Elements (Tear of God Book 1) (26 page)

“Wakey, wakey, Blankey.” Blin crouched down, cocking his head to make eye contact with Mink in the dark. “Let’s have a chat.”

M
INK CONCENTRATED
on breathing steadily while shielding himself from another attack. He was at a complete disadvantage.

“A thrilling conversation to be had, I’m sure.” He sat up straighter against the tree, clenching his teeth through the pain. “But can’t it wait until tomorrow? Next year, maybe?” He didn’t want Blin to gain any satisfaction from knowing how much his ribs hurt, let alone give off a sense of fear.

“Tolrin wants to talk to you, but I think we need to get some things straight first.”

“Okay, Blin. What exactly do we need to get straight?”

Blin extended his hand for Mink to shake. “Truce? For now?”

Mink left Blin hanging. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Listen, Blankey.” Blin slipped into a more serious and vulnerable demeanor than Mink thought possible, which made him uncomfortable. “I need this gig. I’m only here because I’m the third fastest with Flash Feet in our age group. If I can prove myself, I might be able to get a courier job with the army. My grades the way they are, I could really use the help.”

Mink laughed and the resurging pain in his side reinforced his doubt of Blin’s sincerity. “Blin, Blin, Blin. Are your brains that rotten? Why would I care about helping you? You want a truce? Then leave me alone. You’re the one always beating up on me.”

Blin finally gave up on getting a handshake out of Mink and abruptly withdrew his hand. “If you don’t help me,” Blin sneered, pulling Nyam’s flatwrap out of his jacket, “then everyone will know what a nasty habit your mom has. So, if your brains aren’t rotten, I suggest you put in a good word for me.”

Mink’s mind raced to process this turn of events. Even if his mom denied the boost bars were hers, it wouldn’t take long for a Body user to detect signs of it on her using Diagnosis. Her short-lived legacy of turning a self effect into a target effect would be tainted by criminal activity. Not to mention the charges brought against Mink for possession.

“What do you mean ‘put in a good word’ for you?”

Blin quickly shoved Nyam’s flatwrap back inside his jacket. “Tréa has been making reports from your Corporal, and Tolrin keeps asking about you. Now he wants to talk to you in his cabin. If you get me in his good graces, I’ll give it back to you.”

Mink had a bad feeling about making a deal with Blin, who had far from proven himself trustworthy. If he gave Blin any leverage, he might not ever let it go. “Well, what do I do, make stuff up? What makes you think you’ve given me anything nice to say?”

“Thoy told me at the party that you were sorry I got hurt.” So, Thoy had been Eavesdropping on him last night! “That you were just trying to get away. Even that you wanted to apologize. If that’s true, this is your chance.” Blin sat, folding his arms as if he just won an argument.

Mink shook his head, both amused and irritated by Blin’s audacity. “You have a funny way of trying to make friends. Tolrin is a Spirit user, Blin. He’s smart enough to be suspicious if I just name drop you randomly. When there’s a chance, I’ll ‘put in a good word.’ But if anyone ever hears about the contents of that flatwrap, you’ll have to defect to find work. My uncle will see to that without any prompting from me. Deal?”

Mink extended his hand and Blin hastily shook it. “If I can get this job, I’ll make it up to you.”

“You can start by not calling me ‘Blankey.’”

Mink trailed Blin back down the slope to find that the camp had been well-established. Some people had set up tents made of fabric, others had Materialized octagonal Wood cabins. A few groups encircled Radiated logs, but the camp as a whole was quiet and dark. The camping spot Mink had chosen earlier was still available, and he could swear it looked smoother and flatter than before, as though a Soil user had actually gone to the trouble of preparing it for him.

All the same, Mink avoided making eye contact with others as Blin led him through the camp to a small cabin, dwarfed by its proximity to the enormous wagon. Mink was sensitive to conversations that hushed as he passed. He couldn’t get a sense yet of just how the rest of the Team felt about him. They reached the doorless opening to Tolrin’s cabin and Blin knocked on the wall.

“It’s Blin with Mink, sir!”

“Come on in, Mink. You are dismissed, Blin,” Tolrin called from inside.

As Mink passed him to enter, Blin patted the chest of his jacket where he carried Nyam’s flatwrap. The inside of the octagonal cabin was quite spartan. Tolrin sat on the ground in front of a low Wood platform covered in papers. A bed roll waited off to the side, suggesting that the make-shift desk doubled as a bed. A glow crystal hung from the ceiling, bathing the interior in a stark white. The walls were a grainless brown Materialized Wood.

