Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (9 page)

“I’ll stay. We’ll send Mink,” Nyam resolved.

“What?!” Mink and Juré replied in unison.

“Nyam, it would take him five days to make it back. That puts us here by ourselves for sure when their reinforcements arrive. How long do you think we’ll survive?”

“Mom, Dad’s right. I slept half the way here. I’ll get lost going back.”

“I think I can put the Quick Legs effect on Mink,” Nyam said, growing adamant. She gestured toward the Great Barrier Range. “If he just heads to that point on the eastern horizon and keeps going, he’ll be in the Capitol early on the second morning.” Mink swore he remembered thick forests on those mountains.

“Put Quick Legs on him?” Juré echoed. “That’s a self effect, not a target effect.”

“Mom, you’re crazy. I can’t handle that kind of speed. I’ll wrap myself around a tree!”

“Listen, you two. If either of you have another idea about how to get Mink to my brother any quicker, I’d like to hear it,” Nyam countered.

Mink racked his brain. For the last two years, he’d been taking independent studies in Strategy and Tactics, lately focusing on unwinnable situations. Real life was so much harder than the classroom. Finally, he said with a shrug, “Let them get here first and have all the ore they want. I don’t think they’d be able to move the crystal anyway.”

Juré rubbed his face and sighed. “We can’t chance it, buddy. From what I learned through the scout’s memories, they’ve exhausted almost all their resources. They’re desperate. The scout had seen maps of large ore deposits throughout Octernal. They plan on expanding eastward. With force.”

The three of them sat in silence. Eventually, Nyam rose and started the process of making dinner. Juré followed. Mink needed time to adjust to the gravity of the situation. Not acting would mean war, and the end of the Elementalists’ way of life. All the same, if Nyam managed to somehow give him the Quick Legs effect, he doubted he’d be able to use it well enough to make it to the Capitol. If by some luck he made it back to the Capitol, having a team of Elementalists come to the aid of his parents in time seemed unlikely.

Hypothetically, if Mink succeeded, the Elementalists could conceivably reach the geode in time. But they would still need to somehow get the crystal to the surface and find a way to move it to Octernal. Assuming that was possible, if war was inevitable, they would need a Tear of God in the Cradle of the Citadel to fend off and outlast the Machinists, just like they did sixteen thousand years ago during the Water Age. In that case, let them have all the resources they needed from Rift Ridge.

“Tell me your plan, mom.”

Nyam dished up a meal of stewed roots topped with shreds of seasoned roast meat. “First, I’ll put the Regenerative Cells effect on you to help ensure you make it all the way. I’ll follow that up with Tunnel Vision so you can focus over great distances and avoid obstacles. The tricky part will be the Quick Legs effect. I think I can change the wording of the chant to allow for adding the implementation.”

“Turning a self effect into a target effect? If it works, you need to apply for a professorship.” Juré took a plate of food, clearly impressed by his wife, but no less confused.

“I’ll keep that in mind if we get back home. I do remember Professor Whodly theorizing that all effects were originally self effects and the advent of implementations created target effects.”

“Must have been in your grad school days. I don’t remember that.”

“I had a sense of it when I touched the Tear of God. It felt like we are on the cusp of a new progression in Elemental use. Can you imagine being able to put Quick Legs on an Air User? Multi-Element combos? Anyway, I have to try. If it doesn’t work, our chances are grim to the extreme.”

Mink swallowed a mouthful of food. “I trust you, Mom. If you think I can handle it, I’ll head back tonight.”

“I need tonight to train you as best I can on speed control.”

“Train me on the way. Once I know enough to handle the speed, you can come back to dad.”

“That could work, Nyam,” Juré broke in. “He won’t reach the tree line until light, so he’ll have time to adjust.”

“We’ll begin right after dinner then,” Nyam said, digging into her own plate.

Mink had been on the receiving end of countless effects, but never one he could actually use. He liked the idea of running with super speed, the more he thought about it. He would finally know what it felt like to be an Elementalist. Between his mom and Dreh, he wasn’t new to the experience of traveling at great speed, just not on his own legs.

“I’m going to record a report of the events for you to deliver, Mink,” Juré said. “When you get back, don’t tell anyone about this except the High Council. And only answer their questions with information that you can verify personally. Some of them may try to use this situation to their own advantage and will twist whatever you say to that end. Best to try not to say anything at all.”

“I understand. I don’t think I would even know what to say. I didn’t really see or do much.”

Nyam set her empty plate down and stood. “Just stick with that. You’ll know what to say. I should start Regenerative Cells now.”

Juré selected a crystal from his travel pouch and walked away from the Fire. “You do that and I’ll record the report.”

Nyam shook her hands and exhaled a long breath before starting her chant, a standard but advanced-level adaptation of the Materialization effect, Implant,

“I bring Body into this world.

My power makes it manifest.

Newly formed flowing from your cells.

You can change its shape to your form.

My Body completes partial ones.

By my intention be defined.

