Creatures of Snow (27 page)

“Honestly…not really.” He
whispered, not wanting his dad to overhear. “I think I’m losing my
mind.”

“Understandable.” Roland
pressed his finger tips together in front of his lips, “You were
hurt again last night?”

“I got stabbed, for real
this time; I know I did, because Sara saw it.” He paused and
inadvertently put his hand to his side, “It’s like it never
happened.”

“
Sara saw it?”

“
Yeah. But, I told her
that maybe it was something you had done to me earlier when you
fixed me up. Is that possible?”

Roland stared at him for a beat, searching
his face. “Perhaps.” He sighed aggressively and looked away.

Sky tensed. “Stop
that.”

“
Stop what?” Roland pulled
out his tablet and pretended to have better things to
do.

“Stop acting like you want
to say something to me, and then never say it. If you know
something, then just tell me.” He scolded as quietly as he
could.

“Well,” Roland found a new
burst of energy and flashed a quick smile at the invitation,
“Scientifically speaking, do you ever find yourself withdrawing
from others, feeling like you don’t quite…belong?”

“Maybe. Isn’t that kinda
how everybody feels?” Sky let his head fall back and closed his
eyes, “I mean…I don’t know, do I seem withdrawn to you?”

“Yes.” Roland’s eyes
drifted away and his voice grew softer, “I suppose I don’t know you
very well and I’ve only seen you in the classroom, but I would say
that yes, you don’t seem to interact very openly with others.”
Roland nodded to himself. “Soulen was like that too, at first.” His
eyes came back to meet Sky’s, his face serious, “Timid would be the
right word I suppose.”

“Before you said you knew
him. Were you friends?” There was a stab of pain in his chest at
the thought of Soul.

“He was my first friend
when I was a child; I was kind of a dork back then.” Roland snorted
a nervous laugh. “We grew apart as we got older.” His face grew
dark for an instant, “I just couldn’t understand him, I
guess.”

“What happened to him?”
Sky couldn’t help the edge of curiosity that crept into his
voice.

Roland’s face dropped into
a dead serious state. “Just when he started to open up, he shut
back down and started hanging around with Con and the other
Powers.”

“And that’s what you think
is gonna happen to me?”

“They aren’t what you
think they are. Con acts like your friend, but he’s not someone you
can depend on.” Roland’s attention was pulled out across the
desert, and a look that could have been guilt, passed over his
face.

“It still doesn’t explain
why I feel fine after being shot, stabbed and hit in the head with
a club.” He trailed off, wondering if he really wanted the
answer.

“No, it doesn’t.” Roland
stared blankly, but Sky could see something going on behind his
eyes. “You’ve lived a rather sheltered life.” He shrugged and
looked away, “I have answers for you, but this isn’t the time or
place.”

His initial reaction was
one of anger, but he pushed it away out of the need to know,
“Please Roland-”

“I already said what I am
willing to say at the moment.” He said sharply, making an attempt
to pick up his pace.

The heat of Sky’s temper
bubbled to the surface and his feet came to a halt on the dry road
in a puff of dust. “Tell me.”

“
No.” Roland almost
laughed the word.

“Tell me now, or
I’ll
make
you
tell me later, and I won’t be so nice.” His threat was empty, but
came out with just enough malice to sound sincere.

Roland stopped and turned,
his back to the others who marched on ahead, the distance between
them growing with every step.

“Fine.” There was fear
behind his eyes; actual fear. It might have been the first bit of
genuine emotion he had shown since they had met.

Roland’s reaction fear
caused a burst of anxiety to rip through Sky’s core.
I wasn’t serious.
“Why
are you afraid?” His voice came out as a horse whisper.

“Because, I’m not stupid.”
Roland snarled, focusing his attention on his tablet. “But, if you
are going to be such a brat about it, then fine.” His attitude had
shifted back to its condescending nature. “I’ll tell
you.”

