Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (27 page)

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point of reference, Mink located the rocky outcroppings where Nyam had trained him on Quick Legs, west of the wilderness basin, along the slope that led up to Rift Ridge. From there, Mink started the process of overlapping the maps in a rough sketch of the area between their current camp and the Ridge. The foothill region took him a while to orient until he felt comfortable with his organization. Tunnel Vision and the rolling monotony of the hills skewed Mink’s perception of the space on the page almost as much as the well-intentioned cartographers. The scales of the maps varied widely, but the shape of their passage became clearer as he worked.

“We are here.” Mink tapped his finger on a group of topography lines meant to represent the Great Barrier Range forest in which they were camped. Then, on a defensive survey map of Rift Ridge, he circled an area a few inches away from the edge of the cliff. “This is about where we are headed. Somewhere around this area you will find the hole my mom dug out, just big enough for her and me to fit through. Directly below that is the geode. That means…” He traced to where he estimated that his family had set up camp eight days ago.

“I would have gone something close to this way getting back to the Capitol.” Mink drew a line with his fingers down the plateau, through the rock formations, over the foothills to the forest line on the mountain’s other side.

Tolrin indicated the area of the foothills and rocks. “Do you remember how visible Rift Ridge is from here?”

“Yeah. You can see it pretty well until you get down to these valleys. But, when you’re high enough up, it’s the horizon line.”

“So, we’d be pretty visible from Rift Ridge if we were there?”

Mink caught Tolrin’s drift. “That’s true, I hadn’t thought of that. One thing I noticed in my time on the ridge was how open and far the view was. I figured my parents chose that spot to get a heads-up on anyone coming that might interrupt our training exercises.”

“We have this camping cover story, but I don’t want to put all my faith in it,” Tolrin explained. “Where’s the closest line of cover along your path that we can move the wagon through quickly? Close enough that you can still keep your bearings.”

Mink tried to remember what he saw that night as he blazed through the wilderness. “To the north of the foothills I remember seeing some lower, flatter land with some trees, but not like this forest. Should be right along here.” Mink indicated an arc along the north of the slope approaching Rift Ridge. “We should be able to remain hidden from sight until we get just a few hours away from our destination.”

“That looks like it would take us too close to the borders of Harvest. I’d rather not attract any attention from the Reeks.”

“It’s really not that far north. These maps don’t accurately depict the scale. But that path will move through a valley, so we wouldn’t be easy to spot from either Harvest or Rift Ridge. Coming at the site of the Tear of God from the northern plateau is probably a better approach anyway. By the time we’re moving up the slope, any Machinist surveillance will just see a group of campers coming out of the Woods. Right?”

Torlin looked over the maps as Mink had them laid out. He seemed to focus more on the southern areas of the maps, looking for an alternative route to the one Mink proposed. Something that would take them by the Federation of Animalist Nations and still provide a suitable amount of cover. Mink didn’t have to tell him that the best southern route would add a day or two. If Tolrin pressed, Mink was prepared to admit it would be safer, but he would still prefer the faster route, since they were already delayed.

“You’re the guide,” Tolrin declared finally, exhaling and gathering up the maps. “I’m going to trust your judgement. Hopefully we’ll be able to make some faster progress tomorrow.”

As Tolrin rolled up the pages, he looked at Mink. “Could you see any sign of your folks from the marker tree today?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll get you there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Sneak. They knew they were in for a wait. They’ll be fine.” Mink tried to reassure himself more than Tolrin.

“You’re welcome.” Tolrin bound the maps with some twine and tucked them into a long leather sack. “And if you’d rather I use a different messenger when I need you, I can oblige.”

Mink rose and leaned on the wall. “Nah. Blin’s a good choice. He and I have a way of communicating efficiently, you know? Like shorthand.”

“Really? Took him long enough to get you tonight.”

“My fault, I guess. Heavy sleeper. He was a little too gentle trying to wake me up.” Mink tried to be as convincing as possible, ignoring the residual tenderness in his ribs.

Tolrin got up and unrolled his bed, tossing Mink a knowing look. “You’re aware I’m a Spirit user, right?”

“Yes, sir. I mean, Sneak. Yes. Just like my dad. He was so proud that a fellow Spirit user was the first to threepeat a championship. You shoulda heard—”

“Thank you. That’s really enough for now. Oh, and, Mink.” Tolrin reached up and grabbed the glow crystal that was hanging in the room. The stark white light it cast up to his face looked ominous. “Don’t be too aloof. You should sleep near the group. Too many on the Team feel you think you’re superior to them because of your parents’ discovery and your chosen role as being the guide of the Team.”

“That’s not true!” Mink protested reflexively. “They all look down on me. Always have. They have no—”

“Don’t interrupt me, please. I know better. They don’t. Just make yourself more a part of the Team. When they saw that you had gone up the mountain to be by yourself, it started the kind of chatter I’d rather not have in my Unit. You’ll be all right. Join with us, and in a day or two, they’ll respect you.”