“Sit here,” Tolrin ordered, pointing to the floor beside him.

Mink settled in, sitting cross-legged. He could make out about a dozen maps spread haphazardly in front of Tolrin.

“You know, it’s times like these I wish we had more initiative to map out this rotting wilderness. Does it ever seem to you like our country is oblivious to the world outside its borders?” Tolrin looked up at Mink poker-faced.

Mink knew from his father’s work that a little dissent toward Octernal could make big trouble. He suspected a test of some sort. “I dunno. We have plenty of classes on the rest of the world. Other cultures, languages, and stuff. I think it’s all right that we know ourselves better. We should be more concerned with our own, I think. The wilderness is what it is.”

Tolrin smiled and nodded his approval. “You’re all right, Mink. So, I understand that you are the one who beat my record on the Reactionary Strategies exam. I was proud of that record. Mr. Gusky told me about you. But now I see he didn’t quite tell me everything.”

Mink swelled with pride. “I loved that class. It was one of the things I could actually do.”

“Well, from one champion strategist to another, let me run something by you.”

Mink felt the blood drain from his head. Tolrin Makunam was about to ask him for advice?

“You’ve said this thing we’re after is as big or bigger than the Main Cameral building, two miles below the surface, and underneath a very large ore deposit, right?”

“Yessir.”

“Lieutenant Jannri and I came up with an idea that uses only forty-six people to get it out of there. If this thing is what you say it is, anyone in close proximity should become more powerful. That being the case, we estimated only four Soil users would be needed as follows: One on the geode to widen the opening from inside the cavern. One on the surface to widen the opening from above. And two to Materialize Soil under it, providing leverage for the Body users to lift from underneath.”

Tolrin paused at this point to make sure Mink didn’t have any questions or objections so far. Mink followed, nodding for Tolrin to continue.

“At the surface, two Wood users will build eight pulley systems, equally spaced, which will ultimately integrate with the wagon for transportation. Two Water users will be present to keep up the Wood users’ strength and prevent any unwanted visitors from approaching too close.

“We will have four Lightning users, harnessed to the backs of four Air users, to Thunderstrike or Scattered Storm any uninvited guests the Water users detain. Also, four Fire users will support the Body users in the cavern. We assume your dad will be our fourth Spirit user, responsible for relaying information between the surface and cavern squads.

“There will be twenty-four Body users in all; eight to pull the Tear of God up from the surface, and sixteen if we include your mom, to lift it up while the Soil users make the next layer of support. The thing I can’t figure out is what to do with all the ore in our way. It’s too much for even four Fire users to melt away. What are your thoughts?”

Mink took a moment to consider everything Tolrin had just told him, referencing his experience from a few days ago. “I don’t know about the Spirit users communicating from surface to cavern. My dad had to break off Silent Signal Fire because of some kind of interference from the geode. You might have different results, since my lack of an Element could have played a part.

“Anyway, you may want to utilize them with the Perimeter Cell to scan for potential hiding enemies using Mental Vacation. Any communication will probably need to be relayed to the Cavern Squad before they go down the hole. Would the Support Unit be available to help with getting the geode up?”

“Don’t bet on it,” Tolrin replied. “Our Unit is mostly strike and combat ready. At the site, we’ll be stationed along the edge of Rift Ridge, looking for approaching Machinists. We can’t let them get within weapon range, if they show.”

“Then,” Mink continued, “I suggest the Air users start in the cavern so they can put the Featherweight effect on the geode and any exposed ore. You’re going to want them and the Lightning users empowered by it anyway. That will free up eight Body users from the lifting to remove the ore. My mom dug straight up through it.”

“Good point.” Tolrin was impressed. “Very good point. That settles it then.”

“You did all the heavy lifting on this one, sir. I just stood on top of your plan.”

Tolrin groaned at Mink’s pun, then clapped his shoulder. “When it’s just the two of us, call me Sneak,” Tolrin said, using his thornball nickname.

Mink felt a rush, suddenly remembering he was in the presence of the man he wanted to become when he was a kid. He started to gush, “You know, I used to go to all your—”

“Don’t lose your cool, man.” Tolrin held his hand up in front of Mink’s face. “We have a few more things to discuss.”

Mink collected himself from the walls. “All ears.”

“Can you make any sense of these maps? Enough to see which way you came back?”

Mink looked over the maps in turn. Some were drawn with landmarks only, and not likely to scale. Others suggested topography, but lacked enough detail to give him a sense of orientation. He saw several references to the same points of interest using different names. None of the maps covered the whole wilderness.