Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (12 page)

“Blankey?” came Blin’s voice, the only sound Mink hated worse than his infamous nickname. “Who would have thought it was you tearing off like that?” Blin looked down at Mink and stood on his chest. “Come here, everyone! It’s Blankey! He was using Quick Legs! I think he found his Element.”

Blin was probably thinking real hard about what he could do to Mink that would be as painful as it was embarassing. Only this time, Mink didn’t have Dreh around to cancel Blin’s effects. He did still have the Regenerative Cells effect. At least until it, and the Quick Legs effect, were canceled. If Blin was here, that meant Thoy would be close. And Thoy was a Spirit user.

“Unless,” Blin sneered in a low voice, “mommy’s the one who did this to you.”

M
INK STRUGGLED
enough to satisfy Blin’s ego, but hesitated to break free. As a twisted benefit to a decade of bullying, Mink knew him better than Blin probably knew himself. Blin wanted to be strong, not fast. Lightning wasn’t the best Element for demonstrating strength.

Blin spent an unhealthy amount of time dedicated to working out and picking on the only one on Georra who didn’t have an Element. To further overcompensate, he kept up an impressive training regimen in his Elemental use. Blin had a light olive skin tone, fair by even feminine standards. Everything about him, from his over-spiked macho hair to his six-buckle boots and matching jacket, screamed insecurity. Nyam’s Tunnel Vision effect brought all of these details uncomfortably close.

Mink didn’t have time to be a punching bag today. All that boost bar had made him very antsy, too. Diverting from his course had turned out to be a huge mistake. Only a matter of time before Thoy would cancel Nyam’s effects and leave Mink not only helpless at the hands of Blin, but also incapable of completing his task of informing the High Council.

Twisting onto his side, Mink tried to stand up in the direction of Blin’s weight bearing leg. Quick Legs sent both of them into a tumble over some yards of grass. There was no telling how much of a toll the fall took on Blin, but thanks to Regenerative Cells, Mink only got dirty. Concerned that the Soil might weaken his mother’s effects, he set his mind to avoiding going to the ground anymore.

Mink rolled to his belly and stood up properly. He scanned the Lightning wall of the school beyond the glow of the Lightning Imbued stone pillars, to find Thoy with his unmistakable bowl-cut and big glasses, hobbling closer. He was followed by Boun, a long-haired Fire user, and some other guy wearing clothes two sizes too big. Thoy was overwieght and slow, but he only needed his sight to perform effects. Mink saw with Tunnel Vision that Thoy was chanting, although he was too far away to hear what effect he intended to use.

The shock of being rolled wore off of Blin and he sprang to his feet, running straight for Mink as he chanted in the speed-talking manner of a Lightning user,

“I move on a bolt of Lightning.

It carries my feet in a flash.

My legs control the direction.

The Lightning goes where they so choose.

Contained, nothing electrified.

My foot touches to end the bolt.

All Lightning adds to my speed.

Hasten my movement when I point.”

Mink couldn’t take the chance that Thoy’s chant would target him and cancel Nyam’s effects. He had to interrupt the chant before Blin could stop him with Flash Feet. He sprinted straight for Thoy, who gave out a yelp. The thundercrack of Blin’s Flash Feet came to Mink’s right just a step before he would have reached Thoy. Quickly changing direction to his left, back to the open Air section of the yard, Mink felt the wind of Blin’s arm narrowly missing a punch.

Thoy’s chant was interrupted this time, but he would surely start over and now Mink was forced to run away from him. Blin zig-zagged enough from Mink’s left and right to disorient his sense of which side the thundercrack was coming from. Given that Blin had seven years of Flash Feet training and Mink was essentially self-taught for fourteen hours following his mother’s crash course, he was woefully outclassed. He hadn’t tried reversing direction before, but this was the perfect time to try.

The thundercrack pattern was random, but never less than two on the left. Keeping up with Blin using Tunnel Vision would send Mink into cartwheels, so he had to rely on his hearing. Immediately after the first thundercrack to his left, Mink set the side of his foot in front of him and spun his hips to step behind. The g-force wrung his organs queasily, but they recovered before he made his next step. He caught a glimpse of Blin’s shocked expression as he darted by on his way to Thoy, who stood about fifty yards from the Enervated pillars. Mink knew he could reach him in three seconds.

