Strength (19 page)

Nexus rose and took a regal stance. “Welcome, my esteemed warriors. You may rise. I have a special task you must fulfill before I can initiate my war.”

“What is it, Nexus?” one of the dragons said in a voice that rumbled like Leviathan’s, though it lacked omnipotent strength.

“There’s someone who must die first,” he said, pacing before them. “Kill his companion, if you feel like it, but only the one named Aerigo needs killing.”

“He owes us his head for what he did to my people,” one of the Elves said. “Curse him and his god!”

“He’s an Aigis,” another Elf said. “Death won’t come easy.”

The dragons stood silent, their fiery eyes betraying a rising sense of doubt.

“Fear not,” Nexus said. “You’ll get the job done. This Aigis doesn’t harness all the exceptional powers he was born with.”

“Then why don’t you take care of him yourself?” one of the trolls said.

Nexus stopped pacing. “Because I’m employing the power of Voice of Prophecy. I don’t have time or attention to spare for such things, and you’ll be well rewarded for performing this task.”

“Well said, Nexus,” the troll said, bowing low in apology.

The young god ignored the apology. “There are details that you must heed to. First, Kabiroas, Frawst, Sodo, and Dahl are to join Chionas in spying on the two for some time, with the aim of extracting valuable information about our enemies’ plans. Kabiroas,” Nexus said, addressing the lead Elf, “I know you’ve spied on him before. Be patient. Any advantage you can gain will make our victory all the better. Second, no one is permitted to attack Aerigo until I say so. I don’t want it to be too soon or things will backfire. I’ve been covertly eliminating Aigis one by one for centuries. These last kills will be executed no differently.” He paused, making sure he was understood. “Kabiroas, take the spies I assigned and go. You know where they are.” The Elf nodded. “The rest of you are to wait until I give the command to kill.”

One of the men looked a little confused. “I beg your pardon, Nexus, but why are there so many of us to get this one little murder done?”

“I’ll tell you,” Nexus said in an excited whisper. “Just because you asked nicely.” He sat in his throne-like chair and steepled his hands. “The Elves will appreciate my plan the most. You remember Phailon?”

“
Burhdeorc!
The city that was stolen from us!” Kabiroas clenched a hilt under his dark cloak. “It’s been over a thousand years since Aerigo helped the humans steal it from us. I and my people wish to see Phailon razed. Leviathan destroyed its beauty by turning the stone from black to white.” The other Elves muttered their anger to one another.

“Vancor filled me in on the horrid details,” Nexus said. “Now’s your chance. And I’ve provided you with some help.” He spread his hand towards the monsters standing behind the Elves.

“But what’s the purpose of destroying Phailon now? Your war is nigh, Master.”

“It’s a dual-purpose trap. We’re luring our enemy to where we want him. Without a doubt, Aerigo will play the role of hero and try to save the city. He’ll be left exhausted and weak, making things just right to deal the deathblow. And the one who kills Aerigo will get a special reward.”

***

Roxie rolled over in bed and gazed out a window beyond her feet. It was a cloudy morning, but the sun was up and it smelled like it had rained all night. She loved that smell and breathed in deeply, knowing it would be another fine day in Sconda, like the last few.

Aerigo was still fast asleep. He looked so young and relaxed sprawled out on his back in his navy-blue boxers, the bed sheet only covering one leg.

She felt a pang in her heart that had become familiar ever since the first time she saw him without a shirt, and her breath tightened. The reaction was unexpected, but she liked it. Aerigo always made her feel more at peace with herself and the world around her. He made her feel safe, protected. She wanted to shout her feelings to everyone on Sconda, but only so long as Aerigo wouldn’t hear.

Aerigo shifted and kept on dreaming. It was odd for him to sleep longer than her. He’d always been up and about before her, even on the cruise ship. Still, she let him rest. They’d trained hard all week.

Beads clicked as Yayu entered his home, carrying jugs of water. He glided to the kitchen and set them on the counter, then looked up at her and smiled.

It wasn’t until they had the table set that they heard Aerigo stirring in the loft. The timing was rather convenient, Roxie thought, as she climbed the ladder and sat on the floor next to him. She watched his muscles flex as he stretched his limbs like a cat, his eyes still closed. He sat up and rubbed his face. “Hello, Rox,” he said pleasantly, looking at her with one uncovered eye.