My creation pauses when whole.

No injury can be sustained.

Curpo guides the Body’s power.

Create Body upon my touch.”

She took Mink’s face in both of her hands and held him for a second. He braced himself for something horrible, but it never came. As Nyam backed away, she was suddenly tired. Stretching her limbs, she picked up an ember and rubbed it briskly between her hands.

“That’s a brutal one. I feel like you sucked the life out of me,” she said softly.

“I don’t feel any different.”

Nyam approached Mink and pressed the ember against his forearm. He howled and tried to pull away. Nyam released him and he immediately examined his arm. He couldn’t find any indication of a burn.

W
HY DID
it hurt?” Mink rubbed his fingers over where the burn should be.

“The pain will help your Body correct and protect itself at high speeds. You’re going to fall, cut yourself on branches, and maybe even puncture your feet. The more you reflexively avoid getting hurt early on, the better you’ll fair in the end.”

So much for having fun with super speed. The burning had stopped as soon as Nyam pulled the ember away. Intense as it was, Mink knew he could handle it. Still, what excitement he had felt gave way to dread. This wouldn’t be easy.

“I’m ready to do the Tunnel Vision effect now,” Nyam said, tossing what was left of the ember back into the Fire.

“Focal point brought within arms’ reach.

Eyes can see over distances.

The periphery is unchanged.

What is focused on cannot blind.

Light is the Fire which gives strength.

Tunnel Vision upon my touch.”

Mink squinted, anticipating a poke in the eyes. Instead, Nyam slapped the back of his head. To Mink’s relief, it didn’t hurt. She peered closely into his eyes. He backed up as she leaned in, but quickly realized that his mom hadn’t moved at all. It was his vision that had changed. Wagging his head, he became nauseous. He felt like he was looking through a telescope while maintaining normal peripheral vision.

“This is horrible, Mom. Is this how you see?”

“Not since before you were born. I have a more advanced vision enhancement. You move around and get used to it while I regain my strength for making Quick Legs a target effect.”

Mink looked around for his dad. Juré motioned for Mink to come over to where he was. Mink noticed that his father appeared to slide closer and closer the faster he walked. Whatever he focused on looked like it was within arm’s reach. Using his peripheral vision for balance, he was able to jog comfortably once he was halfway to Juré. It wasn’t bad if he kept his head steady.

He felt quite proud of himself for stopping a casual distance from his dad. Juré’s head looked comically large and Mink focused on the horizon instead to avoid laughing. Juré placed the crystal with the recorded message into a small leather pouch and tied it securely.

“I need you to take this first thing to your Uncle Durren. He’ll know what to do with it.” Juré handed the pouch to Mink, who tucked it safely inside his travel bag. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, I guess,” Mink said, staring off down the river at a fish. “It’s all kinda hard to get used to, but I’ll deal.”

Juré clapped Mink’s back. “You’re all right. I want you to know I’m very proud of you for doing this.”

Mink shrugged. “I have to, right? It’s cool though. I get to do something huge for our country and I don’t even have an Element.”

“Yet,” Juré corrected. “You don’t know your Element, yet.”

Mink smiled but he didn’t mean it. “I’m going to jog around and try to get a better handle on this vision.”

“Okay. Don’t look at the sun.”

Mink couldn’t help but glance at the sun, which instantly zoomed into his eyes with its blinding light. Juré chuckled at the success of his reverse psychology. As Mink jogged toward the edge of the cliff, he was careful to make slow, sweeping movements with his eyes and head. The green negative image of the sun burned into his retinas, blocking the focal point and helping him avoid the motion sickness he had been experiencing.

As the latent image of the sun subsided, he became dizzy. It seemed like a good idea at first to avoid looking in the distance and turn his gaze to his feet. The ensuing somersault that flipped him on his back proved otherwise. Thankfully, the fall didn’t hurt for long. Mink closed his eyes and lay on his back for a quick breather.

He sat up and checked his distance from the cliff. He wasn’t close enough to risk falling, but figured it was just the right distance to look for Freeland. He rose and shielded his eyes from the sun, peering across rocky hills to where the sky met the ground. Tunnel Vision had another aspect he hadn’t expected. If he concentrated on a smaller area within his focus, he could zoom in even more on that spot. In this way, Mink discovered the outer wall of Freeland. He noticed a tower built into the wall and focused on the windows at the top. Now seeing into the room, he marveled at the array of lights, buttons, and screens that filled it. A Machinist passed his field of vision, but when he tried to track him, his zoom was reset to an enlarged view of the hazy horizon.

Thrilled with the feeling that he was spying on the enemy, Mink turned and tried too hard to act casual. He moseyed toward the campsite to see that color had returned to Nyam’s grinning face. Although she appeared to be right in front of him, it would take at least fifteen seconds to reach her. He ran back, now accustomed to his new eyesight. In fact, it felt like he was taking a long time to get anywhere. If Nyam proved successful in targeting Mink with Quick Legs, that would soon change.