A Measure of Disorder (18 page)

Jenni groaned in frustration. “I can’t do it!”

She had been making excellent progress in the past few days. She could reshape portions of herself much easier and even make them stay with minimal effort. The next step Ba’ize wanted her to try was to transform into things bigger or smaller than herself.

The theory, as Ba’ize had explained it, was that Jenni had a certain amount of stuff — she remembered Ms. Pap using the term “mass” — and her mass couldn’t be destroyed, but it could be altered. So if, for instance, she wanted to change into a mouse, she couldn’t just get rid of the extra mass, but she could change it into, say, air, that remained connected to herself.

It had taken a lot of time and concentration, but she had begun to get the hang of it and could make herself much smaller by displacing an amount of her mass into the air around her. She had even made herself into a presentable copy of Crank one day that had fooled Ba’ize momentarily. Jenni had been proud of herself for that one.

Becoming something bigger, with more mass than she had, was, in theory, the same only in reverse. Ba’ize had said she should be able to pull mass from things around her and temporarily add it to herself to form something larger. The problem was that it
felt
different to Jenni. The air and such that she “created” when she got smaller still felt like
her
, and she could manipulate it. Other things outside herself didn’t feel the same way and she just couldn’t figure out how to reach out and change them.

When she created wings, she pulled the mass from her own body. To change into an elephant, however, with its full weight and strength, was beyond her.

“Let’s take a break,” Ba’ize offered.

“You’re disappointed in me,” Jenni said dejectedly.

“Not at all,” Ba’ize replied. “If anything I am disappointed in myself. I do not have the experience necessary to teach you more about your ability. I know only from ancient texts what I’ve described is possible, but they don’t explain how it is done.”

Jenni sighed and let her gaze wander outside. Some large clouds were gathering and it looked like they were in for a storm later. Crank was off running errands for Ba’ize and Jenni hoped he could finish before the storm arrived. Just then, Rodrin rose up into the room.

“Excuse me, sir,” he apologized, “but I have a couple of people you two should probably see.”

Ba’ize nodded to Rodrin. “Of course, please bring them up.”

Rodrin lowered himself down and returned shortly with a small
Nomenstrastenai
girl, and a tiny flying
Faerstrastenai
that immediately sped over to Jenni and landed on her shoulder, hugging her neck.

“Oh, Jenni! I’m so glad to see you!” the
Faerstrastenai
said in a soft voice that sounded familiar.

Jenni let the hug continue for a few seconds, then offered her hand to step onto so she could see the
Faerstrastenai
face to face. She apologized and buzzed to Jenni’s hand. Jenni thought first of Rachael, but her features and hair were different.

“Deena!” Jenni exclaimed. “Oh my gosh! I wish I could hug you back!”

Deena laughed. “Me too!”

“Deena, this is Ba’ize. He’s the Mayor of
Seren’naie
.”

Deena performed a curtsey midair and Ba’ize smiled. “A pleasure to meet you Deena,” he said. “And who has come along with you?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Deena ushered the girl forward. “This is Feeder, she’s from Crank’s village.”

The girl sniffled and bowed to both Ba’ize and Jenni. As she straightened, Jenni saw tears in her eyes. She had blonde hair, like Crank, and wore a simple tan dress, typical of her people, but it was soiled and torn. She also looked incredibly tired. Jenni then recalled this was the girl she had seen tending the tamed birds in the village while they were there.

Jenni looked back to Deena. “What’s happened? How did you get here?”

Deena proceeded to tell the story of the transformations of Mrs. Minch, Mike, and Scott and the subsequent attack on the village. The
Gobinstratstorai
had arrived and camped around the village for two or three days, then somehow managed to destroy the defense mechanism that protected the
Nomenstrastenai
. Deena and Feeder had been able to slip out during the battle and hide. The next day when they had seen the devastation of the village, the two had decided to follow the trail of Ms. Pap and the class, and make their way to
Seren’naie
,
not knowing where else to go.

Feeder began to cry and Jenni sat on the floor, holding her. Ba’ize sat in a chair, trying to make sense of their story.

A few minutes later, Crank arrived back from his errands, and the painful tale was relayed to him. Feeder ran to him and Crank absently comforted her while he sat in shock at the realization that his mother and father were dead.

“It’s all our fault,” Jenni said later. “If we weren’t here, none of this would have happened.”

Ba’ize shook his head. “Many events are unfolding that none of us can control Jenni. You must remember that. The attack on their village was no more your fault than those storm clouds outside. The only thing we can do is pick up the pieces and help those that we can.”

