By your powers combined chapter 6

The first real fight, so this is a pretty long one.

First chapter

Previous chapter: Chapter 5

Chapter 6 (Traitor)

            I eased Guudra onto the nature trail at a slow trot, belly bursting full of food. My new hammer, heavier than a boulder until Barges woke up, was hooked to the new belt my uncles had given me.

            Through the towering pines, evening sunlight glinted off the ring my uncles had given me. It was crafted to look like it held a soul crystal, a decoy. Ten protein bars had been stuffed into my saddle bags along with a bedroll and some waterskins. I might have gotten more if my mother’s angry voice ringing through the shop hadn’t sent me into a rush to leave.

            I trotted deeper into the underbrush and took in a deep breath of fresh, forest air: the dried from smaller trees and bushes, the pine needles and a sweet, untainted air that just wasn’t present in the village. Adjusting the straps of my backpack full of scrap metal, I patted Barges on his head—on the head of the hammer. While we have time, let’s see how many objects you can lift at once.

            Barges snorted. Mentally, at least. “Of all my great powers, that is the first one you want to use?”

            Second, technically. I patted Guudra on the neck. “Isn’t that right, girl?”

            Barges scoffed.

            I know I can communicate with her like this, but animals like to hear your voice. I slowed Guudra as the woods became thicker. Even with the link between us, she would have a hard time if the underbrush got any thicker or the sky got any darker. It’s soothing.

            “You have been communicating with animals all of an hour, and suddenly you are an expert?”

            Shut up. Just try to draw as much of the metal plates out of my backpack as you can.

            Barges groaned. “For the last time, it is not what I can do. There is no stress on me. It is what you can do. You— No, you know what. Just do what I say. Focus on the metal. Think of it like reaching out with your hand to pick up a piece or two. Moving things with your mind is easy enough, but—”

            I shut out Barges’s chatter as I reached out to the metal shards in my bag, all of them, and I lofted them from the bag.  One big ball of metal. Not fire, but this was still pretty awesome.

            At my command, the metal spread out in a large line like a shield on both sides of me. There was enough metal scraps to cover both me and Guudra, yet it was still light enough in the bag, and doing this much didn’t seem to be a strain on my mind.

            Barges chirped something, but his voice was still on mute.

            I shaped the metal shards into a giant sword and slashed through the thick brush ahead, expanding the path. Two more swings, and my stomach roared. The scrap metal slipped from my grasp and splashed to the ground in a spray. I jerked on Guudra’s reins and pulled her to a stop.

            My stomach grumbled again. A wave of dizziness slapped me across the face.

            I tumbled to the side and landed flat on my back, breath fleeing my lungs.

            Guudra snorted then leaned over to lick the entire left half of my face. And again.

            I had a good coat of slobber on my face before my arms answered the call and reached up to stop another one of Guudra’s sloppy kisses. “Thank you, girl. I’m fine.” My stomach roared more, and I released Barges’s tongue. His mental tongue, at least. What happened?

            “What I warned you would happen.” Barges’s voice was smug, and if he weren’t a solid piece of steel, I’d slap him upside his crystal head. “You are starving. You burned every last bit of food in your stomach because you have not practiced moving anything with your mind before. I told you to only lift only a piece or two. But no, you had to rush it. Using a ton of power because you haven’t practiced that skill any.”

            Shut up. I didn’t need to hear this from a hammer. Forcing myself to stand, I stumbled over to the saddlebag and pulled out a protein bar. It felt like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. Two bars later and a third in my mouth, I floated all the metal scraps back into my backpack and climbed back into the saddle. I need to start sending out signals to the Fevered Five, so how do I do it?

            “Eat more before you try it.”

            Yes, Mom.

            “It is just like the way you pushed your feelings and thoughts into the horse, but this time, you are leaving out your natural ability to soothe and just focusing on the words. Do not think of a target; instead, focus on the area. Start small at first, expanding your quarry inch by inch as we ride deeper. You do not want to starve yourself again.”

