Creatures of Snow (43 page)

When you’re walking uphill
it’s hard to see the path ahead.
It had
looked like a little bird, colorful with large, soulful eyes. Its
voice had surprised him, not because it was a talking bird, but
because of it’s low and steady tone, as if the little thing was
trying to reassure him.
It may be a hard
climb, but once you’re at the top you can see for miles.

Sky began to make his way
towards the bridge, but it was only with great effort that he found
himself moving in a forward direction. The dead weight of dread
made his steps slow and measured. Two days on a ship in constant
worry had nearly driven him crazy. How many hours had he stared at
the wall, trying to find Zar in his fuzzy thoughts.

His eyes were pulled to
the large windows as he passed through the commons. In the distance
he could see black smoke begin to dance its way up to the
sky.

He stepped onto the
bridge. “I saw smoke.” He heard himself say.

Lee looked him over, probably sensing his
disarray.

“Gah, I hate waiting.”
Sara grumbled as she carefully positioned a sandy colored bandana
over her hair. She looked tough and mean, and ready for
action.

“
They already left?” Sky
looked from Sara to Lee, both of whom avoided his eyes.

“Roland said it was better
if we let you sleep.” Sara shrugged, focused intently at the floor.
She hadn’t spoken to him since they left, and even now, she acted
like it was a chore to do so.

“How long have they been
gone?” He demanded, looking over the dials and controls, none of
which had ever made any sense to him.

“
Too long.” Sara pulled
the lectro club from her bag and strapped it onto her
belt.

“Sara, we were ordered to
stay on the ship.” Lee said. “Please, Sara, listen to
me.”

“Lee how can you just sit
there when you know-” She glanced at Sky and snapped her mouth
shut.

“You can’t avoid telling
him.” Roland said from the corner, looking bored.

Lee nodded and turned
fully to Sky, “The town in overrun by government troops. The little
information we could find has said this occupation has been going
on for some time. It has something to do with the town being under
suspicion for selling metal illegally to rebel
extremists.”

“They almost didn’t let us
land. The only way we got in here is because they thought we were
one of their supply ships.” Sara paced the room like a wild
beast.

Sky shook his head. “Why would they think
that?” He didn’t remember his dad ever delivering to Mye.

“
Because we have a
telepath, and the power of persuasion is an amazing thing.” She
stopped and looked out over the mountainous terrain. “This was a
bad idea.”

He didn’t realize Roland had approached him
until a scanner was shoved in his face and down over his chest and
belly.

“How are you feeling?”
Roland asked, looking over the numbers.

“Kinda groggy, but
otherwise fine.” He shrugged.

Before they had left, Zeph
confirmed what Zar had told him – He was slowly becoming mortal and
he had no immunity to life without the power of the Snow. The small
bit Zar was able to store was fading quickly.

“
Sara, stop!” Lee yelled
as she strode out the door.

“
What good does she think
she could possibly do?” Roland shook his head.

“I will stop her.” Lee
stared after Sara and it wasn’t long before he walked out after
her.

Roland turned to Sky.
“You’re not going after them, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He
snapped his tablet shut and held it to his chest, “You are in no
shape – hey, get back here.”

But Sky was already out the door as well, on
his way after the other two.

“Skyden. That’s not wise.”
Roland shouted after him.

He knew his way around the
ship a million times better then they did and arrived at the main
hatch before them thanks to a shortcut.

“Out of the way.” Sara
wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Sara, please. What good
will this do?” Lee asked gently.

“
Zero and my dad are fully
capable of a recon mission, Sara. They don’t need you.” Sky stood
firmly in front of the hatch release.

“
I can’t just sit here. Al
was an arms length away from me and I just let him go. I could have
stopped him.”

“
You know that is not
true.” Lee reached out to her, only to have his hand batted
away.

“
Stop trying to be a hero.
No one blames you, but you.” Sky crossed his arms, watching her
face morph into a silent rage.

“You blame me. You said it
yourself, right in front of everyone. You blame me for what’s
happened to you.” Her voice was as steady as the winter wind, and
just as cold.

“
I never said that.” In
all truth he didn’t really remember his exact words at all, but he
was certain he wouldn’t have said that.

“It’s what you meant.” She
backed up a step, but still looked ready for a fight. “And it’s
true. I failed to save you twice, and now I’ve failed Al too. I
can’t be worthless – I can’t be!”

“
Stop it.” He yelled, but
in doing so, unleashed a haze of black and sparkling dots before
his eyes. Sara caught him as he stumbled forward.

“
Skyden!” Lee lent a hand
in keeping him upright.

He straightened, thankful
for their support. “I’m okay.”

“
You have quite a fever
Skyden, you should be resting.” Lee had yet to retract his
hand.

He laughed, “Oh, I know. I
feel like someone hit me with a small moon.” It wasn’t his best
idea ever, and against his better judgment he reached out and took
Sara’s hand. “And I’d certainly rest better if I knew you were
safe, and protecting me.”

She stared at him blankly, but he could tell
there was something going on behind those golden eyes.

“
Skyden is right.” Lee
said, “Your talents would be better spent here. With
us.”

Her lip curled in its
usual way and her eyes rolled. “You guys are so lame.” She spun
around, pulling her hand out of Sky’s as she did. “The Captain and
Zero have fifteen minutes to get back here or I’m going after
them.”

Chapter
Thirty-
Four

Al paced around the small
room, unable to see a foot in front of his face. He could hear
others around him, all of them Telic, their energy and wills
deflated.