Jenni nodded, though still saddened by this turn of events. Crank’s people had helped them, and even though they had turned the rest of them out, the village had nursed Deena and the others back to health — only to be set upon by the same enemies that had chased Jenni and the others to the forest. Jenni understood what Ba’ize had said, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible for what had happened.

Rodrin offered to find the newcomers quarters, but Feeder refused to leave Crank’s side, so Jenni decided the two of them should stay with her and Crank for the time being. They ate dinner in the apartment while a thunderstorm raged outside, and Jenni told Deena the story of all that had happened since they had parted ways.

Crank had finally gotten the distraught Feeder to sleep in his bed, and he brought a blanket into the living area and sat on one of the chairs. His eyes were red from crying.

Jenni moved over next to him and sat on the floor. She took his hand and held it. “Are you going to be okay?”

Crank nodded slowly. “All the time I’ve been gone, I never thought about going back. But, now that everyone is gone, going back is all I can think about.”

Jenni hugged him then and said, “I miss my mom and dad so much. I’ve been so busy training and practicing I haven’t had much time to think about home … but it’s hard. I don’t know if I’ll ever see them again.”

Crank returned her hug and they sat quietly together. Deena came over and kissed each of them lightly on the cheek and said her good nights. Lightning flashed occasionally through the crystal doorway leading to their balcony. The rain had let up, but thunder continued to crash.

Jenni squeezed Crank one last time and stood up. She picked up her MP3 player and clipped it to her waist, thinking maybe some music would help her sleep and forget.

As she crossed the room to her door, lightning flashed blindingly outside on the balcony, accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder. Jenni held her head in her hands and fell to the floor. Her ears rang and she tried to blink the flash spots from her eyes.

Crank staggered over to check on her. Jenni nodded to him, but if he said something, she didn’t hear it. She looked up and, outside on the balcony railing, a single flame blazed in a small pit created by the lightning strike.

Feeder came into the room, frightened awake by the noise, and Crank went to see if she was all right. Deena flew to her as well after seeing Jenni was okay. Once most of the spots were gone from Jenni’s vision, she got up and walked to the crystal doors. Opening them, she was met with a gust of wind and spattering of raindrops.

Stone chips littered the floor of the balcony and were sharp on her bare feet. She bent down to pull one from her foot when the small flame leapt the distance from the railing, straight to the MP3 player at her hip. Jenni yelped in surprise.

“Jenni, what’s wrong?” Crank shouted from inside.

The flame was gone and Jenni hadn’t felt any pain. “Nothing,” she called back. “I’m okay, just got startled.”

Jenni brushed another chip from her foot and stepped back inside, closing the door. She turned on her MP3 player and put a bud to her ear. She thumbed the dial to select a song and was rewarded with a burst of static.

“Perfect,” Jenni said in disgust and reached up to pull out the bud when she heard a voice through the static.

“Jenni! Can you hear me?” It was hard to make out through all the white noise, but it sounded female.

Jenni looked around the room before answering. “Yes,” she said. “I can hear you.”

The others looked at her from the couch questioningly.

Jenni shrugged and the voice continued. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought I’d never find you! This is Teresa Osorio, Marco’s mom.”

Jenni’s heart skipped a beat and she stammered. “Mrs. Osorio! How?”

Crank’s eyes lit up and he ran over to Jenni. She handed him the other earbud so he could listen too.

“It’s a long story,” they heard amidst the static. “I’m so glad this works so I can talk to you! I’ve been so lonely and worried about all of you — is Marco okay?”

“Yes, yes, he’s fine. He and Carrie are living in the
Elvorstrastenai
section of the city. We haven’t seen them for a while but I’m sure they’re fine.”

“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that,” Mrs. Osorio said. “How long has it been?”

Jenni was puzzled. “You mean since we saw you? Um, at least a month I think, maybe more, I’ve kind of lost track of the days.”

“That long?” she said through the crackle of interference. “This has all been so strange.”

Mrs. Osorio did her best to explain what had happened to her since the battle outside the forest. She didn’t understand much of it, and she saw the world differently as a fire spirit. Time passed in fits and starts for her.

She had existed for a time in the fires burning the prairie grass after she’d driven the
Gobinstratstorai
back from the forest. It took her a while to come to grips with what she was. The fires were dying out, and she wasn’t sure what to do when a storm passed overhead and she rode a stroke of lightning into the sky.

She drifted for a long time then, living in the electricity of the storm clouds. She met a few more
festri’i
, but they were difficult to communicate with — their attention spans were extremely short and they didn’t stay in one place long.