            I really wanted to smack Barges’s smart ass upside his crystal head. Instead, I stuffed another two protein bars in my mouth and choked them down with some water. Once back in the saddle and moving forward, I threw my thoughts out. Aiga wants to trade money and information that a Mr. Kude would want. All she wants is to save this young woman’s life. She assures me that Mr. Kude will want this information. That he has been searching for it. I gritted my teeth and extended the area to ten feet around me, pushing on the same message. And Farther. And farther.

            Step by step, Guudra had to slow. Thicker patches of underbrush and a higher congestion of towering pines made going in a straight line impossible.

            Soon, night overtook the forest, and I had to climb down to lead Guudra despite all four moons being out. Which was rare, mind you. Only happened twice a year, and bad things always happened on the nights they did.

            No. That was a child’s superstition. I was an adult now. Adults didn’t believe in some superstitious horse poop. I mean shit. Horse shit. Yeah. I was an adult, using adult language.

            Snap! A branch broke somewhere in the distance.

            I muffled a squeal. I wasn’t scared. No matter how much my hands were trembling. Nope. Note one mine scared. I picked that emotion from my thoughts long—

            Steel rasped across leather.

            I screamed. “No, no, no! The reaper isn’t real! No, please no, don’t eat my guts.”

            “Traitor!” a sharp voice said from the left just as fire rushed towards me from the same direction.

            I created a wall of scrap metal to intercept the fire then stopped broadcasting my message and instructed Guudra to run ahead and wait for me, but to be careful. As she started to move off, I snatched the remaining protein bars and stuffed them into my mouth. So full I wanted to puke, but I held it in.

            Deep breaths.

            Against fire? I asked as I returned the smoldering scraps of metal to my backpack and drew Barges from my belt. Held in one hand, the two-foot-long handle of the half-a-foot, square hammerhead seemed monstrous, but it was lighter than a pickaxe.

            “Draw him close. Keep the link to the metal in your backpack to block incoming missiles and either crush his skull with me or fill him full of scrap metal, but you have to be close or his fire melt the scraps before the reach him.”

            Nodding, I started forward.

            The ground beneath my feet rumbled, pitching me to the side.

            I smacked head first into a barkless pine, and the woods around me spun. This wasn’t good. There was someone wielding earth here, too. While fire was better at a distance in most cases, earth was up close and personal. I dropped flat onto my back, the metal scraps digging into my back as a bolt of fire ripped overhead. Sweat beaded on my face.

            Crunching footsteps approached.

            Two trained specialists. I was dead. They were going to kill me before I even had a chance to save Igu. To even break the law.

            “Take their minds.” Barges’s words reverberated in my thoughts and drew me back to the situation at hand.

            No. I won’t do that. I’d kill them in fair combat before I sunk so low as to take their free will.

            “Suit yourself. If that’s how you feel, focus on one at a time,” Barges said. “Deal with fire first.”

            I kicked my feet up under me and charged the direction the fire had come from. The same direction as the approaching footsteps.

            A skinny man, less than half my size, stepped in front of me both palms outstretched. Moonlight reflected off the metallic tattoos that wound up his arms. The tattoos that marked him as one of the Regime’s hunters. His stance and glowing brown eyes said he was the earth wielder.

            Without much thought, I hurled Barges at the man’s head and leaped from the ground.

            A hole opened where I had been standing.

            Crack! Barges hit the man square on and dropped him to the ground.

            I held my hand out as I passed, and Barges returned to my grip. That’s one down.

            “Fool,” Barges said, “He wields earth. There is no way he will go down in a single shot. You need to finish him with the scrap—”

            The ground reached up and grabbed my leg, jerking me from my feet. Not five feet ahead of me, a red-haired woman with glowing eyes to match pointed a finger at me. Fire rolled in on itself until it turned white hot. Red bared his teeth then said, “Die, traitor.”

            I mentally pushed against the shirt of Red and against the earth holding my foot, shoving with everything I had.

            Red stumbled backwards, and his beam of white fire slashed through the woods, felling several trees. The man behind grunted, but another hand reached up to bind my other leg, and both slowly snaked up my body to hold me in place. Red regained her footing, a snarl marring her supple face.