“Hurry up back there!”
Sara shouted back, they were a good fifty yards ahead
already.

Sky began to walk at her command, but
slowly, not wanting to close the distance just yet.

Roland staggered after him, digging through
his bag and mumbling. “Here it is.” He finally proclaimed and
brought out a narrow halo card. “Here, read this over, and then we
can talk.” He handed the card over smartly.

Sky snatched it from his
hand, turning it over with a sneer, “So You Aren’t Quite Normal.”
He read the illuminated tag line aloud. “Roland, what in the realm
is this?”

“
Keep reading.” He waved
him on, “It doesn’t pertain 100% to your situation, but it’s the
best I can do right now given our circumstance.”

Sky glanced back down at the card, only to
have Roland grab it out of his hands.

“
Actually, you need to put
this on before we proceed any farther.” He handed Sky a small coil
with a seal engraved on its surface. “Put that behind your ear. It
will help block out…” He gestured directly at Lee’s back, “unwanted
attention.”

Sliding the coil in place,
he hesitated taking the card back from Roland.
What is this going to tell me?
He
asked himself, suddenly afraid of the words hovering just beyond
his fingertips.

“You wanted to know, so
here it is.” Roland thrust the card into Sky’s hands, “Just replace
the parts that say,
Haven
race
, with the
eternally damned Fury
.”

Sky’s eyes shot down to
the words before him, “The Halflings Guide to Fitting In.” His feet
again stopped, but the world kept going. Spinning in
fact.

“
You’re not going to read
it, are you?” Roland plucked it from his stiff grasp. “It’s fine.
It’s not the best explanation anyway.”

“
Roland.” Was the only
word that made it out from the whirlwind in his mind.

“In my defense, you
weren’t supposed to start exhibiting signs of your, quote-unquote,
awakening, for some time yet. Getting yourself shot the other day
really expedited the process, and here I am, having to deal with
you in this irrational state in the middle of a desert, totally
unprepared.” He drew a long hand down his face. “So, I do apologize
for the bluntness of my approach. Come on, you must keep walking or
they will start suspecting something is wrong and then this
conversation is over.”

But he couldn’t feel his legs. His whole
body was numb and his head was a million miles up. “What…” He
whispered, but couldn’t finish.

“What does it mean?”
Roland uprooted him from the ground and pushed him forward. “It
means you aren’t human. Not fully anyway. Your father, your
real
father, was a Fury,
which makes you-”

“
But, that’s not a thing.”
Sky mumbled, “I’ve never heard of that.”

“No one has, and, if we
are successful, no one ever will.” Roland placed a light hand on
his shoulder, “It is a very dangerous situation you are in. No one
must know.” He squeezed his hand, ever so slightly, “Nod if you
understand: No one must know.”

He was pretty sure he nodded, at least, he
felt his head move.

“Good.” Roland went on,
“Soul, for now, is protected by the Choir, but as for you, our best
bet is to just keep your true nature hidden as long as we
can.”

Soul.

“Please keep walking, they
keep looking back here.” Roland retracted his hand and started
fiddling with his tablet, “Master Zeph will step in after this
little meeting at the Kane estate, I’m sure he’ll offer a better
explanation, because, like I said, you caught me
unprepared.”

Sky could feel the ground
under his feet, but it had little meaning to him.
I’m the son of a Fury. Is that why…
His stomach released a new rush of acid as the
world abruptly made sense.

“
We have a bit of a walk
ahead of us; I should leave you with your thoughts, let it all sink
in.” Roland adjusted the small bag slung across his shoulder, “I’ll
go on ahead and make sure they leave you be.”

“
Sure.” He managed a
whisper.

“Oh, and Sky,” Roland gave
one last hard look before walking away, “don’t ever threaten me
again.”

Chapter
Twenty-One

“Holy moldy, you look like
a cat just threw you up.” Zeph had greeted them at the gates of the
Kane estate. He slapped Sky on the back and shoved him out of the
way so he could get next to Lee. “My, you are much bigger up
close.” He reached up in an exaggerated fashion to pat Lee on the
shoulder.

