Creatures of Snow (31 page)

Sky only caught bits and
parts of Soul’s words, “Zar.”

Soul took him by the
shoulders, almost half a head taller than him now, so far from the
scared little kid Sky remembered, “Convince dad to take everyone to
Rinten’s fortress on Haigon, nowhere will be safer than that. Tell
no one where you are going. Don’t trust anyone outside our family.
Zeph can protect you, but even he must succumb to the Choirmaster
if it comes down to it.”

“How long?” Sky grabbed
onto Soul’s arms, just to stop his own from shaking. “How long do
we hide?”

“Until it’s over.” Soul
nodded, mostly to himself. His grip on Sky’s arms tightened,
“Promise me you will stay there. You will stay on Haigon, you will
keep quiet, you will stay safe.”

“Sure.”

Soul seemed satisfied,
“Good. You will stay there until we tell you otherwise.” he
released him and stepped back, “And Sky, if you see Con or Ellie
and I’m not there…” Soul held a hand out and placed it on Sky’s
chest, “run.”

And with that he shoved
Sky back with a gentle force that took his breath away. He hit the
floor and realized he was back in his room. “Seriously.” He
breathed, wanting to resist the urge to understand what had just
happened.

He sat motionless and
listened to the drumming of his heart inside his head, trying to
get his bearings. Pushing himself off the floor, he stood on
wobbling legs. It was a small miracle that his stumbling steps
actually brought him to his bed. Nausea twisted up and out of his
stomach, but he forced it back down and let his head drop between
his knees.

His dad burst through his
door, “Sky!” he said in a panic, “You yelled.” He scanned the empty
room, relief replacing his alarm.

“Probably just saw a big
bug.” Zeph laughed just behind his dad with Roland peeking in over
his shoulder.

The three walked into his
room, their footsteps loud and heavy on the wooden floor. He
cringed at the sound, and shrank away from the light that came
pouring in from the hallway.

“
There are traces of
energy spikes.” Roland said in a crisp and proper voice as he
scanned the room. “Soul was definitely here.”

His dad turned angrily to
Zeph. “Can anything stop him?”

Zeph shrugged with half a
smile, “A buffet possibly.” Zeph stepped back in case his dad
decided to go against his non-violent ways, “Besides, Skyden’s
fine.” He turned to Sky, “Right, boy-o? You’re okay, right? A
little pasty, but quite frankly you just need to get out
more.”

Sky looked directly to
Zeph, but he had no voice. His mind couldn’t focus and there was a
subtle burning creeping its way back into the core of his being. He
could feel panic building in his mind; he couldn’t go through that
pain again.

“What did he say to you?
Trying to defend himself no doubt. Well, whatever mission those
hooligans think they are on, I can assure you, it was never
sanctioned by the Academy. We don’t support kidnappers.” Roland was
saying. “I knew those Powers were up to no good.” he continued in
his condescending tone, gently pushing his incredibly small
spectacles up his nose.

Sky felt like lunging at
Roland and ripping at his throat. Everything about the boy pissed
him off. His glasses were too small, his hair was too short, his
voice was too high and his face was too arrogant. The frenzy in his
guts soothed the burning in his blood and Sky felt himself tensing,
ready to attack.

“
Easy there boy-o.” Zeph
crouched down in front of him, “You seem a bit on edge.”

The very sight of Zeph’s
face sent a frenzied rush of adrenalin to every cell in Sky’s body.
He didn’t need to think, he just needed to act. His body flung
forward off the bed and his hands clamped around Zeph’s throat.
“It’s your fault!” He was shouting, his own voice strange to his
ears, “It’s your fault I ended up like this, you coward! You were
supposed to protect us!” He was no longer in control, not of his
body, not of his voice. “He’ll kill you, all of you. The Master
will find all those who betrayed us.”

Sky forced himself to let
go of Zeph and threw himself to the opposite side of the room. No
one had yet to react. The moment was frozen in shocked and
horrified faces. His body shook, his heart raced and he couldn’t
seem to catch his breath.

