Run To Earth (Power of Four) (40 page)

Rose took in a breath and moved forward, towards Kyran.

“Happy New Year,” she said against his ear, so he could hear past the gunshots.

Kyran smiled back. “Happy New Year, Rose.”

***

Most of the mages were still firing shots into the air when Rose and Kyran walked out of the cottage together. A few were at the table, clinking their glasses and laughing. Ryan and Julian waved Kyran over, grinning from ear to ear.

“Come on, Kyran!” Ryan yelled. “Where’s your greeting?”

Kyran raised his arm, pistol clutched in hand, and fired three shots in the air.

“Drinks for everyone!” Alan laughed, hovering three full trays in front of the mages. Everyone took a beer bottle, including Aaron.

He had just brought it to his mouth when Kyran appeared by his side, smoothly swiping the bottle from his hand. At Aaron’s scowl, Kyran only grinned.

“Aww, come on, Kyran,” Ryan laughed. “It’s the new year. Let him have one.”

“The last thing his aim needs is the inf
luence of alcohol,” Kyran said.

“I’m not training right now,” Aaron protested.

“Not yet, you’re not,” Kyran said. “But you will be in three hours’ time.”

Aaron groaned.

“Be careful, Aaron,” Ryan smirked. “He won’t rest until he makes a Hunter out of you.”

Kyran smiled and swung his arm around Aaron’s shoulders. “You can bet on that.”

Aaron rolled his eyes but couldn’t hold back his laugh.

Soon, it was time for the New Year feast. For the first time since arriving in Salvador, Aaron saw Mary sit at the table to eat. Before anyone could take a single bite, though, a jolt of light shot across the sky. It exploded into Aric’s mark – a bright white symbol glistening against the night sky.

“Cool.” Sam grinned, staring up at it. “You guys do fireworks too?”

No one answered. They were too busy staring at the mark, their expressions morphing to looks of horror. The joyful atmosphere from only moments before changed, making a chill run down everyone’s spine. At once, the sound of chairs scraping against the ground echoed in the air as everyone rushed to their feet. Aaron and the twins followed after them as the mages ran towards the path leading to the Hub. That’s when Aaron understood that the mark in the sky wasn’t in celebration of the new year – it was a distress signal sent by Scott. Sam and Rose stopped outside the Hub, knowing humans couldn’t enter the circular building. Leaving them there, Aaron ran inside and headed to the main room, only to see everyone crowded around the white table. Pushing his way to the front, Aaron saw Scott standing with his head lowered, hands clutched around the edge of the table. Kyran, Skyler, Ella and the rest of the Hunters were at his side. Every eye was fixed on the map, their expressions one of utter terror.

At first, Aaron couldn’t figure out what they were looking at. All he could see was the map of the human world. Then, he saw it, the strange cloud covering what he recognised as Canada. He moved closer, staring at the wisps of mist swirling around that one particular location. He felt his heart miss several beats.

“What is that?” he asked.

“That,” Scott said in a broken voice, “is a tsunami.”

25

Losing Faith

There was a sense of urgency in the air as the mages ran from the Hub to the buildings next to the garage. The shutters to three of the workshops were lifted to reveal towering stacks of boxes, piled high to the ceiling. One by one, the mages began lifting the boxes out and stacking them in the street. Four pairs of headlights cut their way through the dark forest, pulling up in front of the garage. The drivers of the SUVs stayed in their seats while the rest of the mages loaded the boxes into the back of the vehicles.

Aaron, Sam and Rose quickly stepped forward to help, packing the heavy boxes into the back of the cars. The moment the SUVs were loaded, they took off, disappearing down the dark path. Hunters strapped the leftover boxes to the back of their bikes and set off after the cars.

The mages left behind slowly made their way back to their cottages. The midnight feast to welcome the new year was forgotten. Dishes of untouched food were left to go cold on the table. Where the atmosphere had been one of joy and jubilation a few minutes before, now it was forlorn and heavy with despair. Aaron, along with Sam and Rose, headed back to their cottage. They got into their beds, but none of them slept that night, each wondering what this new year would bring after a start like this.

It was well into the afternoon when the Hunters returned, wearing weary and mournful expressions. Tiredly, they came to sit at the table as Mary hurried to serve them hot drinks and food.

“Doesn’t matter how many times you see it,” Zhi-Jiya said quietly, shaking her head. “It never fails to shock you.”

“The day you become numb to suffering is the day you stop being a mage,” Mary said.

“Another hit,” Ella said. “That’s another one the human realm took because of Hadrian’s zones.”

“That’s what, the fourth disaster in six months?” Ryan asked.

“It just keeps getting worse,” Ella murmured, closing her eyes.

Mary took in a deep breath. “Come on. Get cleaned up, all of you. I’ll get some food out.”

The Hunters listened to their Mother Mary and got up from the table. “Aaron,” Mary called. “Could you go and get Scott? He hasn’t eaten all day.”

