Courage (41 page)

Don’t you dare hurt Aerigo
, she snapped at the energy. Hurting him was strictly forbidden and there was no room for argument. She imagined Aerigo being wrapped in a power-repellant gel that would shield him from harm. A part of her power coated his body protectively as the rest kept exploding outwards. She formed a third arm and hand, and wiped the blood from Aerigo’s face. His blood dyed her power red until it diffused and turned back to white.

Roxie’s skin burned as if she’d been wrapped in an electric blanket. She clenched Aerigo’s wrists as she mentally formed an amorphous sphere around her and the exploding power, which had reached out to the edges of the realm, and she left Aerigo outside the sphere. She pulled the power to her but not into her. It stopped expanding, but refused to take up less space. That had to be good enough for now. “Start taking some any day now!”

Aerigo bowed his head and concentrated, and then a second wind began funneling around him. He reached into her well of power. Roxie braced herself, in case his breach would encourage her power to rush out through it. She gave it permission to recharge him, but not to escape anywhere else. Aerigo’s siphoning felt like someone gently tugging on her hair, but not literally. It was more like a tug on her power, which fought her will and tried to surge into him. Aerigo gasped and arched his back, but maintained concentration, along with his grip on her wrists. Roxie commanded her Mana to slow down. It grudgingly obeyed as it searched for an alternate escape route.

Together, they recharged him while the tornado winds flattened the grass, making it point away from her in all directions, the lake’s surface rippled, and dirt kicked off the mountain into an earthen cloud. The colors of the aurora began to swirl like a whirlpool. She began to feel weaker, diminished. She accepted the feelings as she concentrated.

Aerigo began deflecting the power as he twisted his torso and turned his head. “Pull it back. I’m done!”

Roxie pulled the power to her and closed the breach. Aerigo heaved a sigh and faced her. Her Mana still filled up almost the entire realm. She willed it to funnel back inside its original container as she tried to compress the shield containing it. Her power wouldn’t retract, and her shield wouldn’t shrink. It felt like she was trying to compact a solid steel ball with her bare hands. “Aerigo, I don’t know if this is possible.” She tried again, but her power stayed put. “What do I do?”

“I don’t know. Keep trying.”

Panic rose within her once more. If Aerigo didn’t know what to do, how was she supposed to figure this out? Still, she had to. Too many people were depending on her determination to succeed. There had to be a way.

Roxie then noticed that not all of her power had been released from its original container. Maybe, since Aerigo had explained that she couldn’t stop pulling the power back in until she was done, she couldn’t
start
pulling it back in until it was completely out. She willed the rest of the power out until she felt a pang of pain sock her in the stomach. She gasped.

“Rox?”

Now that all her power was released, she willed it back in. This time, the power resisted, but yielded. Slowly at first, it began trickling back into her abdomen. It felt like taking a satisfying gulp of air after holding her breath longer than comfortable. The power poured back in, faster and faster, pushing her physical body into the ground. It felt like gravity was bearing down on her ten times harder than on Druconica. She sank to her knees, still holding on to Aerigo’s wrists. He tried to pull her back to her feet, but the funneling power proved stronger than his superhuman strength.

Roxie pulled and pulled her Mana back inside, until her mind sank back to the trapdoor, a white light shined through the opening. She lifted the door and slammed it shut with a metallic thud. Her awareness rose to her corporeal body. She slumped forward, but Aerigo’s grip saved her from falling face-first on the grass. She tried to pull herself upright, but could do no more than gasp for breath. “Help me up.”

Aerigo pulled her into a hug.

Roxie leaned against him as she worked on catching her breath. His chest felt so firm and comforting against her cheek and hands, but she didn’t think she could stay like this. Her legs felt like jelly. “Actually, I need to sit down.” Aerigo guided her onto her back and she watched the aurora sky through slitted eyes as she caught her breath, and Aerigo slipped an arm under her head to act as a pillow. Roxie touched his biceps and he placed his hand over hers.

It took maybe a minute for her breathing to slow and heart to stop pounding. Her legs felt more solid, but she didn’t trust them to support her just yet. She took a rejuvenating breath and just lay there, cradled in his arm. He began stroking her hair.

