Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (14 page)

“That’s not fair, man. I have to get to Protallus City for national security. Not an option. If you have to resort to petty blackmail, I’m wasting my time.”

“I only ask for one teensy-weensy favor.” Dreh skillfully tossed and spun the thornball in the Air. He knew he had won.

“I need you and your sled. That’s my fastest option now. You’re extorting me.”

“You didn’t say the magic word,” Dreh taunted.

“Fine. I’ll go.” Mink already started thinking of a way to get out of the party. Maybe Uncle Durren could detain him for questioning or something.

“Okay. Wanna swing by your house and get your stuff?”

“Nah. There isn’t enough time. Besides, Blin’s friends might be waiting for me there.”

“Not Blin?” Dreh clarified.

Mink didn’t want to admit to himself, let alone Dreh, what he had done to Blin. He almost hoped Blin made it out okay. However, if he were alive, their next meeting would be nightmarish. Mink needed Dreh’s protection. Staying by his friend’s side made the most sense, even if that meant placating him and going to some stupid party.

“No. Blin won’t be there,” Mink said without elaborating.

“Let’s get going then.” Dreh sprang into motion.

Dreh put on his jacket and stuffed the pockets with a few essentials before they went back downstairs. Mink had reacclimated to his natural sight and gait, but would’ve liked to keep the Regenerative Cells for all the soreness he felt going down the stairs. It occurred to him that Pulti could easily heal his legs, but there just wasn’t any time to spare.

“Yathi!” Dreh yelled from the middle of the house.

“What?” his sister’s voice sounded muffled by a couple of walls at least.

“Tell mom when she gets back that I went to the Capitol!”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t be here to tell her myself!”

“Why are you going?”

“I’m starting a petition to lower the legal working age to twelve! You better start thinking about what—”

“Fine! Whatever!” Yathi cut him off. A prolonged silence followed. “Is Mink with you?”

“No! He’s at Rift Ridge!” Dreh lifted a finger to his lips. Mink didn’t betray Dreh’s ruse, but signaled that it was past time to go.

“Then who were you talking to?”

“Myself!”

“Did you throw up on something?”

“Are you going to tell mom, or not?”

“I already said I would!”

They hurried to the garage where Dreh’s sled was parked. The way he had painted it red, black, and silver, made the sled appear to be assembled from several parts. On the contrary, Mink had watched Dreh make it from one solid piece of Materialized Wood. It had two seats in tandem, high-backed with grips for each occupant, and a sloping nose in front that resembled a beak. The four runners underneath were sleek, road-only style lengths of Wood, specifically tuned for speed.

“By the way,” Dreh said, mounting the driver’s seat. “You’re buying the food.”

Dreh passed Mink a helmet which he securely fastened, tucking in his hair. Dreh made final preparations for depature, using one hand for his helmet and the other to pull a couple of thumbless gloves out of a compartment between the handlebars. Mink mounted the seat while Dreh pulled on the gloves. Then Dreh chanted the Sledding effect for Wood users’ Movement,

“I ride upon a sled of Wood.

The sled and my power are one.

My thumbs steer and control the speed.

The runners under the sled glide.

Thumbs up, forward. Thumbs left and right.

My sled won’t move without my thumbs.

I feed off Soil and Water.

My sled and I move when I reach.”

As soon as Dreh grabbed the handlebars in front of him, his thumbs sank into them, becoming Wood themselves.

D
REH EASED
the sled out of the garage, down the driveway, and accelerated along the residential roads. Either he had been ticketed in the past couple of days, or was trying to catch Mink off guard before zipping off. The neighborhood roads were made of natural Soil which contained rocks, shells, and glass that could damage the runners. Materialized Soil was expensive due to its purity and higher density, which made it almost exclusively used on the main roads. There was an audible difference between the pops and cracks of natural Soil roads and the shushing sound of the highways.

Mink braced himself as they approached the on-ramp for the main road, lest Dreh inject a large amount of his energy into the sled in an oft-attempted move to throw him. A Body user’s medic cart rushed by with a sense of urgency. The Body user pulled the cart with such speed that, by the time Mink turned back to look, it had already disappeared in the direction of the school. The sled lurched forward, almost spilling Mink onto the road. Dreh threw his head back and laughed. Mink settled back in, grabbed the handles more tightly, and then laughed himself.

Compared to his Quick Legs experience, Mink decided it really was much nicer to be the passenger. He was able to lean back and take in the sights passively. Dreh moved to the left a couple of lanes, then doubled the speed. The sled hugged down close to the road.

“Did you do something different to your sled?” Mink wasn’t sure if he could be understood in the muffling wind.

He could barely make out Dreh’s voice through his helmet, leaning forward a bit to make sure he heard him right. “I think I finally found the right amount of mud for the runners. I’m getting a big boost to the effect without any extra weight to slow it down.”

“What kind of mud are you using?”

“Top of the line stuff. Both natural Elements Purified with apostrophication.”

“That’s awesome. Your dad paying for that?”