Eventually, she got her bearings and then jumped from cloud to cloud, storm to storm, in search of
Seren’naie
. Once her storm arrived, the concentration of electronics in Jenni and Crank’s apartment had drawn her attention and she had directed a bolt at their balcony.

“I’m so sorry if I scared you,” Mrs. Osorio apologized.

Jenni laughed. “It’s okay, we’re happy to have you back. And I’m sure Marco will be thrilled too.” Jenni looked outside and saw the storm had passed and starlight dominated the sky. “Can you wait ‘til morning for us to find him?” Jenni asked.

Another burst of static blended with laughter from Mrs. Osorio. “I’ve waited this long, I suppose one more night won’t matter … but please, don’t turn off your player.”

Jenni smiled. “No way! I wouldn’t want to risk losing you again.”

Jenni’s eyes drooped and she suddenly felt very tired. Her excitement from the storm and the events of the day faded. She yawned a good night to the others and made her way to her room and sleep.

They located Marco and Carrie the next morning, with Rodrin’s help, and reunited mother and son.

Jenni could tell Marco was conflicted. While he was overjoyed his mother was here and alive, not having someone to hold was frustrating. It was like talking on the phone with a loved one but never seeing them in person.

Jenni and Crank also relayed Deena’s story of Carrie’s mother and the others they left in Crank’s village. Deena had guessed Mrs. Minch, Mike, and Scott had survived the attack, but they had not seen any sign of the three when they made a quick investigation of the village the next morning.

Carrie didn’t seem troubled by the news, but Jenni knew Carrie was good at hiding her feelings. Mrs. Minch wasn’t the nicest person, but she was still Carrie’s mother, and Jenni was sure the news affected her.

They sat at the conference table in Ba’ize’s office, snacking on bread, fruit and cheese. Deena and Feeder had stayed behind in the apartment to catch up on their rest. Mrs. Osorio, still in Jenni’s MP3 player, was placed on the table, and they had connected a set of small speakers that still functioned after their episode in the river.

Marco and Carrie had been getting training of their own over the past few weeks. Marco’s aptitude with animals proved true, and he had been learning how to work with the herd animals that grazed outside the city. Carrie’s musical talents were discovered as well, and she had worked with several instructors, learning some local instruments. They both appeared vibrant and happy with their new lives. Mrs. Osorio told both of them how proud she was.

Jenni turned to see Rodrin on the lift, accompanied by Denny. Jenni waved and Denny gave them a big smile back.

“Well, this is turning out to be quite the reunion!” Jenni laughed.

“Hello, Mrs. Osorio,” Denny said as he climbed into one of the chairs. “I’m happy to, well … see you again.” He laughed.

“And you, Denny,” she replied. “Are you doing well?”

Denny nodded. “Pretty good, being so short is still frustrating sometimes, but I’ve learned so much since I got here!”

“I’m very happy for you!”

“Rodrin told me you were here,” Denny continued, “and I’m hoping you can help us with something.”

“Of course, what is it?” Mrs. Osorio asked.

“We had a
venti’i
, an air spirit, show up a couple of days ago and I think it wants to talk to us, but we can’t figure out how. Neither Matt, nor Charles or Bonnie, can talk to air or fire spirits. When Rodrin told me about you being inside Jenni’s MP3 player, I thought we might try it.”

“You want me to talk to it?” Mrs. Osorio offered.

Denny nodded again. “Yes, if you can. Earth and water can communicate, so I’m hoping that fire and air can.” Denny looked around the room. “I tried to get it to follow me, but I’m not sure if it got the message.”

Silence followed for a few seconds, then a short burst of static sounded from the speakers, “Yes, it … she, rather, is here.” Mrs. Osorio paused. “It’s Lori!”

Stunned silence was followed by a jumble of voices. They laughed and settled down to listen to Lori’s story, as translated by Mrs. Osorio.

Lori told of her group’s flight from the forest on Brandon’s back, and her subsequent imprisonment, along with Zoe and Mr. Kain. She wasn’t fed for the next few days. Mogritas evidently knew what she and Zoe would turn into, and had wanted speed up the process. Although torturous, it had worked, and she had found herself waking one day to the realization that she no longer had a body.

She spent the next several agonizing days figuring out what she was and what she could do, all alone in her stone cell. The edges around the door were sealed and her window was filled with crystal, rather than stone bars like the others. Trapped, she spent a long time despairing about her condition.

Lori found herself able to communicate intermittently with Zoe, but because of the thick stone walls, or just their lack of ability, they couldn’t convey much information to each other.

