Morning Rising (9 page)

“What happened?” Kara asked. She let the
story wash everything else from her mind for the moment.

“Not long after the Mission was built we were
chased out. There was a land shift a few years later that swallowed
the neighborhood it stood in. When I returned with Baron, I was
disgusted to find they burrowed down to it and turned it into one
of the most vulgar clubs in the city.” There couldn’t have been
more contempt in Alster’s tone.

“This land is in constant change,” Baron
continued. “There are many levels below us that have been dug into
and reused.”

“That is so cool,” Kara said. Then the idea
of trying to rescue Dylan from that place really sunk in. “But
since it’s underground, that makes it more dangerous.”

“As I said.” Alster nodded. “Of course, it
would be slightly better if you were not weakened and were ready to
fight.” He added the second bit with a glare at Baron.

“Without her memories she wasn’t going to be
ready anyway. Trust me, this was for the best,” Baron insisted. He
shook his head as he disappeared into his bedroom. Kara looked at
Alster, uneasy to be left alone with him.

“He is so young and headstrong,” Alster
muttered as he stood. He wore a different suit than the night
before, but it was no less refined. Kara wondered how he could
breathe with the tight collar. He brushed imaginary dust from
himself. “At his age I would have known better. To think he thought
that you were ready for the awakening stone.”

“I was ready,” Kara insisted again. “I needed
to know the truth to have any chance of rescuing Dylan. Baron’s
right.”

“See,” Baron said as he came out of his room.
He pulled a black t-shirt over his head, covering a toned and
tanned stomach. “It was her decision,” he added, tugging the shirt
into place.

“A decision she was in no way equipped to
make,” Alster growled, spinning to face Baron. “You cannot act so
rashly about all this. We could have lost her.”

“You underestimate her,” Baron argued. Kara
could tell he was trying to remain calm, but his voice was
rising.

“You will ruin everything with your
impertinence,” Alster practically snarled.

“Will you both shut up?” Kara cried. She
stood with her fists clenched at her sides as she tried to control
her own frustration. Neither of them seemed to be able to look past
their own egos. The bottom line was that she was fine and ready to
find Dylan. At this rate they would still be arguing three days
from now when her time was up.

Behind Kara, the couch vibrated. It scooted
back a few inches. In front of her, the footstool did the same. It
knocked into Alster’s shins, forcing him back a step. Kara looked
at it with surprise, unsure what could have set it in motion. Baron
and Alster stared at her.

“What was that?” Kara asked, looking at them
with confusion. “Was it an earthquake?”

“Still think she isn’t ready?” Baron asked
with a wide grin. He clapped Alster on the shoulder and turned to
Kara, crossing his arms over his chest. “That was you.”

“What?” Kara frowned, still eying the
footstool.

“Your powers,” Alster said. He was clearly
excited, his anger vanished. “Your mind is coming back to you. Try
to move the stool.”

“Move it?” Kara still had no idea what they
were talking about.

“Just concentrate on it a moment, and then
give it a push with your mind,” Baron prompted.

“Give it a push?” Kara raised an eyebrow.
Baron nodded eagerly. Kara shook her head, not sure what they were
getting at, but willing to try.

Kara looked down at the square foot stool. It
was a fabric covered cube she had hardly registered before. She
tried to reach out mentally and give it a small push. She stepped
back when it lurched forward, almost hitting Alster again.

“Harder,” Baron urged. Alster stepped out of
the way, watching Kara expectantly as she focused. She bit her lip,
tensing her chest in an attempt to force something to happen.

It came easier the second time around.
Instead of moving only a few inches, the stool shot across the
room. It clattered heavily into the wall, almost falling to its
side before settling back on four stubby legs. Both Baron and
Alster smiled at her. “How can I do that?” Kara asked. Her heart
hammered at the strangeness of it.

“It’s part of your powers,” Alster
explained.

“As a child you could move anything at will,”
Baron added. “You used to drive us all crazy.”

“Can I do anything else?” Kara asked. A slow
smile formed on her lips as she thought of the possibilities.