            I reached into my backpack and drew out every piece of metal in there.

            “For your current level, you are still too far away from both of them.” Barges made a gulping sound. “Unless you ingest our link. You will not be able to call on my powers for at least a day if you do.”

            And the hammer will go back to its original weight.

            “It is your only shot.”

            As if it were someone else’s body, the distant calls of hunger whispered through my stomach. I drew on more and more power from Barges, and based on his urgings, I ingested the link between us, taking his essence into my body.

            Barges screamed as I consumed his thoughts.

            The glow of my eyes intensified.

            All these bastards needed to die! Every one of them. For the sake of the planet, I would kill the humans destroying it.

            I shoved the scrap metal in both directions with everything I had, at least ten times the force I was able to manage earlier.

            A barrage of soft rips preceded screams and the sound of liquid battering to the dry leaves. As the metallic smell of a forge replaced the fresh, unpolluted air of the forest, silence fell.

            Everything felt heavy. My head. My eyelids. My thoughts.

            Six people approached me, the lead wearing shorts with a bright yellow skin. He didn’t look like any of the Regime’s hunters I had ever seen, but I’d only been out of Sanctek twice.

            So, this was it. I was dead.

            Darkness started to close in around me. How pathetic. I couldn’t even stay up for my own execution. I—

            “So,” the yellow man said, “Aiga has a message for me, huh?”

Next chapter: Chapter 7

By your powers combined Chapter 5

Almost done with chapter 6, but it's a bit long, and my brain isn't really working right now. It was a long night. And this chapter is a bit short since it's more of a reflection/decision making chapter.

First chapter

Previous chapter: Chapter 4

Chapter 5 (Alone)

            I bit into my lower lip as I stared up at the mayor. “There has to be something.”

            The mayor’s expression turned dark. “Don’t push me, son. According to regulations, I should have you arrested for even suggesting we work with terrorists. But I know Igu is your friend.”

            The mayor’s office closed in around me, and despite my heaving chest, I found breath hard to come by. “Please.”

            Clapping his hands, the mayor turned back to his desk. “Escort Tima out of here before I have to give orders for his arrest.”

            Yalrein bowed then grabbed onto my arm and dragged me from the mayor’s residence.

            In the street, I stumbled forward, lost in a part of town I should know like the mining tunnels I helped craft. But all I saw were faceless buildings. A road that crisscrossed with other roads and stretched for miles. Mocking clouds in the sky.

            Where should I go? What should I do?

            Igu …

            Clacking sounds came from the left. Someone shouted, words just beyond recognition.

            I trudged forward, falling deeper into my haze of loss. Igu was going to die. No one was able to help her. No one was going to help her. The Regime and all their stupid rules and laws could rot.

            A horse screamed. Something hot smashed into my stomach and hurled me backwards to crash I to the mayor’s now closed front gate. Words came down from the top of the gate.

            I could barely suck in a breath.

            And nothing mattered.

            What was I going to do without Igu? She was always there for me. Looking out for me. Helping me up whenever I fell. She’d been there for me for as long as I could remember, and now that she’s in trouble, I was helpless. Hopeless. Worthless.

            I groaned as a strong hand jerked me to my feet.

            “Damn, boy,” Uncle Weron said from somewhere in the distance, his voice just above a whisper. “What happened to you?”

            What had happened to me? I. I had given up. On my best friend.

            I shook my head. No. I wasn’t going to give up. Not now. Not while there was still a chance. Even if it cost me everything. Even if I never got the chance to show Aiga how great I was by winning in the arena. As long as Igu lived, it was fine.

            “Nephew?” Weron asked. Everything snapped back into sharp focus. Uncle Weron stood in front of me, the blacksmiths’ shop behind him. A cart driver, hauling food or something, glared at me from the center of the road, his horse dancing back and forth with about as little skill as I had.

