By your powers combined chapter 10

So, this will be the last chapter for at least a week. I have a lot to do between now and when I can get back to working on this piece, but hopefully it won't be more than a week. As I said before, if you want to beta read the short story (which consists of a revised and semi-reworked version of the first 10 chapters), please let me know. Email, DM on twitter or otherwise. I should have the revised version of this short story by Monday or Tuesday next week, mabye sooner depending on other things popping up in life.

Anyway, sorry for the delay in coming with the rest of this story. Once this is done, hopefully I'll be able to hammer the rest of this story out in a month.

First chapter

Previous: Chapter 9

Chapter 10 (The Regime)

            My body protested as I transitioned from lying across the large saddle to sitting on it, double with Rehleew behind me. I took the horse’s reins, Guudra’s reins, from him and motioned for him to hold onto me.

            Pershis’s horse danced back from the five Regime Hunters. This had to be a full set, a group with one of each element. Ewmak’s hands started trembling as he gripped Pershis tighter, but Kanli just grinned. Kanli was clearly enjoying herself way too much, but then again, she was crazy. I mean, who else would go swimming in the lake without a stitch of clothing.

            As if to prove me right, each of the five Regime Hunters’ eyes began to glow. From left to right—Red, brown, blue, green and yellow. It really was a full set.

            I shook my head, remembering that I had joined her on that little jaunt, and a grin split my face, too. I had to focus on this situation. There had to be a way around them. “Pershis,” I said in a low voice, “can we get around them?”

            Pershis shrugged. “Not riding double as we are.”

            “Shit.”

            Every face but Igu’s turned to regard me, Rehleew going as far as to lean forward to make sure I knew he was staring at me from behind.

            “What?” I glanced around and clutched the reins. “I’m an adult. I can use swear words when I like.”

            “Regardless,” Pershis said, turning back towards the Regime Hunters, “we can’t outrun them like this, and without an earth wielder to steady the grounds, we won’t get far.”

            “Can someone use their soul crystal’s powers without forging it into an item?” I asked.

          “Yes, but it’s very dangerous. The forging helps protect not only the crystal but also the mind of the wielder.”

            “Do we have much of a choice?”

          Pershis grunted before unslinging the backpack. “Take your crystal out, slowly. Then give your friends theirs.”

            Ewmak nodded before unhooking the latch and reaching into the backpack. “I’m not really sure what to do.” His voice cracked, wavering between a squeal and a rumble. Sweat rolled down his thin neck, and the loose-fitting scholar’s robes he wore looked two sizes too big.

            “The crystal should have some instructions for you,” I said as I eased Guudra forward. “Just don’t starve yourself.” Like I had done. Though, I wouldn’t tell any of my friends about that. I had to be the strong one. The one that kept them safe, and it was hard enough to do that when they still made fun of me for jumping into the lake without my clothes, with a girl nonetheless. But if I hadn’t done that, she would have gotten into trouble. My way ended with me taking the blame and her not being hit by her father. “It’s real easy to starve yourself if you overuse your power.”

            Ewmak nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He handed me the backpack, and Rehleew took his soul crystal.

            I passed the bag to Kanli who retrieved her soul crystal. Since Igu’s soul crystal was still in there, I took the backpack back and slung it over my shoulders. “Probably best to just open the cases and rest your fingers on the soul crystals rather than taking them out of the cases completely.”

            “Very wise,” Pershis said. “Now, we should make a break for the left.”

            “That wouldn’t be wise,” the Regime Hunter in the center of the group, Blue, said in a booming voice. “Untrained children won’t be able to stand up to our power.”

            And shit. They had heard us. What were we going to do now?

            Blue stepped forward, ahead of the other members of his set. He clicked his tongue, somehow audible despite the distance. “Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter to Captain Kude, but I’ve been promised bushels and bushels of slaves if I take at least a few of you alive.” Blue snapped his fingers.

