Creatures of Snow (29 page)

Soul pulled a large
circular blade from his back and dropped it heavily to the table on
top of the small pool of blood forming at his feet.

“Soul?” Sky screamed but
couldn’t shake the hands that held tight to his arms.

“It’s a Snare!” Al grabbed
a hold of Zeph and actually pulled his own small body in front of
the Iko.

“Who taught you that!?”
Zeph picked Al up and placed him back behind him while backing away
from Soul.

“
It’s not personal.” Con
laughed from the corner. “This is business. Whatever the cost,
right Master Zeph?”

Soul bent down and slowly
picked up his blood drenched weapon.

“
This is a contract?”
Roland screeched. “You can’t do this. The Academy would never have
approved this.”

Sky was as clueless as the
rest of the room and had no idea what he should be doing. Marcus
had backed down from the fight, positioned now in front of Octavian
with Sonya at his side. Sky doubted if either of those two would
come to Al’s aid.

“Soul, stop this.” His dad
moved towards the table but stayed within reach of Roland,
“Whatever this is, it’s not worth it.”

“That’s a Snare, you
idiot!” Zeph yelled to his dad in a panic. “Don’t you young Iko’s
know anything?! A Snare is the only way to forcefully kill
us!”

Sky could feel his face
drop. Kill an Iko. His eyes went to his dad who was the closer
target. But no, Soul’s only focus was Zeph – the only thing that
stood between him and Al.

“If it touches you it’ll
rip out your spirit and soul and ensnare them.” Al pulled Zeph
back, away from Soul.

None of it made sense. “Con? What’s going
on?”

Con’s smile faded momentarily and he looked
over to Sky. “Sorry kid. Like I just said, it’s not personal. You
weren’t supposed to be here.”

Soul dropped a foot back
and lifted the weapon above his head with his wounded arm. But no,
Sky could see no trace of the deep gash that had just marked its
surface.

“
Somebody shoot him!” Sara
yelled and ran towards Marcus.

Lee let go of Sky and
rushed at Sara, thankfully able to catch her. Trying to grab a gun
from Marcus would have only ended in her getting shot.

“
Why are you doing this?”
Zeph’s panic was over and he stood tall and faced Soul. “Why here?
Why now.”

The soft, muffled voice
floated through the room. “They want the boy.”

“But you know what it
means. This goes against everything, everything I’ve ever taught
you.” Zeph pleaded.

It was the strangest thing
though. He had seen Zeph scared before in the hallway at REALM. And
the face he had on now, his voice, his eyes, his stance - He wasn’t
afraid.
Is he part of this?

With a small twist in his
leg Soul took off down the table, running straight at Zeph, weapon
at the ready.

His dad moved from
Roland’s side and stepped in front of Zeph in one quick
motion.

“
Noo!” Sky didn’t think,
he just ran. It happened in one quick blur of time. He had reached
Soul just before he leapt off the end of the table. They crashed to
the ground amongst the shouts and screams of others.

The circular blade was
dislodged from Soul’s grasp as his hand slammed into the stone
floor.

Sky never had a chance to
regain his balance and was thrown backwards. He clamored to his
feet and charged right back at Soul, who was already heading for
his fallen weapon.

Soul easily dodged every
punch and kick Sky managed to throw at him. He didn’t even seem to
be trying.

“You jerk!” Sky screamed
at him. He swung again, harder and faster, but still missed.
He’s fast.
Soul landed a
hit into Sky’s ribs and he felt a snap.
He’s so much stronger.
A rage fired
up from deep inside him.
Because, he’s a
monster too.
Sky bellowed as his next
swing found its mark and collided into the side of Souls
head.

The laugh that rose from
his throat surprised even him, but it was quickly silenced with a
rough hand around his throat and his back being slammed into the
wall.

Black and twinkling stars
began to dance into Sky’s vision as his air began running
out.

“Skyden.” Soul’s voice was
strained behind the mask. “Why. Why are you here?”