Marcus looked absolutely horrified that they
were in his home. His eyes darted between them, but kept landing on
Sky in a fiery abhorrence. “Master Zeph, if I may.” His words came
out like molten lava.

“Nope.” Zeph smiled
absently at him, “I don’t think that you can, General. Captain!” He
shouted as Sara and his dad eased their way into the
courtyard.

Marcus turned sharply to
Octavian, a distinguished man nearing his golden years, with a
thick helmet of salt and pepper hair. “Sir, with all due respect,
we were told that Zeph had arranged for expert consultants to join
us here tonight. Not children.” Marcus snapped.

“Oh, Marcus,” Octavian
laughed in a deep, silky voice, “It’s nice to have real
guests.”

Octavian was a brilliant
man who truly believed in the good of humanity. If ever anyone
would be destined to take down their withering Government and rule
with a kind and noble heart it would be Octavian. Unfortunately it
was that brilliance that had driven him to choose Marcus to lead
his army. Al’s father was vicious, ruthless and knew what it took
to win.

“I’m starving, if that’s
even possible.” Zeph called their attention. “Why are we all
standing here, let’s get inside, shall we?”

“
Yes.” Gruffed Marcus,
“Let’s get this over with. Sonya, you can tell Allen he may join us
if he wishes.”

Out of the corner of his
eye, Sky saw Zeph extend his hand to Sara; she looked as if she
were about to faint. Meeting two Iko’s in one day was a bit much
for anyone. Add to that the fact that this one was the founder of
the Arche Academy, and yeah, if put in Sara’s shoes, he would be
ready to pass out too.

“You’re spunky, that’s a
wonderful trait often lacking in the youth of today.” Zeph had been
saying, shaking her hand much longer than a normal person
would.

“Master, shall we go?”
Roland interjected. He leaned in towards Zeph, and whatever he
whispered brought Zeph’s eyes straight to Sky.

“Very well.” Zeph said
turning, “You kiddos go on ahead. I need to talk to the Captain for
a moment.”

Lee and Roland obliged
immediately, walking off towards the stone structure. Sky only
moved because he saw others doing so, his scattered attention on
Zeph. As Roland passed, Sky latched onto his sleeve, “What is he
going to tell him?” He whispered desperately. “Are you guys going
to send me away?”

“Calm down.” Rolands
hushed voice was stern, “What they need to discuss has nothing to
do with you.” He pulled his arm sharply from Sky, glancing back to
make sure no one saw the brief exchange. “Pull yourself together,
especially here.”

“
Skyden, are you all
right?” Lee turned back.

“Ahh, someone.” Zeph
called to them, “Could someone come get this please?” He laughed
lightly, gesturing to a still ogling Sara that hadn’t left Sky’s
father’s side.

Roland gestured him off.
“Fetch her, Skyden.”

He obeyed without
thinking, drifting back to the Ikos,
Zeph
know’s what I am. Has he known the whole time?
He had so many questions that would go unasked until he got
the Iko alone.

When he got to them, Zeph
successfully avoided his questioning eyes while his dad gently
pushed Sara towards him.

“Come on Sara,” Sky
grabbed her hand, fully expecting to be hit in the face. To his
surprise her eyes grew wide and alert, like she had just been
jolted awake.

She looked at him
quizzically and then back at his dad. Her face again melted into a
dreamy stare, but before it could progress beyond that Sky pulled
her arm until she willingly matched his pace.

“
I feel kinda strange,”
She leant in towards him.

He was shocked she hadn’t
pushed him away yet, and let go of her arm since she seemed to be
walking with him on her own free will. “It will wear off soon
enough.”

“
What?” She asked with a
menacing tone. “What, did you drug me or something? That’s how you
got me here isn’t it? This is totally bizarre, you know that
right.” Finally back to her old self.