Run To Earth (Power of Four) (20 page)

Kyran stared at her for long silent moments. “Ignore Skyler,” he said at last. “I know it seems impossible but you’ll learn to tune him out.”

“Yeah,” Rose said, quietly. “Thanks.”

Kyran nodded at her. He turned to go but paused briefly. “You should know, though, that not all mages are like Skyler. Some of us do have compassion.” His eyes met hers. “Some of us do care.”

Rose didn’t say anything. Kyran smiled before he walked away. With his back turned to her, he lifted a hand and two of his fingers twitched. A flickering light filled Rose’s room. She looked up to see hanging lanterns in all four corners of the room, glowing softly as flames danced in them.

She looked to the door again, just catching a fleeting glimpse of Kyran as he walked downstairs. She smiled gratefully after him, for the comfort of a little light in the approaching darkness.

13

The Q-Zone

Breakfast was unusually quiet, especially for such a large number of people sitting at the table. Most of the Hunters were subdued compared to the night before. They sat with their heads bowed and worked their way through the light breakfast of crumpets and fruit. The residents of Salvador seemed nervous, glancing at the Hunters, whispering to one another with worried expressions. Aaron noticed that even Drake seemed quieter and moodier than usual, which was a feat in itself.

As soon as breakfast was over, all the Hunters went into their respective cottages to get ready. Aaron, Sam and Rose climbed upstairs, heading to their room, when they noticed the door to the third room was left ajar. Kyran was inside, standing before the built-in cupboard that none of them could previously open.

Aaron stilled, his body tensed in a mixture of fear and fascination. The top of the cupboard was flipped down, to act as a shelf. Inside, hanging on various hooks and mantels, rested a whole inventory of weapons. An assortment of shiny silver daggers, and four pairs of semi-automatic pistols with numerous magazines were lined underneath them – but what caught Aaron’s breath was the silver sword which sat proudly in the middle of the cupboard. It was narrow and long, with a white hilt that made the black insignia carved into the grip stand out. Like all the other weapons Aaron saw in the artillery hut, this sword too had the same mark: a circle with an inverted V, three wavy lines behind it and a spiral between its legs.

“Whoa,” Sam breathed. “Now we know why that thing was locked.”

Kyran, who was in the process of lining the inner pockets of his coat with daggers, turned to see the three watching him. He ignored them and reached into the cupboard, taking out a pair of black and silver pistols and slid them into the twin holsters fitted to the back of his belt. Next he lifted out a chain with a small spiral dangling from it. Kyran slipped the chain over his head. Lastly, he pulled out the sword, flipped the lid up, and closed the cupboard. A wave of his hand and Aaron could hear the bolts sliding into place, locking the weapons cupboard once more. Kyran raised the sword and slotted it into its sheath, hidden under his coat. When he was done, Aaron could only see the pommel of the sword, peeking out from behind the collar of his coat. Kyran walked past the trio and went downstairs. Aaron shared a look with Sam and Rose before all three hurried out after him.

The street was busy with mages. The sun beating down on them was so bright it hurt Aaron’s eyes. Everyone was gathered at the end of the table, talking with each other, but the babble was impossible to understand. Aaron spotted the kitchen staff, Alan and Ava included, standing together in a separate group. Jason was to one side, nodding along to whatever it was Drake was saying to him. Even Mary was there, outside of her precious Stove. The only group missing were the fair-skinned Empaths.

A thunderous roar of a hundred engines cut through the air. Aaron turned to see bike after bike come zooming out from the behind the cottages. The gathered crowd cheered loudly, whistling and shouting encouragement as the Hunters rode out. The bikes came to a stop, grouped together in a messy huddle. The residents of Salvador hurried forward, squeezing their way past the bikes to get to individual Hunters. Aaron watched as the mages pulled out black threads from their pockets and tied them around the Hunters’ right wrists.

“What are they doing?” Rose asked.

“No idea,” Aaron replied. He moved through the crowd until he came next to Alan and Ava. “Hey,” he greeted them.

“Hey y’all.” Alan smiled back.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked. “What’s with the threads?”

“It’s a reminder,” Alan replied. “The mages tie a black thread on the wrists of the Hunters they care for, so every time that Hunter lifts a hand to fight, they see the thread and are reminded that there’s someone waiting for them.” He gave a light shrug. “Makes the Hunters a little less reckless when in the Q-Zone.”

