Element Wielder (The Void Wielder Trilogy Book 1) (10 page)

CHAPTER 19

Falcon’s scream echoed in the hallway.
Is he having a nightmare?
Aya thought. Lao once mentioned to her that Falcon would wake up screaming at night, but she never imagined it was this bad.

Doctor Solis left her in charge for the night, but now Aya questioned if that had been a wise decision. She could deal with physical wounds, no problem. Nightmares were another matter.

Another scream, much louder than the first, filled the air. Aya winced. She couldn’t bear to hear him like this.

She snuck into the room. Falcon lay on the bed, looking as peaceful as a baby. She brushed his moist hair back.

All of a sudden Falcon cried out. Her serene moment broken, Aya gasped and pulled her hand away. “Faith, I’ll be back,” He half-spoke, half-yelled.

Faith?
Is that his mother’s name?

Falcon’s body jerked uncontrollably. He repeated the name a few more times and then stopped moving.

What do I do? I can’t leave him like this all night.
At that exact moment a thought entered her mind.
I can’t possibly do that. No, he’ll think I’m crazy.

Aya moved toward the door. As she reached for the handle, Falcon let out a strangled scream. That was enough. She turned back, determined to put her plan in action.

Slowly, Aya climbed on the bed. Her pulse thumped in her ears as she lay next to him.
Can he hear it?
As soon as she took hold of his hand, his body relaxed. The musky aroma and tender heat of his body washed over her.
What am I doing? If he wakes up he’s going to think I’m crazy.
In newfound panic, she attempted to get up. Then, without warning, Falcon’s arm came over her and pulled her in. She didn’t fight it. Letting her guard down, she simply lost herself in his embrace. In no time she was fast asleep.

~ ~ ~

Falcon jumped as the door slammed against the wall.

“Was about to ask how your night was, but I see it was quite good,” said Doctor Solis as she shot a wry smile at Aya.

Aya’s cheeks turned a bright pink. “I was just trying to calm him,” she said, jumping off the bed.

“Yeah, that was it,” added Falcon, trying to keep his voice steady. However, unexpectedly waking up next to one of his best friends was making it hard to do that. He was certain his face was as red as Aya’s.

“A simple sedative tea would have sufficed,” countered Doctor Solis. A large smile was still covering her face.

“I’ll remember that next time,” said Aya. Her hands trembled as she fixed her hair into a chopstick bun. “Goodbye, doctor, and ah, you too, Falcon.” She avoided eye contact as she hurried out of the room. Falcon had never seen her so flustered. Then again, he didn’t know what to make of last night either.
Was she really just trying to calm me down? Yes, that’s probably it. All we did was sleep, anyway.
Whatever it was, there was no time to dwell on it. Graduation day had arrived.

“I see you and doors are still sworn enemies, doctor.” Falcon laughed. “Any chance of a truce?”

“Obvious feeling much better, you are, if joke you can. Ready to go back to dorms?”

“Why, yes, I am.”

“Need beds for other patients now. Good fortune with today. See you soon.”

How does she say all that without taking a breath?

Falcon decided not to ask. “Thank you, doctor. You’re the best. I’ll see you later.”

“Hopefully not. Better if injured you do not get from now on.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Falcon took his small bag of belongings and walked out of the infirmary, making sure to avoid the pieces of the door that were scattered on the floor.

The way back to his dorm room was accompanied by whispers from the students. This was nothing new to him, but for the first time in his life he felt deserving of their harsh stares. He demolished half of the coliseum, after all. He dared not meet their gaze, and instead stared down at the ground in shame, only occasionally looking up to make sure he did not crash into anyone. Not that it was much of a problem; everyone was doing a great job of keeping at least ten feet away from him.

Falcon’s body relaxed when the faded blue door finally came into view. He knocked; frustrated that he had lost his key. A skinny boy with rat teeth answered. “Yes?” he asked. He had a bossy tone as if he was king of the world.

“Who are you?” asked Falcon.

The rat boy scanned him from head to toe. “That is none of your concern.” He began to close the door.

“Can you get out of the way so I can enter into my room?” It was more an order than a question.

“Nice try, you…
thing
, but this is not your room. It’s Chonsey’s room.” The door slammed in Falcon’s face.

A second later the door opened again. This time Chonsey stood at the door. His face was bruised and he wore a cast on his left arm. “I’m sorry, mate. You have to forgive my cousin, Montrose. He didn’t know I shared a room with you. We were about to go out for some food. I’ll take Montrose with me.”

“But why?” said Falcon. “He’s such a charmer.” Montrose ignored him as he sashayed out the door, his head held high.

