Fae (12 page)

"What are you doing in my
room?" I screamed.

The pile stood up on two
legs and looked back just long enough for me to see his face before
he rushed out the room.

The boy from the ceiling.
The boy who had decorated my door. And after closer inspection of
my room, apparently he was also the boy who broke into someone's
room to paint defaming words onto her wall.

Sprite plastered every
inch of my room in bold red letters.

Goosebumps broke out on my
skin. I'd never once considered anyone would actually break into my
room. Suddenly I felt so vulnerable, like the shadows in the corner
by Cailen's chair were hiding some dark secret.

With that thought, I
picked up my packed bag and left for Cailen's room. In the morning,
if he wasn't there, I'd transport on my own, with Meir at my side.
I could do that. Ripping space and broken wings...well, that had
only happened that one time. There was no reason to think I
couldn't transport safely.

A shudder traveled up my
spine.

Maybe if I just didn't
think about it.

The corridor outside my
room was brightly lit and empty. It didn't seem like it was hiding
anything, but I realized now that bad guys didn't always hide in
the dark. Sometimes they faced you head on, pretending they
belonged in the light.

As I guessed, Cailen's
door and room remained untouched, by both Cailen himself and
whatever pile of crap vandal who might decide to go harassing
someone they were too scared to face.

I dropped my bag on the
floor and climbed into Cailen's bed. I pulled his sheets up to my
chin. Everything was covered with his sweet, musky scent. I
breathed it in, letting the reminder of his absence burn at the
back of my throat.

I wanted Cailen to be
there so badly. My insides ached with needing him beside me. And I
needed to know more about Anna. I was fighting hard against the
doubt, but I knew I didn't have the strength to keep it up, and
finding myself alone, recovering from a recent attack, I knew I
didn’t have much more strength to keep hope alive.

So I stuffed my face into
his pillow and pretended everything was all right. Tomorrow, I'd
see him again whether he came or not.

***

The next morning, I
skipped breakfast. And Cailen didn't show up.

I sat on his bed with my
legs pressed against my chest and my chin resting on my knees for
hours. Finally, when the signal for lunch dinged through the walls
and Cailen still never showed up, I decided it was time to
go.

My plan was to transport
to his ship first and then come back for Meir. If anything went
wrong, I didn't want to kill Meir in the process. My stomach
flopped a little bit thinking about that. I closed my eyes and took
a deep breath.

I would get through
this.

Before I did anything,
though, I needed to change. Three days in the same outfit and I was
starting to smell a bit ripe. I didn't care if the cloth was super
special, it didn't keep odors out at all. And boy did I have odors.
Actually, I probably should have thought about showering, but the
facilities were down at the other end of the hall and I did not
want to go for a walk.

So, I slipped out of my
green dress and pulled my second favorite out of the bag. It was
silver with blue accents. I don't know why I liked the colors. They
just seemed so magical. Plus, it didn't hurt that the first time
Cailen had seen it on me he'd stared for a really long time. That
had to be a good sign.

After that was all done
and I smelled at least halfway less link a stink pit, I clutched my
bag in my hands and let my wings slide out from beneath my skin. My
heart thudded in protest. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore
the way my skin crawled and my muscles clenched.

But I would do this. I
needed to.

I grit my teeth and
flapped my wings. Before they'd moved an inch, my body seized over
in panic. I couldn't breathe. My lungs gasped for breath. Sweat
pooled on every inch of my skin and I knew I couldn't do
it.

I rolled onto the floor
and hugged my knees to my chest. My body shuddered as I thought
about what I'd just almost done. Phantom pain ripped at my wings
and I clenched my stomach to keep from throwing up.

So there was the truth. I
couldn't leave on my own. I just hoped Cailen would get there soon,
or the war would just start. Either way, the hiding had to
stop.

After an hour of
struggling to keep the sparse contents of my stomach in place—and
almost failing on more than one occasion—I decided I needed
do
something
to
distract me. So I threw my bag onto Cailen's bed and stretched out
onto the cold, bare floor. Goosebumps popped onto my skin and I
winced when my back hit the ice cold metal.

Cailen had been training
me for weeks, getting me ready for the upcoming battles. He’d
always said my style of fighting was sporadic and only powerful the
same way a drowning man might kick up more water than a skilled
swimmer. It was effective for a very short time, but if I didn’t
win immediately, I wouldn’t have the stamina to keep it up. And
though training right then, in his room, would certainly not take
my thoughts from him, it would at least keep them focused on
something positive.

So I yawned and stretched
to relax my muscles and focus my breathing. And then I ordered the
drilium to flood my veins. Warmth tingled down my back all the way
to my toes and then back to the top of my head. I knew that if I
kept the drilium pouring in without satisfying its need, the
tingling would turn to burning and eventually scorch me from the
inside out. I didn't let it get that far.

Green, blue, and red dots
of light popped into my vision. I ignored the red ones—Fire—and
focused on the green. We’d been practicing solely on air since that
was Cailen’s particular specialty, but since the instances in the
market and the cafeteria, I got the crazy notion it might be a good
idea to figure out how to make it rain.

I tried to send the
molecules into little groups, focusing on millions of different
areas at once.

One drop of water fell from the air
and splashed onto my cheek.

Fail. So much for the torrential
downpour I'd been hoping for.

I tried again, pushing the
thought forward. It was a bit like trying to rub my stomach and pat
my head at the same time, only times a million. I imagined each of
the blue molecules going in different directions, joining
together.