Aaron looked through the swarm of bikers again to see almost every Salvador Hunter sporting a black thread around their wrist. The Hunters that came from other cities also had black threads looped around their wrists. Aaron realised they must have got them before arriving at Salvador.

A lone bike revved its way up the path, appearing from behind Jason Burns’s cottage and joined the front of the crowd. Skyler parked and sat back, straightening up. He was dressed in similar attire to the rest of the Hunters: dark jeans, boots, a top under a long coat, but his coat was very different to the rest. Skyler’s coat was an ivory white with a large spiral shape glittering at the back in studded silver. The tips of his coat were silver, as were the folded down collars. Aaron spotted the black thread on his wrist when Skyler lifted his hands, adjusting his fingerless gloves.

“Who would want Skyler back?” Sam asked next to Aaron’s ear.

“Must be someone,” Aaron replied. “Skyler’s got plenty of friends.”

“Hunters don’t tie threads on one another,” Alan explained. “It’s only by the mages left behind, waiting for the Hunters to return.”

“So there’s someone, other than his Hunter buddies, that cares enough for Skyler to return?” Sam asked. “They must be mad.”

“Shh,” Alan warned but chuckled nonetheless.

Aaron searched the crowd until he found Kyran, parked near the front. He had to strain his neck, going on tiptoes to see Kyran’s hands, holding on to the bars of his bike. He couldn’t see anything around either wrist.

“Kyran doesn’t have any,” Ava said, making Aaron look around at her. “He never does.”

“Why?” Aaron asked. “Doesn’t anyone care for him?”

“Of course they do.” Ava smiled. “But they can’t tie a thread on every single Hunter. It would defeat the purpose.” She rubbed the black string held in her hand. “The thread symbolises a special connection between the mage and the Hunter. You can’t have a special connection with everyone, can you?”

A bike came belting its way up and stopped right beside Aaron. Ella grinned, a twinkle in her grey eyes as she straightened up on her dazzling blue bike.

“Whoa,” Sam gasped, but for once, he wasn’t referring to Ella. “Is that a Ducati Panigale 1199?” he asked, staring at her bike.

“You know your bikes,” Ella commented. She turned to Aaron. “Ready for the show, Adams?”

“Show?” Aaron frowned.

“At the Hub.” She tilted her head towards the path behind the cottages. “You can keep up with the hunt.”

“Really?” Aaron was intrigued.

“Yeah, really.” She slipped off her glove from her right hand and held it out.

Ava stepped forward with a smile and wrapped the black thread around Ella’s wrist before knotting it. She smiled at Ella, who smiled back just as warmly and slipped her leather fingerless gloves back on.

“Be careful,” Ava said.

“As always,” Ella replied.

Aaron noticed the hilt of a knife slotted into a holster strapped to Ella’s thigh. The silvery-white insignia was clearly visible on the black handle. Aaron couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.

“Ella?”

“Yeah?”

“That mark.” Aaron nodded at the knife. “The circle with the markings inside. I’ve seen it everywhere. What is it?”

Ella didn’t even look down to see what Aaron was referring to. “It’s the mark of the Elementals,” she said. “Or, to call it by its official name, Aric’s mark.”

Aaron frowned. “Aric?”

Ella’s smile vanished and she stared at him. “Are you freaking kidding me?” she asked, her tone cold all of a sudden. “You don’t know who
Aric
is?”

“I don’t know who anyone is,” Aaron said.

“Oh for–!” Ella bit her tongue, eyes clenched shut as she swallowed back obscenities. “You...!” She took in a breath, clutching onto the bars of her bike. She looked around at Aaron with blazing eyes. “You’re telling me that you
seriously
don’t know who Aric is?”

“No,” Aaron said. “I
seriously
don’t know.”

“Do yourself a favour,” she said. “When your no good parents return, shoot them!”

“Hey!” Aaron objected.

“No, they deserve it,” Ella said. “I just, I can’t...” She twisted the gear and rode off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

Aaron turned to Sam and Rose. “What just happened?” he asked. “She was being somewhat decent and then–”

“She threw a hissy fit?” Sam finished for him.