“I would have burnt one of his fingers off for talking to me like that,” said Lao. He lay in his bed with his hands behind his head. “He would watch his mouth after that.”

“If I did that, I would have to burn half the school. During my walk back here, people looked at me as if I were a monster. I suppose I can’t blame them. I mean, after what happened.”

“They’re a bunch of jealous weaklings. You were great in your duel. The way you demolished Sheridan was amazing.”

“How about Aya? If I would have hurt her, would that have been amazing too?”

“That wasn’t your fault,” said Lao. “She interfered with your fight. It’s not like you went looking for her. Besides, nothing happened, so why worry?”

“Because something could have happened.”

“Listen, Falcon. We won our fights and that’s all that matters. Tonight we will both be made Rohads. You’ll see.”

Falcon remained quiet. Lao sounded sure of himself, but for the first time in his life, Falcon was beginning to doubt his friend’s word.

~ ~ ~

Despite Lao’s insistence, Falcon did not go to the graduation ceremony. Why bother? He would not be among those graduating. Not after the display he had put on in front of everyone at Rohad.

His spirit sank as he thought of the two more years he would have to wait to have an opportunity to graduate. The dream he had thought to be closer than ever now dissolved before his eyes.

Falcon gazed at the stars. It was times like these he was glad to have a glass ceiling. Seeing the grandness of space made all of his problems seem insignificant by comparison. Every time he relaxed, though, the loud cheers brought him back to reality.

The cheering and applause came in short bursts every few seconds. The dining hall where the graduation was taking place was clear across the training grounds; yet, the shouts sounded as if they were coming from the adjacent room.

He had heard the eruption eight times now, which meant eight people passed the exams. Rohad only sent their best into the field and it wasn’t uncommon for some students to never graduate. Falcon only knew of one such person, Doctor Solis.

Everything went quiet. No doubt all the graduates had been announced. He hoped Aya and Lao were among them. They deserved it.

A sudden loud knock banged the door.

“It’s open,” he said.

Chonsey rushed in, his sweat-soaked shirt stuck evenly to his skinny body. “Hey, mate.” He bent down and rested both arms on his knees. His breaths were loud and fast.

“What happened, Chonsey?” he asked. “Did something go wrong?”

“It’s y-y-you, mate…you…needed in dining hall.”

“Me? You have to speak a little clearer; you sound like Doctor Solis.”

Chonsey caught his breath. “Grandmaster Zoen called your name, but you didn’t go up so I was sent to get you. They’re all waiting for you. You passed, mate.”

Falcon stood motionless
. How? I blew the exams.

Chonsey shook Falcon into attention. “Go now, mate. They’re not going to wait all night!”

Falcon took off in a mad sprint toward the dining room. The entire run there became a haze of mixed emotions. Time seemed to compress itself and in what seemed like seconds he found himself reaching for the door handle. As he stepped into the room, hundreds of eyes fell on him.

The entire dining hall was adorned with gold and black ribbons that hung from the roof. One tapestry for each of the twelve elements dangled from the back wall. Hundreds of long candles lit up the large room. Falcon had no idea that the old dining hall could be made to look so luxurious.

“Nice of you to finally join us, Mr. Hyatt,” said Grandmaster Zoen, from atop his podium. He had abandoned his usual black robe for a bright green one. On his right, the eight new Rohad mercenaries proudly stood. Lao and Aya were among them, as were Sheridan, Hiromy, and Laars. “There is a spot open up here if you care to join us.”

“Yes, sir,” said Falcon, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He failed and a smile formed across his lips.

A forced applause accompanied him as he moved up to the podium. He didn’t mind. Nothing could bother him at the moment.

Lao gave him a low thumbs up, Sheridan waved, his friends Aya and Hiromy held a bouquet of flowers in their hands as they smiled at the crowd. Falcon soaked in every memory, from the goose bumps covering his body, to the smell of greasy drumsticks the attendees had on their plates.

After Falcon joined his fellow graduates. Zoen spoke. “Ladies and gentleman, I give you this year’s graduates.”

Everyone in attendance stood and cheered. To Falcon everything seemed surreal, almost like a dream, but this was no dream. He was finally a Rohad mercenary, and more importantly, he was finally going to be able to find his parents’ killer, Shal-Volcseck.

CHAPTER 20

The sun had just begun to rise when a hard punch to his arm woke him.

“More sleep,” he whined, pulling the sheets over his head. After last night’s festivities he’d only managed to sneak in three, maybe four hours of sleep.

“Sleep is going to have to wait,” said Lao, his voice much more excited than Falcon expected it to be.

“What’s with you?” asked Falcon, still hiding under his sheets.