Lori had watched and listened also as Mr. Kain had been interrogated by Mogritas several times. The sessions lasted sometimes for hours, with Mogritas asking the same questions over and over. He was very interested in Earth and how they had arrived. Mogritas seemed to think Mr. Kain had something to do with their arrival on Mother. Mr. Kain, of course, had no idea, but it didn’t stop Mogritas from asking the questions.

Then, some time later, Alisha had come to the dungeon with Will, wanting to see what had happened to Lori and Zoe. Lori told Jenni and the others of her desperate attempts to make herself known, only to meet with utter failure. Mr. Kain had woken up and argued with Alisha, trying to get her to understand the true nature of Brandon’s “benefactor.” Then, Mogritas had arrived and, after a brief discussion, had escorted Alisha away. It was the last Lori had seen any of them.

Days passed and Mr. Kain had started talking — mostly to himself, but sometimes to Lori and Zoe. He spoke of different ways they might escape. He talked about the properties of solids, stone in particular. He said that most stone was porous to some extent, and if water could eventually pass through, then so could air. Lori had all but given up, but she decided since all she had was time, she may as well give it a try.

Lori lost track of time as she probed the stone walls of her cell for the slightest imperfections and inconsistencies. Finally, she managed to push enough of the air from her cell out into the hallway that she could slip out. She had never felt so free! She stopped to spend a few minutes with Zoe, but hadn’t seen a way to break her free. Then she did her best to thank Mr. Kain — he did notice the breeze of her passage and smiled. Then she sped out of the fortress.

She wandered air currents and clouds for quite a while, unsure of where to go. Then she spotted a large group of
Gobinstratstorai
, heading south along the edge of the forest. She flew closer and saw they were Mogritas’s guards, and were carrying many weapons and supplies. After eavesdropping on conversations among the soldiers, she discovered they were headed for
Seren’naie
. Following the path they planned to take, along the edges of
Lodir’naie
, first south, then west, she had arrived a couple of days before.

Lori had wandered the city for a time, then found the workshop where Denny and the other
Nomenstrastenai
were working with other elemental spirits. It had taken some effort to get their attention, but Denny had finally noticed her, and they had tried to communicate.

She’d started to lose hope after Matt, Charles and Bonnie had been unable to understand her and vice versa. Then Rodrin had arrived this morning with the news of Mrs. Osorio. Lori was ecstatic to be able, finally, to talk to someone!

Ba’ize had come down from his quarters midway through Lori’s story and had listened with rapt attention. He frowned when she had described Mogritas’s army of guards marching south and had sent Rodrin away on an errand and had bade Lori to continue.

“Jenni,” Mrs. Osorio’s voice crackled over the speakers, “Lori also says she is sorry for the way she treated you and Sara in the past. She sees now that Alisha is just a stuck up princess and not worthy of her friendship.”

Jenni felt tears well up in her eyes and tried to will them away. “It’s okay, Lori. I can’t imagine the torture you’ve been through the past few weeks … being locked up like that with no one to talk to. No one deserves to be treated like that.”

Jenni felt a breeze around her face and she smiled.

“What are we going to do?” Marco asked.

They looked at each other, searching for ideas.

“I don’t know,” Jenni said to break the silence, “but we need to do something. Mr. Kain and Zoe are still there as prisoners. We have to help them.”

“We’re just kids,” Carrie said. “What can we do?”

“Nonsense!” Ba’ize interrupted. “I see a group of capable young people who are going to be part of some big changes in this world.”

Carrie blushed at the praise and Jenni looked to Ba’ize for help. “Still, Mogritas’s castle is a long ways away, and we don’t know how to get in, or where Mr. Kain is … “ Jenni trailed off, despairing of their situation.

Ba’ize held up a hand. “First of all, you have someone here who can guide you, if she’s willing to help.”

Mrs. Osorio said, “Lori says she can lead you back there … and it looks like I’ll be going too.”

“Why, Mom?” Marco asked.

“Well, from what I’ve heard, I’m the only way you’ll be able to communicate with Lori. And, I come with my own carrying case,” she joked.

They all had a laugh and then Rodrin returned with two others on the lift. Jenni squealed on seeing Sara and ran to give her a hug. Sara was accompanied by Captain Herina. She stepped to Ba’ize and crossed her arms over her chest in salute.

“Reporting as requested, Your Honor,” Captain Herina said somberly.

Ba’ize nodded. “Thank you, Captain. We have a couple of matters to bring to your attention. First, we’ve just received a report of an army headed our way from Mogritas’s keep. Have you heard anything from our scouts that would confirm this?”