The act of stroking her hair sent pleasant shivers up and down Roxie’s spine. Aerigo gazed at her with open admiration. She twisted her body so they were lying face-to-face, mere inches separating them. Aerigo stroked her cheek and touched his boots to hers. Roxie took his hand in hers and kissed his knuckles.

Time must have stopped for a moment. They lay there for she had no clue how long, she holding his hand, a magnetic gaze locked on each other, and their booted feet snuggling each other.

Aerigo propped himself up on an elbow, slipped one leg between both of hers, and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

“What in the name of all that is mighty--oh, my.”

Startled, Roxie twisted in place to face the familiar voice. Baku was standing ten feet away, looking quite shocked.

Chapter 29

“Well, this is the last thing I expected to teleport in on. I’d suggest my temple if you’d like more privacy and better accommodations.” Baku gestured to the glowing temple. “The only problem is, you two don’t have that kind of time left. The war’s started.” Worry wrinkled his tanned forehead.

Roxie and Aerigo hurried to their feet and her head swam. Aerigo pulled her back to him.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I did just give you half my power. I need a moment to get accustomed to not having it.” She gave his forearms a reassuring squeeze. He hugged her tight. Two hand-shaped bruises colored his wrists in blues and purples. She brushed one with her fingers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was gripping that hard.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m so proud of you, Rox.” He nuzzled her head.

Baku smiled at the both of them. “Aerigo, it’s so good to see you whole again. I never thought this day would come.” He pulled both of them into a hug, then stepped back and faced Roxie. “Thank you for your help, my dear child.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I hadn’t dared hope for these results. I thought it was too much to ask. Now I just wish I could help the both of you unlock Frava.”

“We have it,” Aerigo said.

Baku gave him an incredulous look. “How did you--never mind. There’s no time for explanations right now. Nexus is sitting on his realm, watching his war unfold. He’s surrounded by gods aligned with him. What’s worse, I sensed whatever power you just unleashed on my realm. That means Nexus will sense your power on his realm the moment you unleash it. I don’t know how you want to handle that. I can send you there fully powered, but I don’t know if you want to announce your location to a hundred deities all at once. When Olod designed Aigis, he didn’t stack the odds in your favor.”

Roxie’s arms dropped by her sides at the thought of facing a hundred opponents she couldn’t hide from. Aerigo’s arms slipped off her. She could feel his despair. Both halves of their power combined were supposed to give them a fighting chance, not put targets on their foreheads. “Will all of them attack us?”

“I doubt it,” Baku said earnestly. “But there are allying gods who hate having Aigis floating around the universe as much Nexus does. They hate you only because they know you have the power to kill them. Some immortals are terribly repulsed by the possibility of death.”

“How is it possible we can kill something immortal?”

“Balance, my child. But right now isn’t the time to explain things. You two need to make a decision, and quick.”

Roxie faced Aerigo. He looked like he’d already come to a decision. She said, “We have to try. For the greater good.” He nodded solemnly. This had to be what it felt like to be a soldier, doing something noble, knowing it might mean the last thing you ever did, and having to accept that you’d never see the fruits borne from your efforts.

Baku said, “I can transport you off his realm quickly, once you’ve taken care of him. You’ll have a lot of aftermath to deal with, but it’ll buy you time. Maybe even time enough for other Aigis to be born that can help you.”

“It’ll really buy us that much more time?”

“Yes. It took a long time for us to get into this mess. It’ll take a long time to get out. Now no more questions. Do what you have to do, then tell me when you’re ready.” Baku headed to his lake.

Roxie watched him walk off, then glanced at the palace and daydreamed a few snippets of making love to Aerigo. She wasn’t going to lie to herself. Such thoughts had frequently crossed her mind ever since she’d woken up in the hospital, but the reality of the situation keep forcing her to deflect them. She took one of Aerigo’s hands and threaded her fingers between his. “After all this madness?”

Aerigo smiled, then kissed her knuckles. “After,” he said in his attractive deep voice. “Now for the final part of your lesson.” He let go of her hand. “I can’t walk you through it. I can only explain what Daio explained to me.”

“Okay.”

