbled back quite a bit. "That," she said, "is why you will not heal this young woman any more. You can hardly stand up, let alone perform supernatural healing. Understood?"
"Zee, I—"
His girlfriend's expression became angry. "No!" she said, right before she started speaking in Greek.
"Hey, if you're going to be mad at me, at least do it in a language I can understand!"
She halted and sighed. "Of course, now get out of this room right now. But would you please ask Danji to come in?" She reached out and steadied the Warrior and turned him toward the door.
Sage shook his head in amusement as he walked out. Boy, when it came to girls, he sure knew how to pick 'em. He tapped Danji's shoulder. The dark-haired man looked up at him quizzically. "Your turn."
Danji grinned and jumped to his feet, scooping up the little girl who'd been beside him as he went. The three-year-old giggled, holding the book in her hands. She pointed to a word in the book, saying, "What word?"
"Sister," said the doctor, glancing at the text.
"Like Roary!" the child chirped.
"Yes, like your sister." He hoisted her to his shoulders and felt the thump of the book on his head. "Now, be quiet, kiddo. Roary's still sleeping."
"Okay!"
Zee set Danji to using his minimal healing powers on Roary and then hurried to go check on Rip. The dark-skinned girl was still fast asleep in Kento's arms. Kento grinned up at Zephyr. "I think she might have overdone it a bit this time."
"I agree. Well, hopefully she'll learn from this. She must understand that rushing into things will not help to accomplish anything if it debilitates her."
"Oh, jeez. You are Rowen's sister."
Zee just smiled and turned to seat herself in the seat Danji had vacated. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She knew Rowen was nearby; she could feel it in her bones… Strange to think, she had bones now… Where was he?
"Zephyr!"
She didn't even think about it, but she shifted to wind, whipped toward the caller, and rematerialized at their side. "What is it?"
"Shh," reproached Danji. "Listen to her."
On the bed, Roary was softly singing, though she still seemed unconscious. Zee had to lean close to better hear the girl and when she did, Roary's voice was broken by her still-struggling breath. "Don't worry little babies…don't…worry at all…I'll never let harm come to you…and if…I cannot be with…you…only know…all you need is hope…look to the morning…there is light…"
The room fell back into silence.
Zephyr finally sighed and smiled. She met the eyes of everyone in the room. "She's going to be fine. I believe she'll be up and about by morning."
The girl who'd been following Danji around beamed. "Good!" Then she tugged on Danji's hand. "You got'ny candy?"