Awakening the Mare (Fall of Man Book 1) (16 page)

My first swing through the Savage sliced
through horizontally and with such a force, he divided in half. His
torso flew into the air, and as I cut upward I easily sliced
straight up and through his head.

There was no blood, only a thump as the
remains dropped to the ground.

The sun took over from that point and he
began to sizzle and smoke.

“Excellent, excellent job!” Davis hugged me.
“Didn't I tell you it was a weapon?”

“It’s a stick, but I see what you did,” I
said. “I needed a focus point. Like the cassette, the stick is my
focus.”

“Piece of cake, huh?” Davis asked.

I looked down to the stick still in my hand.
My heart was racing, I was slightly out of breath, and still a
little frightened. “No. Not at all. But…” I inhaled, “with
practice, it will be.”

It was the most physical training I had ever
received. For three days straight my life consisted of waking,
tending the fields for Marie, then off with Davis to train. I was
able run and do other physical training with the others, but for
hand to hand combat I was strictly trained with the Savages. I
wanted to be with the soldiers, however, Davis stated that until I
was one hundred percent in control of my ability, he couldn’t take
a chance of me engaging in fake combat only to make it real against
someone who wasn’t my enemy.

I understood.

I went from battling one to fighting two. The
sunlight was on my side, it slowed them a little. My true test
would come when I was placed in the street to patrol.

It was something I was anxious about yet
looked forward to.

After several days, Davis thought I was ready
and told me to get some rest. I wasn’t used to sleeping in the
afternoon because it was too hot. However, I fell asleep fast and
hard. I had no intention of projecting and even placed that in my
mind.

It was a dead sleep that began without a
dream. Until I smelled the flowers.

“Vala.”

I went from complete darkness and nothing to
bright sunlight and vivid colors. The feeling of being awake in a
dream state hit me. Where was I? How did I get there without
purposely transporting?

The sound of trickling water was behind me
and then Iry stepped through a huge wall of flower filled vines. He
smiled and handed me a flower.

“Take it,” he said.

“Why?”

“Just take it. So I can find you.”

“I didn’t come to you,” I said as I took the
flower.

“No, I brought you here.”

“Then why do I need the flower?”

“So I can find you outside of your sleep
world.”

“I’m in Angeles City, you know this. I’m not
hard to find.”

“How are you, Vala?” Iry asked. “I can’t tell
in this state. You look the same.”

“I’m good. Where am I? Is this some sort of
Iry plane of existence?”

Iry laughed. “You picked up the human
sarcasm.”

“I’ve always had it, I just never really knew
how to use it.” I looked around. The grass was maintained, behind
me was a small manmade waterfall. “Where am I?”

“This is my garden. My home.” He reached for
my hand.

I pulled back.

“I won’t hurt you. I promise. Remember, I
told you, in this state we are limited to what your subconscious
will allow.” His hand touched mine.

His fingers weren’t cold like they were in
Akana, they were warm and soft and slipped over my hand, gripping
me gently. I stared down at our joined hands.

“It’s all right. I promise. Come.” He led me
down a small path where thick green bushes reached out to us. We
emerged to a large yard and in the short distance a house. No, it
was more than a house. I think they were called mansions. Behind
it, in the distance, the skyline of shiny buildings loomed.

“Is this your home?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.”

People moved about, tending to his
property.

“Why did you bring me here?”

He stopped walking, turned with an exhale and
faced me. “Well, I was hoping to entice you. This is where you need
to be, Vala.”

“To be your blood slave?”

Iry laughed. “No. It’s more than that with
you, Vala. It really is. You are more than that. You are a Mare.
You are special. You’re special to me.”

I pulled me hand from his. “I can’t be
that.”

“Look around, Vala. Luxuries for you. A life
for you, your mother, and your sister. No struggles, no worries.
All the conveniences of modern man. The things that you only saw
remains of in Angeles City. Vala...” With a sneaky smile he said,
“…the air inside is cool. Very cool.”

“No. This is not enticing. You only want to
pull my blood, put it in tubes like Nito is doing to my
mother.”