“You couldn’t before,” Baron said. “But that
doesn’t mean you won’t develop other skills. As I child I could
only heal myself. I was much older when I began to transfer. It
isn’t unusual to develop a second skill later in life.”

Kara’s smile faded. “I don’t really see how
this will help get Dylan back,” she said. It would be a neat party
trick, but it wasn’t exactly super strength or anything. Kara
doubted she could scare off Kade with a well aimed stool.

“It will,” Alster promised with a genuine
smile. It was the first Kara had seen from him.

“First, we need to train,” Baron added. “Move
the furniture against the wall. When you’re done with that, we’ll
really get started.”

Kara focused on the couch. It moved a few
inches back before settling again. She fisted her hands and tried
to give it another shove, but nothing happened. She glanced at
Baron.

“You’re only pulling from yourself,” Baron
said. He stepped up behind her and stood pressed against her back
with his hands on her arms. “You’ll learn to pull the energy from
the world around you, but try to pull it through me first.”

“I don’t understand,” Kara said. His
unexpected closeness made her flustered. No one but Dylan had ever
been so close to her. Warmth radiated from him to her back and she
fought the urge to step away.

“Relax,” Baron said. “It’s just training.
Shut your eyes and focus on me.” He squeezed her arms. Kara did as
she was told. “Okay, now feel for my energy.”

The apartment was silent; Kara could hear
Baron’s slow breaths inches above her ear. They seemed to be the
only sound in the room. She focused on his breathing, then on the
feeling of his body pressed to her back. Baron was taller than she
was so her head rested on his collar bone. With each breath, Kara
felt his chest rise and fall. Unconsciously, her breathing began to
match his. Then she felt it.

There was more than heat between them,
something tangible. When she pushed her thoughts towards it, Kara
could tug at this thin layer of something. Energy. Kara opened her
eyes and looked at the couch. She tugged at Baron’s energy, pushing
the couch. The couch slid back to the wall, coming to a stop before
it hit.

“Whoa,” Kara said. She stepped away from
Baron and turned to look at him. He was smiling down at her.

“Sloppy, but effective,” Alster said. He
nodded to Baron. “It needs to be second nature to her by the time
she faces Demitar.”

“It will be,” Baron said. Kara looked at him
skeptically. He smiled reassuringly. She appreciated his
confidence, but she didn’t share it.

“Very well then, I’ll leave you to it,”
Alster said. He clapped Baron on the shoulder and went into his
study. Kara watched him go.

“Baron, I don’t think I can really do this,”
Kara said as soon as Alster’s door closed. “I mean, are you just
gonna stand behind me all night?”

“No,” Baron said with a small laugh. “I’ll
have my own part of the fight to handle.”

“Exactly,” Kara said. She sighed and walked
over to the couch to sit down.

“What’s the matter?” Baron asked, following
her.

“I’m freaked out,” Kara said. “In the last, I
don’t know twenty-four hours maybe, I’ve been trapped in a creepy
pit with creepy little flying goblins, told I have three days to
save my best friend, almost attacked in a club, and burned with
some creepy stone that pounded memories back into my head. Now
you’re telling me that I can move things with my mind. Oh, and hey,
that will come in handy when we face Mr. Master-of-all-things-evil.
I don’t know, it’s just. . .” Kara trailed off, shaking her
head.

Baron smiled. “Creepy?”

“Yes,” Kara said, laughing despite herself.
“Very creepy.”

“Look,” Baron said. He sat down beside Kara
and took her hand in his. “I know this is a lot to take in, but I
swear you are up for it. You were made to do this. You wouldn’t
have been sent away with Dylan if the King hadn’t thought you could
handle it.”

“I guess,” Kara said, unconvinced.

“You love Dylan, right?” Baron asked.

“I do,” Kara said softly. She looked up at
Baron’s eager face. It was the first time she ever admitted it to
anyone who knew what kind of love she was talking about. Then it
dawned on her that Baron might not know just how much she loved
Dylan. “You know I mean that in like, a girlfriend way, right?”
Kara asked awkwardly. She looked down at her hands, not wanting to
see surprise on his face.

