The Gift of Volkeye (38 page)

The only hoverpod to escape darted into the air and swung around, instantly firing. “Bahzee, get down!” Sing said, propping herself up on one knee, letting off a volley of blasts.

The mine guard had good aim, so this was a battle of wills, seeing who’d be the first to die. Though Sing was hit in the left breast section of her armour, she didn’t budge. She kept firing. As his flaming hoverpod rapidly approached, threatening to explode, the last several of Sing’s shots took a chunk out of his shoulder and then burned holes across his middle, bestowing the rider the resemblance of a smoky block of Swiss cheese. She barely had time to roll out of the way before his pod grazed the top the ship, throwing its perforated occupant into the distance and exploding as it hit the frozen earth.

Lyn’s head appeared from a tiny hole above the pilot’s seat. “My god, I thought we were dead when that pod hit us! Are you two all right?”

“We’re fine,” Sing said. “Get back in there!” she spat angrily, upset that she hadn’t been able to take his hover down sooner, as it had nearly killed her. Sing was suddenly very jealous of the power of Khyeryn’s weapon, knowing that he could’ve taken the pod down with one burst of shots.

She gazed through her sights and took aim at the squirming beast with the broken back, far in the distance. She cut him to pieces and did the same favour for any others who looked as if they had the possibility of survival.

“Nice shooting,” Lyn said to Sing, as she and Bahzee came back below.

“You okay?” Bahzee asked Sing. “When I saw the soldier fly off the pod, for a second I thought that it was you. It really freaked me out.”

“I’m fine...I’d probably be dead if you hadn’t taken out so many of them, Baz. You’re quite good at bowling people over with stuff, aren’t you?”

“It’s the good thing I’m good at something, because I suck with guns.”

The girls smiled with exhaust at each other then took their seats once more.

“Punch it, Sing, we’ve wasted a lot of time here,” Bahzee said.

As Sing accelerated to full speed, Baz and Lyn went to the windows, on watch. Though unwilling to admit it, they each had the feeling that they were being followed.

6

Woone waved his skewered meat in the air to put out the flames. The charred, salted beef gave him a brief taste of heaven as he bit into it, joyously burning his tongue. Having no heat, the citizens of Rhylix decided to build a huge bonfire, eating and sleeping outdoors that night. They huddled side-by-side, chewing meat, potatoes, and other simple delicacies, hoping not to freeze to death while they slept. The shared food and laughter temporarily took their minds off of their woes.

Mmmm…excellent!
Woone thought as he swallowed a burned lump of beef.

As their bellies filled, drowsiness took the crowd. The many dozens of people yawned, as they attempted to tell jokes to which they were too tired to remember the punch lines, or bedtime stories their children wound up finishing on their own, because the parents had dozed off before them. Well before midnight, they were all snoring. It was ironic that most of them were having the best rest of their lives, despite the situation, and now at three in the morning, having been asleep a little less than four hours, they were beyond grouchy as something shook them from their sleep. Woone thought it was his neighbour snoring, and he lightly kneed her in the buttocks.

“Chryssina…knock off some of that damn noise, will ya’!” he said with his eyes still closed.

The noise, however, did not cease, and only became louder as the seconds passed. Next thing Woone knew, he was vigorously shaken. “Woone, wake up!” Chryssina said.

“Blast, woman, can a man get any sleep?” he shouted.

However, Woone was silenced upon opening his eyes, seeing a gigantic ship swoop in from above. The air from the exhausts blew the smaller citizens out of the way, throwing them several feet in the distance. Woone and Chryssina were among the few who were able to stand their ground but still had their garments blown in all manners of disarray. The ship landed with an ungraceful thud, giving the impression that whoever was piloting was in a hurry. The shield opened and before the steps even touched to the ground, there were three young girls of mixed ages and ethnicities, already standing outside on the railed deck.

The girls disembarked and gave the people a moment to collect themselves. When they looked awake, Lyn addressed them.