“Good morning to you, too.” On impulse, Roxie leaned over and gave Aerigo a hug. She’d been craving such contact all week, but hand’t been able to gear up the courage to do such a thing. To her relief, he returned it, gentle and solid, his touch comforting, and she let her head rest on a broad shoulder a moment before letting go.
I shouldn’t be doing this.
She felt her eyes start glowing with fear and started for the ladder as she averted her gaze.

“What’s wrong?” Aerigo asked.

Taking a deep breath, she peered over the top of the ladder. She shook her head and dropped to the floor, landing with a minute thud. “Nothing.”
I can’t afford to fall in love with you. Not now. That’s what.
With effort, she turned her thoughts to the pancake breakfast she’d helped prepare, which had filled the house with their sweet scent. If Aerigo had snatched a glimpse of her glowing eyes, he kept silent about it.

Yayu brought over more energizing tea and filled three mugs and Roxie took a sip. Aerigo donned some pants and a shirt, then dropped down the ladder and joined them. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood, having apparently forgotten about Roxie’s strange behavior a moment ago.

“Today’s the last day of spring. You remember what that means?”

She swallowed. “Already? I thought I had another day to prepare.”

“Nope. You’ve been here five days already.”

“It’s only felt like three,” she admitted.

“The two of you have done nothin’ but eat, sleep and train the entire time. I’m not surprised you lost track.”

“Aerigo, do you think I’m ready?”

“We’ll see.”

Roxie gave him a flat stare. “You’re supposed to say ‘Of course you are, Rox’ so I don’t faint when I see the billion people I’m up against.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine,” Yayu said. “Besides: you’ll be meetin’ my kids today, along with my grandchildren.”

“
Grandchildren
?” Aerigo said in disbelief, “I
have
been gone a while.”

Chapter 16

After eating, they all changed apparel and headed out. The clothes they put on made them look like Olympic athletes, consisting of runner’s shorts with a slit on each side, spandex shorts underneath that were twice as long, and tank tops covered with curve and line patterns. Roxie’s shirt looked like a sports bra and she felt quite self-conscious, until she saw other women in Ormolu wearing the same thing. She went from feeling self conscious and nervous, to just really nervous.

“Relax, you’ll do fine,” Aerigo said.

“I don’t stand a chance against these people. Even you are way faster than me.” She imagined herself having to crawl over the finish line because she was so tired, with all the other racers pointing and laughing as she passed out from embarrassment.

“You’re faster than you realize. Just trust yourself.”

“But what if I can’t finish? Yayu mentioned something about this being a really long race. I never did distance events in high school Track & Field.”

Taking one of Roxie’s arms, Aerigo brought them both to a halt. Once Yayu was out of earshot, he said, “Look: you need to start acting more adult.”

“I’m almost eighteen.”

“That’s beside the point. You can’t afford to keep acting like a child. We have to give people hope. That’s all we have to offer them right now.”

“What hope can I give anybody?” Roxie asked Aerigo’s bare feet. She couldn’t look him in the face. “I’ve been trying hard to be the adult you need me to be, but I’m scared of fighting in a war.” She felt her eyes shift from yellow to blue.

Aerigo lifted her chin and took her shoulder with the other. “You impressed me with your courage back on the ship, and you impressed me all week while I trained you. You never complained about how hard I pushed you, or anything, and you’ve come a long way. Rox, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But what if something happens to you?”

Aerigo flinched.

Roxie hadn’t expected that question from herself either. It kind of came out before she knew what she was asking.

Aerigo placed both hands on her shoulders. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“Promise?”

He opened his mouth but before he could answer his body froze. He didn’t even blink. His blue eyes continued to look into hers, but Roxie suspected he wasn’t seeing her. His grip on her shoulder slackened.

Aerigo blinked, took a shaky breath, and slowly exhaled.

“What’s wrong? You were about to say something and then you just… froze.”

He gazed into Roxie’s face, this time seeing her. “It’s nothing. Let’s catch up with Yayu.” He started walking.

“
That
was definitely not ‘nothing,’” she said as she fell in stride alongside him. “You looked like you were in another world. What happened?”

They jogged out to an open section of the community, part of a giant circle outlining the middle of Ormolu.

“I had a—” Aerigo searched for the right word “—vision... of some sort. I saw a phoenix and a flaming tree, but I don’t know what it means.”

“A phoenix often represents death and rebirth,” Roxie said, thinking of dream symbol interpretations, “along with transformation, but not necessarily on a literal level. To me, it symbolizes change.”