Aerigo’s gaze went unfocused as he filed through memories. “Sorry, this is the abridged version, since we’re pressed for time.”

“That’s fine.”

“You know how our eyes glow in response to anger, fear, and sadness? It’s basically a clue as to how our unique power works. It’s linked to our emotions, but let me get back to that in a moment.

“Daio said that, in order to unlock Frava, you unleash Mana like you just did. And then, while it’s free, focus the power on your resolve on something specific. Your resolve will take every ounce of focus, or it won’t work.”

Something like a static shock passed between them, making them both flinch. “Why resolve?”

“It’s a safe emotion, and the one that works best. The only other emotion that will help you unlock the second half is wrath. But don’t do that. You remember me explaining that blind rage I went into after Sandra died?”

Roxie nodded. How could she forget a story like that?

“That’s what’ll happen. And you’ll be surrounded by a hundred gods who will all be quite eager to kill you. Focus your will and intent on resolve. I’m focusing on taking Nexus down so he can’t cause any more harm.”

That wasn’t a bad focus, but Roxie had never
seen
Nexus, much less have anyone provide her with a physical description. It was too abstract. All she really wanted right now was to focus on Aerigo, but that was just plain too bad. “Too bad I can’t focus on love,” she said with a rueful grin.

“Our power isn’t--” Aerigo cut himself off and furrowed his brows. He thought a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not linked to love. Just find something solid to focus your resolve on.”

His denial lacked conviction. Roxie could see the gears still turning in his head, but she resisted asking more questions since they were pressed for time.

Roxie felt resolved to be the Aigis the mortal realm needed her to be, but that was so broad and vague. Even if she knew what Nexus looked like, she didn’t want to focus on killing him. That just wasn’t her. Maybe she--no, focusing on saving lives was too vague as well. Why was it so hard to come up with something concrete?

What did she want more than anything right now? Aerigo, obviously, but he said love wasn’t a helpful emotion. She could focus on protecting Aerigo, but it wasn’t like he needed her protection, so that idea was out. She cared about her grandmother and Earth. They needed her protection. She could focus her will on her resolve to keep Earth and everyone on it safe. Yes, there were many other worlds out there in need of her protection, but her home and family gave her a mental picture to focus on. Her gut told her that focus would suffice. “Okay, I got it.”

“Good.” He stuffed his sheathed dagger in a pocket, then threaded a hand in hers and guided her towards Baku. “The only other thing I can let you know is that, once you lock onto your focus, the power will help you maintain concentration. After that, I have no idea what to expect. This is the first time in a
long
time I’ve wandered into unknown territory.”

“Scared?” Roxie asked teasingly.

“Wouldn’t be safe not to be. Fear protects you from complacency. Remember that.”

Baku stood and brushed sand off his cargo shorts. He looked scared, worried, and hopeful. “I’ll be right behind you two, but I’ll arrive among the other gods. I’ll see if I can convince anyone to help, but I seriously doubt they will. Barring my son and I, gods just about never fight between each other anymore.”

“Wait, is Nexus your son?”

“Yes,” he said, sounding heartbroken. “All attempts to not arrive at this outcome have failed.”

Roxie felt the color drain from her face. How the heck did this mess happen? Baku had enlisted them to basically kill his own son? “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. How can you go through with this?”

“It’s a long story. You don’t have to kill him, though, Roxie. You can break his will. If you can avoid killing him, I’d be eternally grateful to you both. But if his death is unavoidable, then I’ll have to accept that. Don’t throw your lives away for my son’s sake. Please don’t.”

Aerigo said, “Rox, don’t hesitate on me now. I need your help.”

“I know. I just feel horrible about what we need to do.”

“Don’t,” Baku said. “My son is selfish and cruel. He will ruin Earth and set things in motion so every last living thing on your world will go extinct. He will do that to every world he gains control of. He’s a destroyer. Stop him and his madness for the greater good.”

“Well that puts things in perspective,” Roxie said unhappily. She heaved a resigned sigh, then nodded her readiness to do what needed to be done. He nodded back.

“Just follow my lead.”

Baku held out a hand. “To Nexus’ realm you go. Good luck.”