Dreh snorted. “Ya think? The only drawback is the mud dries out after four hours. We’ll need to stop regularly for application, but the extra speed should more than make up for it.”

Mink was impressed by Dreh’s ingenuity and resourcefulness. Mud made the perfect enhancement for Wood effects. A mixture of Soil and Water, both augmenting Elements for Wood. True, the boost lessened as the mud dried, but as the only Element augmented by two others, it held a huge advantage for the user.

“Is this the top speed then?”

Dreh shot a sly look over his shoulder by way of an answer, then pressed the sled to a frightning speed. There was no way Mink could have traveled this fast with Quick Legs and he doubted even his mom could have kept up. After a few seconds of showing off, Dreh backed the speed down to a cruising pace. Mink was glad he had come to Dreh.

“I’ll buy you all the mud you need if it gets us to Protallus City before breakfast.”

“Thanks, champ. You’re the best!”

Mink leaned back into his seat and watched the towns come and go along their route to the Capitol. Octernal shone with particular beauty to him today, though he didn’t usually consider himself a patriotic person. Yes, his dad worked for the government and his uncle was an elected official. Although it was hardly the first time Mink had been a courrier of sensitive information, now he was more or less going to be in the government’s employ. It connected him in ways that he had yet to experience.

Elementalists went about their day, commuting, contributing, and generally enjoying their lives. Everything seemed peaceful and happy. That any peril should loom over this land felt wrong and out of place. Securely stowed in his thigh pocket, a satchel held a singular crystal encoded with a classified message revealing the probable existence of a Tear of God. With it came the promise of a new era of enlightenment and progress, as long as the Machinists didn’t get it first.

Given this time to decompress and reflect, Mink felt immensely honored to be the one to deliver the crystal. For the first time in a long time, he sensed that he belonged among his people. Considering that a few billion Elementalists lived throughout this vast country, how could he be the only one without an Element? It didn’t seem fair. It was certainly a ridiculous fate to be the one to discover the supposed Tear of God.

Mink delighted in the fact that he now got to share the journey with his best friend. The comraderie and levity made for a much improved state than sprinting on his own in a boost bar induced fervor. Mink traveled this route to the Capitol very regularly, but rarely without his family. It gave him reason to feel grown up and mometarily forget that he still had a couple of classes with five and six-year olds.

Around four-thirty of the second clock, just before midday, they crossed the border of Floth into the Rhocke Prefecture, Mink’s favorite leg of the journey. None of the Flothian architecture back home related to Water, despite Floth being the God of Water. The road maps of Floth resembled rivers and streams from an arial view, but the buildings were traditional octagonal shapes. The more interesting ones looked like eight-sided crystal clusters, jaunting angles radiating from a common base, and panels polished to glint in the sun.

The typical Flothian shades of green dividing sprawls of suburbia transitioned to the vibrant Rhockeine hills of the spice farms. Each ranch went to great lengths to impress passersby, or rather potential customers, by painting landscapes with brightly colored leaves and flowers that danced in the breeze. Every season became a new work of art, particularly during the blooming season of Roysive.

They decided to stop for a late lunch and mud application in Albus, the principle city of Rhocke. Nyam almost never stopped until she reached the Protallus Prefecture town where she grew up, so an authentic Rhockeine meal was a rare treat. Dreh pulled into a Wood Spa and got a recommendation for a local favorite eatery. They walked out their leg cramps, musing over the anti-corner architecture of the city. Every building, including the city’s towers, had been rounded to avoid any flat surfaces or edges. As such, this area paid greater homage to Water with flowing lines and wave-like entrances. Yet, Mink couldn’t decide if it was the look he yearned for in Floth.

“You sure you got this?” Dreh checked once they reached the restaurant.

“Absolutely. It’s what my dad would want.”

“Ah. Nice to know I’m getting some of my tax dollars back.”

The lunch was exquisite. Mink could never find anything so richly fragrant and deliciously sour back home. Heavy with portions of reptilian meat and steamed vegetable stalks, neither of them could finish their portions, but they kept trying. Once the waitress offered dessert, they gladly exchanged their plates for a crispy, warm cake made with sautéed fruit peelings and topped with cultured heavy cream. They left with full bellies for about the price of a drink in Floth.

Conversely, Mink underestimated how expensive the superior quality mud would be, and it more than made up for the cheap food. Natural Water was hard to come by on Georra and became more costly closer to farmland. As they headed back onto the main road, Mink hoped his dad would understand about financing this trip. Mink was supposed to be on his own with no need for mud. There wasn’t much he could do about that now.

Mink was slightly disappointed that the mud application they got in Albus lasted all the way through the Atriarb Prefecture. All of the Atriarban cities had been built away from national roads. From a distance they looked like pale forests. It had been nearly eight years since Mink had seen them up close. Most of the buildings were made to look like fat trees. All they really got to see up close of Atriarb were the backs of the industrial districts. Mink daydreamed about living in an Atriarban house where he got to crawl through a branch to go to his room, and look out through a matrix of leaf-shaped shade panels.