            Save for Blue in the center, all four other in the full set extended their hands. Now was a wonderful time to be separated from Barges, but if my memory served me right, I wouldn’t be able to use him till well after dark anyway.

            What to do? I needed to come up with a plan. My friends had never used their powers in a fight, and if I guessed correctly, Pershis had never been in an open fight before.

            “That bastard!” Pershis said, drawing a pair of sacks from her cloak. “Deal,” she said in just above a whisper, “with psychic wielder and stop the others from hurting our horses, and we can get past them.”

            I hopped to the ground and took Igu’s soul crystal from the bag, moving it to the saddle bag. “Ewmak, do everything in your power to still the ground beneath my feet.”

            Ewmak shook his head. “That. No.” He glanced between me and Pershis. “I have to keep the horses safe.”

            “And the best way to do that is to stop Brown from slowing me.” I took a deep breath then strode in front of the three horses. “Rehleew, pelt them with as many bolts of fire as you can.”

            Blue bared his teeth. “Is this what the terrorists have resorted to? Using children to shield you?”

            “What should I do?” Kanli asked, the giddy expression on her face telling me I was going to regret this.

            “When I give you the signal, hit me with a blunt strike of wind to throw me forward.”

            Kanli cackled. She really was mad.

            “Get ready.” I had to go now. Before the Regime Hunters made the first move. A smile crossed my lips. Without fire, this whole planning thing might be the only way I reach the top. As long as I can focus on the situation at hand, at least.

            “Last chance to give up.” Blue held up a hand; the hand I needed to

break to take his soul bracer. “I’ll—”

            Now! I bolted forward, my left hand extended so the light of the morning sun caught on the fake ring Uncle Weron had crafted for me. With it to the side, it wouldn’t help much in closing the distance, but seeing the ring might.

            Blue flinched. The ground under my feet rumbled, but it didn’t leap up to bite down on my ankles or devour my legs.

            I would really have to thank Ewmak later, but for now, I needed to avoid that ball of fire forming in front of Red.

            Boom! The ground to my left exploded in a spray of dirt. And again to my right. My ears rang, and a thumping headache set in as soon as another blast of fire hit the ground behind me, causing me to stumble to the side.

            Sweat formed and soaked my face.

            White hot fire zipped past my head, ripping through the area where my face had just been and filling the air with the stink of singed hair.

            The dirt settled down.

            Ten feet till Blue is within striking distance.

            One step. I made a fist with my ring hand and growled as if I were concentrating.

            Spikes shot from the ground and tore through my foot.

            I crashed into the ground and tumbled forward, cringing as one of the ointment bottles dug into my back.

            A wave of fire shot overhead, and the ground beneath me undulated. Blue had a look of concentration on his face while Brown just grinned. Ewmak cried out from behind, and the three horses whinnied. The fire stopped inches from the Regime Hunters. Water encircled it, shuffling out the fire as the air around me took on a thin and stale taste.

            I stumbled up to my feet, well foot since only one was really functional. I gritted my teeth and hopped to the side.

            Another spike shot up where I had been standing.

           The effort and motion made me gasp. Yet there was no air to fill my lungs. Everything blurred in front of me, and I had no choice but to use my plan of escape. To waste the only chance I had of getting out of this group. I held up both hands, balled into fists save for the pinkies which pointed straight into the air. When my fists touched one another, thumb to thumb, I set my jaw and tensed my muscles. The sign of the pentabull was the sign of our little group. The sign my friends and I used for everything.

            Force like unseen driftwood in a rabid river crashed into the small of my back under the small backpack and hurled me forward.

            My body hurdled through the air, and a gale of cackles rose up from behind.

            Kanli was far from stable. Or sane for that matter.

            Blue’s eyes bulged.

            I grinned, cocking one fist back and reaching for his wrist with my other hand.

            Invisible chains bound my body, and my momentum ground to a halt inches from Blue.