Aaron nodded and set off to the Hub, where he knew Scott would be. He found Scott sitting on his chair next to the round table, staring at it.

“Scott?” Aaron called.

Scott looked over at him and lowered his clasped hands, straightening up. “Aaron?” he looked confused at his appearance. “What is it?”

“Mary’s asking for you,” Aaron replied. “She wan
ts you to come and eat.”

Scott managed a weak smile. “I’m not hungry, Aaron, but thank you.”

Aaron stepped closer. “You really should eat something.”

Scott nodded but made no move to get up. Aaron shifted from one foot to the other, not sure if Scott was coming or not.

“Okay.” Aaron turned to go. “I’ll just...leave you to your thoughts then.” He opened the door but couldn’t make himself walk out. He couldn’t leave Scott when he looked so miserable. He closed the door and turned back to him. “It’s not your fault, you know,” he said quietly.

Scott looked up at Aaron. “I never said it was.”

“You don’t have to,” Aaron replied. “It’s written all over you.”

Scott sagged a little, as if the guilt were in fact a physical weight pressing down on him. He shook his head slowly, staring at the map.

“Two years ago, this map looked so different,” he said. “Hadrian had three zones.” He looked up at Aaron with tired, bloodshot eyes. “Three zones,” he repeated. “And now, in two years, he’s got nineteen.” He closed his eyes. “He’s ripping apart our realm, piece by piece, and he’s taking the human realm down with it.”

“Scott...” Aaron stepped closer, struggling to find something to say, anything that would bring comfort. “It’s only a matter of time,” he said. “Sooner or later, the Hunters will find Had
rian and the Scorcher and–”

“Sooner or later,” Scott repeated, nodding his head but his tone was bitter. “Yes, sooner or later. That’s what I keep telling myself. It’ll be over soon. We’ll catch Scorcher soon. Without him, Hadrian’s strength will be gone. We just have to wait for the right opportunity.” His gaze snapped up to Aaron, full of anger and frustration. “We’ve been chasing after the Scorcher for
two
years now and got nowhere. All that’s happened is that we’ve lost zone after zone and the human realm is paying for our failures.” He shook his head and leant over in his seat, elbows resting on his knees. A minute passed in strained silence as Scott fought to compose himself. He let out a shaky breath. “We’re losing, Aaron,” he said quietly. “This war, this fight...We’re losing it every day. Neriah’s not enough, not any more, not since Hadrian’s Scorcher arrived.”

“Don’t say that,” Aaron pleaded. “There must be a way. The Hunters are really good and they’ve won every hunt so far–”

“We might be winning the hunts, but Hadrian’s winning the war, despite having his powers locked,” Scott said. “His son, the Scorcher, is devastating this world and, by proxy, the human realm.” He pointed to the table as he stood up. “That tsunami that hit the human realm only happened because of the sheer amount of power rushing out of the tears. It’s because that part of the human realm happens to lie under one of Hadrian’s zones. With no Gate to utilise the power flow, it seeped out and resulted in
hundreds
of humans being killed and injured. Thousands of homes lost, families torn apart and all because we couldn’t safeguard that zone!” Scott shook his head as angry tears escaped his eyes. His chest heaved with quick breaths as he stared at Aaron. “If we don’t do something, if we don’t stop the Scorcher, soon there’ll be nothing left to fight for.” He looked down at the map of the human realm before meeting Aaron’s eyes again. “There’ll be nothing left to protect.”

***

The sky was slowly turning to glorious hues of pink and orange with the setting sun. The mood around Salvador stayed the same, though: grey, drab and depressed. The mages busied themselves in their work, not talking much. Scott kept himself locked in his Hub. The Hunters were uncharacteristically subdued too, staying at or around the table, talking in low tones.

Rose finished her day’s work and left the Stove. Instead of retiring to her cottage, she headed in the opposite direction, to the lake. She sat down at the bank, watching the setting sun reflect in the still, calm water. It was so strange to think that something so tranquil and soothing could wreak havoc and destroy homes and lives. She had seen footage of tsunamis before, on the news channels. She’d even watched a movie or two re-enacting the disaster. But until now, she had never really thought about it.

Footsteps approached from behind her. Rose turned and smiled at Kyran.

“Hey,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “What are you doing here?”

Rose took a moment to answer. She stared at him, taking in the tired and defeated look he shared with the rest of the Hunters today.

“Nothing,” she replied. “Just didn’t want to go inside yet.”

They sat in silence, staring ahead at the glistening water of the lake.

“Was it really bad?” Rose asked after a few minutes.

Kyran paused before nodding. “Yeah,” he replied. “It was bad.”

Rose didn’t know why she was asking. It wasn’t going to make her feel any better, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Any idea how many casualties?”

“Too many,” he replied.

Rose felt the uncomfortable churn in her stomach get worse. “That was aid in those boxes, wasn’t it?” she asked.

