Elemental Rush (Elemental 0.5) (10 page)

I woke to the scent of food, and my stomach roared for it. I sat up straight, not caring where I was or who had found me. I simply needed to eat. Now.

Darkness filled the shack where I was, but I could still see clearly enough to find the flicker of orange flames coming from under the door. I stumbled toward it, crashing into a cot and a chair before I found the exit.

A tall, broad man met me outside. He held a bowl toward me, and though it steamed, I couldn’t shovel the food into my mouth fast enough. When I finished, the man led me to the fire, where he handed me a slab of dark bread.

He waited while I ate it, and the silence and calm assurance he radiated unnerved me. He wore a chain of ivory teeth around his neck, his feet were bare, his skin brown. His hair was black as pitch, and long, tied back into a low ponytail.

He watched me with golden eyes that held absolutely no fear. I detected a hint of wariness, which made him smart.

“Thank you,” I finally said to break the silence.

He nodded back to me, and I wondered if he spoke English.
Of course he does
, I chided myself. I hadn’t left the country.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice deep and full, and clearly not used often. “What brings you to my settlement?”

I swallowed, wondering how much I could tell this man. It was clear he wasn’t an Elemental. He must be Unmanifested, but they didn’t call their villages settlements, and they didn’t wear teeth around their necks.

“I’m Adam Gillman,” I said. “I’m an Airmaster from Tarpulin.” I made my voice strong, yet soft. “My Academy was buried, and I’ve been on the run for several weeks.”

“Have you broken any laws?” he asked.

“No,” I replied. “The Supremist just decided we didn’t need a school anymore. I was one of the lucky ones who survived.” Technically, everything I’d said was true.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m just trying to find somewhere I can stay for a while. I need to rest and gather some supplies and food.” I looked at him, silently pleading with him to let me stay in his settlement. “Are you the…?” I didn’t know what to call him. Councilman was obviously wrong. The Unmanifested villages were overseen by Councilmen, but still maintained a non-Elemental lawman.
A mayor
, I remembered from my lessons.

“I am Chief Tavar, leader of this Spirit-speaker settlement.” He appeared majestic as he spoke, his eyes alight with the flames in the fire.

“Spirit-speaker?” I asked. I hadn’t heard the term before.

“That is a name your Supremist gave us long ago. It has stuck.” He gazed into the black forest surrounding us. “We have some gifts that someone decided were not worthy of being Elemental. We were separated from the rest of society, and have been living in this settlement for many years now.”

I peered at him, anxious to know more. I was surprised this race of people had been left out of my education. Sentries were privileged to learn everything about every culture. We had to be knowledgeable so we could assess threats and dangers accurately.

“What kind of gifts?” I asked.

He waved his hand. “I can commune with nature. It’s how I knew you were loitering just outside my borders. I could feel your distress singing through the leaves. By the time I found you, you were unresponsive. My healer could scarcely find a pulse.”

I couldn’t seem to form a response.

“We all have varying degrees of gifts. Some can heal; some can speak with animals; some can direct energies. Your people call us Spirit-speakers, or Outcasts.”

“Oh,” I said. “Outcasts, yes. I’ve heard of you.” But it wasn’t anything good.
Crazy
came to mind, as that was what I’d been taught. I analyzed the Chief and decided that anyone who saved a complete stranger wasn’t crazy.

Just human.

Several air messages came in the next day. More Councilmen who had received my message and were interested in hearing what else I had to say. I had yet to get a message telling me to leave them alone. I wondered if Alex had instated other questionable policies that I didn’t know about.

“My son will show you to the bathing pool,” the Chief said after breakfast. He gestured to a teenager, maybe a few years younger than me. He wore only shorts, and he grinned from ear to ear.

“You’re an Airmaster?” he asked before I could introduce myself. He handed me a towel and a bar of soap. He set off into the forest, and I followed.

“Yes,” I said. “What’s your name?”

“Hanai,” he said. “I’m fourteen.” He glanced over his shoulder. “My father wants me to make sure you’re trustworthy.” He said the last words in a low voice, like we were conspiring together.

“What?” I asked, almost laughing. “How are you going to do that?”

Hanai shrugged. “He wants me to give you some of our terms.”

I wanted to stay in the Outcast settlement. In the twenty-four hours I’d been here, I’d felt more security and peace than I had in months.

“Go for it,” I said. “What does he want from me?”

“The Chief expects undying loyalty,” Hanai said, his voice floating back to me as we continued down a well-worn path. “He thinks you can teach us some survival techniques, and he expects all skills to be shared among the settlement. In return, he’ll help you with what you need.”

“All of that sounds fine,” I said, though I thought it actually sounded better than that.
Perfect
ran through my mind. I realized that I hadn’t felt the need to intrude on anyone’s thoughts since I’d arrived.