Captain Herina’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “No, Your Honor. I’ll look into it immediately. Do you happen to know the current whereabouts of this army?”

Ba’ize spoke to the air around them. “Lori, would you be able to show us on a map where they might be?”

The speakers on the table popped. “Yes, she thinks she can,” Mrs. Osorio answered.

“What manner of magic is this, Your Honor?”

Ba’ize smiled. “Elemental spirits, Captain. Our new friends are proving to be full of surprises.” He turned to his aide. “Rodrin, would you be so kind as to bring us a map of southern
Lodir’naie
?”

Rodrin nodded and took the lift down.

“Our other concern is a rescue mission we could use your expertise in planning,” Ba’ize said.

The captain’s eyes registered surprise again. “Of course, Your Honor, anything I can do to help.”

“How quickly can you mobilize the guard force if the city is threatened?” Ba’ize asked her.

“The guard can be fully mustered in less than two hours, Your Honor. We drill on that regularly.”

“Excellent,” Ba’ize said. “We should have much more warning than that, but it’s good to know you are prepared.”

Rodrin returned with a couple of rolled parchments under one arm. He passed them to Ba’ize, who checked the ends, then spread one out on the table. The map was artfully drawn, with
Seren’naie
and the
Baer’naie
river on the left side, and the southern edge of the forest across the middle. Jenni saw a mountain range inscribed on the far right.

Ba’ize placed a finger on
Seren’naie
. “I’ll move my finger slowly east on the map. Just say something when I’m close to where you think the army is.”

He dragged his finger along the southern edge of the forest and crossed another river marked near the center of the map. Shortly before he reached the eastern mountain range, Mrs. Osorio spoke. “Stop. Move back slightly. Good. That’s her best guess.”

Ba’ize looked to Captain Herina, who nodded. “I’ll have the
Faerstrastenai
scouts check the area as soon as we’re finished here, Your Honor. But it will take two or three days for them to report back.”

“Thank you, Captain. As you know, we have an important Council meeting in a few days; it would be most helpful to have some information before then.”

“Of course, Your Honor.” Captain Herina indicated the map. “If they are indeed in that area, we should have two weeks, maybe more, before they reach the city.”

“Very good,” Ba’ize replied. “Now, to our other problem. We have also learned that Mogritas is holding at least two of our friends’ compatriots prisoner in his fortress. We would like to attempt a rescue. What suggestions would you have?”

Captain Herina sighed. “That won’t be easy, Your Honor. His castle was constructed before
Seren’naie
, and is thought to be impregnable, as I’m sure you are aware.”

Ba’ize nodded. “Please continue.”

“Well, it was built high up on a cliff face and is unapproachable from the ground. I would assume there are tunnels allowing access from the mountain below, but you might search around for weeks and still never find them. The only way I can think of to get in undetected would be by air, at night. Even then, it would be risky. The team would have to be very small and well trained.” She shook her head. “We have a few rocs trained in troop transport, but they can only carry one at a time and without armor.”

“Rocs?” Jenni asked. “What are those?”

Ba’ize answered, “Very large eagles. Some are big enough to carry a grown
Gobinstratstorai
or
Saromstrastenai
.”

Captain Herina nodded. “Yes, and I have a couple of guards I could recommend for such a duty, but, frankly, Your Honor, I will need them here to prepare a defense of the city if this approaching army intends to attack.”

“Yes, Captain,” Ba’ize agreed. “I wouldn’t want to pull any of your forces away from the city for this mission. Your observations of the situation have confirmed my own and I appreciate your advice. I’ll leave you to your preparations and please keep me posted on the findings of your scouts.”

Captain Herina saluted. “Of course, Your Honor.” She glanced at Sara and the two turned to go.

“Ah, Captain, one more thing. If you wouldn’t mind leaving your assistant here for a while, I’ll send her back with any other information we might uncover in our discussions.”

The captain inclined her head. “Certainly, Your Honor.” Then she turned and rode the lift down and out of view.

“It sounds kinda hopeless,” Jenni said with a frown.

“Not necessarily,” Ba’ize said with a finger to his lips in thought. “Jenni, I think it’s time to show your friends what we’ve been working on.”

Jenni looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Ba’ize nodded. “Events seem to be moving quickly, now is the time for action rather than caution,” he said with a smile.

Everyone’s eyes were on her, waiting. Jenni calmed herself and took off her light jacket. They had cut and hemmed holes in the back of her shirt to keep from destroying too many garments. She concentrated and made the necessary adjustments in her body.