His demeanor changed abruptly, his cocky and
arrogant smile vanishing instantly. “What are you talking
about?”

“Like you don’t know,” I said with disbelief.
“My mother is giving her blood to Nito for gold.”

“I did not know this. Are you sure?”

I “Maybe not. Maybe it was a dream.”

Iry genuinely looked disturbed by what I told
him. “Vala, I need you to trust me.”

“I can’t, Iry, I can’t. You’re one of
them.”

“I’m more than just one of them. I’ll show
you. Go back to sleep.” He lifted his hand and snapped his
finger.

Everything went black until I woke up to the
sound of the wind-up alarm clock. I believed it to be just a dream
until I looked down and looked at the flower in my hand.

There was one custom I was glad I embraced,
and that was wearing a shirt with no sleeves. The weather was hot
and sticky and it seemed as if any dirt and dust stuck to my body
and the perspiration was the adhesive.

Marie packed me a sack meal for later, and
with that, and my magic stick strapped to my back, I headed toward
the meeting place.

I had one other thing with me... the flower.
I kept it with me during my meal and wanted to show Davis.

Sergeant Barrows was waiting by the
transport. There were several of us coming from Lyons Estates. He
said to call him ‘Sarge’ and that he was our platoon leader.

“Is Davis on the bus?” I asked Sarge.

“Davis is busy. Can I help you?”

“No, I need to speak to Davis.”

“I’ll tell him. You need to get on, we have
two more stops and I have to get you assigned.”

Davis was the leader and surely he wasn’t
going to be around me all the time, I understood that. I spotted
Tanner as soon as I got on the bus.

“Hey,” Tanner called out brightly. “Sit
here.” He patted the seat next to him.

I took the first seat behind the driver.

The drive into the city was short and we
stopped two more times to pick up more soldiers. I hoped to see
Davis, but it didn’t look as if that was going to happen until
after my patrol shift.

Sarge was pretty good about telling me what
my duties entailed. I had a two block radius in which I would ‘walk
a beat’. He said it could be quiet or all hell could break lose. It
never was the same day to day, and the Savages were only
predictable during the first night of the full moon.

I would not be in the same place twice. One
night in the city, the next I could be walking Lyons Estates.
Everyone rotated.

The bus dropped us off a good two block
walking distance from our destination.

I didn’t know where to go, and was told since
I was new, I would be put with someone quite versed in patrolling.
Unfortunately, that was Tanner.

I still had not processed why I was so mad at
him.

Tanner was upbeat and oblivious as we walked
to our destination. I remained quiet. We really didn’t do anything
until the sun went down. I couldn’t figure out how we would see
anything when it was dark. Maybe my eyes would adjust.

“What do we do?” I asked. “Just walk up and
down?”

“That’s it. If you see one lurking, shoot it.
More than likely if they come they’ll attack. Usually four to five
at a time. But I have had nights where I didn’t see a single
Savage. Who knows? You may scare them away.”

“Hmm,” I grumbled.

“Okay, what gives?”

“What? Gives who what?”

“Stop. I know you know better now.”

“Know better?” I laughed. “I knew
before.”

“You know what I mean. Why do you hate
me?”

“I don’t hate you,” I said. “That is a strong
word.”

“You act like you do,” Tanner said. “I mean,
we were getting along really well. You told me jokes, we
talked.”

“That was before I went into the bunker and
you didn’t come. You said you’d come.”

“Oh my God! No matter where you are from, a
female is a female.”

I stopped walking. “What does that mean?”

“Chicks get mad so easily. I wasn’t
allowed
to visit you there. Davis told me, all right? I
wanted to but he said no.”

“Fine.”

“Good. Can we be friends again?”

“We weren’t friends before.”

“Aw, man, you hurt my feelings. We were. You
clung to me.”

I gasped. “I didn’t
cling
to you!”

“Yes, you did. You always wanted me around.
It made me feel good.”

“Not good enough,” I mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

I exhaled. “I decided after watching many
episodes that you are mean.”

“I am not.”