“We’ve been summoned for our first mission. We are to report to the painted sphere immediately.”

Falcon peeked from under his sheet. “What? Really?”

This was certainly news. Usually graduates would have to wait at least a month before they were assigned a mission. Falcon wasn’t about to complain. This was good. He hated waiting.

The walk to Zoen’s office was a long one, but in their excitement Falcon and Lao traversed it in minutes. Aya and Sheridan were already there when they arrived. Falcon and Lao stood at attention, chests up and heads high, awaiting their orders.

Without bothering to look up, Grandmaster Zoen scribbled away on a large parchment that lay across his desk.

Since only full-fledged Rohads were allowed access to the painted sphere, this was Falcon’s first time seeing it. Its name was well earned. The large, circular room had countless paintings of beautiful natural landscapes adorning the walls. One was of a desert oasis, a few were of lush green gardens, some were of the cold ice plains, and a number of them were of celestial bodies unknown to him. A lone desk filled with dozens of open and unopened scrolls atop it sat at the center of the room. Falcon figured one of the paintings was new. The strong scent of paint and charcoal lingered in the air.

“Good morning, Rohads,” welcomed the grandmaster in his usual calm voice.

“Good morning, sir,” answered the four graduates.

“At ease, there is no need for such formalities.”

Falcon relaxed his muscles.

“I have summoned the four of you because I have a task that needs completion.” Zoen reached under his desk and pulled out four scrolls. He handed one to each of them.

“These contain the details of your mission.” The four Rohads looked over their scrolls as the Grandmaster continued briefing them. “Two days ago we received a protection request from a small farming village north of here, Asturia. A request like this is highly unusual, as we don’t usually deploy teams smaller than ten Rohads. Asturia has fallen on hard times; they barely had enough to pay for one rookie Rohad.”

“So why are we
all
here?” said Lao, a second before Falcon could ask that same question.

“I’m glad you asked. I’m not one to send a single Rohad on any mission. There is strength in numbers. So I opted to send the four of you free of charge. You will be there for two weeks.” He frowned. “It was the only amount of time I was able to convince the Rohad council to approve, and even that was a struggle. The council has always been more about money than protection. If only….” The grandmaster lowered his voice and Falcon wondered if he was talking to them or to himself. “Forgive me, where was I?”

“You were briefing us on the mission, sir?” answered Sheridan.

Zoen looked up. “Oh yes. The leaders of Asturia claim to have been repeatedly attacked by the Suteckh Empire. This seems highly unlikely. There have been no reports of such attacks by any other capital cities or villages, and such action by them would lead to a full-scale war. Moreover, there is no foreseeable reason for such a large and powerful empire to attack such a strategically insignificant village. It is much more likely that a band of raiders have been attacking the village. This is where you four come in. You are to find out who is attacking the village. Once you identify the problem, put an end to it. Any questions?”

“No, sir,” they answered in unison.

“Good. You depart within the hour.”

Falcon and Lao excused themselves and rushed out of the office. They raced to their room and retrieved their weapons. They then stopped at the dining room for a quick meal. Once done, they headed to the city gates.

Falcon’s hands trembled with eager anticipation
. I’m doing it. I’m going on my first mission.

Few people came out to see them off. Both Lao’s and Aya’s parents were there. It was quite a sight to see a peasant and noble family together in Ladria. One family wore fine silk clothing, the other worn leather tunics.

Falcon had not expected anyone to see him off, so he was surprised when Hiromy turned up with all her friends. Her hair was fixed in long curls and was tied together by a small blue ribbon that complemented the short blue dress she wore. She smelled as if she had poured on an entire bottle of Jasmine perfume.

Hiromy ran her hands through her hair. “Good luck on your first mission, Falcon. I know you’ll do great.”

“I will try my best,” said Falcon, resisting the urge to sneeze as she moved closer. “What about you? When do you go on your first mission?”

“I’m not sure. I’m afraid Father might use his influence to keep me out of the challenging missions. You know, with me being the emperor’s daughter and all. He probably thinks I can’t handle it.”

“If he thinks that he couldn’t be more wrong. You’re one of the best wielders I’ve ever met.”

“Thanks, but I’m nowhere as good as you. That is why I know you’ll do great.” Hiromy glanced behind Falcon. “I suppose I’ll see you later. It looks like your friends are waiting for you.”

“See you, Hiromy.” Falcon turned and joined Aya and Lao, who had already said their goodbyes and stood waiting for him.

“Be safe,” were the last words he heard from Hiromy as he rounded the corner and moved down the long trail.