“Makes sense,” Aerigo said.

“A tree can be life, roots, heritage, steadiness, or even being stuck in place—any or all of those things. Fire brings both life and death. It consumes and offers warmth. Combine the two symbols and your gut will tell you what makes the most sense.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Carl Jung and my high school psychology class. I bought a dream dictionary and read it for fun.” Roxie didn’t remember her dreams often, but she found it fascinating that some people would pour so much meaning into something that others insisted was just a bunch of nonsense. “Now, do you promise not to let anything happen to you?”

Aerigo studied her. “You have the same eyes as the phoenix.”

“Okay,” Roxie said, her stomach twisting with a wave of fear. “I’m officially freaked out now.”
What the heck do you say to something like that?

“I had the vision once before I met you. It could be coincidence.”

My shapely ass!
The phoenix had to do something about her transformation process into a proper Aigis. She knew it beyond logic’s ability to either prove or disprove it. Since Aerigo had the vision again, her transformation process clearly wasn’t done. But what about the flaming tree?
Bad fire.
Whatever it was, it didn’t bode well. “I say we worry about it later. We’ve got a race to run.” Bad, bad fire...

“Sounds good.” They jogged a little faster.

“So, do you promise or what?” Roxie asked, determined to make at least one thing certain.

“I promise nothing will happen to me,” he said. “Or you.”

Roxie stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Hug on it,” she commanded in a tone so much like her grandmother’s authority. Aerigo stopped and Roxie wrapped her arms about his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She would’ve loved to stay in his arms all day, to just enjoy his gentle, comforting touch, but she let go. “Thank you.”

They caught up with Yayu near the starting line, which lay between the village and the Oromo River. The starting area was packed tighter than a pickle jar. What Roxie could see of the dirt race route was lined with colorful pennants atop tall poles. The pennants waved about in the breeze. Once the two Aigis met up with Yayu, a veritable sea of hair blocked the dirt track out. Nearly all the adults were taller than Aerigo, but if most of Sconda’s natives were to stand on their heels, they would be about eye-level with Roxie. The vast majority had flaming red hair, and while a few had blonde or silver hair, none were brunette or raven-haired. And everyone’s hair looked as if it had never met a pair of scissors. Most let theirs flow freely and others used ribbons to tie it back, wore braids, hair bands, woven beads or other stylish hairdos.

Despite having dressed like all the other racers, Roxie and Aerigo stuck out. People gaped and moved aside. Many whispered behind their hands and pointed (a bit rudely, Roxie thought) at their feet. Aerigo’s name escaped in awed voices and excited whispered from many lips.

Roxie fought the urge to squirm under all this extra attention, and her anxiety was making her eyes glow. She looked to Aerigo for support. He looked positively regal, his every stride expressing both strength and confidence. He walked like a hero.
No wonder he gives people hope
…
She tried to follow his example, staring straight ahead with her chin level and shoulders back, and walked close beside him. Before she could get much practice, Yayu said, “There are my sons!”

Ahead, two young men with the same nose and smile as Yayu jogged up to their father. The brothers could have passed for twins if the one on the right wasn’t a good two inches taller.

The taller one held out a hand to Roxie. “Well met. I’m Soen.”

“Roxie.” She took it and he escorted her at a jog through the crowd, parallel to the starting line, and into a less congested area where huge shade trees were bunched in one spot. Between the trees and the track, rows of stands were filling with people from all over the continent. A hint of cooking food perfumed the air.

They stopped at the base of an oak tree and Roshi, the other brother, led them step-by-step through an elaborate stretching routine that left them limbered up and ready to run.

Twenty minutes into the warmups, Aerigo broke away and strode over to the base of one of the trees.

“Hey, Aerigo, what’s up?” Roxie asked.

“We’re almost done,” Roshi said.

Aerigo craned his neck, then widened his stance and punched the tree trunk. The whole thing shivered, sending clumps of leaves to the ground. He let out a frustrated growl, then leapt for the lowest branch and climbed out of sight.

Roxie mirrored Yayu’s and his sons’ wide-eyed confusion. She held up her hands when they looked to her for an explanation. She pushed to her feet but got only halfway by the time Aerigo landed on the grass. “What the heck was
that
about?”

Aerigo punched the tree again, the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulging. The trunk cracked and more leaves showered on them.