“Have any of you heard of Zynathian Volkeye?” Lyn shouted.

“Yeah, he give me cousin a new arm, but told ‘em ta’ keep it secret,” a raspy voice said.

“No way, Zynathian Volkeye is not real!”

“Yes, he is!” another voice cut in. “…I knew a guy many years ago that had a worthless set of plumbing betwixt his thighs, and he couldn’t perform with his wife. That Zynathian fixed him right up, he did...they had ten kids afterward!”

“Stop lying!”

“Don’t be silly, you all! Volkeye is just a man from the storybooks!”

“I have my own library, so believe me, if there were stories on my father, I’d know them by heart!” Lyn said, holding back a giggle, as she wondered if any of the tales were true.

She noticed the people were taken aback at her claim that he was her father and thought to further edify his existence. “He’s not a myth! He’s our father, and he’s sent us here to help you!”

“We don’t have time to explain much…” Sing began.

“…But we know what happened here today. We’re aware that none of you have power in your homes and that Vlajdimir is forcing you to join Phyllamon’s army…and, yes, we saw those two boys killed,” Bahzee said.

“It was horrible,” said the woman, who’d stopped her daughter from helping the boys.

“We know…if it’s not too much to ask, we’ll need your help in persuading them to leave. All of you must get out of here tonight! Terrible things are afoot,” Sing said, looking over her shoulder into the distance. “Those of you who are brave souls with friends in the neighbouring towns need to be messengers and spread the word to Mheep, Dohrm, and Mashyuvah.”

Unease spread throughout the crowd at Sing’s words, and Woone spoke up.

“Well if our lives are at risk then that means you think you’ve brought Phyllamon with you. I can tell by the way you keep looking over your shoulder, young lady,” Woone observed. “I’ll go to Mashyuvah…I have a friend there. But I need Arhyz to power my hovercar. It’s been sitting out in back of my house, dead, for months!”

“Oh, which reminds me…all of you step on board in a single file line. We have enough money to last you a long time. But we have to move quickly, because they’re coming, I’m certain!” Sing warned.

They formed a line, but it moved sloppily as the people kept knocking into one another, panicking and in a hurry. Though worried, there was a slight sense of wonder and excitement upon each of their faces as they exited the ship with a heavy bag of Arhyz. The girls could tell that none of them had ever seen this much money in their lives. Woone was the last and the only one to take his sack with great poise.

“Thank you,” he said. “If you don’t mind, I’m sorry…what was it?”

“Sing Tzi Yi…
Sing
, for short.”

“If you don’t mind, Sing, I’d like to know
where we’re going
.”

At this, Sing smacked her forehead, chastising herself.

“I’m sorry…I’m so flustered, I just forgot,” she said, digging in her pockets for a small notepad.

The people listened intently.

“Everyone, you’re going to a place called the Igloo. We’ve written down its location on sheets of paper for those of you who are responsible and won’t lose them.”

Sing tore the sheets from the pad and handed them out to several people that came forward, and the last one she gave to Woone. He nodded with gratitude.

“Now, everyone, get packed. Obviously, you’ll want to bring your heaviest clothing. If you don’t, you’ll be sorry…I almost died on my way there, it was so cold,” she finished, looking to Woone. “Good luck.”

“The same to you…I hope to see you all soon.”

They shook hands, and then Woone was off. As she watched him run off into the distance with his friend Chryssina at his side, Sing addressed the villagers. (They were busy scurrying about, throwing armfuls of clothing and extra heavy winter garments in their power-restored ships.)

“Any of you who wish to warn others in the nearby towns, and would like transportation, may use the hoverpods on board the ship. There are several. Don’t waste time returning them—my sisters and I don’t need them anyway. Just get gone as soon as you can!”

Soon five hoverpods buzzed from the back of the ship, speeding away into the distance. Meanwhile, Bahzee had run back aboard and taken one of the canvas sacks and stuffed it with the food and sweets from the discarded refrigerator.