Two drops fell to the
floor. Closer, but still nowhere near what I wanted. Telling all
the molecules to form one big wall was so much easier. But not
helpful. Soltak needed rain, not a flood.

I focused again, clenching
my fists. The walls dinged through the room and the green, blue,
and red points of light vanished from my vision.

Muttering curses
underneath my breath, I got up and looked at the time streaming
across the wall just above Cailen's bed. Time for the evening meal.
But that was impossible. I'd just started. There was no way I'd
spent six hours at this already. That's when I noticed the way my
dress clung to my back and my hair to my neck, wet and dripping. I
brushed my hand across my forehead and pulled away a cool sheen of
sweat.

Six hours and I'd managed
two drops of water. Apparently my accomplishments and talents were
not as great as I'd thought. At least not as long as subtlety was
my aim.

I wiped my wet hand across
the front of my dress and got up. My stomach growled, but a pile of
vitamins was not enough to coax me out of this room to sit by
myself with thousands of people who hated me.

Instead of practicing my rain making
abilities, I rested for a bit. If I wasn't going to eat, I needed
to slow down on the heavy duty stuff.

But waiting would drive me
out of my mind if I didn't do
something
. I pulled Cailen's bag
over to me and rummaged through it, thinking maybe he had some way
to communicate with someone on the ship. All I found were a few
pants and shirts and his little flat disk he'd showed me the other
day—the dark blue one with the light in the center.

I took it out and pressed my finger
against the light like Cailen had done. A list of words
materialized just above the disk.

Touch-Sensitive
Holographic Viewer (TSHV)

Below that was a list of
options:

Planetary Data

History

Auru

Languages

But no way to
communicate.

Feeling inquisitive, I touched History
and the words dissolved to form a new list. It was hundreds of
lines long with many words I didn't recognize and only a very few I
did.

Mosandar, Talia,
Kolhandthar, and Soltak.

I guessed the rest of the
words were the names of planets, too. But since those didn't
interest me right now, I decided to learn a little more about the
planet that had been my saving grace. So I placed my finger on the
planet where I'd escaped
Sho'ful
and met Meir.

Talia (Cradle of
Life)

According to legend, the
birth place of humankind and the battlefield of the first war. As
evidenced by the presence of the gemstone, Luminarium, Talia was
once a fertile planet, rich with life. Some 10,000 years ago, the
first civilization rebelled against El, paid homage to Manoo, and
worshiped his servant, Fire.

El sent fiery rocks upon
Talia--destroying most of the life forms--and ended the war against
Him and His followers. He saved a select few humans and spread them
out across the universe to populate other planets.

9,000 years or so after
the great destruction, colonists of the newly formed Mamood Fiefdom
cleaned Talia's atmosphere and settled it. Luminarium was
discovered three years later. Extensive mining operations have
transformed Talia's role in the First Galaxy as more and more
propulsion systems and intergalactic vessels become dependent on
Luminarium and its extensive uses.

I went back to the
previous page and selected Mosandar, eager now to relearn what I
probably once knew.

Mosandar (Land of
Sound)

Mostly inhabited by
primitives unfamiliar with interplanetary travel. One civilization
alone has risen far enough to technologically compete in the
galaxy. They call themselves Mosandarians and because of their
status on the planet, have given themselves the right to name
it.

Three leaders are placed
above the people of the Mosandarian civilization. Young girls who
are found at birth with the gift of blindness are trained until
they reach the age of majority (15). The three with the highest
proficiency for sound manipulation are selected to rule. Each year
after the age of majority, the leaders are challenged. If a new
girl proves stronger, the old leader is dethroned and killed. These
leaders are called the Bre’ha. Their skill has often been mistaken
for magic, and though it is not entirely understood, they are
capable of manipulation sound waves to create force fields, as well
as enable themselves to fly.

Due to their superior land
weapons and training, Mosandarian soldiers are often hired to help
in time of war. Their methods are strict and many peoples across
the galaxy do not feel akin to them. Some have accused them of
being more closely related to ocean dwellers—often called whales in
the common tongue or a close variation—rather than being
descendants of the first Talians, due to their mysterious voices,
which do extraordinarily mimic the creatures.

Take caution. Mosandarians
are sound worshipers and fashion their weapons around sound waves.
Weapons have proven to render bana cloth ill-effective. Take
caution.

I went back to the
previous screen again and saw that Soltak was another name I
recognized. But I'd heard enough about this planet. Ranen had
already filled me in on the gist of it. Elsden's mother, Elysia—a
Watergatherer—had chosen the Ladeshian clan among all the peoples
of Soltak to know the truth of Auru and to prepare for the
Destructor: Me.

So I scrolled down and
looked for something to pop out. There were lots of exotic names—a
lot I couldn't even pronounce—but nothing really caught my eye. Not
until I saw one name in bright red letters with symbols all around
it. I didn't recognize the symbols, but I had a feeling they were a
warning of some kind. I decided to try my luck and touched the
name. A very short description materialized in front of
me.

Earth (Dirt)

Once home of Morgan and
stronghold of the Order of Fae. Transport prohibited.

I went back to the first
list as fast as I could. For some reason, I had an overwhelming
urge to look over my shoulder to make sure no one had seen me. The
way Cailen had said Morgan's name—like it was vile and the worst
thing ever to come out of his mouth—I had a feeling reading
something about her, even something so brief, was just as
bad.

The first list solidified before my
eyes and I picked a new topic. Auru sounded interesting, so I went
there. More sub-categories showed up.