“Zeph,” it was his voice,
his words this time, “help me. Soul took me into the Snow. There
was a Fury there.”

Zeph, an Iko of Healing by
trade, was at his side before he could finish, placing his arms
around him. Sky felt it instantly, the pull of Zeph’s
energy.

“
A Fury?” Roland didn’t
even try to mask his excitement.

His dad was beside them,
but kept his distance at the same time, “What happened? What’s
wrong with him?”

“He was raised by you, for
one thing,” Zeph quipped, still able to avoid any seriousness the
events should have caused. “But, in all reality,” Zeph let his
hands hover over Sky’s chest and head, his face turning down, “A
Fury has marked him.”

“What does that mean?” His
dad’s face twisted in worry.

Zero had slipped in at
some point and stood before Sky, “It means Sky was possessed. He
might have pushed it out, but they always leave something behind –
a link back to the body.” He sneered with a twist of his
lips.

His dad looked down at
Zero, noticing him for the first time, and then back to Zeph, “You
can fix that, right?”

Zeph turned Sky towards him and looked him
in the eye. “Did the Fury have a name?”

Sky blinked, trying to
remember. “Zar.”

Zeph’s face went blank and
he nodded to himself, “Zar.” He smiled in a far off manor. “Yes, he
would hate me, wouldn’t he.”

“Al and Sara, they’re not
safe. Soul, he’s -” Sky bit his tongue. Those weren’t his
words.
Stop it.

The mood in the room plunged into a solemn
state of alarm.

Zeph forced a smile and a
weak laugh, taking his hands back and stepping away, “We won’t let
that happen.” He turned to face Sky’s dad and Zero, “His will is
strong, he should be fine. I can give him a few pointers on how to
control it. Furies are weak creatures unless you give them power.
Feelings like fear and anger feed them, so let’s just try to avoid
them.”

“Control it? You can’t
just take it out?” His dad stepped back and looked between Zero and
Zeph.

“
Oh, Victor, unless you
look kindly upon me trying to rip out part of his soul, no, I don’t
think I want to go messing around with ‘taking it out’.”

His dad’s face twisted
into a mixture of anger and confusion, “This is
permanent?”

Zeph looked hard at him.
“It is.”

“We can’t stay here any
longer.” His dad turned to Zero. “Ready the ship.”

“Aye, Aye.” Zero nodded
and was gone.

“Where do we go?” Haigon
was the most obvious answer, but Sky had to make sure they thought
so too.

“I would think Rinten has
the safest refuge.” Zeph smiled. “Problem solved.”

“Master Zeph,” Roland
began his protest.

“Everyone in that room
tonight might be a target, including you, young apprentice.” Zeph
smiled absently, but the cold beneath his stare brought Roland’s
shoulders down.

“Sky.” His dad put a heavy
hand on his shoulder, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get you to
Rinten, he’ll know what to do.”

“
I’m so sorry.” He chocked
on a sob, but forced himself to straighten and pull it together. He
couldn’t show weakness if the Fury was supposed to feed on
it.

“It’s not your fault. I
should have been here. I should have…” His dad’s jaw clenched and
he stared at the floor, his grip tightening around his
shoulder.

“
It’s time to stop playing
human, Captain.” Zeph whispered back to them, “You are an Iko of
Protection. It’s time to show your boy here who you used to
be.”

His dad nodded a look of
solemn resolve. “Right.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sky had sat on that hill
alone a million times, but for the first time, it felt lonely. The
sun wasn’t quite up, but was certainly on its way if the yellow and
orange tint to the sky had any say in it. He hadn’t slept at all.
Every time he closed his eyes he saw that wide smile and those cold
blue eyes staring out of the darkness.

The ship was being loaded
behind him; Zeph had insisted that he lie down and rest while they
handled it.