            I could scream. Well, I could if my jaw hadn’t been held as tight as the rest of my body. I mumbled wordless complaints that came out like, Mmmmhucmmnkmmmu. Though, I was probably wasting my time. Even I didn’t know what I had wanted to say. Just complaining about the shit lot I had been given.

            The ring slipped from my finger and landed in Blue’s outstretched palm. Then, a grin to match Kanli’s cackle spread across Blue’s face. “Does failure hurt so bad?”

            The tension in my jaw slacked. I licked my lips and closed my eyes. Even still, this was going to hurt. “I’ve got him!”

            Blue blinked then burst into laughter. The grip on me clenched, and black flecks rolled across my vision as my jaw snapped shut laughter rose up behind Blue. But that only lasted for the briefest moment.

            That was when the laughs were replaced by screams. High-pitched. Low growls. Gurgling nonsense. But altogether, they mounted to screams of pain.

            And I could understand why. Pain shredded the flesh of my back, and if my jaw hadn’t been resealed shut, I’d be howling just the same as the Regime Hunters in front of me.

            Hoof beats approached.

            I dropped to the ground in a lump, still in the center of the chorus of screams; though, the pained voices died down to the point that at least two had to be faking it. I had to stop my friends from coming after me. If they did, they would die with me. Despite how much my body screamed through the countless lacerations on my back and arms, I jabbed my arm out to the side, pointing towards the forest. To make their decision easy, I shot to my feet and scrambled into a run.

            I had risked everything to heal Igu, even I’d gone about it in a stupid way, I wouldn’t let her die now.

            Maybe they had gotten the message, or maybe they had given up on me, either way I couldn’t look back, even if the torrent of glass—or whatever sharp dust-like particles Pershis had unleashed—had ceased.

            No hesitation.

            No waiting for things to happen.

            I had made the plan, so I would sink with it.

            No matter what.

            I ran and ran and ran. When silence fell on my ears and the sweet smell trees and crunched leaves punched me in the nose, I exhaled and opened my eyes.

            I was alone. A blessing or a curse, I had made it. At this point, I could only hope my friends had made it out safely. But without me, at least they would no longer be in danger.

            A twig snapped behind me.

Next: Chapter 11

By your powers combined chapter 9

Chapter 10 would be the end of the first arc I believe, but through nine chapters, I'm already close to 10k words (The cut off is 14k words, but the average is 7k to 10k, so I need to take the first 10 chapters and edit them then trim them a lot, then I'll need a few beta readers to read and critique the short story version of the opening through email. If you're interested, comment or send me a message)

First chapter

Previous: Chapter 8

Chapter 9 (Never on time)

            I panted, as hard or harder than Aiga who slumped over me. I could hear Helius’s labored breaths to my left. My hands trembled, and every muscle screamed in protest, but I reached out and patted Aiga on the top of the head.

            She didn’t stir and the plain white room felt enormous. It smelled like rust and rubbing alcohol while the beep, beep, beep of the machine hooked to Igu had a steady rhythm.

            “How is Igu?” I asked, throat scratchy. Some water would be nice. Or, since I was an adult now, beer.

            Aiga smiled up at him, her brow creasing. “Always worrying about others first. You know you nearly died yourself.”

            “I’m fine. Though, a bit thirsty.”

            A low chuckle bubbled up from Aiga’s chest and warmed my cheeks. She was so beautiful. Pushing off me before my body could get any ideas, she turned around and brought over a glass of water.

            I drank it down and a second and third.

            Aiga placed the cup back on the shelf in the center of the room. “Igu is fine. She woke up a little bit ago, but she is still exhausted. Like I’m sure you are feeling.”

            “I’m fine.” I couldn’t show any weakness in front of Aiga. She’d still treat me like a child if I did, so I tensed my muscles and moved to sit up.

            “No, you’re not.” She rested a firm hand on my chest, and despite the difference in our size, she easily held me down. “You need to conserve your strength for the journey ahead.”