            “Uncle,” I said, feeling at my shirt which ended in burned cloth around my chest. “Do you have a bunch of small chunks of metal? Preferably, no bigger than one inch by one inch.”

            Weron nodded in apology to the driver as he herded me across the street and into the shop. “We have a whole mess of that kind of scrap metal, but why do you need it?”

            “I want to try something out. I’ll pay for them as soon as next month’s salary comes in.”

            “No need. We just throw that kind of scrap away.”

            I nodded then took a breath. “And can I borrow a horse. Preferably Guudra?”

            “You still haven’t told me why you need this stuff.”

            My other two uncles sat by the forge, one banging away while the other used his power to cool the metal with water. Luckily, my mother was nowhere to be seen.

            After another deep breath to still my trembling hands, I nodded towards my other two uncles. “Is it ready?”

            Weron’s brow furrowed. “Yes. Stop evading the question.”

            “A new shirt and some protein bars?”

            “Tima … you’re getting dangerously close to pushing my patience.”

            I looked up at my uncle and shook my head. “I can’t tell you.”

            Weron grunted.

           “What I’m going to do is already stupid enough. I don’t want to risk anyone else.” And that was true enough. If Uncle Weron, or anyone for that matter, knew I was going out to meet the Fevered Five alone, I’ll be locked up with everyone else who had lost their wits. But I had no other choice, so I said, “I won’t give up on Igu without a fight. So please, don’t tell Mother.”

Next: Chapter 6

By your powers combined Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long. So much has come up since I finished the last chapter. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter done by tomorrow.

First chapter 

Previous chapter: Chapter 3

Chapter 4 (Begging and threatening)

            With the mayor’s mansion across the street, I took a deep breath and backed into the blacksmiths’ shop behind me.

            Chimes on the door rang, announcing my presence. The smell of wood smoke, metal shavings and steak hung heavy in the air. Ah, the refreshing scent of a forge reinvigorated my courage, but it didn’t wash the sour taste of bile from my mouth.

            Just making this request to the mayor could get me arrested. And if I was reported to the Regime, I’d surely be executed.

            It was worth it, though. I’d put my life on the line for Igu four days out of five. Just like she’d do for me. I’d probably even do it all five days despite the commandments to rest on your soul’s day.

            Pictures of weapons, jewelry and other works of art hung around the room, all masterpieces created by the Yaye Brothers. The small counter in front of the door, which led to the workshop, held a cash register, just for show, and a stack of books, each with countless designs that I’d combed through for ages.

            I cupped my hands over my mouth. “Uncles!”

            Someone grunted in the back before the creaking sound of old hinges announced the eldest, and smallest, of my three uncles. Like me but half the scale, Uncle Weron Yaye had a broad chest and more muscles than hair. Well, our hair was dispersed differently. I had hair on my head. My eldest uncle didn’t wear a shirt despite working at the forge. He was fire forger after all.

            I bowed before setting the case with my soul crystal in it on the counter.

            “Nephew?” Weron asked.

            “Remember the design I gave you before?” I nudged the soul crystal forward. “With all my savings?”

            Weron sighed. “You know your mother doesn’t want us making a weapon for you. Like some type of gladiator.”

            “Tell her it’s for working in the mine.”

            “At the proportions you gave us?”

            “You could wield it without a soul crystal forged into it, and I’m twice as big as you.”

            “And despite my age, I could still bend you over my knee and make you squeal.”

            I swallowed. Uncle was right. I may be strong, but working the forge was far different than working in the mine. Especially since he had full control over his soul crystal. “Sorry. I just mean that I’m an adult now. I should be able to make my own decisions.”

            “Your mother will always be your mother. Be happy she’s still around.”

            “I guess. It’s just, well, I need this hammer within the next few hours.”

            Arching and eyebrow, Weron stepped around the corner and placed a hand on my shoulder. “What happened?”

            “Igu—”

            “Your girlfriend.”

          “No. My friend, but nonetheless, she is dying. And I. I. I don’t know if anyone will do anything to save her.”

            “So, you plan to save her yourself?”

