Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (19 page)

Maybe she always looked like this at parties, he wouldn’t know. It was quite a change from her usual low-key look. He made a mental note of pointing this out to Dreh.

“Took you long enough, Dreh. I’ve been bored for hours.” Pulti carried two bottles of nutty and was in the process of extending one to Dreh when she stooped and squinted at Mink draped over his friend. “Well send a pie to my family! Is that really Mink? Are you really Mink?”

“Hey, Pulti. Am I glad to see you! I could use a little Recovery effect.” Mink separated himself from Dreh and gave her a hug.

“Sorry, Mink. I’m a bit too tipsy to do a proper chant right now,” she confessed. “Besides. Sleep deprivation kickstarts your buzz.” Pulti and Dreh even thought alike. Mink knew they would be perfect together. “Aren’t you out of the country, playing Animalist or something with your parents?”

“Dad stuff. I had to cut the camping trip short.”

Dreh took over. “What’s going on inside? Did we miss anything?”

The trio made their way to the house. It was all one level but huge, with a large central octagon flanked by two smaller ones. “It’s just getting started. All the lame and tame is over with. Pirk loves the shoes you made her, by the way. I want a pair for my birthday, hint, hint. What took you so long? Something wrong with your sled?”

“Never! My sled is strong, woman. Nah, we left Protallus City late this morning. I cut a couple hours off my time by only making two stops.”

“How did you wind up all the way out there?”

“Long story.” Mink left it at that. Under the glow crystal by the door, he got a much better view of Pulti. He wanted to compliment her, or at least let her know he noticed the change, but he was too tired to think of anything to say. Seeing her all done up struck Mink with a disturbing realization. “Oh no! Of all the rot.”

“What’s wrong?” Pulti asked, startled.

“I’ve been wearing the same clothes for four days now! I can’t go into the party like this! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”

Dreh and Pulti just about fell over laughing. Pulti had to set her bottle on the porch so she wouldn’t spill. Mink laughed a little, but he was really upset about being in a crowd of strangers with dirt, snags, sweat, and Blin’s scorch marks all over him.

“You look fine, Mink.” Pulti straightened, but she still had the giggles. She smoothed his hair and tucked it behind his ears, all the while with a goofy grin. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m sorry, champ.” Dreh managed to stop laughing. “I thought about getting you some clothes while I was waiting for you, but I forgot. It’s my fault.”

“I’m not going to know anyone in there anyway. They’ll probably assume I’m another one of your rotting cousins. Thirty minutes, then I’m going back to sleep.”

Dreh opened the door. Pulti and Mink followed him inside. The entryway to the house was empty except for a couple broad-leafed plants rooted down in wide dirt plots recessed into the floor. A Soil user’s residence, most likely. The sounds of live music, talking, and laughter came from the back of the house. Mink hoped there would be dark nutty left somewhere as they made their way toward the noise. Lest someone Eavesdrop on his thoughts, Mink had to make special effort not to think too much about his parents, or the quest would be compromised. Dreh really shouldn’t have brought him here, but explaining why would be self-defeating. Better not to think about it at all.

The parlor was standing room only, with every surface in use. There were a good many of Pirk’s older adult relatives, but mostly the place was filled with young adults their age and younger. Mink barely recognized anyone, only able to take them in as one collective. The noise lessened as they walked through. This was usually when people started zinging him with random effects. Random was probably the wrong word, since the real effect they were after was laughter.

This was no small family birthday party. A set of open doors revealed that most of the party was taking place in the backyard. If this was a good night, Mink could make it through the room and outside, avoiding any pranks. Pulti must have sensed his uneasiness, judging by the way she took his arm and pulled him along.

“Let’s go, Mink. We’re not little kids anymore. No one’s going to try anything.” Then she leaned close to Mink’s face and her tone reminded him of his mother’s. “If they do, I’ll pound them.”

M
INK HAD
just crossed the threshold to the backyard when a loud crack and brilliant flash of light startled him. He didn’t feel anything. To the left, he saw Dreh with an outstretched hand between him and a quickly approaching Blin. Whatever effect Blin tried, Dreh would cancel it.

When Blin got closer, Mink checked for any tell-tale signs of extensive damage that he might have caused yesterday, such as Materialized Body. Only Blin’s hands and face were visable. Half of his left hand looked dullish, wrinkle free, and darker than his normal skin tone. Mink could hardly believe that Materialized skin was actually darker than Blin’s natural tone.

“Uh, what’s he doing here?” Mink questioned.

“Boun and Pirk are friends,” Dreh said dryly. “They go to the same school now. Boun must’ve brought him.”

“You wanna finish what you started, Blankey? Come on!” Blin howled, closing the distance fast.

Pulti gave Mink a wide-eyed quizzical look, but he couldn’t pull his attention away from Blin’s left hand long enough to return her gaze.

“This isn’t the place or time, Blin.” Dreh tried reasoning with him, which Mink figured was more for show in front of the crowd.

“Then you pick it, Twiggy. I’ll go through you if I have to.”

Being opposing Elemental types, Blin and Dreh could not use effects against each other. Still, they’d had multiple physical fights, the majority of which Blin had won. Dreh started chanting in the Wood user’s low and soft rhythm.