“Please. Yes you are. You make fun of me.
Mock me,” I said.

“You were funny because you had it all
wrong.”

“No.” I poked him in the chest. “
You
had it all wrong.”

“No I didn’t. You spoke funny. Took things
literally. Used complicated words.”

“You cheated.”

He laughed out loud. “What!’

“Cheated. You were lazy in speaking. And
because I chose not to be lazy I was labeled weird. To be accepted
I had to adapt and be lazy or be weird.”

“Yeah.”

“Not yeah. I wasn’t lazy, I spoke
properly.”

“You spoke weird.”

“No…
you
... spoke weird. Gimme,
gotcha, kinda, wanna wow. What is that? Not to mention, cool,
awesome, and every person is a man.”

“That’s pretty much the way it is,” Tanner
said in his defense. “It’s the right way to talk.”

“You think that, but it’s wrong.” I argued.
“What is the oldest book known to man?”

“The Bible.”

Smugly, I smiled. “I speak like they do. Or
did. So it wasn’t wrong.”

Tanner growled. “Okay, can we call a truce?
We’re patrol buddies. We have to have each other’s back.”

“I’ll have your back. Truce.”

“Friends again.”

“No.”

“What the…” Before Tanner could finish his
sentence, surprising us both, a Savage Sybaris dropped down to the
street in front of me.

Neither of us was ready. Tanner reached for
his bow and I grabbed behind me for my stick.

The Savage lunged for Tanner and I swung
out.

The stick broke and only mildly annoyed the
Savage. What had happened to my training abilities? I tried again
and nothing happened. I could only deduct that my argument with
Tanner had consumed my mind and my focus. Frustrated, and in my
final attempt, forgoing magic and ability, I thrust the broken
stick into the throat of the Savage.

Another dropped down from the sky. An arrow
sailed into his head.

With a turn of my body there was another. One
went for Tanner the other lunged toward me. I had no weapon, only
my fist, and I struck out as hard as I could. My fist sunk into his
blackened flesh, through his chest and my fingers clenched his
cold, still beating heart.

I retracted my hand with force, ripping out
the heart. The Savage Sybaris fell to the ground and the cold blood
pumped over my fingers. I tossed the organ.

Before I could comprehend what was happening,
more surrounded us. Too many.

It was raining Savages.

Tanner was wearing a whistle around his neck.
He brought it to his mouth and blew as he launched his arrows.

I was defenseless. I had nothing tangible to
defend myself with, only my being. Drawing myself into the right
frame of mind, I concentrated on my hands and focused on delivering
whatever I could with them.

As Tanner fought, so did I. Only I fought
differently.

Feeling as if I pulled from all the energy my
soul, I screamed a battle cry and palmed out my hand in the
direction of a Sybaris.

An unseen force struck it and it exploded
like the one on the beach. A splash of his remains fell at my feet.
I spun to my right and tossed out my hand to the next. He erupted
as well.

That was all it took. The Savages began to
flee.

No,
I thought. “
No.
” I filled
with rage. How was I supposed to fight and defeat them if they ran
away? That wasn’t beating them, it was only making them
scatter.

“They’re leaving,” Tanner said, lowering his
bow.

I could taste the outrage on my tongue. I
wanted to prove myself, I wanted to be a protector. With wrath
raging inside of me, I covered my ears and screamed.

What had happened?

The ground rumbled and windows that weren’t
already broken shattered simultaneously. Glass not only poured from
the sky, but so did Savage blood. Black and tarlike, it plopped
down, filling the night air with a foul stench.

I had not even understood what all I had
caused and was still processing it when Tanner wrapped his arms
around me and pulled me out of the way.

“Watch out!” he said, pulling me back under
cover.

It was not until we were under the safety of
an awning that I knew why.

It was a downpour of Savage body parts.
Limbs, heads, torsos, and legs all dropped down. Remains of dozens,
if not hundreds, of them.

Tanner had blown his whistle for assistance,
and by the time the other soldiers arrived, Tanner and I were
standing in the silent aftermath of our bloody battle.