            I blinked. “What journey?”

            Aiga bit into her lower lip then scratched her nose. “Well, needless to say, the Regime knows about you five, and they are desperate to put an end to you.”

            A lump formed in my throat. “Why all five of us? I’m the only one who made contact with the terrorists. Shouldn’t it only be me?”

            “If only that were the case. The five of you, especially Igu, are special. You five have a chance to fix so many problems.” Aiga leaned over and kissed me on my forehead.

            I nearly fainted as an inferno burned behind my cheeks. “I. Special?”

            “Very. I’ll explain more about the Soul Generator when we get to Yarsek.” She brushed her fingers down my cheek, and someone—probably Helius—scoffed. “Just rest until your uncle returns with the horses, and we’ll—”

            Boom! The entire house shook, and cracks spiderwebbed across the roof.

            Aiga gritted her teeth. “Too soon.”

            Helius stepped into view. “You can always count of the Regime and their agents to be early. They’re annoying like that.”

            Pershis and my mother stepped into the room, shaking their heads. My mother, all lean muscles and wrinkles from raising my troublesome self, hurried to my side while Pershis shook her head. “The fire wielder, Weron, hasn’t returned yet and a group of five Regime Hunters are knocking on our door.”

            “Get Tima and Igu onto a horse, and get them and the other three out of town.” Aiga looked at Helius then my mother. “Will the two of you help buy them some time?”

            They nodded as my other two uncles came into the room, saying they would stand guard, too.

            “I’ll reach out to Weron,” Aiga said. “Tell him to meet you at the edge of the Gyutrop Forest.”

            Pershis nodded as more explosions ripped into the front of the house. “Do you think he was able to get enough horses and supplies for all of us?”

            “All that matters is getting enough for you and the five.”Aiga grabbed a pack and placed all four soul crystals, my friends’ soul crystals, into it with a map and a few jars of ointment. “Get them to Yarsek no matter the cost. We can’t stop the Regime without the Eco Savior.”

            None of this made any sense, but when I opened my mouth to protest, one of my uncles, I think, hoisted me up onto his shoulders and hurried me to the back door, slinging me over the saddle, face down. My mother came over and kissed me on the forehead, telling me to be safe and that she would catch up soon. The quiver in her voice said she was lying, but I couldn’t find my voice.

            More explosions preceded the roof of Aiga’s place collapsing. Aiga and Helius stepped out, a bubble of water and force sheltering themselves and my three friends. Everything whirled a bit, and the next thing I knew, one of my friends was on the horse with me, and we were riding hard.

            The bouncing sensation made me want to puke. I tensed my gut, but I wasn’t sure my uneasy stomach was from the constant pounding my gut was taking or the fact that I had left the two women I loved behind. My mother was strong, but Aiga was just a healer. She wasn’t a gladiator like my mother hand been.

            Explosions grew distant, but the total amount of them increased. The buildings around the town faded in the distance. We had made it, yet the horse skidded to a stop only about half way to the Gyutrop Forest.

            I pushed myself up to see. To stop my midsection from being pounded into dust.

            Rehleew was riding with me, and Kanli with Igu. Ewmak held onto Pershis, who shook her head, tight.

            Spread out in a line twenty feet ahead of us were five Regime Hunters, probably a full set, in their sleeveless tunics, late afternoon sun glimmering off their metallic tattoos.

Next: Chapter 10

By your powers combined chapter 8

Getting close to the end of the first arc where they will have to leave their old lives behind. Once this is all over, I'm thinking of taking the first arc and making it into a 10k word revised short story ish. We'll see.


And yesterday was Goo's birthday! He's five years old now! This is his birthday dinner.

First chapter

Previous: Chapter 7

Chapter 8 (Healing)

            I hopped off Guudra just outside of town as the sun came up behind me, hiding me from whoever was on guard duty at the checkpoint. They probably weren’t using lenses to watch this road, but I glanced back at my two companions anyway, back at Igu’s only hope and my damnation. “If you wear those masks into town, you’re just going to alert the guards.”