Kyran smiled a bitter, grim smile. “Salt on their wounds,” he muttered. “We couldn’t stop the energy flow from spilling out and destroying their world, so we take aid to them whenever a disaster strikes.” He turned to look at Rose with fierce anger lurking in his eyes. “So we can tell ourselves we’re doing
something
. So maybe we might be able to get some sleep tonight.” He shook his head in disgust. “Truth is, the only way we can help them is to prevent the disasters, not offer insufficient help afterwards.”

“The Gates,” Rose said. “That’s the only way to stop the power from spilling out?”

“The only way,” Kyran confirmed. “But until we clear out the demons from those zones, we can’t set up the Gates.”

They lapsed into silence.

“When I was younger, I used to wonder about natural disasters,” Rose said. “I guess everyone does at some point. You see the aftermath of earthquakes and tsunamis and you think, why does this happen? Why is Mother Nature so brutal?” She shook her head, looking down at the ground. “It turns out the reason lies in another world, another realm altogether.”

“It wasn’t always like this,” Kyran said. “Once upon a time, when all the Gates were up, the human realm was safe. And once this war is over and we defeat the demons, the Gates will be back up and the human realm will be safe again.”

Rose looked over at Kyran. “Tell me something,” she said in a quiet voice. “Why is it in the fight between mages and demons, it’s the humans who get hurt?”

Kyran was taken aback by the simple question. He held her gaze for long minutes but finally looked away, not having an answer.

***

The loud bangs rang in the air. One by one the flying bottles were smashed by the pellets. Aaron lowered his hand after his last target exploded in an impressive shower of glass. He smiled, immensely pleased with himself. It took endless hours of training but now he could hit moving targets with ease. His teacher, though, wasn’t as happy.

“What did I say?” Kyran snapped.

Aaron clicked the small lever on the side of the gun. “Sorry,” he said quickly.

Kyran glared at him, giving him one of his slow you’re-an-idiot head shakes.

“Decock your gun or I’ll decock you, got it?” he warned. Distractedly, he waved a hand to sweep the shards of glass to one side of the clearing. “Right.” He turned back, surveying Aaron. “Your aim is improving but you’re still taking far too long to take the shots.”

“Aiming does take a bit of concentration,” Aaron quipped back.

“It has to be quick,” Kyran said. “You have to go from one target to the other without taking so much as a breath in between.”

“I’ll get there,” Aaron said.

“So you keep saying,” Kyran replied. He waved a hand at Aaron. “Come on, I wanna try something else.”

Aaron put the pistol into its holster and followed Kyran to stand in the middle of the clearing, facing him.

“Your weapons are important,” Kyran said, “but your true weapon is your power.”

Aaron tensed. His aim was improving, as was his footwork when dodging attacks, but when it came to using his Elemental power, the only thing he could do was the ripple. According to Kyran, it wasn’t enough.

“When you’re in Gated zones,” Kyran continued, “your powers will clear an area faster than any sword or gun.”

“I don’t get it,” Aaron grumbled. “I thought the whole point of a Gated zone was that it was a demon-free area?”

“Demons are like viruses,” Kyran said. “Nasty viruses that come back, even if they’ve been defeated and thrown out in the past.”

“So it’s just a circle?” Aaron asked. “We just keep on fighting? It never ends?”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to be a Hunter,” Kyran said. “One of the neatest tricks to fight demons is to turn the ground itself into a trap.” He pointed to the ground between them. “Turn this area into a sinkhole.”

Aaron gaped at him. “Excuse me?”

“A sinkhole,” Kyran repeated. He drew a circle with his finger, mapping out the ground between them.

“Okay,” Aaron started, licking his dry lips. “How exactly do I do that?”

“You’re the Elemental,” Kyran replied. “Figure it out.”

Aaron drew out a slow breath and raised his hands, staring at the ground, willing it to give way and sink into itself. He stayed like that for about a minute. Nothing happened. “Am I supposed to say something?” he asked, glancing up at Kyran.

“Yes,” Kyran replied. “You’re supposed to admit out loud that you’re an idiot.”

Aaron dropped his hands. “You’re not helping.”

“You’re not listening,” Kyran said. “You’re an Elemental, Ace. You can use the power of Earth as you see fit.”

Aaron breathed out and tried once again. He stared at the ground, begging it to cave in and form a sinkhole. Again, nothing happened.

“Okay.” Kyran sighed. “Maybe we should start with something a little simpler.” He surveyed the area. “Alright, bend that tree.”

“Bend what?” Aaron frowned. “What good would that do?”

“Just do what I’m saying,” Kyran said. “Bend that tree over there.” He pointed to a small, thin one.

Aaron turned around and focused on it, bringing up his hands again. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make even a single leaf move.

“Take control, Ace,” Kyran encouraged. “Anything and everything that’s connected to the ground is under your power. You can twist it to your will. You just have to want it badly enough.”

Aaron pushed harder, willing his power to rush through him and escape past his fingers. He wanted to bend that tree in front of him. He felt a slight tingle in his fingertips and the leaves on the branches ruffled a little, but that was the extent of it.