M
INK HEADED
back to his camping spot, making a conscious effort to hold his head up. When he made eye contact, he would smile and nod or even give a polite wave. He felt good about following Tolrin’s advice, until he realized that now he appeared to be parading through camp after having just had a one-on-one consult with the Sergeant. This probably wasn’t correcting his elitist reputation. A few chortles behind his back confirmed his suspicions. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Mink grabbed his lonely pack off the back of the wagon. He hadn’t packed a tent and didn’t feel right asking to have a cabin made. As he approached his Cell, he recognized the handiwork of Tralé and Mouké, having set up a nice cabin for Alré and Wood tents for themselves. Sapo obviously couldn’t sleep in Wood, and she had her canvas tent softly lit by a muted glow crystal. Their sites appeared nicely settled in contrast to his barren lot.

Mink sat his pack down on the ground and rooted around for his bed roll and a music crystal. That should be all he would need until morning, at which time he would start the long and trying journey of leading everyone down the mountain and through the forest, to the northern foothills. He thought it possible to be in the valley before sundown. He wanted to believe that he could be with his parents the next night.

A pair of hands roughly covered his eyes and a low, grumbly voice said, “Guess who?”

Mink’s heart pounded up into his throat. “Corporal Alré?”

Pulti’s familiar and very welcome laugh broke through the night Air. “Corporal Alré? Oh, I got you good!”

Mink spun on his heels and stared eagerly into Pulti’s face, glad to see her. “Pulti! What are you doing here?” He gave her a quick hug.

She pushed back and flexed both of her arms. He noted she was dressed in her usual baggy sweater and pocket pants with permanent wrinkles. “Fourteenth strongest Body user under twenty-five, thank you very much.”

“That’s great! Are you in my Unit?”

“I’m in the Extraction Unit, Surface Squad, Pull Cell. Cool people. Fun times.”

“Trade ya.”

“Yeah, right. So, is this what you and Dreh were doing in the Capitol?”

Mink realized that it was yesterday she spoke of, and yet it seemed so long ago. Was it really just the night before that he’d last seen Pulti? She seemed so different then, so much more feminine. And here she was, back to her regular tomboyish self. He could scarcely believe that it had been that morning when he woke up so hungover. Thinking about it all made him suddenly tired. However, before he fell asleep, he had to tell his friend about what had happened over the past few days.

“Yeah, Dreh had to give me a lift. My mom and dad are still out there at the site. To get me to the capitol in time, my mom put the Quick Legs effect on me.”

“No way! Wait. You’re lying. Dreh took you.”

“I would have made it by myself, but Blin stopped me and Thoy canceled the effect. That’s when I went to Dreh and had him take me the rest of the way.”

“That’s insane. How did she do that? I want to try.” Pulti mumbled through the Quick Legs chant, counting syllables distractedly with her fingers.

“I wish I could remember. It would make me feel more useful.” Mink’s good humor started to darken, so he deflected the attention to her. “Do you have Quick Legs now? How do you walk with it active?”

“That’s hard. I’m always concentrating on that. Part of the trick is not flexing your toes. That’s where the big push comes from. If you lift from the heel and curl your toes before they touch, the effect is weak enough to maintain a walking pace.” Pulti ran around Mink so fast that she caused his hair to spin around his head. If he blinked, he might not have seen her move at all. “I’ve had it going for six months. I’m maintaining about three effects right now.”

“Yeah. My mom usually keeps several going…” Mink trailed off, marveling at how it would be to have effects like Quick Legs, Regenerative Cells, and Tunnel Vision be his normal way of being.

“What was it like for you? To have those effects?” Pulti’s eyes twinkled in the dark of night, excited by her friend’s breakthrough experience.

Mink smiled, brightening. “Incredible.”

She nodded, sharing his enthusiasm. “Back to your story. What did you do to Blin? He seemed really upset at the party.”

“I went to kick him off of me and Quick Legs must’ve sent him flying into the training equipment. I didn’t stick around to see how bad it was.”

“You kicked him with Quick Legs, huh? You must’ve gone flying yourself.” Pulti laughed, clearly experienced with what Quick Legs kicks could do.

“Anyway, Dreh took me to the Capitol so I could get my dad’s message to the High Council. They went all heavy with the politics and after I answered a few questions, they let me go. Dreh brought me straight to the party and I guess you know the rest from there.”

The two of them sat down next to Mink’s pack, facing each other. Pulti shrugged and cocked a smile at Mink. “I really don’t remember much of the party. After you came down from the stage and we went inside, I draw a blank.”

“You’re doing better than me. I thought you Body users could handle the effects of nutty better than that.”

“But that’s no fun at a party. I Dispel my resistance to loosen up more.”

Mink was hit with another wave of sleepiness, and decided to change the subject. “I’m glad at least you’re coming on this camping trip with me. It’d be great if Dreh were here, too.”

“Yeah.” Pulti leaned back on her hands. “Rots that we’re split up like this. What was it like talking to the High Council? That sounds like serious business.”