            I shook my head. “That would be impossible, but I won’t let any group leave without me.” I swallowed, starting to feel sick to my stomach. Uncle Weron had always helped me out. He had always helped me. And of everyone, he was the only one, besides Mother, who I never wished to disappoint. “Please.”

            “Duty, huh?” Weron nodded. “Go do whatever you’re antsy to do, and when you come back, your hammer will be done..”

            Antsy? I looked down and just then noticed my foot was tapping. I forced it to stop before lunging forward and wrapping my uncle in a hug. “You won’t regret this.”

            “I’d better not. Especially since the utility of a ring is better, even for fighters.” He was right about the ring, but gladiators needed the extra power of a weapon. Not the utility.

            So, without responding, I turned and bolted from the blacksmiths’ shop and across the street, slipping past the Mayor’s guards before they realized I had even approached. Raised voices shouted for me to stop, but I just ignored them and continued into the mayor’s mansion.

            Up two flights of stairs. Potted plant knocked over in my haste to slow whoever was chasing me. Through a pair of double doors.

            I slammed the doors behind me, panting. Drool dribbled onto my chin, but my arms wouldn’t move; they just stayed planted to my knees.

            Across the office, the mayor put his pen down and stood up behind his desk. All and all, he was only a mining pick shorter than me, but he was the skinny type. None of that really mattered as long as he wore the bracelet with his wind soul crystal in it. The extra speed it granted him on top of his specialties with binding would be all he needed to defend himself. Especially since his guards were incompetent.

            “Mayor. Mayor.” I took a deep breath and held it to steady myself then stood up straight. “Please. I need—”

            The door slammed open behind me with the force granted by fire and threw me to my face onto the carpeted floor halfway across the office. The crack of impact only then registered in my senses, and a burning pain rolled down my spine.

            Gritting my teeth, I held in the howl of agony. Rage powered my muscles, and I shot back to my feet. That bastard would pay. I clenched my fist and froze in place as a white hot short sword seared into the flesh of my neck.

            “Move,” the mayor’s chief guard, Yalrein, said with his hoarse voice, “and I’ll take your head clean from your shoulders, boy.”

            The burning heat of his sword against my flesh made the room blur. The stench of roasting rat hit my nose and reminded me that I hadn’t taken a bath in a few days. Maybe more since my cooking flesh carried that odor.

            “Put your weapon down, Yalrein.” The mayor’s melodious voice relaxed the tension in my body. He didn’t have the natural speaking abilities of a psychic, but he came close.

            “But, sir—”

            “Put it down.”

            Yalrein gulped before the searing pressure lessened on my neck.

            I stumbled to the side and placed my hand over the hot pain in my neck. I wanted to turn around and punch Yalrein in the face. To knock him onto his smug butt—ass. I was an adult now. I could use swear words. Though, I shouldn’t say them aloud.

            Within the blink of an eye, the mayor stood in front of me, not two feet away. “What do you need? Mati was it?”

            “Tima, sir. And my friend is dying.”

            The mayor groaned. “Not this again.”

            I blinked and cocked my head to the side. “Huh?”

            “Aiga asks something of me that isn’t possible. Any men sent after the Fevered Five would be marked as terrorists themselves, and the city guard would deal with them and the Fevered Five accordingly. And even if they didn’t, the Regime’s agents would report that we’re harboring terrorists, and we would pay the price.”

            “But.” I shook my head. My throat felt dry, and not because of the heat of Yalrein’s blade. “Please. Sir. Igu. She’ll die if a water healer can’t come.”

            “Sorry, boy.” The mayor shook his head, and his words sounded pained. “I can’t risk the lives of everyone for that of one girl.”

Next: Chapter 5

By your powers combined Chapter 3

Sorry this took so long. Started working again on my main WIP (the opening of w
selfcontained short story) and had a few other things in life come up. Chapter 4 is about half way done, but I need to rework that short story first. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

First chapter 



Previous:  Chapter 2

Chapter 3 (Anything to help)

            My jaw dropped, and I shook my head. I had to be mishearing.