“Let him go.” Con’s voice
cut through the darkness.

The grip on his throat
lightened, but didn’t release. He might have been able to pry the
hand away if he tried, but just as he thought it, Soul tightened
his grip.

Con moved from his chair
and walked slowly towards them. No one in the room was moving, no
one but Con. “That’s enough, Soul. Let him go. Don’t push him, he
can’t control it.”

What’s that supposed to
mean?
Sky clenched his jaw, ready to
strike, but then, just like the night, his racing heart began to
slow in his chest and his vision began to blur. The world around
him became fuzzy and light and it was like he could suddenly
understand how it all went together…and how it all came
apart.

“Stop it, Skyden.” Soul’s
voice was stern and grounding.

And then he was simply
gone. Soul, and Con, had disappeared.

Sky dropped to the ground,
unable to feel his body in that moment. Al and his dad ran towards
him, calling his name in silent voices. Sky rubbed at his
throat.
Was that real?

He felt his body being
pulled forward and heard the voice of his dad reverberating into
his head. “What were you thinking?” There was nothing demeaning in
the words, just concern and thankfulness.

“Find them.” Marcus demand
of the newly arrived guards. “They couldn’t have gotten
far.”

“They disappeared.” Sara’s
sarcastic voice cut in. “I’m sure they’re wherever the hell they
want to be.”

A gentle hand was on his back as his vision
came into focus on the deep cracks and pits of the stone floor.
“That was amazing. And really stupid.” Al’s voice laughed beside
him.

“
Beyond stupid!” That was
Sara again, this time much closer. “What were you even
thinking?!”

“Al.” Sky lifted his head,
coming back to himself. “Dad.” He sat up and pushed away to get a
good look around the room. Every one was fine. The room was already
being picked up by servants and guards alike. Marcus, Sonya and
Octavian were nowhere to be seen.

Roland was speaking rapidly in a hushed
voice beside Zeph who was looking dolefully out the window.

Al stood up along with his
dad and, with a heave and a hoe, they pulled Sky to his
feet.

“It was good food.” Sky
nodded to Al. “Can’t say much about the entertainment
though.”

“Really?” Sara scoffed and
turned with a roll of her eyes. “That’s all you have to say. You’re
such an idiot!” She screamed at him with glassy eyes.

“
Sara.” Lee pulled her
back.

“No.” She pulled out of
Lee’s grip, pushed Al out of the way and landed a hard slap onto
the side of Sky’s face.

“To the Haven’s girl!” Al
shouted and pushed her back. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Do you want to die?” Sara
yelled. “There are two Iko’s in this room and you think, hey, I
think
I
should
fight that guy?” She shook her head and stormed away.

“
Sara.” Lee called after
her before turning back to them and standing beside Al. “I
apologize for her.”

“No need.” His dad said
and pulled Sky to his side. “She’s right. That was stupid.” He put
a supportive arm around his shoulder and held him tight, as if he
never meant to let go, “Never do something like that
again.”

“
Why did they do that? Why
did they just leave?” Al asked, mainly just speaking out
loud.

“They were outnumbered and
the Snare failed. They know when to retreat and regroup. I
guarantee you they will be back, but with the whole team.” Roland
stated matter-of-factly.

“
We need to get you kids
out of here.” His dad looked around at them, “Allen, you most of
all.”

Al smiled sadly, “You
really think my father will just let me leave?”

Zeph turned towards them, but kept his post
by the window, “He doesn’t have a choice.”

Chapter
Twenty
-Two

Sky’s hands were still
shaking as he closed his door. He could hear his dad and Zeph
rambling on and on to Zero about what happened, but his night had
already filled its quota of excitement and the last thing he wanted
to do was re live it in the exaggerated fashion of story
telling.

Air escaped slowly from
his lungs as he slid his feet towards his bed. They had brought
them all to his house, Lee, Sara, Al, even Roland. Zero set up
barriers and Zeph placed seals above the doors and assured them
they would all be safe, at least for now.

