Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (75 page)

There
came
a
nother
difficult decision that was made last week. It wasn’t pleasant nor was it won without a fight. Both Sar
ah and Veronica were persuaded b
y S
orono to separate from them
and battle in the other two locations. Sarah would go to New York and be accompanied and protected by Head Elder Amphrite and Poseidon where as Veronica would head to California to protect the San Andreas fault and be protected
mainly
by Mark and Kara
, who were volunteered for the job
.

Connor
didn’t force Sarah to reconsider her position, but Sorono had given her
a logical outlook if she wasn’t among the Balancers. Her strength would be needed on their field and she knew it
would tip the scales in
their
favor
. She conceded by stating “Alright, but the moment the situation isn’t needed of my skills
,
I’m flying straight to Connor!”

Everyone
could tell that Veronica will do the exact same thing
once she wasn’t required, though she remained silent
.

Connor
then opened
his
eyes to see the over
-
casted sky from
his tree
perch as the memories from
the
preparation
began
flowing.

Many began using
up
the steel cubes
,
like candy,
that Sorono kept flying in
routinely
. Many people created their own weapon
s
and armor, but those who didn’t know how
to work the metal
had
been given
help from those with
the
ability. Mainly Fire and Metal Balancers worked together at the
four
large forges to make the tools they will need in the coming weeks.
The last forge was commandeered for another use altogether.
Elder Adela
began
using it to cook large amounts of food
to feed the maw of the horde
.

Changers mainly wanted to rely on their claws and teeth, but they knew that weapons
had their uses
. Changers then began wearing small weapons that wouldn’t hinder their styles of fighting. Then there was something new that
Connor
didn’t consider as a logical weapon
option
. The Bone Changers began making their own artillery.

Kara was drafted by
Raphael
and three other Bone Changers. Two of the Bone Changers were Raphael’s mates. Kara said that the sixth Bone Changer was being held in the Immortals Prison.

His
sister
and the other rare Changers
began making swords and other
simple
weapons from their very bones. Soon the five began distributing the weapons that were made from their very flesh to those in the crowd who wanted or needed a lightweight and durable weapon.

“Connor, I must speak with you.”
A familiar mind said and pulled
him from his
contemplation
. He
looked down from
his leafy
positi
on to see Sorono standing below
.
“Can you please come down here?”

“Sure.” He
tossed
his
leg over the other side and dropped to the ground.

When Connor’s
eyes met his
,
he projected
“We both have seen how small our force is compared to what we face.”

He
calm
ly placed a hand on the top of
Tool. “It is true, but the way you said that is telling me that no one else is on their way and you might have a solution
to this crisis
.”

“Very astute.”
He said calmly.
“It is as you say. Firon, Clarein and Xaon came up to me over an hour ago to tell me that the
re isn’t anyone else heading in
our direction. I had them destroy all of the rest of their temporary bonds and now they are eating to regain all of their strength once again.”
Then Sorono dropped to his knees
and closed his mind to all, but
his sibling
. His tone
turned
serious and clear that what he was about to say wasn’t a joke.
“
We know our enemies outnumber us close to eight to one, but there is a way to bolster our ranks by a small percentage. I haven’t had counsel with the Elders because this is the right of the Harmonizers. You see, we can raise our ranks with those who are being imprisoned.”
He waited for a change in Connor’s
expression and found none.
“What do you think? Should we release the immortals who
m
are being punished and have them help in our fight?”

“How many are being confined?”

“Close to sixty six thousand
by last count
.”

Connor
nodded and quickly came to a conclusion. “
So back when we were flying home from rescuing you from the island, you realized that you could count on the prisoners help.
We do need the added strength, but what’s to stop them from turning on their captors? Who will even care about the outside world after being incarcerated after such a time?”

“If you ever saw where they are being held you would understand their wanting to be released.
And what you are forgetting is that many of the single Keepers, Changers and Balancers
that are here,
aren’t honestly single. Their mate
s
are
in that prison system. Plus we will scan the minds of the prisoners and see if they will be worthy enough to join us.”
He
offered
a scaly smile.
“At the mention of freedom they will jump at the chance to get out. Many want to fight anyways so we’ll j
ust paint a target on our enemy’
s
chests
.”