            Igu had been my best friend since I could remember. She couldn’t be on the verge of dying.

            The expansive living room contracted around me, couches and fireplace vanishing as I found myself short of breath. Sulfur and the stench of death filled my nose. There was a distant scream. This couldn’t be happening. This—

            Aiga snapped her long, slender fingers in front of my face and the smell vanished. The scream disappeared. The room returned to normal.

            I shook my head, and despite being so close to Aiga and alone for the first time since I became an adult, I slipped past her and rushed down the hall.

            The primary care room at the end of the hall was only big enough for a few shelves and four beds. Herbs and power guidebooks crowded both shelves in the back of the room while the beeping machine next to the leftmost bed bound Igu’s arms. His other three friends lay unmoving in their beds, but their chests rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Unlike Igu.

            Something caught in my throat, choking me. Swallowing over and over didn’t help, so I approached Igu and dropped to my knees beside her bed. The sharp pain jarred my hips, but it allowed me to gulp down my nerves. “What. What’s going on?”

            Barges buzzed in his glass container, which only then did I realize I still held, my knuckles white.

            Four other buzzes joined it like a mining group digging a new shaft.

            Do you know what’s wrong? I asked Barges through our mental connection.

            “Now you want to talk to me?”

            “Just answer the question!”

            “It’s hard to say,” Aiga said, stepping into the room. “Usually, when someone breaks containment, their soul crystal shatters or they die. At the very least, they are unconscious for a few days like those three.” She gestured to my other friends with a flick of her wrist. “Igu stopped breathing just as you and the other three started screaming and thrashing about.”

            “Life bringer,” Barges said, just above a whisper. “Eco saver.”

            My brow wrinkled. “What?”

            “She just stopped breathing,” Aiga said, answering a question not meant for her.

            “I got that, but why?” Not sure if I should tell her I was already speaking with Barges, I decided

            “I got that, but why?” Not sure if I should tell her I was already speaking with Barges, I decided to follow up on the questions. “Did she cause all of us pain?”

            Aiga framed her mouth with her fingers. “I’m not sure.”

            For some reason, it felt like she was lying to him, but that didn’t matter. I reached up, and after dropping the glass case that held Barges, I clutched Igu’s hand between mine. “Is there anything I can do to help her?”

            “If you could bring her to a water or earth healer. As a psychic healer, I’ve done all I can.”

            “What about Paster? It’s only a day’s ride—”

            “We’ve already sent riders there, to Nokiit and to Feerstor in the south. The riders sent to Nokiit should get back tomorrow, and Paster’s healer has a fire soul crystal.”

            My stomach twisted into a mining tunnel, winding deeper into my body and making me want to throw up. “So.” I swallowed. “So, there’s nothing I can do but wait?”

          “I’m afraid if we wait, Igu won’t make it. I don’t think she will survive much past second sunrise tomorrow.”

            I shot to my feet still holding Igu’s hand. My best friend, even though she was a girl, was dying. I couldn’t let this happen. No matter what. Gritting my teeth, I let go of Igu and snatched up Barges’s case then stomped over to Aiga. “There has to be something.”

            Aiga’s lips twitched as if she were about to smile. “Convince the mayor to send an expedition into the Gyutrop Forest to the west to find the Fevered Five.”

            I gasped. “But. But. The Fevered Five are murderers. Terrorists.”

            “Which is why the mayor shot down my request. I wanted to offer them temporary money as well as temporary asylum, which would allow them to come and go as they please and use the main trade routes without fear of having the Regime’s Forces come down on them. I also have some info the Kude would want.”

            Was Kude one of the Fevered Five? I didn’t know any of their names, but if Aiga said so, it was probably true.

            “Just as long as they saved Igu’s life.” Aiga took a deep breath. “With a psychic scout leading the group, offering the incentives through telepathic messages and scanning for life, they could find the Fevered Five within the day.”

            I nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.” For the second time in the same day, I slipped past Aiga and ran down the hall. Intent on convincing the mayor to let five notorious terrorists into the village.

Next: Chapter 4