~ ~ ~

The road to Asturia was a long one. After four days of walking, though, their spirits remained high. Falcon was just grateful they had traversed the desert in only two days. The tall forest trees around them provided some much-needed shade.

“Look at the clouds. They’re dark gray,” said Sheridan. “You know what that means. There’s a thunderstorm approaching.”

“You’re right,” agreed Aya. “I say we have about one…maybe two hours before we’re caught in the middle of it.”

“We’ve been traveling four days,” said Falcon. “And we haven’t seen a guidepost leading to Asturia in over a day. There is no way of knowing how far we are from reaching it. I say we find shelter sooner rather than later.”

“What’s that over there?” asked Lao, pointing toward a large clearing between the trees. Falcon looked but saw nothing. Not until he squinted did he make out a number of ramshackle cabins at a distance.

“Looks like an abandoned village,” said Aya.

Sheridan took off in a mad sprint toward the structures. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go see what it is.”

Falcon, Lao, and Aya followed at a much slower pace. 

As Falcon got closer, a blur dashed before him.

“You guys see that?” asked Aya.

“I sure did,” said Lao. “It looks as if someone has made this place their home.”

As they got closer, more people came into view. Children scurried about playing what appeared to be a version of run and catch. A group of women washed clothes on a large, stone water fountain. There was a cluster of rundown wooden cabins, most half-burnt. To the right of the village was a series of empty farming fields. Beyond the fields and around the village, a never-ending forest encircled them.
Why would anyone live in this desolate place?

Upon seeing them, the women dropped their clothes and ran. Some clutched their children and rushed into their homes. Not that the beat-down cabins could provide much protection against would-be attackers.

“Attack, we’re under attack!” yelled a stubby woman, who wore way too much red makeup around her lips. She reminded Falcon of a poorly made porcelain doll. “Someone, help us!”

A group of men in ragged shirts rushed them with sticks, pitchforks, shovels, and rakes in hand. Some of them looked too sickly to be standing, much less holding a “weapon.” Dark pits resided where their eyes should be; their bony ribs, visible through their ragged tunics. Skin hanged from their emaciated, almost lifeless bodies. Few of them wore footwear of any kind. Their legs seemed as if they would buckle at any moment.

“Identify yourselves…or…um…die where you stand,” stuttered a malnourished man. “Captain Benoit will be back from his rounds soon. Then you’ll be sor-sor-sorry.”

“Calm yourselves,” said another, more controlled, voice. “These people are here to help.”

Falcon turned toward the voice, which belonged to a short slim man. He appeared to be in his mid-seventies. Unlike most of the men he’d seen thus far, the older man looked much calmer. His wrinkled skin was red with sunburn, and the sharp edges on his face hinted at food deprivation. He walked toward Falcon, dragging his feet so much that a veil of dust arose under him.

“I’m sorry, but we’re actually looking for a farming village called Asturia,” clarified Falcon. “I wonder if you would be good enough to point us in the right direction?”

The old man chuckled. “Young man, you found it, or rather what’s left of it.”

There was a long awkward silence.

Sheridan threw up his hands. “This is an utter failure. Not much to defend here, is there?”

“Sheridan!” said Aya, shooting him a look of exasperation.

Sheridan shrugged defensively. “What? There’s not.”

“Excuse our friend,” Aya apologized. “He’s not one for manners.”

The elder man waved his hand dismissively. “No, he's right. There's not much left to fight for. Not for outsiders, anyway. But this is our home, where we grew up, where we belong. So we fight for it.”

Falcon thought back to the men who rushed to defend the village, admiring their conviction.

Most of the women who had run away earlier had slowly made their way out of their cabins. Many of them held children close in their arms.

A little girl who couldn’t be more than six years old broke from her mother’s grip and ran toward them. She wore dirt-stained clothes from head to toe. She came to Aya and pulled on her skirt.

Aya crouched beside her. “What is it?”

“Do you have anything to eat? It doesn’t have to be much good.”

Aya swallowed hard. She dug through her backpack, coming up with a few rations of dried salted meat. All the children flocked to her. She dispersed to them, and in no time at all the travel provisions were gone.

“What happened here?” asked Lao. “We heard you had been under attack, but nobody imagined it was this bad. In fact, there was doubt that your village had even been attacked at all.”

“What happened, you ask?” said the old man. “A lot has happened.” He took a seat by the fountain. “Our misfortunes, however, began when we were attacked by the chaos lord.”

Chaos lord?
The words hung in Falcon’s mind. There was only person he knew who was called that. Could it be?

“To what heartless being do you refer?” said Falcon.

“Who else? That chaos wielder, of course, the one known as Shal-Volcseck.”