            Purshis the psychic wielder shrugged before trotting his horse up beside me and dismounting.

            Helius scoffed, and instead of dismounting, she rode around us.

            The open field around them smelled of dew and ozone as if it had rained, but each step closer to the village brought more and more of the stink of industry. Despite being summer, this morning was a bit chill. Though, that could be because I was still wearing Kude’s beach clothes.

            I groaned, watching Helius get farther and farther ahead, wondering why Kude had went off in a different direction than the three who held Burges at the edge of the Gyutrop Forest. “Yep, I’m going to be executed for sure.”

            “Wasn’t that what the hunters were trying to do to you last night said,” Purshis said in a soft, rasping voice, sounding like a …

            I started then looked her up and down. “You’re. You’re. You’re a woman?”

            Purshis nodded. “Not all women have long hair.” She gestured to the cloak. “This thing hides my body, so I guess I can understand how you didn’t notice.”

            “So, there are two women in the Fevered Five?” I started forward again, drawing Guudra behind me in a rush to catch up to Helius.

            “Three if the twins count as women.” Purshis laughed to herself, a golden sound. “They’re more like spoiled brats.”

            “Twins? You mean the wind and earth wielders?”

            “That’s them.”

            I gestured towards Helius. “And?”

            Purshis’s laughter only deepened. “By all five, no. Helius wants nothing to do with women.” She edged over and elbowed me in the side. “And I mean nothing to do with them.”

            I blinked, not entirely sure what she was getting at. “Okay?”

            Pershis roared in laughter.

            My cheeks burned, but I wasn’t sure why. I was being made fun of or something, so I needed to change the subject. Plus, this was something I really wanted to know. “Just who is Kude? He’s not part of your group, and his attitude feels … off.”

            “Like me,” Pershis said in a low voice as we reached the checkpoint that watched over this way into the village, “Kude was once part of the Regime. He turned on them at the battle of the lost spring, and we had a major victory that day.”

            I nodded, but something felt off about all that. Even more so than the lack of guards on the way into the village. “And you trust him?”

            Helius pulled on the reins of her—I mean his—horse, and he hopped from the saddle when it slowed. With murder burning in his eyes, he glared back at me. “Of course, we don’t. But that’s why my sister, Aiga offered the info to him. To test him before Operation Soul Crush begins.”

            “To test—” I choked on what Helius had said.

            Pershis nudged me in the shoulder.

            Apparently, I had stopped in my tracks. I shook the stupor and hurried forward to catch up with Helius with Pershis in tow. “What do you mean sister?”

            “Are you daft?” Helius asked, voice sharper than the murder in his eyes. If only he would take off his mask and give me a better look at his face.

            “No?” I looked around.

            This section of town, despite the sunrise, was quiet. No one roamed the streets. No one set up shops. No children were running around to play. The only constant, familiar about the town was the stink of industry and the shape of buildings. And that greasy stink was really distinct after being in the forest for the night. If it wasn’t for the Regime’s push for the creation of more weapons and more minerals, this stink would not be so heavy.

            I swallowed. Something was really wrong, but that didn’t matter. I needed to focus on the problem at hand. Whatever reason the other villagers hadn’t come out today wasn’t my concern. “I never new Aiga had a sister.”

            “Why would she tell someone like you?” Helius asked.

            I took the lead and turned at the next intersection, moving towards Aiga’s place. “Because I’’m going to marry her.”

            Sounds sputtered from Helius’s mouth, but none actually reached word form. For her part, Pershis gasped in what I assumed was more laughter. For a terrorist, she sure laughed a lot.

            There were scorch marks all over the front of Aiga’s place and all three buildings around it—an herb shop, a bakery and a jewelry shop—had been demolished.