“Oh, and he says we can’t coexist on this earth without respect, kindness, and honesty. If you agree to abide by these terms, you can stay as long as you want.”

“I can do that, sure,” I said, hoping there wouldn’t come a time when I’d need to lie to the Chief or his people. Just because I was good at it didn’t mean I liked it. And I trusted the Chief, and I wanted him to trust me.

“Dad says there’s been some trouble with sentries,” Hanai said, and I perked up. “He doesn’t want anything to do with those trained to kill others. He says that’s not the way of nature, but that we should be encouraging growth and cooperation.”

“Mm,” I said, suddenly unable to put my voice to words. I had a tattoo that covered my entire back—the mark of a sentry. If Hanai saw that, would I still be welcomed to the settlement? I schooled my feelings, not allowing them to show on my face.

Hanai stopped at the top of the stairs. “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“I can sort of feel things, and you seem tense.” He shifted uncomfortably. “Is it because my dad wants you to agree to his terms before he’ll allow you to stay? I tried to get him to relax about this, but he’s been nervous lately.”

I seized on to his reason for my nerves. “What is he nervous about?”

“He has certain gifts too, and he says there’s some movement in the United Territories that will bring war.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What else has he said?”

“Not much.” Hanai started down the steps to the bathing pool. “You’re lucky it’s still warm,” he called over his shoulder. “In the winter, our pool is ice cold.”

I’d managed to keep my back turned away from Hanai during our bath, and in the succeeding days I’d gone to the pool early in the morning. The sun didn’t have a chance to heat the water, and I felt the iciness of it despite the early fall weather. But I couldn’t risk letting anyone know that I was a sentry—and still active.

I was assigned my own tent, and it was barely big enough for me to lie down in. I had a narrow strip of canvas on one side of my cot where I stored a small knapsack the Chief had given me. I kept it packed with a spare set of clothes, extra socks, and a day’s worth of food. I didn’t know when I’d need to leave the settlement, but I did know I didn’t want to endanger the Chief, his settlement, or any of his people.

Over the course of several weeks, they taught me to find food in the forest. As first I couldn’t see the ground squirrels and birds. I pretended that I didn’t have experience with hitting a target, but after a few days of hunting with Hanai, I allowed my sentry skills to emerge. I used a slingshot to kill a bird, and as I roasted it for lunch, I felt a sense of pride I’d never felt while training to kill people.

I knew it was because I’d only killed the bird out of necessity—not because my Councilman didn’t like the way it looked, or sounded, or flew.

In return, I taught the Outcasts how to hide in plain sight. I taught them how to mend broken bones, breathe for another person, and how to boil the sap out of harkroot to make syrup that would relieve pain.

They had a basic knowledge of medicine, but the Chief wanted to know more, especially how we fixed things without a healer. I spent many hours with him and his healers, and their questions were endless.

If I wasn’t doing that, Hanai and I fished in the stream running through the settlement. Or we practiced with the slingshot. Or we mended our boots while the wind pushed through the trees.

Fall was just starting to fade into winter when I received an air message from Davison. “Can you come to Gregorio? I believe now is the time to talk about a rebellion. I can promise you safety within my high-rise, and we can work together to find a solution that will benefit all people in the Territories.”

I wanted to leave the next day, but I had preparations to make. The journey from the Outcast settlement to Gregorio took nine days, and I didn’t want to collapse from hunger the way I had before.

I sent him a return message, telling him to watch for Adam Gillman to arrive in two weeks. Then I had to figure out how to tell Hanai and the Chief that I was leaving.

“Adam Gillman?”
A sentry emerged from the shadows of a tree ten miles from Gregorio, his eyes as sharp as Felix’s had ever been.

I stopped at the sound of his voice as I appraised him. He likewise sized me up.

I’m taller than him
, he thought.
He’s skinny, but looks to be all muscle. Needs a haircut, and his eyes look like he’s seen dangerous things and knows how—
I blocked his mind then, unwilling to know what he thought I could do. Sentries tended to be able to identify a fellow sentry easily enough. There was something about the way we carried ourselves that spoke of the horrific things we knew how to do.

“I’m Adam Gillman,” I said, taking a step backward. A sentry would never do that. He was taller than me, and he obviously ate better than I had been. But I’d been trapping, hunting, and cooking my own meals for a few months now. He sat down in a dining hall and ate as much as he wanted. He probably didn’t even know where his food came from.

He probably worked out every day. My life had become a constant workout, and though I had stayed in shape, I knew I’d lost some of my strength. This sentry could likely take me in a hand-to-hand battle.

“Davison sent me to accompany you to his high-rise.”

“Lead the way,” I said.