Are you there?
He asked inside his own head. But, there was no
answer.
Soul’s such a jerk.
Giving me a Fury that doesn’t even
listen.

I serve your father, not
you,
Zar finally answered.
But, I will keep you safe.

It was a bit jarring how
clear the voice sounded – like it wasn’t in his head at all, but
spoken into the open air.
Why did you say
that to them? About Soul?
He thought to
Zar.
Now they’ll never trust
him.

A deep, shaking laughter
rang out through his head,
As if they
would ever trust him anyway. There is no place in the living hearts
for creatures such as us.

Creatures such as you.
We’re not like you.
Sky shifted
uncomfortably on the dry grass.

Just because you have a
body that can survive out here, doesn’t make you any less one of
us. You’ll see that soon enough.

“Are ya dead? Skyden, snap
to it.” Al’s voice called out to him.

Sky blinked hard and sat
up, a rush of dizziness threatened at the base of his skull, but
never followed through.

“Come on.” Al reached a
hand out and pulled him to his feet. “You feeling okay?”

“
I’m never going stop
hearing that question, am I?” He laughed, having only been asked it
every five minutes since coming back from the Snow. “I’m fine.” He
smiled and stood up to his usual slouching height.

“This thing is gigantic.”
Sara backed away from the ship to take it all in. “Sky never
mentioned his dad owned a ship. I might have liked him sooner if I
would have known.”

“Did you hear that – she
said she liked me.” Sky chided, nudging Al in the side.

“
I did not!” Sara spun
around immediately, a look of horror stretched across her
face.

“
Can’t take it back, we
both heard it.” Al laughed beside him.

Sara snarled, but he could
see the glint of humor behind her bitter features.

Ahhh, the banter of
clueless youth, enjoy it while you can.
Zar cackled into his mind.
Just
remember, if the Councilmen are looking for them, they will find
them. Those that aren’t useful will be slaughtered, those that are,
well, their fate is even worse.

“All aboard!” His dad
shouted from on top of the ramp.

“
They won’t find us.” Sky
muttered under his breath, trailing behind Al.

“They’ll be sorry if they
do.” Al cut in. “Cuz then they’ll have to deal with this.” Al
flexed his scrawny arms.

Sky had to laugh – he
couldn’t help it.

“Holy moldy, was that a
smile?” Zeph popped out of nowhere when they reached the top of the
ramp. “Haven’t seen that in a while.” he pulled them both inside
and slapped the button to close the main hatch. His dad and Zero
had already disappeared, on their way to the bridge.

“Everybody’s in, Master
Zeph.” Roland reported, as if keeping track of four kids was a big
deal.

“
Wonderful.” Zeph clapped
his hands together, “Allen, be so kind as to escort this lot to the
commons, Sky, if I may have a word with you.”

Sky’s stomach twisted.
“Sure.”

Once the others were out
of ear shot Zeph’s generally calm face turned cold, “Behave
yourself you worthless little fiend. If you dare hurt any of these
children-”

“Zeph, it’s just me.” Sky
hoped his lecture was aimed at Zar.

“Oh, but he can hear me,”
A cruel smile spread over his face, “He’s always listening. I don’t
know what lies you fed Soul, but whatever you are planning won’t
work. These boys aren’t your playthings.” Zeph stepped closer and
grabbed his face roughly, “These boys will destroy you
and
your precious
master, or I will.”

“
Try.” Sky didn’t mean to
say it.

Zeph’s hard face melted into one of false
kindness, “Apologies young Skyden. I told you I would help you
control him, and then I call him out.”

“I won’t trust him Master
Zeph, don’t worry about that. Even Soul said I shouldn’t. The fiend
himself told me he won’t obey me.”

“Master Zeph? No need for
you to call me that.” There was a touch of what could have been
actual sincerity in his voice, “We’re family.”

It was the first time Zeph
had ever said anything like that to him. “Sorry.” He didn’t know
what else to say to that. “So, what happens now? How are we going
to keep them safe?”