            My heart thundered in my ears, and I dropped Guudra’s reins and hurried up the steps. I reached out and grabbed the door handle. Searing heat melted the skin from my hand, and I screamed.

            The door swung open and threw me from the porch. Guudra whinnied and danced back away from me.

            In the blink of an eye, Pershis and Helius stepped in front of me. Six knives lifted from Pershis’s pockets and floated in front of her while a barbed spear of water appeared in Helius’s outstretched hand.

            Uncle Weron stepped out onto the porch with two others behind him. Probably my other uncles. Fire, earth and water formed in their massive hands.

            “Stop!” I rasped, but neither side seemed to hear me.

            Blades flipped into a wall of earth. Fire snaked over the wall and lanced towards Pershis and Helius only for Helius to step forward and swat it out of the air like a pesky sharkfly. Water bound his ankles and jerked his feet out from under him while Preshis shoved on the created wall, crushing it with sheer force.

            Scrambling to my feet, I darted between the two groups. In retrospect, not a good idea.

            New blades whizzed towards my neck on one side while fire licked my cheeks on the other. Helius’s spear bit into my side, and a jet of water hit my other side to match it. The ground around my feet clamped down onto my ankles.

            I wanted to cry out in pain. To gasp or moan. But no words came out. With my legs trapped as they were, I could only turn slightly enough to have the dagger gash into the side of my neck rather than across my throat, but the whirling motion whipped Helius’s spear lodged into my side up into the bolt of fire, turning both to steam. Unfortunately, the twisting motion excluded my feet, and a snap sent a jolt of pain that tensed my jaw and made everything seem distant.

            On the bright side, at least I couldn’t feel the wound in my side or across my neck anymore.

            My uncles and two of the two from the Fevered Five loomed over me, arguing about something in a jumble of voices. My body lifted into the air, and I was dropped onto a soft bed. Aiga was there. So were my three friends who hadn’t been in such bad condition.

            I could hear the beep, beep, beep of the machine hooked up to Igu.

            Aiga shook her head. “What were you fools doing?” She place her hand on me as her eyes took on an azure glow.

            “No,” I managed to say. “See to Igu first.”

            “Helius is seeing to her.” Aiga placed one hand on my side and the other on my throat. “I’m going to stop the bleeding first. Grit your teeth since I don’t have the time to knock you out.”

            “Help your brother. I’m fine.”

            Aiga started then glanced over to where Helius was probably standing. She shook her head. “Igu will be fine for now, you’re the one dying.”

            I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. I was a target of the Regime either way. At least if I died here—

            Raw, unfiltered agony stabbed at every inch of my body like hundreds of thousands of little needles. My bones popped. My teeth ground. And I howled.

Next: Chapter 9

By your powers combined chapter 7

It's been a rather productive day. About half way done with chapter 8, and the opening arc is almost at a close. What would one give to heal a friend? What cost would one pay? How does one deal with paying such a high cost? This is what the opening arc is. Then, I think it will go into more of a horror mode for a while as they try to figure things out.

First chapter

Previous chapter: Chapter 6

Chapter 7 (Help)

            I awoke on a small, backbreaking bed in the corner of a room. No, a cave. This was happening way too much, being taken out and waking up in strange places.

            What had happened?

            There were several lights around this section of the cave, and a stone desk protruded from the wall across from me. The stink of mildew and sulfur hung heavy on the air and went well with the constant drip, drip, drip somewhere in the distance.

            I pushed myself up, focusing on the small things around me to help orient myself.

            My clothes, a river patterned shirt and shorts with trees I had never seen before, were too tight. In fact, they weren’t my clothes at all, but they smelled fresh. My backpack was gone as was my ring. Barges sat beside the bed, head down, handle up.

            I guessed that my uncles’ ploy with the ring worked. Where are we?

            There was no answer.

            Barges? I wrapped my hands around his handle and gritted my teeth as I picked him up. So heavy. This isn’t funny. Take some of the weight off or I won’t be able to fight efficiently with you.