“Kara,” Baron said. When Kara looked up at
him, he was smiling widely. “We’ve all known that since you were
both little. It’s expected that the Guardian and their charge will
be together that way.” He blushed and began to ramble. “I mean,
it’s not like we were thinking about you two that way together, not
like imagining.” He let go of Kara’s hand, shaking his head. “This
isn’t coming out right.”

“I get it,” Kara said, laughing. “Is that
enough awkwardness for now?”

“I think so,” Baron said with a smile. “All I
meant was, if you truly love Dylan, than this will all work out.
Are you ready to really start training?”

“I guess,” Kara said. She stood up from the
couch. “What now?”

Baron stood beside Kara. “Move all the
furniture to the walls. I’m going to take a step away with each
piece. When you can’t feel my energy anymore, feel for it in the
world around you. If you can pull the energy from the air it will
be no problem to pull it from the earth.”

Kara did as she was told, feeling more
confident as each piece of furniture moved more easily than the
last. She could already feel it taking less of her concentration.
When she couldn’t feel Baron, she did as he said and reached into
the air around her. Now that she knew what she was looking for it
was like she could almost see the energy swirling around the room.
With a smile, she tugged at it, letting it fill her.

Chapter 7

Hours later, Kara was exhausted. Her brain
felt sore. It was a good exhaustion though. As they trained, the
whole thing began to feel as natural as lifting an arm or wiggling
a finger. Baron would swing his fist at Kara, and she would deflect
it with her mind. She just thought about stopping his hand, and his
fist stopped like it hit a wall. He would take aim for a kick and
she’d send him spinning away.

Kara was quick on her feet; quicker than
before. Sometimes it was easier to dodge a punch than deflect it.
Baron switched tactics and began transferring behind her without
notice. He would attack from behind only seconds after he had been
standing in front of her. The first time Baron did this, he got her
in a choke hold. The next time she was ready. As soon as Baron
disappeared, Kara ducked and punched behind her. Baron doubled over
in pain. Soon, Kara was able to dodge or deflect most of his
attacks.

Kara lifted herself to the marble counter top
in the kitchen, proud and tired. It felt like evening, even though
the dimness outside had barely changed. Baron pulled two bottles of
water from the fridge and handed her one before twisting the top
off his own. He took a long swallow and leaned back against the
counter. They were both damp with sweat. Baron’s shirt stuck to his
chest. Looking at him, Kara had to admit he was in good shape.

“You’ve picked it up quickly,” Baron said
between gulps of water. “Even faster than I thought you would.”

“Yeah.” Kara nodded. “I didn’t expect that.
Not that I’ve expected much that has happened since I got here.”
She glanced at the bottle of water in her hand. “It’s weird how
similar some things here are, like bottled water.”

“Some ideas are good enough to span all the
worlds,” Baron said. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “This
one started here. Without being fully processed our water is far
from drinkable.”

“Good to know,” Kara said before taking
another swallow. The water was deliciously cold in her parched
mouth. “How about showers? Do those exist here?”

“Of course.” Baron laughed. “It’s in the
bathroom. It’s a little different, but you’ll get the hang of it,”
Baron promised. Kara nodded.

There was a moment of silence as they each
drank. “So what’s up with Alster?” Kara asked. She started to pull
the label off of the water bottle, dropping the pieces on the
counter as she spoke. “Has he always been so short tempered?”

“No.” Baron’s smile faded. “He used to be a
different man, a happier man. I think living Inbetween has changed
him more than he would like to admit. Waiting for the two of you
has been stressful. Alster focused all his energy on this. He left
a life behind in the Daylands to be here. It’s gotten to the point
where he is putting all his faith in the two of you.”

“No pressure then,” Kara said with a snort.
“How did he find out where Dylan is?” Kara asked. “Is that his
power?”

“Something like that,” Baron said. “I
honestly have never been sure how his power works. I don’t even
think it’s his main power. He can always find anyone though. It’s
been that way my whole life.”

Kara nodded and took another long swallow
from her water bottle, finishing it. “I should probably
shower.”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Baron urged, pushing
himself away from the counter. “I’ll dig up something for dinner
and then shower after you.”