Thoy was chanting again, flanked by Boun and his friend. Blin didn’t have any trouble adjusting to Mink’s new direction, and Mink wished for a moment that his mom had thought to chase him as part of his training. Evading proved to be more difficult than chasing. Thoy stepped behind the other two for protection as he chanted, recognizing that Mink was headed back his way. Time was about as short as Blin’s temper.

Clearly the faster runner, Blin criss-crossed in front of Mink while hitting, kicking, and generally herding him off his path to Thoy. Mink avoided Blin by keeping up his speed and randomly altering his stride and direction. After a couple of long seconds, Mink was finally a sprint-stride away from Thoy. If he zoomed past Thoy by just a few inches, he could be sure to interrupt his chant.

Mink aimed for the side Boun stood on, since Boun being a Fire user could only strengthen the effects put on Mink. He had no idea about the new bully’s Elemental affinity. Whether Boun flinched, or Mink’s aim was off, or both, didn’t matter. Mink slammed hard into Boun before knocking Thoy flat. Sliding on his face and shoulders for several feet before he was able to get his legs down, Mink heard Thoy scream over the thundercrack of Blin’s approaching Flash Feet.

“I have bad knees, you rotting puppet!” Thoy rolled on the ground, howling. It would be a while before he could chant again.

Blin shot every which way in such a small area that he was able to surround Mink with a disorienting and deafening roll of thunder. Every time he tried to stand, Blin knocked him down. Looking over while he was on his back, Mink watched Thoy’s friend tend to him. This must’ve made him an Air user, which meant he couldn’t heal injuries very well, just aid in strength, energy, and pain management. Mink must have hit Thoy pretty hard to cause that much whimpering.

Mink kept trying to stand, but not because he thought he could. He knew keeping Blin on this task would buy him a little more time to think. The stomps and kicks didn’t hurt long. Meanwhile, he kept an eye on Thoy to avoid being disoriented by the thundercracks. Boun and the other guy couldn’t Attack Mink for fear they might Attack Blin, too. Their Elements drew power from Blin’s, so anything they did would hurt Blin many times more than Mink could hope to achieve.

Blin didn’t have to worry about hitting the other two, because his Element would only give them more strength and power. However, his Attacks would hurt Thoy. Mink needed to find a way to get to Dreh. If he was close enough to Thoy, he’d have time to catch his bearings and make a break in the direction of Dreh’s neighborhood through the fence opposite the Fire wall of the school. The Eternal Flames would light the way, if Mink could find them.

After Blin struck Mink from Thoy’s direction, Mink used Quick Legs to scoot and roll on his side toward Thoy. He took advantage of the resulting bounce to set his feet under him. Stepping toward Thoy, Mink stopped hard against Blin. He had become slower from all the knocks to the ground after all. Blin stopped him from falling backward by grabbing his neck with one hand. Then he chanted,

“I bring Lightning into this world.

My power makes it manifest.

Newly formed flowing from my palms.

I can mold its shape with my hand.

My Lightning provides energy.

By my intention be defined.

My creation ends with a fist.

Create Lightning upon my point.”

Mink listened helplessly and struggled to breathe as Blin chanted Charge, the Lightning Materialization effect. Blin poked the finger of his free hand right against Mink’s chest. Lightning rushed into Mink’s Body from both of Blin’s hands. Even as any damage caused healed immediately, the constant flow of electricity was unbearable. Boun and the Air user each took one of Mink’s hands, drawing greedily from the excess Lightning, and adding to their strength.

M
INK WRITHED
in agony. Blin bent him backwards, trying to get him on the ground. Muscles stiffened by the electrocution and constant state of healing held Mink in an awkward arch. Boun and the Air user stretched out his arms and helped push him down. The pain was all Mink could think about.

In a desperate attempt to free himself, Mink kicked Blin off of him, momentarily forgetting all about the Quick Legs effect. Both of them shot through the Air in opposite directions. It happened so fast, Mink thought it was something one of the bullies had done. Blessedly pain free, he looked back down. All eyes were on Blin.