Freakling (24 page)

The earthquake stopped abruptly.

“What did you do?” Yens yelled. With one last horrified look at Taemon, Yens ran back inside the temple.

“It’s going to collapse!” Taemon started to run after Yens, but Amma held him back.

“Let Yens make his choice,” she said.

The floor lurched beneath Taemon’s feet. Even though the earthquake had stopped, the balcony was teetering on an unstable foundation.

Taemon stared at the door Yens had just disappeared through. Where were the priests? Had they gone inside, too?

“We have to go!” Amma said. “Now!”

Taemon and Amma hurried down the rubble. Just as they reached the ground, the temple wobbled one last time, then fell into a heap of stone and wood and dust.

When the upheaval ended, everything felt eerily tranquil.

“Was that you?” Amma asked. “Did you do that?”

“No. I did something else. Something people are not going to like.”

“Whatever it was, if it stops the war, it will be worth it.”

Taemon hoped she was right.

The people who had gathered at the temple had backed away and watched the temple fall. Taemon and Amma went to join them.

Solovar stepped forward. “What happened? Where are the priests?”

Amma spoke up. “The last time I saw them, they were running into the temple.”

“They were inside?” Solovar asked.

“I think so,” Amma whispered. “Yens, too.”

“Let’s clear away this rubble, people,” Solovar said.

That’s when the real panic started.

“I can’t do anything!”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Where is my psi?”

“Is yours gone, too?”

“Skies! Does anyone still have psi?”

“The temple! It must have happened when the temple fell down.”

The voices grew louder and more anxious. He knew how they felt. Learning how to be powerless would be hard, very hard. But when he thought about the alternative — war, destruction, suffering — he knew he’d made the right choice.

He watched Amma’s face as she began to piece together what had happened. Her eyes slowly widened. “I think it’s better if we go back to the colony for now,” she whispered. “If they find out it was you, you’ll be in real danger. We’ll send back some people who can help.”

“Wait,” said Solovar. “Let me go with you.”

Without thinking, Taemon put a hand on Solovar’s shoulder. But Solovar didn’t even flinch. “The people here need you, Solovar. You can help them rebuild Deliverance. The colonists will teach you how to build things that don’t require psi to operate, how to plant and harvest food. Life can be good again.”

Solovar rubbed his hand over the white stubble on his chin. His fingers left streaks in the dust covering his face. He took a deep breath. “Skies above. It really is a new cycle.”

Amma and Taemon took advantage of all the confusion to slip out of the temple grounds, down the steps, and out to the street.

The traffic lights had stopped working, but it didn’t matter because the quadriders had stopped running as well, their drivers puzzled. Some had gotten out of their vehicles and were banging on the hoods, unsure how to open them without psi. One woman was sitting on the curb, holding her head in her hands and rocking her body. Children were crying, and their parents were holding them awkwardly.

“So it’s gone?” Amma asked. “Psi is really gone?”

Taemon nodded. “It was the only way.”

“Your parents would be proud,” Amma said. “It was the right thing.”

“But not the easy thing.”

At a restaurant, people were climbing out of broken windows because no one could get the automatic doors to work. Some people ran; others wandered in a stupor.

“This is going to get worse before it gets better,” Amma whispered.

“It will take a long time to get used to,” Taemon said. “But they’ll adapt.”

“Let’s go home,” Amma said. “Which way?”

“This way,” said Taemon, pointing to the Alligator street sign. “It’s the quickest.”

He took her hand. Amid the pandemonium, Taemon and Amma walked calmly through the streets and left Deliverance through the North Gate.

Writing is often considered a solitary endeavor, but really it’s a team sport. I am lucky to belong to an amazing team helping me at every point in the game.

My miracle-worker agent, Molly Jaffa, saw something thoroughly cool in Taemon despite the clumsiness of my early efforts. Kaylan Adair brought her editing prowess to bear on
Freakling.
My writing group comrades have lent their unfailing support over the years. Brian Rock, Stephanie McPherson, Hazel Buys, and Pat Tabb from the Richmond Children’s Writers and Neysa Jensen, Docena Holm, Monelle Smith, Michelle Tripp, Brenda Cordery, Zenija Blatz, Jo Mitchell, and Laura Bingham from the Treasure Valley Children’s Writers have all had a hand in Taemon’s story. Beta readers Kristen Fennel and Katelyn Chrisman were a big help. Also vital to the effort was in-house reader Ben Krumwiede.

I feel sorry for anyone who has a writer in their immediate family. Writers are always pestering the nearest innocent bystander (usually family members) by throwing story ideas around and insisting on brainstorming sessions. My family has cheerfully endured a great deal of mind wandering and story obsessing.

Many thanks all around!