“What is this? What’s
going on?” He tried asking the darkness, only to get no
answer.

“
Soul!” He shouted. What a
mess. “Soul, please!”

“
Quiet.” Soul’s hushed
voice whispered behind him.

Al jumped, he hadn’t
really expected him to answer. “What is this, what’s going on?” He
whispered back.

“
I apologize for the
delay; I needed time to understand the situation. Then, I had to
wait until there were not any witnesses to disappear. It looks like
this has nothing to do with your mom or the Council. It’s just a
military operation to scare some would-be rebels.”

“Rebels?” The only thing
Al could see was the slightest gleam of white from Soul’s
mask.

Soul placed a hand on Al’s
shoulder. “There are rumors that this town is selling metal to be
used in weapons made by anti-government factions.”

“They would occupy a whole
town just because of some rumors?”
What
would they do if they found out about what’s under my house?
“How many prisoners have they taken?”

Soul’s grip on his shoulder tightened, “All
the Telics in town are being kept in this facility; I would say
there are forty to fifty from the looks of it.”

“
So they are just
imprisoning Telics?” Al asked.

“
No.” Soul whispered. “Let
me show you.”

Al shut his eyes tight and braced for the
Snow. It was a short trip – over before he had realized it had
begun.

“After they knocked you
out, they brought me back here.” Soul’s voice was barely
audible.

The smell hit him before anything else - the
rank stench of waste and death. He peaked open his eyes and found
himself standing in a damp and rotting barn.

Above them the sky could
be seen through the gaps and holes of the roof while below them was
a massive pit, dug down into the muck of the earth.

“
They interrogated me a
bit, and then threw me in with them.”

A noise escaped him as he
saw what the pit was filled with. “Soul,” Al felt the bile rise
into his throat.

Humans, a hundred or more,
filled the pit. Some were alive, some were not, most were in a
stage in between. They were bone thin and covered in filth, men and
women of all ages, the youngest looking not much older than
him.

He couldn’t hold it in, he ran to a corner
of the barn, insects scattering underneath his feet as he gave up
the contents of his stomach onto the dirt.

“A man from the pit that I
spoke with said they pull one of them out each day, ask them to
confess what they have been doing, and when they do not, they
execute them and put them back in the hole.” Soul said softly, but
with a calmness that said it wasn’t the first time he had seen
something so horrific.

“
Why?” He moaned, “Why
don’t they just confess?”

“
There is nothing to
confess. These people, they are all innocent.”

Al shook his head and wiped at his mouth.
“We have to save them.”

“What do you think they
will do to the rest of the town then, Allen?” Soul hadn’t moved
from his spot by the door. “If you act irrationally only more pain
and suffering will follow.”

“We can’t leave it like
this!” He shouted, “Why would you show me this if you did not
intend to help them?”

“What you do from here on
out is your choice. If you wish to save these people I will not
stop you. My choice has already been made for me - I protect the
realm, and so matters such as this can not distract me from finding
the book and keeping it safe from the Man of Mist, do you
understand what I’m saying?”

There voices must have
carried down into the pit, muffled cries of agony and pleas for
help began to rise up from the depth.

“
You go. Go find my mom.
Find the book. But I…”

“I know.” Soul lifted his
mask and looked at Al with a face he remembered, “The
Regan Fortuna
has made
it past the airspace security and will be landing soon. You won’t
have to fight alone. I will come back and help when I
can.”

Al nodded, his fear gone, replaced with
determination.

“Come on,” Soul held out
his hand, “I will take you to the edge of the
mountains.”

He grabbed Soul’s outstretched hand without
hesitation, traveling through the Snow was getting easier each time
he did it – as long as he closed his eyes.

Once he felt solid ground
under his feet he stepped away and looked back at Soul, “Have you
ever done anything like this before?”

“
Like what? Saving the
realm or saving this town?”

“
Either.” Al
shrugged.

Soul gave a small smile and pulled his mask
back down, “All the time.” And then he was gone.

He couldn’t help but roll
his eyes a bit.
Cocky
son-of-a-bitch.
Al released a stream of
his Telic Powers, extending his senses into the world and having
them come back with exactly what he had been hoping to find. His
uncle wasn’t far off, from what he could tell he and the Captain
were already on there way down the mountain, heading straight for
him.

Al raced up the mountain,
letting his Telic nature overtake him. He was faster, more agile
and felt simply unstoppable as the rocks and dirt flew under his
feet. Minutes later he could feel them, Zero and the Captain, they
were just up ahead.

There was no doubt they
must have heard him coming - he took no care in making his
progression quiet since the last thing he wanted to do was to sneak
up on a couple of on-edge Haven beings.

“Hey!” He quietly shouted,
they weren’t visible yet over the next ridge, but he knew they were
there.

The Captain poked his head over first, a
wide smile on his face as he looked down from the rocky edge.

Al wasn’t expecting the
shove in the back that came from Zero, and let out a yelp of
surprise when his uncle pushed him from behind.

“
You are in such trouble.”
His uncle hissed, pushing him again.

“
Quit it, Zero.” The
Captain dropped silently to the ground beside him. “He’s safe,
that’s all that matters.”

“
He’s not safe yet.” His
uncle growled, letting his fangs show a little, “He still has to
deal with me.”

The Captain put an arm around his shoulders,
“Come on, everyone can’t wait to see you.”

Al pulled away gently, not wanting to be
rude, “Captain, uncle, we can’t leave, not yet.”

Zero let out a harsh
laugh. “I’ll carry your scrawny butt if I have to. We’re
leaving.”