“Exactly.” Aaron nodded. “She knows I don’t know anything about mages. Why would she assume I know who this Aric person is?”

He looked around to see Alan shaking his head at him, eyes narrowed.

“For shame, Aaron,” he said. “You’re a mage and you don’t know who Aric is?”

Aaron opened his mouth to protest when a rumbustious cheer broke out amongst the mages. Aaron looked over to see Scott, standing before the Hunters, his face grim and dark bags under his eyes. He had obviously not slept last night, or for a few nights even.

“This is it,” Scott called, as soon as the cheers died away. “You’re heading out to execute a Q-Zone kill. You all know the rules.” His gaze swept through the crowd. “You will stay within your designated roles. No one will act the hero.” He stared at Skyler for a moment longer than the rest. “You do what you need to, to get the Lycans into the Q-Zone. You do what you have to, to
keep
them in the Q-Zone. When I tell you, you leave the zone – no questions, no exceptions.” His mouth thinned as he pressed his lips together and took in a breath through his nose, letting it out slowly. “And remember: if anyone is left behind in the Q-Zone after you’ve been ordered out, no one goes back for them. You never go back. Is that understood?”

The Hunters let out a tremendous ‘Yes!’ and roared their bikes in agreement.

Scott nodded and turned, waving a hand so the rectangular cut in the distance slid open after a blinding flash.

“Go,” he said. “May the fates bring you back to us.”

The bikes revved and the Hunters rode towards the open Gate, with Skyler and Ella leading them. The Hunters disappeared through the Gate, their long coats whipping behind them. The rest of the mages cheered, wishing them luck and success. When the last bike crossed the threshold, the Gate slid closed, melting into the background again.

Scott turned to face the rest of the mages. “You can make your way to the Hub now.”

The crowd moved with Scott, with the exception of the kitchen staff. Mary and her helpers started clearing up the table.

“Let’s go and see what happens in this Q-Zone,” Aaron said, hurrying forward.

He turned to see Sam and Rose hadn’t moved.

“Forgetting something?” Sam asked. “Humans aren’t allowed inside the Hub.”

Aaron’s face fell. “Oh yeah,” he muttered, his shoulders dropping in disappointment.

“It’s okay,” Rose said. “You go and check it out.”

Aaron really wanted to go. He had a strange desire to see the Q-Zone in action. At the same time, though, he couldn’t leave his friends to be bored senseless.

“Nah.” He shook his head. “It’s alright. We’ll hang.”

“That’s all we do every day,” Rose said, smiling. “It’s okay. You obviously want to go. You can tell us what it was like.”

Aaron couldn’t make himself leave. “It’s such a stupid rule,” he moaned. “Everyone should be allowed in the Hub.”

“But they’re not,” Rose said. “It’s fine, just go.”

Aaron shook his head. “Not without my friends,” he said. “Besides, it’s not like I’ll understand what’s happening anyway. I’ll probably just make all of them mad at me because of my complete lack of understanding about all things mage.”

Ava was clearing the table but she was taking her time to stack the plates. When the rest of the kitchen staff moved towards the Stove, she turned to Aaron and the twins. “You know what’s remarkable about Salvador?” she asked, addressing all three of them. “The stores. You must have seen them? Past the farm?”

Aaron remembered the unmanned shops he had discovered with Sam and Rose.

“They’re very useful,” Ava went on. “You can get almost anything there: clothes, shoes...books. There are so many books, including ones about mages and their history.” She smiled at Aaron’s surprised expression. “You could read all there is to know about mages, especially the famous ones that all mages ought to know about.” She held Aaron’s gaze for a moment longer before walking away, the plates floating after her.

Aaron turned to Sam.

“I’m on it,” Sam said before Aaron could speak, turning to run to the stores.

“I’ll go with him,” Rose said. “You go to the Hub, and tell us all about it tonight,” she said, running after Sam.

“Look for books that mention Aric,” Aaron called after them.

Both turned to give him a thumbs-up before racing down the street. Aaron turned in the other direction and set off towards the Hub.

***

The Hub was crowded with mages. When Aaron walked in, he saw almost every row in the circular room occupied by seated mages. Around the white table were the fair-skinned Empaths, sitting in high-backed chairs. The group of twelve looked as calm and serene as always in their floor-length, pale blue gowns.