            Still no answer.

            “You recover quickly,” a gruff voice said from the left. The yellow man in an unbuttoned shirt and shorts, both with patterns that matched the clothes I now wore, strode over to the bed. “You’ve only been out for a few hours.” He knelt down to a level with me. “Now, tell me what Aiga knows.”

            “Only if your water healer helps my friend.” My heart beat against my chest, and my breathing hurried. “Igu. She doesn’t have much time. She’ll die—”

            “The information, kid.”

            “I’m an adult.”

            “You’re powerful alright. Even Purshis couldn’t manage a psychic push like that. But you’re still an untrained kid. Now give me the information.”

            “It’s important information. She said Kude would want it.”

            The yellow man grinned. “I am Kude.”

            “And your part of the Fevered Five?”

            Kude shook his head. “No, but they work for me. Now tell me what information you have, or I’ll gut you.”

            My hands gripped Barges’s handle tight. “You’ll try.”

            “Without your ring, you wouldn’t stand a chance against my earth powers.”

            “The ring was a decoy.” I took Barges in both hands, forcing the strain from my arms.

            Kude nodded. “I see. So, you want one of my Fevered Five to sneak into the village with you and heal your friend. Then sneak out. And you think we’ll trust you to give us the information after?”

            “My word is better than yours.”

            “Says you. I don’t even know you.”

            “And I’ve never heard of you.”

            Kude blinked then shook his head. “Never heard of me? The great Kude Menuk?” He thumped himself on the chest. “Let’s just say the Regime would love to get their greedy, environment destroying hands on me.”

            “Then what can we do?”

            “I could torture you until you tell me.”

            “Jokes on you. Only Aiga has that information.”

            Kude scoffed before a small grin tugged at the edges of his stony looking lips. “Good kid. So, let’s trade.”

            “That’s what I’ve been saying. What the offer was.”

            “But we need something to make sure you hold up your end of the bargain.” Kude snapped his fingers, and the other five who had been with him, the Fevered Five, came into the light.

            Each wore a plain, colored mask with thin slits for the eyes and no other features. Red, brown, blue, green and yellow. Each color representing an element and probably denoting what skill the person had. The fire wielder in the red mask looked to be far taller than me, with shoulders half as wide under his ill-fitting tunic. The water wielder in the green mask was clearly a woman with her long hair hanging over her shoulders. The wind wielder in yellow and the earth wielder in brown looked to be mirrors of one another.

            The psychic wielder, Purshis, was the only one with skin showing and that was only to show his scarred, metallic tattoos.

            My back pressed against the wall. “Hunter.”

            Kude smiled. “He was.” Holding out his hand, Kude gestured towards the hammer. “Purshis and Helius will go with you to the village. When you come back with them after they healed your friend and give us the information, we will return your things.”

            I swallowed. These terrorists were not trustworthy, but this was all I could do for her, so I nodded and offered Kude Barges.

            He grunted as he took it. “What is this monstrosity?”

            “My soul container.” I stood. “Can we hurry? Igu doesn’t have much time.” My stomach roared.

            Kude handed the hammer to the fire wielder who held it with ease, drawing on the strength fire gave him. Then the earth wielder touched the floor, and the entire cave began to shake. The ceiling opened into a meadow and stairs came down to create an exit. This … was new information. This was how the Fevered Five stayed hidden all this time.

            Groaning, Kude pointed back at the earth wielder. “Did you have to do that in front of the kid?”

            “Sorry.”

            Kude proceeded up the stairs and glanced back at me. “Don’t bother trying to tell anyone about this. It’s just a waste of time trying to find our earthen barracks.” He didn’t sound very confident. “But if this trade really is valuable to me, it won’t really matter even if they did find it.”

            I swallowed as I stepped out into the moonlight. That didn’t sound very good.

Next chapter: Chapter 8