He lay down, but couldn’t
close his eyes. The vision of Soul’s mask lingered in his mind.
Roland’s words echoed in his head.
You’re
not human.

A noise from the corner of the room had him
sitting up so fast he nearly blacked out as his heart began to
race. He held his breath and searched the shadows. In the corner
where the sound originated he swore he could see the outline of a
figure, topped by a gleaming white mask. His sleepy eyes were
playing tricks. He blinked hard, but the illusion didn’t fade.

He slowly moved his legs
over the side of the bed, never letting his eyes stray. There was
no doubt Soul was there. He could almost feel the energy radiating
from the spot where the shadows made shape.

“Now what?” He was
surprised at how strong his voice sounded despite the fear raging
through his mind and body.

The shadows didn’t move.
Soul had just been standing there, and was now gone.

Sky ran towards the door,
“Da-” was all he could manage to get out before hands latched onto
his arms and pulled him back. The sheer force of the movement
combined with the sudden change in his surrounding was enough to
stop his mind, breath and heart. It was a moment of pure,
uninterrupted nothingness as Sky found himself in a haze of
unformed shapes, where nothing had a beginning or an end. There was
no clear light source, yet everything was illuminated in bright
white while mixing with the darkest black.

The tight grip around his
arms loosened enough for the blood to start flowing back into them
again.

“Where are we?” A shaky
voice came out of him, he tried to turn, but everything was flowing
and changing, he couldn’t find the ground.

The grip around his arms
tightened again. “Keep still.” Soul said calmly. “Just put your
feet down.”

Sky was too enthralled in
the moment to be scared. When he should have felt the floor, he
did. He felt like he was on solid ground, yet at the same time, he
knew there was nothing there.

Soul paced back and forth like a caged
beast, his hands running continuously over the wild mop of dark
hair that covered his head.

Sky wondered if he could
take a step, but didn’t want to make any sudden movements. “What’s
going on, Soul? What have you done?” He said slowly.

Soul didn’t seem as
intimidating as before, it could have been the peaceful flow of the
space around them, or the fact that he seemed to be a complete
nervous wreck, just like he used to be.

Soul stopped when he said
his name, but just stood there with his back to him. “Many
things.”

“What is this place?” Sky
thought it was safe to move and began to stand, “Is this the…Snow?”
It had to be. It was such an epic realization, he didn’t see Soul
turn angrily and step up to him until he was again face to face,
his emerald eyes peering coldly out from behind the stark white
mask.

Sky took his previous
thought back. Soul was still scary; especially when he was
radiating an energy that could peel paint off a wall.

“Why couldn’t you have
just stayed out of things? Why did you apply to Arche? Why were you
there tonight?!” Soul yelled, the air around them reverberated in
visible undulations.

Anger swelled up inside
Sky as he looked at a brother he didn’t recognize. “You. You come
here after four years, attack my friends, attack
me
…” Sky judged the
ground and the distance between them, his hand curling into a
fist.

“Calm down.” Soul spoke
sternly, “Everything we did was to protect you, to protect your
friends.” Soul stepped straight to him, inches away, “You want to
hit me, then hit me, but it won’t change anything. You’re just
wasting time.”

Sky stood up straight and relaxed his hand,
trying to push down every urge he had, “Take off that stupid mask
when you talk to me.”

With a nod, Soul reached
up and pulled off the mask to reveal a face that Sky remembered,
just older and thinner and etched with sadness. “You weren’t
supposed to be there, and we had to do what we did. If Marcus
didn’t see with his own eyes that his son and his precious army
were in danger he would never let Al leave with Master Zeph.
Skyden, your friends are in danger. We were sent here to protect
you – Con, Ellie, Seth and I, even Lee.” Soul shrugged as Sky
flinched at Lee’s name, “Lee was a surprise, even to us. He doesn’t
know that it was the Choirmaster who hired him. He only knows as
much as he’s told you. It was the only way to get close to Al since
the Powers reputation was known by the Taul.”