Sorono
allowed
him
time to think it over
in silence
.
We need as much aid as possible, but why were so many in jail
?
W
hat had they done to get in or how long have they been held…?
Will they even care?...

After many internal deliberations
were
settled
Connor
set
his
sights on Sorono. “Alright, we’ll need their help. I say we should bring them into the fold
.”

“Thank you for seconding the difficult decision. When should we leave?”

“What do you mean
,
we
?”

Sorono stood up and locked his features in a visual representation of ancient strength.
“We are going together and alone
,
to the prison. I’ve already spoken to Sarah and Veronica so they know that we won
’
t be
going alone and nor will there
be
an
y
danger
to us
. Sarah said for us to be careful and come home soon. She and Veronica will stay back and care
o
f the hatchlings.”

He knew Sorono
was telling the truth, but
it still needed to be checked. Connor
pushed with
his
consciousness and found the most loving and familiar mind of all. Her velvety voice
sounded
a
s a
perfect match to her mental thoughts.
“Connor, you seem worried. Did Sorono just explain his vague plan concerning the prison?”

“Yes, but I wanted to know if you said that you would stay behind with the kids. Did you say that?”

“Yes I did. He explained that there wouldn’t be any danger and since the two of you are going to be together
,
Veronica and I won’t be as worried as last time. Be careful, just incase. I love you. … oh sorry, I’ve got to go. Mother is bringing brunch
for me and the kids.”

“I love you too.”
Her emotions brightened at hearing those words.

Connor
found Sorono watching
his
every move.
Sorono
smiled when
his
head gave a single nod. He turned around and began walkin
g towards the crowd. Connor
followed.
Together they
made
their
way to the stage and waited for the crowd to silence. Once they did he said
“As many of you are aware by now, everyone that could be summoned here
,
ha
ve
been. We know the numbers are against us and Connor and I have decided to do something that hasn’t
ever
been done before. We will be back within the week with
some
new numbers. My son Damian will take my place until our return
so heed his leadership, like you do with mine
. Please keep up the extraordinary work and do what you believe needs to be done…”

Sorono continued speaking as
Connor
gave one last glance to the crowd.
His
instinct
began
telling
him
of
something, but
he
couldn’t find any problems or even any malice at the moment. But
he
was alerted to something that
felt
off.
He
glanced at Sorono and
saw that
he was scanning for something too.
Sorono
felt something slightly out of the ordinary as well
, but didn’t show any outward signs
through
his
casual
scanning
. They
didn’t need to tell the other because
their
senses were similar and it didn’t need to be acknowledged aloud.

He
spotted Sarah waving at
him
and waved back.

Once Sorono finished his speech
the
y
both began flying away from the gathering of immortals.

The food was exactly what she
needed after So
rono and Connor flew north. Jillian
had brought a large tray filled with meat, bread
and fruit. It helped because Sarah’s
strength still needed the consumab
le energy from turning all of her
weapons and ar
mor into Dark Steel. Even now her
energy still needed another week of massive doses of food
just
to get back to normal again
or three months of generating naturally
.
Her
entire family talked together while
she
stuffed
her
self.

While finally finishing the
meal there was somethin
g strange molding
with
in her
mind.

Be
fore waving goodbye to Connor, she
saw him scanning the crowd. It wasn’t a normal scan.
Sarah
knew him better than any
one and the way he moved told her
that something was off, even if he was being nonchalant about it.
Something had alerted him and now
her
guard went up.

“
Sarah,” Amber said and gained her
attention as she and Ben sat across from
her
. “how are you feeling now?”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled softly. “Well you told me how much stamina it took to make your metal stronger and I was wondering how you
’
r
e
doing now. You’re a little more lively than last week, but you’ve always been the quieter of the two of us. I can’t even tell if you’re putting on a front or feeling alright.”

Sarah
sighed in remembering how drained things were. “I’m doing fine. Why all the sudden interest?”

Amber
glanced at Ben and then to
her
, shyly. “Actually last night I tried to
make my chains into that Dark Steel stuff.”