“Spies,” Aerigo said in a low voice. “I couldn’t follow their world-hop trail. It leads somewhere I’m blocked from going. Probably Nexus’s realm.” He closed his eyes and took a calming breath.

“Should we remove ourselves from the race?”

“Too many people have seen us. It’d be a great insult to withdraw now. On the other hand, Din’s presence will afford us some protection. We’ll be fine for now.” Aerigo brushed the crack with his fingers, whispering an apology to it.

Once they finished stretching, Yayu said. “Rox, you and Aerigo have been assigned to our Clan.”

She gave him a blank look.

“C’mon. I’ll explain it to you on the way.” Yayu held out a hand to Roxie and she reached for it as Aerigo yelled, “No, don’t!” Yayu face-dove into the ground and Roxie rocked onto her back.

Yayu sat up and laughed. “Now I see why you broke all those hair ties. It’s so easy to forget how strong Aigis are! I’m afraid you’re goin’ to have to help yourself up or ask Aerigo.” He nimbly popped back to his feet and rotated his shoulder. “You almost dislocated my shoulder there, missy.”

“Sorry.” Roxie stood as well.

“No need to apologize. It was an accident. Now follow me.” Yayu led them towards the starting line. “There are ten Clans in this continent, and they’re each broken down into hundreds of tribes. My family belongs to the Yuan tribe, which is part of Clan Ormolu. The village we live in is named after our Clan, which was the first to be founded at the beginning of our days, many thousand years ago. Nine more Clans were established after ours. Not everyone got along for one reason or another, and there is still a hint of unrest among Clans to this day. But our annual races have chipped away at such hostility for the past two thousand years. Eisisumet gives us a reason to get along.”

“How do you decide who hosts the race each year?”

“’Till now Ormolu always has, but of late there has been talk of lettin’ other Clans have a go. I guess it’s time things changed,” he admitted as they stopped behind the starting line.

“Change is usually good.” Roxie said.

“Is it just me or is the wind picking up or something?”

“It’s not just you,” Roshi, the other brother, said.

“Din’s here,” Soen said.

“Hold on to somethin’,” Yayu said with a smile.

All the racers and onlookers faced into the wind and a swirling light materialized in the air above the stands. The wind picked up speed and Roxie felt like she was going to be blown off her feet. She leaned back, everyone leaning with her. When she thought she was about to get sucked into the light, the wind stopped and the starting zone was quiet enough to hear a distant sneeze.

The light increased in intensity until it blazed like a sun, then burst out in all directions with a loud boom, buffeting everyone with a gust. The light faded and in its place radiated an excited energy. The source of that energy was a giant glowing person, shaped like the inhabitants of Sconda. The starting zone exploded with the thunder of applause and cheers as the people welcomed their god to this special occasion, and Roxie couldn’t help but join in. As she clapped, she felt Din’s eyes rest on her. They held the same airy quality as Yayu’s, but with what seemed to be the light of day shining from within. She stopped breathing and the power of his gaze stunned her as if someone had just knocked the wind out of her. She had to stop clapping to catch her breath, and Din graciously released her from his gaze. Baku’s gaze had never stunned her. Did a god have to be a giant, or were they all just different or something?

“Well met, everyone!” Din said, his voice as resonant as a sports announcer’s. “It’s a pleasure to see you all and I can’t wait to get things started, so let’s get the necessary details out of the way.” His smile filled everyone with more energy and anticipation. The Scondish people hopped in place, bounced on the balls of their feet, snuck in last-second loosening of the joints, shook out wrists, and rolled necks.

“There are two-thousand participants in this year’s race, so the points system goes as follows: the first five hundred competitors to cross the finish line earn their respective Clans four points, the next five hundred earn three points apiece, the third group of five hundred earn two, and the fourth group of five hundred earn one point. Good luck to you all, have fun, and don’t worry, I’ll be the one who is keeping score.”

A ripple of laughter swept through the audience.

“As far as rules go, I desire a clean competition and anyone caught cheating will cost their Clan twenty points. There is to be no using Ambura to boost your performance and be careful in the underground section of the track. It’s a little slippery. Oh, and anybody who drops out of the race for any reason still earns their respective Clan one point. Good luck!” The crowd cheered as Din’s form glowed brighter and slipped out of focus. In the next instant he was as big as the average Scondish person, floating cross-legged in the air and, despite his normal size, his voice could still be heard as clearly as before. “Runners: start jogging!”