“We need to wake those boys…does anyone know where they are?” Sing asked upon exiting the ship.

“They’re in the stable behind Vlajdimir’s house,” a young girl said.

“A stable? You mean like…
animals?
” Bahzee asked in horror.

The girl nodded. “I tried to help earlier, but Mommy wouldn’t let me,” she said. “I’ll take you.”

“Thank you…what’s your name?”

“Annie,” she answered, holding her mother’s hand, who was accompanying them.

“I’m Sam,” her mother said.

“Bahzee.”

“Lyn Sha.”

“Sing.”

They all shook hands, hurrying along. As they came to Vlajdimir’s house, they found the two dead boys still there. They were being eaten by vultures. Bahzee, taken with fury, grabbed both birds and squeezed, snapping their necks instantly. She threw them off to the side and looked with sadness down at the boys.

Annie started crying again, and Lyn quickly shushed her with a kiss on the cheek and an arm around her shoulder. Bahzee and Sing could tell, Lyn had matured further in just a few hours…perhaps because of the rape she’d witnessed. Here she was playing big sister to a girl who was her age!

As Sam came forward, taking Annie in her arms, she marked Lyn with gratitude. She didn’t look upon her as a girl, but a
woman
, who, inside, had already finished growing up, now only needing her biological age to catch up with her maturity.

“Thank you,” Sam said to Lyn Sha, who nodded in return.

“Annie, is it through here?” Lyn asked.

Annie nodded, and the others noticed a strange hint of fury upon her face as she looked down at the mutilated boys. The expression was almost
motherly, as if she knew them personally.

Their stomachs lurched with strong foreboding as they ventured through a narrow, cobblestone alleyway, littered with thousands of insects, swarming around a flickering light trap. They made it to the gate, and as Bahzee swung open the raggedy, wooden door, their uneasiness was replaced by grimaces of disgust, offended by the odourous environment.

Now Bahzee was even angrier. “Yes, I see. They really are nothing but animals to him, are they?”

Their boots sunk into the soggy earth as they advanced into the darkness. They waved their hands about in the air before them, hoping to find a foundation from which to guide themselves.

“Bahzee, you’re in front, right?” Annie asked.

“Yeah.”

“If you go forward just a bit more, there should be a rusted light fixture hanging from the ceiling,” Annie said.

“How do you know that, baby?” Samantha, her mother, asked.

“Cuz’ I sneak out here to feed them sometimes…among other things,” Annie confessed.

“Oh my goodness, that’s so dangerous!” Sam remarked with surprise, wondering what else this night would reveal about her daughter.

They all flinched as the bright white light came on, temporarily blinding them. As their sight adjusted, they found their boots and the bottoms of their pant legs splattered with mud and feces. All about them were the abused young men, rousing from their sleep. One with pale white skin, an exceptionally wide face, black greasy hair, and a missing front tooth, grabbed his shotgun, which lay to the side in his bed of hay.

“Nobodee gonna git’ my shotgun…it’s my walking stick!” He shouted.

“That is
not
a walking stick, Joshua, I’ve told you! It’s dangerous, so you put that thing down, right now!”

He obeyed instantly. “Yes, Miss Annie…I didn’t know ‘twas you.”

The others, especially her mother, looked at Annie with great curiosity. “Exactly how well do you know them, Ann?” Sam asked.

Annie smirked at her mom then looked to Bahzee. “Can I have the food? They trust me.”

“Be my guest,” Bahzee said, handing her the sack.

“Okay, everybody, rise and shine,” Annie said walking about, handing out small blocks of cake, meat, and cheese. “It’s time for us to go. We’re leaving this town and that wretched Vlajdimir behind! You all deserve better…you just had nowhere else to go.”

One came forward to hug her.

“Oh, thank you, Earnest. Here, have some cheese!”

Annie then felt a gust of odourous breath and a kiss land on her left cheek.