“Power of Wood is mine to give.

Durability is my gift.

The living can withstand impact.

The devices resist damage.

The objects cannot be broken.

The Wood does not make it Wooden.

I may use Wood from Atriarb.

Imbue Wood as soon as I reach.”

Dreh turned back toward Mink and reached out his hand, placing on him the Wood users’ Imbuing effect, Turgidity. At once Mink’s Body felt tight and creaky, but nothing he couldn’t handle. This was Dreh’s favorite effect to use on Mink for protection. If anyone physically attacked him, it wouldn’t hurt. And if Blin tried to use an Attack effect on him, it would only cancel the Turgidity, which Dreh would re-effect before Blin could make a second Attack.

Boun had worked his way behind Dreh, speaking out a raspy sounding Fire user’s chant, but Pulti was on him instantly. Mink hadn’t heard her utter a chant, and even remembered her saying she was incapable. She had been quiet, so neither Mink nor Boun could be sure. Pulti reached a finger out to touch Boun, who broke off his chant to concentrate on dodging. Body users like Pulti could hurt Fire users like Boun worse than anyone, and he wasn’t about to take any chances. Nutty spilling from the bottle she still held, Pulti pursued Boun with her outstretched hand, acting like she was about to implement an effect Mink doubted she ever began.

Pirk emerged from the crowd and into view with a furious energy. Now Mink remembered having seen her at Dreh’s house before, but had figured she was a sister. She stomped her foot in the way of a Soil user’s implementation. Everyone recoiled, expecting some form of Soil effect, but nothing happened. She defnitely had her guests’ attention. Surprising that a little girl robed in silks and crowned with flowers could instantly command so much authority.

“Boun! Control your friend or take him home.” Pirk’s ultimatum seemed to carry some serious weight with Boun.

He walked up behind Blin and snapped his fingers, a Fire user’s implementation. Blin flinched, yet no effect followed. “Let’s cool it.” Boun put a hand on Blin’s shoulder. Mink rolled his eyes at the trite play on words referring to a Fire user’s Elemental use taking the heat out of things. Elementalists often psyched people out with chantless implementations. Mink was rotten sure he could never pull it off.

“This is your warning, Blankey. I will find you when your boyfriend’s not around, and hurt you so bad your mommy won’t be able to fix it.”

Mink couldn’t let the crowd see him cower under Blin’s threats. “I don’t need Dreh, or an Element against you, Sparkle.”

The nickname that Mink had spontaneously thought up circulated through the crowd in hushed voices. Blin shook his head and pretended it didn’t bother him. Mink really had felt bad about hurting Blin enough yesterday to cause half of his hand to be replaced, and yet relished having his public retaliation fizzled out. Mink knew that Blin had only brought it on himself, but looking into his eyes, he knew payback would not be pleasant.

Thoy appeared, weaving his way to Blin’s side. They whispered amongst themselves, shooting Mink looks that conveyed a combination of disappointment, frustration, and pity. Being a Spirit user like Mink’s dad, Thoy had most likely maintained a distance while keeping Mink in his sight, using the Eavesdropping effect on him. Mink caught himself worrying for a split second that his parents’ mission might have been found out, and promptly supressed the thought with concern over Blin’s attitude. Then Boun and Thoy turned Blin away and the three of them walked off across the backyard.

“Come on,” Dreh led Mink in the opposite direction. “It’s over. Now it’s time to show you a little game I just came up with.”

Pirk hurried up to Dreh, tackling him. “Dreh! Thank you so much for the shoes! Look, look, look.” Pirk showed off the woven Wood wrapping her feet against a thick cork sole. The way Dreh had strapped the Wood over the feet allowed for full movement while staying securely on. “I’ve decided to forgive you for being so late.”

“Well, lucky me. You remember Mink, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen you before,” Pirk said squarely to Mink’s face. “What was that all about?”

Dreh answered for Mink, but Pirk kept her gaze locked on him. “Those guys always pick on Mink because he doesn’t know his Element yet.”

“Sparkle,” Pirk giggled, breaking her attempt at intimidating Mink and seemingly unsurprised about his lack of Element.

Pulti hip-checked Mink. “You handled yourself really well.”

“What, by standing there?” Mink laughed at himself. Without Dreh and Pulti, he wouldn’t have been standing long. Then again, if not for Dreh, he wouldn’t even be at the party.

“I’m going to go talk to Boun. Nothing like that will happen again tonight.” Pirk started off and then turned around with arms raised, her enthusiasm undampened by the night’s interruption. “It’s my party!”

Dreh, Pulti, and Mink drifted over to the unpopulated, darker side of the yard along the fence. Glow crystal lanterns were hung from lines of rope, their light not reaching quite this far accross the yard, perhaps as a means of corralling guests closer to the house. Just Mink’s rotten luck that Thoy was attending the party, and with reason to use Eavesdropping on him. It would therefore be more important to repress thoughts of his parents, but these times of being bullied were when he tended to think of them the most. As the embarrassment of having been the center of attention subsided, Mink wondered how Dreh and Pulti dealt with such things. They appeared to be completely unfazed by the confrontation.