Everything went dark and the air rushed through them. Before Roxie could start guessing where the wind came from, she and Aerigo found themselves standing on the edge of a rocky basin. Red sandstone. A thunderstorm prowled overhead, flashing lightning and muttering thunder. Voices, gunshots, explosions, metal clashing on metal, and roaring engines bombarded her ears. They’d been deposited on the edge of a battlefield. Nexus’ war. She could see everything for miles--miles of carnage. Miles of people whose lives she needed to save. The sight made it easier to accept the possibly gruesome outcome for one god. But... “Where is he?”

“Somewhere on the other side. Don’t use your mind vision to search for him. I learned that the hard way long ago. He and I met face-to-face once on accident, but that’s a story for a less pressing moment. Let’s go. Stay close.”

He tried to pull his hand free, but Roxie gripped harder. “I’m not letting you get ahead. I can keep up. I’m letting go only once I absolutely have to.” He gave her a puzzled look, but she refused to explain her apprehension of getting separated from him, fearing it would distract him. She pulled him into a run and he took the lead, heading straight towards the roiling war.

They sped up to superhuman speed and the warring unfolded in slow motion all around them. They dodged projectiles with ease as they took a zigzagging path among the fighters. They skirted swinging weapons, leapt over rugged terrain, darted through smoke clouds emanating from small craters, and rapidly drew closer to the other end of the battlefield.

Maybe two-thirds of the way through, Roxie caught sight of a group of people with familiar orange hair and elongated feet. They ran within arm’s reach when Aerigo skidded to a halt.

“Yayu!”

Roxie spotted an armor-clad Yayu fighting with a pair of daggers. He killed the human he was fighting, then turned at the sound of his name. He looked just as surprised to see them as she was surprised to see him.

Aerigo said, “What are you--?”

The ground erupted under Yayu and his fellow Scondish warriors. Blue-skinned monsters with heads like a snapping turtle shot upwards in a spray of dirt and rocks, and chomped on the nearest things their gaping maws could find. One of them bit down on Yayu’s torso, then shook its head violently.

“
No
!” Ripping his hand free, Aerigo ran over buried his dagger in the eye of the monster that had killed Yayu, then punched it. The monster slammed to the ground and didn’t move. Aerigo ran to the surviving Scondish soldiers and helped them kill another blue monster. He turned for a third, then froze at the sound of a resonant voice overpowering the din of war. The glow in his eyes shifted from red to yellow.

“I sense an uninvited guest participating in my war. Is that you, Aerigo? Tsk, tsk. Come and face me, if you dare.”

The voice sent chills up Roxie’s spine that paralyzed her with fear. Aerigo looked at her with his mouth ajar, dagger at his side, arms hanging limp. He’d screwed up badly. Real badly. He swallowed, then stopped gaping. He hurried over to her and pulled her back into a run. “He doesn’t know you’re here. That’s the only advantage we have left. I’m so sorry, Rox.”

“Don’t apologize. We can still do this.” How could she blame him for avenging Yayu’s death? She felt numb to what she’d just witnessed. There had been death and blood, and that’s all her brain was letting her remember right now.

She let go of his hand so she could keep her balance as they jumped out of the way of an explosive spell that choked the air with a sparkling purple smoke. Roxie held her breath and skirted around it as Aerigo went the other way. He waved her over, but started running before she caught up. She wanted to scream at him to wait for her, but she didn’t dare call his name or speak too loudly. For all she knew, it would bring Nexus to her before she could draw her power out.

Roxie ran after Aerigo, but more explosions peppered her path. She zigzagged through the last two hundred yards of fighters, making a point to touch no one and nothing, and ran out onto the open ground, sticking close to rocks and boulders for cover.

Aerigo was nowhere in sight--not even in the empty space. She flung her mind vision out in search of him.

It was a reflexive reaction. It had become like saying “bless you” every time after someone sneezed. Right after she opened her mind vision, she realized it was a bad idea. She tried to stop, but her awareness got sucked up to the plateau looming over her. Her mind vision collided with a young-looking man with curly black hair that clung to his head, a lean build, and an age she couldn’t put a number to. The outline of his face widened in surprise.